National Signing Day… Ron English to Vikings hoax
Feb 08, 2007 in Michigan Football
No major surprises on National Signing Day. Though our recruiting class doesn’t rank in the nation’s top 10, it’s probably the best class in the Big Ten in what has turned out to be a down year for the conference. Jerimy Finch, after committing to Michigan, changing his mind and committing to Indiana, then changing his mind again and declaring that he was “50-50″ between Michigan and Indiana, ended up signing with Florida. Though we didn’t pick up any eleventh-hour commitments, we didn’t lose any either. As expected, Florida, USC, and Tennessee pulled in the nation’s top 3 classes.
The biggest Michigan-related story of the week turned out to be a hoax. Sirius NFL Radio reported that defensive coordinator Ron English had interviewed for the defensive coordinator position with the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings. In response to the report, Coach English issued a statement through the athletic department denying having had any contact with the Vikings and affirming that he intended to stay at Michigan. The timing of the report strikes me as extremely odd. Even if Coach English was interested in other opportunities, there is no way he would interview for another job the day before National Signing Day. Given how nasty recruiting battles have gotten in recent years, it wouldn’t surprise me if the false report may have been part of an effort to sabotage Michigan’s recruiting.