The loss of Germany hurts DE depth, but the Wolverines are strong in the middle, and have some real potential in guys coming off the edge. Taylor seems poised to have a good year stopping the run up the middle. There is 2 or 3-deep depth at every position, but the real question is how much quality there is at each of these positions. Sagesse will redshirt unless there is a huge depth problem.

Nobody will be lost to graduation, but Terrance Taylor MAY be able to make the jump if he has a really good year. Still, with depth as poor as it is on the defensive line, expect the staff to go for a couple of defensive ends (including one top guy) and a defensive tackle, maybe two. This year will be a time for the staff to improve the depth, especially losing a couple of guys after the next season.

This is a definite rebuilding year for a linebacker corps losing two of three starters. The depth chart will probably not be completely set until after fall camp. Fortunately, the Wolverines are 2-deep at every position. Some of these guys need to improve, and expect both freshmen to take a redshirt. I am surprised to hear that Panter is not practicing all that well, as I didn’t think Michigan would bother with a JuCo unless they thought he’d be able to contribute right away. There’s the off chance that he takes a redshirt (he has 3 years to play two) as well.

Shawn Crable is graduating after this season, as is Chris Graham. If Graham wins the starting job this year, the team will again have to replace at least two starters. The MLB position seems fairly strong as far as depth, even if Cobrani Mixon transfers to Cincinnati, as has been rumored. A couple of OLBers should come in this class, as well as maybe one MLB to build further depth, since Thompson and Panter both have junior eligibility (unless Panter redshirts).

This position, long a subject of much bitching for Michigan fans, looks to be relatively strong this year. If Trent and Sears can continue to improve (reports from spring camp indicate that Sears is looking very good), the corners should be adequate, though still the weakness of the position group. New coach Vance Bedford has helped this position a lot. The nickel back position is a new one for Ron English’s defensive scheme, and Brandon Harrison looks to fill that role, with freshman Michael Williams backing him up. Expect redshirts for Babb, Rogers, and Woolfolk, though nothing is guaranteed.

To graduation, Michigan loses Anton Campbell, a career special teamer (who actually impressed in spring practice), Jamar Adams, a three-year starter at SS, Brandent Englemon, and undistinguished safety. With a bunch of safeties in the past couple classes, Michigan will probably only need to take one or two. At the CB position, nobody is lost to graduation, but Doug Dutch
(unrenewed 5th year candidate) is unproven at the position, as is sophomore Carlos Brown. Expect a couple of CBs to be taken, including at least one super (I’m going out on a limb here by saying they’ll land one – wait a minute, they already got U.S. Army combine MVP Boubacar Cissoko).

Posted under Personnel, Recruiting

Looks at all position groups, how they’ll be in the fall, and what recruiting needs will arise.

Others unaccounted for:
DeBenedictis
Huyge
Molk

The starting line seems to be pretty well-set, going Long-Kraus-Boren-Mitchell from left to right. The only question is at right tackle, where RS frosh Steve Schilling, Perry Dorrestein, and RS Soph Mark Ortmann battling for the starting job. Ortmann is really the future LT, so I’m not sure they want im starting at RT. The OL seems to be at least 2-deep at every position.

Michigan will lose Jake Long and Adam Kraus to graduation, and will probably not renew the scholarship of Grant DeBenedictis for a 5th year. The last couple of OL classes have been pretty small. Huyge and Molk will probably redshirt. Michigan needs at least 2 OTs (they already have one commitment from Dan O’Neill), incluing one more top guy. A couple interior linemen wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

Next year’s starting OL probably looks Ortmann-Ciulla or Schifano-Boren-Mitchell-Schilling or Zirbel.

Henne is entrenched as the starter. Forcier is gone to Stanford, leaving Mallett as the backup. David Cone is still developing, and is likely to play the career backup role.

Henne graduates after this season, and there is huge need for at least one non-project at the quarterback position to serve as Mallett’s theoretical 2008 backup, and probably another guy to be improved over the course of his career.

Hart will obviously remain the starter here. Minor is the backup, with Kevin Grady out with a torn ACL. Carlos Brown is back on offesne. Avery Horn enters this fall. He will likely redshirt his freshman year. At fullback, RS Frosh preferred walk-on Mark Moundros looks like the probable starter. If this is the case, Helmuth can take a redshirt before his four years of mauling linebackers.

Hart will be lost to graduation. That will leave 4 scholarship backs after this year (assuming Horn qualifies and stays at the position). That means Michigan will probably want to take one, and maybe even two, running backs in this class. There is no need at fullback with Helmuth just a true freshman.

Others unaccounted for:
Bass

Not a ton of depth here, but the starters are pretty good. Mathews showed some flashes last year as well, and all reports indicate that he is looking good in the spring. Savoy looked really good last spring, and ended up contributing almost nothing during the course of the year. He looks good again this year (per reports), so we’ll have to see if he can translate it to the field this time. A couple of freshmen are coming in, and it looks like both might play next year for depth reasons. Will Bass ever play again? That is the million-dollar question.

Nobody is lost to graduation, but Arrington and Manningham may be able to make the jump early if they have breakout year. Manningham needs to prove he can do things with the ball, proving he’s not just a one-trick pony. Arrington has shown himself t be fairly complete, and he has size. If he has big numbers, it should be enough to vault him into potential early-entry territory. If both of these guys leave, depth is absolutely shot, and there will have to be a big WR class. It is unlikely that Bas will ever play again, but if he does, he is a tremendous athlete. Expect at least two WRs taken in this class (with maybe one as a big guy who could split out as a TE), with another taken for each guy who does not come back and exhaust his eligibility.

Losing Butler whacked depth at this position right in the face. Masse
y is the only guy who even has played in a real game scenario. Watson and Webb are both incoming freshmen who were probably going to redshirt, though one of them might have to play this year, since Criswell and McLaurin aren’t very good. Smart money is on Watson, as he is pretty much ready to play, whereas Webb would be well-served by a redshirt year. He is physically a lot like Butler was coming in, though hopefully does not share mental deficiencies.

Losing the starter, who was going to be retuning for yet another year, will force Michigan to take a tight end in this class, though I think they originally had wanted to take a WR/TE tweener. With Webb and Watson both around, they might still be able to just get by with one of those hybrid prospects.

Posted under Personnel, Recruiting

Dann O’Neill, an offensive tackle from Grand Haven, has committed to the Wolverines. He’s pretty highly regarded, though not exactly OMG shirtless. Probably a 4-star guy.

Jim Stefani has him ranked as the #26 offensive line prospect, regardless of position. Stefani also calls him 6’7″, though there are a lot of conflicting reports about his size. Most credible sources have him at 6’5″. Also of note in Stefani’s post: Michigan targets J.B. Shugarts (#5), legacy Khaled Holmes (#17) , Kurt Wermers (#45).

O’Neill’s a very athletic big guy: he wrestles, and finished 7th in the state. He was a commitment waiting to happen, and once his wrestling season ended, he pulled the trigger on a visit to the first spring practice.

Posted under Recruiting

Jim Stefani came up with an interesting post on the GoBlueWolverine forums regarding the ceilings and floors of recruits. High ceiling types are those who have virtualy limitless potential, and can be absolute stars if they live up to said potential. Guys with high floors might be able to come in and contribute right away, and are college-ready.

These two concepts likely correlate, but this is not always the case. Guys who are adjusting to new positions in college, etc. might not be able to contribute right away, but once they make the adjustments, are able to shine. I, on the other hand, would be a very low ceiling and floor guy.

Rankings will be given on a 1-5 basis for both ceiling and floor, with 5 being the best, and 1 the worst. a 3-3 would be your average recruit, 5-5 would be your top-top players. A 1 for ceiling doesn’t mean that a certain player can’t contribute, as long as the floor is high. I apologize in advance for all the guru-isms I’m about to spout.

Ryan Mallett
Floor:5 Ceiling:5.
Enrolling early will really help his floor, and he has a strong arm and the size to be one of the all-time greats.

Donovan Warren
Floor:5 Ceiling:4
Very polished, but doesn’t have that elite speed to have limitless potential.

Vince Helmuth
Floor: 4 Ceiling:3
Again, enrolling early can only help with floor level. A fullback can only have so much potential for greatness.

Dave Molk
Floor: 4 Ceiling:2
He has a lot of the qualities you look for in an offensive lineman, but doesn’t have the ideal height required of high-potential guys.

Michael Williams
Floor:4 Ceiling:4
Fairly polished, not an elite physical specimen.

Ryan VanBergen
Floor:2 Ceiling:4
He could be really good, or he could be Pat Massey.

Toney Clemons
Floor:2 Ceiling:5
Outstanding athlete, but raw, raw, raw as a receiver.

Steve Watson
Floor:5 Ceiling:1
Not a great athlete, but he comes in very polished as a coach’s son.

Martell Webb
Floor:2 Ceiling:5
He has to learn two positions, and find his role, but he has the physical tools to be a great tight end OR receiver.

James Rogers
Floor:1 Ceiling:4
Seems to be a much more natural safety than receiver, but in terms of position skills, he is rather raw.

Brandon Herron
Floor:1 Ceiling:5
An elite physical specimen who couldn’t really translate his skills into results on the field in high school.

J.R. Hemingway
Floor:4 Ceiling:3
Doesn’t possess great top-top speed, but has good hands, and could pan out to be another Jason Avant-like player.

Zion Babb
Floor:1 Ceiling:5
A great athlete, but he will probably be moved to defensive back, which he wil have to learn as it is not his favored position.

Austin Panter
Floor:4 Ceiling:3
Already playing college (of the junior variety) ball, I’d be surprised if he isn’t well polished, but he doesn’t seem like an off-the-charts athlete.

Marell Evans
Floor:1 Ceiling:4
Another guy who is switching positions (high school safety, college WLB). Can he make the necessary adjustments to be a good one?

Artis Chambers
Floor:2 Ceiling:3
Another non-elite athlete who can hopefully contribute. Floor bumped up 1 point for early enrollment.

Troy Woolfolk
Floor:1 Ceiling:5
Fast fast fast, but is he going to be able to improve his pure cover-corner skills enough to turn that potential into results?

Avery Horn
Floor:2 Ceiling:5
Fast fast fast, but is he going to be able to improve his pure RB skills enough to turn that potential into results?

Mark Huyge
Floor:1 Ceiling:5
Such a project player, you have to think he has great upside to be going to a top-notch football school like Michigan.

Renaldo Sagesse
Floor:1 Ceiling:4
Canadian guys always seem to have a tough time adjusting. He has good measurables for the position, though.

Obviously most of the guys we missed out on are going to be 5-5 guys, though I’d peg Rojo os a Floor:4 Ceiling:6 guy, with off the chart potential.

Posted under Recruiting

No in-depth info on the signees here, but Michigan did manage to score 20 Letters-of-Intent signed, and the top class in the Big 10.

Rankings are according to Scout. Numbers in parentheses are position rankings.

5* TX QB (2) Ryan Mallett (enrolled)
5* CA CB (4) Donovan Warren
4* MI FB (1) Vince Helmuth (enrolled)
4* IL C (3) Dave Molk
4* CA S (5) Michael Williams
4* MI DE (8) Ryan VanBergen
4* PA WR (10) Toney Clemons
4* CO TE (15) Steve Watson
4* MI TE (17) Martell Webb
4* MI S (17) James Rogers
4* TX SLB (18) Brandon Herron
4* SC WR (26) J.R. Hemingway
4* CA WR (55) Zion Babb
4* KS MLB (JuCo) Austin Panter (enrolled)
3* VA WLB (29) Marell Evans
3* IN S (34) Artis Chambers (enrolled)
3* IN CB (44) Troy Woolfolk
3* CA RB (77) Avery Horn
2* MI OT (33 C) Mark Huyge
2* QC DT (NR) Renaldo Sagesse

Of note: Martell Webb was originally ranked ahead of Steve Watson, and will play both TE and WR. Troy Woolfolk is a legacy recruit (son of Butch Woolfolk), and he and Herron attended the same school, Sugarland Dulles, where a top junior WR (Daryll Stonum) is also a Michigan target. Mark Huyge is ranked as a Center, though he is obviously a tackle project player for Michigan.

Recruits by state:

MI: 5
CA: 4
TX: 3
CO, IL, IN, KS, PA, QC, SC, VA: 1 each

Posted under Recruiting

… It’s on to Cissoko. Here’s someone who’s MAN enough to announce his early commitments to the world. Welcome aboard, Boubacar, I hope you show more class than your fellow early commits.

Posted under Recruiting

However, especially with regards to Warren, this one ain’t over yet…

Posted under Recruiting

Until everything shakes out, I unfortunately will not be posting about it. A little overzealousness in reporting on sensitive recruiting information can do nothing but hurt the program.

Posted under Recruiting

With signing day just a week away, Michigan’s final class is far from wrapped up. With 18 Commits, Michigan is still pursuing 5 targets heavily, though don’t expect them to land all 5.

Ronald Johnson – RoJo visited Florida this weekend, and Urban Meyer is in his home today. He’ll decide between UM, UF, OSU, MSU and USC at his church on Sunday. Chances of landing Johnson still look good.

Jerimy Finch – After his commitment switch to Indiana (and shortly thereafter, a softening of his Indiana commit), Finch visited Florida this weekend as well. Michigan has still been recruiting him, but don’t expect them to land Finch.

Renaldo Sagesse – An Illinois DT commitment from Quebec, Michigan has been coming on hard to Renaldo lately. Michigan and Illinois both have in-home visits this week, but he did promise Ron Zook his signature, and that will weigh in his decision.

Rashad Mason – Mason is interested in Michigan, Clemson, and a bunch of crappy SEC/ACC schools that can offer him a lot of playing time. From the way he talks, it seems like UM and Ole Miss (footbaw) are his two favorites, with a pending Clemson official visit.

Donovan Warren – The 5-star defensive back from Long Beach Poly has long been thought to be a USC lock. The allure of playing time at UCLA and UM are keeping them in the hunt, and he may visit Ann Arbor tomorrow with his dad (who has loved UM all along).

It looks like chances are good for Rojo, increasing for Warren, around 50% for Sagesse and Mason, and not so good for Finch. After the recruiting class is wrapped up, the prognostications for next year, the NFL Draft, etc. will begin.

Posted under Recruiting

Fun informtaion that has been creepily gleaned from the pages of Facebook:

Zoltan Mesko wore a #1 jersey in some Rose Bowl practices. Is he going to wear it next year?

A “Ronald Johnson, Ann Arbor Welcomes You” group exists, with Mallett, Chambers, Steve Schilling, Greg Mathews, Martell Webb, and (outlier alert!) Garrett Rivas among the officers. This information is of approximately zero importance, but I thought it was funny.

Posted under Recruiting