Drake Johnson Gets 6th Year
Per Sam Webb on Twitter, Johnson has received a 6th year of eligability for football as well as track. I believe that Harbaugh has said that Johnson will not be back, but my reading of the quote is that he sort of qualified it by saying he didn't think he'd get the year. Is there a scholarship available?
But definitely would love to see Drake get another shot if it helps the team.
GO BLUE!!
6 years at RB is getting into Van Wilder territory.
If, you know, Van Wilder was a battle tested athlete instead of a slacker.
Side note: ever seen videos of the guy that Van Wilder was based on? Dude tells some amazing stories in his standup routine...which are apparently all confirmed true.
Let Van stay!
Let Van stay!
In all seriousness, congrats to Drake and I hope he does play this year.
#NEEDMOARHEELCLICKS
I would doubt he's back. Damn that forklift.
Damn thing really forked up his career.
He makes one hell of a coffee cake.
But, I would imagine he will use it just for track. Has he even practiced with the team in over a year? He would be so far down the depth chart, at this point, that I can't imagine him getting any playing time.
had "State" written after Michigan so the NCAA would rubber stamp the 6th year without review.
Correction: it had "staee" written after Michigan.
Then he'd get 3rd-9th years.
/ducks
At some point, I always hope these kids - whether fringe players or stars - stop and pause and say, "is football really worth my long term health?" The kid has had how many ACL/knee injuries? At some point, there's more scar tissue than real tissue in there...
Is driving forklift worth his long term health?
Um, he had two knee surgeries BEFORE getting run over by a forklift.
Nah man, there's plenty of cadavers in the world to replace that thing a few more times.
Given that grad transfers have been pursued, my guess is that there's a scholarship available for someone. Isn't the practice of the staff to allow fifth year guys to compete to "earn" an extra year spot on the team? Some guys are obviously needed, but a guy like Johnson may just be given a chance in practice and nothing more.
Which isn't to predict what will happen if that occurs.
If a track scholarship is available to him, he may choose to pursue that for his sixth year since he would count against the scholarship totals for both teams even if it's track that's actually paying the grant-in-aid.
The "earn your 5th year" thing is spring ball so it doesn't apply here. If you're on scholarship for fall camp you're on scholarship for the upcoming season.
Hometown kid. If he prepares to have his best year ever, I will be grateful to have him on our roster. In Harbaugh I trust.
I always wanted him to excel at Michigan, but man that backfield is crowded. Best of luck to him, whether for the football team, the track team, or otherwise!
Clark had the 6th year but good for Drake.
From a team-need perspective, me too. But it's hard to deny that Drake's case from an oft-injured perspective is a better one.
Right but I'm being selfish as a fan.
Agreed. Hopefully fball can pull his scholly and let track and field give him the scholly. That would be the best for football side of things, however, I'm sure the track coach has some thoughts 'bout that as well.
I don't think you can. I remember 20 years ago that Miami or Florida State tried to hide football players on Track Scholarships. And the NCAA changed the rules. That you are on a football scholarship first if you play 2 sports.
But if he stopped playing football, I have no idea how that would work if he only ran track.
I'm pretty sure a famous example was Santana Moss, who Miami put on a track scholarship.
We got a 6th year of eligibility granted with a player. Hope he does well whether it's on the gridiron or the track
Well spoken young man. Always liked him and definitely felt for the guy with the unfortunate injuries. Don't know if he will ever see the field again but if he does that would be awesome.
felt drake would have made a great safety or cb a little late to switch and make an impact now
I always thought he made a great RB when healthy. Dude followed his blockers and seemed to have a knack for finding space.
Drake was our best RB. He just wasn't given a chance by Hoke to prove it.
And now, after multiple injuries and an unfortunate encounter with a forklift, are his legs still capable of performing well enough to again earn playing time? Will Drake even get a chance to show us?
To this day I am convinced that if he would not have been injured in the Ohio State game, we would have won it. They had no answer for him.
I hope he gets to play if that is what he wants. He deserves it.
Regardless of whether he competes doesn't this mean he at least gets another year of free college to pursue a masters or something?
Good luck to Drake whatever he decides to do.
it probably allows him to complete a Masters degree from Michigan. Hope to see him in a football game or track event next year.
Could he contribute on special teams? Maybe he prevents a red shirt from combusting.
Bunny Lebowski in Jackie Treehorn Productions. Dude, we can get that toe. Enjoy a white russian.
Suck your [s]ock for a thousand bucks.
I miss your gifs.
And the Office with Carell.
...how the scholarship numbers work out and if he has a spot waiting for him. And even if there is a spot, I don't know if he would see the field. However, I would love to see him come back and transition into a coaching career. If I remember correctly, he was helping Wheatley last year--while he was injured--with coaching on the field. As many of us know from his interviews, he has a great personality (funny and bright) and he speaks really well. I know coaching is much more than that, but history suggests he would work his tail off to excel at it. Furthermore, he could be a guiding voice in the locker room for a lot of the young guys that need it during these critical early years. Harbaugh loves having him around too. Maybe it's a little wishful thinking on my part, but I can't help feeling that he has a lot more football left in him, even if he never sees the field again.
Great for him. I hope he can play or get on the track.
Good for him. Hopefully they find a spot for him. And honestly, I could see him earning some time in the backfield. He's shown he can be at least as productive as Isaac or Higdon, and if it saves a redshirt for a guy that's a bonus.
Absolute congratulations to the man. Very happy to hear this news.
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somewhere a forklift is crying...
Or eating pizza...