After much speculation of late, the Michigan playing career of Derrick Green has come to an end.
A source with knowledge of the situation has confirmed to CFT that Green received a release from his UM scholarship earlier this week and will transfer out of the Wolverines football program. Rumors have been swirling for weeks that Green is a potential, or even likely transfer, although there has been no official confirmation from either side.
“The student-athlete is the one that should be confirming his decision... as we prefer they communicate their desire to transfer/graduate and play another season elsewhere. We do not confirm those decisions as an institution,” a UM spokesperson said in response to an email seeking confirmation of Green’s decision to transfer.
The running back is expected to stay in school until he graduates in the spring. At that point, he’d be a grad transfer eligible to play immediately in 2016 if he ends up at another FBS program. That would be his final season of eligibility, although the back does have a redshirt he could use if it became necessary.
Green came to the Wolverines as one of the highest-rated recruits in the Class of 2013. In fact, according to Rivals.com, he was the No. 8 player at any position in the country, ahead of the likes of Ole Miss’ Laremy Tunsil (No. 14), Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg (No. 24) and 2015 Heisman winner Derrick Henry (No. 36), all of whom made themselves eligible for the April NFL draft. That on-paper talent, though, never really translated into the anticipated on-field production.
In three seasons in Ann Arbor, Green totaled 898 yards on 212 carries (4.2 ypc) and seven touchdowns. His best season came in 2014, when as a sophomore he ran for 471 yards and averaged 5.7 ypc before injuries derailed the last half of the year.
Instead of building off that momentum, however, Green ran for just 157 yards the first nine games of the 2015 season before failing to see the field the last four games. As if to put an exclamation on the disappointment, Green did not travel with his teammates to Orlando for the Jan. 1 Citrus Bowl because of what head coach Jim Harbaugh described as “an internal matter.”
With the God-given talent Green possesses, however, he should have little trouble finding a Power Five landing spot for his senior season.