Sam McGuffie Finally Leaves Michigan Football
Youtube star transfers to be close to family
Dec 12, 2008
Will he stay? Will he go? Those were the questions surrounding Sam McGuffie from the moment the Wolverines walked off the field at Ohio Stadium. McGuffie had suffered his third concussion of the year on a kickoff return and now many people in the Michigan football program had begun to wonder if the superstar high school athlete from Texas would end up transferring back home.
McGuffie Transfers Down South
Sam McGuffie has officially gotten his release from the University of Michigan football team. He cited family issues and wanting to be closer to his brother (who is having some undisclosed problems at home in the Houston, Texas area) as the main reason for leaving.
Along with the family issues, McGuffie is also concerned about his three concussions. Most doctors caution football players against coming back from concussions like those, especially multiple concussions, and perhaps some time off will do McGuffie wonders after he transfers to a school in Texas, perhaps a Big 12 school like Texas A&M.
Many Michigan fans felt the writing was on the wall from the beginning with McGuffie because he wavered on his commitment to Michigan at the last second before finally signing on national signing day.
McGuffie a Big Loss at Running Back for Michigan?
While Sam McGuffie could have been a fine running back at Michigan, it is really not that big of a loss according to many people around the program. Sure, a lot of fans and other supporters of college football teams are conditioned to say those kinds of things whenever someone leaves because it's the cyclical nature of the sport, but Michigan is just fine at running back.
The extra scholarship might even help the Wolverines down the line to get more of Rich Rodriguez's style of player into Ann Arbor.
The Wolverines will be loaded at running back next year, starting with Brandon Minor as the feature back. Minor sat out much of the year with injuries but took the starting job from the freshman McGuffie and showed amazing power and very good speed.
Then at the end of the Michigan-Ohio State game, Minor said such an outcome would not happen under his watch next year. He seems to have embraced the leadership role and he could be All-Big Ten next year.
On top of Minor, Carlos Brown is expected to return for Michigan and brings great speed, if he can only stay healthy.
As fast as Brown is, Michael Shaw, a fellow freshman of McGuffie's from Ohio, is even faster and reminds some of Houston Texans and former West Virginia star Steve Slaton with his incredible acceleration. He will be a home run threat as Michigan adds a running quarterback to Rodriguez's spread offense.
Throw in Kevin Grady, another power runner, and freshmen like Fitzgerald Toussaint, Vincent Smith, Teric Jones, and Jeremy Gallon, all of whom have elite speed, and Michigan should have an incredible stable of running backs next year. The key for the run game to get going will be understanding the spread offense and getting better offensive line play.
McGuffie Transfer Still Tough on Michigan Fans
While McGuffie's loss weren't hurt a ton for Michigan football, many fans wanted to see him stay. He would have been in the mix to receive a lot of carries and he was fun to watch. His youtube.com video stirred up incredible excitement in Ann Arbor and many came to love McGuffie. His first few games were very exciting for the fans.
But it will be best for McGuffie and the Michigan program for him to transfer. McGuffie can follow the path of former UM transfer Justin Fargas and sit out, put on some weight, re-evaluate things, and then come out stronger than ever and perhaps make a run at an NFL career as Fargas did with the USC Trojans.
Michigan fans will wish Sam McGuffie the best of luck.
