Darryl Stonum, ex-Wolverine

Tag: attrition


17Jan 2012
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Darryl Stonum, ex-Wolverine

Michigan’s class of 2008 participants in the Under Armour All-America Game:
Darryl Stonum, Christian Wilson, Dann O’Neill, and Brandon Moore.

Wide receiver Darryl Stonum was booted off the team today.  I’m not going to go through his litany of legal issues, but he had some alcohol- and probation-related offenses in the past that caused him to be suspended for the entirety of the 2011 season.  Head coach Brady Hoke hoped that the suspension would give Stonum a chance to get his life in order, but that obviously wasn’t the case.

Stonum’s final season of eligibility would have been 2012, so he leaves with one year remaining.  He had 76 career receptions for 1,008 yards and 6 touchdowns in his three years of play, with a school single-season record of 1,001 kickoff return yards (94 of which came on a TD return against Notre Dame) in 2009.  It’s unclear whether he will try to enter the NFL Draft or whether he will transfer to a lower division and play college ball next season.  My guess is that he will end up at an FCS school and try to make it to the NFL in 2013.

Michigan is now even thinner at wide receiver, a position that couldn’t really afford further attrition.  Junior Hemingway, Martavious Odoms, and Kelvin Grady have played their final year at Michigan, leaving rising senior Roy Roundtree, rising junior Jeremy Gallon, rising junior Jeremy Jackson, rising junior Drew Dileo, and a bunch of young’ns who haven’t seen the field at all; class of 2012 receivers Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh will have an even better chance of play this fall than they previously had.  Gallon is tiny, Jackson is slow, and Dileo is a little of both, so there’s no clear-cut successor at the outside receiver position.

There are some more potential options in the class of 2012, with Cincinnati (OH) Moeller’s Monty Madaris and Westlake Village (CA) Oaks Christian’s Jordan Payton both flirting with Michigan.  Madaris had potentially eliminated Michigan from contention, but this opens the door to playing time a little quicker.  Meanwhile, Payton is “committed” to the California Golden Bears, but their lead recruiter Tosh Lupoi just left for the Washington Huskies and Payton is rethinking his pledge.  Of course, there’s also the potential for more receivers to grab offers from Michigan or for the coaches to bank the scholarship for 2013.  However – and I questioned this at the time – Brady Hoke chose to bank a scholarship for 2012 instead of taking class of 2011 receiver Devin Lucien, who chose UCLA instead.  Lucien redshirted this past season for the Bruins, but he would have been another option for Michigan in 2012.

(I just happened to find the above picture interesting for its irrelevance to Michigan now.  Stonum was a huge disappointment and got booted, Wilson de-committed for North Carolina and now is a mediocre Tarheel H-back, O’Neill transferred to Western Michigan, and Brandon Moore has been an ineffective backup TE who has 2 career receptions.)

2Nov 2011
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Carvin Johnson, ex-Wolverine

Carvin Johnson against UConn in 2010

Sophomore safety Carvin Johnson has left the team.  Since he played eight games in 2011, he will likely have to sit out the 2012 season due to NCAA transfer rules.  However, his destination is currently unknown.

Johnson started three games at outside linebacker as a freshman in 2010, making 18 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 1 pass breakup.  It looked as if Johnson would be in line for significant playing time once again in 2011, but he was passed up by redshirt sophomore Thomas Gordon, among others.  While Johnson played in eight games this season, he was used sparingly and had only 14 tackles and 1 pass breakup to his name.

When he was recruited by Rich Rodriguez, Johnson held offers from Louisiana Tech, Minnesota, Northern Illinois, Tulane, Tulsa, and Utah.  LSU also reportedly made a run at him late in the recruiting process.  Most transfers seem to end up closer to home, so places such as Louisiana Tech or Tulane might be likely destinations for the native of Metairie, LA.

Johnson is the eleventh member of the 27-person class of 2010 to exit from the program.

25Apr 2011
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Are these things connected?

Was Cullen Christian lonely?

Today at MGoBlog, Brian posted an e-mail from a former walk-on who said:

I talked with Bruce Madej for a while as well as Paul Schmidt.  I was surprised to learn that RR did not force freshman/sophomores to live in the dorm.  The only players who HAD to live in the dorm were the early enrollees, and they only had to stay there until after spring semester. Think about that. An 18 year old kid is going right from living at his folks place and attending high school to instantly living on his own, with rent and phone bills, gas bills, grocery shopping, etc ALL THE WHILE trying to maintain his athletics AND play for a demanding coach. There’s no way an 18 year should be put in that situation. It’s overwhelming.  Schmitty told me that was the first thing he told Hoke when he arrived.  Hoke immediately switched the policy back to freshman and sophomores MUST live in the dorm.

I found this interesting, since this information comes on the heels of some crippling attrition that included true freshman starter Ray Vinopal and highly rated cornerback Cullen Christian.  In an article on The Wolverine, Christian was quoted as saying:

I didn’t come up here for the new coaching staff. So when Coach Gibson left, it got crazy; I wanted to be with somebody who recruited me, somebody who knows me and knows what I’m about.  That’s why I picked Michigan in the first place, and if it was a different coaching staff, I wouldn’t have committed there. It’s a good school with a big name and everything, and they reeled me in. The main thing was Coach Gibson; that was the big thing in getting me to Michigan. I didn’t really like it up here.  I didn’t like the campus, and really, I’ve miserable since I’ve been up here. I think it was just about me and what I’m used to being around; there’s a difference between living in Pittsburgh and Ann Arbor. A big difference. A lot of kids like it here, and some don’t. It just wasn’t for me.  So once the coaches left, there wasn’t much holding me here. I was like, ‘Why am I here? I don’t know these coaches and they didn’t recruit me.

The combination of these things makes me wonder if Rodriguez’s rule about living situations had anything to do with the departures of Vinopal and Christian, among others.  I did not realize that the players were allowed to live elsewhere on campus, and obviously, it’s difficult to know exactly how many freshmen in the past couple years took advantage of living off campus.  It had always been my understanding that freshman and sophomore athletes were required to live in the dorms, and I figured that was just the way of the world forever and ever.

But I do ascribe to the notion that living in a dorm is a key part of the maturation process for college students. I am not naive enough to think that kids can’t get in trouble when living in the dorms.  However, it does alleviate some of the stress of buying groceries, paying bills, meeting new people, etc.  When students are forced to live in such close quarters, there are surely clashes of personalities, dustups, etc.  But long-lasting friendships are also forged.  I know many people whose friendships with their freshman year roommates turned into relationships that lasted beyond college.

Christian and Vinopal very well could have ended up transferring whether they lived in South Quad/West Quad or not.  But when Christian says, “Once the coaches left, there wasn’t much holding me here,” I start to wonder how many friends he had.  What should have been present is a strong bond with one or two of his teammates, guys who could have repeated the mantra “Those who stay will be champions” or fellow freshmen who were also struggling to climb their way up the depth chart.  We often hear recruits or recruits’ mentors saying, “Don’t go somewhere just because of the coaches, because they could be gone in a year.”  That’s exactly what happened to Christian, and now he’ll be starting anew as a Pitt Panther.

Regardless, Brady Hoke has apparently returned to making freshmen and sophomores live in dorms, so all is right in the world.  Unless kids start transferring in droves.  Then we can blame it on something else.

14Jan 2011
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Tate Forcier, ex-Wolverine . . . for now

See you later, Tate.  Or not.

During Wednesday’s press conference to introduce new head coach Brady Hoke, athletic director David Brandon was asked about the status of Tate Forcier, Michigan’s starting quarterback in 2009 and backup in 2010.  Brandon responded that Forcier is “no longer with the program.”

Some reports indicate that Forcier is no longer at Michigan due to flunking out during the fall semester.  Mike Forcier, Tate’s father, stated that his son did not flunk out of school. Regardless, he was ineligible for the Gator Bowl against Mississippi State.  Forcier is supposedly enrolled at a community college in the hopes of re-applying to the University of Michigan.  If Forcier were to be reinstated to U of M for the fall semester, he would not lose a year of eligibility, as far as I know; he would be a true junior for the 2011 season.

Forcier is a 4-star recruit from San Diego who enrolled early in January 2009 to take the position vacated by Steve Threet (transferred to Arizona State) and Nick Sheridan (relegated to the bench).  He immediately seized the starting position and  held onto it for his entire season freshman.  The team went 5-7 and Forcier finished 165-for-281 (58.7%) for 2050 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.

Some reported immaturity and the meteoric rise of classmate Denard Robinson sent Forcier to the sideline for the majority of 2010.  He originally responded poorly to the benching, entertaining thoughts of a transfer when true freshman Devin Gardner overtook the sophomore Forcier for second place on the depth chart during the 2010 opener against Connecticut.  However, Forcier’s third-place spot on the depth chart turned out to be maturity based rather than performance-based, and he eventually overtook Gardner.  Forcier saw spot duty in several games, but really showed out when Robinson was injured against Illinois.  Forcier finished out the second half of the 67-65, triple-overtime victory.  He ended the season 54-for-84 (64.3%) for 597 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions.

I was excited about Forcier when he was recruited back in 2009.  I thought he had a chance to be a version 2.0 Rich Rodriguez quarterback, the type who would throw the ball a lot, run a little bit, and hand off to some as-yet-undiscovered superstar Rich Rodriguez running back.  But . . . uhhh . . . none of that really happened.  Forcier turned out to be a little too headstrong for his own good, throwing passes he had no business throwing, scrambling with the ball loosely held in one arm, taking his starting job a little too lightly, and ultimately losing his spot on the football team.  He still has potential to be a decent quarterback if he matures – both on and off the field.  But I also won’t be surprised if he fades into the background like both of his quarterback brothers (Jason, who was a backup at Michigan and Stanford; and Chris, who played at UCLA and Furman).
Forcier’s departure almost guarantees that new coach Brady Hoke will need to recruit one or more quarterbacks for the Class of 2011.  Even if Forcier finds himself back on Michigan’s campus in the fall, the quarterback position would remain thin with only three scholarship players.  While Hoke has promised to incorporate Denard Robinson’s skills into the offense, I expect that Michigan will try to find a pro-style quarterback before National Signing Day.
12Jan 2011
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Who fits and who doesn’t?

Quarterback Denard Robinson might struggle in a Brady Hoke offense

After Lloyd Carr retired in 2007, Rich Rodriguez was hired and struggled to turn Carr’s pro-style personnel into a spread-style offense.  Steve Threet and Nick Sheridan didn’t light the world on fire in 2008, and Tate Forcier was decent for a freshman in 2009.  But the quarterbacks and other offensive players didn’t hit their Rodriguez-level spread until 2010, when Denard Robinson temporarily vaulted into the lead of the Heisman Trophy race.  That leap was short-lived, since Rodriguez was ousted and replaced by Brady Hoke in January 2011, signifying a return to a pro-style offense.

I really had no reason to watch or study San Diego State University’s offense during the football season, but I’ve since watched some highlights and read some accounts of Hoke’s offensive schemes.  Since no assistant coaches have been announced yet, it’s impossible to say for sure what schemes will be run.  However, here are some thoughts based on what I’ve seen from SDSU’s 2010 offense.

It’s Michigan all over again.  Lloyd Carr-style Michigan, at least.  Multiple tight end sets, two backs in the backfield, play action with deep posts, a little bit of shotgun spread, I-formation, etc.  Yep.  You’ve seen it before.

Quarterbacks.  Both of SDSU’s quarterbacks were 6’4″-6’5″ and 210-215 lbs.  This does not bode well for Denard Robinson, who is approximately 6’0″ and 193 lbs.  Additionally, Robinson’s best asset is his ability to run, not to drop back and read defenses.  My initial reaction is to expect that Robinson will transfer, perhaps to Pitt, where former Michigan offensive coordinator Calvin Magee has alighted.  He could go to Pittsburgh, sit out 2011, and have two years of eligibility to play quarterback.  In my opinion, the best chance Hoke has to retain Robinson is to make a pitch for Robinson to become a running back or wide receiver.  I think most people realize that Robinson’s NFL future lies in a position other than QB, so perhaps Hoke can convince him to begin that position change now.  The rumor is that Tate Forcier has flunked out of the University of Michigan, so that leaves sophomore/redshirt freshman Devin Gardner to helm Michigan’s offense.  I do not expect Gardner that would look elsewhere, and he could potentially be a four-year starter for Hoke.  Gardner is more suited to play in a pro-style offense than Rodriguez’s spread, in my opinion, so this could be a positive change for him.

Running backs.  This might be partially due to the talent available at Ball State and San Diego State, but Hoke doesn’t seem to mind using smaller running backs.  One might think that he would revert to the 6’1″, 220 lb. running backs that Michigan used to employ in the 1990s and early 2000s, but that won’t necessarily be the case.  I think each of the running backs on the current roster should be compatible with Hoke’s offense if they so choose.

Fullbacks.  Michigan fans shouldn’t necessarily expect the bruising, blocker-only fullbacks that Lloyd Carr often used.  Don’t think Kevin Dudley or Obi Oluigbo.  Think B.J. Askew.  Senior John McColgan could fit here as a blocker, but guys like Stephen Hopkins or Michael Cox would likely be more effective.

Tight ends.  Michigan’s current tight ends shouldn’t have a hard time fitting in with Hoke.  He likes to involve the tight end in the passing game (SDSU’s starter had 29 receptions and averaged 11+ yards a catch), and both Kevin Koger and Brandon Moore are athletic, pass-catching types.  Ricardo Miller has reportedly changed positions to become a tight end, as well.

Wide receivers.  In the short-term, Michigan should be fine at wide receiver.  Hoke ran a West Coast style offense that uses bigger wide receivers.  The likes of Darryl Stonum, Roy Roundtree, Je’Ron Stokes, D.J. Williamson, Jerald Robinson, and Jeremy Jackson should be fine.  A couple of those guys aren’t exactly big, but they’re big enough and the top few guys are good enough to be successful.  Martavious Odoms played outside in 2010, even though he’s more of a slot receiver.  I do think Odoms could be a factor at WR because of his athleticism, blocking, and chutzpah, but he’s probably not the type of wideout that Hoke will recruit.

Slot receiversYeah, this is the position that will likely be phased out at Michigan.  That’s not to say that we should expect Jeremy Gallon, Terrence Robinson, Kelvin Grady, or Drew Dileo to get cut.  Every team out there seems to be able to use one or two of those types of guys to return punts and kicks, be a change-of-pace runner, or play in the slot.  But there won’t be a need to keep so many of those types of kids on the roster.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see some attrition from this position.  I hope that none of these guys transfer, so don’t take this the wrong way, but it might make sense for a guy like Gallon or Robinson to go elsewhere.  Gallon would have two years of eligibility remaining since he redshirted already; Robinson would only have one if he went to an FBS school, but he could play immediately in the FCS.

Offensive line.  Michigan’s offensive linemen beefed up for the 2010 season, and I don’t think the transition will be much of a problem for them.  We might see them adding a little more bulk for 2011 – especially Taylor Lewan – but it’s not like Rich Rodriguez was playing 260-pound linemen.  Michigan might be a little undersized at center for a couple years, but David Molk is the strongest offensive lineman on the team and Christian Pace should have another year to add weight.  But guys like Lewan, Patrick Omameh, Ricky Barnum, Elliott Mealer, and Rocko Khoury should be just fine.

Summary.  Offensive attrition should be minimal as far as numbers go.  Michigan might lose a quarterback, and I would understand if a running back/slot guy or two decided to try his hand elsewhere, but the transition from Rodriguez’s spread to Hoke’s pro-style offense shouldn’t be as much of a culture shock as Carr-to-Rodriguez.  However, just looking at the quarterback position, the performance might suffer in the short-term while Hoke hones the skills of whichever quarterback(s) sticks around.