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| Christian Pace |
Offensive lineman Christian Pace has received a medical scholarship and will no longer play for Michigan. Pace was a member of the 2010 class and represented the entirety of the offensive linemen that committed to Michigan that year. He suffered a shoulder injury in practice during the season that will prevent him from continuing his football career, at least in Ann Arbor. This is disappointing, since it leaves the offensive line woefully thin and might make it more necessary for a freshman like Chris Bryant to see playing time in 2011. It's also disappointing because Pace looked like a solid player coming out of high school and could have developed into a quality college offensive lineman.
Once David Molk departs after the 2011 season, the depth at center will consist of redshirt senior Rocko Khoury, redshirt freshman Jack Miller, and any freshmen who can potentially contribute there (perhaps Caleb Stacey); redshirt seniors Ricky Barnum and Elliott Mealer would also be available to play center, if necessary.
Eighteen months after National Signing Day 2010, only 17 of the 27 signees remain with the program.
Magnus, do you have any idea what a typical attrition rate is for a class? I know there is a mix of medical issues, washouts and transfers, but to almost have 40% of your class gone in one year is staggering to me. I also wonder, without raising the RR-is-evil issue, if Hoke's recruiting strategy built around passion for the program might not mitigate this trend (I know the medicals don't factor here).
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's just semantics but I wouldn't call him an ex-Wolverine unless he transferred. Whether he can play or not if he's still at Michigan he's a Wolverine.
ReplyDeleteHate to lose him from the squad as I had high hopes he'd be a Molk type center.
Hate to say it, but for all of the buzz that Hoke has generated with the 2012 class so far, it's going to take three years to really climb out of the recruiting and attrition hole that RR dug for us. He did not recruit impact players, he did not recruit OL and DL well, and he did not know how to balance a class.
ReplyDelete@ Meeechigan Dan 3:30 p.m.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what a typical attrition rate is, but I'm sure that having 10/27 leave before their sophomore season is pretty ridiculous.
@ Anonymous 6:07 p.m.
ReplyDeleteIt's not meant to be an attack on Pace. He's just not on the team anymore. It's not his fault he got injured; it happens.
Call me disappointed. I know some people from the Avon Lake program and pretty much everyone thought Pace was the real deal. His HS film was ridiculous. Probably would have been great in the spread offense. Seemed like a nice kid too. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteIf this happened in the spring, I wonder why the staff didn't go after a center prospect this year. Once Khoury is gone, the only guy recruited to play center is a low 3-star recruit (Jack Miller).
ReplyDeleteTo DeepBlue83 ...
ReplyDeleteYou wrote: "He did not recruit impact players ..."
As you might hear on MLive, "Denard Robinson would like a word with you."
I agree that history will judge RichRod harshly in many areas (including recruiting in some areas ... that attrition rate can't be ignored), but I think you painted irresponsibly with broad strokes.
Seriously, did Forcier not make an impact in '09? There are numerous others below Robinson's level (Roundtree, Omameh, Hagerup) that have already made significant contributions. I haven't bothered mentioning Devin Gardner. With many others like him, it's too early pass judgment.
You *do* realize that we're still working with a class and a half of Lloyd's recruits, right?
Do me a favor and count the *IMPACT* recruits from '05, '06, '07, and the first half of '08. You might be surprised. Look, also, at the last three NFL drafts for Michigan.
Obviously @DeepBlue83 did not write his post with great care. I assume he meant to say that Rodriguez didn’t recruit enough impact players. I am sure that @DeepBlue83 realizes that Denard Robinson is on the team. Robinson is indeed an impact player, and the credit for him being at Michigan goes entirely to Rich Rodriguez.
ReplyDeleteBut one great player, or even a few, does not a great football team make. Rodriguez’s recruiting, considered as a whole, has to be counted a failure — not only for the severe attrition, but also for its lack of balance at certain positions, particularly the offensive and defensive lines.
... and RB and WR and LB....
ReplyDelete