Mailbag!
Saw that Rich Rod has an official facebook account, and has william gholston as a friend. Are there any issues with non-contact periods for recruiting and how facebook fits into that? I mean what happens if he posts on his wall? Does that count?
Well, one: there's a major misconception about dead periods. Even in the deadest of dead periods, limited phone contact (the standard once per week) is permitted. And mail, electronic or otherwise, is basically unregulated. Instant messaging, though is considered a phone call.
As for Facebook and Twitter… those are gray areas. They aren't illegal as of yet—obviously—and enterprising coaches always looking to increase their profile amongst potential recruits. Since Facebook and Twitter have broadcast characteristics—anyone can follow Rodriguez—I think they'll probably be okay.
Brian:
On our forum, we have had a discussion regarding the physical size of Tate Forcier. Some people feel that due to his lack of weight and height, not to mention the size of his arms, he will not be able to withstand the hits in the Big Ten. What are your thoughts on this?
Geo
Any speculation on how injury-prone Tate Forcier might be because of his little toothpick arms would be just that: speculation. Some little guys seem to get injured all the time, like McGuffie and Hart. Others just keep on trucking without issue.
The coaches are obviously aware they've got a nasty combination of youth and lack of depth; indications are they'll protect Forcier as much as possible. Feagin's been running at quarterback in spring quite a bit and I think you'll see him and Robinson see duty in a quasi-wildcat* formation when they want to get QB carries.
Meanwhile, reports on Forcier say he's 1) elusive in the pocket and 2) effective throwing on the move. We might see a lot of moving pockets, and even when Forcier does bust out he's probably going to look to chuck it deep instead of take off. I meant those Drew Tate comparisons when I made them: smallish moxie-fied mobile passer.
Compare that to Threet, who was pretty fast in a straight line—see Wisconsin ramble—but had no change of direction and took a lot of ugly-looking hits simply because he wasn't agile enough to shield himself when it came time to meet a linebacker. When Forcier does run, which will be maybe a half-dozen times a game, he'll probably be at less risk than the ponderous Threet.
(Quasi-wildcat because, yes, they're QBs. But no, you shouldn't expect them to throw much or at all.)
What are the chances that Michigan will play one night game at home over the next 2-3 years? I would love to see Michigan Stadium all lit up for a home game v ND, MSU, or PSU. I don’t support the idea of playing “the Game” at night. Can you please tell me what your thoughts are on this subject.
I'll probably answer this every six months until I die, but there was hullaballoo about this on the message board a while back so my take, again: Michigan should pick one Big Ten opponent and always play night games against them, but never against anyone else. That would be a nice tradition that would hype up what might be just another conference game, and it wouldn't be too much of a strain on the AD or the police department or whatever.
My primary candidates were Iowa and Wisconsin, since they're both respectable programs and there's usually something to play for when they arrive in town. I would prefer Iowa, as Michigan and Iowa have a long history of friendly rivalry and cooperation dating from Bump's tenure as Iowa AD.
I was wondering, any reason why U-M under RR is now issuing the same number to two different players one on offense and one on defense. OSU did this last year with Pryor and Jenkins. Last year there were two # 3s on U-M with Feagin and Brown. This year's roster has two different #5s (Forcier and I forget who on defense it was) as well as twin #3s. Is this because coaches are promising numbers to players in recruiting now?
Love the site (and yes I know I have too much time on my hands),
David Komer
Colleges often carry over 100 players, so it's impossible to have a roster without some overlap. The NCAA allows you to play as many guys as you want with the same number as long as only one of them takes the field at the same time, so it doesn't come up often, and if you switch positions midseason, like Carson Butler did, you can just change your number. So, yeah, it doesn't matter.
As far as why, I don't really know. Michigan's #1 is off limits now unless you're a supadupastar, which reduces the number of available (and always popular) single digit jerseys. And maybe the kids these days are pickier. I don't think it's a Carr-vs-Rodriguez trend, though.
Side note: My favorite number share in recent years was a couple years ago when Kevin Grady and one of the kickers shared #3, which was good for a special-teams doubletake a game.
if you use three numbers you would definitely call attention from all the people. why not limit the numbers of the players in each team to the real number of their players.
Athletes in all sports (that use jersey numbers) wear single- or double-digit numbers. Triple-digit numbers would be dorky. (Seriously, would YOU want to be #112?) I don't see what's wrong with duplicates.
One other thing about the numbering situation: In the past, Michigan retired some of their great players numbers... for example #98 Harmon... the Wisert Brothers etc. However, there came a time in the late 80s when jersey numbers could no longer be retired due to the numbers being needed to cover all players who were dressing.
In the 90s, lame duck AD Tom Goss actually announced that Michigan would be retiring #21 in honor of Desmond...but that never actually happened... which could be (im speculating) due to the fact that they need all the numbers they can get (so Desmond and Woodson #s will not be retired due to demand)
Strictly business...Not personal.
1) Unretire all numbers
2) Turn the much-debated "halo" at the top of the stadium into a "ring of honor" like they have at stadiums like Lambeau.
I don't remember how visible that would be though, so they might need to do something else.
but what's more impressive is that he can hold 2+3i apples in his hand.
Harvard: The MICHIGAN of the East
We're not arrogant, we're just better.
Nice. Duplicate posts suggesting ways to avoid duplication.
I don't get why they don't just use numbers over 100. They would be fine on the big guys like the offensive and defensive lines. What do you think?
or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.
"Meanwhile, reports on Forcier say he's 1) elusive in the pocket and 2) effective throwing on the move."
Did anyone else read this and have Troy Smith flashback nightmares?
sqrt3, pi, etc. then, if necessary, they could move on to the imaginary number line.
Harvard: The MICHIGAN of the East
We're not arrogant, we're just better.
have an irrational number on his jersey in the Harlen Globetrotters come to Gilligan's Island movie?
In any case, if they run out of numbers, I say just move to chemical symbols:
"Starting at middle linebacker from Ironwood, MI, John Johnson, symbol: Fe"
I mean how sweet would it be to have a Nielsbohrium (Ns) jersey? It could become the new #1 jersey, like for any football players who are forced to major in something other than General Studies (damn you Jim Carty....)
"So I come out of Ohio Stadium after we beat the Buckeyes, and right there on the hood of my friend's car, some one took a dump, in the shape of an 'O'. no shit. Oh, sorry, bad pun."
Barwissium (Bw), a newly-discovered super-energetic element which is unique in that it is composed entirely of tiny electrons, which explains why it is so hard to control, and why the atomic number is still in dispute. It is much harder than diamond and is extremely combustible. When subjected to physical stress it emits low-frequency sound waves that, when amplified, have been used experimentally to cut high-strength carbon steel.
Pretty sure Tacopants already has the square root of negative 1.
I thought Tacopants divided by zero. Or was that Zoltan?
sgtwolverine.com
That was Ross Ryan. And I remember that the Garrett-Rivas-Extra-Point-inspired "hold your crossed fingers in the air" gesture still worked for him, because your crossed fingers are an R in American Sign Language.
Number sharing has gone on for as long as I can remember. I recall sitting in Michigan stadium, seeing someone make a play, looking it up in the free program thing, and having to guess which #38 it was.
Mouton and Sheridan were both #8 before RR got here.
Why did RR do away with the long-standing Michigan tradition of one player per number? Time for him to go.
...numbers over 100.
I was thinking, why don't they allow numbers higher than 100? I mean they could be reserved for those big wide bodies on the offensive and defensive line.
or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.
Why don't they allow numbers above 100 to avoid duplication. While one might contend that the numbers don't fit, the solution would be to reserve those numbers for the big fellas with the wide bodies: offense or defense lines.
Rather than create numerous duplicate numbers, why don't we have numbers above 100? Those numbers could be reserved for the big guys on the offensive or defensive lines.
to non-verbal communication between referees. like in basketball when they've got to communicate the player number to the scorer's table for a foul. its stupid to have to do three numbers when you have two hands.
Bah! They already have to use some scheme to get above 5 on each hand... so let them use binary! They've got 10 digits, that can do 1024 numbers! Easily covers 0 ~ 999.