What type of season does BWC need to avoid "bust" status?

I would say that BWC has to be at least honorable mention all-conference to be considered a "non-bust" given his recruiting hype.  I can give him the benefit of the doubt and say recruiting sites overrated him by one star value.  If I recall, the typical forecast when ranking high school athletes:

5-star = potential all american

4-star = potential all conference

3-star = potential starter

EDIT: That said, I would still be thrilled if he was serviceable as a starter given the departures on DL.

it all depends on what your expectations were for him. I always saw him as a space eater who wouldn't rack up stats but would at least force double teams that allow other guys to get 1 on 1's. If BWC can do that this year I will be more than satisfied considering the coaching he got his fist 2 yrs here when they couldn't decide whether he was an OL or DL.

Did people actually watch him play this season?  He didn't start because we had two all-conference seniors at DT, but he made a very positive contribution to the team.  It isn't like opponents started running the ball down our throats the second he entered games.

Expecting much of anything his first two years was dumb (SEE Gabe Watson's development), especially considering how raw and flabby he was when he got to UM.  Expecting him to play a ton or make a ton of plays at that position last year with Martin and RVB at the position (he had 2 sacks compared to Martin's 3.5) is just as dumb.

He's acknowledged that he hasn't been working as hard as he could. Maybe just by admitting that, he'll be more determined to work harder.

He needs to hold off Ondre Pipkins for the starting spot, and he needs to blow up the OL like I've seen him do.  He himself as said effort is an issue.  If he goes 100%, he is a force to be reckoned with.

For me, if he holds his starting spot all season, and I notice him regularly in the backfield, he will not be a bust.

He can have an All-American season but will that change anything? He's always going to be a player who didn't live up to potential because the bar was set too high.

Any conference award would do it for me.

I think he needs to finish with a positive score in the UFR.

I'm not so sure that he qualifies here, considering that he didn't have the high rankings and expectations to begin with.  Hard to call someone a bust when no one expects anything from them.

EDIT:  I misunderstood your reasoning behind your list of examples, as your point was mainly to provide examples of late bloomers.  I don't always herp, but when I do, I prefer to derp.

...if he does a lot of this. 

Seeing as it's possible it could be him and Pipkins up the middle, I almost expect him to garner all-Big Ten honors. He had all last season to learn from RVB and Mike Martin and now he'll get to put those lessons to work. 

I hope he wreaks havoc. I'll let the pundits define his career.

The type of season that gets him drafted.

The type of season where we beat Ohio.... and the B1G championship.... and the National Championship.

I think the defensive line just needs to be good for him not to be a bust. If the defensive line does good as a whole and he's a big part of it he won't be a bust. That's just my opinion though, and it wouldn't hurt if he put up some good numbers.

What should you expect?  At least one good year!  Effort!  Attitude!  Want it!

Show UP!

We talk about this all the time.  If BWC isn't dramatically improved after the DL coach, the DC, and the head coach have a year to work, then he is a bust.  Martin and VanBergen were tremendous.  Those are big shoes to fill.  But with the coaches we have and the emphasis on the trenches, BWC will own whatever level of player he is at the end of his tenure at Michigan.  Along with everyone else on the board, I am hoping for a break-out year.

. . . he looks just too tall to play like a Mike Martin type (obviously) but does well when he has a little space.  He actually looks to have some nose for the quarterback though.  I hope the coaches can use him to best fit his strengths.  Either way, it's about the team, not a five star being a superstar. 

Why can't all low point guys post insightful stuff like this?

I think he will need to be a potential first 4 round pick.  But one great year, despite draft position, will make people forget about the last few years.  It's not how you start in college football, it's how you finish.  Before al these freshman and sophs took the field and started right out the gate, development like this was normal.  (well maybe not like this, but more common)

I don't particularly care about conference awards for individual players.  They're nice, but a lot of really good players don't get the individual credit (for a whole host of reasons).

He has already shown this past season that he has the ability to be a very good player.  He just needs to show he can do it down after down. And the moderator calling him a bust before he steps foot on the field for his senior year is an idiot.  As others have pointed out, after poor coaching and position changes, he is finally starting to show what he is capable of doing.  Let him prove himself on the field his senior year.

....quite a bit of faith that BWC will end up a rock solid player on the DLine this coming season. He was one of those 5-star players who rated highly based primarily on his size and measurables, not on skill. And remember, he spent his first seasons at UM under the tutelage of people who could not, for various reasons, get him to where he needed to be. He has that now, has had it for one season and going on another. The  jump he made between 2010 and 2011 was significant. Another jump similar to that and he will be amongst the dominant DLinemen in the conference. It is a shame that he couldn't have had Mattison and Hoke for all four years, otherwise, we might not be discussing this particular topic right now.

BWC was a contributor last season.  He made plays.  IMO, it's hard to be an impact player when there's quality seniors playing ahead of you.

It won't come as a surprise to me when he takes the reins and leads the 'D' this year. 

Don't worry about it, because there's no "bust" in his future!

Go Blue!

Unfortunately, I think he's a bust (to a degree) no matter what he does this season. The reason for this is because a 5 star player is projected to be a multiple year impact player at the college level. Thus far he hasn't done that. Even if he has a breakout year and gets drafted, I don't think it's enough to justify 3 years of little production. He was expected to contribute early in some way his freshman and sophomore years, then be in line for All Big-Ten and National Honors as an upperclassman. IMO, the only thing he can prove this year is if he was a complete bust, or if he was a solid 1 year contributer that faced difficult circumstances and couldn't (understandably) live up to all his lofty expectations. With that said, we need him in a big way this year and I hope to see him reach his enormous potential while wrecking some foo's come Sept. 1st.

To be completely honest, I think he has to go out there and dominate to not be a bust...

Rivals 5 Stars are supposed to be sure-fire prospects that have high NFL potential...

Big Will has done nothing that an average three star couldnt do...

Do I think he could have a good senior season? Yes.

Do I think he could be a great contributor next season? Yes.

Does that account for the first three years and then warrant his 5 star rating? Not at all.

Who knows?... If he's a 1st-3rd round pick next draft season, then I'll say he wasnt a bust.

  We talked baout this on the ESPN boards a few weeks ago. If you look at BWC in 2010 he got plowed on a regular basis and that was the reason they moved him to O line. BWC made some pretty big strides under the new coaching staff and was a solid player in 2011. I don't see any reason why Michigan fans shouldn't exspect an even better 2012 season out of him. The kids working hard this season , I feel bad for him that he pretty much got cheated out of his first 2 seasons by richrods terrible defensive coaching staff.