Once Were Wolverines (at least some of them)
I was looking through Phil Steele's preview of Arkansas yesterday and saw that DeQuinta Jones had a pretty good freshman year. After a "Damn, he could have helped" moment, I wondered about some of other the other recent one-time commits, so collected the updates below. Some are pretty well known (Kevin Newsome, for example), but additional snooping around produced some tidbits I wasn't aware of. I expanded the list to some of the other guys who've left the program in the last few years. Some of these updates have appeared here and there on Michigan blogs over the years, but I wasn't aware of any comprehensive source other than Mike Desimone's site which gives a few comments on post-Michigan activity or lack thereof, but not many.
The list below isn't exhaustive—there are probably kids I don't remember who verbally committed and then went elsewhere. There are a couple of guys who I couldn't find much of anything on other than some message board rumors. If anyone has any updated info on these where-are-they-nows (or players I've missed), I'll add.
All the data comes from either Phil Steele or respective schools' archived statistical data.
UPDATE: Added Dewayne Peace, Christian Wilson, Justin Feagin and Boubacar C. Also, circumstances: departure or decommit. UPDATE: Per comments, added John Weinke and Marquis Maze. Also added Jerimy Finch. UPDATE: Been meaning to add Bryce McNeal for a while. Finally did.
|
Class |
Player |
School |
Comments |
|
2009 |
DaQuinta Jones Decommit |
Arkansas |
|
|
|
AdrianWitty Clearinghouse |
Cincinnati |
|
|
|
Pearlie Graves Decommit |
TexasTech |
|
|
|
Jordan Barnes Decommit |
Oklahoma St |
|
|
|
Kevin Newsome Decommit |
Penn St |
|
|
|
Shad Beaver Decommit |
Tulsa |
|
|
|
Anthony Fera Decommit |
Penn St |
|
|
|
Dewayne Peace Decommit |
Arizona |
|
|
|
Bryce McNeal Decommit |
Clemson |
|
|
2008 |
Taylor Hill Transfer |
YoungstownState |
|
|
|
Sam McGuffie Transfer |
Rice |
|
|
|
Dan O'Neill Transfer |
WMU |
|
|
|
Brandon Smith Transfer |
Temple |
|
|
|
Kurt Wermers Transfer |
BallState |
|
|
|
Marcus Witherspoon Transfer |
Rutgers |
|
|
|
Christian Wilson Decommit |
UNC |
|
|
|
Justin Feagin Dismissed |
Texas Southern University TSU Nickname: the Tigers TSU Mascot = Pretty Baby II |
|
|
|
Boubacar Cissoko Suspended/Dismissed |
|
|
|
John Weinke Decommit |
Iowa |
|
|
|
2007 |
ZionBabb Dismissed |
Juco? |
|
|
|
Artis Chambers |
BallState |
|
|
|
Toney Clemons Transfer |
Colorado |
|
|
|
Marell Evans Transfer |
Hampton |
|
|
|
Vince Helmuth Left Team |
|
|
|
|
Avery Horn Left team |
Juco? Reedley College HT: Magnus in comments |
|
|
|
Ryan Mallett Transfer |
Arkansas |
|
|
|
Marques Slocum Left team |
Eastern Arizona CC The Gila Monsters ... sweet mascot |
|
|
|
Steven Threet Transfer |
Arizona State |
|
|
|
Marquis Maze Decommit |
Alabama |
|
|
Jeremy Finch Decommit |
Florida àIndiana |
|
|
|
2006 |
Justin Boren Transfer |
OSU |
|
|
|
Jason Kates Left team |
?? |
|
|
|
Cobrani Mixon Transfer |
Kent St |
|
|
|
Quintin Patilla Transfer |
GrandValley |
|
|
|
Quintin Woods Transfer |
JC then to Kansas |
|
|
|
Jai Eugene Decommit |
LSU |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2005 |
Jason Forcier Transfer |
Stanford |
|
|
|
Eugene Germany Dismissed |
JC / then to ASU |
|
|
|
James McKinney Transfer |
Louisville |
|
|
|
Chris Richards Dismissed |
Stony Brook |
|
|
|
Justin Schifano Left Team |
? |
|
|
|
Johnny Sears Dismissed |
EMU |
|
|
|
Mister Simpson Dismissed |
Cincinnati |
|
Well done. That was one of the more interesting pieces of "content" I've read in a while. A few items that jump out at me:
1. I'm actually going to root for McGuffie this fall. I hope he learned how to take a tackle and doesn't continue to take Ed McCaffrey-esque hits.
2. Witherspoon is probably the saddest item on the list. He was recruited with a lot of hype and it's sad to think that he isn't playing football anymore. Hopefully that means that he is still able to be a student somewhere and finish a degree.
3. Threet starting at ASU? Living on the west coast I'm sure I'll catch a random game or two. I'll definitely take a few minutes to check in on him.
4. Johnny Sears, wow. He put up some great numbers at EMU. I hope he can stick in the NFL.
per comment #3: here's espn's short interview with "Michigan transfer Steven Threet" and the QB competition for starter at ASU...
ASU will be playing Wisconsin at Camp Randall on Sept. 18th. If Threet is the starter it will be interesting to see how he fairs against the Badgers on the road.
Anyone think he will tear off another 50 yard run against Wiscy? That run is my one really positive memory of Threet in 2008.
Sears played against Michigan last year, if I recall. I think he did some kick or punt returning as well, not sure which one.
Wasn't Sears the guy who waved at Carlos Brown as he was falling down, clipped his ankle (barely) and caused Carlos to, all too typically, go down like a house of cards?
I believe it was Sears who, while playing some WR for EMU, engaged in one of the most blatant acts of offensive pass interference I have ever seen, only to have the referee flag the M defender (I think it was Cissoko) for defensive pass interference.
Someone please correct me if I am wrong. My brain is complete mush from the work day.
you got this right on both counts. Sears and Cissoko.
Nice piece of data to have around and update. Good work.
Just a note, the table is all wacked-out on my browser (firefox 3.6.6)
I tried playing around with the table tonight. It was fine when I posted at my office this morning using Window IE (at least as it appeared on my pc), but I use Fire Fox at home and it's whacked for me too.
I downloaded and installed Live Writer tonight at Brian's suggestion under "Useful Stuff" but I don't think I can use it on something already posted. Don't know. Anyway, apologies for the formatting. If there's an easy way to fix, I'm all ears.
I give you kudos for delving into some research and finding out what happened with all of these guys but except for Mallet and McGuffie it seems as though we haven't lost out on any true stars. I suppose you could put Hill in there but his competition isn't on par.
looks like he's done pretty well at Kent State, so I suppose you could argue he may have been a solid contributor. Tough to judge with Hill, I agree.
Daquinta Jones seems pretty solid all things considered.
There is some information on others at the Mike DeSimone site. He has a pretty extensive list of rescruits from 1993 to present. Those that finished eligibility, left early, had trouble enrolling....yada yada yada. Breaks it down by year. Good info here though. Nice to see some of them having good careers, and yet for the most part those who left will not be champions.
...that when a player leaves one program due to academics, behavior, bad fit, playing time and the like, the likelihood that he's going to be a productive member of another is, on balance, very low. When a player transfers due to a coaching change, that likelihood goes up dramatically since many of these players are starters or projected starters who think that the new coach will stifle them.
As far as decommits go, a last minute decommit may (but not always - Roundtree for example) indicate a certain flakiness on the part of the player. That characteristic is not conducive to success in a football program.
My recommendation is that you add a column to describe the player's status (i.e., transfer, decommit, recruiting target).
Most of the guys that leave haven't done much.
Too bad DQ Jones didn't stick with his commitment. Teams would have a hard time running up the gut with Mike Martin, Will Campbell and Jones rotating on the line.
raised my eyebrows too. Regarding Dorsey, Tony Drake and other 2010 guys: I decided to leave off as I was more interested how well some of these kids had performed at new schools, rather than where they ended up (even though some have no results to date on my list). The latter was useful information but secondary to my interests.
Beaver/Newsome swap for Forcier/Robinson...
With no one else apparently yet willing to stand up at RB, how nice would it be to have McGuffie's playmaking ability entering a third year? M. Shaw - now's your time brah
I'll be rooting for Sam McGuffie and Threet.
word
Damn you. I was putting together a chart like this for my blog.
Good work, though.
Slocum transferred to Eastern Arizona and was drafted by the Redskins...
http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/2007/08/22/hero-for-our-time-marques-grand-marques-slocum/
Have you had a beer in the last week?
shit I downed a forty last night in 2min. and 37sec. yea, beerfest bitch! im ready 4 da boot!
...signed Slocum as an undrafted free agent. He is not currently on the Redskins roster.
It's updated now.
das boot
I can't wait to see McGuffie this year. Has anyone on our roster transferred to Michigan?
Granted, we landed a JUCO LB a few years back, but the last guy to transfer to Michigan from another FBS school was Mason when he left Stanford.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
I think you're correct.
Austin Panter was the JUCO linebacker, FWIW.
Wasn't he was JUCO Player of the Year or something like that? I seem to recall a ton of hype about his JUCO accolades, though he didn't really do anything while at Michigan.
He was Defensive POY of his conference.
Well, either way, I remember hearing a lot about this awesome JUCO LB that was going to be an immediate contributor. Did he start a few games? I cannot remember, but seem to recall him on special teams.
He was mostly a special teamer. I don't think he ever started, but I could be wrong. He only had 13 tackles in his two seasons.
Isn't he with the Redskins now?
EDIT: Nevermind, I failed to read all comments. Shame on me.
I currently live on the face of the sun, otherwise known as the valley of the sun, Phoenix. Steven is definately in a QB battle. Spring game reviews were awful for the entire offense with only 1 TD scored in 4 quarters. He came into Spring with the title of starter, but I'm not sure that he left still holding it. Here are some stats from the game:
Brock Osweiler completed 17-of-33 passes for 151 yards and one touchdown with one interception while Steven Threet went 9-of-27 for 117 yards with three interceptions.
Unfortunately that line sounds familiar.
I went to the same high school as Osweiler in Montana and he origianlly committed to play basketball for Gonzaga after his sophomore year of high school. For those of you who follow the Miami Dolphins, RB Lex Hilliard also attended the same high school before attending the University of Montana. I had a class with him and it was fun seeing him get letters from all the big name schools in the region that were recruiting him at the time (i.e. Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Boise St., etc.)
Does it note how many of Threet's incompletions were due to the fact that the ball slipped out of his hand?
John Weinke?? lefty QB who transferred to IOWA
EDIT:
2010 - - Not listed on depth chart following spring practice.
2009 - - Listed as co-second team quarterback following spring practice . . . did not see any game action.
2008 - - Redshirted.
Yes, he did.
a defensive lineman that went to Blue a few years back and ended up playing at PSU? I ask because I don't see a defensive lineman on a PSU roster shown.
You're probably thinking of Chris Rogers.
I thought I found him while doing the Decimated Defense series last year, but now I can't remember where. It wasn't an easy find. He was at a Division II school in Cali or something I think, and was the better of a two-RB tandem.
Reedley College in California.
Updated above.
App State rejected him the day the news broke on why Rich kicked him off the team. Their blog was abuzz about his coming to App State, and the irony, etc. (Armani Edwards had just slipped mowing the lawn at the house he was renting, and cut his foot pretty badly.) I sent the moderator a note saying be careful what you wish for along with the press links. The story broke about 20 minutes later in Boone. App State announced that morning that Justin Feagin would not be a Mountaineer.
When he plead guilty in his case in January, there was a foot note that he played last season for Texas Southern. There are stats on him (at receiver, not QB), but I can't find him on the roster.
Interestingly: Former USC Football Recruit Signs with Texas Southern
plays UConn the week after Michigan, coincedentally. I'll have to check the box score to see if Feagin's with the team.
TheQB decommit John Wienke (would have been 2008 recruiting class) who went to Iowa instead. He looked like the solid number two guy behind Mr. Americanzi in the Iowa spring game on BTN.
[Edit: I missed John the first pass through, sorry. Post updated accordingly.]
Apparently his dad was the #2 guy at the agency that ended up signing Dez Bryant. The OKST scout site thinks his departure is somehow connected.
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