What "Hand to Michigan" would mean…..
THis is a Program Moment for Michigan. Dashawn Hand picking Michigan tommorrow (as most project) would give us the 2 top players in the ENTIRE COUNTRY. Hand is a player that could single handedly change the perception of Michigan and boost 2015 recruiting even higher. His decision has nothing to do with the on field play but would serve as a major SHOT in the arm from a program perspective.
There is a lot of pessimism floating around this board in general and maybe rightfully so. If Hand picks Michigan tommorrow I believe all of that will change. Look at this class coming in fellas. Look at the youth and talent on our roster. We have top 10 talent. We are a few coaches away from realizing top 10 status. I do think that we need to play more of our young talent earlier. That archaic ideology of senior men first all the time needs to be trashed.
Get excited fellas......tommorrow could be the turning point for the future of the program and I think Dashawn is wired a bit different than most #1 players. I for one believe that there is a strong possibility that Dashawn is blue tommorrow and this will be something that will bring ear to ear smiles across the country.
Go Blue and Beat Northwestern!
November 13th, 2013 at 5:07 PM ^
I think a Hand commitment + a win at Northwestern would be a nice shot in the arm for the program after a few bad weeks. Probably have a good shot at both
November 13th, 2013 at 5:14 PM ^
November 13th, 2013 at 11:04 PM ^
November 13th, 2013 at 5:09 PM ^
Some perspective . . . I remember when Big Will Campbell and his 5 stars were going to be the salvation of Michigan football. We looked out of it, but when he committed to us, we exploded with joy, relief, and Muppets.
You need good recruits, but one recruit is never going to define (or redifine) a program like Michigan.
November 13th, 2013 at 5:15 PM ^
But unlike then, we have a competent defensive coaching staff, who will likely maximize Hand's ability.
November 13th, 2013 at 5:31 PM ^
Really? Has the product on the field reflected that?
November 13th, 2013 at 5:35 PM ^
Well. We return 21 of our 24 on the two deep for next year. We played half the year without arguably our best player on the whole team. We have an offense that hasn't helped them out much. Yeah, our defense is just fine.
November 13th, 2013 at 5:39 PM ^
It's a B defense that got torched by Indiana, but pretty much everyone gets torched by Indiana. Hell, the monstrosity in East Lansing allowed 28 to those guys.
But a B defense that's this young SHOULD be at least an A- verginig on an A next year. Especially if Peppers pans out and we get Hand and he also pans out.
Anyway, what Hand to Michigan would mean is that Hoke/Mattison are excellent recruiters still, hooray! We need to see some development on the offensive side of the ball before that really matters. Or our top end becomes like, 2013 Sparty.
November 13th, 2013 at 6:11 PM ^
November 13th, 2013 at 7:03 PM ^
"Contention" if A LOT of things were to happen, aside from of course actually winning that ND game. They would have to beat Ohio State and pray 2 of 3 (Bama, FSU and Baylor) lose. Their horrendous schedule, bad offense and a list of narrow wins would probably make it a challenege for them to even jump a couple of the top notch 1-loss teams in the BCS, save them somehow blowing out OSU. I'm not so sure they're a flag away from being a serious contender.
November 13th, 2013 at 8:21 PM ^
What would Bama, Stanford, Ohio, Oregon, Baylor, etc. do to Sparty? MIght not be pretty.
November 13th, 2013 at 9:16 PM ^
thank god for notre dame.
November 13th, 2013 at 7:10 PM ^
A 'B' defense that returns 21 of 24 (or whatever was said above) is pretty damn good IMHO. They should be able to get to an A-/A level next year, and at that point you're just replacing departing seniors with guys that have been working in the same system for years. So you should be able to sustain that A level for a while.
Its a good place to be. /remembers RichRod's defeneses
November 13th, 2013 at 6:21 PM ^
People who say these things are really doing an effective job of blocking out Richrod era defense because it was so so bad then. I congratulate you on blocking it all out because we were so terrible.
The on the field product is night and day better
November 13th, 2013 at 7:21 PM ^
November 13th, 2013 at 7:40 PM ^
November 13th, 2013 at 8:18 PM ^
Our defensive staff has made us relevant again on that side of the ball and they are doing it with largely unheralded upperclassmen and a few highly sought after young guys. Our defense has the chance to be stellar and that right soon.
November 13th, 2013 at 5:17 PM ^
You do realize that no one has ever landed the #1 & #2 player (RIVALS) in the country in the same class.... I think this will be a lot different than a Will Campbell committment. Huge pick-up and talent shift if we do get Hand as well. Huge ordeal
November 13th, 2013 at 5:56 PM ^
nor do I remember him coming in with someone like Peppers and the rest of the class, which is no joke.
Sprinkle in Mattison and I think there is nothing here to be pessimistic about.
November 13th, 2013 at 5:59 PM ^
I respectfully disagree. What about Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck, Jadeveon Clowney, Collin Klein, Johnny Manziel? I think they're teams all take a decent drop without them on the team.
November 13th, 2013 at 6:10 PM ^
November 13th, 2013 at 6:50 PM ^
Do you see the pattern in the names you listed?
November 13th, 2013 at 6:03 PM ^
I respectfully disagree. What about Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck, Jadeveon Clowney, Collin Klein, Johnny Manziel? I think their teams all take a decent drop without them on the team.
November 13th, 2013 at 7:56 PM ^
Fans are so out of wack that they get 100 times more excited about a recruit than they do about a new coordinator hire, even though the coordinator is 100 times more important to the success of the team.
I will whistle dixie out my air hole with joy when Borges and Funk are replaced with Grade A coordinators. Till then, Love The Kids, But Program Dead To Me (TM).
November 13th, 2013 at 8:35 PM ^
why come to a website that covers that " dead to me" team?
November 14th, 2013 at 10:58 AM ^
So leave then?
People with their dramatic "I'm done watching Michigan football", "I'm selling all my tickets", "The program is dead to me" hyperbole. It's ridiculous.
November 13th, 2013 at 10:16 PM ^
Hand is a consensus 5 star. Campbell not.
November 13th, 2013 at 5:10 PM ^
yes why should we play the experienced upperclassmen who are consistent in their play, know the schemes and have spent upto 4 more years growing and in a college conditioning program when we have this 5-star freshman who i read on the internet was supposed to be the next (insert famous player at same position).
/s
November 13th, 2013 at 5:17 PM ^
November 13th, 2013 at 5:24 PM ^
November 13th, 2013 at 6:46 PM ^
November 13th, 2013 at 7:01 PM ^
Here is how I see what you just suggested:
Douglass: The secondary is already loaded with young guys. I don't think the coaches are afraid to play young guys there.
Smith: He was recently left off of the travel squad for unspecified but less than ideal behavior. He also looked not-ready-for-primetime when he played against CMU.
Green: He hasn't shown that he brings anything to the table that Fitz does not. That said, he is playing.
York: Who would he replace? Chesson?
Jones: See York.
Poggi: DLs ideally redshirt.
Morris: I have a very hard time believing Morris brings more to the table than DG at this point, but think about this: If DG preps as a WR and Morris is hurt, there is no scholarship QB on the team ready to play. That would be an unmitigated disaster.
Shallman: You want to play three freshman RBs behind this terrible OL?
November 13th, 2013 at 7:45 PM ^
November 13th, 2013 at 7:48 PM ^
So then why do you think he's not getting PT? First of all, the poster above was saying that young guys weren't getting PT because of the seniors. Do you think Smith is better than Fitz right now?
November 13th, 2013 at 8:51 PM ^
November 13th, 2013 at 7:17 PM ^
OK good, you can read a roster and list every young player not playing.
Why do you think those guys should play? Don't you think there's a reason Ross Douglas isn't playing? Because his other classmates Lewis and Stribling are. So that's him getting beat out by other frosh, not seniors who don't deserve it.
Derrick Green already plays, Poggi needs to put on weight, and we've seen Shane Morris so far and he looks very freshman to me. And what makes you think York, Jones or Shallman are any better than the guys they're behind? It's not like those guys were big time recruits either. They have just about as much "talent" as they guys they're behind, but less experience.
November 13th, 2013 at 7:52 PM ^
November 13th, 2013 at 8:01 PM ^
The running back situation is what it is. Green hasn't looked any better than Fitz, but for the sake of discussion I'll give you that one.
Why can Douglas not be worse than who is playing? Who do you suggest he play over? Either of our returning starters? Or the two frosh who are already playing a lot?
Who should York and Jones take reps from? Not Gallon and Funchess, obviously. Chesson? Do you have any evidence they're better than Chesson?
Look - you cannot play 85 guys. The truth is, some frosh are ready to play (as evidenced by the dozen we've played this year) and some just aren't. Some kids have oodles of talent, but need a little time to add weight, work on technique, or learn their position better. That's not a problem.
Lots of very good players played very little as freshmen. Hell, David Harris has been a starter in the NFL for almost a decade and he barely played until he was an upperclassman. Some kids are ready right away, and others aren't.
By the way - championship teams play very few young players. They typically have a few guys who can come in and play right away, but the bulk of the team is comprised of experienced players.
November 13th, 2013 at 8:14 PM ^
November 13th, 2013 at 9:43 PM ^
What the hell are you even talking about? We play a ton of true freshman! Bama and FSU have more highly rated recruits generally than we do; but they still redshirt a ton of guys.
You are not smarter than a division 1 football coach. Stop with this dumb argument.
November 14th, 2013 at 2:50 AM ^
November 14th, 2013 at 8:12 AM ^
So when these freshmen become seniors we should start the new freshmen over them because we need to start the young guys? This makes no sense. I feel like you're trolling this thread.
November 13th, 2013 at 8:22 PM ^
November 13th, 2013 at 8:31 PM ^
November 13th, 2013 at 7:51 PM ^
November 13th, 2013 at 10:13 PM ^
Goddamit man have you watched more than five minutes of Shane playing? He is *not fucking ready*. Not even close.
November 13th, 2013 at 5:22 PM ^
November 13th, 2013 at 5:32 PM ^
November 13th, 2013 at 5:45 PM ^
Michigan plays freshmen. What are you talking about?