Sam McGuffie, he of the perpetually-delayed announcement, is set to announce at his school this Friday. McGuffie will not be announcing on television, so as to avoid the same sort of good-natured (or maybe not-so-good) that Darryl Stonum was subjected to when he announced.

UPDATE: Or maybe he doesn’t mind being harassed on TV. He’s announcing on Sunday.

Obligatory Video Action

Posted under Recruiting

Soon, I’ll be starting a series about things that I think need to be improved for the home field advantage and general atmosphere on Michigan gamedays to be improved. There will be a lot of overlap, so bear with me.

Michigan’s current home field advantage is lacking, not only behind traditionally great stadiums like The Swamp and Death Valley, but also Big Ten rivals Ohio State and Wisconsin, and even Notre Dame.

While much of the blame is placed on the stadium’s structure, there is much more to it than that. Notre Dame Stadium is a carbon copy of the Big House, but much smaller, and the advantage there is much better. It’s a general attitude within the stadium and the fanbase in general that could be improved to help out.

Part One, featuring the band, will come tomorrow (unless there is some real news). The other parts will come whenever there is nothing more pertinent to post about.

Posted under Blog News

My work will never be as extensive as MGoBlog’s, so just take it for what it is.

Current Commits: 12

Projected Scholarships: 17

Stonum and Koger have been moved to committed, and Middleton was dropped from TE recruiting (he will be pursued as a DE). Christian Wilson moved to presumed lean. Hale and Saddler moved to presumed leans (UM and WVU in top 2). With the addition of Threet to QB commits (though he is an ’07 recruit), all other prospects removed from the board, as Michigan is done at the position. Fred Smith moved to presumed lean.

McGuffie, a presumed lean, keeps having his announcement pushed back. Most recently, it was to be this coming Sunday night, but it has been pushed back again.

Posted under Recruiting

More commits! Hooray!

Kevin Koger, the first legitimate 50-50 battle between UM and OSU, has committed to the Wolverines. Koger is a 4-star TE/DE from Toledo Whitmer. He is, like, good. Enjoy some happy fun video, courtesy of Scouting Ohio.

Also, just an fyi, I’ll be out of town this weekend, with dubious internet connectivity. I’ll tell Paul to pick up the slack I leave, but my apologies if he doesn’t post with the same frequency that I do (1+ times per day).

Posted under Recruiting

For lack of anything more interesting today, enjoy Boubacar Cissoko and Brandon Moore YouTube videos….

Cissoko

Moore

Posted under Video

A few people have inquired in comments and e-mails, so heres the deal with the TV show:

Varsity Blue will return to the air the week before the season begins, with a season preview show. There will be a new episode every Monday (tentative, could be Sunday) through the end of the season.

As of right now, we are planning to only air in the dorms, but we will look into other distribution options (either local TV or internet) as the time draws near.

We are looking to change up the show, with some major improvements this year, which will be revealed over the summer so I have things to post about. We are NOT planning to shoot at Charley’s this year.

Posted under Blog News

For those worried about the transfer of Steven Threet scaring off 2008 QB commit John Wienke, fear not. The Free Press is reporting today that Wienke has no intention to renege on his commitment to Michigan.

The more interesting question is whether or not Michigan will recruit a “super” QB in the 2009 class, as originally expected. Having a suddenly full stable of young talent may mean Michigan does not pursue a top prospect at the QB position unless someone has a particular interest in the Wolverines despite a full depth chart.

Posted under Personnel

Steven Threet has pledged to become a Michigan Wolverine, after attending Georgia Tech for a semester and realizing that Chan Gailey is a mediocre (perpetually 7-5) coach.

Threet would have been a huge Michigan target last year, but with Ryan Mallett on the radar, he was not offered, and Michigan recruiting fans forgot about him. Thuogh Michigan fans paid him little mind, he is probably the best HS QB in the state since Drew Henson. Experts peg him on approximately the same level as this year’s Dayne Crist (ND).

Threet will have to redshirt next year, then have four years to play. An interesting factor in his commitment is the fact that Michigan promised Ryan Mallett they would only take one quarterback in the 2007 class, when they have now taken two.

Depth and Eligibility Charts updated accordingly.

Posted under Personnel, Recruiting

Is it September yet?

Tier 1
Michigan 12-0 (8-0)
Wisconsin 11-1 (7-1)
Penn State 10-2 (6-2)
Tier 1a
Ohio State 9-3 (5-3)
Tier 2
Illinois 7-5 (4-4)
Iowa 7-5 (4-4)
Purdue 6-6 (4-4)
Michigan State 6-6 (3-5)
Tier 3
Minnesota 6-6 (2-6)
Indiana 4-8 (1-7)
Northwestern 3-9 (0-8)

These are based on first look at the schedule, and things can still change over the summer, especially when we get a more clear idea of lineups.

Non-conference teams with more than one Big Ten opponent:
Syracuse (0-2)
Ball State (0-2)
Bowling Green (0-2)
Eastern Michigan (0-2)
Northern Illinois (0-2)
Western Michigan (1-1)
Notre Dame (1-3)

Posted under Analysis

Steven Threet, a 4* quarterback from this past (2007) class, has announced that he intends to transfer from Georgia Tech. He was widely considered to be Michigan’s second choice if they did not land Ryan Mallett. Internetz (and fairly reliable sources, to go along with tons of not-so-reliable sources) say that Michigan is a likely destination.

Threet also considered Michigan State in his recruitment, so it is likely that they may be a factor in his transfer destination, especially since they lost their top recruit, Keith Nichol, to the Oklahoma Sooners after firing John L. Smith.

Whichever school lands Threet, he will have to redshirt the 2007 season, and have four years of eligibility, putting him a year behind Mallett, and a year ahead of Wienke, assuming he redshirts his freshman year. The results of his decision will be known in the next couple days.

Posted under Personnel