Exit: David Long
Best of luck to him in the NFL. He was a heck of a corner for us.
January 2nd, 2019 at 2:34 PM ^
Classy statement. Wish him all the best... These players leaving early and getting drafted can only help recruiting.
January 2nd, 2019 at 2:34 PM ^
He's ready to make the jump. Helluva corner. Farewell and good luck!
I think we're in good shape with next year's secondary. The depth worries me a little but it's no worse than what most other schools have.
Lavert - Ambry - Dax - Metellus
Just need one of the young guys (Green, Gray, Sims, St-Juste, etc) to step up in Watson's place.
January 2nd, 2019 at 3:03 PM ^
Our depth at Safety is great, and actually I'd be surprised if one of the younger guys didn't leave the program (Woods or JKP most likely due to PT).
CB depth is a lot of unknowns, but I feel comfortable with our 1,2.
January 2nd, 2019 at 2:34 PM ^
I hope Long has a great NFL career, best wishes to him
January 2nd, 2019 at 2:35 PM ^
The #3 CB plays a vital role in this defense. Any guesses who that will be in 2019? Sims or Gray?
January 2nd, 2019 at 3:54 PM ^
Gray was in there playing opposite Ambry Thomas in one of the late blowouts so it looks like he is ahead of the others now but a lot can happen between players' first and second years. Sims definitely needed to put weight on so hopefully he does that during the off-season. And who knows how good St Juste is when healthy.
January 2nd, 2019 at 2:40 PM ^
Good luck, sucks to lose such a talented player. I think M will be fine without him or as fine as they would have been with him. Give a chance for the younger players to get some reps, I think we have a few real good young players (based on potential).
January 2nd, 2019 at 2:40 PM ^
Turn into Ty Law at the next level.
January 2nd, 2019 at 2:40 PM ^
He was awesome. He was very underrated - hope he is an outstanding pro!
January 2nd, 2019 at 2:40 PM ^
I said I'd be happy as long as we got 1/2 from Hill/Long back. So, I am happy and of course good luck to him. Someone of Thomas, St Juste, Kelly-Powell, Simms, Green, Faustin, Gray, & Perry should be able to fill in just fine.
January 2nd, 2019 at 2:41 PM ^
It will be interesting to see where Long is drafted. He wasn't thrown at much and so doesn't have great stats, but he may be the best cover corner that we have had in a long, long time (I think better than JD). I guess his combine performance will make or break his draft position.
January 2nd, 2019 at 6:49 PM ^
JD was as good as it gets in college. Was great on the outside as well as in the slot. Outside of an all-time great like Woodson, Lewis was arguably the best we had since.
January 2nd, 2019 at 2:41 PM ^
Hate to be a negative nelly, but it seems like a sinking ship...neg bomb away...
Rashaan, Bush, DLong, Gentry, Aubrey, James Hudson. JBB and Higdon sitting out the bowl. Who's next?
January 2nd, 2019 at 2:46 PM ^
kids leaving early to go to the NFL draft isn't a negative... that's a positive imo, and one of the things elite recruits look for when choosing a school
as noted previously, kids transfer from all programs; Michigan is hardly out on an island wrt to this trend.
Michigan has issues, no doubt, but kids leaving for the NFL isn't one of them... those kids would have left regardless if Michigan was in the CFB playoff or whether they won versus Florida.
that's a fact.
Good Luck to David in the League! Loved his note; kid seems to have a great head on his shoulders and was very humble and appreciative of his time at michigan, the coaches, his team and the fans.
January 2nd, 2019 at 2:48 PM ^
Good players go to the NFL. Be happy.
January 2nd, 2019 at 2:52 PM ^
60% of that list are early draft entrees. I’m not sure guys leaving after three years for NFL means anything other than you have a player with pro potential wanting the next challenge. Unless you’re talking about D-War
also you’re a sinking ship.
January 2nd, 2019 at 2:57 PM ^
No u
January 2nd, 2019 at 3:13 PM ^
I would call Rashan, Bush, Long, and Gentry positives. You want to get to a place where your juniors are going to the NFL. Aubrey and Hudson were not pleasant, but more often than not guys that wind up transferring while still undergrads are not guys that typically make major contributions anywhere. The injuries however, so suck but it happens. We should have the depth and the recruiting to reload.
At LB we have Ross & McGrone. At CB we have Thomas, St Juste, Sims, Green, etc. At DE we have Paye, Hutchinson, & Vilain who is supposed to be healthy in 2019. At TE we have Eubanks & Muhammad. At tackle we have Mayfield & Steuber. DT is probably the biggest hole with just Kemp & Dwumfor. So we need Jeter to step up or for Hinton and/or Smith to be ready to contribute as true freshman.
January 2nd, 2019 at 3:20 PM ^
Agreed. If it was a sinking ship we would be seeing player transfers to other schools, not our top talent going to the NFL.
January 2nd, 2019 at 2:48 PM ^
Good luck, get money
January 2nd, 2019 at 2:50 PM ^
Best of luck long to David Long. I always considered him as one of the unsung stars of our defense and I believe he has the talent to succeed in the NFL. I think David Long should be added to the list of great players who have roamed our secondary over the years people will think of the likes of Ty Law, Charles Woodson, Leon Hall, Marlin Jackson, Donovan Warren, and Jourdan Lewis.
January 2nd, 2019 at 2:50 PM ^
Kids leaving to the NFL is a great problem to have BTW. It's actually great for selling the program, and helps make space for the next crop of NFL talent. Processing out players is a bad look, and a necessary evil if you dont have players jetting early for the big leagues.
January 2nd, 2019 at 2:53 PM ^
Seems like the other day JH was climbing a tree @ his house. Good luck in the league!!!
January 2nd, 2019 at 2:56 PM ^
For some reason Lewis & Hill seemed to receive more attention from this blog, but I always thought Long was the better overall corner. Better size, good speed, always seemed to be in position. I think he could have a really good NFL career.
He will need to stay healthy. It seemed like he had to miss a few plays in every game, to the point I would chuckle when the announcers would say who was being attended to. Then again, he was in every game.
January 2nd, 2019 at 3:06 PM ^
Plenty of young guys to compete for playing time.
January 2nd, 2019 at 3:06 PM ^
Best of luck! We should be fine in the secondary next season. My biggest worry is our dline
January 2nd, 2019 at 3:07 PM ^
Has Hudson made his decision yet? From what I understand he’s the only one left who is considering the nfl and hasn’t declared his intentions yet.
January 2nd, 2019 at 3:44 PM ^
What position would Hudson play in the NFL? He’s too slow to be a DB.
January 2nd, 2019 at 5:04 PM ^
I keep thinking they should put another 10+ lbs on Hudson and move him to the middle. With a little added size and strength, I think he is the one guy who has the speed and tackling skills to do damage sideline to sideline like Bush.
January 2nd, 2019 at 3:15 PM ^
This was expected, although I am not sure he is 1st round pick.
I wish him the best in the NFL, which means avoiding being drafted by the Lions.
January 2nd, 2019 at 3:20 PM ^
Best of luck. Not a surprise. Thought he was overlooked a bit with Hill around for some reason, but he's been a really good corner here since he arrived.
January 2nd, 2019 at 3:24 PM ^
Damn, I was hoping that our defense getting dismantled the last two games would scare NFL teams away from him.
Best of luck to him. Looks like we'll be taking a signficant step backwards next year defensively.
January 2nd, 2019 at 3:24 PM ^
Long is one of my favorite players in recent years. Coming back probably couldn't have realistically improved his draft stock given he's had about 15 targets since he killed Simmie Cobbs.
Some of the lamentations about Michigan not going to the Rose Bowl in a long time seem outdated to me in the age of the playoff; it's a good place to be but if '16 and '18 closed the way we wished they miss the Rose in a good way. I'm still pretty bummed out that they couldn't get a great corner from Pasadena back home. He certainly did his part.
January 2nd, 2019 at 3:26 PM ^
Congrats to David. I expect him to produce fantastic testing numbers and go day 2.
January 2nd, 2019 at 3:26 PM ^
Best of luck DL in the NFL.
January 2nd, 2019 at 3:42 PM ^
#reasonstowatchonsundays
Good luck tot DL , he gets to live his dream!
January 2nd, 2019 at 4:09 PM ^
One of the most underrated guys ever to play at UM. How the hell he was in Lavert Hill's shadow for 3 years is head scratching imo. All he ever did was show up and lock down consistently!!! Makes ya wonder what all these "experts" are really looking at??
January 2nd, 2019 at 4:10 PM ^
A lot of the journalists who cover UM seem to think sending 4 guys to the NFL as early draft entries is a bad thing.
In a sport where recruiting is almost paramount, I think it's great!
Thanks for all you've done, David! Time to get paid!
January 2nd, 2019 at 4:23 PM ^
Predict somewhere 1-15 of 3rd round.
January 2nd, 2019 at 9:00 PM ^
Hopefully with the Lions opposite of Slay.
January 2nd, 2019 at 4:24 PM ^
A great player and seemingly a better person. Proud of him.
January 2nd, 2019 at 4:50 PM ^
Gonna be a stud in the League. Looking forward to seeing David Long on Sundays!
GO BLUE!!
January 2nd, 2019 at 5:29 PM ^
Long was easily our best CB. I like Hill too, but he wasn’t even close to as good of a cover corner as along was. Long got beat basically never the last 2 seasons.
January 2nd, 2019 at 6:26 PM ^
Thank you and good luck, young man!
January 2nd, 2019 at 6:39 PM ^
Good Luck to him. He’s definitely earned it and I think it’s important for elite recruits to see UM players reaching their goals.
He was the last player we were waiting on, right? I think everyone else has decided.
January 2nd, 2019 at 6:43 PM ^
Continue to pursue your dream David Long! Will always be a Michigan Man!
I don’t understand any negative comments towards him going pro. He came to Michigan to play football with the goal of making it to the NFL. Most players are doing that. He has the opportunity to fulfill that goal and make a great living doing so.
January 2nd, 2019 at 6:55 PM ^
Fine DB who seemed to have a lot of bad luck with nagging injuries but always played thru it.
I'd love to see David have a LONG (pun intended) and productive career in the NFL. Best of luck and stay healthy, Mr. Long!
January 2nd, 2019 at 7:41 PM ^
January 2nd, 2019 at 9:04 PM ^
Football at this level is extremely complex, but it still, and always will come down to the trenches and the quarterback.
Have you looked at the OL, DL, and QB positions at Bama? Clemson? Hell even Georgia and OSU... We MUST construct this team from the trenches outward. Our OL play has sucked for the major part of a decade, it has finally started trending in the right direction.
We can reach a higher level, but only if we beef up the trenches, and become modern offensively.
January 2nd, 2019 at 9:31 PM ^
Hill was just as bad as Waston to be honest. Go back and look at Hill's recruitment info and look at his play. Sounds about right