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Posted on Mon, Aug 22, 2011 : 6:50 p.m.

Spokesman: True freshman offensive lineman Tony Posada has left the Michigan football program

By Kyle Meinke

A Michigan athletic department spokesman confirmed Monday that true freshman Tony Posada has left the Wolverines' football program.

The spokesman did not elaborate on the departure.

Posada was a three-star offensive lineman from Tampa, Fla. Listed at 6-foot-5, 320 pounds, he was one of the top 2011 recruits to come out of talent-rich Florida. He was projected to be an offensive tackle for the Wolverines.

He was not expected to receive playing time this year.

Posada held offers from Kansas, South Florida, Missouri, Rutgers and Tennessee, among others. He cited Michigan's tradition for turning out top offensive lineman for choosing the Wolverines.

Posada is the second true freshman to leave the program before the start of the season. Kellen Jones, a four-star linebacker from Houston, also was a member of the 2011 class before the athletic department announced last month he no longer was enrolled at the school.

Michigan coach Brady Hoke said at the Big Ten media days in Chicago he didn't expect to incur any other issues with incoming freshman. He said last week he didn't expect to have any academic hang-ups, including with the freshmen, after the summer term.

Jones has since landed at Oklahoma.

Kyle Meinke covers Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2588, by email at kylemeinke@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @kmeinke.

Comments

racerx

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 8:08 p.m.

Why do athletes get top billing when they leave the university? This is the second such article. What happens when a law student drops out of the law school? Or an engineering student decides to leave? Why is an athlete more significant than the run of the mill student? Oh. Silly me. The run of the mill student doesn't generate revenue for their prospective programs other than tuition. You're right Brandon, student athletes should not be paid!

Blu n Tpa

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 4:08 p.m.

Where did all the riff raff come from? Man, what are the odds that all those jails and prisons gave computer access to these trolls on the same day? CW take a hint from bogie and redcedar and own up to your true feelings. It's tsopio, and don't worry, we all figured it out months ago. Compared to what coming down the pike toward your school, UM losing a couple of freshmen, or is it pre-freshman, is a walk in the park. Look forward to hearing from you guys next time the warden allows you "out" on the 'net. In the meantime TiM Go Blue!

Edward R Murrow's Ghost

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 7 p.m.

Great post, Blu! Good Night and Good Luck

Blu-dogg97

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 4:40 p.m.

Thank you Blu n Tpa pretty much sums it up here today.. good post !

GoBlueClassof1989

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 3:51 p.m.

As a Michigan alum currently living in the Tampa area, I was fortunate enough to see Posada during Plant High School's run for the state championship. I was very excited when I heard he was coming to Michigan and am sad to hear he's not staying. I wish him the best where ever he decides to go...just hope it is not another Big 10 school.

lugemachine

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 3:42 p.m.

Whenever I see the trolls come in here spouting their venom, I'm reminded of John Cleese shouting (in that OUTRAGEOUS French accent) insults at Arthur and his Knights. I have no desire, nor inclination, to comment on any Spartan or Buckeye websites. What would be the point? We get it, Michigan has lost to OSU for many years... MSU has strung together three wins against the WORST TEAMS IN THE HISTORY OF MICHIGAN FOOTBALL. It won't last forever. The Buckeyes would be well-advised to remember the Cooper years.. and MSU would be well-advised to remember pretty much every year prior to 2008.

Chad Williams

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 3:11 p.m.

He was a scrub. He wouldnt have left the southeast if he was that good. He was left overs the sec didnt care to much to have. As for the 2012 class Michigan class is solid but with 1 or 2 slots to fill they will fall in the rankings because teams rise in the latter part of the recruting. 3 espnu 150 players compared to 9 that bama has as we speak is still a step behind. Hoke was just Ohio happy and just got a bunch of guys who thought osu was going down. He really didnt give much effort into recruiting nation talent. Safe way of doing things but its a difference between getting a player you need and one with talent.

81wolverine

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 2:51 p.m.

Well, this is too bad, but I wish Tony the best of luck elsewhere. From what I heard though, he showed up here overweight and out of shape. That's not the reason he left I'm assuming, but it's never a good sign. It does happen with some freshmen. However, with our offensive line depth not good, it could put us in a pinch in the next year or two. I'm sure the two preferred walk-ons Michigan added this year will be even more important going forward.

Blu-dogg97

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 2:05 p.m.

@ gene tracy, cutty240 ,bob, bogie and redcedar1 Here is a little history lesson for you,and these are FACTS ! Mich vs osu total games 107 57-44-6 Mich vs msu total games 103 67-31-5 Mich vs wisc total games 64 49-14 Mich vs NW total games 69 52-15 Mich vs Neb total games 6 3-2-1 The Michigan football history totals 1228 games with a record of 884-308-36 with a total winning percentage of .735% 42 B1G championships and 11 National Championships.. Thus the quote by Brady Hoke "WE ARE MICHIGAN" TiM GO BLUE...

missionbrazil

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 10:04 p.m.

The facts don't lie ... Michigan is the greatest college football program ... EVER ! Go Blue !

a2roots

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 5:39 p.m.

@mt...get a grip dude the numbers don't lie. we are talking games against msu. looks like UM 67 wins to msu 31 wins. that I would say qualifies msu for school of the blind.

mt

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 3:51 p.m.

And what is record against the Podunk School for the Blind? And what percentage of the games were played on the road? And of those 11 national championships what percentage are in the modern age, like since 1950? And who this year's September Heisman trophy winner?

DraderOHIO

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 1:43 p.m.

We (Michigan) has 12 offensive lineman returning next yaer..Im sure not all of them will be ready to play but don't forget Michigan still has 4 offensive lineman on their 2012 Commitment List . 3- four star and 1- three star..Michigan will be fine. Those that stay will be champions...( Michigan Men) I seen a shirt that said "TRE$$EL'S TATTOO & PAWN columbus, ohio TURNING A BLIND EYE SINCE 2001" priceless

Bogie

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 12:36 p.m.

Those that stay will be 9-3.

mt

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 3:39 p.m.

Generally you put the wins before losses in records.

golfer

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 11:18 a.m.

remember they are 17 and 18 year olds. they think they are better than the rest. i am surprised that more do not leave when they find out they will not play right away. what is sad is they will be better a year from now. bigger and stronger.

OldBittyBates

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 5:09 a.m.

The end has come! Without Kellen Jones and Tony Posada - MICHIGAN is finished. We have NO one left to fix the team. Let us admit defeat. The boys of fall have left the building. Call for the funeral director - All Maize and Blue hopes and dreams for the upcoming season have been torpedoed.

redceder1

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 4:49 a.m.

"Those that stay will be champions"? It appears those that stay run out of eligibility. Hoke The Joke is just like Slick Richie. Promise the world and sell snake oil.

a2roots

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 5:34 p.m.

@mt...they didn't play them because it would have been a slaughter. I have been going to games over 40 years. I cannot remember in that time frame games not alternating home and away. pure and simple look at the UM - msu record against one another over the past 100 years. for some years we did not play because msu was so inferior. get out your book and give me the won/loss. as it is I am not sure msu has ever beaten UM 3 times in a row. you cannot say that about UM. blow all the smoke you want...bottom line is UM has always been better and will be going into the future.

mt

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 3:37 p.m.

Question for A2roots. A good team should win most of their home games, and over half of the road games. UM has won roughly 2/3 of their games against State. Over 2/3 of the games have been at home. (Would not play at State back in the glory days You know, back when they won all those national championships beating high school teams.) So their winning percentage is basically the same as their percentage of home games. So if history is your rationale for winning percentage, and the Big Ten is going to make the big blue man up and play on the road, looks like a 50/50 odds in the future? That is the true 100 year history. By the way, State wore the winged helmets before UM. You copied it. You are welcome.

a2roots

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 1:46 p.m.

ok so I would presume you are a sparty fan. you have room to brag but not for long. soon you will be back to maybe winning 1 out of 5. one only needs to look back over a 100 years of football to see your little ride will come to an end.

Captain Dave

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 4:08 a.m.

Second team all-area as a senior in FLA. 3 star project probably way over head now that we have top coaching. Not mentioned by any coaches in pre-season so far. He probably saw the handwriting on the wall and decided he may see the field somewhere else before he graduates. This is probably a good sign for Michigan in the future as I think the talent level of recruits has risen so much a lot of the marginal recruits are looking for other places that they may see some playing time.

Hailmary

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 3:26 a.m.

#52, It's great you had an opportunity to play for Mich. 40 some years ago , bless you. Every fan is not full of themselves, their simply fans with their own creative version of the game, you of all people should know that after alll it's what keeps football players like yourself in jock straps. I like all the different opionions, free country, free thoughts. The game has changed in some aspects and you are correct about the need for players to play their hearts out and not mind getting bloody noses, plumbers and all working class folks do that everyday to support their families, nothing new there.

cutty240

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 3:24 a.m.

Denard Robinson was RR Recruit too.Read the Article that Pat Forde wrote on The Big Ten.They have won 2 NC since 1968.I get Tried of hearing.Those who stay will be Champions.Champions of WHAT,and A Michigan Man.Wins some games first.Your Boy Horse Head Hoke,will not get the job done.You better wake up and Get Real.You keep talking about all these Recruits MIchigan has got.You have got 3 of ESPN150 players.Northwestern has got 9 of ESPN150 players.The Cornhuskers will come in and Win The Big Ten in the first year.The Badgers are starting a QB that NC State Ran off the team.Quit reading your own press clipings..

bob

Wed, Aug 24, 2011 : 10:06 p.m.

THANK YOU GoblueinNE-PA. It really isnt that hard to view all the commits on the ESPN 150, and as you correctly stated.....NOT ONE has committed to NW. GO BLUE!

GoblueinNE_PA

Wed, Aug 24, 2011 : 6:24 p.m.

Cutty doesn't know what he's talking about. As bob rightly pointed out, the Big 10 has nine total ESPN top 150 recruits. The point Forde was making is that even NW with their ONE ESPN top 150 recruit (I repeat ONE and he's only interested in NW not a commit) is nearly as many as Michigan and OSU.

bob

Wed, Aug 24, 2011 : 2:15 a.m.

Cutty, no need to lose your cool and start belittling people, while i admit i am no Einstien, I still dont See how you can state with a straight face that NORTHWESTERN has 9 top espn 150 recruits for 2012! I can't seem to find the article you state by this Shanker dude....but I have no trouble going to ESPN and looking on their recruiting link where they list all of the TOP150 recruits.....none of which plan on attending Northwestern as a matter of fact, the whole Big Ten conference combined only has 9 of the ESPN top 150. Of the top ten recruiting classes listed by ESPN for 2012.... texas, fsu, alabama, and florida hold the top 4 spots....texas has 9 top 150, fsu has 10, bama has 7 and florida has 7.....oklahoma rounds out the top 10 with 4 of the top 150...yet you contend that Northwestern has 9! If you can't give me the name of JUST 1 of Northwesterns top 150 recruits...just ONE....then maybe you better go ahead and email that article....thanks No Einstien here!

cutty240

Wed, Aug 24, 2011 : 1:09 a.m.

The reporters name is Jared Shanker,thats who did the story on Big Ten Recruiting,on ESPN.com College Football yesterday.

cutty240

Wed, Aug 24, 2011 : 12:59 a.m.

Bob go to ESPN College football article yesterday on Big Ten Recruiting Northwestern now has 13,and 9 ESPN150 players.If you cant read i will e-mail it to you Einstein.

bob

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 10:08 p.m.

Cutty, just went through the whole list of ESPN"s top 150 recruits for 2012.....didnt a single player committed to Northwestern. Maybe you can help me out.....could you name one of them for me please.

cutty240

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 6:55 p.m.

Bob, Check ESPN college football yesterday about the Big ten Recruits.i don't care about the 12,9 of them are in the top 150.CAN YOU NOT READ.Plus today you lost another one.Like i said get out of the Little Michigan Big Blue Box.

Chad Williams

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 3:04 p.m.

I agree cutty..hese people and were michigan the champions of the now 3rd best conference in the nation and citrus and outback bowl greats. This school hasnt beat an elite level team outside the big ten in years. Yea the won the cap one bowl and the outback bowl. But 2000 was the last time they beat a conference champion. I dont believe that osu has won 7 straight and they we think we are something because we got Hoke. To me this guy has said a lot and he has to come through. The expectations and the pressure at sdsu and bsu are nothing compared to what is at michigan. He has a losing record as a coach. 7 wins means that he didnt do squat to make this team better.

Bogie

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 12:35 p.m.

Oh I forgot about the half championship of 97. Please disregard my previous statement.......Hey, wait a minute, we have Nebraska now. Doesn't that mean we have won more than 2? LOL! Goooo Bucks!

Bogie

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 12:33 p.m.

You can thank the Ohio State Buckeyes for keeping the Big Ten relevant in the last 4 decades.

bob

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 4:36 a.m.

Northwestern has 9 huh? they only have 12 total recruits and only three of them have 3 stars....please feel free to name the 9 ESPN 150 recruits that Northwestern has.

Tru2Blu76

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 2:17 a.m.

Lets not speculate on these leave-takings. No school can afford to comment in detail about a players decision to leave. If they did: then both potential players and their parents would never accept so much as a phone call from recruiters. In truth, some of these guys are making good decisions which will change the situation for the better in the long run.

GoBlueClassof1989

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 3:57 p.m.

Let's look at this - FL high schools play for of an SEC style ball...maybe he saw the system wasn't right for him, maybe he learned that he missed his family or maybe he just got cold...it's in the 90's and humid here in FL....I saw it was only mid-70's in A2 yesterday....Floridians generally think it is cold if it's under 80.

genetracy

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 1:39 a.m.

I like how all of the contributors keep saying "we". Like all of your are out on the practice field in the middle of two-a-days.

Blu-dogg97

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 1 p.m.

right on azwolve..

azwolverine

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 1:57 a.m.

Hey, I'm practicing for the season EVERYDAY! I sit on the couch, eat chips, drink pop, and watch TV EVERY SINGLE DAY in preparation for the upcoming season. When this season starts, I'll be completely prepared to spend every moment of every game watching from beginning to end while filling my belly on snack and drink. I believe that most of us fans are also partaking of this preparation. Therefore, WE are gearing up for the rigors of the season ahead of US much like our brethern on the football field.

Hailmary

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 1:22 a.m.

So, let me get this straight. A couple of young men that haven't played a down at Mich. opt for another school and some folks think, 'the Apocalyps' is in motion for Mich. This very same thing happens at every school around the country and often at a larger exodus. I believe that coach Hoke needs 3 years to put everything in place and I believe there are going to be up and down periods during that time frame. I'll be the first to say, I'd like to see us in the Rose Bowl this coming season but hey, if we're not, all of us will survive, 3 years folks, I'll say it again, 3 years. This year will be fundamentally better, but 3 years before Michigan returns to the glory years.

Joe Kidd

Wed, Aug 24, 2011 : 6:16 p.m.

Explain Hoke needs 3 years to put everything in place. Are you saying we should be prepared for unMichigan type seasons like under RR? Michigan was 7-5 last year with a team full of 1st and 2nd year players, very inexperienced and tons of turnovers. Just a year under the belt should improve the turnovers, and a better defensive coach should improve the tackling. I expect at least two more wins this season. Sounds like you are making excuses for Hoke already. 9-3 is not a a fantastic season, but the 2004 Michigan team was 9-3 and won the Big Ten championship with Iowa.

B1

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 12:56 a.m.

Apparently he wasn't a Michigan Man.

genetracy

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 4:35 a.m.

Like you would know how to put on a pair of football pants.

heartbreakM

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 12:44 a.m.

Hate seeing anyone leave the team, as it just leads to instability, even if he was a frosh and not going to play. But better now before school even began and before he took somebody else's spot. Good luck to him, and thanks for trying. Hope he can find himself a good spot.

braggslaw

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 12:44 a.m.

Wow! the offensive line is paper thin right now. Only 4 offensive lineman are still on the team from the last three recruiting classes. This is where Richrod hurt the team, not recruiting well in the trenches.

B1

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 1:12 a.m.

Didn't need slow offensive linemen when he recruited fast, athletic QBs.

bigblue

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 12:29 a.m.

he wasn't from slowohio or MICHIGAN! so the new regime didn't need him! if he's lucky he'll end up a sooner like kellen jones!

BlueGator

Mon, Aug 22, 2011 : 11:54 p.m.

Best of luck wherever you end up, Tony. Thanks for giving it a try. Oh well, at least we end up with another schollie to give.

1st Down

Mon, Aug 22, 2011 : 11:49 p.m.

Posada was supposed to be a project...big kid who needed a lot of work on technique, also said to have slow feet. Good luck elsewhere. Hopefully we can get Jordan Diamond in next years class at Tackle to go along with Kalis who may end up at guard.

a2roots

Mon, Aug 22, 2011 : 11:47 p.m.

Those that stay will be champions....

Joe Kidd

Wed, Aug 24, 2011 : 6:07 p.m.

I am not a hater, I am a Michigan man, but that may not be true anymore. 2004 was the last Big Ten Championship Michigan had, shared with Iowa. No player that started since 2005 has been a champ. Bo originated that when players left because he made it tough. But he had unlimited scholarships back then and since the talent has spread out quite a bit. OSU has done well in the last few years, but then had some down years too and had to cheat to do it. And its not a Titanic situation, I think a lot of players consider playing time more important than staying loyal with the goal that playing time may result in making the NFL and sitting won't. Worked for Ryan Mallet. He may not play much, but he got there.

nowayjose

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 7:07 p.m.

Just stating the inevitable. More player jumping ship than from the titanic. But I do hate Michigan.

a2roots

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 1:43 p.m.

here we go again...so nice to have you haters on our site. guess you can't find anything positive on your sites so you have to come to ours.

genetracy

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 4:37 a.m.

And get humiliated in the bowl games.

nowayjose

Tue, Aug 23, 2011 : 12:29 a.m.

Or 4 and 8

D21

Mon, Aug 22, 2011 : 11:41 p.m.

That is to be expected and Posada originally was a RR recruit. Tony, have a good career & education elsewhere. GO BLUE! TiM

EyeHeartA2

Mon, Aug 22, 2011 : 11:21 p.m.

What is the "normal" attrition rate for Freshmen? Why are we losing so many? What was our rate last year? These might have been interesting tidbits to include in the article.