The Kinesiology department is starting a Pat Maloy Scholarship, to be granted to students who have cancer or have been affected by cancer in their families. The scholarship is named in honor of Bernard "Pat" Maloy, a Michigan professor who lost the battle with cancer in 2001.
To fund the scholarship, there will be an online auction, consisting of tons of autographed items, Michigan-related and otherwise. Tons of Braylon, AC, Desmond items, check out the auction for yourself. There's a good chance you can find something you want, and it goes to a great cause.
Mike Cox, a running back from Avon, Connecticut, has reportedly committed to become a Wolverine. Cox is a sleeper who impressed coaches at the Michigan summer camp. When they offered him this weekend, he did not hesitate to pull the trigger for the maize and blue.
Cox picked Michigan over Duke, BC, UConn, and Maryland, though he had been picking up interest from some bigger programs (i.e. Penn State) lately. He is a north-south runner with good size, who is a likely "Mr. Inside" compliment to Sam McGuffie's "Mr. Outside," though neither runner is incapable of going the other way. From reports, Cox sounds like a taller, less elusive version of Mike Hart.
With this commitment, Michigan is full at the true RB position for this recruiting class (Say goodbye to your Michael Shaw, Jonas Gray, or Darrell Scott pipe dreams). They will likely pick up an H-Back (Christian Wilson) to polish off the offensive backfield.
Per Jim Carty, Lloyd Carr is considering the return of Carson Butler to the Wolverines.
Butler was acquitted of assault charges in the St. Patrick's Day incident (the other defendant, Chris Richards, was convicted). In light of his legal troubles being cleared, Carr has decided to rethink Butler's expulsion from the football team.
This will definitely have an effect on the field for Michigan this year, as Butler will be a second option with experience at the TE position to Mike Massey's perpetually-injured shell of a body. This would allow for both incoming freshmen to likely redshirt.
However, there is a potential negative effect on recruiting, as Michigan recruited two top tight ends to make up for their dearth of bodies at the position. While a bird in hand is worth two in the bush, both Brandon Moore and Kevin Koger are phenomenal athletes, and it would be a shame to lose either of them.
MGoBlue has posted the 2007 football roster.This means we know all the incoming freshman numbers, not just those that were available from the spring game (or able to be guessed).
Mallett, Chambers, and Helmuth were already known from the spring game; it had been rumored Warren would be #6 and Clemons #17.
Other item of note: Absent are Schifano, Patilla, and McKinney. Are they off the team? They will remain on the eligibility chart pending further confirmation.
...for 25 years. This is a sort of mixed blessing. If nothing else, it gives us a "name" program on our non-conference schedule in perpetuity, even if Notre Dame isn't actually as good as their unnecessarily good reputation would imply.
On the other hand, it means we won't be seeing a variety of non-conference foes who are high in the prestige factor. It will be the same old Notre Dame, over and over again, with the occasional foray into middle-of-the-pack BCS programs, with maybe a power here-and-there.
Used to playing Notre Dam,e always, I call this a net wash.
http://www.click2houston.com/video/index.html Click "Most popular" in the box on the right, and the video is in there. I'll see if I can get someone smarter than me to rip it and put it on Youtube.
Don't forget, McGuffie's Cy-Fair team takes on rival Cy-Falls October 18th on ESPN2.
As expected, Sam McGuffie announced his intention to become a Michigan Wolverine tonight on television. McGuffie is on of the most electrifying players in the class of 2008.
Like fellow Texan Darryl Stonum, there is a chance that McGuffie may enroll for the Winter term at Michigan.
From my buddy in Houston who I forced to watch the show with the announcemet. His play by play:
A Real Texan: visit fell in love A Real Texan: coach jackson A Real Texan: rb staff A Real Texan: i can come in as freshman and be impact player A Real Texan: wanna be successful as a unit A Real Texan: what i do is what i do??? A Real Texan: not tamu b/c: A Real Texan: wants to experience new things, and to do that, i might as well do it at university of michigan A Real Texan: and dynamo highlights
I'll update the recruiting grid, probably make an obligatory YouTube link and try to remember when Michigan has had this good of a recruiting class this early.
Instead of merely regurgitating the watch list announcements from MGoBlue, it's far more honorable (and worthy a cause) to do a little legwork and come up with them myself.
Though not every postseason award has a watch list (many just start with semifinalist lists, or even just finalists), and some haven't come out with their watch lists yet, many Michigan players are expected to be great next year. All of the Michigan players on postseason award watch lists are as follows:
Bronko Nagursky Award - Best defensive player - Shawn Crable Jim Thorpe Award - Best defensive back - Jamar Adams Ronnie Lott Trophy - Best defensive player/sportsman - Shawn Crable, Jamar Adams Outland Trophy - Best Offensive Lineman - Jake Long, Adam Kraus Maxwell Award - Best offensive player - Chad Henne, Michael Hart, Mario Manningham Chuck Bednarik Award - Best Defensive Player - Shawn Crable, Jamar Adams
Watch lists that have been released with NO Michigan players present: John Mackey Award - Best Tight End (fair) Dave Rimington Award - Best Center (Justin Boren may surprise)
Jamar Adams, Michigan safety ordinaire, has been named to the preseason watch list for the Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to the best defensive back in the country.
Bruce Feldman from ESPN has some impressions from the annual Elite 11 quarterback camp. Going along with consensus, he finds Blaine Gabbert (Neb) the best in attendance, followed closely by ND-bound Dayne Crist.
Michigan's John Weinke has been stated to be in the next tier of campers, above such players as FSU's E.J. Manuel (who Tom Beaver of GBW calls vastly overrated by Scout at #5).
The best arm in attendance? Counselor Chad Henne. Feldman says his arm stands out far above such other players as Chase Daniel of Mizzou and Colt Brennan.
Sam McGuffie, he of the perpetually-delayed announcement, is set to announce at his school this Friday. McGuffie will not be announcing on television, so as to avoid the same sort of good-natured (or maybe not-so-good) that Darryl Stonum was subjected to when he announced.
UPDATE: Or maybe he doesn't mind being harassed on TV. He's announcing on Sunday.
Soon, I'll be starting a series about things that I think need to be improved for the home field advantage and general atmosphere on Michigan gamedays to be improved. There will be a lot of overlap, so bear with me.
Michigan's current home field advantage is lacking, not only behind traditionally great stadiums like The Swamp and Death Valley, but also Big Ten rivals Ohio State and Wisconsin, and even Notre Dame.
While much of the blame is placed on the stadium's structure, there is much more to it than that. Notre Dame Stadium is a carbon copy of the Big House, but much smaller, and the advantage there is much better. It's a general attitude within the stadium and the fanbase in general that could be improved to help out.
Part One, featuring the band, will come tomorrow (unless there is some real news). The other parts will come whenever there is nothing more pertinent to post about.
My work will never be as extensive as MGoBlog's, so just take it for what it is.
Offense
QB 1
Commits
Presumed Leans
Prospects
Longshots
John Weinke
Current Commits: 12
Steven Threet (07)
RB 1-2
Sam McGuffie
Jonas Gray
Darrell Scott
Projected Scholarships: 17
Christian Wilson
Covaughn Deboskie
OL 4-5
Dan O'Neill
Zebrie Sanders
Elliott Mealer
Kevin Zeitler
Kurt Wermers
Zach Schlink
Rocko Khoury
WR 2-3
Daryll Stonum
Fred Smith
Jon Baldwin
Michael Floyd
Vaughn Carraway
TE 1-2
Brandon Moore
Kevin Koger
Defense
DT 1-2
Mike Martin
DE 1-2
Nathaniel Williams
Nick Perry
Kavario Middleton
LB 2-3
Marcus Witherspoon
J.B. Fitzgerald
Jon Major
Shayne Hale
Steve Filer
Brandon Beachum
S 1-2
Brandon Smith
Will Hill
Spencer Adams
CB 1-2
Boubacar Cissoko
Marc Anthony
Robbie Green
Ath
Cameron Saddler
Glenn Winston
Stonum and Koger have been moved to committed, and Middleton was dropped from TE recruiting (he will be pursued as a DE). Christian Wilson moved to presumed lean. Hale and Saddler moved to presumed leans (UM and WVU in top 2). With the addition of Threet to QB commits (though he is an '07 recruit), all other prospects removed from the board, as Michigan is done at the position. Fred Smith moved to presumed lean.
McGuffie, a presumed lean, keeps having his announcement pushed back. Most recently, it was to be this coming Sunday night, but it has been pushed back again.
Kevin Koger, the first legitimate 50-50 battle between UM and OSU, has committed to the Wolverines. Koger is a 4-star TE/DE from Toledo Whitmer. He is, like, good. Enjoy some happy fun video, courtesy of Scouting Ohio.
Also, just an fyi, I'll be out of town this weekend, with dubious internet connectivity. I'll tell Paul to pick up the slack I leave, but my apologies if he doesn't post with the same frequency that I do (1+ times per day).
A few people have inquired in comments and e-mails, so heres the deal with the TV show:
Varsity Blue will return to the air the week before the season begins, with a season preview show. There will be a new episode every Monday (tentative, could be Sunday) through the end of the season.
As of right now, we are planning to only air in the dorms, but we will look into other distribution options (either local TV or internet) as the time draws near.
We are looking to change up the show, with some major improvements this year, which will be revealed over the summer so I have things to post about. We are NOT planning to shoot at Charley's this year.
For those worried about the transfer of Steven Threet scaring off 2008 QB commit John Wienke, fear not. The Free Press is reporting today that Wienke has no intention to renege on his commitment to Michigan.
The more interesting question is whether or not Michigan will recruit a "super" QB in the 2009 class, as originally expected. Having a suddenly full stable of young talent may mean Michigan does not pursue a top prospect at the QB position unless someone has a particular interest in the Wolverines despite a full depth chart.
Steven Threet has pledged to become a Michigan Wolverine, after attending Georgia Tech for a semester and realizing that Chan Gailey is a mediocre (perpetually 7-5) coach.
Threet would have been a huge Michigan target last year, but with Ryan Mallett on the radar, he was not offered, and Michigan recruiting fans forgot about him. Thuogh Michigan fans paid him little mind, he is probably the best HS QB in the state since Drew Henson. Experts peg him on approximately the same level as this year's Dayne Crist (ND).
Threet will have to redshirt next year, then have four years to play. An interesting factor in his commitment is the fact that Michigan promised Ryan Mallett they would only take one quarterback in the 2007 class, when they have now taken two.
These are based on first look at the schedule, and things can still change over the summer, especially when we get a more clear idea of lineups.
Non-conference teams with more than one Big Ten opponent: Syracuse (0-2) Ball State (0-2) Bowling Green (0-2) Eastern Michigan (0-2) Northern Illinois (0-2) Western Michigan (1-1) Notre Dame (1-3)
Steven Threet, a 4* quarterback from this past (2007) class, has announced that he intends to transfer from Georgia Tech. He was widely considered to be Michigan's second choice if they did not land Ryan Mallett. Internetz (and fairly reliable sources, to go along with tons of not-so-reliable sources) say that Michigan is a likely destination.
Threet also considered Michigan State in his recruitment, so it is likely that they may be a factor in his transfer destination, especially since they lost their top recruit, Keith Nichol, to the Oklahoma Sooners after firing John L. Smith.
Whichever school lands Threet, he will have to redshirt the 2007 season, and have four years of eligibility, putting him a year behind Mallett, and a year ahead of Wienke, assuming he redshirts his freshman year. The results of his decision will be known in the next couple days.
Originally, the announcement of the new Michigan apparel deal with Adidas rubbed me the wrong way. The tradition of Michigan being one of the original Nike schools, and the affinity I gained for Nike by virtue of their officially licensed UM gear really made me wish that Michigan would have stayed with the swoosh.
However, upon further reflection, I realized that these reasons weren't good enough. If anything, they are actually criticisms of the athletic department by many Michigan fans: doing things the way they've always been done because that's the way they've always been done, or because tradition mandates it. So in the end, while I'm sad to see something that has become somewhat of a tradition (being one of the original Nike schools) come to an end, it's time.
There are also definite advantages of switching from Nike to Adidas as well. As mentioned by Brian, Nike has lately seen itself as the spectacle on display in sporting events, rather than just clothes worn during said events. The ugly Nike jerseys are no longer a threat to the aesthetics of the Michigan football team (for the record, I do not hate the piping on the away jerseys, though I'm apparently the only one). The Adidas deal also allows for slight redesigns to uniforms that may not have been possible staying with the same outfitter, allowing the Michigan look to maintain tradition without getting stale. And finally, the money factor. Michigan is making much more money out of the Adidas deal than they ever did from Nike, and the new contract has a clause guaranteeing Michigan preferred treatment from the clothier.
In the end, it's sad to see one tradition end, but it opens the door for a new (and quote possibly better) one to begin.
Carson Butler and Chris Richards, dismissed from the football team for being monumentally stupid, have completed their trials in the St. Patrick's Day assault case. Butler was found not guilty, whereas Richards was guilty of aggravated assault and assault and battery.
Though found not guilty in the court of law, Butler was still deemed a troublemaker by the Michigan football program, so don't get your hopes up about a return to the Wolverines.
Coming Soon: My thoughts on the Nike/Adidas situation, though it's nothing more than my opinion, and even that isn't anything particularly original.
In the Dark Ages before a strong, Michigan blogosphere developed, the only outlet online for a fan to see others' opinion and voice his or her own were free, online message boards. Premium message boards and blogs have claimed the best posters from the ESPN.com message boards and left them a demolished wasteland with sticky caps-lock keys. I plan on venturing into these groups of partisan savages and report back with the most outlandish claims and back and forth claims of "OWNAGE!1"
In today's edition we explore the rantings and ravings of a poster who goes by the handle WCD34. He is what the local refer to as a "troll." A vagabond poster who travels from board to board bringing any intelligent discussion to halt.
In this thread he is defending Notre Dame and trying to justify his position of Michigan losing to Notre Dame. When someone mentioned that pretty much every Notre Dame offensive unit is worse than the corresponding Michigan unit, he (I assume) came back with this:
Moving on...Our RB situation is BY FAR MUCH BETTER than Michigan's. Again, it's young, but sick. Do you guys even pay attention?
...
Guys, we're going to have so many RB's, you're not going to be able to keep up with which one is which. And ALL OF THEM are talented. I know plenty of Irish Fans who are happy that D. Walker chose the draft. I can't wait to see the shocked looks on your faces when ND rushes for over 200 yds in Ann Arbor. :)
The dotted out section is a list of running backs who haven't really played (except for a bit of Blue & Gold game action). So his argument is that their running backs by batallion composed of totally unproven players is better than Michigan's give the ball to one of the premiere running backs in the country approach.
Let's take a look at this...
Adding up the yards that all the running backs he mentioned gained last year we get... 241 yards. Michigan's top returning back-up (Brandon Minor) has 249 yards. To get over the whole "Michigan runs more" argument, the Notre Dame running backs had 65 attempts while Brandon Minor had just 42.
So... with Michigan's primary back-up posting better numbers than the entire field of Notre Dame backs AND having a preseason Doak Walker candidate, I really can't see where he is coming from.
I understand being exciting about a good group of young studs, but to say that potential is better than a top-5 back, not to mention a few young guys with their fair share of potential, is just down right dumb. I guess that is why he's cruising around ESPN message board, and maybe why he's a Notre Dame fan (I kid...).
John Wienke... What do we know about him? I found this video on youtube, and the username posting it was "mgoblog" but I found nothing about it posted on mgoblog itself, so pardon me if it's a repost of Brian.
He is a left-handed quarterback who chose Michigan over Illinois and Iowa, with other offers including Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Kentucky, Iowa State, and MAC teams.
He is a 6'6" lefty, and was the MVP amongst the quarterbacks at Michigan's summer camp, as well as the Nike camp at Colorado.
With his size and (presumed) mobility, he is a prototypical Michigan quarterback, aside from the whole lefty thing.
Wienke is ranked as low as he is (not at all! ZING!) mainly due to exposure, rather than because of his skills. I assum he'll be a strong three or low four in the final rankings. He seems capable of serving as a capable backup for Mallett for a couple years, and likely won't be the project that Cone was/is. With Mallett and Cone in the same class, Wienke will probably redshirt to get a year of separation, and be ready to start being the primary backup in '09 (jesus, are we seriously talking about kids who won't see the field for more than two years?). Wienke is more developed than the Navarre-esque Cone, but Cone will also have two years in the system before Wienke is actually a Wolverine.
The main issue with the kid is probably going to be the fact that he is left-handed. This changes a lot of things on the field, including the snap, the dropback, play action, even the spiral on the ball as wide receivers go to catch it (see: Lloyd bragging about Zoltan's lefty spin on punts being harder to catch).
In the Dark Ages before a strong, Michigan blogosphere developed, the only outlet online for a fan to see others' opinion and voice his or her own were free, online message boards. Premium message boards and blogs have claimed the best posters from the ESPN.com message boards and left them a demolished wasteland with sticky caps-lock keys. I plan on venturing into these groups of partisan savages and report back with the most outlandish claims and back and forth claims of "OWNAGE!1"
In today's edition we explore the rantings and ravings of a poster who goes by the handle WCD34. He is what the local refer to as a "troll." A vagabond poster who travels from board to board bringing any intelligent discussion to halt.
In this thread he is defending Notre Dame and trying to justify his position of Michigan losing to Notre Dame. When someone mentioned that pretty much every Notre Dame offensive unit is worse than the corresponding Michigan unit, he (I assume) came back with this:
Moving on...Our RB situation is BY FAR MUCH BETTER than Michigan's. Again, it's young, but sick. Do you guys even pay attention?
...
Guys, we're going to have so many RB's, you're not going to be able to keep up with which one is which. And ALL OF THEM are talented. I know plenty of Irish Fans who are happy that D. Walker chose the draft. I can't wait to see the shocked looks on your faces when ND rushes for over 200 yds in Ann Arbor. :)
The dotted out section is a list of running backs who haven't really played (except for a bit of Blue & Gold game action). So his argument is that their running backs by batallion composed of totally unproven players is better than Michigan's give the ball to one of the premiere running backs in the country approach.
Let's take a look at this...
Adding up the yards that all the running backs he mentioned gained last year we get... 241 yards. Michigan's top returning back-up (Brandon Minor) has 249 yards. To get over the whole "Michigan runs more" argument, the Notre Dame running backs had 65 attempts while Brandon Minor had just 42.
So... with Michigan's primary back-up posting better numbers than the entire field of Notre Dame backs AND having a preseason Doak Walker candidate, I really can't see where he is coming from.
I understand being exciting about a good group of young studs, but to say that potential is better than a top-5 back, not to mention a few young guys with their fair share of potential, is just down right dumb. I guess that is why he's cruising around ESPN message board, and maybe why he's a Notre Dame fan (I kid...).
The Stonum commitment was expected, and he is gladly welcomed. The Weinke commitment wasn't expected, but was certainly not a surprise, and he is welcomed as well.
Stonum is a high four-star player, and I'd be surprised if he doesn't become a five-star player by the time the final Scout rankings come out. He is a tall(ish) receiver, around 6'2", and speedy as well, with a 4.4 forty-yard time. The main area that it seems as though Stonum could improve is his strength, which will undoubtedly increase with some time in a college weight-training program. Stonum was in Michigan's top tier of WR targets for the '08 class, along with Jon Baldwin, so he was the guy the coaches want. With Baldwin reportedly favoring Notre Dame, Stonum's commitment is huge for this recruiting class.
Weinke is a high-three or a four-star qurterback. He has been invited to this summer's Elite 11 competition, so while his name may be a little unknown, his skills are nothing to sneeze at. He only recently appeared on the radar, but this was more likely due to exposure than the caliber of player that he is. Weinke was the best week-long camper at the quarterback position, and while he may not be the super that some fans want every year, he is not a sleeper, either. Weinke will probably redshirt his freshman year, putting him two classes behind Ryan Mallett. While he is more highly rated than David Cone (who will likely be Mallett's backup), Cone will have spent two years under the tutelage of Scot Loeffler by the time he is serving as second-in-command.
Both of these players are quality pickups on the offensive side of the ball, leaving Michigan with only a couple more meeds there (RB (McGuffie?) HB(?) (C. Wilson?), maybe one more OT and TE). The rest of the recruiting efforts for the year will likely be spent on the defense, looking for an elite DE, maybe another DT, a couple more linebackers, and a host (hopefully 3-4) of defensive backs.
I fell asleep before the announcement. Without futher delay...
WR Daryl Stonum (6'2"+, 180, 4.40) from Sugarland, TX Dulles (alma mater of incoming freshmen Brandon Herron and Troy Woolfolk) has committed to the Michigan Wolverines. Scout ranks him as the #15 Wide Receiver in the country, but his ranking is likely to improve over time. He picked the Maize and Blue over USC and Florida.
This commitment is Michigan's fourth from Texas over the last two recruiting classes, and the Wolverines are perhaps opening a pipeline in the Lonestar State. This is especially true if RB Sam McGuffie (he of Youtube fame) commits to Michigan as well.
Bill Martin has mentioned playing games in regions with large alumni bases or to help recruiting, so maybe we'll see a home and home with a Texas team at some point in the future.
This is usually Tim's territory, but he's currently up North, so he left me to monitor the commitments over this weekend. He sent me an e-mail letting me know that Daryl Stonum was going to announce this Sunday as well as be on the look out for a commit from Sam McGuffie. So I did my homework on those two guys so I won't sound completely like a fish out of water.
So I get home from work around 10pm and check Scout for any Stonum news. I see an article that says "Michigan Gets Commit #9!" So I'm getting ready to throw the stuff up about Stonum or McGuffie when I click the link and see John Wienke's kind of smiling picture staring back at me.
So... Michigan gets its clip-board holder for the Ryan Mallet era. Luckily John Wienke (6'5" 205lbs) looks to be a decent back-up prospect. He was selected as an Elite 11 Quarterback and put up some decent numbers (3221 yards. 56% completion rate, and 34 TDs to only 7 INTs) his junior year at Tuscola HS.
I'll update the recruiting chart and keep my eye on Stonum's announcement that should on around 11:15pm EDT.
| »
