Blake Countess To Transfer
Via his instagram:
That is a blow to Michigan's secondary. Countess was the leading candidate to start opposite Jourdan Lewis, give or take a Wayne Lyons, and even in the event he lost the job he figured to see considerable playing time spotting various guys in the secondary.
Countess struggled mightily last year as Michigan transitioned to a man press style, but was an All Big Ten performer as a sophomore in a zone system. It is possible that Michigan apparently rededicating themselves to the aggressive system they had to ditch midseason last year may have precipitated a transfer. Either that or the usual transition stuff compounded by the availability of immediate eligibility elsewhere.
Other than Lyons, the main beneficiaries of Countess's departure figure to be Brandon Watson and Channing Stribling. Watson was impressive in the spring game and has a ton of experience as a press corner; Stribling was promising as a freshman before a relatively anonymous sophomore year.
Countess was set to be a fifth year senior so this doesn't impact recruiting classes going forward; it does end any questions about if any contributing walk-ons would get stiffed. If anyone else leaves Michigan would have a spot to add another fifth year transfer.
Godspeed, Mr. Countess.
I wouldn't have guessed that. Here's a guy who had six picks in 2013.
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Hello: Everett Golson?
2. The very best of luck to you, Blake. Hopefully he finds a place where he fits in and succeeds.
repeating the 'those who stay' line whenever anyone jumps ship is awfully homerish of you. He stayed 4 years. Go play somewhere else if that's a better option.
I love how you're accusing fans of being "homerish."
He wasn't hating on Countess. But yeah, I don't like it when our players leave either. If he was leaving because he was a star and entered the draft, that's fine. If he simply moves on from football like Jack Miller, that's OK too. And if he simply wasn't going to see the field at MIchigan, that's not going to rub a whole lot of people the wrong way.
But Blake Countess wants to play football this fall, just not for us. And he was going to play every single game he was healthy. I'm not hating on the kid, but it's OK for fans to be upset about this kind of stuff. At times it seems like it's not PC on this board to ever be upset. If I can be happy when a good player chooses my team, I can be upset when a good player decides to leave.
Did Blake say he's leaving for playing time reasons? Should I just assume that he is?
What else would you read into it?
do not, in fact, become champions
*waves tiny flag*
Allow me to complete the thought: Poop poop poop poop poop.
I always loved Countess a little extra-much because we share a not-especially-football-strong and not-exactly-a-UM-pipeline home state.* I hope he plays well wherever he goes and I hope he ends up playing on Sundays.
*Couple of other recent Michigan recruits notwithstanding
Thank you for all you gave to Michigan. Best of luck to you & your future.
First day at new school can be hard:
Be cool Blake.
Well shit.
Blake's got his M degree in hand. Future's bright for the kid. Good luck and give 'em hell!
There will be competition at every position in all things. He's even posting top GPA's on twitter.
Yes. And I'm clear with my son that he can't play with his iPad on days when he doesn't get a sticker at school, but it doesn't mean he's cool with it.
You've really got to want to compete for a job, as opposed to expecting to play just because you have been here previously.
I expect a lot of transferring out during the next few years as well. Sometimes, it's got to be hard to get a 3-star or 4-star to accept the fact that his productivity and effort merit being #4 on the depth chart... especially when the kid could be starting elsewhere. I can't believe that, what with us recruiting 2 QB's a year (as JH is wont to do) some of those QB's are going to leaving every year.
this summer has changed from learning and skills to competing.
You've really got to want to compete for a job, as opposed to expecting to play just because you have been here previously.
I expect a lot of transferring out during the next few years as well. Sometimes, it's got to be hard to get a 3-star or 4-star to accept the fact that his productivity and effort merit him being #4 on the depth chart... especially when the kid could be starting elsewhere. I can't believe that, what with us recruiting 2 QB's a year (as JH is wont to do) some of those QB's are going to leaving every year.
others. But morale aside, Countess is savvy enough to go where he has a better chance of PT; few would blame him for that, especially since he's finished his degree.
Really sad to see Countess go. He has been a wonderful player for Michigan, and has always, always, been a complete class act.
Good luck in all you do, Blake. Congratulations on graduating. We will all miss you.
Sad to miss out on watchiing him in the winged helmet one more season.
Per Josh Furman's Twitter, looks like Countess may be headed to Okie State.
We are becoming their pipeline school.
Okie State I can handle.
I actually don't think this will be too bad for us. I think this has to do with the commitment of press man to man defense - which is not Blake's strength, but which I favor.
Best of luck Countess.
So much for the idea that there wouldn't be much attrition going from Hoke to Harbaugh.
That the timeline/wait for Harbaugh didn't matter because it was a small class and that there wouldn't be much attrition. And, there wasn't that much actually prior to signing day, but it has come afterwards.
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of how well a CB play in a season. How well did he cover WRs? How is his assignment based on coverage and WR routes? You can't just look up stats to see how good of a CB a player is until you see them play.
After his freshman year I really believed he was going to be a Leon Hall clone so it's sad to see him go, but I think Michigan has the personnel that this won't be a huge impact. It does mean that an injury in the secondary could have bigger implications though.
Best of luck to Blake.
Has been a class act from day one and a great contributor. He didn't fit our defense scheme anymore and will likely seek a team whose scheme fits him better. He has a knack for getting to the ball in zone.
Good luck Blake. Norfleet now this.....sux.
Thought he really struggled big time because he lost confidence last year. It looked like in the Spring he got a lot of that back. He was never going to be a great press CB, but you don't have to play press to play tight coverage, and I thought Countess could have fit into that role well.
Was looking forward to him turning it around this year, so sad to see him go.
I was hoping to see him shine his last year for Michigan. Regardless, I hope he transfers somewhere and does well. He was a fine player for Michigan.
Countess and Norfleet now.
Best of luck, Blake. You represented M well. Thanks for all you did.
Blake was always one of my favorites. Best of luck to him where ever he ends up.
As Beilein has learned, you always keep recruiting. Even if you think the roster is set, keep looking for talent because you never know.
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