Braylon dropping some hints in Angelique article

Submitted by Six Zero on

Angelique's piece on Braylon talks mostly about the #1 jersey and his relationship with Coach Hoke... but there's some interesting hints that he wasn't afraid to let out as well:

"I had  great time," Edwards said of his visit to Schembechler Hall last weekend. "It was like home again. Brady's door was open, he was on the phone, told the person he'd call him back and he gave me a big hug. (Running backs coach) Freddie Jackson (entering his 20th season as a Michigan assistant) is the last of the dinosaurs there. He's happy again. It's pretty exciting.

Read the complete article here.

Desmonlon Edwoodson

April 15th, 2011 at 3:01 PM ^

It is nice that former players feel good about coach Hoke and the direction of the program.  In defense of the former players, the team, and the fans:  Once that first partial birth abortion 3 win season(and two of those wins were outright miracles) was underway, you HAD to check out mentally.  It was just simple self-preservation.  No shame in it.

yoopergoblue

April 16th, 2011 at 1:38 PM ^

Ya know, its alright to not be a fan of a previous coaching staff  and also still be a big fan for the team.  Alot of people didn't like Rich Rod, including many former players it seems, because of who knows what.  They seem to like Brady Hoke and co. LET THEM BE.

Desmonlon Edwoodson

April 16th, 2011 at 1:57 AM ^

I am just curious whether the pro-choice or right to lifers were more offended.  I mean, I suppose if I were pro-choice I would be offended that abortion was compared to such a horrible thing.  That makes sense.  But right to lifers...do you really shed a tear for a hypothetical baby every time the word abortion is mentioned?  If thats the case...wow...its a tough world out there.  You might think about growing a thicker skin. 

Desmonlon Edwoodson

April 15th, 2011 at 3:48 PM ^

You're trying to tell me you had the same emotional investment in the 2008 Northwestern game as you had in the 2007 Northwestern game?  Come on now.  Its not like I was rooting for Michigan to fail.  I just knew we would.  Everyone points to that Toledo game as if it was the horror part 2.  Truth is, Toledo had a better team.   It would have been an upset if Michigan had won.

mrider

April 15th, 2011 at 3:56 PM ^

It may not be a popular view point but I agree. Being a die hard fan, any loss rattles me beyond most normal sports fans can imagine. If I were too be fully emotionally invested in a 3-9 team I would be depressed all year. Once you realize the team sucks, you watch the games just like any other, but you learn to tune out the losing for that season.

 

As a Buffalo Bills fan, Toronto Raptors, Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Blue Jays, and recently as a Michigan fan, I've perfected the art of tuning out a season of losing. 

archangel2k12

April 15th, 2011 at 4:21 PM ^

that you bring up the NW game. I remember clearly that I was hoping we had 'turned the corner' after the Minnesota game. Every loss crushed me that year. I have been a fan since probably 1985 or so. I was born in 1980. Something inside of me believes that we can win every game. It definitely is not a sense of entitlement. I have watched way to many crushing defeats. I always root for the team with all I have.

WolverineHistorian

April 15th, 2011 at 4:31 PM ^

2008 was a nightmare.  Not denying that.  But I think you are REALLY forgetting how awful that Toledo team was...

2008-Toledo (MAC)

9/6 @ Arizona (8-5) L 16 41
9/13 @ *Eastern Michigan (3-9) W 41 17
9/20 vs. Fresno State (7-6) L 54 55
9/27 vs. Florida International (5-7) L 16 35
10/4 vs. *Ball State (12-2) L 0 31
10/11 @ Michigan (3-9) W 13 10
10/18 @ *Northern Illinois (6-7) L 7 38
10/25 vs. *Central Michigan (8-5) L 23 24
11/5 @ *Akron (5-7) L 30 47
11/15 @ *Western Michigan (9-4) L 17 27
11/21 vs. *Miami (Ohio) (2-10) W 42 14
11/28 vs. *Bowling Green State (6-6) L 10 38
 

3-9-0

  269 377

Our GOD awful defense kept them out of the end zone all day.  It was a 100 yard interception return that won them the game.

MAgoBLUE

April 15th, 2011 at 3:46 PM ^

You're right that the OP didn't specifically mention the #1 jersery issue but the article does and this thread will turn into a discussion on #1.

EDIT: Actually the op does mention the #1 jersey so I'm not sure what you are talking about.

aleng

April 15th, 2011 at 3:14 PM ^

I don't like how Braylon has become the keeper of the number 1 jersey. He wasn't the first to wear it and he won't be the last. Or does the last person to wear it get the privilege of deciding who it should go to next? (honest question)

Syyk

April 15th, 2011 at 3:19 PM ^

No, the last person to wear it doesn't get to decide who's next.  Braylon endowed a scholarship for the jersey, so that's why he's now it's keeper.

The jersey is special because so many great WRs wore it, but it was never some official rite of passage like it's become now.  It all stems back to Lloyd telling Braylon he had to earn the #1 jersey as a motivational tool, as far as I know.

WolverineHistorian

April 15th, 2011 at 3:28 PM ^

That's right.  There were those reports of Braylon and Lloyd not "being on the same page." 

After 2 years, Braylon asked Lloyd for the #1 jersey and Lloyd eventually said, "yes," in the manner a parent eventually caves in and lets their 16 year old use the car for the evening.

The previous players who wore #1 never asked for it like Braylon did.  They were all big recruits who wore it from the start. 

rbgoblue

April 15th, 2011 at 3:31 PM ^

Just give braylon his miney back, and with it, tell him to return any sense of entitlement he has over the jersey and the Michigan football program.

I loved braylon as a player here.  He left as one of my favorite wolverines, but since his departure, he has been nothing short of a trainwreck and a bit of a black eye to the program.

Hlprn302

April 15th, 2011 at 3:47 PM ^

about the scholarship associated with the #1 jersery....what the hell is that? You would have to assume that anyone dynamic enough to 'earn' the #1 jersey would already be on scholarship. We can't extend our scholarship count to 86 just because a drunk NFL pro floats some cash UM's way. Is it a situation where he gets feedback into who gets the #1 jersey, but his scholarship fund is actually helping out a non-athletic undergrad who really needs it? Does anybody know?

OMG Shirtless

April 15th, 2011 at 3:53 PM ^

Someone else can probably explain this better than I can, but at Michigan a large number of athletic scholarships are endowed by somebody or some group.  There are still only 85 football scholarships and many of them have a particular donor's name attached.  This decreases the amount of money the athletic department itself has to pay to cover the athlete's tuition/room/board/etc.  If for some reason endowments were way down some year and could only cover 35 football players, the athletic department would pay for the other 50.  Here's the list:

http://www.mgoblue.com/victorsclub/honor-roll-scholarships.html

OMG Shirtless

April 15th, 2011 at 3:31 PM ^

Do Bob Baumgartner and/or his family get to decide who wears his old number?  Do the other generous individuals who endowed scholarships get to dictate who wears a particular number?  There are dozens of these endowments, do they all get special privileges or is Braylon the only one who gets so many perks with his donation?  I think that's the issue that some people have.

rtyler

April 15th, 2011 at 3:48 PM ^

I agree with you in principle completely.  I think the idea is more that you endow a jersey in order to encourage the university to continue to recruit those types of players.  Braylon's hope was that he could nudge Michigan to continue to go hard after big time receivers in his mold, and give them his number.  I don't know if he truly expects veto power over who has the number, but I think he can reasonably expect it to stay on a WR. If I were the coach I'd give the number to my very best wide out, if I had one. I'd call up Braylon, let him know what kind of kid is going to be wearing his number, and then say, "Is that all right with you?" in such a way that he knows I'm not really askin', even though I am. It's the least I could do for his money.

Plus, I like big-time wide recievers, so I'm with Braylon on that.  I hope Michigan always makes that a priority. (no implication intended)

WolverineHistorian

April 15th, 2011 at 3:15 PM ^

*sigh*

I love Braylon.  I'll never forget seeing what he did in person against Sparty in the triple overtime game.  But I'm getting tired of this #1 jersey issue.  Is this the way it's going to be now?  Current players are going to audition for Braylon and then he'll pass his thoughts on to Hoke? 

LB

April 15th, 2011 at 3:15 PM ^

anything about the #1 jersey that did not involve awarding it to someone, I'd hang it from the flagpole and leave it there until it rotted. Imagine every broadcaster being able to explain that while Michigan loves it's former players, none are bigger than the team, and there flies the evidence.

Hoken's Heroes

April 15th, 2011 at 3:32 PM ^

while it's nice that Braylon is DRUNK with happiness that he's happy about the regime change, the bottom line is how the team does under the new coaches. What the past players think and how they feel isn't going the help the team win.

I was glad to hear that Hoke, a guy that bleeds blue, was named coach unlike many of the aholes on here threw a hissy fit. I believe that Hoke will be successful at Michigan. He's brought in a good staff around him. He will recruit like there is no tomorrow. And hopefully he and his staff will bring in the talent it needs and coach them up to make the Wolverines respectable again and make OSU, MSU and every other team in the country fear them. All we now need is patience.

As for Braylon, he should spend his time doing PSA's about the dangers of driving under the influence.