 Marc MorehouseHi, I'm Marc Morehouse. I've covered sports for more than 15 years, mostly in Eastern Iowa. I've had Hayden Fry [...] |
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RB Gordon expected to decommit
Kenosha Bradford's Melvin Gordon will reportedly de-commit from Iowa and pledge to Bret Bielema and the University of Wisconsin, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
According to the Wisconsin State Journal, Kenosha Bradford running back Melvin Gordon, one of the top-ranked recruits in the state, is in the process of decommitting from Iowa and is expected to commit to the Badgers.
Gordon, 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, was named the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Offensive Player of the Year, with 158 carries for 2009 yards, an average of 12.7 yards per carry. He also led the state with 38 rushing touchdowns.
Here’s the Journal’s post. There is some ugly Twitter traffic on this courtesy of @Kyle_Heikkinen, who covers Wisconsin recruiting for Badger 24/7. He alleges a postgame fight in the Iowa lockerroom (after Ohio State?).
Iowa is down to 15 commitments now and has suffered running back crisis No. 1 for 2011.
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Nicholas Law, 6-2, 190, S, Bishop McNamara High School (Forestville, Md.)
Melvin Spears, 6-2, 230, LB, Allen (Texas) High School
Jordan Walsh, 6-3, 275, OL, Glenbard West (Glen Ellyn, Ill.)
Torrey Campbell, 5-11, 180, CB, Barron Collier High School (Naples, Fla)
Cole Fisher, 6-3, 200, LB, Millard North (Omaha, Neb.) High School
Mike Orloff, 6-2, 215, LB, Lawrence Academy (Groton, Mass.)
Riley McMinn, 6-7, 220, DE, Rochester (Ill.) High School
Jake Duzey, 6-4, 225, TE, Athens High School (Troy, Michigan)
Jake Rudock, 6-3, 185, QB, St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
John Raymon, 6-5, 240, DE, Council Rock North High School (New Town, Penn.)
Ray Hamilton, 6-5, 225, TE, Strongsville (Ohio) High School
Austin Vincent, 6-2, 170, WR, DeSoto (Texas) High School
Henry Krieger-Coble, 6-4, 220, TE, Mount Pleasant High School
Austin Blythe, 6-3, 280, OL, Williamsburg High School
Marcus Grant, 6-2, 190, WR Lawrence Academy (Groton, Mass.)
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Thats disappointing. Hes only doing this because we are not performing well this year and the badgers are having all the success. Band wagon jumper!
Well of course! He’s a high school athlete. It’s not about academics.
Speaking of a meltdown, the meltdown Hawk fans should worry about isn’t their own, but the one occurring on the field (and allegedly in the postgame locker room). This season is a Minnesota-Upset away from being just as bad taste in my mouth as the ’06 season.
The lockerroom thing could be something the kid “thought” he saw so he could justify reneging after all the glowing things he said when he “committed.”
I wish there was an early signing period for NCAA football. Right now, this is unhealthy.
I know for a fact there was no locker room fight. My wife is related to a player on the team and we had Thanksgiving dinner with him Thursday night. He was in the locker room and there was no fight, and he did not hear of any fight after he left. If the other recruits at the game (Coe) didn’t mention anything and a team member has no knowledge of the alleged fight, I have a hard time believing anything happened. Melvin has succumbed to Bielema’s hounding and instead of just saying, “hey, my parents are big Badger fans and I have changed my mind”, he instead feels the need to make up some crap story to make Iowa look bad. Good luck in Madison, Mel, and I mean that in the most sarcastic way possible. I know 18 years olds are immature and stupid sometimes, but come on. Go Hawks-
You knew he would have to come up with some lame excuse after spouting this nonsense when he comitted:
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“I’m not going anywhere,” Gordon said. “I’m committed to Iowa. **{{{I gave them my word and that’s it.}}}** I know a couple of schools may come at me until I sign the letter. When we start practice whenever (next fall), I’ll be in Iowa City.”
Seated with Gordon at Monday’s event was Bradford athletic director Steve Knecht, head coach Jed Kennedy and his father, Melvin Gordon Sr.
“It’s very overwhelming,” Gordon Sr. said. “My son made a man’s decision on where he wanted to go. I can’t do anything but grant his wishes. I’m glad he has a free ride.
“I’m very proud of my son, but any dad would be. I’m very proud.”
http://www.kenoshanews.com/news/bradfords_gordon_commits_to_iowa_17622831.html
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Probably more like he took one look at Coker’s performance and did the math!
Panther, this could be cooked up so those quotes don’t make him look . . . less than honest, I guess that’s the best way to say it.
He might’ve been looking for an out.
He’s 18. They are prone to change their minds, no matter what it does to a college football fanbase.
I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a fight, but I doubt it could be anything that would make a recruit change his mind. I agree the kid was looking for reasons to justify.
On a related note, does Ferentz still stop recruiting a kid when he’s verbally committed somewhere else?
Big deal, he’s a 3-star recruit that will be in a Wisconsin system that has always failed in the end, if he’s that weak, we don’t want him anyway. We are kind of set at RB for awhile anyway, especially if Wegher comes back. Between Robinson, Coker, possibly Wegher, and Jewell Hampton, we have 2 juniors and two Sophomores that will hold things down at the RB position for awhile.
Yeah, one coming off back-to-back knee injuries, one with multiple concussions within a month, and one who left the program, uncertain to return.
Sounds like for-sure depth there…
Rupert — I think I’m looking at Iowa RB depth like I’m looking at my Cub fandom going forward. I’ll believe it when I see it.
Well put, Mission. Plus, I’m sure they’ll get a back in this class. Maybe not, though. Remember, De’Andre Johnson?
Ouch, that one hurts. Well, I hope Rodney Coe comes aboard. We need all the RB’s we can get.
Rodney Coe is a man-child, 6-2, 230. He’d look great in Iowa’s one-cut zone system.
Not sure he comes here and certainly not saying he’s better than Gordon, I clearly don’t know. But 230 seems to have some magic to it.
I’d love to have two 230 pound RB’s in Coker and Coe next year. Coker and Coe – that even has a ring to it. Along with Robinson and Johnson I’d feel much better about missing out on Gordon. Although, we had something like 8 viable running backs going into the summer this year…
I did look around at a few recruiting websites and they still say Gordon is a verbal, so maybe there’s some chance he’ll stick around.
not sure why he’d commit to the badgers with the depth they have there. montee ball is a sophomore and james white is a stud freshman. also, john clay is only a junior, but i don’t see him returning.
I guess my point was if his mental toughness is so weak that he decommits based on a locker room fight that may or may not have happened, it shows a lack of toughness and decision making, 2 things you must have in a running back. I’m just saying don’t be worried, things will play out and Iowa will be good again and Wisconsin will be bad again in the future.
Marc,
This is exactly what I was referencing last week when I wrote and asked “when does our poor performance start to effect recruiting.” I was most worried about this three weeks ago, especially since the kid “mysteriously” visited UW’s game in Sept which cause a raucous. Good luck to him, like Jason Ford and John Clay before him – one’s not playing but backup and one’s injured during his “pre-nfl” year, pity.
We’ll rebound, always do. But the Coaches really need to realize their poor (play calling, clock management) performances effect Iowa not just on the field.
Then know.
I have a theory when it comes to Iowa-UW recruiting: Ferentz and co. win parents, while Bielema appeals to the kid. I think that’s a reasonable theory.