Quarterback Austin Dantin was one of many prospects that visited Mt. Pleasant this past weekend. What made Austin the highest valued and most unique recruit is that he was the only visitor who didn't have another athlete committed at his position. Over the weekend, CMU picked up two more verbal commitments, bringing the total to 27 verbals for 2009.

However, Dantin claims to be unaffected by the very tight scholarship situation for the Chippewas.

"That hasn't really affected me. CMU and Coach Jones have been very understanding of my situation. Like I told him, I don't want to commit to a school I don't want to commit to a school only to decommit later and go somewhere else. That's what I want to take my time."

Yet, the lack of a verbal commitment from Austin does not mean that he did not enjoy his visit to Mt. Pleasant.

"(The visit) went great. I really like the campus, the campus is beautiful. I also really liked the staff. Coach Jones, and the offensive coordinator, Coach Bajakian, are both really great guys. Both are family oriented, which I really like. I thought it all was incredible."

As was the case with the Florida Atlantic Owls in the Motor City Bowl, many Floridians make the trip up to Michigan and have their first encounter with snow. This was not the case for Austin.

"Once a year my family will take a skiing trip out to Colorado, so I've been around snow before," laughed Austin.

Taking Austin around snow-covered was none other than the poster boy for CMU athletics, Dan LeFevour.

"Dan is a great, great guy. He's very down to earth, very personable. He's great to talk to and he sets a great example both on and off the field. I actually knew a lot about him before I met him. When I got all of my letters from CMU, all the coaches would talk about the kind of success he has had as a quarterback for CMU. He's done a lot, his stats speak for themselves. He's an incredible quarterback."

LeFevour escorted Austin around on a number of different activities that included a standard tour of the campus, a stop at CMU's athletic academics office, and even a stop at Coach Jones' house.

"We toured the campus, saw the athletic facilities, and the rec center up there. They drove us around the town. We toured the engineering building and the new health professions building with the physical therapy area. So, there was two majors that I am looking at going into. We went to (Mountain Town) for dinner, and then we were lucky enough to have dessert at Coach Jones' house. We also went to some of the players apartments to watch the NFL championship games."

Although Dantin left Mt. Pleasant without verballing, his experiences at CMU had enough of an impact to create significant movement in his top three.

"Right now, obviously CMU is at the top. Next would be Michigan, and Toledo and App State are after that."

The Wolverines made it into Dantin's top three despite not yet having offered him a scholarship. Dantin reports that he is in fact taking an official visit to Michigan next weekend. His plan is to visit Michigan on Friday and Saturday night, then make the drive down to Toledo on Sunday, and making the trip back to Florida on Monday.

When asked whether or not a Michigan offer would change his previously discussed top three, Dantin was not able to give an answer.

"I don't know, I've been talking with U of M's recruiting coordinator and he said its basically between me and another quarterback that is making the trip up there. So, I guess its whoever Coach Rodriguez decides. I plan on making my decision three or four days before signing day.

Stick with ChippewaCountry.com for the latest in Austin Dantin's recruitment.


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