Umari Hatcher no longer in the portal

[Archbold44]

The upside is that he knows the offense and we know his pros/cons... vs... a guy with roughly the same talent/experience that could come in via the portal for the same $$$.

 

[powdersmack]

 

[Dmcnabbrules]

Wasnt someone just complaining there would be no senior leaders this season. Seems like a good guy to bring back to help fill that void.

 

[bnoro]

Wasnt someone just complaining there would be no senior leaders this season. Seems like a good guy to bring back to help fill that void.

Is he a leader? Or just a standard upper classman?

 

[Dmcnabbrules]

Is he a leader? Or just a standard upper classman?

Well I would venture a guess that the staff thinks he can be. He isn’t an elite player so there must be some reason they retained him.

 

[ImperialOrange]

Do we know he's coming back to play or is he just moving on from football? Kid had a lot of injuries over the years and presume has his degree

 

[CbusCuse]

Would love to have retained E. Ross or Cook but guess that was not in the cards. This roster doesn't really have much in regards to proven WR playmakers that have done it at the P4 level. in 2024 before Hatcher slid back in the pecking order, over the first 5 games he averaged 50 yds per game and had 3 TD's, and there were a fair amount of weapons on that squad.

Now he did have at least one play that was a questionable not fighting for it, or just waiting for the ball to come to him play. Maybe there was a second? And he had a drop but i don't think i remember him having several in 2024. He had a couple important high visibility ones earlier in his career but I do think he was improving in those areas a bit but everyone remember the previous ones so any mistake is amplified for him. He is a good blocker, has good size and speed, we don't have a lot of deep speed on this roster. He can make plays. While he likely won't be perfect I think he is a solid addition. Glad he is coming back.

 

[Cuseloyal]

 

[Jake]

Can we infer from this if the coaches wanted him back?

At their price….

 

[orangepassion]

I wonder what's going on w/ Ross and Hornsby

 

[anomander]

Wasnt someone just complaining there would be no senior leaders this season. Seems like a good guy to bring back to help fill that void.

When your strength at WR is your blocking that’s never a good thing. If we’re counting on Hatcher for production it’s going to be a long year .

 

[Dmcnabbrules]

When your strength at WR is your blocking that’s never a good thing. If we’re counting on Hatcher for production it’s going to be a long year .

Haha. Truth. I don’t expect Hatcher to play a lot but hope he can be a leader and help get the young guys up to speed quickly.

 

[orangepassion]

I hope Umari makes some of you eat your words. He's not perfect, but he has made a lot of plays for us

 

[CNYGuy]

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing guys… he was our fourth leading wide receiver in 2024 and not healthy last year.

it wasn’t that long ago that Nixon’s offense had the pieces and we were spreading it all over the field. Nothing wrong with a guy who’s got 50+ catches in his career sticking around and being a depth option again.

 

[Chip]

Is he a leader? Or just a standard upper classman?

At this point I think I’ll settle for either.

 

[CapitalO]

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing guys… he was our fourth leading wide receiver in 2024 and not healthy last year.

it wasn’t that long ago that Nixon’s offense had the pieces and we were spreading it all over the field. Nothing wrong with a guy who’s got 50+ catches in his career sticking around.

With him pulling out of the portal that sends a signal to me that he has recovered well from his ACL. injury, if he did not heal properly there would be no way Fran would take him back. I know in the past Umari has had some bonehead moments on the field but if he stays healthy and does what the coaches ask of him that could upgrade our WR. group.

 

[bnoro]

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing guys… he was our fourth leading wide receiver in 2024 and not healthy last year.

it wasn’t that long ago that Nixon’s offense had the pieces and we were spreading it all over the field. Nothing wrong with a guy who’s got 50+ catches in his career sticking around and being a depth option again.

I'm fine with him as a 4th option, we just can't go into the season with him as the 2nd/3rd option.

His passivity is the biggest issue. He can't be on the field in the big moments because he doesn't go to the ball aggressively, which means a good DB is getting a hand on the ball or breaking up his arms.

As you said, good for depth.

 

[Rufus_13th]

Good Luck Umari. I met your family at the first Quad Walk and they couldn't have been more gracious. Wish we got to see more of you on the field.

Oh hell yeah!

 

[GHLF]

When your strength at WR is your blocking that’s never a good thing. If we’re counting on Hatcher for production it’s going to be a long year .

No block, no rock. even if he is number 5 or worse you need to have someone who is going to teach younger receivers how to block or go home. Builds Team Unity while holding each other accountable. Also the knowledge you better hold your ground real strong and take that ball. Also he made some serious dynamic catches. I for one am very glad that he is back and we are definitely targeting a lot of possession receivers I see with size. Put that Ohio kid in the slot and let's see. Time will tell. I also believe we are desperately going to attempt to develop the run game from Jump Street. I know there will be yappers who will say do you realize we don't even have anybody out of the portal yet concerning offensive lineman. I do see that. honestly a concern of mine however I am not an offensive line coach. On this one there is definitely going to need a lot of trust, and that has little to do with anyone for the most part on this board, even with a little knowledge including myself.