Unverified Voracity Features Video Flood Comment Count

Brian

They are alive. HD scoreboard what:

so-pretty

It's so lovely.

Also there is a ton of video from Media/fan day. Choosing one at random:

Choosing a second:

And LB coach Mark Smith pronouncing Marell Evans's first name "MAH-rell":

There's also fluff, JT Floyd, Craig Roh, Mike Cox, Junior Hemingway, Taylor Lewan, Stephen Hopkins, DBs coach Curt Mallory (who still gets asked about Denard despite being the DBs coach), and RB coach Fred Jackson (who talks up the freshmen and describes the offense as "West Coast").

And then there's Countdown to Kickoff talking to Mike Shaw, and Rivals has a full transcript of the presser Tim covered yesterday. Also MVictors took pictures. Matt Wile has a big forehead, all the better to kiss expansively when he makes a 32-yarder. Tim's also got his assistants/players recap in the hopper; that will be coming up this afternoon.

I haven't found this in a linkable form yet but the buzz yesterday was that Frank Clark was quickly moved to WDE and Brennen Beyer was flipped to SLB—an inversion of what they were expected to do. We'll see if that sticks.

Other things Fred Jackson said. I've been shepherding select Fred Jackson quotes for the season preview in order to throw a little cold water on the Rawls/Hayes hype train but what the hell, you'll probably forget about it in two weeks anyway: last year he said Stephen Hopkins was "another Chris Perry, except I don't know if Chris Perry was ever 230 pounds." So when Fred Jackson says this

"Every day they come to work, they know they got to bring their lunch pails because the freshmen are coming out there like they're sophomores," Jackson said.

"Those two freshmen have made the whole room different because now the upperclassmen look around and know the competition is way beyond where they expected it to be (during spring practices)."

…I'm maybe not 100% convinced.

When Fred Jackson says this…

"I got a guy who's going to be a great third-down back for us," Jackson said. "I don't want to say right now who that guy is because I'm still trying to develop depth at the position.

"But the first game, you'll see who that is. I promise you, you'll see who that is."

…though, I believe him because that's obviously Vincent Smith. That would seem to take him out of the running to be the primary guy. I'm still betting on Shaw or Hopkins.

Schwing? Here's one of Scout's national analysts sort of kind of saying Michigan might have a lead-type substance for Mitch McGary:

*There was some clarity given to the Mitch McGary recruitment this week with him narrowing it down to six schools. As we said in the last recruiting report, the school most consistently mentioned by people close to the situation is Michigan. Now does that make the Wolverines the leader, not necessarily, but they are in as good a position as any school in his top six.

This weekend McGary is scheduled to go down to Florida to check things out. This will be an unofficial visit, and McGary’s first trip to the Gainesville campus. Look for another unofficial to Michigan before it is all said and done, and then probably two or three official visits once he gets back to Brewster.

I'll take it! McGary's supposed to wrap his recruiting up by October. Adding him may or may not amplify a scholarship crunch that may or may not exist in 2013. He's widely believed to be a one-and-done; if he does end up committing and sticking around it seems like the only thing that will create a serious issue is Hardaway also sticking around for four years.

BONUS: GRIII has moved up to #39 in Scout's latest rankings. Outrage: no Stauskas.

Fourteen is less than twelve. I have no idea why the SEC is going to bother with Texas A&M. I guess media markets and all that—the constant battle to make more money will not cease until every toilet is gold. But the sacrifices entailed are great. Instead of playing opponents in the other division every other year a 14-team conference will have a whopping two crossover games against a randomly selected set of seven teams. That's about three times a decade.

Despite this, certain SEC partisans are demanding the presidents vote yes even if there is no vote. Very postmodern.

Apparently the Big Ten is content at 12, and thank God for that. There were compelling reasons to go to 12—no more annoying co-champions, title game, etc.—but there is exactly one school that should prompt the increasingly inaccurately named Big Ten to bloat further. I refer, of course, to Wake Forest.

jim-grobe

sex appeal

Demon Deacons or bust.

At least he's annoying. Brady Hoke has gotten the goat of the Ohio State fanbase:

I AM SO TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT BRADY HOKE. Did you know Brady Hoke "gets it"? He's changing the culture?  On and on and on. What is so revelatory about the coach of Michigan has expectations this year? Have I been reveling so much in Michigan's despair that I've failed to realize just how pathetic they've become over the years?

I also get a kick out of how he's riding his Segway around up there (this is how I like to envision he travels everywhere) like he's the second coming of Bo Schembechler (who currently resides in the 7th Circle of Hell) when he's really a homeless man's Rex Ryan who has won as many games at Michigan as I have. Brady, you've been at Michigan for like two months, bro. Quit your posturing.

So as you're wincing when Hoke refuses to deploy "State" for the duration of his career at least know he's making people in Ohio peevish. If he actually wins some games there is the potential for helpless rage. That sounds fun. Let's do that.

In the grand tradition. Russell Bellomy on his decision to switch from Purdue:

I ended up choosing Purdue [on] June 1st. I’ll never forget that. But then

the best opportunity I’ve ever had fell in my lap. In the middle of January, I got a call from my head coach, and he said ‘hey Russ, Michigan called; are you interested?’ He left me that voicemail, and I was just like ‘is that even a question?’ So I called him back, and then Coach Borges ended up coming down here to my school, and then he came for a home visit right after that, and we sat here from about 6:30 on just sitting here talking, and on the way back to the hotel, he called me and offered me, and me and my dad were going insane.

I like to think of an enraged Danny Hope twirling his mustache upon reading that. I like to think of an enraged Danny Hope twirling his mustache in many scenarios, actually: in a sinking boat, catching his wife eating yogurt, at Stalingrad in 1942, upon discovering he will not be able to attend the REO Speedwagon concert.

danny-hope

"She knows yogurt has bacteria in it, goddammit. This aggression will not stand."

Etc.: The South Bend Tribune has details on what went down with Corwin Brown. You can have your very own Justin Boren jersey. Photo gallery from Maize n Blue Nation. Rod Beard is the guy who drew the short stick and had to interview random fans for their random opinions. I hate every single quote in that piece.

Comments

El Jeffe

August 15th, 2011 at 12:40 PM ^

I would give several dollars to watch RVB and Mike Martin, among others, respond to fans' comments about the pride "returning" to Michigan this year and how the pride was lacking for the last three years.

M-Wolverine

August 15th, 2011 at 2:26 PM ^

3, 5, and 7 wins, then maybe something needs to be restored.  There's a big difference between being proud of your accomplishments, and the effort given. They've given their all. But I bet you'd be giving several dollars to hear them say that yeah, they'd like to go out on a better note than they have so far. (Was it Martin or one of the other seniors who said just that?)

 

 

“We have a saying that goes: 'To be successful, we have to do the things that we haven't done in the past,' " Martin said.

“All of them wanted to show up,” junior quarterback Denard Robinson said. “Everybody wanted to do better this year.”

http://www.michigandaily.com/sports/martin-we-didnt-know-how-championship-team-functioned

A lot of them aren't feeling that "prideful" of their accomplishments so far, and want and expect to do better. The fact that they're believing they can is not a negative, but a positive.

El Jeffe

August 16th, 2011 at 8:35 AM ^

Obviously, neither of us knows what the fans or players mean from their quotes, but I disagree with both of your interpretations. Of course the players aren't satisfied with how the seasons went, but I don't think that's what the fans mean when they say they are glad to see the "pride returning" to A2. And I really don't think that's how the players would take it.

SoCalWolverine

August 15th, 2011 at 12:42 PM ^

So as you're wincing when Hoke refuses to deploy "State" for the duration of his career at least know he's making people in Ohio peevish. If he actually wins some games there is the potential for helpless rage. That sounds fun. Let's do that.

Cue my impersonation of Denard smiling.

turd ferguson

August 15th, 2011 at 1:53 PM ^

Love the Danny Hope section.



EDIT:  Okay, I still love the Danny Hope section, but the first time I read it, I didn't see the comma in "in a sinking boat, catching his wife eating yogurt."  I imagined Hope catching his wife eating yogurt in a sinking boat and yelling at her, "WTF ARE YOU DOING EATING YOGURT?  THIS BOAT IS SINKING."

CRex

August 15th, 2011 at 12:48 PM ^

That Corwin Brown story is just depressing.  Held is wife hostage, shot himself in the torso, criminal charges pending...  The poor guy's life is going to a wreck for years.  At this point I hope he ends up in front of a judge who puts him in mental care, as opposed to someone who wants to look "tough on crime" and tosses him jail.  

Bodogblog

August 15th, 2011 at 12:49 PM ^

But the Fan Day photo is fantastic - throngs of young kids in a long line of maize and blue, all just looking to get a handshake or photo from this year's Michigan team.  Cockles?  Warmed.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

August 15th, 2011 at 1:04 PM ^

when he's really a homeless man's Rex Ryan who has won as many games at Michigan as I have.

 

Good thing Fickell has all that head-coaching experience going for him or Bucknutty McBucknutterson here would sound kinda silly.

jmblue

August 15th, 2011 at 1:05 PM ^

Brian, you hate it when people say that their faith in the program is restored? Would you prefer them to be depressed?

And what could be objectionable about this one?

"Being from Ohio, people ask how I can be a Michigan fan," Reed said. "When I was young, the first team I ever took a liking to was the Michigan Wolverines. As I got older, I learned about Bo (Schembechler) and Woody (Hayes), the great rivalry. I like the way they played football."

M-Wolverine

August 15th, 2011 at 2:37 PM ^

 

...what's been lacking the last couple of years. You didn't have the Michigan pride.

 

Thing there's wasn't anything that could be construed as objectionable, no more hateable, in the article.  Unless you were looking for reasons to be pissed.  And even that...I mean, is anyone beating their chest over the last 3 years?  Why would you hate people saying that while he hasn't had a chance to rebuild our stature on the football field yet, that at least Hoke is making people feel good about being part of Michigan Football again...or even being a fan.  Brian says again and again he saw that there was reason for Rich to go, but he seems to get upset more that people think they're being fixed rather than that they existed in the first place.  The "At least he's annoying"  and wincing about "Ohio" isn't doing much to back up the defenders who say Brian is soooo over it, and just didn't like the process. Sounds more like he's still pouting.  Because would it all still be so annoying if they had hired some O-coordinator who ran the spread (who would have less qualifications than Brady even had, having never been a head coach) that Brian was somehow all okay with as a hire?  Somehow, I doubt it.

gbdub

August 15th, 2011 at 8:02 PM ^

When you start looking for animus in paragraph titles for Unverified Voracity, which are always pretty damn sarcastic, I think you need to take a breather.

Brian has artfully constructed his pro-intellectual football online persona, and Hoke's public persona (and that of anyone interested in random fan quotes) is unabashedly anti-intellectual football. I think Brian begrudgingly respects Hoke's results while necessarily ribbing the sometimes hokey rah-rah rhetoric. I also think he's playing you guys like a fiddle.

M-Wolverine

August 15th, 2011 at 8:18 PM ^

Knows words have meaning. And give him credit for not picking words unwisely, which is all that's left for the "you're reading things into it" crowd. "Intellectual Football" is something pretty laughable if taken seriously, when casting the opposite view on people who have pooped more football knowledge than most any of us will ever have. Charts with pretty colors don't change that. And if anyone is reading too much into something, maybe you can explain what's in those DetNews quotes that are so "hateable" (every single one). Because the only way to hate the vast majority of that is to read WAY too much into them. Which makes your argument defending Brian kinda pot/kettle.

gbdub

August 15th, 2011 at 11:25 PM ^

You're seriously getting worked up over a column called "Unverified Voracity"? In a paragraph that's immediately followed by one mocking Danny Hope? I know you've been around here long enough to know that this is Brian's sarcastic / dry humor persona, much more so in these posts than in others. At least Brian is funny most of the time. "EVERYTHING BRIAN SAYS IS BECAUSE HE HATES HOKE" is a far more stale character.

Blue in Yarmouth

August 15th, 2011 at 1:07 PM ^

I am pulling for (and think it will be) Shaw who get the job at RB. I don't dislike any of the other guys (I love the all as Wolverines) but I just think Shaw has the best combination of Size, speed, vision and balance of the backs we have. I think if he hadn't got injured so much over the past couple years this wouldn't even be a debate and he would be a returning starter.

jbibiza

August 15th, 2011 at 1:20 PM ^

Some evidence of this buzz surfaced in the Herron interview when he said that he helped his roommate Beyer with information on how to play  SAM.  I thought Clark sounded like a perfect SAM when everyone started raving about his speed,  but if Mattison likes him at WDE that's fine with me.... comforting to (finally) have confidence in coaching decisions.

WolvinLA2

August 15th, 2011 at 1:36 PM ^

This seems like an odd switch to me. Beer seems like the bigger guy who could really bulk up and Clark seems like the more athletic one, more suitable for LB. Obviously, I'm in no position to know a fraction what the coaches do about this, only that I didn't see it coming at all.

BluePants

August 15th, 2011 at 1:26 PM ^

Yes, I know it's a joke, but as a 1L at Wake Forest I would probably EXPLODE with joy if WF joined the B10.  Of course this will never ever happen.  I was just briefly confused when I saw that.

 

On that note, I need to obsess over their football team.  Does anyone know of a suitable blog-like substance to do so?

bronxblue

August 15th, 2011 at 1:56 PM ^

I can't fight this feeling any longer.

And yet I'm still afraid to let it flow.

What started out as friendship,

Has grown stronger.

I only wish I had the strength to let it show.

I tell myself that I can't hold out forever.

I said there is no reason for my fear.

Cause I feel so secure when we're together.

You give my life direction,

You make everything so clear.

And even as I wander,

I'm keeping you in sight.

You're a candle in the window,

On a cold, dark winter's night.

And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might.

And I can't fight this feeling anymore.

I've forgotten what I started fighting for.

It's time to bring this ship into the shore,

And throw away the oars, forever.

Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore.

I've forgotten what I started fighting for.

And if I have to crawl upon the floor,

Come crushing through your door,

Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore.

Don

August 15th, 2011 at 2:07 PM ^

I'll be shocked if Shaw make it halfway through the season without getting injured. I'll be shocked if Fitz Toussaint makes it out of training camp unscathed. Some guys are just injury-prone.

M-Wolverine

August 15th, 2011 at 2:45 PM ^

(along with last sentence).

But point taken, that some who were questioning how white and old the staff looked maybe should worry about how they coach and recruit rather than other things.  And realize there might be things other than race that keep someone from being hired.

Blue boy johnson

August 15th, 2011 at 2:52 PM ^

I am not feeling the McGary to Michigan talk. This smells too much like the Casey Prather and Trey Ziegler recrtuitments repackaged. I think Brionte Dunn has a better shot ending up blue than McGary.

Raoul

August 15th, 2011 at 7:08 PM ^

Found a couple McGary items in the Twitter feed for Clint Jackson, an ACC recruiting analyst for Rivals. The second one does support the idea that Michigan has a good chance of landing McGary. But take a look at the first one. His entire family is planning on spending 2-3 days at both UNC and Duke. From what I understand about McGary's schedule, this would be after the weekend of the WMU game, which is when it was rumored that McGary would return to Ann Arbor. So one thing to look for is whether his family comes with him on that return trip. But, to me, that extended trip to the state of North Carolina doesn't bode well for Michigan's chances.

The Mitch McGary plan is to visit both UNC and Duke in early September. His family will spent 2-3 days on each campus. UNC first, then Duke.

Some additional McGary intel -- Marcus Paige is really recruiting him hard for UNC. And it's my opinion that Michigan is doing well here too

wolverine1987

August 15th, 2011 at 3:10 PM ^

 

"As long as they win more than half the games, Michigan fans are going to be pleased," said Cindy Dunne, 46, of Carleton. "If you listen to Brady Hoke, he's a Michigan man and the tradition is there, and I think that's what's been lacking the past couple of years. You didn't have the Michigan pride."

 

As long as we win more than half the games Cindy will be happy because the "Michigan Pride" will be back? How many did we win last year Cindy?

Uh, thanks Mom, now can you go make me a sandwhich? And don't forget dessert

lhglrkwg

August 15th, 2011 at 6:59 PM ^

kenny demens impressed me in that video. extremely well spoken. he sounds like a coach himself.

not that i thought he'd do otherwise, but that's the first interview i've seen him do