Michigan coach Brady Hoke defends handling of Shane Morris situation
Brady Hoke isn't doing himself any favors.
The Michigan head coach is firmly on the hot seat after Saturday’s 30-14 beat down at the hands of Minnesota, but beyond that, Hoke is being scrutinized for the handling of a woozy Shane Morris during the game.
Hoke addressed the media Monday afternoon and was predictably defensive about how the situation was handled.
“I don’t make decisions on who plays and who doesn’t play as far as injuries – in particular with head trauma,” he said.
“I would never put a kid in that situation, never have and never will. We would never put a guy on the field when there’s a possibility of head trauma.”
Morris, a sophomore quarterback, took a hard hit to the helmet when delivering a pass and needed to lean on teammates just to stay upright. Despite looking dazed, Morris waved off the sideline and stayed in the game for another play. He also later re-entered the game for a play when Devin Gardner – his replacement – was forced to come out when his helmet came off.
Hoke said Monday that, to his knowledge, Morris was not diagnosed with a concussion and was taken out Saturday because of an ankle injury, which was the reason he needed to be helped by his teammates just to stand up. Hoke also mentioned that a statement from the Michigan medical staff about the team’s concussion protocol is forthcoming.
“His ankle gave out,” Hoke said. “That’s what he told me. I didn’t see the hit because I was following the ball down the field.”
Morris was held out of Sunday night’s practice due to the ankle injury, not for anything related to a head injury, Hoke said.
A statement from Hoke was released through the athletic department Sunday night in which Hoke said that “the safety of our student-athletes is always our top priority” and he is “confident” that the “proper medical decisions were made."
Even though the aforementioned statement came through the athletic department, Hoke said that he has not met with athletic director Dave Brandon about the Morris incident, his job performance or anything else since the game.
In fact, Hoke, in his fourth season in Ann Arbor, seemed surprised by the widespread criticism levied against him since Saturday.
“When your integrity and character is attacked, I think that’s really unwarranted,” Hoke said.
With a road game at Rutgers coming Saturday, Hoke tried to divert the focus of the press conference to the 2-3 Wolverines’ game with the Scarlet Knights, but he was continually peppered with questions about the way the Morris situation was handled – and rightfully so.
On several occasions, Hoke was asked if he wished he would have handled the situation differently, but he said he was not going to respond to hypothetical questions or scenarios.
Hoke said many times that players stay in games when they are beat up with bumps and bruises, but a potential head injury is a completely different matter. Even if Hoke didn’t see the hit or Morris’ dazed appearance after the hit, there had to be someone on the sideline who pulled him from the game in that instance.
The fact that Morris stayed in for another play – a play where he could have been subjected to another brutal hit – is inexcusable. Hoke's job was already in jeopardy because of his team's continued regression on the field. Add in this fiasco, and it it looking more and more likely that Hoke will soon be without a job.
For more Michigan news, visit TheWolverine.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
