Exit Dan Samuelson
According to Dan Samuelson on the facebooks, he is going to transfer.
With great sadness, I have decided that my time at the University of Michigan is done. The past couple years have been wonderful, and something that I will never forget. I am beyond blessed for them. As time has come and gone, I've thought about what is best for myself in regards to football and obtaining the goal of playing time. In reality, that wasn't going to happen at Michigan.
Samuelson was a recruit on the 3/4 star borderline who decommitted from Nebraska in favor of Michigan late in the 2013 recruiting cycle. He redshirted as a freshman and didn't play last year, so he would have been a redshirt sophomore this fall. His departure brings the number of certainly available scholarships to 17 (4 open slots plus 13 seniors). There are a lot of redshirt juniors who may not get a fifth year on the roster, so Michigan is already close to being able to accommodate the full class of 25 they seem to be aiming for.
August 15th, 2015 at 12:20 PM ^
August 15th, 2015 at 12:45 PM ^
August 15th, 2015 at 12:49 PM ^
August 15th, 2015 at 12:58 PM ^
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August 15th, 2015 at 1:00 PM ^
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August 15th, 2015 at 12:45 PM ^
This just means that four walk-on contributors will get their due and receive a scholarship for this year.
August 15th, 2015 at 2:47 PM ^
I hope he finds success and playing time at a "mid major." It sounds like he put the work in but may be a step below what it takes in major college football.
August 15th, 2015 at 12:21 PM ^
August 15th, 2015 at 12:21 PM ^
Good Luck Dan. Hopefully things work out for you wherever else you end up.
August 15th, 2015 at 12:27 PM ^
nm - thought he had flipped to DT for some reason.
August 15th, 2015 at 12:24 PM ^
August 15th, 2015 at 12:28 PM ^
just read on the edge of the internet that Hoke/Borges took him over Cameron Hunt. If true, ouch...
August 15th, 2015 at 1:40 PM ^
That said, just another Hoke mistake to look back on with frustration.
August 15th, 2015 at 1:55 PM ^
"thank goodness I didn't have Darrell Funk wreck my career". . .
August 15th, 2015 at 1:14 PM ^
August 15th, 2015 at 12:28 PM ^
Here's a list of the redshirt juniors per MGoBlog's depth chart by class with asterisks against the ones projected to be starters for the 2015 season
RB Drake Johnson
WR Amarah Darboh*
WR Jehu Chesson*
OL Erik Magnsuon*
OL Kyle Kalis*
OL Ben Braden*
OL Blake Bars
DT Matt Godin
DT Willie Henry*
NT Ryan Glasgow*
SDE Chris Wormley*
SDE Tom Strobel
SLB Allen Gant
CB Terry Richardson
FS Jeremy Clark
P/K Kenny Allen
By my count that's 16 players with half of them likely starters for the 2016 season. Any suggestions on which one of these players don't get that fifth year given the team's depth at these different positions?
If Michigan were to award 25 scholarships for the 2016 class, that means eight of the players listed above wouldn't get their that fifth year scholarship. If UM were to have a class greater than 25, is it correct to assume UM will have to grey shirt players and count them against the 2017 class?
August 15th, 2015 at 12:39 PM ^
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August 15th, 2015 at 12:45 PM ^
Allen Gant, Terry Richardson, Blake Bars (If he doesn't improve or play at all this year), and Matt Godin (ditto) would be the first 4 to get firm handshakes, possibly Strobel. I think Allen is a walk-on actually. The other 2-3 could come from attrition from other classes that see the writing on the wall after their first year under Harbaugh and transfer out for playing time/scheme like Samuelson or Countess. There is likely one or two players that have injuries and will try to see if they can play with them or come back and if not they could become a student assistant like Chris Fox. There's a lot of possibilities and info the coaches won't release until they want to, so I wouldn't really be worried that much (if at all) until the season is over.
August 15th, 2015 at 12:47 PM ^
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August 15th, 2015 at 12:52 PM ^
That's why I put the ditto in there for Godin, but I wasn't thinking of the Mone thing until you said it. Godin has a lot of potential and maybe now he'll be able to show it on the field. Could be a blessing in disguise. I remember another DL from CC that was pretty good recently for us (yes I know he's not Mike Martin stronk)
August 15th, 2015 at 12:48 PM ^
I would think that Strobel is in more dire of a situation than Godin. I don't think Strobel has seen many snaps in game. However, moonlighting as a TE might improve his standing significantly.
August 15th, 2015 at 12:54 PM ^
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August 15th, 2015 at 8:24 PM ^
Godin has made some nice plays, and he's my friend! I don't think he's going anywhere.
August 15th, 2015 at 12:51 PM ^
Godin would probably receive a 5th year before Strobel, as of right now. The other 3 seem like the best bets.
August 15th, 2015 at 12:54 PM ^
August 15th, 2015 at 5:59 PM ^
Yea, i'd think we'll see a RB and a QB transfer at the end of this year. We have a log jam at RB and not in a good way. One would think at the very least one would transfer, red shirt and play as a senior. It would be a fairly dissapointing set of circumstances considering how excited we where to see all of them commit.
I'd like to be in Shanes head if he doesn't start this year, especially if O'korn, Spiet or even Gentry / Malzon are ahead of him on the depth chart after the seasons done.I hope he plays, everything clicks for him and he turns out these next two years. I'm a Shane fan, I want to see him do well at Michigan. I like anyone who loves The University of Michigan as much as he does. I know i'd trade places with him in a heartbeat, concussion and all!
August 15th, 2015 at 12:45 PM ^
Aside from him, there are four players on that list that have only seen mop up duty. There might also be some who decide to leave even though they would be welcomed back. You're also not allowing for other attrition, such as Samuelson.
Theoretically we could take a class of 28 without greyshirting if there is enough space. Three could be early enrollees counted as part of the 2015 class.
August 15th, 2015 at 1:22 PM ^
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August 15th, 2015 at 2:02 PM ^
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August 15th, 2015 at 9:17 PM ^
August 15th, 2015 at 3:53 PM ^
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August 15th, 2015 at 12:30 PM ^
Not a surprise at all. Hope he lands somewhere & finds the playing time he wants.
August 15th, 2015 at 12:33 PM ^
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August 15th, 2015 at 12:41 PM ^
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August 15th, 2015 at 12:49 PM ^
One of the reasons I've still pushed off getting one. There's not much use to me of having one and it saves me the peace of mind from not looking at a bunch of minimally informed people spouting nonsense. I'll admit the news comes faster and the humor can be pretty great, but I get a lot of that from here and a few news aggregators/YouTube anyways. Viva la MGoBlog!
August 15th, 2015 at 12:59 PM ^
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August 15th, 2015 at 1:07 PM ^
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August 15th, 2015 at 1:31 PM ^
August 15th, 2015 at 1:10 PM ^
Especially when it comes to the #1 rule here at MGoBlog; Don't tweet at recruits.
August 15th, 2015 at 1:42 PM ^
August 15th, 2015 at 2:49 PM ^
August 15th, 2015 at 1:16 PM ^
... yet the twitter reaction from the fan base seems to be everyone calling him soft for not being able to handle Harbaugh's practices.
Which not one of the Twitter commenters knows about or could likely handle themselves.
One of Samuelson's stated reasons -- playing time -- helps illustrate a key life lesson that everyone will face eventually: there are limits to a person's talents and abilities. Related: somewhere there's someone better at something than you are. It's just a fact.
Facing this fact is what life is all about. Finding one's place in this world is all about accepting one's limits and maximizing one's strengths. The contemporary notion of "any dream can be realized" is happy horseshit and does more damage than good. Yes, strive for goals; but when reality indicates a change of direction, then take it.
Samuelson seems to realize his limits and is taking a different course. There's no shame in that. I applaud his standing up and facing it square on. Good for him.
August 15th, 2015 at 1:10 PM ^
August 15th, 2015 at 1:15 PM ^
And one of the classiest. Being honest and realistic, doing what's best for him, but being completely supportive of his teammates and wishing them well in what he expects to be a wonderful year for them. Completely respectful of the program, both as it was for his two years and what it will be. Bravo, and best wishes to him.
August 15th, 2015 at 12:36 PM ^
August 15th, 2015 at 12:48 PM ^
battles for a starting position.
August 15th, 2015 at 12:37 PM ^
August 15th, 2015 at 2:18 PM ^
If it he wants to play, he wants to play. If he knows that he won;t make the NFL, the only time he has left to play football is in college and he correctly assessed that wasn't going to happen at Michigan.
Yes, he's giving up a Michigan degree and a Michigan education, but you can get a good education elsewhere, too. Indiana might want him, or Purdue. And if he has to drop to the MAC, Ball State is a pretty good school and close to his family as are some of the schools in Ohio.
Sure, none of them are as good academically as Michigan, but they're good enough academically that I would not necessarily advise him against leaving if he were my kid. It's important for him to be happy and have the chance to fulfill his dreams, too.
Regardless, best of lock to Samuelson. It seems like it was a tough decision and he left in the classiest possible way. I hope he manages to see the field wherever he goes next and succeeds at everything else he wants to do in life.
August 15th, 2015 at 3:50 PM ^
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August 15th, 2015 at 4:35 PM ^
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