oriental andrew

September 13th, 2010 at 12:40 PM ^

That may or may not be the case.  However, it serves noone's interest to even speculate that the kid is transferring because he is averse to working hard (implication that he is lazy and/or entitled). He's leaving - wish him well and follow RR's lead by talking about who is left on the team and who we can fill those holes with.  

ntl002

September 13th, 2010 at 12:02 PM ^

Hate to say it, but if some of these kids do not want to put in the work (a la Denard) in order to climb the depth chart, then I wish them the best of luck at their next stop, but clearly Michigan is not the place for them. 

Keep in mind I say this knowing absolutely nothing about Lalota's reasoning. Strictly hypothetical.

GOBLUE4EVR

September 13th, 2010 at 12:03 PM ^

wants to leave because hes not playing then let him... it just shows that these kids got whatever they wanted when they were in HS and didn't realize that it was hard work to get PT in college...

OHbornUMfan

September 13th, 2010 at 12:07 PM ^

whether other programs are going through the same stuff right now.  As players who went through winter workouts, spring camp, summer workouts, summer camp, and two weeks of the season they probably had certain ideas about how much they'd play.  These ideas might not have been borne out by the first two games.

Is this a generational epidemic, or something program specific?  Are kids immediately turned off by the idea of possibly not playing until they're juniors or seniors?  If so, how do some schools pull loaded classes year in and year out?

GVBlue86

September 13th, 2010 at 12:10 PM ^

Been thinking about this theory. I think you have a point. Guys want instant gratification, and maybe some thought of Michigan as their chance for that. When they find themselves lower on the depth chart on a defensively thin team then they get impatient and bolt for a shot at easy playing time somewhere else.

profitgoblue

September 13th, 2010 at 12:12 PM ^

I had that same question you raise about what seems to be a lot of recent transfer requests.  I've been a fan for years and have never known there to be so many transfers.  That said, I wonder if I know more about recruiting and transfers simply by being a regular MGoBlog reader.  I think my general knowledge about the team has deepened so greatly that its impossible for me to compare historically.  That said, all of these recent commits and the Forcier rumor make me uncomfortable.

MGlobules

September 13th, 2010 at 12:27 PM ^

than a certain kind of mobility and awareness? Most of these kids have already worked VERY hard for years to get here. I think that some of them just really want a chance, and will go somewhere they can play. I don't really hold it against them, but it IS a new wrinkle in the way that the game is played. From the viewpoint of admissions and academics, I'm sure it's lamented, but they helped create the monster. . . 

cincyflintstone

September 13th, 2010 at 1:38 PM ^

To me it looks like the last two guys are upset/transferring because they are getting passed by underclassmen. I'm not justifying it just saying this might be part of the reason. If upperclassmen are ahead of them like on offense for the most part, most people don't mind waiting their turn. JMO

GVBlue86

September 13th, 2010 at 12:07 PM ^

Good Lord. Must be looking like the easy way out or something as these guys see so many others around them doing it. Can't believe this. Honestly though, RRod seems to be bulding a team of guys who are selfless and hard working. If he isn't All In and not seeing the field, what's the big deal? At least I am telling myself that as we lose more and more depth.

Big_G

September 13th, 2010 at 12:11 PM ^

Stinks that another transfer is going to happen, but yeah this isnt a surprise.  What with him coming in below his advertised height and weight and not playing a whole bunch of football beforehand.  Still with our current success and figuring it continues, could this mean a hello: Anthony Zettell AND Hello: Deion Barnes in the future?  In other words, does this increase the chance that we take another DL in this class?  I am assuming so, but wouldnt be surprised to see us go after a DB.

M-Wolverine

September 13th, 2010 at 12:14 PM ^

Who wait till they're upperclassmen to see if they earn playing time?  I mean, does everyone think they develop so early at this point?  I know places like this don't help, that declare someone a failure if they aren't starters by sophomore year, but there are lots of guys who become starters as seniors and had great careers.

Are we looking at a future (in college football, not just Michigan) where all depth is freshman, because anyone who's a sophomore and isn't in the two-deep is transferring?

briangoblue

September 13th, 2010 at 3:58 PM ^

In a few years he could've been Greg Banks, or Sagasse, or Huyge, getting that chance to contribute. Maybe it's a reflection on how good Jibreel Black is rather than an indictment of the kid, but I'm getting pretty sick of second year guys bailing out. Maybe he's homesick or just sick of football. Next man up, I guess.

natesezgoblue

September 13th, 2010 at 12:21 PM ^

he's as RS freshman, How much PT does he expect to get?  This transfer stuff is getting old real quick.  Ive been on RRods side the whole time but there is clearly an issue(good or bad) that were not seeing. 

CheckOutMyRod

September 13th, 2010 at 12:23 PM ^

Vlad hurts the depth this year  but both of these guys were not long term players. I think this class will be a good one and we need somemore scholies anyways.I dont like players to tranfer but sometimes its the best for the player and the program. I wish them all well but I think over all our program will be better also.

UMAmaizinBlue

September 13th, 2010 at 12:57 PM ^

This is why I wish it was still a "student-athlete" rather than an "athlete-student", but alas. It is a shame to see someone pass up a great opportunity at an education at one of the greatest academic universities in the world.

 

Now, that being said, I hope Anthony finds what he's looking for in football, and gets a good education in the process wherever he ends up.

Feat of Clay

September 13th, 2010 at 4:54 PM ^

Well, that may be too negative a read on it.  Didn't Vladimir Emilien have UVA on his short list?  That's not a bad place to have a degree from.

Regardless, we know a U-M degree is a lot of work.  Especially in light of the time investment athletes have to make for practice and training and everything else.  If you're a football player, you're at study table a lot of nights, too, right?  You can't even choose to blow off your academics.

I can see why it might be hard to give up so much time to both school and your sport while fearing that you're never going to get to do what you've dreamed of doing: which is actually play college ball.  And that could make it more appealing to go to a place that might give you some field time -- AND, possibly, even be a little easier on you academically.  Obviously we're thankful that so many of the guys on the roster have done the math and concluded that the U-M degree (and everything else) is worth it even if they never play a down.  But some kids are going to figure differently, and I think it's understandable.

robpollard

September 13th, 2010 at 12:27 PM ^

Assuming it's true he's transferring b/c he wasn't playing or second-string by the second game as a redshirt FRESHMAN, it seems like football is increasingly becoming like basketball: you either a) get players who are good, but not too good (or at least don't think too highly of themselves), who will stay with your program and develop for four years and be happy to wait until their Junior or Senior year to play or b) get 5-star super studs and promise them, and give them,1st or 2nd year playing time. 

Anything in between, such as getting a four-star ("Hey, I'm good! Play me now!") and expecting them to wait until are actually good enough to get deserved playing time (i.e., their RS Soph or RS Junior year) looks like there will increasingly be a lot of transfers.

It's going to be hard to build depth unless you get this mix just right.

umchicago

September 13th, 2010 at 1:38 PM ^

but it's easier to have instant success in basketball than football.  football is much more physical than skill compared to basketball.  an extra couples years is a bigger advantage in football than basketball.

how else could steve watson, a converted tight end, be ahead on the depth chart.  a couple extra years of adding size and strength and system is valuable.

patience is truly a virtue.

it's obvious that kids today don't bleed the school colors (in general) like they used to from day 1.

marlon

September 13th, 2010 at 12:32 PM ^

Without going into meltdown mode, people can't credibly continue to dismiss these transfers as "Kid didn't want to work hard" or "Must be a generational thing."  Florida, USC, Texas, and Alabama are able to stockpile elite talent without the kind of attrition Michigan is seeing, and it's not as if the players they recruit have better work ethics or greater desires to compete than Michigan's players.  Something else is at work here.  I won't pretend to know what it is, but I think it's a bigger problem than most people here want to acknowledge.

robpollard

September 13th, 2010 at 12:40 PM ^

I don't think this board's in meltdown, just shocked (yet by now unsurprised) that yet another very young backup is leaving immediately after a big win.  Vlad leaving seemed completely playing time-related (any by playing time, I mean playing time "right now", not in a year or two) and if this is the same, the generational comments are fair.

Your points about elite programs may be valid, but I don't know.  I'm not on any msg boards for those teams, so I have no idea how many kids are transferring.  Florida, from what little I've picked up, has had plenty of transfers.  Do we have any stats on this?  Plus, I would expect our turnover to be a bit higher, based on our recent poor record, likely sanctions, and relatively recent head coaching change.

All that said, another transfer is frustrating, It won't affect this season as Lalota wasn't going to play, but from an APR perspective, it's worrisome.