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Posted on Sat, Jul 7, 2012 : 5:58 a.m.

Elite offensive lineman David Dawson affirms commitment to Michigan football team

By Kyle Meinke

Update: Football commit David Dawson won't attend Florida camp after speaking with Michigan coaches

The Michigan football team currently features the nation's best offensive line class for 2013, and David Dawson is considered one of the jewels of that haul.

When reports surfaced Friday afternoon that the Detroit Cass Tech star plans to camp later this month at Florida, though, questions arose regarding his fealty to the Wolverines. But Dawson has squashed those rumors.

"I'm a #MichiganMan," he tweeted. "So what u hear or read is irrelevant!! #GoBlue #TEAM134"

Thumbnail image for DavidDawson.png

Michigan offensive lineman commit David Dawson (center) will reportedly visit Florida for a football camp.

AnnArbor.com file photo

Dawson, ranked by ESPN as the nation's top guard, is slated to attend the Gators' Friday Night Lights camp on July 27, according to GoBlueWolverine.com's Sam Webb. He planned to discuss the event with Michigan offensive line coach Darrell Funk before leaving, according to Webb.

That raises several interesting questions, notably whether it violates the no-visit policy that was installed last year by Michigan coach Brady Hoke. The Wolverines already exercised the rule once, dropping 2012 tight end Pharaoh Brown last year after he visited Oregon.

Dawson surely will receive the Gators' best pitch during his trip, but his situation also is different than Brown's because he's not taking an official visit.

So, does it violate Hoke's rule?

“No,” Dawson told ESPN during a recruiting event Friday in Beaverton, Ore. “It’s a camp. All the great players in SEC country, that’s what I want to see.”

Most commits do not attend other teams' camps, since the camps typically are designed for uncommitted players to make their cases for scholarship offers. But Dawson also isn't alone.

Classmate Jourdan Lewis attended Alabama's camp last month, yet remains a member of the Wolverines' class.

Dawson is a four-star recruit from Detroit. The 6-foot-5, 305-pound guard is ranked No. 8 at his position according to Rivals and No. 7 according to Scout. ESPN pegs him No. 1.

He committed to the Wolverines in February -- a commitment that, at least for now, appears to be firm. Yet, nothing is final until he files a letter of intent, and he can't do that until national signing day Feb. 6.

Until then, he's bound to draw attention from schools as his national profile grows during a strong offseason. In fact, he didn't receive his Florida offer until more than month after he committed to Michigan. The Gators visited his school days later.

Fellow Michigan guard commit Kyle Bosch told ESPN he's heard his classmate's pledge isn't resolute.

“He’s been talking about decommitting,” said Bosch, a guard from Wheaton, Ill. “If he does, we’ll move on. One guy doesn’t make a class.”

Still, Dawson maintains he's not going anywhere.

"David Dawson is staying committed to #Michigan .... Everyone relax" tweeted 2013 quarterback Shane Morris. Dawson retweeted the post.

Kyle Meinke covers Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2588, by email at kylemeinke@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @kmeinke.

Comments

ted

Mon, Jul 9, 2012 : 7:38 a.m.

there have been recent rumors of Chris Fox decommiting and here is a quote from mgoblog "Speaking of nothing to see here, David Dawson caused a stir yesterday when he tweeted that his Michigan teammates had "left [him]" while at The Opening, then saying he was chilling with a group of Florida commits. Dawson has recently discussed camping at Florida, so we now have a new panic about a possible decommitment." we have all been celebrating way too early and it appears this class has already started to unravel.

umgoblue47

Mon, Jul 9, 2012 : 9:18 p.m.

doom and gloom, oh my! dawson is not going anyware! GO BLUE!!!

Wally the Wolverine

Sun, Jul 8, 2012 : 5:03 p.m.

You're darn right the coaches won't revoke the offer of an elite player. Believe me, he'll get all the latitude he needs if it means keeping him on the team. The "no visits after committing" is a nice policy in principle, but if you are totally rigid with it, players will avoid maing early commitments to us. Kinda like the Dallas football player (3rd stringer?) that was dismissed from the team after he dozed off during a film study session. We all know a starter wouldn't be booted for the same reason. Is anyone truly naive enough to believe the analogy doesn't apply?

Scott

Sat, Jul 7, 2012 : 8:16 p.m.

I don't think it matters one iota if he de-commits. With Kalis, Magnuson, Braden, and Bars this year and Bosh, Fox, Kugler, and Tillman next year Michigan doesn't need Dawson. We'll have an O line full of Taylor Lewan caliber players in a couple years regardless. I'd rather see another scholarship offered to a D lineman, DB, or WR anyways.

ted

Mon, Jul 9, 2012 : 7:39 a.m.

I disagree . Dawson is better then all of them. A sure top 10 nfl draft pick.

Terry Star21

Sun, Jul 8, 2012 : 1:36 a.m.

Scott....you have some good points, but believe me - you don't want to lose this kid !

Robert Granville

Sat, Jul 7, 2012 : 7:53 p.m.

Dawson spoke with the coaching staff. The trip is canceled.

81wolverine

Sat, Jul 7, 2012 : 4:57 p.m.

No need to panic over this. A lot was blown out of proportion by some recruitniks after several Tweets recently. But, this is not the same situation as Pharoah Brown. Brown was not going to a camp - he was making an actual official visit to Oregon. Yes, the Florida camp is a type of recruiting event, but as long as our coaches are OK with it, so be it. For now, I'm taking Dawson at his word.

GoBigBlue

Sat, Jul 7, 2012 : 2:36 p.m.

Seems like with twitter and Facebook, most everyone knows when these kids pass gas. A lot of this type of talk gets blown way out of proportion. And to the fans who have negatively tweeted this kid, go find something productive to do with yourself. Also, I love Hoke's rules about visits after being commited. That makes the commitment mean something. But I think we should leave it up to the coaching staff to enforce thier rules.

Pickforddick

Sat, Jul 7, 2012 : 11:25 a.m.

Very interesting.............we shall see how this turns out.........there may be some surprises.

observer

Sat, Jul 7, 2012 : 10:52 a.m.

very frustrating.......do these young men still want to be "wined and dined, even though they have made a verbal commitment......or should the other schools leave them alone because of this commitment.....it makes what the school offers academically seem like a distant after thought......

Paul R Lamse

Sat, Jul 7, 2012 : 11:19 a.m.

I don't believe that he wants to be "wined and dined, even though they have made a verbal commitment......" He answered that question, to me. He said he wants to play with and against the best. If you've ever been "elite" you know that a big part of being elite is your competitive nature. It's a camp, not an official visit. I'd rather trust someone, in error, than to not trust someone, in error. To a point.