junior vs ncaa: fight!

The Franklin thing in a nutshell. PSU's OL coach catching strays from Anonymous NFL OL Coach:

Penn State’s Olu Fashanu

“He’s extremely athletic for his size. Their system is hard to watch. You’ve gotta sift through that stuff. The guys shuffle. They play with high-pad level. They don’t snap and strike guys. But he’s got all the traits. He’s a good prospect.”

Phil Trautwein has been their OL coach since 2020, but PSU's grim OL goes back farther than that.

Also. A couple of Michigan takes from that article:

Michigan’s Michael Barrett

“This is a really good player someone will get in the fifth or sixth round. Just a tough-ass kid. He’s a junkyard dog. Plays faster than what he runs. I hate saying that because once you get to the NFL that stuff catches up to you, but I like him a lot. I think he’ll be a really good special teams player too.”

And on Sainristil:

On Michigan’s Mike Sainristil

DB Coach 2: “He is one of my favorites. The habits are just so good. I’m not leery of his size because I think he plays a lot bigger. I have no reservations about him. He’s so aggressive and plays the ball so well in the air. I think he uses his lack of size to an advantage because he’s super quick and he’s able to get around blocks and people can’t get their hands on him.”

Scout 1: “He’s one of the best football players on anybody’s board if he’s on their board. Some guys will think he’s too small. Some guys will take him too high. Really good zone nickel. Really good player. He’s versatile, but the size is a concern. I like big guys. If he adds to your culture, it makes sense.”

DB Coach 1: “I’m not as high on him as some people. I think he’s a really good zone nickel. He has all the production with his eyes on the quarterback. He’s really good at that but does that fit what you do at that position? To me the highest value of the nickel is, can he cover the slot? And you don’t really see that as his major skill set.”

[After the JUMP: additional basketball man?]

Sponsor Note. Well, here's a guy you may know.

Download the Autograph app, use the code "mgoblog", and you'll get all your Michigan content in one place, plus get rewarded for doing the things you're already doing. The more points you get, the more exclusive merch (like a signed Roman Wilson shirt), apparel (a custom shirt launching next week), and experiences (FAM tailgate tickets).

Do it now! It is the critical time! 

Don't you judge me. Hey, folks: some of this is pretty old. Non-Signgate roundup stuff got put on the back burner for obvious reasons. Do not yell at me for posting old stuff. It is rude.

Consistent but not explosive. This is from before the Purdue game, but I don't think the numbers from that game are going to change the bottom line here (click for big):

You've got Michigan with one of the best adjusted line yards in the country and a barely above average rate of highlight yards.

Better than "neither," though. I continue to wonder how PSU is going to move the ball on Michigan's defense:

Penn St has played Illinois, NW, and IU. The 3 worst defenses in yards per rush against in the B1G. 75th, 88th, 95th nationally. Here's how PSU did against them:

Illinois
Season: 4.2
Penn St: 4.1

Northwestern
Season: 4.35
Penn St: 3.4

Indiana
Season: 4.44
Penn St: 3.1

— jamie mac (@justcoverblog) October 30, 2023

51 points against Maryland is something to perk your ears up about but they only managed barely over 400 yards of offense against November Maryland and got a lot of scoring opportunities from turnovers; I'm expecting PSU to look about the same as they did against OSU. 

[After THE JUMP: draft prospects, crootin']

More Alston takes. This is not a sponsor note, but Richard Hoeg is a law-talking guy with an hour long podcast episode on the NCAA's "slow-motion suicide":

At the Ringer, Rodger Sherman:

Time and time again, the NCAA refuses to budge, even as its position becomes more untenable. They fought NIL to the bitter end, determined to keep athletes from receiving outside money even after it became clear that the NCAA’s side would lose. They fought in the Supreme Court to keep athletes from getting money for academic purchases, even though their argument was clearly legally doomed. The NCAA’s board of governors recently gave president Mark Emmert—a man who has dug in deep to keep the NCAA’s model alive, while also making a lot of other mistakes—a contract extension until 2025. (Like the Supreme Court’s decision, the choice to extend Emmert was also unanimous.) The NCAA remains fatalistically committed to its dying business model. They will happily drown, dragged to the bottom of the ocean with the last pennies they took from this system, rather than share a lifeboat with the athletes who play the games.

At CBS Sports, Matt Norlander:

The decision itself is not surprising. After the appeal for this case was heard in March, the questions and tones of the justices toward NCAA legal counsel indicated an anti-NCAA approach. The belief among the legal experts CBS Sports spoke with was that a 6-3 or perhaps even 7-2 decision in favor of Alston was most likely.

Instead, the NCAA got swept.

[After THE JUMP: Devante Jones floater time]