The BIG HOUSE Blog

Michigan Friday: Big Will - Little Trouble

2012-06-01T09:24:00.000-04:00

I won't restate the journey that Big Will has been on. We all know it too well.

Big Well didn't help his Michigan legacy by getting arrested April 7th for being drunk and sliding across the hood of a car. An officer was nearby and heard the metal bending under his 322 body and arrested him. Will is facing one felony and one misdemeanor charge of malicious destruction of property. I expect the felony to be dropped and maybe just a misdemeanor charge left. Will's status with the team has not changed.

Commitment Watch: Maurice Hurst, Jr. will be visiting Ann Arbor this weekend. He is a 4 star DT prospect to Scouts from Westwood, MA. He has offers from OSU, NC, Nebraska, MSU, BC and others. He is 6'2 and 280 pounds. Michigan is looking to take two DT's in this class. The wish list is Mr. Hurst and Mr. Poggi.

Coach Hoke stopped by Kettering, Ohio where he grew up and dropped some knowledge: “I think really in about three years you’ll see four super conferences, and I think the Big East will go away and maybe the ACC. But look, I’m just a coach. I don’t know all of it.”----On local products Kaleb Ringer and Roy Roundtree: (Kaleb)“He had a great spring. He had over a 3.0 (GPA). He did a great job from the academic side of it. He did a nice job of learning the defense. He was awesome. I think he can be in the mix (for playing time).” (Roy) “He’s doing great. He’s going to wear No. 21 in honor of (Heisman Trophy winner) Desmond Howard. It’s a big deal. Desmond is fired up. Roy is fired up. And I’m fired up.”

OSU is looking to get out of it's contract with Georgia in 2020 and 2021 due to the Big Ten moving to 9 games and the new contract with the PAC 10.

If you ever have to wonder if Brady Hoke is the right coach for Michigan, read this ESPN story about the seniors trip to California for SEALS training. What a great idea and I am glad the NCAA allowed it.

OSU fan that offered $2000 to take out LTT on twitter has apologized and donated $2000 to U of M.

Michigan Thursday: What Might Have Been

2012-05-31T09:09:00.000-04:00

Since we are getting into the summer months and Michigan's 2013 class is pretty close to full, I thought I would jump off the board a bit and propose a question to all the Big House inmates this week.

I got this idea watching the NBA playoffs the last few days. Kevin Garnett was having a big night for the Celtics in game 1 against the Heat and I started to think what if he had come to Michigan instead of going pro? Would he had been one of Michigan's best big men ever? Would he have been a one and done?

So below is my top list of guys that were considering Michigan but went the other way.   I would like you to vote on who would have made the biggest difference in the Maize and Blue if they did come to Ann Arbor.

Kevin Garnett: Was the high school player of the year and McDonald All American in 1995.   Instead of playing college basketball he decided to enter the NBA Draft and was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Kevin was on record as saying, if he didn't pick the NBA he was headed to Ann Arbor to play basketball for the Wolverines.   Could Kevin been the best center in Ann Arbor since Roy Tarpley? I guess we will never know.

Payton Manning: Many Michigan fans remember Payton at Tennessee for two things. Finishing second to Charles Woodson in the Heisman race and his Tennessee team getting destroyed by Nebraska to somehow earn a share of Michigan's National Title.   Payton was in the 1994 recruiting class and was one of the highest rated QB's in that class due to his talent on the field and his last name.   He stunned many by picking Tennessee over his fathers Alma mater Ole Miss.   What many don't know is he seriously considered Michigan but choose the Volunteers instead.   Michigan did win a National Championship during his college years with another legacy QB in Brian Griese but could you imagine Payton in the Maize and Blue?

Derek Jeter: When do you ever remember the State of Michigan having the best high school baseball player in the country? In 1992 they did (Kalamazoo), Derek won the High School Player of the Year Award from the American Baseball Coaches Association, the 1992 Gatorade High School Player of the Year award, and USA Today's High School Player of the Year.   Derek was taken #6 in the draft that year by the Yankees, the Houston Astro's who held the #1 pick passed on Derrick for concerns he would want too much money not to go to college.   His college choice was the University of Michigan.   In fact, Hal Newhouser Houston's top scout quit after the draft because they didn't listen to him (he wanted them to draft Derek) and didn't draft Jeter. They ended up picking Phil Nevin.

Would Derek had been the best player ever in Michigan Baseball history? I think there was a very good chance at that!

Mateen Cleeves: Yes, the MSU standout guard from Flint was in the car for the famous accident that took down the Michigan Basketball Program and introduced us to Ed Martin. Mateen was pretty much a Michigan lean at the time of the accident and after that backlash/investigation, he took his talents to East Lansing. He gave Tom Izzo his first National Championship in 2000 and was named the MVP of the Final 4. His #12 is retired.

It's hard to argue with Mateen heading to East Lansing after the entire Ed Martin scandal started to come to light but if that accident never happen and he did come to Ann Arbor to play, would we ever really know about Ed Martin (probably would have after his number running case became public) or would have MSU's program really have taken off?

So please vote on the right side of the blog on who you think would have made the biggest difference in a Michigan jersey. I will keep the voting open for a week.   If you have other guys that come to mind, put them in the comments and I will do another "What Might Have Been" next week.

Wolverine Wednesday: Fire and Ice

2012-05-30T09:28:00.001-04:00

If you want to make headlines do it on a holiday weekend, where there isn't much to talk about. Logan Tuley-Tillman found that out the hard way this weekend.   His burning of the Ohio State letter made all the rounds the last couple of days.   It hit the web sites of USA Today, NBC Sports, ESPN and others.

I just put up a link because I thought it way funny more then news worthy. Now LTT has death threats and awful twitter remarks from crazy OSU fans.   Way to take it to far Bucky!    This is a 17 year old kid having a little fun on Twitter not anymore or less.   Find some perspective please. You wonder why Kirk Herbstreit had to move to Tennessee and he is a former OSU QB! Don't go against the Nut!

This also isn't the first time this has happened.   Devin Gardner burned his letter from Ohio State when they decided to offer.    The background here is Devin was a 5 star QB and interested in hearing from OSU. He was going to consider the Buckeyes but he didn't hear from them until late in his recruitment. When he got his letter he burned it and posted in on Facebook.

So the media reaction and the reaction of OSU fans is way overblown.

Now the Ice:

The Michigan commits took a hit on the new Rivals top 100 player ranking.   There is a philosophy out there that recruiting services prefer to rank non-committed players higher because there is more interest on where they are going to go.

Shane Morris drops from #16 to #22
Mike McCray drops from #44 to #55
Chris Fox drops from #46 to #57
Patrick Kugler drops from #54 to #73
Kyle Bosch drops from #60 to #77
Dymonte Thomas drops from #77 to #95
Jake Butt (previously #96) drops out of top 100

Michigan commit David Dawson now has an LSU offer and just received a call from the Hat. This offer could make him think a bit. He says he is still committed to Michigan, but he probably shouldn't entertain LSU too much more if he wants to stay in the Wolverines 2013 class.

DT Henry Poggi has been pretty quiet on the recruiting trial. The last I heard he was hoping to make a decision before his senior year.

RB Derrick Green has blown up the Rivals Rankings and is now a 5 star prospect and ranked #12 in the nation.

Michigan Tuesday: Back at It!

2012-05-29T08:21:00.001-04:00

I hope everyone had a healthy and happy Memorial Day. A big tip of the hat to all the Veteran's out there on their courage and love for our country!

Rivals is going to release their updated rankings this week and they have started to tease some of the guys that have Risen and Dropped. A couple of names that Michigan fans would recognize on the rise include; OSU de-commit Alex Anzalone and RB Derrick Green. A guy that has fallen is ND commit Steve Elmer, Midland, Mich due to lack of technique and struggling against some of the top lineman. We will see how far and if any of the Wolverine commits have shot up or down when the full list is released this week.

Su'a Cravens has cancelled his Midwest trip which includes visits to Nebraska and Michigan. The strong rumor is he is heading to USC anyway. He plans to announce a week from Wednesday so the writing is on the wall.

Michigan's IMG/Elite camps was this past weekend and there were some top performers that are on Michigan's radar and already committed. #1 Treadwell, #4 Morris and #9 Jourdan Lewis.

LTT burns OSU letter. :-)

Michigan seniors get to train and get some leadership advice from the Navy Seals. Hoke started this practice at SDSU and continues it today at Michigan.

Michigan Friday: Craven a BBQ?

2012-05-25T08:45:00.001-04:00

One of the top rated Safeties in this class Su'a Cravens is expected to be on campus next week.   He is the top rated safety in the country by Rivals and the #5 player overall. Which means he is a 5 star prospect and is down to 3 schools: Michigan, Nebraska and USC. He lives in California and as you might expect seems to be a USC lean.

I hope he is prepared to hear a few 100 times: "I coached Ed Reed in the NFL".   :)

One of the few things that was a hold over from the RR hat trick is the Big House BBQ.  It's a really good event that allows current commits, 2013 recruits and 2014 prospects to come to campus and get to know the coaches in a relaxed setting.   Recruits families will be there as well, so they can participate. Due to NCAA rules, Michigan has to charge a few bucks for each recruit and family member to attend.    This years BBQ is scheduled for July 28th.

Michigan lost to Bama last night in Softball.

Purdue has 8 QB's on the roster, to protect against the ACL bug that always seems to hit West Lafayette.

The Michigan Basketball Team didn't have any verbal commits in ESPN's top 100 for the 2013. That was before they released their new rankings. Now they have 3: Derrick Walton is at #39, Zak Irvin is at #61 and Mark Donnal is at 65. That is a big jump for all 3 players.

Michigan Thursday: BHB Bullets

2012-05-24T10:15:00.000-04:00

Braylon's brother gets an offer from Cal. Could Berkley play in Berkeley?

Michigan Softball takes on Alabama in the NCAA Tournament tonight.

Michigan has offered Florida WR Jordan Cunningham. There is also interest in his teammate defensive tackle Maquedius Bain who is already committed to FSU. This seems like a back plan to Poggi and Treadwell. It will be hard to pull either out of state.

Looks like OSU has more secondary NCAA violations to report. Seems the NCAA should open a new office in Columbus.

Wolverine Wednesday: Will June be a good month for the Wolverines?

2012-05-23T09:00:00.004-04:00

There was a lot of chatter on the Internet last night that Michigan is expecting another commitment soon. Most folks will point to DT Maurice Hurst who has pretty much said he is going to commit to the Wolverines after or during his visit.   He is planning a visit to Ann Arbor the weekend of June 2nd.

Sam Webb from Scouts said on the radio today that depending on how the numbers work out, Michigan could take 3 more defensive line prospects in this class.

Also filed under Internet rumors: it seems Brady Hoke recently said at a coaches clinic in Scottsdale that Michigan has 3 WR's committed in this class.   As you can see from the toolbar on the left, Michigan has two "public" WR commitments.   Could that mean there is a silent commit? Could that mean Laquon Treadwell? We hope so.

Michigan has parted ways with Baseball Coach Rich Maloney yesterday. The Wolverines had back to back losing seasons. Rich had many job offers winning a few Big Ten Titles before he signed his last contract with the Wolverines but it seems David Brandon wants to go in another direction with the baseball program. Is Barry Larkin next? I doubt it, he makes too much with ESPN. Jim Abbott would be a good choice as well.

Michigan made $79,000 in profit from the Sugar Bowl. At least they didn't lose money like most teams attending bowls do. Everyone loves the Bowl system over a playoff but if teams are losing money every bowl they attend, how is that a good long term solution? I'm betting there comes a time a team turns down a bowl game not for football reasons but for a finanical one.

Michigan Tuesday: News and Notes

2012-05-22T08:40:00.000-04:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

He also won the 110 M and 300M Hurdles.

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

2015

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

2016

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

Michigan Monday: Number Changes

2012-05-21T08:37:00.000-04:00

We are starting to see what Big AL has cooking for next year in some number changes that were just announced.

Roy Roundtree will reverse his number from #12 to #21. As you know, #21 is one of the Wolverines Legendary numbers since former Heisman Trophy Winner Desmond Howard wore that number.   Last year, Sugar Bowl MVP Junior Hemingway wore #21 as well.

Devin Gardner is also changing and you guessed it, he will move from #7 to #12.   Both of these numbers have a long heritage at QB at Michigan. Of course #7 was worn by Rick Leach and #12 was worn by Tom Brady.   It seems moving Devin to #12 gives Big Al the flexibility to move Devin to WR for some snaps or play QB if needed.

I don't now the NCAA number rules but I'm guessing #7 is a primary QB number and #12 gives you more flexibility.

4 star DB Leon McQuay III and his father visited Ann Arbor for two days this weekend. He is visiting a number of schools and they stopped by Michigan to check out the Wolverines. Leon and his father came away impressed with the visit and Leon has moved the Wolverines up to his top 5. Leon is planning to enroll in January and still wants to visit some other schools. Academics, tradition and best fit are the decision criteria for Leon and his father. Weather and being close to home is not a factor. They are serious about academics and considering schools like Vandy, Duke and Stanford as well. The one thing that seemed to stand out to Leon and his father was the chance to wear former Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson's number.

4 Star RB Jordan Wilkins is planning on camping at Michigan this summer.

The Charles Woodson, Steve Hutchinson and Brian Griese Golf Outing this past weekend raised $1.3M for Mott Hospital.

Michigan Friday: Remaining Spots in 2013

2012-05-18T11:00:00.003-04:00

Michigan has 18 verbal commitments to the 2013 class and most likely a ceiling of 24 spots in this class.    That leaves 6 or less spots.   That is not a lot of availability left on the nation's #1 class.   So what positions are the coaches targeting for the final spots?

1 RB maybe: Ty Isaac headed to USC this week (BTW another 5 star RB verballed to USC on Thursday) so Michigan is targeting Derrick Green and Jordan Wilkins as options at RB. They have 2 already commitment and another name could pop up but right now it's between Green and Wilkins. If they both go to other schools, Michigan may elect not to take another RB.

1 WR: This has Laquon Treadwell's name all over this one. This was a guy who was on the verge committing to Michigan when he got his offer but waited and is now one of the top recruited WR's in the country.   He is trying to get to Ann Arbor soon for another visit. If Treadwell goes to another school, I believe the Wolverine coaches would take someone else at this position.

2 DT's: Michigan has two guys picked for these positions as well.   #1 is Henry Poggi who seems to be high on the Wolverines but doesn't let much out to the recruiting services and #2 is recent offer Maurice Hurst Jr. who is telling other recruits he will commit on his visit to Ann Arbor in the new few weeks when he gets it scheduled.

The rest of the spots will stay open for any high profile guys at any positions.   Like Safety Su'a Cravens or Safety Leon McQuay. These are hail mary spots for kids that are expected to stay South or West but maybe picks the Wolverines over the schools they are expected to pick.

Michigan Thursday: Scout Ranking Changes

2012-05-17T09:00:00.000-04:00

Scout released it's top 300 players for the 2013 class back a few months ago. Now they have released new updated rankings and some players have dropped and some have risen in Michigan's class.

Your first question might be: How can a player jump or drop spots in the off season without playing a down of real football? Most of these rankings are based on your junior year performance and high profile regional camps/combines. Michigan Blog Touch the Banner gives us the updates on the rankings.

The Big Michigan Jumps are David Dawson from #274 in the country to #178 and Jourdan Lewis from #251 to #173.

Some of the drops includes: LTT (who has an injury) from #153 to #190 and Dukes from #287 to #294.

Taco is still a 3 star and not in the top 300. That surprises me after some good work in the latest camps/combines.

Demar Dorsey Update: He is headed to Hawaii to play for the Rainbow Warriors. Good for him and I hope it works out.

Wolverine Wednesday: Updates Recruiting

2012-05-16T09:16:00.000-04:00

By now you know that Ty Isaac picked USC over Michigan yesterday it what seems like a quick decision. Ty had taken his last two trips out to USC and was thinking about another Ann Arbor visit before he decided.   Then earlier this week, he decided he was done with visits and could make a decision at anytime. Well that time was yesterday and he picked USC.   Recruiting insiders are saying he wanted to get "away" from home and USC was his pick. USC has limited scholarships due the NCAA sanctions and it seems he didn't want to lose his spot.

Wow, these NCAA sanctions are really hurting USC and OSU recruiting aren't they?

I'm not sure what is going on with high profile recruits and their final 2 and Michigan not being the choice. Michigan has the top class in the country and doing a GREAT job in recruiting, but I would like one 4 or 5 star recruit with Michigan in his final 2 to pick the Wolverines.   Maybe the next recruit to commit could say, "I am down to Michigan and OSU" on a Tuesday and pick the Wolverines the next day.

Speaking of the next recruit to commit.   The Michigan Blog Tremendous has some information on new Michigan DL offer Maurice Hurst Jr..   Maurice is a 6'2 275 pound DT from Westwood, MA.   He is ranked a 4 star recruit from Scouts and 3 stars to Rivals. He has a nice offer list which includes: OSU, MSU, BC, Nebraska, NC, Maryland, Mizzu and others. He seems to be a good student since he has offers from schools like BC, Vandy,Virgina and now Michigan.

The information from Tremendous is that Maurice is trying to get to Ann Arbor in the next few weeks and has been telling other recruits he plans to commit on that visit.   It seems Maurice has been hoping for an offer from the Wolverines and just got it.

There is a good chance that the Wolverines could be hosting both WR Laquon Treadwell and S Leon McQuay this weekend. Since Ty has gone West, many Michigan fans are looking at Laquon being the next impact offensive player in this class.

Michigan Tuesday: Being Tate Forcier

2012-05-15T08:56:00.002-04:00

Tate Forcier should be a senior at Michigan right now but his life has been a roller coaster now for 4 years.

He enrolled early at Michigan and was "knighted" the starter after his feet hit campus.   So much that the current QB starter decided to transfer to Arizona State. He lit up the Spring Game that year and the WolverineNation was as excited as it ever was during Rich Rod's tenure in A2.

Then during the regular season Tate backed up his Spring Game preformance with a comeback win over ND at the Big House. He quickly started showing up on hesiman ballots and became a media sensation. Pretty much a "overnight" rock star story. The legend was born and clearly the start of where it all went wrong.

Tate believed he was a Rock Star and didn't preform very well the rest of the year due to injury and a lack of tape study. The Wolverines came a game away from being in a bowl game and the luster off Tate's star had taken a big hit.

Fast forward to the next fall practice and we find out that Tate is out of shape and hadn't been practicing with his teammates over the summer.   RR takes the wings off his helmet and makes him show up at 6:00AM every morning to work out with Barwis to shed the extra weight.   He puts in the work but it's starting to be clear that Denard Robinson was the QB of the future while Tate was in the dog house.

Time for the first game and Denard starts and Devin Gardner the new 5 star freshman is the back up. Tate is so upset after the game he tells a reporter he is out of here! Tate calms down and stays on the team and works his way back to the #2 spot. He even saves a wild game against Illinois after Denard goes down. A game that qualified Michigan for a bowl game. The one game he couldn't win the year before.

Then at the Gator Bowl that year he tells a reporter from the Free Press that his grades are in order and he has been attending class.   A few days later he is sent home for academic reasons. The rumor is that he missed a ton of classes and probably had failed out of school.   Rock Stars don't have to go to class.

While David Brandon is firing RR, Tate and his father meet with David to try to convince him to keep Tate in Ann Arbor. We don't know if David's hands were tied but he declines to help and Tate leaves Ann Arbor.   We all assume Tate had flunked out of U of M.

A few months after that a strange episode happens in Grand Rapids when he is hanging out the window of his girl friends apartment building. The police are called and some speculate it was a suicide attempt.  Nothing really comes of this and it's decided it's just Rock Star behaviour.

Many new Universities start popping up and it's reported he is going to attend the University of Miami (a perfect place for a Rock Star). Well, Tate never makes it to South Beach (for some reason?) and is looking for a new school.   He has serious talks with the University of Hawaii but that didn't happen. He ends up at San Jose State and sits out a year.

After a year of sitting on the bench due to transfer rules. Tate announces in the off season he is leaving the program due to financial reasons. He wasn't on scholarship and his family could no longer pick up the tab.

He has been out of the news until yesterday:

schadjoe Former Michigan QB Tate Forcier has signed to play for Hamilton of the CFL this season
5/14/12 5:52 PM

The ride continues Rock Star.   Good Luck at your comeback tour.

Recruiting Update 11:00 AM: Ty Isaac to USC :-(

Michigan Monday: LeVert Converts to Michigan

2012-05-14T08:58:00.002-04:00

Former Ohio University commit Caris LeVert officially committed to John Beilein's program on Friday. Caris is a 6'5 175 pound two guard and is rated 3 stars by Rivals.

I covered Caris back story last week, but this is a nice pick up for a guy that didn't have a strong junior year (when most top players get recruited) but had a tremendous senior year.   Caris was the JJ Huddle Player of the Year in Ohio with the past winners including: Trey Burke, Jared Sullinger, William Buford, BJ Mullens and Jon Diebler. I would say that is pretty good company and a nice sign this kid can play.

We all know about Coach Beilein's ability to find prospects before they blow up (Glenn Robinson III) and Diamonds in the Rough (Novak), lets hope Caris falls into either category.   One of the things you might be thinking is: How does he fit into the current roster and did coach really need a 5th player in this class?

That is a fair question: Michigan will be looking for Caris to play the shooting guard role. A role that left a big hole in Michigan's offense with the graduation of Douglass and Novak. The only player Michigan recruited to fill that role is soon to be true freshman Nik Stasukas. Having Caris gives Coach the luxury of having a Stu and Zack combo in Caris and Nik.   Yes, a 5 person class is a large one in basketball and will greatly reduce the number of options next year. With that said, we all know players leave early for the NBA and other players transfers.   So it's better to be safe with a kid that can shoot the ball and is nowhere near his ceiling vs. having to guess what the roster may look like next year.

Yes, Caris is related to the famous LeVert's in the music business. His focus when he gets on campus will be to hit the weight room and add on a few pounds.

Michigan Friday: Has News of All Sorts

2012-05-11T09:01:00.000-04:00

Heading to Comedy Central? 2011 DL recruit Chris Rock is no longer on the Michigan Football Team. Chris was a "project" when he came to Michigan last year. He was recruited by the likes of ND and others during his Junior year mostly due to his upside at 6'5 250 pounds. He had a very lackluster senior year and pretty much ended up a 3 star recruit across the board. He was not seeing any playing time and wasn't a factor during Spring Ball. This will have zero impact on the Wolverines this year and gives them more flexibility for the 2013 recruiting class.

Michigan has another Preferred Walk-On for the 2012 season: Chris Maye a track star from Union City, Michigan. He will compete at DB and was the #1 track recruit in the state and turned down track scholarships to play football at Michigan. It's always nice to have speed on the team.

Treadwell getting closer to a decision. Scouts Sam Webb is saying that Laquon Treadwell one of the best WR's in the country is getting closer to a decision. His timeline lately had been take all his visits and then make a decision during his senior year. Now, he is planning a visit to Ann Arbor during the next two weeks and is looking to make a decision sooner rather then later. We all know Michigan has only one spot left at WR in this class.

MSU WR and former Tennessee WR DeAnthony Arnett is eligible to play this year after receiving a hardship waiver for being closer to his ailing father.

Kenton Gibbs a DT from Cass Tech committed to Illinois this week but still plans on taking visits to other schools. He is still planning on attending Michigan's football camp with the goal of getting an offer. I am pretty sure he would flip to the Wolverines if he receives an offer.

Alvin Bailey from Florida is one of the top athletes in the 2013 class received a Michigan offer this week. He is 5'11 and 175 pounds. Alvin is a 4 star recruit to ESPN.

Michigan Thursday: The Wolverines Pick Up #18

2012-05-10T08:30:00.000-04:00

Brady Hoke and Big Al would like 3 WR's in the 2013 class. They have one in the boat already with Jaron Dukes from Columbus but are on the trail of a number of prospects including an elite one in Jaquon Treadwell.

The problem with recruiting nothing but "elite" prospects at any position is they have hundreds of coaches in their ear and the recruiting process is a full time job. These kids get contacted everyday from coaches or recruiting services looking for an update. These recruitment's can go deep into the process and maybe all the way to signing day. Michigan was in that spot last year and missed out on 4 or 5 guys they wanted.

The Michigan coaches won't make the same mistake they did last year by offering more and more players at each position of need. The last guy to get an offer is Csont'e York ("Son Tay") a 6'3 185 WR from Harper Woods. A guy that isn't rated by Rivals or ESPN but is a 3 star prospect to 24/7 and Scouts.

Csont'e's recruitment has been blowing up the last few weeks as he has been preforming very well at the Midwest camps. He first made an impact at the Midwest Adidas Invitational and then last weekend at the Nike Camp in Columbus. He was in 24/7's top 5 performer list from last weekends camp.

The book at Csont'e is that he is a taller version of Junior Hemingway.  He has great hands and a big leaper.   He is also a good route runner and CB mismatch after he steps off the bus. Most recruiting experts wonder about his speed but he does have a 40 time of around 4.52 which is not slow (if accurate). The funny thing is he was a MSU fan growing up and was planning on attending summer camp in East Lansing.   Michigan clearly got in early on this prospect and got him on campus and got him to commit.

The below video is pretty impressive and the only reason I guess he fell through the recruiting cracks was due to his school Chandler Park Academy not exactly being a football power. His offer list was growing week by week which included: Syracuse, BGSU, Cincinnati, and Toledo. He was also getting looks by a number of Big Ten schools like Iowa and Illinois before he became a Wolverine. I am also willing to bet he would have gotten an MSU offer if he camped up there.

This is WR #2 in this class and I expect Michigan to now put a bit more pressure on Treadwell and other WR's that are interested in being Blue.   I don't see them taking a 4th, so if Treadwell wants to jump on board he may need to do it in May or June.

Barry and Bo

2012-05-09T13:47:00.000-04:00

A story from an ESPN article about Barry Larkin (soon to be hall of famer) and Bo Schembechler. The entire article does have a Robert Perryman reference (which is clearly worth the read right there!).

After your freshman year, you met with Bo Schembechler to tell him you were switching from football to baseball. How did that conversation go?

First, I called my mother and asked her if she would call Bo, and she said, “No, you’ve gotta do this.” So we had a date set for our meeting, and I walked into his office. Bo was a multitasker. Bo’s head is down. He doesn’t make eye contact. He’s writing something, on the phone and doing something else. He had three or four things going on, and he was talking to me at the same time. I don’t walk into his office like I normally do and sit down at the desk right in front of him. I kind of stand in the doorway, and I don’t enter his office. I’m just kind of standing there. So he’s talking, [but] he doesn’t make eye contact with me.

He’s like, “Larkin, I want to know: Are you committed to returning punts?” He said, “I’m considering you at strong or free safety. I’m not sure. I’ve got to talk to [then-defensive coordinator Gary] Moeller about that.” Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. He’s just talking and rambling, and I’m not saying anything.

Then he kind of stops, and he still doesn’t make eye contact, and he’s like, “Is there a problem?” I go, “No Coach, there’s no problem.” He still hasn’t made eye contact with me. So he goes, “What is it, Larkin? You got something to tell me?”

I said, “Coach, I had a real good freshman baseball season and for the first time in my life I was able to just play one sport, and I think I just want to play baseball.” He took his glasses and put them on the table, took his pen and put it down. He made eye contact, and he said, “What did you say?”

I said, “Uhhhhh, I’m just gonna play baseball?” -- like it was a question.

He said, “Larkin this is THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN!” and pounded his desk. All the papers that were neatly [arranged] on his desk were flying all over the place. He came up over the desk -- almost climbed over the desk -- and he pointed at me and said, “No one comes to the University of Michigan and plays stinkin’ baseball!”

I’m like, “OK, Coach." He told me, “You get out of this office, and you come back tomorrow when you have come to your senses.” So I go back and tell him [again] the next day, and I thought that was the end of it.

Well, maybe three or four times a month [when] we’re out there practicing baseball, this guy in a hoodie comes out and he heckles me from the third-base line. It was Bo.

“LARKIN! Come hit a man who can hit you back instead of that sissy baseball!”

Unbelievable. The few times I got to tell that story up at Michigan, people loved it, but Bo hated it.

BHB: Barry, when you enter the hall this summer there won't be any prouder Michigan Man looking down on you then Bo. Knowing he was the guy that brought you to Michigan. I guarantee he wouldn't have attended so many baseball practices if he didn't have a special place in his heart for you. Congratulations on being a hall of famer and a Michigan Man!

Wolverine Wednesday: NFL Is a Tough Business

2012-05-09T09:07:00.000-04:00

I feel bad for guys like Mike Shaw and Troy Woolfolk, they weren't drafted but quickly signed free agent deals after the draft. The NFL is an easy come - easy go business. Mike Shaw was released the first day of the rookie camp by the Redskins and yesterday the Cowboys released Troy. The Cowboys signed a former 4th round CB draft pick that they cut last year and was picked up by Jacksonville and then released again yesterday.

David Molk signed a deal with the Chargers yesterday, terms were not disclosed. Congrats David! I fully expect this 7th rounder to make the team. Molk joins Mike Martin, Junior Hemingway and Ryan Van Bergen as recent Michigan seniors still with an NFL team.

Michigan has offered 2013 WR Csont'e York from Harper Woods and Chandler Park Academy. Csont'e has been doing very well at camps lately including the Nike camp in Columbus last weekend. He visited Ann Arbor yesterday and was offered while in town. He was surprised at the offer and is interested in the Wolverines. He grew up a State fan but is considering his options and will take awhile before making a decision. He is 6'3 and 185 pounds and before the Michigan offer only had offers from Cincinnati and Syracuse. He is not ranked by Rivals and does not carry a star ranking. It's clear that the Michigan staff is going to be aggressive on getting two more WR's in this class and will not wait for the high profile guys to take all their visits and make a decision late in the process.

Michigan Tuesday: Beilein Looking To Add Some Singing Talent to the Wolverines?

2012-05-08T08:53:00.000-04:00

Caris LaVert is said to be on the verge of committing to the Wolverines for the 2013 basketball class. Caris is 6'5 guard that was committed to Ohio (not OSU) which just had upset the Wolverines in the NCAA Tournament. As you know, Ohio's John Groce took the job at Illinois and Caris decided to re-open up his recruitment.

LeVert was an under the radar prospect until his senior year when he averaged 22 points a game and lead Pickerington to the Division 1 state title. After his senior season, Dayton, Xavier, Purdue, Iowa and Michigan came calling. Pickerington is the same high school as 2013 football recruit and Michigan commit Taco Charlton. Most expect Caris to pick the Wolverines today or Wednesday.

What's with the headline of the post? I don't know if Caris is related to the former professional R&B singers Sean and Gerald LeVert the sons of O'Jays founder Eddie LeVert, as well as Marc Gordon but it wouldn't be a far reach since those gentlemen were from Cleveland and their group started in 1984. Sean and Gerald are no longer with us, Gerald past in 2006 and Sean in 2008.

That "guy" that was contacting all those OSU recruits via twitter and had photos with some of the recruits, has been arrested. As you know most of those recruits are under 18.

Jordan Kovacs has been named one of 42 football players to be named to the 2012 Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch list.

Michigan currently has the #1 recruiting class to Scouts (2013/Football)

Michigan Monday: 2013 Wolverines "Opening" Eyes in C-BUS

2012-05-07T09:04:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned on Friday, Nike had a camp in Columbus this weekend. It was split into two different days. On Friday, it was an Elite 11 QB camp and on Saturday was the other players/positions. Nike has taken high school camps to another level and if you preform well at these regional events, you get an invite to the "Opening" a national Nike camp at their HQ in Oregon.

So how did the future Wolverines due?

Shane Morris - Elite 11 MVP - Invite to the Opening
David Dawson - OL MVP - Invite to the Opening
Mike McCray - LB MVP - Invite to the Opening
Taco Charlton - Invite to the Opening

Taco received this high praise from former OSU OL LeCharles Bently:

‏ @LeCharlesBent65

Hate to admit it but #Michigan has some really good OL/DL in the fold. #TacoCharlton could be next Simeon Rice. Loads of talent in trenches.

If you remember, LeCharles is the guy that is training Kyle Kalis before he gets to Ann Arbor this summer.

The only Wolverine that had a so so camp was Logan Tulley-Tillman. He didn't receive and invite and there was some fundamental things the coaches were working on. LTT did receive praise in this article for his strength in a tug of war. During the tug-of-war drills that pitted the offensive linemen against the defensive linemen, Tuley-Tillman, ranked No. 97 in the ESPN 150, anchored the rope each time he participated. The offense won each time, due largely in part to Tuley-Tillman's anchoring.

During the final drill, in which a host of offensive and defensive linemen each grabbed the rope, Tuley-Tillman once again anchored and not surprisingly led the offense to victory again.

Notes from the video below from TomVH of ESPN. Check out two things. #1 How Taco beat all those offensive lineman and #2 how David Dawson stoned OSU commit Billy Price in the last highlight.

Ty Isaac visited USC this weekend and all reports are that he and his family enjoyed himself and ran into a number of celebrities. Funny how that happens at USC.

The OSU Football Program suffered another black eye this past week as a registered sex offender was in a photo and has been tweeting current 2013 OSU commits and recruits. OSU sent out an email to all students to not associate with this guy. After this occurred, OSU lost a high profile LB recruit Alex Anzalone when his father learned about what is going on in Columbus. "There's a disconnect between what Alex thought was there (at Ohio State) and what is actually there," said his father, Dr. Sal Anzalone.

Anzalone and his father spoke to Ohio State assistant coach Luke Fickell Friday afternoon to express their concerns and to de-commit.

"Something's just not right at Ohio State," Sal Anzalone said. "It's not for him."

backed off

Michigan Friday: Wolverines in Columbus this Weekend

2012-05-04T09:03:00.001-04:00

Remember that Nike Camp in Columbus last year that Ondre Pipkins dominated? The 2012 Nike Camp is this weekend and a number of committed Wolverines are expected to attend including: Jourdan Lewis, David Dawson, Khalid Hill, Taco Charlton and Michael McCray. A Cass Tech player that doesn't have a Michigan offer yet, DT Kenton Gibbs will also be attending. Kenton is currently listing IU and Illinois has his top offers at the moment.

Shane Morris will be at the Elite 11 part of the camp/weekend.

Speaking of Cass Tech and David Dawson a number of schools continue to recruit the high school junior including Florida and Alabama. If you hadn't heard David lost his father to a illness a few weeks ago.

Ty Isaac will be taking his second trip/visit out to USC this weekend. He wants his mom to see the school and the academic presentation. Right now most expect that Ty's recruitment is between Michigan and USC. Michigan was considered to be clearly #1 but USC has made up some ground should be consider tied with the Wolverines right now. USC is selling it's tailback heritage and Ty being the #1 recruit at any position on their board.

Michigan is recruiting a talented athlete from California by the name of Elijah Qualls. He plays DT and RB for his high school team and is clearly a special athlete. "Of course I'm familiar with (Michigan)," he said. "I mean, everybody watches them on TV, so of course I know them on that level. Then since I heard they offered me I've definitely been looking into them, trying to get as much information on them as I can. I'd like to try to get there for a visit and meet the coaches, look around the facilities and everything." I never get too excited for athletes from California because I think it's difficult for them to come all the way to Ann Arbor for 4-5 years. We will see if Mr. Qualls makes a visit to A2.

Michigan's homecoming game against Illinois will be a 3:30 kickoff on ABC. If you are keeping track at home, Michigan has 3 prime time games, 1 game at 4:00 and now another at 3:30.

MSU players William Gholston and Lawrence Thomas were in a car crash near Brighton yesterday. Their car rolled over but both had minor injuries.

Michigan Thursday: Football A Game at Risk

2012-05-03T09:00:00.000-04:00

We all love football, you wouldn't be on this site right now if you didn't.   We love the athleticism of the players, game strategy and to be fair the contact.   It's a great watch. I'm sure you feel similar to myself when I say there isn't too many better things in life then walking to the big house on a 72 degree day to watch the Wolverines play a rival. The air is electric and there is a smell of grills working overtime at each tailgate.   Your walk is a little faster and your heart is beating a bit quicker.   The faster you get to your seat, the faster you get to be apart of 110,000 strong cheering for the same team.   It's like walking into Disney World for the first time as a child.   It's a magical feeling.

If you have been reading this site for years, you know one of the things that concerns me in this sport is concussion and overall brain trauma players can receive from playing this game. It scares me for many reasons, including the future of football at all levels.   We got another slap in the face on what this game can do to you long term when "allegedly" Junior Seau took a gun and put it to his chest yesterday.   It's another chilling reminder of something all football fans try to forget, the effects this game has on it's players long term health.

We see former players on TV doing color commentary and they look fine.   They seem to be in control and don't have any problems. The problem is, that is a small percentage of players that are not struggling and are successful after football. Most former players have some type of health concerns and most don't mind if their knees are shot or they can't raise their hand over their heads. Most former NFL players would give up two good knees for the shot to play football again. It's just how they are wired and they understood their knees probably wouldn't work well after football.

That is all fine and good if we are talking about a knee or a shoulder. When we start talking about a players head or brain the seriousness changes.   When we start playing football at 8 years old, nobody expects their life expectancy to be another 35 years. It just doesn't compute or make any sense.

I believe Junior shot himself in the chest for two purposes, clearly he wanted to end his life but the second reason was so his brain could be analyzed for a disease called CTE or chronic traumatic encephalopathy which is a brain condition from constant contact or a number of concussions.   It's also commonly known as being "punch drunk" because a number of former boxers have this condition. Many doctors give this example: it's like have a 90 year olds brain at the age of 40.

We are starting to see a number of football players that die before their time with this condition, including former Bengals WR Chris Henry.   The scary part is Chris didn't have any reported concussions in College or Professional football. Many researches now believe CTE can be caused by the constant contact football players go through in a game or practice over the years.

This disease is the #1 threat to this great game right now. The game we all love to watch.   The NFL is cracking down on safety on the field because they are getting sued left and right by former players who are in trouble physically and financially.   Can you imagine doing something you love doing and being told at 30 years old that your time is up and you can't do it any longer? Add on top of that not being able to physically walk or that you fall into a deep depression for a reason you can't identify.

This threat is real and it's not going to get any better. Remember back in the day when players tackled the proper way? With us now being in the "Sports Center era" of just highlights of big hits and leading with the helmet, this condition will only get worse.   It's time to really understand what this game can do to it's players in future years.  This is not just an NFL problem, players in college football have it and even players in high school.

Today, please reflect on this great game and the happiness it has brought to you but also reflect what it can do to a high school, college or professional football player.   Today, think about Junior Seau a great football player and one of the toughest guys to ever strap on a helmet, who is dead at the age of 43. Now think about Junior being your son, years from now.

Wolverine Wednesday: Thinks About Camp and Offers

2012-05-02T09:01:00.001-04:00

The Michigan Football Program is in a unique situation this year, they have 17 players committed to the 2013 class with about 6 or 7 spots left.   With a class that full and most of it's needs filled, the Michigan coaches have the ability to offer very highly rated guys and take longer looks at guys who might fit their system.

One of the ways for the Wolverine coaches like to take a look at 2013 and 2014 prospects is at Michigan's Football Camp. If you remember from last year, we hadn't even heard about Jeremy Clark from Kentucky. Some talented kids can't afford to go around the country to attend big combines or 7 on 7's or don't play at high profile high schools. Jeremy was one of those guys and he attended Michigan's summer camp as a Safety and within a week of camp ending had a Michigan offer to gray shirt which later became a full scholarship for this summer/fall.

This strategy can help a kid with the Wolverines or it can hurt the kid's chances with the Michigan coaches. Case in point is Johnathan Hankins a defensive line prospect from Detroit for the class of 2010.   Johnathan attended Michigan's summer camp in 2009 hoping for an offer.   At that time, Johnathan had a few offers including Oklahoma. He showed up at Michigan's camp a bit out of shape and was winded for a few drills.    Even though DT was a huge need for the Wolverines the Michigan coaches (RR and staff) told Johnathan they would review his senior tape before they offered.

Well in that time frame, Florida, OSU, Alabama, Wisconsin and others had offered the big DT from Detroit. Michigan joined the offer party late but Mr. Hankins went to the Buckeyes and played as a freshman and now is a starter. You could consider this a big miss at a position of need.

So one good story out of summer camp and one bad one. What about this year?

The guy that seems to be making the most news and could earn a camp offer is DB Darian Hicks from Solon, Ohio. Darian is a 3 star prospect to Rivals and has 13 offers which includes PSU, Illinois, MSU, BC, Pitt, WVU and others.   I wouldn't call Darin an "under the radar prospect" with those offers but it's clear he wants a Michigan offer and might attend camp to ~~get~~ earn one.

Greg Mattison was in Darian's high school recently so there is some interest from the Wolverines in looking at the 6'0, 175 pound CB.

On a side note, Ted Ginn, Sr. was known to send a few prospects to Michigan's Camp before RR came to town. I expect he will now start to send more prospects with Brady Hoke coaching the Wolverines and signing a few of his players the last two years.

Michigan Tuesday: Walk Back and Walk On News

2012-05-01T09:10:00.000-04:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Michigan Monday: Checks in on Wolverines Drafted and Free Agents

2012-04-30T08:54:00.000-04:00

The draft came and went on Saturday and Michigan fans were getting a little nervous for David and Junior but both were drafted in the 7th round.   I thought that was a bit low for both guys, but I'm glad they got drafted.

David is going to San Diego who have drafted a few Wolverines lately including Steve Schilling and Jonus Mouton.   The reason David dropped was he has short arms and a history of injuries. If he is healthy, I think he is a lock to make the team.   His leadership, toughness and strength is second to none.

Junior is going to Kansas City and will join Steve Breaston as a WR. It was a very deep WR draft this year and Junior had a great combine but is not a burner and his speed dropped him to the 7th round. I think KC is a good place for him and he has a legit shot to make the team.   It's good to have a high paid Wolverine at the same position on the team to help him.

Mike Martin didn't have to wait too long and was taken in the 3rd round by the Tennessee Titans. I don't know the Titans depth cart at DT but they have a history of developing great defensive tackles.

Free Agent Signings:

Ryan Van Burgen is signing with the Carolina Panthers.

Mike Shaw is signing with the Washington Redskins.

Troy Woolfolk is signing with the Dallas Cowboys. With the depth issues in the secondary with the Cowboys, Troy has a decent shot to make the team.

Brandon Herron is signing with Tampa Bay.

Haven't signed yet:

Kevin Koger - due to his recent injury

Steve Watson

Mark Huyge

Martavious Odoms

Kelvin Grady

Not Planning to Play Professional Football

JB Fitzgerald and Will Heininger

Former Wolverine Drafted

Toney Clemons a WR that transferred to Colorado.   I was very surprised to see him drafted in the 7th round to the Pittsburgh Steelers. I believe Toney is from the Pittsburgh area.