Pages

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Ex-Wolverine Updates: The Class of 2008

Former Michigan running back Sam McGuffie

Former Michigan cornerback Boubacar Cissoko spent the 2011 season (well, in the summertime) with the Detroit Downriver Diesels of the Great Lakes Football League.  His football season came after being released from incarceration for multiple offenses.  He ended the season with 13 tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 pass breakup, 1 fumble recovery (returned 10 yards for a touchdown), and 2 kickoff returns for 63 yards.

Former Michigan wide receiver/quarterback Justin Feagin last played college football at Texas Southern University back in 2009.  Since that time he has not reappeared on a college roster, as far as I know.

Former Michigan linebacker Taylor Hill, who left Michigan prior to the beginning of his freshman season, has not played college football since 2009, when he was at Youngstown State University.  He redshirted in 2010, but did not appear on the 2011 roster at YSU.

Former Michigan running back Sam McGuffie spent an injury-plagued 2011 season at Rice.  He only played in 7 games due to a nagging ankle injury, totaling just 38 carries for 158 yards (4.2 yards per carry) and 1 touchdown.  He also completed his only pass attempt for 15 yards, caught 9 passes for 72 yards (8 yards per catch) and 1 touchdown, and returned 3 kickoffs for 55 yards.  He will be a fifth year senior in the fall and will battle with redshirt junior Turner Petersen for the starting job.  Check out this article for a nice story about Sam and his interactions with fans.

Former Michigan offensive tackle Dann O'Neill, who transferred to Western Michigan in 2009, started against Michigan in the 2011 season opener.  He was named Third Team All-MAC and will be a fifth year senior in the fall.

Former Michigan safety/linebacker Brandon Smith transferred to Temple prior to the 2010 season, but never appeared on the Temple roster and has apparently ended his college career.

Former Michigan offensive guard Kurt Wermers transferred to Ball State in 2009 after being academically ineligible at Michigan, but he never played a down for Ball State and has apparently ended his football career.

Former Michigan quarterback commit John Wienke threw just 1 pass this season . . . which was thrown to an Oklahoma Sooner.  Which is bad because Wienke plays for Iowa.  He ended the season with a -200.0 quarterback rating based on that 1 attempt.

Former Michigan tight end/H-back commit Christian Wilson just finished his senior year at North Carolina.  He had 10 catches for 107 yards in 2011.  He finished his career with 22 catches for 188 yards and 1 touchdown.

Former Michigan linebacker commit Marcus Witherspoon is out of football after transferring to Rutgers for a short period of time in 2008 and 2009.

Class of 2010 bonus update: Former Michigan safety Carvin Johnson has signed with Hampton University of the Football Championship Subdivision.  He will be a junior in the fall and should be eligible to play immediately.  This is the same school where Marell Evans spent a couple seasons prior to returning to Michigan.

For news on other former players and commits, check out the Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia.

9 comments:

  1. Thanks for keeping up this feature. We get attached to these guys as we follow them through the whole recruiting process and then project our expectations for them as Wolverines. There is always and empty feeling when they leave the program so great to be able to follow them with your help. I wish them all the best, but must admit I am happy when I find out that we did not miss out on much due to a departure.

    ReplyDelete
  2. So I guess after following these updates for a while, it is safe to assume that if they enroll and then transfer the players odds of being a super star athlete are close to zero. If they commit and never make it on campus then they have a slightly better, but still low chance for super star success.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you're mostly right. There have been a couple guys to make it big after they transfer (Ryan Mallett, Jon Ritchie), but for the most part, transferring seems to mean they can't handle college football physically, mentally, or emotionally.

      Delete
    2. Somebody should make a chart and show it to players who are considering transfer.

      Delete
  3. By all accounts Ryan Mallet couldn't handle college football Mentally or Emotionally. He just happened to have a huge amount of Physical skills.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Which one in the picture is Sam McGuffie?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hate to be the one to say it, but... Mr. Snowplow should fall on the "transferred/succeeded" list :(,

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hate to be the one to say it, but I'm afraid Mr Snowplow would have to be on the "transferred/succeeded" list... Yeecchh!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yep agree on the spawn of Mike. Two Tim All Big Ten definitely counts as succeeded. I think the key is in why the transfer happens as if its because they couldn't get playing time then they probably wont succeed. If its for another reason like Mallets or Baylor's Phil Taylor then they've got a shot.

    ReplyDelete