Sauce Gardner is one of the best defensive backs in recent college football history and was drafted No. 4 overall in the NFL Draft. However, he was turned away by Michigan because of former defensive coordinator Don Brown’s ridiculous policy for recruiting.
The Wolverines missed out on a generational talent because of his size.
To be fair, Gardner was only considered to be a three-star prospect. He was the 144th-ranked player at his position and the 33rd-ranked player in the state. It’s not like he was seen as a can’t-miss recruit with offers from every school in the country. His best offers were from Kentucky, Iowa State and Indiana.
Still, anyone who watched him play at Martin Luther King High School in Detroit knew that Gardner was legit. A local coach like Brown should’ve seen his ceiling. Just watch the tape!
Sauce Gardner ultimately went to Cincinnati and was named as the AAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2021. Offenses rarely threw in his direction and he still managed to record 40 tackles, three sacks and three interceptions. It was a joy to watch him play. His career was incredible.
Michigan could’ve recruited Sauce Gardner and likely landed him. Don Brown, currently the head coach at UMass, told the 6-foot-3, 188-pound corner that he was too skinny to play for the Wolverines.
I'll never forget when the DC at Michigan when I was in highschool told me "we don't offer tall/skinner corners". I can't even stick up for them😂 https://t.co/Ff9Uasg40C
— SAUCE GARDNER (@iamSauceGardner) September 7, 2024
There is a reason that Brown no longer works in Ann Arbor. It is honestly surprising that he lasted four years while using such an asinine strategy for recruiting.
Gardner said he was told something to the extent of: “we only offer short/stocky cornerbacks” at a camp in high school. Brown watched him tear it up and still turned him away because he was not big enough. There was never any further thought. Just like that, Michigan passed!