[Mick]

I'll add one negative recruiting pitch that may have worked recently:  "We can win a national championship here at Michigan.  You might be able to get into Stanford, but there's no way to win an NC there because there aren't enough athletes like you who have the academic qualifications."

Maybe admissions was the only reason for the de-commitment.  Maybe not.  We'll probably never know for sure, though choosing UW over UM would put a bit of a dent in that theory.

P.S. Maybe admissions was the only real obstacle, but when admissions didn't work out, the recruit informed Shaw of the pitches he'd been receiving.

I don't really see how that holds water, particularly vis-a-vis the Michigan vs. Stanford argument, given the last five years.

[Mick]

I'll add one negative recruiting pitch that may have worked recently:  "We can win a national championship here at Michigan.  You might be able to get into Stanford, but there's no way to win an NC there because there aren't enough athletes like you who have the academic qualifications."

Maybe admissions was the only reason for the de-commitment.  Maybe not.  We'll probably never know for sure, though choosing UW over UM would put a bit of a dent in that theory.

P.S. Maybe admissions was the only real obstacle, but when admissions didn't work out, the recruit informed Shaw of the pitches he'd been receiving.

I don't really see how that holds water, particularly vis-a-vis the Michigan vs. Stanford argument, given the last five years.