Exit JaRaymond Hall
Sam Webb reports that freshman OL JaRaymond Hall is exiting the program. Hall enrolled early and then redshirted, and while he was one of the lower-ranked guys in the class he was another bullet in the chamber at a tackle position that needs as many as it can get.
OTOH, Webb reports that Hall might land at Iowa State or Arizona, so maybe this is a situation where the guy already feels he's behind a large number of classmates. Michigan brought in Chuck Filiaga, Andrew Stueber, and Joel Honigford last year and then moved James Hudson to tackle in fall camp. If Hall was fifth in that pecking order, with little near-term path to the field on the interior, that might be enough to bail this early.
FWIW, this brings Michigan to 15 open spots for this year's class, with 6-7 potential fifth year players who are either not projected contributors or borderline. Two to four of those guys probably won't be back. Also, Mike Spath reported a couple days ago that Alex Malzone would graduate in 3.5 years and seek a two-year gig elsewhere. A class from 20 to 22 seems likely. Michigan has 16 commits currently.
November 28th, 2017 at 9:58 PM ^
If we are "processing" redshirt freshmen...
Seems excessive. I could be wrong.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:11 PM ^
I don't think it's "processing". Seems like a guy just looked at the depth chart and realized he didn't have a good shot at paying. I don't see a problem with that
November 28th, 2017 at 10:20 PM ^
Who looks at the depth chart as a redshirt freshman and concludes "my career is over here"? The whole situation is bizarre.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:27 PM ^
This stinks because I liked this guy (I always root a little harder for the local kids) but let's not turn this into something nefarious.
November 29th, 2017 at 12:59 AM ^
That impressed you?
November 29th, 2017 at 7:00 AM ^
Maybe he simply wasn't happy here. There doesn't have to be a complicated explanation.
November 29th, 2017 at 8:48 AM ^
Who? Millenials.
:)
November 29th, 2017 at 8:55 AM ^
As a transfer, he has to sit a year. As an OL, and a skinny one at that, he’s probably not playing next year regardless. If he waits another year to transfer, he risks wasting a year he could be playing (his redshirt sophomore year) on the bench sitting out.
So if he feels he’s well behind his classmates and/or just feels Michigan isn’t a great fit for him, now is actually the perfect time to transfer.
November 29th, 2017 at 9:41 AM ^
many kids do that. He's been practicing he knows where he stands talent wise with the kids in his class. He's way down the depth chart and after a year in the program he's realized he has basically no shot of getting significant playing time here. The kid wants to play and the only way he can do that is to transfer to a school with less talent where he has a shot to play. It's not bizarre at all.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:23 PM ^
He just never developed the skill set to play tackle, and if he's going to play on the interior Michigan is not the right offense for him to be in. He's way too small.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:28 PM ^
If you're speaking about height usually tackles are taller than guards. If you're speaking about weight/strength he is 19...
That's kind of my point. He hasn't even gotten a chance as a RS freshman. Too young to be processed.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:36 PM ^
no was not talking about height, was talking about weight/frame. Don't disagree it's very early, but i really doubt he was "processed". I feel like an offense like Arizona is a much better fit long term.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:20 PM ^
are very rarely at playing weight at the end of their first semester in college. So to say that he "never developed the skill set of a tackle" and that he's not big enough at this point in his career is stupid.
But yeah, it's almost certainly not a case of processing. If he's already behind several guys in his own class, and doesn't feel like he can pull ahead of them, it's best for him to move somewhere else.
November 29th, 2017 at 8:49 AM ^
And I believe both trenches need time to develop into men, but Hall is finishing his second semester, so the fact he isn't AT MINIMUM big ten 2nd team is disappointing. Let's bring back Funk, we'll get this OL humming.
November 29th, 2017 at 8:32 AM ^
Assuming RichRod doesn't get fired (safe, AFAICS from Tucson online sources), Arizona would be a potentially good place for Hall.
RR has shown the questionable roster management that seems to mark his career. There are some holes on the offensive line (which may sound familiar).
November 29th, 2017 at 9:01 AM ^
2010 was the best OLine we’ve had in a decade, it was really the transition (couple of weak classes, plus the shift in style) that hurt us there. I don’t think it was poor planning, at least not quite to the level of Hoke skipping a QB after Morris or Harbaugh’s adventures with Swenson.
November 29th, 2017 at 10:03 AM ^
He stopped recruiting the oline and left a massive hole on the depth chart worse than what Harbaugh had to deal with. The class didn't pan out but there was a reason Hoke had to take 6 Olinemen in his first full recruiting class.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:27 PM ^
I'd assume you mean that in the pejorative sense, but there's a difference between telling a guy he has to leave when he wants to stay, and telling a guy he probably won't ever crack the starting the lineup. I'm sure Harbaugh is up front with these guys when he thinks they aren't developing the skills to contribute and if they want to leave they can go right ahead.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:31 PM ^
How can anyone possibly know an OL won't make it if they're 19? It's not as if he is 5'11 , 210. He's way too young to tell if he is going to be game ready in 2-3 years. I could be wrong though.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:59 PM ^
Is that a rumor or something? You seem to be the only one saying this. There are plenty of scholarship players on the team that have had very little hope of making an impact and yet they haven't been processed.
Why would Harbaugh suddenly decide to process a player who is at a HUGE position of need after his freshman year? It makes no sense.
Why do you think that is more likely than the kid deciding to transfer on his own?
November 28th, 2017 at 11:22 PM ^
Give him a minute, while he processes that.
November 29th, 2017 at 8:57 AM ^
Because loudly worrying about nothing is a cottage industry around here.
November 29th, 2017 at 8:15 PM ^
Loudly???
November 29th, 2017 at 8:58 AM ^
I obviously have no idea what really happened, but the rumor I saw (read it on the MGoBoard I think) was that he wanted to leave before fall camp and the coaches convinced him to stay. Sort of seems like the opposite of processing.
November 29th, 2017 at 9:09 AM ^
Sam Webb confirmed that this morning just a few minutes ago. For whatever reason, he concluded since he didn't get immediate playing time, he had no future here. If any "processing" happened, it was self-processing.
November 29th, 2017 at 9:46 AM ^
meet with players at the end of the season and tell them how they are doing and what they need to work on and basically where they stand in the program. It's not necessarly processing them out, it's being honest and telling them where they stand. A kid can take that information and do what they want with it.
It might motivate them to work harder and try to prove the coach wrong. Or they might take it to heart and realize they are out of their league at UM and decide they still want to play but need to find a more suitable place to make that happen.
November 29th, 2017 at 10:05 AM ^
My question is how His Dudeness can be so sure that it was a "processing" when nobody else is saying that.
November 29th, 2017 at 8:13 PM ^
How the fuck do you get that I'm sure of anything when I typed "I COULD BE WRONG" in the fucking post!?!
November 28th, 2017 at 11:26 PM ^
but these coaches have a very good idea of who is going to get to the two-deep after a full year of seeing how they work, how quickly they pick things up, how their raw talent projects, etc. I'm sure one out fifty guys surprises them in year two or three against their expectations, but it'd be the exception rather than the rule.
Of course they wouldn't say, "there is no chance for you", but it'd be fair to say, "you're behind so-and-so, so-and-so, and so-and-so and if you work really hard at this and this and this you could pass them, or you might want to look elsewhere for a place without as much depth at this position."
November 29th, 2017 at 3:50 AM ^
Silver lining, a potentially great recruiting class. I hope the staff is able to capitalize on it. Furthermore, this is big time football on the largest stage, and it's also a business, aergo, Theory of Work Adjustment. Best of luck to the men in the future, and looking forward to seeing some new Blue blood!
November 29th, 2017 at 7:18 AM ^
Now you're talking out of both sides of your mouth. You claim he got processed, but then say that nobody could possibly know if he will be capable of playing a few years down the road.
November 29th, 2017 at 8:15 PM ^
I COULD BE WRONG.
November 29th, 2017 at 8:57 AM ^
Yeah, you seem to be the only one wanting this to be something nefarious.
November 29th, 2017 at 8:14 PM ^
I COULD BE WRONG.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:06 PM ^
who cares if he was "processed?" He needs to go somewhere else to play cause it isnt happening here. Why have him hang around for 4 years like Mo Ways? Mo could have had a solid couple years at Cincinati or Troy or something. If he wanted to make the NFL, getting 2 catches a year here the past 4 years didnt help.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:42 PM ^
to honor the scholarship for four years, and it wasn't contingent on him cracking the two-deep.
If the guy wants to compete fairly for a spot and earn his Michigan degree, he deserves to do so under the commitment the coaches made. So, if the coaches are forcing him to quit or treating him like Collins treated Vassar to try to get him to leave, there's something very wrong with that and people should care.
If the coaches were just honest with him about his likelihood of playing as I'm sure they were with Mo Ways (and as I'm sure Mo Ways could tell), and he decided to leave for a better chance of seeing the field, that's fine, and that's probably what happened. So I guess it depends on your defintion of "processed".
For a good number of these guys that won't make the NFL, their degree actually does matter. And that's probably why Mo Ways stayed. Having a solid couple years at Troy isn't going to get him to the NFL so why assume a guy would prefer that to practicing hard at Michigan, helping the scout team, and getting his Michigan degree? For those that don't care about playing time at a mediocre program, staying for the better degree is a smart career decision.
November 29th, 2017 at 8:29 AM ^
I mean, if that were going on (breaking the Michigan commitment), that would be grounds for firing Harbaugh. I can deal with painful losses and pretty much anything else, but not that.
But I'm also supremely confident that is not the case. If young Mr. Hall is going to transfer, it's not because of anything like that. Harbaugh was known and respected as a players' coach in the NFL -- no doubt it's also true on the college level.
I understand that these guys want to play. You don't get to this level without being competitive, and that's something Harbaugh looks for. My advice to them would always be to stay and get the Michigan degree, but I get why they don't.
November 29th, 2017 at 6:23 AM ^
I do.
November 29th, 2017 at 8:26 AM ^
I always wonder why kids pick the biggest schools including Michigan. You want to play at the top level with the best coaches, but you could be the guy at Purdue or Indiana and play all of the same teams with pretty good coaching. Thomas Rawls is the goto example.
November 29th, 2017 at 2:29 AM ^
"Processing redshirt freshmen?"
Why on earth would anyone automatically assume that a 19 year old kid being frustrated about his place on the depth chart was being "processed?" I don't know about everyone else here, but I certainly didn't make a lot of rational decisions when I was 19.
EVeryone wants to play now. Nobody wants to wait. Ironically enough, a lot of kids get frustrated with the depth chart, transfer, sit out a year, and then find out they would have played sooner if they had stayed.
November 29th, 2017 at 8:16 PM ^
I COULD BE WRONG.
November 29th, 2017 at 6:56 AM ^
So on this blog are posters who are reacting emotionally to a situation involving a player they never saw play, a conversation/conversations that may or may not have happened, and if they did, the posters have no idea what was said.
Sounds reasonable.
November 29th, 2017 at 8:18 PM ^
How is it emotional? Please I beg you tell me how you read emotion from a typed post.
Do you have super powers?
November 29th, 2017 at 8:55 AM ^
I sort of doubt Michigan is processing redshirt freshmen. Now, it may be kids are realizing they aren't going to play and looking elsewhere.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:09 PM ^
In a world of unlimited scholarships, every player would use up his eligibility at the school he signed with. That's not today's world and the opposition (looking at you, Urban & Nick) practices aggressive roster management. Failing to maximize scholarship value means falling behind.
November 29th, 2017 at 10:55 AM ^
Need to manage your roster but even with unlimited scholarships you would get opportunity-related transfers, which this appears to be.
Guys want to play and many have NFL dreams. If you're running, say, 5/5 out of your class of OL you might want to look elsewhere for PT.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:23 PM ^
That's unfortunate. I rember the few oklahoma drill clips from early spring practice and thinking he looked very impressive.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:01 PM ^
I had him as my sleeper of the year after seeing him stalemate Mo Hurst on that one rep.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:09 PM ^
I saw that rep I think on inside michigan football. But I remember it being stalemating Gary.
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