OT: Cullen Christian to WVU
Former Michigan cornerback Cullen Christian is headed to WVU after spending the past few seasons at Pitt. He committed to Tony Gibson at Michigan, followed him to Pitt, and is now going to spend his grad transfer year at WVU, where Gibson is the defensive coordinator.
April 28th, 2014 at 12:05 PM ^
30 by now, right?
April 28th, 2014 at 12:08 PM ^
I swear I clicked this to say the same exact thing.
April 28th, 2014 at 12:16 PM ^
I believe you.
April 28th, 2014 at 12:10 PM ^
His eligibility is playing out about as long as his committment ceremony.
April 28th, 2014 at 12:05 PM ^
Sounds like Cullen better hope our old friend Tony gets a gig in the NFL next year.
April 28th, 2014 at 12:08 PM ^
April 28th, 2014 at 12:29 PM ^
Cullen was never freaky fast.
April 28th, 2014 at 12:11 PM ^
Good for him for graduating. I hadn't thought about that name in a while... hope he sees some success in life.
The guy has a degree from Pitt and will have one year in towards a masters degree at West Virginia. He will have no student loans, and will also get one last shot at football. Well played, indeed.
Good for him.
April 28th, 2014 at 12:14 PM ^
Good for him!
April 28th, 2014 at 12:21 PM ^
WVU fans will stop being so pissed at us?
April 28th, 2014 at 12:26 PM ^
RR and Beilein for Christian. That's fair right?
April 28th, 2014 at 12:41 PM ^
April 28th, 2014 at 12:41 PM ^
I've seen this show before.
Cullen Christian : Tony Gibson :: Cory Mathews : Mr. Feeny
April 28th, 2014 at 12:42 PM ^
April 28th, 2014 at 12:46 PM ^
Tony Gibson is an evil wizard who uses black magic to hypnotize everyone around him.
April 28th, 2014 at 12:55 PM ^
Check out the Twitter feed of Nick Baumgardner about attrition in 2010/11. RR recruited some good players, but man...yikes...attrition:
Michigan has only three players left from its 27-man 2010 recruiting class. Only four players from that group finished eligibility at U-M
So when it's over, barring any changes, only 7 of 27 2010 signees from Rodriguez's last full class will have finished careers at U-M.
Attrition is normal in every class. U-M's '11 class should have 11 of 20 guys finishing eligibility, 24 of 25 guys from '12 still at UM
And unless Jack Miller wrests the starting job the 2011 class will have exactly zero offensive starters (Devin is a 2010) - so combined our 2010/2011 recruits (not walk ons) will combine for 1 starter on offense. That should be the heart of this year's team. At least the 2011's did contribute to defense.
But it is bad on the other side of the ball. Real bad.
Justice Hayes has a shot at starting at running back.
forget.
What is more surprising, Cullen Christian still being eligible or Tony Gibson still having a job?
Seriously, I am appalled that he got PROMOTED to defensive coordinator.
He was the WORST, and by numerous accounts he wasn't a very nice person either.
Good luck to him. I know there are people crapping on him a bit because it didn't work out at UM, but it is cool that he finished his degree and is able to give football one more chance.
Ryan Mundy 2.0.
Possible, I guess, but at least Mundy actually played at Michigan - he just played poorly. Christian didn't play very much at Pitt.
Also, Christian is probably going to play Spur in the 3-3-5 defense, so he's gone from a CB to a SS position.
As I remember he was a 6'1" 200lb. CB that was to slow for the position and didn't have the greatest hips to be a great cover guy. He should actually be a better fit for him at SS.
Yeah...but...like...he wasn't a very good tackler, either. I have long been confounded when it comes to his recruiting rankings.
Look at those numbers...we don't even have BODIES from Rich Rod's classes, let alone GOOD players. Penn St. had the biggest scandal in NCAA history and I bet their numbers aren't that bad.
Rodriguez at Michigan and then at Pitt? I struggle to find an analogous path for UM fans, since it's been a while since a coach in good standing left UM for another job. Hmm. How about someone who played for Bielema at Arkansas, then transferred to Iowa before doing a fifth year at Wisconsin?
As long as WVU fans have a Keystone Light in one hand and a pinch in their lip, they don't give a hoot.
This is the exact reason that the one-year rule is in place. Kids should not be following coaches from school to school.
Kids are recurited and promised playing time, etc. by coaches. Then the coach takes a truck load of cash and the kids get stuck at school that has changed to a system that doesn't suit them, or with a coach they decided to avoid. The kid then either toughs it out as a square peg in a round hole (Denard) or has to sit our a year. Of course, kids should choose a school not a coach, but that isn't what happens.
As I type this, I do see the problems of players following coaches as a "package deal." Maybe the best soultion is, if a coach leaves to take another job, the players can transfer and play immediately at any school other than where their old coach went. You would apply this to any HC, your OC and your position coach.
I don't disagree that, in general, it is unfair to the kids. I think there are numerous reasons that a kid should be able to transfer schools without penalty. I just don't think that following a coach is one of them.
I think I'd just like to see some middle ground where there is an appeal process to allow kids who want to transfer for legitimate reasons (e.g. change of degree, home sickness, change of system with little to no chance of playing time, etc.) to do so without penalty.
April 28th, 2014 at 11:05 PM ^
"Kids should not be following coaches from school to school."
Why not? Assistant coaches follow coaches from school to school. So do strength and conditioning coaches. Look at all that guys that came from WVU to Michigan or from SDSU to Michigan. Why shouldn't the kids be afforded the same opportunity if both parties agree?
Especially since, in many cases, the kids choose a school based on the coaches. It's kind of ridiculous that a coaching staff can pack up and leave whenever they want, but the kids aren't allowed to follow them unless they sit out a year. Oh sure, it's unfair to the school that has a coach leave, but that's the way it has been anyway.
has a heart attack on the eve of a bowl game, and his health is in question, should players be allowed their immediate release? Perhaps something more topical. Let us consider a HC with epilepsy being told by his doctor that the strain of coaching is detrimental to his continued health, should the players be granted their immediate release? Should the NCAA waive the no play transfer rule?
April 28th, 2014 at 11:03 PM ^
A few reasons. (Note, I am not saying that they can't transfer to follow a coach, just that the one year rule still applies)
1) Coaches would have every incentive to try to pull kids with them. This would then get turned into money for the coaches. "I will coach your team and bring along a QB, and a WR if you throw in an extra million. How much if I bring in the new five star too?" This allows the coaches to take even more advanatge of the kids. The if both parties agree only works if the parties are on equal footing. I don't see that here at all, espcially if one party is getting paid millions and the other is an 18 year old.
2) It moves further away from the concept of the kids choosing the school not the coach. I understand that I already conceded that this is happening all the time. However, I would like to discourage it, rather than encourage it.
3) It turns the college game into even more of a pro-like free-agent market for players.
4) What about the players who are at the destination school? What if RR had brought 10 of his players from WVU in 2008, that many Michigan players or recruits would have been sent packing for no fault of their own. I don't feel as bad for the grown-ups who 1) entered coaching and new that moving was part of the deal and 2) got one year paid contracts from Michigan to cushion the blow.
5) It harms the college aspect of the game. I still don't seem them as employees engaged in a purely commerical enterprise.
Perhaps we are focusing on equalizing the wrong side of this. Maybe a coach who leaves a school mid-contract should have to sit out a year before returning to coach another school?
April 28th, 2014 at 10:14 PM ^
Regarding #1: This already happens in recruiting. I don't see a big difference.
Regarding #2: I agree, but it's already happening.
Regarding #3: In my opinion, two things make a difference between the college and the pro game - free agency/trades and compensation. If the choice is between paying players or letting them choose their schools, I'd be more in favor of letting them choose which school they want to represent.
Regarding #4: I think there are some ways that could be restricted, such as limiting scholarships for an incoming coach, freezing the roster, etc.
Regarding #5: Don't all these coaching changes harm the college aspect of the game? Coaches who recruit players and then ditch them a year later or just before National Signing Day? Don't stupid things like Todd Graham going from Tulsa to Pitt to Arizona State in the span of three years hurt the game?
I agree that we might be talking about equalizing the wrong side of the game. I would probably be in favor of making coaches sit out a year (or the remainder of their contract period) if they go from FBS school to FBS school, just like kids do. Unfortunately, I think that's probably less likely to happen than letting players transfer and play immediately.
This guy will follow Tony Gibson to the ends of the earth.
Tony Gibson is to Cullen Christian as Frodo Baggins is to Sam Gamgee.