Thursday, August 16, 2012

Ex-Wolverine Updates: Pre-Season 2012

Sam McGuffie is the face of the Rice Owls' program this fall
Some Michigan fans surely don't care much what happens to guys after they decommit or transfer from Michigan, but I'm not one of them.  I like to track them and see how they're doing elsewhere.  Most of the time, they don't find a ton of success on the football field.  But a few - like Toney Clemons, Anthony Fera, DeQuinta Jones, and Sam McGuffie - have become quality players for other FBS programs.  Here are some of the updates since last year, with more info to be found on the Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia.

Former Michigan QB commit Shavodrick Beaver: Beaver sat out the 2011 season after transferring from Tulsa to Midwestern State.  He is listed as a 6'3", 193 lb. redshirt junior quarterback for the Mustangs.

Former Michigan CB Greg Brown: Brown is listed as a 5'11", 195 lb. defensive back on Findlay's roster.  He transferred shortly into the 2011 season after enrolling early in January 2011.

Former Michigan TE commit Pharaoh Brown: Brown is listed as a 6'6", 234 lb. freshman tight end on Oregon's roster.

Former Michigan CB Cullen Christian: Christian is listed as a 6'0", 195 lb. defensive back on Pitt's roster.  He is expected to start at cornerback for the Panthers this year.

Former Michigan WR Toney Clemons: Clemons was a 7th round draft pick out of Colorado in the 2012 NFL Draft.  He remains on the Steelers' roster at this point but did not have a catch in their first preason game against the Eagles.

Former Michigan CB commit Dallas Crawford: Crawford was Miami's Scout Team Player of the Year on defense, but he is now listed as a 5'11", 190 lb. running back on the Hurricanes' roster.

Former Michigan CB commit Demar Dorsey: Dorsey was supposed to enroll at Hawaii after transferring from Grand Rapids Community College, but he does not appear on Hawaii's roster for the upcoming season.  UPDATE: Dorsey is transferring to Western Arizona Junior College for the upcoming season.

Former Michigan S Vladimir Emilien: Emilien is listed as a 6'1", 204 lb. safety at Toledo after sitting out the 2011 season due to transfer rules.  He is expected to start this fall at a hybrid safety/linebacker position.

Former Michigan K commit Anthony Fera: Fera transferred from Penn State to Texas after the PSU sanctions were announced.  He currently has a groin injury and is not practicing with the Longhorns, but he is expected to start when healthy.

Former Michigan OT commit Jake Fisher: Fisher is listed as a 6'6", 294 lb. offensive lineman on Oregon's roster.  He is expected to start this year for the Ducks.

Former Michigan QB Tate Forcier: Forcier signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League after leaving San Jose State, but he was released from the team in June.  His current football status is unknown.

Former Michigan K commit Matt Goudis: Goudis is a redshirt freshman kicker at Miami.

Former Michigan FS Carvin Johnson: Johnson supposedly transferred to Hampton but does not appear on the Pirates' roster for the upcoming season.

Former Michigan DT commit DeQuinta Jones: Jones is listed as a 6'5", 299 lb. defensive tackle and is expected to start for the Arkansas Razorbacks this fall.

Former Michigan LB Kellen Jones: Jones left Oklahoma for Clemson, but does not appear on the Tigers' 2012 roster.

Former Michigan RB Sam McGuffie: McGuffie is listed as a 5'11", 200 lb. redshirt senior running back on the Rice Owls' roster, though he is expected to contribute mostly at slot receiver this fall.

Former Michigan WR commit Bryce McNeal: McNeal transferred from Clemson to UConn in the middle of last season, but he does not appear on the Huskies' roster for 2012.  EDIT: McNeal has instead transferred to Louisville, where it looks like he'll begin this season as a backup.

Former Michigan QB commit Kevin Newsome: Newsome transferred to Temple from Penn State in the offseason.  He will be eligible to play this fall, but will likely be a backup to the incumbent starter.

Former Michigan WR commit DeWayne Peace: Peace is listed as a 6'0", 190 lb. redshirt junior wide receiver for Houston.  He is expected to start at wide receiver this fall.

Former Michigan LB Davion Rogers: Rogers left the Youngstown State program after the 2011 season.  His current playing status is unknown.

Former Michigan QB commit Kevin Sousa: Sousa is listed as a 6'3", 230 lb. redshirt freshman on Wake Forest's roster.

Former Michigan OL commit Caleb Stacey: Stacey decommitted from Michigan and signed with Cincinnati instead, but he left the team prior to the beginning of fall camp.

Former Michigan CB commit Anthony Standifer: Standifer is listed as a 6'1", 180 lb. defensive back on Ole Miss's roster.

Former Michigan WR Je'Ron Stokes: Stokes is listed as a 6'1", 198 lb. redshirt junior wide receiver for the Bowling Green State University Falcons.  He is in the mix to start this fall.

Former Michigan CB Justin Turner: Turner is listed as a 6'3", 204 lb. defensive back for Scottsdale Community College, where he started last season.

Former Michigan S Ray Vinopal: Vinopal is listed as a 5'10", 190 lb. redshirt sophomore safety on Pitt's roster.  He is expected to start for the Panthers this season.

Former Michigan CB commit Adrian Witty: Witty is listed as a 5'10", 182 lb. cornerback for the Cincinnati Bearcats.  He is in the mix to start this fall.

18 comments:

  1. According to Bruce Feldman, Dorsey didn't qualify for Hawaii and will play at Arizona Western instead. https://twitter.com/BFeldmanCBS/statuses/235136081362841600

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  2. Looks like both Jake Fisher and Pharoah Brown fucked up, big time. If the rumors of impending Oregon punishment are true, they likely won't see a bowl game for at least a few years.

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    1. I think Oregon screwed up more than Fisher and Brown. Oregon has been better than Michigan over the last several years, and that's a fact. I can't blame those kids for wanting to go there.

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  3. As bad as things were under Rodriguez, it's hard to imagine just how horrendous Michigan would have been with Newsome and Beaver at QB rather than Forcier and Robinson. Beaver's late decommitment ended up being one of the most important recruiting events in program history.

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  4. Yeah that's pretty crazy if you think about what would've been had we gotten that duo instead of Tate and Denard. Dodged a few bullets there for sure. Or maybe not, maybe one of them would have excelled with Rich Rod and Magee's tutelage. I'm sure we wouldn't have gained any wins from them as our horrendous defense was the main cause of many frustrating losses. Oh well I guess we'll never know. I'm very happy the way it worked out and have many great memories from Tate and Denard in the Big House.

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    1. Agree. It's basically a nature vs nurture thing, but if you believe at all in nurture, circumstances matter. I think a lot of QBs can have success in Rodriguez's system - even a guy who couldn't run that well (Forcier) had way more success at Michigan than anywhere else, though not for long. Shaun King was the only Rodriguez QB I can think of that went on to have any success anywhere else. So there is decent circumstantial evidence that QBs who don't succeed elsewhere can succeed with Rodriguez.

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    2. That seems reasonable to me. But, conversely, if you believe at all in nature, it's hard to think that Beaver's play would have even remotely approximated Robinson's, who came to Michigan only after Beaver's decommitment.

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  5. I don't know if they fucked up. Have you been to the Northwest? It's a beautiful part of the country and Oregon seems like a great place to play football. I doubt they get anything more than a one year bowl ban at the most. Also it's sad to see these recruits flame out and end up giving up on the opportunity at a full ride to College. I understand that some don't have the work ethic, maturity, and the smarts to make it and I'm sure some just lose their love for the game, but the full ride that they gave up on is something they'll regret not taking advantage of for sure.

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  6. Great research and very interesting.

    Intriguing that Vinopal and Christian will both be starting DB's at Pitt. I had a feeling Vinopal could develop into a decent player, despite his size. That Christian is sticking to it and rising to a starter level is a bit of a surprise.

    Also interesting to see the Kellen Jones only lasted a year at Oklahoma. He saw the field last year, I believe. He did not strike me as a flake during the recruiting cycle, but he appears to be one.

    Justin Turner is going to wind up like that old QB from the film Necessary Roughness.

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    1. Yeah, Jones played quite a bit last year. I'm still not sure what happened with that situation.

      Christian and Vinopal can probably hack it at Pitt. I just don't think they were Big Ten-caliber starters. They could have been role players, but neither one was ready when he was called upon, due to the mere fact that they were both true freshmen at the time.

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    2. #52 Kellen Jones appears on Clemson's roster over at ESPN.com.

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    3. Vinopal and Christian might become decent starters in the Big East now that Gibson has left to ruin the Arizona secondary.

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  7. "Have you been to the Northwest? It's a beautiful part of the country ..."

    Seconded.

    Also, I really enjoy these updates. Good work.

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  8. Or maybe they will be allowed to transfer without losing eligibility and could end up back at Michigan. Getting either Brown or Fisher would really speed up the fixing of depth issues at those two positions.

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  9. Pretty crazy walk down memory lane. Funny to think about how excited people were when they committed to Michigan. Great work.

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  10. It is kind of depressing to see all these kids who were formerly committed to us. In some cases we are better off, but it wouldn't hurt to have someone like Fisher and Brown on our team considering how thin we are at OL and TE.

    Thanks for putting this together. Hard to stomach, but good info all together.

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