Rancho Santa Margarita (CA) Santa Margarita Catholic defensive end Collins Acheampong flipped from Michigan to Miami on Tuesday.
Acheampong is listed at 6'7", 254 lbs. and is a 247 Composite 4-star, the #9 athlete, and #165 overall. He committed to Michigan back in July. That commitment came on the heels of it looking like he might commit to Miami, so this dalliance has been going on a long time. Acheampong also recently took visits to UCLA and USC.
Acheampong was the highest rated player in Michigan's class, but the Wolverines have other edge players in the fold, including Enow Etta, Aymeric Koumba, and fresh commit Jason Hewlett. Etta may turn into an interior player and Hewlett has some versatility at 6'4" and 220 lbs., but there are at least some solid pieces to work with.
This is the fourth decommit in the class of 2023, where Acheampong joins DT Joel Starlings (North Carolina), TE Andrew Rappleyea (Penn State), and LB Raylen Wilson (Georgia).
This one is intriguing given the program's predilection for big edge guys (Wormley, Gary, Hutchinson, Morris). Michigan does have a ton of edge prospects right now but that's a high value position where it makes sense to throw scholarships at.
ReplyDeleteIt seems weird. NIL can explain it partially but timing is odd. Did m slow play him for something other than ability? He started taking a ton of visits. M is a great edge school and you can still get paid. Seems strange
ReplyDeleteMiami is throwing around a lot of cash. The Texas A&M of the ACC.
ReplyDeleteIf indeed that's what's going on, and if indeed that's what's important to this young man, then I suspect Jim Harbaugh gave him the firm handshake and wished him the best. My understanding of the "Transformation, not Transactional" lean of the Michigan program doesn't want players who are after NIL money *primarily*.
DeleteAgree. Still sucks though, they are gonna lose out on some talent. But hard to doubt harbaugh right now.
DeleteI was against NIL, but now that it's legal, we must keep up with the competition ... "Transformation, not Transactional" is crap: pay Harbaugh; pay Minter; pay more; pay the players. They've earned the compensation of their opponents (who are not even performing as well)
DeleteI think you're misunderstanding the "Transformational, not Transactional" approach. It does not preclude paying for quality assistants and coordinators, and it does not preclude NIL for quality players. What it does preclude is orienting the program around a philosophy of pouring money here and there. Two things are wrong with that: (1) it's not guaranteed to work: see 'Texas A&M'; and (2) it'll corrode a program from the inside out.
DeleteThere's a need for a balance between the effort to provide a quality transformational experience for the players and the practical reality of money in today's game. I want to think Harbaugh understands that, and based on various things, I believe he does.
In other words, a team consisting of hired mercenaries will have far less cohesion and camaraderie than one built on the better principles advocated by Harbaugh.
DeleteNIL is distinct from coaching compensation but we should also be aware that other schools are paying their coaches more and it could follow that they'll pay more in NIL as well. That seems to be the case.
DeleteI think there's been a general assumption that Michigan would benefit from NIL but I was always skeptical about that and remain skeptical today. Michigan - as a institution / program / alumni base - is smart and sophisticated and responsible and that's great but sometimes irresponsible passion and desire trumps that. Sometimes the guy who doesn't bother with the 401K and throws all his money into one stock is going to get rich even if 4 other versions of him are bankrupt.
The hope now is that Michigan's burgeoning NIL approach (which seems to be more meritocratic - "you'll get paid if you earn it" than "you get paid if you come here") will be a more responsible and sustainable long-run approach. As others have speculated - once you show what Hunter Dickinson, Blake Corum, and JJ McCarthy got - you can start making a more meaningful case to some kids.
But I do agree that there needs to be some balance and some form of "pay for play" a.k.a. recruiting inducements / signing bonus need to be part of the package too.
Sidenote to something Anon 1113 said - it's not about guarantees and never has been. Recruiting rankings aren't a guarantee and coaching salaries aren't a guarantee but what they do is they increase the probability of success.
By "guarantee" I meant the thinking on many peoples' parts is: "The more money we spend, the closer and closer we get to assuring more wins and a national championship." Truly, there are people who think it's just a function of money input translating to win total output. There is a function, but it's not 1:1. Again, if one doubts this, just as Texas A&M, or Miami of Florida, or Michigan State.
DeleteI don't think you'll find many folks who think it's the only thing that matters. But it does matter.
DeleteThere's a relationship between better pay and better coaching (see us losing Erik Bakich to Clemson and John Beilein to the NBA and (almost) losing Harbaugh to the NFL after forcing a paycut on him). There's a relationship between pay and talent and it would make sense that would extend to player salaries via NIL.
There's never guarantees - Yankees and Dodgers don't win the World Series every year - but if you look at the connection between wins and payrolls it's very significant.
YES
DeleteNo need to be one or the other. This should be something that big labor and free market minds agree on
I agree. I don't see any conflict between "quality transformational experience for the players" and getting paid. False choice IMO.
DeleteI think what we are really talking about is maintaining a winning culture - people who want to compete, celebrate TEAM success, and get a quality education. The NIL structure (i.e., how players get paid) does factor into that.
That's how we're beating OSU - out-culturing them and out-coaching them - despite a talent disadvantage.