Brady Hoke Comments on Decision to Let QB Shane Morris Return After Hit to Head

Updates from Thursday, Oct. 2

Michigan announced changes to its player-safety protocols following the controversy surrounding Shane Morris, via Matt Fortuna of ESPN.com:

You can read the full release at MGoBlue.com.

Earlier, Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon talked about the calls among students for his resignation and the firing of head coach Brady Hoke in the wake of the controversy, according to Jen Calfas, Greg Garno and Alejandro Zuniga of The Michigan Daily:

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Amid nationwide controversy of fans, alumni and students calling for his removal, University Athletic Director Dave Brandon has not considered resigning. Nor has he considered firing Michigan football coach Brady Hoke, he said.

The Athletic Director said he spent Sunday “getting further acquainted to what happened on the sidelines” without Hoke. And Brandon decided that, at least for the time being, Hoke will remain in charge of the football team.

As the person “responsible for Michigan athletics,” Brandon explained that he made the decision to release Tuesday morning’s statement, despite Hoke previously saying it would come from medical professionals. The Athletic Director said information learned throughout the day Monday led to the release being finalized close to 1 a.m.

“The appropriate person in athletics — and I judged that to be me — needed to make it very clear that a mistake was made,” Brandon said. “We own it, we recognize and we acknowledge that a mistake was made, we apologize for it — and I did — and we immediately committed that we would learn from it and make changes to ensure that it wouldn’t happen again.”

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Updates from Wednesday, Oct. 1

Brady Hoke has decided to name Devin Gardner the starting quarterback this week following the controversy surrounding his use of Shane Morris, via Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports:

Earlier, MLive.com's Nick Baumgardner reported a statement (full version here) from Michigan's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in support of athletic director Dave Brandon:

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The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee stands behind Dave Brandon and the entirety of Michigan Athletics concerning the events of the past few days.

As student-athletes, we are confident that each member of the Athletic Department acts with our best interests in mind. We applaud Dave Brandon for upholding the tradition and values of Michigan to the highest standard, encouraging us to be leaders and best in all aspects of life. As such, we fully support our Athletic Director and trust his ability to make decisions for our success and wellbeing.

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Updates from Tuesday, Sept. 30

Brady Hoke cited the program's recently released statement as his current response to the Shane Morris controversy, via Austin Ward of ESPN:

Matt Fortuna of ESPN.com provides a statement from Michigan President Mark S. Schlissel:

Hoke also discussed his relationship with athletic director Dave Brandon, who released the statement, via Bill Rabinowitz of The Columbus Dispatch:

The head coach reluctantly addressed Morris' status and health, via Rabinowitz:

The whole situation has not sat well with Michigan students. David Jesse of the Detroit Free Press snapped a photo of one Michigan student who has decided to wear Ohio State gear until AD Dave Brandon is fired:

Updates from Monday, Sept. 29

Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon released a statement on Brady Hoke's decision to let Shane Morris return to Saturday's game via Jon Solomon of CBS Sports:

The statement also noted that Morris had since been diagnosed with a concussion:

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Following the game, a comprehensive concussion evaluation was completed and Shane has been evaluated twice since the game. As of Sunday, Shane was diagnosed with a probable, mild concussion, and a high ankle sprain. That probable concussion diagnosis was not at all clear on the field on Saturday or in the examination that was conducted post-game. Unfortunately, there was inadequate communication between our physicians and medical staff and Coach Hoke was not provided the updated diagnosis before making a public statement on Monday. This is another mistake that cannot occur again.

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The full statement can be viewed at mgoblue.com.

Brady Hoke commented on his decision, via Nick Baumgardner of MLive.com and Solomon:

Hoke also spoke on the criticism he received in the aftermath, via Angelique S. Chengelis of the Detroit News:

Brendan F. Quinn of MLive.com had more on the hit on Morris:

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The hit that set off the firestorm now known as "the Shane Morris situation" is being reviewed in the Big Ten office at Brady Hoke's request.

While answering 15-minutes worth of questions on Monday surrounding Morris' status and how his injury was handled, Hoke told media members he "turned in the hit" to the league office to be reviewed. ...

Hoke, however, thinks targeting should have been called. Had that occurred, [Minnesota defensive end Theiren] Cockran would have been ejected, in addition to the 15-yard penalty, and could be suspended the following game. The play would have also been reviewed by the officials to determine if it was indeed targeting. The call itself can be overruled when it's made during the game.

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Original Text

Michigan Wolverines head football coach Brady Hoke has been under enough fire for how underwhelming his storied program has performed on the field. After a bad 30-14 loss to Minnesota on Saturday, he faced even more criticism for the handling of injured quarterback Shane Morris.

The sophomore signal-caller took a big hit in the fourth quarter that forced him to the sideline, but Hoke reinserted him into the game after just one play off. Morris was later carted off the field.

Nicole Auerbach of USA Today documented Hoke's statement on the matter from Sunday, which makes no mention of a potential head injury Morris may have sustained:

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg offered his take:

Bleacher Report's Michael Felder weighed in on the situation before Hoke's comments were released:

Morris was just 7-of-19 passing for 49 yards and an interception with shabby protection throughout the game against the Big Ten rival Golden Gophers.

Asked after the game whether he thought Morris had a concussion, Hoke provided a somewhat muddled answer that he attempted to clarify in his latest remarks.

"I don't know if he had a concussion or not, I don't know that," said Hoke, via MLive.com's Nick Baumgardner. "Shane's a pretty competitive, tough kid. And Shane wanted to be the quarterback, and so, believe me, if he didn't want to be he would've come to the sideline or stayed down."

The current climate Michigan is operating in doesn't exactly promote a prompt transition under center. Morris is attempting to establish himself as the face of the program's future in bypassing Devin Gardner on the depth chart, and thus far it's going poorly.

This is yet another dynamic that is hurting Hoke's clout as coach, and with three losses already in 2014, he may be shown the door soon enough. Based on the footage of the hit on Morris that ultimately forced him to leave Saturday's game, the fact that Hoke didn't acknowledge the possibility of Morris hurting his head won't do much to increase the coach's precarious popularity.

Next up for Michigan is a road trip to Rutgers before hosting Penn State and a tough contest away from home at rival Michigan State. Between an uncertain QB situation and this latest controversy, Hoke's seat is indeed hot.