Michael Brown-Stephens

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PhillyGopher said:
Disagree! It's obvious to me that the harsh critics on this board are all incredibly high achievers in all walks of life - athletics, academics, business, social settings, etc.
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You mean the people who get bent out of shape if you don't fawn over anyone to put on the maroon and gold?

I get it, you're referring to me. I may not be the highest of achievers, but I'll put my accomplishments up and not be ashamed. I've done/can do pretty well in the situations you described.
 


I agree we shouldn't be piling onto any of the players or attacking them but one thing is for certain: PJ Fleck was on a major mission to immediately upgrade at WR and I think we would all agree he did just that.
 

btowngopher said:
My initial gut instinct thought was I’m not sure I’d be trying to run off a decent depth piece with experience, but I respect PJ if he is he bold enough to free up a spot like that for a piece that could improve the team even more.F
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btowngopher said:
My initial gut instinct thought was I’m not sure I’d be trying to run off a decent depth piece with experience, but I respect PJ if he is he bold enough to free up a spot like that for a piece that could improve the team even more.
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Fleck is not running him off. Michael is trying to improve his chances of playing if he does in fact transfer. Fleck's job is to improve the team's talent level at every position with each recruiting class and each portal cycle.
 

Couple of things

- MBS hasn't officially left the team, he is just taking time for himself to figure things out. He isn't the first player to do it and won't be the last. Whatever he decides, wish him the best. I've heard nothing but great things about him as a teammate and person.

- Regardless of MBS, Fleck was going to hit the portal hard for receivers. The consistency just wasn't there this season. Also, remember that six receivers left the program after last spring. It was a position group that needed help and depth.
 


Multiple posters are little bit harsh to be placing so much blame on one player for the Purdue loss. While the missed catch and INT was disappointing, it was hardly the reason the game was lost.

After his “drop”, MBS had 3 catches for 52yds, with all catches going for first downs. Hardly a poor, “non-P5 WR” performance.

We should all wish MBS well with whatever he is dealing with right now and best of luck in the future.
 

I believe that starting with the Purdue interception....there was a streak of like four interceptions in eight or nine targets to MBS....going through the Penn State game. Not saying he's entirely to blame for those. But the Purdue deflection INT. Yes. The Illinois game the week after when instead of high pointing a deep ball....he waited back for the ball to drop into his hands while a safety cut right in front. Absolutely falls on MBS. The Penn State game he simply fell/got tripped up on a route that wasn't....but probably could/should have been called PI.
 

Dakota2 said:
Fleck is not running him off. Michael is trying to improve his chances of playing if he does in fact transfer. Fleck's job is to improve the team's talent level at every position with each recruiting class and each portal cycle.
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Not saying he is or isn’t.
 





Vandy said:
People are being WAAAAAY to hard on this kid.
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Way, way too hard. These kids are dedicated and give their absolute best. It is flat out wrong to attack one of them personally because, on a few plays, his best wasn't quite good enough. If MBS moves on I wish him the best in his new situation. He made a lot of good plays for the Gophers over a couple of years. And he was out there on the field because, in the estimation of the coaches, he gave us the best chance to succeed ... and because he played his heart out on every play. Some of the hits MBS took when Tanner led him right into a safety's smashing tackle were stunning. And MBS got right back up and played. I am very happy that PJ has moved aggressively to improve our WR corp, and that will undoubtedly change opportunities here for MBS and perhaps a few others. But why attack a kid who gave it his all?
 

Polski said:
I'm not pointing fingers at anyone specifically. I'm more disappointed in the staff........that MBS seemed like one of "PJ's guys"........the guys that play no matter what, no matter the score or opponent, no matter what young talent is pushing the depth chart behind them.

Every coach has players that he loves. It's no different here. I wish him the best wherever he ends up.
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Uh oh, floating the concept that PJ has “guys”will get you in trouble on here.
 

PhillyGopher said:
Disagree! It's obvious to me that the harsh critics on this board are all incredibly high achievers in all walks of life - athletics, academics, business, social settings, etc.
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Cub Scout here, can confirm!
 




Gophergrandpa said:
Way, way too hard. These kids are dedicated and give their absolute best. It is flat out wrong to attack one of them personally because, on a few plays, his best wasn't quite good enough. If MBS moves on I wish him the best in his new situation. He made a lot of good plays for the Gophers over a couple of years. And he was out there on the field because, in the estimation of the coaches, he gave us the best chance to succeed ... and because he played his heart out on every play. Some of the hits MBS took when Tanner led him right into a safety's smashing tackle were stunning. And MBS got right back up and played. I am very happy that PJ has moved aggressively to improve our WR corp, and that will undoubtedly change opportunities here for MBS and perhaps a few others. But why attack a kid who gave it his all?
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Agreed. Also keep it mind that some of the harshest critics might not be Gopher Fans in the first place. Trolls come right along with any free board.
 


Johnny C approves MBS can officially do as he pleases. Good luck kid. But for those that are down on him i can almost also guarantee he prob becomes a NFL receiver.
 

ottertail said:
Johnny C approves MBS can officially do as he pleases. Good luck kid. But for those that are down on him i can almost also guarantee he prob becomes a NFL receiver.
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MBS in the NFL? Is that what you are saying?
 

Vandy said:
People are being WAAAAAY to hard on this kid.
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Agreed, 1bad play does not a season or career make. I bet MBS teammates and coaches would gladly welcome him back if he chose to come back. I always appreciated his hustle and effort on the field. Most Fans are not down on him, except a small subset here on Gopherhole. Maybe he wants a chance to go play with his kid brother. Whatever MBS chooses i wish him well. He has never done one thing on field except play hard for the Gophers. Good luck to him in any event.
 


Gopherchase said:
Uh oh, floating the concept that PJ has “guys”will get you in trouble on here.
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It’s silly considering he recruited all of them. Any time you assume a back up is better than someone playing you want to tag the guy playing as a “PJ guy” as if he would purposely not play the guys that give him the best shot to win. The most physically gifted don’t always play if they don’t know what the hell they are doing.
 


gopherdudepart2 said:
Agreed, 1bad play does not a season or career make. I bet MBS teammates and coaches would gladly welcome him back if he chose to come back. I always appreciated his hustle and effort on the field. Most Fans are not down on him, except a small subset here on Gopherhole. Maybe he wants a chance to go play with his kid brother. Whatever MBS chooses i wish him well. He has never done one thing on field except play hard for the Gophers. Good luck to him in any event.
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One bad play!? I stopped reading after this.
 


Pompous Elitist said:
He takes a lot of flack, maybe treated more harshly here than even Morgan, or MSM, Mitch, or Schleuter (and many others) when they’ve had highly visible failures. The reality is he seemed to have suspect hands, a body catcher, and I can’t recall many athletic plays on 50/50 balls that made you go “wow”. He took some huge hits and seemed pretty tough. He contributed but overall wasn’t a visible impact difference maker and have to think a P5 contender can probably find a better replacement. Most of us eventually hit our ceilings whether sports, career, and so on and he was a starter at the highest level of college. Pretty good accomplishment. Best of luck to him, maybe he thrives in a different system.
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As a slot receiver, ball control is super critical, both catching and securing the ball. He was also prone to fumbling when he did catch it. I believe he had fumbles in 2 out of the 3 non conference games, but the Gophers were so much better than those teams that it was largely overshadowed by the margins of victory.

As a deep threat, I never understood using him in that capacity. Throwing jump balls to a 5' 11" receiver doesn't make a lot of sense. He is quick, but not a pure speed burner, so he is not going to blow by DB's with just sheer velocity.

A slot receiver with suspect hands is a DB playing offense. :)

No questioning his competitiveness and being a solid teammate. Wish him the best.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
virtually every player on a D1 FB roster - especially at a P5 conference - was a star in HS. Looked up MBS' numbers, and looks like he played in a run-first offense in HS, too.

The Gophers' coaching staff thought he was worthy of a scholarship offer, and he saw extensive playing time for two seasons.

did things turn out the way he wanted? probably not.

but you could say the same about plenty of players on every D1 roster.

I'm sure he wanted to catch every pass thrown to him, and to help the Gophers win.

I wish him the best and hope things work out for him.

and I wonder how some people on this board would function if placed in a high-pressure atmosphere and told to perform in front of a stadium full of fans. I suspect that some of the critics would be among the first people to sh*t their pants.
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I get what you are trying to say, but it is not like he signed up to run cross-country and they switched him to football. He knew exactly what he was getting into. Quite honestly, for many of us that performed either in sports, theater, music or other high-pressure environments, we rather enjoyed that aspect of the activity. I would argue being the center of attention is part of the appeal. Some people find it horrifying. For others it is like crack.

What he may not have been prepared for is the criticism, which goes up about 1000 notches in big-time college athletics and is amplified even louder with 24/7 sports coverage. Some guys can handle it better than others. At a helmet school, he would have been crucified even worse if not outirght booed on the field. Not saying this is in anyway right or fair. It just is what it is.
 
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GopherTheJugular said:
You mean the people who get bent out of shape if you don't fawn over anyone to put on the maroon and gold?

I get it, you're referring to me. I may not be the highest of achievers, but I'll put my accomplishments up and not be ashamed. I've done/can do pretty well in the situations you described.
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No, you're just an A-number 1 asshat.
 

He'll probably and unfortunately be most remembered for the Purdue drop in the end zone but he made a number of crucial catches in drives leading to TDs in his career and definitely contributed to our more of our successes than failures since he's been on campus. People rarely acknowledge contributions in run blocking or stretching out the defense running deep routes, creating openings for players to catch the balls underneath. Thanks for choosing to be a Gopher MBS.
 


Gophers_4life said:
Likely wanted to play more and perhaps go to a system where he could get more targets. Was passed on the depth chart late in the season.

Wish him the best!
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He was a productive utility WR especially early on in the season when Daniel Jackson was mending and with CrAb being out for the season.

This is the new normal with competition.

Expect to lose people including higher ranked players out of HS.

I wish him the best of luck in either way he decides to do.

PJ Fleck has to put the best players on the playing field. It is inevitable that rising players like Brockington will jump up the depth chart.

I am excited for the prospects of a better WR corpse. I mean to say corps.
 

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