Thaw Enters Portal
Jake Thaw to the transfer portal. Good luck to him!
January 10th, 2024 at 12:44 PM ^
Wish him the best
January 10th, 2024 at 12:45 PM ^
Thanks for not fumbling that ball. Seriously. Thanks.
January 10th, 2024 at 1:03 PM ^
Or, as one is taught, don't fair catch inside the 5... but I digress...
Easy to armchair QB from my living room.
January 10th, 2024 at 1:04 PM ^
With the way he got hit just as he was turning I’m willing to say that 7 out of 10 players would’ve fumbled there. I’m so grateful he was part of the 30%.
January 10th, 2024 at 1:47 PM ^
The greatest fumble recovery in Michigan Football history.
January 10th, 2024 at 2:31 PM ^
He knew that Alabama's gunner will destroy him the second he picks up that fumble, and he took it like a champ that he is.
January 10th, 2024 at 2:33 PM ^
I feel bad that he thinks he can never forgive himself. He shouldn't feel that way.
January 10th, 2024 at 2:36 PM ^
He has admirable humility. Pretty impressive for a 15-0 national champion!
January 10th, 2024 at 7:31 PM ^
I hope, with time, that he will realize he has nothing to forgive himself for. Mistake? Sure, but nobody's perfect, and ultimately it didn't have a cost.
I also hope that his life is so richly blessed that failing to field a punt clearly is one of the biggest mistakes of his life. We should all be so lucky. Good luck, and Godspeed, young man.
January 10th, 2024 at 4:24 PM ^
Not fumbling that punt may be one of the most important plays in Michigan Football History.
National Champs may not exist.
15 - 0 may not exist.
MASSIVE amounts of HEARTACHES, STROKES, and HEART ATTACKS may have occurred.
TY MR.THAW!!!
GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!! MAY LIFE TREAT YOU WELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Enjoy the memories and friendships!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 10th, 2024 at 12:45 PM ^
Dang it missed it by that much.
January 10th, 2024 at 12:55 PM ^
it was that extra time you spent embedding the tweet!
January 10th, 2024 at 12:45 PM ^
That's National Champion, Jake Thaw.
😀
January 10th, 2024 at 12:46 PM ^
Spring Thaw is coming for some lucky team
January 10th, 2024 at 12:47 PM ^
While I nearly lost my mind when he didnt let the ball bounce into the end zone at the end of the Rose Bowl I do have to tip my cap to the effort that dude made to right his wrong. That he was able to get back on the ball and fight his way out of the end zone was nothing short of amazing and absolutely saved this dream season from imploding.
Best of luck young man.
January 10th, 2024 at 12:51 PM ^
That mistake could have happened to anyone, but he had the presence of mind to do everything necessary to mitigate the damage. Smart kid.
Best of luck, Jake.
January 10th, 2024 at 1:21 PM ^
i wish the kid the very best and thank him mightily for his service.
that said, it was not a mistake that could, or at least should happen to anyone. you never actually field that punt inside the 10, and definitely not the 5 unless a run back on that punt is the only possible way to win the game, and never, never, never on the 1 yd line.
January 10th, 2024 at 2:06 PM ^
He actually called for a fair catch at the ten. Reichard was booming his punts that day, so Thaw had to backpedal to the five to catch it, and that bit of multitasking must have thrown him off.
It's a fair criticism to say that he shouldn't have misjudged the punt given how Reichard had been punting up to that point, but the mistake of dropping a punt while you're backpedaling to catch it can happen to anyone.
January 10th, 2024 at 2:22 PM ^
the actual drop thing, certainly and i agree. but the training we/he would do to have his heels firmly planted on the 10 yd line and to know to not backpedal for a kick, or maybe a 'step' and that's it, that is the mistake. he went 8-9 yds back. no bueno. but like you and others have said, he made the best out of what could've been a catastrophe. kudos to the kid and hope he does great at his next stop
January 10th, 2024 at 2:10 PM ^
The mistake was in Jay Harbaugh having him back there at all, or at least instructing him to plant himself and not to retreat beyond the 10 yard line under any circumstances.
Good luck to Matt Dillon's doppelganger.
January 10th, 2024 at 12:56 PM ^
He didn't "fight his way out of the end zone." The ball never entered the end zone. If it had, it would have been a touchback. He called for a fair catch, so he could not advance the ball at all.
January 10th, 2024 at 1:42 PM ^
Jake had clearly touched the ball outside of the endzone. Had the ball rolled into the endzone after that and Alabama recovered, how would that not end up as an Alabama TD or at the very least Alabama ball at the 4 yard line?
January 10th, 2024 at 2:01 PM ^
If they recover it's a TD, but if he's tackled in the endzone it's a touchback
January 10th, 2024 at 2:08 PM ^
You forced me to research this to confirm that you are, in fact, smarter than the rest of us. Not only would it have been a touchback but based on a more complicated variant of this that happened once in the NFL, he could have have the ball knocked out of his hands on a non-fair-catch and still gotten a touchback for it as long as he did not cleanly possess the ball (essentially same burden of possession as a WR catching a pass).
I logged into commend you and I look forward to being the only person in the room who knows this when it happens at a game I'm watching with other people thanks to you.
But sadly I now have no reason to be happy with Thaw because it means the only redeeming thing he did on the play was not fumble when he got hit. He made the trifecta mistake of trying to fair catch inside the 5, muffing that poor fair catch decision, and then deliberately trying to keep it at the 1 while exposing himself to a bigger hit for a bigger possibility of fumbling instead of simply falling on it in the endzone for a touchback.
January 10th, 2024 at 5:53 PM ^
the only redeeming thing he did on the play was not fumble when he got hit.
Which is a pretty big deal.
January 10th, 2024 at 1:00 PM ^
Proof that there is a God, part one million, is that this kid didn't have to go through life as the guy who gave up the game winning TD in the Rose Bowl. He saved us all, and especially himself, by pulling it together there. I hope he goes somewhere he can start and play all season next year.
January 10th, 2024 at 1:06 PM ^
Imagining the alternate reality hell where Finebaum etc are gloating about another Alabama championship
January 10th, 2024 at 1:23 PM ^
That'd be the worst. But it really shows just how narrow the margins are for winning one of these things, even with a team as dominant as these Wolverines were.
January 10th, 2024 at 1:08 PM ^
It was both the worst and the best play of the season
January 10th, 2024 at 12:49 PM ^
Thank you Jake for a great season. You have a degree, 3 B1G championships, and a National Championship. I hope you can transfer someplace where you can have ample playing time and get a good graduate degree. Forever Go Blue!
January 10th, 2024 at 12:56 PM ^
I am sad to see Thaw leave, but maybe we should all just let it go...
#FrozenJoke
January 10th, 2024 at 12:58 PM ^
Wasn't he Jake the Great according to Gus Johnson, or was that another ake?
January 10th, 2024 at 1:02 PM ^
You’re thinking of Blake The Great, I believe.
A little OT but does Gus Johnson ever consult with these players he gives nicknames to?
January 10th, 2024 at 1:47 PM ^
you shouldn't have a say in the a nickname given to you.
January 10th, 2024 at 2:13 PM ^
You mean like "Third Base"?
January 10th, 2024 at 12:59 PM ^
Thank you Thaw for recovering that muffed punt outside the end zone.
January 10th, 2024 at 1:00 PM ^
In some ways, we might consider him the MVP of the season for taking that hit and not losing the ball in the end-zone.
We got you Thaw, you national champion you.
Go Blue.
January 10th, 2024 at 1:03 PM ^
I imagine we'll see a handful of these the next few days. I think the deadline is the 13th. Good luck Thaw and thank you for your contribution to team 144!
January 10th, 2024 at 1:06 PM ^
Go get you some playing time son! Thanks for falling on that damn ball in the Rose Bowl.
January 10th, 2024 at 1:12 PM ^
Thaw's fair catch at the 29 before the start of the first 4th quarter TD drive in the NCG was an underrated key play in the game: Washington had sneakily gained field position on most of its punts to that point, which were short but hard-to-field line drives that would bounce in the right direction (for UW, that is). Coming up and catching that punt with 9:44 left in the game set the "ok, now it's time to do what we do best and take care of business" tone for the subsequent drive.
Also, CT represent!
January 10th, 2024 at 1:54 PM ^
Agree. And I made the comment to my son that he just saved about 15 yards by coming up and catching that ball. I don't know how many yards we lost in that game just on the roll after failing to catch punts. Starting on the 29 was literally some of our best starting field position. Punt returns were a mess during the playoffs.
January 10th, 2024 at 2:14 PM ^
Yeah. I hope our special teams get it together this week.
January 10th, 2024 at 2:04 PM ^
Gotta give some thanks to the coaches too. They started putting both Thaw and Morgan back there for punts. Morgan was deep and Thaw was lined up in front of Morgan by 10-15 yards.
January 10th, 2024 at 1:18 PM ^
Nothing like ad-libbing a little drama to cement hero status in Ann Arbor and never again have to buy a beer in that town.
Nice job, Jake - you got us all!
January 10th, 2024 at 1:21 PM ^
Best of luck to him, and I think him profusely for not fumbling that ball at the end of the Rose Bowl.
That would've been 50x worse than 2015 MSU.
January 10th, 2024 at 2:17 PM ^
Having been in the stands for The Horror, I can safely say that NOTHING could be 50x worse than that.
Bad coaching (wrong formation)
Bad officiating (no roughing the center call)
Bad execution ("trouble with the snap!")
Bad mental error (Aussie punter not knowing he could fall on the ball)
Bad luck (the ball swatted straight into MSU player's hands)
Other than that, how did you enjoy "the play" Mrs. Lincoln?
January 10th, 2024 at 1:22 PM ^
Thaw was a walk on right? I do love when a walk on can parlay special teams contributions into maybe more of a role elsewhere.
January 10th, 2024 at 1:23 PM ^
Thaw’s out
🙇
January 10th, 2024 at 1:23 PM ^
Mess around and stay cool Jake!
January 10th, 2024 at 1:26 PM ^
Yes. Best of luck. We will see who else the portal takes and who it gives.