About 30 minutes ago, the godfather of high school football recruiting, Mike Farrell, published the following information on 5 star LB EJ Levenberry, straight from EJ's dad:
"After reading the comments by other recent LB commits to FSU as it
relates to their on going conversations with linebacker Coach Hudson I
feel it is best that my son keep his options open because that
communication is not there with my son and the LB coach.
We really like Coach Fisher, Coach Haggins and the opportunity to play
at FSU but right now my son has a closer relationship with Coach Greg
Mattison at Michigan and Coach Bob Stoops at Oklahoma. We must be
realistic in the sense that my son is an out of state kid.
Therefore, we are waiting to see how things go for Ronald Darby and
Eddie Goldman. As a parent my main focus is the academics and the people
in the building because everyone has facilities.
When you leave your state as the QB that went to Bama did and eventually
transferred back home to UVA you must be certain that you will be given
a fair opportunity to compete for a starting position.
When I read the comments on Warchant from the other LB commits it is
clear that communication is taking place that my son is not privy to and
thus a bond is forging.
Right now I have to say my son made the right decision in choosing Jimbo
and FSU but that Michigan degree and Greg Mattison's relationship with
my son are hard to resist."
20 minutes later, Levenberry's dad released this statement:
"Michigan just informed me that they are not going to bring EJ in on an unofficial because they have a more pressing need and they will not have a scholarship available right now unless someone pulls back form them."
So, what the hell happened - here it goes:
The Levenberry family has been in contact with Michigan in the last 24 hours and Michigan told EJ two things:
1. They would host him for an official visit for MSU game (biggest recruiting weekend of season)
2. Yes, Michigan will hold a spot for you.
So what happened in that 20 minute time frame. Here it goes.
I saw the info from Farrell and immediatley hit the phones, I was told yes Michigan is still pursuing Levenberry, at the families request. I was also told that Michigan has told the outside world, including recruits, that they would only take 24 players in this class, when, in fact, they knew that a higher number could be possible.
With the attrition coming potentially faster than expected, Michigan coaches have now, reportedly, made a decision to recruit as if they can take 3 more recruits - WR, RB and 1 high talent defensive player.
When news hit the internet of Levenberry, Michigan immediately had a PR issues on their hands. Did they 'lie' to recruits like Ross Douglas, Derrick Green, Leon McQuay and others who were told they had limited scholarships left and they couldn't hold a spot - now or never (except Green). Well, Michigan didn't lie, but is certainly didn't want to seem less than genuine when selling limited spots in the past, yet telling Levenberry something different.
So, the immediate fix was to tell Levenberry's father that he should retract the statement and tell the world that Michigan was full. The "insider" info on the situation is that Michigan would like to keep certain recruitments quiet so they can still sell 'limited space' to a number of targets. From what I was JUST told while writing this article, is that the Levenberry visit will happen, just don't expect EJ to discuss it with media prior.
So, as of right now, my best source has informed me to expect Michigan to take 26 2013 recruits when the dust settles on this recruiting class.
There you have it - who will the final 3 be?
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