Michigan offers grad transfer DT Tony Fair
I hate the notion that we have degraded to the point that we compete with Purdue, Old Miss, and Indiana for talent.
If you click on the link and actually read the article, that’s just a list of teams that offered him today. Iowa and Cal are also interested and it’s expected that there will be an avalanche of offers as the process continues.
you’d also read that he was very productive for a DT. But nobody was making a notion that we degraded to the point where we compete with those teams for talent, except you that is.
Stop reading and start hating. It is the way.
But nobody was making a notion that we degraded to the point where we compete with those teams for talent, except you that is.
Unfortunately, it was inevitable that someone would say it. I just wonder how many more times it's gonna pop up in this thread.
That's the way it was presented in the original post. It's a natural assessment.
"That's the way it was presented in the original post. It's a natural assessment."
The entire post is below. There isn't a single word or phrase that implies it's some sort of humiliating comedown for Michigan to have offered him along with Purdue, Ole Miss, or Indiana, and it concludes by stating Fair will be receiving more offers.
Michigan extended a scholarship offer to UAB defensive tackle graduate transfer candidate Tony Fair on Wednesday afternoon, he reported via his Twitter account. The Wolverines were one of a handful of offers for Fair on Wednesday as Purdue, Ole Miss and Indiana were among those to enter the race.
The Wolverines have maintained consistent pursuit of interior linemen in the transfer portal this offseason with Timmy Horne (TCU), Antonio Shelton (Florida) and John Ridgeway (Arkansas) among those that have actually been offered.
Fair (South Bend, IN) had a strong redshirt junior season (2019) at UAB. According to his UAB bio:
Had 36 tackles, 5.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, two forced fumbles and two quarterback hurries... Had a career-high six tackles against Rice and at Tennessee... Also posted a career best 2.0 TFL versus the Vols... Was a monster in the run game at nose tackle and helped UAB finish 8th nationally in total defense.
Look for Fair to receive more offers as his process continues with Iowa and Cal among other programs that have reportedly shown interest.
Any inference that this short article is somehow critical of Michigan for offering him is solely in the mind of the reader.
It’s not though. It says “currently pursued by,” it doesn’t say we make up a top list of those teams. It doesn’t say we’re the only teams pursuing. It doesn’t say that’s his top 4. You went ahead and made an assumption out of very little info in the OP.
Especially if you actually read the article that is linked for you, you’d see the real story is a guy who recently entered the portal, just received a few offers, and has more on the horizon. Instead you chose to just rush to the negative and assume the worst (in your eyes, all of those schools do pursue quality athletes).
We compete with everyone who offers a player.
We lost the Purdue legacy DE to Purdue. Sorry I don't remember his name.
It's not actually won't too say Michigan competes with these teams for talent. They always have.
6’3", 335lb is about the optimum size for an NT. You want guys with a lower center of gravity with some weight. We have some 6'3" guys but no one with that bulk.
I'm not positive, but I think that's against the board rules.
I think as long as you tag it NSFW you’re good.
Take a stool softener and chill Grampy.
Please also realize that not every major collegiate football squad is actively mining the portal for DT's. So we're probably not competing against 'Bama and Clemson here.
I knew there was a silver lining to the fact that our defensive coordinator decided unilaterally that recruiting DTs was a waste of time.
Yes lowly Indiana that beat us last year and played Ohio as close as anybody in the Big Ten in quite some time.
I like it. Sounds like a true NT. Bring in the beef!
I'm not positive, but I think that's against the board rules.
Hey, you can't use my own bad joke against me.
I really look forward to the day when Michigan can actually recruit the DL again AND get good results. Nothing against Mr. Fair, but Michigan recruiting of defensive linemen (mainly tackles) has been a raging tire fire for a number of years and it's contributing to pulling the program down.
This past class of Iwunnah, Benny, and Rooks and whoever signs in 2022 (it sounds like they want 3-4 DTs) are gonna dictate for a while how Michigan’s DT looks. They’re gonna play early and often and if they can become a dominating unit, that’s gonna attract more talent in the future.
The failure of the 2017 DL class, the subsequent lack of pursuit of DTs in 18, 19, and 20 classes, and the grow a DT program under Brown is primarily why Michigan’s defense in the position it is now.
In summer 2017, Michigan had just signed an 8 man DL class so it’s not surprising that 2018 kids weren’t interested when they perceived a lack of playing time. Let’s not do that again. Sign a reasonable number and don’t shoot your self in the foot for the following year.
Sigh....it pains me to have to sound like I am defending DT recruiting the last few years, but if you're going to bash the staff.....at least get the details right.
In 2017 Michigan recruited four DTs. Soloman and Hudson transfered while Jeter was a bench guy and Paea was a flyer. Irving Bey also transferred as a SDE/DT type.
In 2018 Michigan didn't recruit a DT and that was dumb.....whether influenced by the previous class or not. You need DTs in every class like OL.
In 2019 we got two elite DTs in Hinton and Smith. People are in such a rush to bash the recruiting that they overlook this class. If you want to talk about development or 2018....fine.
In 2020 they screwed up again with no true DTs.
In 2021 we signed a bunch of them under the new staff.
Inconsistent recruiting and development is an issue. But to say they went four years without recruiting them isn't the right story
I’ve been running into the problem where I go to clarify what’s actually happened/happening with what the person is complaining about, and it gets misconstrued as me defending the coaches or the program or making excuses.
It seems like a lot of people go for the extreme. If anything goes bad, that means it was awful and we didn’t do anything. When you point out the reality, which is still bad, you get called a slappy or something.
Your comment reminded me quite a bit of that. You point out what actually happened, and while still bad recruiting practices, it’s not remotely close to the narrative some detractors seem to push.
it gets misconstrued as me defending the coaches or the program or making excuses.
Gresham's Law applies to social media as well as it does to money—the dynamic of lightly-moderated, anonymous posting guarantees that stupid and/or extreme positions and statements drive out nuanced or thoughtful ones.
Has the size we could use up front to stuff the run. Let’s go get him
Yes yes yes. Already graduated so no worry about those pesky credits transferring. If this defense can't stop the run it just ruins everything. Nothing worse than being gutted on the ground.
Let’s see, we are in desperate need of bodies on the DL....this kid is 6’3” and 330+. That should be all anyone needs to read to know we have room for this kid. Ole Mi$$ is in on him though, damn.
A big cork to plug in the middle. Yes please.
I read that wrong lol
You read it just the way you wanted to see it.
NTTIAWWT
Defensive tackles would be welcome period, so hopefully we can make this happen.
That being said, he was originally a JUCO guy who was committed to Nebraska before academic issues put the kibosh on that. Seems the story was he wasn't due to graduate in time until he massively accelerated his JUCO coursework but Nebraska backed out. He wound up at UAB, where he was pretty effective. I'm sure there's someone maybe before my time or one I'm forgetting, but I can't remember the last player that was from a JUCO at Michigan.
Seems he's a graduate transfer, so I'm hoping that any academic issues have been ironed out and he won't have to jump through the dreaded transfer credit hoops that has tripped up Michigan in pursuits like this in the past. The fact he's being offered at all is hopefully a good sign that he'll be welcomed should he wind up choosing Michigan.
I think Austin Panter was the last JUCO-to-Michigan transfer.
Wasn't Russell Shaw (wr in the mid to late 90s) a juco transfer?
Grad Transfers are the UM specialty, since they just have to qualify for the program once they have their Bachelor's and don't have to worry about credit transfers
This is true, but just having graduated from somewhere doesn't guarantee acceptance to a grad program at Michigan. There was on OL from Bama that was rejected a few years ago and likely others that weren't pursued after a look at their transcripts.
Hey, a grad transfer. He might actually be able to come here!
With the problem of credits transferring I'm gonna hold off my excitement.
Not an issue for grad transfers... undergrad on the other hand.
Grad transfers don’t have the issue of credits needing to transfer, since they already have their degree. There are (virtually) no issues getting grad transfers in, while getting undergrads in is next to impossible.
Seems the new defense calls for 3 guys on the line including a massive nose to anchor against the run. Let's the lb be able to run to the ball since they can't move the dl with single blocking.
The job don't get pushed back. If the line consists of a dt transfer, Smith, Hinton, and Jeter that's a lot of beef. If they can hold their ground and occupy the oline Hutch and the other linebackers will be making lots of plays and looking good doing it.
At the very least sounds like a philosophy that should be effective against Wisconsin.
His UAB bio makes him sound pretty good. He had two TFLs against Tennessee in 2019, for what it's worth. He's also 25 years old.
I totally expect Greg Gard to recruit him.
Chances of getting him: fair to middling
To honor my grandpa: Fair to Midland. #grandpajokes
Do graduate programs accept any grad transfers? Like a player just gets to choose what they want to do?
Trescientos Treinta y Cinco de Mayo!