make stoops

via Twitter

Well, finally.

Sam Webb, Chris Balas, and others are reporting Michigan has come to terms with Kentucky defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale to be the Wolverines' new defensive pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach.

Michigan had one name on everybody’s lips when co-DC/cornerbacks coach Maurice Linguist, hired just last January, couldn’t pass up an opportunity to be the head coach of Buffalo. It was the same name bandied about before Linguist was hired. And the same name this site was all but banging the table for a year before that, when Chris Partridge departed for Ole Miss and Michigan ended up replacing him with Bob Shoop. It’s also one of very few names you could be reading at the top of this post that might actually make you feel better than Linguist did, especially when it came to guys Michigan could find in mid-May.

Fist pump away. This was Michigan’s first choice when they lost Linguist, and you could make the case he should have been the top choice all along.

COACHING

His coverages at Kentucky have been a mix. Stoops has always been a Cover 3 guy, but they played a lot of Cover 2 the last few years, especially against even formations. They tend to sit back and look for picks instead of playing tight. When opponents go trips or have two backs, the Cats fall back on good ol’ Cover 3.

Before Clinkscale, this didn’t translate, but once the talent arrived the results were incredible. From my post on candidates yesterday:

SIGNIFICANT STATS: Passing defense YPA (sack-adjusted) under Clink:

KENTUCKY:

2015 (prior): 6.30, #70 ovr, #12 SEC

2016: 6.72, #83 Ovr, #11 SEC

2017: 6.69, #87 Ovr, #12 SEC

2018: 5.21, #21 Ovr, #4 SEC

2019: 5.08, #10 Ovr, #3 SEC

2020: 6.43, #64 Ovr, #6 SEC

CINCINNATI:

2012 (prior): 5.81, #39 Ovr, #4 Big East

2013: 5.34, #14 Ovr, #2 American

2014: 6.25, #70 Ovr, #7 American

2015: 6.49, #80 Ovr, #5 American

How much of that was Clinkscale’s work is unknown—UK head coach Mark Stoops was a defensive backs coach. Their efforts paid off in four UK defensive backs drafted over the last three years, after the school hadn’t sent a member of its secondary to the pros since 2012.

[Recruiting analysis after THE JUMP]

This Week in the Twitterverse takes a look at the social media happenings of the previous week, or whatever else I feel like talking about. Mostly I make fun of people who are better at things than I am. No purchase necessary, void where prohibited. Consult your doctor if this column lasts more than four hours. If you come across anything you think should be in next week's column, send it to @Bry_Mac.

So… how’s things?

It finally happened. We ran out of things to talk about.

I'm not saying we've covered most of the ground worth covering. Or that we've discussed all the interesting topics of the day. I'm saying that we have literally exhausted all topics of rational communication. You want proof? This was the national media on Tuesday:

CNN

Via

Bayless

Via

We've crossed the Rubicon into the land of blather. What’s worse, we've still got ten weeks to go before the season kicks off, and six weeks before we even get to fall camp. Even pro basketball and hockey will be over in a matter of days, and we'll be left all alone with baseball and our thoughts. This is gonna suck.

This is also a very dangerous time for student athletes; screw something up, and it'll be talked about for weeks. Case in point, Johnny Manziel. Senor Juanito del Futbol lashed out publicly and viciously against his adopted town of College Station, and basically threatened to bail.

Manziel College Station

Manziel obviously had some kind of blowout with the coaching staff, or a teammate, or the A&M administration, or a roving band of Vikings or something. 

Or he was pissed about a parking ticket. Yep, Johnny was nailed for parking the wrong way on the street in front of his house and having overly tinted windows. If everyone had known this from the beginning, we would have responded with the far more appropriate "MANZEEL BREAKS LAWS AND DOESN'T RESPECT AUTHORITAH" outrage, instead of the “OMG MANZEEL IS A CANCER TO TEH TEAM” outrage. But you have to feel a little bad for Manziel; everything the kid does is scrutinized so closely, and people assume the most outlandish interpretation of everything he does unless otherwise noted. If Twitter had been around when I was in college, I would probably have been investigated by Homeland Security for my threats to “blow Ann Arbor off the face of the planet, you meter-hawking bastards.”

[After the jump, another recruit does a Treadwell.]