Exit Kenny Wilkins
in the wild
As speculated yesterday, the opening of spring practice brought with it news of departures. None are significant in terms of playing time, as they consist of a couple walk-ons and the uber-buried, but one guy was a scholarship player: Kenny Wilkins.
The writing had been on the wall in regards to Wilkins for a long time. He was left off the fall camp roster last year in favor of walk-ons*; my only memory of him is that one time he got destroyed by walk-on OL in Brady Hoke's first spring game, paving the way for the one offensive play of any significance. He was slated to be a redshirt junior this year.
This does open up a scholarship slot. Michigan is currently at 86 players, and may be at 85 depending on just which of the kickers/snappers have scholarship slots this year.
As a recruit, Wilkins was 3/4 star tweener regarded as an athlete that didn't really know how to play football. His recruiting post prediction is not too wince inducing:
General Excitement Level: Moderate. It will take a lot of development to get Wilkins up to a playing weight, and his lack of technique could hold him back. He's a boom or bust (or meh) sort of guy.
At least he gives us another opportunity to regard the wreckage that was Rich Rodriguez's disastrous 2010 recruiting class. Hard hats required for next paragraph entry.
GONE: Cullen Christian, Kenny Wilkins, Demar Dorsey, Austin White, Carvin Johnson, Terry Talbott, Terrence Talbott, Christian Pace, Davion Rogers, Jerald Robinson, Ricardo Miller, Conelius Jones, Stephen Hopkins, DJ Williamson, Antonio Kinard, Ray Vinopal.
HANGING BY THREAD: Will Hagerup
ON TEAM, <10 MEANINGFUL SNAPS: Jordan Paskorz, Josh Furman, Marvin Robinson, Richard Ash
GUYS WHO HAVE PLAYED SOME FOOTBALL: Devin Gardner, Jake Ryan, Jeremy Jackson, Jibreel Black. UPDATE: Courtney Avery and Drew Dileo as well.
Four Six guys out of 27. Good gravy.
*[You are limited to 105 players, IIRC. Obviously not being in the top 105 players is not a great sign for your viability.]
What a disaster that '10 class has been. Just 6 guys out of 27 who actually play football (I am including Marvin Robinson in this number still), only three of whom are legitimate starter caliber for a team that expects to compete for Big Ten championships (that three includes Hagerup). This is why I don't have very high hopes for 2013. You can't take what is essentially a year off from recruiting and not have it come back to haunt you.
I can't wait to see where we are in 2014/2015 time frame though.
so few contributors remain through the turmoil and they should be the ones providing veteran leadership
None are significant in terms of playing time, as they consist of a couple walk-ons and the uber-buried, but one guy was a scholarship player: Kenny WilkinsI'm curious who the walk-ons and uber-buried are that aren't with the team anymore.
TE Nate Allspach, S Drew Offerdahl
But that Brady Hoke was able to field a capable football team last year when his Junior class provided only one true starter (considering Gardner started due to Danard's injury) is remarkable.
WOTS is that Wilkins lacked the intensity in the weight room and on the field to get much done. He came in looking like a future SDE and ended up the size of a NT, and he didn't carry that extra weight well.
no matter how good you are in the community, if you are no good in the weight room, you can't cut it in the B1G
Hope you find greener pastures.
Its too bad about carvin and demar, I think that they could have been good starting players for us. I know they aren't all-american players right now, in fact I have no idea if either are still playing football, but the athleticism was there for both of them if they had the correct coaching staff to develop them.
Avery and Hopkins, too.
What about Avery?
He's alright, that's what. And I somehow missed Hopkins left. When did that happen?
Before the bowl game.
That 2010 class deserves a "Never Forget" banner of its own. That list truly reaches Charge of the Light Brigade levels of martial tragedy.
WITH WILKINS IN THE TITLE!
mid march will be remembered forever as the time that all Wilkinses left UM
:looks at list:
GREAT GOOGILLY MOOGILY
Also part of the suite that brought us "Don't you eat that yellow snow". Hail Nanook!
First of all, Brian, you forgot that THE THREAT was part of the 2010 class as well. I'd say he's played some football.
Second of all, Rivals ranked this class #20 in the country. Not up to Michigan standards, but certainly not apocalyptic as far as initial rankings go. So did we just get unlucky? Or did RR do a bad job of identifying/recruiting kids that had solid character and wanted to be at Michigan? A coaching change will always lead to attrition, but it doesn't seem like any of these guys showed the potential to contribute before bailing out on the new staff, a la Ryan Mallett.
on the day after signing day. if you look at guys from that class that actually managed to get on campus, there is a pretty good hit, then look at guys who left during or after the first year, it gets worse.
Yes, but regardless of when it happened, there were a bunch of guys who we recruited who never made an impact on the field. My question is why the attrition rate was so severe for that class, when on signing day it looked like a halfway decent class.
As someone else mentioned, Avery and Hopkins have both played meaningful snaps, as well as Dileo. That number should be at least 7, not 4.
Hopkins has left the team.
Although he did play meaningful snaps as well, so he falls in both categories.
FIRE RICH ROD
(always turns the day around)
AND TAKE AL BORGES WITH YOU!!
(Because you can't have one without the other??)
Aren't Courtney Avery and Drew Dileo are in that class as well?
Edit: Got beat to the punch!
Good luck to him, but that 2010 class was horrible. Some of them were just extreme misses - Cullen was highly-rated CB, and Dorsey was a top safety who just couldn't make the grade - but man alive were there a bunch of reaches and tweeners who never panned out. I will always think of Rodriguez as an offensive genius who could win with a particular type of player, but as a recruiter he just missed way too much to last here.
Fixed the Avery/Dileo omissions.
Wow-is the 2010 Michigan class the most disasterous of any "bigtime" university in the history of recruiting. Devin Garder was basically an instate gift, make Jake Ryan the only actual recruitment that we can give RR credit for. Truly amazing.
March 14th, 2013 at 11:05 PM ^
JMFR was low hanging fruit that fell in his lap. It is to Michigan's good fortune that JMFR was a late bloomer.
Lewan was in the class of 2009.
All these other guys were in the class of 2010.
Rich Rod would do great in the SEC. Recruit guys and keep the best ~20%. Hell, he could field a basketball team after a few years if he was lucky.
~Herm
10 bucks if you can work in some other person named "Wilkins" on tomorrow's front page.
oops, someone already covered that. Still 10 bucks if another person named "Wilkins" leaves Michigan in some form.
My buddy and I still look back at that 2010 class and laugh and drink and cry, but mostly vomit.
One really does start to wonder if RichRod can recruit or develop anything but QBs with any kind of consistency.
You look at the classes and it's wreckage. Except for the QB.
His most recent AZ class has one 4 star--a QB.
Good thing for him because he can do a great deal with a good QB but golly.
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