First, a request for assistance:

Hey Brian-

I don't know if you or any of your readers might be able to help, but I'm trying to find a recording of a song. I saw a poster for some sheet music at Mr. Stadium Laundry that contained a song called "The Michigan Drinking Song." From what I've been able to find from my Google searches, it was written around the turn of the century and was voted "Favorite College Song" in the 1905 Michiganesian and included in "The Michigan University Songbook" published in 1904. It was written by M.B. Cooper.

My friends and I find it hard to believe that there's no recorded version of this song, and if it's not too much trouble, we'd really like to find it. Thanks for any help you can provide.

Andy

I don't know if I can help, but may be a reader can?

Moving on to other matters:

Brian,

Have you considered year-end awards for the best diaries, board posts, or other community contributions?  If so, and if it happens this year, I’d like to nominate Misopogon’s “How Tate Stacks Up Against M QBs of 2005-2008” for best diary – because, you know, holy crap.  In fact, maybe the award should be called the Misopogon?

--Matt

That would be something the community should do, as it's community content. I'm not sure anything can be derived from the board since it moves so fast and has so many tiny posts, but some recognition for the fine diarists who provide a lot of value to the site is in order. After the season I'm planning to implement a subscription option where for a nominal monthly fee you can get rid of the ads, and if there's some sort of user-generated awards thing I'll throw some freebies out to the winners.

Brian,

Are Roh and Kovacs outside linebackers in disguise? I know they aren't perfect fits, but given our lack of depth and GERG's willingness to move people around, do you think that the coaching staff is at least thinking about this a little?

Also, in the other football, will/should Dempsey start at forward now?

-Brian DeHaven

Roh: no. Roh is 230, maybe 240 right now and will add 10-30 pounds over the course of his Michigan career. He's a defensive end all the way and will probably be a four-year starter at deathbacker if he doesn't end up moving to Graham's spot. Kovacs: maybe. I don't know if I've kicked this around on the blog yet, but I have mentioned it on WTKA: I think Kovacs might move to the Stevie Brown SLB/nickelback/spinner position next year if they can find any freakin' safeties. I think that's unlikely given the depth chart at safety and the recruitment of Hawthorne/Jones to play the Brown spot, but if they move a couple guys and someone steps up it's at least a vague possibility. I think Kovacs's skills are well suited for what Brown's currently doing. They're better suited to that than they are the deep centerfield he's been playing; moving Woolfolk to corner has just sprung a different leak in the secondary.

Shameless answer to the irrelevant Dempsey question: absolutely. Dempsey is mostly a striker in the EPL and has done his best work with the Nats after late-game moves up top. The alternative is… um… Conor Casey? I'd rather see Holden or Torres on the field. Maybe that's because I missed the brace against Honduras. But, no, probably not.

Hey Brian,

After the 3-9 debacle last year, obviously recruiting wasn't going to be as impressive this year. But what do you think about the defensive recruiting (or lack there of) at key positions?

I know Michigan is in on a number of good cornerbacks including Cullen Christian, Tony Grimes, and Rashad Knight (Though Christian could play safety and Knight is being recruited as one), but it seems like the staff is recruiting too many "project" players who will switch positions in the coming years before they settle in. The fact of the matter is this team has no real free safety type (Woofolk moved to CB), and the primary safety commit, Marvin Robinson, is headed to the Stevie Brown/SAM linebacker position.

Also, the defensive line has a number of players who fit the Craig Roh mold (Wilkins for sure, Paskorz maybe?), but a lack of a real Graham-like DE. Talbott is a very explosive player who I think will be underrated. Couple that with Antonio Kinard as the only LB commit (have you seen our LB play?) does this concern you at all? I think it's important that the mgobloggers realize this staff is far from perfect and not every recruiting choice they make is perfect.

Jeff

Moving players from one high school position to another is a fact of life, as high schools will often throw their best players at crazy positions in an attempt to take advantage of their athleticism. The craziest position to date is Brandin Hawthorne's existence as a high school defensive end. Ideally you'd like to see guys coming in who have experience at their chosen position, but it's not like those guys get a ton of great coaching in high school anyway, or have any idea what they can get away with when everyone around them is about as athletic as they are. Michigan is clearly not in an ideal situation.

I think you'll see (PA DE Ken) Wilkins end up at Graham's spot down the road. Graham is currently 270 pounds and Wilkins is already 240 in high school; he'll end up putting at least 20 pounds in his first couple years here, at which point the move will be obvious, and what you'll see is Michigan pick up a bunch of defensive backs—5 or 6—with the intent of putting everyone in a blender and figuring out where they fit later. Some position moves are scary; safety-to-corner isn't. The linebackers are a concern; if Michigan doesn't pick up both Furman and Olaniyan the class will be disappointing there. And I don't think they'll get both.

Obviously the staff is not "perfect," but neither is the opposite extreme accurate: Rodriguez is not going to bring in classes like this year every time out. When he had a full year to recruit and didn't have a 3-9 anchor around his neck, Michigan brought in the #6 recruiting class, one laden with four-star guys. Almost every one of the recruits Rodriguez picked up in the brief window he had to finish Carr's last class was highly rated by one service or the other. This year's an anomaly, and the class will probably finish at the tail end of the top 20, not coincidentally the same area Notre Dame's post-crater class ended up.

Hello, Brian.

Some background on FBS teams being allowed to play FCS opponents.

Until 2005, schools could count only one I-AA game every 4 years toward becoming bowl eligible.  Obviously, this only applies to schools that go 6-5, and has no effect at all on schools with any other record from 11-0 to 0-11.

Here is an October 2004 article about this issue that includes begging from the Southern Conference commissioner to allow one counter every year. Here is the decision in April 2005 where the NCAA decides to allow one I-AA game every year to count towards bowl eligibility, tied into an increase to 12 games.

It really seems like that 12th game was intended to be a game against a I-AA school.  Unless I am mistaken, I recall some I-AA schools were threatening the NCAA with a lawsuit for limiting their scheduling options.  I could not find a record of this, unfortunately.  Maybe I am confusing this with the "exempt games" issue.

I don't think the NCAA has the power to say "only play other FBS opponents."  They don't have that much control over in-season scheduling.  The conferences can mandate this, but not the NCAA.  The NCAA can only say "these games don't count toward bowl eligibility," but the FCS schools would fight that, and they would probably win.

I don't know if you find this interesting, but there has been a good deal of discussion of this point on mgoblog, and there seems to be some misunderstanding of what the NCAA can and can not do.

Alton

Mostly included for the interesting background. I disagree that the NCAA doesn't have the power to do what it wants here, as the two sets of schools exist in different divisions sponsored by the NCAA. You might as well say the NCAA doesn't have any power to regulate that D-I and D-II schools can't play each other. The NCAA sets limits on the number of games that can be played in all sports, provides exemptions for various things it would like to promote, and actually organizes the different divisions. I'm sure some I-AA teams could sue, but I find it hard to believe they'd win.

Brian,
I posted a thread on this topic but wondered about your thoughts.  Is it too early IYHO to classify the 2008 defensive recruiting class a disappointment?  Although they are only in their second year, ideally (apart from Martin) some would be pushing the upperclassmen for playing time, and as we know they are not, in some cases falling behind walk ons. Thoughts?

Brian Durocher

IMHE, it is too early to classify the 2008 defensive recruiting class a disappointment. But it is not too early to look at it with trepidation because it seems like we'll be thoroughly concerned about it midway through next year. A brief dossier:

• Beasts: Mike Martin
• Contributors: Boubacar Cissoko, JT Floyd
• Idling away: Brandon Smith, Kenny Demens. UPDATE: Also JB Fitzgerald.
• Gone: Taylor Hill, Marcus Witherspoon

So… first of all, it was only seven guys in a class of 24, and two of them were gone about two weeks after class started. Two more are linebackers stuck behind a walk-on, two more are backup defensive backs in a very poor secondary basically behind a walk-on since their poor play necessitated the Woolfolk move, and Mike Martin is a beast. These guys are going to be juniors or redshirt sophomores next year and it looks like Michigan isn't going to get a whole lot out of them. Cissoko's come back from the brink and may yet develop into something, and maybe we can expect one of the linebackers to pick it up after Ezeh and Mouton leave, but the early returns aren't great outside of Martin.

UPDATE: Forgot about Fitzgerald, who's had a reasonable career path so far given that he was behind a couple of starters; he rotated in for Ezeh a bit last week.

If you can help out finding articles on any of the commits, e-mail me, and I'll try to include your contribution.

MI QB Devin Gardner

Last week: Inkster defeats Steubenville 36-29. It snapped a multi-year regular season win streak for the Big Red.

Inkster's season seemed over when Steubenville took a 29-28 lead with 1:19 left to play, but Michigan-commitment Devin Gardner completed a 63-yard bomb to Vorheese Zanders with 39 seconds left.

Gardner completed 14 of 25 passes for 275 yards and four TDs. He also ran 11 times for 55 yards and a score.

This local article provides much more detail on the gameplay itself. Video highlights from the local news. Also, this mgoboard thread was pretty epic while the game was in progress.

This week: Inkster (5-3) @ Dearborn Edsel Ford in Round 1 of the State Playoffs.

SC QB Conelius Jones

Last week: Spartanburg breaks its losing streak by knocking off Hillcrest, 31-20.

Jones capped Spartanburg’s first possession of the second half with a 45-yard touchdown run to make it 17-0.

“The team had a lot of energy before the game, and we came out (after) halftime with more energy,” said Jones, who had 10 carries for 90 yards and two touchdowns.

Jones photo by Mike Bonner of the Spartanburg Herald-Journal.

This week: Spartanburg (3-6) @ Boiling Springs.

MI RB Austin White

Last week: Stevenson pounds Livonia Churchill 42-10.

Stevenson was led by senior Austin White, who rushed for a game-high 211 yards on 19 carries.

This week: Stevenson (7-2) hosts Northville in Round 1 of the State Playoffs. The Spartans rocked Northville 31-0 earlier this season.

TX RB Tony Drake

Last week: Skyline rocks Carrollton Creekview 62-21. Drake ran 16 times for 139 yards and a score. He also caught 2 passes for 14 yards.
This week: Skyline (8-0) v. W.T. White on Thursday.

TX RB Stephen Hopkins

Last week: Game preview. Marcus falls to Coppell 21-42. Hopkins ran 22 times for 96 yards. For the first time this season, he was kept out of the endzone.
This week: Marcus (4-2) v. Flower Mound at SMU.

LA Slot WR Drew Dileo

Last week: Parkview Baptist beats West Feliciana 23-7.

Drew Dileo added 50 rushing yards with one TD. He also recovered a fumble to set up one fourth-quarter TD.

...and 1 badass stiff-arm, pictured at right courtesy of The Advocate's John Oubre.

Parkview drove to the WFHS 19 to open the game after a 51-yard kickoff return by Dileo.

This week: Parkview Baptist (6-1) v. Baker.

MI WR Ricardo Miller

Last week: Pioneer falls to Dearborn Fordson 21-24.

Pioneer quarterback Miles Sorise threw three first-half touchdown passes -- 31 yards to Brandis Yarrington, 38 yards to Michigan-bound receiver Ricardo Miller and 23 yards to Mark Hugan...

Sorise led Pioneer back on two late drives, finding Miller after he got past a Fordson defensive back who tried to jam him at the line.

This week: Pioneer (7-2) hosts Temperance Bedford in the 1st Round of the State Playoffs. The Pioneers fell to Bedford 21-28 earlier in the season.

OH WR Jerald Robinson

Last week: Canton South beats(!) Alliance 34-12.

Jerald Robinson also had a 45-yard touchdown run for the Wildcats. Robinson finished with 65 yards on five carries.

This week: Canton South (2-7) @ Carrollton.

MI WR Jeremy Jackson

Last week: Huron beats Ypsilanti 19-13.
This week: Huron (5-4) missed the state playoffs, and Jackson's senior season is over.

OH WR DJ Williamson

Last week: Harding pounds Youngstown East 43-6.
This week: Harding (5-3-1) v. Akron North.

OH OL Christian Pace

Last week: Avon Lake beats Brecksville-Broadview Heights 39-10.
This week: Avon Lake (6-3) @ Amherst-Steele.

OH DT Terry Talbott

Last week: Wayne beats Centerville 42-20.
This week: Wayne (6-3) @ Springfield.

PA DE Ken Wilkins

Last week: Trinity beats Yough 41-21. Wilkins caught a touchdown against Yough, and has played more tight end than defense this year:

Ken Wilkins, a Michigan recruit, caught two touchdown passes from Andrew Steratore but the first-team all-state defensive lineman from 2008 hasn't seen much time on defense.

This week: Trinity (3-5) v. Ringgold.

PA DE Jordan Paskorz

Last week: Hampton loses to Franklin Regional in a 35-34 nailbiter. It seems that Paskorz, like Wilkins, has done most of his work this year on the offensive line, rather than defense:

"Tackle Joe Raimondi and tight end Jordan Paskorz [a Michigan recruit] have really stepped it up," DeMatteo said. "Both have done a fantastic job on the offensive line."

This week: Hampton (4-4) v. Highlands.

OH LB Antonio Kinard

Last week: Liberty falls to Howland 18-0.

Liberty was lead by Robert Smith-Harris who rushed for 11 yards, and Antonio Kinard who caught a 42 yard pass from Nick Mattocks.

This week: Liberty (4-5) v. Girard.

FL S Marvin Robinson

Last week: Lake Region falls to Lake Gibson 14-51. Robinson is out with an injury.
This week: Lake Region (0-7) v. George Jenkins.

OH CB Courtney Avery

Last week: Game preview. Lexington shuts out Mansfield Senior 34-0.

Lexington senior quarterback Courtney Avery completed 12 of 19 passes for 171 yards and one TD in a steady rain. He also scored on a shifty 25-yard run for a 10-0 lead at the half.

This week: Lexington (6-3) v. Ashland.

OH CB Terrence Talbott

Last week: Wayne beats Centerville 42-20.
This week: Wayne (6-3) @ Springfield.

WI P Will Hagerup

Last week: Whitefish Bay loses to Milwaukee Lutheran, 21-28.
This week: Whitefish Bay (5-4)

2011 OH CB Greg Brown

Last week: Ross dominates Lima Senior 45-17.

The scoring onslaught began with Brown, whose 6-yard TD capped an 8-play, 48-yard scoring drive on the Little Giants' first possession of the second half.

Full stats updated when the Fremont Ross Football website posts them.

This week: Ross (5-4) @ Sandusky.

California DB Tony Jefferson recently announced his intention to take an official visit to Michigan, although committed to UCLA. Jefferson is a four star safety with a fake [ed: !!!] 4.5 40 time. As I mentioned in a different thread, my computer broke again, so this will be somewhat brief, and in a different format. I spoke with him about the change in his recruitment, and here are some bullet points about what he said:

• Wherever he goes, he will be enrolling early, which means he will be deciding soon.
• His visit will be November 7th for the Purdue game.
• "The coaches (from Michigan) have been talking to me for awhile now, and they've really turned up the intensity. That's part of why I'm taking a visit. I've been talking to coach Singletary and Rich Rodriguez. They've basically been telling me that I'm a priority for them, and they really want me."
• "I've been watching their games, and I really like the way they've been playing defense. I know at Michigan I could get a really good education, and always be fighting to play in a bowl game; I like that."
• "I have a really strong feeling towards Michigan. I get along really well with their staff, and Tate Forcier has been talking to me alot. He's a San Diego boy, and he's been telling me about how much he loves it."
• He said that UCLA hasn't done anything wrong, he just doesn't want to second guess himself.
• His final list is UCLA, Florida, Michigan, and Miami.
• An interesting side note: He has a lot of family in Florida, and confirmed that if he committed to Florida, his family might move there.

It seems like Florida has the best shot, but he seemed sincere when he said he has a strong feeling towards Michigan. Since he's never been on campus, you never know. The coaches have definitely shown him they want him, and he mentioned that it means a lot that they're showing so much interest. He'll visit Florida on November 28th and will decide shortly after.

I'm not sure if this is news or not, but it kind of sounds newsy. Sort of.

[press release]

U-M Receives Notice of Inquiry from NCAA

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman today (Monday, Oct. 26) announced that the University has received a "Notice of Inquiry" from the NCAA, indicating it will continue its investigation of allegations made about the U-M's intercollegiate athletics football program. The investigation is being conducted in cooperation with the University.

Statement from U-M President Mary Sue Coleman

"As I said at the onset of this review, we place the highest importance on the well-being of our student-athletes and the integrity of our program. We continue to work with the NCAA to ensure that a thorough and objective investigation occurs."

Statement from U-M Director of Athletics Bill Martin

"We continue to cooperate with the NCAA on this matter, which is why we reached out to both the Big Ten and the NCAA as soon as we heard the allegations. We remain committed to following both the letter and the intent of the NCAA rules."

[/press release]

I don't think this means anything other than "there is an investigation," but I could be wrong. I'm sort of on the radio (LINDA!) at the moment so can't research if this is serious or not.

Rich Rodriguez

• Injuries: David Molk has a torn ACL and is out until the summer. He will have surgery and miss spring practice. David Moosman will start at center for the rest of the year, and Rocko Khoury and Tim McAvoy will get more reps at center as well. Martavious Odoms is day-to-day with a knee injury. There is no ligament tear, and they're expecting him back. Junior Hemingway has a knee bruise, and he's day-to-day. Brandon Minor bruised his heel (on the opposite leg that has been giving him ankle problems this year). He's day-to-day as well.
• Defensively, there were more technical errors and missed assignments than usual. Sometimes, it's a matter of guys trying to do too much and losing responsibility. The coaches are always evaluating every scheme and personnel choice. Sometimes adjustments work, and sometimes they don't. Rodriguez has full confidence in the defensive coaching staff.
• Denard and Tate are both naturally confident young men. Struggling in games may rattle their confidence a bit, and it's up to the coaches to bring it back up. They can't worry about dropped balls, and should only be concerned with what they can fix. They are still learning to use their eyes properly on passing plays.
• Holding is a point of emphasis for the referees this year. Rodriguez has seen a lot of calls that he doesn't agree with this year - both in favor of and against Michigan. Another thing Rodriguez is upset about is being called for too many men in the backfield. The team was lined up properly and still got called on Saturday - he'll send that play in to the conference for review.
• The coaches can see the places on the team where talent is lacking. They'll develop the younger guys, but also address the talent issue in the next two recruiting classes. They'll primarily recruit high schoolers, partially because it's difficult for Junior College credits to transfer to Michigan.
• Illinois is a pretty good team, they've just been unlucky at times. They're still very talented.

Ryan Van Bergen

• On a down-to-down basis, the defense isn't bad. It's the big plays that have really hurt Michigan this year. Everyone needs to lay their assignments to reduce the big-lay threat of opposing offenses.
• Van Bergen and Molk are roommates, and Molk's injury is unfortunate, but "it's a part of the game." Molk will help the team vocally since he can't do it on the field.
• The defensive line is a tight-knit group, and they're fun to play with. If Brandon Graham happens to win a postseason award, he's promised to give the credit to the rest of the defensive linemen.
• The comments from Penn State that the defense looked confused about where to line up were inaccurate. The team knew what they were doing, and some of the movement was shifting to confuse Penn State's offensive line.
• Illinois is still similar on offense to what they were last year. Despite the numbers, they still have explosive potential. They make a lot of mistakes though, and Michigan will have to capitalize on that.

David Moosman

• Moosman is ready to help the team by moving to center full-time. He needs to calm down and remain collected to succeed at center, since he has to direct the entire offensive line. Hopefully, he got all the bad plays out of his system already.
• The snap through the endzone was the culmination of a bad series by the OL and the offense in general. There was a miscommunication between Tate and Moosman, and Moosman takes the blame for the safety.
• Since Moosman went to high school outside Chicago, he was asked if he was interest in going to school at Illinois. "I visited Illinois, saw what it was all about, and decided to come here." ICE BURN.

Carlos Brown

• Carlos's health is good. The headaches from the concussion have gone away. Brown also had "another issue" in spring ball, related to a head injury.
• The team struggled with the little things against Penn State, and it all added up to result in the loss. Part of that was the fumbling. Brown made a mistake to switch carrying hands on his own fumble. Fred Jackson has a lot of ball security drills that he'll make the players go through this week.
• Carlos doesn't think Tate Forcier has hit a "freshman wall." He's still the same player he was through the first 4 games of the season, and he's going to pick up that pace again.
• With Carlos's career almost over, it's crazy to think that he only has 4 or 5 games left. The team's goal has to be making a bowl game to extend to the 5th game. Brown's first career start came against Illinois, and he's hoping to have a good time down there this weekend.

Troy Woolfolk

• Woolfolk didn't mind switching back and forth between corner and safety during the game Saturday. The package where he plays safety and Cissoko comes onto the field is called the SWAT package by Greg Robinson. It's designed to get the best pass coverage onto the field. Sometimes when the defense lines up in man coverage, it's the CB's decision to press the receiver or play off.
• The Penn State game wasn't a matter of one or two plays changing the result. Unlike Michigan State and Iowa, the Wolverines were just outplayed for 4 quarters. It was a definite eye-opener for the team to have that happen.
• The defense is capable of greatness, but they just aren't consistent enough. "We allow people to score [with mistakes], it's not that they're scoring on us." If MIchigan can eliminate the little errors, this could be a good defense. There wasn't confusion for the team, just guys not fully executing their assignments.
• Woolfolk has thought about returning kicks since he's one of the fastest guys on the team. However, in his only KR experience in high school, he muffed the ball and the other team recovered. His high school teammate Darryl Stonum told the Michigan coaches to avoid putting Troy back to take kicks.
• Arrelious Benn is a very physical and strong receiver - Woolfolk joked that the DBs will have to get in a lot of reps on the bench press this week. Illinois overall is a big, hard-nosed team. Michigan can't have execution errors and expect to win.

Per Tim's press conference twitter, David Molk has a torn ACL and will miss the rest of the season. Here's a kitten:

Feeling better? No? Oh.

I assume Michigan will go back to the line configuration they used last month when Molk was out with a broken foot. Left to right, that was Ortmann, Schilling, Moosman, Huyge, and Dorrestein. First guy off the bench now is probably John Ferrara, who saw some time in the Iowa game when Huyge wasn't playing well or had a minor injury.

Though Molk missed a ton of time and saw only three plays before getting knocked out against Penn State, he's not eligible for a medical redshirt. One play against PSU killed any possibility of that, and medical redshirts are only available for players who haven't already taken a normal redshirt. There is some possibility the NCAA might provide a hardship waiver if Molk suffers another season-ending injury, but even that's doubtful.