Under Rich Rodriguez, Michigan Reaches All-Time Low with Recent Team Defections

After the hiring of former West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez, the past few years have been shaky for the Michigan program.

Rodriguez has redefined the meaning of a "violation of team rules."

When asked about the reasoning for Justin Feagin recently being dismissed from the Michigan football team, Rodriguez responded by saying that he simply had violated a team rule.

Unfortunately for Rodriguez and the program, the true violations have been made public.

Former quarterback/slot receiver Feagin was dismissed from the school for selling cocaine.

Other student sources told police that "it was common knowledge that Feagin sold marijuana." Feagin had also been arrested twice in high school on charges of battery and trespassing.

Many fans of college football have questioned the recent defections from the Michigan program. From Justin Boren to Kurt Wermers, and Sam McGuffie to Ryan Mallett, defections have come almost regularly under Rodriguez.

Some have left Ann Arbor quietly, but a few others had some nasty words for the coaching staff before packing their bags. A common explanation of exiting players has been the loss of family values in the program.

Before leaving, Wermers had some words on the new coaching staff.

From NWI.com: "Coach [Lloyd] Carr's staff was a whole different ballgame. It was like a family. But when Rodriguez came in it was a whole different feeling. It was more of a business."

Other players shared the same feelings as Wermers. Boren also left the program because of the nonexistent family values.

Like any good program, depth chart issues have also added to the defection totals under Rodriguez. It also hasn't helped that one of Rodriguez's first moves as head coach was installing the spread offense, which pushed former standout Mallett out the door, among a few others.

Transfers and dismissals aside, the type of players Rodriguez has been bringing into the school has also been questioned. Since his days at West Virginia, it was always a common thought that Rodriguez zoned in on simply the skill of his recruits rather than their academics or personal life.

The recent news of Feagin only adds to this theory.

Getting a team back to the elite level of college football is always a daunting task, but if Rodriguez can't get it done with a good-character team on and off the field, his reputation will be severely damaged.