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Harbaugh indirectly addresses Twitter behavior on Walker’s decommitment
Published:
Coaches are not allowed to address a recruit by name publicly until said recruit has penned his National Letter of Intent.
Jim Harbaugh did not address who he was talking about on Wednesday when he fired off this tweet.
I respectfully ask that fans conduct themselves in a 1st-class manner on social media when commenting on players, opponents & prospects.
— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) November 4, 2015
But following the decommitment of No. 1 2016 running back Kareem Walker at Ohio State on Tuesday night, it’d be surprising if the Michigan target wasn’t the subject of Harbaugh’s tweet.
Walker famously started a recruiting war when he took a visit to Ann Arbor last month while he was still committed to the Buckeyes. The New Jersey tailback has a close relationship with Michigan redshirt freshman Jabrill Peppers and the Wolverines are still believed to be in the running for Walker.
When Walker delivered the news on Tuesday night, he was the subject of some nasty comments from Ohio State fans.
The social media thrashing directed at Walker drew the attention of national media members.
The very ugly side of today's recruiting world surfaces after the nation's top RB de-committed from OhioState. https://t.co/HVbeZDbxMz
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) November 4, 2015
Michigan cornerback Jourdan Lewis already took to Twitter on Wednesday morning to respond to an unhappy Buckeye fan.
I can not comprehend the ignorance. He has not played a down in college yet?? pic.twitter.com/Ae08ODiQzw
— Jourdan Lewis (@JourdanJD) November 4, 2015
Harbaugh was likely addressing the tons of fans that flooded Walker’s mentions by getting into Twitter fights about the high school senior. If you want to see them, click here.
It’s like they always say, nothing will woo a recruit like a team’s fan base fighting over him on Twitter.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.