MGoBlog in Chicago Recap
Last night was the UMCGC's annual football preview with Brian, Seth, Zach Eisendrath (former M football staffer) and Adam Rittenberg (ESPN). The Club of Greater Chicago put on a great event with plenty of Lou Malnati's, 312, etc. and Brian and Seth gave interesting presentations before a nice roundtable Q&A. There were about 90 attendees.
Brian went position by position discussing just how good various groups are going to be. This was a nice update from what made it into HAIL thanks to fall camp tidbits. Video examples of what players do well was also a big hit.
Seth talked Don Brown's hybrids and had a few choice videoclips to show just how he messes with defenses.
Big takeaways that I had that the board may find interesting:
- The WRs are going to be good. Brian said maybe even a step up from last year overall, with more big mistakes thanks to youth
- Hudson was made for this defense and should reprise most of what Peppers did on defense really well
- Cornerback is still an open question - so expect more blitzing/QB pressure
- Mike Onwenu is down to 360 and may end up platooning a bit with Ruiz
- RT is a true battle
- For the West, Brian is high on Iowa, Adam thinks its Wisconsin, then possibly Northwestern
- Bredeson should be OK to good - he was -5 to PFF but the other two freshmen starters in the league were -16 and -25. Brian missed a great opportunity to make a "Not that Michael Jordan" joke while in Chicago.
- Brian thinks 10-2, Seth 9-3.
- Thank Malik McDowell for a lot of MSU's problems last year. When your best player goes 100% like they did at M (Peppers, Wormley, Butt) that trickles down. When your best player takes plays off and gets away with it (MSU) that can destroy a culture.
- Harbaugh's as innovative in private as he is in public. We all heard about Rome, we didn't all hear about new video carts and instant film review in practice. M's now on par with elite schools when it comes to using tech & the latest and greatest teaching tools.
- Look for info from Seth soon on a preseason kickoff event and a homecoming tailgate.
August 18th, 2017 at 9:46 AM ^
I'm thankful McDowell started the destruction of MSU's culture.
August 18th, 2017 at 10:00 AM ^
And Harbaugh is going to finish it.
August 18th, 2017 at 10:03 AM ^
August 18th, 2017 at 10:34 AM ^
I love laughing at MSU probably more than most , but this story about Mcdowell's recruitment seems insane.
If anyone has the full story and who the source is I would like to hear it because I keep hearing bits alluding to the fact that MSU told him he didn't have to participate fully in their program and could do what he wanted. Not buying that at all.
August 18th, 2017 at 12:02 PM ^
The rumor is that players on the team told him the schoolwork wasn't as bad. Didn't have to work as hard there as he would other places. Mom hated that, she wanted him at UofM anyway, so she blew that up into a thing.
Certainly the coaches never told him that, I agree. Sam Webb always said he just had more fun at MSU. Whether it was parties or culture or liking the coaches or campus or whatever there, that makes sense. It's his decision and that seems like as good a reason as any other to choose a place.
August 18th, 2017 at 10:42 AM ^
I highly doubt that's what they told him. "Hey, guy, if you come here you won't have to be a responsible human and grow as a person."
August 18th, 2017 at 11:54 AM ^
no probably not those exact words but it likely that is what mcdowell was thinking
August 18th, 2017 at 1:41 PM ^
The aggregate information implied a stark choice for the young man: the harder path or the easier path.
He chose the path that would challenge him the least.
August 18th, 2017 at 10:58 AM ^
To me the poetic justice can be found in remembering his MOM didnt want him to go there cause she was concerned about the "freedoms" he'd enjoy at MSU vs UM. Mom did everything in her power to stop him from going there if you remember up to and including not signing the form allowing him to commit for a while.
Mom's know. Mom's always know.
August 18th, 2017 at 6:48 PM ^
ALWAYS LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER
August 18th, 2017 at 9:49 AM ^
August 18th, 2017 at 11:18 AM ^
so why the Malcolm McDowell gif?
August 18th, 2017 at 10:05 AM ^
August 18th, 2017 at 10:11 AM ^
Might be more of an endurance thing with Big Mike, but I guess we'll see. I cannot imagine a more devastating run blocker on our O-Line than him, but maybe he gets gassed as the game goes on and Ruiz can step in and support as needed. 360 lbs is still enormous.
August 18th, 2017 at 10:23 AM ^
August 18th, 2017 at 10:33 AM ^
This is also why it is so important that the staff gives a ton of gives multiple reps at different spots. The centers and guards can mainly play 3 different spots on the line, and even some of the tackles get reps in the interior. At the end of the day the best 5 will play, and when one guy goes down the staff will reconfigure so that the next "best 5" unit can play. Instead of just swapping a RG in for a RG, etc.
We saw this last year when we kicked Braden out to LT and let Bredeson fill in at LG, rather than just playing JBB at LT when Newsome went down.
August 18th, 2017 at 10:35 AM ^
The Kugler/Ruiz situation couldn't have worked out any better in my opinion. Kugler locks down the C spot and gives us a veteran presence in the middle of the line. Ruiz gets his feet wet at the guard spot and acclimates to the speed and intensity of P5 CFB without having to worry about line calls and adjustments. Ruiz then slides over to center next year following Kugler's graduation with some solid playing time already under his belt.
Also, knowing that Ruiz is good enough to play and that the RT position is a true battle tells us that our Oline goes 7 deep at minimum, which is nice.
August 18th, 2017 at 10:44 AM ^
I hope you are right but the flip side is it could be a battle because nobody is excelling and our oline actually only goes 3.5 deep with the .5 being when onwenu isn't too tired to play.
August 18th, 2017 at 11:11 AM ^
I can believe that one guy is stepping up into a guy capable of blocking elite DLs. Kugler might make such a leap?
But I have a hard time believing that three guys are. The fact that a platoon at RG sounds like a real possibility tells me that there are real worries there. No matter how good a true freshman OL is, he's still a true freshman.
August 18th, 2017 at 11:27 AM ^
At least he played against legitimate talent at IMG and was an early enrollee. It's literally the best possible case for starting a true freshman.
August 18th, 2017 at 2:14 PM ^
but again, look at those PFF numbers for true freshmen that started last year. All negative. While he may not be a disaster, it is unlikely he's a plus player. Per reports, it's pretty much certainly the case that Onwenu just can't go a full game and Ruiz is the next best option.
Although I feel like Spanellis looked decent in the spring so I am optimistic that the Ruiz floor is high, like in the "average" range where Bredeson was last year.
August 18th, 2017 at 12:25 PM ^
August 18th, 2017 at 2:22 PM ^
Bredeson and Cole played on as freshmen were mediocre and awful, respectively.
It's just so rare that having a true freshman play on the line is the result of him being really good, rather than the line having major holes. In the cases of Bredeson and Cole, it was the latter, and they both struggled as freshmen.
August 18th, 2017 at 4:25 PM ^
Though I thought both Cole and Bredeson were serviceable as freshman. Had some bad moments, yes, but had some good moments too. Survived.
For Ruiz and Big Mike, I'm not expecting a lot, given their age and development. But I would take average at this point. Hell I would take "surviving."
I'm just hoping the possible rotation, if true, is a matter of, "Okay we got two guys who are kind of meh ... we need to play both because we're gonna need them both, and 'the way to get better at football is to play footfall.'" (Woot woot Harbaugh quote.) I'm going with "glass half full" and sticking my head in the sand until January!
August 18th, 2017 at 11:48 AM ^
Yep this is the correct caution. Everyone saying M should bottom out at 10-2 and win a natty at the top end should remember the right tackle position is probably pretty bad, and right guard is unknown.
I think the ceiling this year is very high, but the floor is pretty low. Lots of variance.
August 18th, 2017 at 11:45 AM ^
Yeah, this is my optimistic view. Others thought Onwenu had a poor spring game, I didn't. He had some hiccups, no doubt (he was slow out of this stance at times and missed some blitz pick-ups, but hell everyone did). But he also went head-up against Mone and Hurst and didn't budge. Even got some push on certain plays. I have to believe that translates well to non-Michigan DL's. Small sample size, of course.
August 18th, 2017 at 11:02 AM ^
I think we have talent and depth finally and they are having a tough time splitting hairs on who should start. Why not an occassional rotation on the OL also or play who's doing a better job that game.
We have very good OL coaches and they can probably coach up a lot of interchangeable parts without any drop off. Get more guys experience and play the best ones game by game.
The CB battle is interesting and think it goes down to the very end. Could even see some rotation back there as I'm not sure anyone will completely seperate themselves from the rest and like OL getting more guys experience is a good thing.
August 18th, 2017 at 2:30 PM ^
to have experience, so I wouldn't say we have the highest quality depth, even if some of the young guys are talented.
When a true frosh is viable at one spot, there's a battle at another spot between a veteran who was horrible last year and a guy that isn't ideally sized or super athletic, and the most important spot is being played by a guy that doesn't fit that well at the position, there are some major question marks on the O line.
All those questions could have positive answers, but could be an interesting ride.
August 18th, 2017 at 10:13 AM ^
I say this in all earnestness - at least McDowell didn't rape anybody. When we talk about "destroying MSU's culture" I think the problems in E. Lansing run a lot deeper than McDowell phoning it in periodically. They have to do with cutting corners, situational ethics run amok, and a lack of moral clarity from the HC position on down.
And McDowell? That seems as much a coaching failure as a player failure to me.
August 18th, 2017 at 10:23 AM ^
I mean I don't know that all of that was forseeable though. Auston Robertson was certainly a failure on Michigan State's part, but I don't think any of the other 3 had known character issues. Hell, Michigan really wanted Corley (I don't remember if we wanted the other two).
Sometimes people are just pieces of shit, and, although they've failed in the past, MSU handled that situation the right way.
August 18th, 2017 at 10:52 AM ^
Agreed it's not all foreseeable, but that's kind of part-and-parcel of "culture" arguments. MSU turned a blind eye on Glenn Winston, Dorm Vikings, etc., all in the name of winning. They took players with known character issues (e.g., Robertson), all in the name of winning. By doing so they established a culture of non-accountability.
So while the specific events of Corley-King-Vance and Robertson may not have been foreseeable, the fact that these sort of events would be occurring in their program with greater frequency than other football programs is foreseeable.
And I'm unconvinced that MSU handled the Corley-King-Vance situation the "right way", because I think of Blackwell - an MSU football staffer who worked in part as a player advisor - as "MSU". On top of that, I'm not inclined to throw Dantonio a parade for simply following procedures once it was on his radar.
With all of that going on in the program, I find it funny to say that McDowell "ruined MSU's culture". That shit was wrecked years ago - it's just that it took a while to come to roost.
August 18th, 2017 at 12:29 PM ^
palsgraff as football.
August 18th, 2017 at 3:29 PM ^
I see what you did there, but it doesn't really tip the scales in this case.
August 18th, 2017 at 1:07 PM ^
August 18th, 2017 at 2:55 PM ^
very few people are just naturally pieces of shit. Humans are very influenced by their surroundings and situations.
Being in poor situations can lead otherwise decent people to do bad things.
The fact that MSU reactively handled that particular situation the right way doesn't mean the program fosters a healthy environment for young people. And that's exactly why Malik's mother wanted him to go to Michigan. I'm certainly not saying Michigan is perfect, that's definitely not the case, but the M program certainly does seem to have a more wholesome culture than what has been going on at MSU.
August 18th, 2017 at 11:01 AM ^
The ol' "chip on the shoulder" thing is basically their core philosophy under Mikey D. This served them well for a time but ultimately mutated into their identity becoming somewhat akin to the Oakland Raiders. This may work in professional football in a shithole like Oakland, but it is not going to hold up with 20 year old kids on a college campus. They reap what they sow.
August 18th, 2017 at 10:14 AM ^
Sounds like a fun event.
Hard to believe I am excited about 1 freshman reciever, let alone 3. Hoping they have some chemistry with Speight (or whoever starts).
I read in the OSU site about all their opponents that MSU is reinstating their player that spit on a parking officer and did some other stuff. Surprised and not surprised. They may get a culture change in a year, but that is a lot of new guys on both defense and offense and is a drop in talent.
I like Harbaugh's Strategy of getting high quality characters and players. Seems to be a better overall plan.
August 18th, 2017 at 10:14 AM ^
thanks for posting.
August 18th, 2017 at 10:30 AM ^
I'm not an experty but a platoon on the oline sounds not ideal for communication and blitz pick up purposes. Its even worse if its just because Onewnu can't stay on the field because it means bringing in a worse guy for part of the game based on conditioning and not based on play making our line weaker for parts of the game. I'm nervous about the right side of the line just scuttling the offense.
August 18th, 2017 at 10:33 AM ^
August 18th, 2017 at 10:47 AM ^
I get why, DT's don't play all game, its just not an ideal situation for an oline to have to be playing 30% of their downs with a worse player because of conditioning. Both because ruiz will be not as good (true freshman not a knock on him) but also because it makes communication and blitz pickup by messing with cohesion on the line, especially when the guy is a true freshman who is likely to struggle with that if they were playing everydown.
August 18th, 2017 at 10:35 AM ^
Hate to pile on the "kid" but if memory serves correct he wanted to go to U of M but his parents basically made him go to State. The reasoning was that they felt U of M was too close to home and "negative influences" from those that he grew up with. I guess that they should have been more concerned with coaching and environment than just the distance from home.
August 18th, 2017 at 10:39 AM ^
Other way around - his mother did not want him to go to Michigan State, and he really did. She held off signing the LOI on signing day in the hopes of convincing him not to go to State
August 18th, 2017 at 10:40 AM ^
You have it completely backwards. I don't know about his dad, but his mom was totally against MSU and I'm not sure she would sign his LOI. She was concerned about the culture there. The kid wanted to go to MSU and held out until either she signed or he just enrolled and showed up in the summer.
August 18th, 2017 at 10:59 AM ^
Thanks for reminding me. Getting old. Memory is fading.
August 18th, 2017 at 11:07 AM ^
We sometimes are blind to the idea that many potential recruits do not want to come to Michigan precisely because they are going to be held to a high standard in the classroom and the community. That can be intimidating or downright undesireable. A lot of these kids are very immature or just plain knuckleheads. Not that Michigan has not had its share of bad apples, but they are pretty swiftly and surely corrected or they are gone.