Michigan Football, Team 138, 2017 Season.

[hack]

Speight would have been a fifth-year guy. I don't think he was pushed out of the way. Too valuable as a backup; using up that scholarship for only one year. I'd think any coach would rather have Patterson/Peters+Speight rather than choose between the latter two. Especially with the pass-pro issues. Michigan's gone into the OSU game with either its backup QB or a hurt/limited starter in, what, four of the past six OSU games? Rudock started a healthy OSU game. Gardner started fully healthy only when he was backing up Denard.

[Rocky Bleier]

Hook, line, and sinker.

[froot loops]

It might be a matter if semantics. I believe he knew Patterson was coming in or another transfer was coming in and he would be the backup, that meant he was going to leave. I don't think it was the case where Speight made the decision to leave unbeknownst to Harbaugh! leaving them with one guy with experience. It's not like the Patterson transfer is trying to improve an unforeseen roster hole. The roster hole was there because of the pending transfer. Occam's razor with this one.

[Rocky Bleier]

That's a lot of "I believe" and "I think" for the simplest reason. Occam's razor would be Speight left because he didn't want to compete with the QB of the future, thereby leaving a hole to fill. Speight may have said all the right things about his decision, but it looked like payback for making him share snaps with Peters in the spring. Speight would have probably been the starter next season, so he faces more uncertainty going somewhere else. Harbaugh has no need to search for a transfer if Speight stays another year.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Harbaugh didn't push Speight out.

Harbaugh didn't directly or indirectly tell Patterson or any of his people that he would start on Sept. 1st v. ND.

It wasn't Harbaugh that went hat in hand to Patterson. Patterson's people reached out to Harbaugh after Speight announced his transfer creating a spot for another QB on the depth chart.

Peters is the presumed starter until another QB on the roster takes his spot and it doesn't sound from this interview that Peters is just going to sit idly by and watch Patterson take it from him.

From mgoboards:

Sam Webb interviewed David Peters (Brandon's father) in regards to the Shea Patterson transfer and discussed on his show this morning.

Summary

• The Patterson family were the ones to reach out to Michigan (we already knew that)
  
• Harbaugh sat down with each of the QBs and commits to explain the situation
  
• Michigan initially passed on Shea as they did not have a roster spot open at QB
  
• After Wilton informed the staff about his grad transfer, Harbaugh reconsidered Patterson's interest to transfer.
  
• David Peters said that Michigan NEEDED ANOTHER QB for depth so of course they should go after the best available
  
• David Peters said that his son was raised to compete and not run from a challenge
  
• Brandon said that he doesn't care if they bring in 30 more QBs, nobody is taking the job from him.

http://www.wtka.com/2012/09/06/podcasts/

[Rocky Bleier]

Amani Toomer harsh criticism of Harbaugh

Toomer sounds like a tool:

http://mvictors.com/table-for-one-please/

[Jeff Buchanan]

Apparently, the people that did the interview sort-of set Toomer up to neg Harbaugh/M ..... at least that was Seth's take at mgoblog. He wrote, last week I think it was, that the blog (chatsports) has a reputation of airing outlandish shit about people so, they were looking for someone connected with M to say outlandish shit about Harbaugh/M to them and on the record.

mvictors picked up on it. It's not their doing. It's also not the Freeps doing. My bet is that it was taken out of context but, whatever.

http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/former-m-wr-toomer-critical-harbaugh-reminder-no-chat-sports

[hack]

Didn't Patterson attend the OSU game? Speight transferred after that. Should we believe Peters' dad?

[Jeff Buchanan]

Patterson at the osu game? To my knowledge, no ..... but I really don't follow visitor lists as closely as others.

Here's a list from Land of Ten (An all BIG web site):

• QB Joe Milton* (commit)
• DE Aidan Hutchinson (commit)
• CB Myles Sims* (commit)
• CB Sammy Faustin* (commit)
• QB Kevin Doyle (commit)
• LB Cameron McGrone (commit)
• OT Jalen Mayfield (commit)
• DE Eyabi Anoma*
• ATH Talanoa Hufanga*
• OT Nicholas Petit-Frere*
• DT Alim McNeill*
• TE Tommy Tremble*
• DE Taylor Upshaw*
• DE Jayson Oweh*
• WR JaMarr Chase*
• DT Tyler Friday*

There were 19 and 20 guys too. Here's the link. I was amazed at the numbers.

https://www.landof10.com/michigan/michigan-impress-recruits-ohio-state

Should we believe Patterson's Dad? ...... I don't see any reason not to but at this juncture I wouldn't preclude a smoke screen either although I think the probability of some kind of cover up type plot ginned up by the principals is pretty remote.

[hack]

In the end, it doesn't matter. No rules were broken that we know of. Nobody's airing any dirty laundry.

[hack]

Jeff, perhaps one for you to take a deep dive on given your expertise would be Newsome's injury. Today's Unverified Voracity speculates that it's not looking good because, more than a year on from the original injury, he's still not cleared to play. What do you think of that reasoning? To my mind, having Newsome back is a major variable for next year.

[Jeff Buchanan]

I did a deep dive yesterday after mgoblog posted about Newsome getting a service award of some type. He said he was reading between the lines of what Newsome said about his return when asked by reporters. That doctors have not yet cleared him to play after more than a year suggests he's not going to get cleared.

So, next, I started looking for anything that described the injury in enough detail for me to get some clarity on it. I didn't find much but here's what I think might have gone on. There was mention of Newsome nearly losing his leg and that he was in ICU and had six surgeries. The only thing I could come up with as a possible complication post trauma to the lower leg or complication of a surgical intervention - and I can't say with any confidence that surgery was undertaken as a result of the initial injury - is Compartment Syndrome involving the Gastrocnemeus.

This can be a sequellae of a traumatic injury or a post operative problem (assuming there was some kind of surgery post injury). Regardless, the more I read about this kind of injury, the more I think this is what he was dealing with a year ago. It is fairly common in athletes. It is also an end point for chronic inflamation and it occurs in athletes with big gastroc muslces - do you remember US Olympic Middle Distance runner Mary Decker? Huge gastrocs almost gross in size on this tiny body she had. She was tripped in the 400m finals and lost the race after falling. She subsequently developed compartment syndrome that nearly cost her a leg and ended her running career.

So, high index of suspicion that this is what Newsome is dealing with. Technically it involves the muscle fascia of the gastroc. It surrounds the muscle but post injury or chronically it can fill with blood or fluid. Next it compresses arterial flow and if not emergently corrected by a fasciotomy (slit the fascia with a scapal and drain it) the muscle will become hypoxic and become necrotic. Then you've got an infection problem.

I don't think I'm too far off from the medical problem Newsome experienced either as a result of a chronic problem, an injury to the upper part of the gastroc where it's two heads join the femur or some kind of post surgical problem. Surgery would have definitely been indicated if the gastroc, in either or its two parts got torn from the femur - a not uncommon injury in athletes.

Probably way more than you want to know but you know me. There are 3 major arteries that pass though the back of the knee and these supply the arterial circulation to the structures below it. I suspect one or more of these was damaged by a blow or compressed in such a way via Compartment Syndrome that the survival of the limb was in question. Vascular Surgeons probably tried to reroute damaged arteries by grafting them or applying stents to closed vessels. Grafts and stents don't always work. Hence the multiple surgeries to work to restore circulation permanently.

So everything's fine after the plumbing is hooked back up, right? In Newsome's case probably not. A common complication of arterial grafting or stenting is clots. Post up arterial graft patients are almost always on blood thinners. I've seen post op stent/graft patients on them lifetime; 6m to 1y is more common. As, well the new plumbing sometimes has to be tended to with additional procedures. Maybe that's what the docs are weighing in a decision for him to come off blood thinners and be cleared to practice.

So, while Newsome might be rehabbing pretty well and restoring mobility and strength, its possible that the restored arterial plumbing has problems, he is on blood thinners to prevent clots and blockages and I can guarantee you no doc is going to clear him for contact as the risks are too high.

BTW, as an aside, my son-in-law was injured in a hunting accident as a teenager. He blew off the better part of his left lower leg with a shot gun. All of the circulation had to be repaired by grafting. All toll he's probably had 4 surgeries to correct problems over the last 20y and he's on blood thinners. So, injuries like this can be really bad and if I've got it right, its a repaired circulatory issue that Newsome is dealing with and that's problematic for his return to football.

[hack]

Thanks, Jeff. Very much appreciated.

[Rocky Bleier]

Kevin Tolbert is leaving:

http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/news/michigan-strength-coach-kevin-tolbert-fired-jim-harbaugh-staff-change/qky3vxkh65jx1ke5v66l4dmyf

[Rocky Bleier]

Jedd Fisch to Missouri as an OC. Looks like he just should have stayed at Michigan.