Completing the, uh, bi-fecta for the day, DeWayne Peace has committed to the Michigan Wolverines. Peace (6-0, 178, 4.68) is a DB/WR from South Grand Prairie HS in Texas. He becomes the 12th player in the 2009 class.

Commitment Notes
Peace was a somewhat under-the-radar prospect through much of his recruitment. Until early June, he favor the Texas A&M Aggies and the Kansas Jayhawks. That all changed with a visit to the Rich Rodriguez Football Camp, however. Peace and Michigan were mutually impressed, and upon Peace’s return, A&M was out of the picture, and Michigan was in the top 2 with Kansas. DeWayne decided to end his recruitment shortly thereafter, and gave his word to become a Michigan Wolverine.

Player Notes
Peace has been impressive at both wideout and corner, and is known for good quickness and fluid hips. He moves in and out of breaks cleanly, and uses good routes to get open. At Michigan, it is unclear whether he will be a defensive back or wideout/slot.

Video
From the Super Jayhawk camp.

Posted under Recruiting

Jordan Barnes, a three-star linebacker from Fort Wayne, IN, has given his word to become a Michigan Wolverine. The 6-0, 225 pound product of Homestead Senior High School, picked Michigan over Auburn and Alabama.

Recruiting Notes
Barnes grew up in the state of Alabama, and made it clear that the two in-state schools were his favorites early in the process. However, after attending the BBQ at the Big House, Michigan started making inroads. When he announced his intentions to have a press conference, it was clear that the Wolverines were in the running along with the two ‘bama schools. Before he could get to a press conference, however, Barnes committed to the maize and blue.

Player notes
Barnes is a quick linebacker, and he uses his speed to make plays. His combination of good speed and slightly shorter stature make him a fit to end up on the weakside in college. His film shows that he could also move to the offensive side of the ball, where he could be a big, quick FB (MAX in the Rich Rodriguez system).

Posted under Recruiting

Miami Offense:
QBs:
Last year’s starter, Mike Kokal, was pulled periodically throughout the year, before he was lost for the season with an injury. He was replaced by this year’s starter, Daniel Radabough. Radabough, who will be a redshirt junior this fall, while he wasn’t the better QB, he wasn’t a huge dropoff either, after working through a rough start. Radabough is an effective passer, but is not considered a mobile threat. Backing him up will be redshirt freshman Clay Belton. Belton has very good size, and is a better runner than Radabough. He may be able to overtake Radabough as the starter at some point during the year. Statistics:

Miami Quarterbacks Passing 2007
Name	Comp	Att	%	Yds	TD	Int	Yds/Att
Daniel Radabough	209	382	54.71	2431	12	12	6.36
Mike Kokal	55	99	55.56	615	7	1	6.21

Utah Quarterbacks Rushing 2007
Name	Att	Yds	TD	Yds/Att
Mike Kokal	38	64	0	1.68
Daniel Radabough	38	27	0	0.71

Analysis:
Neither Radabough nor Belton is a game-changer, though Belton may be able to bring more to the RedHawk offense than his counterpart. He is inexperienced, but his mobility (and ability to throw on the run) can give him an edge. However, he’ll have to become a more complete thrower in order to replace Radabough. RBs:
Last year, Miami’s stable of running backs was plagued by injuries, and most of their leading rushers have graduated. Cory Jones, Austin Sykes, and Brandon Murphy (the top 3) are gone, leaving #4 and #5, Sophomore Thomas Merriweather and redshirt sophomore Jamel Miller. They will split the load (Merriweather being the starter), with redshirt junior Andre Bratton serving as the backup. Freshman Dan Green will be expected to get a few carries. Statistics:

Miami Running Backs Rushing 2007
Name	Att	Yds	TD	Yds/Att
Cory Jones	107	483	2	4.51
Austin Sykes	109	466	3	4.28
Brandon Murphy	31	201	2	6.48
Thomas Merriweather	40	143	4	3.58
Jamel Miller	22	95	1	4.32
Andre Bratton	17	72	1	4.24
T.J. Latti more	13	36	0	2.77

Miami Running Backs Receiving 2007
Name	Att	Yds	TD	Yds/Rec
Cory Jones	14	115	1	8.21
Austin Sykes	13	88	0	6.77
Brandon Murphy	2	15	0	7.50
Andre Bratton	1	8	0	8.00
Jamel Miller	1	3	0	3.00
TJ Lattimore	1	0	0	0.00

Analysis:
Most of Miami’s backs are cut from the same mold: pretty short, pretty light, and not fast enough to make up for their deficiencies in the other areas. They aren’t game-changers by any stretch of the imagination, and Michigan’s linebackers should be able to gobble them up. This is especially true with the complete lack of depth they return. Receivers:
The starters will be Dustin Woods (junior and returning starter), and Eugene Harris and Armand Robinson (sophomores). This is a very young group, but Harris and Robinson both got quite a bit of experience last year, as did fellow sophomore Chris Givens. Woods missed a couple of games, but still managed to be the team’s leading receiver. As is often the case with lesser-tier teams, they are shorter, but speedy. Woods is hailed as the team’s fastest player, and Givens brings the size at 6-2. Miami has tons of underclassmen WRs returning. Senior Tom Crabtree is the starting tight end, with experienced Jake O’Connell the key backup. They split starts last year, with Crabtree getting more. The two had 29 catches between them last year, and the tight end is not a huge part of the Miami offense. Statistics:
10

Miami Receivers 2007
Name	Rec	Yds	TD	Yds/Rec
Dustin Woods	40	603	1	15.08
Eugene Harris	46	542	2	11.78
Armand Robinson	33	471	3	14.27
Chris Givens	25	430	2	17.20
Jamal Rogers	19	173	1	9.11
Jake O’Connell (TE)	14	152	2	10.86
Tom Crabtree (TE)	15	139	1	9.27
Sean McVay	18	108	0	6.00
Jared Elliott	9	105	0	11.67
Donovan Potter	81	0	8.10
Pat Shepard (TE)	2	8	0	4.00
Pat LaMonica	1	5	0	5.00

Miami Receivers Rushing 2007
Name	Att	Yds	TD	Yds/Att
Jamal Rogers	10	75	0	7.50
Eugene Harris	9	26	1	2.89
Sean McVay	3	23	0	7.67
Dustin Woods	1	5	0	5.00

Analysis:
Much like Utah, I don’t expect the short speedy receiver type to be a huge problem for Michigan’s defensive secondary. The top two corners are both 6-0+, and there is plenty of speed available there. Miami returns a lot of experience, despite their youth. This should be a solid, if unexceptional, group. Offensive Line:
The RedHawks return 3 starters from 2007’s offensive line. Steve Sutter moves from right tackle to protecting the QB’s blindside, giving Miami a strong left side along with returning LG and fellow senior Dave DiFranco. Last year’s starting right guard, Josh Satterthwait is also expected to make a move, to center. This means that all three of Miami’s seniors and returning starters are on the left side. Redshirt sophomore Bob gulley got some experience last year, and is expected to start at right guard. At right tackle will be massive Zachary S. Marshall, who transferred from Maryland after redshirting in 2005. He will be a redshirt junior (and probably move over to the left side for the 2009 season). Analysis:
The offensive line will have to excel to pave the way for new running backs. The left side should be solid in run blocking, and with the three experienced players on that side I expect much of Miami’s running to go to that side. In pass protection, they may struggle a bit, but if Belton is able to win the starting job, his mobility will help the O-line. I wonder if there will be continuity problems with two of the three returning starters at new positions.

Offensive Analysis:
With a new set of running backs, as well as a (somewhat) new QB, it will be interesting to see if Miami can get the ball into playmakers’ hands on the outside. The Michigan defense should be able to beat on the RedHawks solely based on their superior talent. Miami Defense:
Defensive Line:
Defensive ends Joe Coniglio and Travis Craven were #1 and #3 on the team in sacks last year. Coniglio, a senior and former running back, was third team All-MAC. Craven, who will be a junior this fall, was a defensive tackle last year, who is now moving to his more natural defensive end position. He is a big player at DE, and is likely to be more of a run-stuffer than a sackmaster (he had 3 sackas last year). At the tackle positions, They have junior Martin Channels back, after starting 5 games last year. He is short and big, at over 330 pounds. Sean Redwine is projected to start next to him. The sophomore is built more like a big DE than a true DT. He will try to get penetration in the passing game, and make stops in the backfield against the run. The depth is provided by junior Mark Paun and sophomore Morris Council. Both played spot roles last year. Statistics:

Miami Defensive Line 2007
Name	Tackle	TFL	Sacks
Joe Coniglio	40	10.5	6.5
Craig Mester	23	3.5	2
Martin Channels	22	5.5	2
Jordan Stevens	22	3.5	2
Travis Craven	21	4.5	3.5
Alex Stewart	21	2	1
Sean Redwine	21	1.5	1
Ben Huddle	14	2	0
Morris Council	10	3.5	2
DJ Svabik	5	0	0
Nick DeBartolo	5	0	0
Mark Paun	3	0	0

Analysis:
Miami has a big defensive line, especially for a lesser-conference school. The defensive ends don’t appear to be quick against the run, and only DT Sean Redwine appears to be particularly speedy for his position. This defensive line appears to be geared to stop a power run game, with a little pressure on the pass game. They didn’t have a lot of tackles as a unit last year (and their rotation was smaller than one might expect). Linebackers:
The linebacking corps is by far the strength of the Miami defense. They return all three starters, and the three led the team in tackles last year. Caleb Bostic, the least heralded of the three, returns on the strong side. Clayton Mullins, the defending conference defensive player of the year, roams the weakside. Joey Hudson is the man in the middle, and he had the least tackles of the three last year. Despite that, he was 2nd team all-conference. Hudson’s backup, Chris Shula, is also a senior, and the outside spots are backed up by true sophomores. Statistics:

Miami Linebackers 2007
Name	Tackle	TFL	Sack	Int
Clayton Mullins	143	13.5	4	0
Caleb Bostic	102	11	1	1
Joey Hudson	99	8	2	2
Chris Shula	54	4	2	0
Ryan Kennedy	9	1	1	0
Ben Bennett	9	1	0	0
Mickey Mann	4	0	0	0

Analysis:
With three returning starters, this is by far the strong point of the D. If the defensive line can keep blockers off, they should be able to make a lot of plays for the RedHawks. All have very good size to handle things on the interior. However, I wonder if that size is a blessing and a curse, leaving them vulnerable to the outside run. Mullins is almost 250 pounds on the weakside. If the quickness is there, they will be very good against the run. Still, I will question how well big linebackers can drop into coverage or man up on TEs. Also, with three returning starters (and little depth behind them) an injury could be devestating to the LB corps. Defensive Backs:
The safeties for Miami are very experienced. Senior Robbie Wilson and junior Jordan Gafford both started every game last year. They ranked directly behind the three linebackers in terms of total tackles, but didn’t seem to be big playmakers in terms of picking the ball off or breaking up a ton of passes. Their backups are both sophomores who got very little playing time last year. The corners are both juniors. Jeff Thompson makes it 3/3 for returning DBs who started every game last year. He is short at 5-10, but has good mass to make up for it. At the lower level, however, that will always make you question a guy’s speed. He only broke up 3 passes all of last year. On the other side is new starter Wendell Brunson. The junior was the primary backup last year. Statistics:

Miami Defensive Backs 2007
Name	Tackle	TFL	Sack	Int
Jordan Gafford	89	2	0	1
Robbie Wilson	75	1	0	1
Jerrid Gaines	43	2.5	0	2
Jeff Thompson	41	2	1	3
Wendell Brunson	18	0	0	1
Peris Edwards	17	0	0	0
Brandon Stephens	14	3.5	0	0
Brian Palazcak	10	0	0	0
DeAndre Gilmore	7	1	1	0
Bryan Roland	1	0	0	0

Analysis:
With a lot of experience in the secondary, Miami will be the second straight team Michigan faces that should be strong against the pass. However, their returners were solid, not spectaular last year, so it will be interesting to see if they make a leap to better production and playmaking. Going over the middle will be tough with a pair of good safeties, but I wonder if their corners have the quickness to cover the outside, especially with an effective screen game.

Defensive Analysis:
The Michigan run game will require a lot of quickness over brute strength to really take it to Miami. The passing game should be more successful if they are able to avoid the safeties. With the RedHawks using a lot of man coverage, expect to see mismatches used on screens to exploit the weaknesses in depth. Special Teams:
Jacob Richardson is the returning starter at punter. He is entering his fourth year as the starter. He missed spring with an injury to his kicking leg. Fellow senior Nathan Parseghian (who is the great grandnephew of former RedHawk Ara) is the returning kicker. He had Gingell-ian struggles last year, connecting on only 13 of his 20 FG attempts. Statistics:

Miami Kicking 2007
Name	FGM	Att	%	Long	XPM	Att	%
Nate Parseghian	13	20	65.00	51	18	18	100.00

Miami Punting 2007
Name	Punts	Yds	Avg
Jacob Richardson	68	3063	45.04

Analysis:
It doesn’t appear as though the Miami special teams with be something to fear, though the punting looks to be stronger than the kicking. If Parseghian can improve, Miami’s special teams should be solid enough to get by. Overall Analysis:
Miami, a year after reaching the MAC championship game, is expected to finish second in the eastern division. They shouldn’t be as strong a team as any others (except maybe Toledo) on Michigan’s schedule. After the Utah game, this should be another opportunity to fine-tune the offense before Notre Dame, and hopefully develop the defense into a dominating unit.]] >

Posted under Analysis

a2matt:

Have you heard anything about the Victors message board? Apperntly we are supposed to get to defensive commits by Thursday, one from Texas and 1 from Ohio.

I hadn’t heard about this (until today, when it became the hot news). If true, that would definitely be good news for Michigan football.

From Texas, I think the only player we are close to getting would be DeWayne Peace. He is a WR/DB. As far as the Ohio guy, I can’t think of anyone that we are close on (that has also been offered). There may be an offer out there I’m not accounting for, or the original poster may have the state mixed up, and Jordan Barnes (Indiana linebacker expected to pick between Michigan and the Alabama schools this week) could be the recruit in question.

More on this story as news of its veracity (or lack thereof) comes out.

Posted under Recruiting

The Board.

Added:
FL S Mike Jones. Michigan is one of the schools he is considering. They may be co-leaders with ND.
IN LB Jordan Barnes. The Michigan target is deciding this week (info in header).

New Information:
FL DE Ryne Giddins. He has made the Army Game, and will announce his decision there.
GA LB Devekeyan Lattimore. Fluff.
OK RB David Oku. He will now wait until his official to visit Michigan.
VA RB David Wilson. Michigan is still among his schools being considered.
NC DB Terry Shankle. Michigan is not in his list of 6 favorites.
PA CB Corey Brown. Michigan is in his top 5, but Pitt might be at the top (and OSU is probably up there as well).
FL DB Vladimir Emilien. Really digs OSU.

Etc.:
Fluff on ’08 player Dann O’Neill, fellow freshman Mike Shaw’s track exploits/excellence. As the article states, he is the anchor leg on the winning team.

’09 commit Justin Turner is RichRod’s only head-to-head win against Tressel so far.

Posted under Recruiting

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Episode 2:

Posted under Recruiting, Video

I’ve heard a lot of rumbling about how all of Michigan’s commitments are skill players, rather than linemen. While this is partially true (Michigan also has had a commitment from Will Campbell since the beginning of time), Michigan’s pickup of Michael Schofield changed this somewhat. Of course, the fans are never satisfied, and a couple defensive ends or safeties could go a long way to assuage their fears.

I figured this change was more a reaction to the new regime coming in and needing to be established, until I found an article with this fairly interesting quote:

While the current 10 verbal commitments to the Mountaineers’ next recruiting class are predominantly skill-position players…

This made me wonder about whether there is an inherent quality of the system, or perhaps even the personality of the coaching staff (while most of West Virginia’s old coaching staff is now in Ann Arbor, some members – including the new headman – remain in Morgantown).

West Virginia fans are apparently suffering from the same restlessness of Michigan fans, in hoping that they will stop picking up skill players and start getting some big fellas. The Mountaineer even have 3 linemen to Michigan’s 2, and this is still not enough.

I did a bit of historical research to see if West Virginia’s early commits were typically skill position players. It appears that this wasn’t always the case. Is there a trend here, or just a coincidence? I certainly couldn’t decide.

Posted under Coaching, Recruiting

Scout has updated their player rankings, and that is reflected in these team rankings. I might switch to Rivals rankings soon, because they appear to be less terrible. Also: Purdue, welcome.

Action since last rankings:
6-16-08 Michigan gains commitment from Michael Schofield.
6-19-08 Purdue gains commitment (!) from Ismael Aristide.
6-20-08 Ohio State gains commitment from Duron Carter. Indiana gains commitment from Edward Wright-Baker. Michigan State gains commitment from Dana Dixon.

New Rankings:

#1 Ohio State – 18 commits
DT	*****	Johnny Simon
LB	*****	Dorian Bell
DE	*****	Melvin Fellows
CB	****	CJ Barnett
WR	****	James Jackson
MLB	****	Storm Klein
MLB	****	Jordan Whiting
RB	****	Jordan Hall
OG	****	Corey Linsley
OT	****	Jack Mewhort
S	****	Jamie Wood
WR	****	Duron Carter
TE	***	Reid Fragel
DT	***	Adam Bellamy
WR	***	Chris Fields
FB	***	Adam Homan
LB	***	Zach Boren
CB	***	Dominic Clarke

Dominic Clarke is now a 3-star, as is Zach Boren. Fellows has been given a fifth star.

#2 Michigan – 10 commits
DT	*****	William Campbell
QB	*****	Kevin Newsome
CB	****	Justin Turner
QB	****	Shavodrick Beaver
WR	****	Bryce McNeal
RB	****	Teric Jones
RB	***	Fitzgerald Toussaint
OL	***	Michael Schofield
S	***	Isaiah Bell
WR	***	Jeremy Gallon

Michael Schofield is Michigan’s first OL commit. His athleticism is a good fit for the spread offense. Gallon and Bell have now been ranked as 3-star players.

#3 Penn State – 12 commits
OT	*****	Eric Shrive
CB	****	Darrell Givens
DE	****	Sean Stanley
OT	***	Mark Arcidiacono
S	***	Stephen Obeng-Agyapong
S	***	Malcolm Willis
S	***	Derrick Thomas
QB	***	Curtis Drake
C	***	Ty Howle
CB	***	Stephon Morris
WR	***	Brandon Felder
OG	*	Frank Figueroa

Howle, Felder, and Morris have been ranked 3-stars. Arcidiacono has been given a fourth star. Curtis Drake is being brought in as a QB unless the Nittany Lions get a top-notch signal caller in this calss (in which case he will likely be a WR). Penn State has a quantity-over-quality class right now.

#4 Notre Dame – 9 commits
RB	*****	Cierre Wood
MLB	****	Carlo Calabrese
RB	****	Theo Riddick
DT	****	Tyler Stockton
OL	***	Alex Bullard
TE	***	Jake Golic
LB	***	Dan Fox
P	*	Ben Turk
K	*	Nicholas Tausch

Fox now ranked a 3-star. Golic drops to 3-star. Kicker fills a need.

#5 Michigan State – 8 commits
RB	****	Edwin Baker
RB	****	Larry Caper
SLB	****	Chris Norman
WR	***	Donald Spencer
DT	***	Blake Treadwell
QB	***	Andrew Maxwell
WR	***	Patrick White
WR	***	Dana Dixon

An instate WR picks the Spartans.

#6 Minnesota – 6 commits
QB	****	Moses Alipate
RB	***	Hasan Lipscomb
C	***	Ed Olsen
OT	***	Josh Campion
WR	*	Victor Keise
DE	*	Nick Rengel

Keise will probably end up a low 3-star/high 2-star. Same with Rengel.

#7 Wisconsin – 5 commits
DT	****	Jared Kohout
OG	***	Ryan Groy
DE	***	Shelby Harris
QB	***	Jon Budmayr
OT	***	Zac Matthias

Zac Matthi
as brings the Badgers past Illinois. His ranking is bumped in my mind by the Wisconsin seal of approval.

#8 Illinois – 2 commits
DT	****	Lendell Buckner
OT	****	Leon Hill

Illinois started fast, but has since stagnated (and lost Melvin Fellows to the Bucks).

#9 Iowa – 2 commits
OT	***	David Barrent
FB	*	Brad Rogers

Ferentz’s glory days in recruiting seem to be over. Barrent drops to 3 stars in Scout update.

#10 Northwestern – 2 commits
QB	***	Evan Watkins
RB	*	Mike Trumpy

At least they have some commits.

#11 Purdue – 1 commit
S	*	Ismael Aristide

Not sure where Aristide will be ranked, but it has to be a more important commit than a long-snapper. He was on the verge of becoming a big prospect before a junior year injury.

#12 Indiana – 2 commits
DE	*	Josh Keyt
QB	*	Edward Wright-Baker

Keyt is a long snapper/DE who will greyshirt, according to IUFootball (who deserves props: writing about Indiana football has to be among the most thankless jobs out there). Indiana also picks up a QB commit in Edward Wright-Baker.

Posted under Recruiting

The Board.

Moved to Committed:
IL OL Michael Schofield. Commitment article from Sun-Times.

Added:
SC TE Jim Teknipp. He wants to visit Michigan this summer.
FL TE Orson Charles. He has a Michigan offer. Most consider him a Florida lock, however.
MD RB Malek Redd. Impressive at Michigan camp.
MD RB Caleb Porzel. Teammate of Jelani Jenkins, and he seems like a good fit for the spread. Michigan is probably playing catch-up, however.
TX WR DeWayne Peace. There is clearly mutual interest for the camper (info in header).

New Information:
SC DB Damario Jeffery. Michigan is in his top 6 (contrary to Monday’s recruiting post).
LA WR Rueben Randle. Miami of Florida leads (info in header).
OK RB David Oku. Sam Webb News fluff.

Removed:
SC DB David Sims. He has dropped Michigan.
LA DT Chris Davenport. It doesn’t appear that he has any interest in the Wolverines.

Etc.:
You can ignore most of the article, but take note of the blurb at the bottom:

ESPN television is currently in production on a special that will profile the top prospects at the Nike and Elite 11 training camps. The information used in this article was gathered as part of the television production process.

Analysis:
Schofield is a good get for Michigan. This is partially because offensive line was a position of some need in this class, and also because he is a particularly good fit with great athleticism. He is moving upward in the rankings.

Posted under Recruiting

Sorry if I’m a little late on this, I’ve been traveling all afternoon.

“On behalf of Big Ten presidents, faculty, administrators, players, coaches, alumni and fans, we congratulate Comcast and the Big Ten Network on reaching an agreement to bring Big Ten programming to millions of fans in the eight Big Ten states and millions more alumni and fans nationwide,” said Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany. “We are very pleased with this partnership between the Big Ten Network and Comcast, the nation’s largest cable operator. Big Ten fans and Comcast customers will now be able to see the network on linear television, in high definition, and through Video-on-Demand and broadband applications. The network remains committed to working with the remaining cable operators in Iowa, Ohio and Wisconsin so that their customers will have the network as well.”

Scott Chipman
Assistant Commissioner of Communications
Big Ten Conference

…And there was much rejoicing

Posted under Blog News