Graham Back, Zirbel Gone, McGuffie Concussed

Eastern will almost certainly be dire: they just fired their coach. I don't know whether to feel bad for him because he got fired or happy for him because he's out of that train wreck.

Only two comments on the McGuffie thing. First, I realize he's trying to be a beast and run through/hop over everyone in his path to get the most yardage but someone needs to explain to him that he's just not a big guy. Not in college anyway. He's going to have to learn to avoid some of the collisions he's trying to take head on.

Getting a QB that doesn't hang his backs out to dry dumping the ball off for no gain rather than throwing it away might help a bit too.

First of all, I have a feeling that the absent senior was not Butler. It seems like he wanted to play in another capacity and was ok with moving to DE, the position at which he was originally recruited (according to rivals), and he might want a chance in the NFL. I would bet on Grady and then Savoy.

Anyways, what's up with Omameh? He was rated by Rivals as a 2* DE, but it seems like people see a lot of potential in him. From what I understand, he switched to OL late and had a late growth spurt or something, and then got all these late offers. What exactly is the deal?

It's good to see two guys that RichRod handpicked and plucked on signing day are poised to be on the 2-deep next season.

Omameh, especially, appears to be a gem. Both we and OSU offered him late in the process, so there was some obvious upside present with the kid. The sooner he can spare us from Ortmann or Dorrstein, the better.

That really sucks for Zirbel. I feel for the kid. We've come to the point that we never assume any injury is career threatening with the ability of surgeons to put these players back together. It must be devastating for him to lose his opportunity in such a fashion,

I will wager that McAvoy is the guy not coming back. Given that he was permanently replaced by a DT at guard, his future doesn't look bright.

I'm glad Michigan didn't play them this year. They just fired Jeff Genyk. What are the chances that a Michigan assistant or former assistant is hired? I'm voting for Ron English. That would be pretty sweet.

Grady saw decreased time? Despite being awfully disapointing given his hype ot of high school, I like him in short yard situations. The fumble in the ND game was unfortunate, but he didnt seem to see the field much after that.

I'm pretty sure McGuffie has only been concussed twice. On that wicked hit in the Toledo game he had the air knocked out of him. Once he caught his breath he was ready to go back in. This comes from Fred Jackson.
He WAS concussed on a draw play up the middle vs. MSU and on that kick return vs. OSU.
Nonetheless, it is a concern. I'd move him to slot receiver and trigger the inevitable Wes Welker comparisons.

i'm just throwing the kid away, because i really did have high hopes for Zirbel and hope he's successful in life, but does his scholarship open up now?

Another thing open for anyone to answer. Does anybody know the current weights of any of the freshman? Omameh, Shaw, Barnum, T-Rob, ect.? I'm curious to see how kids have grown over the year

I'm going to say Butler.

This sucks. I was holding out for a recovery and a 5th year of eligibility. Oh well, there's more to life than just college football.

I bet the missing guy was Criswell or Savoy. Maybe even McAvoy. I really doubt it was Grady, he's such a gung-ho Michigan guy (I am a slight friend of him and his family) that he would rather see minimal plays for us than transfer to a smaller school just to play. Plus his brother is here on the bball team.

The only thing I could see him do is go home and play a season for GVSU since it's in his hometown (basically) and his cousin is a DB there. But I bet he's at UM next year.

Does anyone know what Zirbel did to his knee?

I just listened to RR's presser and he sure seemed to be leaving the door open for a staff change. You'd think he would've issued the boilerplate "I've got a great coaching staff" comment just to shut everyone up, but he intentionally did not do that.

We should be happy we didn't play WMU this year. They're very, very good, and the score may have been embarrassing. I'll be rooting for Michigan when my school rolls into Ann Arbor next year.

Seriously bad news. Three in one year. This is the kind of crap that can end a career. Let's hope he at least has the chance to play next season.

I've read that depression is one of the many symptoms experienced by athletes following concussion. There have been rumors that McGuffie has had off-field issues along those lines, concussions won't be helping that either.

I think they need to move him to WR, maybe he won't take such a beating?

Remember when "Jim Harbaugh Scramble" was having a conniption about people "stealing his handle" during the coaching search?

That was a good time.

From what I understand, the big issue with concussions is when one occurs before a prior one has healed. I imagine that multiple isolated concussions could lead to damage, but successive concussions can be real trouble. Symptoms usually go away within weeks, but they can linger for longer and sometimes even permanently. Symptoms may include dizziness, depression, headaches, etc. If you have an erection that lasts for more than 4 hours, consult a doctor immediately. Oh wait, that's something else.

There is concern about depression and cognitive impairment over time as effects of concussions. Christopher Nowinski looked into this after Andre Waters's suicide.

the medical staff can contact Placido "Temples of Doom" Polonco for McGuffie and ask him what his secret to head padding is.