The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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football recruiting ready included Peppers would have been unprecedented, in fact. In the history of Rivals.com — since 2002 — no program has landed the top two players in the nation. Michigan was on the verge of doing so before an academic decision derailed their pursuit of Hand. While he could play football for every program in the country (evidenced by his 94 scholarship offers — and the 21 schools that didn't offer only abstained because they didn't believe they had a shot at him), Hand chose to attend Alabama for the academic opportunity it provided. Each of his final three schools — U-M, UA and Florida — met his athletic requirements, coach and mentor John Harris insisted, but the Crimson Tide would allow him to pursue his dream in the classroom, as well as on the field. "They told him that he'd be able to pursue engineering," Harris said. "That was big for him because Da'Shawn has always dreamed of being an engineer. At Michigan, it was going to be sport management — and he got along with the professor really well — but he's an engineer at heart, and they let him know he could do it. Alabama has other kids majoring in engineering and they told him about how he'd be able to have those guys mentor him, and help him do both at the same time." Hand seemed like the perfect piece for Michigan's system. He has the ability to play the run just as well as he can rush the passer. In defen- sive coordinator Greg Mattison's recent mantra of "earn the right to rush four," Hand would have given Michigan much more ability to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks without blitzing from the linebackers and secondary. He also would have helped Michigan's highly rated secondary players in the past two classes lock down wide receivers, reducing the time opponents have to find openings in the defensive backfield. Hand would have been a huge addition for Michigan not just from his physical stature, his ranking and his tangible effect on the U-M defense. His pledge would have continued the positive momentum for Michigan's program in the long-term. Without him, that's not all down the drain, but the Wolverines go from one of the country's hottest programs on the recruiting trail to another team doing well with limited scholarships (approximately 18) to give in the 2014 class. Not adding Hand is a black eye of sorts, if only because so many had pegged him to head to Ann Arbor. The five-star did an exceptional job keeping his entire recruitment under wraps throughout, and though he would occasionally change up his favorite school or group of schools, when crunch time arrived, he was tight-lipped on who his choice would be. Since Michigan had been near the top of his list the longest, it seemed almost as much like the Wolverines lost him as the Crimson Tide won him over.