Fitz listed as starting RB vs. Alabama

Submitted by CollegeFootball13 on

UPDATE from Hoke Himself (From Sam Webb):

 

Hoke on toussaint's status "haven't made a decision yet"

 

Hoke on Clark's status: "same" as toussaint

 

 

What happens in court with Toussaint tuesday to have no bearing on hoke's decision

 

Not sure how I feel about this, but we're not sure what type of punishment went on behind the scenes. Nothing official for game day yet, but it's all over twitter.

 

Suspended TB Fitz Toussaint listed as starting running back for Alabama game.

Retweeted by Steve Lorenz
 
mgoblog

wat RT @kmeinke Suspended TB Fitz Toussaint listed as starting running back for Alabama game.

 

UPDATE: Tweets on if this means anything at all- Still seems pretty inconclusive.

How long is Brady gonna wait to announce this? I get making Bama prepare for Fitz and Rawls/Smith until they know for sure, but 5 days before the game you think they would have announced suspensions already.

 

Being #1 on the depth chart doesn't translate to Fitz playing on Saturday. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

I know depth charts don't mean much, but that's why people dump anyone in trouble off 'em.

 

Whether you think he should play or not, perception is reality with this stuff. Fitz playing will lump M in with MSU, etc. RE: discipline

EastUGoBlue

August 27th, 2012 at 1:11 PM ^

That is a blatant over reaction, in my opinion. I’ve said this before, the spectrum of DUI charges are too often grouped together.  You can get a DUI on a bicycle or a riding mower.  Everything needs to be taken in perspective.

If he were joy riding down 94 with a bottle of vodka in his hand, that would probably result in his removal from the team. If he were having a beer while mowing the grass on a tractor, he would probably get laughed at for being dumb. This situation is somewhere in the middle and it is possible the severity of his crime isn’t what you think, despite it being a DUI. Consider the differences.  Unless you know the story, which Hoke probably knows as well as anyone else, then it is difficult for you to determine a just penalty.

EastUGoBlue

August 27th, 2012 at 1:31 PM ^

He also wasn't joy riding down 94 taking pulls. I said it was somewhere in the middle and Hoke has  to punish accordingly.  From the one report I saw he was extremely compliant with the arresting officer which leads me to believe he was not much over the legal limit, and hopefully not putting other lives in danger to the level that the DUI sterotype leads on.

I'm not saying he shouldn't be punished. He should be punished for the crime, for letting the team down, etc. but as others have said he might not warrant missing game time if he has paid his dues in other ways.

One Inch Woody…

August 27th, 2012 at 4:26 PM ^

Then you might as well call up your courthouse and rip their books to shreds because the job of punishment falls on the courts, not some guy named Brady Hoke who happens to teach Fitz. That's like saying any student who gets a DUI should be given additional punishment like Academic Probation and all your first exams are Fs by Mary Sue Coleman. Let the courts do their jobs, and Hoke will do his own - guiding Fitz in the right direction so he never makes the mistake again.

And believe me, there are many ways of guiding Fitz other than making him miss 40 minutes of football on one day, something very inconsequential in the long run.

kehnonymous

August 27th, 2012 at 12:14 PM ^

As long as he's on the team (suspended or not) he is the #1 RB on the depth chart, so it's still premature to say the sky is falling.  That said, I don't like this and will be disappointed if Fitz is on the field against Bama.  Even if Fitz has done three Divine Comedies' worth of purgatory behind the scenes, he should still sit to send a message that no one is above the rules and violating them has consequences for the rest of the team b/c they are all accountable to each other.

(hell, Will Hagerup was suspended for the 2010 OSU game and for those of us who were able to stomach watching it, we coulda used any and all help in our punting that game.)

DenardsThirdHeisman

August 27th, 2012 at 12:18 PM ^

Don't worry, if past experience is any indication, this will be swiftly forgotten in a group circle jerk about Dantonio's "soft" three game suspension for a similar infraction a couple years ago and how it just proves how Hoke is infallible and Dantonio is evil and Michigan is the moral beacon of the universe and oh my God GO BLUE OHIO FERGODSAKES TEAM 133.

BiSB

August 27th, 2012 at 1:01 PM ^

You are *THIS* close (/holds fingers close together) to the banhammer. You're welcome to stay, but you've gotta stop being such a f*cking troll. Contribute something DERP-free, or you're gone like Denard running 87 yards. Or Gallon running free in the secondary. Or Tate Forcier right up the middle. Or...

uminks

August 27th, 2012 at 12:21 PM ^

I'm sure coach Hoke has been watching him during summer practice. May be he made strides. We don't know, he may have had to attend some AA meetings?  I would still expect Hoke to sit him out for a quarter or a the first half of the AL game!

DanRareEgg

August 27th, 2012 at 12:22 PM ^

This has to be Hoke trolling the media again, right? There's no way he lets this slip out before announcing a decision unless the depth chart is meaningless for the purposes of Toussaint and Clark in re: the 'Bama game. I'm sure he's at practice having a good laugh over this.

turd ferguson

August 27th, 2012 at 12:35 PM ^

Actually, on that note, you know what would be pretty brilliant?  Floating a false rumor that Denard won't be able to play because of injury, suspension, or whatever.  I'm skeptical that Alabama's game prep depends too much on whether Fitz or Rawls starts, but I have to think that it would change fundamentally if we had Bellomy or Gardner out there instead of Denard.

Saban, if you're reading this, I have rock solid sources indicating that Denard can't go this week.  Oh, and Michigan's base offense will be the fake FG.  Oh, and we're trying out a 1-8-2 defense.  It's gonna be crazy.

UofM-StL

August 27th, 2012 at 12:36 PM ^

I get making Bama prepare for Fitz and Rawls/Smith until they know for sure, but 5 days before the game you think they would have announced suspensions already.

Disagree completely. If the goal is to keep Alabama guessing (debabtable whether or not it is), then you don't announce the suspension at all until moments before the game. This is not unusual/unprecedented. Much like injuries that coaches say are a "gametime decision," you'll see players suddenly disclosed to be sitting based on a violation of unspecified team rules.

This depth chart means nothing until an official announcement by the coaches. At this point, it looks like they're not going to make an announcement, so we'll just have to wait until Saturday afternoon to find out.

MGlobules

August 27th, 2012 at 12:37 PM ^

of the frackin' time has to say about the WHY. Until then, nattering is just nattering. 

Maybe he wasn't drunk at all, but took the fall for his sister? 

LB

August 27th, 2012 at 1:36 PM ^

Hoke: "Hey, they keep asking me for a depth chart. Al, who are you going to put in when we run the fake 23 blast with a backside george reverse?"

Borges: "I just look down the sideline and make up my mind."

Hoke: "yeah, me too. Get that new intern to put something together for these people so we can get back to work."

 

michfan6060

August 27th, 2012 at 12:40 PM ^

The part of me that desperately wants to beat Bama is happy. The part of me that holds on to the belief that Michigan really is different than other big time football programs is let down big time.

BlueinLansing

August 27th, 2012 at 12:48 PM ^

now Alabama has to prepare for Toussaint, not like they weren't already.

 

But, I'll be disappointed if Fritz doesn't at least miss some of this game and even then I'll probably feel dirty about him playing.

Blazefire

August 27th, 2012 at 12:50 PM ^

We're all a little overzealous here. The number one thing I'm seeing in the way of complaints is, "We'll be no different from MSU or OSU." Really? You think our decisioins should be made solely on keeping the "moral high ground" over these programs? You think doling out extra punishments has anything to do with the moral high ground?

No. In fact, should be contantly punish plyers above and beyond what is necessary to teach them a proper lesson about accountability, that DETRACTS from our moral standing. They used to cut off theive's hands. Then they figured out that's more than what's necessary. Not every thief is a recidivist. Some just made an honest mistake, and the appropriate jail term or fine will teach them. Do you want to go back to every shop owner carrying a leather strap and scimitar?

Hoke keeps program punishments within the program, and we do not know what Fitz and or Clark has had to do or will have to do. So far, Hoke has run a squeaky clean program, and gotten rid of players that showed repeating behavior. This is the first time Fitz has been in trouble. If Hoke thinks he's paid his dues, it would only make us look like assholes to punish him more.

lazyfoot10

August 27th, 2012 at 1:01 PM ^

Do you honestly think the media or fans of other schools are going to agree with the decision to let him play?

We will not look like assholes if we "punish him more"

We will look like assholes if we don't suspend a kid who got a DUI for at least a game.

 

Blazefire

August 27th, 2012 at 1:12 PM ^

Oh, what a load of crap. Who in the heck gives a teaspoon of care what the media reports for one day? You think Fitz playing will forever brand us something different than what 133 years of football have branded us? You think Hoke or the coaching staff care what Ol' Herbie or Jim Rome bitch about? You think ANYONE does? They'll complain that it shows some depreciating values or something, and then next week a player will beat the crap out of his girlfriend at Arkansas and that'll be that.

We should be concerned with doing the right thing and looking ourselves in the mirror. Not hat SportsCenter thinks we should feel. That's why I bottom-line it like this.

Kid made a mistake. We don't know much about it. We know it was his first DUI and he did not cause an accident, such that he may not have been aware he was over the limit. We know that Hoke has been serving in-program punishment. We know Hoke has so far made only the best decisions and shown the desire to win the right way.

If you think that provies us enough information to condemn any decision the program might make, then you're not thinking things through very well.

michfan6060

August 27th, 2012 at 1:10 PM ^

Well I don't entrirely disagree, but it makes us look pretty bad when we refer to other schools as thugs and then we let our guys who get arrested play.

OysterMonkey

August 27th, 2012 at 2:03 PM ^

There are a ton of people who think it's super funny to make fun of Sparty or ND b/c of their perceived leniency, so they know if Hoke plays Fitz/Clark they're going to have to come up with what will sound like a lame rationalization or take their lumps for being a dick in the past.

You've hit the nail on the head. Don't be a dick, or be willing to take your lumps.

The kids on every team are 18-22, and prone to making terrible decisions. And what it takes to get through to them will vary from individual to individual, so it doesn't make any sense to believe a cookie cutter discipline policy will be effective.

What's the reason for punishment? It's not to brag about your moral superiority to rival fans. It's to get through to the kid so he'll change his behavior in the future and become a better citizen. If that's best done some other way than suspension, then that's what I want the coach to do. If suspension or dismissal is the best way to get through to him, then that's what I want the coach to do.

BigShotDave

August 27th, 2012 at 12:51 PM ^

1) Surprised not to see some on the true freshman making the 2-3 deeps (in particular Strobel, RJS, and the two receivers)

2) Furman returning kickoffs?  I expected Gallon and Dileo

3) I thought Beyer would be starting.  He is listed as the 3rd string.

 

can't wait for Saturday night.  Go Blue

FrankMurphy

August 27th, 2012 at 1:00 PM ^

Just because Toussaint is on the depth chart doesn't mean he'll play. And just because Hoke tells the press he hasn't made a decision yet doesn't mean he actually hasn't made one. 

Remember, "The Fort" is back in full effect and then some. We won't know anything about this situation until kickoff.

mich728

August 27th, 2012 at 1:03 PM ^

Fitz is going to play. As much as some may hate it, we will never know what Hoke put him through behind the scenes. the penalties for his actions may continue throughout a considerable portion of the season. Who knows.

 He's playing this game.