Tag: attrition

Stephen Hopkins, Ex-Wolverine

Spring 2010: Walk-on Phil Monolo, Stephen Hopkins, Michael Shaw, coach Fred Jackson, Fitzgerald Toussaint, John McColgan, and Vincent Smith

Junior fullback Stephen Hopkins has left the football program.  He tweeted that he would get his degree from Michigan.  Hopkins was recruited by former Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez to play tailback in the spread offense, but he was just occasionally effective as a runner.  As a freshman in 2010, he had 37 carries for 151 yards (4.1 yards/carry) and 4 touchdowns.  When Brady Hoke arrived in 2011, that signaled a move to fullback for Hopkins, who proceeded to run just 11 times for 43 yards (3.9 yards/carry) as a sophomore, along with 1 catch for 28 yards.  Hopkins played as a blocking fullback in 2012 but never touched the ball.  Altogether, he ends his Michigan career with 48 carries for 194 yards (4.0 yards/carry) and 4 touchdowns, with that 1 reception for 28 yards added on.

Hopkins’s departure is one of the losses that I had heard to be rumored last offseason.  Hopkins seemed not to be thrilled with the fullback’s role in the offense, since he came to Michigan to be a tailback.  He decided to give it one more go in 2012, but his commitment seemed to be iffy.  He lost playing time to a less physically talented player in the form of redshirt freshman Joey Kerridge, and not touching the ball all year likely bothered him.  By comparison, Kerridge had 1 reception for 12 yards against Nebraska and was targeted a couple more times throughout the year, in particular on a wheel route against Notre Dame.  Hopkins did a poor job of blocking in the Ohio State game, and it seemed like he wasn’t really giving 100%.

Hopkins’s departure leaves just two fullbacks on the roster – Kerridge and freshman Sione Houma.  Sophomore Thomas Rawls might have the ability to contribute some at fullback, and 2013 recruit Wyatt Shallman has some potential there, too.  However, this shouldn’t be a huge concern, because the fullback position can often be filled by walk-ons and position-switchers.

This is the 14th member of the 2010 recruiting class to depart early from Rich Rodriguez’s largely doomed class.  The class of juniors and redshirt sophomores is already down by more than 50%, and a couple remaining members of that same class have yet to see the field (Jordan Paskorz, Ken Wilkins).  However, this opens up a 24th scholarship for the class of 2013.  The coaches are expected to take at least 25 commitments in February.

David Dawson, Ex-Wolverine

David Dawson (#55)

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech offensive guard David Dawson decommitted from Michigan on Sunday morning.  He had been flirting with visiting other schools – particularly Florida – for months, and he has decided to visit Gainesville this coming weekend.  During the summer, quite a stink was caused when he was at The Opening in Oregon and mentioned that he wanted to visit Florida.  The coaches put a stop to that flirtation at that point, and some people assumed that would be the end of it.  However, Dawson’s comments about that incident and his attitude in general made me think that he would continue to be one to watch.

Head coach Brady Hoke has a policy that any players committed to Michigan shouldn’t visit other schools; if they do, their scholarship offer will be rescinded.  Obviously, Dawson broke that commitment when he decided to visit the Gators.  I have no problem with Hoke’s policy at all.  He wants guys who are 100% committed to Michigan.  At the same time, I hold no ill will toward Dawson for wanting to look around – kids making the biggest decisions of their lives should consider all their options before they’re past the point of no return.  Unfortunately, he made a decision for Michigan before he was 100% sure.

As you might have concluded from my past posts and comments (see his commitment post), I’m not a huge fan of Dawson’s abilities.  Obviously, some of the recruiting services disagree with me, as he’s a top 250 prospect to all four major recruiting services; I gave him a TTB Rating of 67 (a.k.a. an average Big Ten starter).  I think he could have earned a starting job later in his career at Michigan, but I didn’t see a path toward stardom for him.  In that respect, this shouldn’t be a huge loss for Michigan.

However, now the Wolverines will have to regroup and go after another offensive lineman to fill the class.  All of Michigan’s offensive line offerees have committed elsewhere except Laremy Tunsil, who’s not considering Michigan.  Lemont (IL) Lemont offensive tackle Ethan Pocic and New Lenox (IL) Lincoln-Way West offensive tackle Colin McGovern were both very high on Michigan before committing to LSU and Notre Dame, respectively.  Those are the two offerees that I would keep an eye on to see if they reconsider their choices.  If the coaches are expanding their recruitment, options could include Penn State decommitment Dorian Johnson, Canton (MI) Canton offensive guard Cameron Dillard, or Huber Heights (OH) Wayne offensive guard Lovell Peterson.

Michigan now has 22 commitments in the class of 2013.

Tamani Carter, Ex-Wolverine

Tamani Carter at the spring game

Head coach Brady Hoke announced at Media Day that redshirt freshman defensive back Tamani Carter has left the team.  No reason was given, and no future destination is known at this point.

Carter committed to Michigan in January 2011, the first guy to commit to Michigan after Hoke was hired.  He came from Pickerington (OH) Central, the same program that will send defensive end Taco Charlton to the Wolverines in the class of 2013.  Carter was a somewhat low-level recruit that Michigan stole from the Minnesota Gophers.  ESPN had him ranked as a 2-star, a designation that seems to be given less and less in the last year or two.  I gave him a TTB Rating of 62 when he was recruited and I ranked him #78 in the 2012 Season Countdown, so not much was expected of him.

Carter redshirted last season and missed a chunk of spring practice because he was involved with Josh Furman’s legal issues.  Carter was unlikely to play much (or at all) this season.  Both starters at safety return, and a couple highly touted recruits are waiting in the wings (Furman and Marvin Robinson).  Michigan also brought in three freshman safeties, one of whom (Jarrod Wilson) leapfrogged Carter on the depth chart in the spring.

Michigan now has 22 scholarships to give for the class of 2013, though the class is expected to reach a size of 24 or more.  By the way, Carter was the player I alluded to when I mentioned in a mailbag post that an underclassman might leave the team.  He is the sixth member of the 20-person class of 2011 to leave the team after Chris Barnett, Greg Brown, Kellen Jones, Tony Posada, and Chris Rock.

How will the recent departures affect Michigan in 2012?

Darryl Stonum is Michigan’s biggest off-season loss

Several football players have left Michigan’s program this offseason, including four announced departures during Friday’s spring practice press conference.  Here I’ll rank the departures from most important to least:

WR Darryl Stonum: Stonum was booted out of the program for yet another run-in with the law.  He had several alcohol-related offenses throughout his college career and was suspended for the entirety of the 2011 season, which would have been his senior year.  Instead, he took a “redshirt year” and everyone hoped he would mature and jump back into a starting role for 2012.  In 2010 he had 49 receptions for 633 yards and 4 touchdowns.  He probably could have approximated those numbers again in 2012 because he would have been the most proven and most physically talented wide receiver on the roster.  The Wolverines lost Junior Hemingway, Martavious Odoms, and Kelvin Grady to graduation, who combined for 46 receptions, 908 yards, and 7 touchdowns.  Now the top two wideouts going into 2012 seem to be the 5’8″ Jeremy Gallon (31 receptions, 453 yards, 3 touchdowns) and Roy Roundtree (19 receptions, 355 yards, 2 touchdowns).  The loss of Stonum will hurt Michigan significantly.

C Rocko Khoury: Khoury was considered to be in the mix for the starting center job in 2012.  He had been the top backup at the position for the past two seasons, and with David Molk’s graduation, there was an opening.  Most of the buzz this offseason indicated that Ricky Barnum was the front-runner for the position, and perhaps that was because the coaches knew for a while that Khoury would not return.  I would be interested to know why Khoury is done at Michigan.  Did he burn out?  Did he assume he would lose the battle with Khoury?  Will he continue his career elsewhere?  The answers to those questions are unclear.  It is clear, however, that the Wolverines are dangerously thin at center now.  Barnum – who has a history of getting injured –  is practically guaranteed to start at center, and the backup is redshirt freshman Jack Miller, who was listed at 263 lbs. last season.  Other options are Elliott Mealer, who has played guard and tackle in his career and taken some practice; walk-on Joey Burzynski; or one of the true freshmen, although none of them was expected to play center when recruited.  Considering Barnum’s injury history, one or more backups are practically guaranteed to play at some point.

WR Terrence Robinson: Robinson was a virtual non-factor as a wide receiver (1 reception for 43 yards in 2010), but he turned into a bit of a special teams coverage demon in 2011.  He made a total of 6 tackles, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery on punt and kickoff coverage teams.  Some insiders believed that he even had a good shot at contributing on offense, based on comments that some of the coaches had made.  Robinson’s role can likely be filled on special teams, however, and history suggests that any offensive output would probably have been minimal.

RB Michael Cox: Cox contributed very little in Michigan’s 11-2 season last fall; the most he did was return a couple short kickoffs.  He had 19 career carries for 169 yards and 2 touchdowns, most of which came in 2009.  While Cox gave flashes that he might have been the most physically talented running back on the roster, rumors persisted that he struggled to learn the playbook and had some attitude issues.  He did play very well whenever he got a chance to show his skills, but all indications seemed to be that he would be see only limited duty again in 2012.  Of the six players listed here, Cox is the only one who has announced plans to continue his career elsewhere; he will transfer to UMass and play football for the upcoming season.

LB Isaiah Bell: Bell had been moored to the bench for the last three seasons.  He was likely destined to continue that role as a benchwarmer, and his departure should have virtually no effect on the team.

LS George Morales: Much like Bell, Morales hadn’t seen the field yet in his career.  The Wolverines have a couple long snappers already on the roster, one of whom (Jareth Glanda) won the starting short snapper job last season for field goals and extra points; there are also a couple kids entering school as part of the 2012 class who might be able to help if needed.

Michael Cox is transferring to UMass

According to Wolverine Nation, running back Michael Cox will be graduating at the end of the semester and transferring to UMass, where he will go to graduate school and play football.  UMass will be playing its first season in the FBS after moving up from the FCS level.  They will be a member of the Mid-American Conference . . . and they happen to be playing at Michigan on September 15th of the upcoming season.

So Michigan fans haven’t seen the last of Michael Cox.