SIAP: Richardson to Marshall
The lead on that story sucks, but there it is...
Good luck T Rich!
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I hope he makes the most of his last year in college football. He gave his best and left with a degree. You can't ask for more than that.
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How about this is a blog, not a cheering section, where fans are free to share insightful comments (even if they are critical) not drink an endless batch of kool-aid and make "rah-rah" comments. If everyone took this approach Hoke/Brandon would likely still be here.
Richardson was a disappointing recruit, and was vastly overrated by the recruiting services (likely because he went to Cass). That's the hard truth. Hopefully he finds some playing time and success at Marshall which should be more in line with his talent level.
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I mean he points out Richardson was one of our highest rated recruits that year, which in retrospect is somewhat shocking considering he literally never even sniffed an ounce of regular playing time.
Also the fact the guy is pretty much the same size he was 4 years ago, meaning A) He didn't really put much time in the weight room/football strength and conditioning B) He just didn't have the ability to put on weight.
And although not directly related to his size, the former staff obviously has a notorious reputation for poor player development.
Bottom line, my point is I would rather see that comment than 50 "best of lucky Terry" comments.
Bigku22 we pretty much agree except that it's hard to complain about Hoke's staffs' player development on the defensive side. The defenses were always pretty darn good. In fact, they were light years ahead of what they inherited from RR. Not everyone shakes out, it's pretty simple. I understand and am not complaining about those who want to leave a comment about his development but the blame, if there really is any, is misplaced. You can't put it on the kid if we bought the bullshit that the recruiting services pedalled. If he just didn't do the work, then fine, that's on him but I don't think we've seen anything that points to the latter unless I'm mistaken.
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There is quite a large segment of "Kool-Aid" posters here who think criticizing a player in anyway is unacceptable, which I just don't understand. It's a sports "discussion" board.
Doesn't mean Terry is a bad person, and good for him for earning a degree, never publicly complaining about PT, and now getting another opportunity. But that doesn't change the fact his Michigan career was a pretty large disappointment, and he didn't even come close to living up to his recruiting ranking, those are just facts.
@Bigku22 - While everything you said is true and 100% correct, the issue I have with calling one of these kids a "disappointment" is just that.....they are amateurs. Not paid professionals, but young adults. Most likely working their asses off trying their best to get on the field and make an impact.
Calling their time here a disappointment just seems unnecessarily harsh.
@BigKu22, I think if you look around I'm the furthest thing from a Kool Aid drinker. I don't have any problem with someone calling out a player for lack of effort. My point was actually to put the responsibility on Richardson, not some former staff that isn't even around to defend itself anymore. It's a total waste of time to continue to bitch and moan about a regime and their lack of development when plenty of players who were brought up under them, the same way as Richardson, have flourished in two years with the new staff. I don't think he has done anything to warrant disdain and if we're all honest about his ranking, he was likely way overrated to begin with. Can a guy that size really have 4* potential? He was like 160 lbs coming out of high school, might have been a stretch from the get-go. I don't know how close he came to seeing the field or how he battled in practice but I never read anything negative about him on or off the field. That's more than we can say about some others who have struggled with the frustration of not getting playing time or other issues so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he was a good teammate, helped through his work on the practice squad and leaves a proud letterman. With that I'd wish him good luck rather than be petty and take it personally that he never developed into the star we had hoped.
and I ran two newspapers, but I was never cool enough to use "lede" instead of "lead".
to me it's always screamed "Look at me, I went to Medill!"
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You never know what that leap from HS to college football looks like. Very competitive and you need to get bigger and faster. I am sure he will contribute at Marshall.
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I don't know if it was as much about weight as it was height. He was listed at 5'9, which was the biggest reason he was doubted as a recruit intitially, IFRC. And it turned out to be true.
But of course I wish him the best. He could have transferred after his soph year (seemed like the writing was on the wall), but he stuck it out.
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I don't know...at least for me, he never struck me as someone who was quite there with, say, Robbie Hummel or Perry Ellis (hoops, I know) who actually look as if they've been around forever (and have actually), but yeah, it is hard to believe that the 2012 recruiting class is fading into the past.
Good luck to him at Marshall.
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His Defensive Coordinator will be none other than former Michigan running back Chuck Heater, senior on UM's '74 team. Part of the group that went 30-2-1 and never went to a bowl game (ineligible as frosh in '71).
James Franklin can go 7-6 every year and still be a LOCK to get a bowl game.
I wonder what he's studying there. Too bad football didn't work out for him here.
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It's amazing how many grads M produces with elgibility still left. It's a real testament to the program.
Perhaps, but it sure seems like a much higher percentage of Michigan's transfer are leaving with degrees than most other schools.
I hope you have a great year at Marshall.
I hope he has a successful season.
Hopefully he'll prove himself with Marshall.