Ex-Wolverine Updates: Week 1

Tag: Justice Hayes


6Sep 2015
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Ex-Wolverine Updates: Week 1

Adrian Witty


Former QB Russell Bellomy:
Bellomy, who is now at the University of Texas-San Antonio, is the backup quarterback. He went 0/2 passing and had 1 rush for 15 yards in a 42-32 loss to Arizona.

Former OG Kyle Bosch: Bosch earned a start for West Virginia as they beat Georgia Southern by a score of 44-0.

Former TE commit Pharaoh Brown: Brown is still working his way back from last year’s knee injury and did not play in Oregon’s season-opening win against Eastern Washington.

Hit the jump for updates on numerous other former Michigan players and commits.
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24Aug 2015
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Ex-Wolverine Updates: Pre-season 2015

Former Michigan running back commit Damien Harris is battling for playing time at Alabama

Well, the making of this post included my baptism into the annoying world of WordPress. There are some nice things about WordPress, but I really missed Blogger yesterday morning when I worked on this post from approximately 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. – with intermittent breaks for necessities – only to have 50% of it disappear into the ether.

Former QB Russell Bellomy: Bellomy’s coach at the University of Texas-San Antonio, Larry Coker, says that Bellomy is in the running . . . to win the #2 job (LINK). That says a lot about Bellomy’s talent level. If you disagree, consider that the entrenched starter, Blake Bogenschutz, went 22/39 (56.4%) for 282 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions last year.

Former OG Kyle Bosch: Bosch, who received a waiver to play this year after transferring to West Virginia in the off-season, is in a battle to start at offensive guard or potentially tackle this fall.

Former TE commit Pharaoh Brown: Brown, who suffered a nasty knee injury last season, will likely be the starter at tight end again this fall for Oregon. As a junior in 2014, he made 25 catches for 420 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Hit the jump for news and notes on 19 more former Michigan commits, signees, and players.
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27May 2015
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Thoughts on Countess and Hayes Transfers

It has been known for a while that running back Justice Hayes would transfer, although the destination was unknown; he’s now planning to play for Southern Miss. Blake Countess somewhat abruptly announced a transfer not long ago, and yesterday he told the world that he would be ending up at Auburn.

Countess is headed to Auburn, which has a depleted secondary that might become even more depleted in the coming weeks. Jonathon Mincy graduated and got a tryout with the Atlanta Falcons. Jonathan Jones, meanwhile, made 6 picks last season and despite suffering a minor injury this spring, he will be one of the Tigers’ starting corners this fall. On the other side, Joshua Holsey is a senior who started seven games last fall, making 41 tackles and 2 pass breakups. He will probably be Countess’s primary competition to start, since no other returning players saw much action. Otherwise, Auburn is bringing in several freshmen to compete, including 4-stars Carlton Davis and Javarius Davis. If Countess transferred for playing time reasons (which is partially rumored to be the case, since the coaching staff pursued Wayne Lyons), he’s going to have to compete against Holsey and some other talented athletes in the SEC.

In Hayes’s case, Southern Mississippi returns its top four running backs from last year. None of them was very accomplished, though. The leading back was then freshman Ito Smith (536 yards, 3.9 yards/carry, 2 touchdowns), while little used freshman Tez Parks and junior Jalen Richard averaged 5.6 and 5.9 yards/carry, respectively. Hayes enters a rather crowded backfield, but Conference USA is weaker competition, and Southern Miss typically survives with 3-star and 2-star recruits. Hayes has decent speed, and while his production was never anything special at Michigan, he should be able to get some playing time in that backfield. He also offers the flexibility to be able to move out into the slot and catch some passes, and he could help on kickoff returns, although the Golden Eagles return senior Michael Thomas, who averaged over 24 yards/return and took one to the house last year.

Neither player is walking into a situation where he will be guaranteed a starting gig, and he won’t necessarily be the most talented guy at his position, either. In recent years we have seen players like Josh Furman, Thomas Rawls, and Richard Ash leave Michigan only to flourish elsewhere immediately. It will be interesting to see whether Hayes and Countess continue that trend. Personally, I have always been high on Countess and I think he’s better than Holsey – but I also think he’s better than Wayne Lyons. Meanwhile, Hayes was uninspiring during his time at Michigan and struggles to run through contact, but he should bring a little speed to the Southern Miss backfield and get a fair chance to shine.

7Dec 2014
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Poll results: Who will lead Michigan in rushing in 2014?

De’Veon Smith was Michigan’s leading rusher in 2014

I meant to post this a few months ago, but somehow it got lost in the shuffle. Here are the results of the poll posted over the summer. (Caveat: This poll closed on September 4, which was several days after Michigan’s opening victory over Appalachian State.)

Derrick Green: 59%
Green ended up with 471 yards in half a season, which was 48 fewer than Smith’s total for twelve games. (Green was my pick in the preseason, too.)


De’Veon Smith: 35%
Smith led the team with 519 yards but did not surpass Green until well after Green was lost for the season with a broken collarbone. Green averaged 78.5 yards/game, and Smith’s only two games over 78.5 yards were the opener against Appalachian State (115 yards) and week 10 against Northwestern (121). Smith averaged 43.25 yards/game for the whole season.


Devin Gardner: 4%
Gardner finished fourth on the team with 258 yards. He undoubtedly would have gone for more, but an ankle injury slowed him down for much of the year.


Drake Johnson: 1%
Johnson was the team’s best back for the last third of the season, rushing for an average of 80 yards/game against Indiana, Northwestern, Maryland, and Ohio State. Unfortunately, he tore his ACL in the season finale.


Other: 0% (0 votes)
The only other tailback to get a shot was Justice Hayes, who averaged 4.4 yards/carry and ended up with 213 rushing yards on the season.

Michigan’s leading rusher total of 519 yards is the lowest since Brandon Minor led the team with 502 yards in 2009, a year in which Michigan also went 5-7.

13Oct 2014
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Michigan vs. Penn State Awards

Devin Gardner (image via CBS Detroit)

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Justice Hayes. Hayes adds a speed element that’s no longer present in the offense without Derrick Green. Any outside rush attempt by De’Veon Smith is doomed from the beginning, and Hayes has the quickness to hit some of the holes that Smith can’t. Michigan doesn’t have a complete back on the roster, so Hayes is the relative “home run” threat. That is to say that he can occasionally run for 6 or 7 yards before first contact brings him down.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . Russell Bellomy. Bellomy is just as bad as when we saw him throwing 4 interceptions in 2012. His two passing attempts included a near pick six to middle linebacker Mike Hull and nearly a second interception for defensive tackle Anthony Zettel. As a redshirt junior, I hope Michigan thanks Bellomy for his hard work and lets him move on with his life or transfer after this year. His career numbers are like this: 4-for-23, 46 yards, 0 touchdowns, 4 interceptions. I cannot remember a second-string quarterback at Michigan that was so ineffective, and the team can surely trot out a walk-on who can do just as poorly.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Willie Henry. Henry obviously hurt his hand while sacking Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova last week, and he was reportedly in uniform but sidelined and wearing a cast against Penn State. The Wolverines struggled on the interior to start the game, and Henry is a difference-maker. Unfortunately, his strength of using his hands will probably be impaired by the injury. Michigan needs him if they want to beat the quality teams on their schedule, beginning with Michigan State in two weeks.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . nobody. Michigan’s defense was mostly excellent on Saturday night.

Play of the game . . . Devin Funchess’s 43-yard touchdown catch. Quarterback Devin Gardner chucked a deep ball that had every intention of getting intercepted by Penn State safety Ryan Keiser. Like a middle schooler with ADHD, Keiser attempted to field the ball like a punt with his hands at waist level. And like a good athlete with a shred of good coaching, Funchess swooped in front of him with his arms extended to snag the ball. He pulled it right out of Keiser’s limp hands, bobbled it for a second, and then reeled it in as he crossed the goal line.

MVP of the game . . . Devin Gardner. I really want to give this to Matt Wile for hitting all three field goal attempts (from 45, 42, and 37 yards), including the go-ahead score to make it 16-13. However, we all saw how poorly the offense moved without Gardner on the field, and I’m confident in saying that Michigan would have lost that game if Gardner did not return. Bellomy was extremely close to turning it over on a couple occasions in just two drives. Luckily, cornerback Jourdan Lewis picked off a pass in Penn State territory, close enough for Wile to drive in a field goal despite Bellomy being behind center. Without Gardner, Michigan loses the game. Without Wile, perhaps a backup kicker or some lucky plays by the offense would have earned the Wolverines enough points to prevail.