Kellen Jones was the 12th ranked LB in the country to Scouts and a 4 star recruit in the 2011 class out of Houston, Texas. Obliviously LB was a "position of need" for the Wolverines in this class. Kellen knew it and seemed to be true blue from the moment Michigan started recruiting him. He was all in for the Rich Rod coaching staff and after Brady Hoke and Greg Mattison took over he was re-sold on the program. Here is an interview by Ann Arbor.com after Mattison was hired this past winter and if he was sticking with Michigan:
“Yes sir, it makes me feel very good that the defense will get back to the way it used to be,” Jones said. “Back to being a top defense in the country.”
He also got a chance to meet Ray Lewis through Charlie Ward who is a coach in Houston:
“It was great to meet (Lewis). I was going nuts,” Jones said. “It was an honor to meet him. It was all thanks to Mr. Ward.”
“I got a chance to talk with him and he was telling me how he studies and how to get ahead. So if I get confused by something coach Mattison is teaching us, maybe I can get a hold of Mr. Lewis and he can help me,” Jones said with a laugh.
I also remember recounting a message board post about a Michigan fan that ran into Kellen at DTW after his official visit. Kellen was very committed to Michigan and couldn't wait to get to Ann Arbor. The message board fan said he was very well spoken and a very nice young man.
The hype was very strong for Kellen to come in a play right away, even as a true freshman. The Sporting News Preview of Michigan had Kellen on the two deep.
So when the official roster was released before the first day of practice about a week ago fans were shocked that Kellen wasn't on the roster after signing with Michigan in February.
Coach Hoke confirmed he was not enrolled at Michigan but didn't give any details as why. We have seen these situations in the past. Kids might fall a few credits short or not get a qualifying score on the SAT/ACT tests. Kids have to pass the NCAA Clearing House before they can enroll at school they signed with. Every year there are kids with many programs that might fall short of that clearance.
So wer grades the issue? That seems to be most viable option.
Then comes the next shocking news regarding Kellen. He enrolled at Oklahoma last week. Yes, the #1 team in the nation now has the linebacker that Michigan signed. TomVH from Mgoblog reached out to Kellen's father who confirmed the enrollment and he believed Kellen would be able to play right away if needed (though the plan was to red shirt).
ESPN and other services have confirmed that Kellen enrolled at Oklahoma. Which leaves Michigan fans wondering what happened here? How can a guy not get into Michigan but can get into #1 Oklahoma?
I wish, I had answers but I don't. I'm in the same boat you are. Here are a couple of pure speculations on my part:
- He was getting a little home sick and wanted to be closer to home?
- He did have a history of concussions and maybe there was a medical reason he had to sit out? (if that was the case he most likely would have enrolled at Michigan and redshirted).
- Something happened between the time he signed with Michigan and when we was expected to enrolled that made U of M pull his scholarship.
- Grades - He wasn't cleared by the Clearing House.
Here is a hit from a local OK TV station: Jones is currently with the Oklahoma football team, but is unable to practice until cleared by the NCAA. He is currently regarded as a walk-on, but could earn a scholarship in the future.
Which leads me to believe this has to do with grades then anything else. Normally, a kid wouldn't give up a scholarship at Michigan to Walk On to Oklahoma and pay his own way.
If your into conspiracy theories, put on your tin foil hat and think about this one for a minute. Rich Rod and Bob Stoops are good friends. Rich spent some time at Oklahoma's Spring Practice last Spring and was doing a special in Norman for his new role with CBS Sports Network this month as well. Did Rich call Bob regarding Kellen if he had trouble getting past Michigan's admission office? He might have. He did it for Denard's high school teammate, CB Adrian Whitty that had issues with U of M's admission office as well. Rich called his coaching buddy Butch Jones at the University of Cincinnati and Adrian signed with the Bearcats.
Another question Michigan fans might have is: How could Kellen play his freshman year at Oklahoma without having to sit out a year for normal transfer rules? Kellen never enrolled at Michigan and if the coaches let him out of his LOI he could enroll and play at any college that accepts him without sitting out a year.
2 comments:
Although this is all speculation, what you're saying makes the most sense. It was likely an academic issue. If he were never allowed to enroll at Michigan then chances are it was concerning not being cleared by the NCAA. Even Oklahoma is waiting for him to be cleared before they will let him on the team, but unfortunately they are still enrolling him at their school. That was probably the reason why Michigan didn't take a couple of potential commits for the 2012 class, because it would have potentially caused for complications later. You can see the difference between the ethical standards between the two schools.
There are some schools that do not have to carry the burden of being one of the upper echelon schools of higher learning. So they will take a commit without encouraging the student to do whatever they need to do to get to the next level. By doing that they hurt the kid because then if the kid is not cleared then he is simply left wondering what to do next. The student is crushed and their family is disappointed.
I believe Kellen [who is a RR recruit] went to Oklahoma to save face, and if he’s not cleared then he still won’t be able to play football. Then he will transfer again to a lower level school. Rich Rod brought that same practice to Michigan from WVU and therefore, contributed to the heart break of a number of students. That contributes to in essence poor recruiting practices. I commend Hoke and company for being up front with their own recruits, because it helps the kids in the long run.
I agree, it is better to recruit guys you are 100% on getting in.
It does help kids in the long run. I wish there was a better way for kids to get qualified through a CC or JC and get to Ann Arbor. The Shawn Conway's of the world never seem to end up getting back to Ann Arbor.
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