The BIG HOUSE Blog

Michigan Friday: Wilton Highlights from Elite 11 Camp

2013-05-24T10:09:00.000-04:00

I'm not a QB guru by any means but I think he needs to work on this throwing motion some. It looks a little compact and he might need to come over the top more. But what do I know?

OSU took a LB commitment from Dante Booker yesterday. Does this mean anything for Chase Winovich? We will see. He is expected to visit Pitt this weekend and then make a decision in the next couple of weeks.

Peppers Announcement on ESPNU at 5:15PM EST on Sunday. He is the #2 player in the nation to Rivals and ESPN. Fingers crossed.

ND paid the Kansas head coach and Brian Kelly last year. What's funny is the Kansas head man (Charlie Weis) got paid more, Kansas was 1-11 and ND made it to the BCS Title Game. Good Time Charlie will be getting nearly $19M for not working at ND any longer. Now that's a good gig! If anyone is interested in paying me $2M + a year for not working for you (or working for you!) please drop me an email.

Michigan Friday: Big Al Explains OSU 2nd Half

2013-05-23T09:26:00.001-04:00

During the Big Ten season last year Michigan fans were upset about two situations that didn't make much sense.

1) Why Devin Gardner wasn't prepared to take snaps in the Nebraska game?

2) What happened with the play calling in second half of the OSU game?

In part two of Mgoblog's interview with Big Al, he discusses the second half of the Ohio State game:

Gotcha. I want to ask you about something you’ve said in the past, about how the success of your offense later in the game is often dependent on your success earlier in the game --
“Right -- turns."

What?
"Your issues with play-calling are what I call ‘turns.’ How many turns do you get? How many chances do you get? How many first downs do you get so that you can call more plays? And this is where you become a victim of execution to a degree.

“There’s a lot of criticism, I know, from the Ohio State game, which the plan was very similar [to the Iowa game] and there was a lot of the lauding or praises for the Iowa game. A lot of the [Ohio State] plan was in the Iowa game. There was a lot of the same stuff. There was a little more nuance that we actually ended up running in the bowl game -- I’m telling you something I haven’t told anyone before -- but the second half of the Ohio State game we didn’t get to a lot of those calls because we failed on third-down-and-short situations several times. We failed, we turned the ball over a couple times. A lot of those calls don’t get out of your mouth. You see what I mean?

“I told you guys this in the press conference, and I remember saying this: everybody’s going to complain about the play-calling and who’s touching the ball, you know? Getting carries? If you’re not getting first downs, you’re not getting calls out. You don’t get that turn. You lost that turn, because something went wrong and you didn’t move the chains. You turn the ball over. And now everybody’s going to think you screwed it up, which, at the end of the day, maybe you did. It’s not all the players; it’s the coaches, too, now. We don’t always make the perfect call. But the bottom line is at the end of the day, if you don’t get a lot of chances to call plays, you’ll always be short. You won’t rush the ball very well. Nobody will rush for 100 yards. You won’t have a receiver catching over 100 yards. Your quarterback won’t have good numbers. You have to keep the chains moving so the play-caller can get more calls off. You’re in a constant situation where you’re trying to set plays up, but if you don’t get to those plays, you never get to the counterpunch.”

I see. So for your offense to be successful, you need the opportunity to run plays so you can set up other plays.
“Mmhmm.”

There were plays that you ran in the bowl game that you didn’t run against Ohio State because you weren’t able to set them up?
“Exactly.”

I think Al makes a decent point here but I also would challenge him a bit on that theory. I don't like the excuse we weren't successful so we didn't make the "good calls". I understand that if you go 3 and out or if there is a turnover you can't get deep in the playbook, but that is a poor explanation in my opinion. I really don't like re-watching games where Michigan plays poorly, so I'm going from memory here but if I remember correctly Big Al had Denard at QB a ton in the second half. What that did was send a clear message to the OSU defense that the run was coming. Everyone knew he couldn't pass and it took any advantage the Michigan offense had on being balanced. Wasn't the success Michigan had on offense in the first half a good enough set up to be effective in the second half?

The ironic thing, later in the interview Big Al talks about the most important aspect of a Michigan offense is being balanced and keeping the offense guessing if it's a pass or a run. Yes, the Michigan offense was more successful in the Bowl Game but I would also challenge Big Al that the offense game plan and formations were much different from OSU to the Outback. Maybe that was the month of preparation or maybe Big Al finally understood how to use both Devin and Denard in the same backfield. Too bad he didn't figure that out much earlier in the year or last summer when he put his 5 star QB at WR.

Side Note from the interview: Remember when I questioned if Big Al watches other successful college offenses' and the NFL to get ideas on how to tweak formations and plays?

Well, you and Brady have talked about changing the look of the offense for the last three years. Obviously you’re not there yet, but is there an endpoint to the evolution, and what does that offense look like?

“Oh, it won’t stop evolving. We can’t stop evolving. If you look at the way college football changes over the years -- I mean, what it looks like now doesn’t look the like it did in 1986. Players are getting faster and stronger … What defenses are doing with their coverages and zone blitzing is a lot more sophisticated. If you look at what Michigan was doing back in 1940 with [Tom] Harmon carrying the ball, even the uniforms weren’t the same. You can’t stop evolving. That’s why we do so much time studying what other people are doing. Now, we may not use all of it, but we have to keep up.”

That's exactly what I was afraid of. He didn't mention RG3, Andrew Luck or what Harbaugh is doing with the 49'ers. He used examples from 1986 and Tom Harmon. Someone buy him the Red Zone channel! To his credit, he does talk about playing fast (they call it Nascar) which I assume he is talking about Kelly's Oregon offense and how he feels it takes away from the defense and special teams being effective.

Michigan was out to see 2014 OL Jamarco Jones yesterday.

Don't forget about Sunday and Peppers on ESPNU. I believe the telecast is around 4:30 PM.

U of M Mott Hospital uses 3D Printing to save the life of a young boy.

Wolverine Wednesday: Is Watching Tim's Stock Rise

2013-05-22T10:51:00.001-04:00

Tim Hardaway had a tough decision after his junior year at Michigan. Turn pro or stay in school for his senior year? It was tough because Tim was ranked as a mid-second round draft pick by some NBA Draft insiders. That's the big conflict right there: get drafted low or stay in school another year and try again as a senior (most insiders feel drafting a 4th year senior is not a good thing, since all the top players leave early).

Tim decided to leave Michigan and try his hand at the NBA Draft. The NBA Combine was last week in Chicago and he seems to be moving up a few boards. One of his biggest critics was Chad Ford from ESPN who now ranks Tim as the #27 player in the draft. There are 30 teams in the NBA and would project him now as a late round one pick. Could he go home and play in Miami?

With the lottery now set, ESPN has Orlando taking Burke #2. Others think he could be a good fit at #6 to New Orleans or #7 ~~Seattle~~ Sacramento.

Rivals is not very high on the Wolverines current class none of these commits got in their top 250: Marshall, Bunting, Speight, Ways and JBB.

Michigan is very picky about offering QB's as they took their sweet time offering 2014 prospects. So that is why the offer to 2015 QB 2015 quarterback Josh Rosen (Bellflower, Calif./St. John Bosco) was somewhat surprising.

Charles Woodson signs with the Raiders. Yikes!

Michigan Tuesday: Links and Some Useful Information

2013-05-21T10:09:00.000-04:00

There isn't much news coming out of Schembechler Hall these days. So here is a few bullets and links with some items you might be interested in:

5 Star DT Andrew Brown might be considering a summer visit to Ann Arbor. He is the #2 player in the nation behind Hand on Rivals.

Speight did ok but not great at the Elite 11 camp. He didn't (nobody did) receive an invite to the main camp. Here is Dilfer's take: One of the longest commutes to compete at the event came from Richmond, Va. native Wilton Speight. The Michigan commit was also one of the biggest prospects in attendance with regard to his physical stature and Dilfer noted that his size is both his strength and his weakness at this point. Dilfer on Speight: “He had a nice day. He’s obviously a very physical kid, tall, strong. I think he’s got to get more organized. Everything’s just got to get more organized for him to be consistent. That’s typical for a lot of linear guys. There’s a lot of moving parts.”

There is speculation that California 5 star DT Eddie Vanderdoes might not make it to ND after all. He signed his LOI on signing day. There isn't any truth to the rumor that he is planning to join his brothers and start a Van Halen tribute band. Rumors are he would like to play at UCLA.

Greg Mattison is the highest paid assistant coach in the Big Ten at $750K. As he should be! Big Al is tied for #3 and $600K. You probably know how I feel about that one.

Mgoblog goes into the mind of Big Al. Be careful in there!

ESPN ranks Michigan's schedule next year (I told you things are slow!)

Former Arkansas QB Brandon Mitchell will enroll at NC State. He was considering Michigan but as the coaches said last week, it has to be a perfect situation for this to happen. Which means it probably isn't.

Michigan Monday: A Few Defensive Recruiting Nuggets

2013-05-20T09:16:00.000-04:00

Let the Peppers countdown begin, as you know he will announce on ESPN on May 26th. The latest on Jabrill is he didn't visit Penn State this weekend but might do a quick visit to Rutgers on Thursday. He is also throwing around statements like he is comfortable with his decision and Drake Harris is tweeting things like:

So on the 25th me and my boy @WiltonSpeight will be out in San Diego and will watch our boy @JabrillPeppers commit to the UofM! #team135

I would say things look positive right now! On a side note, Wilton and Drake will be in San Diego to work with QB coach George Whitfield. George is also working this summer with Devin Gardner. Love that the current and future Wolverines are working with top notch coaches when they can't be coached by the Michigan staff!

Chase Winovich didn't make it to Pitt this weekend but is now scheduled to visit next weekend. I expect he is probably two weeks away from a decision on his future school. I believe he will decide between Michigan, OSU and Pitt.

IL CB Parrker Westphal visited Arizona State this weekend and might be close to a decision. He wants to try to get to Tennessee before a final decision is made. He doesn't want recruiting to be an issue with his senior season and practice will start in July and it seems he wants to make a decision before that. Michigan has always been his leader, having Todd Howard as his DB coach doesn't hurt either!

4 star DB Jalen Tabor top has a top 8 of: Maryland, Vanderbilit, Florida , Alabama , UT , FSU , Michigan and Ohio State. Most insiders believe Michigan is trailing in his recruitment.

OL Alex Bars committed to ND this past weekend. He is the brother of current Wolverine Blake Bars. Michigan is still probably looking to take 2 more offensive lineman in this class. Alex and Blake's father played at ND and it's a shame the brothers probably won't ever get a chance to play against each other.

Michigan Friday: Weeps For Season Ticket Holders in 2014

2013-05-17T14:28:00.001-04:00

I don't know how many of you are in Enterprise Sales but my best analogy for Michigan's home scheduling comes from that profession.   Let me run this example by you: You're "carrying bag" and have a $2M quota on your territory. You have a great year and do $3.5M in sales.    You make big commission and life is good, right?

Until you see your next year quota on those same accounts. You have done your job and sold those accounts your products. Now that $2M territory you have has a quota of $4M.   You can't sell them the same thing they just purchased so you have to get new accounts or new products. From a compensation point of view, you have had a great year and now maybe a difficult one.

This has to be what season ticket holders are thinking about the 2013 and 2014 home season at the Big House:

2013 you get to see:

Central Michigan
Notre Dame
Akron
Minnesota
Indiana
Nebraska
Ohio State

2014

App. State
Miami Ohio
Utah
Minnesota
Penn State
Indiana
Maryland

What is the best home game on the 2014 schedule? A sanction heavy Penn State? Utah from the PAC 12? Maryland's first trip? Brandon is saying that the Penn State game will probably be a night game.

How does scheduling the App State game look now? Poor Minnesota and IU have back to back trips to Ann Arbor in 2013 and 2014.

2013 has the last trip to Ann Arbor for ND, Nebraska and OSU.   A very good year for season ticket holders.   2014 is a good year for Stub Hub buyers.

I wouldn't recommend David Brandon raise ticket prices after the 2013 season.

Michigan now has the #1 recruiting class in 2014 to ESPN. (and Peppers is still un-committed!)

There are 3.5 years left on the Michigan Adidas contract per David Brandon.

Michigan's 2014 Big Ten Schedule

2013-05-16T12:16:00.001-04:00

9/27: Minnesota (Little Brown Jug)
10/4: at Rutgers
10/11: Penn State
10/18: Bye
10/25: at MSU
11/1: Indiana
11/8: at Northwestern
11/15: Bye
11/22: Maryland
11/29: at OSU

Notes:

Little Brown Jug as a cross over game
2 Byes during the Big Ten
Going to Rutgers first year
Maryland in the Big House

Michigan Thursday: Brady on Mike and Mike & Some Recruiting

2013-05-16T09:41:00.001-04:00

Brady Hoke is a good sport and went on ESPN's radio's Mike and Mike this morning. He was joking around with Mike Golic on the "Chickening Out" comment. It's was pretty funny and it's good to have a coach with a personality and one that doesn't cry at the drop of a hat. I wish Brady dropped the fact that Michigan stopped by South Bend on their way to the West Coast sometime in the 1800's and taught ND how to play football.

2014 DB Parrker Westphal is visiting Arizona State this weekend and then will have a top 8 list after that. Parrker has been to A2 a few times now and said the Wolverines were the standard he would measure all his trips by. Look like his recruitment will go well into the summer and maybe even into the season.

Future Michigan QB Wilton Speight will participate in Elite 11 QB competition on May 18th. If he does well, look for his ranking to sky rocket. It seems the Michigan coaches see something the recruiting services don't at this point.

Denard has been taking shotgun snaps at QB in Jacksonville. It would be crazy not to use him in certain wildcat situations. A surprise throw now and then wouldn't hurt either. Jacksonville is a perfect place for Denard: his home state and with a team that has been struggling on offense and needs playmakers.

Michigan top targets right now are the following recruits: Jabrill Peppers, Alex Bars, Chase Winovich, Da'Shawn Hand, Artavis Scott and Malik McDowell.

Wolverine Wednesday: A Little Recruiting News

2013-05-15T13:11:00.003-04:00

I mentioned yesterday that LB Kyron Watson might have fell off Michigan's radar. He had a Michigan offer and was schedule to visit campus soon. He was very vocal about Michigan being his leader and couldn't wait to get on campus. Then he preformed well at the Nike Combine in Chicago but showed he might not be as tall as he is listed. I don't know if the height was the reason or Chase's visit last weekend but Kyron committed to Kansas yesterday. I wish him good luck in the Big 12.

The big news is Jabrill Peppers is announcing on May 26 on ESPNU. This could be a must watch! Still visiting PSU this weekend and might get one more visit in before the 26th.

There is talk that the Big Ten might be considering playing the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl when it moves to the 49's new stadium.

Michigan Tuesday: Chase Chickens

2013-05-14T10:39:00.000-04:00

Brady Hoke was at the Michigan Annual Luncheon yesterday and dropped the word "chicken" on ND and them leaving one of the best rivalry in college football after they joined the ACC.

"The Notre Dame game, that rivalry, which they're chickening out of," Hoke said Monday during the West Michigan Sports Commission Annual Luncheon at the J.W. Marriott in Grand Rapids.

The remark drew thunderous applause from the crowd.

"They're still gonna play Michigan State, they're gonna play Purdue, but they don't want to play Michigan," Hoke continued. "I don't know how they made that decision ... I really do ... But anyway, that's a great national rivalry game. It's a great game."

I really don't have much more to add. He is right and ND knows it. If you are going to leave Purdue and MSU on the schedule, it's clear you are looking for easier games down the road.

The word on the street is the Michigan coaches are cooling on LB Kyron Watson who was planning a visit I believe this weekend. We will see what happens with this situation. Michigan has one spot left and many believe the coaches want Chase Winovich who is planning to visit Pitt and then make a decision between: Michigan, Pitt and OSU. Insiders believe he is an OSU lean but we will see. Kyron preformed well at the Nike camp in Chicago a couple of weekends ago but was a bit smaller then maybe he is listed on his Bio.

Shane Morris is going to wear #7 at Michigan.

I know many of you don't want to re-live anything from the RR era but one of the many things I was critical of was his inability to recruit. Michael Rothstein from ESPN did this little post about the 2010 class, which I think proves my point. Homeruns with guys like Devin, Lewan and Denard but way too many strike outs. That is why RR is better at a smaller or basketball school. He can take 3 star guys and turn them into stars in his offense. Defense of course is optional.

The Class of 2010:

Still on the Team: Devin Gardner, Jeremy Jackson, Will Hagerup, Jibreel Black, Jordan Paskorz, Josh Furman, Richard Ash, Jake Ryan, Drew Dileo, Courtney Avery.

Gone:

Marvin Robinson (TBD)

Demar Dorsey (was at Arizona Western)

Ricardo Miller (UMass)

Cullen Christian (Pitt)

Christian Pace (medical retirement)

Davion Rogers (Youngstown State, then unknown)

D.J. Williamson (running track at Akron)

Terrence Talbott (unknown)

Kenny Wilkins (left team in spring)

Stephen Hopkins (left team before bowl game)

Jerald Robinson (left team before bowl game)

Antonio Kinard (Arizona Western College)

Conelius Jones (Marshall, then unknown)

Austin White (CMU, no longer on team)

Carvin Johnson (Hampton)

Terry Talbott (unknown)

Ray Vinopal (Pitt)

Marshall Law and Players Leaving

2013-05-13T09:23:00.000-04:00

2014 DE Lawrence Marshall committed to Michigan on Saturday and surprised a few people. If you remember, Marshall was committed to OSU for about a week before changing his mind.   His commitment was surprising to many insiders because he had visited East Lansing 8 times since February.   He had been to Michigan a few times and was being recruited by friend and AAU teammate Moe Ways.   Recruiting insiders thought he might make a quick decisions but most thought it would be for MSU.

I believe Marshall realized that Michigan was putting together a special class and wanted to be part of it, rather then going to Michigan State.   He wore Michigan gloves last weekend in Chicago and was the first sign he might be leaning towards Ann Arbor.

Marshall is a 4 star DE to all services except Rivals which ranks him as a 3 star.   He is currently 6'4 and 230 pounds and seems to be gaining weight and muscle.   He is a bit raw in his DE skills but will get a number of chances to improve that this summer at camps/combines and during his senior year.   Even with the likes of Hand and Malik McDowell still as options for this class, I am very happy the Michigan staff landed another instate 4 star prospect. It's important to keep the top instate player instate and in Ann Arbor. Michigan could sweep the top 3 players instate with McDowell, Harris and Marshall.

My only concern here is Marshall was already committed to OSU and de-committed. Let's hope Lawrence sticks with Michigan as there is a ton of time until signing day.

The word on the street is two players are leaving the Michigan Program: (it's now official)

#1 Marvin Robinson - was a highly ranked Safety from Florida that never seemed to pan out as a Wolverine.   It's hard to understand why he never saw the field but if I had to guess it was probably due to a knee injury or lack of understanding of the position.    If I remember correctly, I believe he came to Michigan after a injury his senior year of high school. Marvin was a senior and was a candidate to take Jordan Kovas role but Thomas Gordon and Jarrod Wilson are now the leading options to replace Kovas.

#2: Mike Jones - another Florida player who was a back-up LB but was mostly a special teams player.   Mike was a redshirt Senior and I'm sure he understood he was never going to start at Michigan.

The biggest loss is Robinson which would have given Michigan more depth at the Safety position, but it was clear there was a reason why he wasn't seeing more game time. I wish both guys good luck and their new schools.

Michigan Friday: Welcomes Va Tech to the Big House

2013-05-10T09:25:00.000-04:00

Michigan has signed a home - home contract with Virginia Tech for 2020 (Big House) and 2021 (Lane Stadium). This is the type of scheduling I'm talking about! A named opponent that gets to travel to the Big House and a chance for Wolverines players to play in another famous stadium. Michigan also has a strong alumni and fan base in the Washington DC area (about 200 miles away from DC). With all the flack I have been giving David Brandon for his poor scheduling skills (UMass, App State and Bama in Dallas) this make a lot of sense. Well Done, Dave!

Former Arkansas QB Brandon Mitchell is now considering Michigan as one of his destinations. Brandon story sounds very similar to Devin Gardner's. He has been a QB and WR in Arkansas's system and is now looking to play QB full time. Joe Schad from ESPN had this to say about him considering U of M: The 6-foot-4, 239-pound Mitchell wants to play quarterback but if he were to go to Michigan he could be utilized as a multi-dimensional weapon because of the presence of quarterback Devin Gardner. He is going to graduate and should be eligible to play right away. The issue with these situations is most guys are looking to start and not play a back-up role.

Trey Burke is going to be represented by his father Benji Burke, and his cousin, Alonzo Shavers. Alonzo is an NFL Agent. This is not that big of deal since rookie contracts are pretty much set on your draft spot. The big issue is, will Benji and Alonzo have the connections to get Trey the big shoe and other endorsement deals?

Great story about Vincent Smith and Tae Odoms giving back to the community. These are proud Michigan Men!

Visitors expected in this weekend include:

LB Chase Winovich

DE Lawrence Marshall

LB Michael Ferns

WR Drake Harris

WR Moe Ways

2015 LB Jerome Baker

Monday's headlines could include: Chase wins the race for the last LB spot or Marshall Law - Lawrence jumps on board as a Wolverine.

Michigan Thursday: Are You a Pepper?

2013-05-09T09:57:00.001-04:00

I rarely dedicate an entire post to a player Michigan is recruiting and hasn't committed to Wolverines yet.   Today, I change that policy for a "special" recruit in CB Jabrill Peppers from Paramus, New Jersey.

What do the Recruiting Services think of Jabrill?

Rivals: #1 CB and #2 Player in the Nation
ESPN: #1 CB and #2 Player in the Nation
Scouts: #4 CB and #11 Player in the Nation
24/7: #1 Athlete and #9 Player in the Nation

5 Star Player across the board

Jabrill is a 6'1 210 pound defensive back that every major program wants in their recruiting class.   He is ranked as a CB to all services accept 24/7 which see's him more as an Athlete or Safety.

Jabrill talks to the recruiting services often and every time he declares the Wolverines his leader with other schools like Stanford, Penn State and LSU.

Why Michigan?

Already visited Ann Arbor and loved it
Current teammate JBB who is already committed to the Wolverines
Ann Arbor is much closer to New Jersey then Stanford or LSU
Greg Mattison is always a strong selling point
Rutgers will be in Michigan's division when Jabrill arrives on campus, which means Michigan will be playing close to his home a couple times in 4 years.
Anyone want to bet, they have offered him #2?
Paramus Catholic is now calling themselves Team 45
He just dropped Ohio State from his list

Timeline:

Jabrill has said that after his trip to Stanford in July he would know which school he would want to attend.   Lately, that trip to the West Coast has been shaky at best and hasn't been scheduled yet.

His coach told ESPN yesterday that he plans to move his timeline up to early June to put recruiting behind him, so he can focus on his senior year.   His next trip is to Penn State on May 18th, which is only 4 hours away from his hometown. He visited PSU briefly in February and wants to go back for another look and stay the night.

Outlook for the Wolverines:

Michigan is in great shape for this highly ranked 5 star CB.   The quicker the decision happens the better it is for the Wolverines.   If he makes a decision in June or July, I think he will be Blue. If the decision leaks into the season and he takes official visits, I think Michigan's pole position could be in jeopardy.

This could be huge recruit for the Wolverines and you could see a snowball effect from other top rated guys to the Wolverines, since this is such a small class.

Wolverine Wednesday: Life is Like a Punt - It Has It's Up and Downs

2013-05-08T10:45:00.000-04:00

I'm sure that is what Michigan punter Will Hagerup is thinking today. Yesterday, he got good news and bad news. He is re-instated to the Michigan Football program and will sit out the entire 2013-2014 season. This is the Darryl Stonum punishment if you are looking for a reference.

This is Will's third and last chance as a Wolverine. He was suspended back in the Rich Rod days and now has been away from the Michigan Football program since last season. If he is a good student athlete and a good teammate the next 12 months he will complete his eligibility in Ann Arbor.

Let's hope Will has solved his problems and can move forward.

There has been talk from the Jaguars organization that Denard will get 10-15 touches a game, which includes kick off returns.

2014 RB Jonathan Hilliman announced a top 7 of: Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Rutgers, Stanford, Boston College and Vanderbilt. He is ranked 3 stars by Rivals but has a 4 star offer sheet.

Lawrence Marshall will be back in Ann Arbor this weekend. WOTS is he is a MSU lean. This weekend might be the tipping point for the Wolverines.

Chris Webber's disassociation from U of M is officially over. Let's hope this story has a positive ending.

Kaleb Ringer has moved to Big Rapids to live and work out with his brother. He hasn't made a decision on his next school yet.

A great profile of Jordan Kovacs on Miami Dolphins web site. They say he has a great shot at making the team. Having the owner as a big fan doesn't hurt either. Remember when I joked that Stephen Ross probably wanted to sign Kovas? Well, I was right. Ross called Kovacs and asked him to sign a free agent contract with the Dolphins.

Michigan Tuesday: Un-ring the Bell

2013-05-07T09:22:00.000-04:00

Michigan lost a defensive player yesterday as it became clear on twitter and then confirmed that Kaleb Ringer a LB prospect from the 2012 class has left the team for Ferris State. Kaleb was a 3 star LB from Clayton, OH and redshirted last year. There was always some concern with a knee injury and that could have been part of the reason for his redshirt . Kaleb has a brother at Ferris and it sounds like a good fit for him since he will be able to play right away. Good Luck in Big Rapids!

This loss on the roster is not expected to impact next years team and should continue to give spots needed for next years recruiting class. At last count, Michigan had 86 scholarship players and this now gets them down to the 85 maximum.

There is still the situation around suspended punter Will Hagerup and if he will be re-instated to the program at some point.

Heading Back to A2: Michael Ferns, Moe Ways, Drake Harris and LB Chase Winovich will all be on campus this weekend. As we know, Chase and Kyron Watson seem to be in a race for the last spot at LB in this class. Kyron is expect to visit Ann Arbor in two weeks.

Michigan Monday: Offensive Line Recruiting

2013-05-06T09:59:00.002-04:00

Michigan is in very good shape with it's offensive line recruiting for the class of 2014. Already committed are Mason Cole and JBB both Tackle prospects. Michigan is also involved with some other highly rated guys like Alex Bars, Roderick Johnson and Jamarco Jones. Both Bars and Jones are expected to make somewhat soon decisions. Jones just announced a top 5 group of Michigan, MSU, OSU and ND and a decision date of 6/27. Jones showed up at the Nike combine this weekend with an injured shoulder.

Bars as you know is brother of current Wolverine Blake Bars and is rumored to be making a decision anytime. Insiders believe ND might be the team to beat (Dad played there). A name that recently fell off Michigan's radar was Drake Harris's high school teammate in Tommy Doles. Tommy was a regular on Michigan's campus earlier this year and it seemed like he was on "commit watch" each time he arrived on campus. On Friday, he committed to Northwestern which I think is a clear sign that the Wolverines "cooled" on the young man. Tommy's other offers were from Army, Air Force and Iowa State. This is another example of how you don't want to wait if you really want to play for Michigan. In a small class, your position could get filled in a heart beat.

Drake Harris earned an invite to Nike's Opening this weekend. Drake and Moe were at the same Nike combine in Chicago and both did well reports ESPN.

Moe is good friends with Lawrence Marshall and recruiting him hard to Michigan. Marshall is rumored to be a MSU lean. He was also in Chicago this weekend.

John Beilein will be able to start practice two weeks earlier this season compared to past seasons. The NCAA just announced a new rule change to allow basketball practice to start earlier. I think this is a very good rule change, getting more organized practice time for true freshman (and the rest of the roster) is a very good thing for the sport.

Michigan Friday: Wonders About The NCAA

2013-05-03T10:02:00.003-04:00

I sometimes wonder if the NCAA has a master plan. Everything they seem to do becomes a huge mess.   The latest is the NCAA is recalling the un-limited electronic contact to football recruits that they approved in January.

Who thought this was a good idea in the first place? How is texting a 17 year old kid 24x7 make sense to anyone? Most coaches will recruit right up to the line for all NCAA recruiting rules and many will step over it. Let's just open the flood gates!

Better late then never on recalling that rule I guess.

How about not being able to make anything stick at Auburn or Miami, Florida?   There is so much smoke around Auburn and their championship year, I'm surprised the Auburn athletic department hasn't combusted yet.   Miami is just a huge cluster. I'm sure they think this will never end.

Duke and former player Lance Thomas will not face any penalty by the NCAA. In 2009, Lance put down $30,000 in cash and got a $70,000 loan for a bunch of jewelry. Nobody would go on the record, so no harm no foul.

I'm glad Michigan spent Millions defending themselves for over practicing a few minutes which equaled stretching by players.    Looking back does that really equal two years of probation?   Maybe some loss of practice time but it seems that should of been have been investigated and ruled on it a couple weeks.

Notice to Kids and Coaches: If you break NCAA rules, don't talk and you will be let off. But you probably already knew that.   The NCAA can't subpoena anyone, so I guess they can't find the truth.

Michigan DE Lawrence Marshall who committed to OSU for about 10 minutes has released at top 5 in no order: Michigan State, Michigan, Oklahoma, USC and Notre Dame. Many believe Lawrence is headed to East Lansing.

Michigan WR target Christian McCaffery committed to Stanford on Thursday.

LB Kyron Watson from Illinois is pretty excited about his visit to Ann Arbor on May 20th. He will definitely be on "commit watch" that weekend. Kyron is 3 star prospect to Rivals & Scouts and 4 stars to ESPN.

Michigan Thursday: News and Notes

2013-05-02T09:58:00.002-04:00

With ESPN's new Top 100 rankings Michigan Basketball moved up to the 12th recruiting class in the country for the 2013 class.

There is some buzz that Alex Bars (brother of current Wolverine Blake Bars) will make a decision soon. The Bars have some ties to ND and many believe they are leading for Alex right now.

One of the graduate transfer QB's that was considering Michigan: Clint Trickett former FSU QB is transferring to WVU. Clint has two years of eligibility left and clearly wants to start.

Denard's new number with the Jaguars right now is 29. Denard is expected to be at a Jaguars OTA on Friday and then heading back to graduate from Michigan on Saturday. Jordan Shipley wears #16 and needs to give that number up!

For those of you that don't like Michigan's Adidas gear, here is a story on their questionable business practices.

Wolverine Wednesday: Hits The Links

2013-05-01T10:04:00.000-04:00

A good story about Michigan's new point guard Derrick Walton. He is already talking to Trey: “I talked to him a couple days ago,” Walton told GoBlueWolverine. “He was just telling me a few things that’ll help my transition going into college. He basically just told me to be ready for whatever is thrown at me and be ready to grow up quick. Basically, be ready to run the team at a young age and dedicate myself to getting better everyday.”

Speaking of next years team: ESPN recently updated their ranking and all 3 Michigan recruits are now in the top 100 and Zak Irvin is a 5 star player.

Dave Brandon doesn't like the college playoff system, but I assume he does like the revenue upside.

Dave also debunks things about the Michigan Athletic Department. Pretty boring questions, I would have gone with questions like: Did you offer the head coaching job to Les Miles? Did Tate Forcier fail out of school or transfer? How close was either Harbaugh brother to taking the Michigan job? Reports are that you had decided to fire RR on December 1st but didn't do it until after the Bowl Game, why wait and do you think Jim Harbaugh would have come to Michigan if you had offered him on 12/1? What was the upside of playing Alabama in Dallas? Do you like how Big Al ran the offense with Denard?

Mgoblog ranks Michigan's class #1 in the Big Ten right now. A couple of surprises: Rutgers has 8 commits and ranked #3, Indiana has zero 2014 commits.

Does Justin Blackmon suspension get Denard on the field quicker next year? Of course we don't know how the Jaguars are going to use him yet.

ESPN article on Frank Clark

Michigan Tuesday: Looks Like Another Top 10 Team

2013-04-30T09:41:00.000-04:00

John Beilein's squad continues to make news off the court.   ESPN's Jason King has Michigan ranked #9 going into next season and the Wolverines just added another player to the 2013 team.

Andrew Dakich has accepted a preferred walk-on spot on Michigan's 2013 roster next year.   Andrew of course is the son of former IU player and coach Dan Dakich who also happens to be a ESPN college basketball game analyst.   Dan also coaches AAU basketball in Indiana and has coached some of the current Wolverines.

Andrew is a 6'2 160 pound point guard and wasn't ranked by Rivals.   He had walk-on interest from the likes of Butler, Purdue and Michigan. Having another ball handler from a basketball family is always a good thing. Expect Dan to cover a ton of Michigan Basketball games the next 4 years.

Here is ESPN's/ABC Primetime Schedule for next season:

Sept. 7: Notre Dame at Michigan, 8 p.m. ET, ABC or ESPN or ESPN2

Sept. 14: Notre Dame at Purdue, 8 p.m. ET, ABC or ESPN or ESPN2

Sept. 28: Wisconsin at Ohio State, 8 p.m. ET, ABC or ESPN or ESPN2

Oct. 5: Ohio State at Northwestern, 8 p.m. ET, ABC or ESPN or ESPN2

Oct. 12: Michigan at Penn State, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN or ESPN2

Oct. 26: Penn State at Ohio State, 8 p.m. ET, ABC or ESPN or ESPN2

The buzz around Michigan and LB Chase Winovich is very positive. Chase is expected back on campus on May 10th and I think its safe to put him on "commit watch".

MO LB Kyron Watson is also planning a visit on the 20th of May. So it could be a race to who commits first.

Bring Me My Bushell-Beatty Binoculars!

2013-04-29T16:08:00.001-04:00

Could this happen?

You have played one year of high school varsity football and after your junior year you have offers from the likes of: Florida, Florida State, BC, Michigan, WVU, Miami, MSU, Tennessee and Rutgers.

Not likely, but it did happen to Juwann Bushell-Beatty who is ranked as a 3 star offense lineman to Rivals and Scouts and 4 stars to ESPN and 24/7. I think it has something to do with him being 6'7 and 300 pounds (other sites have him 6'5). JBB is Michigan's 8th verbal commit to the 2014 recruiting class.

"The coaches were great," he said. "I met Coach Hoke and he was a very down to earth guy and he was very honest and will keep it really straight with the players, which I really liked. I got to talk to Coach Funk too. I met a few of the players and liked them. We were there for practice and I liked the way they were so intense and the way they hit. That's something I'm looking for."

As you might expect, the feedback on JBB is he is "raw" but has a huge upside. He could play Guard or Tackle at Michigan. Being 6'7 Tackle would be idea if he learns his craft at Michigan. With the depth on the offensive line a redshirt is guaranteed as he learns to be a D1 offensive lineman.

Did I mention JBB plays for Paramus (NJ) Catholic and is teammates with 5 star DB and #2 player in the nation Jabrill Peppers? Jabrill is very high on the Wolverines and plans to visit Stanford before making a decision. There were reports Jabrill was considering making a quicker decision (before July) this weekend but he really wants to see Stanford. IMO he should take that trip so he doesn't have any doubts.

Michigan Monday: Draft Dodgers

2013-04-29T09:53:00.000-04:00

The NFL Draft came and went with only two Wolverines being selected and a number of other guys getting free agents contracts. When the Draft started on Thursday night, I had really two goals for the former Wolverines:

Denard to get drafted on Friday and not by the Oakland Raiders: That didn't happen and he had to wait until the 5th round to get selected by the Jaguars. I think Jacksonville is a good fit for a number of reasons; they need a ton of offense, Denard gets to go back to Florida and he seems to play better in warmer environments. The downside is that Denard might have played his worst game as a Wolverine in Jacksonville's home stadium or the home of the Gator Bowl.
Big Will gets drafted. This happened and he is going to the Jets. Not sure on the fit but we will see.

The interesting thing for both Denard and Big Will is it seems neither will be playing the positions they thought they would be. Denard was a QB in college but was in the draft as a WR. Jacksonville tweeted they drafted Denard Robinson a running back. The buzz from the media out of NY was the Jets drafted Big Will to be an offensive lineman. Many colleges were recruiting Big Will as an offensive lineman when he was a senior in high school.

Here is a list of Wolverines and where they signed free agent contracts:

Craig Roh - Carolina Panther
Roy Roundtree - going home and playing for the Cincinnati Bengals
Elliott Mealer - New Orleans Saints
Jordan Kovacs- Miami Dolphins (I'm betting Stephen Ross watched a few Michigan games the last couple of years and made sure they signed Kovacs)
Patrick Omameh- San Francisco 49ers
Ricky Barnum- Washington Redskins
Kenny Demens- Houston Texans
Brandin Hawthorne- St. Louis Rams

How about the former Wolverines?

Surprisingly Mike Cox got drafted in the second to last pick in the 7th round. Talk about a turn around. He goes from the bottom of the depth chart, to transferring, to NFL Draft pick.
Darryl Stonum- Kansas City Chiefs
Dann O'Neill- Houston Texans
Update: Sam McGuffie to the Raiders

Michigan Friday: Moe Ways Then One

2013-04-26T18:26:00.000-04:00

Sorry the post is late today, life got in the way. Short and sweet today.

Michigan got their second WR commit yesterday in local boy Maurice Ways. Moe is 6'3 and 185 pounds from Detroit Country Day and is in the mold of the prototype WR that Big Al wants. Moe is a 3 star WR to all the services and had offers from The MAC, Pitt, Rutgers, Kansas and Iowa.

The reported downside is, he is not a "burner" and has questionable hands. Either way the Wolverine coaches like what they saw and think he has a nice upside.   I like when Michigan keeps local BCS talent home, even if they take a bit of a "risk" on a 3 star prospect.   (insert Mike Hart was a 3 star prospect here)

I believe Michigan would take 2 more WR's in this class if one of those guys were elite and attrition moves the class closer to 20 then 16. If not, only expect one more.   Moe is the 7th player committed to the Wolverines in the 2014 class and now there are less then 10 spots remain in this small class.

If you are watching the NFL draft tonight, this should be the night Denard goes off the board. I think the best spot for him is with a traditional pro style QB where he can get some easy throws and can sub in for the wildcat or even a couple surprise throws every now and then. My prediction is a team like he NY Giants. Just a guess.

Ricardo Miller will graduate from U of M next month and will play for UMass next year. He will also try to get a redshirt year back when he got injured his freshman year.

Michigan Thursday: Does Anyone Feel A Draft?

2013-04-25T09:07:00.000-04:00

Tonight starts the first round of the NFL Draft. We won't see any Wolverines go in the first round tonight, but I expect Denard to go in the second round on Friday night. Denard might be the only Wolverine drafted. I think someone might pick up Kenny Demens, Big Will and Kovacs late in the draft but I expect most of the guys to be free agents.

I think Craig Roh could be a player with a nice upside as a free agent. It seems he played pretty much every position on Michigan's defense in his 4 years. Good Luck to all the Wolverines on Draft Weekend!

Here is my $.02 on the NFL Draft this year. Don't draft a QB in the first round! Don't do it!

Memo to Lions: Please draft offense lineman and a bunch DB's.

Michigan is in really nice position for Paramus (N.J.) Catholic teammates Jabrill Peppers and Juwann Bushell-Beatty. Peppers is rated the #2 player in the nation at CB by ESPN and JBB is a 6'7 OL and a top 150 player . Peppers is saying he will visit Stanford in July and will know which school he is going to attend after that visit. JBB would like to make a decision this summer as well. I think Michigan has a great shot at this pair.

Michael Ferns has accepted an invitation to play in the UA All American Game joining Wilton Speight and Drake Harris.

4 star CB Jalen Tabor is taking a mid-week visit to Ann Arbor and might be on campus right now. He might wait until signing day to make a decision and I willing to bet, Michigan's small class will be filled by then.

Barry Sanders is on the cover of Madden next year and Denard is on NCAA Football 14.

Wolverine Wednesday: Welcomes a New TE

2013-04-24T09:37:00.000-04:00

The Michigan Basketball Team has a "Spike" and now the Football Team has a "Bunting" as U of M welcomes 2014 TE Ian Bunting from Hinsdale, Ill. to the Wolverines recruiting class.

Ian is a 6'7 215 pound WR in high school and a 4 star prospect to ESPN and 24/7.   He is 3 stars to Rivals and Scouts.   How can a walking miss-match be a 3 star prospect? I assume he hasn't done all the "camps and combines" yet where you jump up the rankings.   Ian plays WR and DB in high school but clearly with a few more pounds will play TE in college.   I expect he will be in the Funchess role for the Wolverines.   Can you imagine the target he will be in the red zone?

One way to decided if a player is ranked too low is by how many offers he has and who has offered. Ian has 21 offers from the likes of OSU, Oregon, USC, ND, Most of the Big Ten, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, NC and Virginia Tech.   This was one of the top TE's being recruited in the country and he picked Michigan.   Many had thought he was going to ND but he picked Michigan in the end.

With Michigan loaded at TE right now, I expect that Ian has the luxury of taking a red shirt year. On the other hand, his size might get him on the field early.    Unless Michigan gets some un-expected attrition or injuries, I expect Ian to be the only TE in this class.   Michigan's other TE targets Daniel Helm committed to Tennessee and Nic Weishar to ND last night. .   For many recruits, it's clear you need to jump on the offer to your favorite school before they run out of spots at your position.   Ian got the ball rolling and the other guys jumped on offers.

Fun Fact: Ian wears XXXL Gloves and wears a size 17 shoe.   He also says his XXXL gloves are getting a little small and might need XXXXL.

Ian is the 6th Wolverine commit for the 2014 class. This class right now is at 16 total spots but could go to near 20 with attrition.

New WR offer Moe Ways will be back in A2 on Thursday for a quick visit. Is this a commit visit? I don't think it's out of the question. We will see.

Michigan Basketball Walk-On offer Andrew Dakich will visit A2 with his dad on Monday.

SAM LB prospect Chase Winovich will get a visit from the Michigan coaches this week at his school and will be back in A2 on May 10th.