Portal In: Ernest Hausmann
Michigan's picked up their second portal addition of the cycle in former Nebraska linebacker Ernest Hausmann. Hausmann started seven games as a true freshman for the Huskers last year, picking up 54 tackles. You may remember one of them, a thunderous stick on Donovan Edwards. That's the second clip here:
#NEBvsMI Ernest Hausmann
— What does the film say? (@Huskers_film) November 13, 2022
Ajay Allen was 1 and Hausmann was 2 as my top two HS players from the 2022 recruiting class. Hartzog is challenging that.
Here are two great plays. 1 in coverage and 1 vs. the run. Freshman! He has speed Henrich and Reimer lack. We have a player here! pic.twitter.com/ta081hlOQE
Hausmann visited Iowa a week ago (hung out with McNamara and All, in fact) and was a priority for them, and if Iowa is into a linebacker he's probably a good prospect.
[After THE JUMP: some grades, a quote, etc.]
PFF gave him a 70 grade for the Michigan game, which is above average in their grading scale; just one game but if a freshman LB is keeping his head above water against a Jim Harbaugh rush offense—in particular this Jim Harbaugh rush offense—behind those DTs, giddyup. His overall grade is distorted by an understandably rough start:
Take or leave the Pro Football Focus grades, but Hausmann trended up when he got called into action against Purdue, with a 80.67 tackling grade and a 62.1 coverage grade on 57 snaps. PFF was not as keen on his work against Illinois, giving him an overall defensive grade of 46.4 and a 33.2 tackling grade over the course of 26 snaps.
Then Nebraska interim coach Mickey Joseph:
“I think Barrett (Ruud) has done a very good job with (Ernest) Hausmann because he is playing at a high level, and he is getting better every week so I like where he is at right now,” former interim head coach Mickey Joseph said of Hausmann in November. “He was a puppy coming in. He is a high school kid, so he learned how to play this game at a high level, and he is playing at a high level right now and we are really excited about his future.”
Hausmann has three years of eligibility left and joins a linebacker room that suddenly has decent depth. Junior Colson and Michael Barrett will likely return; Nikhai Hill-Green was promising as a freshman before injury derailed his 2022; Jimmy Rolder will probably be relatively ready to go next year. Hausmann gives them a reasonable two-deep at ILB.
Hausmann may also be evidence of a shift in Michigan's ability to get transfers in. Historically that's been difficult for undergraduates.
December 15th, 2022 at 1:24 PM ^
Can someone explain to me how players are using the portal, and if it makes sense? For example, why did McNamara and All pick the worst offensive coordinator they could find?
December 15th, 2022 at 1:28 PM ^
I feel like Cade didn't receive as much attention as he might have expected. That, or he really jumped the gun on committing to Iowa, especially since his stated goal is to show he's not just a game manager. And All just followed his buddy into a TE friendly offense where he'll likely get a lot of targets (for Iowa at least)
December 15th, 2022 at 1:36 PM ^
Really thought he would go somewhere that threw more often and deep.
Iowa of course is happy to have him. He is a proven player - he beat them in 2021!
Is it good fit? I guess we'll see next year. If they have another 2 safety 1 field goal game to reach 7 points, the pressure will be immense on Brian and Kirk Ferentz since they can't blame having a lack of talent or experience at QB.
December 15th, 2022 at 1:48 PM ^
He beat them twice.
December 15th, 2022 at 1:59 PM ^
Sure, but I don't think McNamara got any snaps against Iowa this year; JJ started and McNamara didn't show up in the box score.
December 15th, 2022 at 2:53 PM ^
McNamara and All…off to beat MSU and Penn State for us. All Secret Squirrel Team 🤫🐿
December 15th, 2022 at 7:32 PM ^
Sickos Committee stuff right here
December 15th, 2022 at 2:12 PM ^
Perhaps JJ's mobile play and arm strength reinforced the idea of McNamara as a game manager, meaning he wouldn't automatically drop into a passing offense.
So to prove he was more than a game manager, he may have not had many options except one that required a game manager.
December 15th, 2022 at 3:59 PM ^
-Does not want to be labelled as a "game manager"
-Commits to the most game managery offense in the country
-????
-Profit
December 15th, 2022 at 1:46 PM ^
All makes sense. Iowa uses tight ends a lot and puts a lot in the NFL
For Cade...I dunno. I thought maybe he'd end up in the Pac12. I don't see how a Ferentz run offense with a bad OL, no WRs, and no running game suits Cade. Cade succeeded last year primarily because he could play 2nd fiddle to the run game and the offense didn't have to lean on him. I'm sure Cade believes he can be an all conference level guy, but I thought there would've been a lot more P5 schools out there where he'd have better odds of success
December 15th, 2022 at 3:17 PM ^
I really thought Cade was going to end up at Illinois. He is a Bert style QB. And with Bert you know the Offensive Coordinator is going to be at minimum adequate. And Illinois, in my opinion, should win the B1G west next year.
December 15th, 2022 at 1:47 PM ^
My friends back home mentioned that this was part of the pitch:
1) there was promises of coaching changes (did not have to be the OC changes)
2) Iowa deployed NIL to Cade and a 5* Tackle recruit Kadyn Proctor (6'7", 330 in HS) out of Des Moines to keep him at Iowa which helps the line (freshman caveats apply)
3) Promises to deploy NIL for portal WR
4) Were all over him very early, showed him lots of love
Take that for what it is worth
December 15th, 2022 at 2:50 PM ^
I wonder if All and McNamara were trash talking Michigan to Hausmann and he thought to himself "I don't want to play with these two back-biting-babies"
December 15th, 2022 at 4:22 PM ^
#4 may have been most important.
As someone put it in a recent article I read about recruiting, players don't necessarily pay the same close attention to / obsess over rankings that some older folks do, but are more persuaded by connecting personally with those they'll be working with.
Which actually isn't a bad way to make choices about work.
December 15th, 2022 at 5:01 PM ^
I believe Seth said that the Iowa OL should be really good next year. Sounds like they were young with some good recruits. For Cade, I would think he'd be looking for a team with a good OL as his first priority.
December 15th, 2022 at 1:53 PM ^
In addition to the comments above, Cade will vastly elevate their QB play immediately, will have no real competition for the job, and will be a hero to everyone there. That's all pretty heady stuff.
December 15th, 2022 at 1:58 PM ^
Disagree on elevating QB play- Cade was worse (with a much better line) in 2022 than Iowa's QB- Mertz.
Now 2021 Cade- much better but which Cade is Iowa getting?
December 15th, 2022 at 2:05 PM ^
Elon, he may have been worse than Mertz in 2022. But Iowa wishes the had QB play that good cause they were stuck with Spencer Petras.
December 15th, 2022 at 1:54 PM ^
Brian Ferentz is definitely bad, but too many people are only thinking of the last two Petras years. Ferentz was the OC for all of Nate Stanley's career and he ended up getting drafted in the 7th round. It's possible that is a path for Cade.
December 15th, 2022 at 2:26 PM ^
Iowa offense never cracked the top 40 in the nation since Brian took over and was more ranked in the 100s more often then the 40s. Its not a Petras problem
December 15th, 2022 at 2:37 PM ^
Yeah and I said he's not good. But I think everyone is going a little too far. Petras had the same number of attempts as JJ this year. You can make the NFL as a QB in a Brian Ferentz offense. There's a path to win the west and make a NY6 bowl.
It's not as insane of a decision as everyone wants to make it out to be.
December 15th, 2022 at 2:28 PM ^
Maybe a bit of over correction on Cade’s part? Frustrated that he got passed on the depth chart, so go to a school with no QB competition.
December 15th, 2022 at 3:51 PM ^
That Hausmann hung out with Cade and Erick and still picked Michigan is significant.
December 15th, 2022 at 4:54 PM ^
Think about the decisions you made at that age. (Perhaps my questionable decisions are a better example). Add that most of these young men have had egos stroked and been coddled for years. Open up transfer opportunities (like every other student has), throw in NIL $$, stir. Brave New World.
December 15th, 2022 at 1:27 PM ^
Love this. Linebacker depth was badly needed and he's still young but has experience. Now go get a backup for Edwards.
December 15th, 2022 at 1:39 PM ^
I'd be fine going with Edwards, Stokes, Mullings, Cabana, Dunlap, Gash, Hall next year.
Then pitch a 2024 that there are a lot of snaps up for grabs with Edwards leaving.
December 15th, 2022 at 1:43 PM ^
Yeah, I'm pretty comfortable with Edwards as the featured RB if you've got a Mullings to handle the "gets 2 yards when you need 2 yards" stuff.
December 15th, 2022 at 2:38 PM ^
”If you need a yard, I’ll get you three. And f you need five yards, I’ll get you three!”
December 15th, 2022 at 4:42 PM ^
If you need 5 I'll throw a jump pass!
December 15th, 2022 at 3:04 PM ^
Idk, Edwards is great, but he's been dinged up for multiple games each of his 2 seasons at UM. Definitely need a good RB2 in my mind.
December 15th, 2022 at 1:51 PM ^
Yeah, I think we sometimes get to used to seeing a freshman do freshman things and we mentally write them off a bit whether intentionally or not. I think Stokes looks like he's gonna be a dude in 1 or 2 years with some Hart tutelage. Wasn't long ago that we didn't know if Corum could churn out short yards (he can) or if Edwards had vision (he does) and I suspect Stokes and Mullings are both gonna be pretty great after some more growth and development. Not too worried about that position as long as Hart is coaching them
December 15th, 2022 at 4:24 PM ^
I will disagree slightly. I think most saw "star" potential with Corum and Edwards. Stokes and Mullings may become very solid but I am not seeing "star" for either. Maybe Stokes will prove me wrong - he has been better than I expected. Even if not, they can be solid backs but I would like to see the next star somewhere on the roster. Michigan's offense really needs at least one "star" at RB.
December 15th, 2022 at 6:28 PM ^
Yeah, I think that 'great' is vouchsafed to only a few we just don't know about Stokes. I think he'll be able to bang behind Edwards, though, for sure. And that should be a pretty good start, especially if we also have a bowling ball fullback. And--hey--these things look like our floor.
December 15th, 2022 at 8:31 PM ^
I think that Stokes has looked better as a runner than Edwards looked last year. I feel he’ll be fine next year as a solid no 2
December 15th, 2022 at 4:26 PM ^
I think Stokes can actually be quite good, he has to learn to follow his blockers and know when to slow down just a step - he missed some huge holes as he seemed focused on hitting the "planned" hole at top speed vs letting holes or cut-back lanes open up for him to shift to.
December 16th, 2022 at 12:34 AM ^
Hard agree. Stokes was a true freshman up from a private league in SC. It would make sense the speed and complexity of the game were a bit to take in. The extra playoff practices plus a full spring and summer and he’ll be a great RB2 behind Edwards RB1 and Mullings Mooseback1.
December 15th, 2022 at 1:28 PM ^
Welcome Ernest! Excited to see the LB room get a little more depth with a quality option who has time to develop. Go Blue!
December 15th, 2022 at 1:28 PM ^
Is he eligible to play against TCU?
December 15th, 2022 at 1:29 PM ^
It seems like a pretty big deal that we're starting to transfer in undergrads. Thank you Santa!!!
December 15th, 2022 at 1:36 PM ^
Pretty amazing that Santa went back in time to change policies to allow for multiple high level undergrad transfers into the womens basketball team and like a fourth of the baseball team over the last few years. Its almost like the hand wringing over transfers is significantly overblown.
December 15th, 2022 at 3:27 PM ^
No, it's just that the intricacies of Michigan's transfer policies continue to go over your head no matter how many times people explain them to you. Hausmann being a freshman made this possible. The issue, as has been explained multiple times, are the transfers who have been at a school for 2-3 years
December 15th, 2022 at 2:57 PM ^
I'm not saying you're wrong, but Hausmann's a true freshman who didn't enroll early. Even if UM accepted zero of his Nebraska credits, he'd only be out one semester's worth.
December 15th, 2022 at 9:48 PM ^
The catch is we can only do it during December because…Santa.
December 15th, 2022 at 1:34 PM ^
It is not difficult to get transfers in to the school. Why do we keep saying this. At most its a transfer credit issue, not an admissions issue and even that is overblown in terms of impact.
Other than that good to see a solid pickup where recruiting has been lackluster. Good use of the portal. If they can find a way to get a CB and a running back in they have really already plugged any holes next year
December 15th, 2022 at 1:37 PM ^
He probably had more serious freshman credits and not a lot of fluff.
December 15th, 2022 at 1:42 PM ^
Actually he probably had a lot of fluff.
Michigan is going to accept credits from boilerplate classes that everyone has to take like Writing 101, Language of choice 101, etc.
They aren't going to accept Hospitality 205 because Michigan doesn't have a hospitality program.
December 15th, 2022 at 2:28 PM ^
I think you are exactly right. I thought Michigan has had no trouble taking freshmen transfers because a lot of basic classes are at least as good as transferable high school AP grades. It's players with more credits who haven't graduated yet who have a problem (assuming they actually care about getting a degree).
December 15th, 2022 at 2:31 PM ^
Most first year classes are high school repeat anyway. This is the perfect time to transfer into Michigan, freshman year.
December 15th, 2022 at 4:29 PM ^
Strong disagree on Writing 101. Michigan LSA routinely makes transfers take the First Year Writing Requirement (Freshman English). AP and IP credits cannot satisfy the first year writing requirement. Other credits aren't 1:1 but they are accepted as general electives.
I transferred to Michigan as a Junior. My Freshman English from a liberal arts college was not accepted. I had also taken an upper level writing class at my prior school. I did not want to retake Freshman Writing as an upperclassman. The options didn't fit my 1st semester at UM, so I put it off intending to petition later. I took my LSA upper level writing requirement immediately as it did fit my schedule. I got an A and I later took another upper level writing class with an A. I petitioned to waive Freshman Writing and I was told no, I would have to take it my last semester at UM. I appealed. I provided writing samples from courses, a 1st author scientific paper accepted for publication, and pointed out I had two A's in upper level writing courses and that the point of the 1st Year Writing Requirement was to ensure students had the skills to succeed in upper level classes. They told me the latter was why the didn't accept my initial credits. They needed to make sure I had the skills to be successful. They accepted my petition and waived the requirement.
It was a lot to go through - and risky on my end!
December 15th, 2022 at 2:04 PM ^
I get the gist of your statement but "it's a transfer credit issue" is, in fact, why it's difficult to get a transfer to this school. Entry-level courses are easier (though I definitely had some issues turning my community college credits I took in HS to transfer to UM for anything beyond "general") but even sophomore-level classes tend to be dismissed because there isn't a 1:1 analog at the school and they won't make a ton of exceptions. And other schools do make it easier because transfers happen at a lot of other places than UM without issue.
It's not a huge issue but it is one, and while there are absolutely examples of upper classmen transferring into UM it's not as common at UM for a reason unless you think Michigan just didn't realize the portal existed for years.
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