Tag: Tyler Cochran

Michigan football senior slams U-M president for Big Ten decision, lack of communication

A 5th-year senior made specific plans for 2020 that have been unequivocally altered. And he’s not liking the lack of support from U-M’s pres

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University of Michigan president Dr. Mark Schlissel posted a statement to Twitter explaining why he believes that the fall sports postponement in the Big Ten but some Wolverines football players might not take him at his word that they have his support.

For days, college football players all across the country attempted to have their say in the matter, noting they didn’t have a seat at the table when it’s come to the decision-making behind either canceling, postponing or keeping football in the fall as scheduled. With the decision coming down from the Big Ten on Tuesday that fall sports would be postponed to spring, it isn’t sitting right with one fifth-year senior, who had made specific plans to prepare for the opportunity to have one more year playing in The Big House.

Defensive back Tyler Cochran was a special teams standout in 2019, with his forced fumble against Rutgers being the highlight of his season.

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Cochran — the son of Brad Cochran, the consensus first-team All-American Michigan defensive back from the early 1980s — is taking exception to Schlissel’s lack of transparency, communication and overall unwillingness to support the football team. He took to Instagram to voice his displeasure with the university president, noting that not once has he ‘ever seen him in the (football) facility in my 4+ years here.’

While Schlissel’s decision may be prudent, it’s understandable that players would be frustrated that he hasn’t done anything to communicate why they must sacrifice everything they’ve worked so hard for.

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Last year I decided to drop a class to come short of graduation by 1 credit to come back and play my final year of eligibility. Unfortunately, the incompetent Presidents of the @bigten decided, despite constant testing and strict protocols, that the voices of the players were irrelevant and cancelled the season. It’s even more disappointing that the @uofmichigan president did not come speak to our team or even explain his decision making process. Not surprising since I’ve never seen him in the facility in my 4+ years here. Due to this decision, I, along with many of my brothers, may never be able to play the game of football again. I’ve wanted to play football for Michigan and follow in the footsteps of my dad ever since I can remember, and he had that same dream for me too. Coach Harbaugh gave me that opportunity, and everything that came with it was more than anything I could’ve ever wished for. I’ve played in the Big House, travelled the world, and got to wear the winged helmet. I got to share the honor of playing for Michigan with my father. If I never get the opportunity to play football again… this has still been more than a dream come true. Go Blue!

A post shared by Tyler Cochran (@tcoch30) on

It’s unclear whether or not Cochran, being one credit shy from graduating, would be able to participate in a spring season, should that actually occur.

Nonetheless, that Schlissel hasn’t addressed the team — or spent any time in the football facilities as Cochran alleges — makes for a not-so-good look.

For now, Cochran and the team will continue to practice, according to a team spokesman.

Bob Shoop breaks down Michigan’s safety group heading into spring

The newfound Wolverines safeties coach shares his thoughts on his personnel and what he expects of them.

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Michigan had a pair of defensive departures this offseason, but it replaced them with two capable former defensive coordinators who are now position coaches.

Among them is Bob Shoop, who spent his last 12 years in college football as a defensive overseer, but now he’ll be attuned to the safeties position, as vacated by Chris Partridge, who left to be Ole Miss’ co-defensive coordinator.

While Shoop says that he intends to be a much more active recruiter than he has in the past, as he shared with Jon Jansen on the In the Trenches podcast, he was fortunate that he didn’t hit the trail immediately upon arriving in Ann Arbor. Instead, he got to stay in Schembechler Hall, getting to know his group and the lay of the land, learning exactly what he has at the safety position.

“When I first got here – Coach gave me an opportunity rather to get out on the road recruiting, to get in the office,” Shoop said. “During the day, I got to interact with the GA’s and quality control and I got to watch any projects Coach wanted me to watch – Coach Brown – and I watched all the games. I watched all the coverage cut-ups, along those lines. And then interact with those guys.

“And the thing about watching the game film and the cut-ups and things along those lines is really there’s only three guys that have a significant – three guys that played a lot at safety last year as Josh Metellus obviously is gone. Brad Hawkins is a guy that played a fair amount, brings a tremendous amount of experience. Obviously missed the end of the year against Indiana, Ohio State and Alabama. We need to get him back and healthy, because I think the expectations are he’s gonna be one of the leaders of this unit.

“And in Dax Hill. I knew Dax a little bit when I was at Mississippi State because I had him in the 2019 recruiting class as the top safety in that class. We went back and forth between Alabama and Michigan in the recruiting process. And really to have the opportunity to work with him here, I’m very, very excited about watching his development and taking him to the next level. But the experience he gained last year was really, really valuable. And I thought he did a really solid job in the Ohio State game, the Indiana – where he got an interception – and the Ohio State and Alabama (games) where he got thrown into the trenches against some explosive offenses.”

As Shoop explains, those are the two known commodities, but what about the depth behind them?

He says there’s a lot of expected contributors heading into next season, but he only has a certain amount to work with this spring, as freshmen RJ Moten and Jordan Morant don’t arrive until summer.

Still, he likes what he has and shares who should be impact players once they hit the field.

“The issue, really, as we head into spring is finding some depth there,” Shoop said. “I’ve gotten a chance this spring to work with some of the other guys and there are guys who there’s some expectation for. Sammy Faustin, German Green, Caden Kolesar, Tyler Cochran – those guys played on special teams. We have an early-enrollee in Makari Paige. Just – I’m really, really excited to work with those guys. Quinten Johnson. Guys I don’t know enough about, because I haven’t seen them on the field, but I have seen them work with Herb in the weight room and I have seen them work with Herb in winter program. They seem to have a great work ethic. They have great passion, great toughness. Seem to have a team-first mindset. They encourage one another and they have a great deal of pride as a position unit. So I think there will be a great amount of competition this spring.”

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