Tag: Je’Ron Stokes

Junior Hemingway: 38%

Je’Ron Stokes: 4%

Martavious Odoms: 2%

Darryl Stonum: 2%

Drew Dileo: ~0%

Kevin Koger: ~0%

Jerald Robinson: ~0%

Vincent Smith: ~0%

Other: ~0%

Roundtree was the obvious choice here, since he’s Michigan’s reigning receiving champ.  He had 72 receptions for 935 yards and 7 touchdowns a year ago and made the media’s All-Big Ten second team.  But this spring was a bit of an eye-opener, I think, because he wasn’t the star of the show.  Roundtree was often running with the second team offense and, although nobody else caught more, he only had 1 catch (for 12 yards) in the spring game.

Hemingway was the obvious #2 choice here, too.  He was Michigan’s third-leading receiver last season, grabbing 32 passes for 593 yards and 4 touchdowns.  While his number of receptions was well below those of the top two guys last year (72 for Roundtree, 49 for Stonum), he averaged over 18 yards a catch, compared to their combined 13 yards per reception.  Hemingway is the more prototypical wideout for Michigan (a big leaper with so-so speed), but he’s missed time in each of the last three seasons due to injury.

Je’Ron Stokes was a bit of a surprise to finish third in the voting.  I would have expected Odoms or Stonum ahead of him.  Stokes only has 3 catches for 27 yards in his first two seasons.  The new coaching staff could bring with it a new pecking order, but I think Stokes is a bench player until the four senior receivers depart.

Odoms has progressively lost ground since his freshman year, going from 443 yards in 2008 to 272 yards in 2009 to 241 yards in 2010.  Part of that loss of production last season was due to missing six games because of injury.  He’s small at only 5’8″ and 175 lbs., but his willingness to block might propel him to a starting role.  As long as he stays healthy, I would guess he’ll see an uptick in yardage this coming season.  But he hasn’t led the team in receiving since his freshman year, and I doubt that’s going to change.

Stonum is going to have a difficult time digging himself out of the hole that he created for himself.  He’s been in trouble with the law on multiple occasions, and his Michigan career is in jeopardy because of it.  He’s currently in limbo on “indefinite suspension” and should miss at least a couple games.  Punishing kids for breaking the law ought to come in the form of missed playing time during the year, not in the offseason.

Dileo, Koger, Robinson, and Smith probably aren’t viable options.  I figured I would throw them up there just in case a good number of people expected something I didn’t, but voters’ thoughts seem to be mostly in line with mine.  Kudos to the one person who voted for Vincent Smith, though.  Dare to be different.

Name: Jerald Robinson
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 191 lbs.
High school: Canton South High School in Canton, OH
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #83
Prediction for 2010: Regular reps at wide receiver

One of several early enrollees on offense, Robinson is perhaps the most likely to earn playing time this fall. He earned solid reviews throughout the spring for his ability to run routes and make plays downfield, and he’s the most athletic of the freshman wideouts. With only a few returning wide receivers, at least one freshman will play.

Despite not enrolling early last year, freshman Je’Ron Stokes played sparingly, beginning with the first game of the year. Including Stokes, the Wolverines played five scholarship wide receivers last year – Greg Mathews and Laterryal Savoy, both of whom graduated; and Junior Hemingway, Darryl Stonum, and Stokes. If that number were to stay the same in 2010, two freshman would have to play. However, that need for freshman contributions may be mitigated by the fact that Roy Roundtree and Martavious Odoms may have the option and versatility to play outside, rather than just the slot. All things considered, expect to see Robinson on the field in the fall.

Rosenberg’s article states that players were required to work more than the NCAA-regulated 20 hours per week during the season and coaches and quality-control staffers watched 7-on-7s that are supposed to be player-run, among other things. The writer’s sources are supposedly current and former Michigan players, along with parents of others.

As could be expected, these allegations are causing an uproar in the blogosphere as well as in the college football world. Michigan’s football program has never been found guilty of major violations. If Lloyd Carr were still the coach, he and the program might be insulated a bit by the respect he had in the coaching world. But Rodriguez has already been inundated by attacks on his character for at least the last couple years, including the lawsuit by WVU, parting shots by Kurt Wermers and Justin Boren, and the questionable character of Justin Feagin.

The article includes quotes from incoming freshmen Je’Ron Stokes and Brandin Hawthorne, apparently recorded at Michigan’s Media Day. They mention having football-related work to do all day during the summer. Their comments can seem pretty damning on the surface, but those quotes aren’t evidence of NCAA violations. The quotes Rosenberg uses really make no mention that the coaches were mandating the workouts. If any player wants to work out and do 7-on-7s for 18 hours a day, he’s allowed.

But Rosenberg seemingly preyed on two incoming freshmen who likely had very little knowledge of the NCAA rules. It’s interesting that the two Michigan sources who didn’t request anonymity were 18-year-old kids who haven’t even finished their first summer practices. At best, Rosenberg’s journalistic efforts seem like poor journalism; at worst, they’re downright disingenuous and good reason for Rosenberg to be blackballed by Michigan sources from this point forward.

That being said, it’s not unbelievable that some violations occurred. During the season, coaches are allowed 20 hours of mandatory football work per week. Three hours of that come on Saturday, meaning there are 17 hours to spread amongst five other days (the players had Mondays off last year). That’s an average of 3.4 hours per day on those five days. Between practices and workouts (film study and visits to the training room don’t count), that’s not very much time per day. As a frame of reference, high school teams usually practice 2.5 to 3 hours per day in addition to 7 hours of school; college football players aren’t in class for nearly that amount of time per day.

One of the biggest variables in this story revolves around the definition of “mandatory.” If coaches are present at “voluntary” workouts, they are by definition mandatory. Nobody outside the program knows whether coaches were present at voluntary 7-on-7s, so it’s impossible and absurd for Michigan fans to dismiss this story out of hand. That being said, in the modern age of college football, very few workouts are truly “voluntary.” Kids need to be in great shape and have their techniques fine-tuned to be competitive. One motto that’s repeated in the story is “Workouts aren’t mandatory, but neither is playing time.” If Player A works extremely hard during voluntary workouts and learns all he can, when the season comes around, he’s going to get on the field ahead of Player B, who might only do the required minimum. If coaches were, in fact, present at 7-on-7s or voluntary workouts, that’s practically a guarantee that the practices went over the allotted 20-hour weekly limits.

If the NCAA investigates Rosenberg’s allegations, sanctions could include a loss of practice time or scholarship restrictions. Either could doom Michigan’s chances of regaining its stature as a powerhouse program in major college football in the near future. If Rodriguez’s program does incur sanctions such as these, this could be the death knell for Rodriguez as Michigan’s coach. Some fans and boosters have already been wary of Rodriguez, and major violations would probably sway another large chunk of fans and boosters.

And you can include me in that group. Whether Rodriguez and his staff are guilty of these allegations, I don’t know. If they aren’t – and I don’t trust Rosenberg as far as I could throw him – then the writer should be blackballed or perhaps even fired. If they are guilty, heads should roll. I don’t blame Rodriguez for last year’s 3-9 record, but you can’t field the worst Michigan team in forty years, commit major program violations, and keep your job.