Being Bri'onte Dunn

When you are a high school senior and a 4 or 5 star recruit with good grades you are pulled in a 1000 different directions.  Everyone has an opinion on which school you should pick.  Bri'onte thought he had got that decision out of the way early on when he committed to Ohio State.  He grew up in Ohio and wanted to be a Buckeye, it was a no-brainer commitment. 

Then all hell broke loose in C-Bus and you know the story.   Bri'onte decided he wanted to look around to see what other colleges offered if his beloved Buckeyes got hit hard by the NCAA or if they brought in a new head coach that didn't fit his running style.   So Bri'onte Dunn took visits to Penn State and Michigan to see what those Universities offered.   Then all hell broke loose in Happy Valley, but to Bri'onte that wasn't a decision factor, it was always a OSU - Michigan battle.

As the season played out, Michigan started to gain some momentum in his recruitment.  His good friend and former OSU commit Kyle Kalis picked the Wolverines and then his cousin a 2013 DB recruit Dymonte Thomas picked the Wolverines as well.   So two people close to Bri'onte were coming to Ann Arbor and OSU was struggling on the football field and off as well as the NCAA sanctions continue to grow. 

So fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, when OSU visited Ann Arbor.  Bri'onte was an un-official visitor for the game.   Which I am not sure has never happened before, a player who is publicly committed to OSU has been a Michigan visitor for the biggest rivarly in college football. 

Since then Urban Meyer has been hired and the Michigan coaches have been in home with Brionte twice in the last two weeks including last night.   Kyle Kalis is doing his official visit to Ann Arbor this weekend but Brionte is going to Ohio State. 

The reason Bri'onte is feeling so much stress is because he plans on enrolling early at the school of his choice, which means he will be enrolled in less then a month.   His final decision has to come soon.

Since Bri'onte is clearly conflicted, I thought I would do a post for him on the Pros and Cons of picking each school.

OSU Pros

• Childhood favorite and always wanted to attend there
• Close to home, family doesn't have to travel too far for games
• Just hired a big name coach
• Clearly the first choice for him from the surrounding community

OSU Cons

• Program his been in disarray most of 2011
• Brand new head coach, who will be hiring many new assistants
• Just went 6-6
• The NCAA recently just gave OSU the "Failure to Monitor" violation for activity that was discovered after their August meeting.
• The NCAA has not levied the penalty against OSU and might not before Brionte has to make a decision.  Penalties could include bigger losses of scholarships and a potential bowl ban.
• Urban Meyer runs a spread offense and has never had a 1000 yard rusher.

Michigan Pros

• Current Success: 10-2, BCS Bowl and BIG 10 Coach of the Year
• A top school academically
• Two 1000 yard rushers this season
• Cousin and Kalis
• Between Bores and Fred Jackson they have (I believe) 5 NFL first round RB's
• Program is on a upswing with coaches and a program that will be consistent for years to come

Michigan Cons

• Upset OSU fans if Brionte picks Michigan
• Family might have a little more time on the road to attend Michigan home games

This is a heart vs head decision.  It was very similar to what the USC recruits had to face a couple of years ago.    USC did the same thing, got a big name head coach before the NCAA levied its final ruling and then many recruits were mad because USC has "soft petalled' that the NCAA wasn't going to hit them hard and left the program including the #1 recruit in the nation.  So the risk in picking OSU is will the upside of having Urban Meyer out weigh what the NCAA is going to do the Buckeyes.  

Or he could pick, Michigan which his head is telling him it's a better fit on the football field and in the classroom.    

This is a tipping point weekend for him.   Head vs Heart

My advice and I know it sounds stupid (since 18 year old kids don't think this way):  Think about your life after football whether it's in 4-5 years or if you are lucky enough to make the League.   Even if you do make it to the league, running backs only last a handful of years which means you could be reitred from football at around 30 years old.  You will want to be able to manage your money and have a career after football.   Pick the place that gives you the skills that will help you after football is over.


Other News:

• Congratulations to David Molk who won the Rimington Trophy last night as the top Center in the country.

• In sad news, former Michigan commit DB Anthony Standifer is no longer considered a commit.   I'm not sure what happened, but Anthony was scheduled to take his official visit this weekend and there is a rule if your not cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse you are not allowed to take official visits.   You can still take un-officials. 

• This also explains Michigan recruiting current PSU commit Armani Reeves again.   Armani was very interested in Michigan before he committed to Penn State before the entire situation in Happy Valley happened.