This will be the first in a series detailing team information as it as I see it before spring practice.

Prior to spring practice, nobody outside the Michigan coaching staff has a concrete idea of ANYTHING that will happen with the team. Several players on Michigan’s squad will undergo position changes, either because their bodies have developed differently, or their skill set is compatible with a different position under the Rich Rodriguez system than it was under Coach Carr. Positions that are essentially the same, but with different terminology (i.e. FB and MX) won’t be covered. As a side note, the eiligibility chart has been updated to correct a few mistakes.

Previously undefined positions
Players who hadn’t established themselves at any given position (usually freshmen or other young players) or had bounced around during the course of their Michigan careers so far (usually Andre Criswell).

• Doug Dutch played a couple years at WR, then was a backup CB last year. He may switch back, or stay at CB as a depth player, or even move to safety.
• Andre Criswell has been a fullback, tight end thingy, and various other things. He doesn’t really have a natural position. The staff will try him out a couple different places in the spring.
• Zion Babb recruited as a wide receiver, but he has played both WR and DB in his first year. He will probably be solidified at one of those positions.
• Marell Evans came out of high school as a defensive end, then played linebacker and special teams in his first year. He could either learn the LB position better, or be Barwised into a true defensive end, where there isn’t much depth.
• Quinton Patilla is another guy who has bounced around, with stops at fullback (where players without a position go to die). He’ll need to have his position defined in the spring.
• James Rogers was a high school running back, who committed as a wide receiver. Then, he spent most of last year learning to play safety. He might stay there, but it’s too soon to consider it set in stone.
• Avery Horn played running back in high school. He is a speedy guy who will play slot receiver with some RB mixed in. I’d also be very surprised if he didn’t get a chance at returning kicks.
• Ryan Van Bergen is a defensive end who redshirted last year. He has the frame to switch to offensive tackle if he has interest in making the move.

Position moves
Guys who have been playing a particular position that may see a change to something else.

• Kevin Grady was a running back in his first couple year, then sat out last year with an ACL injury. With the seeming abundance of bodies, he might become an MX, with some major speed at the position.
• Adam Patterson had been playing on the interior of the OL. With improved strength and conditioning, he might be able to move outside to defensive end.
• Carlos Brown has been a running back, but he might switch to quarterback, and will likely take snaps at the position in the spring, even there is no plan for a permanent change.

Posted under Personnel, Spring Coverage

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

See the full press conference on MGoBlue now. Afterwards, we had a chance to ask Rich Rodriguez a couple extra questions. He responded thusly:

We also asked new DC Scott Shafer a couple questions about the defensive recruits and defensive schemes. Shafer, by the way, is a REALLY cool guy, and said a couple off-camera remarks about expecting to have a run of success against OSU.

Posted under Coaching, Personnel, Recruiting, Spring Coverage, Video

Current scholarship players

*Unused redshirt

Total – 79

Possible new scholarships:
Nick Sheridan
Mark Moundros
KC Lopata

Possible early entry:
Carson Butler
Brandon Graham

Possible unrenewed 5th:
Andre Criswell
LaTerryal Savoy

Update 2-7: New recruits added.
Update 3-30: Justin Boren removed.
Update 6-27: Marques Slocum removed.

Posted under Personnel

Cardinal Mooney LB Taylor Hill has pledged to become a Michigan Wolverine. Hill had pledged to Oklahoma early in the recruiting process, then switched his commitment to West Virginia days before Rich Rodriguez left for Michigan. What does this mean for New Jersey commits Marcus Witherspoon and J.B. Fitzgerald? Time will tell. Word on the street, however, is that Fitzgerald pressured Hill to commit to Michigan on their simultaneous visits to Michigan State over the weekend.

Mario Manningham is officially going to ply his trade in the NFL next year. Good luck to him.

Posted under Personnel, Recruiting

Recruiting isn’t the only area affected by every single Michigan coach getting fired. Expect to see a lot of attrition from the current roster, too.

Debord: Who cares, he was so worth firing.
Moeller: Who really cares, he was so worth firing
Loeffler: I hope you didn’t like that Mallett guy!
Jackson: McGuffie is gone
Campbell: Manningham and Arrington who? The NFL sure sounds fun!
English: Goodbye, Boubacar Cissoko, whatever chances Michigan had at Vaughn Telemaque and Herman Davidson.
Steve Szabo: Both New Jersey linebackers, probably reduced (the already slim) chances of landing Brandon Smith.
Steve Stripling: Maybe Terrance Taylor leaves early, Mike Martin might be gone, Jr. Will Campbell might be gone.

I’m not sure who was recruiting whom in terms of non-position recruiters, but there may be some fallout in that respect as well. There could be some unexpected other players leaving the team, as well.

Welcome to New West Virginia, where loyalty from the head coach means you keep your job… uh oh, I’ve heard this one before. If Rodriguez was going out to hire the best assistants available, rather than bringing along almost all of his staff (and the dreaded 3-3-5 defense), it would be a little more acceptable.

Posted under Coaching, Personnel

When the Wolverines and the Badgers take the field on Saturday, two pre-season top-five teams, already having accumulated a total of five losses, will be playing for far less than the National Championship berth that was their expected goal. Wisconsin, 3-3 in the conference, has not been the defensive juggernaut that many expert predicted, whereas Michigan’s explosive offense, featuring Mike Hart, Mario Manningham, Chad Henne and Jake Long, was unable to put enough points on the board to beat non-conference foes Appalachian State(!) and Oregon.

Among the many things that have required adjustments for both teams are a wide range of injuries. Wisconsin’s starter P.J. Hill, last season’s Big Ten Freshman of the Year, has missed time in the last two Badger games, including the entire loss to Ohio State. Two members of Michigan’s offensive contingent, Chad Henne and Mike Hart, have battled different injuries throughout the year, and each has missed at least two games.

When the teams take the field on Saturday, the injury situation is likely to play a key role for both teams. The first hit for Wisconsin: starting cornerback Allen Langford is out for the season after injuring his knee against Ohio State. The losses don’t end there for the badgers, however. Starting defensive tackle Jason Chapman is also going to miss the remainder of the year, right offensive tackle Eric Vanden Heuvel is not expected to play, and those in the know predict P.J. Hill will not hit the field against the Wolverines.

The personnel shuffling doesn’t end there for Wisconsin, as there will be changes in favor of getting some young guys more playing time, in addition to players returning from injury. The strong safety competition has been reopened, and redshirt freshman Jay Valai has a strong chance to earn the spot. Junior offensive guard Andy Kemp comes back after missing the last three weeks with a hand injury. This, along with Vanden Heuvel’s injury, will really shake up the offensive line. A backup running back (likely Lance Smith) might not be able to find a lot of room to run behind this reshuffling, and Tyler Donovan should fear for his life (he was sacked ten times against Ohio State).

The badgers may be able to take heart in the other side of the line, where Michigan is far from injury-free. Right guard Alex Mitchell, who started the year out at right guard, but has missed most of the season with injury, returned to the lineup against Michigan State, and is expected the get the start. Strong safety Brandent Englemon went down after making a tackle against the Spartans, and while he is expected to start, his full status is not known. Henne and Hart both played through injuries against MSU, and while Henne is expected to be close to 100%, Hart may be more hurt than he has let on. He missed most of the second half of last week’s game.

Jason Chapman has one assisted sack. The badgers are 46th in pass defense efficiency, and with Chapman unable to provide a bit of pressure, and replacing a senior in the secondary with a freshman, and a redshirt sophomore back there with a redshirt freshman (potentially), Chad Henne should be able to sling the ball through the air. His offensive line is the healthiest it’s been all year. Moving the ball on the ground for Michigan is still questionable. While Chapman only has 2 solo tackles for loss, and 26 total tackles on the year, even with him that Badgers are 58th in run defense. Mike Hart is a major upgrade over his backups, but Michigan’s O-line is finally healthy.

On the other side of the ball, Michigan’s injuries are minimal, pending the status of Brandent Englemon. Wisconsin has to replace a starting right tackle, likely with a redshirt freshman (albeit an Army All-American in Jake Bscherer). Also on the offensive line, Wisconsin makes a change at left guard, and although it is a starter returning from injury, the cohesion along the offensive line may be affected, as Andy Kemp has not played for three weeks. Losing P.J. Hill hurts the most for Wisconsin. He was the team’s MVP last year, and is a bruising runner in the style of Michigan State’s Jehuu Caulcrick, who had his way with the Michigan defense in the second half for Michigan State. Lance Smith is amore speedy runner, who has averaged 6.4 yards per carry.

The conclusion? Wisconsin is certainly far more banged up than Michigan. The secondary for the Badgers should be the weak link, as this is likely the strongest receiving corps they have seen this year (no disrespect intended to the Buckeyes). The Badger run game should struggle as well, with two changes on the offensive line, and the starter at running back either out or severely hampered by injury. The tale of the trainer’s table definitely leans in favor of Michigan.

Posted under Analysis, Personnel

As someone who wasn’t a Michigan fan until I stepped foot on campus in fall 204, Braylon Edwards will always be one of my favorite Wolverines. I missed the attitude problems prior to his junior and senior years, and showed up just in time for the classic Edwards performance of MSU ’04, and many other great plays he made on the way to the Biletnikoff Award.

I have been cheering for Braylon since he was drafted by the Browns, and I have been glad to see that heis not only coming into his own as an NFLer this year, but has been a class act his entire time in the league. Now, Braylon has dedicated the Browns’ win on Sunday to Denzel Douglas. Hats off to you, Mr. Edwards.

Posted under Personnel

Interesting notes from the depth chart revealed at today’s press conference:

• Henne and Hart both listed as starters.
• Brett Gallimore back on offense, as 2nd string LG.
• Obi Ezeh still starting in the middle over Johnny Thompson.
• Jonas Mouton listed “or” with Brandon Logan as backup WLB.
• Ciulla-Schilling right side of the OL.
• Harrison-Hemingway as KR.

Carlos Brown was on KR against Minnesota, so his absence there this week probably doesn’t mean anything about Mike Hart’s status (i.e. wanting to keep Carlos healthy because he’ll be the feature back). Brett Gallimore’s re-switch to offense means that adequate depth has emerged on the DL. It also means that he probably won’t be asked back for a fifth year.

Posted under Personnel

You may remember this spring, when various reports indicated that Mario Manningham and Johnny Sears, Jr. were involved in a traffic stop that resulted in their being arrested for possession.

With Johnny Sears dismissed from the team, his status is no longer relevant to the Wolverines, but Mario Manningham will not be charged in the incident.

Now that the legal situation is cleared up, more details are available. Manningham was essentially arrested in a situation that he should not have, according to legal experts familiar with the case, and Manningham’s family.

Posted under Personnel