February 4th, 2010 at 10:11 PM ^
I think you mean Witherspoon...and Hill I do not remember having academic issues, I think he was more homesick than anything, but I could be incorrect.
February 4th, 2010 at 10:13 PM ^
Yeah Witherspoon, my bad. And Hill ended up going to Rutgers, right? Anyway, we need ferocious competition at linebacker. I heard K. Leach was the best tackler on the team...which is nice and all, but we need raw power at MLB.
February 4th, 2010 at 10:20 PM ^
Witherspoon didnt qualify and ended up at Rutgers. Hill decided he didnt want to play football.
February 4th, 2010 at 10:33 PM ^
Hill moved home and transferred to Youngstown State where he started at linebacker this year.
February 4th, 2010 at 10:28 PM ^
post edited
February 4th, 2010 at 10:23 PM ^
Hill's enrolled @ YSU, Tressel's old stomping grounds I believe
http://www.ysusports.com/football/bios/hill.htm
February 4th, 2010 at 10:24 PM ^
Didn't hill end up going to Youngstown state
February 4th, 2010 at 10:37 PM ^
There were some initial questions about Kinard’s academic standing; however, he himself is claiming to be just one step away from being fully qualified. That step is something Kinard is taking quite seriously. “Oh yeah, my core is all good and my ACT’s are cool. I just have to pass my OGT’s (the State of Ohio graduation test) to qualify. I’m taking those in March, and I have tutors that I’m seeing every single day starting tomorrow. They said that every student that came in the office that were concerned about OGT’s, passed. So they were saying it was a guarantee that I’m going to pass regardless. The only thing is that you have to want it, and I told them: hey, I’m going to be in the office everyday on this computer, reading over these questions.”Now maybe he's not as close on grades and scores as he says, or maybe he's just that far off on the OGT's. But he also gave an interview where he was hoping to be redshirted, so maybe that's part of it. http://www.annarbor.com/sports/um-football/michigan-linebacker-recruit-…
February 4th, 2010 at 10:45 PM ^
After reading that article I really want this kid to qualify and get to AA. There's a certain maturity in actually wanting to redshirt. Interesting what he has to say about MSU too. Definitely the kind of guy you want to root for.
February 4th, 2010 at 10:47 PM ^
When I was in school in Ohio(eek), the OGT's were administered to students in the 8th grade. So, this can be taken in two ways.
First, for some reason he did not take it (unlikely, due to it being given to students every year starting in the 8th grade until passed).
Second, he may actually struggle more than we have thought academically. I recall the questions being very basic and bland. Many questions were as simple as picking out the correct flag of the USA.
If the tutoring help is true, I would not sweat this problem though.
February 4th, 2010 at 11:08 PM ^
the same tutor as Justin Turner.
February 5th, 2010 at 2:24 AM ^
I took it the spring of my sophmore year (2005) and we were the first class to take it for credit. According to wiki it's still administered March of sophmore year. Were you a guinea pig before it became official?
I wouldn't exactly say it was picking out a flag... I had a section that involved punnett squares and inheritance of sickle cell anemia. I mean, I was totally geeking out and in my zone, but I could see football players being a little lost.
February 5th, 2010 at 8:50 AM ^
I graduated in 1994 from Maumee, we had to take the OGT's in my Freshman year. We were the first class to have to do so. It was 4 different tests, and had to pass all four to graduate. WIth that said you had plenty of oppurtunity to do so.
Not sure how the State has changed the way the test is administered.
February 5th, 2010 at 10:28 AM ^
I know my brother who graduated in '03 took the proficiency tests which wasn't officially titled the OGT.
Now you get a set number of cracks at the OGT to pass, after that you're SOL if you don't meet a number of convoluted standards with GPA, ACT/SAT etc.
It's still 4 or 5 section. I think we took it over the span of week. Took all freaking day, it blew.
February 5th, 2010 at 2:58 PM ^
No doubt but it was not likt it was hard or anything. It was more of a nag. Correct me if I am wrong but haven't most states adopted Ohio's testing standards for graduation?
February 4th, 2010 at 11:49 PM ^
Rodriguez didn't say that Kinard WAS going to prep school. He said there's a chance that such a thing could occur.
February 5th, 2010 at 12:54 AM ^
So what's the story on Kinard?
I think he's an underrated prospect because he committed to us early.
I read that he received a Penn State offer among others.
Thoughts?
February 5th, 2010 at 4:53 AM ^
he's 6'4", but only weighs like 205 or so; with some Barwis training, and a couple years down the road, he could be a real player for us.
February 5th, 2010 at 4:50 PM ^
“Michigan State was on it to the fullest,” Kinard said. “They would not give up. They would call me on my cell phone and be like, ‘Hey, are you going to come down here to visit? It’s only like a half-hour more away, 50-something miles away from Michigan.’ And it was just like, ‘Give it up. I’m not going to y’all’s school.’I'll bake you cookies! We can hang out just like old times. Pleeease?!
“They would keep nagging. They would send letters to the school, to my house. It would get nuts to the point where I was like, ‘Please, just give up. I’m a Wolverine.’”In related news, Kinard is awaiting the outcome of a restraining order application filed against the entire Michigan State University.