Davion Rogers, ex-Wolverine

Davion Rogers

Freshman linebacker Davion Rogers has left the football program.  He was a 3-star recruit from Warren, OH.  The reason for his departure hasn't been officially released, but he had some NCAA Clearinghouse issues when trying to qualify for Michigan and rumor is that he never fully qualified.  Rogers was on campus and practicing with the team, but he had not played yet this season.

You can read my commitment post here, but Rogers was not expected to contribute to the team this season.  He's 6'6" and about 200 lbs., so he had a lot of physical development left before he could contribute at the college level.  However, he is an excellent athlete who would have been an asset to the team in the coming years.

This is the fifth Wolverine to depart since fall practices began.  He's also the fifth member of the Class of 2010 who has failed to reach October of freshman year.  My frustration with Rich Rodriguez's inability to recruit and retain players has been well documented on this blog, and this is yet another potential nail in the coffin for Michigan's defense in the coming two or three years.  Freshmen littered the two-deep at Michigan already, and that trend will continue in the coming years due to all these transfers/non-qualifiers.  Rodriguez has offered veiled complaints about the lack of defensive depth left by the Lloyd Carr regime, but no less than 11 defensive recruits signed during Rodriguez's tenure (Class of 2008 through Class of 2010) have already departed.  That means 31.4% (11/35) of defensive recruits brought in during that time have already left.

My unofficial calculations suggest that Michigan's 2011 recruiting class will have room for approximately 22 players (10 unused scholarships, 12 departing seniors).  For a reference point, a few months ago the class size was supposed to be 14 or 15.  You might think that Michigan's defense has been bad over the past couple seasons, but help won't be on the way anytime soon if Michigan keeps hemorrhaging recruits.