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Posted on Thu, May 13, 2010 : 6:30 a.m.

Rich Rodriguez-Morgan Trent flap much ado about nothing

By Dave Birkett

TRENT F UM WISC FBC AW.JPG

Did bad references from Rich Rodriguez hurt Morgan Trent, above, in the 2009 NFL draft? No way, says one NFL insider. (File photo)

Gil Brandt doesn’t know if Rich Rodriguez bad-mouthed Morgan Trent to NFL scouts or not. Trent thinks so, at least according to the book “Draft Season: Four Months on the Clock”. And Rodriguez issued a statement saying he did no such thing for the second time Wednesday.

But after spending the past 50 years in and around the NFL, Brandt is quite sure nothing Rodriguez said - good or bad - had anything to do with Trent falling to the sixth round in last year’s draft.

That’s just not how things work.

“I can assure you, even if somebody said anything about a player, (scouts are) not going to pay any attention,” said Brandt, the former vice president of player personnel for the Cowboys and a current analyst for NFL.com. “They’re going to pay attention to what they’ve seen on tape, what they’ve seen in practice and so forth.”

Sure, scouts talk to college coaches, but that’s a tiny piece of their evaluation pie. They watch film, the “lie detector” as Brandt called it. They study the minutia of practice, like if a player is first or last in line for position drills. And they talk to everyone else around a player, from janitors to strength coaches.

“If you watch drills and you see that (player) is always the last guy in line, you know he doesn’t have a very good work ethic,” Brandt said. “If you go to the weight coach and say who are the top five guys for participation and he’s not in the top five or top 10 - we used to do top 10 - you find out what the deal is.” Rodriguez, in his statement Wednesday, said the only call he’s received about a player in the last two years came this spring from the Philadelphia Eagles about Brandon Graham.

“I talked with NFL scouts about all of our seniors on our pro day and all of my remarks were positive,“ Rodriguez said in his statement. “After that day, no scouts contacted me with questions about Morgan Trent, and if they had I certainly wouldn’t have said anything disparaging about him. Any reference to that is completely false. I’m very disappointed that Morgan and the author didn’t call me to clarify the facts before the book went to print.”

The author of the book, Bobby Deren, wrote that Rodriguez “bad-mouthed (Trent) to every NFL scout he could. Rodriguez claimed that Morgan was lazy, he had an attitude problem and he was a big reason the Wolverines finished with a 3-9 record” in 2008.

Brandt said that sounds like the excuse making proliferated by agents. It’s something he dealt with as a personnel man with the Cowboys - in the late 1960s or early 1970s he said he was blamed for a quarterback from SMU falling to the late rounds - and something he saw first-hand more recently with former Lions draft pick Jonathan Scott.

Brandt said Scott’s father called him after Scott’s junior season at Texas and asked what “1-14” means.

“I started to laugh,” Brandt said. “And he said, ‘No, tell me.’ I said, ‘Obviously, some agent told you that he saw Jonathan’s (draft) grade and he got a 1-14, which means he’s going to be drafted in the first round. He said, ‘How did you know?’ I said, ‘It happens all the time.’ And I said, ‘Believe me, Mr. Scott, your son is not going to be drafted in the first round, so stay in school and do better.’”

Scott returned to Texas for his senior season and after benching 225 pounds 15 times at his pro day, fell to the fifth round in the 2006 draft.

Brandt said Scott’s father called him again after the draft.

“And of course the first thing the dad wanted to know was what happened?” Brandt said. “He said, ‘Did somebody say something bad about him?’ And I said, ‘No, why?’ He said, ‘Well, the agent said that they didn’t have a real good year this year and so they put the blame on Jonathan and everybody else.’

“That is a common story that you hear, so in defense of Rodriguez, I would say that him saying anything bad about a player was completely wrong.”

Trent’s agent, Doug Hendrickson, said he never had any conversations with Trent about Rodriguez bad-mouthing him to NFL personnel and has never spoken with Rodriguez personally.

As for why Trent fell to the sixth round, Brandt pulled out a scouting report and offered a simple explanation.

He ticked off the positive attributes that led him to rank Trent the 18th-best cornerback in the 2009 draft, a projected fifth-round choice - good bloodlines (his father played football and mother swam at Nebraska), prototype size (6-foot-1 and 195 pounds) and a 38-inch vertical jump and the speed to outrun Ted Ginn in high school track meets - and a slew of negatives.

“Does not play with confidence, instincts are just average and does not show awareness on route recognitions,” Brandt said. “Tight in the hips, choppy backpedal, he’s late out of his breaks, weak tackler, gives up too many big plays, questionable ball skills … Struggles off man coverage … I’m not sure that he had the physical temperament either to play the safety position.

“Anybody who’s fast now and can play defensive back and has coverage skills goes pretty early. Last year, we had a record 37 corners drafted. This year, we had 36 corners drafted. The thing I assure you of is that this has come up before that (coaches) have bad-mouthed people, and I just don’t think that matters.”

Dave Birkett covers University of Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at 734-623-2552 or by e-mail at davidbirkett@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

Comments

Sean T.

Sun, May 16, 2010 : 11:44 p.m.

I want to know what you're putting in your Kool-aid because that $h*t must be good!

BowlForBlue

Sat, May 15, 2010 : 9:50 p.m.

Don't worry Robbie Webb... this year Coach Rodriguez beats msu and osu and msu coach gets fired, pryor quits, osu fans hate tressel - do a 'fire-tressel' website, the outsiders disappear from this site - just like old times.... it must be MICHIGAN FOOTBALL.

Robbie Webb

Sat, May 15, 2010 : 1:35 p.m.

Had Carr run his old school running playbook, Michigan most likely would have lost.

Robbie Webb

Sat, May 15, 2010 : 1:31 p.m.

Michigan's 07 team was not the fastest, but you're speaking about them like they were not talented. Henne, Hart, Maningham, Arrington, Long to name a few are very talented individuals who are all playing in the NFL now. Florida had issues that year, but let's not forget the heisman winner was at quarterback with basically the same team that would go on to win the national title the next year. You cannot compare what Carr had in 07 to what Rod started with. There is NO comparison. None! Had he had top notch talent and experience to work with, he would have been gone after this season. But that's obviously not the case, hence why he was not fired.

OSUbeBetter

Sat, May 15, 2010 : 1:20 p.m.

A. That was a 3 loss Florida team in 07, They definitely had issues that year. B. Assuming that you are going to tell me how great Florida was in 07, How in the world did the "Old fashioned" Lloyd Carr manage to install the spread in only 4 weeks with nothing but fat bellied, lead footed, Slow poke Michigan players? I mean come on this is Florida right? Tim Tebo and Crystal trophies. the Speed Vs. the Fat. And no Brawis ontop of all that. Rodriguez has had two years and cant beat anyone in the big ten without help.

Robbie Webb

Sat, May 15, 2010 : 10:09 a.m.

And the coaches you just named had depth and experience to work with. Rich Rod didn't have that luxury.

Robbie Webb

Sat, May 15, 2010 : 10:01 a.m.

The team who took down Florida was full of veterans on both sides of the ball and were gone after that game. And the high school offense you're talking about beat Florida and is a system Florida themself uses which has assisted in three BCS wins in the last four years, of course that one loss being to Michigan because we ran the spread. And that particular year in 2007 was a downfall in the beginning because of injuries.

Robbie Webb

Sat, May 15, 2010 : 9:54 a.m.

The offense was not and is not the concern, at least in 2009. No one is questioning Michigan's ability to score. The defense has to and will step up in 2010. The only question on offense is who will start at quarterback, not ''Will Michigan be able to score?'' The spread is a much better system than Michigan's old play book, and looking back at the Florida game when the spread was used, it speaks for itself what it can do against teams like that. Now that our players are more experienced and now that we have some depth, this team will do a lot better this season. Period.

OSUbeBetter

Sat, May 15, 2010 : 9:51 a.m.

well robbie all i can tell you is that if your ONLY going to be happy with crystal trophy then you will spend your life a miserable man. Look at it this way; In NCAA basket ball there are probably what 200 teams in the 1A level, and of those 64 are invited to the NCAA Tourney, so if your team makes it into the sweet 16 or better yet the great 8 then i consider that to be a SUCCESSFUL season. it would be great to win them all, but thats just not a reasonable expectation. The redwings this year battle to make it into the playoffs, they beat phoenix and loose to san Jose, im not thrilled with the results, but i consider it to be a GOOD season, ill probably go out and buy another shirt this year. Sometimes my favorite golfer finishes 9th, and sometimes my favorite driver gets caught up in a wreck, and thats ok. the thing is your team doesnt have to win every game, and you cant expect them to win every game when they play top teams But you do expect them to get to the big games, make the playoffs, and beat their rivals nearly 50 % of the time. to play well enough in the regular season to get into the jan 1 or later bowl games because thats where the big boys play. Right now Michigan isn't playing well enough to play with the big boys, and if all goes to plan they will continue to finish in the bottom half of the league. RR is a mid level coach trying to force feed michigan an elite level high school offense. like Koolaid said, he took a team who beat Floridas Tim Tebo (In a down year) and turned them into a big east team and the laughing stock of the big ten. He needed help to beat Indiana and you think hes a player or two away from being NC material? He was going to fist fight his own players two years ago on the sideline for gods sake. Look at Urbain, Look at saban, Tress, Mac Brown, Tuberville, Petrino, Les Miles, and you think RR is on their level? based on what? Heck i would have taken Houston nutt or Bob freaking Toledo over Rodriguez any day. Rich Rodriguez couldnt beat me in Checkers.

Robbie Webb

Sat, May 15, 2010 : 9:49 a.m.

And what do you mean deep runningbacks and experienced line?!?! Brandon Minor was injured most of the season and our best offensive lineman, Dave Molk who was a redshirt sophmore, was injured and screwed up our line. Schilling was our only awesome experience on the line and the other runningbacks were young with the exception of Brown. It is not the offense, if you watch Carr's last game, look at what we ran against Florida. Yes, it was the spread. But again, when Rod stepped in, there was no experience or much depth to work with. It's very safe to say that if Minor and Molk were healthy the entire season, we would have had at least eight wins.

Robbie Webb

Sat, May 15, 2010 : 9:44 a.m.

And by not many of Carr's players got drafted, I'm talking about 08 and 09. And you can't take away Delaware State, all the big name teams play someone they beat up on and put up big points, so taking our points away for that game means you would have to take away the other points from the other teams that squashed some no name team.

tomhagan

Sat, May 15, 2010 : 8:49 a.m.

Robbie... less than 22 pts per game in BT play IS a problem. Yeah I know you are going to say "freshman QB" and I will say... it didnt have to be that way... + very veteran and deep RBs, experienced Line and WRs, good TEs... but it was the goofy / bad offensive system that doesnt work in BT play. Period. The Del State and 2 Mac games really padded UMs offensive stats. They were lousy in BT play just as they were in 08. BTW...the terrible defense the last 2 years is also on Rich Rod. He is the head coach. The 08 team returned 8 defensive starters from a good unit under Carr. They were terrible under Rich Rod and his bungling staff.

OSUbeBetter

Sat, May 15, 2010 : 5:27 a.m.

Scoring does speak for itself, they were 9th out of 11 an scoring in the big ten. I understand you dont want to hear about the O being a problem, but frankly it is. Now i will absolutly agree with you Robbie that the defense is worse then the Offense, but they both pretty much stink.

Robbie Webb

Fri, May 14, 2010 : 9:58 p.m.

I know they scored 28, typo. And who cares if one of those was a defensive touchdown? I guess that fumble Tate had against OSU doesn't count either, which could have lead to a Michigan touchdown and a win against OSU. And once again, not an offensive problem, they did their job and the scoring speaks for itself. No one is questioning if they can score, the focus is on defense and defense only.

tomhagan

Fri, May 14, 2010 : 9:49 p.m.

Webb: Michigan scored only 28 vs Iowa and 7 of those were as a result of an easy defensive TD. What game were you watching? Michigan avg. 22 pts. per game in Big Ten play which put them 9th in conference. So much for that argument.

Robbie Webb

Fri, May 14, 2010 : 9:35 p.m.

Oh, and the championship before 1997 was back in I believe 1970 when OSU won that one. So, you do the math and tell me if that's successful. Conference championships are all well and good, but it doens't mean anything to me if you can't go out and get the national hardware.

Robbie Webb

Fri, May 14, 2010 : 9:31 p.m.

In my opinion, seven years is a long time, just like six years is a long losing streak we have against OSU. The SEC has owned championships for the past few years because they have a solid defense and are fast with more offensive weapons. The last big ten championship was won by OSU I believe in 2002 and Michigan in 1997 before that. Now I don't know about you, but that's not very good. Sure, the big ten has had success in bowl games in general, but for me as a huge Michigan fan, I want championships. And the old school Michigan offense was not going to get us one, obviously. Once the defense gets it done, Michigan will be back on top.

Robbie Webb

Fri, May 14, 2010 : 9:24 p.m.

You are confused. I never said a solid running game is not needed at all. On the contrary, it's very much needed, but the big ten prides itself running and running as the solid foundation, that's why the big ten hasn't won a championship in sometime. I'm not one of those Michigan fans who brings up the early 1900's, I always argue that Michigan has been slacking in contending for a championship and that this offensive change was needed. I know we had a close win with Indiana, but we still got it and that's all that matters. My point with Iowa, MSU, Purdue was that the defense was the problem the whole year and that we were one stop away from at least an 8-4 regular season record. My arguments is always that Michigan's downfall in 2009 was in no shape way or form an offensive problem.

OSUbeBetter

Fri, May 14, 2010 : 9:03 p.m.

Robbie, You think Michigan was one stop away per game from being 8-4 record? Well then you must also acknowledge that you were one blown call away from being beaten by Indiana and going "O-Fer" in the Big Ten. Remember the Indiana coach almost had an aneurism on the sideline and had to be restrained by his own assistants? And, How does a Michigan fan of all people think 7 years is "a long time" for the big ten to not have won a championship? Michigan fans still love to talk about all their pre 1920 national championships and overall records going back to the 1890's And Lastly, I would love to know what "experts on t.v." you follow or articles you read because ive never heard such an Absurd thing as to think a solid running game isn't an absolute necessity. to think that any "Expert" would even suggest that an elite team would just throw the ball is just plain Laughable. I understand you love the spread, and I understand you think speed is the answer, But ill let you know that the passing game does not exist without the running game, and the spread does not exist without power running. (Example : 2009 Michigan Vs Purdue. Michigan gets first and goal from the one and gets stoned because they didn't have an inside run game). Find and link one article written by an "Expert" that says the running game in college football is Dead. I would love to read that.

Terry Star21

Fri, May 14, 2010 : 12:58 p.m.

@ Robbie Webb.... love your enthusiasm, glad your on our team. I gave up years ago trying to set the outsiders straight, it's tough trying to argue with 10 year olds that have no football knowledge. I just concentrate on the good and the truth; Michigan Football to say the least, is the best in the North, West, South and East. With RichRod our King at helm these coming years, we run the table, the bowls, and have celebratory beers. Theo, Robbie and all our faithful that comment here, will tailgate, barbeque, and support UM every single year. Immature outsiders that disrespect our football page, have no team to support, must be making minimum wage. 2010 Michigan Football - 417...... Opponents - less than 0.

Salinegoblue

Fri, May 14, 2010 : 9:09 a.m.

Much ADO about nothing, it goes to the heart and soul or RR's integrity and creditability. Recruits and parents out there are wondering is this the kind of coach they want around their son. The truly good ones will go else where, we'll get the recruits that could have never received a scholorship in the past.

OSUbeBetter

Fri, May 14, 2010 : 4:14 a.m.

Ever notice that when Robbie posts, he immediately posts something again? 3 times in this thread alone he has 2 posts in a row, Just thought that was funny. Robbie, You think Michigan was one stop away per game from being 8-4 record? Well then you must also acknowledge that you were one blown call away from being beaten by Lowly ol' Indiana and going "O-Fer" in the Big Ten. Remember the Indiana coach almost had an aneurism on the sideline and had to be restrained by his own assistants? And, How does a Michigan fan of all people think 7 years is "a long time" for the big ten to not have won a championship? Michigan fans still love to talk about all their pre 1920 national championships and overall records going back to the 1890's And Lastly, I would love to know what "experts on t.v." you follow or articles you read because ive never heard such an Absurd thing as to think a solid running game isn't an absolute necessity. to think that any "Expert" would even suggest that an elite team would just throw the ball is just plain Laughable. I understand you love the spread, and I understand you think speed is the answer, But ill let you know that the passing game does not exist without the running game, and the spread does not exist without power running. (Example : 2009 Michigan Vs Purdue. Michigan gets first and goal from the one and gets stoned because they didn't have an inside run game). Find and link one article written by an "Expert" that says the running game in college football is Dead. I would love to read that.

tomhagan

Fri, May 14, 2010 : 1:01 a.m.

ps Robbie... #3 ranked offense? Where are you getting that?? lol...take out the Del. state, and 2 MAC schools and look at Michigan being ranked 8th in the Big Ten...again stop the stupid koolaid!!!!! geeze....

Robbie Webb

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 9:11 p.m.

So thank you for proving my point, because the defense being a problem was my point this whole time. And we also scored 36 against Iowa at Iowa, who has a great defense and who won the Orange Bowl.

Robbie Webb

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 9:07 p.m.

Jonny, first of all my #3 ranked scoring offense statistic was showing that the problem was not the offense, it was defense. Read it again. I know Alabama won because of defense, that's my point. Florida runs the spread and they have won 3 BCS games in the last four years. And Texas' stud quarback also got hurt, hence why they lost. And if you take away the Delaware State game, then you have to take away the other slack teams that all of the big time teams play in the beginning of the season, which means if you take away those points from the other teams in as well, and we're still #3 in scoring. If you think that running the football like the old days is what it takes, you have a lot to learn. Hence why a big ten team hasn't won a title in some time.

johnnya2

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 8:49 p.m.

I don't care whether it is true or not, the fact is ANOTHER former player has ill will towards RR. This is a pattern. I do not recall this many players in the entire Lloyd Carr era saying negative things about him. Whether Trent should be a first or undrafted free agent does not matter. What matters is, he is saying, I don't trust the guy I played for. That is a problem. One disgruntled player is an isolated incident. RR has a track record of people hating him after they are not around him. I would ask any RR defendder to speak with former Lloyd Carr players and places of employment and former RR players and his places of employment. I think the evidence speaks to the type of man now running Michigan football, and I do not like it one bit.

Robbie Webb

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 8:48 p.m.

And by the way, with the rebuilding we'ev been doing with what we had to work with in the beginning which has accounted for our past two season records, the recruiting has been great. I can only imagine how much better it will be when we start winning this season. OSU has run the show unfortunately in the big ten and we still had a better recruiting class then them on paper. Our time to be on top again is coming. Patience is a virtue. All teams go through hard times. We are STILL the Michigan Wolverines and will always be THE football prgram. I am going to quote a movie because it couldn't be more true, ''The night is darkest just before the dawn.'' And to quote Jim Tressel, ''Say what you will, but I'm scared to death of this team in 2010. Trust me, I know.'' Michigan will get it done.

Robbie Webb

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 8:01 p.m.

Michigan will be fine with Rich Rod, and we most certainly can win a championship with him. It's the old school running the football the majority of the time that will not get us a championship, this is not the old days anymore. Yes, the big ten is big and has a problem with speed. The big ten is far behind and hasn't stepped into the new millenia. If don't recall, that's why the big ten hasn't won a championship in a long time, the conference is too slow and all that happens is running. If you listen to the experts on t.v. or read articles, they say the same thing. Which is why OSU who has run the big ten for six years (with the exception of last year) gets stomped in bowl games. SEC teams with speed destroy them. And Rich Rod is not perfect, nor is any coach, look at Urban Meyer, he's worse, but no one cares because he has two championships. If you expect everyone who steps into Michigan to be perfect, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. And just so you know, Rich Rod is not the problem for our record, the defense was young, inexperienced, and had no depth. Michigan's offense (which Rich Rod runs and was hired for) despite a young roster ended up #3 in scoring offense. So tell me how it's his fault when his system is working. Again, it's defense. Iowa, MSU, and Purdue were very close losses. One extra stop on defense was all it would have taken to achieve a 8-4 record. Again, not the offenses fault which Rich Rod runs, although mistakes and bad calls were made, that happens everywhere. Michigan will be more than fine uner Rich Rod.

2sweetblue

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 7:46 p.m.

Mr. Webb RR recruiting classes are not that impressive. He recruits speed and more speed. That's great but this is Bi Ten football and you need size too. Lets not forget that the top recruit he got this year is somebody nobody else wanted because of his shady past. RR is not a man of integrity he throws his players under the bus and always has excuses. Are we going to buy his lousy excuses if he wins six games? Will we be satisfied? No way he has his players and if he does not win 9 games............. SEE YA!! The man has brought nothing but embarrassment to Michigan on the field and off the field. We will NEVER win a championship under RR!!

wersch213

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 5:21 p.m.

This Morgan Trent bull makes this the 4th or 5th story involving Rich Rodriguez where the headline should read "Much ado about nothing". Can somebody, anybody, write a single story about Rich Rodgriguez based on hard facts?? It hasn't happened yet, so I don't see why it would start anytime soon. It's simply ridiculous how Rich Rodriguez has been dragged through the mud. Remember HE wants to be at Michigan and the Leadership at Michigan wants HIM...

Robbie Webb

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 5:10 p.m.

And what's wrong with three star recruits? I hope you realize Sam Bradford, Mark Ingrham, and our own Mike Hart were all ranked as three star. Stars rank how you did in high school, if you're good enough to play college football, that's special. And it doesn't matter what your rank was in high school. What matters is wearing your school colors with pride and working hard to become something more.

Robbie Webb

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 5:06 p.m.

tomhagan, you have got to be kidding. Rich Rod had one two star recruit this year, picked up the highest ranked recruit in the big ten and had the #2 recruiting class in the big ten and the #15 ranked class overall above OSU. As a matter of fact, all of his classes have been outstanding and within the top 15, much better than Carr did in his latter years. Every team has walkons, even Carr did the same thing, remember Sheridan? The guy who was our ''Quarterback'' in 08. The reason Michigan didn't have much drafted this year is evident that number one, this is a young team and that almost all of Carr's veterans were gone by the time Rich Rod came in and that Carr's recruiting was not very good near the end. Even our senior class this year is small and are still Carr's guys. Rich Rod's oldest players will be juniors this season. So blaming Rich Rod's recruiting is plain silly and shows a lack of understanding of what's going on.

tomhagan

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 4:18 p.m.

With Rich Rod's penchant for recruiting 2 and 3 star players out of HS along with his vaunted Preferred Walk-on program... and coaching them up to be competitive with the other teams on the bottom of the Big Ten standings, one can safely assume that the ego-defensive posture that RR has with anyone who criticizes him will soon be moot as the Michigan Program Sadly will no longer be a pipeline of talent to the NFL, and even more sadly not a pipeline for All Big Ten players either.

Kevin Krine

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 2:08 p.m.

I get that RR may have little to gain by badmouthing, but Brandt contradicts himself. He says that no one pays heed to what coaches say, but then goes on to point out that scouts talk to the weight room coaches ("who are your gym rats") and position coaches ("who's constantly last in line for drills") as a part of their evaluation. Why wouldn't a head coach's words carry at least as much weight? RR may not have explicitly bad mouthed Trent, but it is very possible that he indicated that Trent was below average in the intangibles, and wasn't a big contributor to the defense. It's certainly not a stretch to say both sides overplayed whatever was said. And it is hard to believe that - with all of the legwork that Brandt indicates that scouts do - that *no one* contacted RR about Trent after the initial pro day. Methinks the lady doth protest too much.

KenCooper

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 1:13 p.m.

I remember excitement when UM landed Trent as a speedy high school WR. However, he never looked particularly fast at UM and was burned as much or more than almost anybody I can remember at UM. (Marion Body and a few others were close.) RR has a huge target on his back, of course, so anything that suggests he coughed without covering or j-walked is bound to be news. What a joke for Trent to pile on, too...

Yelmonian

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 1:10 p.m.

The funny part about alot of these posts, is the attack on Trent. Terrible player... reason UM lost against OSU... Carroll had all passes thrown at him against USC... blah, blah, blah. The kid played in every game last year for the Bengals. Bengals made the playoffs. Improved from a 4-11-1 team to 10-6 team. Not saying this kid turned the team around... but would he get significant playing time on a playoff team, if he was as bad as described? Of course, the UM defense under RR has been awful. Maybe Trent's play is a reflection of his coaching.

Ramone

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 12:21 p.m.

Solid, solid article Dave. I made it a point to log onto my computer instead of my phone. I figure we give you enough grief about your normal UM/RR articles. Might as well be fair and tell you when you've done well. And not even because of where the story ended up going. But the legwork and the people you contacted are solid. Wow, Trent's agent says he didn't hear about RR's comments?! The end of the story was brutal. Hope MT doesn't read this one. That would be tough to read about yourself. But true. He got blazed by lots of guys. Still wish him success in the NFL. He has all kinds of physical gifts. This is a good article.

W0LVERINE_fanatic

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 11:36 a.m.

One statement in this story tells me who is telling the truth. Trents agent did not know about RR badmouthing Trent. As soon as Trent got the information where would he turn? To his agent obviously. If the agent did not know, I believe it did not happen. I also agree that Trent played very poorly for someone who saw as much playing time as he did. If he were a sheet he still couldn't cover a bed.

johnny56

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 10:24 a.m.

This is a BS story. RR would have nothing to gain from bad-mouthing a prospect, even if he were inclined to do so. Getting his guys drafted high helps recruiting. RR simply isn't that kind of guy. He is so positive, and I don't understand why the author wouldn't have contacted him for the other side. Gil Brandt nails the explanation, I think.

eric

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 9:51 a.m.

Just glad we are all on the same page... morgan trent went that late becuase he was TERRIBLE. He was our achiles heal in the back field everytime he stepped on the field.

dukefan2331

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 9:23 a.m.

There only one thing to say to Morgan Trent. "Did you happen to remember the USC Rose Bowl game?" Heck, Pete Carroll threw every single pass at you in the third quarter for a reason. What really shocks me is that Morgan Trent got drafted at all - I think he should thank both Carr and RR if they didn't trash him. I'm not often with RR, but I am on this one. A bad book and a bad player that needs some publicity and stir it up a bit.

rightmind250

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 9:18 a.m.

You are obviously missing the point. It does not matter if Trent was the worst corner to ever play at UM. The problem is Richrod's. How do you think recruits view this stuff? It is just more bad karma for Richrod. This stuff follows him around wherever he goes.

bluemax79

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 9:15 a.m.

There is a buckeye video done after the 2006 game showing how poorly he played and thanking trent for playing for Michigan. What else do you need to know? He was a weak link and never showed leadership. He is one of those you wish never would have played here and obviously has character issues.

Gary Schmidt

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 8:32 a.m.

Nice piece, Dave. I was pretty unhappy that earlier aa.com provided only a link to the weak coverage of this "story" elsewhere, without providing any analysis of whether there was any substance to it. I appreciate your taking it on now head on. This is both interesting and a community service. Many thanks.

friend12

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 8:22 a.m.

Sour grapes. Trent was average at best and was lucky to be drafted at all.

aareader

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 7:42 a.m.

Thanks for another perspective on this issue. The more insights the better.

PortageLkBlu

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 7:32 a.m.

I would say, the only thing I want our coach being concerned about is getting our team ready for the 2010 season. If your an average player at best and you leave early well, duh! I hope Mr Morgan the best but he's got to get with the program here and work on his skills. Raising this stink about coach RR will not endear him to his future NFL family. It truly does take a lot of effort to blame others for your own shortcomings rather than just shut up and put your nose to the grindstone.

81wolverine

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 7:23 a.m.

These so-called stories about RR badmouthing Trent and Lloyd Carr telling him this stuff are fabricated. That's obvious. They're completely inconsistent with logic and the personalities of both coaches. Neither would have anything to gain by saying those things and everything to lose. These days, you CAN'T believe stories like this that are completely unsubstantiated with un-named sources. There are too many people out there trying to sell or promote junk who will stop at nothing to do so. Gil Brandt said it all about Trent and why he was picked in the 6th round. It confirms everything many of us observed sitting in the stadium for the past 4 years. Trent is NOT a very good defensive back. Extremely good athlete, but poor at covering receivers. And yes, his tackling wasn't too hot either. Personally, I'm amazed he was picked at all.

naturally

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 7:20 a.m.

Has Morgan Trent ever watched film of his games? The eye in the sky does not lie. He was burned time and time again.

NoBowl4Blue

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 6:55 a.m.

Doesn't matter where he was drafted is just another little tidbit about the so called king leader of a once mighty football program that is now nothing but mediocore. Where there is smoke there's fire and withh RR there is always smoke.

tzgoblue

Thu, May 13, 2010 : 6:37 a.m.

Anybody that watched MI football with Morgan Trent in the d-backfield could see for themselves how bad he was. As Gil Brandt pointed out, he had a slew of negatives. All that he mentioned we saw on display every Saturday. Watch the USC rose bowl tape if you want to understand why he was a sixth round pick. I thought that was high. It is just another former player that was unhappy with the coaching change trying to blame someone else for his lack of ability and accountability.