CA QB Tate Forcier
Scripps Ranch had a bye week.

TX QB Shavodrick Beaver
Rider loses to Sulphur Springs (on ESPN2) 16-22.
Beaver’s stats: 21-33 (63.6%) for 249 yards (7.55 yds/att) and 2 TDs. 18 rushes, 84 yards (4.67 yds/att).
Video:

MI RB Teric Jones
Cass Tech beats Crockett 26-6.
Jones had over 200 yards, can’t find exactly how many.

OH RB Fitzgerald Toussaint
Liberty defeats Struthers 32-14.
Toussaint rushes 19 times for 258 yards (13.6 ypc) and 4 TDs, of 72, 57, 37, and 35 yards. Take out the TDs and he rushed 15 times for 57 yards (3.8 ypc).

FL RB Vincent Smith
Pahokee beats King’s Academy 40-7.
Smith had “over 100 yards” and a touchdown.

MN WR Bryce McNeal
Breck beats St. Bernard’s 35-33.
McNeal has an 85-yard kickoff return TD, igniting a big comeback.

FL Slot Jeremy Gallon
Apopka beats Freedom 57-21.

IL OL Michael Schofield
Sandburg beats Stagg 20-8.

LA DT DeQuinta Jones
Bastrop beats Dollarway 42-6.
No Jones mention.

NJ DE Anthony LaLota
Hun loses to Wyoming Seminary Prep 0-10.

FL LB Brandin Hawthorne
Pahokee beats King’s Academy 40-7.
No Hawthorne mention.

IN LB Jordan Barnes
Homestead beats Columbia City 28-9.

FL LB/S Mike Jones
Edgewater loses to Tallahassee Lincoln 14-30.

OH S Isaiah Bell
Liberty defeats Struthers 32-14.
No Bell mention in the article.

OH CB Justin Turner
Washington loses 13-23 to Youngstown Ursuline.
Turner had a 13-yard TD reception.

TX CB/WR DeWayne Peace
South Grand Prairie beats Summit 16-7.
Peace had an 85-yard TD reception, consisting of him catching a short pass over the middle shaking a couple defenders, and running a long way.

TX K Anthony Fera
Game canceled due to hurricane.

As always, if you have anything to share, let me know in the comments.

Posted under Recruiting

The refs were truly brutal in this game. I certainly won’t blame them for the end result, but they definitely had a hand in getting the game there. Awful PI calls on Warren, a somewhat questionable one on Trent, and a catch by Mathews gave the Irish about a 15 point swing, and when playing from behind, players are more likely to take risks to make a big play. Also, the Grady fumble should have been called dead for forward progress. That was a hell of a missed call. Again, the players are ultimately responsible for the result, but this is a young team that didn’t really deserve the help in beating itself.

The defensive line was kinda crappy. Though they ultimately allowed ND to get only 3.3 yards for each carry, they gave up some critical yards in the third and fourth quarters. Still, when the defense only gives up 1 or 2 scoring drives (one ND TD “drive” started at the Michigan 11, one at the Michigan 14, two were composed almost entirely of a long pass to Golden Tate, and the final TD was scored on defense), it’s hard to find a ton of fault on that side of the ball.

Steven Threet, as predicted by many, has settled down the more game reps he has gotten. He finally calmed down enough to execute the throws that he was floating before. Then Sheridan came in a reminded Michigan fans why they should want Threet to succeed.

Sam McGuffie looks like the real deal. The offensive line was still sub-optimal against the Irish, and McGuffie had some impressive runs (and of course the screen pass). It was so kind of Perry Dorrestein to slam into McGuffie from behind on the touchdown screen.

Going forward, this game should probably give a little more hope to Michigan fans, though they are still disappointed for what could have been. I guess that’s what Michigan gets for RUNNING THE SPREAD OPTION IN HURRICANE KATRINA.

Posted under Analysis

So… that was a full-on Yakety Sax performance. Even with the threat of sounding like a huge homer, there was a lot of good in the game.

• Threet looked like a solid QB. Between the throws down the field and how he took off on third and long for a first and goal, he made a lot of good decisions and the execution was there.
• McGuffie is the real deal. I thought Shaw may have been the better TB after Miami, but McGuff was absolutely filthy all day.
• The fade is a hard pass to defense
• Stevie Brown made one or two mistakes. He also made a couple plays.
• Special teams FTL!
• Notre Dame spends it’s TV and Bowl money on the refs.

There will be more in depth analysis when I watch the game sober. Is it to mean to make a yakety sax montage for Michigan? I’m serious, it might be cathartic. Let me know.

UPDATE: Can I legitimately make fun of Weis for getting Paterno’d when Michigan got housed? I have ideas…

Posted under Analysis

Action since last rankings:
9-8-08 Purdue gains commitment from Trevor Foy.
9-12-08 Michigan gains commitment from Anthony LaLota.

Michigan State and Notre Dame are virtually tied. So are Penn State and Wisconsin. Once a couple more commits drop to any of these schools, it will be a bit easier to differentiate them. I left Notre Dame ahead of State for now, because I think they are more likely to close out strong, unless there’s another 2007 on the way for the Irish.

New Rankings:

Posted under Recruiting

Princeton, NJ prospect Anthony LaLota has pledged his intentions to become a Michigan Wolverine. LaLota, who attends The Hun School, stands 6-5, 260, and runs a very respectable 4.65-second 40-yard dash. Anthony is the 17th commitment in the class of 2009, and the #1 player in the state of New Jersey.

Recruiting Notes
Early in the process, Notre Dame was thought to be the prohibitive favorite for a verbal commitment from LaLota. With their three New Jersey commitments (including one from LaLota’s high school teammate Tyler Stockton), and nothing but effusive praise for the Irish from LaLota, it seemed his recruitment could have come to an end as early as June. Michigan’s offer came in June, and the Wolverines seemed to be an also-ran for LaLota’s services. Near the end of July, LaLota narrowed his impressive list of suitors to seven, and the Wolverines made the cut, though they were still considered an underdog. Late in August, Sam Webb reported on WTKA that LaLota’s decision would not be coming early, and that perhaps Michigan was stronger with Anthony than had previously been known, especially after the unofficial visit he had taken the previous weekend. LaLota also tentatively scheduled an official visit for the Wisconsin game. Then, this week, LaLota’s recruitment came to a head. Michigan and Penn State emerged as his rumored top 2, with other sources reporting that he would either pick a Big East/ACC school or Michigan. When he scheduled his announcement for Friday night at 8, Michigan fans were cautiously optimistic that he would don a block-M cap. LaLota did indeed pick Michigan, and is the 17th commitment in the class.

Player Notes
LaLota is something of an oddity, in that early on, both recruiting services ranked him at offensive tackle, and both gave him five stars. Despite this ranking, LaLota insisted that nearly every school recruiting him wated him as a defensive end. Eventually, Rivals wised up and switched his position, dropping him to four stars in the process. Scout maintains that he is an offensive tackle, and they still give him five stars (and a #3 position ranking) as an offensive lineman. Rodriguez and company recruited LaLota at end, and that will likely be his final college destination. As a strongside defensive end, LaLota is more of a run-stuffer than elite pass-rusher. However, he is not particularly polished, and will likely add some finesse moves to his repertoire in college. One exciting thing about LaLota is that his game is all based on physical talent at this time. He has only been playing football for a couple years, and is loaded with potential upside.

Request
If anyone can digitize the CSTV announcement by LaLota, e-mail me and we’ll get it up on VB.

Posted under Recruiting

All information (past and present) lives on the board.

New Information:
VA QB Kevin Newsome. Still nominally considering Michigan, though Forcier’s commitment pretty much shuts the door on the Wolverines re-landing him. More on Newsome: Michigan isn’t one of the 3 locks to make his top 5.
OK RB David Oku. Spoke less-than-effusively about his Louisville visit. This is recruiting-speak for “I couldn’t have hated it more.” However, he rescheduled his announcement for next Wednesday. Without having visited Michigan, the Wolverines’ chances seem pretty low.
GA TE Terrell Mitchell. Michigan is still on him.
MI DT William Campbell. Some more information on his decommitment, including that he plans to enroll early wherever he chooses. Re-recruitment article from the Freep. Sam Webb discusses Campbell in the Detroit News. Quoth the mother:

“He’s still basically committed to U-M, but I said there is nothing wrong with going to visit a few schools. There is nothing wrong with that.”

This doesn’t sound too bad. Also, the article says he won’t announce his decision until the Army game, which would contradict a recent assertion that he will enroll early.
NJ DE Anthony LaLota. Michigan and PSU are widely regarded to be his de facto top 2. Also, Scout indicates that he is likely deciding soon.
MI S Thomas Gordon. The Cass Tech player has said he’d be a near-lock to Michigan were he to get an offer, and now he has it (info in header). Is his commitment just a matter of time?
FL S Jonathan Scott. His brother transfers from OSU. I guess coming to Michigan would no longer let them engage in sibling rivalry.
MS S Dennis Thames. Fluff, including top schools (Michigan still up there). His injury will keep him out 4-6 weeks.

Removed:
MI RB Hersey Jackson. He is out for the season with an injury. He hadn’t earned a Michigan offer, and needed a big senior year to get one. So much for that idea.

Analysis:
Like I said immediately in the wake of the Campbell “decommitment,” nothing has really changed for Big Will. When he was “committed” he said he’d take 5 visits and probably pick Michigan, and following his “decommitment,” he’s saying… that he’ll take 5 visits and probably pick Michigan. On that basis alone, there’s nothing to freak out about (if we didn’t really have him before, did we really lose him).

Etc.:
NC S Devonte Holloman. He will take visits other than Clemson. Typical “not including elsewhere-committed prospects” rules apply, but keep in mind that one of them will be to Michigan. He is planning to enroll early, fwiw.
MI WR Commit Bryce McNeal. A bit of fluffy stuff.
TX QB Commit Shavodrick Beaver. Don’t forget, he plays on ESPN2 in a couple hours.

Michigan Targets Visiting South Bend This Weekend:
NC OL Xavier Nixon (though he’s not on the board anymore, could a strong game from the Wolverines rekindle his interest in Michigan?).
SC DE Chris Bonds (have seen a “maybe” next to this one).

Posted under Recruiting

Unfortunately, we were not able to secure a phone interview with a representative from Notre Dame. Instead of having a polite, respectful interview with a member of another school’s media, we took a different approach. Enjoy:

Special thanks to Comrade Dex from Wolverine Liberation Army. Keep fighting the good the fight.

 

 Ripping on Notre Dame [25:17m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted under Blogcast

I’m not too sure what can be drawn from these plays. The sample size is rather low. Obviously Threet is more successful, but he also had more plays as well as the first plays where Miami apparently forgot that in this offense the QB sometimes runs. It could be that Threet has a more convincing fake, but that could be a reach. What do y’all think?

Talking with a friend of mine, they each had maybe 1/2 to 1 full misread, which doesn’t seem terrible. Anyone with more football knowledge feel free to correct me.

Posted under Analysis

The format of this feature is a work-in-progress. If you have any suggestions, let me know. Also, the video quality is really poor for some reason. It should be better in future weeks.

The Situation
It’s the first quarter, and Michigan’s offense has already looked kinda bad. A Utah pass interference penalty has given the Wolverines the ball inside Utah’s 10 yard line, and a Sam McGuffie rush sets up a second and goal from the 8. A touchdown here could help Michigan set the tone early in this game.

The Personnel and Formation
Michigan comes out in the shotgun with two tailbacks and three wide receivers. Nick Sheridan is flanked by Brandon Minor on his right and Michael Shaw on his left. Greg Mathews is split wide left. Darryl Stonum is split wide right, with Martavious Odoms in the slot to that side.

Utah lines up in a 4-3 defense. To the strong side, the corner is head-up over Martavious Odoms, with the safety deep, but aligned with Stonum. Mathews has a man head-up over him, showing press technique.

The Play

At the snap, Sheridan fakes to Minor, who cross in front of him to the left, and then fakes again (slightly less convincingly) to Shaw, who goes in the opposite direction. After the fakes, Sheridan rolls out to the right. He hits Michael Shaw at the seven yard line, and Shaw races to the corner for a touchdown.
Why it Happened Like it Did

Utah was playing man coverage on this play, keeping one safety in a deep zone, and one linebacker spying Sheridan (Cover-1 Spy). The Utah linebackers bit on the fake to Minor, freezing them long enough for Shaw to beat his man to the outside, and for Sheridan to have enough time to roll out and make the pass. With Odoms and Stonum running crossing routes, Shaw was given a clear path to the endzone.

Now you know what it was like Inside the Play.

Posted under Analysis

Posted under Recruiting