The Transition Effect: Carr to Rodriguez

Ryan Mallett

With an upcoming coaching transition, there has been some concern that players will take flight to greener pastures. When Michigan went from a pro-style scheme to a zone read option scheme in the off-season between 2007 and 2008, some offensive players headed out the door. Not much of that can be attributed to the spread. Every team loses players in the off-season. Sometimes players are sick of standing on the sideline, sometimes they get homesick, and sometimes they butt heads with the coaches. Here's a look at what the transition from Lloyd Carr to Rich Rodriguez cost Michigan going into 2008 and beyond.

Decommitted due to coaching transition: John Wienke, Christian Wilson
Wienke, a pro-style quarterback, decommitted in favor of Iowa, where he never saw any significant time. Wilson ended up committing to North Carolina due to the fact that Rodriguez's offense didn't leave a ton of room for fullback/H-back types. Wilson played but never made a huge impact for the Tarheels.

Transferred to other FBS teams between regimes: Justin Boren, Ryan Mallett
Offensive guard Justin Boren would have been a junior starter in Rich Rodriguez's first season, but some alleged frictions between Rodriguez and Boren's family led to his departure. Boren transferred to his home state Ohio State Buckeyes program, where he eventually started and became an undrafted free agent; he never played in an NFL game despite making the practice squad with a couple teams. Meanwhile, his right guard position was taken by David Moosman, who turned out to be a decent but forgettable piece up front for the Wolverines. Theories differ on Mallett, a touted quarterback who transferred closer to home at Arkansas. Some say he was already on his way out the door because of butting heads with Carr; others say he realized he wouldn't fit into Rich Rodriguez's offense. Either way, he was replaced by walk-on Nick Sheridan and Georgia Tech transfer Steve Threet, both of whom were subpar passers and poor fits for Rodriguez's scheme. After the 2008 season,

Left early for the NFL Draft: Adrian Arrington, Mario Manningham
Arrington blew up in his final game, a bowl win over Florida, which might have sealed the deal. His 882 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns in 2007 as the #2 option behind Manningham were impressive, although he slipped into the Draft in just the 7th round, making just 9 receptions in a short NFL career. Manningham had some issues following rules/laws and seemed to be headed for the door after a stellar three-year career; he possibly would have been a 1st round pick if not for a marijuana charge, and instead fell to the 3rd round. He was picked by the Giants and has had a solid but injury-marred career with 2,849 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns.

Transferred to other FBS teams after giving Rodriguez a chance:* Toney Clemons, Vince Helmuth, Dann O'Neill, Steve Threet
Clemons spent a year trying to wedge himself into the slot receiver role for Rodriguez, a role he was ill suited for because he was not very quick or elusive. Clemons had been recruited by Lloyd Carr as an outside wide receiver, and he transferred to Colorado for that reason. He had a decent career for the Buffaloes and managed to get drafted. Helmuth was brought in as a Lloyd Carr fullback, eventually moved to defensive tackle under Rodriguez, and then transferred to Miami-OH, where he never played, either. O'Neill spent a year redshirting and then transferred to Western Michigan, where his lack of lateral mobility was less of a hindrance; he started for several years for the Broncos. Threet got kind of a raw deal. After enrolling early at Georgia Tech in January 2007, he transferred to Michigan over the summer and redshirted during the season, hoping to follow Chad Henne as the starter for the Wolverines. Then when Rodriguez got hired, Threet and walk-on Nick Sheridan split playing time before Threet lit out for his third school, Arizona State. He had to sit out the 2009 season to transfer, and then concussions caused him to end his football career early.

Left early for the NFL Draft after giving Rodriguez a chance:* Carson Butler, Donovan Warren
Butler was unhappy with his role as a tight end in Rodriguez's offense, so he made a mid-season switch to defensive end, finishing with 2 catches, 17 yards, and 5 tackles. He tested the waters of the NFL but was ultimately unsuccessful.  Warren left after his third season in Ann Arbor, hanging around through 2009. It's unclear whether a different coach could have kept him around for a fourth season, but Warren was All-Big Ten and made 4 picks in 2009, after which he made an ill-advised attempt at making it in the NFL. He was not drafted and spent a few years bouncing around practice squads.

CONCLUSIONS
If Michigan changes systems to a spread or, say, a triple option, some transfers can naturally be expected. That change seems unlikely based on what we have been hearing, but anything is possible. The one guy who seemed like a possible early entrant into the draft (Devin Funchess) is gone already. The quarterbacks are mostly pro-style guys, so that would present a challenge if Michigan wanted to run any kind of option-type stuff. Michigan has been running a lot of zone schemes, so a loss of linemen would not seem to be a huge risk, regardless of the coach. The receivers are mostly big, pro-style guys who could get squeezed out if the new coach wanted to put tiny slot guys out there in spades. Michigan's stable of tight ends would likely not be happy with a move to a spread, though A.J. Williams will be a senior and Jake Butt could be just a year away from heading to the NFL; the biggest flight risks there would probably be the young guys, Ian Bunting and Khalid Hill, who would still have time to redshirt for a year and make an impact elsewhere.

*There were some other transfers (Sam McGuffie, Marell Evans, Kurt Wermers, etc.) that seemed to have less to do with Rodriguez and more to do with homesickness, academic difficulties, etc.

Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Charles Woodson

Charles Woodson sacked Alex Smith on Sunday evening

Charles Woodson made 8 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 1 quarterback hurry in the Oakland Raiders' 24-20 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. He also returned 1 punt for 5 yards.

Honorable mention: Tom Brady was 38/53 for 349 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception in the New England Patriots' 34-9 win over the Detroit Lions. Chicago Bears safety Ryan Mundy made 8 tackles, 1 interception, and 1 pass breakup in a 21-13 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

Houston Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett didn't have a good week, but I thought it would be worth mentioning that after going 21/45 for 189 yards and 1 pick in a 22-13 loss to the Cleveland Browns, he was diagnosed with a torn pec and will miss the rest of the season. That was his second career start after being acquired from the Patriots, an unfortunate turn of events for the former Wolverine (and Arkansas Razorback).

Review of 2007 Recruiting: The Quarterbacks

Jimmy Clausen, folks.

THE RECRUITS
Ryan Mallett
High school: Texarkana (TX) Texas
Ratings: Rivals 5-star, #2 QB
College: Michigan Arkansas
Other notable offers: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida State, Texas
Scoop: Mallett committed to Michigan as the heir apparent to Chad Henne, and the youngster got a chance to play early and often.  Henne suffered a couple nagging injuries, and Mallett stepped in to go 61/141 (43.1%) for 892 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions as a true freshman. He might have been on his way out the door already, but the hiring of Rich Rodriguez after the 2007 season didn't help matters.  Mallett transferred to Arkansas, sitting out the 2008 season as a result.  As the starter for the Razorbacks in 2009 and 2010, he went a combined 491/814 for 7,296 yards 62 touchdowns, and 19 interceptions.  He was drafted in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, but he has played in just four games, all in 2012. Altogether, he's 1/4 for 17 yards and 1 interception, with 8 carries for -9 yards.

Jimmy Clausen
High school: Westlake Village (CA) Oaks Christian
Ratings: Rivals 5-star, #1 QB, #1 overall
College: Notre Dame
Other notable offers: South Carolina, USC
Scoop: Clausen committed in September 2006 and enrolled early at Notre Dame in January 2007. He was starting by the second game of 2007, the earliest freshman QB to start at Notre Dame. He eventually started nine games that year, finishing with a 56.3% completion percentage, 7 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. The unquestioned starter going into 2008, Clausen started every game and completed 60.9% of his passes for 3,172 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions. Improving yet again, he become a 68% passer in 2009 with 3,722 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions. He declared for the NFL Draft after his junior year and many expected him to be a high first round pick, but he fell to #48 overall in the 2010 draft, going to the Carolina Panthers. He was given ten starts as a rookie, going 157/299 (52.5%), 1558 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. The Panthers hitched their franchise to Cam Newton, relegating Clausen to the bench, where he has spent the last two-plus seasons. They released him in August 2013 but re-signed him before placing him on injured reserve.

Peter Lalich
High school: Springfield (VA) West Springfield
Ratings: Rivals 4-star, #5 pro-style QB
College: Virginia
Other notable offers: Miami, UCLA
Scoop: Lalich committed to Virginia in April 2006. He played sparingly as a freshman and sophomore in 2007 and 2008, compiling 74 completions in 135 attempts (54.8%) for 2 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. However, several alcohol incidents resulted in a transfer to Oregon State, where he redshirted during the 2009 season due to NCAA transfer rules. After yet another incident, he transferred to California University in Pennsylvania. As the starter in 2011, he threw for 3,725 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. In an injury-shortened 2012, he threw for 2,413 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He was not taken in the 2013 NFL Draft and appears not to be involved in professional football at this time.

Mike Paulus
High school: Syracuse (NY) Christian Brothers
Ratings: Rivals 4-star, #4 pro-style QB, #82 overall
College: North Carolina
Other notable offers: Alabama, Miami, USC
Scoop: Paulus, the brother of former Duke basketball player and Syracuse quarterback Greg Pauls, committed in April 2006. He redshirted as a true freshman and then went 4/13 for 33 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions as a redshirt freshman in 2008. After sitting on the bench behind T.J. Yates in 2009, Paulus transferred to FCS school William & Mary prior to the 2010 campaign. He went 88/142 for 883 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions while playing a backup role. Once again a backup as a fifth year senior in 2011, he went just 28/72 for 267 yards, 1 touchdown, and 3 interceptions. He now works at VCU in the athletic office.

CONCLUSIONS
In Lloyd Carr's final full class, he made offers to some very questionable people and football players. Mallett played one season at Michigan before transferring, and while he had a very good college career at Arkansas, he was perhaps not the greatest leader. Clausen was also not an ideal character throughout his college career, although he parlayed it into a decent result on draft day. Lalich and Paulus both stunk it up at the higher levels of college football and then had mixed success after moving down a level.

Biggest miss: Clausen. Like him or not - and I don't - Clausen had some physical talent and would have fit well with Carr's pro-style offense. Either way, the impending hire of Rich Rodriguez would have either resulted in a transfer for Clausen or a square peg in a round hole for a few years. In fact, none of these players would have fit what Rodriguez wanted to do, so it's quite possible that a commitment from any of the four would have resulted in a very similar situation for Rodriguez.

Biggest bust: Paulus. Ultimately, Paulus didn't find success at any level. As the #82 prospect in the country, he threw only 13 passes in his FBS college career.

Best in class: Cam Newton. The 2007 class was surprisingly devoid of any surefire stud quarterbacks, and even Newton had some bumps in the road before finding success (legal trouble at Florida, playing at Blinn Community College, an ineligibility investigation). However, Newton became a Heisman winner, a national champion, a #1 draft pick, and is having a solid career for the Carolina Panthers. Other options include Ryan Tannehill, Nick Foles, and Kellen Moore.

Ex-Wolverine Updates: The Class of 2007

Ryan Mallett (#15) looks frustrated at having to watch Tom Brady do his thing

Former Michigan wide receiver Toney Clemons played for Michigan in 2007 and 2008 before transferring to Colorado.  He was the Buffaloes' leading receiver in 2011 with 43 receptions for 680 yards and 8 touchdowns.  He has not been invited to the NFL Combine yet, but he is preparing for Colorado's pro day, which is scheduled for March.

Former Michigan linebacker Marell Evans returned to Michigan for 2011, but due to some issues with the NCAA Clearinghouse, he was never able to suit up for the Wolverines during the 2011 season.  The coaches said that he did an excellent job as a scout team player throughout the season, despite being ineligible.  He recently participated in the NFLPA Bowl, where he made 9 tackles.

Former Michigan quarterback Ryan Mallett is in Indianapolis preparing for the Super Bowl against the New York Giants.  He spent the 2011 season as New England's third string quarterback and didn't play in a single game as a rookie.  Coincidentally, he's behind former Michigan quarterback Tom Brady and former Michgian State quarterback Brian Hoyer.

Former Michigan commit Marquis Maze spent the last five years on Alabama's team, winning a couple national championships in the process.  The 5'10", 180 lb. wide receiver caught 56 passes for 627 yards and 1 touchdown this past season.  He also returned 50 punts for 436 yards and 1 touchdown, and added another 342 yards on 13 kickoff returns.  He's getting ready for the 2012 NFL Draft.

Former Michigan wide receiver Zion Babb, safety Artis Chambers, defensive tackle/fullback Vince Helmuth, and running back Avery Horn have presumably concluded their football careers, and things don't seem to have changed since the last updates on them, which are available on the Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia.

Michigan Well Represented in Super Bowl XLVI

Seven former Michigan athletes are represented in Super Bowl XLVI, which will be played between the Giants and the Patriots in Indianapolis on February 5th.  New York Giants wide receiver Mario Manningham (2,310 yards and 27 touchdowns from 2005-07), center David Baas (Rimington Award in 2004), linebackers coach Jim Herrmann (65 career tackles from 1980-82) and running backs coach Jerald Ingram (191 career rushing yards from 1979-81) are former Michigan athletes.  New England Patriots punter Zoltan Mesko (42.5-yard average from 2006-09), Tom Brady (5,351 yards and 35 touchdowns from 1996-99), and Ryan Mallett (892 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2007) are former Wolverines, too.

Tallying only the players, Michigan is in a six-way tie for third on the list of most well-represented schools in Super Bowl XLVI, trailing Boston College (6) and Rutgers (5). (For what it's worth, a BigTen.org article only gives Rutgers credit for four players, putting Michigan and its five acquaintances in the #2 spot.)  With 22 players on the rosters of the Giants and Patriots, the Big Ten is second only to the SEC (23) as the most represented conference.

Rivals: Five-Star Tracker

Let's just enjoy Jessica Burciaga and Jessa Lynn Hinton

Rivals tracks its 5-star-ranked players from the classes of 2007 through 2011.  It has familiar names like Ryan Mallett, Donovan Warren, and William Campbell, plus lots of other college football stars (and busts) that Michigan has recruited throughout the years.

NFL Draft Review: Michigan-style

Why do I have a picture of Joe Cocozzo?

2ND ROUND
#61.  Michigan linebacker Jonas Mouton was drafted by the San Diego Chargers.  Mouton was the first Michigan player chosen by the Chargers since offensive guard Joe Cocozzo in 1993, who was selected in the third round (#63 overall).

3RD ROUND
#74.  Arkansas quarterback (and former Wolverine) Ryan Mallett was drafted by the New England Patriots.  He has first round talent but an undrafted free agent level of maturity, so he probably couldn't have asked for a better situation.  Sure, I bet he would have loved first round money, but now he gets to sit behind and learn from Tom Brady for a few years.  If he learns well, he could become a franchise quarterback when Brady moves on or retires.

6TH ROUND
#201.  Michigan offensive lineman Steve Schilling was drafted by the San Diego Chargers.  This is the first time multiple Michigan players have been chosen by one team since . . . 2008, when the Miami Dolphins picked offensive tackle Jake Long in the first round and quarterback Chad Henne in the second.

UNDRAFTED
DT Greg Banks, OG Justin Boren (Ohio State), OT Perry Dorrestein, LB Obi Ezeh, OG John Ferrara, DE Eugene Germany (Central Washington), LB Kevin Leach, LB Cobrani Mixon (Kent State), FB/LB Mark Moundros, DE Adam Patterson, CB James Rogers, DT Renaldo Sagesse, TE Martell Webb

NFL Draft Preview: Ex-Wolverine-style

Justin Boren.

This is slightly related to yesterday's NFL Draft Preview: Michigan-style and completely related to the Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia.  I will freely admit that I didn't put too much effort into this post, because I dislike two of the four players highlighted, and the other two aren't exactly Boy Scouts.  One is a traitor, one is a reported alcoholic, and two are borderline criminals.  So I won't exactly be rooting for any of these guys, but it will still be slightly interesting to see when and if they're drafted.  Those players are:

Justin Boren - OG - Ohio State
Boren, who played for Michigan from 2006-07, transferred to Ohio State and played the 2009-10 seasons for the Buckeyes.  He is 6'3", 311 lbs. and rated the #17 offensive guard by NFL Draft Scout.
Projection: 7th round or free agent

Eugene Germany - DE - Central Washington
Germany, who was on Michigans team from 2005-06, transferred to Arizona State and then Central Washington.  He is 6'2", 270 lbs. and rated the #76 defensive end by NFL Draft Scout.
Projection: Free agent


Ryan Mallett - QB - Arkansas
Mallett, who played for Michigan in 2007, transferred to Arkansas and played the 2009-10 seasons for the Razorbacks.  He is 6'7", 253 lbs. and rated as one of the top five or six quarterbacks.  A potential first round prospect at one time, his stock seems to have dropped off because of serious character issues.  Michigan fans predicted this approximately halfway through Mallett's freshman year.
Projection: 2nd round


Cobrani Mixon - ILB - Kent State
Mixon, who spent one year at Michigan in 2006, transferred to Kent State and played the 2008-10 seasons for the Golden Flashes.  He is 6'1", 241 lbs. and rated the #20 inside linebacker by NFL Draft Scout.
Projection: 7th round or free agent

What Could Have Been . . . Austin White

Former Michigan running back Austin White has enrolled at Central Michigan University and joined the football program there.  White was a part of the Class of 2010 and enrolled at Michigan in January 2010, but he clashed with the coaches and got into some trouble over the summer.  White was one of the players who had to "earn his wings" in fall camp, and the two parties decided to go their separate ways prior to the season.

Visit the Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia page to find updates on former Michigan commits/players like Dewayne Peace, Sam McGuffie, Ryan Mallett, Shavodrick Beaver, Pearlie Graves, DeQuinta Jones, Dann O'Neill, Bryce McNeal, Kevin Newsome, Toney Clemons, Cobrani Mixon, and Quintin Woods.

Top 10 Failures of Rich Rodriguez

1.  Losing games.  This is obvious, but it belongs on the list.  Rodriguez finished his three years at Michigan with a 15-22 record.  That winning percentage (.405) is the worst in Michigan history.

2. Losing to rivals.  Rodriguez was 0-6 against Michigan's two biggest rivals, Ohio State and Michigan State.  If you want to include Penn State, he was 0-9.  He was outscored by a total of 317-140 in those nine games.  It's unclear how much a couple victories against Ohio State or Michigan State might have affected Rodriguez's tenure, but wins against Indiana and Purdue don't carry the same weight.

3. Neutering Scott Shafer.  Shafer has proven to be a solid defensive coordinator at every other stop - Western Michigan, Stanford, and Syracuse.  The former two were prior to Shafer's hiring at Michigan.  But Rodriguez's other defensive assistants were proponents of the 3-3-5 and seemed to undermine his authority.  Late in the season, Rodriguez even authorized a mid-season switch of defensive schemes from the 4-3 to a 3-3-5; Michigan subsequently allowed 42 points to Purdue, a team using a converted running back to play QB.  Shafer could have been a good coordinator at Michigan and helped Rodriguez keep his job, but he was fired after the 2008 season because, well, someone's head needed to roll after a 3-9 season.

4. Hiring Greg Robinson.  Robinson had intermittent success as a coordinator in the NFL and in college.  But just like Shafer, Robinson was a 4-3 or a 3-4 guy.  In my opinion, the defense showed some promise in 2009, when Robinson used safety Steve Brown as an outside linebacker and freshman Craig Roh as a rush linebacker.  However, Rodriguez used the 2009-10 offseason to convert to the 3-3-5, and Robinson was obviously uncomfortable and inexperienced with running that defensive set.  That resulted in 458 points allowed in 2010, an average of 35.2 points per game.

5. Not retaining holdover players from the Carr era.  Michigan was extremely short-handed in 2009, fielding a team of 69 or 70 players who were given scholarships right out of high school.  Some of those players were bound for a career of anonymity, I'm sure, but others were not.  Quarterback Ryan Mallett was vaguely in Heisman contention this season.  Justin Boren became an All-Big Ten guard at Ohio State.  Adrian Arrington chose to enter the NFL Draft (and became only a 7th round choice) a year early.  Rodriguez can't shoulder the blame entirely for these departures, but there's no question that a guy like Boren would have been helpful in 2008 and 2009, the former season featuring a starting guard (John Ferrara) that was a mid-season position switcher from defensive tackle.

6. Stretching too much.  The Detroit Free Press reported some trumped-up charges regarding Michigan's practice schedule, and that sparked an NCAA investigation.  While the charges were blown out of proprtion, they were a black mark on the Michigan program and resulted in probation and some lost practice hours.  Rodriguez wasn't responsible for everything that went wrong in the compliance department, but his staff did fail to keep track of its countable practice hours accurately and a graduate assistant watched some voluntary 7-on-7s, which is a no-no.

7. Not finding his Steve Slaton.  Pat White got a lot of hype at West Virginia, but running back Steve Slaton was almost as important as White.  And prior to White's arrival on campus, Rodriguez used running backs like Quincy Wilson and Kay-Jay Harris to great effect.  Rodriguez never found "that guy" at Michigan, partially due to injuries and partially due to recruiting.  Therefore, the offense wasn't as spectacular as it might have been.  The lack of a running game cost Michigan a couple games throughout his tenure.

8. Not developing top prospects.  Rodriguez seemed to have an abnormal number of high-end recruits bomb out of the program.  And it's probably a coincidence, but most of them seemed to come from the defensive secondary.  Four 4-star players recruited by Rodriguez never made a significant positive impact at Michigan (Demar Dorsey, Boubacar Cissoko, Justin Turner, Vladimir Emilien), which resulted in five true freshman defensive backs seeing significant time in 2010.  Furthermore, arguably Michigan's best prospect in the last few classes (William Campbell) has yet to make an impact at Michigan and just switched from nose tackle to offensive guard in the middle of the season.

9. Handing out the #1 jersey to J.T. Floyd.  Before Rodriguez ever coached a snap at Michigan, he tried to give the #1 jersey to true freshman cornerback J.T. Floyd.  He was either unaware of the jersey's significance or chose to ignore that aspect, but it was nonetheless a mistake.  Nothing seemed to highlight the fact that Rodriguez wasn't a "Michigan Man" more than the #1 jersey snafu, which pitted some alumni and fans against him from the start.

10.  Poor player personnel decisions.  Part of the heat falls on the assistant coaches, but Rodriguez shoulders most of this blame because he has the final say: Rodriguez didn't put his players in their best positions to succeed.  Running backs Sam McGuffie and Vincent Smith played far too much when there were more productive and explosive backs on the roster (Brandon Minor and Michael Shaw for starters).  Obi Ezeh should have been an outside linebacker starting back in 2008; and at least according to their play on the field, Ezeh should have been replaced by Kenny Demens much earlier.  Cameron Gordon - who has linebacker speed - spent half the 2010 season playing free safety.  William Campbell spent two years toiling on the defensive line before making a permanent move to the offensive line, and he didn't even redshirt to allow for a fifth year of eligibility.

Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Ryan Mallett

Former Michigan quarterback Ryan Mallett transferred to Arkansas after his freshman season in 2007. He had a stellar redshirt sophomore season in 2009, and he's in the conversation as a Heisman front-runner in 2010. On Saturday he was 21/24 for 301 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception against Tennessee Tech.

Honorable mention: Another former Michigan quarterback, Steve Threet, started for Arizona State against Portland State on Saturday. Threet was 14/21 for 239 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception in a 54-9 victory. He also rushed 3 times for 24 yards.

What Could Have Been . . . Ryan Mallett

Ryan Mallett

Quarterback Ryan Mallett was an early commitment in Michigan's 2007 recruiting class. Always considered to be headed to Arkansas, he instead chose to become a Wolverine because he didn't want to sit behind Mitch Mustain at quarterback for three years. He thought it was a better idea to sit behind senior Chad Henne for one season and take over Lloyd Carr's quarterback factory of an offense in 2008.

Unfortunately for Michigan, Mallett didn't like the cold and wasn't a model citizen. He considered transferring practically when he arrived at Michigan in Winter 2007, and he followed through with those plans as soon as Rich Rodriguez was hired in December 2007. As a freshman in Carr's final year at the helm, Mallett played for Henne when the latter injured his knee and shoulder. Mallett even started a couple games and finished the year 892 yards, 7 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, a 43.3% completion percentage, and a 105.69 passer efficiency rating. But his taste of playing time wasn't enough to convince him to stick around for Rodriguez's read option offense.

Arkansas quarterback Mitch Mustain had transferred to USC, and Mallett transferred to Arkansas to fill his position. He appealed to the NCAA in an attempt to allow him to play for Arkansas in 2008, but lost and had to redshirt last season.

In 2009, Mallett started for Arkansas and finished the season 225/403 (55.8%), 3627 yards, 30 touchdowns, 7 interceptions, and a 152.52 passer efficiency rating. He had -29 yards rushing with 2 touchdowns on the ground. He's explored the possibility of jumping to the NFL early, and he's been talked about as an early Heisman candidate for the 2010 season.

By comparison, Michigan's quarterbacks - mainly Tate Forcier, with bits of Denard Robinson, Nick Sheridan, and David Cone - finished the 2009 season 189/329 (57.4%), 2380 yards, 15 touchdowns, 15 interceptions, and a 124.14 passer efficiency rating. They also rushed for 608 yards and 8 touchdowns.

The offense would not have been the same with Mallett, who's about 6'7" and 235 lbs. He would have been less of a threat to run than Forcier or Robinson, but the passing game likely would have been upgraded if Mallett were still in Ann Arbor. Michigan's lack of a downfield passing game was evident in 2009, and that's one thing Mallett would have improved.

Image via life.com

Toney Clemons, ex-Wolverine (update)

This is a few days old, but former Michigan wide receiver Toney Clemons has decided to continue his college football career in Boulder as a Colorado Buffalo.

Clemons was recruited by Lloyd Carr and played one season under that regime before Rich Rodriguez was hired. He made an ill-suited position switch to slot receiver and caught only 11 passes for 101 yards this past season.

Yet new Colorado offensive coordinatorEric Kiesau, who coached previously at Cal-Berkeley, said this:

"'He said he feels I can come in there and be at Colorado what [DeSean] Jackson was
at Cal,' Clemons said."

Uhhh . . . right. Jackson had 601 and 1,060 and 762 yards receiving in his three years as a Golden Bear. And he was a first round pick. Clemons' biggest achievement has been earning high rankings (such as #91 overall on Rivals in 2007) coming out of high school. This is an example of the type of B.S. that college coaches feed players in order to lure them to a school. Clemons might be a successful receiver, but DeSean Jackson he is not.

The total number of remaining players from Lloyd Carr's final recruiting class has dwindled from 20 to 14. Zion Babb (destination unknown), Artis Chambers (Ball State), Avery Horn (destination unknown), Ryan Mallett (Arkansas), Austin Panter (graduation), and Clemons have all opened up scholarships.

Clemons said nice things, especially about Carr and his staff, on the way out. Michigan fans should harbor no ill will toward him. I wish him good luck . . . unless we schedule a non-conference game against Colorado . . . and we're down 26-21 in the waning seconds of a game at dusk . . .

Breakout players in 2009

Cory McCartney lists his top ten players primed for breakout seasons in 2009.

One of those players is Brandon Minor. I've been saying since the spring of 2008 that Minor has all the makings of an excellent running back. Minor was rated as the #1 fullback in the country coming out of high school and had a torn ACL, so I think it's taken him a while to find his groove as a primary ballcarrier. But at this point, he seems to have hit his stride.

Minor had a wrist injury at the beginning of the 2008 season and thus suffered horrendous fumbling issues that reduced his playing time last season. But as the article points out, he had 447 yards and 7 TD's in the last five games. As the offensive line continues to adjust to Rodriguez's zone blocking schemes - and if Michigan's starting quarterback in 2009 can pose more of a running threat than Threet and Sheridan last year - I think Minor's production will continue to soar.

If Minor can stay mostly healthy for his senior season (every player suffers bumps and bruises), I think he's in line for 1,200+ yards and 12 TD's or so.

Meanwhile, McCartney's article lists Ryan Mallett as a breakout player for 2009 as well. Mallett transferred to Arkansas after Rodriguez got hired in December 2007. I don't like it when players transfer away from Michigan, but I usually don't hold a grudge against them. I hope Toney Clemons, Avery Horn, Zion Babb, Steve Threet, etc. find stardom elsewhere in college football. I do have a problem with Justin Boren transferring to OSU, but that situation was ridiculous.

This has nothing to do with Michigan's football team - I hope Ryan Mallett fails at football. I have never liked his cocky attitude, and I don't want to see players like that get publicity. He transferred for good reasons. There's not a lot of proof that shows Rodriguez knows exactly what to do with statuesque quarterbacks, so I'm fine with him leaving. I just hope that he gets a taste of humble pie and starts a career as an insurance salesman at 24 or 25 years old.