Two Players to Leave Michigan Football Program

We sort of knew there would be more departures.

Junior linebacker Marell Evans and defensive tackle Vince Helmuth have apparently left the program on good terms.

"Good, young men, sometimes that happens, guys think that 'Maybe I'm not getting a lot of reps, I'm not up on the depth chart,'" Rodriguez said after practice. "I try to remind the guys that the depth chart is not going to be solid until the first week."

Evans has left on a good note, calling Rodriguez a "stand-up" guy.

"Me and Coach Rod are on good terms," linebacker Marell Evans told the Free Press. "It was more than playing time or academics or anything like that. It was a lot of things. Coach Rod is a great coach and I wish him plenty of success. I wanted to finish my career a different way.

"He's a great man and I respect the man," Evans said. "He wanted me to think about this decision and said I'm a big part of the program. But I respectfully wanted to leave the program."

The departures will put pressure on the Wolverine depth chart at both positions, particularly defensive tackle, where the Wolverines are now in strong need of a DT recruit in next year's class. The departure of Evans impacted the two deep, but with the emergence of redshirt freshman Kenny Demens and freshman Brandon Hawthorne, Michigan should be okay.