December 6th, 2009 at 12:54 PM ^
Yeah, unfortunately it seems like it's true. I don't know what's being said on Rivals, but I've heard that he has received his release papers.
Obviously this could change, because I've heard he's wanted to transfer before, but it seems like it's going to happen.
December 6th, 2009 at 1:06 PM ^
Thanks Tom! I wish Brandon the best of luck. Tom, is there anybody on the recruiting "radar" that you see UM trying to get to fill Smith's spot? When I say "spot" I mean added depth at a position of need.
December 6th, 2009 at 12:55 PM ^
Well, poo.
December 6th, 2009 at 12:56 PM ^
dong punch.
December 6th, 2009 at 12:57 PM ^
The 2008 recruiting class was part Carr and part RR, so we've seen a lot of attrition out of that class. It sucks, but I think it's relatively normal.
December 6th, 2009 at 2:04 PM ^
Another hit to our secondary, good luck Brandon Smith.
December 6th, 2009 at 6:08 PM ^
Uh...Dude, he moved to LB a while ago.
December 7th, 2009 at 12:15 AM ^
you must not follow the team...the only time he got any action in a meaningful game was at FS against wisc. he started there. second to last week of the season.
December 7th, 2009 at 6:31 AM ^
Brandon Smith was moved to linebacker at the end of spring practice. He played there the entire season, EXCEPT when it got to Wisconsin week and our free safeties hadn't been getting the job done. The coaches moved him to FS to help in run support for that one week. That's it.
December 6th, 2009 at 12:58 PM ^
that's depressing.
December 6th, 2009 at 12:58 PM ^
And the hits keep coming
December 6th, 2009 at 12:59 PM ^
When it rains it pours. Dammit!
December 6th, 2009 at 1:01 PM ^
There will always be kids who will leave after a season. Attrition happens. It's not as if he was going to fill an important role next year. Best of luck to him and hopefully he finds a new program where he'll be happy. And a sincere thank you to him for putting in his all when he was with the team.
December 6th, 2009 at 1:35 PM ^
he wasnt going to fill an important role next year? he was still young, bounced around, but he saw the field against wiscy and alot of us actually thought he played well (could have been played well relatively to who he replaced)
either way this hurts a defense already thin.
December 6th, 2009 at 3:23 PM ^
Instead of me trying to explain it, might want to read the front page and have Brian explain it to you. The logic is as follows for the most part, a kid who is going to play a role on a team doesn't decide to leave. Not rocket science.
December 6th, 2009 at 3:31 PM ^
Although for this specific situation I agree with you, there are always exceptions to the rule. See Ryan Mallett or Sam McGuffie.
December 6th, 2009 at 3:56 PM ^
I am not glad he's leaving but it is what it is.
December 6th, 2009 at 1:52 PM ^
so, yes, you couldn't say it was unexpected.
Maybe Sheridan can play his position.
December 6th, 2009 at 1:02 PM ^
surely some good news has to come for this athletic department soon. this is getting depressing.
December 6th, 2009 at 1:05 PM ^
was he the one involved in the sexual case earlier this season?
December 6th, 2009 at 2:06 PM ^
It was an 18 year old freshman.
December 6th, 2009 at 1:12 PM ^
any chance that this has to do with him not having a "true" postion, or because he has been buried on the depth chart???
December 6th, 2009 at 1:30 PM ^
I would not have much confidence in a group that can't find a spot for you. The kid only had one game against an oversized line at Wisky so I am not really sure what he is fully capable of. I wish we had been able to find out a bit more.
December 6th, 2009 at 1:14 PM ^
I heard about this on another blog.
I guess he has been talking to Toney Clemons.
http://umgoblue.com/aspplay/Brandon-Smith-debating-on-transferringWhat-…
December 6th, 2009 at 1:46 PM ^
with the fbook comments that the site you linked to posted, it sounds like a huge case of "they don't respect my skill so i'm gettin the fuck out." aka "i'm better than being on a depth chart" - not exactly a team attitude
December 6th, 2009 at 1:27 PM ^
why do these guys keep leaving?
what do they think is going to be so much better somewhere else?
December 6th, 2009 at 1:33 PM ^
Man, this sucks. I just saw him a few days ago with Martavious and Brandin Hawthorne at the diag party store. They all seemed like they were having a good time. I thought he could have been an impact player.
December 6th, 2009 at 2:09 PM ^
Red shirt freshman, he played one season and now he wants to leave. He could have made an impact in 2010, anything would have helped. Maybe he didn't like the idea of us going after 6 DB's and possibly 2 or 3 more committing by Feb? Added to his positioning on our roster this past season.
December 6th, 2009 at 1:33 PM ^
Well great, who needs scholarship players on defense anyways?
December 6th, 2009 at 1:35 PM ^
Apparently wanted safety but not in the cards....Will really miss his special teams effort. Go Blue!
December 6th, 2009 at 1:38 PM ^
Depth is a good thing, especially on defense - Smith leaving will hurt this depth.
That being said, I know sources close to the team (who partake in practice, not gonna say whether they are players, managers or coaches) that say Smith has always been a bit of a quandry. Don't know what to do with him.
His running style is weird - he expends alot of energy and isn't very fast. One source said "I wouldn't be surprised if he ran a 5.5 forty"
Not knocking the kid, but his size may not translate into excellence on the field
December 6th, 2009 at 1:41 PM ^
He played well up close to the line of scrimmage against Wisconsin. If you can knock blockers back you're in business. Stevie Brown is gone, and I'm pretty sure Smith would have been good in his position.
December 6th, 2009 at 1:43 PM ^
Well, that's disappointing.
December 6th, 2009 at 1:45 PM ^
he didnt seem to fast..i hate how kids think that they dont need to work and practice hard to start or play minutes.but i hope its not true we need depth. maybe this is the reason they picked up ray
December 6th, 2009 at 2:38 PM ^
but from what i understand smith thinks he's a safety, he's obviously not fast enough to play safety. he doesn't wanna play LB so how good is he gonna become at it? this is probably the best move for him
December 6th, 2009 at 2:00 PM ^
Robocop please punch me in the face and wake me up when this is over...
December 6th, 2009 at 2:14 PM ^
This is really too bad. He was just starting to get on the field and he seemed like he might develop into a good player for us (I don't really know, but I was at least hopeful). It sucks that we can't even replace him this year.
One technical question about signing I have is if you're currently under the number of scholarships and there are limits on the number of guys you can take in one year, how do you ever catch up to the maximum? I'm sure this is obvious, but I'll admit I'm a little slow.
December 6th, 2009 at 2:14 PM ^
we can get Larry Foote to moonlight at LB next season?
December 6th, 2009 at 2:16 PM ^
Please report to the equipment manager to switch out your reciever's pads for linebacker's pads.
December 6th, 2009 at 2:29 PM ^
There have been rumors over at Scout from their insiders that Cam Gordon has already been moved to linebacker.
December 6th, 2009 at 2:51 PM ^
Thanks for passing that on.
A quick look at the roster shows Gordon is listed at 6-2 208. That's probably not ideal size for a Will or Mike in our system, but an off-season of weights might see him get up to 220 without losing speed.
December 6th, 2009 at 2:24 PM ^
It's not that big of a deal. He had all the potential in the world. But how often does production ever match potential really? Fact of the matter is...
...He was behind walk-on soph Kevin Leach at WLB (his probable long-term position).
...He was behind walk-on frosh Floyd Simmins at SLB.
...He was behind walk-on frosh Jordan Kovacs at FS.
How many all-americans do you know that couldn't beat out at least 1 of 3 walk-ons of relatively the same age? I can't think of any. So long and best of luck.
December 6th, 2009 at 4:47 PM ^
I really hope your observations are as accurate as they are encouraging.
Because I'm completely confused by the "new recruiting rule" conversations swirling about, forgive me when I ask, "Doesn't this open up another scholly for us this year?"
December 6th, 2009 at 4:57 PM ^
No. We had room to take 25 players. This transfer will probably leave us one short of the 85 limit next year.
December 6th, 2009 at 3:28 PM ^
along with JT Floyd & Cissoko on Thursday. Now this wouldn't be so unusual if the football bust wasn't that day, what time was the bust? They were definitely there Thursday evening at 6pm
December 6th, 2009 at 3:33 PM ^
Is Cissoko still enrolled in school?
December 6th, 2009 at 5:00 PM ^
and these players were at the ccrb at or around the time of the bust, that means that jt floyd wasnt at the bust either?
cissoko would make sense since hes not with the team anymore, smith would make sense since apparently he's leaving, but jt floyd?
edit: the bust was at 6 pm
December 6th, 2009 at 6:46 PM ^
This isn't second hand info, I saw this with my own eyes in person. They left around 6:30pm with gym gear on, so I'm assuming they weren't in route to the bust, and they didn't appear to be in a huge hurry either.
December 6th, 2009 at 8:21 PM ^
Cissoko is still in school, and there is a chance he could be back on the football team next year. A slight chance, but still a chance. He hasn't transferred yet, (I believe the deadline is January 1st) and he is still in school.