Ex-Wolverine Update: Justin Turner to Hawaii

Tag: Ex-Wolverines


7Dec 2011
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Ex-Wolverine Update: Justin Turner to Hawaii

The prize defensive recruits of 2009: Justin Turner (#2) and William Campbell (#73)

Massillon, Ohio 2009 five-star recruit Justin (J.T.) Turner committed to Michigan over OSU very early in the recruiting cycle. He stayed firm in his commitment all through the process and, as I recall, was one of the first players in the 2009 class to fax in his LOI on NSD. So it was surprising when Turner showed up to fall camp late and out of shape after taking awhile to pass his Ohio Graduation Test. These minor concerns turned into red flags when Turner failed to see action during the disastrous defensive back situation his freshman season and redshirted. Before long, J.T. was in worse shape than Rich Rodriguez, left the program and transferred to West Virginia.

Turner’s stint at WVU didn’t last long, either, and he became interested in attending Notre Dame College at Ohio. I spoke with an assistant coach at the college who said, “We thought for sure he was going to enroll, but then he dropped off the map.” After that, Turner showed interest in UCLA, eventually enrolled at Scottsdale (Ariz.) Junior College, and now is verbally committed to the University of Hawaii.
If past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior—which it is—then Turner’s shot at living up to his recruiting hype appears to be slim. How conflicting must it feel to have an extraordinary talent at something yet not have a passion for it? Here’s to hoping that Turner finds a good football/life balance while getting an education and avoiding trouble. Who knows, maybe Turner’s change in environment will ignite an excitement for football and necessary football-related activities.
1Dec 2011
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Ex-Wolverine Updates

Toney Clemons (#7)

Congratulations to former Michigan assistant coach Ron English, who won the Mid-American Conference’s Coach of the Year Award this season.  He has improved Eastern Michigan’s program from 0-12 to 2-10 and now a 6-6 record.

Former Michigan wide receiver Toney Clemons had 4 catches for 102 yards in Colorado’s 17-14 win over Utah.  Since the Buffaloes aren’t eligible to play in a bowl game, he finishes his fifth year senior season with 43 catches for 680 yards and 8 touchdowns.

Former Michigan commit and current Alabama wide receiver Marquis Maze had 4 catches for 18 yards in a 42-14 victory over Auburn.  He also had 1 rush for 1 yard.

Former Michigan running back Sam McGuffie missed yet another game due to injury on Saturday.  Rice isn’t eligible for a bowl game this year, so he finishes his redshirt junior season with 38 carries for 158 yards and 1 touchdown.  He also caught 9 passes for 72 yards and 1 touchdown.

Former Michigan commit and current North Carolina H-back Christian Wilson had 1 catch for 8 yards in a 37-21 victory over Duke.

Check out the Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia for news on other former Wolverines.

24Nov 2011
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Ex-Wolverine Updates

Marquis Maze tries to pull away from a Georgia Southern defender.

Former Michigan wide receiver Toney Clemons had 3 catches for 50 yards and 1 touchdown in Colorado’s 45-6 loss to UCLA on Saturday.

Former Michigan commit and current Alabama wide receiver Marquis Maze had 3 catches for 44 yards in a 45-21 victory over Georgia Southern.

Former Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez was hired to be Arizona’s new head coach.

Former Michigan linebacker Davion Rogers had 2 tackles for Youngstown State as they lost to Missouri State by a score of 38-34.  Rogers finished the season with 45 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 interception for a touchdown, 2 blocked kicks, and 5 pass breakups.

21Nov 2011
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Pharaoh Brown, ex-Wolverine

Pharaoh Brown

So much for making it through a recruiting cycle without losing a commitment.  Lyndhurst (OH) Brush TE/DE Pharaoh Brown (commitment post here) will no longer be attending Michigan next year.  The 6’7″, 220 lb. tight end seemed slightly disgruntled and headstrong during a late-season interview in which he said that he was starting to enjoy playing offense and that he might have to talk with Michigan’s coaches about switching from defense to offense.  I started to wonder about his attitude toward Michigan when I saw that interview.  Sometimes kids say things like that and laugh; Brown wasn’t laughing.

Brown talked to Michigan’s coaches about playing on the offensive side of the ball, and they allowed him to flip to tight end.  But apparently that wasn’t good enough.  Brown took an official visit to Oregon this past weekend and, by all accounts, failed to mention it to U of M’s coaching staff.  The reason?  It’s a definite no-no to Brady Hoke and his staff.  Fellow class of 2012 player Terry Richardson had plans to visit elsewhere this fall, but he was talked out of it also.  Hoke believes that if a player commits to a school, he shouldn’t visit elsewhere.  And if he does, then he’s risking his chance to play for the Wolverines.

I have to admit that I’m not a huge fan of Hoke’s tactics here.  While I understand that he only wants players who strongly want to attend Michigan, I also believe that players should have the opportunity to explore their options.  Especially when the coaching staff is trying to get so many commits early in the recruiting cycle (for example, there are two already in the fold for February 2013), they ought to give kids a little leeway.

This is not to say that Brown should still be considered a commit by Hoke.  But in my opinion, Hoke should say, “Okay, you’re clearly not committed to Michigan at this time.  Go explore your options and I hope you sign with us in February, but in the meantime, I’m not going to hold your spot and it might not be here if or when you want it.”  Of course, it’s entirely possible that Hoke sent that message to Brown, but the prevailing thought seems to be that Michigan will no longer be recruiting Brown.

Brown is a 4-star prospect to Rivals and 247 Sports, and a 3-star to both ESPN and Scout.  While it’s disappointing to lose someone with his raw talent and skill level, his loss probably won’t be an extremely damaging blow to this recruiting class.  Michigan has two other tight ends in this class (Devin Funchess, A.J. Williams) and four defensive ends (Matt Godin, Mario Ojemudia, Tom Strobel, Chris Wormley).  Meanwhile, the Wolverines have needs at defensive tackle, offensive line, wide receiver, running back, and quarterback.  With the recruiting class down from 24 to 23, this leaves five open slots to pursue guys who might have been squeezed out of the class by pure numbers, such as perhaps Jordan Diamond or Yuri Wright.  There’s also the possibility that Michigan will try to pursue San Diego (CA) Westview TE Taylor McNamara, who recently re-opened his recruitment; however, considering Michigan was content with two tight ends prior to Brown’s flip from defense to offense, I’m assuming they won’t go hard after another tight end.

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