Sam Webb Minor Updates from UA/Army All-American Games via WTKA
Sam Webb is gone this week from his regular WTKA radio hosting roll, but him and Ira spoke on the phone for about 20 minutes at the end of the show today. I thought I'd mention some of the things he had to say, but there's not much earth shattering news.
Isaiah Wilson - Sam believes he's going to stick with Georgia but Michigan will continue to pursue him (as has been said before). The new news to me was that his parents really want him to go to Michigan, but the decision really did come down to what Isaiah wanted to do. It's always good to have Mom and Dad on Michigan's side of things, however, and I wouldn't ever count out Harbaugh if he really wants someone. That being said, slim hopes with Isaiah.
Luiji Vilain - Really has a shot as a pass rush specialist (ala Chase Winovich this past season) as a true freshman. Showing excellent pass rushing skills. This isn't the first report that has hit the blog that has discussed how good he's looked so far.
Cezar Ruiz - Should compete for some playing time as a true freshman at Center or Guard as he has good technique and size to compete immediately. This isn't really new news per se, but it is encouraging to see Sam state this from his observations at the UA practices where he's going against elite talent. He wasn't overly excited about him, but this I believe goes against the notion that Filiaga would be the only true freshman who could compete on the OL right away. That doesn't necessarily mean it's a good thing if Cezar ends up starting next season, but any competition is good competition.
Kwity Paye - A ways away physically and technically but has good athleticism. Needs some definite development, which isn't surprising given the area of the country he's from. Should most definitely redshirt from what it sounds like.
Chuck Filiaga - Sam thinks he will commit to Michigan on Saturday (no "gut feeling" but sounds extremely confident), which goes along with others reporting very strong positive feelings about Michigan's chances. Someone mentioned a few days ago that Sam had said we should be hearing some good news on Saturday, so this would almost definitely be what he was talking about - I could be wrong about this, but it makes the most sense. Filiaga's impact as a freshman has a lot to do with Grant Newsome's recovery. And speaking of Newsome, it sounds like some people Sam's talked to think there's a "good chance" he will be ready for next season (which I believe we've heard before), but of course there is no guarantee of that. Mostly chatter at this point that Newsome is not a for sure out for next season, so don't completely write him off yet.
Willie Gay - Has not talked with Willie yet (will later on this week), but he doesn't think there should be any concern about the LSU report that came out yesterday. Either way, the coaching staff will have until signing day to get him. Reading behind the lines, Sam still sees Willie as Michigan's to lose.
Najee Harris - Confirmed that he still has not heard anything from Najee's direct circle about coming to Michigan besides that they "don't know," so that is the reason for his lack of "gut feeling." The recent projection had to do with some "compelling things" he has recently heard that has enlightened him as to why people think he's coming to Michigan. He wouldn't go into details, but there's that.
That's all, folks. Again, nothing news shattering, but still some solid info to chew on.
January 3rd, 2017 at 3:27 PM ^
January 3rd, 2017 at 3:39 PM ^
at a time.
You want to just skip over the spring practice rumor mill?
January 3rd, 2017 at 3:49 PM ^
"Is there any way that you could, sort of, just zonk me out so that, like, I don't know that I'm waiting for fall camp to start? Could I just wake up in August that I've ben fishing all day, or something?"
January 3rd, 2017 at 3:58 PM ^
that's the worst day of my life"
January 3rd, 2017 at 4:02 PM ^
January 3rd, 2017 at 5:09 PM ^
I feel like spring practice is such a tease. Everyone that gets hyped in that time I don't hear about. One of my favorite Hoke players decided to transfer (Canteen, he was always hyped to see the field during spring). So not much love for spring.
January 3rd, 2017 at 9:00 PM ^
January 3rd, 2017 at 3:29 PM ^
Appreciate you passing this along. For my part, I think you do a commendable job describing Sam's recruiting updates.
January 3rd, 2017 at 4:30 PM ^
He should, he is Sam.
January 3rd, 2017 at 3:32 PM ^
Thanks a lot man!
January 3rd, 2017 at 3:46 PM ^
Sorry to be the pervy old man in the group but on a cold, grey, crappy day, your avatar made me smile! Heh heh...
January 3rd, 2017 at 6:50 PM ^
I guess you don't love me/my avatar anymore???
January 3rd, 2017 at 8:05 PM ^
January 3rd, 2017 at 9:01 PM ^
January 3rd, 2017 at 9:24 PM ^
January 3rd, 2017 at 3:32 PM ^
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January 3rd, 2017 at 3:34 PM ^
January 3rd, 2017 at 3:37 PM ^
The Willie Gay stuff is kinda weird, but hopefully he's Blue, gonna be a good one.
And first I've also heard of Newsome maybe being ready for next year.
January 3rd, 2017 at 3:38 PM ^
The OL will be as good as 2016 at the very minimum
January 3rd, 2017 at 3:45 PM ^
January 3rd, 2017 at 4:36 PM ^
Plus conditioning and just general rust. There's only so much you can do with mental reps and non-contact walkthroughs. If he's not 100% by start of fall camp, I think he takes a redshirt.
January 3rd, 2017 at 3:41 PM ^
Sam's talked to think there's a "good chance" [Grant Newsome] will be ready for next seasonSome people have said his career is likely over and others are saying he might be back next year. I'm starting to think no one knows anything
January 3rd, 2017 at 3:44 PM ^
Not sure I share Sam's optimism on Gay, but that's the way I feel about every kid from the deep South—I think Michigan is national champion 15 years in a row when it comes to finishing in second place for elite southern kids.
January 3rd, 2017 at 3:44 PM ^
I would be surprised if Michigan doesn't have more wins and more success compared to GA over the next 4 years...but I think Isaiah Wilson will definitely be a guy we talk a lot "what if" during those 4 years.
January 3rd, 2017 at 8:41 PM ^
We'll be OK. Somebody else will come along and grab our attention.
I used to keep an eye on Hand at Alabama for a while, but then we got Rashan Gary and I wasn't so concerned with what Hand was doing anymore.
I assume he is a starter there by now, but I could not tell you for sure.
January 3rd, 2017 at 9:12 PM ^
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January 3rd, 2017 at 9:04 PM ^
January 3rd, 2017 at 10:03 PM ^
January 3rd, 2017 at 10:53 PM ^
January 3rd, 2017 at 3:54 PM ^
Isaiah Wilson is enrolling early, right? If that's the case, then our chances of flipping him are probably extremely small.
January 3rd, 2017 at 10:20 PM ^
Sam just did a piece on him and said his parents want him to go to UM but they talked another son into going somewhere else and it didn't workout very well so they were leaving this recruitment up to Isaiah and they say he is solid for Ga. Sam says the UM coaches have a month or so to work on him and they won't conceed till it's over. So that tells me he is going to be getting some in-home visits with the coaches and he can't be in New York and going to school in Ga.at the same time.
January 3rd, 2017 at 3:56 PM ^
On Najee. I'm employing my self defense mechanism and still considering him a Bama commit. I will be overjoyed if he flips to us, don't get me wrong. I'm just not reading the tea leaves like some are in him coming here.
Brandon Justice tweeted about Bama's QB commit, Tua being confident that he will still be rooming with Najee at Bama. So there's that. That was a half hour ago or so.
Its tough to go all in flipping the #1 RB in the nation from Bama. But then again, there's Harbaugh.
January 3rd, 2017 at 4:33 PM ^
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January 3rd, 2017 at 5:30 PM ^
There are definitely reasons be optimistic, but not enough for me to go all in with him coming here. You brought up a good one, but maybe he feels he's already said he's going to Bama. Doesn't need to say it again. I don't know. Just not enough info yet.
January 3rd, 2017 at 5:59 PM ^
Probably because he will be seeing all of the idiot fuck tard Tide commits at the all star game. Doesn't want to deal with the little c_nts stabbing him in the back the whole time. That's why I would drag it out anyway.
January 3rd, 2017 at 5:18 PM ^
On the Brandon Justice tweet--
Edge of the Internet guys are saying that the original source of the information is kind of a wanna-be hack. In addition, that information from Tua was not a direct quote, it was paraphrased. Context is key. So when Tua is paraphrased as saying they'll be "roommates at Alabama", I take that w/ a huge grain of salt. You don't know what leading question was asked or the tone in which Tua answered it.
Lastly, the other gossip leaking out of the camp is that it almost seems like Tua has been assigned to stick with/stay close to Najee. So it's possible this isn't Najee's doing, but the Alabama guys trying to stay on him & not let him easily fraternize with the Michigan guys. If true, strikes me as kinda creepy. Like a dude trying to chase after a girl after he already kind of knows she's gone.
In summary, this could definitely still go either way. But I like the directness & specificity of the information coming out of the pro-Michigan side more than the speculative nature of the Alabama stuff.
January 3rd, 2017 at 5:32 PM ^
Thanks for clarifying that tweet.
And it doesn't help that Tua is having some great practices...according to those at the practices.
January 3rd, 2017 at 6:46 PM ^
Tua is on the East team. Makes sense as he's from eastern Oahu.
January 3rd, 2017 at 4:03 PM ^
Thanks Corky - Nice update post.
I hope the days come soon where we can quit worrying about the O line. We were spoiled for years with excellent NFL linemen. Backus, Hutchinson, Jansen, Long, etc.
Filiaga and Ruiz look to be great pieces for the future. Lets hope they develop quickly.
January 3rd, 2017 at 9:29 PM ^
The mind reels at the possibilities when you think about what Harbaugh might have done with those guys.
January 3rd, 2017 at 4:10 PM ^
January 3rd, 2017 at 4:13 PM ^
January 3rd, 2017 at 4:17 PM ^
The Newsome stuff is strange. You have people saying that he is probably coming back next season, whereas our very own mole inside the AD (umbig11) said he believed his career was practically over. I'm interested to see what happens on that front.
As for Najee, Sam stated that he has a very reliable source close to Harris who told him that the reason he plans to not make a formal announcement is because he "doesn't want to deal with Alabama fans."
January 3rd, 2017 at 9:06 PM ^
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January 3rd, 2017 at 9:45 PM ^
January 3rd, 2017 at 9:10 PM ^
January 3rd, 2017 at 4:26 PM ^
Maybe Ruiz's skills will result in a certain beast to be moved back to the D-Line to anchor the center of the line.
January 3rd, 2017 at 5:04 PM ^
I've wondered that same thing.
UM's recruited a lot of DE's, but few DT's.
If faced with the decision to move Gary inside or Onwenu back to DT, I think I'd move Onwenu, even with the question marks and openings on the OL.
Most seem to disagree with us though, so oh well, we'll see.
January 3rd, 2017 at 5:17 PM ^
Nah we need him too...Dawson is gone, Kuglar is a 5th year guy.
Plus, those two next to each other is going to crazy holes Najee Harris and Chris Evans have never seen in their lives.
Clemson gives away pizzas? We will be the Big House of Pancakes.