Arkansas QB Mitchell to NC State
I know there was some speculation that he might come here, but it looks like he is going to NC State: http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/9296290/former-arkansas-qb-brandon-mitchell-transferring-nc-state. This means we are probably not going to take a transfer in this class.
Be ready, #7.
anyone else left on the board? unless there's a JC transfer we've been looking at that i don't know of, i can't think of anyone.
That's probably it. Transfer reports start dwindling down following the immediate aftermath of spring ball. Mitchell was probably our last option.
I really don't think this kid was actively pursued the coaches. I am guessing he was using the Michigan name to possibly bolster his profile.
I'm not sure there's really any evidence to support that. On Michigan's side, they've said they're looking for a 5th year transfer. From his end, he didn't even mention Michigan until his other finalists (USF, NC State, UAB, LA Tech, Northwestern State) were in contact and reported. Not to mention any coach evaluating him will probably have 4 years of practice tape and game footage to go over if they want to evaluate him, not sure throwing Michigan's name in there is going to change that.
Mitchell was suspended at the end of last season for violation of team rules. Does not sound like the the type of player Hoke would look for in one year transfer. The coaches had been talking about chemistry when looking for a transfer and suspension does not seem to fit that mold.
Michigan may have done their homework on him and looked at his records, but I don't think he was ever offered and actively pursued (i.e. had the option to attend Michigan).
Even if you don't believe Michigan was recruiting him, which you make a good case for, I think it's more likely that he was mentioning Michigan because he wanted to come here, not because he thought it would get him other looks. That's the argument I have trouble with.
The point I was more trying to make is I don't think he was ever offered a scholarship at Michigan.
Is it a sure thing that Morris will beat out Cleary for the backup spot? Obviously one is a 4 star with a high ceiling and the other a 2 star walk on, but Morris will be on campus for 1 month before the season starts while Cleary is entering his second year...
I would be surprised if Morris' upside didn't lead to him improving to the point of being better by mid-way through the season. Cleary, after all, is only a redshirt freshman himself.
I would also expect for the coaches to go with Morris early in the season if needed. At that point, neither option is going to be great. The difference between Cleary and Morris will probably be minimal, and throwing Morris into the fire and getting him more snaps should allow him to reach toward his potential sooner. The fact that Cleary will never be the guy at Michigan, and will probably never even be the backup after this season, gives little reason to actually throw him in there before Morris (unless he was substantially better, which I just don't see).
So I think regardless of the situation, Morris will be your defacto backup once he hits campus, unless the coaches just want to reward Cleary in some mop-up duty early on in the season.
I tend to think that if the difference between Cleary and Morris is minimal, then it's better to save Morris' redshirt. I guess we'll see what happens during the summer camp.
"This is bullshit," Arkansas Head Coach Bret Bielema said in an exclusive interview. "How can a guy transfer, and be eligible to play the next season? I don't buy this crap about some graduate program that is not offered at the current school. There oughta be a law against this..."
Whoosh..........
Russell Wilson.
I'm not sure we ever had a great shot with a grad-transfer who was not also terrible. I doubt many guys leave their school after graduation to go to a place they're almost guaranteed to ride the bench at. Mitchell has a great shot to start at NC State. Unless you're pretty much all-conference yourself, it's unlikely anyone is going to come in and unseat Devin
and understand Michigan probably wasn't the best fit. Count me among the masses who feel Devin is going to have a huge 2013 season!
So does this mean that if Gardner gets hurt we are basically screwed?
How does one pronounce that? Is it "S-weee-ka" or "S-way-ka" or "S-why-ka"?
I've been pronouncing it at "Swy-ekk-a". That's how I've heard others pronounce it at least...