Oklahoma's Kellen Jones (#52) and Tony Jefferson bring down Iowa C.J. Fiedorowicz in the endzone
(image via Greenwich Time)
Former Michigan cornerback Greg Brown left the program mid-season and has transferred to Findlay, a D-II school.
Former Michigan commit and current Miami Hurricane defensive back Dallas Crawford redshirted this past season.
Former Michigan commit and current Oregon Duck offensive tackle Jake Fisher played a backup role in 13 games this season.
Former Michigan commit and current Miami Hurricane kicker Matt Goudis redshirted this past season.
Former Michigan signee and current Oklahoma Sooner linebacker Kellen Jones played as a backup and special teamer in 11 games this past season, making 9 total tackles.
Former Michigan commit and current Wake Forest Demon Deacon quarterback Kevin Sousa redshirted this past season.
The future plans of former Michigan tight end Chris Barnett and former offensive lineman Tony Posada are unknown. Both decided to leave the program after they were already enrolled at Michigan this past fall.
As reported earlier today, freshman TE Chris Barnett is no longer with the University of Michigan football program. Per our conversation this afternoon, Barnett is back with his family in Texas and intends to enroll at another school after he reviews all of his options. "Everything is moving so fast," he said. "[I'll be looking] at whatever's out there." Barnett stated he will address his reasons for leaving the program after "declaring a new school." A time frame for that decision has understandably not yet been established.
Chris always presented as a respectful, humble young man during our conversations, often addressing me as "Sir" and describing himself as a "family man." I'm sure I speak for the Michigan community when I say that we wish him only the best going forward. To learn more about Barnett as both a player and a person, check out an interview with him from earlier this summer.
New TE arrival Chris Barnett thinks it's great to be a Michigan Wolverine. After previously committing to both Oklahoma and Arkansas, Chris couldn't be happier with his final decision to don the winged helmet. "From visiting with Chris and talking with him about it, he loved everything about his visit to Michigan," states Barnett's high school coach Mark Smith. Likewise, Michigan should be pleased with what Chris brings to the table, Coach explains.
"A couple things come to mind when I think of Chris and the way that he plays: #1 is that he's versatile, and #2 is that he's explosive. We used Chris in a variety of different ways. We used him in the traditional tight end position; we also used him in the backfield as the fullback, motioning him around a little bit. And we also split him out wide, going three by one, putting him out there by himself -- matching him up against a corner and using his length, his athleticism and his physicality to our advantage."
Chris' athletic ability may have allowed him to wear many offensive hats against high school competition; however, most observers expect Barnett to play a typical TE role at Michigan. So Coach Smith speaks to that as well.
"Blocking was critical for us and when he got his hands on you, then you were going the other direction. But what I liked about him was how physical he was. And I think Michigan is going to get a really physical, mature player -- right away"
So I'd imagine that it's cool to be Chris Barnett right now. He's about to receive a free world-class education while showcasing his athletic abilities in front of 110,000 people every Saturday. But while Chris thanks god for his talents and is a "family man," circumstances for him haven't always been so positive.
"Growing up, it was always a back and forth situation between my mom's and my dad's. I never had a secure place to be; I never really knew who wanted me and who didn't...I mean, we've been homeless and I was sleeping on a washing machine and dryer. I had to take my jeans off and wrap my shoes up in my jeans and use it as a pillow. So life's been a struggle. And that's where football came into it...."
Despite these hardships, Barnett has developed good relationships with many members of his sizable family, several of whom are also athletes. His brother, Eryon Barnett, plays CB for the Texas Longhorns, and a close cousin plays FCS ball. No stranger to adversity, however, Barnett experienced an injury on the football field at the beginning of his senior year.
"I tore my ACL in early October, and I didn't have surgery for it until December, because like I said, me and my mom, we struggle. We don't have a whole bunch of money. So the injury thing wasn't to the point where I could go get surgery. But I've been working out really hard...I came up on the spring game, and I was 295 [lbs]. Right now, I'm 272. Coach wants me to be 280 -- no [not any] more than 280. But at the same time, I'm getting stronger. I'm crisp [while] running. My knee that I had surgery on still isn't 100%, so I go about 80/85%. But talking to Coach, I still have 2 months [before the season starts] to rehab with them. I don't know, but I'm trying. But if I'm not ready and Coach doesn't let me play and I got to redshirt, then I got to redshirt. It is what it is. And if it is, well, then I feel sorry for whoever we play next year."
With a host of mitigating factors, it's difficult to predict whether or not Chris will see the field his freshman year. But it doesn't appear that his HS coach would be surprised to see Barnett on the field in 2011.
"Chris understands that he has to go in and earn a position there and find a hole that he can fit into and he can play. I know when Coach Hoke and the staff were here [in Texas], they expressed that they didn't have many tight ends on the roster. At that spot in particular, they were going to have to have some freshman contribute. I know Chris and the way that he works and his habits on the field are going to put him in a position to contribute right away...."
Early PT or not, it sounds like Chris is doing his best to help "lay the foundation" for Michigan's future. Not only is Barnett keeping in shape and preparing for the season, but he is also creating a winning mindset.
"We [Chris Bryant, Frank Clark, Justice Hayes] have been talking constantly, like every day, about the things that we're trying to accomplish. And I told everybody, 'this is the coaches' first year; we're the freshman recruiting class; we're the first people to come in with them...so it's really our job to lay down a foundation."
Chris was so excited to start laying the foundation that he caught a plane to SE Michigan early in the morning on Friday June 24th. Presumably, Barnett then unpacked his bags, said "what's up?" to his new roommate Chris Bryant and began breaking ground.
A poster over at Rivals posted the following jersey numbers for the incoming freshmen. I'm not sure how accurate they are, but here's what he gave:
3 Russell Bellomy
5 Justice Hayes
18 Blake Countess
20 Tamani Carter
21 Raymon Taylor
24 Delonte Holowell
35 Greg Brown
38 Thomas Rawls
40 Antonio Poole
44 Desmond Morgan
45 Matt Wile
52 Kellen Jones
57 Frank Clark
58 Chris Bryant
79 Tony Posada
82 Chris Barnett
92 Keith Heitzman
95 Chris Rock
97 Brennen Beyer
Sorry, I did not get Russell Bellomy (EDIT: Bellomy is #3. Thanks, readers!) or Jack Miller.
Name: Chris Barnett Height: 6'6" Weight: 245 lbs. High school: L.D. Bell High School in Hurst, TX Position: Tight end Class: Freshman Jersey number: #82 Last year: Barnett was a high school senior (commitment post here)
TTB Rating: 82
Barnett has all kinds of physical talent. He can run, jump, catch, and block when he wants. "When he wants" is the key term. He seems like kind of a quirky kid and I'm not 100% sold on his work ethic. Of course, it's possible that the issues I've seen (not running hard, bad body weight, etc.) are benign problems and symptomatic of an injury or something, but those are things I intend to watch with him. And speaking of injuries, he tore his ACL last year.
There are various readers who will surely disagree with me, but I think Barnett should be headed for a season of sitting on the bench. Coming off a knee injury that limited his off-season work, he might not be ready physically. But to top all that off, Michigan has enough depth at the tight end positions to make it through the upcoming season, barring injury. Senior starter Kevin Koger offers many of the same qualities as Barnett, and redshirt junior Brandon Moore was known as a receiving threat when he came out of high school. I still think Moore is raw and might not ever "get it" but there's potential. Redshirt freshman Ricardo Miller has been playing U-back (which is a hybrid TE/FB position) after playing receiver as a freshman. And tight enddefensive end tight end Steve Watson gives the team a fully developed, fifth year senior who's 270 lbs. and ought to be able to come in and at least block someone on short yardage situations. Barnett has the skills to play as a freshman, but he wouldn't offer much as a freshman that the coaches can't get from somewhere else.
Tight end-turned defensive end-turned tight end Steve Watson
A couple position changes have been confirmed by a paywalled article on Rivals:
1. William Campbell has moved back to defense. Rich Rodriguez toyed with him on offense, which seemed silly in light of the considerable depth at the offensive guard position. But unlike Rodriguez and his clunky defensive staff, Campbell will actually be playing the 3-tech defensive tackle position. I can't imagine the conversations in the former defensive staff's meeting rooms. "Well, we've got this 6'5" behemoth with loads of talent, but his one problem is that he can't stay low and get leverage. We just can't figure out what to do with him. What to do, what to do. Oh. My. God. I have an awesome idea! Let's put him at nose tackle, the defensive line position where leverage is most important. Surely our 6'2" center won't make him look like a fool on a daily basis!" Perhaps that's reason #238 why Rich Rodriguez forcing a 3-3-5 on a bewildered defensive coordinator was a bad idea.
2. Steve Watson has once again become a tight end. This is a good move for Watson and for the team. He was buried on the depth chart as an outside linebacker and defensive end the past couple seasons, notching a total of 6 tackles in that span. He'll probably still be sitting behind starter Kevin Koger and redshirt junior Brandon Moore, but this will allow Michigan to run some sets with three tight ends in short yardage and near the goalline. The Wolverines pulled in a talented tight end, Chris Barnett, in the 2011 class. However, Barnett is coming off a serious knee injury, needs to work on his body, and won't arrive on campus until this summer. This move may allow the freshman to redshirt.
Chris Barnett, a tight end from Hurst, TX, committed to the Wolverines on Wednesday. Barnett was a bit of a surprise commitment on National Signing Day, because originally, he had planned to announce his commitment and sign his NLI this coming Saturday.
The 6'6", 245 pounder is a 4-star to Rivals and a 3-star recruit to both Scout and ESPN. He reported offers from the likes of Arkansas, Clemson, Florida State, Miami, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Tennessee, USC, and various others. In addition, he had been previously committed to both Oklahoma and Arkansas. The NSD switch from Arkansas to Michigan provides a small amount of consolation for defensive tackle Dequinta Jones, who switched from the Wolverines to the Razorbacks on NSD 2009.
I have my reservations about Barnett, despite his impressive offer list. He seems to be a boom-or-bust type of player. He has good speed and good size, catches the ball well with his hands instead of his body, shows decent agility, etc. If and when he gives 100%, he should be a real threat.
But there's a good amount of film on him out there on the internet, and I see a general theme: he seems to be a guy who doesn't go hard all the time. He jogs through camp drills at times. He has some bad body weight around his middle. He doesn't move his feet extremely well as a blocker.
He also doesn't seem to realize that he's six-foot-six and 245 lbs.! Someone who's that big and that fast should be running people over, but instead, he tries to dance around defensive backs once he catches the ball. He's athletic enough that it works sometimes, but he's got to learn to lower his shoulder and punish smaller players for trying to tackle him. He shows flashes of a willingness to punish opponents, but it's just not consistent. Hopefully, tight ends coach Dan Ferrigno can convince him how special he can be.
Barnett is Michigan's 20th commitment in the Class of 2011. Brady Hoke hinted that the class might grow by "a few" when the number was at 19, so perhaps there's a lower level recruit out there who might decide for Michigan. But the class is most likely finalized. Barnett was an important recruit in particular because of the low numbers and lack of depth at tight end. With Martell Webb running out of eligibility after 2010, that left only senior-to-be Kevin Koger and redshirt junior-to-be Brandon Moore as scholarship tight ends on the roster; there are also rumors that Ricardo Miller moved to tight end late in the season, but that has been unconfirmed.
Barnett probably needs a year to redshirt and work on his body, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him on the field this fall. Even a slight injury to either of the top two guys would likely necessitate an appearance by Barnett for the multiple tight end sets that Brady Hoke and Al Borges like to use at times.
