Malzone transferring?

Submitted by poseidon7902 on

Buddy texted me saying he was transferring.  I don't see anything on his twitter or in the news.  Any truth to this?  

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A2toGVSU

November 28th, 2017 at 10:12 AM ^

Malzone and Grant Perry were high school teammates. Perry set a bunch of records and was labeled a generic 3* recruit because he was small and not overly athletic. Malzone was credited with much of Perry's success in the eyes of recruitniks. The 3 star mafia of the Michigan fanbase grumbled about offering Perry and thought it was a consolation to secure Malzone's commitment. Everyone was wrong. Perry turned out to be pretty good. Malzone's skills that set him apart in high school (accuracy, avoiding mistakes) were not enough to overcome his lack of size and, frankly, lack of D1 arm strength at this level. Malzone is a less physically gifted version of Tate Forcier (with presumably a better head on his shoulders since he hasnt been in trouble and will graduate early)

Joined: 09/30/2009

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G. Gulo of the Dale

November 28th, 2017 at 10:13 AM ^

He was a four-star recruit--though not unanimously so--with a 247 composite ranking of 90 and was just inside the top 300 for his class.

I always got the impression that many people thought of O'Korn as being a higher ranked recruit than he was--likley on account of his breakout freshman year at Houston and the fact that he went to St. Thomas Aquinas.  O'Korn was a three-star (86 composite) who was ranked 645 in his class.

I'm not trying to draw some significant conclusion from a few points in a high school composite ranking--i.e., I'm not saying that Malzone might have been better than O'Korn--I'm just a bit puzzled as to why he completely fell off the radar.  Sometimes it felt like he was practically a walk-on in terms of whether he could reasonably contribute.  Maybe this is just my perception of things.

 

Joined: 04/01/2013

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The Mad Hatter

November 28th, 2017 at 9:59 AM ^

Brandon and Dylan were both highly rated QB recruits.  I think they (Peters especially) would see it as a slap in the face.

Remember the rumors about Peters' dad bitching about him not getting playing time?  If we take a transfer QB, don't be surprised if Peters leaves.

I really wish we could have kept Speight.

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NowTameInThe603

November 28th, 2017 at 10:12 AM ^

love that a kid who has played 3 games is handcuffing Harbaugh into a situation where he cant take on a transfer and probably led to losing a 5th year SR.

If DM beats Peters next year say goodbye to Peters and another year of no depth at QB.

Joined: 12/10/2014

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FranklinHatchett

November 28th, 2017 at 10:29 AM ^

Coach Harbaugh ain't gonna get handcuffed by nobody let alone Brandon. If we get a transfer I think Brandon stays and fights competition. If he loses I still think he would stay and get his diploma., he'd b in year 3 at that point. He would eventually prolly just grad transfer like Wilt. Brandon is tougher than most people think and he knows it aint easy to be qb1 at Michigan. On that note I think Dcaff beats out any transfer and Brandon.

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robpollard

November 28th, 2017 at 10:34 AM ^

No team goes four deep, at least with quality and experience, at QB.

Why would Speight stay here, where he would have a much less than 50% chance of starting, when he could go to another program and have much better odds? So UM fans can feel better on the 10% chance we have to play multiple games with our 3rd string QB?

If McCaffrey wins the job next year, and then Peters decides to transfer at the end of the season,  that wouldn't be great for depth, but that's reality. Happens all the time to top programs.

It is extremely unlikely we are getting a grad transfer of any consequence, unless one of our top 2 QBs suffers a major injury, and I don't think any of us want that to happen. Any decent grad transfer will have better options for playing time than UM. It's not in their interest to come here.

Joined: 06/03/2009

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NowTameInThe603

November 28th, 2017 at 11:03 AM ^

Why are you so confident in Peters and DM?

And why the hell would speight think he would have much less than 50% chance to start? He came out of fall camp QB1. Peters was 3rd on the depth chart and DM was wearing a redshirt!

Its not even like Peters set the world on fire. He played mediocre at best teams while we were running the ball at a crazy level. This shouldnt have been enough to make anyone confident Peters would be the guy over Speight next year.

Joined: 12/10/2014

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robpollard

November 28th, 2017 at 11:17 AM ^

Speight didn't look great this year, before our OL turned in a pass blocking nightmare. Heck, JOK outplayed Speight against Purdue. Peters was competent (e.g., limiting turnovers; accurately hitting most easy throws), which isn't great, but unfortunately was a decided step up.

Peters and McCaffrey are Harbaugh's guys. He obviously thinks they can play and will give them every opportunity to compete. Pratice reports on McCaffrey from coaches have been very positive, so they agree. We'll see once he gets in front of real competition, but Speight (and any experienced grad transfer) would be well aware of that.

Combine that with Peters doing a decent job when he played (and likely will only get better), and that leads to any QB having to beat out not just one, but two, talented, young, experienced (in UM's system) QBs next year.

So that's much less than 50%. If you're Speight (or his grad equivalent) and have a 25% chance starting at UM and a 75% chane starting at, say, Virginia, where would you go?

Not to mention he would be seen as "Hey, we got Speight! Things are looking up!" at Virginia (or similar), where at UM, if he won the QB competition in the spring, the fan base grumbling would be oppressive ("WTH Harbaugh? Why aren't the young guys starting? Can't you recuit? We already *know* Speight is limited in terms of upside!") If he had one so-so game, he would be pulled quicker than a left-handed specialist reliever in a World Series game. Environment counts for something.

Joined: 06/03/2009

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Blue boy johnson

November 28th, 2017 at 10:19 AM ^

Coach Harbaugh, from his perspective might prefer the scholarship to another year of Malzone not being a realistic option. I was surprised when Harbaugh said after Speight’s injury that McCafferty was third in rotation behind O’Korn and Peters. Malzone for his part can pick a school of his choice and possibly start for two seasons while furthering his education and living a dream. Pretty sweet to be Malzone

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1VaBlue1

November 28th, 2017 at 10:19 AM ^

Those rumors were not true - his dad shut down any talk of transfer earlier this summer.  But I do agree that bringing in a grad transfer QB as insurance could be felt by both Peters and McCaffrey as a slap in the face.  And I also wish Speight would stay.  But I'm not worried about Peters staying and giving everything he has.

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N. Campus Tech

November 28th, 2017 at 10:37 AM ^

They would have to get over it. Going in to a season with a questionable offensive line and only one game proven (against weak competition until he was TKO'd) QB and the only backup a RS Fr is a recepie for disaster. We played 3 QBs this year in non-garbage time. Who would our third QB be next year? Milton? Everything I've read, he's raw and needs development.

We woudn't need someone to compete for the #1 spot, but we would need a warm body in the case of an emergency.

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Bigly yuge

November 28th, 2017 at 9:47 AM ^

Wouldn’t you transfer if you were malzone? The guy hasn’t played one single meaningful snap since he has been here. I hope he finds some place at a smaller conference where he can see some time as a starter.

Joined: 09/23/2017

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ReegsShannon

November 28th, 2017 at 9:49 AM ^

Sam has been openly saying for months on the board that he will be transferring once he graduates (which is in the Spring I believe). It seems like it's something that has been agreed to/decided on for a while.

Joined: 02/01/2014

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Brodie

November 28th, 2017 at 11:13 AM ^

It would almost have to be... if he's graduating in three years that means he has been maxing credits and taking spring/summer classes. Maybe he loves school, but it was clear from our offers that the torch would be passed from Speight to one of the kids when they became upperclassmen and Malzone wasn't competing. 

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