Le'Veon Bell is declaring for the NFL draft
Le'Veon Bell met with Mark Dantonio and has decided to declare early for the NFL Draft. Article from MLive is here.
"Upset's not a good word to use, but he (Dantonio) was taken aback a little bit. He thought he had a good chance of Le'Veon coming back."
Hopefully his future NFL team will have a better record against the refs than MSU did this year.
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:21 AM ^
to Bell. He's a special player. It's better for him, too. He can't afford another 400 carries to hinder a future in the pros.
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:26 AM ^
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:22 AM ^
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:59 AM ^
Not real difficult to picture MD's bitter expression upon hearing the good news eh?
January 4th, 2013 at 1:34 AM ^
Bell is rated the fourth-highest RB by many services, and a possible first round pick who won't fall further than the second round. In the NFL, the second round is still decent. Also, his style isn't exactly conducive to a long "shelf life," and he did carry the ball 382 times this season. Any coach with any integrity would have told Bell to go.
Then again, expecting Mark Dantonio to have integrity is like expecting Nick Saban to stay in one place for twenty years.
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:24 AM ^
Good Luck to him. He's pretty good.
Time for Nick Hill to prove his worth and put his money where his mouth is after talking about Denard.
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:24 AM ^
January 3rd, 2013 at 12:04 PM ^
Can't blame a guy for thinking that way. MSU had always ridden its RBs hard under Dantonio, and Bell may think he's better off even if he's a third or fourth round pick.
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:26 AM ^
Last year that got a RB commit from GA named Nick Tompkins whom was ranked the #11 RB in the class, I remember watching his tape and being really impressed with his game. Had a lot of decent offers and would seem like a more viable option than Hill.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/michigan/football/recruiting/player-Nick-Tompki…
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:44 AM ^
Tompkins was the #11 ALL-PURPOSE BACK, according to Rivals. Norfleet was #5 in that category. There's a whole separate category for "running backs."
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:28 AM ^
Only Mork would be "taken aback" about a kid he recruited/coached/looked after trying to live a dream and make things better for himself and his family.
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:26 AM ^
He obviously saw how well the passing game was progressing and knew the writing was on the wall for way less carries next season.
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:27 AM ^
I'm glad and hope MSU loses twelve games next season.
January 3rd, 2013 at 12:01 PM ^
The guy ran for almost 1,800 yards . . . how could Dantonio have realistically expected him to come back?
BTW, major kudos to our defense for holding him to 68 yards on 26 carries (2.6 per). What an effort they turned in that day.
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:28 AM ^
Rough off season in the early entry department for MSU. After seeing numerous Michigan juniors leave gaping holes behind only to get undrafted, I've got to say that I'm relieved to see it finally happening to somebody else. If Gholston leaves, that will hurt. He isn't as dominant as his reputation, but he was still arguably the best MSU recruit of the past decade, and whoever replaces him probably won't be as good.
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:28 AM ^
My first thought was "thank god."
Bell is a tank and their best offensive asset. I'm glad he's not gonna be playing for State anymore. I actually liked seeing him play a lot because he's incredibly gifted. I'm looking forward to seeing him hurdle defenders in the NFL (one of the HL of the season IMO)...as long as it isn't against my team.
This is the right decision for him too. He's proven he can be a workhorse and I don't think there is much upside to staying another year.
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:29 AM ^
Power running backs have a short enough NFL lifespan as it is. He led the NCAA in carries this year with 382, if he stayed he would probably do it again.
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:34 AM ^
"was laying in the weeds."
"Where's the threat?"
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:34 AM ^
January 3rd, 2013 at 1:00 PM ^
it would not shock me if they reach for him at fifth overall...
(But I wouldn't be mad if they did take him later in the draft)
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:34 AM ^
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:36 AM ^
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:36 AM ^
January 3rd, 2013 at 2:29 PM ^
from laying in soggy weed beds outside of Brendan Gibbons apartment.
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:36 AM ^
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:39 AM ^
Good riddance.
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:40 AM ^
I don't really see Bell being a quality NFL back. He's too slow. He could be a decent short yardage back, but not a feature runner.
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:44 AM ^
Johnson 2.0
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:45 AM ^
Eh, I thought Larry Johnson was better (though kind of a head case).
January 3rd, 2013 at 3:27 PM ^
January 3rd, 2013 at 12:00 PM ^
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:53 AM ^
Maybe a Brandon Jacobs type? A short yardage back who can occasionally carry the load when needed?
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:59 AM ^
I bet you would have poo-pood someone like Alfred Morris with the Redskins too. Sixth round guy, high 4.6 forty. Nothing special.
Bell has a very good chance at being a very good back. You can't account for team/coaching fit and just plain old luck.
January 3rd, 2013 at 12:05 PM ^
January 3rd, 2013 at 12:05 PM ^
I didn't watch Alfred Morris in college, so I don't think your opinion of what I would have thought about a guy that I never saw a year ago really matters.
I bet you would have voted for Dewey.
January 3rd, 2013 at 1:07 PM ^
Hey, don't knock Dewey - he was a Michigan grad. Plus, he had a sweet mustache.
January 3rd, 2013 at 12:01 PM ^
Not to say that Bell will do that, but for certain types of runners top end speed isn't that important. Great running backs like Terrell Davis have succeeded without it.
January 3rd, 2013 at 12:33 PM ^
January 3rd, 2013 at 1:02 PM ^
Beat me to it;
Alfie runs for 600-800 yds in Arizona. RG3 puts so much pressure on the LBs, DEs that it gives Alfie nice cut-backs where the above defenders should be.
January 3rd, 2013 at 1:03 PM ^
January 3rd, 2013 at 12:16 PM ^
I don't think Bell will ever be a star, but i do think he can be a quality back up in the league that can occassionally start if the normal #1 guy is hurt. He has great footwork for a guy his size. His biggest problem is when he doesn't realize he's a monster, and tries to be a speed back or bounce things instead of squaring his shoulders. I think as a more situational type runner the NFL will get that out of his system.
And with all that said, I still think it's the smart decision for him to leave. He needs to lose 10-15 lbs to try to increase his speed, but it won't increase enough to get benefit from another year and ~375 carries again. He has maxed out his draft position because it's a down year for RBs and he had a very good year, but will always have limited pure speed (he also sometimes takes a while to get going, unlike Morris as others have said, who has a good enough first step to threaten the edge). Great college back that could have been really great had he any offensive line. I see a solid 5-7 years in the league as a quality backup and occassional starter.
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:44 AM ^
Bummer. Does this mean we can't watch the clips of him hurdling the Bosie State player and Indiana player for the 10,000th time on ESPN?
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:52 AM ^
They should show the clip of when he tried the hurdle against Minnesota. The Minnesota DB stood up and flipped him.
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:56 AM ^
no you get to see him trying to do it in the NFL and getting completely smeared when he does
January 3rd, 2013 at 1:31 PM ^
I was thinking the same thing. He'll be on a few highlights yet trying to hurdle.... for the defender.
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:47 AM ^
MSU really is losing a bunch of talent from a team not loaded to begin with. Will enjoy watching over their decline. I give Dantonio 2 years before he bails. Narduzzi would be smart to get out while his reputation is still intact. Surely back to trainwreck status in EL.
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:25 PM ^
I wouldn't be surprised if he gets booted in a couple years. They were 6-6 this year, and they're probably staring down two more seasons of the same. Once MSU goes back to mediocrity, he'll get shown the door.