Tag: Rich Rodriguez

Anthony Lalota, ex-Wolverine

Buh-bye.

Defensive end Anthony Lalota has been released from his scholarship to the University of Michigan. The 6’4″, 270 lb. lineman committed to Michigan from The Hun School in Princeton, New Jersey. Buried on the depth chart behind redshirt junior Ryan Van Bergen, true freshman Jibreel Black, and converted tight end Steve Watson, the redshirt freshman apparently gave up on seeing the field and asked for his release.

Lalota came to Michigan as part of the Class of 2009. He was a late addition to the football program at The Hun School, having only started to play as a junior. He played offensive tackle and defensive end in high school, and Scout had him ranked as a 4-star offensive tackle prospect at one point. Despite being listed by recruiting sites as big as 6’6″ and 260 lbs., he measured in at 6’4″, 235 lbs. prior to his true freshman season. He added 35 lbs. in between his freshman season and redshirt freshman season, but the writing appeared to be on the wall by the time the 2010 season rolled around. When you’re fourth on the depth chart at a position lacking depth, it would be frustrating.

For what it’s worth, I’ve never been a fan of Lalota’s game. My analysis of him after his participation in the Army All-American Game in January 2009 went like this:

I am not very impressed by Lalota’s skills. He’s a recent convert to football, having not played until his junior year of high school. So significant improvement may still be forthcoming. However, he is very raw as a defensive end and usually tries to beat offensive tackles by bull rushing with 100% effort. I love the effort and that hard work could turn him into a very good player, but at 6’6″ and 260 lbs., he reminds me of former Michigan player Pat Massey, which is generally not considered to be a good thing by Michigan fans. As far as I saw, he didn’t make any plays in the game, and I wouldn’t expect him to play significantly at Michigan for at least a couple years.

Lalota was very mechanical coming out of high school. He played defensive end like an offensive tackle. His lateral mobility was virtually nil, and he lacked great football instincts. I actually would have liked him more for a 3-3-5 defense than I did for the 4-front that Michigan employed at the time he was recruited. Regardless, he seemed overrated to me as a high 4-star prospect. Like many football recruits, the services looked at his size (which was obviously exaggerated) and his decent straight-line speed and said, “Hey, this guy is going to be good.” They just didn’t account for the fact that football is a sport played by athletes, not just big dudes who happen to not be crippled.

As for the impact of Lalota’s transfer on the team itself, it once again hurts Michigan’s APR (just like Vladimir Emilien . . . and Austin White . . . and Justin Turner . . . and numerous others). The number of guys transferring out of the University of Michigan borders on ridiculous. No, wait – it is ridiculous. Michigan was nearing the danger line prior to the season. Since then, four additional guys have left the team. I once again have to point out that I’m not impressed with Rich Rodriguez’s retention rate. Many of these guys don’t seem to be giving the football program much of a shot at Michigan before bailing out. I understand being frustrated about playing time, but he’s a redshirt freshman. What liar told him he would be able to start for a Big Ten team by his second year in college? Whoever that liar is, I hope Anthony Lalota doesn’t trust him anymore.

Meanwhile, Michigan’s Class of 2011 just went from 18 to a size of 19. Guys like Anthony Zettel, Deion Barnes, James Adeyanju, and Ray Drew could take Lalota’s spot. Michigan already needed one defensive end in the class. Since both Van Bergen and Watson are redshirt juniors (and Watson might be a longshot to return for a fifth year), I expect Michigan to take at least one more defensive end in the class, maybe two.

Burning Devin Gardner’s Redshirt a Bad Idea

In the middle of the third quarter, during a 30-10 Michigan victory over UConn, quarterback Denard Robinson took off up the middle on one of his 29 carries. As he stretched for a first down, a defender put his helmet on Robinson’s left hip, Shoelace flew up in the air and landed on his left hip, and then a large Husky landed on Robinson’s right hip, driving his left hip harder into the ground. As Robinson squirmed in pain on the ground, Michigan fans’ hearts leapt to their throats.

Now imagine if you didn’t see the game or read the internet yesterday. If you were Coach Rich Rodriguez and forced to sub for Robinson, would you insert . . .

a) a sophomore who has 12 games of starting experience, 5 career victories as a starter, and 2,000+ yards passing to go along with 16 career touchdowns?

b) a freshman who has 0 games of starting experience, 0 career victories as a starter, no stats, and an opportunity to redshirt in order to preserve eligibility through 2014?

An objective reader would clearly choose letter “A.” Not Rodriguez, though. Despite surely knowing that Robinson’s injury was only minor and that he would probably be able to return to the game soon, Rodriguez left option “A” on the bench and told “B” to warm up.

Earlier in the week, Rodriguez told the media that Gardner probably wouldn’t redshirt in 2010. He had apparently soaked up the playbook and shown excellent leadership since his arrival on campus in January 2010. Meanwhile, Forcier’s leadership had been questioned repeatedly, most notably by Rodriguez and his coaching staff, who chose to force Tate to “earn his wings” at the beginning of fall practice; several student-athletes who hadn’t worked very hard in the offseason were given plain blue helmets and told they had to work to get them back.

Leaving Forcier on the bench was apparently the punishment levied for poor offseason habits. He was essentially suspended for the game. And while Forcier had been standing on the sidelines with his teammates up to that point, afterward the television cameras caught him sitting alone on the bench with towels wrapped around his face, clearly unhappy with the situation. It was not a mature moment from Forcier (why sulk away from your teammates during a 30-10 opening day victory?), but the cameras and broadcasters focused on him for entirely too long. I can’t say that I blame Forcier for being upset. I was, too. He shouldn’t have wandered off by himself and covered his head during a win, but he’s just barely 20 years old; expecting a 20-year-old to be great at hiding his emotions is asking a lot.

However, the choice by Rodriguez was questionable, perhaps even irresponsible and narrow-minded. For such a minor injury, it bordered on the ridiculous to send Gardner onto the field. An All-Everything recruit, he will now be unable to play in 2014, even if Michigan needs him. The only Michigan quarterback scheduled to be on the roster by then is Kevin Sousa . . . who is currently playing his senior year of high school and won’t sign a Letter of Intent until February 2011. And now Michigan has three excellent quarterback recruits spread over only two classes of eligibility. If everything remains as scheduled, Forcier and Robinson will continue the quarterback battle/drama through 2012, then Gardner will be the unquestioned starter in 2013, and who knows after that? Furthmore, it’s not so much the fact that Gardner burned his redshirt that frustrates me. It’s the way it was burned, for a mere two snaps, neither of which was critical.

And while coaches repeat the mantras “There’s no I in team” and “No one person is bigger than the program,” Rodriguez seemed to make this statement: “Doing things my way is bigger than the program.” It was punishment enough for 12-game starter Forcier that he didn’t start and was relegated to relief duty on Saturday. Plugging in Gardner for a mere two plays (a handoff and an awkward -4 yard keeper) was a virtual slap in the face. It said, “I’d rather sacrifice having a potential All-American quarterback in 2014 than put you in the game for two snaps.”

After the game the only quote Forcier permitted was “All you need to know is I’m out.” Family members quickly asserted that, No no no, he was just saying that he was leaving the stadium! Yeah, right. If those were the actual words that came out Forcier’s mouth, he’s either a very poor communicator or he had at least momentarily decided to transfer. Just like putting the towels on his head in front of camera feeds being broadcast nationally – and 113,000 fans – Forcier almost surely knew what message he was sending. It may have been an emotional reaction in the heat of the moment, but it was his reaction nonetheless. Whether Forcier actually departs remains to be seen, but it’s growing increasingly obvious that something has to give. Robinson is the starter but could play other positions. Gardner is apparently the #2, but he’s only a year behind Robinson. Forcier seems to be the odd man out and doesn’t have the ability to play another position, but he’s got the best resume so far. For one of the three, a change of positions or a transfer seems more likely today than it did prior to yesterday’s game.

The story/rumors of Forcier’s impending transfer highlighted what seems to be one of Rodriguez’s faults. Several Lloyd Carr-recruited players transferred away from Michigan after Rodriguez arrived, as well as several players who were recruited to Michigan by Rodriguez himself. Two players (Austin White and Justin Turner) have already transferred during fall camp. Forcier was a Rodriguez-only recruit. Hopefully he can manage Forcier’s personality and mold him into a good teammate and leader. But if these attitude issues continue and/or Forcier transfers, Rodriguez’s ability to recruit and judge character comes into question. Michigan can’t afford to lose too many more players, or else they run the risk of facing sanctions for not graduating enough players. Rich Rodriguez needs to recruit players that he can keep around for years, and he needs to manage the personalities of those he recruits. His my-way-or-the-highway attitude is fine, but only if he recruits players who can handle it.

Austin White, ex-Wolverine

Okay, this is getting old. A couple weeks after cornerback Justin Turner transferred (reportedly to WVU), now freshman running back Austin White has left the team as well. White was a 3-star recruit and the #10 all-purpose back in the Class of 2010, according to Rivals; Scout.com ranked him the #15 overall running back and a 4-star recruit. The reasons for his departure have not been explicitly stated by the University, but it seems as though his departure was more the program’s decision than White’s. Rumors have sprouted up that there were several violations of team rules that occurred, even after White was given a second chance.

If you read my comments on White over the last year and a half, you’ll see that I was not impressed. That’s four separate posts where I was largely indifferent to White’s commitment and talent. Despite the fairly impressive rankings from Scout and Rivals, I have never been enamored with his abilities. I even suggested that he would be a candidate to change positions within a couple years, once he and the coaches realized that he would only be an afterthought to the other running backs on the roster. White has adequate talent to play at the Big Ten level, but the only thing that really stood out about him was his ability to catch the ball.

This leaves Michigan with five running backs on the roster: Michael Cox, Michael Shaw, Vincent Smith, Fitzgerald Toussaint, and Stephen Hopkins. White was almost surely headed for a redshirt in 2010, and both Toussaint and Hopkins (both with higher ceilings, in my opinion) have freshman eligibility as well. So Michigan won’t feel this loss on the field. There’s plenty of other talent at the position.

However, the Wolverines might feel it in their APR score. Michigan is already hovering dangerously close to the lower end of the spectrum due to all of the post-Carr-era transfers (incomplete list here). The recent departures of Turner and White will further drive that APR score into the ground, and Michigan could be facing scholarship limitations in upcoming years for their failure to graduate a sufficient number of scholarship athletes. This is a problem.

I’m also somewhat frustrated with the recruiting of White in the first place. As I have mentioned, I have never been excited about his talent. Furthermore, rumors circulated even prior to his commitment that he had caused some problems when in high school at Livonia Stevenson. Words like “prima donna” and “cocky” were thrown about, and there was allegedly a bit of a spat with the coaching staff. One can never be sure how much weight to give rumors like that, but in my experience, “where there’s smoke there’s fire” seems to be a decent rule.

Rodriguez recruited him despite those rumors, and now he’s essentially been banned from the team prior to his freshman season. This is the fourth wasted scholarship from the Class of 2010 (following the failures to qualify by Antonio Kinard, Conelius Jones, and Demar Dorsey). Furthermore, there were other, more talented backs in the Class of 2010 who were considering Michigan, such as Dillon Baxter (USC), Dietrich Riley (UCLA), Corvin Lamb (Louisville), and Eduardo Clements (Miami-FL). Even Cassius McDowell (Toledo) and Brandon Gainer (Kentucky) would have been better fits if they actually, you know, had the ability to remain on the team. It’s hard to tell how running back recruiting would have played out if a spot hadn’t been taken by White, but it’s conceivable that one of those kids could have been wooed to Ann Arbor in his stead.

In a positive light (I guess), much of what I said in yesterday’s post about Troy Woolfolk’s injury can be amended. Woolfolk’s return in 2011 would have lowered the number of scholarships available to 16, but White’s official departure puts that number back at 17. This now allows Michigan to add at least seven more players to the Class of 2011, perhaps including a linebacker (which will make some of yesterday’s posters happy).

In Defense of Morgan Trent

Former Michigan cornerback Morgan Trent (#25):

On the heels of reports from the Detroit Free Press, the NCAA launched an investigation into alleged infractions by Rich Rodriguez and his staff at the University of Michigan. On Monday night, the NCAA’s allegations were made known to university administrators. On Tuesday afternoon, the university held a press conference, at which both head coach Rich Rodriguez and soon-to-be athletic director David Brandon admitted making past mistakes. Also on Tuesday afternoon, former Michigan cornerback Morgan Trent was interviewed by the Detroit News and said the following:

“I’m not surprised because I know what happened, and I know what kind of rules were broken. I couldn’t see how they were going to get out of that.

“Whatever steps need to be taken (to restore Michigan’s winning tradition), I’m all for it. What is happening right now obviously is not working. I don’t know how long they’re going to let this last until changes are made. This year is going to be the tell-all what’s going to happen. We can’t have three losing years in a row. Not at Michigan. To lose seven of last eight games (in 2009) is an embarrassment.”

These comments immediately set off a firestorm in the Michigan blogosphere. In various places, I found quotes like “Morgan Trent is a piece of shit” (MGoBlog’s message board), “While you’re talking to the press Morgan, how bout telling us how Dwayne Jarrett’s ass tastes?” (Genuinely Sarcastic), and “[Morgan’s] father should have done us all a favor and pulled out. Or worn a rubber. Or punched your mother in the stomach” (a blog aptly named The Toolshed). Meanwhile, Trent was a sixth round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals and locked down their nickel cornerback job, making 28 tackles, 1 sack, and 4 pass breakups in his 2009 rookie season. If he’s “truly horrible at football” (another MGoBlog message board post), then put me down as somebody who wants to be truly horrible at football, too.

As I was reading these comments – and responding to some – I couldn’t help but feel disappointed in Michigan’s fan base. Not only are the allegations perhaps the biggest letdown of the Rodriguez era, but Wolverine fans came out of the woodwork to denigrate and attempt to discredit Trent by insulting his body of work at Michigan.

To briefly recap Trent’s career at Michigan, he was recruited in 2004 out of Orchard Lake St. Mary’s as a wide receiver. He switched to cornerback during bowl practices of his freshman year, during which he redshirted, and played sparingly as a redshirt freshman. He became a starter opposite Leon Hall in the 2006 season, taking part in an embarrassing Rose Bowl loss to USC and The Horror against Appalachian State in 2007. In Rodriguez’s first season at Michigan, 2008, Trent started the entire year at cornerback, but his solid – although not spectacular – play took a step back in the one-year experiment where cornerbacks coach/defensive coordinator Scott Shafer installed a failure of a defense, was neutered mid-season in favor of the 3-3-5 stack, and was promptly fired at the end of the season. It’s not a coincidence that Trent’s season as a fifth-year senior was a disappointment – he was undone by poor coaching and a poor scheme. Despite the poor coaching, he was named one of four team captains at the end of the season.

Trent finished his career as a 41-game starter, tallying 149 tackles, 7 interceptions, and 24 passes defensed. In addition, he did things like this (fast forward to 3:35) and this:

Now, should Morgan Trent have said the things he did? Probably not. Trent really added nothing that people didn’t already know, and if he thought about it, he surely would have known that such comments wouldn’t help Michigan’s precarious position in the local and national media.

But he spoke the truth.

I’m not surprised because I know what happened, and I know what kind of rules were broken. Trent played at Michigan during the 2008 season, when some of these allegations took place. He was there. He saw it. Even if he didn’t know at the time that rules were being broken, he’s an insider – he knows more than any fan could. He might remember grad assistant Alex Herron showing up to 7-on-7s. He might remember practices going for an extra 20 minutes.

I couldn’t see how they were going to get out of that. An infraction is an infraction is an infraction. You can’t go back and change history, no matter how much you want to do so.

Whatever steps need to be taken (to restore Michigan’s winning tradition), I’m all for it. What is happening right now obviously is not working. That’s true. It’s not. Michigan is 8-16 over the past two years and they’re on the verge of “major infractions” (the NCAA’s words, not mine).

I don’t know how long they’re going to let this last until changes are made. This year is going to be the tell-all what’s going to happen at Michigan. We can’t have three losing years in a row. Not at Michigan. This is a common sentiment amongst Michigan fans, media, and – let’s face it – people within the program. Nobody knows how long Rodriguez has to right the ship. Some think that another losing season would get him fired. Some think he should get at least four years. I’m sure incoming athletic director David Brandon ponders the same question; he’s been publicly supportive of Rodriguez, but he knows that Michigan can’t endure infractions and losing seasons forever.

To lose seven of last eight games (in 2009) is an embarrassment. Does anybody want to argue that losing to MSU, Illinois, and Purdue wasn’t embarrassing? How about the 45-24 loss to Wisconsin?

All the ire directed at Trent is a defense mechanism. After decades of admiring Bo Schembechler and his disciples, Gary Moeller and Lloyd Carr, Michigan fans cannot bring themselves to criticize the people who are truly to blame for what is happening right now at the University of Michigan – Rich Rodriguez and his staff.

A poster on MGoBlog said something to the effect that it makes him angry that “Haters are bringing down my Camelot.” Yes, the Free Press did some digging – much of it unethical – and jump-started the investigation. But the crux of the issue is that Rich Rodriguez broke the rules. He overscheduled practice times. His staff watched off-season 7-on-7s when they shouldn’t have. His staff punished players who skipped class. All of those things went against the rules that were put in place by the NCAA.

I’m not calling for Rodriguez to be fired. Far from it. Firing Rodriguez at this point would set the program even further back than it is. Barring any further infractions, he needs to keep his job through the 2010 season, and probably even 2011. But the tenuous hold he has on his job isn’t entirely due to outside forces. From the onset of his Michigan career, he was put in a tough position with the roster and personnel and media working against him, but this attack from the NCAA and the media falls squarely on his shoulders.

Michigan fans, your anger is misplaced. Be angry at the Detroit Free Press for the unethical ways they tricked young football players into answering their slick questions last summer. Be angry at the NCAA for having rules that student-athletes shouldn’t be punished for skipping classes. Be angry at Rich Rodriguez for letting things get out of control. Cancel your subscriptions, send letters, send e-mails. Let’s not lose perspective of who’s actually to blame.

Go Blue!

What Could Have Been . . . Christian Wilson

Christian Wilson (#33)