Kevonte Henry, a 4-Star Edge Who Decommitted from UM in February for Oklahoma, Enters the Portal
You guys hear about Llewellyn?
Watching updates to the transfer portal is intriguing! I remembered reading Kevonte's Hello post and subsequent departure for Oklahoma. It was thought at the time that he would follow Courtney Morgan to UW.
So, why then did he commit to OU? If it was for money, I have no problem with that; power to these kids leveraging their positions. However, in reading the many comments and stories about the culture at UM, I am curious if the number of players transferring deters a strong/stable culture.
Much has been made of TAMU's purchased class and they now have 21 players in the portal. Does that speak to a possible culture problem?
December 7th, 2022 at 3:20 PM ^
I think this article gets more in depth on why he both quit the team before the season ended, and entered the portal.
"As was expediently reported by 247Sports' Brandon Drumm, Henry's decision to depart the program stemmed from a flat refusal to submit to disciplinary action, and he was quickly removed from the team's online roster."
I do not know the backstory here....but maybe this is somebody they avoid?
December 7th, 2022 at 3:25 PM ^
Yikes! No thank you.
Even if it's not the full story, I want no part of that.
December 7th, 2022 at 3:47 PM ^
Why not? Sounds like a strong program culture could help adjust his attitude. Worked for Okie!
December 7th, 2022 at 4:14 PM ^
The difference, at least to me, is that Okie adjusted his attitude before joining UM. Another program took the majority of that risk.
December 7th, 2022 at 3:31 PM ^
Wow! Didn't see that story! Thanks for the link.
December 7th, 2022 at 4:09 PM ^
Nice context.
I would like to know what he was being disciplined for and why he didn't submit to the action. My guess is it isn't great for Henry but you're also dealing with a first-year, first-time head coach who took over a perennial top-10 team and led them to a 6-6 record during which they looked absolutely awful on defense. There's a non-zero chance that we hear some not-great stories about the OU staff and how they handled this new reality in Norman.
December 7th, 2022 at 7:05 PM ^
Chemistry buster, no thanks
December 7th, 2022 at 3:23 PM ^
I liked his tape a lot last season but I’d think he’d go to UW if I’m not mistaken Courtney Morgan was somewhat of a mentor to him. If he was having issues transitioning to college it could go a long way to have a sage influence like that as a young man. On the other hand Venables is a hard ass.
December 7th, 2022 at 3:24 PM ^
I'd expect our number of transfers to start increasing once the playoffs finish. We had 8 in January last(or this) year, and I'd assume we have a similar amount.
December 7th, 2022 at 3:28 PM ^
yeah its inevitable these days that the transfers will certainly increase. In and out.
December 7th, 2022 at 3:38 PM ^
I agree. I'm curious, though, if a team has an egregious amount of departures, like TAMU, for instance, if that kills the culture? I know it's a "time will tell" type question...
December 7th, 2022 at 4:06 PM ^
What A$M culture are you referring to? Pay for play?
December 7th, 2022 at 4:08 PM ^
I don't think so. We had 21 transfers before the 2021 season and last I checked we DOMINATED that year. With NIL, you also get alot of people that commit to schools for 1 year which I assume was the requirement of their NIL deal. Look at Quinn Ewers at OSU for a year then transferred to Texas. I'm not sure how many of the P2P class at A&M played, but if they didn't play their first year I'm sure they'd want to transfer. Right now we have lost Cade(Expected), All(The more you read the more it makes sense) and Hansen who hasn't played.
December 7th, 2022 at 4:18 PM ^
Even though it was a short time ago, I had forgotten UM had so many transfers. I'm a teacher and coach of high school kids and maintaining a stable culture usually revolves around quashing rumors and old grudges LOL. I can't imagine the headaches these coaches have to deal with.
Saw that Hansen signed with UMass
December 7th, 2022 at 5:57 PM ^
Not if you replace them with an equal number of "culture/glue guys."
December 7th, 2022 at 4:05 PM ^
Agree with this. And many of those in the portal will be grad transfers. I could also see some kids lower on the depth chart relegated to practice squad status taking a walk for greener pastures. And, of course, the occasional All/McNamara type situations where they are starter-quality, but need to make a move for one reason or another (see: St Juste, Benjamin).
The attrition is now just easier b/c there is no redshirt year after transferring, so you just see a lot more of it than in years past. You just need to reset transfer expectations for the world in which we now live.
December 7th, 2022 at 4:24 PM ^
Based on what other top teams are seeing, we should expect at least 10 players to hit the portal.
December 7th, 2022 at 4:53 PM ^
Hard to argue against this when you see teams like Bama with solid turnover of non starters. The 4 playoff teams still have at least one remaining meaningful game to play. I did see a Georgia DLine enter the portal already
https://sports.yahoo.com/georgia-dl-bill-norton-enters-193247510.html
December 7th, 2022 at 3:24 PM ^
Definitely won in the Moore/Henry trade, now looks like we may have dodged a bullet.
December 7th, 2022 at 3:32 PM ^
I kept seeing smoke that Etta was going to decommit but it looks like the big dogs visited him last night
https://twitter.com/EnowEtta1/status/1600326472840814593?s=20&t=Jg4VGQHDEDp0eL8DNYg6vQ
December 7th, 2022 at 3:38 PM ^
The analysts seem to indicate he is our most likely to decommit if anybody does,, but think he will stay in the end.
December 7th, 2022 at 3:49 PM ^
He did not seem to be happy at all. Sorry.
December 7th, 2022 at 3:55 PM ^
Shoes off in the house, Coach!!!
Those couches look comfy. Hoke likely would have been out cold before the pictures were taken!
December 7th, 2022 at 4:02 PM ^
Or in the wc "making some room."
December 7th, 2022 at 4:54 PM ^
I prefer my Defensive lineman never happy…especially when there’s a QB around.
December 7th, 2022 at 8:17 PM ^
Or he just likes looking tough in photos instead of cheesing.
December 7th, 2022 at 3:38 PM ^
I would like a thread in regards to the health of our starting PG.
December 7th, 2022 at 3:46 PM ^
I heard he hurt his knee? Maybe an ACL? It's unclear...
December 7th, 2022 at 3:45 PM ^
I'd assume he ends up at Washington this time with Courtney Morgan
December 7th, 2022 at 3:47 PM ^
Did Michigan dodge a bullet with him?
Possibly.
Hopefully he'll get his act together.
December 7th, 2022 at 3:47 PM ^
Much has been made of TAMU's purchased class and they now have 21 players in the portal. Does that speak to a possible culture problem?
The kids grabbed their guaranteed NIL money then got the F out because they probably didn't want to be there in the first place. This is why you don't lure kids in with money. They have to WANT to be at the school. Harbaugh has it right.
December 7th, 2022 at 3:56 PM ^
I have vacillated from wanting UM to be more active in the up-front NIL to UM is doing it right. After my initial anger subsided over "losing out on" so many commits, I agree that Harbaugh and UM are doing it right. Like you said, they are taking the money and running. UM is losing out on a few commits because of the up-front money, but I feel they will be better off in the long run.
December 7th, 2022 at 4:29 PM ^
They can walk away with unearned cash? So there are deals where you can make money (like Rod Moore and his clothing) and deals where you get paid simply for signing with a team? If a kid gets money just for signing, isn't it set aside until he finishes his commitment? To hand out tons of cash before someone has proven themselves at the college level is crazy to me.
December 7th, 2022 at 6:32 PM ^
That's why they call people that spend money like that "crazy rich" or "stupid rich".
Another perspective is "$1M to them is $100 to you". Have you not ever foolishly wasted $100?
December 7th, 2022 at 7:03 PM ^
Until we can actually see the terms and conditions of their NIL agreements, we're just guessing about who got what, for how long, and how the parties terminate the arrangements. Moneyed people are typically (not always) pretty smart about spending money. Repeat: not always smart.
We'll probably never know many details.
December 8th, 2022 at 11:24 AM ^
we're just guessing about who got what, for how long, and how the parties terminate the arrangement
Correct. The terms of their contracts are not publicly available. My guess is that some money is guaranteed up front just for signing. This wouldn't be outlandish. Then there are probably retention and performance payouts over time.
December 7th, 2022 at 4:14 PM ^
I also believe schools that have lots of highly ranked players are challenged to keep them due to obvious limits in playing time. These high star kids come in with high expectations for playing time. And keeping them happy must be a huge challenge for coaching staffs. The portal just makes it much easier for them to go elsewhere.
December 7th, 2022 at 6:36 PM ^
It's not just expectations of playing time, it's a need. Some of these kids see football as their career. They need PT to get drafted and/or signed. No PT means no career. They need to find PT.
I imagine some may also see the end of the road, realize it's not going to be their career they prioritize other aspects in where they transfer; maybe friends, academics, location, culture, post-college network etc.
December 7th, 2022 at 8:25 PM ^
It's not just expectations of playing time, it's a need. Some of these kids see football as their career.
And that is fair. Imagine going to med school but never being able to perform a medical procedure on a real patient? You would get out.
December 7th, 2022 at 4:44 PM ^
Hmm, didn’t suit up for any games before he left the team. Probably dodged a bullet on this one.
December 7th, 2022 at 5:13 PM ^
If a kid isn’t even dressing for home games that’s a bad sign.
December 7th, 2022 at 7:20 PM ^
Texas A&M has a losing a lot of games and not even getting a Bowl Game problem, not a culture problem.
December 7th, 2022 at 8:26 PM ^
One causes the other.