Freshman OL JaRaymond Hall transferring
November 28th, 2017 at 9:53 PM ^
The early signing period must have something to do with it. It's another reason why college football has its own Black Sunday now like the NFL's Black Monday after the last game of the regular season.
November 28th, 2017 at 9:59 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 10:00 PM ^
Well, the regular season is over. All that's left is bowl practice, which combines prep for the bowl game with a fair amount of "time to get ready for next year" stuff if I remember what I've heard correctly. It's not totally unusual for transfers to be announced now, but I do think it has accelerated as transfers have become more common.
I assume these transfers mean the guys won't be participating in bowl practices and won't dress for the game, but I could be wrong. Anyone know?
November 28th, 2017 at 10:11 PM ^
Highly unlikely a transfer would be allowed to do those things.
November 28th, 2017 at 9:52 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 9:53 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 9:56 PM ^
I remember almost nothing about him. So I went and looked at the recruiting profile Brian produced about him coming in. It was, uh, not glowing:
Guru Reliability: Low. Huge spread, OL, shut it down after his commitment and skipped the camp scene.Variance: High. OL. OL who might end up lacking sufficient power and top out as an adequate backup option. High school career mostly against goofs, little camp stuff.
Ceiling: High-minus. I mean, Omameh's still kicking around the NFL.
General Excitement Level: Moderate. Real wildcard in the class.
Projection: Obvious redshirt. In year two Michigan will probably have an open OT spot and may have already deployed one of Hall's classmates, so competition will be relatively thin: Grant Newsome, if he can successfully rehab, his classmates, and Runyan Jr.
Hall's lack of spring buzz makes it seem like he's unlikely to be the guy next year. If he doesn't win that LT job it'll be two more years before spots open up. The only senior OL on the 2018 roster will be Juwann Bushell-Beatty, and that's if he gets a fifth year. That'll buy Hall two more years of development before he attempts to crack the lineup as a redshirt junior. That could be at tackle but is more likely to be at guard.
Hall was falling in most projections. Brian's projection suggests he has years of development to get on the field. And if he isn't cutting it at tackle, he's not exactly looking at an easy path even then.
It's not good to lose a guy after his freshman year in any event. I'd prefer to see what he can do. But this might (and, thinking in offseason optimist mode, I tend to favor the preferable explanations) be a case where the guy can see that he's not going anywhere early on and decides to make his way somewhere else where he'll get a chance to play.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:04 PM ^
Better to let him transfer now then and find another croot than let him get lost in the depth chart shuffle.
At first I thought something was wrong. Phew.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:08 PM ^
I agree. Better for both parties. Transfers are the way now, and I think it's a good thing.
November 28th, 2017 at 9:58 PM ^
Can someone who understands OL play help me understand why Bredeson is an OG and not an OT? I know that he was thought to be a future OT when he was in high school and I don't know what is needed in each position that makes Ben more suitable at OG.
Thanks in advance for responses. =)
November 28th, 2017 at 10:13 PM ^
I don't know shit myself and have had this fantasy that Spanellis would work well at either a guard spot or C, which would allow for us to kick Ben out to tackle with an interior of SS, Ruiz and Big Mike (serious beef train there). Of course, it falls apart if Bredeson wouldn't be a good tackle, so I wonder the same thing you do about his potential there.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:14 PM ^
run blocker than he is a pass blocker, and doesn't have elite tackle quickness. I'd actually liken him to a guy like Mason Cole, that can be a good, if not very good tackle, but has some elite, All-American potential at guard. He's listed at 6'5, but I have a feeling he's a little shorter than that. I just think that especially in a relative rebuilding year, Harbaugh and Co. would rather give him more experience at the position he'll play in the future rather than move him around. It is a little confusing, given the black hole that was the right tackle position, but there's a good chance that left guard would have been a black hole had Bredeson moved.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:38 PM ^
Bredeson could very well end up at LT replacing Cole when the ball is first snapped at ND.
Who else has game experience and could protect the left flank? I bet they move one of the kids into the LG slot and slide Bredeson to LT.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:51 PM ^
I'm not convinced that the tackle issues are as dire for next year as some say. Newsome could come back, Hudson has been rumored to be pretty good at tackle, Stueber, Filiaga will be second year players. If JBB plays, it's not the end of the world. We could just line a TE up next to him and he's a good run blocker.Onwenu was good from the MSU game on and Ruiz showed some flashes. I was very down on the OL before this season because we lost so much with few bulletsin the chamber besides some Hoke castoffs and the Harbaugh tweenerclass. Now we return most of our linemen and we have more bullets in the chamber.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:46 PM ^
Tackle is worrisome because there aren't obvious answers right now. Newsome is a giant questionmark. We haven't seen the young guys get it done. JBB/Runyan/Ulizio could improve but they could plateau.
The good news is that there are a lot of young guys. You probably heard the same rumor I heard about Hudson; that's one positive. I'm anxiously awaiting others before I anoint him, but if he's getting warm rumors in spring the hype train can start rolling.
But if not Hudson, there are several other guys who have the potential to step up to at least Onwenu-level competence and growth to lock down one spot, that's huuuuge. Then you've got three or four guys fighting for the other tackle spot and you figure one of them will be ok.
And FWIW I think pass pro can take a major step forward next year just by the interior guys (who are all talented and now experienced) doing something we know the coaches are capable of teaching them, which is picking up stunts. Fix that and a lot of the worst busts are gone. Assuming Ruiz is up for making the calls.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:48 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 11:02 PM ^
I think he plays next year. Don't know how much but he will suit up and get in.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:41 PM ^
Per umbig11 it's 50/50, and spring practice will tell a lot.
November 29th, 2017 at 2:09 AM ^
Hey, I've got my fingers and toes crossed.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:03 PM ^
Guard is a populated position, and he was a major project, but losing OL when we already feel thin feels like...
November 28th, 2017 at 9:59 PM ^
Wish him luck. Not totally surprised given the fact he was probably a guard and that seems to be the one area on the line with a lot of depth.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:01 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 10:13 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 10:40 PM ^
Why though? He was an early enrolee, has the spring and immediately was like ima gtfo? That doesn't sound like a playing time thing - how could it be, unless he thought he could play right away
November 29th, 2017 at 12:18 AM ^
Wierd that he wanted out so quickly. During his recruitment he stated his Top 5 schools were "Michigan, Michigan, Michigan, Michigan and Michigan". And he was one of the first commits in his class. What changed? Did whatever happened in spring practice convince him he had no reasonable shot here?
November 28th, 2017 at 10:02 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 10:28 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 10:34 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 10:05 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 10:06 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 10:16 PM ^
Those who stay....
go to the holiday bowl
November 28th, 2017 at 10:50 PM ^
I think you enjoy yourself too much.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:20 PM ^
coming up. Not a contributor.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:22 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 10:23 PM ^
I would expect Winovich back. He's not a 1st rounder right now and it helped Hurst to come back. Gary and Solomon will draw focus away from him.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:33 PM ^
say he is gone mainly because he has nothing left to prove,
he had such a great year why take a risk of injury like Butt.
Would be wonderful if he returns, have my doubts now.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:36 PM ^
He still has stuff to prove. He hasn't won a big ten title. He hasn't beat Ohio State. He's most likley a third rounder I'm guessing this year. Doesn't seem good enough to come out early.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:58 PM ^
Hopefully he is back but from a business standpoint I doubt he ends up a 1st rounder next year either so him coming back is a risk. He probably ends up a 3rd rounder if he goes now and likely the same with another year like this one.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:51 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 11:48 PM ^
Edge of the internet has some people with sources. But waiting is still fine, I don't know what was said. People suggesting Chase staying or going using "he does/doesn't have something to prove" logic are just speculating.
I mean, we all speculate. But that's just us spouting opinions, not sourced info.
November 29th, 2017 at 8:27 AM ^
November 29th, 2017 at 9:20 AM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 10:31 PM ^
If we add another OG this class, does it really matter that a guy like Hall who was behind the other guards left.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:31 PM ^
we need them all to increase the competition level..
might be time to bring in a 5th yr grad transfer O Tackle
November 28th, 2017 at 10:33 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 10:37 PM ^
Would be great to have him back next year.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:40 PM ^
The sign proclaiming "Those Who Stay Will Be Champions" should be taken off the wall and replaced with "If You're Not a Starter By Year Two You Might As Well Transfer—Who Cares About a Degree From Michigan?"
November 28th, 2017 at 10:50 PM ^
If you are at a company and it doesn't look like you will be promoted and another smaller company offers you more pay and a managerial position do you stick around because the larger company has a better reputation or out of some loyalty? Or do you do what is best for you and your career?
The schools have turned football into a business, nobody should be mad at the kids who look at it that way now.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:05 PM ^
But I'd make a major distinction between getting an education that can affect your entire working life and working at a job after your education is completed.
Having said that, I'm also not so naive as to believe that getting a degree from Michigan is the primary reason most HS kids come here. Their goal, realistic or not, is playing in the NFL, and in order to do that they have to play in games, not sit on the bench.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:59 PM ^
Alex Malzone, Ian Bunting, Maurice Ways, Noah Furbush, Lawrence Marshall, and Brandon Watson are pretty good examples of sticking it out. I think for every case of "meh, Michigan degree" you could find several cases of just the opposite.