Rick Osentoski – USA TODAY Sports
The Michigan Wolverines may be without one of their most versatile and experienced playmakers for the 2015 season after reports surfaced that senior Dennis Norfleet has been suspended from the football team stemming from an academic issue that could end his career at Michigan. If he can’t come back from this suspension, Jim Harbaugh will have lost a major component of the 2015 gameplan in all three phases of the game.
While the school has not confirmed anything as of yet, multiple sources are saying that Norfleet got himself into some trouble academically when he skipped at least one of his finals. He is said to currently be in talks with his academic advisers to see what course of action he can take to stay in school and earn his way back onto the football field, but that could be a long and difficult process that may not prove worth the effort.
If Norfleet is lost for the entire 2015 season, Michigan loses a player that would have been utilized as a receiver/running back on offense, defensive back on defense, and a key part of the return game. He’s had experience all over the field, but his biggest contributions have come on special teams as a returner. As a true freshman, Norfleet racked up 827 yards on kick returns which stands as the third-best season in school history. The next year he topped that number, accumulating 938 return yards, good for second all-time at Michigan.
Harbaugh was utilizing the 5-foot-7, 169-pound athlete in a number of ways during spring practice and went on record saying he felt Norfleet would make an impact for Michigan in all three phases of the game. If he ends up being unavailable, the Wolverines will miss their jack of all trades in 2015 and be without one of the more versatile weapons in the Big Ten.
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