Jenrette gone, at least for now
MSU just announced a pair of roster developments, and they include the fact that projected starting safety Roderick Jenrette "has been asked to take an indefinite leave of absence from the team to address a personal matter," according to an e-mail from associate AD John Lewandowski.
Also, reserve sophomore safety Enrique Shaw has "voluntarily left the football team," according to the same e-mail.
Not sure if Shaw ever would have played much here, but that does take away some depth from an already-thin position.
But the Jenrette thing is potentially big. He was expected to start at free safety and be a big-hitting mainstay in that back end. He's talented. He's been in a yellow jersey for most of camp and has been said to have a minor shoulder injury. The yellow jerseys, though, can also be doled out as punishment for something else. Hopefully we'll get more info soon.
Joe...do you think Tom Izzo would be a good FS?
Posted by: Hondo | August 14, 2008 at 04:46 PM
Ah, poo. That doesn't sound good at all. Hope everything's okay with the kid and that he gets his business in order soon. He sure will be needed out there this season; the guy's supposed to be a bruiser. Perhaps Burrell or Trawick will have extra work to do in the next few weeks.
Posted by: Some guy who went to MSU | August 14, 2008 at 04:52 PM
Move a corner (or two) to safety, STAT. My choices are KDC and Ware.
Posted by: Jeff | August 14, 2008 at 04:58 PM
jenrette thing is very bad... add to that burrell hasn't been heard from in weeks (cuz of his off the field problem) and this adds up to a serious depth problem.
i don't think KDC should be moved at all... his strength at cb is needed. If rucker is as good as advertised, i'd say move weaver.
Posted by: bluto | August 14, 2008 at 05:10 PM
jenrette thing is very bad... add to that burrell hasn't been heard from in weeks (cuz of his off the field problem) and this adds up to a serious depth problem.
i don't think KDC should be moved at all... his strength at cb is needed. If rucker is as good as advertised, i'd say move weaver.
Posted by: bluto | August 14, 2008 at 05:15 PM
Why do the police in East Lansing screw with our players? ... leave them alone we need all the help we can get!!!
Posted by: Spartan in DC | August 14, 2008 at 05:38 PM
first major adversity for 2008, lets see how it plays out.
Posted by: Spartan58 | August 14, 2008 at 05:39 PM
Jenrette's departure is BIG. Dantonio alluded vaguely some time ago to a personal situation on the team that might need to be addressed, although he emphasized tthat no one would be academically ineligible this fall. Perhaps this situation with Jenrette was what he was talking about...maybe Jenrette's grades were borderline?
Posted by: Spartyhomer | August 14, 2008 at 06:30 PM
Did they actually say that Jenrette was asked to leave? Grinz's blog worded it as he "has asked to take an indefinite leave of absence to address a personal matter". Makes a difference, as one implies that he did something wrong, while the other implies that there is something going on in his life outside of football.
Posted by: NYCspartan | August 14, 2008 at 06:34 PM
It looks like there is potential for Bryden Trawick to get some serious playing time - he has the physical measurables but I wonder if he grasps the defensive schemes yet.
Posted by: MSUinSC | August 14, 2008 at 06:37 PM
The way I reported it was a direct quote from MSU. Jenrette "HAS BEEN ASKED" .... He didn't ask to leave. This is a punitive situation, for what, exactly, isn't clear.
Posted by: Joe Rexrode | August 14, 2008 at 06:40 PM
Thanks for clearing it up. Just wanted to make sure that it was not a typo because there were two slightly different reports. At least yours was in quotes though.
Hope it's nothing major
Posted by: NYCspartan | August 14, 2008 at 06:46 PM
This is not good news. The only good thing is that @ least they have a few weeks to figure out who will replace him. MSUinSC: I agree that Trawick might be the guy. I've heard good things about him in camp. Burrell probably won't work as he has his own off-field issues to deal with. Let me throw another name into the mix as a possibility: Darrell Ware. Remember him? The transfer from South Carolina? He came over as a corner, but from what I hear he's bulked up quite a bit (especially his arms). He's also risen on the depth-chart after being buried on it last season. In the Spring game, he's the guy who stripped Hoyer in what would have been a fumble in a real game (they ruled it an incomplete pass because they didn't want Ware to run over Hoyer to get to the ball). Hopefully Dantonio & Barnett can figure something out.
On the upside, Ringer has been ranked as the #4 runningback in the country by Rivals.com. That's pretty good, considering Rivals.com has not paid any attention whatsoever to MSU in ages (and with good reason). Here is the link.
DSR
http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=837610
Posted by: David | August 14, 2008 at 06:55 PM
Isn't his name Jeremy Ware?
Posted by: NYCspartan | August 14, 2008 at 07:02 PM
ware got good day one reviews. He could be the guy...but... bet the ultimate combo becomes trawick/KDC. This is a huge issue. If one of the corners goes down, and those are only weaver and CLR, we could have a challenging time back there at the outset, unless the replacement steps up big time.
Posted by: bfsparty | August 14, 2008 at 10:18 PM
Well...this is some bad news. Jeremy Ware for starting safety, anyone?
Is there any way Jenrette might be back on the team at some point? I wish we had more info...
Posted by: DoctorWorm | August 14, 2008 at 10:38 PM
my guess is you have seen the last of Jenrette in a spartan uni. its not like this stuff doesnt happen to every team in the country, given MSU's past in regards to players in trouble and injury, this isnt the worst thing in the world. teams find gems on the roster all the time, who knows could be a blessing in disguise.
Posted by: Rexrode (evil twin) | August 15, 2008 at 08:56 AM
fck
Posted by: zing | August 15, 2008 at 12:15 PM
This might not be too bad. Plenty of time for someone else to step up.
Posted by: DoctorWorm | August 15, 2008 at 01:03 PM
There is time to get the bases covered and I'm sure they will. We may get burned a time or two in the process though.
This tells me that they need to ramp up our pass rush to take some pressure off the DB's, thankfully we have some depth there now.
GO GREEN!
Posted by: Spartan58 | August 15, 2008 at 04:53 PM
couldn't agree more evil rexrode ... every team in the country has similar probs every year. the good teams find ways to win anyways. for the first time since saban, i actually have faith in the coaching staff ... go state!
Posted by: Izzo '08 | August 15, 2008 at 11:25 PM
If Jenrette were to become injured during the season we would have to go one without him. All SPARTANS train for battle to fill in when the man in front falls, (or is asked to leave to get his act together.) Let us not dwell on this as for the man taking his place has trained hard in the SPARTAN way the moment of battle the moment he has trained for all his life. Do not fret senators and spartan fans the rubes you (we) are.
Posted by: bingo | August 16, 2008 at 04:33 AM
My guess is his grades were very bad. If so, MD is doing the right thing. We must keep the graduation rate high, and every player must understand that they are student athletes. Everyone knows MD to be a very fair person.
Posted by: sdp00 | August 16, 2008 at 11:27 AM
trawick will be awesome at safety,i've watched this kids development MSU is in for a great surprise
Posted by: Andre | August 19, 2008 at 12:38 PM