Kwity Paye rumored to be gone
According to The Fort, Kwity Paye is "already gone" to prepare for the NFL draft (LINK). Meanwhile, Ambry Thomas - who missed a big chunk of 2019 fall camp - was already missing from practice and was probably planning to opt out.
So even if Michigan plays a spring season, those are a couple names that we probably shouldn't expect to see on the field.
Personally, I hope we can manage to have a spring football season and that the NCAA will allow early enrollees to play. But it looks like it's "next man up" at DE and CB, and I'm sure there will be more.
August 14th, 2020 at 3:48 PM ^
Doesn't surprise me; it's highly unlikely there will be a season and guys prepping for the NFL aren't likely to take risks in the spring so close to the draft.
Wish them both luck.
August 14th, 2020 at 3:56 PM ^
I agree. The guys who were gone for sure in 2021 are likely to be gone, even if there's a spring season. I would expect that for Paye, Collins, Thomas, etc. will not play for Michigan again.
The most interesting question marks for me are the guys headed into their junior season, like Hutchinson, Mayfield, etc.
August 14th, 2020 at 4:05 PM ^
Mayfield's dad gave an interview the other day that made it sound like the family strongly prefers he be done at Michigan.
August 14th, 2020 at 4:28 PM ^
Really? Wow, that is pretty surprising that he would consider bailing without a season of new tape.
August 14th, 2020 at 4:32 PM ^
Times have changed. Mayfield might not need new tape. If there were ever a year to cut short the playing another season, this one is it.
August 14th, 2020 at 5:36 PM ^
One might argue that this is the season to have more tape rather than less.
August 14th, 2020 at 8:30 PM ^
Mayfields last tape is him against Chase Young. That game moved him way up in every “Way too Early 2021 Mock Draft”...Mayfield is 1b to Nicos 1a of players who don’t need any more tape to go in the first 2 rds
August 14th, 2020 at 11:59 PM ^
Mayfield struggled against OSU last season. Michigan threw everything at Chase Young with RB chipping at him, doubling him with TE/OT or OT/OG, cut block and would not allow Runyan/Mayfield on an island against him or they would get beaten. If Mayfield has a tape, it's against Alabama, not OSU.
August 14th, 2020 at 9:59 PM ^
Especially with linemen I tend to think scouts have an idea in their heads and it's based more on measurements and projection than necessarily how good a guy looks in a couple of games. I'm sure they like more tape than less for everyone, but Mayfield has the body and the skillset to be a tackle in the NFL and I assume most scouts have him pegged as a late first/early second guy depending on who else comes out.
August 14th, 2020 at 7:25 PM ^
Mayfield's almost assuredly a first rounder, of course he's gone.
August 14th, 2020 at 8:27 PM ^
Since Ambry had colitis it totally makes sense that he wouldn’t want to take any chances getting sick. If an NFL team already had questions about his health, no reason to risk getting another illness that could result in hospital time.
August 14th, 2020 at 11:47 PM ^
Magnus,
How does this project nationwide in your opinion? I feel the 2021 NFL Draft is one big "prisoner's dilemma." Do you leave now hoping there are less people in the draft in general or at your position specifically? You figure all the lower level kids who need that senior tape won't enter the draft (because they won't get drafted anyway) and at least some FBS seniors will return to play their last college season, which should mean less draftable players in the pool in general. So it seems to me if you're a mid-round prospect now, you should absolutely leave the team and start preparing for the combine now.
August 14th, 2020 at 4:22 PM ^
Yeah, I we do get football in the spring, it'll be with spring ball rosters since current seniors would all want to train for and participate in combines and pro scouting events.
August 14th, 2020 at 4:36 PM ^
Maybe not all of them, but quite likely round 1-3 guys. Only thing I can think of opposite that is guys looking to move up a round and could use the live reps to impress ahead of the draft (which would hopefully move to the summer).
August 14th, 2020 at 5:43 PM ^
What he said!
August 14th, 2020 at 7:08 PM ^
i think one's decision would be whether or not their draft position could be improved by playing in the spring.
August 14th, 2020 at 3:48 PM ^
Thank you for this information. #2020sucks.
August 14th, 2020 at 3:52 PM ^
That's not surprising. I have a really hard time imagining how anyone can participate in any serious spring season and still fully participate in the pre-draft process. I'm wondering if there will be any exhibition games like the Shrine Bowl for underclassmen this Spring.
August 14th, 2020 at 4:19 PM ^
We already have guys skipping bowl games to protect themselves for the draft. If we are talking about moving multiple games 3+ months closer to the draft, we should expect to see significant attrition from anyone who might be considered draftable.
August 15th, 2020 at 6:35 AM ^
"Draftable" includes day 3 picks.
If i could boost myself from day 3 to day 2, I'd play. The difference in $ & guarantees is too great.
From day 2 to day 1, only if (like Mayfield & Nico, potentially) a great Spring campaign meant a potentially HUGE leap.
If it meant potentially moving up from 40ish to 30ish, I don't know if the inherent risks would be worth it. Especially since one of those risks is moving from 30ish to 40ish!
August 14th, 2020 at 4:36 PM ^
The easy way to imagine it is that the draft process gets pushed back, either because of an NFL pause/postponement, or because scouting personnel want to see some actual games to evaluate players with.
August 14th, 2020 at 4:00 PM ^
I would expect most of the projected day 1/2 prospects to be gone like Collins, Hutchinson, Thomas and McGrone. Mayfield is a wildcard. I've heard big variance of projection ranging from late 1st to mid 3rd and his play on the field doesn't scream 1st round pick but if he's being picked at 1st round, it's because of potential.
August 14th, 2020 at 5:50 PM ^
I mean, really, he's a right tackle. Do people take those in the 1st 2 rounds? Aren't right tackles, left tackles that don't work out?
August 14th, 2020 at 8:49 PM ^
no. People take right tackles in the first round all the time. And right tackles are right tackles because usually of a preference, Tristan Wirfs, Mike McGlinchey, Kaleb McGary, Ryan Ramczyk, and jack conklin were all first round picks recently. Lane Johnson and Mitch Schwartz may be the two best tackles in the league. In most cases, the RT is lining up against the defenses best pass rusher
August 15th, 2020 at 7:48 PM ^
That is a common misconception. In the NFL, you need two OTs who can pass block. If you're not athletic enough, you're not playing at OT. The best pass rushers tends to line up against RT but in reality, you really need good pass protectors across the board at OL or the DC will find ways to exploit that weakness.
August 14th, 2020 at 6:45 PM ^
I think Collins is the only one on that list who is sure fire day 1/2 prospect, including Paye. As Michigan fans we tend to over value our players, then are surprised when they drop to rounds 5-7 in the draft. With another year of film I think some of these guys could have possibly moved up that high, but not right now.
August 15th, 2020 at 12:01 AM ^
Collins isn't a sure fire 1st round pick. He usually isn't among a top 2-3 WR in the B1G plus he has to deal with Chase, Bama WRs, etc. If any, it's day 2 which will be his landing spot, not at 1st.
At this point, none of the Michigan prospects are sure first 1st round picks but it seems like Paye/Hutchinson are the highest ranked Michigan prospect. I think NFL like McGrone a lot more than the mainstream media so McGrone has a chance to climb into late 1st round
August 15th, 2020 at 12:56 AM ^
Day 1/2 is rounds 1 through 3.
August 14th, 2020 at 4:04 PM ^
Man, I love Nico Collins so much. I really felt like he was going to have a huge year. So much potential. Very disappointing that we are not going to witness what was probably going to be one of the better performances from a Michigan wide receiver in recent memory.
August 14th, 2020 at 4:06 PM ^
Same here! Its like a rolling dong punch when you think of all the facets of the lost season.
August 14th, 2020 at 4:10 PM ^
So now the Mitch McGary/Caris Lavert syndrome is leaking over into football. I guess now the teams don't even have to play for the dong punches to be awarded. Wonderful! Thank you; may I have another?
August 14th, 2020 at 4:23 PM ^
Thank you; may I have another?
Sure thing slugger!
*SMACK!*
There you go champ! Have a good one!
August 14th, 2020 at 7:11 PM ^
I was saying booo-urns
August 14th, 2020 at 4:15 PM ^
Best of luck to both and thanks for the memories.
Anyone who is mad at players opting out with this uncertain future of college sports should be ignored.
August 14th, 2020 at 5:32 PM ^
I'm mad at the Big Ten for making this unilateral decision without even discussing it with the players. The new commissioner is a rube just like Delaney.
Best of luck to the players, go get yours in the NFL. Sorry you had no say in this decision.
August 14th, 2020 at 5:52 PM ^
If you discussed everything with the players, there wouldn't be concussion protocol. Sometimes people need to be protected from themselves.
August 14th, 2020 at 5:56 PM ^
So the presidents are the ones to protect these players? Even though they've made the decision to bring students back to campus and hold in-person classes? Yeah, nice half-measure.
August 14th, 2020 at 7:12 PM ^
You can implement things to socially distance in classrooms, the union etc. You can’t on a football field! Stop comparing the two, they are totally different.
August 14th, 2020 at 8:36 PM ^
You can? You think sitting 6 feet apart makes a damn difference when COVID is circulating through the building's vent system? You can probably protect people on an outdoor field just as well as you can in an indoor lecture hall.
August 15th, 2020 at 12:18 AM ^
It is the after class activities that will get players infected, no football, no testing, and no monitoring. If there is a next season there may be several players who will not be able to play due to inflamed virus filled heart muscles.
August 15th, 2020 at 9:07 AM ^
Which is why there's great value in having a structured regimen centered around football where they would be frequently tested and monitored throughout the day. Because without football these players are just gonna go out more and increase their likelihood of getting infected. That has been true for most of these "outbreaks" that have occurred among sports teams; they occurred because the players went to parties or bars when they shouldn't have, not because they were working out or practicing on a football field.
August 14th, 2020 at 6:59 PM ^
When a bunch of players get payouts from a bullshit concussion lawsuit, yeah things change.
August 14th, 2020 at 8:11 PM ^
And there it is. "Let us protect you." This is very condescending. The players and their parents are intelligent people and believe it or not, they care about their health. They have assessed the risk and they are not very worried. The BigTen did not respect this.
Concussion protocols still allow for driving. The seatbelt laws still allows for driving. This decision allows for NOTHING. Your comparison does not hold up. The Big Ten just committed seppuku but hey, at least it appears honorable. At least the optics look good.
August 14th, 2020 at 9:03 PM ^
Were seatbelts laws voted on, or just mandated? Were concussion protocols negotiated with the union or just mandated?
August 15th, 2020 at 12:43 AM ^
Kids + their parents do not typically lead to objective decision making. If we left these kinds of decisions up to 18-22 year-old kids who still believe they are invincible and their parents we would have lost college football a LONG time ago.
August 14th, 2020 at 11:12 PM ^
I think everyone is educated enough to see the value of concussion protocol now. It may not have been popular ten years ago though.
August 14th, 2020 at 4:18 PM ^
Gotta believe Nico is gone too. I was really, really looking forward to seeing him in year two of the offense.
August 14th, 2020 at 4:34 PM ^
This is the fallout we feared. But Michigan is not alone. I'd bet the dreaded buckeyes will have more defections than us. Might take some comfort in that.