Michigan Football week in review: Who’s got it better than us?

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Michigan Football fans, how do you feel about roller coasters? Like them or not I hope you buckled up this past week while your beloved Wolverines took you for one hell of a ride. Any fan with an emotional interest in this football program was subject to emotions that ranged from excitement to disbelief into general confusion.

The Game

Let’s start with “The Game. Regardless of your feelings and expectations heading into the game with John O’Korn, the boys in winged helmet came out of the tunnel and gave us exactly what we wanted, hope. Being up 14-0 at home against Ohio State had every fan thinking this was the year Harbaugh finally got them. Then after Josh Metellus’s dropped interception, things started to shift from excitement to concern.

Only to be reignited back into belief when Ohio State’s golden boy quarterback went out with an injury. However, this did not go as planned while Michigan fans licked there chops at a 3rd and long with a backup quarterback. This happened.

That’s not supposed to happen, so right back into a state of disbelief and concern. “The Game” ended with another loss to Ohio State but not before toying with the fan base and flirting with an upset. And for those who thought that may be the end of the emotional roller coaster, you were wrong, it was only just beginning.

Transfers Galore!

After the game came the circus of announcements that were tough to keep up with.Transfers, lots of transfers, quickly became the major story this week starting with some big-time names. The first one to announce his transfer was none other than starting quarterback Wilton Speight. Speight decided to use his final season of eligibility somewhere else as he will graduate and be eligible to play right away where he decides to go. Speight’s career numbers at Michigan will remain 3192 career yards on 59% completion to go along with 22 touchdowns and 10 interceptions all while going 16-3 as a starting quarterback.

Photo Credit: MGoBlog | Flickr

Speight would not be the only quarterback to transfer as former four-star recruit Alex Malzone announced he will graduate early and transfer. Being only a junior will interestingly allow Malzone to grad transfer meaning he will be able to play right away, but will still have two years of eligibility.

Malzone came in with Harbaugh but was not his recruit. Malzone committed to Michigan while Brady Hoke was still running the show. One of the first things Harbaugh did at Michigan was go out and get another highly ranked QB Zach Gentry who now plays tight end.

Drake Harris and Mo Ways continued the transfer trend as they announced their plans to complete their final year elsewhere. Both these receivers played little to no role in the offense this year as they beat out by the younger generation of wide receivers. Neither of these losses appears to be devastating but as the transfers add up people begin to question why.

The only announced transfer that was not a grad transfer became the most interesting story. Highly recruited freshman offensive lineman, Ja’Raymond Hall was also reported to be transferring this week as well. However, that did not last long when he pumped the brakes on his decision a couple days later.

Hall is a local kid out of Oak Park, Michigan and when initial transfer reports came out the two schools that he was linked to were Iowa State and Arizona.

Rumors, Rumors, and more Rumors!

Speaking of Arizona, rumored departures from Michigan did not stop at the players. Rumors of coaches leaving also filled this week and not just Harbaugh’s perpetual NFL buzz. Arizona State was reportedly targeting Michigan’s co-offensive coordinator a passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton for their head coaching job before reportedly landing Herm Edwards (which I find incredibly intriguing). Although some fans would have more than welcomed a Pep Hamilton exit having consistency at a coordinator spot is nothing to be taken lightly. Allowing players a couple offseason with a specific philosophy and vocabulary can make a major difference.

Still, there was more and this time dealing with one of the most important pieces in this program. The mad scientist aka Dr. Blitz aka Don Brown had to answer questions about his potential to relocate. Michigan’s Defensive coordinator did much to settle that news when he was quoted saying this earlier in the week.

Via MLive:

“I love it here,” Brown said. “I’ve said it 100 times and I’ll say it again: coach (Harbaugh) has a tremendous philosophy in how he coaches the game. I never have to worry about anything but coaching defense. What a beautiful job.”

Still, Brown was reportedly targetted by former Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead after he took the job at Mississippi State.

The coaching carousel is something that good teams have to deal with each year as teams try to nab top-tier coordinators as their next head coach but for now, it appears Michigan held on to their guys through the first wave of jobs. Most importantly it appears Brown will be sticking around with his annual elite defense. Jim’s brother, John Harbaugh also gave Michigan fan’s comforting words when he spoke about Jim Harbaugh’s current situation this week. 

All’s Well That Ends Well

Despite all the transfers and rumors, there is no need to hit the panic button for Michigan. As far as the transfers go, that will probably be overblown by the media. Harbaugh appears to be very honest with his players, specifically seniors, and if he does not see them playing meaningful minutes the next year he will let them. This is not the first time graduates have sought to transfer out of the program and won’t be the last.

The biggest transfer we lose is Wilton Speight who, in my opinion, already reached his ceiling which lies much lower than the young quarterbacks that look to fill his void. Barring some amazing yea, I figured Speight would graduate and transfer this year as it looked like Brandon Peters or Dylan McCaffrey would be too much to fend off for another year.

Awards

Just to add one more emotion to the week, Michigan would pick up nine All-Big Ten selections, three on offense and six on defense. Mason Cole, Ben Bredeson, and Karan Higdon were those selected as All-Big Ten on offense. While Mo Hurst, Chase Winovich, Rashan Gary, Devin Bush, Levert Hill, and Khaleke Hudson were among the defensive All-Big Ten selections.

So yes this was a completely chaotic week for the Michigan football team, and yes there will be more news to report. However, don’t buy into the media telling you how dramatic the exodus of transfers is or how unstable Michigan football is. Guess what? Michigan is not losing 19 players to the NFL this year as they did just a year ago. Also, it appears Michigan’s coaching staff will be back with some consistency, giving them another year with a majority of the same guys. Now, first priority….get a QB (or two) ready for 2018.