Tag: Ex-Wolverines

Mike Jones, ex-Wolverine

Mike Jones (#27)

Rising fifth year senior linebacker Mike Jones has left the football program.  Already with his undergraduate degree, Jones would be eligible to play at another FBS school in 2013 if they offer a graduate program that Michigan does not offer.

Jones committed to Michigan on August 1, 2008, as a part of the 2009 class; he picked Michigan over offers from Auburn, Central Florida, North Carolina, and South Florida.  He came from Orlando (FL) Edgewater as part of Rich Rodriguez’s attempted raid on the state of Florida, a few years after Lloyd Carr landed wide receiver Greg Mathews from the same school.

As purely a special teamer in 2009, Jones made 3 tackles in seven games.  He played in just two games as a sophomore before succumbing to injury, totaling just 1 tackle; he received a medical redshirt (which preserved his eligibility for 2013).  As a redshirt sophomore in 2011, Jones made 4 tackles.  He followed that up by playing in all thirteen games as a redshirt junior in 2012, but he failed to accrue any statistics.  Altogether, Jones made 8 total tackles in 29 games.

Jones, who claimed a 4.5 forty coming out of high school and was noted for his speed, never seemed physically capable of keeping up with Big Ten athletes.  He always seemed a step or two slow, and he didn’t have the bulk to be a serious option at middle linebacker – a position where speed isn’t required for success. Jones added weight consistently, going from 203 lbs. as a freshman to 226 lbs. this past season, but small-ish linebackers need to be faster than he was.  For the past couple off-seasons, I have had a feeling that Jones might not return because I wondered if he would ever find a role; that time finally came.

Since Jones was going to run out of eligibility after the coming year, his departure does not affect the 2014 recruiting class.  He was also not expected to be on Michigan’s two-deep in the fall, having dropped behind younger players at MIKE (junior Desmond Morgan, sophomore Joe Bolden) and WILL (sophomores James Ross and Royce Jenkins-Stone).  Jones was also not particularly productive on special teams, so the team likely won’t feel much of an impact on the field.

For stories on other former Wolverines, check out the Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia.

Marvin Robinson, ex-Wolverine

Marvin Robinson (#3) attempts a tackle on Michigan State’s Keshawn Martin

Rising senior safety Marvin Robinson has left the football program.  He will presumably transfer somewhere to finish out his football career, but his destination is unknown at this time.

A member of the 2010 recruiting class, the Winter Haven (FL) Lake Region product committed to Michigan in April 2009, choosing the Wolverines over Florida, Georgia, Ohio State, and USC, among others.  He was a 4-star and the #20 outside linebacker to Rivals, who thought that he would be too slow and stiff to play safety at the next level.  Perhaps they were right.

Robinson mostly appeared on special teams as a true freshman and made 3 total tackles.  As a sophomore in 2011, he earned a start against Notre Dame, making 7 tackles in that game and 9 on the season; he ended up in the coaches’ doghouse and didn’t see the field much for the rest of the year.  In his junior season, he was once again mainly a contributor on special teams and made 9 tackles and 1 fumble recovery.  He finished his Michigan career with 21 tackles and 1 fumble recovery.

As you can see in the commitment post linked above, I thought Robinson would be a good college player.  However, he did not seem to progress much in his pass coverage.  In the past year or so, I had succumbed to the idea that he would be able to help in run support, but not so much on passing downs.  Last season he was surpassed on the depth chart by freshman Jarrod Wilson, and it looked like Wilson would be the starting free safety with incumbent FS Thomas Gordon bumping over to the strong safety position.  Robinson likely would have been relegated to special teams backup strong safety.  Others vying for that backup SS role will be redshirt junior Josh Furman, redshirt freshman Jeremy Clark, and some true freshmen.

Robinson is the 17th member of the 27-man class of 2010 to depart early.  The only players remaining from that class are DT Richard Ash, CB Courtney Avery, DT Jibreel Black, WR Drew Dileo, Furman, QB Devin Gardner, P Will Hagerup, WR Jeremy Jackson, TE Jordan Paskorz, and LB Jake Ryan.  This departure will not affect the size of the 2014 recruiting class, since Robinson was scheduled to run out of eligibility after the upcoming season, anyway.  Instead, it opens up a scholarship for a walk-on guy like FB Joey Kerridge, WR Joe Reynolds, etc.

Check out the Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia for stories and updates on other players who left early.

Kaleb Ringer, ex-Wolverine

Kaleb Ringer

Redshirt freshman linebacker Kaleb Ringer has left Michigan’s football program, reportedly for the fertile football lands of Ferris State.  Ringer was a member of the 2012 recruiting class and committed in April 2011, choosing the Wolverines over teams like Cincinnati, Illinois, Iowa, and Louisville.  Brady Hoke and his staff recruited him as a weakside linebacker.

Ringer suffered a knee injury as a senior in high school and missed a large chunk of his final prep season, presumably because of that injury.  He enrolled early in January 2012 and played in the spring game but ended up having surgery on the knee, which knocked him out of the regular season and caused him to take a redshirt.  As a thickly built linebacker – who in my opinion lacked something in the quickness department – Ringer moved from the weakside to the middle linebacker position for spring practices here in 2013, and he did play a little bit in the spring game.  It’s unclear at this point why he is leaving the program, but junior Desmond Morgan and sophomore James Ross seem to have locked down the middle and weakside linebacker positions, respectively.  At best, Ringer probably could have been a special teamer and the third string MIKE for the upcoming year, behind Morgan and sophomore Joe Bolden.

In perhaps my most accurate TTB Rating so far, I updated Ringer’s rating just before National Signing Day 2012 to reflect a 39 for Ringer, which indicates a “Below average backup or special teams contributor.”  You can see in the comments on that thread that I had an inkling about the potential for Ringer not to last four years at Michigan.  He is the first casualty from the 2012 class.  Before dropping him to a 39, I had initially rated Ringer as a 64, so I was not expecting him to be a major player in Michigan’s lineup.

The loss of Ringer doesn’t really hurt Michigan for the 2013 season, since he was not expected to be in the two-deep.  Linebackers often make decent special teams players because they have a good combination of speed and physicality, but that was probably his best chance to get on the field this year.  However, this does further impact the numbers at linebacker, which also took a hit when redshirt junior Jake Ryan tore his ACL in spring practice.  A unit that was expected to be rather deep this season is now down two men.  Beyond the 2013 season, Ringer could very well have been stuck behind Morgan in 2014 and Bolden for another season after that, so we might be looking at 2016 before he would have had a serious shot at playing time; by then he would have been a fifth year senior.  In a slightly odd development, Michigan brought in four linebackers in 2012 (Ross, Bolden, Ringer, and Royce Jenkins-Stone), and all three remaining players will be true sophomores this year.

Michigan needed to get down to the scholarship limit of 85 prior to the season, and this puts them at the limit.  With fifteen seniors scheduled to play their final season in 2013, Michigan is looking at a 2014 recruiting class of 15; that number will surely increase, and word is that the coaches are already recruiting for a 16-man class.  Perhaps they already know of another player or two who are on the way out, and there have already been rumors of a third player to be on his way.  You may remember that I mentioned a few months ago that I had heard rumors of a few players who might depart – well, Ringer and Ken Wilkins were two of the names that heard.  We’ll see if the third one develops.

Anyway, Ringer’s departure may explain the fairly recent offer to East St. Louis (IL) East St. Louis linebacker Kyron Watson.  Some insiders have suggested that Michigan would take Clairton (PA) Thomas Jefferson SAM prospect Chase Winovich or  middle linebacker prospect Watson, but I believe the Wolverines might take both if they want to come.  The coaches clearly offered Watson with the knowledge that they needed a SAM, so the plan is either a) take a SAM and a MIKE or b) move Michael Ferns III to SAM if Watson commits.  Winovich will visit this coming weekend, and Watson plans to visit the following weekend.

Ex-Wolverine Updates: NFL Draft edition

Darryl Stonum is now a Kansas City Chief

Former Michigan running back Michael Cox measured in at 6’0″, 222 lbs. at the UMass pro day.  He ran a 4.58 forty, had a 4.08 shuttle, showed a 41″ vertical, did 24 reps on the bench, and broad jumped 10’11”.  He spent the 2012 season as a Minuteman and was selected in the 7th round (#253 overall) by the New York Giants.

Former Michigan defensive tackle commit DeQuinta Jones measured in at 6’4″, 306 lbs. at the Arkansas pro day.  He proceeded to run a 5.4 forty and do 19 reps on the bench press, which got him signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent.

Former Michigan running back Sam McGuffie tested at the regional combine prior to the NFL Draft with a 4.28 forty, a 41.5″ vertical, 11.2″ broad jump, a 3.8 shuttle, and 26 reps on the bench press.  He had been playing running back and wide receiver for the past few years at Rice, and on Saturday night, he signed with the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent.

Former Michigan offensive tackle Dann O’Neill measured in at 6’7″, 326 lbs., did 26 reps on the bench, and ran a 5.41 forty at his pro day.  He had been playing right tackle for Western Michigan for the past few seasons.  O’Neill signed with the Houston Texans on Saturday night as an undrafted free agent.

Former Michigan wide receiver Darryl Stonum measured in at 6’1″, 205 lbs., did 16 reps on the bench, ran a 4.57 forty, broad jumped 10’3″, had a 4.64 shuttle, and had a 36.5″ vertical.  Stonum played sparingly for Baylor in 2012.  On Saturday night he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent.

Ken Wilkins, ex-Wolverine

Defensive tackle Ken Wilkins

Defensive tackle Ken Wilkins has left the team.  Wilkins just finished his redshirt sophomore season, but he had yet to play a single down at Michigan.

Wilkins committed to Michigan in June 2009 as a member of the 2010 class.  Rich Rodriguez recruited him as a “Quick,” the OLB/DE hybrid that Craig Roh played at one time.  As you can see from my commitment post (link), I always had doubts about whether Wilkins had the athleticism to pull off that kind of role.  Wilkins redshirted in 2010, and by spring 2011 he was playing strongside end for Brady Hoke.  Wilkins eventually grew into a 6’3″, 294 lb. nose tackle, but the weight wasn’t good weight.  Reports indicated that he lacked intensity on the field and in the weight room, struggling to stay low; that was evident in the limited practice film and in his spring game performance.  He was not expected to contribute much in 2013, since rising sophomore Ondre Pipkins had already surpassed him, Wilkins’ classmate Richard Ash has earned some playing time, and the coaches seemed more excited about redshirt freshman Willie Henry, too.

Wilkins is the 16th member of the 27-man class of 2010 to depart early, joining Cullen Christian, Demar Dorsey, Stephen Hopkins, Carvin Johnson, Conelius Jones, Antonio Kinard, Ricardo Miller, Christian Pace, Jerald Robinson, Davion Rogers, Terrence Talbott, Terry Talbott, Ray Vinopal, Austin White, and D.J. Williamson.  Michigan is still technically above the 85-scholarship limit for the coming season, so Wilkins’ departure does not really affect the size of the 2014 recruiting class.