Eight UM Football Players Named to Academic All-Big Ten Team
From mgoblue.com:
Eight U-M football players earned Academic All-Big Ten recognition, including redshirt freshman starting safety/linebacker Cameron Gordon (Detroit, Mich./Inkster) and redshirt sophomore starting offensive lineman Patrick Omameh (Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales). Redshirt junior offensive lineman Zac Ciullo (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice) also earned his first spot on the academic team. He will forego his fifth year of eligibility and enroll in U-M's Law School next fall.
Football (8)
Zac Ciullo, Sr., LS&A Honors, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
John Ferrara, Sr., History, Staten Island, N.Y.
J.B. Fitzgerald, Jr., Sport Management, Princeton Junction, N.J.
Cameron Gordon, So., General Studies, Detroit, Mich.
Will Heininger, Sr., Sport Management, Ann Arbor, Mich.
John McColgan, Sr., Economics, Saginaw, Mich.
Patrick Omameh, Jr., Sociology, Columbus, Ohio
Joe Reynolds, So., LS&A/Undeclared, Rochester, Mich.
December 2nd, 2010 at 4:03 PM ^
If it was engineering I'd be amazed. I worked my ass off for my ME 3.0 classes were curved to a strict 2.7
Even if they take only the "easiest" U of M classes I doubt the average in all of them is above a 3.0. And if these guys who have a full time job (football) can also do at least "average" in a U of M Classroom, that's really impressive
December 2nd, 2010 at 4:33 PM ^
I definitely agree.
Even in the easier LS&A courses, grade inflation at Michigan is nowhere near that of other B10 schools.
December 2nd, 2010 at 4:46 PM ^
How do you know this? It's pretty tough to make generalizations about the grading practices of thousands of different instructors.
December 2nd, 2010 at 4:34 PM ^
Let's be honest though - there are no bad academic schools in the Big Ten. This isn't a comparison between U-M and say, Eastern. Any football player able to maintain a 3.0 at a Big Ten school has pulled off a nice accomplishment. We'd like to see a few more on our end.
December 2nd, 2010 at 5:28 PM ^
True, but the competition at Michigan (and, say, Northwestern) in the classroom is fierce. One of my favorite things about attending Michigan was being around so many amazing and talented people. That is definitely not the case at all the other schools in the Big Ten, at least not to the same extent. So, in my opinion, a 3.0 at, say, Michigan State. That is just my opinion but I think it has some merit if you talk to corporate talent recruiters or graduate school admissions people.
December 2nd, 2010 at 5:38 PM ^
Despite that fierce competition, Northwestern produced 32 Academic All-Big Ten members to our eight. We can probably do better. Michigan is not so difficult that it's impossible to expect more than 10% of the football team to pull off a 3.0, especially given that 1) most of them are steered toward the Sports Management and Communications major and 2) they receive considerable academic assistance.
December 2nd, 2010 at 3:55 PM ^
It also depends on the academic rigor of your institution. I'd like to see a list of teams and how many academic all big ten selections they have. I wonder if it would correlate to the US News rankings with Northwestern and Michigan having the fewest numbers.
December 2nd, 2010 at 3:59 PM ^
NU had 32.
<br>Purdue had 14.
<br>
<br>The entire list can be found on the big ten's website.
December 2nd, 2010 at 4:06 PM ^
Wow, I was wondering if there was a correlation but apparently there isn't. Still, congrats to the players the put in the effort off the field as well. Hard work always pays off sometime.
December 2nd, 2010 at 3:56 PM ^
Yeah, the fact that less than 10% of the team is able to maintain a 3.0, or "B" average, is not the most ringing endorsement.... Still, congrats to those eight student/athletes that have.
December 2nd, 2010 at 5:54 PM ^
Let's not forget that only sophomores, juniors and seniors are eligible to receive this distinction (and redshirts of all flavors). And we have oh-so-few seniors.
I'd still like to see more than 8 though.
December 2nd, 2010 at 4:03 PM ^
Now evrybody will be like cheating off of him if their not to busy murdering and stealing.
December 2nd, 2010 at 5:46 PM ^
What's the big deal? Everybody cheats off you, cheats off me, whatever.
December 2nd, 2010 at 3:37 PM ^
"Spartans outnumber Wolverines on Academic All-Big Ten lists"
Not kidding.
December 2nd, 2010 at 4:09 PM ^
I saw that too. Just sad how much trash is treated as "reputable news" because of the source.
December 2nd, 2010 at 5:21 PM ^
Back in my high school senior days, being a National Merit Scholarship finalist (not bragging; probably true of most UM students), I got mailings 2 or 3 times a week from MSU, bragging about how they have more National Merit Scholars than anyone. But that's because they give the scholarships out, apparently as readily as good grades to footballers. (No stats to compare the classes or grade requirements.) And those scholarship invites never indicated how much of a scholarship, by the way. If you're a finalist and somebody gives you money to go to their college, you're automatically a National Merit Scholar. (I never got a mailing from UofM, by the way. They don't need to advertise to that group of high schoolers.)
December 2nd, 2010 at 3:44 PM ^
In the long run, this is a more valuable honor than being All Big Ten.
December 2nd, 2010 at 3:49 PM ^
...the women's soccer team:
Sixteen of the 17 eligible women's soccer players were named to the Academic All-Big Ten team...
That's damn impressive.
December 2nd, 2010 at 3:51 PM ^
Very proud of these guys. Nice job Cam, swiching positions multiple times and still maintaing his grades. A true Michigan Man.
December 2nd, 2010 at 3:54 PM ^
10th out of 11 (Illinois had 7).
December 2nd, 2010 at 3:56 PM ^
but thankfully he is a R Soph on the field!!
December 2nd, 2010 at 4:17 PM ^
8 seemed low to me when I read it, and seems to fly in the face of the past couple of years when the cumulative GPA for the team was the highest on record. Northwestern being high doesn't surprise me because that school always produces an inordinate amount of smart players, but to see schools like OSU and MSU pumping out far more academic "stars" even when all facts point to their student bodies not being of a similar caliber is distressing to me. Certainly much respect to the 8 young men recognized here, but man you kind of hoped it would be more.
December 2nd, 2010 at 5:13 PM ^
8 does seem low but bear in mind that you have to play enough to win a letter and you can't be a true freshman. According to the roster, 29 out of 116 were not eligible because they were true freshmen. Not sure what proportion of the 87 played enough to win a letter.
December 2nd, 2010 at 4:44 PM ^
If it's consistent with the Carr years, then there's no problem for RR.
If it represents a meaningful decline, then it certainly doesn't help RR's cause w/Brandon.
* I found the list for the 2007 Academic All-Big Ten awards:
UM - 10
MSU - 8
OSU - 24
Something doesn't smell right to me about the OSU number.
December 2nd, 2010 at 4:52 PM ^
that Terrelle Pryor has been on the list two years running -- which I know from reading terrelle-pryor.org, what a great site!! -- that should tell you all you need to know about OSU's numbers.
December 2nd, 2010 at 5:24 PM ^
... Majors arent excataly the toughest to get. Im not trying to knock the players, but when looking at the list alot of OSU players have "exploring" next to their major, i have no idea what that means, and since there is already an undecided catagory I have to assume its a major. No other big ten football players outside of OSU have this. They also have some players majoring in leisure studies, and excercise science.
December 2nd, 2010 at 5:46 PM ^
"exploring" means cartography, you know, the study of mapping uncharted territory.
December 2nd, 2010 at 5:59 PM ^
You give OSU too much credit. "Exploring" simply refers to wearing funny hats to class with mining headlights strapped to them. Each class is pretty much a day of dress-up, and for the final you have to walk around a darkened, unlocked closet and ultimately find your way out before the hour's up.
December 2nd, 2010 at 10:47 PM ^
... I forgot about those vast uncharted lands throught the world we havent found yet. Im glad ohio state is preparing these kids to find them.
December 2nd, 2010 at 5:56 PM ^
Wait a minute, so exercise science =/= engineering? But Myron Rolle majored in exercise science...
December 2nd, 2010 at 5:29 PM ^
I'm pretty sure there's a class at OSU, taught by Jim Tressel, about, wait for it, football. I'm assuming they all get A's in that one...
EDIT: Yep, here you go (It's actually on coaching):
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704116004575522034164361398.html
December 2nd, 2010 at 5:49 PM ^
Not that many players take the class, and far fewer have gotten A's. I think only Jim Cordle and one other got an A.
December 2nd, 2010 at 5:36 PM ^
Congrats to all ... but Sport Managment's a so-so major ... I'll give Cam a slide on the General Studies since he's still only a soph ... 2 starters in serious academic majors carrying over a B; 6 guys total.
Color me unimpressed.
December 2nd, 2010 at 6:32 PM ^
Which ones are the serious academic majors? The only starters I see are Gordon and Omameh. OK, Fitzgerald started at the end of the year. So this gives us general studies, sociology and sport management respectively. The most impressive major on the list is McColgan's economics. He might be the number 1 FB on the depth chart, but he is hardly a starter. I fail to see 2 serious academic majors, let alone 2 starters in serious academic majors.
December 2nd, 2010 at 6:50 PM ^
Bending over backwards to be fair. Overall, a mediocre performance. That small a number in the two deep who are even mustering B's? Meh. We aren't in the same class as Northwestern or Stanford and we should be.
December 2nd, 2010 at 6:10 PM ^
Steve Threet made First Team All Pac-10 Academic. Have to be a starter or "significant substitute" to be eligible.
Stanford had 11 guys on the First and Second All Pac-10 teams, all in real academic majors, including Maricic and Luck, and another 8 on honorable mention. Maricic has a 3.47, Luck a 3.51.
I'd love to see Michigan recruit and win with those kind of guys.
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:56 AM ^
Is this gonna help our defense??
/sarcasm