justin turner
transfers
vince helmuth
w00t
marell evans

Justin Turner Is Officially A Go Comment Count

Brian

Very Web 2.5 way to find this out but here you go via the twitters:

RT: @umhoops: RT @mikerothstein: RR: minor didn't practice, headache. Turner cleared. #michigan

Waiting on Witty now.

Also, Helmuth and Evans "may look to transfer" and did not practice today, which would be further blows to defensive depth, albeit ones that weren't looking to play unless there were no other options.

UPDATE: The Free Press is reporting that Evans and Helmuth are transferring:

“Good young men,” he said. “Sometimes that happens, guys think maybe I can (play elsewhere), I’m not getting a lot of reps and not up on the depth chart or something. I try to remind the guys the depth chart is not going to be solid until the first week.”

Also, Teric Jones has moved to cornerback.

Initial takes on that: once Helmuth moved from FB his chances of ever seeing the field without injury Armageddon were very low. Evans started the first game last year but was immediately displaced; neither were touted recruits and if the defense wasn't already very short on bodies it would be No Big Deal. But it is, and wow the number of scholarship players on D is vanishingly small. Jones' move, then, is a very good idea.

UPDATE UPDATE: News is saying "may"; next presser we'll be at so this interpretation dance won't be an issue:

Michigan's football team could be down two more players.

Junior linebacker Marell Evans and junior defensive tackle Vince Helmuth have asked to look in to playing at other programs, Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez confirmed on Wednesday.

Comments

plev72

August 12th, 2009 at 10:02 PM ^

Are there a limits on the number of scholarship athletes that can be taken in in a given year, or is the sole limiter not being able to exceed 85 total?

Joined: 11/05/2008

MGoPoints: 57

teldar

August 12th, 2009 at 10:24 PM ^

I believe the cap is 28. There was a thread re: Bama and their cheating by signing 30 people/yr then booting a fair number of them from the team when they get the depth figured out. The NCAA's response was to limit team from taking more than 28 players/yr. This would allow for a total of 112 players instead of the 119 Bama took the last 4 years. Whatever.

Joined: 07/14/2009

MGoPoints: 8230

chitownblue2

August 13th, 2009 at 8:29 AM ^

Just a question - I thought the school had the option of having early-enrollees count against the previous year's class (in other words, if the previous year's class was 23 kids, two kids from this year's class could count) - so how large, officially, was last year's class (in other words, did we have guys like Tate, Campbell, Jones, HAwthorne, etc. count against the PREVIOUS class?)? Is that how you're getting the 28?

Joined: 06/03/2009

MGoPoints: 7178

wiscwood

August 12th, 2009 at 11:17 PM ^

I'm sorry if I offend anyone, but Marell Evans sux. I like Helmuth, he may not have fit the system. His patients should have been longer. If you are worried about playing time. Play better! Personally, I like this trimming the fat business. Lloyd Carr let some of the most average, mediocre "busters" on the team. Carr was a nice man, too nice at times, but sometimes you got to get rid of the non-productive players. RR will do it, Carr wouldn't. Imagine if you will, a Michigan Football Team with depth, atheletes from top to bottom, and speed to burn. If you can see this, be excited. Enjoying the National Championships are right around the corner.

Joined: 07/24/2009

MGoPoints: 31

maizenbluedevil

August 13th, 2009 at 1:12 AM ^

That's not a bad line of thinking in theory, but here's the reality: - We are very thin on defense *this* season, and scholarship players are better than walk ons. - Yes, there are now more scholarships available for *next* year, but who's going to fill them? How do we know we're going to be able to lock down guys that are better than Helmuth and Evans? As far as DT goes, consensus is this year's HS senior class is pretty thin. And more generally, the recruiting class *so far* this year is not on par with last year's class. Now, we could have a hell of a great season, overachieve, and RR could work some recruiting magic and end up hauling in some great players that weren't expected to come to M. But, losing 2 scholarship players, with experience, is not something that will help that happen. The reality is, we now have 2 walk-ons rising on the depth chart, and 2 scholarships available that will put 2 more freshmen on the team *next year* and who may or may not be skilled players.

Joined: 09/12/2008

MGoPoints: 6906

wolverine1987

August 13th, 2009 at 7:47 AM ^

Wiscwood: you do realize this is not the NFL don't you? That we made commitments to these guys and that according to RR they are both productive members of the team? That they (especially Evans) were expected to play this year and not sit on the bench? That we now are perilously thin on defensive depth? That two extra scholarships next year doesn't help us this year and maybe not next year? That "trimming the fat" is what most of us criticize the Saban's of the world for? That many of us are proud to be alums or fans of the program precisely because (in addition to the history of success) we held ourselves to a higher standard? Your post is not only ethically questionable, it doesn't even make sense from a purely practical POV. Check yourself.

Joined: 07/07/2008

MGoPoints: 18065

michiganfanforlife

August 13th, 2009 at 10:14 AM ^

I have been trying to brush off each player that leaves this team, but it gets harder and harder with each guy. Are we finally done with all these guys leaving??? I can't just think "good riddance" any more. These are players who would contribute on special teams, and Evans was probably on the two deep. WTF??? I know Barwis' program is hard, but what is going on here? Have any of you ever seen so many people leave a program in 18 months? I'm sure Michigan will be fine, but I'm no longer pretending that all the players who leave don't matter. We need all of them. Someone stop the bleeding...

Joined: 05/05/2009

MGoPoints: 2788

BlockM

August 13th, 2009 at 10:20 AM ^

You need to back away from the edge of your cliff and breathe. The fact that they're leaving amicably should be an indication that this was more a matter of playing time, motivation, etc. than something the coaches are doing wrong. Every time you lose a player it matters, but the chances of this affecting our season are relatively small. Most important to remember is that while we might not like to admit it, we're still smack dab in the middle of our transition, and this sort of thing comes with the territory.

Joined: 07/03/2008

MGoPoints: 40727

wile_e8

August 13th, 2009 at 11:18 AM ^

While I'm tired of players leaving too, these transfers are nothing to fret about because they are the type that happen at every program every year: players buried on the depth chart looking for playing time. It's not good for Michigan if the injury apocalypse happens, but you can't really fault the players for looking for a better situation than "if a few players get injured I might get some playing time." Normally we wouldn't even blink at these if it weren't for all the transfers due to players not liking the new system/coaches.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 7381

CipASonic

August 13th, 2009 at 1:33 PM ^

Mike Valenti said that Turner was inelligible for the year. Therefore, I do not believe that Turner is elligible. I mean, come on, when has Valenti EVER been a douchebage who reports something that isn't true, and shown great bias against Michigan?

Joined: 01/07/2009

MGoPoints: 150