Rich Rodriguez spoke at halftime of the basketball victory over Ohio State yesterday.

Proof:

Posted under Coaching, Video

The board, which no longer has “debuts!” in its title.

Added:
PA DT Levi Brown. A 1-technique tackle prospect, and HS teammate of DE prospect Braxton Isaac.

Removed:
WV QB Craig Crawford. He has stated he does not want to play QB in college. He has also heard from the West Virginia staff, but not Michigan at all.
TX QB Tyrik Rollison. No apparent mutual interest between Michigan and Rollison. He has claimed a list of 3: Oklahoma, Texas, and A&M.
MI TE Mitch Kessel. It doesn’t appear he will become a D1 prospect.
MI OT Christian Brandt. He won’t be a high-D1 prospect.

Additional Information:
MI RB Hersey Jackson now has a reported 40 time of 4.8. He’ll be a fullback if he wants to play high-D1.
Russell Shepard has been named the #1 prospect in Texas (ahead of current Longhorns QB commit Garrett Gilbert). Craig Loston is #3. Not sure why this video from Rivals is free, but it is, so enjoy. Shepard talks about his favorites, his work in the community, and other interesting facts.
Dorian Bell reports a Michigan offer.
Craig Loston 5 stars (up from 4). He will probably be one of the top safeties in the nation next year. He hasn’t mentioned Michigan much, but he has talked about attending the same school as his cousin Russell Shepard.
OH OL Chris Freeman from Trotwood Madison is the cousin of OSU LB Marcus Freeman.

Posted under Recruiting

An article in the International Herald-Tribune yesterday should go a long way to assuage the fears of Michigan fans who fear that Rich Rodriguez intends to ignore Michigan’s storied history, and do things the way he’s been doing them his whole career.

Last week, several members of the 1969 Michigan team that upset Ohio State spoke with members of the 2008 Wolverines. Bo’s first team has more in common with Rodriguez’s, in that both squads serve(d) under a new coach who came from outside the program. A culture shock of hard work is being implemented today, just like in ’69. I was fortunate enough to hear from Dan Dierdorf and Richard Caldarazzo, and their stories were great. One can only imagine how much the players appreciated it.

This weekend, there will be a meet-and-greet featuring more than 200 past Michigan players and their families. 700+ members of this party are expected to attend the basketball game on Sunday against Ohio State. Rich Rodriguez will speak at halftime, primarily to introduce his staff.

Posted under Coaching

Excuse me if this is shitty; it’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these.
9:06PM The tipoff is won by Michigan. Coleman actually does something worthwhile, drawing a foul in the post. He then ruins it by going 1-2 at the line.
19:10 1H Michigan comes out in man defense, Iowa gets an offensive rebound and nails a three. Ron Coleman travels on the way back up the court.
17:33 1H Manny Harris makes a strong drive to the hoop, and bricks an ugly pullup jumper. Udoh goes over the back on the rebound.
17:00 1H Michigan forces Iowa to throw up a shitty three at the end of the shot clock, and Udoh finishes at the other end with a dunk. Then, the other way back down, he fumbles a rebound, ball to Iowa.
15:55 1H Manny Harris plays weak defense on an Iowa drive to the hoop. If he just stands his ground, it’s a charge.
14:57 1H Michigan’s defensive rebounding has been awful. Fortunately, “dribble” was not near the top of Iowa’s agenda, whereas “walk” was. Commercial break.
9:14PM Back to the game.
14:33 1H Kelvin Grady banks one in. As bad as Michigan’s shooting has been at times this year, it is refreshing to see players who look like they have a fucking clue on the offensive end of the court. Michigan compensates with giving an easy dunk to Iowa.
13:27 1H DeShawn Sims airballs a wide open 3-ball on the fast break.
12:52 1H Michigan scrambles because Manny Harris tries to go for a steal. Ekpe Udoh has to go out for a block attempt in the corner, leaving nobody in position to get a rebound if the shot is missed. It isn’t.
11:36 1H Really bad call by the officials giving the ball to Iowa on an out-of-bounds call. Michigan deserves to lose it, I guess, based on the shitty idea by Manny Harris to get in the air under the basket. Commercial Break.
9:21PM Back to the action.
11:25 1H Michigan goes for the trap, and gets good pressure on the ballhandlers despite not forcing the turnover.
11:00 1H Shot clock low, Freeman hucks one and gets lucky. Anthony Wright tosses it out of bounds. It seems Michigan can’t just make one mistake, but rather must compound said mistake to put selves in a hole.
9:30 1H Gibson gets whacked on the offensive glass. No call. They can’t get a defensive rebound to save their lives.
8:32 1H I think this is a makeup call. Manny Harris is nominally fouled going for the rebound on a shot that would have ended Michigan’s chances.
8:12 1H Todd Lickliter takes the ball away from Jevohn Shepherd, who is trying to save it out of bounds. CJ Lee looks the gift horse in the mouth by immediately traveling. They can’t even utilize Iowa’s mistakes to their advantage.
6:57 1H Seemingly a bad call on an Iowa travel. Oh well, Michigan needs all the help they can get. TV Timeout.
9:30PM The action starts again.
6:42 1H Michigan turns it over immediately again. They haven’t scored in 7+ minutes.
5:43 1H Many Harris is stripped going up for a 3, Tony Freeman returns the favor by turning it over on the fast break.
5:27 1H After a quick TV timeout, DeShawn Sims finally gets Michigan back on the board. Kelly answers with a 3 for Iowa.
3:45 1H Terrible call giving Michigan the ball on a play out of bounds. TV Timeout.
9:38PM Back in the house. Holy god is Iowa’s stadium empty. It’s like 10 times worse than Crisler.
3:36 1H Michigan finally hits a 3 (after 7(?) attempts). DeShawn Sims gets Michigan back within 9.
2:54 1H Deshawn Sims gets the rebound after Iowa forces a 3 at the end of the shot clock. He is fouled on the play. Michigan has some signs of life. Michigan returns the favor, with Ekpe Udoh fouling on the rebound of DeShawn Sims’s hookshot.
2:06 1H Iowa gets an easy dunk with 1 second left on the shot clock. At least Michigan is defending well enough to force them to use all the clock. Sims brick a three on the other end.
1:25 1H Johnson airballs a trey for Iowa. Manny Harris Harris is whacked on a left handed runner, and Zack Gibson pulls it down while abosorbing a foul. He’ll shoot two.
0:53 1H An Iowa player performs the funciontal equivalent of airballing a layup, hitting glass and not coming close to anything else. Harris fouls on the rebound. Michigan eventually gets the ball back for the last shot of the half.
0:09 1H DeShawn Sims with a… curious… shot with 7 seconds left on the shot clock. Iowa boards, and runs back to brick one last three pointer of the half.

Michigan trails 27-16 at halftime.

This is painful to watch; second half not being blogged.

Posted under Basketball

Pre-spring depth chart. Not sure about a couple guys’ current status (Jason Kates), or if other guys are going to continue through the spring (Carson Butler, David Cone), so they’re included for now. Red highlights indicate last year of eligibility, blue highlights indicate potential early-entry after 2008, and green highlights indicate guys who could be leaving the team for other reasons (either before or after 2008). Next substantive update coming after Spring Practice.

< tr>

Posted under Personnel

The Board.

Added VA QB Tajh Boyd.
Added PA RB/CB/Slot Jordan Hall, who has been offered by Michigan.
Removed FL S JaJuan Harley (Florida State).

Added some more information on Mich RB Larry Caper.

Bolded players committed (to Michigan or elsewhere) to make them easier to identify.

Posted under Recruiting

Removed FL Safety Willie Downs, who committed to Florida State.
Added information on Russell Shepard (plans to camp at Michigan this summer, linked to his junior highlight video).
Linked to article on MI RB Larry Caper that sounds less than promising.

UPDATE: durr, let’s try linking to the board.

Posted under Recruiting

1. As a general question, evaluate your recruiting class. Is it more or less what you expected, were you pleasantly surprised or horribly, horribly disappointed? Were your team’s needs adequately addressed or will you be starting a two star running back at center next year?
Considering the coaching change, Rich Rodriguez did a great job both locking up Lloyd’s recruits and getting some new commitments, especially from players who will fit his system (i.e. slot receivers). A couple of big needs went unfilled or inadequately filled. Those would be the quarterback (pending the commitment of Terrelle Pryor to some other school), and defensive line, especially at the defensive end position.

2. Who were the big catches in your recruiting class? Name two players matriculating to your school whose existence everyone else in the Big Ten will curse for the next four years.
Sam McGuffie is the obvious choice here, do to his already-existing reputation if nothing else.
Another (less obvious) choice is Justin Feagin. He’ll play the most important position on the field for at least part of this next year, then maybe take over as a starter, or split time with someone else later in his career. He is a speedy guy, and even if he isn’t a supreme athlete, he’ll be someone that opposing defensive coordinators have to specifically gameplan against (which is something Michigan rarely has on offense).

3. You can’t win them all. Maybe some slick talking carpetbagger schmoozed his way into your living room, sold you a set of ginzu knives made out of tin foil, and walked off with your wife and your star recruit. Perhaps an in-state lock who grew up with [Insert University Here] posters on his wall and your coach’s face tattooed on his arm decided to go elsewhere for reasons no one seems to understand? Did your recruiting class lose someone big on signing day, who was it, and was your school able to yoink someone else to cover his loss?
Michigan lost Nick Perry to USC, and (probably) Terrelle Pryor to Ohio State, Penn State, or Oregon. These two hurt pretty bad, because they were big positions of need, and Michigan got nobody to cover Perry, and only 2-star safety Justin Feagin to cover Pryor. Michigan almost expected Perry, because he was an in-state Michigan fan, and Pryor hurts more, because Michigan has nobody on the roster who can do what he does.

4. There’s been a spirited debate about this whole “Coaches’ Code” among the members of the Big Ten coaching fraternity. Do you believe this exists or is it a line being floated by the guys who couldn’t keep their recruiting classes together? Bonus points for declaring your coach a poacher or a poachee in creative fashion!
Joe Tiller is an idiot. Every coach in the conference tries to poach recruits, some are just unsuccessful. Mark Dantonio went after every single Michigan commit, Iowa pulled John Weinke from Michigan, etc. Rich Rodriguez is not even close to the only poacher in the conference, he’s just probably the best one.

5. Finally, who’s the slickest, smoovest, most Billy Dee Williamsesque recruiter in the Big Ten? Who’s the worst, most incompetent, “trip over the flat tire on his Yugo” recruiter in the Big Ten?
Best: Rich Rodriguez. When you see the recruiting class he could retain and put together in less than two months, you have to give this guy a ton of credit.
Worst: Joe Tiller. There’s a reason this guy needs to make up excuses for his incompetence. He might not have the worst class in the conference, but the way he went about making excuses for it tells the whole tale.

Posted under Analysis, Recruiting

The Blog that Yost Built (consistently excellent. If you care about hockey at all, I’d suggest visiting it regularly) has uncovered newspaper reports detailing Kevin Quick’s alleged reason for getting dismissed from the Michigan hockey team.

In happier hockey news, the team took 3 points from Miami over the weekend, returning them to the top of the CCHA (now with a guaranteed CCHA playoff bye), and the country. They face off against Lake State for 2 games in The Old Barn this weekend.

Sadly, no more WOLV games until the CCHA playoffs. I’ll keep you updated.

Posted under Blog News, Hockey

teh b0ardz

Expect a lot of these this early in the recruiting season, as we try to figure out who will and won’t be serious prospects. After the UM junior days, it should settle into a weekly or bi-weekly thing. On to the updates:

Added:
MI QB Thomas Gordon. He’d be a major fall-back guy or position-switch candidate, but if he got an offer, he’d probably like Michigan.
TX WR Greg Timmons. He’s from super-safety Craig Loston’s school.
TX DE Mike Brockers. Need to find more DE prospects. He’s from a strong recruiting area.
NY DE Andre Civil. He’s a four-star-ish prospect who was as-yet only interested in Syracuse and Rutgers.
VA CB Damien Thigpen. He is a good-to-great prospect who consistently lists Michigan in his top lists. Still need to find more good CB prospects.

Removed:
OH CB C.J. Barnett. He committed to Ohio State, and it’s hard to pull early commits from the Bucks, particularly when they commit this early.
CA S Patrick Hall. Committed to USC.

Analysis:
This early in the game, it’s still difficult to determine who is and isn’t a serious prospect with mutual Michigan interest. I still need to unearth more D-Linemen and corner prospects. Michigan is really getting into the Houston area, so they get a little more leeway, since I’ll assume Michigan may be able to pull prospects in a pipeline-style way.

On to Michigan’s #1 prospect in 2009, TX QB Russell Shepard. Texas was considered to be his early favorite. Earlier this week, the Horns accepted a commitment from pro-style QB Garrett Gilbert. This a) takes up a depth chart spot at his position, and b) may indicate where Texas is looking to go with their offensive style in the future (i.e. non-running QB). Texas also held its first junior day this weekend (the second of two is the 23rd, for day 2 of their spring practice). For those who are unaware, junior days at Texas might as well be known as “commit days.” In 2008, 9 of the Horns’ 20 prospects committed at their first junior day. Shepard attended the junior day on Sunday, but did not commit (though Texas did get 3 verbal pledges – and many expected that he might have pulled trigger). Shepard’s non-commitment means he isn’t quite sold on the Longhorns, which is good for Michigan and all Shepard’s other suitors.

Update: An anonymous commenter points out an article with the following (very promising) quote:

“I would say Texas is still up there, but Michigan is really at the top of my list, especially if they don’t get (2008 top recruit) Terrelle Pryor,” he said. “I feel like I could go there and play right away.

Posted under Recruiting