Disappointed with Darryl Stonum?

Submitted by Blue_Bull_Run on
I've been on the fence about posting this recently. When Brian pointed out that Darryl Stonum was ranked right behind Mike Floyd by Rivals, I decided to see what others thought about DS. I have high expectations for him, and I don't think he's really lived up to them, so far. He enrolled early, so he's had as much time as anyone in RR's system. He also has all the recruiting accolades, and apparently he was excelling early in the spring last year (remember that goofy picture of him falling behind the tarp that was on MGoBlue.com for a few months?). I'm guessing some of you will argue that he'd be better if he didn't have Sheridan/Threet throwing to him last year, and that's true. But he also hasn't been earning a whole lot of playing time, either. For example, Junior Hemmingway was unable to participate for the majority of last year, yet JH still got the starting spot over DS this year. In sum, I think we can make excuses for everything that's happened so far, but it's about time for DS to start stepping up. If he doesn't, I could see him getting passed by Miller/Jackson on the depth chart by next year and end up permanently buried on the bench. What does everyone else think?
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Musket Rebellion

September 11th, 2009 at 3:31 PM ^

He's a true sophomore who had off field trouble last year. But on the field the complete lack of a quarterback who could get the ball downfield, which was supposed to be his bread and butter, really hampered any potential growth. Hopefully he can have a decent season this year and breakout next year when it will be him and Hemingway on the outside. I think the jury is still out.

Joined: 06/30/2008

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wolfman81

September 11th, 2009 at 3:31 PM ^

I seem to remember someone (Brian?) saying he just wasn't quite putting the work in. If my memory is right, he's got to look inside and decide if this is what he really wants...

Joined: 12/17/2008

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bliang

September 11th, 2009 at 3:35 PM ^

not so much. I'm still pulling for Stonum to win out -- drops and lack of height are a concern, but he's got to *eventually* come around, right? Hopefully trouble with the law wont be repeated. That issue might also be a reason for him receiving less playing time (I hope that's the reason, at least). As far as becoming a perpetual bench-warmer, I doubt it would come at the hands (ha!) of Jackson, who's more of a possession / TE guy, right? I wouldn't be opposed to seeing Miller beat him out in 2 years, though.

Joined: 09/10/2009

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Drake

September 11th, 2009 at 3:36 PM ^

I'll admit, he has dissappointed me greatley, I thought that by now he would be what Michael Floyd is for ND(high expectations, I know) and except for 1 play lst year, he hasnt done anything in his short time in AA yet.

Joined: 07/30/2009

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Drake

September 12th, 2009 at 5:22 PM ^

well hes shut my ass up. Kick Return for TD and a couple catches, he having a pretty good game, now lets just get that defence fixed during half and beat the Irish. GO BLUE!

Joined: 07/30/2009

MGoPoints: 15

jamiemac

September 11th, 2009 at 3:37 PM ^

The guy is only a sophomore. How many catches did most freshmen under Lloyd reel in? People dont show up to college as instant jerry rices. You gotta Let It Grow and quit obsessing about who is or is not a disappointment one year into his career. He needs to step it up? You need to step up!!

Joined: 06/30/2008

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Blue_Bull_Run

September 11th, 2009 at 3:50 PM ^

I'm sorry you find my post to be obsessive, I was really just throwing it out there as a point for discussion. I totally agree that it's premature to judge a sophomore, but I'm asking about what people think of him *up to this point.* For example, 'Tay caught quite a few balls last year. Granted a slot receiver is different from an outside receiver, but one figures that DS could have caught a few more than he actually did. Under Lloyd Carr, Manningham had a hell of a game against PSU as a freshmen, and went buck wild against ND as a sophomore. Yes, these are "extreme" examples in the sense that few players can achieve such accomplishments, but given the talent that DS has, I was kinda hoping he'd do better than he has.

Joined: 11/25/2008

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The King of Belch

September 11th, 2009 at 4:54 PM ^

I guess it wasn't jut enough for ya to post the same thread on Scout, eh? You've anwered your own questions. I totally agree it's premature to judge him as a sophomore: Yes, yes it is! And not just that, all of one game into his sopphomore season! I'm asking what people think of him up to this point: Uh, not much. Highly touted recruit, he's a sophomore. He should get his chance tomorrow. Then you launch into Message Board Guy's favorite arguing tool: The Anomaly. Manningham had a great year, how's come Stonum isn't having a great year? What's up with that, man? Maybe Stonum isn't AS GOOD as Manningham?! Maybe Stonum needs more time? Maybe Stonum doesn't have the blocking part down? WHO THE FUCK KNOWS? Maybe Manningham had Chad FUCKING Henne throwing the ball to him? And exactly how do you know how much talent he has?

Joined: 07/21/2009

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Blue_Bull_Run

September 11th, 2009 at 6:31 PM ^

Not sure what the Scout board reference is - I don't post there, nor do I read it. I'm guessing there's a similar thread there. You're right that Manningham was an anomaly, but then you go on to say "Maybe Stonum isn't AS GOOD as Manningham?!" And that is my point, exactly. In other words, the point I was getting at is that I thought/hoped Stonum WOULD INDEED be as good as Manningham. What would lead me to believe that? 1) His recruiting profile, including USC and Florida offers; and 2) the fact that he flashed potential on a couple of plays last year. So, I agree that there's still plenty of time for him to develop. The point of my thread, however, was that I was hoping DS would be at the point where we're excited to see what he can do in the absence of Hemingway, rather than being like "Oh crap, Hemingway is out, who on earth will replace him?"

Joined: 11/25/2008

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psychomatt

September 12th, 2009 at 4:00 AM ^

Give the kid a chance. We are one game into his second season. Last year we had a new coach and a new system that no one knew very well and we did not have QBs who could throw down field well. Braylon Edwards and Mario Manningham took awhile to get going and had plenty of ups and downs too.

Joined: 08/25/2009

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All-N-4-Michigan

September 11th, 2009 at 3:38 PM ^

I think if JR is absolutely out(I refuse to believe it, you can't make me), then Stonum has the stage he'll need to garner more playing time, or get more splinters from riding the pine. I wanna fall back on the Threet/Sheridan thing......but.....it only goes so far. I do think that we can "afford" to be disappointed with him though. We have a sh*t-ton of WR's coming. So, I 'll slightly care, but I am more interested in seeing if any of our slot ninjas can get loose.

Joined: 09/03/2009

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Huss

September 11th, 2009 at 3:46 PM ^

As far as last season, everybody not named Odoms gets a mulligan by virtue of reasons too obvious to state here. If you weren't in the slot, I felt sorry for you as a Michigan wide receiver. As for this year...we're one fucking game in. How could I rationally be disappointed with Stonum? Has he kicked off his career like Johnathon Baldwin or Malcolm Floyd? No. But he does have more competition to deal with, and there's no good reason to let up on him now. I liken him to Terrence Tolliver at LSU, who probably would have been "disappointing" you as a Tigers fan the past few seasons, but he seems to have figured it out after that game against Washington. Stonum's chance will come. I'll hold off on judging him until then.

Joined: 07/08/2008

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Koyote

September 11th, 2009 at 3:47 PM ^

For some kids it takes a bit longer to get acclimated to the college game than others. Not everyone is going to come in and absolutely light things up in the first or second year. The kid has the potential, he just needs to get it together a bit more. Like others, I would say the Jury is still out. Hopefully around junior/senior year he will have his stuff together.

Joined: 09/17/2008

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dex

September 11th, 2009 at 3:47 PM ^

Some people see 1-0 Michigan on the night before the ND game and get excited. They look at the stats from Week 1 and tingle at the myriad of playmakers who showed they are ready and willing to contribute. Others see this, and find one underachieving underclassmen to wring their hands about. Just sayin'.

Joined: 06/30/2008

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GustaveFerbert

September 11th, 2009 at 5:03 PM ^

It appears that you may not have wanted discussion but only agreement. Some, myself included, would prefer to wait for a bit more data before writing kids off. Players should be allowed to improve. Some will pan out to our high expectations, some will not, and some will far exceed even the most unrealistic expectations. Go Blue!

Joined: 12/13/2008

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willis j

September 11th, 2009 at 3:48 PM ^

say a sophomore that is 1 game into his sophomore year is disappointing. He was a true freshman last year, he wasn't going to be superman. If he doesn't at least start to contribute this year and at least be a solid backup to JR then I will say he has disappointed. But as of now he still has 11, hopefully 12 more games this year to prove himself. If he does not then it just seems like there are too many good prospects behind him that will step up and bury him.

Joined: 08/11/2008

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GRBluefan

September 11th, 2009 at 3:55 PM ^

all the people whining about you asking the question. I certainly think it is legit (although it is clearly way, way to early to call him a bust). We aren't necessarily in the age of guys showing up on campus and disappearing into the depth chart until their junior years. Especially with the lack of depth we have / had a receiver. Highly touted freshmen (which Stonum was), especially ones who enroll early, often at least show early signs of developing into studs. Stonum has not shown those signs, has shown signs of immaturity, and has been the subject of 'lazy' rumors. So yeah, I am a bit disappointed in him at this juncture in his career. He still has plenty of time to turn it around.

Joined: 02/13/2009

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The King of Belch

September 11th, 2009 at 5:24 PM ^

Is it me or are we beginning to expect everyone to come in here ready to play significant minutes from the get-go? It seems we may be losing patience with the players here, and forgetting that most freshmen would benefit from a redshirt year and then a year to get acclamated to whatever system they are in. I know we are thin at a lot of positions, but we have 70% of the team being in their first or second year of getting on the field. Let's not lose sight of the fact that (IMO), the goal this year is 7-5, make any bowl, and look forward to the next couple years.

Joined: 07/21/2009

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Magnus

September 11th, 2009 at 11:52 PM ^

Stonum is behind talented guys who are older than him (Mathews, Hemingway, etc.). Are you also disappointed in Ricky Barnum, J.B. Fitzgerald, and Michael Shaw?

Joined: 07/17/2008

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Blue_Bull_Run

September 12th, 2009 at 3:33 AM ^

Well, Ricky Barnum plays a position where true freshmen virtually never play, so no. J.B. Fitzgerald plays a position that's tough to handle for freshmen, and we also have decent depth at that position. Finally, Michael Shaw has been hurt, so it's tough to judge. As for your argument ... well, Hemingway was out last year, and Mathews isn't much of a deep threat, so there's at least a sliver of an opening for DS to establish himself. Instead, he was out getting into legal trouble. So I take it you are satisfied with his development thus far. Is it really unreasonable for me to ask though? Regardless, I'm done with the topic.

Joined: 11/25/2008

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Magnus

September 12th, 2009 at 7:27 AM ^

Ricky Barnum isn't a true freshman. He's a redshirt freshman. J.B. Fitzgerald also isn't a true freshman. He's a sophomore. And we don't have much depth - he's the #1 backup to Ezeh and Mouton. Michael Shaw was hurt for part of last year, but he's healthy now and he's not starting. I'm not saying I'm "satisfied" with his development. I don't know exactly how he's developed. Obviously, getting into trouble with the law was not a great decision. It's not unreasonable to ask, but there is some reasonable logic working against you, too. However, he started 10 games last year, and this year he's behind a senior (Mathews) and a RS sophomore who just had a huge game (Hemingway). Meanwhile, those other three guys I mentioned were highly touted recruits in the same class as Stonum, and none of them has started 10 games. It just seems that the criteria for being "disappointed" in Stonum might be a little unfair.

Joined: 07/17/2008

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MaizeAndBlueWahoo

September 12th, 2009 at 8:33 PM ^

This might start to get trite, and not to take anything away from Stonum who did a fantastic job of not dancing around (a major pet peeve) and hit the hole hard, but guess who had the huge block to open the hole and spring the return? Yup, Tay Odoms. That said, Stonum was all over the field and is definitely the unsung hero of the game.

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