Signing Day Presser Wrap
You've probably heard most of the details already - and if you want the full play-by-play, read through the end of yesterday's liveblog - but here are some greatest hits from Brady Hoke's Signing Day presser yesterday:
- All signed recruits are expected to qualify to play next year.
- Jack Miller was singled out as a center. Tamani Carter was listed as a safety. Chris Rock was listed as a defensive end, but Hoke mentioned that some defensive linemen in the class may end up moving inside.
- There is no update on Devin Gardner's redshirt status (so you can stop asking).
- Michigan will run a 4-3 defense next year, including under and over fronts.
And now, for the video I shot of Michigan's assistant coaches. What can you expect? Offensive line coach discusses the future positions of Michigan's three commits (it's still possible that Tony Posada plays tackle, and some current players may move positions as well), Fred Jackson breaks down the game of Justice Hayes and Thomas Rawls, offensive coordinator Al Borges discusses the skillset of QB commit Russell Bellomy and talks about adjusting his offense to take advantage of Denard's skillset, and recruiting coordinator Chris Singletary describes holding the class together during a coaching transition.
Be sure to pay attention at 2:35 for an EPIC FRED JACKSON, as he calls Thomas Rawls a faster version of Anthony Thomas and Chris Perry:
He is like the 2nd and 5th all-time Michigan rushing leaders...except faster!
One other quick note: Singletary told me off-camera that the coaching staff would solidify a couple dates for Junior Days in the next week. I would guess that February 12th and March 5th (home basketball weekends) are good guesses.
February 3rd, 2011 at 3:57 PM ^
Each time I hear Borges talk about QB running plays I get slightly more optimistic.
February 3rd, 2011 at 4:02 PM ^
is anyone else having a problem watching tim's video?
February 3rd, 2011 at 4:15 PM ^
Thanks, excellent stuff.
February 3rd, 2011 at 4:20 PM ^
I laughed out loud when Freddy J said that about Rawls. Love it.
February 3rd, 2011 at 4:55 PM ^
Amazingly, he didn't seem as optimistic about Justice Hayes. "Like Biaka with his feet, but not his size yet."
February 3rd, 2011 at 4:23 PM ^
...is a master at getting these kids to believe they're supermen, thus creating self-fulfilling prophecies and Michigan victories.
February 3rd, 2011 at 4:34 PM ^
I'm curious to see what forms these will take.
Borges has mentioned Cade McNown (UCLA) quite a bit in the past interviews.
UCLA often rolled out McNown with a pulling guard with an option to run. The QB draw was also used quite a bit at UCLA (under Bob Toledo) during those years 1996-2000. That could really work well for Denard IMO. Even so, we're only talking 75 to 85 carries a year and 300 to 400 yards on the ground in total. A handful of TD runs.
I simply don't buy the 1,000 yards rushing bit posted earlier. That's not going to happen. Unless Borges is going to cut and paste some of the same designed QB runs and zone read option plays Michigan ran last year. Doubtful.
The shift is going to be pretty dramatic because of the philosophy. In this offense, the tailback runs the football, not the QB. There will be two 1,000 yard receivers (probably Rountree, Stonum or Odoms). Robinson will get about 100 to 150 more passing attempts on the year, 1,000 more passing yards and about 7 to 8 more TD passes. He'll be a Heisman candidate next year because of his TD to INT ratio is going to be a lot better as a junior, and more importantly because Michigan will present a better rushing and scoring defense.
February 3rd, 2011 at 4:48 PM ^
I too would like to see a greater use of the QB draw. Maybe it would also get Denard a little more comfortable with scrambling. I like the idea of getting the front line upfield and leaving Denard one on one with LBs or Safeties. I like his odds on those.
I also wouldn't be too quick to dismiss using a little of the spread run package, whether it be designed QB runs or the read option. It seems like everyone these days has a version of the "wildcat" package. Well, Denard can be ours without even changing the personnel.
February 3rd, 2011 at 6:06 PM ^
I'm thinking some QB lead draw with pulling linemen... the fusion of the Denard offense with the MANBALL SMASH offense.
February 4th, 2011 at 4:04 PM ^
Problem is that Denard doesn't really fit the MANBALL Smash! Mode as a runner.
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February 3rd, 2011 at 4:51 PM ^
I kinda get the feeling that Borges doesn't have a full grasp of just how fast Denard is. There are fast QB's, there are running QB's and then there is Denard. Denard is a cut above, a special talent and Hoke and Co. will get there first live glimpse of it this spring.
February 3rd, 2011 at 5:04 PM ^
I think Borges has watched some film of Denard Robinson and probably said "Aw fuhhhh!"
But wait until Hoke and Mattison's "physical and tough" defensive units in practice try to corral that guy on a broken play or something.
It'll be like Barbershop Trio in stereo, but intead of "Hello!, Hello! Hello!" it'll be:
"Fffffuuuuuhhhh....Fffuuuu...Fffuuhhhhh........."
Touchdown.
"Hey Denard, can you do that on every play?"
February 3rd, 2011 at 6:12 PM ^
Let me preface this by saying that I love Denard and think that he truly has the potential to be an amazing talent. He is a game changer.
But, I think that we need to talk about Denard the player, not Denard the legend.
Denard is one of the fastest guys out there. No doubt. But there are other really fast guys, and I imagine that Borges, with his time in the SEC, has seen guys who are close (not necessarily equal) in speed.
Also, you said this: "But wait until Hoke and Mattison's "physical and tough" defensive units in practice try to corral that guy on a broken play or something"
Well, Wisconsin, MSU and OSU's "physical and tough" defensive units weren't sayin "Fffffuuuuuhhhh....Fffuuuu...Fffuuhhhhh........." on every play.
My point is not to criticize Denard - as I prefaced, he really has the potential to be a unique talent, but let's not make it that he is an unstoppable force. Borges knows what he has in Denard, and he has already said that he will adjust his offense around Denard and that he envisions 1000 yards rushing. To me, this would be great.
February 3rd, 2011 at 6:16 PM ^
Except Denard can throw the ball in addition to running.
I think he has the chance to be an unstoppable force, like Vince Young Rose Bowl unstoppable, and nobody will convince me otherwise.
February 3rd, 2011 at 6:27 PM ^
I totally agree with you. I agree because you say "he has a chance" to be unstoppable. My only objection is to people saying that he "is" unstoppable.
That said, I don't think that the comparison to VY is apt. V. Young never had Denard's raw speed. Conversely, VY was also a much bigger, stronger runner - like a Chris Perry-type runner.
I know that the comparison has been made to death, but Denard to me is Vick-like. Same height / weight (college), Vick was crazy fast in college, Vick had a strong arm (as does Denard), and Vick struggled with his "touch" and "reads" in college.
And, looking at Vick's pro career, Vick had his best success this past year, running an offense that I think will be VERY similar to Borges - at least I hope so, since our personnel matches up pretty well with the Eagles' offensive weapons - strong armed, mobile QB with VERY talenter WRs. Also, coming into this past season, L. McCoy was considered to be iffy (disappointing rookie year), but he had a damn good year, because the threat of the vertical attack opened up running opportunities for him.
February 3rd, 2011 at 6:22 PM ^
MSU's defense didn't exactly corral Denard. That was our most definite shot-in-foot game. I personally observed Greg Jones get juked out of his jock by Denard at least three times.
Even when Denard was only held for a few yards on broken plays, you could sense the "FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!" in the heads of every defensive player on the field in just about every game this year from their body language. They freaked out. Sometimes they'd drop him for a yard or a loss because of it, but they freaked out. See the first play of the Illinois game if you don't believe me.
*insert appropriate reaming triggered by lazy SEC SPEED meme*
Plus, the guy was a first-year starter. He could very well be an even better runner this year...thus closer to being an unstoppable force.
February 3rd, 2011 at 6:30 PM ^
I agree on the part that opposing defenders were scared / wowed by Denard.
But, I think that they got over it in the first quarter (good defenses), and then were able to stop him.
As to MSU, yes, we shot ourselves in the foot. But, that was not entirely our doing. Part of the reason was that the D forced us, including Denard, out of our comfort zone, hence the turnovers.
As to him being a better runner this coming year - I think that he WILL be a better runner. Because the offense, in particular the running game, will be more diverse and will keep defenses honest, hence not allowing them to focus entirely on Denard's runs.
February 3rd, 2011 at 5:23 PM ^
A couple things: In the video, he mentions adding a couple things to the playbook from last year's offense once the full Borges Offense is installed. He also mentioned (not sure if it made it into the video or not) that they run quite a bit of shotgun, and though it's obviously not for the same purposes as Rich's shotgun, it's also not the exact same West Coast offense that he was running with McNown 15 years ago, either.
Also, you're crazy if you think that both your rushing attempts and yards for Denard are likely to come true. Even on the optimistic end (75 carries, 400 yards), that's a mere 5.3 yards per carry. This past season, when defenses were expecting him to run on nearly every down, he averaged 6.5 yards a pop. As QB runs get more scarce, they should also be more deadly. Sure, he may get sacked a few more times, but his runs for positive yardage are likely to be more fruitful, on average (maybe the high-end outliers will be less frequent and less long).
February 3rd, 2011 at 9:03 PM ^
the tailback power plays or stretch? Smart Football talked some about that when Borges was brought on. DRob has potential to blow those for big gains. But you have to establish the tailback runs first to get those working for you. Cox and Hopkins have to be happy with this new potential. We'll see come spring.
Completely agree with your 1000 yard question mark. I couldn't help but think of square pegs and round holes when Borges was talking about his system. He clearly thinks he can make it work with his existing playbook. It's just not going to happen without some major changes IMO. Funk seemed more adaptive.
Fortunately the defense should improve more than enough to compensate for the loss in O (a guy can hope at least.) Good post Markus.
February 4th, 2011 at 2:40 AM ^
Al Borges has been nothing but an offensive coordinator since the year I was born. I give Al Borges the benefit of the doubt concerning the depth of his playbook.
February 4th, 2011 at 11:00 PM ^
...the proof is in the spring game...the money is in the fall. Borges has no excuses given the talent handed over.
Funk was talking Miller up as the number 2 or 3 center. What about Pace and Rocko - one of them isn't getting much respect. Mealer is a better center at this point than Miller will be at the end of the 2011 especially if they are giving up reach blocks and instead ask these guys to drive block.
Fred Jackson was being...well... Fred Jackson...
These guys are just talking...as is everyone else until we see some football.
Age isn't all it's cracked up to be in football coaches either...
http://college-football.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/24156338/27326471
What's even more unsettling to programs with older coaches is the breakdown of championships by age bracket:
Age Span Champs < 40 5 40-44 9 45-49 9 50-54 14 55-59 9 60 + 5
Not only is there a precipitous dropoff from the early 50s to 60+, those five titles were won by just three coaches: The aforementioned Bowden with two, Bear Bryant with two, and Joe Paterno -- the three most celebrated coaches of the modern era of I-A football. What's more, Bryant had won his first title at the age of 50, while Paterno won his first at 56. Bowden didn't win his first until he was 64, but that was after six straight top-five finishes in the final poll forFlorida State. In other words, each of those three coaches firmly established his national championship bona fidesbefore his 60th birthday, while every other coach who ever hit 60 in the last 50 years was quite evidently past his prime.
February 4th, 2011 at 4:03 PM ^
I too see the parallel's between Denard and Cade. I'll see them even more if Denards incredible work ethic results in another offseason improvement like this last one. McNown was more of a dangerous player than a good QB, something I think applies well to Denard. 6-700 yards rushing is what we should expect but that loss will be offset by greater tailback production and a 3000 yard passing season.
February 3rd, 2011 at 4:48 PM ^
Ugh, spring needs to be tomorrow and then we can just skip a few months into August.
February 3rd, 2011 at 9:35 PM ^
February 3rd, 2011 at 5:17 PM ^
With a more consistent and threatening running game, Denard may take fewer hits and get more opportunities to break explosive runs. Last year, our backs did not frighten many teams and they could key on Denard.
February 3rd, 2011 at 6:19 PM ^
is exactly right. Denard is not going to run 20+ times a game. Period. Borges flat out said that last week. And this is a good thing, as by the middle of the season, Denard had had the stuffing knocked out of him, and it showed. Even his running ability took a hit from the constant beating that he took. I know that RR said that Denard is incredibly tough, and I don't doubt that, but toughness has its limits.
Aside from keeping Denard alive and functioning, if we can establish an effective ground attack that is not Denard - i.e. an actual running back attack that keeps team honest - Denard will be deadly on those plays where he does run. Defenses will not be able to focus in on him at the LOS.
Now, the question is who will establish that consistent ground attack? I have no clue, but one thing about which I would be reasonably sure is that Borges will likely pick 1 back to be his main back, and barring injury, fumbles or someone else supplanting that back for the starting job, whomever starts will get the overwhelming majority of the carries. I do not see Borges as the type of guy to have RB by committee.
February 3rd, 2011 at 6:53 PM ^
At Auburn, Borges used Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams, the 2nd and 5th pick respectively of the 2005 NFL draft. So, he has used a running by committee approach.
I believe Fred Jackson was quoted as saying that Hopkins is "a mixture of Ronnie and Cadillac but a future number one pick in the NFL draft."
February 3rd, 2011 at 9:12 PM ^
we have at RB, I can't see anything BUT Borges using all of them. Shaw being a senior, Vincent Smith having the most recent experience, Toussant and Hopkins both being amazing raw talent when healthy, who do you tell "hey, you're 4th, please don't transfer."
February 3rd, 2011 at 5:56 PM ^
I like Coach Funk. He has cool confidence about him. Plus I like his James Hetfield of Metallica hair circa 2003.
February 3rd, 2011 at 7:28 PM ^
having breakfast with the head coach of Sylvania (OH) Southview's football team. I only noticed him cause he was all decked out in Michigan addidas wear. I'm usually the only one in that place wearing Michigan garb. FYI, Southview is where top 2012 Saftey prospect Allen Gant plays.
February 3rd, 2011 at 9:59 PM ^
Already working it. I like it.
February 3rd, 2011 at 7:06 PM ^
Look, I'm not saying I'm predicting Rawls to be A-Train and Perry but faster, but I decided to do a little digging after watching that video. FJ claimed Rawls ran a 10.6 100m, but in HS track you have a lot of hand-timed events so I didn't believe it.
However, at regionals last year (Rawls Jr. year) he came in 2nd in his region in the 100m with a time of 10.8. He qualified for the state meet and made it to the semis and just missed making the finals.
The 10.6 might not be legit, but the 10.8 certainly is, and placing that high at the state meet for a guy giving up a year on most of the guys he's going against and weighing 215, that's really fast. I bet half the DBs in the big ten aren't that fast, and almost none of the linebackers. For a RB his size, that's damn fast.
February 6th, 2011 at 2:08 AM ^
Unfortunately, regionals don't have to be FAT timed, and those that do take a whopping .4 off their times all around for seeding purposes (it used to be .2XX but recently went up). This is so hand timed regionals don't get an advantage in seeding. This subtraction especially skews the sprints, where there generally isn't as high a hand timed delay effect.
Rawls ran an 11.39 in his prelim for the final. I think we can safely conclude that he'd be anywhere from 11 - 11.4 consistently. Not as quick as Ingram, but that kid had great sprint form. Haven't had a chance to see Rawls.
February 6th, 2011 at 2:08 AM ^
Unfortunately, regionals don't have to be FAT timed, and those that do take a whopping .4 off their times all around for seeding purposes (it used to be .2XX but recently went up). This is so hand timed regionals don't get an advantage in seeding. This subtraction especially skews the sprints, where there generally isn't as high a hand timed delay effect.
Rawls ran an 11.39 in his prelim for the final. I think we can safely conclude that he'd be anywhere from 11 - 11.4 consistently. Not as quick as Ingram, but that kid had great sprint form. Haven't had a chance to see Rawls.
February 4th, 2011 at 1:48 AM ^
I have seen highlights of Rawls and Taylor and they seem to be the real deal, any idea where we will use Taylor? And also if we look ahead the 2012 class, what is the likelyhood we get Aaron Burbridge out of Farmington Hills Harrison, saw him in the state championship game and he seems to be that big play outside reciever we have been asking for.
February 4th, 2011 at 5:32 AM ^
I'm really thrilled with the class that we pulled out this year and can't wait to see what these coaches can do with an entire recruiting cycle.
February 4th, 2011 at 11:36 PM ^
Al Borges is great. He reminds me of a caricature.
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