So, Kevin Newsome appears to be out. Aside from losing a highly-rated player from the class of 2009, how will this affect the Michigan Wolverines?
At quarterback, Michigan is now in search of a replacement for one of its best players in the class. Thankfully, the coaches seemed to have some idea that this decommitment was possible, and even likely, as they continued pursuing a pair of highly-touted passers as contingency plans. While neither Tate Forcier nor Eugene Smith has the high upside that Newsome does, Forcier might actually be ready to play sooner, having had a private quarterback coach for a number of years. Despite Michigan’s class being seemingly full, Forcier consistently named the Wolverines among his top choices. Now that there is an opening, will Forcier jump at the opportunity, or be insulted that he was a backup plan? We might see shortly after Forcier’s recently-confirmed August 30th official visit to Michigan (for the Utah game).

Speaking of Forcier being a backup plan, this may be a slight misrepresentation of the facts. Of course, Kevin Newsome was Michigan’s #1 quarterback target. However, after Newsome’s commitment, Forcier and Shavodrick Beaver seemed to each know that the first to commit to Michigan would be the second signal-caller in the class. When Beaver was ready first, two players who were tied for #2 suddenly changed from an even race to a bird-in-hand/bird-in-bush comparison, where Beaver was given the benefit of the doubt over Forcier. So, while neither was the number one quarterback, both were in Michigan’s top 3 (of course, after Russel Shepard became unavailable) from the get-go.

What else does this mean for Michigan? While Newsome had good relationships with some of Michigan’s other commits, namely Bryce McNeal, these relationships clearly weren’t strong enough to convince Newsome to stick with Michigan, so I would be surprised if they were strong enough to convince anyone else to jump ship. McNeal also has a strong relationship with seemingly rock-solid Shavodrick Beaver, . If anything, his relationship with Newsome might help pull Kevin back into the fold (though I think this is unlikely either way).

Overall, the Michigan recruiting class will depend heavily on whether the team has success on the field in 2008. If it is an ugly year on the field, a few guys may look elsewhere, and the class could go downhill. however, losing one recruit in August (while there is still time to recover) does not a disaster make.

Editor’s note: I’m not sure if the childhood picture is of Tate or Chris, but the point remains that the Forciers love Michigan.

Posted under Recruiting

Projected Depth Chart

Safeties and Nickels
Safeties Jamar Adams and Brandent Englemon are gone, but Junior Stevie Brown will be given another chance to start at safety, and the other spot will likely be manned by senior Brandon Harrison or 5th-year senior Charles Stewart. At nickel, redshirt freshman Michael Williams may get some playing time, or he could even move into the safety rotation.

Stats

Corners
5th-year senior Morgan Trent and sophomore sensation Donovan Warren are back to man the corner positions. Trent is blessed with speed, and Waren is a pure cover man. Woolfolk may be one of the first backups, along with Nickelman Brandon Harrison. Freshman Boubacar Cissoko will likely contribute as well.

Stats

Notes: Rogers is expected to move to offense this year.

Analysis
After the implosions of the App State and Oregon games, Johnny Sears was booted from the team, Stevie Brown was relegated to backup duty, and the Michigan secondary quietly became one of the best in the country. Trent and Warren comprise one of the best cornerback duos in the conference if not the nation. Stevie Brown is a good athlete and big hitter, and if he has taken the time to grasp the mental aspects of the position, should become a great safety down the line. Brandon Harrison is little and speedy, but most known for whiffing on sacks in nickel blitz situations. Several of Michigan’s backup DBs have had injury issues in the past, which are hopefully gone with the reign of Mike Barwis. The freshmen will contribute some, but mainly to get playing time for future years, not because their services are absolutely required.

Posted under Analysis, Personnel

On the Big Ten Network’s Michigan special last night, head coach Rich Rodriguez revealed that defensive tackle John Ferrara has moved to the offensive line. What does this mean?

For the defense, the dpeth at tackle is probably developing well. Despite the loss of Marques Slocum, the unit could clearly afford the loss of a depth player who was decent, but nothing special. Renaldo Sagesse and Jason Kates are likely turning into capable backups, meaning that Ferrara was free to move elsewhere.

For the offense, this adds another body to a unit that sorely needs some depth. With both Corey Zirbel (a projected starter) and Mark Huyge (a key backup) out of the time being with injuries (a minor ligament issue and a high ankle sprain, respectively), he can help make sure there are enough players to have backups. Also making up for Zirbel’s loss, David Molk will move in as the starter at center, and David Moosman will move to guard.

Ferrara will likely get a better shot at playing time than he would have on the other side of the ball, and his reported strong summer in the weight room can help him become a contributor.

Posted under Personnel

Texas kicker Anthony Fera has given his word to become a Michigan Wolverine. The 6-2, 215-lber from Houston (St. Pius X) becomes the 15th commit in the class of 2009.

Player Notes
Fera took a Michigan visit over the summer, though he missed Michigan’s kicking camp, hosted by former UM kicker Brandon Kornblue. During his performance at the regular Michigan camp, however, Michigan fans were unnerved by reports that his leg was strong but not accurate. However, that is something that Michigan’s coaches were not overly concerned about, or that their special teams coaches will have to concentrate on fixing. He is rated by Chris Sailer Kicking as the #2 overall kicker in the class of 2009, and the #1 kicker left uncommitted. He has a strong, (maybe) accurate leg, and could see time kicking or punting in the future.

Recruiting Notes
Though Fera was unable to attend Michigan’s kicking camp, the individual focus on him may have paid off in the long run. While the rumored inaccuracies in his kicking likely delayed the tendering of a scholarship offer, they did not prevent him from receiving one. Ohio State and Penn State were the primary competition for Fera, though each was unwilling to offer him a scholarship for the class of 2009. Each was giving a greyshirt offer. However, once Penn State offered a full scholarship, Rich Rodriguez liked what he saw and made a full scholarship offer of his own to Fera, which he accepted almost immediately.

Video
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he5R6-pKagc&hl=en&fs=1]

Posted under Recruiting

The Board is here. The updates are here:

New Information:
MD OL Brennan Williams. Down to 4 (BC, Mich, Duke, Wake).
FL TE Orson Charles. Knee surgery, will narrow to a top 5 soon.
OH DE Davon Custis. His leader is Boston College.
FL LB Brandin Hawthorne. His final two has changed. Michigan is still in it. Things still look rosy here.
FL S Vlad Emilien. Top 5 of UNC, Wake, tOSU, Mich, UF. He will probably decide in November.
AR CB Darius Winston. He has accelerated his timetable drastically. This is a bad thing for Michigan, but if he picks the Wolverines, then hooray.
FL CB Josh Robinson. Decision on November 30 (USF and UCF seem to lead).
VA CB Javanti Sparrow. Top 6 doesn’t include Michigan, and Kevin Newsome is no longer his teammate. Should he be dropped soon?

Etc.:
A really crappy article that seems to think Winston is a Mich commit. A good sign? Probably not.

Posted under Recruiting

Action since last rankings:
8-5-08 Northwestern gains commitment from Brian Smith.
8-8-08 Northwestern gains commitment from Taylor Paxton. Wisconsin gains commitment from Josh Peprah.
8-9-08 Notre Dame gains commitment from EJ Banks
8-11-08 Illinois gains commitment from Kraig Appleton.

New Rankings:

Up: DeQuinta Jones (from 3).

Posted under Recruiting

The Board misses you. You should really visit every once in a while.

New Information:
FL RB Vincent Smith. His decision will be between Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Tennessee. Things still lookin’ good.
OH OL Marcus Hall. Preseason O-line MVP of his league.
SC OL Quinton Washington. A top 10 player in the lowcountry. Whatever the lowcountry is.
PA LB Dan Mason. Fluff.
AL CB Dre Kirkpatrick. It will be a surprise for him to end up anywhere other than Bama, especially with all the time he spends on their campus.
FL CB Angelo Hadley. He has a top/final 5 (Mich, Aub, Fla, UNC, UGa). And fluff is written about him.

Removed:
UT OL Xavier Sua’filo. After expressing early interest in Michigan, there has been no sign that he is still looking at the Wolverines.
WA DT Deandre Coleman. Washington commit.
AZ DE Corey Adams. It seems like he is down to OSU and a couple west coast schools. There hasn’t been any Michigan mention in a while.
PA DE/DT Tyrone Ezell. Pitt commit.
MI DE Justice Akuezue. CMU commit.
CA LB John Michael Davis. Same situation as Xavier Sua’Filo. No mutual interest == removal.
MI S Brock Reynolds. I hear almost nothing about this guy, much less articles about his Michigan interest.
OH CB Tony Graham. Same situation as Brock Reynolds.

Etc.:
The Free Press explores the situation with Michigan’s scholarship numbers for the 2009 class. The ESPN high school football TV schedule is different every time I look, but here is the most updated master list of games. Note that the Pahokee-Olive Branch game is not there. There is no kickers section on the recruiting board, but TX PK Anthony Fera has been offered (info in header). When I pulled guys off the list for lack of mutual interest, top players got a little more benefit of the doubt in staying on the board. Jamaal Berry is now the guy teetering on the edge, since he continues to list Michigan despite being all but committed to the Buckeyes.

Posted under Recruiting

Listed below are statistics of Quarterbacks in the top 100 rushers in a given year. Immediately below each one, there is a snippet on where each one was drafted, or how they did in the NFL. As you can see, the number of times a quarterback rushes the ball has little bearing on where he will be drafted. Rather, it is a matter of which skills you have.

All of these players are back in college this year, but several of them are NFL-bound. Pat White will be a first day pick as a receiver, and Tim Tebow and Dan LeFevour are locks to be eventual NFL draft picks. Grothe will probably also make it to the NFL, along with Jake Locker, Matt Grothe, and maybe Zac Robinson.

None of these players made it to the NFL (yet, as several are still eligible).

I think we all know how Vince Young made out after leaving Texas (3rd overall in 2006). Reggie McNeal was picked as a receiver in the 6th round. Brad Smith went in the 4th round at receiver, and Michael Robinson was a fellow 4th-rounder as a running back.

Rasheed Marshall (who played for Rich Rodriguez at WVU) was a 5th-round pick as a receiver. Josh Cribbs went undrafted, but is still playing in the NFL as a receiver/returner for the Cleveland Browns. Drew Stanton was the 2nd-round pick of the Detroit Lions in 2006, and is expected to challenge for their starting position this year.

Also, for the record, Michael Vick was a number 1 overall draft pick, despite only actually playing college football for 2 years, and being as far from a prototypical NFL quarterback as you can imagine. Offensive style doesn’t dictate where a “system quarterback” will be drafted. Instead, it is skill that is paramount. NFL GMs can tell if a guy has an NFL arm, regardless of whether he’s running the zone-read (Vince Young), a different type of running spread (Tim Tebow), or a passing-oriented offense (Dan LeFevour, among others).

Posted under Coaching, Recruiting

Projected Depth Chart

Linebackers
Obi Ezeh was the starter in the middle last year as a redshirt freshman. The outside linebackers, Shawn Crable and Cris Graham are gone, but not necessarily lamented. On the strong side, expect redshirt freshman Marell Evans to work his way into a starting role. On the weakside, redshirt sophomore Jonas Mouton is a good athlete, but has been plagued by injuries during his firs two years at Michigan, and hasn’t been able to master the mental aspect of linebacking. He will battle senior Austin Panter, the former junior college defensive player of the year, for a starting role. 5th-year senior Johnny Thompson and redshirt freshman Brandon Herron provide some depth. Michigan also brought in a big freshman class of LBs, and a couple, such as Kenny Demens or JB Fitzgerald, may be asked to contribute.

Stats

Analysis
Graham’s departure isn’t quite addition by subtraction, but it’s pretty close. A lot of Michigan fans feel the same way about Crable, but I personally believe that he was just misused. Bad football players do not get drafted by the Best Team Ever Until They Lost in the third round. Ezeh should be improved from last year, and he is getting to be a big boy for linebacker. Marell Evans is a good athlete who is known for his work ethic. Johnny Thompson has never done anything to stick out to me, I think he would be a depth player if this team had a linebacking corps that you might expect from Michigan. A couple of the freshmen may be expected to contribute, but the coaching staff would prefer to play the upperclassmen.

Posted under Analysis, Personnel

Projected Depth Chart

Defensive Tackles
In the middle, Senior Terrance Taylor and 5th-year Will Johnson are the tackles. There is little depth among the backups, particularly with Marques Slocum leaving the team this summer. Redshirt sophomores Jason Kates and John Ferrara will be the backup tackles. Renaldo Sagesse has reportedly had a good summer and should challenge for playing time as well. Don’t be surprised to see true freshman Mike Martin in the rotation, either.

Stats

Analysis
Taylor is a big run-stopper at defensive tackle, and has been a starter since his sophomore year. Johnson enters his second year as a starter, though I found him entirely uninspiring last year. The backups are far less touted and experienced than the starters across the line, but they will have to get the job done as well. While the starting DLine is probably the strength of the Michigan team, the lack of depth is one of the major weaknesses.

Defensive Ends
One the ends, Michigan returns another pair of starters. Junior Brandon Graham is a terror from the defensive end position, and 5th-year senior Tim Jamison mans the other side. Jamison is a more traditional speed rusher, but Graham has an element of quickness to his game as well. The backups are Ryan VanBergen, Adam Patterson, and Greg Banks. A man-sans-position thus far in his career, senior Andre Criswell will give end a shot this year.

Stats

Analysis
Graham is a very athletic pass rusher on one side, but fans are still waiting for Tim Jamison to live up to his potential. Many are hoping that a good ass-kicking in the weight room under new strength coach Mike Barwis can unlock the thus-far dormant ability. The lack of depth at end is a major weaknesses. Few have gained significant playing time thus far, and there aren’t even that many bodies at the position. Until he showed up to camp ineligible, it was thought that Marcus Witherspoon might become a defensive end. A likely redshirt this year may be the perfect opportunity to switch positions.

Posted under Analysis, Personnel