Michigan defensive end Reuben Jones has put his name into the transfer portal. As a rising fifth-year senior, he should be eligible to play elsewhere immediately, meaning there’s very little downside to him transferring.
Hit the jump for more.
Jones committed to Michigan as a part of the 2015 transition year into the Jim Harbaugh era. He had previously been committed to Nebraska, and Michigan stole him away. I gave him a TTB Rating of 67 when he committed in late January of 2015 (LINK), and he was the #783 overall player in the 247 Composite that year, which places him at #291 on Michigan’s all-time recruiting rankings list (LINK). Jones started off his career by redshirting. He was named some variety of Scout Team Player of the Week several times, but he played in just eleven games throughout his career, making 7 tackles and 1 tackle for loss.
This development is probably best for all parties. Now Jones can find a program where the school hasn’t already recruited past him, and Michigan can open up a scholarship for a player more likely to contribute.
Michigan has just one scholarship player remaining from that 2015 recruiting class, and that’s offensive tackle Jon Runyan, Jr. The Wolverines are now down to 87 scholarship players listed on the roster, meaning just two more players need to disappear in order to get down to 85 (LINK).
A brief recap of that 2015 class:
- QB Alex Malzone transferred to Miami-OH
- RB Karan Higdon played all four years at Michigan
- WR Grant Perry played all four years at Michigan
- TE Zach Gentry left after 2018 for the NFL Draft
- TE Tyrone Wheatley, Jr. transferred to Stony Brook
- OL Grant Newsome retired due to a career-ending knee injury
- OL Jon Runyan, Jr. will presumably remain at a starter at Michigan in 2019
- OL Nolan Ulizio recently announced a transfer to Pitt
- DE Shelton Johnson got suspended and eventually quit football
- DE Reuben Jones is transferring
- CB Keith Washington transferred to West Virginia
- S Brian Cole transferred to East Mississippi Community College and then Mississippi State
- S Tyree Kinnel played all four years at Michigan
- K Andrew David transferred to TCU and is now transferring again
Of the 14 players in that class, only 6 played their entire college careers for Michigan, and one of those had a career cut short by injury. Seven players transferred/are transferring, and one quit football.
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That might look bad at first blush but I think it’s a fairly typical hit rate for the class. 5 of 14 turned into 4-year guys who were starters or key contributors. Counting what Wheatley and Newsome brought to the team (more than most who stick around for 4 years), that’s 50% of recruits “making it” in some form. Maybe a bit low but probably pretty typical. Small class.
Even in an era where getting somebody for 5 years is increasingly rare, having only a single 5th year senior (Runyan, a legacy) is a handicap for the program. Some would see this as an indictment of Harbaugh. Others would see it as justification for patience with any head coach, to get 4 or 5 years to iron out transition issues and stabilize the roster depth and get that cultural continuity going.
Either way, it’ll be good to see this number rise in 2020, particularly along the OL and DL. Getting the number up to 4 or 5 would be nice.
I’m probably missing a few but to the best of my knowledge these are the potential 5th year candidates in 2020:
Wilson (walk on)
Eubanks (eligible?)
Spanellis
Dwumfour
Kemp
Hart
Nordin (strong transfer candidate)
Peters (strong transfer candidate)
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The latest in a long line of “I trust the coaches”, “stars don’t matter” guys under Harbaugh.
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Who cares? He was a late addition in a transition year in a 14-man class.
And in truth, the latest guy in that line is probably Ronnie Bell, who had 2 touchdown catches as a true freshman and averaged 18.1 yards per catch.
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I wouldn’t mind more guys like Mo Hurst, Willie Henry, Jeremy Clark, Channing Stribling, and Karan Higdon.
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Our coaches are good. Sometimes they settle for 3-star recruits because Michigan isn’t Alabama.
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