Michigan Friday: Rumors, Reports, and Recall

Rumors

• A Mgoblog reader who says he is personal friends with Dennis Norfleet says he was not able to clear up his academic issues and will be playing D2 ball in Alabama this season.   Of course, this is just a rumor at this point.   If it's true, we will miss Dennis dancing before punts and kick offs.  He did a nice job as a returner and I wish we could have found away to get him the ball more often.   His bio is still up on Mgoblue.com.

Reports

• Sources told Maize n Brew on Thursday that former Wolverine Roy Roundtree will be named wide receiver coach at CSU-Pueblo. Roundtree will be joining former wide receiver coach Jeff Hecklinski, who coached Roundtree while on former head coach Brady Hoke's staff. Hecklinski is currently the passing game coordinator and quarterback coach for the Thunderwolves.  Glad to see Roy get a coaching job at such a young age!

• OSU QB Braxton Miller is planning to play WR and Returner this year for the Buckeyes.  Strange he wouldn't transfer somewhere he could play QB.  I'm guessing this is a move to get him on the field and for a future position in the NFL.

• 5 Star DL Nick Bosa committed to OSU yesterday to follow his brother Joey.  Could that effect Gary's decision and push him closer to A2?  Each program getting a 5 star d-lineman seems fair.  On a side note, do you remember when Hoke turned down Joey's commitment?  Fun Times.

• Michigan weekend visitor, Four-star NJ WR Ahmir Mitchell will be in C-Bus today for Friday Night Lights.  I hope he is on commit watch for the Wolverines this weekend.  One WR spot left in the class.

Recall

• In a new book about Saban, it looks like the coach might have jumped at Texas a year before Brown retired.  "The only way to get Saban to come to Texas, Hicks believed, was to get Brown's approval and even make it look like the entire thing was the Texas coach's idea," writes Burke. "He agreed to broach the topic with Brown."Hicks had lunch with Brown, but ultimately the coach "didn't want to retire," Hicks told Burke.
  "I am completely convinced that Saban would have come to Texas had Mack approved of the idea or had DeLoss (Dodds) fired Mack," Hall said.

Michigan Tuesday: Rumor Mill: Biff and Henry

National Signing Day is the highest traffic day here at the Big House Blog.   I wake up early and list all the LOI's that are sent to Ann Arbor. 

Some years we wait for decisions like Denard Robinson, Sean Parker or Demar Dorsey.   Other years we have LOI drama and why hasn't arrived yet like Sam McGuffie having second thoughts.   Exciting stuff, this year not so much.   Michigan has 27 commits for the 2013 class and it seems there won't be too much signing day drama.   Then a boy visited Alabama and it could or couldn't be something. 

Biff Poggi is the father of 2013 Michigan Commit and DT Henry Poggi, Biff is also the football coach for The Gilman School near Baltimore.  There have been many reports that Biff was heading down to Alabama for some business and to visit some of his former players.   Henry was going to tag along.   There have also been reports that Biff is a big fan of the SEC and how those coaches recruit. 

So as you might imagine, the Internet is spinning on what might be happening with this visit/non-visit for Henry.   I will try to give you two options and then you can make a decision if there is something to worry about or not.  

Option #1:  A Michigan coach visited Henry last week and Greg Mattson is expected to visit on Wednesday.  There were reports that Biff spoke with Brady Hoke on Friday and everyone excepts Henry at Michigan next fall.   The trip was just a business trip and had nothing to do with Henry checking out Bama  or having cold feet regarding Ann Arbor. 


Option #2:  Saban has about 5 spots left in the class and in on a few big time DT recruits like Eddie Vanderdoes.   Saban spent last weekend talking to and looking at a bunch of other DT's.  Henry could be a back up plan if some of these top guys don't go to Alabama.    Which could lead to a signing day flip for Henry from Michigan to Alabama.  Some folks that follow recruiting closely could say, "Henry has had a Bama offer for a long time, if he was going to flip why didn't he do it a long time ago?".  Many believe Bama was offering Henry as a tight end, not a DT.  Henry wants to play DT. 

You make the call.  Many insiders believe Option 1 is the closest to the truth but we all know how recruiting takes some wild twists and turns as National Signing Day approaches.   With Greg Mattison in home tomorrow,  I expect this might not be a story after his visit with Biff and Henry.   I also wonder if Biff would burn bridges with one of the top programs in the country.  

• How lucky did ESPN get with GameDay at IU this weekend for #1 Michigan visiting #3 Indiana?  Should be a great game! 

Michigan Friday: News and Notes

• The #2 ranked Michigan Basketball team does what they do and took EMU to the woodshed yesterday 93-54.  Michigan got behind early and which woke them up and never looked back.   They have 9 days off for the holiday before the met up with Central before the B1G Ten season starts. 

•  Willie Taggart is bring coach Nick Sheridan with him to South Florida from Western Kentucky.  Nick will be the quarterbacks / passing game coordinator.  On a side note, Willie is recruiting Leon McQuay very hard to stay home in Tampa.

• Speaking of Leon McQuay, his dad tweeted yesterday that L3 might not be ready to make a decision at the UA game.  Which would mean, he might not be ready to enroll early.

• OL Cameron Hunt is expect to visit A2 on 1/11.

• Reon Dawson is planning a visit on 1/11 or 1/18.

• Nick Saban may or may not be leaning towards the NFL. 

Michigan Tuesday: Recruiting Blitz

The Dee Hart decision is close and is expected next week.  Dee will be enrolling early and wants to get his official decision made so he can focus on football and school and not on recruiting. 

Dee visited Arkansas last weekend (who played Alabama) and the weekend before was at Auburn.  This weekend  he is visiting Alabama and will make his decision know next week.  

When he visited Auburn there were reports he was close to committing on the spot.  We know he isn't that interested in Arkansas because he Mom said so.  With that said, I think it's down to Alabama and Michigan.  Saban vs Rodriguez.  A man that turned down the job vs the man that took it.  A possible match up between two teams in Dallas in 2012. 

Dee has visited Michigan three times and still has to be seen as the leader, but Saban can recruit and I'm sure will pull out all the stops this weekend as they host Florida.   Dee is still expected to be up in Ann Arbor for the Iowa or MSU game which has to be seen as a good sign for the Wolverines.

• Michigan is almost a two touchdown favorite at IU on Saturday.  -13.5

• Michigan has offered junior QB from Tampa Bay Plant City High Bennie Coney

• Michigan 2011 recruit from the same school in Tampa, Tony Posada has a sprained MCL and is listed as day-to-day.  He suffered the injury on 9/21 and didn't play last weekend.

• NJ TE Jack Tabb will visit Iowa this weekend.  Michigan is recruiting Jack for the 2011 class as well.

• Three updates below from TomVH at Mgoblog: 2011 CB recruit Avery Walls was named to the Army All American game.  Avery will visit Oregon and CAL and then make his offical decision known after that.  He plans on enrolling early and wants to make sure he is accepted before he announces his decision.

 

• 2012 recruit Alan Grant is the son of former Wolverine Tony Gant visited Ann Arbor last weekend for the BGSU game:  "The visit was good, and I got a chance to talk with the coaches too. We mainly talked about how the season was going, how I was doing, and we talked a little about school and the recruiting process too."   Tony is an OSU fan, so Michigan has some catching up to do. 

• Danny O'Brein is a 6'3 278 pound DT from Flint.  He is a 2012 recruit and visited Michigan this weekend as well:  "I was at the game with my Mom and Dad, and Coach Rodriguez came and talked to us right after his press conference. He said that he can't give me anything in writing until next August, but that I have a verbal offer from the University of Michigan. My Dad is a Michigan fan, so he was excited, me and my Mom were really excited too. It's a relief to know that I have that offer in hand now."

Michigan - Bama is Happening

Nick Saban let the "cat" out of the bag and announced the Michigan - Alabama game at Jerry World last night on his radio show.  It hasn't been officially announced but it seems like it's a done deal. 

I don't have any problem with this game and pretty excited to get a chance to go to "Jerry World" and see the Wolverines during Denard's senior year. 

What I do have a problem is which year they are playing the game.  In 2012, Michigan plays on the road:
Notre Dame, Nebraska, Ohio State and now Alabama at a neutral field.  Those are tough road games in one year.  

  

Michigan Thursday: Denard Version 1.0 Speaks About Denard 2.0

Pat White who is now a member of the Kansas City Royals organization spoke about Denard Robinson:

"He's a beast, that's all you can say," White said Wednesday in a teleconference announcing his shift from pro football to a baseball career with the Kansas City Royals. "He's just doing amazing things out there."

"He obviously knows the position and looks like a hard runner and a good leader," White said. "He doesn't look afraid to run the ball or stick his nose in there."

"I do think he's durable and will hold up," White said. "It's more than just being the right kind of quarterback, though. It's the right 11 guys doing the right things most of the time.

"He just needs to show up for work every day and be who you are. That's what he's doing now."

BG will be back in town to play his home town Detroit Lions this weekend.  Here is what he had to say about RR and Denard:  (freep link):  “I know he’s going to be there,” Graham said. “I know he’s staying there. He ain’t going nowhere, you can say that. I can see that, already within the team, that those guys, very strong. A lot of linemen that was light last year gained a lot of pounds to get ready, got stronger and got faster. “I don’t see Coach Rod leaving now. I just think them boys going to take it one game at a time, and a lot of people are going to have a different perspective when they talk about Michigan.”   On DRob:  "just one move, and he was gone,” Graham said. “That’s what I see that he gained a lot from last year. Last year, he was trying to do too many juke moves. Now I see him just making one cut, and he’s gone. “That was the biggest thing that we had to get him to do, to know his own speed. And to see him out there really killing it right now, I’m very happy for him, because I know he worked hard.”

• U of M to honor Ron Kramer #87 before the kickoff of the UMass game

• 3 Keys to an UMass Upset on Saturday.  Stop Denard, Stop Denard, Score points 

• Mike Marrow a former Alabama running back has decided to transfer closer to home and picked Eastern Michigan, over Wisconsin and Michigan?  That U of M offer doesn't pass the sniff test in my book.  Maybe there was a walk on offer.  Mike is from Toledo. 

• We will see how good UConn is this week as the take on a quality Temple team that is expected to compete for a MAC Championship and already has a win over Central Michigan.

Top 10 Questions That Need to Be Answered in College Football

10.  Will anyone introduce Nick Saban to a "baseball style" hat that he can wear in practice? 

9. Is it possible for ESPN to get a translator for Lou Holtz?  Will the SAP button work?

8. Is it me or is every program under NCAA investigation right now? 

7. Why do coaches wear wind shirts in practice when it's above 90 degrees? 

6.  If the injury bug hits UNC and USC, will their players have to play both ways?

5. Why is it every time I see Chris Peterson from Boise State, I get hungry for Domino's Pizza? 

 

4.  Will Les Miles ever clap with his fingers together?

 3.  Does USC and Reggie Bush need a receipt to return their Heisman's?  Or will they just get store credit for the next time USC wins one?  They must have a nice credit built up with OJ and now Bush.   We would like to returns these 2 Heisman's for a Walter Camp in 2012?  I'm going to need to talk to my manager.

2. I know Derek Dooley as a new coach wants to have a close team.  But does he really need to be in the shower with them?  That can't be good for recruiting. 

1. Will Denard Robinson break the sound barrier this year?

Michigan Monday: Smells Like Practice

Welcome to Day 1 of Michigan's Fall Camp.  On Sunday, Rich Rodriguez and staff held a team meeting and today will be the first practice for all the players.  In the past 2 years, the media had access to practice to watch drills, etc.   This was a big change for the Wolverines under Lloyd Carr who never opened anything.  (sometimes I even wondered if he even opened birthday presents).

This year after "Stretching Gate", "Questions on why coaches use colorful words", "Even some plays leaking", and so on.  This year at least on Day 1 and even maybe in future the media will not be allowed at practice.   Which after the past year, I have to agree with.  RR will hold his regular press conference after practice.  One of the biggest questions will be if Michael Shaw was at practice after some rumored academic issues.

• There are a number of rumors floating around that a game in the 2012 season will match Michigan vs Alabama at Jerry World in Dallas.  Mgoblog is even reporting that it could be signed as early as today.  Not sure why Michigan would sign up for this game but it sure would be interesting.   "We have been talking with a number of teams about our future scheduling," Michigan football sports information director Dave Ablauf said Sunday night. "But nothing is imminent."  With the possibility of Nebraska on the schedule in 2012, I don't understand why Michigan would want to schedule this game.

• TomVH from Mgoblog gives us a recruiting update:  Highlights:  Dallas Crawford is still high on Michigan, Anthony Zettel keeps pushing his decision date back and just visited PSU and it seems Michigan's lead is slipping, Prince Holloway has WVU and Michigan as his top 2 and hopes to visit Michigan sometime during the season.

• Freshman numbers:  Marvin Robinson #3, Josh Furman #6, Devin Gardner #7, Courtney Avery #9, Carvin Johnson #13, Jeremy Jackson #17, Ray Vinopal #20, Terrence Talbott #20,  Austin White #23, Cullen Christian #24, Drew Dileo #26, Stephen Hopkins #33, Jake Ryan #37, Davion Rogers #38, Wil Hagerup #43, Richard Ash #54, Jibreel Black #55, Chrisitan Pace #64, Ricardo Miller #82, Jerald Robinson #83, DJ Williamson #84, Jordan Paskorz #94, Terry Talbott #96.

Countdown to Kickoff Day 27 and 26:






Question if anyone knows: Who is the kid on the video with the Neck Brace in the front row?  Answer: BHB reader Chris believes it's Jon Bills who was in the car accident with Mark Mundros.  Thank you Chris!  Good to see Jon up and around and participating in the team meeting.

The Most Powerful Coach in Sports

When you think about the most powerful coaches in sports, I think of a few names like Carroll, Holmgren, Belichick, or even a guy like Bill Cowher who could walk into any AD's or GM's office and get a job head coahing job.

So I was surprised to see that Forbes selected Nick "the quick" or "the savior" Saban, Alabama's head coach. Nick Saban, born in West Virgina (I guess where all great head coaches are born) coached for one year as the head coach of Toledo in 1990 then moved over to the defensive coordinator for the Browns under Belichick. In 1995, Saban left the Browns to become the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans and after 4 years of mediocre results (he was 9-2 in 1999 before he left) he packed his bags again, this time for SEC becoming the head coach for The LSU Tigers. Stating he wanted to recruit in a state where he was the #1 school.

Nick found success at LSU with the highlight being the National Championship in 2003 with SEC Championships in 2001 and of course in 2003. Well, all things come to an end when your a team under Nick and a year after winning the National Championship, Nick "the quick" moved to the NFL to coach the Dolphins.

Nick didn't find much success in the NFL going 9-7 in his first year (2005) and missing the playoffs, then in 2006 having his worst year as a head coach with a 6-10 record. Then Alabama called and we all know what happened; he was staying, then he was leaving, then he left. After two years as Head Coach of the Dolphins, Nick was back in college and cashing in on a 8 year contract for $32 million, making him the highest paid coach in college sports.

Nick finished 2007 at Alabama 7-6 with a win over Colorado in the Independence Bowl. There was also a pretty strong rumor that he was interested in the West Virgina job after RR left for Michigan. I guess we will never know if that was true or not.

So what exactly makes him the most powerful coach in sports? The one national championship or the two SEC Championship? Maybe it's having 5 high profile head coaching positions? Maybe it's his wallet? Either way, I don't agree with the choice. Saban can coach, but the most powerful? If you look back, his only real successful job was one at the one at LSU, MSU had mediocre results during his time there, The Dolphins job was a total disaster, and it's too early to tell at Bama.

Nick took it on the chin for his time with the Dolphins. When asked whether Saban was "a raging fraud", Hall of Fame coach Don Shula responded, "What other conclusion can you draw? The guy likes to hear himself talk and then doesn't follow up on what he says.

Not a good choice Forbes. Maybe Phil Jackson or Coach K but not Nick Saban.

Here's another two college coaching lists from Forbes:

Top Under Paid Coaches (or best values):

1) The Vest

2) Mike Riley, Oregon State

3) Jim Grobe, Wake Forest

4) Pete Carroll, USC

5) Frank Beamer, Virgina Tech

Worst College Football Coaches For The Buck:

1) Kirk Ferentz, Iowa

2) Greg Robinson, Syracuse

3) Charlie Weis, ND

4) Ralph Friedgen, Maryland

5) Al Groh, U of V