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
Baseline and potential peak outputs of Michigan’s 2008 recruiting class. Of course, any player could defy expectations, be it positive or negative. These are best guesses based on star ratings, measurables, and perceived intangibles. If Pryor (or any other recruits) commits still, he will be discussed individually.
| Player | Position | Scout Rating | Floor | Ceiling | Commentary |
| Ricky Barnum | OG | **** | 2 | 4 | Good enough to have been a Florida commit at one point, and he has the measurables to be an elite OG or OC down the road. |
| Boubacar Cissoko | CB | ***** | 3 | 5 | Worst case scenario: his speed and feet can’t compensate for his height. Best case: they can, and he grows a couple of inches. |
| Mike Cox | RB | **** | 1 | 4 | Limited speed, and if his vision or power ends up being less than expected, he could bust. Otherwise, he could be the more successful version of Kevin Grady. |
| Kenny Demens | LB | *** | 1 | 3 | He is short and lacks elite speed. He could become a solid contributor (Chris Graham) or a career special teamer |
| Justin Feagin | QB | ** | 1 | 4 | Could be a good, but never elite passer. His running will help him. He could do nothing or be a Pat White++ player. |
| J.B. Fitzgerald | LB | **** | 3 | 5 | Will likely contribute, but his measurables could add up to nothing if he doesn’t put it together. On the other hand, he could become an All-American |
| Taylor Hill | LB | *** | 2 | 4 | Smallish for an elite player, but is certainly capable of contributing. |
| Rocko Khoury | OT | *** | 1 | 4 | Current staff sees him as a future OC. Offensive linemen are very difficult to predict. |
| Kevin Koger | TE | **** | 3 | 5 | An athletic TE goes a long way. At worst, he’ll be a very good special teams contributor, and occasional TE. |
| Mike Martin | DT | **** | 2 | 5 | A little short, but if he grows, he could be ridiculously good. Otherwise, he could be a player who has already peaked. |
| Sam McGuffie | RB | **** | 2 | 5 | This year’s production shows he is susceptible to injury. Without it, he could be Reggie Bush-like |
| Elliott Mealer | OG | **** | 1 | 4 | His accident could dim the passion for the game. If he still has it, he could be a multi-year starter and NFL player. |
| Brandon Moore | TE | *** | 1 | 4 | This year, he was uninjured and still slipped two star ratings. If he steps up in college, he could become a very good contributor, and an athletic TE. |
| George Morales | LS | ** | 1 | 2 | A long-snapper can either completely fade from conscious existence, or play and not fuck up. It’s hard for them to have a major positive impact. |
| Dann O’Neill | OT | **** | 2 | 5 | He has the measurables. With hard work and good coaching, he could be the next Jake Long. |
| Patrick Omameh | OT | *** | 1 | 5 | Very slight, but he has the frame to add more weight, and some very long arms. He could either flame out or become and elite OL player. |
| Terrence Robinson | WR | **** | 3 | 5 | Will contribute on offense and special teams. With any luck, he could be a shorter, slightly quicker version of Steve Breaston. |
| Roy Roundtree | WR | *** | 1 | 3 | His measurables doom him to be a possession-type guy. One of the few recruits in this class without a high potential. |
| Michael Shaw | RB | **** | 3 | 4 | Can play slot or RB in Rodriguez’s offense. His versatility and speed give him a lot of options for the future. |
| Brandon Smith | S | **** | 4 | 5 | He is very athletic, and could be a difference-maker. At the worst, I see him starting a year. |
| Darryl Stonum | WR | **** | 2 | 4 | Not likely to be the next Edwards, Avant, or Breaston, but will contribute, questionable if he’s a great fit for the new offense. |
| Kurt Wermers | OG | **** | 1 | 3 | Offensive linemen are tough to predict. Without great measurables, he could go nowhere or be a future OL contributor. |
| Marcus Witherspoon | LB | **** | 2 | 3 | Athletic-ish, but could be a very good special-teamer and depth player on defense. |
Main thing to notice about this class is that most of the players do not have very high floors, but nearly all of them have great potential to excel in the future, meaning their ceilings very high. With the strength and conditioning program at Michigan, as well as the scheming of the coaching staff, this bodes well for the future of the Wolverines.
Posted under Recruiting
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Sam McGuffie and Kenny Demens have both faxed their National Letters of Intent to Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez. McGuffie was stricken with a case of cold feet, and Demens was occupied with a funeral all day today.
The only other potential recruit remaining is Terrelle Pryor, who is not expected to become a Wolverine. Of course, if he were to sign with Michigan, nobody in Wolverine Nation would be complaining.
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Hockey highlights from Saturday.
Recap of Rich Rodriguez press conference, including an exclusive (and brief) interview with new DC Scott Schafer.
Recruiting season recap, once all remaining recruits sign (either here or elsewhere).
A bunch of stuff about the 2008 Football team.
2009 Recruiting kickoff (yes, already).
Posted under Blog News, Hockey
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Probably a bigger loss than Pryor will (would?) be, Detroit DE Nick Perry has pledged to become a USC Trojan.
This hurts Michigan’s Defensive End depth (and Perry would likely have been a starter in 2009). Perry cited USC’s lack of depth among his reasons for becoming a Trojan. In related news, Nick Perry has never seen USC’s depth chart.
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Thus far,
Have all pledged to Michigan this morning. each is surprising to a certain extent, though all are certainly welcomed with open arms. Michigan is waiting on news from Nick Perry, who is announcing in Detroit at 11EST. Prognosticators are split on this one, thinking he’ll head to either USC or Michigan. Michigan certainly needs him a lot more than the Trojans. Of course, Michigan is also waiting to hear from Terrelle Pryor, who is not announcing, but still holding a press conference at 12:05EST on ESPNU (and I’d be surprised if it wasn’t on News as well). Conventional wisdom on Pryor is as follows:
At the press conference, Jeannette Jayhawks head coach Ray Reitz will answer 5 questions that ESPN has kindly given him all week to prepare for, and Pryor will likely lay out the details of his announcement.
UDPATE: Shaw has pushed his announcement back to 1PM. Not sure if this is a good, bad, or neutral thing.
Posted under Recruiting
GoBlueWolverine reports that Patrick Omameh, a three-star offensive lineman from Columbus St. Francis De Sales, has switched his commitment from Cincinnati to Michigan. Omameh only entered the radar of Michigan fans during the month of January, but visited both Michigan and Michigan State during that month.
Omameh is an athletic OT prospect, who currently measures only 6-5, 240, but is expected to grow further. With TE-like current weight, he will almost assuredly need a redshirt year to put on the mass needed to succeed along the offensive line in college. Omameh is also a basketball player, manning the center position in high school. Multi-sport players are typically regarded as perhaps more athletic than their football-only counterparts, particularly basketball players.
With his long arms and projected further growth, expect to see Omameh as a left tackle project in the future. He is also a scholar-athlete, with a 4.0 grade point average.
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Terrelle Pryor has changed his mind once again, now opting to announce his college decision on Wednesday, eliminating Oregon from contention.
This sudden change, including moving his decision forward, implies that Pryor has made up his mind in the past few days, and will announce that decision on signing day. From an outsiders perspective, this would seem to be good news for Ohio State.
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Christian Wilson removed from commits, Justin Feagin and Terrence Robinson added.
| 2008 Recruiting Class – 18 Commits | |||||
| Boubacar Cissoko | CB | ***** | Detroit, MI | Cass Tech | Michigan’s Lockdown Corner in the class |
| Mike Cox | RB | **** | Avon, CT | Old Farms | A bigger back who may have been wavering |
| Kenny Demens | LB | *** | Beverly Hills, MI | Country Day | |
| Justin Feagin | QB | ** | Delray Beach, FL | American Heritage | Run-pass QB #1 for the class. |
| J.B. Fitzgerald | LB | **** | Princeton, NJ | W.W.P.H.S.-South Campus | Will still take other visits |
| J.T. Floyd | CB | *** | Greenville, SC | J.L. Mann | Could be a corner or safety in college. |
| Taylor Hill | LB | *** | Youngstown, OH | Cardinal Mooney | Committed recently |
| Rocko Khoury | OT | *** | Traverse City, MI | West High | Will he look at MSU? |
| Kevin Koger | TE | **** | Toledo, OH | Whitmer | Rumored to be looking around |
| Mike Martin | DT | **** | Redford, MI | Catholic Central | Cancelled a Notre Dame visit. Not far from a five-star. |
| Sam McGuffie | RB | **** | Cypress, TX | Cy-Fair | Superstar RB of the class. Spent a lot of time as a five-star on Scout this year. |
| Elliott Mealer | OG | **** | Wauseon, OH | Wauseon | In a catastrophic car accident earlier this winter. |
| Brandon Moore | TE | *** | Trotwood, OH | Trotwood-Madison | Was a five-star when he committed. He’s been on a slide all year with poor production. |
| George Morales | LS | ** | Las Vegas, NV | Mojave | A WTF? offer. A better long snapper (and similarly ifted student) resides down the road in Saline. |
| Dann O’Neill | OT | **** | Grand Haven, MI | Grand Haven | Close to being a five-star. Michigan fans are hoping he’s the next Jake Long. |
| Terrence Robinson | WR | **** | Houston, TX | Klein Oak | Slotman extraordinaire. Plays a variety of positions in HS. |
| Brandon Smith | S | **** | New Brunswick, NJ | New Brunswick | Army game commitment. |
| Darryl Stonum | WR | **** | Sugarland, TX | Dulles | HS teammate of Herron and Woolfolk. Already enrolled. |
| Kurt Wermers | OG | **** | Crown Point, IN | Crown Point | Michigan won a fight against Notre Dame. ND apparently took Braxton Cave over Wermers. |
| Marcus Witherspoon | LB | **** | Absecon, NJ | Holy Spirit | Visiting Tennessee still, but a lot of people still think he could end up in blue. |
Justin Feagin, J.T. Floyd, and Terrence Robinson removed for obvious reasons. Christian Wilson NOT added. B.J. Daniels mysteriously dropped. T.J. Lawrence is not going to pick Michigan. Rhonne Sanderson committed to Florida State. Domonick Britt and Roy Roundtree added to the list.
| 2008 Recruiting Class – Remaining Prospects | |||||
| Terrelle Pryor | QB | ***** | Jeannette, PA | Jeannette | Nation’s #1 recruit. All the stories, etc. are well known. |
| Nick Perry | DE | **** | Detroit, MI | King | PSL Player of the year down to Michigan, Miami of Florida, USC, and State. |
| Michael Shaw | WR | **** | Trotwood, OH | Trotwood-Madison | Currently committed to Penn State. Michigan originally finished second for him, when they recruited him as an RB. |
| Patrick Omamaeh | OT | ** | Columbus, OH | St. Francis DeSales | The Cincinnati commit is coming in for a visit, and could be swayed to turn blue. |
| Domonick Britt | QB | *** | Trotwood, OH | Madison | Teammate of Michael Shaw, Roy Roundtree, and Brandon Moore. Run-pass QB wh is rail-thin. No offer yet. |
| Roy Roundtree | WR | *** | Trotwood, OH | Madison | Teammate of the other Trotwood-Madison guys. Purdue commit. No offer yet. |
| Desmond Johnson | RB | *** | Yazoo City, MS | Yazoo City | A new guy on the radar, not sure if he’ll be scared off by Michigan’s other recruits at the position. |
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Terrence Robinson, four-star slot receiver prospect from Houston, has announced his intention to sign with Michigan on Wednesday. Robinson is a scholar-athlete who chose the maize-and-blue over Boston College and Wake Forest. Robinson announced his choice on the same show that Sam McGuffie and Darryl Stonum made their Michigan commitments. Good luck finding the video on their website. UPDATE: Thanks to commenter Joel for finding the direct link.
Robinson was the Greater Houston 5A MVP in 2007 (the team did not include fellow Michigan commit Sam McGuffie).
Robinson also has some pretty sweet YouTube-age, including the “Dream Shake,”so-named after the Hakeem Olajuwon move.
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