Ring And Run, Kurt Wermers, Ring And Run
The doorbell rang and now I'm sitting outside here with no one to talk to except a burning bag of what I'm sure is poop. How are you doing, poop? Well? That's nice to hear. Would you like to spend the next four years lifting until you explode? Oh. Ok then.
Fun day to be out of pocket, as I missed another offensive lineman burning his bridges on his way out the door:
"I really didn't get along with the new coaches," Wermers said. "They were bringing in a lot of different kids that were not my kind of crowd. Coach Carr's staff was a whole different ballgame. It was like a family. But when Rodriguez came in it was a whole different feeling. It was more of a business.
"I figured I'd get out while I could."
I especially like the last sentence, which conjures up images of a daring midnight escape from Barwis wolves. Elliot Mealer stumbles fatally, falling a step behind. From the shadows, a flash. Mealer finds himself pinned to the ground, left to think about what awaits him…
…"Save yourself," Mealer cries weakly. "Get out while you can." In the dusky background, there is the shimmer of metal and a faint cackling. The last thing Wermers sees before tearing into the night is Mealer being hooked to a squat rack; both men's eyes fill with tears.
Passing through the thick foliage, Wermers vows revenge. I'm going to find someone from the Northwest Indiana Times, he thinks. And then we'll see what the score is.
But seriously folks: there were hints of this on the premium message boards when Wermers' departure was announced. One of Wermers' uncles, who had provided updates on his recruitment and was therefore established, posted a long thing about how Wermers felt the program was too hard and wouldn't let him do what he wanted to academically and that this was very bad. That went over about as well as you might expect.
The overall theme from "it's more of a business" and the uncle-based complaints: the program asked too much from Wermers, especially if he wasn't going to be on the two-deep, and he'd rather boot to a MAC team where he can see the field and enjoy Ball State's fine programs in broadcast journalism or whatever.
And, really, okay. If the program's too high a bar for some guys who signed up for a different coaching staff, that's fine. The academic complain is hard to reconcile with Patrick Omameh, engineer and future starting tackle. The "not my kind of crowd" reference is pure red meat for rivals, but can we like, you know, wait for any of these supposedly bad kids to rack up a single Fulmer Cup point before we run screaming from them? Yes, their dreadlocks are very scary. No, that doesn't mean they're evil. And I have heard Ohio State recruits cite "it's more of a business" as a reason they picked OSU.
I understand some bitterness is natural when you end up in a program you didn't really sign up for and don't like the new guys. But you'll have to do better than some references to Those People and veiled complaints that things are too hard to impress at this point. I will start getting concerned if players Rodriguez recruited start leaving the program or Michigan makes anything more than the tiniest one-point dent in the Fulmer Cup.
It'll be interesting to see the graduation rates and any legal issues Rodriguez's players have here, but as a point of comparison, the old regime's graduation rates were not high (particularly for black players) and legal issues did surface quite frequently, though not as high profile.
I had a class with Wermers last year and my buddy, who was also in the class, was friends with him so me, my friend, Wermers, and another football player sat together. Let me say I have never heard anyone bitch as much as this kid did. Every single day he would just piss and moan about everything. Why did Barwis make us do this?..I'm sore...Why would the coaches do that?..Why did they put this guy here?..Did you see me totally own this guy?..This is so stupid, I hate the coaches...blah, blah, blah. It was obvious that the other player was getting sick of it too because his responses were often "Oh Yeah?" "Yeah, I know." (his inflection was what told me he was sick of it)
So maybe Wermers was a hardworking kid and just bitches a lot, but I doubt it. I never got the impression he was racist as some are saying (even though I didn't know him THAT well I still don't think he was). He was clearly unhappy so good luck to him even though he was a douche on the way out.
I must say, this Wermers-racism theory is probably my favorite since the one that Mike Martin had personality issues because his teammates were not giving him high fives after plays.
Ann Arbor is a classy broad.
"Get off my plane!" - Ricky Stanzi, Air Force One 2
Wow. Wow.
I think it's safe to assume that Coach Carr had black people playing for him. Yet by the "crowd" comment, Kurt Wermers is automatically pegged as a racist? Even though he had no problem with the previous regime? Really? Fucking really?
Take this example. If I hungout with stoners, but didn't smoke weed, and decided not to hang out with them because they weren't my crowd, i guess that'd make me a racist too. Fantastic logic there.
Taking shots at people leaving the program is getting fucking tiring. Did he say anything truly offensive? No.
I'd like to see half the people on this board talk as much shit when the players are standing in front of them.
Lights, Cameras, Action....whenever I play.
"I'd like to see half the people on this board talk as much shit when the players are standing in front of them. "
How long have you been using the internet?
princess bride references, this is why I come to this blog.
The idea that Wermers left the team because he is bigoted against black people is absolutely ridiculous and is 100% based on speculation.
Wermers wasn't happy because there were too many Jews on the team.
Ann Arbor is a classy broad.
"Get off my plane!" - Ricky Stanzi, Air Force One 2
His "not my kind of crowd" statement may not have that much to do with race; I mean, he's been playing football for quite some time, and I'm sure he has played with and against a variety of individuals. If playing with African-American players is some huge culture shock to Wermers, I would be amazed.
I like to think his comment has more to do with the type of kid RR seems to be recruiting - kids who really buy into his system and maybe see football as a way to better themselves and their families (the Pahokee-type kid), and thus might come across as single-minded and difficult to relate to, especially if you are used to more of the "laid-back" attitude that Carr's regime took on those past few years.
While I still think he was a bit of a punk in making these comments, I'm not going to judge him too harshly. He wanted to leave, RR granted his release, and best of luck at Ball State.
I'm confused about his comment about how much better it was under Coach Carr's staff. The guy was a 2008 recruit; he never played for Carr or his staff. Sure they recruited him, but it's all sunshine and lollipops until they get you on campus anyway. So, he really has no basis for comparison: argument invalid.
He didn't get along and wasn't happy. Fine. He had every right to leave. Not being a douche about it on the way out would be nice, but he's 19, so I'm gonna cut him some slack.
Oh, and "he called the shit poop."
Wermers' comments were either poorly worded or in poor taste, but I think it's an awfully big leap from what he said to the presumptions of racism people seem to be making. It's not as if Rodriguez has been singlehandedly desegregating college football these last couple years.
In the absence of any further information, to me the quote just sounds like he wasn't happy at Michigan and wasn't media savvy enough to be more diplomatic about it.
His words. "Not my kind of crowd."
I would love to hear a benevolent explanation for this statement that does not make Wermers out to be:
A. A closeted bigot.
B. A WATB unwilling to work his way up the depth chart.
Go ahead, I'm all ears, but I really have trouble coming up with an explanation for the phrase "not my kind of crowd." Give it a try.
The Wolverine Liberation Army- saving Michigan fans one dick joke at a time.
lets just say there are some characters on the team that id guess nearly 99% of the people would not want to hang out with if you knew some of the stories about them. Like would you like to hang out with people that were nice to you in front of you and stole stuff behind your back? Would that be your kind of crowd?
If 1% of the team are "characters you don't want to hang out with," then I don't understand:
1. What you mean by that. Please elaborate.
2. How 8-10 players constitutes a "crowd."
3. How this "crowd" can be so dominant that the other 80+ players cannot mitigate Wermer's anxiety about those 8-10 guys.
Try again, please.
The Wolverine Liberation Army- saving Michigan fans one dick joke at a time.
ok the 99 percent thing was just saying this. Most of the people here on this blog would not want to hang out with some of the players on the team we all love after hearing about some of the stuff they do.
What was bothering kurt that made him quit the team was not the fact about this crowd (which included early enrollees this year and a few last second additions to last years class) but he was just unhappy with football and the program. It may of been because it was too demanding on him but he just wasnt happy with the fit. Since he was an original Lloyd commit, he liked michigan enough to honor his commitment.
As for the family remarks, it was more not being included as one of the favored. Some players who were favored got away with things that otherwise would of very easily made some of the Daily's crime notes.
"What was bothering kurt that made him quit the team was not the fact about this crowd (which included early enrollees this year and a few last second additions to last years class) but he was just unhappy with football and the program." (emphasis mine)
Please go back to my original request: offer a benevolent (and obviously, logical) explanation for Wermers' "not my kind of crowd" comment. You seem to want to ignore the "not my kind of crowd" statement, but NOT ignoring that statement was my whole fucking point. There's no way to interpret that statement without simultaneously concluding Wermers is a bigot or a baby.
Please try again.
The Wolverine Liberation Army- saving Michigan fans one dick joke at a time.
This is just bullshit. You give no facts at all. I can make shit up too. There is this player on the football team, you know, and I saw him dealing drugs. It's true because I heard it.
Edit: Quoting chitown-"Grow a pair and say what you mean. This sort of oblique, vague assertion is bullshit. Anyone can suggest anything about anyone. I mean, let's just say hat I wouldn't leave farside286 alone with farm animals."
Grow a pair and say what you mean. This sort of oblique, vague assertion is bullshit. Anyone can suggest anything about anyone. I mean, let's just say hat I wouldn't leave farside286 alone with farm animals.
wolverineliberationarmy.com/blog
Agree, what he just said is shit.
ok fine... people on the team steal... most players dont bring valuables to the locker room because things tend to go missing especially things like ipods and cash
that the pahokee kids steal? i've heard nothing even close to that
http://cnbsports.com
Is that what people quit over? Or do you try and find out who it is and put a stop to it?
thats not what you quit over but it can be a reason to not enjoy being teammates
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Maybe he's a Republican and the rest of the team Democrats. Maybe he's prejudiced against people under 5'10". Maybe his ideal night out is Olive Garden and a romantic comedy and the others insist on 80s night at the club. Maybe he loves Miller Lite for its great taste but all the Florida kids are mostly psyched that it's less filling.
i dont understand the reason behind all this bashing. He found himself three deep on the roster and was really hoping to get playing time eventually and might have gotten hints he wouldnt get it.
oh and all you academic bashers, he's a CS major
Wermers bashed UM on the way out; he deesrves any bashing he gets in return as a consequence.
And yes, "not my kind of crowd" and the insinuation that that it was a "family" under Carr but not under RR does constitute bashing. I find the "family" comment to be an especially inflammatory remark, considering how Justin Boren went out. I also find "not my kind of crowd" to have racial implications, but that makes me feel sorry for his pathetic ignorance more than it would arouse my ire.
My only question was whether or not he was manipulated into the barbs by a reporter or if he came up with this crap on his own. From his uncle's comments, it doesn't appear that anyone in the family has to be manipulated or prompted to badmouth the UM football or academic programs.
And the mileage Wittenberg has already gotten out of this on his ESPN blog is more than sufficient to put Wermers in the "bridges burned" catagory.
http://midnightmaize.blogspot.com/
who are the "academic bashers"?
Uh, no one is bashing him for transferring. He's getting bashed for making vague negative comments about the program on his way out.
Our helmets got wings
This sounds like a big load of bullshit. I don't wish Wermers well.
Did Grady's arrest not add any points to the Fulmer Cup? I don't really know how the rules work.
Regardless, RR does a really good job of running a tight ship, and I am very pleased with the higher GPA for the team. I think that this highlights the difference between what RR actually does and how people see him. Some people like to see RR as an unsophisticated hick and/or one of these big-shot coaches who are willing to recruit thugs and win at all costs (Miami or Florida State), a departure from Uncle Lloyd (as much as I like him). When RR was hired, some fans were even gloating, "this is what I want: finally, a coach who is willing to win at all costs."
RR's style is surely different from Lloyd's--more drill sergeant and tough love rather than father figure (which can also work)--and he admits to being less scholarly, but he still has standards and is good at getting his players to follow them. And there is some family dynamic too, I guess. While some are embarrassed about last year's mess with WVU, one thing that I especially appreciate about RR is that he DOES NOT TAKE POT SHOTS!! Seriously. Look at Lane Kiffin, Spurrier, almost every other coach in the SEC, old man Leavitt, classy Dantonio, June Jones, etc. RR does not take shots at other programs or coaches. That's just being professional. The only time I can think of him referring to another team was when he said that Beanie Wells was definitely a 1st rounder.
Ann Arbor is a classy broad.
"Get off my plane!" - Ricky Stanzi, Air Force One 2
Grady isn't one of his players, so I don't think you can really hold that against him. So far I don't think we've seen any run-ins with the law from any of the players RR recruited.
edit: damn it, Cook'd!
Fulmer Cup only runs in the offseason so in-season malfeasance doesn't get caught, but Michigan hasn't had any. Grady did count, but he is not "the new crowd" or whatever, as Rodriguez didn't recruit him.
MGoBlog | Sporting News | HTTV 2009 | e
"They were bringing in a lot of different kids that were not my kind of crowd."
Kurt may not appreciate EA for his likeness in the new 2010 game where I believe he is black.
Thought that was pretty funny.
Is the racial makeup of the Ball State football team really that different?
sgtwolverine.com
The difference is that racial makeup is used to describe Michigans diversity. At Ball State, racial makeup is applied to their faces in preparation for the minstrel show.
So Kurt has gone home to hang with some Indiana boys on some Indiana nights. Cultural diversity just ain't his thing. I wonder if he took his hood off for the interview.
So, let me preface this by stating that I am a Rodriguez fan and would be satisfied with a 7 wins this year, and another significant leap forward the following year. BUT...what the hell are we all going to be saying if he ends up with 4-5 wins this year, and then goes like 6-6 his third year? What if he continually loses recruits in the next two seasons? I mean, I'm all for WLA-type allegiance. But what type of entry will Brian write (or how will our comments change in theme) if this whole m-f'er implodes in the next two years? And don't give me a line about "needing to be optimistic" and all that shit. Seriously, in the words of the Wolf, "Let's not go sucking each other's dicks just yet." I'm fucking scared shitless for this season and the next, and I'm a guy who openly pined for Rodriguez on haloscan in the diahrrea hurricane days of the coaching search. Bring on the "look what he did at Tulane and W. Virginia" comments.
***Seriously, in the words of the Wolf, "Let's not go sucking each other's dicks just yet."***
Of course, I cannot figure out how to do it, but the post gave me a big smile. Thanks.
What if we go -1 and 99 next year? What if Forcier gets hit by a truck driven by a feisty Irishmen with a Buckeye and Spartan copulating in the back seat? What if we get 0 recruits for 2010 and start having the golf team play starting positions instead? Well there is always hockey right?
Stop freaking out. kthx.
is you'd rather wait to "suck each other's dicks"?
Holy shit, we need to be able to "plus 1" more than once on a post. That was more than a little funny.
I speculate that the doomsday scenario you describe will not come to pass. I base this on my gut feeling which, unlike myself, has vast experience and deep knowledge of everything college football.
"I mean, I'm all for WLA-type allegiance."
If by that you mean, we should wait a season or three before we hang our football coach, then yes, glad to have you aboard.
Here's an example of what Brian writes when shit blows up
As I stand down here I can only think of one word: Jump!
I posed a "what if," not a "here's what I think will happen." But thanks for the tunnel vision, instead of coherent thought processes.
What if RichRod only gets 4-5 wins this season and only 6 the season after?
Well, things will turn to shit, that's what will happen. Recruits will lose interest, fans will be clamoring at the doors of Ann Arbor Torch & Pitchfork, and Bill Martin will be wringing his hands wondering if he should pull the trigger and fire RichRod.
There. That's what would happen. Did you really need someone to say that out loud? Is this really that hard to imagine?
What everyone else was doing was rejecting the premise of your question, because it's (in their and my opinion) an absurd hypothetical. The schedule this season virtually guarantees 5 wins, and RichRod only needs to hunt for one more win among the remaining 7 to get to 6-6, which will be good enough to relieve the pressure. The season after will probably be a little better, with a more stable depth chart on defense and an experienced and somewhat talented offense. So this seems like needless fretting to me.
The Wolverine Liberation Army- saving Michigan fans one dick joke at a time.
Okay. What if you just calmed down instead of asking what "we" will write in the event that bad things happen in the future? No one knows. Relax. Let it play out, and don't worry about things that may or may not happen.
....with the talent on this team that they're going to go 6-6 NEXT year....well, just jump off now.
be satisfied with 6 wins.
Maybe Barwis made him cancel his World of Warcraft account.
I heard that doesn't always go over well.
As a fellow nerd, I mourn this loss. When I came to U-M, we had just learned that Peter Jackson was going to make the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and, being a big Tolkien fan himself (especially his work at Oxford on Anglo Saxon cognates), Lloyd was getting us all really pumped. I remember me and Stephen Baker and like 20 guys named Brackins or Brackens (we hates Brackinses) marching through the rain, arm in arm, to see the latest Star Wars.
Those guys are all gone now, the last of the Lloyd Carr book club and Mike DeBord's Thursday night DnD parties graduated this past spring.
Now there's nobody on the football team as stoked for the new Harry Potter as I am. These guys all wanna see "Bruno" and "The Hangover" and "Big Man Japan." It's a totally different crowd.
This team is under construction. We thank you for your patience.