Mailbag question: Demar Dorsey status

Posted at 8:00am -- 6/2/2010

Mailbag question: Demar Dorsey status

When will we all find out if Demar Dorsey is eligible to play for Michigan this fall? It is less than 100 days to kickoff!

Keep up the great work.

Cam P.

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Thanks for the question.

Honestly, Michigan fans might not want to get their hopes up as to Demar Dorsey playing for Michigan this year. Some sites have essentially written him off, while other sites have Demar’s chances on the “critical, on life-support” list. Nothing is “official.”

However, please take careful note regarding the content of the remainder of this article!! Also, take note that some of the content is currently impossible to verify with 100% confidence as decisions like this (Demar’s admission status) have as least some fluidity (e.g. final grades for senior year, etc.).

On the surface, this situation (regarding young Dorsey) may appear to be random, isolated, “politically motivated,” or to many onlookers the Dorsey situation may appear to be similar to that of former UM recruit Adrian Witty.

Witty never made it to Michigan, a result of the combined admissions process. Many have speculated that Adrian actually met NCAA standards but did not gain admission from Michigan. Some have stated that indeed there were other potential recruits who had to quickly drop by the wayside because the chances of Michigan admission were not even marginal.

None of us here know Mr. Witty’s exact academic standing; that is meant to be subject to privacy and well such matters should be.

As of now the first part of the eligibility process for Demar Dorsey centers on the standard documentation and the meeting of established standards all recruits must demonstrate before actual enrollment. This is what we have all come to know as the NCAA Clearinghouse acceptance. In Demar’s case the Clearinghouse is the first obstacle, but likely not the last and maybe not the tallest hurdle. That high hurdle may be the formal admissions decision by the University of Michigan.

So, in the near future, everything must have a very successful cross the “t’s” and dot the “i’s” effect to allow a chance for Demar to play this year.

Remember that in the 2009 class Gallon and Turner did not secure final acceptance until August and actually missed several fall practices. It is the opinion here that both players essentially lost at least one-half year of potential development.

What GBMW has been informed of is several different accounts and recent developments regarding the status of UM football recruiting. Two scenarios outlined below directly affect Demar, the third and last is also potentially pointed at other recruits, present and future.

First, the scenario that the final decision for Demar Dorsey’s acceptance is essentially 100% in the hands of Admissions and that indeed it could again be August before any final decision is rendered. In short, both Michigan admissions and the requirements of the NCAA Clearinghouse will be, as normal, deciding conditions. However, assuming Clearinghouse acceptance, Michigan Admissions then becomes what is known as the extraordinary power (in total control of the outcome).

Then, GBMW has been informed that Demar Dorsey has not qualified yet (NCAA standards) and that Admissions will not know if Demar qualifies until probably August. Qualification, of course, would only satisfy one of the two above outlined conditions, the other again being Michigan Admissions.

And most recently GBMW has received clear and very believable information from a reliable poster by the name of "Rekker" who stated that even if Dorsey does qualify there is a strong chance that he (as well as two others from the 2010 class) will not matriculate.

This “unwritten and unstated policy/decree,” it was stated to GBMW, germinated from inside the Athletic Department, not from the recently battered (by some, cheered by others) Admissions Department. It is not an AD vs. Admissions thing, whereby the admissions personnel are purposely turning recruits away (purported by some to be tied to an agenda). This position is instead the new regime sending a full-power and clear signal.

The basic issue is that Coach Rod in his short tenure has been bringing in too many academically "at risk" kids, at risk as defined by current Michigan standards. Three to five recruits per year in a category defined as above has been pretty much the historical trend at UM the last decade, and while some “fuss” has occurred many players have received admission. More than a dozen recruits deemed to be marginal is a different matter and is not presently viewed with favor, especially within the rank and file of the academia.

The AD's view is that all athletes have to be able to survive at Michigan in a real academic program. Surviving at Michigan holds the underlying assumption that the university indeed entails a higher standard than merely qualifying as defined by the NCAA.

Assuming that the above position holds at least a degree (if not more) of accuracy, then the bottom line is Michigan fans could see three signed commitments from this class not show up in August. All hell will break loose if indeed this happens. But after the smoke clears, there will be a very clear message about the expected admission standard and associated academic credentials for UM football recruits.

Again, the signal, if the information is correct, is coming from the AD, not Admissions. Certainly, as one would expect, the university will be tight-lipped and noncommittal in commenting on unstated or unwritten winds of change. Only generalities will be presented.

If Demar goes the junior college route (he has signed such a letter of intent with Fort Scott Community College in Kansas), do not remotely gain the impression that he will eventually join the Michigan football program, because rarely does a recruit (or any student) secure JC transfer credit at Michigan.

If Demar goes the "JC route," this easily explains why programs such as Florida backed off of him late in the recruiting season.

And so, the As the World Turns status of Michigan continues, but clearly for all of us it will be, at the very least, most interesting to see how this situation eventually signals, one way or the other, an unwritten policy and standard bar for UM players gaining admittance.

The outcome bears great importance to Michigan’s future on-field success, since Demar remains the best defensive recruit in the 2010 class. His loss could immediately hurt depth, perhaps even eliminating a 2010 defensive starter. Of note is the cruel reality that if the admission decision of Demar Dorsey is unfavorable, then another in a long line of high-level defensive backs, including Adrian Witty, over the past half-decade or so will be filed in the near-miss category, which does Michigan no good at all.

We all wish for Demar to have success, and like others hope, wish, aspire, long, yearn, whatever, for his eventual admission to U of M. If Demar does clear the NCAA, but does not obtain Michigan acceptance, there will be inquiring minds questioning, and theories posited, as to the why and how of the entire recruitment process and the associated decision.

But inquiring minds maybe just got a little head start.

Written by GBMW Staff

Go Blue -- Wear Maize!