Michigan Friday: So The Staff Is Complete?

Sounds like Michigan is sort of set on both sides of the ball with its coaching set:

Offense:

Gattis: OC and WR's

Hart: RB 

Warinner: OL and Running Game Coordinator 

Moore: TE 

?: QB 

Jay Harbaugh: Special Teams 

Defense

Macdonald - DC 

Linguist - CB's and Co-DC 

Helow: Safeties 

Nua: DT

Jean-Mary: LB

Ben McDaniels is still on Mgoblue.com but reportedly out the door.   My expectation was that Jimmy would be taking on the QB coach role.   Maybe they're waiting on Chad Henne to retire to announce he is Michigan's next QB coach.  (that is a joke and I'm not reporting news!! :)) 

• Greg Mattison is retiring at the end of the month, I hope it was worth it to leave Ann Arbor for a DC role that wasn't really a DC role in Columbus for a couple of years. 

• Michigan Basketball plays Purdue tonight at 7:00 tonight on FS1  

Wolverine Wednesday: Being Greg Mattison

Greg Mattison was always a fan favorite while in Ann Arbor, until he wasn't.   Greg was considered the only competent coach on Hoke's staff and many wanted him to be named the interim coach when Coach Hoke was imploding in 2014.  

Then Coach Harbaugh is hired and Jimmy keeps Greg on the staff due to his experience and his relationship with the Harbaugh family.   Mattison had worked for Jack at Western Michigan from 81-86 and was the DC for John for the Baltimore Ravens from 08-10.

This of course was the second stint for Greg at Michigan.  He was also the DL and DC in Ann Arbor from 92-96 when he left for another Michigan rival Notre Dame.

These are the schools that Greg has worked at during his career:

Illinois
Cornel
Western Michigan
Northwestern
Navy
Texas A&M
Michigan (2x)
Notre Dame
Florida
NFL Ravens
Ohio State

It's clear Greg likes to keep moving and only prefers to stay in a job for a limited time.  Its also fair to note that Greg was a finalist for the WMU head coaching role in 2004 that went to Bill Cubit.

Greg is now nearly 70 years old and the buzz from the Michigan locker room was he was considering retirement.  That is why the jump from Ann Arbor to Columbus was so interesting.   But if you look closer, it really wasn't that surprising.

1. Greg's past experience is to move jobs 
2. Greg was not the DC, he was the D-Line coach at Michigan
3. When Greg's Michigan DC contract expired (which paid him nearly $900K) at Michigan, Jimmy gave him a couple $100K haircut. 
4. When Durkin left Greg was named the interim DC and his unit played great in the Citrus Bowl win over Florida. 
5. Don Brown was hired

Greg is a very good DC and a great recruiter, but he always chases the next job.    Yesterday, he also took a veiled shot at Harbaugh: "Ryan Day is who you want to work with. You want to work with guys who have great character, that care about players more than anything, that are very, very genuine, that are not egotistical, that are worried about being the best football coach they can be."

My thoughts:

• I can make fun of my family and complain about them - You can't. 

• I know loyalty is a foreign word to Greg but the Harbaugh family sure has been good to you over the years.  I would be more careful on your phrasing moving forward.   Or not. 

Michigan Monday: Michigan Beats The Ash Out of Rutgers

Chris Ash tried to win at Rutgers, it just didn't happen.   He tried to create a rivalry with Michigan by fencing in the State of New Jersey, but Peppers and Gary still landed in Ann Arbor.    On Sunday, the Rutgers administration had enough, wrote Chris a $8.5M check and asked him to take his Offensive Coordinator with him.

Of course there seems to be more to this story.  Enter former coach Greg Schiano.   Greg has a long strange history with Michigan.  Turn your memory book back to 2007.  Greg has turned Rutgers around and they are a regular in the top 25.  He is rumored to be Penn State's choice to replace JoPa when he retires and is considered a top coach in the country.   "Sailboat" Bill Martin, Michigan's AD is looking for a new football coach as Lloyd Carr has called it a career and speaks to Greg at the national coaches conference.   "Sailboat" Bill is so impressed by Greg, he offers him the Michigan job.   Schiano is a little torn between taking a huge job or staying with his kids at Rutgers.  He declines the Michigan job (reportedly changes his mind and tries to get the Michigan job back a day later, but this time Sailboat Bill declines) to continue coaching at Rutgers.   Looking back, that was one of the dumbest decisions ever.

Greg goes on to fail with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and ends up on Urban's staff as the DC at Ohio State.   Greg then gets the Tennessee head coaching job, until the entire UT student body starts to  riot over a guy that they believe protected Jerry Sandusky's criminal activity at Penn State.

With Ryan Day now at OSU after Urban retires, he asks Greg to leave the Buckeyes and hires Michigan's DL coach and former DC Greg Mattison.  Many Michigan fans feels betrayed by Greg wanting to coordinate a defense for its top rival.   Schiano's unique connection to Michigan continues.
Greg quickly jumps to another high profile job, this time with the Super Bowl Champions.   As its current DC is now the head coach of the Detroit Lions.   Within a few weeks, Greg resigns from his new gig with the Patriots for untold reasons.   What the hell is going on with this guy?  It's probably good for us that Schiano stays away from the greatest NFL QB ever.

This weekend, Michigan beats Rutgers 52-0, and Chris Ash is out of job.   What's interesting is Brett McMurphy, reports that the Rutgers Board of Regents had voted to fire Chris Ash two weeks prior.  Meaning the Rutgers AD had the ability to fire Chris anytime he wanted.    He wanted to on Sunday.

Football Scoop also reported the reason Greg Schiano left the Patriots so abruptly was that Rutgers had reached out to him this summer about the "plan" to get rid of Chris Ash and Greg becoming the next head coach.   Greg then speaks to Belichick about the "plan" and they both decide it would be too disruptive during the season and he should just resign now.   Greg feels that going back to Rutgers wouldn't have the same "Sandusky reaction" that other schools might.   It was really his only way back to being a head coach.

Time to see if the plan comes full circle.

• Michigan opens as a 5.5 point favorite over Iowa on Saturday

• Michigan now #19 in the AP 

• Peppers had a pick 6 off of OSU's Haskins yesterday 

Michigan Thursday: Bullet vs. Viper

Greg Mattison decided to chase a few bucks and became a Buckeye.  He wanted to be Coordinator and a raise and Ryan Day hired him.  Personally, I wouldn't have hired anyone from the squad that my team just put 63 on, but that's just me.

Greg will be brining a bunch of Don Brown's defense to Columbus and he started with Michigan's Viper role that he is now calling the "Bullet".   It seems that OSU's defense now calls itself the "Silver Bullets" (Coors Lights for everyone!).  There will be a few differences and maybe even some growing pains as they implement a new system.   OSU really doesn't have a ton of personnel for The Bullet position yet.  For example, true freshman Kort Williams is the first player that was recruited for the Bullet position.  So who is going to play there this year?

Mattison is going with Brandon White a former Safety at the position.  “Brendon has the athleticism and the experience at two different positions to be able to fit in, and that’s what it’s allowed us to do,” Mattison said. “He can fit in as a safety in one package and fit in as a bullet in another package, so there’s a lot of different places.”

With little to no depth at the position, the OSU defense is not expected to have the Bullet position on the field full time this season as they search for their version of Peppers and Hudson.   Good luck with that.

• Reports are Ambry Thomas is back at practice, I still don't expect to see him a week from Saturday. 

• The Big Ten season starts a week from today as South Dakota State visits Minnesota.   MSU also hosts Tulsa and Wisconsin travels to Tampa to play USF on Friday the 30th. 

• Miles Simms and family is also upset at Michigan because their NCAA immediate eligibility waiver was denied.  Georgia Tech has had 3 waivers denied this month by the NCAA and all 3 are Harbaugh's fault!   GA Tech opens at Clemson a week from tonight.   

• Brian Jones, a CBS Sports college football analyst has predicted that Michigan State will make the College Football Playoffs this season.  I would like to ask Brian how the Spartans plan on scoring points?

Michigan Tuesday: Iggy Named Freshman of The Year

Iggy was named the Big Ten Freshman of the year.  First honor for a Wolverine since Trey Burke in 2011 - 2012.   The rest of Michigan starters made an All Big Ten Team or honorable mentioned.

• Devin Funchess is going to Indy on a 1 year contract at $13M.   Should get a few more looks with Luck under center.  

• So the Greg Mattison jump to OSU makes a little more sense to me now.  Greg was making $900K a year as Michigan DC's, his latest contract at Michigan was $525K, OSU is paying him $1.1M a year.   The Wolverines cut his salary by $400K and OSU was looking to double it.  It wasn't a Maize and Blue vs. Scarlett and Gray thing, it was all about the GREEN.

• Michigan makes top 5 for 2020 Aurora (CO) Eaglecrest four-star center Reece Atteberry.  Others included OSU, Duke, ND, and Nebraska. 

• Michigan also makes top 6 for 2020  Louisville OT John Young.   Also on the list: Georgia, Purdue, Louisville, Kentucky, and Ohio State.

Some Prespective on the Greg Mattison News

Many Michigan fans and players are freaking out.  How could Greg Mattison go to Columbus to become the DC for Ohio State?  I have heard he has told friends and others that it was a financial decision, as his Michigan contract was due to expire.

My Take:

I really don't see this as a huge loss.  Greg is 70 and has one foot already towards retirement.  He has been contemplating retirement for a few years now.

He has developed a ton of talent at Michigan but many top level guys never really reached their full potential.   Gary and Taco are two that come to mind.   You could even throw in there Aubrey Solomon if you wanted.

Greg was always a great recruiter but I'm guessing its getting harder and harder to hit the road in your 70's.

That last point, OSU already has a great defensive line coach on staff.  Greg will be co-DC with Jeff Hafley a new hire from the 49'ers.   This is a clear hire to groom Jeff for the full time DC role.

I know Greg has family in Ann Arbor, which is the 100th reason this seems like a strange move.  

The good news:

Michigan already has a guy on staff that is young and a high riser in the profession.  Al Washington who has family ties to OSU was offered a job and turned down Ohio State.  He has coached the defensive line for Don Brown, is also known as a great recruiter, and has very good recruiting ties in Ohio.  

If you put a gun to my head and said, you have to lose Greg Mattison or Al Washington to OSU, pick one.   I would pick Greg.

Good Luck Greg!  I hope your defense gives up 62 points to Michigan next year.   Let's hope this reverses the curse.  

Michigan Monday: A 2 Commit Sunday

Sunday in college football is for rest and maybe some treatment from the game the day prior.   It's also a time where coaches can spend more time with recruits visiting for the weekend.  As you might imagine, spending a ton of time with recruits on game day could be difficult.

Michigan was lucky enough to land two recruits on Sunday.  A 2019 DE from Florida and a 2020 TE who is the brother of Michigan QB Shea Patterson.   Let's start with the 2019 recruit first.

Mike Morris is a 4 star 6'5 250 pound DE legacy FSU recruit where his father played on the offensive line in the 80's.  So it won't come as a surprise to learn he was a commit to the Seminoles for 2+ years.  FSU was a different program two years ago lead by Jimbo Fisher who is now at Texas A&M.  
Mike has been to the Ann Arbor 3 times now.   He fell in love with Ann Arbor and Coaches Don Brown and Greg Mattison and decided to flip his commitment.   "The past three times I've visited it has just been unreal," Morris told The Michigan Insider. "Just the love they showed me, this was just confirmation. Everything was confirmation. I've been doing a lot of praying about it lately... about what school I should go to. Every sign is pointing to Michigan. The first time I prayed about it, God got me to the right school. (Recently) I was going on my way to school and somebody had cut me off. I was about to have a little road rage, like, 'what are you doing?' Right on the back on that window they had a Michigan little sticker on the back. I was like, 'dang, that's crazy.' That's the first sign I ever got. That was really like, 'okay, I see where he's guiding me.' It's just been constant... constant Michigan stuff that's been putting in my face. That's why I'm choosing Michigan."

Mike had offers from FSU, Tennessee, Clemson, Florida, Miami, UCF, WVU, and others.  Many insiders expect him to grow into a DT like Chris Wormley.   Welcome Big Man!


Nick Patterson the brother of Shea was the second commit of the day.  Nick is a 6'3 215 pound TE and plays his HS football at San Antonio Christian.  Nick would attend Michigan football games with his brother growing up and just couldn't resist the feeling to commit to the Wolverines on Sunday.

"I've been to a lot of different places... a lot of different schools. Right when I walked through the door I felt like it was different," Patterson told The Michigan Insider. "It felt like home. It felt like family. I like how my brother has gotten better over the past few months there. I like my relationship with Jim Harbaugh and Coach Dudek. It just felt right. I just felt super comfortable. Way more comfortable than when I've talked to other coaches and been on other visits. It just felt like home."

Nick is rated as a 3 star right now (still early for 2020) and has offers from the likes of Dartmouth, FIU, Memphis, and Florida Atlantic.

Send us all your Patterson's!  Welcome Nick!

That is a good Sunday.   Now we can switch our focus to SMU, right?

You know what that means!

• Giles Jackson a 4 star athlete out of CA is expected to announce his decision at 3:00 today.  Giles has offers from Michigan, USC, Florida, Oregon, CAL, Oregon State and others.  

• Michigan is a 35 point favorite on Saturday 

• ND on Saturday beat Ball State by one score 24-16.   Wimbush threw 3 picks.  

• Congrats to EMU who beat Purdue on Saturday.  The Eagles are 2-0!

• There are some great comments from this weekend's post game article.  I agree that Jimmy needs to open the offense a bit, but knowing his coaching style, I know he doesn't want too many plays on tape for Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn State, MSU, and Wisconsin coming up. 

Michigan Tuesday: Coach Mattison in Michigan Jordan Player Editions

Sorry all, I just don't have any news worthy items today.  So I thought I would show you this picture of Greg Mattison in a pair of Michigan Jordan's!

Greg Mattison fun facts:

• Born in Madison,Wisconsin
• University of Wisconsin–La Crosse graduate
• He has been a HS coach at two programs
• He has been with 10 college programs including Michigan twice
• He of course has been with one NFL team the Baltimore Ravens
• He was a finalist for Western Michigan's head coaching job in 2004
• Greg has worked under 3 Harbaugh's: Jack, John, and Jim
• His defense at Florida won a National Championship in 2006 by beating Ohio State 41-14 in the BCS Championship game.

Michigan Monday: Commit-A-Palooza



Wow! What a weekend for the 2019 and 2020 class. Getting all these guys on campus at the same time was a great strategy.

Lets re-cap how they dropped.

First commit came from Cincinnati Football/Baseball star Joey Velazquez who will play both sports at Michigan.  He is a great athlete and will play Viper or Safety at Michigan.  He was committed to OSU for baseball and really wasn't on the radar for many football programs.   A great pick up for two sports!  Joey is a 3 star 2019 prospect.

2nd: Erick All committed.   Many thought the Wolverines were "All done" on Sunday after this talented TE committed.  :-)  Erick is 6'4 and 225 from Ohio.  He is rated as a 3 star prospect and had offers from BC, Duke FSU, Iowa, UK, Louisville, Maryland, MSU, Minnesota, ND, Pitt, Syracuse,  Wake, and Wisconsin.   That is a strong offer list and he is clearly a smart kid who picked a school that highlights the use of its Tight Ends! 

3rd: 4 star RB from California Zach Charbonnet.  Zach was also in town for an official visit and really connected with Ann Arbor and the Harbaugh's (his position coach Jay and of course Jimmy).  Reports are that Zach was the Wolverines #1 target at RB and he felt the love this weekend. 24/7's Barton Simmons is very high on the talented RB:    "Zach Charbonnet out of Oaks Christian in California caught my eye," Simmons wrote. "He’s got the prerequisite production having topped 2,000 yards as a junior against elite competition. At first glance a 11.2 100 meter time in track may restrict him from that elite future first rounder tier until you realize that Saquon Barkley and Rashaad Penny had similar track times in high school. His listed height at 6-foot-2 can be seen as a positive or a negative. Certainly he can carry the big back label but considering the ‘busts’ of Ty Isaac and Chris Warren, the late-round brand on Bo Scarbrough and the still-pending fate of Jalen Hurd, is a 6-foot-2 frame too big? Turn on the film and I see great feet, suddenness and twitch out of Charbonnet and I lean towards optimism on his trajectory."


His offers include: Pretty much the PAC 12, BC, Florida, LSU, Oklahoma,  MSU, ND, Nebraska, PSU, TCU, Tennessee, and more.  As mentioned Zach is 6'2 and 215 pounds and is in the 2019 class.  What a huge pick-up for the Wolverine offense!


4th:  4 star instate DT Mazi Smith picked the Wolverines around 10 PM last night.  Mazi is from Grand Rapids and a top DT in this class. He is rated 4 stars, 6'3 and 290 pounds and has been to Ann Arbor a number of times.  He has a great relationship with G-Matt and new S&C guy Ben Herbert.   If your wondering, he is #3 in the photo above.  He is standing next to 5 star Zach Harrison (Yes, please).  Mazi "and Blue" is a beast and ranked 123 in the country by 24/7 and #7 DT.  ESPN is very high on him and ranks him #29 in the country.   His offer list included: Alabama, Georgia, ND, MSU, PSU, OSU, Oregon, Wisconsin, and many more.   Mazi was always a strong lean to the Wolverines and it was great to get him in the boat this weekend. 

So that was a pretty good weekend!  We all can take a breath now and relax right?  Nope!

This worked so well this weekend, lets bring him back! Commit Watch



These two guys are on commit watch today: DJ Turner and George Johnson.  Both guys visited this weekend and could drop as early as today.  DJ is a CB from GA and in the first row and the last player on the right in the photo above.  George is a WR from Florida with offers from FSU, Georgia, NC State, Oregon, Utah, GA Tech, and many more.

With the new rule, players can take officials in June, but after this weekend they will have to wait to until football season.

Michigan Tuesday: Wonders If We Should Call Him Jackie?

Here is an interesting thought (at least it was for me):
Did the cancellation of the Spring Game actually help recruiting?

Michigan landed another commitment last night in Jack Stewart, which we will get to in a minute.  What's interesting is some thoughts from Instate OL prospect Karsen Barnhart's mom on not having the game and getting more personal time with the staff and the other families:

“This one was probably one of my favorite visits because the spring game was canceled, so we were in a close environment,” she said. “You got to mingle with a lot of the parents during the practice. And Coach Mattison’s wife found me right away when we got there and started introducing me to several different moms and telling me about their son (Bryan Mattison, who was an All American offensive line recruit in the early 2000s).


“Every visit we’ve had has been great there,” Mrs. Barnhart said. “One of the things that I like about every visit (to Michigan) … and it’s not that we’re not very special at other places… but we are treated top notch at Michigan. Someone is always there to guide you. We always have someone that if we need something, they pretty much stick with us throughout the day. Some of these other schools we’ve been on visits to, it’s like you’re kind of left hanging and you don’t know what to do next.”


Side note: We have always known that Coach Mattison is one of  the best recruiters in the country, maybe its really his better half who's the top notch recruiter!

Karsen is expected to announce on Friday and it looks like Michigan has a great chance to make this week a hat trick of commitments. 


Speaking of commitments, Michigan landed another talented offensive lineman recruit in Jack Stewart last night. 

Jack is rated a 3 star prospect and a bit under rated because he plays in "Don Brown" territory out East in Connecticut.  As you probably already know, CT is not known as a football state which means prospects really don't get scouted much.  Which in the past has meant great pick ups for the likes of UConn, BC, ND, and others. 

Jack is 6'5 and 275 as a Junior and has offers from the likes of Arizona, ASU, BC, UK, IU, TCU, Texas AM, Baylor, Maryland, and Ole Miss.  Michigan didn't even offer until April 6th.   I wouldn't be surprised to see his stock and ranking go way up now that he is committed to Michigan.   ESPN for example doesn't even rank him.  

His high school coach likes the player Michigan is getting:

"He has all the ingredients Michigan looks for in a football player," New Canaan coach Lou Marinelli said. "The face he is going to go out there with (Michigan defensive coordinator) Donnie Brown and coach (Jim) Harbaugh and that program, they're going to force him to him be as good as he can possibly be.


"He's a road grinder kind of offensive lineman."


"Jack Stewart is one of my best football players, no doubt," Marinelli said. "He's a big, strong, tough, athlete. He's a heavyweight wrestler."


Two things to point out: 

1. He called Don Brown, Donnie which I love and shows the long relationship.
2. He is a heavyweight wrestler which is great for offensive lineman

If we call him Jackie does that mean he will get off to a great start and play fast?

Welcome Big Man!

Michigan Tuesday: Backups on the DLine Could Be Starters on other Teams

Chase, Rashan, Mo, and Bryan are locked into starting roles on Michigan's defensive line.   Those are the best of the best and the only time that's important is on the depth chart.   Defensive Line coach Greg Mattison is known for his rotation of a number of players on the defensive line and the starters and the backups will get a ton of snaps each game.   This is the best way to keep players fresh and put consistent pressure on the QB and the running game of the other team.


Since we know who the starters are, who are guys that will be in the rotation?  Coach Mattison mentioned a guy we really haven't heard about in a few years:  “I hate saying this because you jinx them sometimes… I've been waiting for this for three years… Lawrence Marshall has had a very, very good camp. He's up to about 290-pounds, he worked really hard in the weight program, and he's a young man that I think will be able to play some 3-technique and be able to give Mo some work. He's done well. There's two things that are different… he's a lot stronger, his weight is up where it should be to play in there, and I think he's bought totally in. Let's be real honest… he's always been a guy that has played a little bit, and now I think he's bought in. I think he really wants to contribute to this front and he showed it. Like I said, I don't want to jinx him but every practice he's looked better that way."


Other guys that coach mentions is Carlo Kemp and Mike Dwumfour.  Carlo has been getting a lot of buzz since Spring Practice and if you saw the BTN camp update, had a huge wrap on his hand.   He is expected to be 100% healthy for the Florida game.  Mike had a shoulder injury from high school that he decided to get surgery on last year.  He has had to work hard to get the strength back in that arm and he should be ready to play a lot of snaps this year.  


We haven't even gotten to true freshman like 5 star Aubrey Solomon, DIB, Kwity Paye, Donovan Jeter or Luiji Vilain yet.   That is going to be a deep rotation!

• Josh Jackson the son of Fred Jackson was named the starting QB for Virginia Tech.  He is a red shirt freshman and if you ask Fred, Josh has the release of Marino, the smarts of Brady, the body of Cam Newton, the deep ball of Rodgers and the speed of Denard.  :)

Michigan Friday: Interesting News and Notes

• Louisville Basketball is being punished for having a prostitute in the dorms entertaining recruits.  They might have to vacate some wins including the National Championship game against Michigan in 2013.   Does that mean, Michigan would be the National Champion that year?  No, the history books will show there wasn't a winner in the game.    I think we should claim as the National Champion that year!  Give Spike the MVP!  Side Note: NCAA if you really want to penalize a University for cheating, take away their National Championship and give it to the team they played and followed the rules.

• Speaking of Michigan Basketball, they got a 2019 commit in Clarkston big man Taylor Currie.  Taylor is 6'8 and probably has a few inches still to grow still.   He is young big man that rebounds and can shoot the 3.   Many of the 2019 rating are not in yet but Scout has him as an early 4 star.

• Michigan lost a QB recruit last night when Tyler Shough committed to North Carolina.   I hear the reason he committed was he knew the "Ceiling is the Roof" when it comes to Carolina Football.   Michigan was in early on Tyler who grew up a Michigan fan, my guess is he has a clearer route to playing time at NC over Michigan.    In Ann Arbor, there are going to be guys with the names of Milton and McCaffrey in his way to playing time.

• Michigan's Band will be heading to Dallas for the opener against Florida.

• 2018 3-star OT Raiqwon O'Neal has a Michigan offer and is expected on campus for a visit next week.

• Top ranked 2019 TE Grayson Boomer visited Ann Arbor yesterday and was offered.

• I'm a sucker for these types of photos.  I love that Coach Mattison had his DL unit over for dinner.  Lawrence Marshall looks huge! I also like seeing Aubrey Solomon in the photo. 

Hat tip to Mgoblog

Michigan Thursday: Big Game Bob Steps Down

In a surprise announcement yesterday, Bob Stoops decided to retire after 18 years as Oklahoma's head coach.   Bob said this decision was not health related that it's just perfect timing for him to move on.   The 33 year old offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley is going to take over for Bob.  Lincoln has interviewed for other jobs the last couple years, including Houston. 


I wonder if we will see Stoops pop up again like Urban Meyer did when OSU hired him.   He played at Iowa right?  I'm just saying.....................

• We are expected to hear in the next 24 hours or so where Miami transfer Sunny Odogwu will play next year.  His decision is down to Michigan and UCLA.  “Those two schools, you can't get any better than having those head coaches that have experience in the NFL,” said Hailemariam (Sunny's HS coach). “The offensive coordinator, offensive line coach, the medical team, athletic training staff (are all) unbelievable. Those places are extremely tremendous places for Sunny to finish out his career and he's just trying to find out what's the best for him ultimately."

• Reports are that OSU has offered their basketball job to Creighton’s Greg McDermott.

• Here is a good Q&A from USA Today-Draft Wire and the best defensive line coach in the world, Greg Mattison.

• More info on David Dawson leaving Iowa State, it seems he is retiring from football and has a family situation right now.

• Per Steve Lornez:  Michigan is recruiting hard Apopka (Fla.) four-star offensive tackle William Barnes who attended the FAU camp this week and is looking to take a visit up to A2.   William is friends with Michigan QB commit Joe Milton.

Wolverine Wednesday: 2016 DL Recruiting Remaining

Michigan continues to host a number of defensive line prospects as they see this a major need in the 2016 class.   Here is a quick look at some of the top prospects:

• Rashan Gary: Of course he continues to be Michigan's #1 prospect as the #1 player in the nation.   The buzz continues to be very positive for the Wolverines.  A recent Ole Miss trip didn't seem to go very well.

• Jordan Elliott: A DT from Houston was planning a trip to Ann Arbor in December and pushed it up to a trip this weekend.   Could he be the first one to drop?

• Chris Daniels: Another DT from Texas and just announced he will announce his decision on 12/18.   My guess is, this is not a decision for Michigan. 

• Keyshon Camp: from Lakeland,  Florida and currently is a soft commit to USC.  He took his official visit to Ann Arbor a couple of weeks ago and now is paying his own way to visit again this weekend.

I wouldn't be surprised if Michigan took 3 guys on defensive line still in the class.  Of course, Michigan has 3 guys at the DE position already committed to the Maize and Blue:

• Rashad Weaver
• Ron Johnson
• Carlo Kemp

With Durkin and GMat as your position coach, this has to be a great opportunity for these guys.  I would be very happy if Michigan gives a few commitments on the D-Line and at LB.  David Reese's commitment to Michigan is a soft one right now.   . 

Wolverine Wednesday: The Glasgow Effect

mgoblog.com

This is one walk-on family I would take a commit from even if their son or daughter doesn't even play football.   Michigan has 3 Glasgow's on the roster right now:  Ryan is an injured junior defensive tackle, Graham is a 5th year senior that has started 34 straight games on the offensive line and Jordan is a freshman DB.   All three Glasgow's came to Michigan as Walk-on's.

Some of you might remember when Graham Glasgow was being recruited as a walk-on.   His decision came down to Michigan or Ohio State.  He announced for Ohio State, but showed up on Michigan's roster in the Fall.   I guess he changed his mind and surprised many of us when we saw his name.  Not only was that a good decision, it is one that has helped his brothers come to Michigan as well.  Ryan was just named as one of 10 semifinalists for the 2015 Burlsworth Trophy, that awards the top player that started his career as a walk-on.

Graham will play his last three games on the offensive line as a center starting this weekend.   His brother Ryan is injured with a pectoral issue and is held up in his room playing a ton of Halo (per Graham).    Ryan was very much missed this past Saturday as IU gashed the Wolverines defense for 300 yards on the ground.  The news got worse after the game as Jimmy announced he was out for the year with his injury.   Ryan will get another chance at the Buckeyes, this will be Graham's last dance. 

If I could recommend something to the Burlsworth award committee, it would be that both Graham and Ryan share the award as they both have been good tough football players for The University of Michigan.   They stayed and the next few games will determine if the older brother leaves as a champion. 
-------------

Speaking of the defensive line, it's time for Greg Mattison to work some of his magic.   Michigan is now down their two top nose tackles/run stoppers in Bryan Mone, Ryan Glasgow and their starting DE in Mario Ojemudia .   So now what?

We know Strobel and Poggi will be getting more time on the defensive line from their offensive duties.  But who else do we have?  Michigan needs bodies as they like to sub on the defensive line a ton. 

DT:

• Mo Hurst and Willie Henry are starters 
• Matt Godin played a ton against IU and struggled
• Brady Pallante got some time against Rutgers but didn't see if he played against IU.
• Garrett Miller is a walk-on from Adrian

DT seems very thin right now and Michigan may have some flexibility with their Defensive Ends. 

• Wormley has played inside and might have to go back there.
• Marshall was making noise in Spring and Fall ball but haven't seem him much this season.  Sounds like he was in Jimmy's dog house for awhile.
• Taco has been getting time and we need to see more of a pass rush from him.
• Strobel and Poggi have played more offense then defense this year.
• Ruben Jones is true freshman - heading for a RS
• Shelton Johnson is a true freshman - heading for a RS

I have confidence in GMat figuring this out,  I like Wormley moving more inside and giving Marshall a chance on the edge.   Marshall could sub in for Taco.   Penn State and Ohio State will have watched the IU tape a 100 times and will try to run the ball on the Wolverines (which used to be a strength).

Michigan Friday: Updates Visitors and 2015 Defense

The one thing I never really understood was why was the type of defense Michigan ran such a big deal?  Don't you have to run different defensive looks for different offensive situations? 

Sam Webb: Michigan is telling kids that they are going to be basically 50/50 as far as 3-4, 4-3.  As best you can without having a visual aid or a grease board, explain to people, how that will come to pass and why Michigan is saying that, why that makes sense.

I'm going to look for guys like Mario Ojemudia and Lawrence Marshall to rush the passer from the DE spot and RJS to pressure the QB from his LB position next season.

If we can get The Count to play like he did earlier in his career, the Michigan secondary could be scary good with Peppers being Peppers and Jourdan Lewis looking more and more like a NFL corner.

Something I didn't know was that GMat and DJ Durkin are close friends:  "Well, Coach Durkin and I are very, very close friends. We coached together a long time ago at Notre Dame. I traveled down there two years ago back to Florida to talk to him about what they were doing and he's done a great job wherever he's been. I've known DJ for a long time and I've always felt that he's a tremendous football coach. Some of the things that he's done at a young age at Florida is remarkable and I knew that, and that's why it's exciting to work with him. It's fun because were not just coaches together, we're friends and that's – I've always liked to be a part of something like that."

Recruiting

• Plymouth OT Michael Jordan (not that MJ!) stopped by practice on Tuesday.  He is getting more comfortable with the new staff.   I wonder why type of sneakers he wears? Maybe the ones with his name on them?

• Detroit King WR Donnie Corley was also there for practice on Tuesday and got to talk to Soup Campbell who is now back at Michigan in a non-coaching staff role.   Sounds like Soup being back in Ann Arbor will help this recruitment.

• Cass Tech OG/DT Michael Onwenu and Canton OLB Jalen Cochran will both visit on Saturday for practice.  Jalen doesn't have a Michigan offer yet.  Michael could be on commit watch very soon, as he is spending a ton of time in A2 lately.

• Egg Harbor City (N.J.) athlete Ahmir Mitchell will visit A2 on Sunday with Camden (N.J.) High teammates receiver Brad Hawkins and defensive end Ron Johnson.

• Iowa Transfer QB Jake Rudock is on campus.

Michigan Friday: How About The Big Ten?

Its hard to root for OSU and MSU but they both had impressive wins last night and showed there is some talent in the Big Ten.  Throw in Wisconsin's victory over Auburn and Jimmy coming to Michigan, I would say the Big Ten has had a very nice week in the eyes of the media and other Big Ten bashers.  Maybe other leagues outside the SEC can play a little football. 

• Greg Mattison return confirmed:  Greg has been actively recruiting for Michigan this week which is a sign he will be on Jimmy's staff.  This is great news!  Stop and think for a minute having Jimmy and Tim Drevno running the offense/Oline and DJ Durkin and GMatt running the defense.  This is going to be one great staff, when it's all said and done.   I also love the recruiting possibilities as DJ and Greg are known as some of the best recruiters around.  DJ was awarded Rivals Recruiter of the year in 2012.

• Sounds like Wheat coming home is still up in the air.  His son who is a top 2015 TE/DE prospect no longer seems to be considering Michigan.    I'm not sure if Ty is expected to stick with the Bills, go with Marrone to his next job or is seriously considering Michigan.  Sam Webb should have something soon as they are pretty close.  Marrone is rumored to be a serious candidate for the Jets and they are expected to met with him this weekend.

• Reports are that Roy Manning interviewed yesterday for a role on Jimmy's staff.   He could fit anywhere from DE/OLB coach to even RB coach, a role that he had at Cincinnati.   He is a really good recruiter and would like him stay in Ann Arbor.   Roy seems like the only probable hold over with Mattison.   

• I haven't seen anything on Andy Moeller so he might be sticking with the Browns.   There are reports that Drevno might coach the Oline in Ann Arbor as well.

• Tim Morton is expected to be the WR coach but there hasn't been much buzz on him coming outside the Sacramento Bee report.

Recruiting seems to be going well for the first couple of days.  It's still early for the Wolverines and Michigan has plenty of ground to make up in the next month.   I expect a couple huge official visit weekends in January.  

Enjoy the Weekend!

Wolverine Wednesday: What To Do On Day 2?

Jim got through all his public speaking engagements yesterday with half a voice.  He strikes me as a guy that doesn't really enjoy that part of the job and is much more interested in rolling up his sleeves and getting to work.    As we know there is plenty of work to be done.  

Step 1:  Call the recruits and commits:  Jim started on that on Monday.  I know he has contacted all the commits and even spoken to Mike Weber's family and spoke live with TE Chris Clark.   I believe the strategy will be to contact all the guys that de-committed.   They already know Michigan and de-committed because the coaching staff was removed.  Getting them back on board might be easier then a player who doesn't have any background with the Wolverines. 

Many of the top kids are at the Under Armour or Army sites preparing to play in those games.    So it might be difficult to get in touch with them right away.   With the dead period in effect until mid January, Jimmy and staff will have to put together two large visit weekends to Ann Arbor.   It's going to be fun to see how this develops in the next 34 days before signing day.  Michigan probably has about 10 spots to fill in the 2015 class.  5 star CB Iman Marshall (big USC lean) will take an official visit to Ann Arbor in January.

Step 1A:  Get a staff in place.  DJ Durkin has turned down A&M and now UNC, he seems to be a lock to come to Michigan.  He is the interim head coach at Florida and they don't play their bowl game until 1/3.  So we might have to wait a bit on that one.   There are mixed reports on Greg Roman coming to Ann Arbor as the OC.   Others that could be in line for an OC role are Ty Wheatley and Andy Moeller as well.

Would love to see Jimmy keep Greg Mattison, Roy Manning, and Curt Mallory from the current staff. 

Step 2: Is get your life straight outside the job.   Where are you going to live?  What is your family going to do for the rest of the school year?  We sometimes forget this part of the job can be very stressful when your taking a new job across the country. 

Step 3:  Watch tape of the current team.  I assume Jimmy didn't spend a ton of time watching Michigan games while he was preparing the 49'ers to play the next day.   My guess is he needs a ton of time to watch film and get an idea of this teams strengths and weaknesses.

There is plenty to do and a short window to do it in.  I hope we hear some news on the staff as early as this week as Jimmy will need help filling in the blanks on recruiting.  

We got our guy, now the recruiting and staff fun begins. 

Pillow Fight

David Guralnick/Detroit News

For most of this game the offense was well, offensive.   These are clearly two very bad teams and they showed it today.  

The Michigan defense played well for most of the game, but when the Northwestern offense is so bad, it's sort of hard to say they dominated.   For about 3 quarters, I thought this was one of the worst college football games, I had ever seen.   If you didn't watch this game, be happy you used 3.5 hours for something productive.  

I have a hard time putting this game into workds, so I am going to jump to the Cheers and Jeers:

Cheers

• Michigan won the game
• Frank Clark can use this game as a highlight reel for the NFL
• "New edit" Jake Ryan had another great game!
• DeVeon Smith ran hard all day and got over 100 yards
• The Michigan offensive line wasn't awful

Jeers

• For most of the game it was a comedy of errors by both teams
• Devin Gardner clearly can't throw in the middle of the field 
• Funchess was asleep the entire game
• Coach Nuss called a pretty poor game - A screen anyone?
• Ray Taylor did not play well 
• Greg Mattison having his DB's play 10 yards off the NW Wide Receivers, made no sense.  
• Blocked field goals, missing wide open WR's, not being able to take advantage of great field position, interceptions, not being able to gain the 1st down on 3rd and short, and pretty much everything on offense.
• I didn't bet my prediction in Vegas

I don't understand how you stop a team the entire game and have them back up to the 1/2 yard line and they drive the entire length of the field for a field goal.  Then kick it away and then they drive 75 yards for a touchdown and missed 2 point conversation for the win.   I liked the effort by Frank Clark on the 2 point conversion, but it never should have gotten to that point. 

This team clearly doesn't know how to win and somehow they continue to beat the downtrodden Wildcats with strange events every year. 

If Michigan plays like they did today against Maryland, they are going to lose by 3 touchdowns at home.    At least they have two weeks to fix things. 

Michigan Tuesday: Coach Speak Doesn't Sound Good For Peppers

Hoke was asked about Peppers yesterday, his response:  “No, but I’m getting closer to seeing where he is. I mean, he’s getting better but he’s not where he needs to be, and so that’s a very good question. I’ll probably have something soon.”

Reading between the lines and hopefully Hoke is being honest, Jabrill seems to be heading for a redshirt.   Not sure it would make much sense for him to play in the last 3 (or 4 with a bowl game). 


Speaking of Bowl Games, Michigan is a 2 point favorite on Saturday against NW and will probably be a favorite against Maryland.   They will probably be a two touchdown dog at OSU. 

I mentioned two wins equal Gator Bowl, well the Big Ten is not part of the bowl any longer and Michigan will not be heading to Florida if they win 6 games.

Quick Lane Bowl:  Really?  This is the game at Ford Field.   Is it possible to decline a bowl game?  This would be completely embarrassing.  The only positive would be the 14 practice days.

Heart of Dallas:  Played at the Cotton Bowl.  Played on January 1st against a Conference USA team. This is like when Michigan played in the Blue Bonnet Bowl in 1981.

Pinstripe Bowl:  What to get some sun for the bowl game, not if Michigan goes here?  Maybe Christmas in NYC?  Michigan would play an ACC team on 12/27.

Music City:  Another ACC match-up. 12/30 in Nashville. 

San Francisco Bowl:  At the 49'ers new stadium.  Interesting side story with this bowl game?

Holiday Bowl: Usually a fun bowl game in San Diego.   Maybe Hoke could drop his resume off at the home stadium of where he used to coach.

No Florida unless they upset Ohio State and the Outback picks them up.    None of bowls above, allow Hoke to keep his job and the game will probably be coached by Greg Mattison or Doug Nussmeier.

• Reports are that Michigan has contacted CMU AD Dave Heeke and Dartmouth AD Harry Sheehy.  There seems to be a very wide net right now.