Hooray Alliteration!

Is Ann Arbor TitleTown?

Be part of ESPN’s TitleTown segment on Ann Arbor!

Come to the Diag on Monday, July 14th at 11am in order to participate in the taping of this segment.*
*Taping will begin at noon and finish at 1pm

Former Michigan Great Desmond Howard will be on hand for the interview portion.

For more information, visit sports.espn.go.com/espn/titletown/index.

Posted under Misc.

The new Recruiting Board is up, so I thought I should go over some of the new features.

When Tim and I were discussing what would be ideal, we started thinking something that was basically a message board with each prospect getting his own thread. The only problem there was formatting the information and making it look nice and convey the information quickly. And then there are the issues of maintenance and moderation inherent in message boards.

It seemed like a hybrid would be the best solution, so now you can comment on each and everyone of the recruits individually. Any info or articles, rumors you’ve heard, an opinion/gut feeling you have, anything that could give a more rounded picture of the prospect can be posted there. You have to register, but that is really quick and no personal information is required (the registration link is at the bottom of the board as well as under the comments section- Tim). This helps prevents spambots from doing what they do and gives troll another hurdle.

I hope everyone will contribute so we can have a super complete, informative source for the 2009 class.

Posted under Blog News, Recruiting

After Braylon Edwards stated yesterday in an ESPN chat that Rich Rodriguez had decided to give the #1 jersey to an incoming freshman – who wasn’t a wide receiver (and later clarified on the Mike Tirico Show that it is in fact a defensive back – people are telling me it’s JT Floyd), Michigan fans seemed to be clearly split on the issue.

Jared Kent West Union IA: What are your thoughts on the new MICHIGAN regime.
Braylon Edwards: I am already mad that Rich Rod because he gave the No.1 jersey to someone other than a WR, which is breaking tradition. But I think he is a great coach and will lead Michigan to a turnaround.

It is important to note here that Braylon is throwing his support behind Rodriguez, and it is merely one issue that the two disagree on (no pun intended). Braylon even said on the Tirico show that he planned to call Rodriguez and voice his displeasure/suggestion.

Background on the #1
Who has worn the jersey before? Paul Goebel wore it waaay back in the day (when “wide receivers” didn’t exist – he was a “forward pass receiving end” on offense), and since then, fellow Wolverines Anthony Carter, Derrick Alexander, David Terrell, and Braylon Edwards have followed in Goebel’s footsteps and earned All-American honors.

Until his junior year, Edwards wore the #80 jersey. He believed that, as a very good receiver, he should be able to wear the #1. When Edwards approached Lloyd Carr with this request, he was told that he would have to earn the number. Braylon, who had previously had a reputation as a less-than-stellar effort player and far from a workout warrior, put in the time in the weight room, and became the player that Carr believed he could be. The motivational tactic paid off, and Lloyd gave Braylon the #1 jersey. Stellar junior and senior years showed that he had indeed learned his lesson, and made him into the #3 overall pick in the NFL draft. It is plain to see why the #1 holds a special place in Braylon’s heart.

Upon his graduation, Braylon began to establish what has become a fairly robust charity, known as the Braylon Edwards Foundation. Since Edwards was told by Lloyd he had to earn the right to wear the #1 jersey at Michigan, the number meant something special. As part of the BEF, Edwards endowed a scholarship for the wearer of the #1 jersey at Michigan:

The Scholarship Endowment for the University of Michigan’s No. 1 football jersey was announced in April 2006. The charitable gift provides support to a student/athlete wearing the No. 1 football jersey. The scholarship endowment will recognize future athletes who demonstrate character and commitment both on and off the field. Athletes wearing the No. 1 jersey are selected by U-M’s coaching staff.

When he gave the original endowment, Edwards undoubtedly believed that the tradition of #1 going to a wide receiver would be continued. Rich Rodriguez was either unaware of this, or didn’t care about it.

The #1 should go to whomever asks for it
This camp of fans believes that Michigan should not reserve the #1 jersey for anything special, and that any player who asks for it should receive the uno. Since nobody had to earn the jersey before Braylon, there was no real tradition before him, despite the illustrious gentlemen who preceded him.

Since Rodriguez and his staff are trying to turn around a program that has been slowly slipping from the forefront of American consciousness, they should reserve the right to do whatever they so choose with any number. They will be able to establish their own traditions.

The #1 should be reserved
This bloc wants the #1 to continue being something special, going to any transcendent Michigan receiver. While a defensive back may want the jersey, he should be told that he is out of luck, and to pick a different number. Tradition is one of the aspects that sets college football apart from almost every other sport, and even if one does not exist yet (as those other fans suggest), it should be established.

My Take
I believe, in this particular instance and overall, that the #1 jersey should be reserved for a wide receiver. Braylon has expressed displeasure with granting it to a different position, and what is the benefit of alienating one of the highest-profile Wolverines in the NFL (arguably 2nd behind Tom Brady)? Overall, I think that establishing traditions like reserving #1 for a great wide receiver, or #2 for a great defensive back (which has not been done, but I think should be in honor of Woodson) can only help the program. It can restore some mystique that has perhaps been lost from the Michigan program, and can be used as a major recruiting tool.

This also leads me to the topic of retiring numbers. I think it is appropriate for Michael Jordan’s number to be retired from the Chicago Bulls, and certainly for Jackie Robinson’s #42 to be retired throughout baseball. However, I think that college sports are not served by retiring numbers. Establishing tradition and continuing said traditions (as mentioned above) give personality to schools like Michigan (whose prestige is largely based upon tradition), and can help with recruiting, as players undoubtedly believe they can carry on the tradition (or at least want to try). While the Wistert Brothers did great things at the University of Michigan, it may be disrespectful to prevent anyone from trying to follow in their tradition. And what high-profile running back recruit wouldn’t want to follow in the footsteps of Old 98 (which would be an awesome number for a tailback to have in the modern game).

In the end, I guess I’m a traditionalist (whether that be continuing old ones, starting new ones, or supporting fledgling ones). Leave the #1 to a wide receiver. As someone said to me yesterday, “Keeping and establishing traditions cost nothing. Eliminating them can destroy your program.”

Posted under Analysis, Coaching

Various commenters have let me know that the audio levels on yesterday’s videos are too low. I’ll fix that and repost them later today.

Also, since today is the last day of spring practice, the post-spring reports will be published over the next couple of days. This includes:

• Updated Scholarship count
• Post-spring depth charts
• Post-spring recruiting needs
• Summer preview

Look forward to it, yo.

Posted under Spring Coverage

A friend of the blog (you may know him as formelyannonymous), was driving through West Virginia today and sent me this text message:

Update from the road:
A WV home facing I-81 is just now painting over a full side of the home currently a mural saying Rich Rodriguez sucks. Yes it is a trailer.

Then he sent a follow up:

Couch appears intact. No confirmed burn marks.

So it appears as though West Virginia is finally getting over Rich Rodriguez taking the Michigan job and every record of every player ever (he did that right?). Now the Mountaineers can go back to being a mediocre team in a mediocre football conference.

Posted under Coaching, Misc.

One of the great allures of the bowl season is being able to see evenly-matched teams duke it out on a neutral site. However, is that perception or reality? Of course, the teams aren’t always evenly matched (see USC v. Illinois), nor is the site ever truly neutral (see USC v. Illinois). Fans of the SEC are always quick to cite their good record in bowl games (and any other stat that perpetuates the OMG SEC AWESOMEZ myth). What they are failing to mention is that the SEC has a de facto home game for many of their games. What other conferences are favored? Let’s take a look.

2008 bowl season winning percentage by conference:

Average Distance from Bowl Site (in miles as the crow flies) tells us, on average, how far each conference team had to travel to get to their game. However, this doesn’t tell us the whole story. If two teams are both very far from the bowl in which they will be playing, there is no real home field advantage ceded for either one. To give a better idea of home-field advantage, it would be better to look at how much location may favor one team over the other. Delta distance measures how much closer to bowl site a team is over their opponent. The conference numbers are sums of all of these (in miles as the crow flies). As you can see, the PAC-10 and SEC are heavily favored by this, as is the Mountain West conference. Perhaps not coincidentally, these have the highest win percentages of any conference. Of note is the fact that every single SEC team had a positive Delta distance. That is, they were all closer to their bowl site than the opponent.

Of course, the sample sizes are very small, so it is hard to draw any definite conclusions, but it is apparent that some conferences are favored rather heavily by the locations of their bowls. If anyone would like this data to work with the numbers a bit more, drop your contact information in the comments.

Posted under Analysis

Mike Martin will be joining the Michigan football team in the fall, but he ended his high school days at Detroit Catholic Central with his other favorite sport: wrestling.

Martin was the 2007 state champion in the heavyweight division, and defended his crown successfully, winning a 7-3 decision over DJ Charneski of Hartland. Martin finished the year with a record of 42-1.

Free Press Link.

Posted under Personnel

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

Michigan’s Coaches from 2007.

HC Lloyd Carr is still around the Michigan program, serving an administrative position within the athletic department.
OC Mike Debord has been hired by on the Seattle Seahawks, though his exact title is currently not known.
OL Coach Andy Moeller now serves in the same capacity for the Baltimore Ravens.
WR Coach Erik Campbell coaches the WRs at Iowa.
QB Coach Scot Loeffler is serving in the same capacity for the Detroit Lions.
RB Coach Fred Jackson is still on the staff at Michigan, and still coaching running backs.
DC Ron English is now the defensive coordinator for the Big East’s Louisville Cardinals.
DL Coach Steve Stripling is still unemployed.
LB Coach Steve Szabo is working at Cornell.
DB Coach Vance Bedford now coaches the defensive secondary at Florida.

Posted under Coaching

So… it seems as though people don’t really care for the t-shirt designs. I have to say, no combination really draws me in or inspires me. A lot of people seem to be nostalgic for the ephemeral student design contest (it lasted 3 years, right?). In total disclosure, my favorite student t-shirt in my time at Michigan, the same four years as Hart and Henne, was the ultra-Nike 2006 edition:

The font, the winged attitude, the message were all spot on especially after the rough 2005 season. Part of it also probably has something to do with the amazing season that happened that year (I have blocked out the last two games).

Now, there aren’t really any good choices (you can see them here). I don’t dig front 1 and back 2 because of “The Tradition Continues…” and the overly complicated designs. Back 1 is fine. I actually like it, it’s everything that the back of the football shirt needs to be. Front 1 is way too simple. So… where are we now?

The Man has let us down, so let’s do it ourselves. At least one person has said they could make a better design in an hour, so… lets see them! I’m not quite sure what the endgame will be, but the we’ll probably have a vote on the blog among the submissions (or finalists if there are too many). The winner can either make their shirt and have it pimped here or we’ll make the shirt and sell it on the site.

THE DETAILS
There are a couple ground rules:

1. Shirts must be maize
2. Shirts should be family friendly (unless really funny)
3. Try to keep it around 5 colors

I was thinking there might be two different categories: a mainstream shirt and a inside-blogosphere joke shirt.

To submit your design, leave a link to the design in the comments or e-mail the graphics to panel1382 |at| gmail |dot| com. Please submit them as .png, .gif or .jpg. Other formats may or may not work, but I’ll try to make it work.

Let’s see what you guys have out there. Tim and I know a couple people in the Athletic Department and we may forward the winner onto a couple of them. It obviously won’t make a difference this year, but it may help in the future. Who knows? Please try to get them in the next week or so.

Good luck.

Posted under Misc.