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| Amara Darboh (#82) |
Despite being pegged as a starter opposite Jeremy Gallon, I ranked Darboh as the 25th-most important player in the 2013 Season Countdown. I'm not quite on the bandwagon that thinks he'll be a star wide receiver, although I think he'll be a solid player. I've long suggested that redshirt freshman Jehu Chesson will be the better player in the long run, so this should give Chesson a few more opportunities to produce. The Wolverines also have a trio of seniors in the form of Drew Dileo, Jeremy Jackson, and Joe Reynolds, as well as a trio of true freshmen in the form of Jaron Dukes, Da'Mario Jones, and Csont'e York.
Teams always face injury issues, and this is just another example. Last year freshman defensive lineman Chris Wormley tore his ACL around this time, and sophomore Blake Countess tore his ACL in the first quarter of the opener. Darboh joins redshirt sophomore quarterback Russell Bellomy on the list of guys expected to miss the season, and redshirt junior linebacker Jake Ryan is out until late this fall with an ACL tear; would-be redshirt sophomore linebacker Antonio Poole took a medical hardship in the off-season after dealing with a chronic upper body injury.
I had a similar thought about Chesson when I saw the news about Darboh. At 6'3" and approaching 200 pounds (listed 193 right now) and ran track, seems like he's got a big upside. I'm bummed about Darboh's injury though. Would be nice to have another potential playmaker and one that's familiar with the offense. Hope he returns to 100% regardless of when.
ReplyDeleteGlad I'm not taking crazy pills. There's a bit of a freakout session at MGoBlog.
ReplyDeleteBummer for us fans but especially for Amara, who is a good, likeable, hard-working, kid from all reports I've read.
ReplyDeleteThat said - I'm not as down as others seem to be simply because I've grown skeptical of hype in regards to players who don't actually play. Specifically - the parallels in hype between Robinson a year ago and Darboh this year. Other than the red-shirt year and Roy Roundtree's eligibility, I see very few differences. Both started from the players themselves talking about eye-popping catches and predictions for break-out seasons. Yet both hardly sniffed the field in their freshman season (RS Fr in Robinson's case).
I think we'll be fine; more Dileo (and Norfleet?) and a chance for Chesson and the freshman to emerge. Even if it's the much-hated Jeremy Jackson or walk-on Reynolds who draw most of Darboh's snaps, I don't think disaster is forthcoming at WR. But yes, it's a bummer to lose a guy that might have given us another playmaker. Emphasis there should be on might have.
Darboh supposedly won the starting job, so that would be a differentiator between Robinson's '12 and Darboh in '13, but it's notable that Roundtree isn't around anymore.
Check this out...I'm in full agreement.
DeleteThe big bummer about Darboh is that the coaches were clearly excited about him. Borges seemed to light up any time Darboh came up as a topic in his press conferences this spring and summer. Oh well. Hopefully he is able to fully recover.
ReplyDeleteAre we going to have any non injured players left? Seems like alot of guys with the same injury or injured period.
ReplyDeleteWe'll be fine. There are only a few guys who are out (Darboh, Bellomy, Ryan) long-term.
DeleteQuestion to anybody: Does this mean that because Darboh played his freshman year (I believe), he is eligible for a medical redshirt this year?
ReplyDeleteThey're just going to go for an elective redshirt. You can take an elective redshirt whenever you want, not just in your first year. Hagerup is taking one this year as well.
DeleteMedical redshirts are almost always filed if the goal is to get a redshirt granted for a season that included playing time. Darboh is already out for this entire season, so he can just get an elective redshirt.
Yes, he is eligible for a redshirt this year. While you CAN take an elective redshirt in any of your first five years, the school would likely pursue a medical redshirt. That means he could potentially apply for a sixth year of eligibility down the road if he's unfortunate enough to miss another season due to injury. Guys who take elective redshirts cannot get a sixth year.
DeleteToo many rules with all these redshirts, my head hurts.
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