The past couple of weeks have featured nothing but feel-good stories -- some would call one them creepy -- of Jim Harbaugh on the recruiting trail. Today, though, the unsightly underbelly of the recruiting game has been exposed yet again.
Erik Swenson was the first commitment to Michigan’s 2016 recruiting class, verballing to Brady Hoke and the Wolverines back in November of 2013. Even with the coaching change from Hoke to Harbaugh in December of 2014, the four-star offensive lineman remained committed. Why? Because he committed to a school, not a coach.
“You have to stick with your commitment, you committed to Michigan, you have to honor that,” Swenson told mlive.com last June. “You made a commitment and you have to show you’re willing to honor it. There will be ups and downs at any place, and any place you go you’ll have to show you can push through them.”
Fast-forward seven months, and how was Swenson’s loyalty rewarded? By having his offer from UM pulled exactly two weeks before National Signing Day. At least, that’s the recruit’s side of the story.
From mlive.com:
Swenson had previously revealed on his personal Twitter account that, "[d]ue to unforeseen circumstances, I am reopening my recruitment.”
— Erik Swenson (@erik_swenson77) January 20, 2016
Because of NCAA bylaws, UM officials will not be permitted to address, at least on the record, their side of a story that’s certainly to cause its share of controversy.
Swenson is the No. 2 player at any position in the state of Illinois and the No. 227 overall in the country according to Rivals.com. He also holds offers from, among others, Alabama, Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Virginia Tech.