Solid "Articles" (really recaps) on LaDarius Henderson
Sharing because I've been screaming to anyone and everyone that I felt Henderson deserved a shot at LT, with Barnhart playing RT (I also feel Barnhart at LT and Jones at RT deserved a fair look...but the Henderson/Barnhart combo has me intrigued the most). The "Michigan Method" is a fair way to sort out some of these battles, anything that gets your more data to make your decision is a positive.
Well, early in the 3rd quarter against BGSU, Moore finally pulled the trigger and inserted Henderson with the starting group. I am interested to see how he grades in the UFR because his PFF rating was favorable. Enough that (in my opinion) he should get the start on Saturday against Rutgers and Barnhart should play RT, with Jones as the 6th OL and Hinton on deck.
"Articles" are below (I use quotes, because they're both your typical...take quotes from press availability and add fluff commentary).
September 19th, 2023 at 10:41 PM ^
#Free Henderson.
#Free Trente Jones.
September 19th, 2023 at 10:52 PM ^
Not giving Henderson in particular early playing time has very much felt like Coach Stuff. As in, maybe he was late to practice, maybe they didn't like his effort in the weight room, that kind of thing. I hope they get past it because a guy as talented and accomplished as him seems to belong on our starting unit
September 19th, 2023 at 11:18 PM ^
Henderson just doesn't seem like the type who would slack.
I'm wondering if it's as simple as Henderson having less time and reps. Wasn't Hinton here in the spring while Henderson was finishing up at ASU? I found an article saying Hinton was at the Spring Game (not playing) while Henderson was still in Tempe, but I don't know exactly when each was able to start practicing.
September 19th, 2023 at 11:30 PM ^
It's possible it's just that he hasn't been here long and thus hasn't picked up all the details of the playbook and such, yeah. I hope that's the issue and he sticks as a starter
September 19th, 2023 at 11:32 PM ^
Henderson was in an Ann Arbor apartment doing his classes online.
Presumably he wasn't allowed to be with the team in any official capacity until he finished those (not a Michigan student yet and not on scholarship yet).
September 21st, 2023 at 11:53 AM ^
He was a captain at ASU. Hard to believe he has that sort of attitude but nice conjecture on nothing.
September 19th, 2023 at 11:00 PM ^
Sharing because I've been screaming to anyone and everyone that I felt Henderson deserved a shot at LT
You and everyone else who knows the OL's names.
Thank you for sharing actual Michigan content!
September 19th, 2023 at 11:23 PM ^
I am also waiting for his UFRs, but what about his PFF grade this week? I suspect that is already out, no?
September 20th, 2023 at 8:51 AM ^
Henderson had a 72.1 grade in 17 snaps this week.
Hinton had a 76.0 grade in 28 snaps.
Barnhart had a 64.8 grade in 41 snaps.
Jones had a 55.1 grade in 8 snaps.
September 20th, 2023 at 12:24 AM ^
The coaching staff deserves a lot of praise for their accomplishments but in the past there has been some weird decisions that they've made. Joe Bolden starting over Gedeon. Devin Gil starting over Josh Ross. The MSU punt protection setup. Not running JJ against TCU. Slow to adapt to NIL in recruiting. Jack Harbaugh as an interim coach. I am putting the tackle stuff and outside zone stuff in that category. Hopefully it gets figured out now that the Big Ten season is starting.
September 20th, 2023 at 1:19 AM ^
The MSU punt protection setup.
I'll be scratching my head over that until I kick the bucket.
September 20th, 2023 at 1:49 AM ^
Meh…all a long line of events and circumstances- a winding path of cause and effect, like ripples in the pond or as many refer to it the “butterfly effect”, that has led MSU to this ultimate embarrassment of
hiring a career .500 coach, proceeding to pay him $95mm guaranteed over 10 years for - 1 flukish season (beating big bro with K9 and some bs officiating) - then proceeding to watch said coach regress to mean, wreck program, sweat profusely while incompetently yelling cliches and executing hand chopping motions from sideline, and ofc,
his magnum opus, - tugging’ it until tuck actually cummin’ on a call with literally one of the most well known sexual assault/harassment education advocates in America.
tldr: The universe has Sparty where they belong. Fleeting moments of success - but bought with their native currency/steady state at the outlandish price of eternal damnation of shame and embarrassment of being lil bro.
September 20th, 2023 at 4:47 AM ^
Yet we are 4-4 and hopefully 5-4 despite their program being an embarrassment.
September 20th, 2023 at 6:36 AM ^
Like everyone else on this blog, I am more than 8 years old and realize that the two teams have played each other more than 8 times. Michigan has the edge in the series.
September 20th, 2023 at 7:26 AM ^
As the board's resident 7 year old, I take offense to your comment.
September 20th, 2023 at 9:49 AM ^
"Yet we are 4-4 and hopefully 5-4 despite their program being an embarrassment."
Franz, you must be a Sparty...as this is the same thing I hear from them on a consistent basis. Many of them also believe their 2021 season was more successful than Michigan's...since MSU beat Michigan...and Michigan lost their bowl game. But, then again, these are the same people who've been spewing "Tuck Comin" over the last few years...and making fun of Harbaugh for having a lower salary than Mel Tugger.
As if the only measure of success is Michigan's record against MSU. Or each coach's income.
During Harbaugh's tenure, here are the respective overall winning percentages...
M: 75.5% (Big Ten Games: 75.7%)
MSU: 59.0% (Big Ten Games: 52.9%)
Does the 4-4 record really even things out between the teams? The only way you'd believe that to be the case is if you are a Sparty.
September 20th, 2023 at 11:23 AM ^
Michigan is currently 2-0 against OSU (and would have been 3-0 had they played in 2020), so you can find a narrative if you look hard enough.
September 20th, 2023 at 6:50 PM ^
Are we positive he was chopping wood with those motions?
September 20th, 2023 at 3:55 AM ^
Just like every staff, everywhere for all of time...its easy to second guess w hindsight and little to no insight into what was happening behind the scene.
Trust the guys who's reputations and livelihoods are on the line...especially when you are talking about a guy with Harbaughs record of achievement.... or trust the Internet, armchair coaches w little more than bruised ego on the line.
Easy call..
September 20th, 2023 at 5:02 AM ^
Joe Bolden starting over Gedeon.
yeah Harbaugh really screwed THAT one up
< / s >
September 20th, 2023 at 10:43 AM ^
Well, yeah, he kinda did... We all saw it every game - Gedeon played much better in every game than Bolden did. And when they were finished with college, Gedeon has had a decent career in the NFL, whereas Bolden didn't even get a coffee cup...
EDIT: Wait, I just noticed your post for what it is... I'm slow this morning, apparently. Sorry!
September 20th, 2023 at 7:31 AM ^
Yea, but how is this Warde’s fault?
September 20th, 2023 at 8:44 AM ^
Fire Warde and Ono too!!
September 20th, 2023 at 9:13 AM ^
Jack Harbaugh as an interim coach? What is your issue with that? He was there as a sort of eminence grise to provide advice and guidance to the staff during a tumultuous time.
September 20th, 2023 at 9:43 AM ^
SOMEONE had to be on a bluetooth call with Jim during the game!
Seriously though, I noticed much better reception in the stadium during the UNLV game. I bet they boosted the signal because Jack/Jim couldn't reach each other during ECU! I could actually check my bets during the game from inside the bowl!!!
September 20th, 2023 at 10:56 AM ^
Seems plausible, but cell service doesn't work that. To grow service, they need to add antennae's. Each antenna can only accommodate so many active calls, which is why service inside the stadium on game days doesn't work - not enough antennae's! If they install enough to handle games, they'll have a significant overkill for Sunday - Friday which represents a lot of money thrown out the window.
September 20th, 2023 at 12:35 PM ^
My verizon phone worked the entire game for the first time ever.
September 20th, 2023 at 10:46 AM ^
So, what you're saying is that the coaching staff is not perfect. After watching our backup QBs so far, I'm not upset that JJ did not run as much against TCU. It's certainly not why we lost the game.
Also, NIL is not on the coaching staff. If Ryan Day is complaining for NIL help, that tells me the whole system (including AD and administration) needs to get on board.
Finally, Jack Harbaugh has decades of coaching experience. How is this different than Lane Kiffin having his dad, Monte, on his coaching staffs?
September 20th, 2023 at 1:18 PM ^
In a national semifinal game, you have to pull out everything you have. There's no point in saving JJ in that game against TCU. Not saying that the coaches are bad but they have made some head scratching decisions in the past. They have made far less head scratching decisions than Mel Tucker or Brady Hoke but you still had guys like Drevno and Pep Hamilton coaching the team. Harbaugh isn't perfect. I didn't know that was controversial.
September 20th, 2023 at 12:26 PM ^
Jack Harbaugh as an interim coach.
you cannot be serious. i mean, i'm all for committing to the bit and all that, but sheesh. at least make it interesting.
September 20th, 2023 at 12:42 PM ^
Fire Warde, right?
/s
September 20th, 2023 at 4:56 AM ^
thanks, mrs. henderson.
September 20th, 2023 at 7:05 AM ^
The coaching staff should get the benefit of the doubt, but it did seem really odd that Henderson, a guy being pegged as high as a Day 2 draft pick even before he showed up to Michigan, was riding the bench in lieu of a guy who, while gifted with massive physical talent and upside, is extremely raw and played poorly for a really bad Stanford team.
September 20th, 2023 at 7:44 AM ^
I was pretty disappointed they did not follow through with the rotation. I assumed it was one or more of the following things A) Hinton is one of those guys who dominates practice B) Henderson was behind in learning playbook/gelling with teammates C) Jones...not sure
September 20th, 2023 at 9:54 AM ^
I think with Henderson it's mostly that he missed the spring. When he showed up in the fall, he had to pick only one position to learn, and they chose LT. Karsen Barnhart had been prepping there, and he as a 5th year senior wasn't exactly gonna give up his spot. Now that everyone has gotten more reps, they're more comfortable moving guys around to find the best fit. It was harder to do that in August to accommodate Henderson while he was still learning a new position, system, and team.
September 20th, 2023 at 8:02 AM ^
This could also be a situation where they see the potential in Hinton and wanted to give him every chance to win the job...BUT if he didn't win the job they also wanted to maximize his reps and get him on video to help coach him up while they redshirt him for next year.
September 20th, 2023 at 8:18 AM ^
Have not watched this yet, but brief interview with Henderson posted last night:
September 20th, 2023 at 8:58 AM ^
Seems like a really great kid. All of the answers he gave were the "right" answers. All delivered with a smile on his face.
September 20th, 2023 at 8:42 AM ^
Bold prediction: this OL will not Joe Moore Award 3-peat
September 20th, 2023 at 9:30 AM ^
counter punt: This OL will win a 3rd straight Joe Moore Award.
September 20th, 2023 at 1:49 PM ^
I'm going to push and say we split it with someone else.
September 20th, 2023 at 9:48 AM ^
So long as they 3-peat on OSU's face, I'm good.
September 20th, 2023 at 10:04 AM ^
The highest ceiling OL (based on where they seem to be at now) would be Henderson at LT and Jones at RT. Safest would probably be Henderson at LT and Barnhart at RT. I don't see a scenario where Hinton starting is in the best interest of this team for this season.
It was alluded to on the podcast and it was brought up last year, but based on some of Trente's social media posts, it is a bit concerning regarding his current head space. When on the field though, he has seemed just fine (celebrating with the team, playing well, etc.)
Sometimes the coaches want a guy to succeed to a fault, and they don't make the change (Bolden over Gedeon, Gil over Ross), but sometimes they do i.e. Brandon Peters for John O'Korn.
September 20th, 2023 at 11:13 AM ^
When Hinton was easily thrown aside by an ECU defender, I was concerned.
September 20th, 2023 at 11:52 AM ^
Who starts this week will probably be telling. I'm not sure how much they put into these three games. Hinton can play 4 and still get a shirt. Maybe was the plan see where he is so you know what needs to be done. He will be relied upon down the line likely.
September 20th, 2023 at 12:36 PM ^
Thanks for this. Reading btw lines it'll be Henderson and Barnhart here. Nad refreshing to read such a mature players comments. I didn't see the game. How did he look ?
September 20th, 2023 at 2:06 PM ^
I found it nad refreshing as well.
September 20th, 2023 at 12:59 PM ^
Another Article about Henderson: LaDarius Henderson on OT battle: 'You can never be afraid of competition'