Tag: Pharaoh Brown

Ex-Wolverine Updates

Rich Rodriguez won his debut as the Arizona Wildcats head coach

Former Michigan TE/DE commit Pharaoh Brown: Brown had 1 reception for 16 yards in Oregon’s 57-34 win over Arkansas State.

Former Michigan CB Cullen Christian: Christian had 5 tackles, but Pitt lost to Youngstown State by a score of 31-17.

Former Michigan RB commit Dee Hart: Hart had 9 carries for 19 yards as a backup running back in Alabama’s 41-14 demolition of Michigan.

Former Michigan RB Sam McGuffie: McGuffie is now a full-time slot receiver for the spread offense at Rice.  In a 49-24 loss to UCLA, he had 8 receptions for 63 yards and 1 touchdown.

Former Michigan WR/CB commit Dewayne Peace: Peace, now a wide receiver for the Houston Cougars, had 2 receptions for 13 yards in UH’s 30-13 loss to Texas State.

Former Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez: Rodriguez won his first game as Arizona’s head coach, a 24-17 victory over Toledo in overtime.  The Wildcats had 624 total yards of offense.

Former Michigan WR Je’ron Stokes: Stokes, now playing for Bowling Green State University, had 4 receptions for 32 yards in BGSU’s 27-14 loss to the Florida Gators.

Former Michigan S Ray Vinopal: Vinopal, a current teammate of Christian at Pitt, had 3 tackles in the 31-17 loss to Youngstown State.

Ex-Wolverine Updates: Pre-Season 2012

Sam McGuffie is the face of the Rice Owls’ program this fall

Some Michigan fans surely don’t care much what happens to guys after they decommit or transfer from Michigan, but I’m not one of them.  I like to track them and see how they’re doing elsewhere.  Most of the time, they don’t find a ton of success on the football field.  But a few – like Toney Clemons, Anthony Fera, DeQuinta Jones, and Sam McGuffie – have become quality players for other FBS programs.  Here are some of the updates since last year, with more info to be found on the Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia.

Former Michigan QB commit Shavodrick Beaver: Beaver sat out the 2011 season after transferring from Tulsa to Midwestern State.  He is listed as a 6’3″, 193 lb. redshirt junior quarterback for the Mustangs.

Former Michigan CB Greg Brown: Brown is listed as a 5’11”, 195 lb. defensive back on Findlay’s roster.  He transferred shortly into the 2011 season after enrolling early in January 2011.

Former Michigan TE commit Pharaoh Brown: Brown is listed as a 6’6″, 234 lb. freshman tight end on Oregon’s roster.

Former Michigan CB Cullen Christian: Christian is listed as a 6’0″, 195 lb. defensive back on Pitt’s roster.  He is expected to start at cornerback for the Panthers this year.

Former Michigan WR Toney Clemons: Clemons was a 7th round draft pick out of Colorado in the 2012 NFL Draft.  He remains on the Steelers’ roster at this point but did not have a catch in their first preason game against the Eagles.

Former Michigan CB commit Dallas Crawford: Crawford was Miami’s Scout Team Player of the Year on defense, but he is now listed as a 5’11”, 190 lb. running back on the Hurricanes’ roster.

Former Michigan CB commit Demar Dorsey: Dorsey was supposed to enroll at Hawaii after transferring from Grand Rapids Community College, but he does not appear on Hawaii’s roster for the upcoming season.  UPDATE: Dorsey is transferring to Western Arizona Junior College for the upcoming season.

Former Michigan S Vladimir Emilien: Emilien is listed as a 6’1″, 204 lb. safety at Toledo after sitting out the 2011 season due to transfer rules.  He is expected to start this fall at a hybrid safety/linebacker position.

Former Michigan K commit Anthony Fera: Fera transferred from Penn State to Texas after the PSU sanctions were announced.  He currently has a groin injury and is not practicing with the Longhorns, but he is expected to start when healthy.

Former Michigan OT commit Jake Fisher: Fisher is listed as a 6’6″, 294 lb. offensive lineman on Oregon’s roster.  He is expected to start this year for the Ducks.

Former Michigan QB Tate Forcier: Forcier signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League after leaving San Jose State, but he was released from the team in June.  His current football status is unknown.

Former Michigan K commit Matt Goudis: Goudis is a redshirt freshman kicker at Miami.

Former Michigan FS Carvin Johnson: Johnson supposedly transferred to Hampton but does not appear on the Pirates’ roster for the upcoming season.

Former Michigan DT commit DeQuinta Jones: Jones is listed as a 6’5″, 299 lb. defensive tackle and is expected to start for the Arkansas Razorbacks this fall.

Former Michigan LB Kellen Jones: Jones left Oklahoma for Clemson, but does not appear on the Tigers’ 2012 roster.

Former Michigan RB Sam McGuffie: McGuffie is listed as a 5’11”, 200 lb. redshirt senior running back on the Rice Owls’ roster, though he is expected to contribute mostly at slot receiver this fall.

Former Michigan WR commit Bryce McNeal: McNeal transferred from Clemson to UConn in the middle of last season, but he does not appear on the Huskies’ roster for 2012.  EDIT: McNeal has instead transferred to Louisville, where it looks like he’ll begin this season as a backup.

Former Michigan QB commit Kevin Newsome: Newsome transferred to Temple from Penn State in the offseason.  He will be eligible to play this fall, but will likely be a backup to the incumbent starter.

Former Michigan WR commit DeWayne Peace: Peace is listed as a 6’0″, 190 lb. redshirt junior wide receiver for Houston.  He is expected to start at wide receiver this fall.

Former Michigan LB Davion Rogers: Rogers left the Youngstown State program after the 2011 season.  His current playing status is unknown.

Former Michigan QB commit Kevin Sousa: Sousa is listed as a 6’3″, 230 lb. redshirt freshman on Wake Forest’s roster.

Former Michigan OL commit Caleb Stacey: Stacey decommitted from Michigan and signed with Cincinnati instead, but he left the team prior to the beginning of fall camp.

Former Michigan CB commit Anthony Standifer: Standifer is listed as a 6’1″, 180 lb. defensive back on Ole Miss’s roster.

Former Michigan WR Je’Ron Stokes: Stokes is listed as a 6’1″, 198 lb. redshirt junior wide receiver for the Bowling Green State University Falcons.  He is in the mix to start this fall.

Former Michigan CB Justin Turner: Turner is listed as a 6’3″, 204 lb. defensive back for Scottsdale Community College, where he started last season.

Former Michigan S Ray Vinopal: Vinopal is listed as a 5’10”, 190 lb. redshirt sophomore safety on Pitt’s roster.  He is expected to start for the Panthers this season.

Former Michigan CB commit Adrian Witty: Witty is listed as a 5’10”, 182 lb. cornerback for the Cincinnati Bearcats.  He is in the mix to start this fall.

Recruiting Update: January 4, 2012

Louisville (KY) Trinity DE Jason Hatcher (image via Voice-Tribune)

ADDED TO THE BOARDS (2012, 2013, 2014)
Miami (OH) Norland inside linebacker Keith Brown de-committed from Illinois.  He had previously been committed to Miami, flipped to Illinois before Ron Zook was fired, and now will announce his commitment during the U.S. Army All-American Bowl this weekend.  He is expected to choose between Illinois, Louisville, and Miami, so Michigan is still out of the running.

Louisville (KY) Trinity defensive end Jason Hatcher, a 2013 prospect, received an offer from the Wolverines last week.  He’s a 6’1″, 231 lb. athlete with offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.  247 Sports ranks him at #140 overall for 2013 and the #7 weakside end.  Hatcher had 40 tackles and 12 sacks as a junior.

Salt Lake City (UT) Highland defensive tackle Bryan Mone, a 2014 prospect, was offered by Michigan.  Mone is the first 2014 prospect to be offered by the Wolverines and is the teammate of incoming fullback Sione Houma.  The 6’3″, 255 lb. Mone also has offers from Utah and Utah State.  The 2014 Offer Board has been unveiled!

Louisville (KY) Trinity wide receiver James Quick, a 2013 prospect, has been offered by Michigan.  He’s the teammate of Hatcher, obviously.  Quick is a 6’1″, 180-pounder with a reported 4.41 forty time.  He has offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisville, and others.  This past season he had 82 receptions, 1434 yards, and 21 touchdowns, which was good enough to earn him the #42 overall spot for 247 Sports’ 2013 rankings.  He’s also their #3 wide receiver and the top player in Kentucky.

OFF THE BOARD
Lyndhurst (OH) Brush tight end Pharaoh Brown committed to Oregon.  This was not a surprise, since he went out to Oregon while he was committed to Michigan . . . without telling Michigan’s coaches.  Michigan promptly dropped him from their recruiting board.  I was not impressed with Brown’s attitude at various points throughout the recruiting process, so perhaps this is for the best.

Erie (PA) McDowell running back Greg Garmon committed to Iowa during the Semper Fidelis All American Bowl.  Garmon is a 6’2″, 195 lb. runner with good speed and physicality who will likely present a problem for Michigan in the coming years.  Outside of starter Marcus Coker, there is a huge void at running back for the Hawkeyes (backup Mika’il McCall announced on Tuesday that he was leaving the program), so Garmon’s choice makes sense.  He will likely be able to play immediately as a freshman in 2012.

Columbus (IN) East quarterback Gunner Kiel committed to LSU.  Kiel is widely considered to be the #1 quarterback prospect in the nation.  There was a time back in the spring when people thought he might end up at Michigan, but that flirtation ended a long time ago.  At one point Kiel had committed to Indiana, but the fact that the Hoosiers went 1-11 might have had something to do with him changing his mind.

San Diego (CA) Westview tight end Taylor McNamara committed to Oklahoma.  This is clearly a better option than the school he was previously committed to, which was Arizona.  The new Arizona coach is Rich Rodriguez, obviously, and Rodriguez doesn’t get the ball to his tight ends very much.  Meanwhile, Oklahoma traditionally has a strong passing attack, and McNamara should fit in well there.

Olney (MD) Good Counsel defensive end Ryan Watson committed to Purdue.  The 6’3″, 270-pounder is the former teammate of Blake Countess and the current teammate of Wes Brown (2012), Stefon Diggs (2012), Kendall Fuller (2013), and Dorian O’Daniel (2013), all of whom have Michigan offers.  As one might expect from a kid with his size, the Boilermakers want him to play defensive tackle.

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.

2012 Recruiting: Senior Year Statistics

Ann Arbor (MI) Pioneer got a statistically dominant season out of Drake Johnson (#2 in white and purple)

Blake Bars – OT – Nashville (TN) Montgomery Bell
54 pancake blocks

Joe Bolden – LB – Cincinnati (OH) Colerain
86 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception returned for a touchdown; 1 receiving touchdown, 1 rushing touchdown, and a 39.0 yard average on 25 punts

Ben Braden – OT – Rockford (MI) Rockford
No stats available.

Pharaoh Brown – TE/DE – Lyndhurst (OH) Brush**
31 receptions, 499 yards (16.1 yards per catch), 7 touchdowns; 33 tackles, 9 sacks, 1 pass breakup, 1 forced fumble

Jehu Chesson – WR – St. Louis (MO) Ladue Horton Watkins
53 receptions, 757 yards, 6 touchdowns; 57 tackles, 2 interceptions

Jeremy Clark – S – Madisonville (KY) North Hopkins
70 tackles, 15 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble, 3 interceptions (3 touchdowns), and 1 fumble recovery (1 touchdown)

Devin Funchess – TE/LB – Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison
21 receptions, 452 yards (21.5 yards per catch), 5 touchdowns; 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception, 3 pass breakups

Allen Gant – S/WR – Sylvania (OH) Southview
79 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 1 interception, 3 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles; 12 carries, 106 yards (8.8 yards per rush); 24 receptions, 419 yards (17.5 yards per catch), 4 touchdowns

Matt Godin – DE – Novi (MI) Catholic Central
90 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 16.5 tackles for loss

Willie Henry – DT – Cleveland (OH) GlenvilleNo stats available.

Sione Houma – FB – Salt Lake City (UT) Highland
93 carries, 790 yards (8.8 yards per carry), 8 touchdowns; 1 kickoff return touchdown

Royce Jenkins-Stone – LB/FB – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech
84 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries; 309 yards rushing, 5 touchdowns; 4 receptions, 43 yards, 1 touchdown

Drake Johnson – RB – Ann Arbor (MI) Pioneer
343 carries, 2,805 yards (8.2 yards per carry), 37 touchdowns; 5 receptions, 83 yards (16.6 yards per catch), 1 touchdown; 5-for-9 passing, 90 yards

Kyle Kalis – OL – Lakewood (OH) St. Edward’s
No stats available.

Erik Magnuson – OL/DE – Carlsbad (CA) La Costa Canyon
69 pancake blocks

Dennis Norfleet – RB – Detroit (MI) King2,033 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns

Mario Ojemudia – DE – Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison
80 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 1 blocked punt

Ondre Pipkins – DT – Kansas City (MO) Park Hill
60 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 3 pass breakups

Terry Richardson – CB/WR – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech
49 tackles, 7 pass breakups; 24 receptions, 425 yards (17.7 yards per catch), 2 touchdowns; 1 kickoff return touchdown

Kaleb Ringer – LB – Clayton (OH) Northmont
59 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery, 1 pass breakup

James Ross – LB – Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s
138 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery; 1 touchdown reception

Caleb Stacey – OL – Cincinnati (OH)**
38 pancake blocks, 0 sacks allowed

Anthony Standifer – CB – Crete (IL) Crete-Monee**
46 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 4 interceptions (1 touchdown), 2 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery

Tom Strobel – DE – Mentor (OH) Mentor
55 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 33 quarterback hurries

A.J. Williams – TE – Cincinnati (OH) Sycamore
No stats available.

Jarrod Wilson – S – Akron (OH) Buchtel
71 tackles, 3 interceptions (1 touchdown), 1 blocked punt

Chris Wormley – DE – Toledo (OH) Whitmer
66 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 1 pass breakup

**Decommitted from Michigan