November 14th, 2013 at 12:53 PM ^
November 14th, 2013 at 12:54 PM ^
Bummer, best of luck. FWIW he looked way better in the maize and blue uniform when they showed it.
Hard to say no to Alabama, 3 of the last 4 titles, on track for another.
November 14th, 2013 at 12:57 PM ^
The red from Bama clashed with the orange in his hair. Blue looked much better.
November 14th, 2013 at 12:53 PM ^
........
November 14th, 2013 at 1:37 PM ^
The coaches have to execute better or something.
November 14th, 2013 at 12:54 PM ^
Hello depression. My name is Wee-Bey, nice to meet you.
One has to wonder if the recent product on the field has anything to do with this or if the chance to play at 'Bama is just too good to pass up right now.
November 14th, 2013 at 12:58 PM ^
If we were undefeated like we should be if we were playing to our potential...I think we'd have more hype and attention. I think he'd be blue.
I also know that if we were undefeated, our fans wouldn't be going crazy...talking about FIRE HOKE/FIRE BORGES. And the atmosphere and attitude around Michigan would be so much more positive.
Wouldn't shock me if we "lose" McDowell too.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:13 PM ^
Undefeated like we should be?
November 14th, 2013 at 4:48 PM ^
November 14th, 2013 at 1:01 PM ^
November 14th, 2013 at 1:14 PM ^
It doesn't, however, it was fun to write. Although, I am disappointed.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:05 PM ^
PUPPIES!!
November 14th, 2013 at 1:16 PM ^
The Michigan football program as a whole has just been depressing to follow as of late. There seems to be no optimism on the board anymore, and Hand choosing Alabama is just pouring salt in an open wound...
November 14th, 2013 at 1:27 PM ^
November 14th, 2013 at 6:05 PM ^
Peppers on an open wound be even worse!
November 14th, 2013 at 2:25 PM ^
if our D closed out the games against PSU and Nebraska instead of giving up TD drives and were 6-3. Can't say I blame the kid for picking Bama.
November 14th, 2013 at 7:34 PM ^
are you fucking high? Our d kept us in games this season. Anyone that thinks there is blame to be put on Mattison/D is incredibly off tilt.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:37 PM ^
and massive finger pointing at the coaches by the fans and media sent a negative vibe to him. Academics probably was not the deciding factor against us. Oh well. Time to move on.
November 14th, 2013 at 12:54 PM ^
The rich get richer, and the somewhat less richer get on TWIS.
November 14th, 2013 at 12:54 PM ^
I said this last week but apparently he went with engineering instead of sport's management. Pretty surprising though.
November 14th, 2013 at 12:57 PM ^
See, this makes no sense. 'Bama's engineering program isn't even in the same league as UM's. No sense.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:01 PM ^
Hoke told him he couldn't do Michigan's Engineering program. It's too time intensive for football. Alabama will let him do it.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:03 PM ^
Really? Patrick Omameh was in Engineering. We've had others over the years.
Was it Hoke, or was it that he didn't have the grades to get into the School of Engineering?
November 14th, 2013 at 1:10 PM ^
IIRC, Omameh switched his major to sociology after his third year, which would make sense seeing as that's when Hoke took over and apparently told folks that engineering was too time intensive.
(I had never heard of this until today regarding Michigan telling recruits that they couldn't do engineering. That's pretty weak.)
November 14th, 2013 at 1:14 PM ^
November 14th, 2013 at 2:27 PM ^
There aren't enough hours in the day to do D1 football and Eng well at the same time.
With no malice attached to the statement, Hand will recognize this too eventually.
If one was extreme enough to want to do both in life, take a Math major during the first 4 and graduate. Then enroll in the Eng of your choice and continue the adventure. In my day, a Math major and an ME major were about 3 classes different in the math requirements.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:07 PM ^
and Bama did the opposite. However, the cynical side of me thinks that his major had much less to do with his decision than everyone originally thought.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:12 PM ^
I'm wondering if he had the grades because you can't automatically choose - even as an athlete - which college of U-M you want to attend, if your academic credentials aren't good enough. The borderline guys usually only can enroll in the School of Kinesiology.
November 14th, 2013 at 2:37 PM ^
Actually, no. 15 years ago the borderline players went into Kinesiology. Today the borderline players go into LSA for General Studies. The School of Kinesiology is the 2nd hardest undergraduate program to get into on campus (Music, theater, and dance is hardest) by percentages. Less than one of three applicants get into Kinesiology. If you go straight up by the numbers, the average high school GPA and ACT scores of Kinesiology entering freshmen are higher than or equal to those of LSA entering freshmen.
November 14th, 2013 at 2:57 PM ^
Unless I'm mistaken, Sports Management and Communications is in the School of Kinesiology, and that's what the borderline guys generally major in.
November 15th, 2013 at 5:47 PM ^
The major was changed to Sports Management several years ago, instead of Sports Management and Communication. They also got rid of the automatic admission slots to Kinesiology for athletes. Lastly, they installed a junior admission procedure for Sports Management that requires students to take maintain a certain GPA in specific Sports Management courses as Freshman and Sophomores before applying at the end of their Sophomore year to gain admission to the Sports Management major. As a result, things have changed a lot.
There are actually very few football players in the School of Kinesiology at Michigan. The media guide has 113 players listed. Of these, 6 are in kinesiology that aren't freshmen:
Kenny Allen
Blake Countess
Devin Funchess
Jareth Glanda
Joe Kerridge
Michael Schofield
There are 6 more true freshmen in kinesiology:
Chris Wormley (freshman)
Delano Hill (freshman)
Maurice Hurst (freshman)
Mike McCray (freshman)
Shane Morris (freshman)
Csont’e York (freshman)
If recent history is a predictor, at least half of these freshmen will transfer to LSA before finishing their playing days or graduation (whichever comes first).
In contrast, there are over 30 football players majoring in General Studies.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:31 PM ^
Or Alabama will do that thing they do...
Before he commits.
"Major? Sure, yeah, whatever you want kid..."
After arriving on campus
"Oh, engineering? Oh, man. No. No. Sorry. That's too time intensive..."
Color me a cynical bastard, but we're discussing a program that doesn't give two shits about giving their own players the boot just because they aren't up to snuff at football, 3 or 4 years into their collegiate career.
Regardless, good luck to Hand. Seems like a really good kid.
November 14th, 2013 at 6:59 PM ^
Yeah people say that. Numbers don't show that but yeah people say that.
November 14th, 2013 at 4:26 PM ^
Honestly, I have known athletes who want to study something real and didn't because it was too hard to do that and be an athlete.
That said, as a parent with two high schoolers looking at colleges, there is something to be said for balancing the desire to be challenged by the best school, and the practicality of getting into a program where your child will be able to compete with the other students in the program.
I think if Da'Shawn decided he really wanted to do engineering - then going to 'Bama may actually be the better choice from an ability to keep up and compete academically while also playing football at the major D1 level.
Either way, he seems like a great kid, and I hope he gets that degree.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:14 PM ^
It seems the coaches pushed Sports Management because it's easier to manage playing football than engineering. Anyone who did the engineering program at Michigan can tell you how difficult it is to do without trying to be an All-American DE. Hoke tends to be honest and up-front with recruits and probably told him that they didn't think he could do it so pushed the sports management front. Alabama probably had no such qualms and maybe honestly believe they can have him do both programs, although, knowing Nick Saban, I really, really doubt it.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:28 PM ^
Jordan Morgan is in the engineering program.
November 14th, 2013 at 2:19 PM ^
Huyge did as well right?
November 14th, 2013 at 4:33 PM ^
Ya Hyuge was in the Naval Engineering Program. As for Morgan, good for him. Morgan went to my high school and has always been a pretty intelligent and focused guy considering his athletic potential. Many of our other athletes would leave because they couldn't or didn't want to stay academically eligible. However, Morgan is just one example in comparison to the hundreds of other main sport athletes that don't do it. From what has been reported, it seemed Michigan was trying to sell him on financial management instead of engineering. Edit: Got lazy and just posted both responses in this comment. Sorry.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:45 PM ^
Michigan's CoE would try to make you fail in the first two years so they can keep the best and the brightest which is why their rankings are so high.
It worked out well for Jordan Morgan who already graduated from CoE and the basketball team travels more than the football team... Just saying
November 14th, 2013 at 1:18 PM ^
Hoke screwed the pooch on Hand's recruitment. I realize that it's easier for football players to earn degrees in other disciplines leaving more time for football preparation, but given that Huyge just finished his degree in Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering while starting as right tackle, there is at least precedence that it can be done. And no, the civil program is probably not more difficult than the NAME program; there's a reason the undergrads in my department took the Civil fluids class instead of the Mechanical fluids class.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:02 PM ^
It makes sense when reports were that M told him no can do with regard to engineering.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:02 PM ^
November 14th, 2013 at 1:23 PM ^
Please let Mark Huyge know of this rule.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:41 PM ^
This rule appears to be a Hoke mandate (Omameh was an engineering major under RR) and 2011 was Huyge's fifth year, so Mark was probably either finishing up his last few courses or already in possession of his Michigan degree at that point.
You obviously don't force someone to change majors in their last year regardless of what rule you have have in place for incoming folks.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:43 PM ^
I seem to remember his Dad and Grandpa doing medicine and he's an engineer? Hoke recruited him, right?
November 14th, 2013 at 1:49 PM ^
Yep:
enrolled in the College of Engineering, majoring in industrial and operations engineering.
So there is obviously no rule in place.
November 14th, 2013 at 5:18 PM ^
There might not be a rule, but you don't think its a little weird that before he visited michigan he was on record as saying he wanted to be an engineer (part of why he liked va tech at the time) and when he visited we had him talk to a sports marketing professor rather than an engineering professor?
Also Wile is a kicker, maybe he has less practice time.