preseason nit

You can jump now Steve:

Michigan has finally posted their rosters with new weights and freshman numbers and such. I haven't included spring weights this year since they didn't update those on the roster; listed weights as recruits or early enrollees are in the 2015 column, with the recruits in parentheses. The exits of Canteen and Pallante have been covered.

Remember the rules:

• All weight gain is burly muscle that won't slow them down AT ALL
• All weight loss is a guy in the best shape of his life who's going to do crazy fast things as his new svelte self.

NEW RULE FROM NOW UNTIL THE END OF HARBAUGH:

• Believe any of it at your own risk. Harbaugh wouldn't hesitate to list Nate Johnson 6'11"/375 pounds if he thought the confusion might gain a yard this year.

TO THE SPREADSHEETS:

Quarterbacks
Player	2013	Fall 2014	Spring 2015	Fall 2015	Fall 2016	13 to 14	14 to 15	15 to 16
Shane Morris	201	204	209	208	213	+3	+4	+5
Wilton Speight		234	235	239	243		+5	+4
Alex Malzone			218	222	224			+2
John O'Korn				209	215			+6
Brandon Peters				205	216			+11
Running Backs
Player	2013	Fall 2014	Spring 2015	Fall 2015	Fall 2016	13 to 14	14 to 15	15 to 16
Drake Johnson	213	211	207	210	201	-2	-1	-9
De'Veon Smith	224	220	228	228	228	-4	+8	-
Ty Isaac		225	240	228	230		+3	+2
Karan Higdon			190	189	189			-
Kareem Walker				210	207			-3
Chris Evans				(181)	200			(+19)
Kingston Davis				225	245			+20
Fullbacks
Player	2013	Fall 2014	Spring 2015	Fall 2015	Fall 2016	13 to 14	14 to 15	15 to 16
Bobby Henderson	227	236	240	245	242	+9	+9	-3
Khalid Hill	258	252	252	263	263	-6	+11	-
Henry Poggi	260	270	273	266	257	+10	-4	-9
Receivers
Player	2013	Fall 2014	Spring 2015	Fall 2015	Fall 2016	13 to 14	14 to 15	15 to 16
Amara Darboh	212	211	216	215	215	-1	+4	-
Jehu Chesson	196	197	207	200	203	+1	+3	+3
Drake Harris		176	174	181	188		+5	+7
Maurice Ways		195	205	210	217		+15	+7
Grant Perry			185	184	196			+12
Kekoa Crawford				(175)	195			(+20)
Ahmir Mitchell				205	205			-
Nate Johnson				(174)	185			(+11)
Eddie McDoom				(170)	180			(+10)
Tight Ends
Player	2013	Fall 2014	Spring 2015	Fall 2015	Fall 2016	13 to 14	14 to 15	15 to 16
Jake Butt	237	249	248	250	250	+12	+1	-
Ian Bunting		227	243	252	252		+25	-
Tyrone Wheatley			260	291	276			-15
Zach Gentry			230	244	244			-
Nick Eubanks				(208)	236			(+28)
Devin Asiasi				(253)	287			(+34)
Sean McKeon				230	240			+10
Offensive Line
Player	2013	Fall 2014	Spring 2015	Fall 2015	Fall 2016	13 to 14	14 to 15	15 to 16
Kyle Kalis	302	298	292	305	305	-4	+7	-
Erik Magnuson	285	294	296	305	305	+9	+11	-
Ben Braden	318	322	331	322	335	+4	-	+13
Patrick Kugler	287	299	297	302	303	+12	+3	+1
David Dawson	297	296	309	316	325	-1	+20	+9
Mason Cole		292	287	305	305		+13	-
J. Bushell-Beatty		319	319	325	311		+6	-14
Grant Newsome			280	300	318			+18
Jon Runyan Jr.			275	304	304			-
Nolan Ulizio			293	291	291			-
Michael Onwenu				(367)	350			(-17)
Stephen Spanellis				(330)	335			(+5)
Ben Bredeson				(280)	310			(+30)
Defensive Line
Player	2013	Fall 2014	Spring 2015	Fall 2015	Fall 2016	13 to 14	14 to 15	15 to 16
Ryan Glasgow	300	296	297	300	299	-4	+4	-1
Chris Wormley	289	295	300	303	302	+6	+8	-1
Matthew Godin	280	286	287	288	294	+6	+2	+6
Taco Charlton	270	275	273	285	272	+5	+10	-13
Maurice Hurst	270	282	281	282	282	+12	-	-
Chase Winovich		220	227	235	245		+15	+10
Lawrence Marshall		241	238	250	268		+9	+18
Bryan Mone		312	325	320	310		+8	-10
Shelton Johnson			225	212	212			-
Reuben Jones			225	222	222			-
M. Dwumfour				(282)	300			(+18)
Rashan Gary				(290)	287			(-3)
Ron Johnson				(221)	245			(+24)
Linebackers
Player	2013	Fall 2014	Spring 2015	Fall 2015	Fall 2016	13 to 14	14 to 15	15 to 16
Mike McCray	237	241	242	240	248	+4	-1	+8
Ben Gedeon	236	240	241	248	247	+4	+8	-1
Wyatt Shallman	237	239	244	245	242	+2	+6	-3
Jabrill Peppers		202	205	208	205		+6	-3
Noah Furbush		210	217	242	238		+32	-4
Jared Wangler		219	230	231	229		+12	-2
E. Mbem-Bosse				(228)	215			-13
Carlo Kemp				250	255			+5
Devin Gil				(204)	230			(+26)
Devin Bush Jr.				220	232			+12
Josh Uche				(217)	217			( – )
Safeties
Player	2013	Fall 2014	Spring 2015	Fall 2015	Fall 2016	13 to 14	14 to 15	15 to 16
Delano Hill	205	205	204	212	215	-	+7	+3
Dymonte Thomas	190	193	191	195	199	+3	+2	+4
Tyree Kinnel			200	201	206			+5
Khaleke Hudson				(204)	205			(+1)
Josh Metellus				(187)	204			(+17)
Cornerbacks
Player	2013	Fall 2014	Spring 2015	Fall 2015	Fall 2016	13 to 14	14 to 15	15 to 16
Jourdan Lewis	170	175	176	175	186	+5	-	+11
Channing Stribling	171	178	178	181	175	+7	+3	-6
Jeremy Clark	205	205	205	210	206	-	+5	-4
Brandon Watson		188	189	191	203		+3	+12
Keith Washington			175	170	170			-
David Long				(170)	187			(+17)
Lavert Hill				(173)	168			(-5)

[Things of GREAT IMPORTANT after the JUMP OF GREAT IMPORTANCE thing.]

On "Ohio" (not that OHIO). In 1995, Ohio sued OHIO(!!!) so they could use "Ohio" on shirts and stuff. Sweet Jesus that's a confusing sentence. A little clarity:

On Dec. 16, Ohio State University filed a petition with the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel Ohio University's trademark of "Ohio." The trademark, which was granted by the federal trademark office in 1995, applies to what is called a "secondary use" -- a use limited to university athletic events, entertainment and apparel.

In an op-ed run by The Dayton Daily News and The (Toledo) Blade, Ohio University Vice President for University Relations Adrie Nab said: "CNN, ESPN, the wire services, USA Today and most other national media refer in sports stories to Ohio University as 'Ohio,' just as they call Indiana University 'Indiana,' just as they call the University of Michigan 'Michigan.' The University of Michigan has a trademark for 'Michigan.' Indiana holds a trademark for 'Indiana.' Why shouldn't Ohio University hold a trademark for 'Ohio'?"

So call Ohio Ohio all you want. After all, Ohio tried to claim Ohio for its own, even taking it to the legal system when OHIO(!!!) wouldn't let them use "Ohio" for Ohio's desired purposes.

I'm going to lie down now and breathe into a paper bag.

LeVert visit. OHIO(!!!) decommit Caris Levert has scheduled some initial visits. There are three to Dayton, Purdue, and Michigan. "Xavier and maybe others" are also on the docket with a decision scheduled within a month. A Rivals dude claimed M, Purdue, and Iowa were LeVert's top three a couple days back.

Um… okay. An addendum to the BCS's anti-home-game arguments:

Where are people going to stay if Oregon hosts a semifinal game? In Portland?

Wherever they stay now? Also Portland is two hours away. I think people can deal. The BCS thinks this is an insurmountable logistical disaster.

Jason Kirk has some more details on the average capacity of a home semifinals, FWIW. Elsewhere, Dan Wetzel bombs the BCS boondoogle. This is a small portion of the money college football is burning by letting blazer-clad stripper enthusiasts run their postseason:

Major bowl games have the money. The most recent federal tax filings of Sugar Bowl Inc. show it ended its fiscal year with $34.2 million in assets, including $12.5 million in cash and $20.8 million in publicly traded securities. CEO Paul Hoolahan pocketed $593,718 in total compensation.

While financial numbers from this year aren't publicly available, the last time the Sugar Bowl "double hosted" – it's namesake game and the BCS title game – it did $34.1 million in revenue and turned an $11.6 million profit. Since the game enjoys a 501 (c) (3) non-profit status, that was all tax free.

The Sugar Bowl ran a 34% profit margin that year. I bet a dollar none of the four teams made out so well.

Compher impresses. I've been throwing links on the sidebar detailing the performances of Jacob Trouba and JT Compher at the U18 world championships that the USA just dominated to win their third-straight gold medal. Both impressed. Trouba was expected to, but as an underager no one really knew what to expect from Compher. They got a performance that belied his years:

J.T. Compher — The 1995-born center was a revelation in the tournament. His high-energy style, speed and grit make him a versatile threat. Not only does he possess the qualities of an energy-line type player, he also has offensive touch. Compher scored two goals, each coming in big games. He scored Team USA’s first goal in the semifinal against Canada and its third in the gold-medal game against Sweden. Compher has a good shot and decent enough puck skills, but he creates with his power and speed. His forechecking led to a few U.S. goals and his line with Frankie Vatrano and Matt Lane was probably Team USA’s most consistent in the tournament. It’s hard to believe Compher was an under-ager with the way he played this year. Draft eligible in 2013. Committed to the University of Michigan.

I still wish Michigan could pick up some of the little scoring dynamos Miami is bringing in. They had two in this tournament, one for 2012 and one 2013. Midgets with a mid-round NHL grade are a great opportunity to have a high-talent guy the NHL is willing to leave in college.

An odd path. Michigan fans were introduced to walk-on QB Alex Swieca when he came on late in the spring game. He's an interesting guy who took a path to Michigan football odder than anyone in recent memory:

With a passion for football that dates back to his early childhood, the Manhattan product started playing flag football in third grade and attended numerous tackle football camps as he got older. Growing up on the upper East Side, he had long desired to play collegiate football.

His aspiration to play tackle football was initially hindered when he entered the Frisch School, a Jewish day school in New Jersey that didn’t have a football team. Swieca decided to wrestle during his four years at Frisch, to quench his competitive drive. He continued to play football in recreational leagues, and attended camps during the summer.

After high school, Swieca deferred his enrollment to Michigan, opting to take a year to study in Israel. With the suggestion of his brother, Mike, Alex joined the Judean Rebels of the Israel Football League — a four-year-old amateur tackle football league in Israel that plays eight men on each side.

While taking academic courses during the day, Swieca traveled to Jerusalem twice a week for practice and traveled all over the country to play weekly Thursday night games.

He'd probably start at an ACC school with that Thursday night experience. Also I think the Judean Rebels should rename themselves the Judean People's Front as soon as possible.

NIT opponents, possibly. Other headliners in the Preseason NIT are Pitt, Kansas State, and Virginia. If that seems kind of weak, yeah. Michigan got a 4-seed last year, Kansas State an 8, Virginia a 10, and Pitt did not qualify for the tourney.

Despite losing Frank Martin, K-State does return almost everyone else, losing only a 6'7" guy who played 60% of KSU minutes. Virginia loses Mike Scott, a KPOY contender, and a starting guard. Pitt loses two starters as well. Pitt does have a strong recruiting class.

Even so, Michigan should be looking to win this thing.

JIM DELANY POWER RANKINGS.

1. Jim Delany again recounts the tale of the BTN's formation in which former ESPN CEO and notable failure Mark Shapiro taunts the B10 into action.

JIM DELANY FINGERBANG THREAT LEVEL: Shapiro sat across the table, smirking. Again. The little brat had just proposed a game show in which Big Ten coaches would perform Fear Factor-like stunts for the privilege of getting off ESPNU. "Take it," Shapiro said. "I can't guarantee this deal will be here tomorrow. You only have to wear the organ grinder outfit on gamedays."

Delany stares back blankly. Under the table, a fist with two raging fingers extended. The other hand soothingly caresses it. Soon, Delany thinks. Soon. Shapiro smirks. He has no other facial expression.

Yet.

Etc.: Brandon also shoots down the idea Michigan will return the Fab Five banners. Terry Richardson seems a bit more amenable to the idea of a redshirt these days. Witnesses seem to confirm the ballad of Josh Furman's lawyer. I'd guess he gets acquitted or whatever sticks is so minor it won't affect his availability this fall. UPDATE: Furman acquitted.

Zak Irvin scouting video.

Pulling guards are key for play action. Michigan did that plenty last year, but you kind of have to get a guy blocked to make it work.