The Cautionary Tale of Mike Weber

Shortly after Jim Harbaugh’s hiring at UM in December 2014, one of Harbaugh’s biggest recruiting targets instantly became Detroit’s  Mike Weber.  Made extra sense because Weber’s prep coach at Cass Tech, Thomas Wilcher, like Harbaugh, was also a Wolverine player in the 1980’s.  Like Weber, Wilcher was a highly coveted prep running back.  Weber was considered the #1 prep prospect in Michigan who Wilcher called the best running back to come out of Detroit in 30 years.

Further, Cass Tech had provided many Wolverine players in previous decades.  However, the listing recruiting efforts of both Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke, coupled with Urban Meyer’s star power, allowed Ohio State in the door at Motown’s powerhouse.

A fierce recruiting battle ensued.  Weber, reportedly torn, eventually picked the Buckeyes.  The day after Weber’s commitment to the Scarlet and Gray, the Buckeye running back coach who recruited Weber, Stan Drayton, bolted for the Chicago Bears.  Weber tweeted his significant disappointment.  Wilcher initially called the entire saga a “deception.”   For Harbaugh, the disappointment had to be bitter as he needed to make inroads against the OSU recruiting machine.

Well, the Cass Tech pipeline has appeared to dry up for Ohio State.  The gem of Michigan’s current freshman crop is wide receiver, Donovan Peoples-Jones, the latest in a long line of Cass Tech standouts.  Another Cass Tech recruit has joined Peoples-Jones in Ann Arbor.

Mike Weber was supposed to be the featured back in Columbus this year.  A lingering hamstring injury allowed for the emergence of freshman uberback, J.K. Dobbins, who tallied 181 yards against Indiana last week.  The Odyssey wonders if Weber will get a fair shake in OSU’s running back rotation going forward.

If J.K. Dobbins gets the lion’s share of the carries, Weber cannot help but have some lingering regrets over his 2015 decision.  Weber is fully healthy for the epic Oklahoma game tomorrow but Dobbins has been announced as the starter.  Weber has to wonder how he can be only the 3rd Buckeye freshmen to rush for over 1,000 yards (Robert Smith and Maurice Clarett were the others) and be relegated to second string.  Even last year’s 1,096 rushing yards were “quiet” in the sense that Weber’s accomplishments were partially eclipsed by following in the shadows of the great Eziekiel Elliott.

In Monday’s article, we were delighted to share the great stories of overlooked preps, such as Josh Allen and David Johnson, who became superstars.  Regrettably, the flip side is also true.  Being a coveted prep will not always translate into peaches and cream at college.