football recruiting
football recruiting
Michigan Misses On
Da'Shawn Hand And Moves On
Following Hand's commitment to Alabama, Michigan offered Berrien Springs, Mich., defensive end Jhonathon Williams, who committed to Missouri in September. Rivals.com rates
him as a three-star prospect and the No. 18 player in the state.
photo courtesy rivals.com
O
By Tim Sullivan
n the eve of Nov. 14, confidence
was high in Michigan circles
that defensive end Da'Shawn Hand
of Woodbridge, Va., Rivals.com's
No. 1 overall player in the class of
2014, would opt to be a Wolverine the
following day. The 6-4, 250-pounder
would become the highest-ranked
player to ever commit to the Maize
and Blue, giving Brady Hoke and
his coaching staff a huge win on the
recruiting trail. That all changed at
12:41 that afternoon.
"I will be playing the next four
years at the University of," said
Hand, inserting a dramatic pause.
"Alabama."
Those 13 words shook Michigan's
recruiting success down to its foundation. That's not to say that U-M's
class is poor without Hand: The
Wolverines rank No. 18 nationally
without him (though a commitment
would have bumped them up to No.
11 in the country), and the commitments include the No. 2 player in
the country, Paramus (N.J.) Catholic
cornerback Jabrill Peppers.
Opportunity Lost
Adding Hand to a class that al-
