In Scott Shafer’s presumably blitz-happy defensive scheme, Brandon Harrison will probably remain at designated-blitzer-defensive-back-guy. The starting safeties will be the biggest item of interest. Stevie Brown will probably be free (and will be better than he looked against App State, I promise), but will Charles Stewart be strong, or can a younger guy step up? I also wonder if Michael Williams has finally worked out all of his health issues.

Looking at this depth chart, it’s somewhat surprising to see how big a DB class came in last year (and how few of them redshirted).

Posted under Analysis, Personnel, Spring Coverage

I’m of the opinion that, with the lack of speed defensive ends, you may see a player like Marrell Evans, who was a defensive end/designated rusher in high school, move down to the DL. The true freshmen won’t be here until fall, so we won’t know if one of them makes a similar transition (i.e. Marcus Witherspoon). Other things include the starting LB unit. Where does Obi Ezeh start, and how does this affect who the other starting LB will be?

There is a lot of depth at the SAM position, even before the freshmen come in. Because of this, most LBs will probably learn multiple positions.

Posted under Analysis, Personnel, Spring Coverage

Spring will be a good time to tell us a couple of important facts about the defensive front. First, is Jason Kates going to stay with the team? Conflicting reports have stated that he has quit, while other assert he is still with the team. If he doesn’t participate in spring practice, we can assume he is gone. Also, a few positions will be ironed out. Adam Patterson, Ryan VanBergen, and Greg Banks haven’t been established at one particular position, and we’ll be able to get a better idea where the S&C has taken their bodies.

In terms of performance, I really want to know if there is any quality depth behind the starters, especially helpful to see who can step up as starters when three members of the D-line leave after 2008. Mike Martin and a top-notch freshman defensive end will not be around for the spring. Unfortunately, the defensive end will not be around for the fall either.

Posted under Analysis, Personnel, Spring Coverage

I can only blog the first half, but hopefully it turns out like last time I was only able to blog half of a game against Iowa.

12:04 PM Tipoff is won by Iowa.
18:10 1H Iowa finally draws first blood on a drive to the hoop. Udoh get some post points to answer.
17:30 1H Iowa misses another open look for three. Michigan has given up a couple of those, they’re lucky Iowa hasn’t capitalized.
16:57 1H Another open Iowa look that Michigan is lucky they missed. Udoh draws the loose-ball foul on the rebound,
16:21 1H Michigan gets his first lead of the game on a Manny Harris jumper. Michigan forces Iowa to run down the clock and take a DEEP three that is missed.
14:34 1H Michigan’s strong man defense puts a lot of pressure on the ball, forcing a turnover. Anthony Wright capitalizes on the other end with three. The defense is looking good other than the giving up of open threeball looks earlier.
14:33 1H Timeout. 10-4 Michigan.
13:41 1H Iowa nails a threeball, then there’s a TV timeout on a Michigan foul when the Hawkeyes get the ball back. 10-7 Michigan.
12:37 1H More strong man defense from Michigan leads to a Hawkeye turnover. Deshawn Sims hits a jumper on the break. Fortunately for the Wolverines, Iowa is stone cold from the floor.
12:03 1H Three ball is good for Manny Harris. After a couple more missed Iowa FGs, Deshawn Sims is fouled rebounding the ball.
TV Timeout. 15-7 Michigan 11:39 1H.
11:25 1H Manny Harris comes of the dribble-handoff screen and nails a fairly deep three. Michigan 4-7 from the arc. More good defensive pressure from Michigan. They knock the ball out of bounds with 12 of the shot clock and Michigan steals off the inbound, leading to more Manny Harris points.
9:56 1H Iowa gets a switch off a screen, adn Freeman uses a nice stepback move on Anthony Wright.
9:30 1H David Merritt makes an appearance!
9:10 1H Commentator notices that Michigan is showing much more hustle. the 22-9 lead is certainly evidence of that.
8:43 1H Where was this defense all year? Obviously the poor shooting so far by Iowa has helped, but Michigan is causing turnovers left and right. this time, it’s a 3-second violation.
7:52 1H Really nice play by Iowa to get Michigan scrambling, then a fake shot to feed down low for an easy deuce.
22-11 Michigan 7:23 1H.
7:01 1H Not a great offensive foul called, drawn by Ekpe Udoh. I’ll take it. Deshawn Sims gets a three on the other side.
6:19 1H A better call this time, as Justin Johnson’s shoulder is lowered and the forearm extended. You really don’t want to get an offensive foul that far from the basket.
5:35 1H Loose ball foul on Iowa, though I think the play should have been called out of bounds off the top of the backboard first.
4:43 1H Michigan is coming back to its regular form, as they turn it over for the second consecutive trip down the floor. Iowa is getting a chance to stay in this game. An and-1 for the Hawks does just that.
4:25 1H The first free throw for either team is missed. Manny Harris gets a deep 2 on the other end.
TV Timeout. 3:54 1H 27-15 Michigan. Iowa shooting 2 when we get back.
3:15 1H Cyrus Tate heads to the foul line once more. This time it was a pretty bad call, as Ekpe Udoh kept his arms completely vertical the whole time. Tate gets both.
2:55 1H Ekpe Udoh’s second foul comes on an illegal screen. Michigan’s at-least-once-per-game scoring drought has begun.
2:24 1H Zach Gibson ends the drought with authority, getting a big dunk and the foul. He does work on the other end as well, accepting a charge from Tony Freeman.
1:53 1H Michigan’s strong defense again forces a bad shot by Iowa. The ricochet of the rim ends up out of bounds, off the Hawkeyes.
1:08 1H Gibson nearly blocks a runner off the glass, but it drops for Iowa, and they are back within 8.
0:39 1H Offensive rebound, true hustle play by Gibson. Tate fouls Deshawn Sims. He’ll shoot 1-and-1.
0:18 1 H after a good half of defense, Michigan lets a three ball shooter get wide open again, and this time Iowa capitalizes. Zach Gibson finishes the half with a field goal.
Halftime. Michigan leads 34-25.

Posted under Basketball

With Mark Dantonio’s early success in 2009 recruiting, it’s important for Michigan to nab a couple of high-profile prospects from the state to slow down the momentum. Candidates for this I think would be:

Dion Sims TE/DE **** Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (offer)
James Jackson WR **** Grand Blanc (offer)
Hersey Jackson RB/MX *** Allendale (no offer)
Teric Jones RB/Slot *** Detroit Cass Tech (no offer)
Zach Matthias OT *** Hemlock (no offer)
Cameron Gordon WR *** Inkster (no offer)
Reid Fragel TE/OT *** Grosse Pointe South (no offer)
Thomas Gordon QB *** Detroit Cass Tech (no offer)

Of those, the only one who is a pipe dream to commit is James Jackson. Sims is also unlikely, but possible. I believe any of the others could commit if offered, along with lower-ranked state prospects if they get offers.

Out of state prospects who could be candidates to commit:

Zach Boren LB/DE *** Pickerington, OH (no offer)
Morgan Newton QB **** Carmel, IN (no offer)
Justin Turner DB **** Massilon, OH Washington (offer)

I wouldn’t be surprised if Michigan got upwards of five commits, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if Rich Rodriguez ended up with no pledges.

etc. Detroit News article by Sam Webb on Michigan dual-threat-QB targets. Buckeyes already hard at work to beat Michigan. A columnist in… Omaha… says that Steve Threet’s days are numbered.

Posted under Recruiting

If you only check this blog once a day, make sure you don’t miss out on the post about Junior Day, directly below this one.
The Recruiting Board has been updated slightly to include headings for each column. This was based on the requests from a couple of readers. Also, OK RB David Oku now has an offer.
A request regarding said recruiting board:
Do readers prefer Hometown and School fields OR State and Hometown/School fields? Leave your response in the comments to this post (and any other requests/suggestions you may have for the board, while you’re at it).

The Big House Thing
Various fans and members of the blogosphere are up in arms about Michigan Stadium’s capacity being below that of Beaver Stadium during the next two years. Personally, I think it is no big deal.

While having the largest stadium in the nation is something nice to be able to hang your hat on, I’m pretty sure avoiding constant litigation is more productive for the athletic department. Being able to get on the good side of the ADA also holds Michigan to the higher moral standard that I believe is an important aspect of our Tradition, and rids us of the annoyance of John Pollack, who Brian dubs (not-so-affectionately) “The Hero of Tienanmen Square.”

It’s also important to note that Michigan Stadium, despite announcing it was the home of “the largest crowd watching a football game anywhere in America today,” did not in fact hold this distinction on two Saturdays. The September 8th contest against Oregon was outdrawn by Notre Dame’s visit to Happy Valley (109,733 to 110,078) and Michigan and Penn State’s respective beatdowns of Eastern Michigan and Iowa had the attendance battle go to the Lions as well (108,415 to 108,951). The top 15 most-attended games in ’07 were all in Ann Arbor or State College, with the top 4 taking place in the Big House.

It is important to note that Michigan Stadium was not at or below official capacity (107,501) once in 2007, nor would I expect this to be the case in 2008 (at 106,201). With a new headman in Ann Arbor, and a lot of media interest surrounding this change, it is likely that there will be many members of the media in attendance, at least for the first game. Media and other game services personnel account for the difference between capacity and attendance. Penn State is also the only school in America who averaged more than Michigan Stadium’s projected new capacity (other than Michigan, of course). An exciting style of play, as Michigan is expected to have, will only help the case.

So, do I think this is a lot of hand-wringing about something that won’t greatly affect anyone? Yes. There is little practical reason to have a dick measuring contest in terms of attendance. It won’t impress recruits (they will still be awed at the sheer expanse of Michigan Stadium, and think that Beaver Stadium looks like an erector set gone wrong (for the record, I like the stadium, but it is far from aesthetically appealing)).

Recruiting Woes
Speaking of fans being irrationally concerned over matters, many are starting to express worry over the lack of Michigan commitments so far in this class. There are a few points that people will need to take into account before they start jumping of bridges.

Rich Rodriguez and staff had to play catch up on 2008 before they could worry about 2009. While other staffs had their 2008 classes completed, and were sending out feelers to 2009 prospects, Rodriguez had to first secure all of Lloyd Carr’s previous commitments, then get more players to sign with the Maize and Blue (Hill, Floyd, Feagin, Roundtree, Shaw, Robinson, Odoms, Barnum, Omameh), almost all of whom were four-star prospects. Odoms’s recruitment even stretched out past signing day, and Terrelle Pryor’s is obviously still ongoing (even if many Michigan fans have given up, don’t think for one second that Rodriguez has). Thus, other schools (including Michigan State) had a head start on Michigan.

Mark Dantonio’s class is looking good, but the players haven’t signed anything yet, and some of them might not fit Michigan’s new system. Brian covered this yesterday.

Michigan is one of the last schools to have its junior day. While schools like Texas get nearly their entire classes to commit at junior days, Michigan hasn’t had an opportunity to hold its junior day yet. This is mostly because of playing catch-up (see above, in addition to the coaches getting to know existing players and each other). Junior Day is finally coming tomorrow, and with more offers likely being given out, and a good possibility for a commit or two, Michigan will jump back into the recruiting game with a vengeance.

Posted under Blog News, Recruiting

Tomorrow night, Michigan will be holding its 2008 junior day. While past Michigan junior days have been held surrounding a basketball game, this year that is not the case.

Michigan will be holding its first annual “Night of Champions,” likely taking its name from the famous New York Bodybuilding competition. “Night of Champions” is neither a novel idea nor name, taking place at such schools as Central Michigan, Idaho, and even reclassifying school Western Kentucky. However, it is certainly a departure from the way Michigan has operated in the past. As the name references, this event is a competition between members of the football team to show off their physical improvement from winter strength and conditioning.

Back to the topic of juniors, expect mostly regional prospects (in-state, Ohio, Indiana, maybe northeastern Illinois or western Pennsylvania) to attend. From the recruiting board (and some who have been removed/not added), that would include (my educated guesses on) the following prospects (and definitely several more):

Michigan
QB Mike Schaaf – Not a dual threat, but could be a good baseball prospect that could pick UM and also play football.
QB Thomas Gordon – A fallback prospect, though his teammates Will Campbell (committed) and Teric Jones (seeking an offer) will almost definitely come.
RB Edwin Baker – He now has a UM offer, though his commitment to Sparty may prevent him from attending.
RB Teric Jones – He may get his offer at RB or slot, and he is one who could commit if the offer comes through.
RB Larry Caper – Committed to State, and new-UM hasn’t shown tons of interest, but he could make it in.
Hersey Jackson – He wants a UM offer.
WR James Jackson – He has a Michigan offer, and Michigan wants him badly.
WR Cameron Gordon – Prospect on Michigan’s radar who is still looking for an offer.
TE Dion Sims – He has an offer and Michigan wants him. OLSM BBall lost last night so he should be able to make it in.
TE Reid Fragel – Potential future OT could hope for an offer.
TE Mitch Kessel – Probably won’t ever garner an offer unless our recruiting class starts (continues?) to suck late in the year.
OT Zach Matthias – He is still an instate sleeperish type guy.
OG Ricky Clemons – Could be looking for a future offer.
OG Aaron McCord – Also a potential DL target.
DT William Campbell – Michigan commit can recruit for the good guys at this event.
LB Chris Norman – An MSU commit.
S Brock Reynolds
S Jamonne Chester
S Shamari Benton

Ohio
WR Josh Jones – Looking for big name offers. Can he make the long trip during a school day?
OT Marcus Hall – Top prospect. Michigan would love for him to come in.
OT Chris Freeman – From Trotwood-Madison.
LB Zach Boren – Legacy recruit with no scholarship offer.
LB Julius Ferrell
S Justin Turner
CB DJ Hunter
CB Tony Graham – Another Trotwood guy.

Indiana
QB Morgan Newton – He has been picking up some steam lately, though some doubt his fit in the read-option offense. His basketball obligations have ended.
QB Jordan Luallen

Illinois
QB Darwin Rogers – His class at Leo High has a lot of prospects.
DE Craig Drummond – A top prospect Michigan would love to have come in.

Pennsylvania
RB Jordan Hall – Don’t know how far he’d be willing to travel for a junior day, both he and Terrelle Pryor are eligible to play in their basketball game tonight, so he might be too tired to come.
WR Je’Ron Stokes – Can he make the 4 hour drive on a school day?
DE Juantez Hollins
DE Jack Lippert
LB Dorian Bell – Michigan would be ecstatic if he’d make it in, and he is currently planning to attend.
LB Dan Mason
LB AJ Fenton
S EJ Banks
CB Corey Brown – Dorian Bell’s Teammate. Plans to attend.

Also, NC S Devonte Holloman’s lovely mug is featured in the free portion of the latest Scout post about Junior Day, so don’t be surprised if makes an attempt to come in.

**BONUS** If Trotwood guys come in, they may be accompanied by some of Michigan’s 2008 commits from their school. Same story with Boubacar Cissoko and the Cass Tech guys, and maybe even BB commit Stu Douglass tagging along with Morgan Netwon?
**Double Bonus** If Jordan Hall can make it in, may he bring along uncommitted 2008 uber-recruit Terrelle Pryor? I’m sure Michigan would be very pleased to have him in, especially if he brought his mother with him.

Defensive spring preview coming tomorrow, the last day before the start of spring practice.

Posted under Recruiting

The offensive line will be the area of least knowledge going into the spring for those not affiliated with the program. A new skill set will likely be required of Rich Rodriguez’s offensive linemen than was of Lloyd Carr’s. The existing players with the best fit will play under Rodriguez. Not-yet-existing for this spring are incoming freshmen Dann O’Neill, Rocko Khoury, Kurt Wermers, Ricky Barnum, Elliott Mealer, and Patrick Omameh. At the guard positions, it looks like at least one of them will have to play for depth this season.

While I think it would be good for Steve Schilling to move inside (both for his skill set and depth along the interior), I have heard he is being kept at tackle for now. Ortmann will likely man the left tackle spot, and Boren is a lock at one of the guard positions, barring injury. David Moosman and Molk will battle with Tim McAvoy for the remaining two spots. I have given the nod to those that I think are more likely to win the battles.

After spring, there will be a lot more clarity as to where certain guys will fit. Of note: Nobody on this depth chart will lose their eligibility following this season.

Posted under Analysis, Personnel, Spring Coverage

The only freshman who will participate in spring practice is Darryl Stonum. None of the others (Shaw, Roundtree, Odoms, Robinson, Koger, and Moore) will arrive on campus until fall camp. Position battles include Butler v. Massey at tight end (I see Butler excelling in the Rodriguez system – if he can make it through the conditioning regimen) and the #2 receiver spot is essentially up for grabs, along with slot receiver. Avery Horn is listed under slot (as well as RB), because it is unclear which position he is more likely to play (probably a combination).

Posted under Analysis, Personnel, Spring Coverage

Part 2 in the Pre-spring preview. Today will be the offense.

Obviously Justin Feagin, Mike Cox, and Sam McGuffie are not going to be around until the fall, and will not participate in spring practice. Thus, the positional battles will not be fully settled until the fall. Battles of note: I think Vince Helmuth will become the starter in a system that places a greater emphasis on athleticism. Kevin Grady is listed at tailback on this chart, though it is possible that spring brings a change to the MX position, or at least learning both of the positions. Andre Criswell is more of a classic fullback (and is not even exceptional at that position); I’m not sure if he’s much of a fit at MX. I’m starting to wonder if a player like him will ever find a spot on Rich Rodriguez’s team.

Posted under Analysis, Personnel, Spring Coverage