Rising fifth year senior Raheem Anderson II announced he would be entering the transfer portal. Anderson spent the past four seasons at Michigan, redshirting as a freshman in 2021 and playing in seventeen games altogether.
Anderson was a 4-star, the #15 interior offensive lineman, and #215 overall in the class of 2021. At the time, I remember Sam Webb saying he was a four-year starter and an obvious captain selection at Detroit (MI) Cass Tech, one of those high-character players who would be a program guy.
Anderson fought for the starting center position this past off-season and was supposedly neck-and-neck with Greg Crippen for a good chunk of practice before Dominick Giudice swooped in and took the spot, pushing Anderson back to #3 on the depth chart. How that position battled played out is curious to me, and I have to wonder if something just wasn't connecting between Anderson and the coaching staff.
Crippen has one year of eligibility remaining, and Michigan recruited 2024 signee Jake Guarnera and 2025 signee Kaden Strayhorn to play center down the road. The Wolverines may also be exploring transfer portal options to shore up the interior offensive line.
Anyway, Anderson entered the transfer portal with one season left. Incidentally, his brother Khamari Anderson, a 2023 high school graduate from Cass Tech who went to Kentucky, has also entered the portal. It will be interesting to see if they both end up playing together somewhere in 2025. Khamari played in eleven games this past season, making 5 catches for 29 yards in his backup tight end role.
Other 2021 signees to transfer out of the program include WR Andrel Anthony (Oklahoma), OT Tristan Bounds (destination TBD), WR Cristian Dixon (Central Missouri), RB Tavierre Dunlap (destination TBD), TE Louis Hansen (UConn), and DT George Rooks (Boston College).
A real surprise that Giudice ended up ahead of Anderson at not only OC to start the year but as a fill-in backup OG.
ReplyDeleteFor the OL as a whole there was a real big difference between the buzz we heard from insiders over the last couple years and the playing time decisions during this season.
Two quotes -- "One of those high-character players who would be a program guy." And, "I have to wonder if something just wasn't connecting between Anderson and the coaching staff."
ReplyDeleteI'm genuinely curious about the coaching / player dynamics that might have been at work here. I would not think a 'high-character' guy with what I'd presume to a good attitude would create any coaching interaction issues, but I've never been on either side of the equation in a football setting. What are some scenarios where the chemistry doesn't work? Any examples from your experience, either directly or what you've witnessed?
I don't necessarily mean that they didn't get along. It's also possible that the coaches didn't value what Anderson brought to the table. For example, maybe he was a good pass blocker but not as tough in the run game as they wanted. Or maybe he was a high-intelligence player but didn't bring the brute strength they wanted. Maybe he's a quiet guy and the coaches wanted a more vocal leader.
DeleteWe had a sophomore QB a few years ago who was a high-character kid (good grades, worked hard, never got in trouble, etc.), but he made poor decisions on the practice field with the ball. We had to replace him with a position-switcher who was a little older, so he transferred to another school.
You also might have a player who doesn't respond well to yelling and a coach who coaches by yelling; or a player who needs somebody to ride his butt to make him play his best, and the coach is more laid-back. I've seen both of those situations work out if the kid maybe changes positions to work with a coach with a different mentality.
This is really good stuff. Thanks for the feedback!
DeleteThis sucks in that I thought highly of Anderson every time he got on the field (even if spring games don't matter)
ReplyDeleteNot starting in his first three years was understandable, but this year? I didn't are much for the OL, especially the right side
Yeah, I was surprised Anderson didn't get a shot at C this year. I was not impressed with Giudice or Crippen.
DeleteI had no idea the spring game was relevant I thought it was all about pass attempts in the regular season and since Raheem Anderson got none well it was pretty obvious this would happen....
DeleteRahim Anderson did OL things well in games, and in spring ... we never saw the gimmick do QB things well in either setting
DeleteThe two are not the same. Pretending so is misleading
There's a part of me that believes Sherrone Moore uses playing time to reward attitude and effort in practice and training. If a player -- even a star player such as Kalel Mullings -- doesn't strive to do his best in practice and training, Moore's philosophy is to withhold playing time. I've come to think that explains why Mullings played as little as he did in the middle of the season, and why the offensive line composition was what it was. Said another way, Moore does not reward with playing time any sense of entitlement by a player.
DeleteNotable locker room and sideline presence but if he doesn't have a chance at starting then the move makes perfect sense.
ReplyDelete