ole miss
i don't even own a gun, Ole Miss, let alone the many guns it would take to necessitate an entire rack. what am i gonna do with a gun rack? [Bryan Fuller]
The various single elimination tournaments are over. The spring game is this weekend. And Shea Patterson remains in eligibility limbo a month and a half after Michigan's case for his immediate availability went to the NCAA. Every so often someone asks me if this is a bad sign.
It's not. The delay is entirely because Ole Miss is doing everything they can to continue screwing the 2016 recruits they lied to just before the relevant Signing Day. Michigan gave Ole Miss the whole package before they even sent it to the NCAA; Ole Miss, like the Michigan FOIA department, took every last nanosecond available before filing a reply. Their reply then required a reply:
Michigan’s petition to the NCAA on Patterson’s behalf was sent to Ole Miss, according to standard practice. Ole Miss had the option to not respond but chose to file its objection to the NCAA on March 28. Patterson has since supplied answers to questions the NCAA asked regarding issues Ole Miss raised.
And so we're here, waiting for Shea Patterson and summer. When Shea Patterson is eligible it will stop snowing.
But none of this should impact what looks like a slam dunk. Ole Miss's problem—one of Ole Miss's many problems—is that they didn't just lie to their recruits. They lied to anyone who would listen, planting a series of credulous stories from friendly local reporters. This move backfired spectacularly when Houston Nutt sued Ole Miss, winning a settlement and a public apology for lying about their NCAA troubles. This is literally a thing Ole Miss said in public because of a lawsuit:
“Certain statements made by University employees in January 2016 appear to have contributed to misleading media reports about Coach Nutt,” Ole Miss said in a statement without a specific name attached. “To the extent any such statements harmed Coach Nutt’s reputation, the University apologizes, as this was not the intent.”
In addition to this, Michigan submitted reams of communication between Shea Patterson and various other Ole Miss athletic department employees; five other 2016 recruits seeking immediate eligibility are telling parallel stories to the NCAA.
Ole Miss's NCAA case is over. The NCAA itself has declared that Ole Miss was lying. Hugh Freeze is fired, in part because of Ole Miss's institutional decision to lie about that case. Ole Miss can gain nothing by denying the obvious, and after discovery in the Nutt case it is very, very obvious:
In Mars’ work as counsel for Nutt and, later, the transfers, he revealed Freeze’s misinformation campaign was initiated when Ole Miss received a notice of allegations from the NCAA two years ago. Mars uncovered through text messages, phone logs and interviews, how Freeze and the athletic department launched a plan to mislead media and football recruits — including Patterson — telling them the bulk of the violations involved women’s basketball and track and that Nutt was responsible for issues regarding the football program.
This has been to NCAA court. It has been to real court. Ole Miss has gotten a pie in the face both times. Even the wildly unpredictable NCAA shouldn't be able to screw this up.
The length of time here is more about the unprecedented amount of information that's been submitted here, the likelihood that the NCAA is regarding these six appeals as one larger decision, and Ole Miss's final middle finger to college football before once again descending into irrelevance. If Patterson doesn't get a waiver nobody can ever get a waiver.
Rather thought we'd have a hello post by now
Ahhh, that’s beautiful. @SheaPatterson_1 pic.twitter.com/NSOiHZkf0j
— Kyle Callahan (@kylecallahan14) December 10, 2017
The watched pot in which three potential Ole Miss transfers has failed to come to a boil and boy do I regret this metaphor right now but not as much as the people slowly cooking to death. What?
Anyway: QB Shea Patterson, WR Van Jefferson, and S Deontay Anderson all took in Michigan's comeback win over UCLA. All are expected to end up at Michigan, per Sam Webb and the rest of humanity with an opinion. You should be "amazingly optimistic" about Patterson per Webb; he also has a gut feeling about the other two but "red tape" is going to hold things up a little bit. Anderson will commit to Michigan, per Andrew Vailliencourt, but is waiting to announce until Michigan gets his transcripts and officially admits him. Vailliencourt tracked Anderson down for an interview; he remains optimistic that he and his cohort will be immediately cleared:
Although not officially declared eligible yet for next season, Anderson is highly confident that he will be cleared for next season — as well as both Patterson and Jefferson. The three share a lawyer.
“I’m very optimistic about it,” Anderson said. “We’re still waiting to hear from the NCAA, but they’ve been on our side the last couple weeks about it, so I don’t have any doubt in my mind.”
Jefferson is the only Ole Miss guy who made it up who has not been the subject of a direct assertion he is coming, pending transcripts. He is definitely gone from Ole Miss, per 247 Rebel guy Ben Garrett. And Webb is asserting that you should be optimistic. He's probably in; just not official.
BTW, Garrett is asserting that seven guys are absolutely gone from Oxford with another four on the fence. Greg Little is not one of them. Alas. He's just going to play out his last year and head to the draft posthaste, it appears, and doesn't want to muck around with maybe being eligible or maybe not.
Dual commit Thursday?
Thursday will be big for headline writers covering M and ND
GA TE Tommy Tremble has set an announce date. Folks who read the header will be unsurprised to find that it is Thursday. Tremble's coming off a visit to UCLA. The Bruins, UGA, Michigan, and Notre Dame are the finalists. Michigan is confident, per Lorenz. Tom Loy says he thinks it's Notre Dame, but it's close. Georgia is just a hat on the table; Tremble's dad was a UGA safety who had a cup of coffee in the NFL. It doesn't seem like UGA has a spot for him.
An enthusiastic gent like Loy thinking it's close is a good sign for Michigan. Meanwhile on the podcast I asked Steve if Michigan might sacrifice a third TE in this class to make room for the Ole Miss transfers. He shot that down, noting that Michigan is going after Tremble very hard. He didn't tip his hand as all in an interview with Rivals.
Also committing Thursday—maybe—is GA ATH Michael Barrett. Per Josh Newkirk, Barrett wants to commit on the 14th, his birthday. Wiltfong has a CB in for Michigan; Barrett is apparently deciding between an ATH offer from Michigan and a QB offer from Georgia Tech. Because he's a GT QB, man:
Michigan's been pursuing Barrett for most of the recruiting cycle—here's an early June post from Lorenz that asserts he's at the top of Michigan's board at RB. Barrett shouldn't be looked at as a late sleeper Michigan is forced into taking because of misses elsewhere. They've got two backs in the class, they've been after this kid for months. They just like him. He could end up at RB, as a Jaylen Samuels-style H-back, viper, linebacker, or even safety.
Other uncommitted officials
Michigan also hosted two OL over the weekend. Barrett's teammate and GA OL Jalen Goss came up and geared up...
Had A Great Official Visit With bro 〽️@mikebarrett_MB1 pic.twitter.com/TquGBcw0Ak
— Jalen Goss (@Almighty__jayy4) December 10, 2017
...and still kept everyone in the dark. Nobody's talked to him since. Or before, really. He's a ninja.
What we do know: at 6'7", 275, Goss is in the Frey mold as a big, rangy, athletic tackle. He decommitted from Florida in June. (Prescient.) Since he's been to Auburn multiple times and just set a late January official to Miami. Just based on his visit itinerary—nothing outside of the South except Michigan—this one seems like an uphill battle. If Barrett does commit his pull might be Michigan's best shot with him.
ASU decommit and CA OL Jarrett Patterson is a more likely bet. He's more or less down to UCLA and Michigan. Brandon Huffman caught up with him after his visit, which he said the usual positive things about when not implying that Arizona State players live in a cloud castle with bouncers:
"What stood out most was the football players even spend time with regular students," said Patterson. "Everyone is interconnected and the players are all laid back guys."
UCLA is this weekend and Patterson will decide between the two schools in January. Patterson sounds like a late riser and possibly a candidate to play early:
Sun Devil Source’s Chris Karpman called Patterson “one of the polished performers at this stage of development,” and added, “the coaching that Patterson is getting at the high school level leaps off the film and is going to make for an easier transition to college football than the vast majority of his peers.”
I'd imagine Michigan would take both him and Petit-Frere.
""They're going to need a bigger boat" –Ace Anbender" –Brian Cook
I promised Ace that I would Michael Scott him about this development, the biggest Happy Trails of all time.
I am 1000% committed to the university of Minnesota. Please respect my decision. #RTB #SkiUMah pic.twitter.com/1VkgjpiaVR
— Daniel Faalele (@DanielFaalele_) December 10, 2017
The impossible dream has died and committed to Minnesota, where he will team up with Vic Viramontes as PJ Fleck tries to assemble a team comprised entirely of weird MGoBlog recruiting obsessions. No doubt he's trying to arrange a LEVITICUS PAYNE transfer as we speak.
Etc.
Name alert: 2021(!) instate OL Rocco Spindler. You may remember Marc Spindler from his Lions days; that's his dad.
Baumgardner talks to MI OL commit Jalen Mayfield.
FL QB commit Joe Milton dropped almost 100 spots in the latest Rivals revamp; he now sits 189th. Can't argue with that given his stats. Happy trails to CA S Bryan Addison, who picked UCLA. At least now when someone picks UCLA over Michigan it makes some level of sense. Losing guys to Jim Freakin' Mora was a drag.
Michigan will practice at Berkeley Prep in preparation for the Outback Bowl. Berkeley Prep is the home of former Michigan kicker Garrett Rivas... and five star FL OL Nicholas Petit-Frere.
This should make the Internet fun for a minute pic.twitter.com/YmCdTMnQm5
— Chase Parham (@RivalsChase) December 5, 2017
Shea Patterson and friends watch. It's happening? I mean. Can't throw a rock without hitting someone who says SOURCES are telling him that Shea Patterson is a lock for Michigan and possibly as soon as this weekend. Sam Webb's put in a crystal ball, which he hastens to say is not a Gut Feeling, and here's the Blade's Michigan beat writer:
Sources: Michigan is the front-runner to land Shea Patterson, and the Ole Miss QB expects to be eligible to play immediately.
— Kyle Rowland (@KyleRowland) December 6, 2017
It's happening.
Probably also happening: Van Jefferson and Deontay Anderson. Both guys are coming up this weekend. Highlights of Patterson throwing to Jefferson in 2016, when Jefferson was a redshirt freshman:
Enjoy @VanJefferson12's freshman highlights from last year. Love the way this guy plays. #12Days pic.twitter.com/FVWhGCK6vO
— Ole Miss Ink (@OleMissInk) August 21, 2017
He had 49 catches for 543 yards and was on pace to best that as a sophomore when he dislocated his elbow before the Texas A&M game.
That is likely it despite some overheated reports that up to seven Ole Miss players are interested in Michigan. Taking the three guys above already stretches Michigan's scholarships pretty thin. Anyone who doesn't play tackle is in tough for playing time, and per Rashan Gary's mom Greg Little isn't interested. Gary and Little became friends over the course of their recruitment so that's as good a source as any.
The other guys mentioned haven't set visits and it's unclear that Michigan would be interested in them.
Why wasn't it Cracker Barrel though? For some reason, Harbaugh flying down to see guys he might have on his football team caused the internet to blow up. Harbaugh claps back at Mark Dantonio? Go crazy, guys. Harbaugh does a thing literally all football coaches do dozens of times a year with high school players? Maybe let that one slide.
What do you say, internet?
Actually, it's very cool and good that Ole Miss got in trouble for loaner cars but a multi-millionaire can fly a private jet into Oxford to recruit players away from the team. Very cool. Very good. https://t.co/YS4mD9r79b
— Red Cup Cooperation (@RedCupRebellion) December 5, 2017
Ah, still internet I see.
A fairly good defense. Michigan lands four guys in the PFF All Big Ten defense, and three of them return:
The 2017 PFF All-B1G First Team Defense pic.twitter.com/L4XCrJ11TY
— PFF College Football (@PFF_College) December 5, 2017
Two more guys couldn't have been far off that list given this stat:
Lowest passer rating when targeted among B1G CBs?
— PFF College Football (@PFF_College) November 30, 2017
How about Michigan's duo? pic.twitter.com/kBJsmwXOIN
Personally, I'd take the CBs who whooped up on Simmie Cobbs over the one who got whooped until he got a safety bracket, but Michigan's guys were probably hurt by a lack of volume.
Add in Rashan Gary to the five returning guys in the above tweets and you've got quite a platform to build on.
Missed tackles: nah. Josh Liskiewitz, one of PFF's Big Ten evaluators, was grilled by Iowa fans because Josey Jewell was omitted from the team above. This spawned an interesting twitter thread in which Liskiewitz defended himself with various stats he'd compiled. The most interesting from a Michigan fan's perspective:
[he == Jewell, FWIW]
This is true to an extent, but among #B1G LBs he ranked 38th in tackling efficiency, which takes into account misses per attempt. By comparison, #Boilermakers LB Ja'Whuan Bentley had more total tackles than Jewell and half the MTs. Devin Bush missed just 3 total.
— Josh Liskiewitz (@PFF_Josh) December 6, 2017
Jewell had an 86 grade—which would have made him first team All-SEC or All-Pac12, but finished 9th(!) in the Big Ten. We assume that Tegray Scales, Jason Cabinda, and Ryan Connelly are three of the five guys in front of Jewell, FWIW.
Peters cleared; Black a maybe. Brandon Peters is good to go for bowl practices and the game, per Harbaugh. I assert that he will start. Yes, I assert that. Here's a randomly depressing stat!
Prior to the injury, Peters was 37 of 64 for 486 yards passing in five games, including three starts. He's thrown a team-high four touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Sweet fancy Moses.
In other bowl injury news, Tarik Black is back in practice and could play in the bowl game. Harbaugh says he's "leaning towards not doing it," and, I mean... don't. Michigan's in a good spot in the bowl game without him and a potential fifth year is far more valuable than whatever marginal bonus chance at a bowl win he provides.
Good luck, whoever you are. South Carolina has axed their offensive coordinator. Er, their co-offensive coordinator Kurt Roper. The other guy, Bryan McClendon, is at least temporarily the only cook in the Gamecock kitchen. He is 33 years old and facing down Don Brown with one of the worst offenses in the country. Good luck with that, sir.
FALSE. I love Harbaugh but this is a bad take he should feel bad about:
"My reaction is that there should be more than four teams in the playoffs," Harbaugh told reporters. "Again, I want to reiterate: 8 teams, 12 teams, 16 teams. Sixteen would be ideal in the playoffs."
For one, a team that reached the finals is playing 17 games. For two, the urgency of the regular season is obliterated if last year's Michigan team finishes their season they way they did and still gets in.
Add one fan. ESPN's Sarah Spain has been on a journey across college football to find a team to root for, and she stopped by the MGoTailgate before the OSU game last week:
Saturday morning I headed out to meet one of my hosts for the day, Gordie Fall (named in honor of Gordie Howe), at the famous MGoBus. The tailgate featured craft beer from Wolverine State Brewing Company, loads of breakfast food and, of course, the maize and blue MGoBus owned by Matt and Sara Demorest. While I was there, I learned more about life on campus and the UM scene with Brian Cook and Seth Fisher, of popular Michigan sports site MGoBlog.com. I also met former Wolverines running back Vincent Smith (you may remember him from this), who's now running community gardens in Flint, Michigan, and his hometown of Pahokee, Florida, to increase access to healthy foods, reduce juvenile crime and use gardening-based intervention to curtail violence. Very cool.
Adam was also there! Adam doesn't talk much. Thanks to everyone else's contributions but certainly not ours, Michigan was the pick. Welcome, Sarah. Prepare to be called a Walmart Wolverine despite going to Cornell.
Etc.: More on Dave Brandon The Program's first press conference with chief gobbledygook purveyor Herm Edwards. A timeline of Jimbo Fisher's unprecedented move. John Beilein gets shots up. Chris Collins tells a bald-faced lie in a postgame press conference. It remains impressive how many NU internet people openly loathe the guy who got them their first NCAA tourney bid.
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