Rich Rodriguez never saw signs of trouble from Justin Feagin, won't recruit 'a guy that has baggage'

On Monday, as Michigan kicked off its second season under Rodriguez with its first practice of the fall, Rodriguez defended his recruiting practices and said he never saw any signs of trouble from recently dismissed receiver Justin Feagin.

Feagin was kicked off the team last month for his role in a failed cocaine deal. In a police report first made public Sunday by the Detroit Free Press, he also admitted that he “used to sell drugs in Florida” and was arrested twice in his home state for battery and trespassing.

“Trust me, no coach in America is going to want to take a guy that has baggage or that they think is a bad guy,” Rodriguez said. “We certainly won’t.

“But everything in the recruiting process (with Feagin) that we had heard was all positive and our dealings here was there was no negatives until that recent thing. And once we heard that, it was immediate dismissal.”

Feagin met with police July 23 and was kicked off the team later that day.

Rodriguez said he called Feagin’s mother immediately after learning of the incident, then met with coaches to try and determine if they overlooked anything in the recruiting process.

“Sometimes there’s mistakes made and if it’s an avoidable mistake then we have to look and say what did we miss?” Rodriguez said. “And sure, you do that. And that’s the first thing that happened. As soon as we found out this situation, you boot him off the team, then you call the coaches in and say, what did we miss? You call the mother up and say, hello, Mrs. Feagin, what did we miss?”

Rivals.com recruiting analyst Jeremy Crabtree said no one expressed concerns over Feagin’s character when he signed out of American Heritage High as the last member of Michigan’s 2008 class, Rodriguez’s first with the Wolverines.

Feagin, who hung up when reached by cell phone Monday night and did not return another message seeking comment, took official visits to Michigan, Rutgers and Syracuse, and had offers from Miami, West Virginia and several other programs.

“I can’t imagine (that many schools) would have been actively recruiting him if there were red flags there, too,” Crabtree said. “The only question we had with him was what position was he going play.”

Rodriguez said coaches do a thorough background check on every player they recruit, talking to coaches, parents, school administrators, even janitors.

“Our coaches, we’ll remind them - and not just here at Michigan but certainly here - we want to bring the right people in,” Rodriguez said. “In our community, in our university, and we try hard to do that.”

Judy Van Horn, Michigan’s associate athletic director for compliance, said ultimately coaches make the final decision on who they recruit. If there are questions about a recruit’s character, the situation would then be presented to athletic director Bill Martin before a scholarship is offered.

Van Horn cited privacy laws in declining to say whether Feagin’s recruitment was referred to Martin.

“It is rare that there would need to be a conversation because our coaches are gatekeepers in a sense and are very cautious about who they recruit on behalf of the university,” she said.

Rodriguez said he was stunned to learn of Feagin's troubles and doesn't want that to reflect poorly on the rest of his players.

“I would like to sit here and tell you I’ll never have another kid that I ever recruit get in trouble,” Rodriguez said. “Never have an underage drinking, never get in a bar fight. I hope I never have one.

"But to tell you I’m going to be coaching here the next 20 years and never have that, I can’t guarantee that because sometimes good people make bad decisions. What you hope they do is they learn from it and don’t make it again, or they’re good people that just decide to have one bad decision. That’s what you’re hoping is the case."

Dave Birkett covers the University of Michigan football team for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at davidbirkett@annarbor.com