Exit Eddie McDoom
RIP, greatest name [Patrick Barron]
The 2016 wide receiver class is now entirely kaput per The Wolverine Lounge:
A move that’s been lingering, a source confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that McDoom was no longer in Ann Arbor for fall camp, and no longer with the program.
McDoom was a moderately spicy option on jet sweeps but almost unused otherwise until Michigan inexplicably started throwing him a bunch of fades; misused and apparently buried he's now gone. With little depth on the outside and Grant Perry graduating after the season McDoom seemed like he'd be in line for some playing time, even if it was just as a gadget player; Michigan's failure to deploy him in a sensible way is a bit frustrating. Hopefully having an actual WR coach will help Michigan develop a problem spot more effectively.
This does explain why Michigan's busy taking multiple slots in the 2019 class.
This one bums me out. I liked this kid a lot and was hoping for big things this year. And it was always fun yelling MCDOOOOooooooom every time he had the ball. Hope he does well in the future.
Unfortunately that catchy chant gets overshadowed by the fact that he can't catch.
That MSU gif of the dude doing the choking gesture after McDoom coughed up an easy 20 yard pass will forever be etched in my brain. SMH
August 8th, 2018 at 11:10 PM ^
McDoom was kind of a one trick pony and never really became a threat beyond an occasional jet sweep. Hopefully he can find a place and get some playing time but it wasn’t going to happen here and he knew it.
How many screens did they throw him?
JH's failure thus far to maximize the talent M has had on offense, in comparison to his Stanford & 49er tenures, is perplexing, concerning, frustrating.
McDoom exemplifies this as well as anyone, but I'll forever be much more dissatisfied with what the PepCat (failed to) evolve into!
That sucks
Of course I'm speculating here, but I assume he left after 4 days of camp because he wasn't getting the reps he felt he deserved. Seems premature to depart when A) there's plenty of time to compete & win a job, and B) the depth Brian detailed in his post.
See ya, I guess. Good luck.
He's behind Perry for sure and apparently Martin as well. In addition, it's possible (though not a sure thing) that Evans might get some slot looks with Higdon on the field.
I doubt slot receivers will even be on the field 50% of the time with Michigan's offense, anyway. You have Gentry and Mckeon and maybe Eubanks pushing for snaps that slot guys can't match.
Not only Perry and Martin, but Nate Schoenle and Jake McCurry could also end up taking time at slot. If their off-season hype is to be believed they will have some impact as well.
Well... Fuck.
Can points transfer to your new name?
There's a rumor that points can even pass to your rightful heirs. But the documentation requirements are pretty unreasonable, in my opinion.
Well then.
I liked McDoom, of course loved the name, thought he played well.
I don't know that you can fault the coaches for failing "to deploy him in a sensible way." What is the sensible way? They gave him the ball on jet sweeps a lot, but of course that meant that when he was on the field the plays were a bit telegraphed. To counter this, they sent him downfield a few times, but I have yet to see any evidence that he was particularly proficient at the work needed to succeed, particularly with guys like Perry and Martin waiting in the wings.
And the jet sweeps themselves, while good, weren't life-changing. It's not like he was Percy Harvin out there. He was a guy who is quick, but not 4.3 burner-fast. Agile, but not Reggie Bush.
I'm sorry he's going elsewhere. I hope he finds a good place and sees success; I would love for him to land somewhere where he can put decent film up and get a look in a pro league.
I think he's the victim of a crowded position that doesn't get that many snaps to begin with, given our TE-heavy emphasis, and doesn't have any tools that push out the talented guys competing for the spot.
They could of drawn up a route or two for him. Running the same two plays for him over and over was incredibly obvious and reminded me of the way we wasted Peppers on offense
The problem is that he also didn't have great hands. That drop late against MSU last year was just one of several instances of the ball hitting him in the hands before hitting the ground.
August 10th, 2018 at 6:50 AM ^
That's just it. A receiver needs to A) get open on a route and B) catch the ball. We are not deep enough in WR talent to be able to carry a roster spot for a guy that can only run jet sweeps. And if you look at the numbers, those sweeps weren't that effective anyhow.
It's always too bad when a kid doesn't pan out though. I hope he has success somewhere.
They did, but they tended to be fades; it's not clear that McDoom was a good route-runner. Perry is an excellent route-runner, in contrast, and if Martin is also superior in that area, I don't see where McDoom could find the field.
My first .... hate to see dooooom go, but my hopeful fall fantasy is that Martin is making it overwhelmingly obvious that there's no room at the inn.
Even adding slants and screens to his package would have helped. And he's shown he can catch those.
McDoom should have always ran quick outs/ins, slants, hitches, screens, or motioned. It really makes you wonder what we were doing sending him out on fades so often. You have to know your players strengths and weaknesses so you can put them in the best possible positions to succeed. We did not do that.
I just can't imagine a world where JH doesn't know the strength and weaknesses of a guy like this...with all of the football he's played and coached how could he not know this...I get it that coaches are not without their flaws but this is just too damn basic to even seriously consider.
August 11th, 2018 at 12:55 AM ^
Yeah it is really hard to understand. It makes me wonder how much freedom our pass game coordinator has in choosing personnel, scheme, and routes for pass plays compared to how much Harbaugh runs the show while Pep just tries following what harbaugh wants.
Not usually one to nitpick grammar but please edit could of to could've.
That's quickly becoming one of my least favorite things too.
August 8th, 2018 at 10:07 PM ^
"doesn't have any tools that push out the talented guys competing for the spot."
Which is why I think he's not making a good long-term decision for himself. If he can't win significant snaps in college because there are other guys who are simply more talented, the odds of him getting any playing time in the pros are tiny. Which is the way it is for the vast majority of players even at P5 programs. There's no shame in it. There are plenty of renowned Michigan players since 1969 who had little or no career at all in the NFL.
He could have taken a cold hard look at his NFL chances and decided the best decision in the long run was to stay on the team, get what playing time he could, and get his Michigan degree. Sure, he could leave and then come back to complete classwork, but once you leave a school, the difficulty of coming back and finishing off 1-2 years of classes increases exponentially.
Regardless, I hope he gets what he wants elsewhere. From everything I heard he was a great kid.
August 8th, 2018 at 11:27 PM ^
All very fair points but it's hard to say he didn't take a cold hard look at his NFL chances without hearing his side. For all we know, he could've thought he'll never make it to the NFL so he's going to drop to JUCO for a year and then enroll in a program where he maybe play P5 ball and get an arguably better world class degree. E.g. Duke, Northwestern, Stanford.
August 9th, 2018 at 11:55 AM ^
This is one of the dumbest posts I've read in some time. If you're giving up on an NFL career to get an education, going to juco is the last thing you'd do.
Tell that to Thomas Rawls
and Ryan Mundy.
I really do wonder what happens to the WR's last year if we had a dedicated WR/TE coach instead of a second OL/TE coach who's philosophies were considered dead weight by the bye week. Maybe it wouldn't have made a difference, but man if there was any year in recent history where not having a WR coach could be disastrous due to the inexperience of the position group, last year was it.
I guess the next class has more McRooooooooooooooom
Hopefully for some McDoods
This is both simultaneously terrible...and awesome.
August 8th, 2018 at 10:59 PM ^
I hate you and I posbanged you at the same time.
So..... all aboard the Oliver Martin hype train?
Sorry to see him go and not receive a degree from Michigan. The transfer of him and Kekoa Crawford makes me think that the sophomore WR class has really taken a step forward this year. I expect big things out of them now
Noooo - I liked Eddie and he has an all-time great name!
Going to miss that kid.
Well this is too bad. But Michigan will be fine. We still have Perry. And Oliver Martin definitely has a higher upside than McDoom did. Plus as others have stated, we have the TE's and Evans who can run some slot patterns. If we stick with the jet sweep, I'm guessing there are a few other guys who can run it.
I still remember sitting in the parking lot of CVS in Chelsea listening to Steve on your podcast and all three of you guys were so giddy about the idea of McDoom and Steve kept talking about how the staff loved him. Stuff like this gets so frustrating to think about.
McDoom will definitely be in Seth’s Michigan All-Name Team blog post for years to come.
That does not bode will for Harbaugh's first full class. All the WRs and the two RBs didn't make it to their junior year. Only Chris Evans remains.
Harbaugh came in so late for the '15 recruiting class. He had a few good picks but I don't count this year as his first full recruiting class. '16 is Harbaugh's first recruiting class.
August 9th, 2018 at 12:31 PM ^
McDoom was part of the ‘16 class.
Well this is a damn shame. I liked McDoom and thought he would end up being a really good player for Michigan.
Best of Luck to him at his next stop.
Hopefully this means great things for Martin and that the slot recruiting in 2019 picks up, but is anyone starting to get a little concerned about the player retention from the 2016 class, 7 of 26 gone already and it's not yet the third year?
Devin Asiasi is the one that hurts the most to me but he transferred for what appeared to be family issues/living closer to home.
Kareem Walker was an incredible talent but struggled off the field at times and it got him buried on the depth chart.
Eddie McDoom looks like a playing time situation where he couldn't catch Perry even after Perry's off the field issue and Oliver Martin passed him.
Nate Johnson was due to off the field issues
Kekoa Crawford was passed on the depth chart by under classmen
Elysee Mbem Bossee, hard to say what happened here with out to much speculation.
Kingston Davis left after probably seeing he was buried on the depth chart.
TWJr never could get healthy and was passed on the depth chart.
Overall I am not too concerned about it. Most of them were passed up it appears so they went to find more playing time elsewhere. It happens.
This is just following the trend of most recruiting classes where 1/3 wash out, 1/3 get buried on the bench and 1/3 become your key contributors. If any trend is changing, it’s the 1/3 group that gets buried on the bench seem less content to stick around and become playing time transfers.
The reason for the attrition in the 26 man class and so many getting buried on the depth chart is the 30 man, #5 ranked class that came right after them. Can't say I'd trade any of the 2017 guys for the 2016 guys except Asiasi. This is just the way things go.
This is just the way it is now.
If you're an upperclassman, and you're not in the two-deep, it's likely you move on --- sooner, rather than later.
While we as fans would like to keep folks in case of injury and/or in case the starter and 1st backup's play falls off, the 3rd string (and below) players don't have time or interest in that. Better to play juco or Div 1AA, and then set yourself up for the pros or (more likely) a final season at a mid-major or lower-tier Power 5 program.
Well, as many have pointed out above, his hands are a concern and he has shown nothing that would make you think he's advancing to the nfl. A Michigan degree is worth more than playing juco, D2 or pretty much any lower P5/MAC type school. If he wanted to continue playing he should've hit the books hard at UM, graduate early and then continue his playing career elsewhere.
I get what you're saying about that path for other players though. Unfortunately, his skill set doesn't separate him from the field.
That requires a lot of honest soul-searching, self-assessment that is hard for any athlete, let alone one that is 19 or 20 years old. I don't envy it.
He literally had a crowd of 100,000 people chant his name. That's got to be hard to give up on that feeling, and on that dream and say, "Yeah...I'll just ride the pine, get a degree from a top university, and maybe transfer to a MAC school as a grad transfer."
I assume he still thinks he can play, now (e.g., "Wilton Speight ended up at school like UCLA; why not me?") and in the future.
We'll see.
Wish him well. Understandable...clearly was not going to see the field much...lots of better options. I look for Taylor to be a slot as well.
If McDoom wants to keep playing football and succeed, he might want to consider trying out for a DB position because he wasn't very good at catching the ball.
Good luck to him but I'm not brokenhearted about this .
Comments