5th Year seniors had to "audition" during spring practice

God forbid you have to earn your spot on the team

if the players had to audition to remain on the team.

It's fair, because all scholarships are for 4 years and the players graduated (which is the essence and point of athletic scholarships). However, I'm not so sure that's true as there isn't a scholarship crunch this season.

If a player like Heitzman was say 3rd string, but wanted to be on the team and had a good attitude, why would Harbaugh (or anyone) want the kid gone?

choose to live by the rules or go.  If you are confident in your abilities, you'll stay and compete.  If you aren't, you'll bail.  Guess he wasn't confident and committed to proving it.  Bo ran a lot of guys off the team when he took over by making them prove their capabilities.  I always thought Hoke's teams lacked confidence in how they played, especially in road games where you need to manufacture your own motivation and can't count on the crowd lifting you up.  What Harbaugh is doing is a good thing for the team.

can a locker room sink when seniority is an actual thing.

This isn't like the Pipkens situation, which I am not at all comfortable with.  We should be honoring 4 year scholarships, because that's what players expect and because its the right  thing to do.  But we aren't guaranteeing 5 years.  Same as with Bielfeldt in basketball.

It's too bad he was surprised and even bummed out that he had to "tryout" for the new coaches, but that's life. That said, I can understand the sentiment that he probably saw the writing on the wall, knowing that he wasn't going to make it, and I can also sympathize that he would have been in better shape if the coaches did have a history of seeing him in practice for four years. That said, I'm sure harbaugh looks at every day as a tryout, for everyone. That's part of his nature. The specific 5th years have to tryout is probably only going to be for this year. Next year, I'd imagine guys won't even get the chance to tryout. The decision will already have been made.

It's really no different than those next year who will be given the "handshake" and on their way. Only difference this season is, jim was trying to give some of them a chance.

gasp!

Keith will soar to new heights, man!

If this bothers him now, he won't be prepared for the "real" world, where it's not uncommon for there to be turnover in management, necessitating the worker bees to continuously prove themselves to the new bosses.  I once went through five different bosses in two years - each time I had to re-introduce myself and basically justify my position in the firm.

This is common place, you have to be invited back for your 5th year. There is a reason 4 year scholarships are given and not 5.

There are two sides of this that are pretty easy to argue and have merit. I'd just say make sure you would apply the exact same logic you apply here to Nick Saban, Les Miles, Urban Meyer or Mark Dantonio.

I have no problem with 5th year seniors having to prove themselves. Michigan lived up to its committment - this young man has a Michigan degree and no student debt.

Not to slam the kid, but most telling about Heitzman's ability to contribute on-field is where is he landed.

Does anyone really believe Bellomy got a tryout? My lawd that dude was bad

Bo's Lasting Lessons-Chapter 4 - Throw a Bucket of Cold Water

"When you take over a new operation, some people will tell you that you ought to lie low, and look around before you do anything. But that's not me--because I just don't think it works.
I say, whatever your philosophy, whatever your standards, whatever your expectations, you establish those on Day One. Don't waste a second! Let them adjust to you, not the other way around. You can always soften up if you need to, but you can't get tougher later on. It's a lot better to throw a bucket of cold water on them on your first day than it is to try to coax them into the cold water, toe by toe. Because they won't do it that way."

I think it's safe to say that Harbaugh brought a few buckets with him and if the kids don't want to get onboard, so be it. I consider this a test of will and passion and the fifth years jumping ship failed as far as I'm concerned.

A scholarship spot at a power 5 football program should be based on merit. I'm one of the few people who doesn't have problem with oversigning for this reason. Let kids compete and try out for a spot at a top program, and give the scholarship to the most deserving player. If a kid gets beaten out, he can trasnfer to a smaller program that will offer him a scholarship, or if he's really at the school for its academics, then he can stay and finance his education with student loans like the rest of us did. 

Harbaugh doing this is fine, and Heitzman saying what he did is fine too.  No animals were harmed during the making of his film.

I would understand if Heitzman was required to audition and some other 5th year players were not, that he would feel "bummed out" In that case he could legitimately argue that he was valued less than some of his classmates. Mandatory auditions for all 5th years was simply part of the mechanism that Harbaugh decided to use this year to determine who to offer a 5th year scholarship. 

Heitzman decided not to avail himself of the opportunity to participate in that process. That's his right. I wish him well. 

Harbaugh mentioned on a couple of occasions that he did not use much film from previous seasons in assessing his players. So his primary vehicle to make that assessment is their performance in spring practice. It seems that he wanted to be sure that the 5th year players understood  the weight that would be placed on their performance in the spring. 

All that said, seniors contribute heavily to the leadership on the team. Were I a coach, I'd want those 5th years to be all drive and effort. I would not be surprised if one aspect of the formal "audition" was to measure the attitude of the player and perhaps how coachable they'd be under the new staff. Part of assessing if any given 5th player can climb the learing curve quickly enough to contribute in a single season in a new system. Can't know for sure but...

 

"I came in and instituted an extremely rigorous summer training program; there had been none and everyone told me it wouldn't work, that people wouldn't go for that in Ann Arbor. The team had a reputation for having good talent, but being soft. I did have some attrition, but the real football players stayed. I was harder on that Michigan team than I ever was on any other group... I killed them. I ran them into the ground."

"I was prepared for some attrition when I became Michigan's coach. I can honestly say we did not lose a guy who really could have helped us. I didn't lose any sleep over anyone who quit that spring..."
 

Meet Michigan's Meanest Man
Sports Illustrated, November 16, 1970

""As Bo says, he runs a tough football program," Dierdorf explains. "Run and run and run. The track team doesn't run as much as we do. And their coach isn't as mean, either."..."When something goes wrong during a practice a whistle blows and Schembechler roars in, wielding words like whips. Betts waits until the point is well made and the rage has ebbed."....

"This is a rough tough hard-nosed football program," says last year's Coach of the Year. "We run their tails off. Maybe three miles of sprints on Mondays. Then Tuesday and Wednesday we really hit. We bring the freshmen in and we go after them for a full two hours. But this is an easy team to coach. They are bright kids and we have some fun. If they don't like something, they know they can say it. That doesn't mean I'll change. But if I don't, I'll be sure they know the reason why."

Except for his open-door policy, Schembechler might have lost it all last year when he arrived from Miami of Ohio to replace Bump Elliott, who became assistant athletic director. He called in the team and said there was nothing ahead but hard work, a lot of hard work.

"And he changed everything," said Newell. "I remember I didn't like that and I didn't like him. I thought it was cool the way Bump ran things."

The Monday before 1969's opening game with Vanderbilt, Schembechler called in his defense. He wanted to know what was wrong. There was a lot of talk but nobody really said anything. Players began to leave. Finally the only player left was Newell.

"Pete," said Schembechler, "for 15 minutes you've been standing there telling me everything would be all right. But you're lying to me. What is the trouble?"

 Newell looked at him. As he remembered later, he was sweating like a soaked sponge. "O.K.," he said, "I'll tell you. I think you are an s.o.b."

"Fine," said Schembechler. "Now tell me why."
 

I don't think this is anything new, other than the way Harbaugh evidently handled it - telling all 5th years they had to compete. My understanding is coaches usually handle ths individually and invite some players back, and give others a handshake and a congrats on graduating and wish them well. I think coming out and saying all 5th years have to earn a spot is better, and fair. 

Congratulations to Heitzman on graduating and thanks for being part of the program. 

As a Former Big Ten athlete who was given a 5th year I have absolutely no problem with this approach whatsoever. My coaching staff remained intact and so I was told my 5th year was contingent upon how I played/contributed my 4th year and what kind of recruits may sign. I earned the 5th year and told my company who hired me that I wasn't coming to work for them for at least one more year.

Since Harbaugh wasn't here last year he can't assess Heitzman, or anyone else, on the basis of last year. Thus, spring practice becomes the place they are evaluated to see if they have a spot or if a transfer in or new freshman would be a better use.

I'm sure Keith, like myself, never took for granted that he would get a fifth year and if he was like me, was well aware of that before agreeing to red shirt.

No school guarantees a 5th year. This is standard operating procedure for a new coach.

brings out the best in everyone.  He must have felt that he wouldn't get the playing time and left.  I agree nothing should be handed to anyone. Good luck and enjoy Athens.