5th Year seniors had to "audition" during spring practice
This bummed out Keith Heitzman, which led to his transfer to Ohio University.
We've all heard some buzz about 5th years not being invited back, but this is the first time I've heard that there was a formal try out process.
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Nothing wrong with it at all. I thought the "it bummed me out" comment was pretty funny.
Countess was first team all-B1G a couple of years ago and HM this past season. Not sure we're better off with him playing down on the Plains.
Not sure anyone else on the roster is a better fit, though.
Either way, it's nice having a coach who will get the benefit of the doubt around here if there is short-term pain on the way to long-term success.
Jourdan Lewis is a better fit for man press, as would be Peppers if he were sticking at corner (which I know he isn't).
I guess I just assumed he would be the other starter (meaning he'd play whether Countess is here or not). On the other side I would just rather have a choice of Lyons/Countess/Freshman rather than just Lyons/Freshman. Even if Blake wouldn't have been named the starter, not having him around in case of injury or pass-happy attack could come back to bite us, IMO.
Or, was he told he wouldn't be given a 5th year? I thought he chose to leave because of PT issues, basically because he knew he wasn't going to start. If my recollection is murky please correct me.
I agree with all of that.
I wish Countess had stuck around as well as I think he would have provided experience if nothing else. His instincts in zone coverge are proven to be good as well and there's no way to call his transfer anything but a loss, especially given his current team.
As far as the veiled RR comment goes, agree to disagree.
Your point is valid of course, but if you're a proven player like Blake Countess, it may be perceived as a huge insult to your contributions and work effort to be made to audition when people like Reon Dawson and Terry Richardson don't have to. It's not hard to see why this would be a sign of disrespect.
Obviously most players took it the way you took it, and as fans we all know that's the Harbaugh Way (TM)... but you can see where this was a risky move on Harbaughs part.
No matter how you slice it, there were a lot of valuable contributors from last year's roster who COULD have come back but elected not to this offseason (e.g., Miller, Bosch, Hayes, Heitzman, Countess). I think and hope it will work out for the best in the end. Culture matters and transitions always have attrition, but going from Hoke to Harbaugh COULD have feasibly gone a little more smoothly given JH's prestige and continuity in program philosophy.
Well, Harbaugh has not been coaching these guys for the last 4 years. I don't know that you can say anyone is "proven" because this coaching staff still has to familiarize themselves with these guys. Getting a 5th year is a privilege so this seems like the best way to figure out who gets one and who doesn't.
That mentality of entitlement is exactly what has run this program into the ground. No one is entitled to a 5th year plain and simple.
It would be tough to hear that you have to earn your spot, after four years of hard work.
That said, any player not up to that challenge should transfer. When I played college sports I always knew that everyday was an audition, and that I had to earn my minutes. THERE IS NO WAY I would have transferred.
I feel bad for Heitzman, but if he wasn't up to the challenge, I'm glad he's somewhere else.
But the reason matters. Heitzman did NOT leave for playing time reasons--he would have made that decision if there had been no tryout. He is quoted as saying he "didn't know if [he] wanted to try out."
The tryout prompted his decision to look elsewhere, no the playing time. I'm sure playing time was a factor, but if the idea of a tryout makes you look elsewhere, then yes, I do question your competitive drive.
What I don't question is his emotional reaction of, "that sucks" to the idea of tryout. I would have felt the same way. But a tryout would not have prompted me to consider transferring.
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for the rest of the team?
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Everyone at U-M has 4-year scholarships. NOT 5-year scholarships. If you're not a 5th-year, your scholarship, and therefore your place on the roster, is guaranteed (they can ask you to accept a medical waiver).
Everyone is auditioning for playing time; the 5th-year guys have to earn their scholarship, and this is standard practice almost everywhere. Calling it a "tryout" might sound more harsh, but it's actually just an honest statement of most schools' policy on 5th-year guys.
Playing time did make a difference and through spring camp he knew others were as good or better which would have decreased his playing time. I don't see how a try out made him leave. But he should get more playing time at a smaller school which will make him happier. All the best to him though!
harbs brought the PAIN and this boy didnt like it. next
1. He's a fifth year senior and likely 22/23, calling him a boy is pretty damn rude.
2. You don't know his whole situation and why he transferred, it is much more likely he knew he wasn't going pro, had his degree and just wanted to spend one more year playing football and getting actual time on the field. Frankly, it's hard to blame him for that.
3. I find it hard to believe any coach is going to bring a level of intensity to practice that a fifth year senior is not going to have experienced or be able to contextualize and it's not like heading to Ohio is going to make practices or workouts any easier, the coach at Ohio has to coach for his job, too.
that all their prior contribution is out the window. (Would like to know the context behind the "bummed" and the fill in to why considered other options.)
Everything I have seen from Harbaugh tells me he is looking for ultra-competitive guys who live and breath competing every day: no laurels. Another example: the camp promotional material changed from "come and learn skills", to "come and compete". It's like the Marines: "we're looking for a few good men".
I think both points of view are OK. Especially considering the last two season's records in the coaches' case.
If Heitzman truly did "like competition," he would have been fine with having the opportunity to earn a fifth year. As for "empathy," the real world is competitive. People have to prove themselves every day on jobs where their value isn't appreciated.
Sorry, but if he wouldn't compete for a job, he doesn't belong with the most competitive coach in college football.
Your nephew is really, really, really short.
Just playin' with ya...
I, for one, was distracted by the hypothetical 1v1 driveway BB. Theatre of the mind.
I thought the difference between empathy and simpathy was personal experience, to my untrained eye, it looks like you have them backwards...
From a fellow asshole uncle, and now asshole father.
team when you started coaching here?
>It's kind of shocking how little empathy we fans have for players.
>
I agree completely with this. It always amazes me at the absence of empathy, but also the presence of real enmity for guys that don't perform well. The conclusion that anyone that doesn't perform well doesn't care, or isn't trying, or is just generally a bad guy constantly astounds me. As if the guy didn't want to succeed, or you can tell the difference between a guy just screwing up, or not having the talent vs actually not trying.
Rob
I'm not sure any of the players should be touting their performance over that time. There's been an awful lot of suck in this program since the Sugar Bowl win, and while Heitzman was not a glaring failure, neither was he a shining exception. Hard work is all very well, but on-field performance is what wins championships, and since Harbaugh is presumably here to do that, I have no problem with him culling the herd and only keeping what he thinks are the best.
But that assumes the player takes a coach-centric view. I think it's reasonable to assume they would see it from their perspective (i.e., I've been working my butt off for 4 years for this program).
It's not unreasonable to say "hasn't my play on the field earned me another season". If you've done it -- especially if you fought back from a major injury like Countess did AND earned all-conference honors. I don't think it's necessarily entitlement to feel disrespected by this if you're a proven player like Countess. That said, I think Harbaugh would want his guys to just embrace the challenge as an opportunity to show the coaching staff you deserve your spot.
JH can run the program how he likes, and I doubt he's shedding tears about anyone who doesn't want to be at Michigan badly enough to try out for it (again).
slate. Not so great for Countess, but Heitzman apparently didn't see how that worked to his advantage. A new coach coming in and looking at his body of work is very likely to see him as expendable. Even the old staff might have. He was offered a fair shot, the most he really could have expected.
When the new coach (Dick Vermeil) for the eagles told the hot shot players that considering their record the previous year, they should all be worried about their positions on the roster.
One of our (Michigan fan's) favorite quotes is "Those who stay will be champions" comes from almost the same situation.
"disrespect" to consider not bringing back a 5th year? Your devil's advocate hot takes are getting old.
If Hoke had told Jake Ryan, Devin Gardner or Jeremy Gallon last year "we're thinking about not inviting you back". Would it be OK for them to feel disrespected then?
This isn't really a 'hot take' so much as a "put yourself in the player's shoes" observation, or maybe have an ounce of humanity towards kids on the football team.
Everybody gets that football is competition and 5th years aren't guaranteed, but there are different ways of approaching that and we can have a civil discussion about it. I'm not even arguing against JH's approach, just saying that Heitzman is allowed to feel how he feels.
There is no chance any of those guys would have transferred or done anything but go out and prove themselves. No one likes having to try out, but everyday in college athletics is an audition, and true competitors would take the challenge.
I'm not arguing it wouldn't suck to hear you have to "audition" as a 5th-year, but damn if I wouldn't have gone out and done my best to prove myself.