Grant Newsome redshirt burned

Submitted by Wolverine Devotee on
Apparently this happened really early in the game as he was the 6th OL
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CoMisch

November 1st, 2015 at 7:23 AM ^

Don't give a shit, dude is talented, we needed him, put him in there. It's pretty simple. RS talk is lame unless we're discussing Morris taking one and we never seeing him on the field this year (that I like).



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alum96

November 1st, 2015 at 7:37 AM ^

Another positive is this tells me Newsome won't be a bust.  OL is prob the most difficult position to project from HS to college.  So like Cole we have a guy good enough to get on the field as a freshman (granted Cole started).  But there is a daily depth chart and Newsomme is ahead of JBB - a guy in the program multiple years.  We have more than our share of busts so be happy.

As someone else said in the thread now you have a legit guy who can play next year if he is getting love now and that means Magnuson (who I felt had a rough game last week vs MSu despite Brian's positive grade) has to look over his shoulder next yr and/or Kugler is not a guaranteed center next year - maybe Newsome takes over LT and Cole to center.

Also keep in mind this is coming off a bye week where they had a chance to evaluate guys a lot closer as opposed to only looking at MN.

Also some people act as if we have a stellar OL and this is a waste.  The OL in 1st half was struggling badly IMO vs a mediocre DL (MN's D strength is secondary).  In the 2nd we had some gaping holes (that Drake hit) and it looked better.  No idea if Newsome was in on those plays.  But its not like this is a top 20 OL and we burned a rs when 5 guys are playing awesome.

I think WD posts every offensive and defensive snap each week so I will be curious how he did in isolation.

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PowerEye

November 1st, 2015 at 9:34 AM ^

It would be great if we kept Newsome's redshirt, but it's fun to think of what it means for us the rest of the year. We've still got Ohio and a bowl game. Since the loss of LTT, we've been fortunate that no OL have gotten hurt, especially Cole. Happy days if Newsome is now viewed as a reliable backup OT.

Newsome also makes our O harder to prepare for. You can move Cole around (like when we split him wide in our Ghost Peppers, aka wildcat formation), while still having a real LT to block (say) Joey Bosa on the edge.

If you lose Rudock for awhile, this kind of package versatility becomes even more critical. You may be able to use scheme to defeat defenses who stack the box, maintaining some O complexity even with the RS Freshman QB.

I am pleased that Newsome seems capable of backing up Cole, protecting us against catastrophe if Cole gets hurt, while making our O tougher to defend.

Aside: I would love it if one of our Coachy-type contributors would do a post on what it means for a team to be difficult to prepare for due to scheme, and how it affects your practice week. How much harder is it to get a D ready against us, now that we have all those wildcat plays, and the 6 OL package, and the 39 FBs on film? We're a lot different now than under (say) RichRod, where we had the 4 ways Denard could run it.

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chad

November 1st, 2015 at 7:38 AM ^

I'll bet Grant Newsome suffers an "injury" of some sort to get that medical redshirt. Otherwise if he doesn't redshirt I'd bet he continues to play as M is very much in the hunt for Big Ten title still (& possibly playoff).

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Leonhall

November 1st, 2015 at 7:39 AM ^

I wonder what the chances are that Newsome is the LT or RT next season and Cole moves to Center or a guard position? Seems like that fits Cole better anyway...

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ontarioblue

November 1st, 2015 at 7:50 AM ^

Harbaugh can now go to the top recruits at any position and talk about playing early. Not all lineman want to take a year to red shirt. Some want to play right away and Jim is telling them that if they are good enough they will play. In Jim we trust.

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Goose1724

November 1st, 2015 at 7:56 AM ^

Play the kid. He's a beast. Who cares his RS is "burned". We have 4 games plus a bowl left. Line rotation and depth is important. We must dominate the interior and he will help. Go Blue

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Cc2010

November 1st, 2015 at 7:59 AM ^

so...lets see if we can find something to complain about....I got one, lets complain about the fact that the 6th best olineman is only a freshman and as such should not get to play all year but be redshirted.  You redshirt kids you THINK may develop, you don't redshirt a kid in your 2 deep.  

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Cro-magnon

November 1st, 2015 at 8:00 AM ^

How about this: Harbaugh thinks Newsome will be ready for the NFL after 3 or 4 years of college. It's good to know Newsome is probably starting next season. Lord knows he has the requisite size

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Sprinkles

November 1st, 2015 at 8:02 AM ^

I think that as of right now Harbaugh is trying to infuse as much talent in this team as he can, to do so he may have to burn a few redshirts. I think this is more telling of the overall depth and skills at certain positions than Harbaugh's opinion on burning redshirts. I'm sure that 3 years from now it will be highly unlikely for a freshmen OL to burn a redshirt, because quality depth will be higher. As of right now the quality depth is not yet on the team so I would surmise he is injecting it whenever possible. Hoke was still doing crazy redshirt things in his last year, I think with Harbaugh that won't happen. I could be wrong however as one would have to look at his other college stops to get a better picture of his opinions on redshirting.

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tolmichfan

November 1st, 2015 at 8:46 AM ^

If LTT doesn't get kicked off the team I doubt Newsome has to play. But I don't get why this board is so obsessed with redshirted. In college most players start for about 2 years, unless there are serious depth questions at certain positions. RR not taking any lineman for 2 years forced us to have to play a couple lineman way to early.



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Nolongerusingaccount

November 1st, 2015 at 9:22 AM ^

I'm not overly concerned about burning redshirts before or after Harbaugh.  If they are good enough to play, let them play.  The players are not chattel, and by Harbaugh's own admission, a fifth year is not guaranteed anyways. 

There is also a whole host of things that can occur before a fourth/fifth year: injuries (Fox), transfers (Samuelson), rules violation/getting kicked off (Tulley-Tillman) that it's kind of inane in my opinion to obsess about collecting as many redshirts as possible. 

EDIT: And I forgot to mention: fifth years who just decide that football is no longer for them (Miller). 

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chad

November 1st, 2015 at 8:22 AM ^

Do they have a legit shot at winning Big Ten? Yes Would a team that beats #1 OSU & top 5 Iowa in consecutive weeks with a very large TV audience watching both be talked about? Yes Will many of the teams above them play each other and knock each other off? Yes

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BlueMk1690

November 1st, 2015 at 8:24 AM ^

and not black/white. I don't think Harbaugh and staff just dismissed the importance of a redshirt or aren't aware of it. These guys have coached for a while.

The reality is though that you always have to weigh priorities and I am sure in their heads they have different scenarios and I am sure every year you have a few guys where you go "redshirt if you can get away with it" and then a few where you go "redshirt under any and all circumstances".

At any point during the year you may reach a point where you may realize you can't get away with it. Injuries, depth concerns, urgency. Redshirting is part of a strategy and you know what they say about strategy and contact with the enemy.

Ultimately this is a minor thing - it may come up to hurt us one day, it may open up a range of other possibilities. There's too many "ifs" involved here for us to get bent out of shape over it.

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TruBluMich

November 1st, 2015 at 8:26 AM ^

Look at it this way, if they played him then the redshirt doesn't matter, he's the guy your spending all your damn points on to convince him to come back for his RS JR and RS SR year. This isn't a video game,, the best players are going to play.

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Clarence Beeks

November 1st, 2015 at 8:30 AM ^

To clarify for the OP (and a lot of other people) his redshirt was burned for THIS YEAR and this year only. He can still be redshirted next year, if the need were truly there. Relax, people.

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Leaders And Best

November 1st, 2015 at 8:50 AM ^

If he is good enough to play now, I wouldn't be surprised to see him take Magnuson's job at OT next year after a full year of S&C and have Magnuson compete with the other OGs to find the best two. Not saying it's going to happen, but I also don't think our OL has performed to point where you can say anyone's job is safe next year except maybe Cole.

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SteelBrad

November 1st, 2015 at 8:48 AM ^

People really must miss the NCAA football video game because they are arm-chairing the fuck out of Harbaugh.

I could understand the bitching about Hoke because it seemed he threw random Freshman out on Special Teams all the time but Harbaugh seems to playing the best players. I'm good with that.



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Callahan

November 1st, 2015 at 8:51 AM ^

Can't wait to see how everyone wants to push the current "fifth years" out the door in December to make room for a 28 person recruiting class. A coach that would sit a freshman player to preserve a non-guaranteed fifth-year should be fired. (Of course this is not to say that they should play them regardless of whether they are ready like A&M does.)

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Leaders And Best

November 1st, 2015 at 9:35 AM ^

Our depth chart is not very deep, and I wouldn't say our OL play has been outstanding. It is possible that one of those guys could lose their job through competition. We have been relatively healthy on the OL this year, but football is a brutal sport. An injury or two on the OL is always possible. If Bars, Dawson, & Bushell-Beatty were not ready to play this year, they could theoretically get passed over by a talented freshman.

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FreddieMercuryHayes

November 1st, 2015 at 9:40 AM ^

I think you are seriously overestimating the ability of true freshman to play at a high level to displace players with multiple years experience. Guys like Cole and Newsome are rare exceptions pushing their way to the top of the depth chart. Plus with some actual coaching you can expect the back ups to improve as well.

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Leaders And Best

November 1st, 2015 at 9:55 AM ^

If our OL was playing well, I would agree with you. Look at Stanford. Look at Ohio State. Both have multiple starters who played as true freshmen. When you say Cole and Newsome are rare exceptions, I say there is quite possibly one of them every year if you recruit well. And guys sometimes do play a role as reserve lineman as freshmen. It happens.

Add in the fact we are experiencing a coaching transition where the staff has to turn the program around, and there can be a lot of upheaval. Florida has played 3 true freshmen OL this year.

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Leaders And Best

November 1st, 2015 at 9:41 AM ^

What about our OL play has inspired that much confidence in our returning starters? I'm not saying it is going to happen, but I wouldn't be surprised to see one of our returning starters lose their job in offseason camp. OL development is a crapshoot, and there is no guarantee every single redshirt freshman (except Newsome who clearly has the staff's confidence right now) is going to pan out and be good enough to play. And you haven't factored in injuries.

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swan flu

November 1st, 2015 at 10:26 AM ^

Ill suggest a returning starter upper classman on the offensive line is a better option than a true freshman 98% of the time. You are not factoring in the fact that these true freshmen are going to have spent less than a month practicing with the team and arent as physically developed as the returners. Injuries not withstanding, I will be shocked if a true freshman starts next season.

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Mich1993

November 1st, 2015 at 9:24 AM ^

I'm fine with Newsome playing and most of Hoke's non-redshirts as well.  I believe most coaches philosophy is that if you are in the two deep you will play.  This does not mean you play someone on the two deep who hasn't played in garbage time.  This is what Hoke did and this is what Harbaugh is doing.  

I suspect this means that Dawson and Kugler are not as ready as we would hope (it is possible the 6th OL had to be a tackle for this game but unlikely).  Dawson had been the first OL off the bench and has not looked good in my opinion.  I suspect if Newsome is ready to play as a true freshman when he didn't have to play that we can mentally pencil him in the starting lineup next year and for the following 2 years similar to Mason Cole.

Clearly with redshirts there is some trade between winning now and winning later.  I think the priority should be 80% winning now and 20% winning later.  There is so much uncertainty with what will happen 4 years later (injuries/NFL ready/personal problem) that you can't compromise the current year in hope for the future.  I also think the true question on redshirt value is comparing the difference between Newsome vs. Kugler/Dawson now to the difference between possible 5th year senior Newsome and the 6th best OL in 2019.  If you ask Harbaugh if he plans to have 5 high quality starters at OL by 2019, we all know what he believes.  I do recognize it is possible a 5th year Newsome would be the best of that bunch. 

 

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