Is Olu the greatest transfer in UM history?
In my 32 years of serious fandom, the answer is yes. Granted we don't get a lot of transfers due to recruiting and academics, but I shudder to think what this team would be without him. While Corum is certainly the MVP 1A, Olu is 1B, and Corum's year would have been less without Old. The guy is an absolute monster of strength, skill, and savvy. He will likely be the most missed player next year. But hopefully, I'll be writing this same post about Okie by then.
November 16th, 2022 at 8:52 AM ^
In my nearly 60 years of fandom, Olu is the best transfer by a country mile. We have had a couple of transfers at linebaker, maybe 2 in the secondary, maybe one each at RB and WR, with the best of the lot being Rudock at QB, and while Jacob was pretty good in the second half of his one year, Olu has been a key component to what is still a pretty young OL and an absolute stud at his position. The next best would have been the DL we got out of Central a few years back. I also forgot that Okie at DL this year, who has potential at this point, but won't touch Olu unless he stays next year and turns into Aiden Hutchinson 2.0.
Case Closed
November 16th, 2022 at 9:35 AM ^
Was the guy out of Central Danna?
November 16th, 2022 at 9:52 AM ^
Yes - Mike Danna, from CMU.
November 16th, 2022 at 9:59 AM ^
Still in the NFL! Good for him.
November 16th, 2022 at 8:52 AM ^
In football? Yeah probably. In basketball? Duncan Robinson comes to mind.
November 16th, 2022 at 8:54 AM ^
Well said. Who is the best to transfer out?
November 16th, 2022 at 8:55 AM ^
Je'Ron Stokes.
November 16th, 2022 at 9:00 AM ^
Zack Charbonnnet without a doubt
November 16th, 2022 at 9:32 AM ^
Justin Fargas?
November 16th, 2022 at 12:19 PM ^
I remember around that time that Shawn Collins transferred away from Michigan and then transferred back a year or two later.
November 16th, 2022 at 2:59 PM ^
Have to throw Ryan Mallett in here with 6 or 7 years in NFL.
November 16th, 2022 at 9:00 AM ^
Could be Charbonnet, he's been pretty good at UCLA.
November 16th, 2022 at 9:15 AM ^
Best transfer out I can think of was RB Jon Ritchie, who went to Stanford after two years at Michigan. Played 7 years in the NFL.
November 16th, 2022 at 12:05 PM ^
Trevor Pryce?
November 16th, 2022 at 9:40 AM ^
Ryan Mallet was pretty good at Arkansas and parlayed it into a 3rd round pick
November 16th, 2022 at 10:13 AM ^
Trevor Pryce
November 16th, 2022 at 1:07 PM ^
Trevor Pryce has to be part of this conversation.
November 16th, 2022 at 8:54 AM ^
Has anyone else ever noticed that Duncan Robinson shares his first and last name with the Twin Towers of the San Antonio Spurs?
I don't believe in coincidences.
November 16th, 2022 at 11:30 AM ^
i was today days old
November 16th, 2022 at 8:59 AM ^
I would put Mike Smith ahead of Duncan. Duncan is a better pro than he was a player at Michigan. Duncan went ofer in his most important game here. Hell, I would put Charles Matthews ahead of Duncan
November 16th, 2022 at 9:33 AM ^
basketball transfer = Rickey Green
November 16th, 2022 at 11:38 AM ^
I agree. If I remember correctly, he led the team to a national runner up in 1976. Led team to No. 1 ranking heading into the 1977 tournament. He also had a nice NBA career.
November 16th, 2022 at 5:36 PM ^
He had great hair too.
November 16th, 2022 at 3:33 PM ^
Rickey Green is the correct answer. Charles Matthews would be my #2, based on his regional MVP performance in the 2018 tournament.
Sean Higgins is #3, as he hit the game winner against the Flying Illini to send UM to the title game in 1989. That shot was so big, there's a reasonable argument Higgins should be #2. I went to Illinois for law school and I can't tell you how many times my Illinois friends cursed about Sean m$%&@ f%*@#^ Higgins.
November 16th, 2022 at 9:56 AM ^
I would argue Charles Matthews had more of an impact as a basketball transfer at Michigan than Duncan Robinson. Robinson has turned into the better pro.
November 16th, 2022 at 11:06 AM ^
You mean Kentucky Transfer Charles Matthews. Based on CBB broadcasts, I'm pretty sure that's his full legal name.
November 16th, 2022 at 8:52 AM ^
the greatest transfer ever is that one corner who transferred from utah named casey something-or-other
November 16th, 2022 at 10:21 AM ^
Casey Hughes??? Did he ever play?
November 16th, 2022 at 10:31 AM ^
How can we forget Austin Panter?
November 16th, 2022 at 11:31 AM ^
i read this thread hoping against hope that i would be the first to post it but i knew in my heart of hearts that i would be beaten to the punch
good on ya
November 16th, 2022 at 5:51 PM ^
He's in a category by himself, as he's the only JUCO transfer we've taken in decades. He went to a JUCO because he was from a tiny rural high school in Iowa that didn't even play proper 11-on-11 football. He had to go the JUCO route just to get the experience and exposure he would need to achieve his dream of playing major college football. His story is actually pretty impressive.
November 16th, 2022 at 8:53 AM ^
Yes. Unless he's not. In that case no.
November 16th, 2022 at 8:58 AM ^
I had not thought of it until you made this post but probably yes? But given the REALLY small sample size it's not like he had a ton of competition for the award.
You're absolutely right though that the team would look a lot different without him and he'll definitely be missed.
While we're discussing transfers, has anyone asked the coaches at Wake Forest what in the HELL they were thinking not starting/featuring Kenneth Walker for two years??? At least Olu was starting at UVA.
November 16th, 2022 at 11:33 AM ^
While we're discussing transfers, has anyone asked the coaches at Wake Forest what in the HELL they were thinking not starting/featuring Kenneth Walker for two years???
The only thing I can think is that while most RBs are pretty ready to go as freshmen (at least as runners; blitz pickup, etc. can take some work), not all are. Some take a few years to blossom. For example, while he certainly showed some flashes early, how many people looked at Corum's 50 yards at 2.2 ypc in 2020 and thought he'd be a legit Heisman contender in 2022? Or Haskins. He was initially switched to defense, before coming back to RB and cementing himself as the starter, sticking ahead of a very talented Charbonnet in 2020 (who he essentially then caused to transfer) and future Heisman contender Corum in 2021.
Curious if Walker was similar (or, I guess, if Wake Forest's OL was so atrocious that even his talent couldn't shine through)...
November 16th, 2022 at 12:26 PM ^
I also think player-evaluation is still a mystery, by and large. Think of all the quarterbacks drafted super high by the pros over the years who flamed out quickly (Heath Shuler, Ryan Leaf, and JaMarcus Russel leap to mind), or the 5-star players who disappointed in college (just at Michigan, I think of Derrick Green and Shane Morris).
Even in practice, remember two different universities thought Joe Milton should be a starter, while Cade McNamara rode the bench.
So many things go into being a successful player, perhaps none so important as circumstances.
November 16th, 2022 at 1:32 PM ^
Part of the evaluation thing, for example with recruits, involves what's driving a ranking. So take a 5* player; there are more valuable, and less valuable, reasons that guy got a 5* ranking.
Athleticism is valuable. You can't teach speed, as they say. Athletic freaks have value, because if they put it together they can do things try-hards could never dream of (Rashan is tough because while his role was certainly valuable in Brown's scheme, it wasn't necessarily maximizing his athleticism, but think of guys like Peppers and Dax and what their freak abilities allowed the defense to do).
Intelligence is valuable, although I'm not sure there are too many 5*s ranked as such because they can process the game at light speed.
But development isn't as valuable. It's something you see especially with QBs, all the more so as specialized and supplemental coaching in high school has increased. Some guys get high rankings because they are very polished (as compared with say, Milton, who had 5*ish tools but was a 3* because he was raw as hell, and still may never reach his potential). That's dangerous because, mentally, you expect that if a guy is this good in high school, he'll get a ton better with college coaching, but some of these guys are already close to their ceiling, and all of a sudden don't look so promising (because their potential was a mirage). That's my pet theory about Tate Forcier. He got an unbelievable amount of coaching in high school (QB coaching became his family's business), came here, was good as a freshman, and then didn't really improve (maturity issues notwithstanding). I think he was already close to his ceiling as a freshman, which made him good compared to most freshman, but less good, comparatively, the older he got.
And the worst is early development. I think the sites are doing better with it now, as every year you see early 5*s drop and drop. But I'm sure some still get through the cracks, and there are at least historical examples, like the Kevin Grady's of the world that were 5*s because they were bigger and stronger than anyone around them, but didn't have actual 5* talent. (There are also the weird cases, the 5*s like Bellville has had recently, who end up going to the Kentucky's of the world because no big programs are interested).
And it goes the same for negatives as well. Lack of athleticism is a big downside. It can be overcome by intelligence, but it puts a solid ceiling on a guy. Again, same with intelligence. Michael Cox (for today's blast from the past) had NFL tools, and indeed was in the league for a few years, but couldn't see the field here because he reportedly couldn't learn the playbook. Or think about players (LBs, QBs, etc.) that process too slow to be useful. Size, not necessarily so much. Devin Bush was an otherwise 5* recruit that didn't climb higher than low to mid 4* range because he lacked prototypical size. Not only did he play like a 5* in college, where NFL size is less important, but it didn't even affect him NFL-wise, as he went #10 in the draft, two spots ahead of unanimous #1 recruit Rashan Gary.
Pro evaluation can be similar, in that oftentimes players are drafted on potential, but don't end up hitting it. E.g. QBs who have the physical tools but can't see the field well enough, or be accurate enough to make their NFL arm worthwhile. You see it in other leagues, too. Neither Houstan nor Diabate did anything last year to warrant being drafted; they were drafted on potential. The question will be whether or not they hit it.
November 16th, 2022 at 9:01 AM ^
I think you are 100% accurate and if Okie stays for another season, he could be another great transfer, although I'm not sure he would "unseat" Olu. The center position is so incredibly important and he does it all. Dude is a fantastic football player.
November 16th, 2022 at 10:16 AM ^
Isn't this Okie's last eligible year?
November 16th, 2022 at 10:19 AM ^
No, he has one more season if he wants it.
November 16th, 2022 at 12:39 PM ^
EDIT: I was hoping you meant Olu.
What's the plan for center next year?
November 16th, 2022 at 1:12 PM ^
Crippen for next year. The staff was fine with him starting this year but you can't pass up on a transfer like Olu. Olu allowed them to get a redshirt on Crippen as well.
November 16th, 2022 at 9:01 AM ^
Right behind O'Korn, Patterson. Surely O'Korn defines this statement-no???
November 16th, 2022 at 11:32 AM ^
Username checks out
November 16th, 2022 at 1:26 PM ^
Shea is to Pony Conqueror as O’korn is to outsidethebox
November 16th, 2022 at 9:06 AM ^
Yes. I love how the OL gets the recognition they deserve for their dominance over teams but this is 100% led by Olu.
November 16th, 2022 at 9:11 AM ^
The Guy is really good (Olu), after last year I'd have never thought that the O-line would be as good but it's even better than last year and Olu is a huge part of that.
IMHO the kid has played himself into a top 10 NFL Draft pick.
November 16th, 2022 at 9:34 AM ^
That's why I'm hoping UM becomes a preferred destination for top transfers. Whatever Olu makes in NIL, he's going to make NFL money coming here.
Transfer to UM, raise your NFL draft stock to first rounder. Profit.
November 16th, 2022 at 10:52 AM ^
And I think the Oline is where UM can mine for top talent that wants a grad year in a pro style system for a shot at the pros. Not many programs offers what UM does for Olinemen.