Steve Threet, ex-Wolverine

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19Feb 2009
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Steve Threet, ex-Wolverine

Quarterback Steve Threet has decided to transfer from Michigan. He released a statement saying that he has received his release from the team and he will be looking to play football elsewhere.

Coming out of high school in 2007 as the #9 pro-style quarterback in the nation, he went to Georgia Tech. It’s still unclear why he didn’t continue his career as a Yellowjacket, but he transferred to Michigan after winter semester, supposedly to be the heir of the heir of Chad Henne. And that’s exactly what he was. Henne graduated after the 2007 season and Ryan Mallett was anointed the starter…until Mallett decided to transfer to Arkansas. Suddenly, a team that had four 4- and 5-star quarterbacks on its roster in summer 2007 (Henne, Mallett, Threet, and Jason Forcier, who transferred to Stanford) was down to one.

For a guy who was expected by most people to start the 2009 season at the top of the depth chart, this is a curious move. Admittedly, Threet did not fit the popular mold of Rich Rodriguez run-good-throw-bad quarterbacks. Still, for a 6’5″, 230 lb. quarterback, Threet moved well. His decision-making was suspect, but after all, he was a redshirt freshman in 2008. Even a read-option-bred kid would have had a difficult time in the Big Ten as a youngster.

The rumor is that Threet will end up at North Dakota State. I feel bad for Threet in a way, because this is not the way he saw his dream unfolding. At the same time, his notion of commitment is suspect. If he does indeed attend North Dakota State, that will be his third school in three years. I never heard a bad thing about the kid’s attitude while he was at Michigan, other than that he was having a hard time picking up the offense. He’s a hard worker, and he’s been through a lot. Hopefully he’ll be successful at North Dakota State and be the second coming of Matt Gutierrez.

10Feb 2009
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Jerald Robinson, Wolverine

Reports surfaced late Sunday evening that Jerald Robinson, a wide receiver from Canton South High School in Canton, OH, would commit to Michigan. This came as a bit of a surprise because many (including me) didn’t know Robinson had a Michigan offer. He’s a Rivals 250 to Watch player and, therefore, probably in line to be a 4-star recruit. On Monday he made it “official” by announcing it himself.

STATISTICS
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 175 lbs.
40 time: 4.59 seconds
Sophomore year: 600 yards, 4 TD’s
Junior year: 34 receptions, 756 yards, 7 TD’s. (Defense: 7 interceptions)

SCOUTING REPORT
From what I’ve seen of Robinson, he’s a good – not great – athlete. He’s willing and able to catch the ball in traffic, whether it’s across the middle or jump balls downfield. He’s not a great route runner, but that will probably come. His speed is reported at 4.59; considering that many high school players exaggerate their forty times, he’s probably closer to a 4.65 or so. He gets caught from behind too often for an elite athlete, so that’s a question mark. Also a solid safety prospect, he likes to come up and support the run. His physicality is evidenced by his willingness to be a downfield blocker.

PROJECTION
First of all, I will be somewhat surprised if Robinson is still committed to Michigan on Signing Day 2010. He is the third wide receiver commit for the class of 2010 and arguably the least talented. Early in the recruiting process, it was reported that he heavily favored Ohio State. Michigan offered Robinson (OSU hasn’t yet) and perhaps won his favor because of it, but that doesn’t mean he’ll favor Michigan for the remainder of the process. There are several other elite Michigan receivers on their board, and I foresee – unfortunately – a decommitment on his part or a Jordan Barnes-like mutual parting of ways. If Robinson does stay on board, he’s a physically mature receiver who might be ready to contribute early. However, with the glut of outside receivers expected to be on Michigan’s roster in 2010 (Hemingway, Clemons, Stonum, Roundtree, and fellow 2010 recruits Jeremy Jackson and Ricardo Miller), I doubt Robinson would contribute as a freshman. It’s quite possible that he’ll redshirt.

BEST CASE SCENARIO
Greg Mathews, minus the mediocre punt returns
22Jan 2009
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2009 Recruiting update

Here’s a list of players still on Michigan’s radar. They are listed in the order of their likelihood to pledge their allegiance to Michigan.

QUARTERBACK
Tate Forcier (Michigan commit, enrolled early) – Scripps Ranch, CA
Nader Furrha (enrolled early, preferred walk-on) – Ann Arbor, MI
Austin Dantin – Tallahassee, FL
Denard Robinson – Deerfield Beach, FL
Micah Hyde – Fostoria, OH

RUNNING BACK
Fitzgerald Toussaint (Michigan commit) – Trotwood, OH
Vincent Smith (Michigan commit, enrolled early) – Pahokee, FL

WIDE RECEIVER
Cameron Gordon (Michigan commit) – Inkster, MI
Teric Jones (Michigan commit) – Detroit, MI
Jeremy Gallon (Michigan commit) – Apopka, FL
Travante Stallworth (Auburn commit) – Leesville, LA
Je’Ron Stokes (Tennessee commit) – Philadelphia, PA
Terrell Mitchell – Powder Springs, GA
Terence Davis – Fremont, OH
Willie Haulstead (Florida State commit) – Titusville, FL

TIGHT END
None

OFFENSIVE LINE
Taylor Lewan (Michigan commit) – Scottsdale, AZ
Michael Schofield (Michigan commit) – Orland Park, IL
Marcus Hall – Cleveland, OH
Quinton Washington – St. Stephen, SC
Travis Bond – Windsor, NC
Henry Conway – Cleveland, OH

DEFENSIVE END
Anthony Lalota (Michigan commit, enrolled early) – Princeton, NJ
Craig Roh (Michigan commit) – Scottsdale, AZ
Sam Montgomery – Greenwood, SC
Bennie Logan – Coushatta, LA

DEFENSIVE TACKLE
William Campbell (Michigan commit, enrolled early) – Detroit, MI
Pearlie Graves (Michigan commit) – Tulsa, OK
DeQuinta Jones (Michigan commit) – Bastrop, LA

LINEBACKER
Brandin Hawthorne (Michigan commit, enrolled early) – Pahokee, FL
Barkevious Mingo – West Monroe, LA
Willie Ferrell – Tallahassee, FL

CORNERBACK
Justin Turner (Michigan commit) – Massillon, OH
Adrian Witty – Deerfield Beach, FL
Dennis Thames – Louisville, MS
Mike Edwards – Cleveland, OH
Dale Peterman – Youngstown, OH

SAFETY
Mike Jones (Michigan commit, enrolled early) – Orlando, FL
Isaiah Bell (Michigan commit) – Youngstown, OH
Thomas Gordon (Michigan commit) – Detroit, MI
Vladimir Emilien (Michigan commit) – Plantation, FL

KICKER
Brendan Gibbons (Michigan commit) – West Palm Beach, FL

12Jan 2009
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Official visit schedule (update)

These are the players confirmed to be visiting Ann Arbor in the weeks leading up to National Signing Day (February 4, 2009):

January 9-11
Cameron Gordon – WR/LB (committed to Michigan)
Barkevious Mingo – OLB/DE
Sam Montgomery – DE
Marcus Hall – OT
Michael Schofield – OT (committed to Michigan)
Denard Robinson – ATH
Adrian Witty – CB
Travante Stallworth – QB/WR

January 16-18
Jeremy Gallon – WR (committed to Michigan)
Bennie Logan – DE
Je’Ron Stokes – WR (soft commit to Tennessee)
Brendan Gibbons – K (committed to Michigan)

January 23-25
Dennis Thames – CB/S
DeQuinta Jones – DT (committed to Michigan)

9Jan 2009
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Avery Horn, ex-Wolverine

Avery Horn, a Californa kid who just finished his redshirt freshman season at Michigan, has decided to transfer to a school closer to home. Horn was a smallish running back recruited by Lloyd Carr, but he was probably destined to spend most of his career sitting on the bench except for an occasional kickoff return. Horn returned five kickoffs in 2008 for 108 yards, but he didn’t see a single offensive snap.

I was actually somewhat excited to see Horn play in the spread option offense. He’s fast and quick, but rumors out of practices suggested that he was slow to pick up the offense. With Kevin Grady, Brandon Minor, and Carlos Brown scheduled to run out of eligibility after 2009, Horn might have earned some playing time for 2010 and 2011. But when a kid is such a long way from home and not sniffing the field, I suppose that can get pretty depressing.

No indication has been given of what school Horn will attend. If he transfers to another FBS school, he’ll have to sit out the 2009 season and then he’ll have two years of eligibility remaining. I don’t think Horn will ever make it to the NFL, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him putting up decent numbers for a WAC team or even a Pac-10 team in the next couple years.