Exit Dan Samuelson Comment Count

Brian

Samuelson[1]

According to Dan Samuelson on the facebooks, he is going to transfer.

With great sadness, I have decided that my time at the University of Michigan is done. The past couple years have been wonderful, and something that I will never forget. I am beyond blessed for them. As time has come and gone, I've thought about what is best for myself in regards to football and obtaining the goal of playing time. In reality, that wasn't going to happen at Michigan.

Samuelson was a recruit on the 3/4 star borderline who decommitted from Nebraska in favor of Michigan late in the 2013 recruiting cycle. He redshirted as a freshman and didn't play last year, so he would have been a redshirt sophomore this fall. His departure brings the number of certainly available scholarships to 17 (4 open slots plus 13 seniors). There are a lot of redshirt juniors who may not get a fifth year on the roster, so Michigan is already close to being able to accommodate the full class of 25 they seem to be aiming for.

Comments

pearlw

August 15th, 2015 at 12:58 PM ^

I think the numbers are 82 now even with including Glasgows and Kerridge as scholarship players. The depth chart by class was just updated by Brian but the numbers dont seem to be correct as the numbers at the bottom add to 83 players on scholarship but then he has the total as 81. I think neither is right and the correct number is 82. Per the notes, he is counting Kerridge and both Glasgows as scholarship players.




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cutter

August 15th, 2015 at 12:28 PM ^

Here's a list of the redshirt juniors per MGoBlog's depth chart by class with asterisks against the ones projected to be starters for the 2015 season

RB Drake Johnson

WR Amarah Darboh*

WR Jehu Chesson*

OL Erik Magnsuon*

OL Kyle Kalis*

OL Ben Braden*

OL Blake Bars

DT Matt Godin

DT Willie Henry*

NT Ryan Glasgow*

SDE Chris Wormley*

SDE Tom Strobel

SLB Allen Gant

CB Terry Richardson

FS Jeremy Clark

P/K Kenny Allen

By my count that's 16 players with half of them likely starters for the 2016 season.  Any suggestions on which one of these players don't get that fifth year given the team's depth at these different positions?

If Michigan were to award 25 scholarships for the 2016 class, that means eight of the players listed above wouldn't get their that fifth year scholarship.  If UM were to have a class greater than 25, is it correct to assume UM will have to grey shirt players and count them against the 2017 class?

Michigan Eaglet

August 15th, 2015 at 12:45 PM ^

Allen Gant, Terry Richardson, Blake Bars (If he doesn't improve or play at all this year), and Matt Godin (ditto) would be the first 4 to get firm handshakes, possibly Strobel. I think Allen is a walk-on actually. The other 2-3 could come from attrition from other classes that see the writing on the wall after their first year under Harbaugh and transfer out for playing time/scheme like Samuelson or Countess. There is likely one or two players that have injuries and will try to see if they can play with them or come back and if not they could become a student assistant like Chris Fox. There's a lot of possibilities and info the coaches won't release until they want to, so I wouldn't really be worried that much (if at all) until the season is over.

Michigan Eaglet

August 15th, 2015 at 12:52 PM ^

That's why I put the ditto in there for Godin, but I wasn't thinking of the Mone thing until you said it. Godin has a lot of potential and maybe now he'll be able to show it on the field. Could be a blessing in disguise. I remember another DL from CC that was pretty good recently for us (yes I know he's not Mike Martin stronk)

B1G_Fan

August 15th, 2015 at 5:59 PM ^

Yea, i'd think we'll see a RB and a QB transfer at the end of this year. We have a log jam at RB and not in a good way. One would think at the very least one would transfer, red shirt and play as a senior. It would be a fairly dissapointing set of circumstances considering how excited we where to see all of them commit.

 I'd like to be in Shanes head if he doesn't start this year, especially if O'korn, Spiet or even Gentry / Malzon are ahead of him on the depth chart after the seasons done.I hope he plays, everything clicks for him and he turns out these next two years. I'm a Shane fan, I want to see him do well at Michigan. I like anyone who loves The University of Michigan as much as he does. I know i'd trade places with him in a heartbeat, concussion and all!

Mr Miggle

August 15th, 2015 at 12:45 PM ^

Aside from him, there are four players on that list that have only seen mop up duty. There might also be some who decide to leave even though they would be welcomed back. You're also not allowing for other attrition, such as Samuelson.

Theoretically we could take a class of 28 without greyshirting if there is enough space. Three could be early enrollees counted as part of the 2015 class.

LKLIII

August 15th, 2015 at 2:02 PM ^

We also forget that in a span of 12 months, another 2-3 players could be lost for other reasons like career ending injury, academic, off field issues, or good old fashioned transfers. My point is the numbers don't have to 100% align this far out, they just have to be in reasonable striking distance.




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Artie

August 15th, 2015 at 12:33 PM ^

One of the better exit announcements I have seen from a player. You hardly ever hear a player be honest about wanting more playing time. Good luck to him!




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pearlw

August 15th, 2015 at 12:41 PM ^

Yes..seems logical argument by him and wish him the best...yet the twitter reaction from the fan base seems to be everyone calling him soft for not being able to handle Harbaugh's practices. That is why I have much of the fan base on mute on Twitter so you dont have to see all the hot takes. The mute/block functions are the best thing ever.




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Michigan Eaglet

August 15th, 2015 at 12:49 PM ^

One of the reasons I've still pushed off getting one. There's not much use to me of having one and it saves me the peace of mind from not looking at a bunch of minimally informed people spouting nonsense. I'll admit the news comes faster and the humor can be pretty great, but I get a lot of that from here and a few news aggregators/YouTube anyways. Viva la MGoBlog!

DonAZ

August 15th, 2015 at 1:16 PM ^

... yet the twitter reaction from the fan base seems to be everyone calling him soft for not being able to handle Harbaugh's practices.

Which not one of the Twitter commenters knows about or could likely handle themselves.

One of Samuelson's stated reasons -- playing time -- helps illustrate a key life lesson that everyone will face eventually: there are limits to a person's talents and abilities.  Related: somewhere there's someone better at something than you are.  It's just a fact.

Facing this fact is what life is all about.  Finding one's place in this world is all about accepting one's limits and maximizing one's strengths.  The contemporary notion of "any dream can be realized" is happy horseshit and does more damage than good.  Yes, strive for goals; but when reality indicates a change of direction, then take it.

Samuelson seems to realize his limits and is taking a different course.  There's no shame in that.  I applaud his standing up and facing it square on.  Good for him.

Michigasling

August 15th, 2015 at 1:15 PM ^

And one of the classiest.  Being honest and realistic, doing what's best for him, but being completely supportive of his teammates and wishing them well in what he expects to be a wonderful year for them.  Completely respectful of the program, both as it was for his two years and what it will be.  Bravo, and best wishes to him.

Esterhaus

August 15th, 2015 at 12:37 PM ^

 
Samuelson made a very difficult decision, he was decisive and kept his public announcement professional. It will be interesting to learn where Samuelson ends up playing in the future. I wish him good luck.
 
Personally, if it was my kid I might urge him to remain at Michigan for the degree since the prospect of playing elite football appears low order of probability and he has expressed interest in remaining close to Plymouth, IN. Does Wash U. in St. Louis need a big guy for their football team? U. Chicago?

elm

August 15th, 2015 at 2:18 PM ^

If it he wants to play, he wants to play.  If he knows that he won;t make the NFL, the only time he has left to play football is in college and he correctly assessed that wasn't going to happen at Michigan.

Yes, he's giving up a Michigan degree and a Michigan education, but you can get a good education elsewhere, too.  Indiana might want him, or Purdue.  And if he has to drop to the MAC, Ball State is a pretty good school and close to his family as are some of the schools in Ohio.

Sure, none of them are as good academically as Michigan, but they're good enough academically that I would not necessarily advise him against leaving if he were my kid.  It's important for him to be happy and have the chance to fulfill his dreams, too.

Regardless, best of lock to Samuelson.  It seems like it was a tough decision and he left in the classiest possible way.  I hope he manages to see the field wherever he goes next and succeeds at everything else he wants to do in life.

kevin holt

August 15th, 2015 at 4:35 PM ^

WashU is an independent D3 school. Their football "stadium," though it was the site of the Olympics about 100 years ago, is smaller than almost every high school stadium. It only has stands on one side. If he wanted good education plus football, he would be better off on the practice squad than transferring to such a small program.