Hoke: captains to be named after The Game
Kind of interesting. Per the twitters.
There will be 4th and 5th year seniors at the coin toss.
So, pretty much the apostle system RR did from 2008-2009, but with seniors only.
This could be my last thread for awhile.
EDIT: After my first class today and taking my online, I'm not filled up with work. Yet. It won't be my last thread for awhile. You just won't see a 1000% percent chance of me posting 20 times a day like normally.
August 25th, 2014 at 11:54 AM ^
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August 25th, 2014 at 11:56 AM ^
August 25th, 2014 at 11:59 AM ^
I assure you, Hoke isn't some sacred cow who is shielded from fanbase heat while RR was some sacrificial martyr. This isn't 2011 anymore.
August 25th, 2014 at 11:59 AM ^
I do. The solution to having bad captains isn't to do away with them—it's getting better captains.
August 25th, 2014 at 12:22 PM ^
other than it makes you happy?
August 25th, 2014 at 12:47 PM ^
It's mainly because my suspicion is that if you have sixteen captains, you really don't have any, and that college football is a sport in which having strong designated leaders is a good thing.
Is this something I'm going to be harping on? Nope.
August 25th, 2014 at 2:08 PM ^
It was part of the "he doesn't get Michiganaaarrrggghhh" meme. Will be interesting to see if Hoke gets that.
August 25th, 2014 at 4:35 PM ^
August 26th, 2014 at 4:24 AM ^
With all diue respect, how the fuck do you know it is a distraction? Are you on the team? Honestly, it is amusing that some people feel their feeling reperesent how the players feel. Just grab your popcorn on Saturdays and watch. Who knows you might like what you see.
August 25th, 2014 at 12:00 PM ^
FWIW I like it when we send fewer players to the coin toss than the other team. Sort of says "two of our guys can do what it takes 4-5 of yours to do."
August 26th, 2014 at 4:21 AM ^
Whilst you spend your time hoping people hate this I hope they go undefeated.
August 25th, 2014 at 11:58 AM ^
I hate it. I dont even really know how this would work in practice, because it is such an alien concept.
But I've been wrong before, and I hope to be wrong again.
August 25th, 2014 at 12:13 PM ^
I think the "named" part is the operative part. They'll have leaders by some other name, but the honor of the official designation is a carrot Hoke is dangling over the team throughout the season. Practically and logistically speaking, I don't think it's going to be all that different than any other year.
August 25th, 2014 at 11:59 AM ^
the ACDC circle of doom again?
August 25th, 2014 at 12:51 PM ^
Hah! You are awesome, I had forgotten about that.
I didn't mind it, thought the kids loved it and it pumped them up. But I'm curious and I really don't remember - were Brian and some of the other gameday conservatives as up in arms about that as they were about Pop Evil?
Don't get me wrong, the muzac to me is one of the Brandon criticisms that ring true, and I hated Pop Evil. But that was nearly a match in cheeseball factor. I don't remember the same volume of complaints.
August 25th, 2014 at 1:03 PM ^
It was just a little too "West Virginia" for me. After awhile when the losses piled up it just looked really stupid to me.
August 25th, 2014 at 5:06 PM ^
I feel the same about this as I do about the piped-in music at Yost as the hockey team warms up: the music during the warmups is for the players, and the music during the games is for the fans.
If the players want truly awful music during their pre-game stretching and warming up (and that's exactly what they seem to want, in both football and hockey), ok--give it to them. If they find that "Started from the Bottom" by Drake inspires them to greatness, then play it for them while I try to ignore it. But once the band takes over after warmups have ended, it's a different story.
August 25th, 2014 at 11:01 PM ^
August 25th, 2014 at 12:06 PM ^
There have been some mentions of a "Leadership Council" comprised of four representatives from each class. (Not sure whether, as an example, this would treat both redshirt freshmen and true sophomores as members of the sophomore class because they're members of the same recruiting class, or if redshirt freshmen would be treated as members of the freshman class.)
Has the membership of the "Leadership Council" ever been disclosed? If so, who are the members?
Maybe the idea of using game captains from the members of the senior class and the redshirt senior class is a way of rewarding "those who stay(ed)" for at least four years with the honor of representing the team at the coin toss.
If they're truly emphasizing, "The Team! The Team! The Team!," then I might've liked them using four members of the "Leadership Council" (one from each class) plus a fifth team member selected for his efforts during the week's practices to represent the team at the coin toss for each game.
I also wonder whether, before Big Ten Media Days in July, Devin Gardner, Frank Clark and Jake Ryan were told that there would be game captains this season. I would've thought that, as a returning team captain, Jake Ryan must've had some say in the decision to use game captains this season.
August 25th, 2014 at 12:33 PM ^
but if it were me I would deemphasize the importance of captains. If you are truly a leader you don't need the title and it sends the message that everybody is expected to lead some way while in the program. Never been a big captain guy. I like the idea.
August 25th, 2014 at 5:23 PM ^
August 25th, 2014 at 12:35 PM ^
August 25th, 2014 at 5:29 PM ^
If Michigan won 11 games last year, Hoke probably would have captains named before this season. It's not a huge deal, but I don't get it. Naming a captain after the season is just giving you something to put on your resume instead of putting you in a position where you are expected to lead.
August 25th, 2014 at 12:38 PM ^
August 25th, 2014 at 12:47 PM ^
Here is the MLive article on this very topic here - LINK
""We've got great leadership in our senior class, we really do, especially on defense and with Devin (Gardner), he's been absolutely fantastic," Hoke said. "But, at the same time, we've talked about leadership throughout the team. Throughout every class. We have a (leadership) representative group that's a big part of what we do."
I could be off here, but I think there is an element of getting everyone to exhibit leadership qualities throughout the team, and it goes hand-in-hand with some of the things that the players themselves have said throughout the month. I believe, for example, there was one interview in which someone mentioned that they are not just playing for their own sake but "playing for others", challenging everyone in their respective unit to be better and to be accountable. I think that has to be a team-wide notion if you want to see maximum success, and it is something that doesn't necessarily require annointed captainship. It is definitely an interesting approach, if this is the case, and best case scenario - it makes the team as a whole that much better.
August 25th, 2014 at 12:51 PM ^
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August 25th, 2014 at 12:54 PM ^
I hope we succeed but it seems like he is throwing shit against the wall to see what sticks.
August 25th, 2014 at 11:02 PM ^
August 25th, 2014 at 1:04 PM ^
Maybe the Captains have to order the table arrangements for the banquet.
August 25th, 2014 at 1:43 PM ^
August 25th, 2014 at 1:54 PM ^
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August 25th, 2014 at 2:00 PM ^
OSU did the same thing in 2011 under Fickell.
August 25th, 2014 at 2:54 PM ^
Oh yeah, that one year we beat them. When they were terrible. And we were one "how is that call NOT reversed" late Fitz TD followed by a completely blown Miller pass to a wide open Posey away from STILL losing.
August 25th, 2014 at 3:35 PM ^
August 25th, 2014 at 5:32 PM ^
I don't understand why this looks like desperation to people, teams are a lot like people in the sense that every one is different. This could be Hoke's way of incorporating a new style of leadership. Doing something just because it has always been done that way is bad business.
Successful coaches are constantly trying new things, some pay off others flop. But it is the willingness to try these things that often seperate teams from each other.
August 25th, 2014 at 4:10 PM ^
I have no problem with this and I had no problem with it when RR did it. (Like everyone else, I was more concerned with RR's lack of attention to his defense.) Hoke is addressing a lack of effective leadership last year by trying something different this year. Fine by me. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and see what happens.
August 25th, 2014 at 5:50 PM ^
I mean, if it inspires the kids than great. I want to win games, and get rid of distractions, and this is a distraction.
August 25th, 2014 at 7:10 PM ^
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August 25th, 2014 at 8:19 PM ^
Meh.
August 25th, 2014 at 10:44 PM ^
Why would this be your last post for a while? This week is nothing but listening to professors ramble about the syllabus. Boring as hell but at least you don't have to do any work yet.
August 25th, 2014 at 11:08 PM ^
August 25th, 2014 at 11:12 PM ^
August 26th, 2014 at 2:51 AM ^
Also the more I think about this the more it worries me. We heard there was team fighting last year. A bunch of people on here said it sure seems like a lack of leadership and a bunch of people said you're full of it. I sure hope this isn't a sign of more of that to come.
August 26th, 2014 at 7:49 AM ^
August 26th, 2014 at 8:00 AM ^