[Marc-Gregor Campredon]

Unverified Voracity Has Pressure But No End Product Comment Count

Brian November 10th, 2020 at 2:19 PM

Sponsor note. If you're thinking about starting a small business, you're going to need legal advice. Contracts. A talking potato that whispers inventions into your ear. Richard Hoeg can cover two of those three items.

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To be clear: he is a lawyer who is good with law-talking things and contracts. He does not have a talking potato. Do not berate him about giving you the talking potato. It does not exist, and even if it did he would not let you see it. But I want to be clear that it does not exist. The potato does not talk. This is not an acknowledgement of the existence of the potato. I am just saying that whatever potatoes Richard Hoeg has are regular, mute potatoes that do not have dozens of lucrative patents filed.

But he can totally do contracts.

Entrenched now. About that basketball class: it's #1 and as long as everyone shows up on campus it will definitely stick in the top five. Matt has fiddled with 24/7s class projector:

As he mentioned, both Diabate and Bufkin have had standout performances recently that should see them improve their composite rankings once the sites issue updates.

Everyone is naturally nervous about the "as long as everyone shows up" clause in the sentence above. Diabate is the kind of obvious NBA unicorn who would be a natural target for this new G League initiative… if that initiative still exists after coronavirus severely dented NBA revenues. Also there were a ton of rumors around Isaiah Todd looking at professional routes. We don't have any such indications about Diabate.

Never say never, of course, but Diabate is French and could have stayed in Europe to play professionally if that was his inclination. Also the dual attractions of Omlette du Fromage guy and Marc-Gregor Campredon, our French photographer, will be powerful lures.

(Pronunciation note: Andrew Kahn says that Diabate's last name is pronounced with a G at the beginning. Think Makhtar N'Diaye.)

[After THE JUMP: sad confirmation of this site's Paye takes]

Also just getting started. Matt has touched on 2022 recruiting from time to time. Here's a brief overview of guys mentioning Michigan prominently. All ranks are composite, with an additional theme:

  • PG Jaden Bradley (#8, IMG) might be a tough pull away from UNC—he's a North Carolina native—but Howard's giving it a go. Bradley doesn't have a set list yet.
  • PF Jarace Walker (#9, IMG) has Michigan in a loose top four with UNC, Maryland, and Auburn.
  • PF/SF Eric Dailey (#39, IMG) has Michigan in a loose top three with Iowa State and Texas A&M.
  • SF Jett Howard (#48, IMG) is a fairly good bet to end up in the class.
  • SF/SG Ty Rodgers (#50, Grand Blanc) has a relatively fuzzy recruitment but his coach said that Houston, Syracuse, Michigan, Rhode Island, and Missouri are teams "really recruiting him hard."
  • PG Dug McDaniel (#70, John Paul VI) would have Michigan in a top 5 if he had one and played a bunch with Jett.

This class has had guys come from out of nowhere to end up in the class and that figures to continue. Or Michigan could get most of a top ten class out of IMG. FWIW, Michigan will likely have ~4 scholarships in that class. They'll have two openings and then Diabate and Wagner will likely be off to the draft. If they take a seventh guy in this class—a possibility—then they'd require some less expected attrition. This is a constant feature of college basketball; I set the target at 4.

Grimace emoji. Coronavirus cases are spiking everywhere and football is teetering:

Minnesota basketball just paused workouts and practice.

Wasted. This site isn't the only one banging the drum for Michigan's defensive ends—defensive end, now, alas. PFF has taken note of Kwity Paye's production:

There hasn’t been a more unblockable player in college football so far this season. We’re only three games into the Big Ten season, but there’s little doubt for anyone who has watched Paye that we’re seeing a different player altogether.

He showed off everything this past week against Indiana with a number of different pass-rushing moves to rack up six pressures. With how explosive the Michigan edge defender is, he looks like an easy choice for Edge1 at the moment.

Per the Draft Network, Paye has 25 pressures in 3 games. He  has zero sacks. If Michigan cornerbacks could cover even a little Paye would be making up for various sins. Instead, here we are.

Paye is #12 in Dane Brugler's latest set of NFL draft rankings:

12. Kwity Paye, edge, Michigan (6-3, 271)
Paye was my top-ranked senior prospect in August and that hasn’t changed (and I don’t expect it to before draft weekend). Equally effective versus the run and the pass, the senior launches out of his stance and creates movement with his energy and pop at contact. Paye is an innately motivated competitor who will start in the NFL for a long time.

Hutchinson is #28; Mayfield is #38.

Mike Legg's in the game. Congratulations, EA, for successfully implanting this advertising content on our website.

Someone please license Michigan uniforms to this game.

Etc.: Don't click here. Hockey's opener is on BTN+; I have limited hopes the production values will be better. Basketball may be hosting UCF on December 6th. Replacing Aidan Hutchinson. A comprehensive overview of where the various NCAA basketball violations cases stand. Both Gach is immediately eligible for Minnesota. "Both Gach" is the name of a person.

This is what it takes for this space to acknowledge the existence of golf. A look at college hockey's newcomers mentions Michigan a lot, naturally, but also discusses quasi conference member Arizona State. Tech's uniforms this year are a throwback to the program's founding 100 years ago.