wolverines in the nfl

New Jersey's finest [Patrick Barron]

As expected since committing on Signing Day 2016, Rashan Gary will be playing in the NFL next year. The top overall recruit of his class helped establish Michigan as a premier destination after Harbaugh's first year. After a season backing up Chris Wormley, when not sidelined by/playing through a nagging shoulder injury, Gary was quietly dominant as Michigan's starting Anchor for two seasons.

Since Gary's draft stock is already well established, and given his injury history this year and last, it seems doubtful he will play in the bowl game. I'm sure the vast majority of Michigan fans will understand and wish him the best of luck in what will assuredly be a fantastic pro career.

In his time at Michigan Gary's work ethic and leadership were by all accounts on par with his ludicrous talent. Though it's sad the injuries meant we didn't get to see him Suh it up while in Ann Arbor, that season and many more good things will be coming his way. It was an honor to have him while we could.

Michigan awaits decisions from several other early-entry candidates, including Devin Bush, David Long, Lavert Hill, and Shea Patterson.

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they street clothes up so fast [Bryan Fuller]

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The Question:

Ace: You guys!

Seth: oh man.

“Scrambly and herping body control as a pass protection”

Ace: That killed me.

Seth: We should…

Ace: Yeah.

THE NFL DRAFT ROUNDTABLE!

1. Where do you think the Michigan guys (Hurst, Cole, McCray) will go? Best fit? Anyone else you think might catch on an NFL roster?

Ace: Mo Hurst should absolutely go in the first round now that his health is no longer a concern. One big shift in both college and the NFL recently is how much you need pass-rushing out of your defensive tackles; quarterbacks get the ball out so fast these days that having that much less ground to cover to generate pressure really makes a difference. Hurst may be the best pass-rushing DT in the draft and he’s no slouch against the run; the only thing that may keep him from going in the top half of the first round is he’s a touch undersized. I expect teams to regret passing on him for that reason.

Brian: NFL is such a passing league that Hurst should be the first DT off the board, but probably won't be.

Ace: Yeah, I’m surprised that Vita Vea—a 340-pound nose—is getting mocked higher in most places. I mean, I’m a homer, but I don’t think you really need those so much these days.

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If you’d rather have Mone we’ve got one but we think you’ll like Mo. [Fuller]

Brian: And since people are apparently going to take all the meh quarterbacks, I'll say he goes 14th to Walla Walla.

Seth: The "he'll be a third rounder because of his heart" story is debunked but still getting passed around, and I don't trust NFL execs to be smart enough to see past it. Which means he'll go to a smarter team but also might end up a very value pick in the late 1st.

Ace: I’m holding out sick hope the Lions take him and reel me back in. They could really use him, too.

Seth: What about Mason Cole? There's a lot of tape of him at left tackle, where he won't play, but not great tape of him at center.

Ace: I’m guessing Cole is going to go on the last day, somewhere in the 4-6 round range. He’s limited to center and didn’t really blow away the combine.

Also, NFL DTs are stronk.

Brian: And he has not displayed any stretch ability, which should be his calling card.

Ace: NFL teams will take on serious OL projects. Problem with Cole is there’s an obvious ceiling and I’m not sure it’s much higher than backup center.

Brian: I think teams are going to see his film at C against McDowell and Colorado's Josh Tupou and knock him down their boards.

Ace: Same here.

[After THE JUMP: we are hard on the Lions, harder on the Browns, hardest on the NFL]

MORE THAN 8 YEARS IN THE NFL IS A LONG TIME

Boom: chart! by LSA on how long an NFL draftee is expected to last.

NFLDraft4_zpsoyfen1bn

The blip is explainable by what's been going on with NFL rookie contracts. The maximum contract for a  rookie used to be seven years (hence the peak), but since 2011 every rookie contract has been four years with a team option for a fifth on 1st rounders.

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Click for big

That CBA made rookie contracts way less complicated and appreciably more team-friendly. An unintended side effect of this has been teams trying to rid themselves of those pre-2011 agreements while holding onto more recent draftees longer than they would otherwise.

Since the rough years in Ann Arbor have now stretched longer than what's typical for any NFL career, the Michigan guys still playing are particularly old. I remember making all-Michigan teams in early Playstation versions of Madden. Try that now and you can squeeze together a one-deep plus Henne, Fitz, Will Campbell, and Cam Gordon on the bench (I 'm using Mundy for now but if you figure Stevie Brown will sign somewhere you can swap them out).

SMART FOOTBALL ON HARBAUGH

It's scheme month on the Solid Verbal Podcast so Smart Football (Chris Brown) has been on. This already is relevant to your interests. But this week's show was on Harbaugh so…

Go to the 47 minute mark to get to the Harbaugh. Dnak at the link provided the bullets for "Bo Schembechler football with Jon Gruden's playbook." Dnak also questioned the suggestion that Fisch is going to be running the offense, a prospect Chris is down on. I do think Jedd's "passing game coordinator" title is legit but Drevno is calling plays, as he did well enough in San Diego, and it's still Harbaugh's scheme and Harbaugh's plans, and Harbaugh's metaphorical nose in the huddle.

Earlier they're talking about Mariota vs. Winston and Chris is asked "In 2015 what's a Pro Style offense and what's a Spread?" and he just rips apart the labels, before using them anyway because we still don't have better to describe two slider setting extremities.

Speaking to what you do with a quarterback, until you've got a Tom Brady/Peyton Manning who in Chris's words is "seeing the Matrix", you design a passing game you can teach and your quarterback can operate. Dials include footwork (shotgun, 3-, 5- and 7-step drops), pre-snap reads, post-snap decision trees, and of course whether his feet are going to be part of the offense. Start with the knobs he's good at, and slowly turn up others as the QB adjusts.

The biggest point is "it all works" as long as your offense puts stress on the defense. The classic example of exactly what you shouldn't do then hangs in the air like a wet Borges fart. It is annoying that Brown excitedly brings up our two chief rivals as examples of cutting edge while the commentary on Michigan's offense is "this stuff may be old but it still works." May it kick ass so the smart coach-y people have to explain why.

[After jump: Austin Davis, night games and the Freekbass Quotient of invitees, why we're all A's fans now]