Hire Hoke at DC

Bring in upperclassmen tranfers at DT.

Also, WTH happened to Mazi Smith and Chris Hinton???

"The problem is that rebuilding this defense is a multi-year project"

Feels like the staff are going to have to try to rebuild in one year through the transfer portal.

There’s really only one announcement I care to hear right now.  When is Warde Manuel scheduled to announce?

Somerville, Jennings, and McBurrows gone means that there is major defensive staff shake up

I don't know. The DT issue may be the one that buries them. However, we've seen in the past that a really competent staff can get a defense back to serviceable. They need a new Dline coach and the LB's were all over the place this year. I'd keep Zordich and bring in some new coaches who are hungry to recruit as well. I guess my point is that getting back to level seems within reach for Michigan. I think some better scheme and coaching at safety and LB and DL would go a long way to getting Michigan back to 25 in S and P defense.

I'm actually more concerned about the offensive doldrums. Warriner has always had guys get better, but the scheme and plan this year were pretty inconsistent. I'd have loved Gattis to turn Michigan into Alabama with receivers putting up gaudy numbers, but it hasn't been that :/

Shruggie Emoji.  He always felt like a guy who would fill space at best.  I'm much sadder about losing Jennings to Maryland of all places as I thought he really had something at DE, just didn't see it with Somerville.

Was really hoping this was an "Exit" post for coach Nua

The D Line recruiting over the past couple years is sadly reminiscent of the O Line recruiting in the latter days of Rich and the QB recruiting at the end of the Hoke era.

Seems like there's always one position group that serves as the canary in the coalmine that things are about to implode.

Losing commits always sucks but this guy does not seem like someone who is going to play a major role in any quick fix.

And I don't agree that next years defense being equal with this years is accurate. Losing Paye is a huge loss but I can't imagine Hutchinson is going pro with zero junior film and he doesn't seem like a transfer candidate considering his bloodlines. The 3 big tackles will be back (Hinton, Smith, Jeter) and older/better. Same with all of the corners. Can't imagine McGrone goes anywhere considering the poor tape from this year. Losing Ross and Hawkins could be bad but there also may be upgrades already on the roster. The big wild card would be a Dax Hill transfer it seems premature to come to that conclusion.

We have a lot of defensive talent. A different scheme/defensive regime change could make a huge difference.   

The sense of dread about the defensive side of the ball is palpable.  Wouldn't it be interesting if  we get a great offensive haul in this class, then a stud DC and D Line coach that act as a talent magnet over the next several months?  I know nothing, but the tea leaves are readable

It's quite wild that our prognostications about a multimillion-dollar football program hinge on the decisions of a set of 17 year-olds.

Not saying it's good, bad, or both. Just saying it's wild.

This is the least excited about a signing day I have been in years.  Normally, there was the potential of an exciting add on at the end of the day.  This year, it seems to be about minimizing the bad news and defections.  

What is Down Brown doing?  Does he think he can run his style of defense without recruits?  Ridiculous.

Schottenheimer would be a totally awesome name for a dog breed. 

"Yeah, I rescued this Schottenheimer from the humane society.  He's totally loyal, but really likes humping legs"

They gotta dump Harbaugh at this point. Not gonna go through a season where excuses are made for the D because he lost recruits and another "Just wait till next year when the coordinator has all his guys and they learned the system!"

Nua has the Kubrick look in that photo.  You know what that means according to Brian?  Bad things.  Very bad things.

I get the feeling that Nua's picture in Somerville's commitment flip post was done for a reason.

Are any scholarship O-lineman on the roster or in this class potential DT candidates? Also, are there any WRs willing to try the other side of the ball at CB? I know people think the staff has failed at recruiting, but one of Harbaugh’s signatures has been taking versatile players and finding the right fit on either side of the ball. There are examples abound at all his stops at the college level. The situation looks bleak right now, but wonder if any of the insiders on the board have insight on potential position switches.

Also, who are the prime candidates at both positions in the transfer portal? Is Michigan pursuing or is that a question for the new coach and/or coaches however things shake out?

Plenty of room for surprises, but indications are that Harbaugh stays and Brown heads to the au reservoir. So who's the new D coordinator? We've had so much speculation about replacing Jimmy, but I have to page back three times through recent diaries to find mention of one candidate, Mike Elson of ND. Who else we got?