Russell Bellomy Transferring
[Eric Upchurch]
Via Bellomy's instagram:
I will receive my degree at the end of this semester and have decided to sign my release that enables me to play my 5th year as a graduate student at another university.
Bellomy was well down the depth chart at QB.
His departure brings Michigan to 14 scholarships for the incoming class plus any additional attrition; this is the bit where I remind you that Brady Hoke said he expected a couple of OL to not return and project that Michigan will sign 16 or 17 players in this class.
January 30th, 2015 at 3:36 PM ^
So, are you saying Kugler has left already, or that he is leaving?
January 30th, 2015 at 12:48 PM ^
Best of luck to him and I wish him a better football playing experience elsewhere than he had here.
January 30th, 2015 at 12:49 PM ^
Thank you for you contributions to the program. Best of luck in your future endeavors.
P.S. Your home state flagship school, Texas is looking for a QB.
January 30th, 2015 at 12:51 PM ^
You are a Michigan Man!
I would really love to see him be able to keep his helmet .....LOL
January 30th, 2015 at 1:03 PM ^
I see what you did there, nice, Here's to hoping for the best for you Russell.
January 30th, 2015 at 12:53 PM ^
I was wrong on that one. Good luck wherever you go, Russ.
January 30th, 2015 at 12:59 PM ^
Best of luck Russ.
And with that we have six 5th year seniors left - pretty damning stuff. Only 4 were originally scholarship players - 2 of those are walk ons (Glasgow/Kerridge). The only scholarship players left from the scorched earth class of end of RR/beginning of Hoke are Heitzman/Morgan/Countess/Miller.
January 30th, 2015 at 1:10 PM ^
And if Countess and Morgan don't have injuries that led to redshirts we would be down to just two scholarship players from the RR/Hoke transition year. The injury to Morgan now seems like a blessing in disguise for LB depth this year.
January 30th, 2015 at 12:59 PM ^
I think this will be the trend with quarterbacks for the future. You bring them in and weed them out. The weeded out ones get a Michigan degree, the Michigan coaching and a chance to pay somewhere else as a graduate student. I wish Russell the best of luck - it makes more sense for him to start over at a school where he'll have a chance to play rather than start over here.
January 30th, 2015 at 1:20 PM ^
Certainly if Harbaugh continues to bring in two QBs per year, we'll be seeing many moving out over time.
January 30th, 2015 at 2:28 PM ^
Who was the last backup QB who stayed on the roster for his fifth season? Scott Dreisbach perhaps, but he was legitimately fighting for a starting job his whole career.
If we start bringing in two a year, some will be either changing positions or leaving before 4 years.
January 30th, 2015 at 1:00 PM ^
January 30th, 2015 at 1:04 PM ^
Hoping Harbaugh draws up a play called the "PowerBellomy" in his honor. Something really good that scores lots and lots of points would be best.
January 30th, 2015 at 1:05 PM ^
Everyone keeps saying that it gives us another scholarship for this season. I'm getting the distinct impression we won't be able to fill up the current spots so it doesn't really matter.
January 30th, 2015 at 1:05 PM ^
Definitely a smart decision, yet as he said an emotional one. Gets his degree and the program-tied benefits that exist with that. Gets to play in another system, get some starting experience, and get a 2nd degree.
If you read this Russell, thanks for all the hard work you put into the program. We thank you for it.
January 30th, 2015 at 1:06 PM ^
January 30th, 2015 at 1:18 PM ^
I feel like a lot of players became sacrificial lambs to Hoke/Borges' stupidity. Harbaugh would've adapted to Denard's skill set and he would be lighting the college world on fire (like Kaep's first NFL year) if we had hired Harbaugh in 2011 instead of Hoke.
January 30th, 2015 at 1:44 PM ^
January 30th, 2015 at 1:52 PM ^
If Harbaugh came in 2011, I wonder if Denard would have played QB beyond Harbaugh'sfirst year, if then. With rare exception, including HS, Denard was never terribly accurate. He would have made one hell of a halfback and I will always wonder how Devin might have developed as a QB with proper coaching.
January 30th, 2015 at 1:12 PM ^
Also, I hope he shakes the ghost of Borges recruiting.
January 30th, 2015 at 1:12 PM ^
Maybe he will transfer to Texas. I hear they are looking for a QB...hahaha..
January 30th, 2015 at 1:14 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
January 30th, 2015 at 1:15 PM ^
Just like Justice Hayes, this is for the best for both parties. Bellomy couldn't get the job done at this level, but unlike Hayes, Bellomy wouldn't really even have a role. He's not an old veteran who's familiar with the offense, because the offense is new. And he can't fill any other roles. It's best that Michigan gets an open roster spot and that Bellomy finds somewhere he can actually play. After watching him at Michigan, I think he'll have to drop down to FCS or even D-II to get on the field.
January 30th, 2015 at 1:17 PM ^
Good luck to him. Glad he got his degree.
January 30th, 2015 at 1:20 PM ^
No QB should have been thrust into the situation he was when Denard went down in that game against Nebraska. Bellomy also had an ACL tear during spring practice at some point, if I recall correctly. Glad he's getting his Michigan degree and hope finds a place where he'll play some meaningful snaps this fall.
January 30th, 2015 at 1:28 PM ^
"No QB should have been thrust into the situation he was when Denard went down in that game against Nebraska."
So...ummm...who exactly should enter the game when the starting quarterback gets hurt? The punter? The backup left guard? Should the game just get postponed until the starter heals?
January 30th, 2015 at 1:46 PM ^
January 30th, 2015 at 2:11 PM ^
Most people felt Bellomy looked better then Gardner in Spring ball - even the writers on this blog. When the move of Gardner was announced in the fall most people felt it was a good move. Brian himself even endorsed the idea.
January 30th, 2015 at 2:47 PM ^
At that point Bellomy was a redshirt frosh, a 3-star guy who was a last-minute addition to the RichRod/Hoke transition class of 2011. It's asking a lot for a guy that green, with that pedigree, to come in on the road in Lincoln and succeed in that environment. Hindsight is 20/20, obviously, but they should've been better prepared to play Gardner as Denard's backup if he got hurt. Just my two cents.
January 30th, 2015 at 4:30 PM ^
It's not a crime against humanity to put a redshirt freshman QB in a game.
January 31st, 2015 at 12:25 AM ^
Exactly. That type of thing happens all the time. In fact, similar things arguably happened three times in the last decade - Steve Threet, Nick Sheridan, and Chad Henne.
Bellomy was tossed in there. He was bad.
Guess what?
He was also tossed in a game as a redshirt junior. And he was bad.
He's just not cut out to be a Michigan quarterback, and it doesn't matter whether he's a redshirt freshman or a redshirt junior.
Anyway, this is all missing the point of the thread, I guess, which is to wish Bellomy well wherever he ends up.
January 30th, 2015 at 2:06 PM ^
January 30th, 2015 at 2:06 PM ^
January 31st, 2015 at 8:55 AM ^
Pistol formation the rest of the game. This offense was the only hope for the rest of game. Congratulations Russell on your degree. Sorry about the development.
January 30th, 2015 at 2:29 PM ^
If I read you correctly, I'm pretty sure you weren't taking a stand against back-ups coming in to relieve an injured QB--I guess that's how others are interpreting your comment--but were saying, in essence, no QB should be thrust into a situation where he's totally unprepared to do the job and hasn't been developed anywhere near properly by a staff that didn't know how to coach quarterbacks, judging by the play of literally all the quarterbacks on the roster, and especially the interception machine injured starter.
January 30th, 2015 at 2:40 PM ^
then why SHOULDN'T he have come into that game against Nebraska?
Most backups sit and dream about the day that the starter goes down and they get to play. Unless Bellomy was hurt, there was no reason for him NOT to want to start that Nebraska game.
January 30th, 2015 at 1:22 PM ^
It was obvious during our interactions with him at media day this year that he wasn't very happy. This is actually what I told Brian back in August.
"The AP requested a photo with the QB's so we all went out there to get a photo. Obviously, they wanted Devin and Shane, but the whole group came out. When it became obvious that Bellomy and Cleary were feeling left out, Shane made it a point to tell them to come over and get their photos taken too."
Bellomy definitely was not having a good time. I can completely understand though. I feel bad for the guy and wish him luck. It must be difficult going from being the star on your high school team to a relative nobody in college.
January 30th, 2015 at 1:23 PM ^
said or thinks some OL will also go. i am sure harbaugh knows who so he can take more. sure the guys would not wait until football season to tell him.
January 30th, 2015 at 1:43 PM ^
No the scholarships are ok - we needed a guard to replace Bosch, so we got one. We took 1 T and 1 G otherwise - makes sense. Next year's class we will need a lot of OL because the 2012 class will be a year away from moving on.
We are pretty set now at T, plenty of names and spread well across classes. Some guard issues with Bosch gone. Center also we need another but as Magnus said, you can convert a guard to C to backup Kugler down the road.
January 30th, 2015 at 1:34 PM ^
I know for a fact he was looking forward to being coached by Harbaugh. But the writing was on the wall, best for both sides and I wish him the very best.
January 30th, 2015 at 1:37 PM ^
Best of luck, Russell.
I hope you land somewhere and tear it up!
January 30th, 2015 at 1:44 PM ^
Good Luck
January 30th, 2015 at 1:57 PM ^
Best of luck to him. Can't say I'm too surprised - wasn't really up to the task here. Impossible to say how much of that is on him vs. the coaches at the time - but obviously didn't pan out like he had hoped. Godspeed
January 30th, 2015 at 1:59 PM ^
Best of luck to him. He never quite lived up to the hopes some had for him in Ann Arbor, but hey, if he spent 4 years here, got in no trouble, and earned a degree, that's a big accomplishment in my book.
January 30th, 2015 at 2:00 PM ^
January 30th, 2015 at 2:03 PM ^
Best part of Russell's message:
I will receive my degree at the end of this semester
He's wise enough to know he wasn't going to get much if any PT under the new regime so why not tuck his Michigan sheepskin under his arm and try his luck elsewhere. A win-win, really.
January 30th, 2015 at 2:04 PM ^
January 30th, 2015 at 2:06 PM ^
Best of luck to him. I hope he gets a starting spot at a school more fitted to his ability.
January 30th, 2015 at 2:07 PM ^
I feel old. Seems like he just showed up here.
Good luck, but Bellomy never looked like a DI QB. I hope he gets to play somewhere next year, but I have to imagine if he does it's going to be in DII
January 30th, 2015 at 2:20 PM ^
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