5-star Michigan State commit rips Michigan, Ohio State coaching staffs

Belleville, Mich. OL Devontae Dobbs won’t be able to officially sign with Michigan State until December, but he appears set in decision. He certainly won’t be flipping to Michigan or Ohio State after trashing the rival staffs in an interview with 100.9 ESPN FM.

For a “commitment journal” feature, Dobbs spoke candidly with Evan Petzold about the recruitment process. One theme appearing from his journal is that the MSU staff was up front, honest and invested in the process of building a relationship. The other schools he visited, not so much.

While Dobbs’ criticism of Ohio State is relatively mild – he doubts the coaches’ claim that he would come in and play as a true freshman – he doesn’t hold back when unloading on UM.

“It felt like Michigan thought they were superior and the big boss to Michigan State,” Dobbs told Petzold. “They thought, ‘You have an offer from Michigan, so you should be going to Michigan since you have the offer.’ It was as if they didn’t need to recruit me or better their relationship with me. That was the first thing they did wrong.

“When I went up there to talk to them, I felt uncomfortable because of the way they acted, talked and just were,” he continued.

Michigan staffers probably won’t be caught off guard by his comments. Dobbs says more or less told them the same.

“The last meeting I was in, I told them they acted like robots and I just wasn’t comfortable around them,” he said. “I said it wasn’t a place I wanted to be.”

Dobbs is rated 5-stars, the No. 13 overall recruit, No. 2 player in the state of Michigan and No. 3 offensive tackle on the 247Sports Composite, making his claims about treatment by the UM staff even more surprising. One would think the Wolverines coaches would make an in-state prospect a high priority.

For more on Dobbs’ recruitment, including his thoughts on USC, check out the full article here.

Andrew Olson

A former Florida beat reporter, Andrew writes for the Saturday Tradition News Desk.