After decommitting from Notre Dame, Gervin has five new finalists, which includes Michigan State
Kalon Gervin's college football decision - Chapter 2 - should be coming soon.
The Detroit Cass Tech 2018 four-star defensive back, who made a verbal commitment to Notre Dame in February and rescinded that decision in May, reopened his recruitment and expects to pick a new school by August.
"I had to figure out what I wanted from this process," Gervin, a 5-foot-11, 180-pounder, said Monday at Cass Tech. "It was an extremely tough decision (to decommit). I went through it with my mom and Coach (Thomas) Wilcher. I had to ask them for advice, of course."
Gervin, the state's No. 2 recruit and 198th overall national prospect by 247Sports, did not offer specific details regarding the Irish.
"Nothing against Notre Dame. It just wasn't the right fit," he said. "I'm not trying to bash Notre Dame. That's a good school. I'm not trying to put them out there like that."
Gervin has narrowed his new finalists to Michigan State, Louisville, Oklahoma, Oregon and Virginia Tech. He's also still considering Florida, Pittsburgh and TCU.
He said the decision to reopen his recruitment was not well received by the coaching staff in South Bend.
"They were upset, but it's OK," Gervin said. "It's a business. Anything can happen. They didn't stay upset for a long time."
Wilcher, a former football player at Michigan, wasn't shocked by his standout's change of mind.
"Kalon Gervin has visited a lot of different schools; he's camped at a lot of different schools," Wilcher said. "To me, when a kid commits early, sometimes he takes away his opportunities to see the world. A lot of schools will say, 'Hey, you can't go to other places. You've got to only be here.' To stay committed for a long period of time, with people pulling on you, it's difficult.
"Gervin made a decision he felt was best for him. It made him feel more complete. I don't think Notre Dame is completely out of the picture. It just gives him an opportunity to look around. I hope Notre Dame still recruits him. He's got good grades, good test scores, everything. He's the type of kid who can go to any college and contribute."
Gervin has made unofficial visits to all his finalists, except Oklahoma, which he plans to visit for a barbecue on July 24.
"Those are the schools I'm really focusing on," he said of his finalists. "I can picture myself playing at all of them. They meet all my criteria. It's really equal. I can't say that I like one school over another right now."
Gervin, who wore an Oregon jacket to Cass Tech on Monday, recently made an unofficial visit to Eugene. He also plans to compete at The Opening Finals presented by Nike Football beginning Wednesday in Beaverton, Ore.
"I really like Oregon," he said. "Oregon is a great place. I could see myself going there."
Gervin also praised Michigan State.
"They'll always be family," he said. "I talk to Coach (Mark) Dantonio here and there. They'll always have a place in my heart. I've been going up there since seventh grade. Michigan State is a great place."
Despite the Spartans' 3-9 finish last year, combined with allegations of sexual assault by former players, Gervin plans to give MSU a hard look.
"There's a lot of stuff going on at State, but you can't put that on yourself," he said. "I can't base my life decisions off what somebody else did. That has nothing to do with it."
Gervin said the Wolverines are not in the picture.
"When I committed to Notre Dame, Michigan stopped hitting me up," he explained. "Michigan didn't recruit me as hard as I thought they were going to."
Full story
Kalon Gervin's college football decision - Chapter 2 - should be coming soon.
The Detroit Cass Tech 2018 four-star defensive back, who made a verbal commitment to Notre Dame in February and rescinded that decision in May, reopened his recruitment and expects to pick a new school by August.
"I had to figure out what I wanted from this process," Gervin, a 5-foot-11, 180-pounder, said Monday at Cass Tech. "It was an extremely tough decision (to decommit). I went through it with my mom and Coach (Thomas) Wilcher. I had to ask them for advice, of course."
Gervin, the state's No. 2 recruit and 198th overall national prospect by 247Sports, did not offer specific details regarding the Irish.
"Nothing against Notre Dame. It just wasn't the right fit," he said. "I'm not trying to bash Notre Dame. That's a good school. I'm not trying to put them out there like that."
Gervin has narrowed his new finalists to Michigan State, Louisville, Oklahoma, Oregon and Virginia Tech. He's also still considering Florida, Pittsburgh and TCU.
He said the decision to reopen his recruitment was not well received by the coaching staff in South Bend.
"They were upset, but it's OK," Gervin said. "It's a business. Anything can happen. They didn't stay upset for a long time."
Wilcher, a former football player at Michigan, wasn't shocked by his standout's change of mind.
"Kalon Gervin has visited a lot of different schools; he's camped at a lot of different schools," Wilcher said. "To me, when a kid commits early, sometimes he takes away his opportunities to see the world. A lot of schools will say, 'Hey, you can't go to other places. You've got to only be here.' To stay committed for a long period of time, with people pulling on you, it's difficult.
"Gervin made a decision he felt was best for him. It made him feel more complete. I don't think Notre Dame is completely out of the picture. It just gives him an opportunity to look around. I hope Notre Dame still recruits him. He's got good grades, good test scores, everything. He's the type of kid who can go to any college and contribute."
Gervin has made unofficial visits to all his finalists, except Oklahoma, which he plans to visit for a barbecue on July 24.
"Those are the schools I'm really focusing on," he said of his finalists. "I can picture myself playing at all of them. They meet all my criteria. It's really equal. I can't say that I like one school over another right now."
Gervin, who wore an Oregon jacket to Cass Tech on Monday, recently made an unofficial visit to Eugene. He also plans to compete at The Opening Finals presented by Nike Football beginning Wednesday in Beaverton, Ore.
"I really like Oregon," he said. "Oregon is a great place. I could see myself going there."
Gervin also praised Michigan State.
"They'll always be family," he said. "I talk to Coach (Mark) Dantonio here and there. They'll always have a place in my heart. I've been going up there since seventh grade. Michigan State is a great place."
Despite the Spartans' 3-9 finish last year, combined with allegations of sexual assault by former players, Gervin plans to give MSU a hard look.
"There's a lot of stuff going on at State, but you can't put that on yourself," he said. "I can't base my life decisions off what somebody else did. That has nothing to do with it."
Gervin said the Wolverines are not in the picture.
"When I committed to Notre Dame, Michigan stopped hitting me up," he explained. "Michigan didn't recruit me as hard as I thought they were going to."
Full story
