Tag: Ex-Wolverines

Kyle Bosch, Ex-Wolverine

Kyle Bosch

Sophomore offensive guard Kyle Bosch has received his transfer release. His destination is unclear. If he transfers to another Division I school, he will have to sit out one season before playing again, which means the earliest he could play would be as a redshirt junior. If he transfers to a lower division, he should be able to play immediately.

Bosch came from Wheaton (IL) St. Francis and committed in February of 2012 (LINK). I gave him a TTB Rating of 88, confident that he would be a good starting guard down the line. As a true freshman in 2013, he was forced into action due to injuries and underperformance by his elders. He started three games late in the year but was eventually replaced. This year he played the final offensive snap of the season opener, and then it was reported that he was taking “an indefinite leave of absence” from the team that sounded like some sort of personal or family issue. He tweeted that he would return the next semester, and he has supposedly done so (he tweeted that he was “back in Ann Arbor”) but not to play football. At least not for Jim Harbaugh.

I am disappointed about Bosch’s departure because I thought he would be a very good player. I ranked him as Michigan’s top lineman in the 2013 class, he played first, and he had a nasty disposition. In fact, I think his style of play would work better for Harbaugh than it would have for Brady Hoke. But for whatever reason(s), he has chosen to depart. Of course, part of it may have to do with the issue that caused him to leave the team for almost the whole first semester. Another part may have to do with the fact that Michigan returns all five starters in 2015, plus versatile backup Erik Magnuson. Overall, the reasons seem to have to do with things other than football.

This is the second player to transfer since the firing of Brady Hoke (freshman linebacker Michael Ferns was the first) and the first player to transfer since the hiring of Jim Harbaugh. Bosch is also the first member of the 2013 class to leave, a class that included six linemen altogether. He will probably not be the last player to leave through the transition, and I have heard rumors about 1-2 other linemen, but those rumors came through before Harbaugh was hired; Bosch was also initially on that list of rumored departures, but again, that was somewhat predictable after he left school for three months.

Michigan has six current commits in the 2015 class and at least eight openings, so the class could reach 14 or more.

Ex-Wolverine Updates: Post-Bowl Edition

Oregon offensive tackle Jake Fisher was first team all-conference

The national championship game still remains for Gareon Conley at Ohio State and Jake Fisher at Oregon, but otherwise, the former Wolverines are finished with their college seasons. Here’s a look at what former players, commits, and coaches accomplished during the 2014 season.

Former DT Richard Ash:

 Ash’s Western Michigan Broncos lost to Air Force in the Idaho Potato Bowl by a score of 38-24. Ash made 2 tackles in the game, finishing the year with 42 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 2 pass breakups, and 2 blocked kicks. The Broncos went 8-5 on the year.

Former TE commit Pharaoh Brown: Brown suffered a nasty knee injury in game ten, so he has missed a chunk of Oregon’s run to the national championship game. He still put up pretty darn good numbers with 25 catches, 420 yards (16.8 yards/catch), and 6 touchdowns, and those were good enough to earn him First Team All-Pac 12 honors. He played too much of this season to get a medical redshirt, so he will presumably return to playing as a true senior in 2015 as long as his knee heals well.

Former CB Cullen Christian: Christian was declared academically ineligible for West Virginia’s Liberty Bowl appearance against Texas A&M, which the Aggies won by a score of 45-37. The Mountaineers went 7-6 this season and didn’t get much help from Christian, who made 5 total tackles on the year as a backup safety.

Hit the jump for the rest of the rundown.

Former CB commit Gareon Conley: Conley made 2 tackles in Ohio State’s 42-35 victory over Alabama in the College Football Playoff semi-final. He has 16 tackles and 2 pass breakups on the season with the national championship game against Oregon remaining. The Buckeyes are currently 13-1.

Former CB commit Dallas Crawford: Crawford and his Miami Hurricanes lost to South Carolina in the Independence Bowl, 24-21. Miami finishes the year with a 6-7 record. Crawford – who moved from running back to safety last offseason – ended the year with 35 tackles, .5 tackles for loss, and 2 pass breakups. Starting running back Duke Johnson declared for the NFL Draft, but while Crawford was a productive backup in 2013, the Hurricanes have a couple capable guys (Joseph Yearby, Gus Edwards) returning in 2015, so I would not expect Crawford to return to offense.

Former OT commit Jake Fisher: Fisher started the year for Oregon as their right tackle, but he moved to the left side when the starter got injured. Fisher was good enough all around to be named First Team All-Pac 12 and protected quarterback Marcus Mariota on his way to winning the Heisman.

Former S Josh Furman: Furman made 6 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 1 sack in Oklahoma State’s 30-22 victory over Washington in the Cactus Bowl. The Cowboys end the year with a 7-6 record. Furman made the move from safety to outside linebacker when he transferred after last season, and he finished the year with 64 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 7 sacks, 1 interception (returned 35 yards), 4 pass breakups, and 1 forced fumble. Furmer was All-Big 12 honorable mention.

Former K commit Matt Goudis: Goudis, now at Miami with Dallas Crawford (see above), did not play after the first couple games of the year after dealing with an injury. He was 4/6 on field goals and 6/6 on extra points up to that point.

Former RB commit Dee Hart: Hart’s Colorado State Rams lost to Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl by a score of 45-10. Hart had just 7 carries for 21 yards in the game, plus 1 catch for 4 yards. He finished the season with 194 carries, 1275 yards, 6.6 yards/carry, and 16 touchdowns on the ground. He also had 18 catches for 189 yards and 2 touchdowns; 9 punt returns for 41 yards; and 3 kickoff returns for 57 yards. For that performance he was named Second Team All-Mountain West Conference. Hart, who had one season of eligibility remaining, declared for the NFL Draft after CSU head coach (and Hart’s offensive coordinator at Alabama) Jim McElwain took the head coaching job at Florida.

Former assistant coach Les Miles: Miles and his LSU Tigers finished the season 8-5 after a 31-28 loss to Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl. His running back, Leonard Fournette, had the longest ever play from scrimmage against Notre Dame (and 89-yard touchdown run), topping Denard Robinson’s 87-yarder a few years ago. Fournette finished the game with 11 carries for 143 yards and 2 touchdowns, plus a 100-yard kickoff return for a score. After the game, Texas A&M poached LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis from Miles’s staff, so the Tigers are in a bit of flux after a down year.

Former RB Thomas Rawls: Rawls, the starting running back most of the year, did not play for Central Michigan against Western Kentucky in the Bahamas Bowl, which ended as a one-point loss for the Chippewas, 49-48. Rawls ended the season with 210 carries, 1103 yards, 5.3 yards/carry, and 10 touchdowns. He was named Second Team All-MAC and has also been invited to the NFL Combine.

Former DT Chris Rock: Rock did not record any statistics for Ohio State this year as a walk-on defensive lineman.

Former head coach Rich Rodriguez: Rodriguez’s Arizona Wildcats finished the year with a 10-4 record, albeit on a two-game losing streak, falling to Oregon in the Pac-12 championship game and then Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. The bowl loss was a 38-30 affair in which the Wildcats had a chance at the end of the game, but quarterback Anu Solomon (28/49, 335 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions) was sacked and time ran out.

Former defensive coordinator Scott Shafer: Shafer, now the head coach at Syracuse, went 3-9 this year, including a five-game losing streak to end the year. The Orangemen were a respectable 37th in scoring defense (24.3 points/game allowed), but they were #121 in scoring offense (17.2 points/game) and #117 in total offense, one spot behind Michigan.

Former QB commit Kevin Sousa: Sousa has had some legal trouble at Wake Forest, and his playing time has been limited. The redshirt junior was 0/1 passing and had 5 carries for 10 yards for the 3-9 Demon Deacons.

Former CB commit Anthony Standifer: Standifer transferred from Ole Miss to FCS team Eastern Illinois in the off-season. He started ten games at corner, finishing with 33 tackles, .5 tackles for loss, 3 interceptions, and 6 pass breakups.

Former S Ray Vinopal: Vinopal’s Pitt Panthers lost to Houston in a thrilling Armed Forces Bowl, 35-34. Down two scores in the last few minutes, Houston scored a touchdown, recovered an onside kick, scored another touchdown, and then hit the two-point conversion with under a minute left for the win. Vinopal made 7 tackles in the game. The senior safety ended the year with 68 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions (returned for 13 yards), 5 pass breakups, and 2 forced fumbles.

Former DT Ken Wilkins: Wilkins, listed as a 6’3″, 250 lb. redshirt junior, played in nine games for California University of Pennsylvania this fall. He finished the year with 37 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 1 pass breakup, and 2 forced fumbles.

Michael Ferns III, Ex-Wolverine

Michael Ferns (front middle, image via Times Leader)

Rising sophomore linebacker Michael Ferns III has left Michigan’s football program, most likely headed for West Virginia. He redshirted as a freshman this past season.

Ferns was Michigan’s first commitment in the class of 2014 and committed in August 2012, almost six months prior to the next guy (Wilton Speight). Ferns spearheaded a project to send “Team 135” t-shirts to every new Michigan commit for the remainder of the class. Meanwhile, he was a stalwart at St. Clairsville (OH) St. Clairsville and earned some national notoriety for running out of bounds at the 1-yard line to allow a grieving high school teammate to score a touchdown. He finished the recruiting cycle as a 247 Composite 4-star, the #6 inside linebacker, and #158 overall.

Ferns was listed at 6’3″, 239 lbs. and was playing middle linebacker, although he was reportedly really struggling to adjust to the college game. He was buried on the depth chart behind several promising inside linebackers, including a few who will be returning in 2015 (fifth year senior Desmond Morgan, senior Joe Bolden, junior Ben Gedeon, and redshirt sophomore Mike McCray II) and even some classmates.

The depth chart may have less to do with the transfer than some expect. Ferns was recruited to Michigan by Brady Hoke and sold on the “Team 135” thing, and now that whole idea has lost some of its luster. Also, Michael has a younger brother named Brendan, a 2016 linebacker who has not been offered by the Wolverines. The reasons for the lack of an offer are unclear (he’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #2 inside linebacker, and #74 overall), but that was probably causing some friction, anyway. Brendan holds offers from Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, and West Virginia, and part of the plan could be to play together in Morgantown; 247 Sports’ Crystal Ball prediction for Brendan has him at 64% for Ohio State.

Regardless, Michael Ferns is the first casualty from the 2014 class. The Wolverines have three other linebackers remaining from the 2014 class, and the aforementioned inside linebackers have the position pretty well under control. This move would not appear to affect Michigan’s defense in the long run, and it opens up another spot in the 2015 class (LINK). Right now it looks like Michigan can comfortably fit 12 players into the class, but that number could grow in the coming weeks, depending on Michigan’s coaching situation. I have heard rumors of a few other players also considering transfers, and I would guess that at least one or two of them come to fruition.

Chris Clark, Ex-Wolverine

Avon (CT) Old Farms tight end Chris Clark

Avon (CT) Old Farms tight end Chris Clark decommitted from Michigan on Tuesday evening after head coach Brady Hoke was fired. Clark originally committed to the Wolverines in June (LINK

).

Clark has had an up-and-down recruitment. He originally committed to North Carolina, then took a bunch of visits, then committed to Michigan, then expressed interest in visiting elsewhere. I always viewed his commitment as being lukewarm because of how often he changed his mind, so this was not a surprise at all, especially because he had stated that his commitment was mostly contingent on Hoke and tight ends coach Dan Ferrigno remaining on staff.

Clark quickly tweeted out that he would only be considering five schools going forward – Michigan, North Carolina, Texas, UCLA, and USC. If Michigan brings in someone known for using the tight end, like . . . say . . . Jim Harbaugh, I think there’s at least a decent chance that Clark re-enters the fold. On the other hand, if Michigan brings in a spread guru like Rich Rodriguez – who barely recruited the tight end position – then Clark is bound to land elsewhere.

The only other offered prospects at the tight end position are Floridian Devonaire Clarington (no chance) and Tyrone Wheatley, Jr. Wheatley did not react well to the firing of Hoke, so some fences may need to be mended there. He could also play offensive tackle or defensive end at the next level. For what it’s worth, Josh Helmholdt from Rivals believes that Tyrone Wheatley, Sr. might be willing to coach at Michigan if presented with an offer; he’s currently the running backs coach for the Buffalo Bills. It’s unlikely, but a hiring of Wheatley, Sr. would virtually cement a commitment from Wheatley, Jr.

Ex-Wolverine Updates

Former DT Richard Ash: Ash had 6 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 blocked field goal in Western Michigan’s 31-21 loss to Northern Illinois. On the year Ash has 40 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 2 pass breakups, and 2 blocked kicks. Western Michigan finishes the regular season at 8-4 and awaits a potential bowl destination.

Former CB Cullen Christian: Christian made 1 tackle in West Virginia’s 37-24 win over Iowa State. That’s the first time he’s appeared on the stat sheet since week five against Kansas, and it gives him a whopping 5 tackles on the year.

Former CB commit Gareon Conley: Conley had 1 tackle in Ohio State’s 42-28 win over Michigan.

Former CB commit Dallas Crawford: Crawford had 4 tackles and 1 pass breakup in Miami’s 35-23 loss to Pitt.

Former RB commit Demetrius Hart: Hart had 23 carries for 115 yards, but #21 Colorado State was upset by Air Force, 27-24. Hart has 1,139 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground this season. The Rams finish the regular season with a 10-2 record.

Former head coach Rich Rodriguez: Arizona improved their record to 10-2 with a 42-35 win over #17 Arizona State. It was a back-and-forth affair that started off with Arizona returning a fumble for a touchdown, and then Arizona State returning the favor. It was 21-21 at the half before the Wildcats pulled away a little bit in the second half. Running back Nick Wilson ran for 178 yards and 3 touchdowns, while quarterback Anu Solomon completed 71% of his passes for 2 scores and 0 picks. Rodriguez and his crew will play Oregon for the Pac-12 championship next Saturday.

Former S Ray Vinopal: Vinopal had 6 tackles in Pitt’s 35-23 win over Miami.

You can find other updates on the Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia.