Time To Update "Never Forget" Again
Fantastically bizarre and apropos Google image search for "Cullen Christian."
So… yeah. I learned my lesson from the Great McGuffie Saga and won't say this is 100% happening because people change their minds, but a couple solid sources indicate Cullen Christian is asking for his release today and plans to transfer.
That would obviously be bad. We've got massive collages that no longer have room for all the guys Michigan has lost prematurely in the secondary over the last few years that are already out of date since Ray Vinopal decided to peace out earlier in spring. Christian, a consensus top 100 guy, was the highest-rated corner on the roster after Justin Turner's departure*. Despite that he struggled immensely when forced onto the field last year, was obviously behind both of his classmates, and was supposedly running third team in spring despite the absences of Troy Woolfolk and JT Floyd. So the impact on this year's team wouldn't be great.
However, even if he seemed well on his way to Bolivian he could have moved to safety or something. At this point walk-ons leaving the secondary make me cringe—losing the sole touted corner on the team is not so good.
Again, disclaimers about people changing their minds or whatnot but this is so totally happening (probably). Ten million dollars the eventual destination is Pitt, right?
DEFINITELY NOT BONUS: I don't have a second source on this one so file this under strong rumor, but DJ Williamson is also supposed to be on the way out. Williamson was a track star who also played football and I'm not sure anyone had super-high hopes for him (he was a two star on one site) but there was always the off chance he'd be Mario Manningham or something. His departure would highlight how weird dumping Devin Lucien was.
*[Boy, does our imaginary secondary kick ass!]
UPDATE: Christian's transfer is official($).
"....unless you're in the SEC."
(Actually, I agree with everything you posted. Just can't believe more kids can't see the risk they're taking committing down there).
April 21st, 2011 at 11:25 AM ^
work their tail off and eventually play for a guy with a track record like a Mattison defense is beyond me.
And a degree from UM to boot, aint a bad deal at all.
All the best to him.
April 21st, 2011 at 11:35 AM ^
if they can't find it, they want to transfer to get better PT somewhere. Not all D1 kids are wired like us fans.
Maybe he was hoping with the new coaches he would get more PT. Now that it looks like he's not getting it, he feels Michigan isn't the place for him. Too bad, we're going to feel this down the road.
April 21st, 2011 at 11:26 AM ^
just isn't working. Mattison coached Ray Lewis, so from now on we should just put 11 linebackers on the field and it'll all come out awesome, right?
April 21st, 2011 at 11:54 AM ^
Why do you think they took so many linebackers last class? They're clearly working towards this goal.
The 0-11-0 defense?
April 21st, 2011 at 11:30 AM ^
I think this is a clear sign that Brady Hoke lacks family values. He doesn't understand the tradition. He is driving players away from the program... where is Drew Sharp when you need him?*
There could be satanic rituals involved. I have no solid sources on this but it's probably true.
/sarc
*note that you never, ever, ever need, want, or even whimsically hope for Drew Sharp to show up.
April 21st, 2011 at 11:34 AM ^
The "sarc" tag does not change the fact that this joke is played out.
April 21st, 2011 at 11:36 AM ^
You don't find it funny, that's cool. No need to go out of your way to point that out to me.
April 21st, 2011 at 11:57 AM ^
Let's be laughably obvious about it: Brady Hoke has driven off another defensive back. First Vinopal. Now Cullen. When we can least afford it, we've lost another defensive back. And while the guys might have said it really has nothing to do with B-Ho (is that the corollary for DickRod?) , "everybody" knows better. The guy is just not getting along with our defensive backs.
There. There's a certain poetry to saying it that way, isn't there? It is all absurdist, naturally. The now-famous sportswriting computer program could write that story, if they let Mark Snyder do the programming, right? Or, perhaps, if they let the guys who programmed Mark Snyder in the first place do the new programming?
It's like a song lyric where you sort of know the rhyming lyric before they sing it. So shame, shame on Hoke for driving off great recruits. LOL.
April 21st, 2011 at 12:00 PM ^
I do believe a postwriting computer could easily generate your daily spiel.
April 21st, 2011 at 12:31 PM ^
I like Hoke and I think positive media (or at least lack of negative media) is a good thing, but I agree with you. That is exactly what would have been written about RR and will not be written about Hoke. I can see an impending article from the Freep criticizing RR for CC's departure -- "another piece of evidence that he recruited the wrong type of guy for Michigan, etc., etc." [Edit: While I was typing this, Mackbru wrote something just like this.]
Relatedly, given the past 3 years, I think it's remarkable that Hoke is getting a "pass" for losing out on high profile recruits like Pike. I understand that you win some and you lose some. But a lot of people around here and the Freep seem to have just now realized that. More amazing to me is that people seem to think that Hoke has proven himself to be an uberrecruiter. I hope that proves to be true, but stealing some kids from Ohio who had committed to Minny and Vandy that OSU didn't want and losing some kids to Auburn and Alabama isn't great evidence that it is (jury is definitely out; but that's kinda the point). For RR, this would have generated "3 star mafia, can't compete against OSU, etc., etc."
Oh, well.
April 21st, 2011 at 12:53 PM ^
If you'd like a reason as to why Hoke is getting a pass while RR got rough treatment, here is the reason why:
Hoke is 0-0 as Michigan's head coach.
Rich Rodriguez was 15-22 as Michigan's head coach.
Move on.
I think his point was that RR was getting the "family values" thing when he was still 0-0. Sorry you missed the point.
that Hoke has to dig out of a big hole in recruiting. Plainly, we have sucked for 3 years now, and those years were preceded by some memorable losses too. These kids being recruited are 17 years old. They don't remember Bo, and they don't remember 1997. They do remember that Alabama and Auburn won NC the last couple of years, and tosu always beats Michigan. You have to establish some credibility with your program again to start playing consistently for the high level recruits. That will come from a well coached team and steps towards becoming again what Michigan was for so many years.
Raking Rich over the coals, for losing any one recruit, (in April, that we don't even really need badly)? We'll see what the grand total of the class comes to be, and if it's filled with mostly 3 stars, (which so far have only been linemen, and then at least 4 stars), and he breaks even with MSU, and doesn't get anyone else from Ohio, then yes, I'm guessing there will be some criticism of our class. But it's at least going to take till signing day, no more 3 years of the same stuff.
How many avatars does dahblue have, anyway? :)
April 21st, 2011 at 11:32 AM ^
i wonder if hoke takes a hard line ala paterno and bolden or does what carr used to do - make them wait and little and forces them to rethink things.
I too am wondering how he will handle this. Best thing to do is to let the kid do what he wants though. Don't want to keep a kid somewhere he doesn't want to be.
April 21st, 2011 at 11:33 AM ^
I could be wrong, as it's rather blurry, but aren't those kids in the Google pic rockin' the Los Barcos shirt?
April 21st, 2011 at 11:33 AM ^
April 21st, 2011 at 11:35 AM ^
A track star that everyone just prays will learn how to play football.
April 21st, 2011 at 11:35 AM ^
if there is any, is that these guys are freeing up scholarships for Hoke and Mattison to work their snake oil for potentially better players.
"Are we going to have to turn away all these 4 and 5 star players who want to come here because we don't have enough scholarships?!?!?!" These things work themselves out.
Except CC was a highly regarded corner. I know he hasn't shown it yet, but he had promise.
April 21st, 2011 at 11:40 AM ^
There's still space under the crying Wolverine.
From the DD Database:
| Year | Name | H.S. | Ht | Wt | 40 | Stars | RR | Rnk | N.O.R. Type/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Boubacar Cissoko | Cass Tech: Detroit, MI | 5'9" | 171 | N/A | 4 | 6.0 | 4 | Academic/Disciplinary |
| 2009 | Adrian Witty | Deerfield Beach: Deerfield Beach, FL | 5'9" | 175 | N/A | 2 | 5.3 | N/A | Academic/Disciplinary |
| 2010 | Demar Dorsey | Boyd Anderson: Lauderdale Lakes, FL | 6'1" | 175 | N/A | 4 | 5.8 | 13 | Academic/Disciplinary |
| 2007 | Donovan Warren | Poly: Long Beach, CA | 6'0" | 175 | 4.4 | 5 | 6.1 | 3 | Graduation/Early NFL |
| 2007 | James Rogers | Lamphere: Madison Heights, MI | 6'1" | 195 | N/A | 3 | 5.5 | 68 | Graduation/Early NFL |
| 2007 | Michael Williams | St. Bonaventure: Ventura, CA | 5'11" | 181 | 4.7 | 4 | 5.8 | 15 | Medical Hardship |
| 2007 | Artis Chambers | Snider: Ft. Wayne, IN | 6'2" | 185 | 4.5 | 3 | 5.6 | 41 | Transfer |
| 2008 | Brandon Smith | New Brunswick: New Brunswick, NJ | 6'3" | 210 | 4.5 | 4 | 5.9 | 11 | Transfer |
| 2009 | Justin Turner | Washington: Massillon, OH | 6'2" | 186 | 4.5 | 4 | 6.0 | 3 | Transfer |
| 2009 | Vladimir Emilien | Plantation: Lauderhill, FL | 6'1" | 186 | N/A | 4 | 5.8 | 14 | Transfer |
| 2010 | Cullen Christian | Penn Hills: Pittsburgh, PA | 6'0" | 180 | 4.7 | 4 | 5.9 | 8 | Transfer |
| 2010 | Ray Vinopal | Cardinal Mooney: Youngstown, OH | 5'10" | 178 | 4.6 | 2 | 5.4 | N/A | Transfer |
April 21st, 2011 at 12:07 PM ^
gets me everytime...sigh
April 21st, 2011 at 12:48 PM ^
Van Slyke, Woolfolk and Teen Wolf off of there right? They're back and relatively healthy and everything will be alright and stuff?
Who has a copy of the original without all of them on it?
April 21st, 2011 at 12:52 PM ^
in a secondary that has been mind-bendingly bad over the past few years, we've lost 7 members of the secondary who were rated 4 stars or better. and 4 others after that. that's literally almost a 3-deep we've lost. THREE
Even if these guys weren't going to pan out, we still lost 4 top 100 guys early: Donovan, Cullen, Demar, and Justin Turner. It's impossible to have that much bad luck, right??
...
:(
April 21st, 2011 at 12:54 PM ^
Michigan never had Demar or Adrian. I find it curious that they're on the quilt.
April 21st, 2011 at 12:56 PM ^
They both signed NLI's to play for Michigan. It's not that hard to figure out.
Why is he on this list? Graduation is normal (or we wish it was) so I don't think I'd include him.
Because he wasn't going to be of any help to the team in 2007 as a freshman receiver but we burned his shirt. Dude would have been at least a decent RS senior option, especially against slower teams, this year. Instead he's out of eligibility.
But yeah, I'm not going to fight very hard to say he's a major loss because him seeing the field last year was essentially :: David Cone:Starting at Quarterback.
The real answer is because the way my DD database works is it counts all the guys who might have been 5th year seniors. Teams are not expected to have 0% attrition, but I learned a lot from seeing which teams had 70% of their defensive recruits coming into their 5th years, versus those who had zero. A healthy program should have half of its class still around at that point, with some of them starting and some of them basically Greg Banks.
This is how program strength over time can directly help a team. Michigan had to play Brandon Harrison early due to Safety Armageddon, so 4 years later he's gone and we are choosing between Charles Stewart, Mike Williams, and a redshirt freshman student body walk-on (Kovacs) at deep safety. Last year's depth chart craziness forced us to play Cullen, Talbott the Little, and Avery when all three should have redshirted. Cullen's transfer will probably work out best for him, since once he settles he gets that redshirt year he obviously needed. Unless you think Avery and Talbott are early NFL jumps down the line, 2010's depth chart problems will continue to plague Michigan. The 2014 defense will have to replace Jibreel, Avery, Talbott, Carvin and Marvin in addition to the Gordons, Mike Jones, Isaiah Bell and Hawthorne. If we'd recruited and retained like we're supposed to from '07 through '09, that 2014 team would have four to five more returning starters.
April 21st, 2011 at 11:40 AM ^
I hope the new staff gets this under control SOON. If Cullen wasn't competitive, it's good in the long run that he leaves so a scholarship can be freed up for someone who wants to be here. And wanting to be here is the most important thing. I'd be fine with him staying and finishing his degree, IF it's a matter of him just not being good enough to play.
But, as it is, it looks like a few of the freshmen DB's are going to be cast out onto the field this season, thereby burning their redshirts.
April 21st, 2011 at 11:48 AM ^
moreso with new coaching regime.
I hear you. I guess a lot of us were being a little too optimistic that Hoke would be able to retain 100%.
April 21st, 2011 at 11:41 AM ^
Not a good surprise. Speedy guys like him are always a huge bonus, even if only used on special teams. Straight line speed coupled with even average hands can also be a recipe for an excellent receiver. With his size and speed I had high hopes for him in 2012 and beyond. I hope he reconsiders and stays (along with Cullen and everyone else).
April 21st, 2011 at 11:43 AM ^
1 more scholarship for 2012. Like Ricky Powers said "this place is cut throat." Good luck to you CC wherever you go(except OSU/MSU/ND).
Maybe we pick up another kicker since everyone we give scholarships to shits the bed for the last couple of years. C'Mon Wile prove me wrong.
April 21st, 2011 at 12:12 PM ^
No need to worry about any transfers going to a Big 10 team as the conference doesn't allow them to be granted scholarships (Boren had to pay his way) and I don't think we would allow them to go to ND, but I am not sure the coaches stance on it. I belive they are allowed to name restrictions to schools that they are not allowed to transfer to and recieve a scholarship, but not entirely sure on the rules of it. I think this happened with Marve for Purdue when he transfered from Miami and his dad was really upset at the choices they allowed.
April 21st, 2011 at 11:44 AM ^
So stupid I had to post it twice....
April 21st, 2011 at 11:44 AM ^
I know we're on thin ice there.
April 21st, 2011 at 11:46 AM ^
leave in good academic standing with , I think, a 2.0 or higher, it's not as big of a hit. The APR should be ok, but it could get close.
April 21st, 2011 at 12:17 PM ^
Annual Percentage Rate? Ha, I'm clueless.
April 21st, 2011 at 11:47 AM ^
...that player attrition is likely to be somewhat severe as highly touted recruits that were evaluated by one coaching staff fail to live up to the expectations of this coaching staff leading to benthic positions on the depth chart leading to dissatisfaction leading to why should I put up with this crap anymore leading to may I please have my release we may be able to avoid the seemingly inevitable MGoMeltdowns.
April 21st, 2011 at 12:44 PM ^
...leading to may I please have my release we may be able toavoid the seemingly inevitable MGoMeltdowns.come to grips with the facts.
There. Circle complete.
April 21st, 2011 at 12:02 PM ^
April 21st, 2011 at 12:24 PM ^
Neat.
April 21st, 2011 at 12:04 PM ^
Another RR defensive recruit goes bust. Big shocker.
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