247: How 2014's 5 Stars Fared
Obviously it is still early but with a lot of these 33 players already 1/3rd of the way thru their careers before declaring early for the draft, 247 has a nice summary of early returns. I do think they got Peppers a bit wrong in that I don't think he will receive a medical RS, but it is probably moot if he is as good as advertised.
I'll put the Michigan targets - even if loosely (i.e. Fournette, Jackson) - that I can remember at the top - I am sure I will miss a few. Then some others below - there is some amazing production out there. And a few redshirts even.
In UM's sphere:
1. Leonard Fournette, LSU. Made the most of his 187 carries, gaining 1,034 yards and scoring 10 touchdowns. Took a kickoff back for a touchdown in the Music City Bowl.
3. Jabrill Peppers, Michigan. Started one game at cornerback but took a medical redshirt because of a leg injury.
5. Da’Shawn Hand, Alabama. A defensive reserve who had two sacks. Will play a bigger role in 2015.
7. Adoree’ Jackson, Southern Cal. Took two kickoffs back for touchdowns, caught three touchdowns. That was before he moved mostly permanently to cornerback, where he started 10 games.
20. John Smith, Southern Cal. “JuJu” was a monster for the Trojans, catching 54 passes for 724 yards and five TDs. Will be option No. 1 for Cody Kessler in 2015. (I think Michigan was recruiting him as a DB)
32. Malik McDowell, Michigan State. Co-starter at nose tackle and played in all 13 games for the Spartans. Had a sack against Penn State.
Others of interest
2. Myles Garrett, Texas A&M. The defensive end’s 11 sacks broke Jadeveon Clowney’s SEC freshman record.
4. Cameron Robinson, Alabama. Stud left tackle was named the 247Sports Freshman of the Year and looks like a future top-five NFL draft pick.
6. Quin Blanding, Virginia. Started all 12 games for the Cavaliers at safety. Named to every all-rookie team you can think of. Second in the ACC with 123 tackles.
8. Speedy Noil, Texas A&M. Electric wideout led the Aggies in all-purpose yardage and scored five touchdowns.
13. Dalvin Cook, Florida State. Perhaps the offensive MVP for the Seminoles, Cook rushed for 1,008 yards and scored eight times.
21. Joe Mixon, Oklahoma. Accepted a plea deal for a July misdemeanor charge for acts resulting in gross injury, which left a 20-year-old female with four broken bones, per the Oklahoman. The running back has the chance to work his way back to the team this spring.
22. Raekwon McMillan, Ohio State. The top-rated signee for the national champion Buckeyes, McMillan made 54 total tackles and 2.5 sacks at linebacker.
30. KD Cannon, Baylor. The next big thing at wideout for the Bears, Cannon had a ridiculous 1,030 yards receiving and eight touchdowns.
33. Nick Chubb, Georgia. The last of the five stars, but certainly not the least impactful, Chubb took over for Todd Gurley and had rousing success, picking up 1,547 yards and 14 touchdowns on 219 carries, a sensational 7.1 average.
January 20th, 2015 at 6:02 AM ^
Alum 96:
Not that it's expected that he'd need a fifth season, but why wouldn't Jabrill Peppers be granted a medical redshirt? Wasn't Devin Gardner granted a medical redshirt after having played in three games before suffering a season-ending injury during his freshman season?
Somewhat OT: When would Michigan have to apply for Jabrill Peppers to be granted a medical redshirt? Has it Desmond Morgan received approval of his medical redshirt season?
January 20th, 2015 at 6:59 AM ^
I believe the criteria generally are that the injury has to be incapacitating, it has to occur before the second half of a season and that a player cannot have completed more than 30% of the season or three games. I would think they can make a case to get Peppers a medical redshirt given those criteria. Not sure what the timeline is, but I think we waited a while before the Gardner decision.
January 20th, 2015 at 8:43 AM ^
But if I recall correctly, we had to wait until Devin Gardner's fourth year to apply for his medical redshirt per conference rules. I remember the B1G denying this being a low-level but grating concern until he was cleared. I'm working from memory here, but I'm pretty sure that's how it broke down. (Some thought the policy may be driven by not giving medical redshirts until necessary - e.g., if the player declared for the NFL early or otherwise left the program.)
In any event, it seems that Peppers would be the poster child for getting a medical redshirt.
January 20th, 2015 at 9:24 AM ^
I think that is correct as well - you wouldn't even apply for that until your 4 years are up. The way it was written in the story it was a past tense usage.
January 20th, 2015 at 9:46 AM ^
LSAClassOf2000, Everyone Murders and alum96, thanks for your responses. I woud have thought it would make sense that, while all of the relevant information and documentation are fresh, application for the "medical redshirt" (that I now know should be called the "medical hardship waiver") would be made right after the end of the season in which the injury occurred.
Is it safe to assume that Desmond Morgan has applied for his medical hardship waiver? I seem to recall that there was some mention that he intended to do so; but I can't recall reading about whether he had applied for it or if it had been granted.
January 20th, 2015 at 10:02 AM ^
Technically the school (not the student athlete) applies for the medical redshirt. I recall this being an issue with Devin Gardner, as the press asked the coaching staff all the time whether they (i.e., the coaching staff) had applied for the medical hardship waiver.
A quick bit of Google research shows a good synopsis of the standards HERE. For some reason, I seem to recall it is a B1G decision rather than an NCAA one, but I'm done Googling for now. But the takeaway is that Peppers's injury seemed very legitimate, and medical hardship applications are rarely denied in such circumstances.
Again, it may not matter if Peppers recovers, plays lights out, and declares early.
January 20th, 2015 at 5:04 PM ^
... Or so I recall from previous discussions about other players who have been up for a grey shirt.
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January 20th, 2015 at 9:18 AM ^
Well the language is past tense "took a medical redshirt". I do believe you'd have to apply for a medical redshirt, and I don't recall him getting one.
But again in Peppers case it would mean he would be on campus for 5 to make the medical RS (if granted) useful. Most assume he is leaving for the NFL after 3 years.
January 20th, 2015 at 6:14 AM ^
January 20th, 2015 at 9:23 AM ^
In some theoretical dream world our DBs the next 2 years could have been
Lewis CB
A. Jackson CB
Peppers S
Juju S
That would have been allright.
It is interesting that Sark turned both the freshmen around to be offensive players when they got on campus - eventually flipping Jackson back to the D. Hell we had a hard enough time getting players to be good staying at 1 position; I cant imagine throwing a true freshmen out at WR for camp and the first few games and then flipping him to CB 3 games in, and seeing him succeed.
January 20th, 2015 at 8:34 AM ^
Michigan never really recruited him (and I've heard of potential character issues) but K.D. Cannon was a whole lot of fun to watch in camp settings, on film, etc. He didn't always go 100% but he was still faster than everyone else on the field.
January 20th, 2015 at 9:00 AM ^
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January 20th, 2015 at 9:20 AM ^
I guess it could have ended up worse for us. We could have had someone like Mixon who tarnishes his reputation before ever really playing a down.
Despite the fact we didn't have an opportunity to see the Jabrill we would have liked to see as a freshman I am confident he will be a big time player for our Defense come the fall of '15. Hopefully we can see his role expand this offseason, if nothing else, at least more to special teams.
Lets also hope We can pull in Mr. Marshall and truely have a tandem of 5 star talent in our secondary.
The future is bright.
January 20th, 2015 at 9:54 AM ^
The crazy thing about his season is that he only got 12 carries in his first 3 games combined, and had 5 games this season with fewer than 10 carries. However, in those 5 games, he had 29 carries for 305 yards, at 10.5 yds per carry. Lest anyone think it came over the dregs, two of those games were against SCar and Clemson. He had over 100 yards in his last 7 games, including 156 yards and 7.4 ypc (!) against Florida, 144 yards and 7.6 ypc against Auburn, and 266 yards and 8.1 ypc against Louisville in the bowl game.
Had he played a full season as starter, he would've been over 2000 rushing yards at that pace and be mentioned in the same breath as Melvin Gordon and Ezekiel Elliott. As it is, I have to imagine he's an early front-runner for Heisman along with Elliott.
January 20th, 2015 at 10:36 AM ^
I agree. He is ridiculous. That stable of RBs at GA this past year was sick. Too bad they didnt have the appropriate QB to go with them. I think Chubb is better than Elliott but Elliott's team will have the better record in 2015. But I think it is Boykin's Heisman to lose in 2015.