Displaced Michigan OT Commit Erik Swenson Finds Blueblood Landing with Oklahoma

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

All is well that ends well, as the old saying goes, and such appears to be true for Illinois offensive tackle Erik Swenson. On Saturday, the 4-star recruit verbally committed to the Oklahoma Sooners after having his scholarship pulled by Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh just days earlier.

The ugly side of recruiting does not come out often but it happens more than most people realize. An institution of high learning setup to help teach, mold, and guide our nation’s youth, and normally funded in a large part by tax payers’ monies, acts less the adult with business ethics and more like a cutthroat business. Last year Bobby Petrino mislead a recruit about having a scholarship waiting for him at Louisville and this year Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh is the evil-doer on the recruiting trail so far. Harbaugh has pulled several scholarships in the last couple of weeks ahead of the Feb.3 National Signing Day deadline looking for the perceived bigger-better deal.

On Jan. 20, Swenson was caught in Harbaugh’s crosshairs after committing to the Wolverines on Nov. 25, 2013.

The Chicago suburb product was not on the market for long. Despite his two-plus yearlong commitment to Michigan, other offers had come through from programs like Alabama, Northwestern, Ohio State, Illinois, Akron, and Notre Dame. Swenson’s release back on the market brought immediate attention with the Downers Grove South High School star heading to Wisconsin on an unofficial on Jan. 22. On Jan. 26, Oklahoma visited setting up an official visit for the weekend. On Jan. 30, the Sooners had landed another prized offensive line talent.

Oklahoma now has 18 verbal commitments to their 2016 class with Swenson becoming the fifth offensive lineman in the group. Oklahoma is fairly set on the offensive front, at linebacker, cornerback, and at wide receiver. Expect a couple of defensive linemen to join the mix, possibly another defensive end, and safety by the time National Signing Day is completed.

Oklahoma Sooners 2016 Verbal Commitment List (18)

CB Parrish Cobb, 5’11”, 175 lbs, La Vega HS, Waco, TX

CB Jordan Parker, 5’11”, 180 lbs, Pittsburg Senior, Pittsburg, CA

FS Chanse Sylvie, 6’0”, 185 lbs, Calvary Baptist HS, Shreveport, LA

LB Emmanuel Beal, 6’2”, 215 lbs, Lackawanna C.C., Scranton, PA

LB Kapri Doucet, 6’2”, 225 lbs, Lackawanna C.C., Scranton, PA

LB/DE Jon-Michael Terry, 6’2”, 225 lbs, Victory Christian HS, Tulsa, OK

LB Bryce Youngquist, 6’2”, 210 lbs, Los Osos HS, Rancho Cucamonga, CA

DE Amani Bledsoe, 6’5”, 272 lbs, Lawrence HS, Lawrence, KS

OT Ashton Julious, 6’8”, 330 lbs, Lackawanna C.C., Scranton, PA

OT Bennett Powers, 6’5”, 315 lbs, Butler C.C., El Dorado, KS

OT Erik Swenson, 6’7”, 285 lbs, Downers Grove South HS, Downers Grove, IL

OG Logan Roberson, 6’5”, 318 lbs, Harrah HS, Harrah, OK

OG Johncarlo Valentin, 6’5”, 337 lbs, Imhotep Institute, Philadelphia, PA

QB Austin Kendall, 6’2”, 210 lbs, Cuthbertson HS, Waxhaw, NC

RB Abdul Adams, 5’11”, 200 lbs, Hillside HS, Durham, NC

WR/DB Parnell Motley, 6’1”, 180 lbs, Woodson H.D., Washington, D.C.

WR Ryan Parker, 6’2”, 180 lbs, Tyler J.C., Tyler, TX

ATH/WR Adrian Hardy, 6’3”, 185 lbs, Dekaney HS, Houston, TX

 

Photo credit: gbmwolverine.com; No. 77 Erik Swenson in action.