Desperate times for a desperate man.
Rich Rodriguez, who has won all of eight games in two seasons as Michigan coach, announced the signing Wednesday of Demar Dorsey, a defensive back with some unwelcome baggage.
Dorsey, from Lauderdale Lakes, Fla., was charged with two felonies a month apart in Broward County in 2008. He was arrested July 21, 2008 and charged with robbery with a deadly weapon. He was 16 at the time but was charged as an adult. Bond was set at $50,000. Dorsey went to trial that November and was acquitted, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The second charge of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling came on Aug. 22, 2008. Bond was set at $3,500. Prosecutors dismissed the charge that December but online records did not indicate why, according to the newspaper.
"Anytime there's a situation, we look at it," Rodriguez said. "We have found out the whole story. A lot of times there's more to the story than what people understand. You have to look at the whole story. If a guy is in the wrong place at the wrong time and made the mistake of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, all right, then you have to look at why he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But you don't pass judgment on him when he did that as a juvenile.
"There's nobody on this football team that we've signed that has a felony conviction. So you have to look at the whole story before you pass judgment. Or misdemeanor conviction."
Freep columnist Drew Sharp says Rich Rod is taking a huge gamble:
"Is Rodriguez that desperate following only eight victories in his first two seasons that he will take a player who, if he just hiccups inappropriately at U-M, could become the poster child for a football program's standards crumbling into dust?"
Rich Rod has other problems. The Michigan Board of Regents held a special session Wednesday to discuss the NCAA investigation into possible training violations in the football program. The hastily called meeting was closed to the public, but observers say the probe appears to be drawing to a close.
Rich Rod's contract stipulates that he will be dismissed if he is responsible for major violations of NCAA rules.
RichRod is such a horrible fit for Michigan. Can you see Bo or Lloyd Carr recruiting and defending a kid with that kind of baggage? I sure can't. I just don't see the Wolverine program turning around under Rodriguez.
Posted by: Will Smithrock | February 05, 2010 at 10:59 PM