transfers
ahmir mitchell

Exit Ahmir Mitchell Comment Count

Brian

25988541101_7a1569627e_z

[Eric Upchurch]

That didn't last long:

Mitchell got in serious trouble over the summer that warranted what was probably going to be a year-long suspension. He was also apparently in the habit of posting images of him partying at various late-night hours on Snapchat. By all reports he was not a good fit for the program.

Privately we were expecting this, and I tried to gesture that direction in his recruiting profile:

General Excitement Level: Moderate-minus. Washout potential is high. Pure athlete at the moment.

And lo, it has come to pass. Dude could have sped it up a bit so that I didn't have to write that profile.

Even though he was nominally a receiver, Mitchell's departure is mostly a hit to the safety depth chart. Michigan really likes the McDoom/Crawford/Johnson trio and with Brad Hawkins an academic casualty both WR recruits who could play S have burned out before they could even get started.

That brings Michigan to 23 scholarships in a class we expect to reach 30.

Comments

Magnus

August 24th, 2016 at 9:28 PM ^

Does it really matter? He did something bad (worse than the simple stuff that's mostly been mentioned), he was going to be suspended for the year, and he's transferring. If he murdered someone, you would know. If he just smoked pot one night, this wouldn't be an issue.

If you don't know, that's okay. It doesn't make you any less of a fan. I don't see why it would be "annoying" when people add bits of information. The bottom line is that he won't be suiting up for the Wolverines, and he'll probably pop up somewhere else. The end. No big deal.

Joined: 07/17/2008

MGoPoints: 166237

getsome

August 24th, 2016 at 2:44 PM ^

it is foolish to force the coaches into suspending you for not controlling pot use.  itd also be foolish to sentence players caught smoking one time and one time only to full year suspension (if that were the case).

im ok with student-athletes smoking every now and then, just not habitually.  priorities.  theres a certain way to go about things.  big difference bw dabbling when the times right (like many non athletes) and forcing the staff to intervene w punishment for failing to recongnize the right time right place.  if it reaches 2 or 3 strikes, thats it (at least if a staff intends to run semi clean program).

i dont know the specifics of mitchells case but sounds like he had more than 1 chance to turn things around - instead he chose to jeopardize his standing with further poor decision/s.  priorities.  and timing.  toke or violate other team rules if you want - but there are consequences, especially for repeated violations.  regardless, hopefully mitchell learned his lesson and finds success elsewhere

Joined: 09/07/2013

MGoPoints: 7385

readyourguard

August 24th, 2016 at 2:21 PM ^

Playing football at Michigan (and the majority of other programs) requires the player to follow the rules and acceptable behavior of the head coach. It has nothing to do with what the rest of the student body does or did. As a matter of fact, that could not have anything less to do with it.

You are not allowed to smoke weed. Every state in the union could pass a law allowing marijuana use, and the football team still would be prohibited.

And finally, Mitchelll's problem isn't just posting snaps while partying.

Joined: 08/21/2008

MGoPoints: 40986

1VaBlue1

August 24th, 2016 at 2:01 PM ^

Well, that sucks.  Was kind of hoping he'd take his punishment like a man, suck it up, and be a better person for it.  Maybe he will, anyway, somewhere else?  But he just caused himself a legitimate shot at the NFL with a coach that could have put him there.  Too bad...

But next man up!

Joined: 01/31/2016

MGoPoints: 127787

schreibee

August 24th, 2016 at 2:28 PM ^

So, I'm one of those who jump on people for posting about transfers or decommits they'd like to see so we can get a player they like better in the program -

HOWEVA, this player pulled the trigger on that hmself, so I'm saying now, Great decision Ahmir, God Speed and All the Best in your college career and life!

This guy was NEVER playing any meaningful roll on this team in the future, even had he ridden out his suspension "like a man." After he got his high ranking and made his commitment he got notably worse as a player in hs senior season and steadily declined in the rankings, dropping I believe around 100+ (more even?) spots. To the point all those camp and All-Star game blurbs were all, like "What?! Who is this guy? Can't catch, can't get open" and Brian just hoped he'd be able to play safety.

I'm loving the potential of the WR in the '16 class, and with players like DPJ & Collins looking like strong possibilities for '17,  I'm only interested in the Safety board and who' s taking that schollie.

Recruitniks? Who we liking?

Joined: 11/02/2009

MGoPoints: 21183

stephenrjking

August 24th, 2016 at 2:04 PM ^

Yikes. Mgostaff sure did seem to see this coming. First there was the rumor thread that was left to stand, and Brian's washout potential comment. But I just checked that post and Brian was actively answering direct questions about what would happen to eligibility if an EE transferred out. Which... Answers the question I was going to ask here. A pity. Physically speaking there was a lot of potential. Disappointing that it turns out this way. We need athletes.

Joined: 03/15/2012

MGoPoints: 20144176

Rabbit21

August 24th, 2016 at 2:07 PM ^

While it's a shame he didn't work out here, I just hope he takes this as a lesson and applies himself wherever he ends up. Shame that this happened with an Early Enrollee though.



Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad

Joined: 11/12/2009

MGoPoints: 30387

matty blue

August 24th, 2016 at 2:12 PM ^

...not worried about the football side of this, at all.  i do hate to see someone misfire when they're given the opportunity of a lifetime.

i wish him the best.

Joined: 08/01/2008

MGoPoints: 39328

michgoblue

August 24th, 2016 at 2:18 PM ^

Did somebody forget to pay the gypse this week??? 

We lose 3 recruits, 2 of them highly touted, our biggest rival picks up 2 5* recruits in the same day (to cap off what might be one of the highest rated classes in history if it continues), and now this shit.  Can someone please bubble wrap Harbaugh, Gary and Peppers for the remainder of the month, just to be safe.

Joined: 11/16/2009

MGoPoints: 32198

wahooverine

August 24th, 2016 at 2:34 PM ^

I don't see this as neccessarily bad or panic-worty.  Removing a bad apple or excising a cancer is typically a good thing (I have no idea what he did, but I trust it was bad enough to warrant this).

He had a lot of potential but wasnt needed this year and wasn't really an irreplaceable recruit like a Gary, Bredeson, Peter, etc.  This will open another spot for the 2017 class and maybe help us attract an elite safety prospect and more elite WR's. 

Joined: 11/14/2011

MGoPoints: 6799

michgoblue

August 24th, 2016 at 5:06 PM ^

Who is panicing?  Of course he is replaceable, but this is still a bad thing.  We recruited this kid because the coaches thought that he was good at football and that he would help us win. By all accounts, the kid has a lot of potential in that regard.  Now he is not on the team.  That is bad.

On your point about removing bad apples and excising a cancer.  I do not disagree - of course you want to get rid of potential problem players.  The part that I find bad is that Mitchell turned out to be a problem in the first place.  Like many, I was hoping that he would be a productive player who would eventually play and help us win.  Maybe I wasn't clear in my post as to what I found to be bad.

But, I still think that my (mostly joking) point still holds that this has not been a great week for all of the reasons listed. 

Joined: 11/16/2009

MGoPoints: 32198

mgeoffriau

August 24th, 2016 at 2:34 PM ^

This better than the alternative. Coaches can't bat 100% on evaluation character, fit, commitment, etc.

So, I'd rather see a handful of kids decommitting, or getting suspended, or getting kicked off the team, than see rumors of scandal, or infractions not being punished, or whatever. As long as Michigan handles its side of things appropriately, better to move on from a player early than to make exceptions and have a much bigger problem down the road. You might lose a few kids here and there that would have turned it around, but that's a cost I'm willing to incur.

Joined: 01/01/2013

MGoPoints: 9435

ghostofhoke

August 24th, 2016 at 2:41 PM ^

Can we please stop with all the "oh man this is too bad, such a shame, gonna miss him" crap? And all the concern that this leaks into the rest of the team or recruiting? Let's call this what it likely is, a kid who didn't want to do the work and act in the way he was expected to. This is not a loss. This is good for the team and locker room. This helps team morale it doesn't hurt it. This establishes a mentality that those not rowing with the team will not be welcome. This is the kind of thing that should put you squarely in the corner of a guy like Ty Isaac who was ostracized by lack of playing time but committed himself, worked hard and got himself into what looks like the good graces of this staff and will hopefully be a huge success story. It seems as though Mitchell came in entitled and unwilling to contribute the way he was asked. This staff is not asking anything unreasonable. I hope Mitchelll catches on somewhere and this doesn't ruin his future but I'd say experience tells us there could be problems that follow him for a while here.



Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad

Joined: 11/21/2014

MGoPoints: 8562

Don

August 24th, 2016 at 2:44 PM ^

When you have a full athletic scholarship that pays the vast majority of your costs to attend one of the best public universities in the world on top of playing football for one of the very best coaches in the game for one of the most prestigious blueblood programs, you've got prosperity.

Some people just can't stand prosperity.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 148571