Michigan Tuesday: Talks Dunn

Last week, I did a post on Derrick Green who was the #1 RB and a 5 star recruit who never seemed to find his footing in Ann Arbor.   A similar story is Bri'onte Dunn at Ohio State. 

Let me take you back to the 2012 recruiting class.   Michigan already had a commitment from 5 Star DB Dymonte Thomas from Ohio and had their sights on OH 4 star RB Bri'onte Dunn.   Dymonte and Bri'onte are cousins and had talked about playing together at the next level.    Bri'onte was really torn between playing with his cousin at Michigan or going to his dream school Ohio State.   In November 2011, Urban Meyer considered himself healed and took the Ohio State job.  He quickly convinced Bri'onte to come to C-Bus. 

Dymonte's and Bri'onte's career in college seemed to be on a similar path as both had struggled to see the field.   Dymonte only had 3 starts before his junior year but started to find his role in the Michigan backfield in 2015 and will play a major role this season.   Bri'onte in his entire OSU career had run for a total of 291 yards and 3 touchdowns.   Mostly seeing time at the end of blow out games. 

This season was setting up to a big one for Dunn who was competing for the starting RB role with Detroit native Mike Weber, who was also tied in a recruiting battle between the two rivals.   Mike is coming off a torn meniscus last season.  Last night, Urban Meyer threw Dunn off the team for breaking team rules.   He is a senior and has a couple of weeks to find another team.  He did graduate from OSU in May and can play right away if he finds another school.  

This is another case of what might have been.   Michigan has had a hard time finding a full time running back before DeVeon Smith grabbed it last year.   Could have Bri'onte had different result in Ann Arbor? We will never know.   It will now be interesting to see what happens with Mike Weber who picked Columbus over Ann Arbor on signing day when Michigan signed Florida RB Karan Higdon.  If you remember, the OSU RB coach that convinced him to come to C-Bus took an NFL job the next day. 

• Have you given any thought on how good Michigan's DL could be this year?   It was pretty good last year and the Florida offensive line compared it to Alabama's after the Citrus Bowl.   Now let's add the following:  starter from last season Ryan Glasgow who was a clear difference maker before getting injured, Taco who showed to be quick off the edge to the QB in a limited role last year, Bryan Mone who got injured in camp but was considered one of Michigan's top players before getting injured and the #1 recruit in the nation Rashan Gary.    Jourdan Lewis is already impressed:

“You should see Rashan move,” Lewis said this week. “He’s very, very light on his feet. He and (nose tackle) Bryan Mone, it’s crazy. You should see them on the ladder drills. Oh my goodness, it’s unbelievable. At that size, you can’t teach stuff like that. It’s mind-blowing.”

Mone is listed in the spring roster at 6-foot-4, 320 pounds, while Gary is 6-5 and pushing 300 pounds.  The ladder drill develops footwork and quickness.

“It’s about how clean you are, and they barely touch that ladder,” Lewis said. “They are really fast on the ladder, and it’s really crazy.”

Michigan Tuesday: Don't Forget To Hoke!

I'm sorry, I mean Vote.  Doesn't matter for which candidate you fill in the bubble for, make your vote count! 

Today's post topic comes from a question from Mike W.:

Hey just throwing ideas for you to cover any chance norfleet takes over punt return duties it seems like gallon has misplayed a few the last few weeks and I have a feeling that if its not addressed it could cost us gallon is reminding me of his freshman year when he couldn't catch a cold back there as a punt returner not to mention the only punt return norfleet had was a big play he is explosive and a threat he barley gets any returnable kickoffs so it's a way to get the ball in his hands 

Thank you and keep up the great work!

 

 

I would like to take this question in two different directions: 1) The impact of True Freshman this year & 2) Hoke's coaching style.  I hope to answer the question somewhere between both of them.


I will start with the second topic first, Hoke's coaching style.  We sometimes forget who Brady Hoke learned from when he was a young coach.   Jack Harbaugh at Western Michigan, then hired by Gary Moeller and coached under Lloyd Carr at Michigan.   Jack was a little before my time but we know that Gary and Lloyd were Bo Schembechler disciples.   To me that rings loudly for a strong defense and a conservative offense.  Which I'm sure hit Dave Brandon's hot button in the interview and was the complete opposite of Rich Rod. 

Brady strongly believes in upper classmen and not taking too many risks in special teams.   I'm willing to bet dollars to donuts that Gallon is told to fair catch the ball if there is any on coming rusher anywhere in his sight lines. 

So I agree with you that Norfleet has been a nice surprise this year with his kick off returns but I have a feeling that Brady feels having a freshman field punts on the 10 yard line is too much of a risk and not worth it.   As long as Gallon is catching the ball (or not turning it over), I think his job is safe. 

Now to the impact of freshman this year. 

Dennis Norfleet wasn't a part of Michigan's class until the day before signing day.  He was a highly rated RB but many had felt his size didn't fit the Wolverines need.   I disagree and have a philosophy regarding players like Dennis and Michigan.   There should always be a roster spot for speed.   Sometimes you just need speed guys on your team, whether at CB, WR, KR or RB = you can't teach or develop speed and when a kids has it, Michigan should embrace it and find away to use it.   I really have enjoyed the way they have used Norfleet this year and wish they had got him more involved in other areas. 

Funchess is another true freshman we have been very excited about.  Big Al really needs a find away to get him more looks a game.  2 or 3 isn't enough. 

Other Freshman that have been on the field and should have been:

• AJ Williams - Mostly a blocking TE
• Mario Ojemudia DE
• Ondre Pipkins, NT
• Joe Bolden, LB
• James Ross, LB
• Jarrod Wilson, S

Guys who Redshirts have been blown but I wished they still had it:

• Terry Richardson, CB
• Royce Jenkins-Stone, LB
• Amara Darboh, WR 
• Sione Houma, FB

I understand that special teams is important and a missed tackle or block can change the outcome of a game, but I really hate when we burn redshirts on kids on just special teams.   My feeling on Darboh is, try him at WR and see what he can do and I really wish RJS still had his red shirt. 

Big Will being on extra point duty during his freshman year cost him a year of college development under Brady Hoke and Greg Mattison.  That might have been the difference in a NFL career or a corporate gig for that young man.

I know I got long winded but thanks for the question!

Michigan Tuesday: My Case Against Big Al

Saturday was my last straw for support of Big Al Borges.   I don't understand why the offense isn't better.   The offense has digressed from last year.  I know Junior Hemmingway was good and caught a ton of "jump" balls and I know we lost Molk on the offensive line but how did the offense get this bad?

Enclosed is my case.  Brian from Mgoblog laid out his facts, why he isn't ready to throw Al under the bus.  I will use some of his post on how Al has failed us this year.  I don't think we have another 4 years with his players to find out if he can coach offense or not.

1. Denard does not fit his system.  This is like saying, "I own a Ferrari but I don't drive it because I can't drive a stick".   The system was in place when he took the job on how to use Denard effectively.   Tweak the system and go.  I hate how coaches can only coach one type of offense or defense.  RR killed a couple of years with the same reason.  BS!  Coach to the talent you have!  If you can't your not much of a coach. 
2. The Devin move to WR hasn't worked.  He is good athlete but my understanding was if Denard went down and was out for more then a couple of plays, Devin would return to QB.  He is a former 5 star QB and can run the stuff that Denard does.   He is not a good WR and has dropped a ton of balls.  He is clearly a QB and not a WR.   He is used to the pressure of playing QB in Big Ten games.
3. The backup plan - wasn't a plan.  Was there anyone on this planet that thought putting in a red shirt freshman at QB was going to win a close game with Nebraska?  Even Nebraska knew it and started blitzing.   I didn't see them blitz Denard too often.  Not having a plan B for your running QB is huge failure.  It's like running a data center with out a fail over.
4. He did well at Auburn?  That team was loaded with NFL talent and he sure didn't land any head coaching gigs after it - Per Brian at Mgoblog:  2004 Auburn had the following guys on that team: QB Jason Campbell (first round pick), RB Ronnie Brown (first round pick), RB Cadillac Williams (first round pick), OL Ben Grubbs (first round pick), OL Marcus McNeill (second round pick), Ben Obomanu (seventh round pick, still in league, had 37 catches in 2011), Devin Aromashodu (seventh round pick, still in league, had 26 catches in 2011), and Courtney Taylor (sixth round pick, now in CFL after 2008 multiple sclerosis(!) diagnosis). When you can call anything and have future NFL players on both ends of the exchange that doesn't say much either. 
5. Where are the Wide Receivers?  This falls on RR not being able to recruit (he really is not a good recruiter) any WR's at all.   Most of the guys RR recruited at WR has either transferred or haven't seen the field at all.   This also falls on Hoke and Borges, they must have known this was an issue and still turned down Devin Lucien who wanted to sign with Michigan.   Hoke knew they needed depth at LB and other defensive positions, Borges must have known they needed a deep threat.   If you attend games and watch the WR's you can tell they don't get separation from the DB's.  It was also very obvious that Stonum's status with the team was tentative at best, not to recruit the WR position non-stop is criminal!!!!
6. Since our WR's aren't fast how do we get them open?  This is college and most WR's don't run a 4.3/40.  You have to run plays that get your WR's open.  Did anyone notice the pick play that Nebraska ran for a touchdown?  Where are those plays?
7. There is Talent on the Field!  Lewan is projected as a 1st round pick, Denard is projected as a Round 2 athlete, Fitz had a great year last year and Funchess is a future star.   Mix in capable slot guys in Gallon and Dileo and a decent possession receiver in Roundtree, I ask you what's the problem?  I agree the offense line is not great opening running lanes but they have seemed to have done very well in pass protection this year.  Add a burner that can extend the field, you would seem to have a pretty good offense.   (BTW it's not our back up QB).
8. Play a Freshman! Michigan has two true freshman WR's on the bench in Darboh and Chesson.  They have already blown the red shirt on Darboh, use him.   WR is one position most experts agree a freshman can step in and contribute right away.

Here is a quote from Hoke's press conference yesterday:

“As far as where we’re at right now football-wise, we need to do a better job from the perspective of a coaching standpoint, because it starts right there. It starts with me. We need to play better football. We need to play better in the red zone from an offensive standpoint. And part of that and most of that is you have to be able to run the football in the red zone. That’s an important place because in the throw game, it shrinks down there a little bit. Your verticalness of what you can do and being able to run the football is a big part of it. We didn’t do that well obviously the other night, but that’s something that will take a front seat and center during this week as we get ready to go to Minneapolis.


Coaches like RR, Rex Ryan and Brady Hoke all would like to focus on what they do best and leave the other side of the ball to the guys they hired.  That doesn't work long term in leadership.   If you run a small Tech company and hire a bunch of people, you can't avoid HR issues.  When your the leader you have to lead everything.  It's why you make the big bucks and why the person you hired isn't a head coach.

BTW: If you think this is bad, just wait until next year.  A true freshman under center or Devin a senior QB/WR (or RS junior if he gets his redshirt) with very little experience, Lewan in the NFL and no WR's.

• Minnesota and Northwestern games will be noon starts

If you are out East, please stay safe! 

Wolverine Wednesday: Wormley ACL

Every fall camp you are excited for football and worried about injuries.   Some famous camp injuries that stick with me are Troy Woolfolk and Drew Henson.    We hadn't heard too much about injuries outside of LB Poole who came to camp with an existing injury.   Then the news broke regarding freshman Chris Wormley who won't get a chance to play this year becuase he has torn his ACL in practice. 

Chris had been mentioned as someone that could contribute right away and now will spend the year as a red shirt.   I don't know the impact this injury will have on the Wolverines 2012 defense, I just feel bad for a kid that probably hasn't taken his first class at Michigan yet and now has a major injury.  Let's hope he is a quick healer and will be back for next years fall camp.

• This reporter thinks Bellomy might be a better option as the #2 QB ahead of Devin.  I'm not sure this is a 100% correct statement.  I believe the coaches think Bellomy would do a decent job if he had to be thrown into a game, which allows them to use Devin at WR.  A position that needs a game breaker.  If Denard goes down and Devin is healthy, I believe he takes all the QB snaps.  

Michigan Friday: 2012 Schedule Fear Factor

It's August 3rd and we are less then a month away from the season starting.  Time to start looking at the 2012 schedule and putting a fear factor percentage on each game.   Michigan is a 10 ten team going in to the season and this year will come with high expectations.  My fear factor is basically my take on how worried I am with Michigan losing that particular game.  

9/1:  Alabama in Dallas.  Michigan is playing the National Champions who has a very physical and good defense.   The Michigan offense has struggled against good defenses in the past and #2 ranked Alabama could have the best defense in the country.    Being the first game for both teams could favor Denard and the Wolverines.  I hope to see better execution then we did in the Sugar Bowl.  Fear Factor = 90%

9/8: Air Force:  My first take on this game was "Do we really want to be playing Air Force after Alabama?"  I thought their offense would be a hard match up for a Michigan defense that just played a physical game against Bama.   That is until I learned the Air Force Academy had to basically replace all their players on both sides of the ball.   I think Michigan could struggle early with a bit of a Bama let down but will pull away in the second half.   Fear Factor =20%

9/15:  UMass:  A couple of years ago, UMass came into the Big House and almost pulled out a victory over Rich Rod's defense.   Not with Greg Mattison in town.  Fear Factor = 5%

9/22:  at ND:  We will know a lot about both teams by the end of September.  How good is the ND defense?  Can they stop Denard?  Will the ND offense move the ball?  ND will want this game badly.  Fear Factor = 65%

10/6 at Purdue:  Funny things happen to Michigan when they visit West Lafayette.   Closer game then we think.   Fear Factor = 40%

10/13: Illinois:  Zook is gone and Illinois is rebuilding.  I don't see a replay of the shoot out from a couple of years ago in the Big House.  Fear Factor = 15%

10/20: MSU:  Time for payback and Michigan will be ready for this game.  Depending on what Wisconsin does this year, this could be the best two teams in the Big Ten.  Michigan is at home and will look to put it on the Spartans.  Fear Factor = 50%

10/27:  at Nebraska:  Another prime time game and another one away from home.    Nebraska will be looking for pay back after their embarrassing performance at the Big House last year.   This could be a tough game for the Wolverines.  Fear Factor = 70%

11/3: at Minnesota:   How many games is Michigan playing on the road this year?   Jerry Kill will have his guys ready to play for the Little Brown Jug.   This will also be Michigan's first visit to the Gophers new outdoor stadium and they get to visit in chilly November.   Fear Factor = 30%

11/10:  Northwestern:  Michigan always has trouble with Northwestern and now USC transfer WR Kyle Prater will be eligible.    I'm sure the Wolverines will be happy to be home but Northwestern will play well and make this game closer then we think.  Fear Factor = 40%

11/17:  Iowa:  Will the Hawkeyes have any running backs?  Expect a ton of throwing.   Not sure what the Hawkeyes will have in November.  Fear Factor = 25%

11/24 at OSU:  No bowl game for the buckeyes.   This will be their bowl game and Big Ten Championship game all rolled into one.  Urban Meyer does not want to start off 0-1 to Brady Hoke.    They will play the entire roster if it means a win.  This game is their year but how good are they?  Fear Factor = 65%

News and Notes:

• Practice starts on Monday and the roster and the media guide has been updated. Mgoblog does a great post on changes including walk-ons and freshman numbers.   Notables:  PeeWee Pipkins is 337 pounds and will wear #56 (Woodley), Dileo is now #9, Devin is listed at a Jr. not a RS Sophomore, Both RJS & James Ross are under 210 pounds (yikes and hello RS) and Beyer is up 27 pounds from Spring and now listed at 252 pounds.

 

• Former ESPN College Football analyst Craig James is broke because he spent $300K on his failed campaign to join the US Senate.   Maybe he should have kept that ESPN gig while he was campaigning.

•  The #11 has been given "Legendary Status" by the Michigan Athletic Department. 

Michigan Thursday: The Numbers Game

When your a major program like Michigan you have to balance your scholarship limit of 85. Coaches have to have a crystal ball to predict things like transfers, career ending injuries, not being offered a 5th year, leaving early for the NFL, etc. All those things lead to the number of spots available for the current recruiting class.

The number most of us recruiting guys have been using for the 2013 class is 24 spots.  Michigan took a commitment early this week from PSU de-commit CB Ross Douglas.    Which would have left one more open spot in the class.   Then we were hearing that the Michigan coaches were continuing to recruit Derrick Green, Laquan Treadwell and DB Leon McQuay III.  Why would they still be recruiting Leon after Ross jumped on board?  Is the number now 25 spots?

Yes it seems to be.  Michigan also announced two suspensions this week in running back Fitz Toussaint and Frank Clark.  Both are serious crimes but Frank's (if found guilty) could mean he is removed from the team and could lose his scholarship. An example is Cam Newton at Florida, who did the same thing.   Is that where the extra spot came from?  Maybe?

Then we learn this morning that CB Terrance Talbott is leaving the program.  The Talbott family has had a tough ride here at Michigan.  Terrance's brother Terry was seriously thinking about going to UNC on signing day and then decided to attend Michigan with his brother Terry.   Then Terry hurt himself seriously and I don't believe can play football again. Terry hasn't been on the roster for about a year.  I'm not sure if he is still at Michigan or elected to go to another school.  (Players who hurt themselves seriously and can't ever play again can keep a scholarship and still attend school.  Those scholarships do not count towards the 85 mark).   Terrance who showed flashes at CB and got to play early, finds himself lower on the depth chart due to the solid play of guys like Blake Countess and Delonte Hollowell is leaving the program.  JT Floyd is also a senior and is pretty much written in ink at one corner spot.

Considering Talbott is leaving the program, I believe that is why they are looking at 25 spots now for the 2013 class.  On a side note,  this limit also effects potential transfers from Penn State players.  Many believe that Anthony Zettel might be interested in playing for Michigan.  The Wolverines were the runner-up in his recruitment.  AZ is a redshirt freshman and would take up 4 years of scholarships on the Wolverines roster (The NCAA is giving teams a one year pass on the scholarship limit for PSU transfers meaning Michigan could take a player and be at 86 scholarship this year but next year they would have to be at 85 with the PSU transfers) if he transferred right now.   Which means his scholarship could effect the 2013 class which only has a few spots left.

Michigan might be more interested in a senior WR or DT that would take up 1 scholarship for this year (which could be over the limit) and then they graduate next year. 

The last point here is that players that enroll in January can count towards either class (2012 or 2013) if there are open spots.   We are hearing that 2-3 players from the 2013 class are trying to enroll early.

Update: I'm hearing that Michigan may no longer be recruiting McQuay but that Green and Treadwell are definitely options.   Green has cancelled his visit to OSU this Friday and will be in Ann Arbor for 3 days with his family.

Wolverine Wednesday: Plan For Final 2

It's June 27th and Michigan has two spots left in its 2013 recruiting class. It's still hard to believe that Michigan has 22 verbal commits already in the fold. Which leaves two more spots in this class and many questions on how the Wolverines will fill the remaining two slots. Here is my take:

Wide Receiver is still the #1 target to fill the last spot. Alvin Bailey a 4 star WR from Florida will be in Ann Arbor today or Thursday for a visit, this is his first visit to Ann Arbor so it's hard to know if he is a serious candidate for that spot yet. It seems the recruitment of Laquon Treadwell is nowhere near the end and I bet the Michigan coaches will not wait too much longer for Treadwell to finish his tour of all the top programs in America.

Running Back is the second need in this class. Michigan has two power backs already committed in Wyatt Shallman and Deveon Smith. They would like to add a speed back to that mix. The last two candidates are Derrick Green and Tuesday visitor Jordan Wilkins. My gut tells me that Michigan won't land either one of these guys and won't take another RB in this class.

I think Michigan would like to add one more DB in this class. A safety or corner back. I think the leading candidates to take that last spot is Kendall Fuller or Leon McQuay III. Both of these guys are highly recruited and I believe Michigan would take either one if they want to jump on board. Kendall is rumored to be a Virginia Tech lean and Leon is thinking about leaving the South (Florida) to play at Michigan.

Michigan is clearly looking for a "speed" player on offense for the last two spots. If that doesn't work out, I still believe they will take one more WR but will look to defense to fill the other.

Potential Surprises? I could see another DT if Fuller and McQuay don't work out. I could also see an offer to Braylon's brother Berkley if they really are looking for speed at RB and Green/Wilkins go elsewhere.

• David Brandon on the new playoff system:  "What I really like about this solution is that all the bowls are going to continue to be very relevant and the bowl system will benefit from this whole playoff arrangement as opposed to be a victim of it," Michigan athletic director David Brandon said. "The integrity of the bowls is a very important thing that's been developed for over a century and the fact that we're gonna make sure that that bowl system is important and relevant is a very positive aspect of what has been decided."

• It looks like the Michigan Baseball Head Coaching job is going to Maryland's Head Coach Erik Bakich or Chris Sabo.

• Michigan has offered a familiar name in the 2014 class in Alex Bars.  Alex is the brother of 2012 incoming freshman Blake Bars.  Alex plays both OL and DL and is 6'6 265 pounds as a Junior. 

Michigan Thursday: Walk On News and Food Related Items

The Mgoblog message board broke some walk on news that seems pretty accurate.   Michael Jocz a TE/WR for Novi High School looks like will get a chance to attend fall camp for the Wolverines. 

Mike is 6'4 and around 210 pounds and not ranked by either Rivals or Scouts.  So he didn't have any scholarship offers.  Mike is attending Michigan for his education and has already been accepted.  He planning to attend the engineering school.

Looks like a decent athlete and could help out on Scout Team and maybe even Special Teams.  Good luck and welcome Mike!

• 2014 CB from Cass Tech Damon Webb preformed well at the Sound Mind/Body Camp yesterday.  Damon is 6'0 and already holds a Toledo offer.   Could he be the next Cass Tech corner at Michigan?

• Both Brady Hoke and Urban Meyer were together at the Sound Mind and Body camp yesterday to talk to the kids and watch some of the drills.   There is a picture of both Brady and Urban enjoying some ribs.  

• Looks like (maybe one of the most important recruits for the 2012 class) Ondre "Pewee" Pipkins is already on campus and enjoying his new football player meal plan.  I'm sure his mom is happy that Ondre is eating his veggies.

• Braylon's brother Berkley now has a Minnesota and Iowa offer.  I'm hoping there is a way to get him into Michigan's class.  Berkley is a 3 star prospect to Rivals.

Michigan Tuesday: News and Notes

• Bennie Joppru suffered a stroke at the age of 32.  Bennie struggled with blacking out and other issues once he left Michigan.  Let's hope the doctors can figure out what is going on with Bennie and he can live a long healthy life.

• Bill Stewart who replaced RR at WVU is dead at the age of 59.   He had a wild ride at WVU, with some big wins and some big loses.   It's sad that he is gone at 59.

• Remember instate high school QB Robert Bolden?  Michigan was recruiting both Robert and Devin Gardner the same year.    Devin picked Michigan early and Robert choose Penn State.  Robert played early at Penn State but has struggled in most games.   He tried to transfer last year but JoPa blocked it, now it seems he is off the team and planning on transferring to another school.  Good Luck to Robert wherever he chooses.

• The Big Ten Schools will receive about $24.6 M from the Big Ten Network and Bowl Revenues. 

• Do you stay up late and wonder if Michigan has any speed at WR coming in?  Well, rest easy my friend - they do.  Here is Jehu Chesson's track meet finish in a regional meet:

Event 36  Boys 100 M Dash Class4 =========================================================================
    Name                    Year School                  Seed     Finals
=========================================================================
1 Jehu Chesson II     SR Ladue                       10.86 10.79  
2 Jamal Robinson     JR C.B.C.                       10.92 10.87  
3 Nick Patillo           JR   Poplar Bluff             10.98 10.93  
4 Durron Neal         SR DeSmet                       11.17 10.99  


He also won the 110 M and 300M Hurdles.

• Do you stay up at night wondering what Michigan's Big Ten schedule will be in 2015 and 2016?  Of course not, that would be silly.   All I can say is Hello Wisconsin and where is Indiana?  MSU, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Ohio State in the same year - (with Illinois, Wisconsin and OSU in the other division).   That seems fair.  We all want to play OSU in the last game every year but making sure that game is being played equals the hardest Big Ten schedule every year, when Michigan plays the likes of  Wisconsin or Penn State in the leaders division instead of Indiana or Purdue.

2015

Oct. 3: at Michigan State
Oct. 10: Wisconsin
Oct. 17: Minnesota
Oct. 24: at Illinois
Oct. 31: Bye
Nov. 7: Nebraska
Nov. 14: at Northwestern
Nov. 21: at Iowa
Nov. 28: Ohio State
Dec. 5: Big Ten Championship Game

2016

Oct. 1: Michigan State
Oct. 8: at Minnesota
Oct. 15: Northwestern
Oct. 22: Bye
Oct. 29: at Wisconsin
Nov. 5: Illinois
Nov. 12: at Nebraska
Nov. 19: Iowa
Nov. 26: at Ohio State
Dec. 3: Big Ten Championship Game

Michigan Tuesday: Walk Back and Walk On News

Josh Furman lost all of his Spring Practice and had to worry about a court date.  He was found not guilty and today is back on the football team.   We had heard he turned down a plea bargain because that would have meant he would have been dismissed from the team.  He saw the legal process out and it worked out in his favor.   Welcome back Josh! 

24/7 Sports is/was reporting Michigan had a new Walk-On QB in the 2012 class in Brian Cleary a 6'3, 205 pound pro style QB.  Brian played his HS ball at Detroit Jesuit.  He is ranked two stars by Rivals, Scouts and 24/7.  Brian doesn't currently list any offers but there was a rumor he had one from CMU. The reason I say "was reporting" above, is because the story on 24/7 was taken down or there is an error in the link.    We will see but it's nice to have a QB in between Bellomy and Morris. 

• Ty Isaac is in no hurry to make a decision.  This is one of those situations that the longer it goes on, I believe it hurts the Wolverines overall chances.   It's the difference of being the leader out of the gate vs. the leader at the finish line.

BCS Final 4:  It seems we are going to have a Final 4 in College Football.  It's not perfect but it's better then it's been.   One of the hang ups seems to be where they play the games.   For example they could keep the bowl sites and rotate the Championship game.  Which will be very costly for the fans. 

The second idea is to have the games played on campus at the higher seeds location.  This would give one team a huge advantage.  

I have an idea: They should have some sites lined up in each region.   For example a site in the South and there are plenty (Tampa, Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans and any of the Texas locations), Midwest (Ford Field, Indy, and Minneapolis)  and Out West (Any California location, Seattle, Las Vegas, etc).

The only conflict I could see is the NFL Schedule, but of course you could play the college game on Saturday and the NFL on Sunday.  With this plan, you would have neutral sites and at least one fan base that could drive to the location.   The higher seed gets the game in their region. 

Michigan Friday: News and Notes

• No Wolverines went in the 1st round of the NFL draft but that was expected.   Tonight has just rounds 2-3 and the only Wolverine with that grade is Mike Martin.  

• Congratulations to Nick Perry who grew up in Detroit and went to USC.  Nick went to the Packers at #28.  I had no idea he was a first rounder.  Nick picked USC over Michigan on signing day.   Could we have used a first rounder next to Mike Martin on the defensive line for the last 4 years?  My goodness that was a big loss for the Wolverines.   (Don't forget there was a ton of "funny business" going on with USC recruiting then)

• Mel Kiper has moved Hemingway's grade up to 4th or 5th rounder.  His grade went up with a strong combine and pro day.  Don't forget his Sugar Bowl MVP, teams love to draft kids where they remember them having a good game on a big stage!

Michigan 2012 signee Mario Ojemudia is enrolled for Spring Term at Michigan.   Some might ask:  Why sign up for Spring Term if you can't get coaching from the Michigan staff and you miss Spring Practice?  A couple of reasons:

#1:  You get used to classes early and have a step up on incoming freshman this summer/fall.

#2:  He gets to start Michigan conditioning right away.  Which is a huge plus for a guy that needs to put on some weight and get stronger for D1 football.

#3:  He can participate in player film work and player practice.   (Coaches are not allowed but players can organize non-mandatory practices).

Good move by Mario!

• Looks like the BCS is going to a Final 4 mini-playoff.   Where the #4 team plays #1 and #2 plays #3.  Then the winners play a championship game.   In this method, they can keep the bowl games and have a mini Final 4 Playoff.   The only issue I am hearing is that the games would be at neutral sites or at the current BCS locations, which will be difficult and costly for fans. 

• Like we predicted Josh Furman was found not guilty of all charges and I expect he will be back on the team shortly.

• Michigan's recruiting strategy is pretty clear at this point after missing out on EJ.  Linebacker recruiting is closed with 6 players the last two years.  Michigan wants a couple of WR's and 2 defensive line recruits.   The rest of the spots will be open to the top prospects available at a number of positions like Safety, CB and a RB. 

Wolverine Wednesday: Hoke Hates the Number 2

It's clear Brady Hoke hates to be second in anything.  In his first season at Michigan he finished 2nd in Legends Division and has finished 2nd in a number of high profile recruiting races.   The latest example was yesterday afternoon when EJ Levenberry picked FSU over Michigan.

Don't get me wrong, Michigan has had a great 2012 & 2013 class but a trend in these high profile commitments when it comes down to a final 2 the Wolverines are finishing second.   Case it point:

• Anothny Zettel (2011 class)
• Josh Garnett
• Armani Reeves
• Alex Kozan
• EJ Levenberry
• Sam Grant

Those are the Michigan losses when we are in the final 2 that comes to mind.  As far as a final 2 wins goes:  Jarrod Wilson, Denard Robinson and Demar Dorsey are the recent ones I remember.    Pryor is another example but that situation favored Michigan in the long run.

We all know recruiting is a numbers game and Michigan seems to do better when they get kids on campus and sell them on the spot.   The guys that "think" and have a final two don't seem to be going Michigan's way lately.   I have concern for two prospects right now in Treadwell and Isaac.

This is strange trend and I don't know if there is a real reason for it.

• In a preview of tomorrows post we will be looking at the Wolverines NFL draft prospects this year in Mike Martin and Junior Hemingway and where they are forecasted to go.   I still have a heavy heart for Kevin Koger and his recent injury.   I think Kevin would have been a late round draft pick before the injury. 

Michigan Tuesday: Plan Burke in Effect

When you are a head coach you have to plan for a lot of things to happen to your basketball team including losing players to transfer and the NBA.   You could say, you always need a Plan B.

John Beilein must have had a ton of Plan B's on the chalk board the last few weeks.   The Michigan basketball program lost 2 seniors to graduation in Stu Douglass and Zack Novak, 3 transfers in Evan Smotrycz, Colton Christian and Carlton Brundidge and possible NBA draftees Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway, Jr.  If you are keeping score at home, that would 4 out of 5 starters and Michigan's 6th man heading out of Ann Arbor. 

That didn't happen and Hardaway and Burke are coming back. "I felt like I wasn't ready," Hardaway Jr. said. "I felt like I had a lot to work on. … I was very disappointed in myself and how I played in the season and I felt like I could’ve done better to help this team out."

With Michigan's strong recruiting class with new ESPN 5 star player Glenn Robinson III, 5 Star PF Mitch McGary and 4 star shooting guard Nick Stauskas, Michigan now all of sudden looks pretty good next year.    Don't forget Michigan picked up another PG this weekend in 3 star Spike Albrecht.  Spike can give Trey some rest during the game and play the distributor role.  I expect him to play about 10 minutes a game to give Trey a break or if he gets in foul trouble.

Carlton had a nice upside but had health issues this year and probably should have red shirted, so his loss can be replaced by good recruiting.  Christian was brought in for defense and rebounding but really never saw the floor.  Evan was a tough match-up when his head was in the game but clearly was not happy most of the Big Ten season.  Evan when focused was a good player and I believe he felt he was a starter and a guy that needed to be on the floor more.   I think he will look for a program where he can play more minutes. 

To wrap this up, the future looks bright for these Wolverines next year.   I would say the window to get to the Final 4 is pretty short, because I don't expect Burke and Hardaway to be back for another year and look out if one of the incoming freshman have a big year as well.

• There have been plenty of rumors of what was going on at Florida and why Urban left.  This Sporting News article really lays out some bad stuff.   If this is true and he continues this practice he won't last at OSU mostly with the NCAA keeping a close eye on who and how they are driving the C-BUS.   Now, I am really glad he wasn't available when Michigan was looking for a coach.   

Michigan Friday: Waiting on Burke but a Plan B

As we wait on Trey Burke to make a decision on whether he will enter the NBA draft or not, Michigan needs a point guard either way.  The ideal situation is that Trey comes back and Michigan signs a guy to back him up.   We all understand the non-ideal situation if Trey goes NBA.

Spike Albrecht seems to be the guy that will back up or take over from Trey.  Spike is in Ann Arbor this weekend and is expected to commit today.

• Ferris State will play BC in the Hockey National Championship game.  Congrats to the Bulldogs!

• One of the reasons Michigan can afford to put Devin Gardner on the field at WR or other positions is that Russell Bellomy is a good QB and can play if needed.

Michigan Thursday: Burke and Borseth Basketball Updates

The buzz on Trey Burke is that he is planning to enter the NBA draft.  Things could change and he could come back but the rumors are he got a NBA evaluation around the 20th pick which is the highest I have heard.  ESPN had him around 70 which would mean late 2nd round or not even drafted.  There are twitter picks up of his dorm room that was all packed up.

Losing Trey would be a huge loss to the basketball program and would also mean that 4 guys would got a ton of minutes would be gone from the program (3 starters and 1st guy off the bench).

• Women's Basketball Coach Kevin Borseth resigned on Wednesday and will take his former job at Wisconsin-Green Bay.  Seems like a strange career decision unless the parting was mutual.

•  PG Spike Albrecht will visit Ann Arbor today.  He and his coach believe Michigan will offer him on this visit.  Spike's family is close to Zack Novak's and Spike knows Glen Robinson and Mitch McGary from playing against each other.  Spike is 6'1/180 and only other offer is App. State.  Spike is expected to accept an offer right away.

• If Spike is offered I do expect that Michigan will continue their recruitment of Findlay Prep (Nev.) guard Amedeo Della Valle .

Michigan Tuesday: Michigan's 2013 Commits Wants to Protect This House

We all know HS kids like Nike and Under Armour gear.   Some recruits even pick Oregon because they are fully funded by former alum Phil Knight Nike founder.  The top 2013 recruits also have decisions on which all star game they are going to play in.  The Army All American game or the Under Armour All American game.    The Army game has been around the longest but the UA game has the gear and is televised on ESPN (AA = NBC).  The 2013 Michigan recruits are picking up invites to the Under Armour game and are accepting.

The UA game right now includes:

• Shane Morris
• David Dawson
• Patrick Kugler
• Gareon Conley
• LTT

Mike McCray has invites from both the AA and UA game and Chris Fox is playing in the AA game.

• Q and A with Blake Bars 2012 Wolverine.

• Adidas is holding it's big Midwest Camp at the Silverdome this Saturday.  Shane and other Michigan commits and recruits are attending. 

Michigan Thursday: Worried About The Basketball Program

The Michigan Basketball Team just won a Big Ten Title and now the ship is starting to leak.   It was clear this team went sideways after the Purdue game this year.   Something was different and they really didn't play well after.   

The signs of what was wrong is starting to show it's face with three transfers. 

Evan Smotrycz is the biggest loss.  He had a up and down season.  He started off hot and played well in Maui but struggled early in the Big Ten season but started to re-show signs of getting out of his slump late in the year.  He then dribbled the ball off his foot in the final seconds of the Miami game and took a ton of negative hits on Facebook and Twitter.   He gave this quote to ESPN  “It’s just a matter of what I thought was the right fit, something my family agreed on,” Smotrycz said. “I don’t want to say too much right now in being sensitive to the coaching staff. But it was a decision I had to make to be somewhere I was happy.”  He was in great position to start and play a ton next year. 

Christian & Brundidge are not a huge losses.  Christian was taken late in the recruiting class a few years ago when Michigan needed some size.  He was supposed to be a rebounder and defensive stopper.  He really never saw any time.  Brundidge got caught up in the Trey Burke bright light and it was rumored he was planning to transfer for the past 6 weeks or so.  Not sure why he wasn't redshirted this year anyway, he looked a bit out of shape and when he got in late in games didn't really show much.

Now are you ready for this?  The latest is Trey Burke is now considering the NBA.  His dad said they are leaning towards coming back but are open to the NBA.   This really isn't a surprise but we could have a situation like Darius Morris last year where agents are telling him he is a first round prospect but in reality he wasn't.   Many NBA services don't have Trey ranked in the 1st round at this point, so we will see what happens. 

Michigan is down 3 players who played a ton of minutes and maybe 4.   Novak, Douglass and Smotrycz are now gone and Burke could be next.   Yes, Michigan has a number of high quality recruits coming in next year but these are some big losses.   That is why I don't understand Evan leaving, he would have been a starter next year.  They needed his length, if he added a low post game he would have been a tough match up. 

Trey Ziegler?  Many insiders are saying he is probably not coming to Ann Arbor.  It sounds like with Austin Rivers heading to the NBA he wants to step into that role at Duke.   The problem here is he would have to sit for a year.  Michigan lost 5  (maybe 6) players who could have played next season, they need to find guys that can play right away.   As of yesterday, Michigan hadn't contacted Ziegler. 

I guess the coaches need to get out on the recruiting trail and find a few "Burke" type of players.   The future was so bright just a few weeks ago, now that light is dimmer for sure. 

Michigan Tuesday: New Walk-On News

All the Glasgow's belong to Michigan!  :-) 

Ryan Glasgow a 6'4 265 pound guard from Illinois has accepted a preferred walk-on spot to Michigan.   Ryan is the younger brother of current walk-on Graham Glasgow.   Ryan had scholarship offers from Illinois State, North Dakota State, South Dakota, North Dakota and Wyoming.  Ryan could be moved to the center position for depth purposes.   He is rated a 2 star prospect from Rivals and a member of the 2012 class.  Welcome Ryan!

This video is a year old and probably his JR year highlights (12+ minutes):

• Many Recruiting Insiders are predicting Michigan will be full at the RB back position by the end of the week.  Which means Smith might commit on his visit this weekend or Isaac will do some heavy thinking and commit before Smith gets on campus.  Isaac as of right now is planning to take a visit to USC this weekend.   The Michigan coaches have been telling recruits they will take 2 RB's in this class and they already have one in Wyatt Shallman.  Wyatt is being told he is coming in as a power TB not a FB.  The consensus is Smith is very high on the Wolverines and could pull the trigger on a commitment this weekend.

Michigan Friday: Thinking about 2013 Linebackers

We know Michigan has been struggling at the LB position the last few years.  Brady Hoke and staff didn't want that to last and recruited some top LB's in the 2012 class with RJS, Ringer, Ross and Bolden.   That is one great group of LB's all from the state's of Ohio and Michigan. 

Michigan is still looking for top LB's in the 2013 class and are in on some top guys:

• Ohio's Ben Gedeon is a 4 star Inside LB and might visit Ann Arbor this weekend.  He is from Hudson, Ohio and is 6'3 215 pounds with offers from BC, OSU, PSU, Tenn, Stanford, Pitt, MSU and others.   Ben has a basketball game on Saturday but will still try to make it up.   Ben could be on commitment watch this weekend.

• Good Counsel's Official Twitter Page just said that Michigan is the team to beat for Dorian O'Daniel.  DOD is 6'1 205 pound outside LB and is ranked the #37 player in the nation by Rivals.   He has offers from everyone including Alabama, Auburn, Oklahoma, Ohio State and so on.   He is planning on visiting Ann Arbor for the Spring Game.

• Michigan is one of the leaders for 4 star outside LB EJ Levenberry who is 6'3 226 and ranked the 15th player in the nation.   EJ has offers from everyone as well (21 in total) and visited Ann Arbor a few weeks ago.   EJ is from Woodbridge, Virgina.

• I have been giving you updates on Trotwood-Madison's outside LB Mike McCray that is scheduled to make his decision next Thursday.  He is visiting Tenn. this weekend and Michigan on the 6th.  He has already been to Ann Arbor a couple of times.  His father played football fr the for the Buckeyes but does not have an OSU offer.   Mike is also a 4 star player and ranked the #44 player in the country.

So just to re-cap Michigan seems to be in great shape for all the 4 star LB's above.  Ben is ranked 224 in the country (most insiders believe he is very under rated right now), Dorian is #37 player in the country,  EJ #15 and Mike is #44.   That list not only has the top LB's in the country but the top players in the country!

I think after that analysis you can see why Ben might want to pull the trigger this weekend.    Wow, these coaches can really recruit!


*all ranking are from Rivals

• Nice Win for Michigan last night.  A win over PSU on Sunday and a win by OSU over MSU would mean a share of the Big Ten title for the Wolverines.  

Michigan Tuesday: Shut out in January and Killing it in February

It's official Michigan had a terrible January and an incredible February.  Michigan had 5 top prospects they were recruiting for the 2012 class and went 0-5 in January.   Then they signed a top 5 class on February 1st and picked up 11 verbal commitments for the 2013 class at the end of February.

Michigan closed the door on the 2012 class last night as Alex Kozan picked Auburn.   I wonder if it had anything to do with most of the Michigan coaches being on vacation?    I'm sure Alex picking Auburn didn't even phase Brady Hoke a bit with the momentum he has going on the recruiting trail right now.  

In fact, Michigan may now have room for one more OL in the 2013 class.   Which would be nice with a couple of high profile guys still out there that are very interested in Michigan.  I am betting a lucky walk-on might get a scholarship now as well.

Funk's #1 job this spring will be to develop a couple new centers.   We saw how the start of the Sugar Bowl went, with Molk sitting out.  Next year will be very key with Denard still running the shotgun spread.

• Ohio 4 star LB Mike McCray is set to announce his college decision on 3/8.  He attends Mike Shaw's and Roy Roundtree's HS (Trotwood- Madison).   He is visiting Michigan on 3/6 and has already been up to A2.  He is rated the #44 player in the country by Rivals and his final schools are Arizona, Illinois, Tennessee, Michigan, South Carolina and Oklahoma.  The strange thing here is Mike has family ties to OSU and they have not offered yet.   This could be the case where he is trying to force Urban's hand or he is fed up and wants to close down his recruitment.  

• Wolverine NFL Combine re-cap:  Bottom Line Molk, Martin and Hemingway are all 4-7 round projected draft picks.