Eleven Warriors

Conley is still technically committed until he visits.  Assuming he's gone, that puts Michigan at 22 commits, with what we believe is 3 spots left. 

In a perfect, God-loves Michigan world, we finish with Leon McQuay III, Derrick Green, and LaQuon Treadwell.  I would be ecstatic with any one of those guys.  McQuay is visiting next weekend for the NW game.  He is very impressed by the music program at Michigan.  Most are saying that USC and Vandy (his other top choices) are full at DB, so it looks pretty good for Michigan.

Derrick Green visited for the Michigan State game and had a good visit by all accounts, but has since shutdown all talks with the media.  Some believe he is just sorting things out, some say he's a silent commit.  I think he's just letting things set in on the decision of his life. 

LaQuon Treadwell isn't really giving anything away.  He has missed everyone his his official visits (even to Michigan) that he has scheduled.  He said he's focusing on his team's post season run and has shut down recruiting, for now.

Wouldn't be too surprised if they go after another OL to replace Dawson.

@BASSPLAYER - Thankfully, we're nowhere near that.  And that's why we have Wallgreens.

The thing about Dawson taking one of those five spots is that I feel like Pocic or McGovern would've taken it had we not been full.  I haven't seen anything official about going back after them, but it makes sense.  David Knevel out of Canada might take that last spot if Hoke wants the 5th OL and/or if the big 3 don't pan out.  Also talks about the #1 Kicker and Alquadin Muhammed (who has yet to visit).  We shall see.

For hail:

'Conley is still technically committed until he visits.'

And if he does, he is officially gone from the family.  So let me ask you this, say a recruit does do the unthinkable and breaks hokes law of recruiting and makes a visit.  What happens if he figures out that tsun is actually the best fit for him since he is now ostricized from the school.  Can he be welcomed back as the prodigal son was, because the wise father knew that a child will make mistakes?  From everything I have heard about the double standard 'policy', he is gone for good, is that not true? 

@Hail, I agree, I think Michigan was in really good position with Pocic and McGovern, but I agree with TENNBUCKEYE, he had a wandering eye for the SEC, so probably was always going to end up there.  Trust me, I live in Baton Rouge, the city sucks.  Sorry if I am offending anyone.  In my opinion, the only reason recruits go to LSU is they are strictly focused on football and going to the league.  For those interested, a really good article written about him in the middle of his recruitment can be found at the following link.  http://www.csnchicago.com/preps/news/Pocic-changes-his-game-plan?blockID...

I had forgotten about Knevel.  He is a true possibility to replace Dawson.  With him and the other prospects you mention, I guess we will find out how serious things are if they visit and it appears one of the big three are looking elsewhere.

With regards to Dawson, I am curious where he ends up.  I've seen it implied that his Florida offer might not have been committable.  I find that hard to believe with the level of prospect he is, but he did seem to sour on them really quickly after visiting.  Either way, he seems to be leaning towards staying in the midwest, which leaves tOSU, MSU, and Wisconsin as his best remaining options, probably in that order.  I would have to believe from this point forward, he is tOSU's to lose.  The only thing that could make this not the case is if he is close to the two MSU Cass Tech commits (Finley and Drake) and wants to go to MSU to play with them.

I second BlueBayou... I too live in BR and the city sucks

No.  I think you have been challenged on this previously.  I don't know who has linked "michigan man integrity" with Hoke's policy on oral commitments.

Let me tell you what would be a "double standard."  It would be a double standard if, say, Hoke 'withdrew' Gareon Conley's scholarship spot for taking another official visit, but if Hoke failed to withdraw Shane Morris' scholarship spot for taking another official visit.  But that has not happened.  And here is the interesting thing about Hoke's policy; if Shane Morris suddenly took a visit to Alabama, and Hoke invoked the policy, and began to look around for another QB, but Shane came back and said, Coach Hoke, the official visit was a letdown; I'd like to commit again to Michigan if you have room, I think they would find room, just like they want to find room, and in fact are holding room, for the likes of Treadwell and Green.  Because who else is a QB talent to replace Morris?

I'm actually waiting for that to happen, in some case, at some point in the future.  We'll see.

But your idea of a "double standard" doesn't wash.  You don't lose your "integrity" by reopening your recruitment under Hoke's policy, any more than a kid loses any integrity by not committing to Michigan in the first place.  It is just a way of handling numbers during a time period where nothing is in writing per NCAA rules.  I think as far as most Michigan folks are concerned, every other school in the FBS could adopt the same policy and it would be fine.  It might add some clarity at a stage of the process where there sometimes isn't a lot of clarity. 

@OYSTER, I disagree that it is a double standard and I think you are mentioning two separate points.

With regards to Hoke's no visit policy for Michigan commits, before committing, the player is told specifically not to commit unless he is 100% sure.  He is also told the ramifications of breaking the policy before he commits.  We know this because multiple Michigan recruits have discussed this fact in interviews.  They know what it means.  This is also apparent in the actions of the two most recent Michigan commits that have run afoul of the policy.  Both Brown and Dawson attempted to visit other schools secretly without informing the coaches because they knew what making that visit meant.  Both times, their scholarship offers were pulled.  Conley appears to be doing things correctly by communicating his intentions and plans on contacting Hoke.  His offer will probably be pulled, but I think the door won't necessarily be shut depending on circumstances.

So with that as background, why do I think this policy is fair?  First off, the staff is upfront about the policy.  It is not a threat but a known during the entire process before the player commits.  It is also fair to ask for a 100% commitment because from the moment the recruit commits to Michigan, Michigan is 100% committed to the recruit.  Michigan stops recruiting other prospects for that position if they are full and will notify other prospects that they are full.  This isn't like the SEC where you can commit to teams like LSU and Alabama and then not have a scholarship because they over signed. http://www.elevenwarriors.com/2011/10/the-oversigning-bowl and http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/andy_staples/01/24/oversig...)  So since Michigan commits 100% to the recruit, isn't it fair that they ask for the same level of commitment from the recruit?  All they are really asking is that a recruit not commit just to hold their spot.

The other part of your argument is that Michigan recruits other team's commitments helps to make this a double standard.  I would argue that this is a completely separate issue and not related to the no visit policy.  So to have a double standard for this comment Hoke would have to be against other teams recruiting his commits while also recruiting other's recruits at the same time.  We know that Hoke is willing to recruit other team's recruits, so where does he stand on other teams recruiting his?  His words are below based on Urban's recruit flipping prowess for the class of 2012.

“Well, it’s competitive.  That’s what it is,” Hoke told Matt Barnes of NBC4 in Columbus when asked about the burgeoning recruiting controversy. “There’s no NCAA legislation about [recruiting a player committed to another school].  I think, at times, we’ve had guys who have left us late in the recruiting [process].  But, you know, it’s part of it.  For us, you want to do a great job of holding on to them and all those things.  It’s recruiting.  It’s competitive.”  - http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/02/03/hoke-on-flipping-pro...

So as you can see, Hoke has no issue with other team's recruiting his commitments.  He is not asking for a "Gentleman's Agreement" like Dantonio or Bielema.  So there appears to be no double standard here as well.

I recognize other's might have their own opinion, but this is the way I see things.  So, since the recruits are fully informed what is expected when they commit and Michigan has shown they are more than willing to hold their own end of the deal, it seems fair to me.  The real question with regards to Michigan's no visit policy (which other schools have as well) is whether it hinder's or hurts the recruiting success.  I wouldn't mind seeing some data on that since right now it seems like it could be a 50/50 split.

@Hodge, Yes!  I agree with everything you said and thank you for stating it much more clearly and concisely than I did.

I would submit that I really don't give a darn about Hoke's policies regarding commitments. So long as the recruit knows the deal upfront, it is up to him to figure it out. 

It depends how Conley handles the visits to other schools.  Because he is being honest with the coaches and telling them he wants to visit other schools, yes he will lose his "commit" status for now, but he can still be recruited and welcomed back to Michigan if the coaches haven't filled his spot and he still wants to recommit.  If he did what Pharaoh Brown did and take a visit to Oregon without telling the coaches, they will cut all ties.

As for the policy itself, I like it - it gives both the team and player an "insurance policy".  The only time it would really hurt the team is if a player decommits close to signing day.  So far it hasn't hurt them too bad, but losing Dawson is not exactly fun.

On to the remaining recruits.  I think they are in the driver's seat for Treadwell and Green and have a very good shot with McQuay

lol.  Yeah, this has gone a bit offtopic for the Buckeye fans.  But the point for you guys, is that Hoke's policy has almost certainly closed the Michigan door on Gareon Conley, what with the next-day offer to Da'Mario Jones. 

And that has considerable significance for you guys; I'll be surprised if Conley, who looks to have turned from a good recruit to a great one, is not wearing scarlet and gray.