Michigan Football All-Hype Team
Slow time on the board, so I've decided to put together a short list of my personal All Time Michigan Hype Team. Players who were hyped to oblivion by one sector of the fanbase or media or the other, but never really turned into what was hoped. I refrain from including any current players as their books are not yet written so who knows what might happen. I don't write this list as a "man this guy sucked," but more of a "if only he had lived up to the hype." Many of these guys were just the unfortunate victim of injury or circumstance that never worked out. I encourage you to add your own.
QB: Drew Henson, Clayton Richard,
RB: Sam McGuffie, Kevin Grady, Justin Fargas, Pierre Rembert
WR: Antonio Bass (captain of the team and legend in our hearts), Darryl Stonum, Carl Tabb, Je'Ron Stokes
TE: Chris Barnett
OL: Marques Slocum (Fuck Lion), Corey Zirbel, Dann O'neill
DL: Shantee Orr, Larry Harrison, Eugene Germany, Anthony LaLota,
LB: Cobrani Mixon, Marcus Witherspoon, Taylor Hill, Kellen Jones
DB: Darnell Hood, Quiton McCoy, Boubacar Cissoko, Vlad Emilien, JT Turner, Cullen Christian, Demar Dorsey,
K/P: Nate DeLong (sentimental pick. my brother was his HS teammate and long snapper, incredible athlete and had a tremendous leg, just never worked out at M, sadly.)
February 8th, 2012 at 11:43 AM ^
RB: Kelly Baraka. End of discussion
February 8th, 2012 at 11:50 AM ^
You beat me to it, so I give you this for your viewing pleasure (it's related, I promise)... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZmxyP4mw2k
February 8th, 2012 at 11:54 AM ^
February 8th, 2012 at 11:54 AM ^
Damn, beat me to it. I'll add Doug Dutch, (WR), Kyle Ealey (TE, Baraka's roommate), Alex Mitchell (OL), Jeff Zuttah (OL), Brett Gallimore (OL), Justin Schifano (OL), Jim Presley (LB)
February 8th, 2012 at 12:21 PM ^
Fixture for what seemed like an eternity of Lloyd pressers: "Doug Dutch had a tremendous spring."
February 8th, 2012 at 12:32 PM ^
threadjack: How many dudes did we have with matching fist and last initials around that time frame? our entire receiving core could have been at one point.
February 8th, 2012 at 10:44 PM ^
if Willie Heston belongs on this list?
February 8th, 2012 at 8:09 PM ^
RB: Kevin Grady. I always thought he was going to be a big contributor after he had a solid freshman year.
February 9th, 2012 at 1:38 AM ^
No doubt!
February 8th, 2012 at 11:50 AM ^
......very hyped before most of the board was even born
February 8th, 2012 at 12:06 PM ^
Ricky Powers had a pretty good career. He started as a freshman against OSU.
February 8th, 2012 at 5:34 PM ^
Ricky was a stud in '90 & '91 until his injury. As a true frosh, he got rolling at the end of the year with 4 100+ yard rushing games (during Jon's Vaughn's legendary one-hit wonder year), then had 1200 yds as a sophomore before getting a knee bug. He at least partially lived up to the hype. And there was legendary hype surrounding him.
Tyrone Butterfield on the other hand...
February 8th, 2012 at 11:32 PM ^
February 9th, 2012 at 8:41 AM ^
You have been partially vindicated, Tyrone! That was definitely a career highlight in one of the most memorable games in Michigan history.
I hate totally bust your bubble, though, but your 4 career catches while wearing the #1 jersey land you somewhere on this list. Some things just don't work out...you're still part of the Michigan football legacy, and we love you for it.
February 8th, 2012 at 11:55 AM ^
Does Guiterrez count at QB? Big time high school career.
February 8th, 2012 at 12:13 PM ^
To the extent that any UofM QB who was signed to an NFL team could be considered all-hype. Guy had the misfortune of being the second best QB on our team his whole career. I do cosign, though.
February 8th, 2012 at 2:02 PM ^
Pierre Woods, Max Martin, Mike Massey
Massey was ranked ahead of Chris Long, Calais Campbell, and Tyson Jackson.
February 8th, 2012 at 11:58 AM ^
Kevin Murphy, TE.
February 8th, 2012 at 12:00 PM ^
Reggie Benton would have been a nice change of pace back
February 8th, 2012 at 12:00 PM ^
CB: James Whitley - was highly touted but the tandem of him and Todd Howard was just brutal to watch.
S: Ernest Shazor - had his moments (Dorien Bryant annhilation) but never lived up to his massive recruiting hype.
February 8th, 2012 at 12:38 PM ^
I was going to suggest Shazor. The dude could play, but I still have to question why he left early.
February 8th, 2012 at 1:24 PM ^
I was really young at the time so my memory is not the best, but was Shazor the guy who forced the fumble in the Purdue game by just blowing up their receiver to lock up the win?
EDIT- Nevermind, I am assuming Dorien Bryant was the Purdue receiver. Here is the link with the play occurring at the 7:00 minute mark.
February 8th, 2012 at 1:08 PM ^
just when I was starting to forget about the horrors of seeing him burned all the time.
February 8th, 2012 at 2:06 PM ^
Even with the nuclear winter that was our secondary in 2009 and 2010, I still consider Howard-Whitley as the lowest point I've witnessed. Maybe that tandem was one of the reasons Jim Hermann insisted on using a 10-12 yard cushion on every single play.
February 8th, 2012 at 5:30 PM ^
I can't say that Howard-Whitley was the low point talent-wise but they were certainly the most frustrating. Those guys would be playing a great game and then suddenly get smoked for a 40-yard TD where they'd be totally out of position. It is hard to watch guys that clearly have the talent not produce for some unknown reason.
February 8th, 2012 at 12:08 PM ^
Adam Patterson, Isiah Bell
February 9th, 2012 at 9:29 AM ^
Bell is still on the team!
...and one player no one is mentioning. JUSTIN "EAT MOAR EVERYTHING" BOREN!!!
February 8th, 2012 at 12:12 PM ^
You didn't say that the guy had to play for Michigan (i.e. Demar Dorsey) or even sign, so my addition is Dee Hart. The mgoblog server had a heartache, stroke, and the chicken pox the night of his commitment. I for one celebrated his commitment at several watering holes. Much hyped indeed.
February 8th, 2012 at 12:42 PM ^
Does this mean I can say Peyton Manning? I mean, he chose to go to Tennessee. That was disappointing.
February 8th, 2012 at 1:06 PM ^
Thanks for your contribution. Whatever system of logic you are using disregards the word "commit." Hell, I love your logic though. Don't forget about Jesus, Al Bundy, Air Bud and Jeffrey the butler from Fresh Prince. I'm sure they all could have served the Michigan football team in some manner.
February 9th, 2012 at 9:27 PM ^
Had we landed him, Air Bud would have been a shutdown corner (like Charles Woodson, except more athletic).
February 8th, 2012 at 12:20 PM ^
Quinton Patilla LB suppose to be next big Flint star LB
February 8th, 2012 at 12:25 PM ^
Woodson was one of the most hyped players in the country coming out of HS. Tyrone Wheatley was also pretty massively hyped, I believe. Kevin Grady was huge, too, coming out of HS.
February 8th, 2012 at 12:36 PM ^
missed the point of this thread as only one of those three players you listed could be included in this list. But, who am I to judge - maybe you thought Woodson should have stayed an won another Heisman?
February 8th, 2012 at 12:30 PM ^
Ryan Mallett was supposed to be the greatest QB EVER at Michigan.
Dan O'Neill was supposed to be Jake Long 2.0.
Donovan Warren was supposed to be the best CB since Woodson. (If you put Stonum on the list, you have to put Warren as well).
Other guys like Tim Massaqoui, Ryan Mundy and Prescott Burgess could be on the team due to the amount of hype they had coming out of high school.
February 8th, 2012 at 6:35 PM ^
Ryan "Oops" Mallet was the first person I thought out. Just because he did well at Arkansas doesn't mean he shouldn't be counted in this discussion
February 8th, 2012 at 9:22 PM ^
There was a lot of hype for Mallett, but nothing that approached the Drew Henson experience. Not even close.
Of course, Henson had a much more productive career at Michigan, too.
February 9th, 2012 at 9:27 AM ^
Mallett was the #1 QB in the country for Michigan fans and 49% of the country. Jimmy Clausen was the #1 QB in the country for ND fans and 51% of the country. Big Tex vs. The Golden Boy.
The hype was crazy, NATIONALLY. Henson's had equal hype nationally, but what really made it crazy was his local hype - that was unreal. Had Mallett been from Dexter or Adrian, he too would've had crazy local hype.
Another reason Mallett didn't as much was Clausen.
But in the end you might put Mallett as a 8.5 on the hype meter and he did NOTHING at Michigan. You put Henson as a 10 on the hype meter, but he actually won games, beat Ohio, and went to a bowl. It's definitely a valid discussion, and I'd lean towards Mallett being the biggest disappointment or overrated player when you go hype vs. production.
February 8th, 2012 at 12:29 PM ^
Austin Panter - the last JC transfer...hopefully ever!
I will refrain from naming the current player that at this time next year will probably anchor the defense of this imaginary team.
February 8th, 2012 at 12:43 PM ^
naming a current player would be a one-way ticket to Bolivia
February 8th, 2012 at 12:29 PM ^
In a day or so, when this thread is old...could you do an All-Underrated Team?
Guys like Brandent Englemon, Will Heininger and Mike Hart would have to make it. Maybe David Molk. (Note, I didn't say Kovacs because you said no players on the current team).
February 8th, 2012 at 12:36 PM ^
I guess that depends on what you mean by all underrated? Dudes who were never thought highly of that contributed hugely at Michigan or people we as fans underappreciate?
February 8th, 2012 at 1:07 PM ^
Someone like Mike Hart who clearly outperformed his star ranking and "hype" coming out of high school.
Or someone like Englemon who was a 2* safety that people thought would never do anything and was probably our most consistent starter in the secondary.
The only reason I kind of suggest Molk was because there are some (not me) that think he's the best center of all time here at Michigan. If that's the case, he didn't come in with that type of hype. I think he outperformed his hype, but I don't think that makes him underrated like it does Mike Hart.
February 8th, 2012 at 12:37 PM ^
I feel like Mallett needs to be on this list, as he was ready to save us from the lowly 5-star QB Henne before you-know-what
February 8th, 2012 at 12:37 PM ^
You completely lost your list when Drew Henson was listed first. The guy would have been a first round pick had he chosen football instead of baseball. To say he disappointed is a stretch. Jason Kapsner, Richard, Gutierrez, Forcier.. those guys were hyped and didn't do much.
February 8th, 2012 at 12:51 PM ^
But Drew could have been one of the all-time greats had he been dedicated to ONLY football and stuck around for his senior season. he was good, and had endless upside but damn, dude, he could have been the best we ever saw.
February 8th, 2012 at 1:08 PM ^
But for the time he did play for us, he certainly lived up to the hype. As a sophomore, he had a legit chance to challenge an already seasoned Tom Brady. His junior year, despite missing 3 games, he threw for 2,146 yards, 18 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. He also rushed for another 100 yards.
I agree with you that he could have been the best ever had he stayed. But not living up to hype because of leaving early is much different than not living up to hype because of lack of results on the field.
That's why it's odd to see his name listed with the others you have.
February 8th, 2012 at 1:15 PM ^
I understand, I agree its not the same as a lot of guys on this list. He just had out-of-this-world potential and hype that anything short of being the greatest ever or being a multi-year starter with an out of sight record and stats was going to be disappointing. In the longview, wasn't even John Navarre a better quarterback than Henson in terms of career?
February 8th, 2012 at 1:33 PM ^
Well, starting 38 consecutive games as opposed to starting 8 makes quite a difference, does it not? How could he NOT have the better career?
HENSON: 214 of 374 for 2,946 yards, 24 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.
NAVARRE: 765 of 1,366 for 9,254 yards, 72 touchdowns and 31 interceptions.
February 8th, 2012 at 2:38 PM ^
Henson is really problematic for me. He was very good in that half season he was the starter. But the baseball thing. A kid can't be blamed for making money that can set him for life, (And as an aside it finalized my long standing regard for George Steinbrenner as the most evil villain in sports.) But the bigger thing for me, again is not Henson's fault, it was Coach Carr's. Watching the 1999 team, it was obvious from the get go who the better quarterback was. I always thought that team could have done special things if Henson hadn't been in the picture.
So in my memory, he was not one of those kids who was just overrated. He had enormous potential. But I can't help but wonder if the program wouldn't have been better off if he had gone somewhere else.