Hagerup reinstated, will sit out 2013

Submitted by justingoblue on
Getting back around his teammates is an important step in this process," said Hoke. "Will and I have had several discussions over the past five months, none of which have been about football. Our primary concern has been for him as a person, and that will not change. Will is a part of our family, and we will continue to offer the resources to help him learn and grow. I am pleased with his progress to this point, and he knows that must continue every day moving forward.

http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/050713aab.html

SHEAR WIZARDRY

May 7th, 2013 at 11:46 AM ^

that these are the only 2 players that have been in this situation with Hoke thusfar. They're different in the what was commited but lay in the same punishment bracket. DC and the outcome for him will hopefully be a learning lesson for Hag. Good luck to him.

BlueRecruitFan

May 7th, 2013 at 11:04 AM ^

It is a plant that is now legal to use in many US states.  We'll look back on this suspension in five to ten years when marijuana is legal and regulated like cigarettes and laugh.  Imagine reading a story from 1995 about a player suspended for smoking some cigarettes or drinking alcohol.  Oh the humanity!  How many people does alcohol kill every year?  How many car accidents does it cause?  How many fights and abusive relationships involve it?  Insane.  You get more jail time for growing a plant than beating your wife.

Shakey Jake

May 7th, 2013 at 11:12 AM ^

I don't recall the school, Hagerup or Hoke saying what exactly it is that he did.

And while we know how you feel about marijuana, the football team has rules and Will not just broke them once, but twice. So what you are really saying is that Hoke and his rules are pointless, right? It is easy to sit at your desk typing your pro pot rant on here while Hoke is trying to make boys into responsible men.

Tater

May 7th, 2013 at 3:09 PM ^

Legal or not, he broke team rules.  When a fraction of a second of reaction time can make the difference between winning and losing a game, an athlete can't afford to be like everyone else and use any substance that compromise his reaction time.  That includes pot or even showing up with a hangover.

FreddieMercuryHayes

May 7th, 2013 at 11:12 AM ^

Grow up.  In the real world you have to follow the laws, and in this case, the team rules.  Idealism isn't an excuse.  If Hagerup wants to play, he needs to follow team rules.  And don't act like the herb is some totally inncouous substance that never causes harm.  For all we know, Hagerup could have been missing work-outs, meetings, or classes to get high with his buddies.  Oh, and players still get suspended for drinking alcohol.

willirwin1778

May 7th, 2013 at 2:09 PM ^

10 non-smoking football players + 1 non-smoking football player  =  11 non-smoking football players

Which could comprise a football team.  

It won't work if you do 10 non-smoking football players + 1 smoking football player because there is too much running in football and smokers cough when they run.  I tried doing the math a few different ways, it just doesn't work.  

Blue since birth

May 7th, 2013 at 7:26 PM ^

If they can't, their grades suffer and they don't get PT? Rather than making assumptions based on generalizations and stereotypes we could base these decisions on... Oh, I don't know... Actual performance?

He broke the rules he agreed to and he suffers the consequences for breaking them. I don't have a problem with it so far as that goes. But that doesn't apply to the asinine laws or all of these silly justifications and mental gymnastics for why it should be a rule in the first place.

jmblue

May 7th, 2013 at 8:47 PM ^

Marijuana affects your memory.  Research has repeatedly demonstrated this. Given that it does this, If I'm a coach I don't want my players using it when they need to be going to college, passing their classes with relatively little study time, and memorizing a thick playbook.

Marijuana's damage to short-term memory occurs because THC alters the way in which information is processed by the hippocampus, a brain area responsible for memory formation. [...] "Because it is a steroid, THC acts on the hippocampus and inhibits memory retrieval." THC also alters the way in which sensory information is interpreted. "When THC attaches to receptors in the hippocampus, it weakness the short-term memory," and damages the nerve cells by creating structural changes to the hippocampus region of the brain. When a user has a high dose of marijuana, new information does not register into their brain and this may be lost from memory and they are not able to retrieve new information for more than a few minutes. There is also a decrease in the activity of nerve cells.

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1808

snarling wolverine

May 7th, 2013 at 8:57 PM ^

 

If they can't, their grades suffer and they don't get PT? Rather than making assumptions based on generalizations and stereotypes we could base these decisions on... Oh, I don't know... Actual performance?

 

Where are you going to draw the line? Do you want to throw disciplinary rules out the window and trust that a bunch of 18-22 year-olds living away from home for the first time can function like fully mature adults?  Do you think you'd build an effective team structure that way?

These guys still need some guidance. They're going to make some poor choices even when the coach makes it clear what they should do . . . but if the coach doesn't make it clear, they'll make a hell of a lot more poor choices.  

 

Blue since birth

May 7th, 2013 at 9:49 PM ^

Had a long response written out for both of you but it was lost.

Short version:

Performance.

If your performance isn't up to par in class or on the field you suffer the consequences. If you're not directly harming others and you're able to handle your responsibilities, you shouldn't have your life messed with based on other people's ideas of morality or assumptions about what you may not be able to handle.

snarling wolverine

May 8th, 2013 at 6:36 AM ^

With all due respect, I don't think that's a good philosophy for a college coach to have.  Pros, maybe, but college guys are too young.  These guys have a lot asked of them - more really than even the pros, when you factor in that they have to go to class in addition to their 35-40 hours a week of football - and they need some supervision.  

Hoke knows what he's doing.  He's been around the college game over half his lifetime.  He knows what college football players can handle and can't.  I don't think you are being very fair to him here.

 

 

goblue20111

May 7th, 2013 at 12:29 PM ^

Isn't Adderall a banned substance by the NCAA? That Texas pitcher got busted for using it recently. I've always wondered how that works when you have a legit medical use for it? Some of my friends have been on Adderall and Ritalin since they were in middle school. The NCAA can't posisbly force them to stop using their medication can they? 

Don

May 7th, 2013 at 11:06 AM ^

He's already missed the OSU game in 2010, the ND UTL game in 2011, and the OSU game in 2012. Add to that missing ND and OSU again in 2013. It's almost criminal negligence on his part.

For his sake (and his parents) I hope he gets his stuff together and stays that way, regardless of whether he ever plays here again. Get that degree and you can salvage something.

DISCUSS Man

May 7th, 2013 at 11:11 AM ^

By the time he comes back for the 2014 season, Wile could make us forget about Hags if he does a great job this year.

Nothing guaranteed.

SeattleWolverine

May 7th, 2013 at 11:18 AM ^

As a side note, this leaves us with one less scholarship for this class since Hagerup effectively becomes a redshirt junior for 2013 rather than a senior and will now be on the 2014 roster. Assuming that he does not screw up again and that he is retaining his scholarship status.

TexanGOBLUE

May 7th, 2013 at 11:23 AM ^

During the Carr era one of my friends played at Michigan and was kicked off the team for smoking. I wonder how things would have gone for him if Hoke was there instead of Carr. Not that Carr was a bad coach, or he had any other choice.  My friend had just screwed up too many times, but Hoke just seems to be such a great father figure and mentor. Things may have been different if Hoke took my friend under his wing and gave him shot a redemption under his rules. The Hoke difference may have changed him and made my friend a better man/ teammate. 

BiSB

May 7th, 2013 at 11:40 AM ^

It wasn't "wrong" just because Stonum effed it up. You can't just look at what happened to decide whether the previous decision was right. That's like going for a 4th and 1 from the 38, not making it, and saying that the decision to go was "wrong" because it didn't work out.

I'm of the camp that thinks that Hoke found a decent solution with Stonum. That's why it's called a second chance, not a second guarantee. Well, that, and "second guarantee" would be a terribly dumb phrase.

UMaD

May 7th, 2013 at 12:02 PM ^

I get what you're saying, but ultimately the result is what matters.  I don't know if Hoke could have affected Stonum's life otherwise but giving him a second chance with Michigan football clearly didn't help him.  It may have enabled him to continue to feel a lack of accountability or respect for others.

Plus, it's not like his life ended after UM football. (i.e., his 'second chance' didn't have to be with Michigan)

Kicking him off the team sooner might have been a bigger wake up call.  Probably not - Stonum seems like jerk.

Real Tackles Wear 77

May 7th, 2013 at 12:06 PM ^

You could not be more wrong about Stonum. He made some dumb mistakes, more than once, but still considers himself a proud Michigan man and earned his degree in four years. Follow him on twitter and you will see how much this school, his teammates and coaches mean to him. He has nothing but great things to say about the present staff, even though he never played a down for them.

UMaD

May 7th, 2013 at 12:20 PM ^

That's all great I guess, but this is a kid who put others lives at risk repeatedly and was too lazy to walk across campus or arrange a ride in advance to attend a hearing that he couldn't drive to.

Nobody is perfect, but those are more than 'dumb mistakes'.

I have a Michigan degree and like Brady Hoke too - doesn't mean I'm not a bad person.