DJ Williamson Officially Out
Attrition continues apace. This time it's the attrition rumored hereabouts when Cullen Christian exited:
RT @mikerothstein: Michigan WR D.J. Williamson has asked for and received a release to transfer, per Michigan spokesperson
Williamson was a low-ranked track speedster who redshirted last year. His absence won't have much impact this year but Rodriguez's last couple of recruiting classes at WR are down to Je'Ron Stokes, Jeremy Jackson, and Jerald Robinson; Hoke's first had none.
There is a pressing need for some blue chip wideouts up in here and other than Aaron Bubridge, who most people believe will not qualify, few guys who seem to be giving Michigan heavy consideration. Paging Shane Morris to aisle WR.
What does this set our 2012 recruiting class size to? 19?
He was impressive at the spring game during drills. His speed was very noticable, but didn't seem to translate to live play. Hopefully he will find a place that fits for him. Best of luck.
Dwayne Stanford, come on down. Please. Bring Adolphus.
Drew Dileo.
Doulbe D Dileo is far too much of a weapon returning kicks to risk on offense.
Isn't Raymon Taylor theoretically a WR?
He's got the speed to play WR and he was a good receiver in high school. He was listed as an athlete on Rivals, and some schools looked at him at WR.
HOWEVA, from what I've seen and heard, two of his best assets are his ball skills and how hard he hits. The former would still be beneficial at WR, but that combination of the two, along with elite speed, makes him sound like a very good FS prospect.
A guy I'd rather see move to WR is Greg Brown. Brown also has very good speed and was a very productive receiver in high school (much more so than on defense). Since Greg Brown looks to be a guy buried on the CB depth chart for his career based on how many CBs we've recruited in 2011 and in 2012, I wouldn't mind seeing hiim switching to O and helping our WR depth.
Funny, it was just about a year ago that we were all contemplating which WR to move to CB to help with depth. Now we're trying to figure out who can move the other direction. Amazing the difference a year makes.
People are overreacting a bit. There are still quite a few scholarship wideouts on the roster:
-Roundtree (Jr.)
-Hemingway (Sr.)
-Odoms (Sr.)
-Stonum (?) (Sr.)
-Grady (Sr.)
-Stokes (Jr.)
-T. Robinson (Jr.)
-Gallon (So.)
-J. Jackson (So.)
-Dileo (So.)
-J. Robinson (Fr.)
Raymon Taylor may also wind up at WR.
For 2011, we're fine. For 2012 we'll have a lot of production to replace, but that was always going to be true. We do have a significant need for WRs for 2013 and beyond, but that's still a ways away, and this is a position at which underclassmen often make a splash.
But your point still stands:
Roundtree (SR)
Stokes (SR)
Jackson (JR)
Dileo (JR)
Robinson (SO)
Thats not even counting two slot-type guys [T.Robinson (5th SR), and Gallon (JR)], which means we'll have 5 to 7 WR, which is adequate for a pro-style offense.
Others have mentioned the M has some nice walk-on prospects (Sayed) and some potential position switching/dual roles for a few of the RB or TEs. These guys can provide depth and function as 4th WRs when needed.
No game-breaker has emerged (yet) to complement Roundtree, but lets see how the season unfolds before we pass judgement on players who are just finishing their first year on campus (Jackson, Dileo, and Robinson). If we had judged Desmond and Braylon after one season we wouldn't have been real impressed either.
If Stonum is, in fact, suspended for a year, that could be a boon to the 2012 team. If not, I think someone else will emerge.
I thought Greg Brown was a pleasant surprise this spring. So much so that he could see the field this year?
Wish it would have worked out here in AA but best wishes going forward.
Williamson's departure puts us at 18.
Yeah, it's 18, check the depth chart by class. You might be thinking it was 18 before today since people have been counting DJ gone for a couple weeks (mostly based on his absence on the mgoblue roster).
While I know that we have some pressing needs at several positions - and I am in NO WAY trying to criticize Hoke and Mattison's recruiting, I have been surprised at the fact that by most estimates, we are going to take 0-1 WRs in this class, despite having so few receivers on the roster. I totally agree that we need to re-stock both lines, and it is also hard to turn down the 4* talent that is flocking in droves on defense, but we need to get some offensive skill position players. We are set at QB, but the WR depth is scary, especially once Stonum, Hemmingway and Tay depart.
I think it's time for a 5 star come to Ann Arbor. It would be nice if it was WR
I'm not super worried about WR yet because those kids are still looking at UM and lower-rated kids picked up near the end can be a stop-gap for a year.
Do you mean lower rated, "stop-gap" kids like DJ Williamson?
How many people, besides Magnus, really stop to think before they post?
17 but I figured you already knew this
are we officially calling ricardo miller a TE?
The official roster calls him a tight end, so why shouldn't we?
Time for Joe-Cho Cinco to step up.
Those concerned about the depth at WR have apparently missed the many MANBALL memos. UMich will hereinafter be getting bigger and tougher in order to line up and impose their will on the opposing team's defense. You'll notice better effort, too.
I can't see where we'll need more than one WR per class. We can line up a TE or, in a pinch, one of the many other bigger players we're recruiting. It will be all (running) downhill from there.
"I can't see where we'll need more than one WR per class."
Wait, what? Borges' offenses were based slightly more on the pass than the run. Although, he does utilize running back play-makers very well ex: Cadilac Williams and Rodney Brown. As long as he's our offensive coordinator, I don't think we'll ever have less than 6 Wide Receivers and 3 Tight Ends on scholarship.
In light of the Williamson transfer, we have 13 Wide Receiverss on scholarship, and 5 of them are Slot Receivers. Unfortunately, we will likely see more attrition because this is unbalanced. The Slot Receivers and (nearly 3-3-5 exclusive) Linebacker-Safety hybrids are not going to be rotated, or played, as often.
Another thing that needs to be addressed is scholarships. People are underestimating our number of scholarships for this class. We started with 16 scholarships for this class, so we should have 19 scholarships now, and we should be expecting 25 scholarships in this class because of attrition.
With DJ Williamson transferring that means that for the 2012 season we'll only have Roy Roundtree, Terrence Robinson, Je'ron Stokes, Jeremy Gallon, Jeremy Jackson, Drew Dileo, and Jerald Robinson as full scholarship receivers plus Brandon Moore, Ricardo Miller, and Chris Barnett as TE's and numerous speed backs who can catch the ball too. Oh Nooos!
We need Roundtree and another guy to step up, with any of those guys being able to fill the 3 receiver sets as a third wideout while becoming an upperclassman. With whoever we do recruit this year (odds are we end up with at least one) in the mix. And our 4 receiver spreads probably being topped out with a TE or back (whichever one shows he can catch...or maybe a tweener like Justice).
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<br>Yup, everybody panic.
Was asked to walk-on by Rich. (Secret "Rochester Adams is awesome" post)
Greg McMurtry the second come on down.
Easy gangsta BC - you don't have much street cred. One thing is certain, there will be plenty of surprises before the next signing day. If there is a need for a quality WR Michigan will bring one in.
If there is severe need at WR let's trust the coaches to come up with options. I'm sure some people remember hearing about DG's skill as a wideout. While this isn't a suggested position change it would be great to see him on the field with Denard at the same time.
Michigan have a good group of high school running back coming out in 2012. I notice this running back,Ryan Jones highlight video on youtube and was pretty amazed. He is from Canton High School in Canton,MI. They need to take a look at this kid.
I'll be cheering for you at your next stop
I really feel like an elite WR would be huge. Our WR depth may be pretty solid, but I want a stud a lá Edwards, Carter, Terrell. You get the picture.
putting on a Michigan uniform in 2012, or ever?
1%? 10%? 50%?
My sincere apologies for going off topic, but I was wondering if anyone else has heard the rumor about the May 31st issue of SI breaking another significant story about OSU football violations. The rumblings have it a "9 out of 10" in terms of its impact. Fingers crossed.
might not even be needed at this stage of the game a solid couple 8/10's well placed can put the beast down.
Boy, we really need that "Snark" moderation choice for times like this.
Given that it's May. There's lots and lots and lots of time to find, offer and recruit highly rated WRs for this class.
It's just MHO, but I would expect some of our scatbacks and slot receivers to follow suit. I'm not thinking of anyone in particular, just figure that some of the smaller offensive players might assume that they won't see the field much in the new offense. I'm not basing that on anything though - pure speculation on my part . . .
please
If you really read the guy's post, you'll see that he didn't say "the slot ninjas should be encouraged to look elsewhere," or even "I hope the slot ninjas transfer."
He just said that there are some guys on the roster who were recruited for Rodriguez's system that might decide that they don't have a great chance for playing time in Borges' offense. Not sure whether that's right or wrong, but it doesn't deserve the self-righteous rebuke.
That was exactly my point - TY.
I also can't really hold it against a guy like Gibbons if he assumes that when Wile comes in, it might mean the end of his career at Michigan, in terms of playing time, and he might look elsewhere.
I don't suggest that we try and pressure the RR style guys to leave. It just might be a decision that some of them make.
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