Michigan defensive end Rashan Gary has spent his final season at the University of Michigan. It was announced today that he would be skipping his senior year to enter the 2019 NFL Draft, which most people expected.
Gary was the #1 overall recruit in the 2016 class. During his career at Michigan, he has made 136 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, and 1 forced fumble.
Gary’s college career did not develop as expected. While he was solid and took on a lot of double-teams, which helped to limit his production, those career numbers are not as productive as most expected when the Wolverines landed the #1 recruit in the nation. Consider that his predecessor at the strongside end position, Chris Wormley, finished his career with 122 tackles, 32.5 tackles for loss, and 18 sacks in four years (for an apples-to-apples comparison, his first three years netted 83 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, and 12 sacks). Wormley was a 3rd round pick by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2017 NFL Draft with 11 tackles and 1 sack so far in his pro career so far.
Gary’s best days might be ahead of him, and he’s someone Michigan fans should be proud of for wearing the winged helmet. Gary carries himself with class, stays away from negative attention, and by all accounts, has an excellent work ethic. I look forward to watching his NFL career.
Meanwhile, there will be several candidates to replace him in 2019, including Kwity Paye (who played quite a bit when Gary suffered a shoulder injury this year), Aidan Hutchinson, Carlo Kemp (who played defensive tackle this year because he didn’t want to ride the bench behind Gary), and others.
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His combine will keep him in the first round. I have to be honest though, I’m with folks that are less than impressed with his UM production. Hopefully it was injury-related, and his NFL dreams come true
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Wormley was an all-conference player and won DL MVP twice (ahead of 1st round picks). In short – he had a great career at Michigan and was a high draft pick in the NFL where he is playing well.
The Wormley vs Gary comparison in 3 years is instructive:
83 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, and 12 sacks
vs.
136 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, and 1 forced fumble
Gary pretty much matched Wormley, without the red-shirt.
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If anyone finds this disappointing…I don’t think the issue there is Gary’s play.
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You are right on point here. The big difference were the huge expectations that Gary carried into it. Some people were already whispering “bust” when Gary didn’t start over Wormley his freshman year. It’s just an unfair (or unrealistic) standard.
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Exactly. We all know recruiting rankings are wobbly. There’s a range of outcomes from all-american to bust.
Thunder detailed things here:
https://touch-the-banner.com/a-history-of-1-rated-recruits/
Expecting an all-american is no less unreasonable than expecting a bust. Therefore, it’s just as reasonable to say Gary overachieved as it is to say he disappointed.
Gary – as an all-conference player and D-line MVP and projected 1st round NFL pick – is right in line for typical outcomes of a #1 recruit. He met expectations. He lived up to the hype. Not much better, not much worse.
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I seem to remember Wormley got better with experience and as he matured which met or exceeded expectations of him.
The expectations for Gary were huge like he was to be shot out of a cannon. This year obviously he was hampered by injuries, none the less (as you show Lank) his stats were comparable without adding whatever he could accomplish next year. Good luck to him.
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I’m not insulting the guy. I liked Gary and thought he played well, making opposing coaches account for him. That’s really good. Did he live up to expectations? Depends on who you ask. I didn’t expect Lawrence Taylor or even Brandon Graham, but I did think we’d get quite a few WOW moments, a bit more big plays in big games
I don’t think that is extreme, unfair, or ungrateful. Just a fan’s opinion
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“I’m less than impressed with your play” sounds like an insult to me.
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For the thin-skinned, a differing opinion can come off as insulting
That’s out of my control
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