Farnn

August 16th, 2015 at 12:08 PM ^

Sad to see him forced to hang it up.  Was he on scholarship?  If not, nice that he can get the rest of his education paid for by taking a medical hardship.

Joined: 07/07/2008

MGoPoints: 12788

Doctor Wolverine

August 16th, 2015 at 1:50 PM ^

If he was not on scholarship and gets a medical hardship, does he end up getting free tuition? It seems like this is actually a pretty nice outcome for any walk-on who isn't going to see playing time (no idea if that was the case for Bo or not). You get to continue to participate in practices and travel with the team as an assistant, you get free tuition, and it doesn't cost the team a scholarship spot. I would imagine that there would be some motivation for a walk-on to take this route, even for a minor injury, to save some money (again, I am talking in general, no idea if this is remotely the case for Bo, or if that is even how these things work).

Joined: 08/13/2009

MGoPoints: 3045

Blueblood2991

August 16th, 2015 at 2:27 PM ^

He didn't get a medical hardship, he is quitting on his own for health reasons.

Generally, student assistants don't get scholarships.  However, if their degree is in sports nutrition, sports management, or something along that line the job will be treated as an internship and they will receive college credit.

Sounds a lot more fun than sitting in a class room, not to mention putting you worked for Jim Harbaugh on your resume.

Joined: 06/11/2015

MGoPoints: 14348

Magnus

August 16th, 2015 at 12:25 PM ^

As someone who keeps track of walk-ons who come and go, it's really not that big of a deal. This type of thing happens many times per year. If you're not on scholarship and you don't have a chance of playing in the pros, there's no real reason to continue torturing your body and grinding through college. More often than not, walk-ons don't make it through all 4-5 years of college on the team.

Joined: 07/17/2008

MGoPoints: 166007

west2

August 16th, 2015 at 1:14 PM ^

on why someone might want to stay 4-5 years other than remaining eligible for a scholarship or a chance at making it to the pros, might be simply to be part of the team experiences that most never get a chance to participate in.   Similar to Rudy or kind of a fantasy camp experience while getting your undergrad degree might be why someone would tolerate the physical demands of a major college program.   

To your point though, agreed that a walk on not coming back is not earth shattering news really and shouldn't be considered part of some kind purge.  

Joined: 01/23/2011

MGoPoints: -998175

Doctor Wolverine

August 16th, 2015 at 1:57 PM ^

It sounds like he will still get some team experiences as an assistant. I had a friend who was a student manager for the baseball team and became good friends with most of the players. You are still spending a ton of time with the team, just not taking the physical toll (which I guess you could argue is part of the bonding experience).

Joined: 08/13/2009

MGoPoints: 3045

WolvinLA2

August 16th, 2015 at 1:42 PM ^

Why is it annoying?  Is it annoying that guys are getting hurt?  Because yeah, I agree that that's annoying.  

Or is there another reason that this is annoying to you?  Because the way I see it, this kid got hurt (unfortunate) but gets to stay in school, get his degree, and be a part of the team.  

Joined: 11/13/2009

MGoPoints: 58191

LKLIII

August 16th, 2015 at 12:32 PM ^

There's two sides to every coin. Some folks outside the program may criticize Harbaugh for doing these medical and transfers and accuse him of being cynical just to clear out the roster. But on the other hand, Hoke had a reputation as being a nice guy. Part of me wonders if at least some of these guys should have been either medicaled or transferred a year or two ago, but the staff just didn't have the heart to deliver bad new to them. If that's the case, then one could also argue that Hoke's staff wasn't doing these kids a favor by not leveling with them, and also not doing what was in the best interest of the program. If we had a chronic 6-12 guys hanging around who we knew for a fact couldn't or wouldn't ever contribute, that's playing with half a recruiting class tied behind your back. Basically the opposite of what the SEC and Meyer is doing with the over-signing and overly aggressive medical stuff.



Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad

Joined: 11/06/2013

MGoPoints: 8927

Mr. Yost

August 16th, 2015 at 12:39 PM ^

He's not costing Michigan anything - he also is a RS Jr, and you don't really bring walk-ons back for a 5th year unless they're starting...which probably means they have a scholarship (like Glasgow).

So not sure he'd be back next year anyway.

This is a no deal - we need to focus on the player and make sure he's okay...not if this is housekeeping. It can't be, again, he's a walk-on...AND he was a senior this year.

Joined: 07/25/2011

MGoPoints: -9898220