Third-year player Anthony Solomon has entered the transfer portal. He was a 4-star, the #14 outside linebacker, and #223 overall in the 2019 class.
Solomon was recruited out of Fort Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas as a Viper in Don Brown's defense, and that made sense with him at 6'0" and 190 lbs. He bulked up to 6'1" and 215 lbs. by the 2021 season, but it wasn't enough to do any more than play in five games, almost entirely on special teams. He made 1 tackle in 2019, 5 tackles in 2020, and 0 in 2021. I ranked him at #39 in the 2021 Season Countdown (LINK), mistakenly counting on some injury issues to get him on the field. Luckily, Michigan's linebackers stayed healthy, negating the need for a ton of depth. Joshua Ross, Junior Colson, Nikhai Hill-Green, and Michael Barrett got the vast majority of snaps in the position group.
Michigan needs to shed a bunch of players going into next season to make room for the incoming recruits and transfers, and this is just the beginning. The Wolverines are bringing in several linebackers in the 2022 class, and they appear to have their starters for 2022 already in place with Colson and Hill-Green.
Here's a link to the scholarship count (LINK).
I feel for these guys: they had their dreams, and they rolled the dice with Michigan, and it just didn't come out their way. I hope two things: that he finds a good home, and that he adjusts his expectations about his hopes for a career in football.
ReplyDelete(It's highly unlikely he'll go to a higher-level program than Michigan. It's possible he does well somewhere else and gets a look from the NFL, but it's unlikely he's going to be playing on Sundays. I didn't say impossible, I said unlikely.)
I feel for them as individuals, but these things happen at every program, from FBS down to DIII. I think in today's environment, hanging around for 2+ years is pretty much all you can really expect from anyone at most positions. If you're not on the field by then and have no clear path to the field, it's about time to go.
DeleteI do think there might be some exceptions, such as offensive line, where size/experience are so valuable. But if you're Darion Green-Warren and not sniffing the field in year two when Michigan is blowing out a bunch of teams, it just makes sense that this probably isn't the best fit.
Well put Anon. I think many fans look at this like pro sports but these are young people whose lives are dramatically altered with these decisions.
DeleteFortunately, it sounds like Solomon will land on his feet at Arizona.
Can't argue with the point IRT years and playing time in general. Probably the majority of transfers fit this mold but there's plenty of exceptions.
DeleteI think a big factor, beyond years, is who you are waiting behind. If you're getting passed by younger guys - that might be different than if you're just lock out behind seniors and grads. I think a decent number of players are willing to be patient as long as there is light ahead. Like at OL.
For a notable number of others there are other life considerations and graduation can be a major factor, especially for the local kids who might see the value of a Michigan degree in a different way. I'm thinking of Peters and McCaffrey who stayed on campus after getting passed over to graduate. Not just QBs either - Kelly Powell and St Juste did it too. If you're a year away from a grad transfer you might just suck it up since you're going to be ineligible to play anyway and can leave with your degree (in some cases after 3 or 3.5 years).
We may see a number of transfer go to Arizona: the cupboard there is pretty bare, and all the down years has taken its toll on recruiting to Arizona. They did okay in 2022 with a national ranking of 23rd in recruiting, but there's a number of holes to fill. So I hope Solomon likes the desert, and finds a home to maximize his potential there.
DeleteAs with Mohan, I had high hopes and am bummed to see this type of player depart.
ReplyDeleteI get it, I understand the scheme change and rationale. Moreover I argued that DB recruits made better Vipers than LB recruits. There's still plenty of bigger/more rugged safety types and Peppers and Hudson still have their place in this defense.
Still - I have a feeling that we'll look back and wish we held on to some 'hybrid' linebackers like this at some point in the next few seasons.