calguru;842617884 said:

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I am not trying to say anything about Barton. At the same time, we may not have any clue what's going on, but can't you agree that year after year having our seniors decide to go play elsewhere rather than stay here, provides some insight into the state of our program (especially considering we have a solid prospect of another winning season next year)?

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I can surmise a few obvious reasons this has happened so far: 1. The senior transfers weren't recruited by Sonny, so don't feel as tightly bound to the coaches 2. Cal is an offensive juggernaut at the expense of having a weaker/underappreciated defense 3. Social proof.

ThesePretzels;842617899 said:

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I can surmise a few obvious reasons this has happened so far: 1. The senior transfers weren't recruited by Sonny, so don't feel as tightly bound to the coaches 2. Cal is an offensive juggernaut at the expense of having a weaker/underappreciated defense 3. Social proof.

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Social proof?

How many Scholly LBs do we have now?

MoragaBear;842617860 said:

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How about everyone showing a little class and wishing Mike well instead of assigning your own personal biases as to the reason why he's making the grad transfer? Give it a rest, people.

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Thanks for this.

upsetof86;842617904 said:

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How many Scholly LBs do we have now?

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ThesePretzels;842617899 said:

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I can surmise a few obvious reasons this has happened so far: 1. The senior transfers weren't recruited by Sonny, so don't feel as tightly bound to the coaches 2. Cal is an offensive juggernaut at the expense of having a weaker/underappreciated defense 3. Social proof.

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As we have seen with Scarlett, Grad Admissions is far from a sure thing. Decisions are made by each Department (not University-wide) and each Department makes decisions not just for the benefit of the best qualified students but for its own reputation. Whether the applicant is a player on any team does not enter into the equation. In fact it might be a disadvantage for the applicant. Therefore, Barton may not have a choice in whether he can attend Grad school at Cal.

Go!Bears;842617843 said:

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What do you want him to do? Spin his wheels for a year so we can be entertained by his talents. He doesn't owe us that. The problem is that Cal doesn't offer half-assed one year Master's. That is something to be proud of. I just hope he doesn't end up at Furd.

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It doesn't have to be "half-assed"--a one year program in sports marketing, management or even better sports coaching would be a useful thing for many who want to go into that very real and potentially lucrative profession. Plus we could attract grad players and become a "birthplace" of young coaches--the best of whom we could hire.

Best of luck to Michael.

He was a huge pickup for us out of De La when we got him back in '12. Classy guy, hard working and a great talent.

My biggest concern with Sonny and co is our defense. Schematically we are running a vanilla D and we don't have any elite coaches on that side other than our Cornerback coach (NFL pedigree). This is our 3rd loss on the defensive side due to transfer (Avery, Scarlett and now Barton). Our 2016 recruiting class is not looking good on the defensive side of the ball..... and the majority of 4 star guys that have yet to make a decision on Cal are on the offensive side of the ball. I miss Pendergast, his D excited recruits and attracted top talent.

On a completely different note, a reliable source mentioned there is a good chance Lawler is leaving early .... that'd be a tough loss.

MoragaBear;842617919 said:

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From Dykes on Michael Barton:

"We support Michael and are proud of the hard work and dedication he has put in at Cal both on the field and in the classroom in order to be on track to graduate from Cal next May. We wish him the best of luck and look forward to watching him continue his academic and athletic career."

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I wasn't concerned about LB depth for next year until I saw this. Now I am significantly concerned. You can't say it's not a big deal for Cal to lose 5th year Semiors. That kind of leadership on the field is important. This is a bad sign - to lose 3 fifth year seniors in two years. And I'm a sunshine pumper! Something is amiss. Period.

good luck michael barton. thank you for your years of effort, support, and fight. go bears!

Some posters have little to no idea how difficult it is for ANY JUST GRADUATED CAL STUDENT to gain entry into ANY CAL GRADUATE PROGRAM. The same holds true for Ph.D.s from Cal--they almost NEVER, and only in very exceptional cases, get hired by the Cal, the institution that trained them. Departments value new and different perspectives. They understand that students need to broaden perspectives to become excellent in their advanced fields. Likewise: programs need students from elsewhere to bring fresh insights and methods. Bravo to Cal football students who want to continue to grad school: the fact that it largely can't be at Cal, and continue with football here, just shows the success of the program academically: football players ARE like other Cal students--we're a number ONE institution academically, not a football factory. Cal Departments don't have inside strings that can be pulled for football, or for other current Cal students.

THIS ISN'T THE FURD !!!!! Way to go, Sonny, nice job Michael and thanks for your contribution to Cal !!!

MoragaBear;842617860 said:

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How about everyone showing a little class and wishing Mike well instead of assigning your own personal biases as to the reason why he's making the grad transfer? Give it a rest, people.

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Seems a lot of our Cal "fans" missed 'class'.
Congrats to Barton for graduating from UC Berkeley, which he say will always be his Home.
Hope he does well getting his Masters at a non-Pac12 university.

Bearacious;842617945 said:

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Some posters have little to no idea how difficult it is for ANY JUST GRADUATED CAL STUDENT to gain entry into ANY CAL GRADUATE PROGRAM. The same holds true for Ph.D.s from Cal--they almost NEVER, and only in very exceptional cases, get hired by the Cal, the institution that trained them. Departments value new and different perspectives. They understand that students need to broaden perspectives to become excellent in their advanced fields. Likewise: programs need students from elsewhere to bring fresh insights and methods. Bravo to Cal football students who want to continue to grad school: the fact that it largely can't be at Cal, and continue with football here, just shows the success of the program academically: football players ARE like other Cal students--we're a number ONE institution academically, not a football factory. Cal Departments don't have inside strings that can be pulled for football, or for other current Cal students.

THIS ISN'T THE FURD !!!!! Way to go, Sonny, nice job Michael and thanks for your contribution to Cal !!!

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The important item is that the three mentioned did GRADUATE and Avery and Scarlett went to respectable academic schools for their next degrees. We've also gotten players who were originally committed to places like Duke and Vandy, and nice to have Looney on our roster.

Contrast that with guys who leave other programs, who get out before they flunk out, transferring to non-rigorous 'schools' to play football, not get graduate degrees.

Good luck, Michael ... at ND, or Duke, or Vandy, or Cornell, Harvard, Yale ..... you'd hate it at UT

MoragaBear;842617919 said:

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From Dykes on Michael Barton:

"We support Michael and are proud of the hard work and dedication he has put in at Cal both on the field and in the classroom in order to be on track to graduate from Cal next May. We wish him the best of luck and look forward to watching him continue his academic and athletic career."

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First I want to congratulate Barton on his years here and using his opportunities at one of the the top universities in the country with a degree. Plus he's helping out APR! Too many players are just at colleges to play football and don't take advantage of the free education to help them the rest of their lives.

That said, the statement by Dykes looks like it was written by the PR department.

Or speaks volumes about fit with 'new order'.

Congrats Mike!

If Mike wanted to, could he play at Cal next year and only take Ballroom Dancing, Matt Barkley style?

We'll be fine...good luck to those who graduate and transfer.

Our number one mission is to educate and graduate our students. If we help them do so well that they can go to graduate school in their chosen field, while getting that education paid for by playing another year of football some place else, that is mega-success.

Question for Eyore and Calguru? What graduate program would you like Mr. Barton to take so he can play football for Cal?

Eyore, you have been on a serious negative role for the past few weeks. I suggest you take a bit more Brandy in your morning coffee and chill out. enjoy the holidays and come back after the first of the year when you feel better

Do we need ballroom dancing classes?

Bear Nation;842617934 said:

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Best of luck to Michael.

He was a huge pickup for us out of De La when we got him back in '12. Classy guy, hard working and a great talent.

My biggest concern with Sonny and co is our defense. Schematically we are running a vanilla D and we don't have any elite coaches on that side other than our Cornerback coach (NFL pedigree). This is our 3rd loss on the defensive side due to transfer (Avery, Scarlett and now Barton). Our 2016 recruiting class is not looking good on the defensive side of the ball..... and the majority of 4 star guys that have yet to make a decision on Cal are on the offensive side of the ball. I miss Pendergast, his D excited recruits and attracted top talent.

On a completely different note, a reliable source mentioned there is a good chance Lawler is leaving early .... that'd be a tough loss.

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Good luck to Michael. Will miss him. Btw, I don't remember Pendy doing much recruiting at all. I do like how aggressive he was, and both Cal and $C defenses did well under him.

If this is true we continue to hamstring our football program. Sonny will hesitate to redshirt any player that can contribute for fear that they will just leave during their 5th year. So now, instead of getting a player for their best year we exchange that for a year of play when the player isn't quite ready. Do that enough and our razor thin margin for error disappears and we are left with no margin for error. I like calumus' idea:

It doesn't have to be "half-assed"--a one year program in sports marketing, management or even better sports coaching would be a useful thing for many who want to go into that very real and potentially lucrative profession. Plus we could attract grad players and become a "birthplace" of young coaches--the best of whom we could hire.

This would be Cal 'playing the D1 football game', working with the academic side to benefit the player and the program. Which means it has about as much chance of happening as us going to the Rose Bowl.

Bearacious;842617945 said:

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Some posters have little to no idea how difficult it is for ANY JUST GRADUATED CAL STUDENT to gain entry into ANY CAL GRADUATE PROGRAM. The same holds true for Ph.D.s from Cal--they almost NEVER, and only in very exceptional cases, get hired by the Cal, the institution that trained them. Departments value new and different perspectives. They understand that students need to broaden perspectives to become excellent in their advanced fields. Likewise: programs need students from elsewhere to bring fresh insights and methods. Bravo to Cal football students who want to continue to grad school: the fact that it largely can't be at Cal, and continue with football here, just shows the success of the program academically: football players ARE like other Cal students--we're a number ONE institution academically, not a football factory. Cal Departments don't have inside strings that can be pulled for football, or for other current Cal students.

THIS ISN'T THE FURD !!!!! Way to go, Sonny, nice job Michael and thanks for your contribution to Cal !!!

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TheSouseFamily;842617826 said:

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Are we gonna run a 4-1-6 next year?

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This may be part of the reason, as it looks like Cal is going to a 4-2-5. Welcome to the spread Pac. I guess we play linebackers only in the Big Game.

FWIW, Sebastain leaving was education driven, and we have no basis to conclude that its not the same for Barton. Use football to get into a better school and a scholarship.

"I would like to thank all my coaches, the staff, the trainers, the fans, the alumni, but mostly my teammates and brothers who I've been with through an amazing college experience," Barton wrote. "Cal will always be my home and I'm thankful that I will receive my degree from a great institution!" Barton's message.

That's not really the statement of a bitter resentful player leaving the program because he hates the coaches. But now back to the reality deprived world of BI.

Best of luck to Barton, hope he heals strong from his injury, and goes on to great things on and off the field.

And definitely need to recruit some LBs.

He's graduating from Cal in the Spring. We should celebrate that with Mike.

Polodad;842618018 said:

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He's graduating from Cal in the Spring. We should celebrate that with Mike.

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Totally agree: congratulations to Mike !!!!!!!! A Cal student who seeks graduate study is always something to celebrate, and the credit he brings to the football program as part of the larger Cal student body is a great contribution. Nice Work Mike !!

I have a family member graduating from Cal soon. Should I start a thread about that? Oh wait, this is about football

Yes, this from Dykes - the guy who just got done telling us those stories we were reading about his interest in other coaching jobs weren't true. A true fountain of credibility...

Anyone else notice a huge surge in grad transfers the past few years (most noticeably since Russell Wilson)? The grad transfer rule is being abused and the NCAA should do something about it. Who honestly believes Vernon Adams or other transfers are doing graduate level coursework? It's at a point where it's just an excuse to extend the football career for those who won't make it to the NFL.

bonsallbear;842617990 said:

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Question for Eyore and Calguru? What graduate program would you like Mr. Barton to take so he can play football for Cal?

Eyore, you have been on a serious negative role for the past few weeks. I suggest you take a bit more Brandy in your morning coffee and chill out. enjoy the holidays and come back after the first of the year when you feel better

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My comments are not aimed specifically at Barton. I'm simply commenting on the pattern that has appeared. You can argue that I don't know what is actually going on behind the scenes and you would be right. But unless someone makes me privy to that info, all I can do is to take the information I have, which is showing a pattern of grad transfers out of the program at a rate that is atypical at most other schools. I wish Barton good luck.

I don't know how similar this is to Scarlett and Sebastian. Barton was only our fifth leading tackler at LB this season. I haven't tracked defensive personnel much this season or stayed up on the injury situations, but early season depth charts had him at the same spot as both Jefferson and Downs, both of whom outproduced him. Is it even a guarantee that he'd start next season, or could he have just seen the writing on the wall?

bonsallbear;842617990 said:

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Question for Eyore and Calguru? What graduate program would you like Mr. Barton to take so he can play football for Cal?

Eyore, you have been on a serious negative role for the past few weeks. I suggest you take a bit more Brandy in your morning coffee and chill out. enjoy the holidays and come back after the first of the year when you feel better

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You do realize that these players are not required to leave simply because they've graduated, right? There are options like adding a second major or simply taking additional classes that can keep a graduated player here. Now, if Barton would rather use his final year of eligibility to pursue a masters somewhere else instead of taking more undergraduate classes at Cal, i respect that. But players have a choice. They don't have to leave. It's usually football considerations that guide these choices but if Barton or Scarlett or Sebastian are outliers that genuinely have educational motives, good for them. I'd highly question though whether these are purely educational decisions.

TheSouseFamily;842618045 said:

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You do realize that these players are not required to leave simply because they've graduated, right? There are options like adding a second major or simply taking additional classes that can keep a graduated player here. Now, if Barton would rather use his final year of eligibility to pursue a masters somewhere else instead of taking more undergraduate classes at Cal, i respect that. But players have a choice. They don't have to leave. It's usually football considerations that guide these choices but if Barton or Scarlett or Sebastian are outliers that genuinely have educational motives, good for them. I'd highly question though whether these are purely educational decisions.

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This is exactly why I asked if Cal would allow him to take one B.S. class so he can focus on football, which is what players do at USC. Hopefully, someone has an answer.

I would take some easy classes, kick my feet up, and enjoy my final time in college.