Myles Sims granted eligiblity
August 28th, 2019 at 1:20 PM ^
Harbaugh is slipping.
August 28th, 2019 at 1:26 PM ^
No doubt getting soft. Probably on a 2% milk all-night binge.
August 28th, 2019 at 1:21 PM ^
Awesome! Good Luck to him and his family.
August 28th, 2019 at 1:24 PM ^
Wonder if Harbaugh will get credit.
August 28th, 2019 at 1:27 PM ^
Never can, only false blame.
August 28th, 2019 at 1:26 PM ^
I guess this is what happens when your coach isn't trying to manipulate your former coach into lying on your behalf?
August 28th, 2019 at 1:33 PM ^
Out of all of the absurdities of the national reaction to the Hudson story, the one thing I still don't understand is this: Fickell tried to get Harbaugh to lie and say the position switch caused him depression or to otherwise transfer.
But Cincinnati is playing him at offensive tackle. It's on the gd website. Did Fickell not realize he was an idiot for this? And why did no one in the national media point out that he was an idiot for this?
Unless there's a piece to the story I'm missing, Fickell is saying 1) Hudson left Michigan because he didn't want to switch positions, i.e. he wanted to be a defensive lineman and not an offensive lineman, and the pain of this move caused enough trauma that he was forced to transfer and should be granted immediate eligibility, and 2) we're going to play him at offensive line.
August 28th, 2019 at 1:41 PM ^
I really don't think that the basis for the alleged depression was that he switched positions. I think that Hudson claimed that he was suffering from depression as the basis for the transfer and that when Michigan was asked why he transferred or however the question is phrased they answered with their opinion on why he transferred which was probably "upset with position switch and lack of playing time" or something like that.
That is the basic absurdity with the question is that the school or the coach may not have any idea why a player is transferring or might have their own opinion on the matter. So as, if the player and the school have not developed a coordinated answer they may not be the same. The question should just not be asked of the school that is being departed, they have nothing to do with it anymore. The NCAA can decide whether a stated reason is legit and fits their criteria without input from the school or coach who may have no actual information as to the reason and if it is true or not.
I do think it was a mistake on Harbaugh's part to use Hudson as a kind of "example" for why the NCAA transfer rules are bad and insinuate that Hudson may not have told the truth in his request for a waiver. Harbaugh has no idea whether Hudson is suffering from depression or not. Don't write it on the form or whatever if you don't know it to be fact but he shouldn't be commenting on a kid's claimed mental health issue.
August 28th, 2019 at 1:49 PM ^
Definitely not an expert on the situation but I believe Hudson is from Toledo making Ann Arbor closer to home than Cincinnati. Unlike a great number of the other transfers (Oliver Martin, Myles Sims etc) proximity to home does not apply.
August 28th, 2019 at 1:50 PM ^
Yes, you are correct on that. Edited before you commented.
August 28th, 2019 at 2:14 PM ^
Why would Michigan tell the NCAA that they believed he was upset with the position switch, given they firmly believed he was fine with that switch? Harbaugh said Fickell tried to coach him into saying something different about the position change. Didn't elaborate on what that meant. But Harbaugh's version of the story is clear and he stood by it: he told Hudson that he would make a good OL, told him he could try out for any position he wanted, Hudson agreed to play tackle, and he was good at it.
So I'm admittedly making an assumption here that Fickell wanted Harbaugh to say the position switch caused an issue. What else would he want him to say? If it's as you say, I guess he could be asking Harbaugh to withdraw the playing time portion entirely. But that's not coaching him, that would be asking him to remove it. So what would coaching mean? Some kind of change to the story above. I don't know what that could mean other than Hudson didn't want to change positions. I mean he either liked the move, didn't care either way, or didn't like the move. The first is what's already in the report, the second wouldn't have any impact, so I assume the third.
But again I could be missing something.
August 28th, 2019 at 2:25 PM ^
I guess that is exactly my point. Harbaugh should not be asked about the circumstances of the transfer to "vet the reason given." That presumes that Harbaugh has any valuable information as to why Hudson is transferring, which he may very well not have.
There are some coaches that are "no comment" kind of guys. That isn't Harbaugh. If he is asked something he answers it, for better or worse. In this case, his answer to the question may be little more than a guess. I'm pretty sure that there are many college athletes that don't discuss really personal shit with their college coaches.
August 28th, 2019 at 2:46 PM ^
All of that may be true, but doesn't really have anything to do with my point about Fickell being an idiot in his case.
It seems he wanted Harbaugh to say something different than what was said about the position change. That change has only 3 possible options, the first is that he liked it and that's what's in the report. The second is that he didn't care either way, and if that were true, it would have no effect on a transfer, so dismissed. The final option is that he didn't like the position switch, and that led to him needing to transfer. That seems like it has to be what Fickell was asking Harbaugh to say.
If he was asking him to say that, he's an idiot, because he's playing the kid at the same position he was arguing caused the transfer. It would be perfect if the NCAA denied the waiver for this exact reason.
August 28th, 2019 at 1:26 PM ^
Hmm, I wonder why Harbaugh decided to grant him eligibility but not Hudson. His decisions on these seem very arbitrary.
August 28th, 2019 at 1:27 PM ^
That beautiful, magnanimous man Jim Harbaugh; I'm sure the nation's sports media will join me very shortly in celebrating him.
August 28th, 2019 at 1:33 PM ^
Can't wait for all the articles that will be written about how Harbaugh helped these kids get immediate eligibility. That's what's going to happen, correct?
August 28th, 2019 at 1:37 PM ^
Fingers are burning this very moment. Not only does Jim Harbaugh have a reasonable solution that most parties seem to believe is a better path forward - one "free" transfer with immediate eligibility, no questions asked, any transfer thereafter sits a year, no questions asked -, and not only is he an honest man in the middle of a ridiculous and obvious charade of lies nationwide, but he grants almost all of his players immediate eligibility, because it's his job to do so and he's just that wonderful.
I mean the story writes itself.
August 28th, 2019 at 1:34 PM ^
Great for Myles and yet still I am troubled. What kind of convoluted, fucked up system is the NCAA using to evaluate all of these cases? It seems completely arbitrary. After Justin Fields and Tate Martell were so conveniently whisked through the process, I half-joked that those schools simply did what Michigan was too naive to do with Patterson--pay the fuckers. Now I'm starting to believe that is actually what is happening all over.
August 28th, 2019 at 1:53 PM ^
It's a complete gong show. Nobody can defend this. I'm 100% in favor of keeping the rule intact with absolutely no exceptions, but I will immediately back Harbaugh's one-freebie-for-all rule if it's considered. This waiver stuff is nonsense. None of these guys have any valid reason to play. Or if they do, there's zero reason James Hudson has to sit a year.
I agree with you. I'm not a conspiracy theorist but I would not rule out money being a factor. It's just too incredibly random for me to propose another reason. Why does Tate Martell get a waiver and Justin Fields gets a waiver, but Matt Baldwin does not?
August 28th, 2019 at 2:06 PM ^
pick one method or the other but do it ASAP bc the current setup is a complete joke.
im fine either way as theres merits to both - ncaa just needs to make it clear
August 28th, 2019 at 1:38 PM ^
Spider.
August 28th, 2019 at 1:48 PM ^
Another bullshit case
August 28th, 2019 at 1:53 PM ^
This comment illustrates why I think the blog is kind of tripping over its own feet on this issue. Shouldn't we be glad that Sims got the waiver? Isn't that what we all want?
It may not be, but I think we are all showing a little bit of confusion on the matter.
August 28th, 2019 at 2:09 PM ^
Nothing is what we "all" want.
Personally, I want all of the transfers to sit a year because that's the rule. I don't have a problem with the rule. I don't even think Patterson should've been eligible. You transfer, you sit. If that bothers anybody, I understand and have heard the counterpoint a million times over. Agree to disagree.
I have nothing against Sims. Good for him. But no, the NCAA granting waivers on a whim is not what we all want.
August 28th, 2019 at 2:19 PM ^
But the waiver is a rule too. I get that it is not being applied uniformly, or we may not think so, but Sims getting eligibility is not "against the rules."
A lot of people seem to be in agreement with the "Harbaugh rule" as he stated it, but also pissed that Sims and others are granted eligibility. It would seem that if somebody is in favor or a no-reasons-given transfer, that the news of Sims eligibility would be welcomed. It would still be upsetting that Hudson and Sims' teammate were not granted eligibility, but hopefully it would represent progress, right?
August 28th, 2019 at 2:28 PM ^
(Edit: Boiling this down to the only point I'm making.)
You use "we" three times in that reply to UofM626. And you imply that his post is representative of "the blog". None of this is "we". It's him, you and me and we all have our own feelings on this.
August 28th, 2019 at 2:34 PM ^
Understood.
I just kind of think that Harbaugh it talking out of both sides of his mouth a little bit here, so the "we" was for effect to kind of illustrate that.
August 28th, 2019 at 3:03 PM ^
Harbaugh is the only one being consistent in his argument. Not sure how you can say he is talking out of both sides of his mouth.
August 28th, 2019 at 3:53 PM ^
Speaking for myself, I couldn't care any less whether any kid gets a waiver or not. Regardless of if they are coming or going. I have not consulted the blog for the official position we should all be taking.
August 28th, 2019 at 2:03 PM ^
Not going to matter if Sims can’t put on reasonable weight.
August 28th, 2019 at 3:48 PM ^
Guess Harbaugh changed his mind. Must have been the enthusiastic parents that convinced him.
August 28th, 2019 at 3:52 PM ^
With one call to the NCAA, Harbaugh got all these kids cleared to play. He's got some pull.
August 28th, 2019 at 3:55 PM ^
What do you want to bet, that after the NCAA adopts this one time transfer rule sooner than later, that Harbaugh gets zero credit for it? Itll be joint credit to the NCAA and SEC
August 28th, 2019 at 6:13 PM ^
August 28th, 2019 at 4:57 PM ^
Must of been all that coaching Harbaugh has received from other coaches on how to lie.
August 28th, 2019 at 5:03 PM ^
Good, all kids should get immediate eligibility after the first transfer. If any more transfers follow, then the kid has to sit a year each time.