Graduate Transfers?
I have been thinking about graduate transfers for next year, and I am thinking other here have been as well.
- How many (if any) do we take?
- Which positons would you want to see transfer in? (LB? RB? FS? FB?)
- It is VERY early, but any obvious and/or rumored candidates for the transfer?
November 17th, 2015 at 1:37 PM ^
November 17th, 2015 at 6:04 PM ^
This argument seems a bit like throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Is the potential grad transfer we get going to be Brian Urlacher - No. Can he be a serviceable Jake Rudock caliber guy - Yes. Is that likely to be an upgrade over Furbush, Gant, McCray and company - TBD, but competition, depth, etc.
QB are high profile guys so they draw more headlines, but there are a bunch of guys who also just want to move closer to home (e.g., Ty Isaac, though not a grad transfer, the situation applies) or guys moving up from smaller programs.Not all the guys below are grad transfers but you can see that it's not just QBs.
http://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-footballs-top-transfer…
Google around and you can find examples of ho-hum players finding better fits and turning in all-conference caliber players. Is it likely -- no. But filling a need, even if only with 'adequate' play is a huge deal.
November 17th, 2015 at 6:56 PM ^
November 17th, 2015 at 8:33 PM ^
Of course. I just don't see why there wouldn't be any LBs when there are plenty of guys at other positions like RB, WR, CB, S, OL, etc. (What positions didn't I name yet - TE? I think Keith Heitzman would have been adequate under Harbaugh, if he had stuck around and say Butt and Williams had gotten hurt.)
A guy like Lyons at LB could be HUGE for Michigan. Lyons doesn't play because our depth at DB is excellent, even with Countess' departure. They coached up raw talents like Clark and Stribling and Thomas stepped up toward his recruiting profile. Michigan doesn't have guys like that at LB. Gedeon is it.
There is no equivalent to Thomas or Hill at LB. Gant was an early bloomer teams backed off of who plummetted in the rankings. Furbush and Wangler were reaches. We can compare their rankings to Clark and Stribling I suppose, but the knock on those guys was never talent. Our best hope is probably McCray...who has no experience. Winovich may move back but is a TE and projects better to the nearly-obsolete OLB spot than inside. It's not pretty. I actually think it's more likely we start a true freshman than the existing crop of Hoke recruits, and just live with the consequences.
Michigan took Lyons despite having a loaded experienced veteran and talented secondary. What do you think they will do with a weak, inexperienced, and young LB corps?
The supply of quality grad transfers is only going to increase every year as this sort of "no one has done it yet" mentality dissipates. Every year there are more examples at more positions. I'd be surprised if Michigan's starting LB next year isn't another one. He probably won't be great, that I agree with, but he'll probably be adequate (i.e., better than the lowly regarded guys we have - most of whom aren't touching the field so far, even on special teams). And who knows - no one thought Russel Wilson was an NFL superstar when he left NC State either.
I don't know why Michigan wouldn't go this route. At the very worst you get a Heitzman or Lyons player who can help your depth and keep you from the kind of nastiness we saw in the secondary under Rodriguez and the OL under Hoke. Walk-ons and true freshman are bad news.
November 17th, 2015 at 11:12 PM ^
November 18th, 2015 at 10:29 AM ^
But he probably need to be better than a guy like Gant, Winovich, Furbush, or Wangler--because those are the guys we already have, and if he isn't better than them what's the point?
While it would be great to get some game changing linebackers - next year we are in deperate need on any that can play. A few more guys like Gant/Winovich/Wangler would be a significantly helpful upgrade.
Remember - you need lots of linebacker types for special teams.
November 18th, 2015 at 8:54 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
November 17th, 2015 at 12:19 PM ^
Punter.
November 17th, 2015 at 12:27 PM ^
November 17th, 2015 at 12:30 PM ^
we should have an Aussie punter on the team at all times.
November 17th, 2015 at 1:15 PM ^
There was an article last month saying that Baxter is actively looking into recruiting an Aussie style punter.
It is also interesting to note that they have been trying to teach Kenny Allen the Aussie style of punting.
November 17th, 2015 at 6:29 PM ^
their style of football since childhood and there are at least 2 specific punting schools down under to prepare them for American football. In the US, they train punters to kick the $hit out of the ball. Over there, they work on precision placement. Allen has a long way to go to catch up.
On the positive side, if Baxter can find a good one, he would be here for 4 years. And UM would be an excellent showcase for these punting schools. So it would be in everyone's mutual interest to send us the very best.
November 17th, 2015 at 1:09 PM ^
Austin
November 17th, 2015 at 12:19 PM ^
with a graduate transfer the reality that if he was very, very good he'd be heading for the NFL draft instead of transferring? Let's face it, until the Rutgers game, we all thought Rudock was — at best — just "serviceable." Same with Wayne Lyons.
November 17th, 2015 at 1:11 PM ^
I don't think "this guy isn't a 1st round NFL pick" is really a problem per se. Neither are the vast majority of high school recruits. Serviceable is sometimes a major upgrade. Furthermore, a Russel Wilson was viewed in a similar light at the time, so you never know.
Grad transfers probably aren't going to make or break you, but they can fill a major hole. Michigan probably has one or two of those next year.
It's going to happen.
November 17th, 2015 at 12:19 PM ^
The LB situation next year is frightening. I know Morgan and Bolden have their issues. But there's just about vacuum behind them right now. I mean, it's Gedeon, a bunch of guys who have basically never seen the field, and true freshmen next year.
November 17th, 2015 at 12:22 PM ^
He's 25, married, and hasn't played a full (or even half) season of football since 2013.
We already have 42 QB's on the roster and more coming in next year. We don't need anymore.
November 17th, 2015 at 12:31 PM ^
November 17th, 2015 at 12:41 PM ^
November 17th, 2015 at 12:46 PM ^
November 17th, 2015 at 1:17 PM ^
Although a fair number of those same sites want a CC number anyway and swear up and down that you will not be charged for the first 30 days of football and can cancel your football any time before the 30 days expire without penalty. They hope you don't do this, of course, and instead opt for the premium football package where you can download unlimited football from their alt-binaries group.
November 17th, 2015 at 12:22 PM ^
A lot of these suggestions seem a bit pie in the sky to me. The type of impact players we would want simply aren't generally available outside the QB position. If a guy is a skilled LB who can step in immediately and start on our defense, he's almost certainly a starter on his current defense and won't transfer.
QB is a unique position because you can only really play one. If a guy loses a QB battle to someone good, he may find a chance elsewhere where the depth chart is more favorable. Every other position, the second best player on the team at his position is going to get plenty of playing time.
Non-QB grad transfers don't seem to make much impact at the high P5 level. Seem to be more impactful for guys moving down in competitiveness in search of playing time. To me, a better use of any available scholarship will be high school recruits.
November 17th, 2015 at 12:24 PM ^
From what I've read of Ace's recruiting round-ups, we're counting on some attrition to even get the recruiting class all enrolled*. Would we even have room for graduate transfers?
*Yes, even accounting for the fact that some current recruits may not end up at Michigan, it seems like we are expecting a big class.
November 17th, 2015 at 1:44 PM ^
The "good" thing about graduate transfers is that they typically don't arrive until the summer. So that means that we wouldn't need the spot until the fall, when some freshmen will have failed to qualify, guys will have "retired" due to injury, guys will have transferred after spring ball, etc. It's not like a graduate transfer will need to have a scholarship available for spring practice.
November 17th, 2015 at 12:27 PM ^
Why would any of us want taysom Hill with his injury history? He can't stay on the field! Let's develop our Qb's on roster and get them game experience instead of bringing in another graduate transfer for 1 year who will just hurt his foot again in game 3
November 17th, 2015 at 12:28 PM ^
Running back would be nice. If IU can get a guy like Howard from UAB then there's gotta be a guy available that can take our offense to another level.
November 17th, 2015 at 12:35 PM ^
That was a special situation where the program was dissolved.
That said - being blunt - there has to be a rb out there at some program that is better than our crop as its probably the weakest position group we have. Even if he is 3rd best in his own program.
November 17th, 2015 at 12:40 PM ^
November 17th, 2015 at 1:24 PM ^
He was actually 4th string.
November 17th, 2015 at 12:29 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
November 17th, 2015 at 5:58 PM ^
Will have to wait on 5th year renewals and transfers to see how many spots remain on the 85 player roster.
November 17th, 2015 at 12:29 PM ^
Anyone could have had Jordan Howard last year. I trust Harbaugh to find the hidden gems if need be.
November 17th, 2015 at 12:30 PM ^
November 17th, 2015 at 12:45 PM ^
November 17th, 2015 at 12:51 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
November 17th, 2015 at 12:56 PM ^
He is depth player who only sees time on special teams. Stars rarely transfer for grad years.
November 17th, 2015 at 12:57 PM ^
November 17th, 2015 at 2:11 PM ^
November 17th, 2015 at 1:18 PM ^
I expect to see Harbaugh's staff identify one or more players from the current roster and develop them into LBs. Would not be surprised to see it be a Safety or a RB from the existing squad who will not see the field much in that position but who could be molded into a LB that is faster, more athletic, and better in pass coverage than our existing group of LBs.
MSU has done that very successfully with a number of players, and, given the talents of Harbaugh's staff, I don't see why we can't do that as well or better.
November 17th, 2015 at 2:44 PM ^
Delano Hill to LB. Gedeon-Hill-McCray replaces the Mogan-Bolden-Gedeon rotation ... a 4/5 star freshman (Bush/Kelly) plus Furbush, Wangler and Winovich are depth in case Hill needs to bump back out to safety. Winovich MUST move back to LB. All of this makes for a tenuous outlook but not a disastrous one.
Unless there's an AAC or MAC linebacker who "should" be playing in Power 5 but is under the draft radar, he might look to increase his draft stock by getting "lots of reps" at Michigan. Worth the risk by either party? Who would this guy be?
November 17th, 2015 at 4:11 PM ^
Maybe Derrick Green can move to LB? He's really good at running into people and falling over. He will continue to bring down the ball carrier.
November 17th, 2015 at 1:36 PM ^
November 17th, 2015 at 2:09 PM ^
November 17th, 2015 at 2:32 PM ^
is that most 5th year transfers do not light the world on fire. There is a reason they are transfering, they are not good enough to start on thier current team. There is not many top notch players who are thinking "well I had a great season here I can't wait to go to another school to try and learn a new system".
November 17th, 2015 at 2:41 PM ^
November 17th, 2015 at 3:19 PM ^
Stupid question, but has there ever been a 6th year grad transfer?
November 17th, 2015 at 5:27 PM ^
November 17th, 2015 at 5:28 PM ^
lets go with our guys. we got some pretty good ones. if not they will transfer. especially at qb
November 17th, 2015 at 5:32 PM ^
November 17th, 2015 at 8:14 PM ^