Harbaugh Pressures Pipkins to Retire
Should be interesting going forward. It is one side of the story, but we have seen these instances (OSU had a similar situation a few months ago I believe).
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/13154115/ondre-pipkins-s…
"I don't want to sign the form. I wanted to play for my seniors and for the team. Coach Harbaugh said, 'I recommend you take the medical.'"
"College football is a business. New coaches have to win games. They want to go with guys they think can win. If I'm a victim of making room, so be it. But if there is no concrete reason to disqualify a player. He should have the right to keep playing."
"I feel bad I wasn't able to complete this journey with my classmates," Pipkins told ESPN. "I feel I am healthy and without pain. I believe Michigan wanted to free up the scholarship. I felt I was practicing well and could compete at a high level at the nose tackle and tackle positions."
"All I want to do is play football," Pipkins said. "I tried to finish my career at Michigan but I wasn't given the chance."
"Schmidt told me, 'Call it quits. Hang it up.' He said, 'You've had a good run'," Pipkins said of the Wolverines' head athletic trainer.
"I need you to sign this," Pipkins said Harbaugh told him of the medical form. "It's not fair to your teammates. Let's get it done."
I really hope I get an email from MGoBlog at my 5,000 point milestone letting me know that I now have the mystical power of ass-clown labeling. Please talk to Brian to make this happen.
I think I got an email or something 2x below 500 points, but nothing since. I do think an insulting ass clown designation would be cool, though.
Is that threshold higher for Buckeye fans that post here? Asking for a friend.
All Buckeye fans are Ass CLown subject matter experts as they have had a life time spent around them, and if I had enough points I would point out that being an Ohio State fan in itself may qualify a person to be classified as an ass clown.
So if were under 5k do we use butt clown instead?
Hey! How about you quiet down ass...Damn't, I'm only halfway to 5K. Oh well, I'll just have to stick with insult by implication at this point. Seriously though, well said LSA.
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1300 points what derogatory phrases can I use? "you're a bit silly"? "nonsensical"?
the title's fine
:Read, learn to
Ha. Ironic.
There is something unique about the Michigan fan community in that the most heat on this topic is going to be about a guy who pulled the trigger on an agressive expletive for too soon.
ass clown
a lot of the rumblings, but maybe soon we will start getting some clarity on what that was all about. I am buckling down for this one.
Also included: Pipikins is transfering. Harbaugh apparently didn't invite him to fall camp.
Woowee, Harbaugh continues to be interesting. Both good and bad.
But damn, it's so disappointing toee Pipkins' career arc. I was probably more excited for him than any other recruit under Hoke not named Jabrill Peppers. I have no idea about his medical fitness, but this does reek of shadiness. And here I was most ashamed that he never got his redshirt his frosh year. But hey, as I said before, Harbaugh coaches for UM, so whatever he does is OK now so long as UM wins.
Was this already common knowledge that Pipkins was 100% transferring? I know there have been rumblings, but that's a pretty big takeaway in itself.
" But hey, as I said before, Harbaugh coaches for UM, so whatever he does is OK now so long as UM wins."
I'm not sure if you were being sarcastic or not.
IF this is Harbaugh doing the SEC thing, this bothers me greatly. But I'll wait till all the facts are out.
So, Dumb Question:
What does ''Taking a medical' mean for the player? Do they still get the full scholarship? Can they still get enough money to get their degree?
Yes to both questions.
Just quoting:
... Players who retire for medical reasons are also allowed to complete their education on scholarship.He also Harbaugh told him that he wanted "to make sure you graduate from Michigan" ...
I just remember the medical scholarship that Saban did with his team like Kirschman.... They get more or less the same perk except they can't participate with the team (meaning, they can't play)...
This is essentailly what Austin Hatch received. You still receive all the benefits of an athletic scholarship, however you do not count agains the 85 scholarship limit. A lot of times these players will become Grad Assistants, but can't dress, practice, etc.
Pipkins has had an ACL injury, which still doesn't seem 100%, as well as arthritis in the knee as stated in the article. He also suffered a neck injury and has had several concussions. While it may not be the perfect reason for a medical, it isn't totally shady either. They can justify past injury concern here.
scare me the most. You can live your life being partially mobile, but partially cogent really does adversely impact your quality of life.
"You still receive all the benefits of an athletic scholarship.."
Does that mean he still gets great seats at football games?
Your retain all of the academic benefits; you just can't play for the team anymore.
Being a sports fan with no connection personally to the people on the team (and that's the vast majority of all of us) is an inherently irrational venture to begin with. I've just chose to fully embrace the irrationality. It makes things much less stressful. So, yeah, Harbaugh coaches at UM, which is the team I'm a fan of, so whatever he does is fine. As long as he wins.
Yeah it's kind of like that scene in the Patriot where Colonel Tavington agrees to use any means necessary to accomplish his goals.
There is a tipping point where the ends do not justify the means I'm not sure if this situation is quite that.. However, it may behoove some people to lay off the SEC and Ohio State if we are going to start taing advantage of medicals.
Agreed though I hope we see some results in the next four or so years.
Obviously Pipkins is unhappy. We should be prepared for some bad publicity, but just what did Harbaugh do that was wrong?
1) Does Pipkins have serious medical issues?
2) Would he play this season if he were healthy?
3) Was he told to consult with his own doctor?
4) Are we oversigned and need his scholarship?
5) Are we even going to use his vacated scholarship?
6) Is this a case a manufacturing a reason to get rid of a non-contributor?
My answers: 1) obviously yes, 2) yes, 3) yes, 4) no, 5) very unlikely, 6) no.
You're welcome to draw your own conclusions. I'm not likely to agree with everything Harbaugh does as our coach, but this does not seem like anything the least bit shady. It sounds like a kid is understandably upset to see his dream end, but he would be better off if he didn't continue playing. It's a shame for him, not a reason to point fingers.
We do not have enough information to answer 4, 5 or 6.
Anyone that says we do isn't actually looking at knowns/unknowns.
We are definitely not oversigned for 2015, unless there are some secret signings that no sources have ever even hinted at. If you are looking at the 2016 class, you may be forgetting that Pipkins would be gone by then if he did play this season.
You're correct and I'm an idiot.
First of all, we have 15 seniors if you count Norfleet, and we have his spot available if you don't. I don't know why Ace keeps saying 14, but if you look at the depth chart you'll see that's wrong.
Secondly, no one from the 2016 class has signed. You're right about expecting attrition, but oversigning is the wrong term and description to use for the current situation.Wait until after the LOIs are in. It's not an insignificant distinction.
Thirdly, it's irrelevant to Pipkin's situation. Not sure if you were implying otherwise.
...plausible that Pipkins was hoping to take a redshirt this season to completely recover from his injuries, and play as a RS Sr in 2016.
Or that the coaching staff is looking to bring in another transfer that they haven't said anything about?
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why does ESPN put this on the front page, not CFB page, but front page. i dont see Bama there.
Why? Because HARBAUGH, that's why. We want the good things that come from having HARBAUGH, it's looking like we'll need to take the bad too. (And this would be front page if Saban had done it too.)
Saban is the ESPN love child with the SEC. If that were true, you would see this kind of thing from him every year. ..... A few times.
Because Harbaugh is front page material, that's why. This stuff has been re-hashed a hundred times with Bama, but Saban has been doing it for like 7 years and won a bunch of Nattys, so no one cares anymore. But Harbaugh sells right now.
is a more interesting headline than Dog Bites Man.
There's literally nothing else to talk about right now in the world of sports.
Well, unless you count baseball. Which I don't.
"I feel bad I wasn't able to complete this journey with my classmates," Pipkins told ESPN. "I feel I am healthy and without pain. I believe Michigan wanted to free up the scholarship. I felt I was practicing well and could compete at a high level at the nose tackle and tackle positions."
Yeah, we all read it buddy.
But this doesn't make sense, right? Pipkins is a Sr. His leaving frees up a scholorship THIS YEAR (when we don't need it) but does nothign for any other year. There is absolutely no strategic reason to force him off and "free up a scholorship" we don't need.
Not saying what is right or wrong, but yes it does. We are over right now. We had transfers come in and they need those schollys.
According to the "Depth Chart by Class" tab, we are actually at the scholarship limit with Pipkins on the roster. So, at the moment (with all the transfers we know about) there is no reason to "force him out" to get his scholarship. Maybe there are other transfers we want but can't fit- that would make this look/be nefarious. But at the moment there is no need for his scholarship.
Similarly, this wasn't the only medical expected. There are/were at least 1 or 2 more. So unless we are bringing in 2-3 more transfers the idea we needed to cut him to get his scholarship doesn't make sense.
to a walkon kicker, so we're really under 85 counting Pipkins.