Test scores keep quarterback recruit Conelius Jones from qualifying to enroll at Michigan
Conelius Jones hoped to arrive in Ann Arbor this summer and join what the crowded competition for Michigan's starting quarterback job.
But after his SAT score fell 20 points short of qualifying, the Spartanburg (S.C.) High School standout will have to wait.
Jones will instead enroll at Fork Union Military School, his coach, Freddie Brown said Monday. But just because the timing of his planned enrollment at Michigan didn't work out the way he anticipated, Jones' allegiances remain with the Wolverines.
"He only wants to go to Michigan," Brown said. "He's not going to go anywhere except for Michigan, and so Michigan is going to get him back."
Brown is the third member of Michigan's recruiting class that won't enrolled as planned. Top recruit and star cornerback Demar Dorsey was not admitted into Michigan based on a decision made by the school's admissions department.
University officials declined to specify why Dorsey - who has since signed to play at Louisville - was not granted admission into Michigan.
Antonio Kinard, a linebacker from Youngstown, Ohio, also failed to qualify at Michigan and will enroll at either Fork Union or Hargrave Military Academy or a junior college in Kansas. Kinard was considered a long shot to qualify when he signed with Michigan back in February.
According to Brown, Jones went through a rough stretch with personal issues over the winter. Although he graduated with the rest of his class and maintained a 2.5 grade-point average, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Jones struggled with the SAT, which kept him from qualifying.
"It’s hard to project some guys (more than) others," Rodriguez told reporters recently at a football camp in Detroit. "There’s some guys that may have struggled to get in and they’re doing very well. Some guys that got in very easily are struggling. I don’t think there’s an exact science to it, but at the same time we’re moving forward with what we got and not looking back."
Brown said Jones is hoping to enroll at Michigan over the winter after spending a semester at Fork Union, where he'll attempt to boost his test scores.
"He's very disappointed - he tried hard," Brown said. "But he's always been motivated and this will motivate him. He's going to end up at Michigan - it just won't be when he had hoped to."
Jeff Arnold covers sports for AnnArbor.com and can be reached at (734) 623-2554 or by email at jeffarnold@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeffreyparnold.
Comments
Sean T.
Sun, Jul 4, 2010 : 10:52 a.m.
Of course, this happens all over the country but CHAPMAJA made an excellent point. Maybe his GPA was a joke! Unless he takes special education classes, there's no way he should fail badly with an 2.5 career GPA. I know that it's an average score but it shows that he should fit minimum requirements for college entry exams. WVTROLL, I think you're right that the excuses just pile up and makes posters look desperate. As a UofM fan I'm actually happy Conelius Jones didn't achieve passing scores because if my memory serves correctly wasn't he in some legal troubles too a year ago? There should be enough talent on the roster to make six bowl wins and buy the coach another year so there's no need to keep hoodlums who'll turn us to the likes of MSU,Florida or Oregon. Or are our standards no different?
PortageLkBlu
Sat, Jul 3, 2010 : 6:59 p.m.
Robbie Webb keep up the solid info your one of the reasons I keep up on this blog. It's nice to hear reality such as what you added on this issue. Look boys and girls every blog across this country and probably blogs around the world on soccer tell the same stories easy come easy go and that's just how it goes. Why make such a big deal out of nothing. Would you guys be happy if Mich. just signed up a bunch of geeks. Do you really think other schools like Alabama, Florida, USC, Texas, Oklahoma etc., etc. have no issues?? I live in Southern Ca. and boy oh boy am I proud of Pete Carrol. RR is here to stay whether you or I like it and since he's here to stay have a brew and enjoy the moment which is, RR is your coach present and future god bless RR and the Wolves.
aarox
Tue, Jun 29, 2010 : 5:44 p.m.
and sadly struggles in post-game interviews.
trigg7
Tue, Jun 29, 2010 : 5:24 p.m.
RR is a good coach...he just struggles in games.
chapmaja
Tue, Jun 29, 2010 : 11:10 a.m.
I have to wonder about the comments that he is a good student that just struggles on tests. The NCAA qualifying standards are not that difficult for someone with a 2.5 GPA. I managed to have a score that would have qualified when I took the SAT as an 8th grader. The only two things I can think is that this young man may have a learning disability that makes it difficult for him to take tests. If that is the case I wonder if he was getting the special accomidations he can get. The other possibility is the 2.5 GPA is a BS GPA.
GoblueinNE_PA
Tue, Jun 29, 2010 : 11:04 a.m.
Kids not getting in isn't anything new. It's happened under all the recent coaches. However, there is a difference between where we are now and where we were. In the past, when a kid didn't get in, it was a surprise. The coaches had done their homework, knew where the kid was tracking academically and it would take, frankly, a screw up on the kid's part to not qualify. It now appears that it's almost a surprise that the kids get IN! I'm basing that on RichRod's own comments in this piece. That to me is just plain wrong. It's bad for the kid, it's bad for team, it's bad for the University, and I think it's bad for the HC. Whether RR survives this year or not almost isn't relevant. Recruiting this way feels wrong and I don't believe he can continue down this path.
MiamiBlue
Tue, Jun 29, 2010 : 10:21 a.m.
This is nothing new in college sports. The kid did not get in due to scores. Ok. He seems to have a good attitude and will work on it and hopefully get in by next winter. He is a QB anyway, and with Forcier, Robinson, Gardner his chances of playing QB this season were very slim. This happens folks! Hey, Chris Carters son had academic problems and had to leave OSU. Anyway, coach Rod will not catch a break with many anyway! Can you all imagine if they did let Jones in, despite his scores? I can read it now from all those who hate Coach Rod. (Oh, he cheated and let this kid in!) It is just a plain and simple fact in college sports that some make it in and others dont! Move On, and concentrate on the season to come! Lets GO BLUE
wvtroll
Tue, Jun 29, 2010 : 6:25 a.m.
I think one of the things that should be obvious is that if these 3 don't matter, no one is talking about them, and so on and so on, then the cupboard will continually be bare. You can use that excuse for the following three years when you get your next coach. Excuses should not be used to defend a non-producing coach, because the same old excuses get stale and it just makes the person using those excuses to appear desperate. Let the season play out and see where UM ends up. Prognostic comments will only come back and bite you next year, one way or the other.
81wolverine
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 10:15 p.m.
OK, more than 10% of this class not making it in here because of academics is very unusual and very high based on past recruiting classes. It may be a coincidence, but I'd say it should be a red flag to the athletic administrators. Of course I also understand how the coaches are fighting an uphill battle with recruiting now because of our win-loss record of late. Taking marginal kids is probably the result of that.
aarox
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 9:50 p.m.
metric you are correct as usual. sheesh. that was my GMAT. Is there anything you don't know?? So the other takeaway is that a 410-400 is good enough to get in to UM (and I suppose anywhere else if you play a position they need). That puts you roughly 1 sigma to the left of average. If the SAT is on a standard bell curve, that means, that means that this score is in the lowest 15.9%. Wiki seems to support this and says that an 810 score is the 15th percentile. 15th percentile! I thought we were smug because we stressed academics. Someone please correct me - and don't tell me that the other schools are like this too.
Robbie Webb
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 8:39 p.m.
Lemansblue, Harbaugh is not right for U of M, he wont leave Stanford anyways. And it's understandable why you don't understand why Rich Rod is still here, but you will after this season. At least I know that 3 is still pulling for the team to do well. But I can promise one thing, Harbaugh will not be here unless he's visiting or if Michigan plays Stanford.
Lemansblue
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 8:31 p.m.
3 Coach Harbaugh would be a great fit at Mi he knows the Big ten unlike the current coach. Just do not have the confidence in the decision makers at Mi right now hopefully DB will see that we hired the wrong coach but I cannot get why RR is still here. Nothing good has happened since he has been here.
Robbie Webb
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 8 p.m.
GoblueinNE_PA, this class is still as strong with out Kindard and Jones. They were not going to play anytime soon anyways. No one talked about them at all.
Robbie Webb
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 7:55 p.m.
Lemansblue, actually you and the others who don't like Rich Rod (for now) are the minority. This will not be a failed season, and I explained that to you a long time ago.
GoblueinNE_PA
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 7:36 p.m.
AZWolverine While I hate to agree w/MetricSU, I think he or she is right. This isn't a top 25 class w/these 3 out of it. It was barely top 25 before Dorsey signed, w/o him and the others...? Declining recruiting classes every year he's been here and horrible on field results. Not a recipe for long term survival.
heartbreakM
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 7:21 p.m.
Well, every team every year, pretty much, has similar things. LC used to have this, and look back at Rumeal Robinson and Terry Mills. So I don't think we can excoriate RR about this. (Problem is, I don't think this latest student could define or spell excoriate if his score is correct). The thing that troubles me about it, though, is that these guys still are supposed to be students at UM and that is not so easy. If they are having such trouble getting this minimum score needed to qualify, which is probably half the score of the rest of the general student body, how in the world are they going to survive in classes with the rest of the student body? My wife had a Yiddish literature class with three all-American linemen, and she said they all spoke intelligently, and while she does not know the grades they got, they participated as equals and competed quite nicely with the LSA students. No, not every player should or could do this, but if you struggle that bad on the SAT, it raises red flags about the ability to compete and survive at a school as rigorous as UM. What happens if these guys don't play football? They will not be in a situation where it is possible to succeed, which is not what admissions or the school wants, and it's not good for the student athletes. (Think of Bass who got injured--if he could not study and survive at UM, where would he be now? ).
3 And Out
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 7:01 p.m.
The 3rd member of the Rich Rod class of Desperation 2010 to not qualify. How depressing. That, unfortunately, is what happens though when you start recruiting out of desperation, rather than out of strength. These students keep talking about how they are committed to Michigan, but will Coach Harbaugh want that type of non qualifying student-athlete on next season's roster? Perhaps they will just follow Rich Rod to whatever ACC school that he ends up as the OC.
Lemansblue
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 6:21 p.m.
I think someone needs to tell RR he is not at WV anymore... but most of us wish he was still at WV. This should be the last season of this trainwreck conducted by RR. Cannot wait to we get a coach we can be proud of.
MetricSU
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 5:48 p.m.
aarox: I think you're getting old and your memory is failing. It used to be that 800 was the maximum on each part of the SAT -- 800 for math, 800 for reading. So the total possible used to be 1600. Now there is a writing part, too. I'm assuming the 810 is for the combined math and reading.
Robbie Webb
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 5:47 p.m.
azwolverine, the only big recruit we lost was Dorsey. These aren't ''Huge'' hits. Jones would not have played and Kinard can be easily replaced.
azwolverine
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 5:42 p.m.
Whatever our recruiting class was ranked, those numbers were skewed. The ranking had to have taken a major hit with these 3 recruits dropping off. Not helping to restock those 'bare cupboards.'
aarox
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 5:38 p.m.
Guess I'm out of the loop. When I got in, my SAT was 780. But the max was 800. What's happened so an 810 is needed? Guess I'm just old. Anyways, not why I wrote. We can banter back and forth on the facts [sic] of this particular case and I am fine with that. We lose a player to academics, that's ok. We are Meeechigan and we expect excellence in academics from our players. We have bigger problems to address. go blue!
Tom
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 5:38 p.m.
Conspiracy! aa.com must have an agenda against u-m and RR! Oops, that was the Det Free Press! This is beyond laughable! wolvie fans deserve every bit of embarrasment that comes from the hiring of RR.
MetricSU
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 5:35 p.m.
It does make one wonder where this class would've been ranked without Dorsey, Kinard, and Jones. Probably about 25 on Rivals.
Robbie Webb
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 4:25 p.m.
Haha! I love how nobowl thinks he can see into the future.
NoBowl4Blue
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 4:10 p.m.
Always something isn't it these last 2 1/2 years. How are all you Rich Rod lovers going to react when you lose the first 2 games of the season to Conn. & Irish?
GoblueinNE_PA
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 3:48 p.m.
This recruiting class is turning into a disaster.
Jeff Arnold
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 3:15 p.m.
Rockweezy, thanks for the heads up. I have corrected the error, but appreciate you letting me know.
InRichRodWeTrust
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 2:33 p.m.
Why is there no correction notice? How do the first few people that read this know it was altered from 'ACT" to "SAT"? Is aa.com using telepathy to alert readers of their mistakes?
Blue Marker
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 1:51 p.m.
....or go to MSU. Where you can serve time for asulting another student and still be on the football team. Sing it with me now "on the banks of the old red cedar.."
umgoblue47
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 1:40 p.m.
redceder1 bla bla bla-you are the joke of the day...
InsideTheHall
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 12:51 p.m.
When will RR figure out that this is Michigan NOT West Virginia. It time to get back to recruiting student/athletes.
andy
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 12:42 p.m.
haha thank you rockweezy. I was about to ask what the requirement for U of M was if he was 20 points short on his ACT. If it was a 30, that'd mean he got a 10. Which means he didn't even fill his name out correctly.
Forever27
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 12:33 p.m.
-begin anti-rodriguez/he's a terrible person/blah blah blah comments now. This sucks, but it's nothing new to college football or U of M.
Rockweezy
Mon, Jun 28, 2010 : 12:31 p.m.
Hey, Jeff, he was 20 points short on his SAT, not his ACT. He needed an 810 on his SAT, but fell 20 points short. By saying it was his ACT (which one can only get up to 36 points on), it portrays him as a horrible student, which he's not. Get an editor. Thanks.