Alabama Wide Receiver Ja’Corey Brooks Enters the Transfer Portal
5 Star out of the 2021 class. The portal seems to be filling up with elite wide receiver talent. I sure hope we land one of these guys considering we’ll probably lose our top 2 receivers.
December 7th, 2023 at 7:50 PM ^
Can he join the team for the Rose Bowl?
December 7th, 2023 at 7:53 PM ^
Our team or their team?
/jk
December 7th, 2023 at 7:55 PM ^
Now THAT would be awkward
December 7th, 2023 at 8:20 PM ^
But awesome, and we would know their signs.
December 7th, 2023 at 8:31 PM ^
Too soon? 😂
December 7th, 2023 at 8:33 PM ^
Never too soon.
December 8th, 2023 at 11:56 AM ^
The horror! It would be like when we faced Iowa with Cade . . . oh, wait, nevermind.
December 8th, 2023 at 9:52 AM ^
it would certainly redefine the term 2 way player.
He would be guaranteed a spot in the Natty.
December 8th, 2023 at 8:10 AM ^
Mentally preparing myself for the inevitable “Player _____ enters the transfer portal” posts for the next two or three months.
December 7th, 2023 at 7:55 PM ^
These 5 star receivers won't come to UM.
They don't want to block and we don't throw enough to satisfy their needs.
I'd be very surprised if one transfers in.
December 7th, 2023 at 8:07 PM ^
This. Amazing success over the past 3 years has been great - but this offense will likely never be conducive to true WRs looking for stats and/or first round draft grades...and with that, the talent like this will likely never look this way.
December 7th, 2023 at 8:09 PM ^
You’re probably right. It still bothers me knowing Xavier Worthy should’ve been in maize and blue(although he left for a different reason) and Darrius Clemons can’t seem to find his way onto the field.
December 7th, 2023 at 8:16 PM ^
Any scuttlebutt on his situation? I really thought he would push for snaps, especially after seeing Morgan get his (awesome) touches.
December 7th, 2023 at 8:22 PM ^
Honestly, I have no idea. I was expecting him to be a big part of the offense this season.
December 7th, 2023 at 8:32 PM ^
I recall that he was injured earlier in the year. Perhaps it was a lingering boo-boo.
December 7th, 2023 at 8:25 PM ^
I somewhat agree, but ...
- Xavier Worthy - 5 TDs
- Roman Wilson - 11 TDs
- Marvin Harrison - 14 TDs
- Bama leading WR (Burton) - 8 TDs
- Georgia leader (Bowers) - 6 TDs
It's not like we're a service academy.
December 7th, 2023 at 9:18 PM ^
Facts.
December 8th, 2023 at 7:26 AM ^
Cherry picked facts....but sure...
December 7th, 2023 at 9:32 PM ^
No, but we don’t spread the ball around much. Iowa attempted more passes than us this year. And that’s fine that’s our identity and it’s mostly worked fine. We just gotta realize that wide receivers aren’t going to flock her that are top flight guys. It is what it is. I’m not losing sleep over it.
December 8th, 2023 at 9:17 AM ^
I agree. Other teams may have more WR talent but, many other teams have that dependable guy like Blake Corum? Better yet, how many of those other teams with dynamic WRs are sitting home or packing their bags to play in a bowl game with a 1/2 empty stadium?
I have to say it would be nice to land a Nico Collins or DPJ type WR for JJ to throw to. If JJ stays maybe he can help "campaign" for some tranfers?
December 7th, 2023 at 10:17 PM ^
You're cherry picking stats. Wilson had 41 catches for 662 yds.
Worthy: 73 catches, 969 yds. Texas throws the ball around. Their second leading receiver had 51 catches, 607 yds. 3rd and 4th receivers had 39 catches for 607 yds and 38 catches for 435 yds. Texas 3rd leading receiver had pretty much the same number of catches and yards as UM's leading receiver.
Marvin Harrison had 67 catches for 1211 yds.
Bowers had 56 catches for 714 yds. Georgia's second leading receiver had 51 catches for 575 yds.
UM under Harbaugh has never had a receiver have 1,000 yards in a season.
Since 2015 Alabama has had 7 receivers get 1000 yards in a season and Ohio State has had 6. In fact, both OSU and Alabama have had a receiver get more yards in a single season that Roman Wilson has had in his career.
December 7th, 2023 at 10:35 PM ^
My point is that I'm sure there are plenty of kids on the portal and in HS who wouldn't mind the opportunity to fill Roman's shoes and get 12 TDs on a playoff team. It's not like we're resigned to getting unheard of transfers and prospects. And in this offense, we probably don't want a 5* who doesn't want to block (if that's the tradeoff).
December 8th, 2023 at 8:57 AM ^
I mean touchdown receptions don't tell the whole story. If you're an elite receiver, Michigan probably isn't a top school for you.
December 8th, 2023 at 7:27 AM ^
Oh, just saw this after my two posts....spot on Funky!
December 8th, 2023 at 10:28 AM ^
Edit: Snarky remark retracted. It's obvious that Alabama and OSU (not coincidentally both had Heisman QBs) each throw the ball more than Michigan.
Michigan is more of a run first team. But WRs can put up at least decent numbers as Wilson (a good but not elite WR) has shown.
December 7th, 2023 at 10:18 PM ^
That's just one metric. In one less season, Worthy has about 100 more catches and 1200 more yards than Roman Wilson. That's an entire season's worth of numbers. This is not an attractive place for elite WRs.
December 8th, 2023 at 7:23 AM ^
Bad take, go ahead and post the rest of our receivers numbers based on other team's 2, 3, and 4 receiver. It's drastically different.
Go ahead and post this same list with # of receptions too and see what you get. You cherry picked a convenient stat that we haven't produced in years.
December 8th, 2023 at 9:18 AM ^
Roman Wilson was #18 in the Big Ten in receptions this season, and that was with an extra game. He was #21 in the conference in receptions per game. Very few elite talents want to come and be a #1 receiver where the ceiling is as the #21 most used receiver in the conference.
We've had 5-star-level talents in Donovan Peoples-Jones and Nico Collins, and they didn't play like 5-stars because that's just not Jim Harbaugh's forte. Even going back to Stanford and San Francisco, he wasn't someone who featured elite WR talents. It just is what it is at this point.
December 8th, 2023 at 10:18 AM ^
"We've had 5-star-level talents in Donovan Peoples-Jones and Nico Collins, and they didn't play like 5-stars because that's just not Jim Harbaugh's forte."
Agreed. We are back in the Bo days when it was "How in the world do we have Anthony Carter?"
But a couple of serious questions for those who understand more than I:
1. Did the way DPJ was used here have a negative impact on his NFL draft status? I assume, perhaps wrongly, that the powers-that-be in the NFL who are dumping millions on each of their gambles factor in the system in which the player has played.
2. For an NFL team looking at a Maserati Marv who clearly refuses to block vs. Roman Wilson, to what extent do the gaudy numbers override the package Roman Wilson has displayed? (not that MHJ isn't, deservedly, the #1 WR on NFL boards, in spite of his aversion to physical contact)
Wouldn't a WR who actually also enjoys hitting the other guy gravitate toward M? Or don't those guys exist?
I was just in the band, so if you can teach me a point or two, much appreciated.
December 8th, 2023 at 10:46 AM ^
Agree with your point but Nico definitely was not a 5-star receiver. IIRC he was a borderline top-100 guy that Bama didn't really want (at least until the very end). No doubt he is very talented however. Absent special circumstances, Michigan is not likely to get many 5-star types but I think they should be able to get some 4-star, top-300 level guys. The good news is that the roster is not stacked with 5-star guys so an incoming recruit has a decent path to seeing the field.
December 8th, 2023 at 5:39 AM ^
They’ll just be in Semaj’s way anyway.
December 7th, 2023 at 7:57 PM ^
It's basically permanent free-agency. I half expect it to degrade into an any-day-of-the-year thing, so you'll have teams bidding to steal each other's players at halftime.
December 7th, 2023 at 8:04 PM ^
Or maybe it won't, because that's a dumb way for a sport to operate. If the players are ever actually paid by the schools then they could be signed to binding mulit-year contracts, which would fix this.
December 7th, 2023 at 9:16 PM ^
At what point does the concept of eligibility go away?
When Marvin Harrison Jr. sues the NCAA for not letting him stay at OSU fifth year to make another $10M?
December 7th, 2023 at 9:22 PM ^
Only way that happens is if college pays better than the pros - and if players don't have to go to class.
December 7th, 2023 at 9:19 PM ^
Star players have no reason to sign anything longer than one year.
December 7th, 2023 at 10:21 PM ^
Are the coaches going to be bound to the contracts they sign?? Or is it going to be set up so the coaches can come and go as they please but players are stuck at the same school?
December 7th, 2023 at 10:22 PM ^
they could be signed to binding mulit-year contracts, which would fix this
Right. Good effing luck with that. They already "commit" and sign multiple letters of intent that aren't honored. We currently have a coach that is both not interested in the terms of the contract he signed or in his "I'll stay here as long as they want me" and "I'm not going to look at the NFL again" statements.
The NFL has contracted players routinely holding out, and you think it will somehow all be different with millionaire teenagers?
The more giant-ass piles of money that are involved, the less spoken and written words mean anything.
December 9th, 2023 at 11:09 AM ^
It works fine in Europe when 16 year olds sign their first professional contract, since it's an actual employment contract.
December 8th, 2023 at 5:45 AM ^
They were under the old system. That’s why I believe the portal weakens teams in the SEC. They used to horde talent. Some of those players would never see the field with little to do about it. Now they can go elsewhere and maximize their PT.
lucky for us. Harbaugh is a master of the free agent market
December 7th, 2023 at 8:26 PM ^
I have a feeling lots of kids get screwed over (stuck without PT, not getting promised NIL, etc) and the pendulum will swing back towards more kids staying put and trying to make it work where they initially enroll.
December 7th, 2023 at 8:33 PM ^
Make them employees with contracts... boom fixed. You're welcome whatever comes after the NCAA.
December 7th, 2023 at 8:45 PM ^
Whatever professional league comes after college football, it will never have the draw college football had. Those pro teams will find it hard to pay those salaries.
December 7th, 2023 at 9:42 PM ^
College football is a professional league and has been for many decades. The players are improperly classified unpaid interns.
December 7th, 2023 at 10:56 PM ^
The fact that college football is not a professional league is easily demonstrated by the fact that the universities can require players to be students. Were the players professionals, that would be an illegal restraint of trade.
Once the sport professionalizes, it will be necessary for schools to divest themselves of entities that they cannot operate within their charter, just as they cannot run airlines, restaurants, etc. except in service of their educational and research missions.
And then those professional teams will die off, because they will discover that college football prospers because of the schools, not the players.
December 7th, 2023 at 10:20 PM ^
No, they still need to be able to transfer, imagine signing a contract to play at msu then your coach does that, or any of the many schools that coaches bounce? What happens if you sign a contract with a school then coach prime comes and boots your ass. There is a better solution, and I don’t know what it is, but binding contracts for student athletes isn’t it
December 7th, 2023 at 8:43 PM ^
And it's awesome. Happy for the players.
December 7th, 2023 at 8:50 PM ^
So, do you expect it, or not?
December 7th, 2023 at 10:13 PM ^
I can learn to live with that.
December 7th, 2023 at 8:00 PM ^
Hopefully Michigan grabs Indiana's tall receiver from the portal.