Cristian Dixon to portal, per ESPN live tracker
I'm only surprised it took him this long. Good luck young man.
We desperately need WRs.
I thought he already transferred. I was thinking this was him potentially transferring back to us.
He was being passed on the depth chart by everybody..
We are so lacking in QBs and WRs. The portal won’t even help with that. We’re gonna be Iowa with a slightly better offense. 7-5 next year maybe 8-4. That’s a brutal schedule we face
Oh no!
Anyway . . .
While i don't disagree with your general sentiment, i do think this defense and a PSU gameplan can get us to 10-2.
I hope to never see the PSU game plan ever again. The “they couldn’t stop it” narrative is such a stark contrast to what was happening that day. Barnhart seriously earned a PFF 0.0 in pass pro.
You're getting downvoted, but our tackles were getting dusted with high frequency before we decided to keep it on the ground, and guys were making some dumb mistakes, likelt due to crowd noise. Moral of the story is that was a good move strategy-wise, but it also seemed as much out of necessity as it was "they can't stop the run."
FFS, we won in Happy Valley in what was a season (and even coaching tenure) defining game for PSU in a game where our entire team, coaching staff, support staff, and fans all were planning on having Harbaugh coaching until a few hours before KO. And you whine and cry about Barnhart's PFF? You are pitiful.
He switched to CB anyway. Was no longer a WR. He should have left sooner, honestly.
I think there is a long way from beating most every team 45-7 to losing 5 games. I wouldn't be shocked mind you. But I also expect 10-2 or 9-3 being a lot more likely. We've had worse QB situations and won 10 games.
Of course, now we don't have Harbaugh. So shrug.
We were 6-0 last season, including 3-0 against the most challenging part of our schedule, without Harbaugh.
The “we won without harbaugh” narrative is flawed. Harbaugh was able to be with the team all season leading up to those games and even during the games for which he was not actively coaching, he was with the team and coaches all week working on the game plan. People are way underestimating just how good of a coach harbaugh is in terms of building identity, psyche and game plan. You can’t just replace that and expect no drop off.
Also, set aside Harbaugh. We also don’t have JJ and the reports out of practice make pretty clear that whomever is QB this year will be a massive step down from our likely top 10 (5?) pick QB.
As upsetting as it is, those expecting a significant step back and a record closer to 7-5 than 12-0 are not panicking or being overly pessimistic. That’s a real possibility.
April 17th, 2024 at 10:02 PM ^
The drop-off from McCarthy is real but this team also made the playoffs with Cade McNamara, who I have been told by multiple people on this site and elsewhere was a terrible QB, and also won 10 games with the likes of Wilton Speight, John O'Korn, and sometime-UFL starter Shea Patterson at the helm. The drop from McCarthy to Tuttle/Orji/Warren/Davis/Denegal will be significant but I also think people are assuming the absolute worst possible outcome for the QB room instead of the most likely, which is that out of those 5 guys they get B+-level QB play against most teams. The difference is that none of them are going to bail them out against an elite defense, but there's only 3-4 of those on the docket and I'm a bit dubious on OU. Plus, they play most of their toughest games at home, which will help a less-talented offense.
The OP was saying UM is likely going 7-5 with an Iowa-level offense, while "a record closer to 7-5 than 12-0" could just as easily be 10-2/9-3. Nobody is acting like the offense won't take a step back but I think a lot of fans have this binary viewpoint of football that you're either a championship contender or a .500 squad and that's not true. Hell, Iowa went 10-4 last season with the most Iowa-ass offense possible, so even they weren't 7-5 bad.
I'm not sure who said Cade McNamara was a terrible QB? He didn't have the tools JJ had but he had good mechanics, a decent arm and good head on his shoulders.
He single handedly won the Rutgers game in 2020 with a 4 TD 17 point comeback victory, taking over for Joe Milton.
We won in 2021 with Cade not in spite of him.
We're not gonna be anywhere near Iowa bad on offense. But it's also fair to worry. Super-thin receiver room. Very little proven talent. Very iffy QB situation. Could be...not great, Bob.
I still say a portal QB, probably a grad transfer, is a must.
I beseech you to look at the Iowa depth chart and their offensive coordinator from last season and compare it to UM's right now. Morgan and Morris are solid players with upside, and they have TEs like Loveland and Klein who can also be part of the passing game. Throw in the running backs and a floor of Tuttle at QB and that's a significantly better offense than Iowa has fielded. Hell, that's arguably a better offense than PSU put out last year.
UM is going to not be as dynamic as they were last season but the idea they're going to fall down a hole of despair that is Iowa offense the past couple of seasons is immensely hyperbolic.
The Bizarro World Fred Jackson is a thing.
"Our offense is like Iowa's, but with a worse QB."
QB room is not looking good, that will be the biggest issue. I’ll worry about WR when someone has been reported to be able to throw consistently accurate balls. The portal can absolutely help us here. There is going to be some talent in the portal this Spring. Talented guys want to play and we have minutes to spare. Hopefully we can land a top tier option.
Ok, eyeore.
I knew he was a goner when he didnt even warrant one of Seth's emoji faces on the depth chart preview. Candidly when he saw that he prolly turned his paperwork in right away.
damnit Seth!!
Seth Flenderson strikes again! That family is aggravating!
Farewell, Cristian. We'll (I'll) always have this.
Maybe we should make Orji a WR?
He had moved to DB correct?
Yes but i think he had moved back to WR again.
My favorite Office episode ever.
Not a surprise.
Ideally get a starting QB in portal, 1-2 WRs, and convert Orgi to WR.
Can Orji catch?
Let's not get caught up in the details, BW02.
Only punts and kickoffs per JH
Why would you convert Orji to WR? If he's not a QB then so be it but he's 6' 2" and 236 lbs; if anything that's a linebacker-sized guy. I mean, if we're flipping QBs to WR then put Kendrick Bell out there any hope he's like his brother.
I thought flipping Bell out to WR had already happened.
Yeah, you're right. He didn't play a down this year so I was mostly going off the depth chart but per MGoBlue he's a scout team WR.
I still don't think moving Orji to WR makes any sense unless he's expressed an interest to do so or the staff feels that's his best spot, though given his size I'd be surprised if they'd put him there and not somewhere else.
There's the WR screen. Get the ball to him quickly, and the defense will GTFO of the way.
But he's behind Kenneth Grant there on the depth chart.
Got any Vinny Papales runnin around Ann Arbor?
National Champion Cristian Dixon to the portal sounds much better!
Cristian Dixon - National Champion and Michigan graduate is even better.
He wasn’t going to play here, so this is probably the best thing for everyone. He can go start at a MAC school and he’s not wasting a scholarship here. Good luck to him.
Wasting a scholarship feels a bit harsh. There's 85 guys on scholarship (and NIL workarounds if needed), and not all of them are going to see the field. Assuming he was a good locker room presence, I wouldn't say he wasted a scholarship.
Was wondering when he was going to jump the ship. Should jump to one of the Michigan MAC schools so he can try to play WR.
Just wait until the next thread on Kadyn Proctor being in the portal!
This is going to sound terrible to those with a pre-transfer portal/NIL mindset but they should just buy a decent WR or two at this point. I’m sure they probably are kicking the tires on some folks now but if an injury or something else pops up, it’ll be 7-8 player box defenses all year long.
Yeah, yeah, yeah - sell the academics and tradition or whatever non-monetary incentives you want but playing time + $$ should at least draw the interest from a few players. The WR corps is getting dangerously close to walk-on levels and that’s just not sustainable. It works if you have arguably the best OL, RB and QB in the history of the program but none of those things will be true going into next season.
Free agency is here and this is a prime example of why they need to take advantage.
Hear me out: Wishbone offense
Totally agree. Makes zero sense