Cullen Christian to transfer to Pitt
No big surprise, but he says reason he came to Michigan was because of Tony Gibson and the coaching staff. Also, he said he did not like Ann Arbor.
http://www.michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1215603
"I didn't really like it up here," Christian said. "I didn't like the campus, and really, I've miserable since I've been up here.
"I think it was just about me and what I'm used to being around; there's a difference between living in Pittsburgh and Ann Arbor. A big difference. A lot of kids like it here, and some don't. It just wasn't for me.
"So once the coaches left, there wasn't much holding me here. I was like, 'Why am I here? I don't know these coaches and they didn't recruit me.'
April 26th, 2011 at 10:06 AM ^
you obviously haven't been to Ann Arbor. Whitest place on earth? Seriously? Check other college campuses and there are schools that are white dominant like Xavier or Miami(OH).
April 26th, 2011 at 10:06 AM ^
Um, I live here.. and it is definitely not the white-est place on Earth. It's an extremely diverse university and city. not sure where you were. Unless you're counting Asians and Indians and all that as "white." I had two classes this semester where I was the only white kid.
April 26th, 2011 at 10:12 AM ^
actually dexter is the whitest place on earth
April 26th, 2011 at 10:22 AM ^
Do yourself a favor and check before you make such a sweeping and incorrect statement.
Per Wiki
As of the 2010 U.S. Census ,[41] there were 113,394 people, 45,634 households, and 21,704 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,270.33 people per square mile (2653.47/km²).... The racial makeup of the city was 68.9% non-Hispanic [white] only, 7.7% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 14.4% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 1.0% from other races, and 3.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.1% of the population.
Those numbers don't include the U of M student population.
First of all, it was a joke. Second of all, I was referring more to the atmosphere around Ann Arbor, not the racial makeup. I meant that A2 has lots of Volvos and coffee shops and NY Times subscribers, and all the other things that make the stuff-white-people-like list.
...what other college campuses that aren't? I mean, have you BEEN to South Bend?
indeed. but while i don't really agree with the following, that may not be for everyone.
i mean, LOLPITTSBURGH obviously, but who am i to judge?
I pull for guys like Mallett who leave without bad mouthing UM. Best of luck to ya, Ryan.
But guys who b*tch & moan like Boren, screw them. So screw you, Cullen.
April 26th, 2011 at 10:59 AM ^
What bitching and moaning did the kid do.
"I didn't like it here" (which isn't insane btw, Ann Arbor is its own place and unique) and "I came to play for these coaches, they left, what's keeping me here."
Not bitching about a family atmosphere or whatever.
April 26th, 2011 at 12:34 PM ^
If he were playing.
Baseless statements are baseless.
Marell Evans' hindsight is waiting to say "I told you so", Cullen.
I am not sure why you guys on an CC's case. There is nothing in that article that is mean spirited about Michigan or Ann Arbor. He says it wasn't for him and that he came for the coaches. Big deal. There was a coaching change and he decided. I think it was a premature decision but if he really was miserable, why not go?
I don't think he deserves any venom for his statements or his decision.
April 26th, 2011 at 10:01 AM ^
I think it's the way he phrased it. To say he was miserable and there was nothing keeping him here is pretty rough. It's not so nice to Michigan, but it's really a backhanded insult to his teammates. Had he just said "Ann Arbor is cool and I love my teammates, but I miss home and want to go back" there wouldn't be such a problem.
April 26th, 2011 at 10:07 AM ^
I think that nuance would be a little too much to expect out of a 19-year-old. It would be great, sure...but it shouldn't be expected.
April 26th, 2011 at 11:01 AM ^
To a lot of people, Ann Arbor isn't cool. He said it wasn't for him, not that it sucks or something.
Kid was point blank miserable. Nothing keeping him here is probably in reference to all the secondary not being close because they are in hiding from the wrath of Angry Michigan Secondary Hating God.
That last part was a joke.
April 26th, 2011 at 12:20 PM ^
because some folks just like to bitch....yet, they would have not trouble taking another job if they felt it offered a better opportunity....transfers happen with every coach...will continue to happen...that is life.
Go Blue!
- 1.
April 26th, 2011 at 10:25 AM ^
Thanks for joining today to rip a former Michigan coach and player.
April 26th, 2011 at 12:04 PM ^
Do you stand up for Ron English when he gets ripped?
April 26th, 2011 at 12:35 PM ^
RE is not 19. He's also public figure who is being paid thus can be pretty fairly criticized.
say "coach" and player?
It used to be that when a kid left without dropping family values and whatnot that we would simply wish him good luck and move on. Now we rip on him for not being better and basically take a jilted lover who cares stance. A good chunk of the new crop of posters suck.
April 26th, 2011 at 10:12 AM ^
Normally you would be correct. But normally a kid wouldn't talk about how much he disliked his time here as he's walking out the door.
April 26th, 2011 at 10:18 AM ^
You are seriously going to get all defensive and upset because the kid was honest and said Ann Arbor wasn't for him? His statements were extremely benign. There's about 95% of this country that I would consider unliveable and I would say the same (or worse) if my job got transferred to Pittsburgh or somewhere else that I consider to suck. I'm not going to be mad if he prefers his hometown over Ann Arbor.
Good luck Cullen, hope you find what you are looking for.
April 26th, 2011 at 10:34 AM ^
I don't recall getting "all defensive", but whatever.
I am a jilted lover. I love Ann Arbor with every bit of my being. It is impossible that anyone dislikes it. I will not hear your logical counterarguments.
April 26th, 2011 at 11:03 AM ^
The kid didn't like his time here and said so. Shocking that someone would not really care for what Michigan has to offer.
Never mind that the atmosphere last year was positively TOXIC. That probably doesn't help. Ann Arbor has been better for football players in the past than it has been the last year or two.
April 26th, 2011 at 10:13 AM ^
ill be he first one to argue when somebody says that AA is the greatest place on earth, but man I hate pittsburgh, yuck
April 26th, 2011 at 10:17 AM ^
I think it goes without saying, that Cullen is not a Michigan man. I wish him the best.
April 26th, 2011 at 12:07 PM ^
it could have gone without saying.
thanks.
April 26th, 2011 at 10:22 AM ^
Doesn't sound like the issue was he wasn't fast enough to play DB at Michigan. Sounds like the problem was that he wasn't Maize and Blue enough to play DB at Michigan.
This relfects one of the big positives that Hoke is building. We aren't building a program around coaches or personalities anymore that players like or dislike. We are back to building recruiting around the traditions of Michigan. Go Blue.
April 26th, 2011 at 10:29 AM ^
Wut? Wouldn't you have said the exact same thing about RR when Boren, O'Neill, Clemons, etc. left? I betcha if, God forbid (Hoke uber alles) Brady Hoke ever leaves or gets fired, the new coach will experience some attrition. Won't that suggest that New Coach X is "back to building recruiting around the traditions of Michigan"?
April 26th, 2011 at 11:05 AM ^
What?
God I hope Hoke is a success because if this resurgence of the old guard doesn't pan out, we're going to have a hell of a time trying to bring someone in to shake things up.
April 26th, 2011 at 11:13 AM ^
Plenty of people here have argued that Carr recruited a bunch of rotten apples that undermined RR.
April 26th, 2011 at 10:27 AM ^
April 26th, 2011 at 10:36 AM ^
Christian didn't say Michigan or any of the coaches sucked; he just said he didn't like it here. He also acknowledged that other players like it in Ann Arbor. He admitted he was homesick.
I think it's safe to say that almost every player gets homesick and tries to leave or transfer at least once. If the staff thinks he can help, they usually talk him into staying. If the staff thinks he won't see a lot of time, they don't bother. I am guessing they didn't bother trying to talk him out of leaving.
He has freed up a scholly during a great recruiting year in the midwest, while going somewhere he might be able to play. Sounds like a win-win to me.
April 26th, 2011 at 11:15 AM ^
At least the kid is honest. I asked him if he was odds are moving to Pitt cause of Tony Gibson, he said probably.
April 26th, 2011 at 11:55 AM ^
I wonder how he would feel if Gibson and the coaches that recruited him left or got fired from Pitt.
April 26th, 2011 at 12:15 PM ^
My good friend and Ex wolverine just texted me back and said no suprise CC was always complaining about something even with the old staff.
April 26th, 2011 at 12:22 PM ^
"The value of a Michigan degree"--oh my, what about the poor BILLIONS of souls who don't get a Michigan degree? Whatever shall they do? I know, NONE of them are ever successful in life.
You guys with that crap kill me. Kids WANT TO PLAY FOOTBALL and HAVE FUN, not count on some stuffy message board guy to explain the "value" of a certain degree.
April 26th, 2011 at 12:27 PM ^
So you went to Eastern?
April 26th, 2011 at 12:45 PM ^
I would rather go to EMU or some other less important school if it meant I got to start and play football, the sport I'm most passionate about and enjoy the hell out of my college experience. And most of us realize it's not what school you go to but it's what you make up it and how successful you are at the school you choose. How far is being miserable and being unsuccessful at a great school going to take you?
I could care less where you or CC wants to go, peace out we will have someone replace you 6th on the depth chart, the point i was making was the guy above was talking like a Michigan degree wasnt shit.
If you truly think that Sean Ornery was saying a Michigan degree isn't worth shit, then you truly misunderstood what he was saying.
Michigan degree only is what it is because of the quality of the graduates, not the name of the school. Name helps because there are so many alumni floating around but it only helps because they got where they are because they're good, not merely because of the name of the school on their diploma.
Point is the value of a Michigan degree as compared to a degree from Pitt (not a bad schoolf if I remember correctly) isn't that big of a deal if they're the type to just scrape by, which, for a lot of kids who are playing football at the same time, is doing pretty well for themselves.
April 26th, 2011 at 12:51 PM ^