Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Thoughts on Countess and Hayes Transfers


It has been known for a while that running back Justice Hayes would transfer, although the destination was unknown; he's now planning to play for Southern Miss. Blake Countess somewhat abruptly announced a transfer not long ago, and yesterday he told the world that he would be ending up at Auburn.

Countess is headed to Auburn, which has a depleted secondary that might become even more depleted in the coming weeks. Jonathon Mincy graduated and got a tryout with the Atlanta Falcons. Jonathan Jones, meanwhile, made 6 picks last season and despite suffering a minor injury this spring, he will be one of the Tigers' starting corners this fall. On the other side, Joshua Holsey is a senior who started seven games last fall, making 41 tackles and 2 pass breakups. He will probably be Countess's primary competition to start, since no other returning players saw much action. Otherwise, Auburn is bringing in several freshmen to compete, including 4-stars Carlton Davis and Javarius Davis. If Countess transferred for playing time reasons (which is partially rumored to be the case, since the coaching staff pursued Wayne Lyons), he's going to have to compete against Holsey and some other talented athletes in the SEC.

In Hayes's case, Southern Mississippi returns its top four running backs from last year. None of them was very accomplished, though. The leading back was then freshman Ito Smith (536 yards, 3.9 yards/carry, 2 touchdowns), while little used freshman Tez Parks and junior Jalen Richard averaged 5.6 and 5.9 yards/carry, respectively. Hayes enters a rather crowded backfield, but Conference USA is weaker competition, and Southern Miss typically survives with 3-star and 2-star recruits. Hayes has decent speed, and while his production was never anything special at Michigan, he should be able to get some playing time in that backfield. He also offers the flexibility to be able to move out into the slot and catch some passes, and he could help on kickoff returns, although the Golden Eagles return senior Michael Thomas, who averaged over 24 yards/return and took one to the house last year.

Neither player is walking into a situation where he will be guaranteed a starting gig, and he won't necessarily be the most talented guy at his position, either. In recent years we have seen players like Josh Furman, Thomas Rawls, and Richard Ash leave Michigan only to flourish elsewhere immediately. It will be interesting to see whether Hayes and Countess continue that trend. Personally, I have always been high on Countess and I think he's better than Holsey - but I also think he's better than Wayne Lyons. Meanwhile, Hayes was uninspiring during his time at Michigan and struggles to run through contact, but he should bring a little speed to the Southern Miss backfield and get a fair chance to shine.

5 comments:

  1. I am sure the Auburn Fans are excited to get a guy who couldn't even start at Michigan. Countess showed promise as a freshmen, I'm not sure he ever fully recovered from hurting his knee in the Bama gameas a sophomore. Best of luck and work hard, it won't be any easier at Auburn.

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    1. I don't really buy this theory that he never recovered from his knee injury. He got injured in 2012...and then he was All-Big Ten in 2013. I think his regression in 2014 had to do with something more than the injury that took place two years earlier.

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    2. Countess was a multi-year starter at Michigan.

      And yeah, Michigan probably has better DBs than Auburn so it could be easier.

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  2. The Countess transfer is surprising and devastating. Not a fan of the move; I wish he would've stayed. I know he's undersized to be an NFL safety but I think he has all the skills to be a successful safety in college.

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  3. I wonder what kind of conversations did Countess had with Harbaugh. In any case, I hope both guys work out down the line. I wonder if there's any more transfer?

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