Mailbag question: Brandon Smith

Posted at 8:00am -- 12/10/2009


Mailbag question: Brandon Smith

GBMW,

I have not seen you guys mention Brandon Smith yet, so what is your take on the rumors of him leaving?

Will this be a bad thing? Where should he play? Is all of this uproar just about him playing safety or are there other reasons?

Was he a Carr recruit or Coach Rod recruit?

Thanks,

Hank G.

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Thanks for the question.

Brandon Smith was recruited by Coach Carr, but committed to Coach Rod.

It has been no secret that B. Smith balked at playing linebacker and we were one of the first sites bringing this “impasse” to light. He was not and likely remains not happy about the move.

In our opinion linebacker is indeed his best position.

When we stood next to him during the spring practices, we were shocked at how big he is.

Based on what we all saw, he definitely had the size and mentality to play linebacker. His speed and movement skills are also a better fit at linebacker in our opinion.

Another point we want to make is he was not beaten out by a walk-on at the safety position like has been stated on a couple of message boards. He was the fourth safety to play behind Williams, Woolfolk, and Vlad and rarely was any walk-on even playing in the rotation.

Brandon was moved at the end of the spring practice session to linebacker. Football people know it is a very different position and it takes time for anybody to learn a new position, especially when a new player is going up against bigger people and playing closer to the line of scrimmage.

Good thing or bad thing? Both, any time a team loses an experienced player it hurts. We are getting tired of message boards saying if the kid is not "all in" we do not want him. That is fine and all, but sooner or later UM needs experienced players around (especially on defense) and the team and supporters need to stop using the "we are young excuse" while at the same time kicking the older kids aside or acting like it is a good thing when good players transfer. Essentially, in the business world this is termed wasted time and lost resources.

Brandon Smith plays a position of need and do not forget he has been one of UM’s top special teams players.

Still, having an unhappy player is never a good thing (if he is indeed unhappy). It is always best to have everyone pulling together and on the same page as far as where people are playing and knowing the schemes.

The bottom-line, as with all the transfers (if he does leave), this becomes a short-term loss. We hope things can work out and that Brandon gives it another chance during the spring to see how he will be used this upcoming year.

Leaving now is problematical for Brandon. It does no good to leave before spring practices since a player will still have to sit out a year, unless he decides to go to a lower division (FCS) to play next season, and then goes on to a Division One school the following year.

It makes no sense to lose a complete year of playing by sitting out, since he red shirted his freshman year, unless he wants to get into a new program and start working right away for a new team.

All in all we believe he will transfer either now or after spring practices so he might just leave now to move on with his life.

Written by GBMW Staff

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