Top Recruit that Could Have Turned The Table for Michigan Football?
Everyone once in a while I go back through Rival's database and look at some players who were once being recruited by Michigan and could have had a major impact if they would have committed to Michigan (e.g. Justin King, Taylor Mays, Nick Perry, etc.)
Today's Prospect: Brian Cushing. I dug up this little bit from an older article.
“It was disappointing because I was basically telling Michigan if they offered I was going to commit,” Cushing noted. “I just think they were not real sure about me.”
I can't imagine that we would have lost with him lining up next do David Harris in 06. Trying to debate what would be a better upgrade for the 06 Team
Cushing instead of Chris Graham or Justin King over Morgan Trent
Joseph Barksdale would have looked good on our d-line next to Martin... think of the quality depth at DT.
UM should have never let him set foot outside of the state of Michigan.
he was going to UM, people need to get off of this. it was either MSU or alabama
He wasn't a top recruit anyhow. It's not like everyone wanted him. Besides, he had significant connections with Saban. And honestly, while he did win a Heisman trophy, he might not be the best back on his team.
I was thinking Jelani Jenkins. It wouldn't have made a huge difference probably last year, but he's probably be able to jump in this fall and start at a position we need.
I DON'T want him, because he defeated our very own Iris Macadangdang....
OR excited by the thought that we could have had the #1 vs. #2 all Michigan Final....
hmmmm....
Vernon Gholston, and I don't really care if he was a bust in the NFL. He spent much of his time making Henne eat turf in the 2007 game. And terrorizing other QBs round the Big 10. Even LSU was feeling his rage in the title game that year.
Justin King was a major, major loss. BCS bowl teams don't have major weaknesses like Trent in '06 - they just don't. Ted Ginn could've given us another elite vertical threat in 2004-2006 alongside Steve Breaston, but that would and should've been a non-issue if Bass hadn't been cursed with that injury. And, you know, Manningham was more than capable. Hell, Ginn could've played corner here.
Brian Cushing made Henne (Henne, you poor bastard) eat turf in the '06 Rose Bowl to the tune of a defensive MVP bowl award. So, I would've preferred him on our sidelines.
Any offensive coordinator that could've competently replaced Michael DeBord. Run the ball run run run run play action run run run run run run
This is depressing so I'm going to stop.
Uh, didn't DeBord help lead Michigan to a freaking national title in 1997? And, didn't he help the team jump to a 11-0 record in 2006?
Yeah, other OCs might have been more flashy, but he, Loeffler, Campbell and Jackson had an awesome record of developing high quality talent. Lest you forget Henne, Hart, Manningham and Arrington.
Is DeBord an immediate family member of yours or something?
But he was the OC during the two most enjoyable Michigan football years since I turned 18, so reading the post-hoc criticisms is just a little bit much. Yes, he was conservative. Michigan still won at an amazing clip during his tenure. Why poop all over that?
leading CMU to a laughing stock in the MAC. I was there when they played Marshall with Moss. He had 3 td grabs, but if he could actually catch the ball that day he could have had 7. Yes SEVEN. He dropped 4 wide open passes that all would have been for 60 or more yards. Yes that would be his fault. Head Coach and all.
Well, by the time Mike Debord even made it to Central Michigan, Randy Moss was a three-time Pro Bowler for the Vikings.
Also, I mean, come on, I know you want to criticize Debord, but can we acknowledge the fact that Randy Moss was a BCS-level talent (committed to ND and FSU, if I remember correctly, before various problems ended up in his scholarships being withdrawn) who ended up in the MAC? I don't think many people in his league were covering him very well/at all that year.
But go kicked out due to arrests.
But yeah, there's no way a 6'4" 220 lb beast that runs a 4.3 and has ridiculous hands just "slips through the cracks" to Marshall
"Uh, didn't DeBord help lead Michigan to a freaking national title in 1997"
Well, no, the defense did most of the leading. Still, I credit him for doing a fine job... in 1997. In 2006, his goal was to make Hart's legs fall off, and Hart did eventually leave here with more than a degree - he broke records. But it came at the expense of one Chad Henne.
Henne should have been a superstar here, not throw for a declining amount of TDs each year. The pass game should have been a bigger threat- when Northwestern can spend the whole day stacking eight in the box and hold you to a 28-16 final score ('07) when Ohio State did the only logical thing against them that same season: attack the weak secondary and blow them out.
On that chart someone made (I forgot who) discussing the average yards/ game offensively for BCS teams (2006) UM lagged dearly with I think, around 300 yards or so. The point of the damn offense is not to "chew clock". It's the freaking 21st century. Get the backups on the field by late in the 3rd quarter against weak teams. Protect your starters. Develop depth.
Are we talking about the '07 Michigan team where Chad Henne spent a large portion of the time playing (or not playing) with a bum knee and a bum throwing shoulder?
Yep, Henne should have thrown for 50 touchdowns that year.
P.S. That's sarcasm.
When he was healthy, though, the strategy seemed to remain the same. With the exception of the Florida game. Remember the MSU game, when we went up 14-3 and decided to sit on that lead instead of trying to extend it? The result was Henne staying in a funk until the pressure was on.
They dropped him back into the shotgun and - surprise - with time to throw, he made them look stupid again.
Look, all I'm really saying is why did DeBord get so happy to sit on 7 and 10 point leads and make a weak '07 defense shoulder the load?
That and the kid is a real good player for Ohio State, I would like him on the team connection or not.
It makes me sick watching the Capital One Bowl with him in the Maize and Blue
If you're gonna envy OSU for one of their players, at least admit that you wanted Terrelle Pryor. Let's face it - a QB is much more valuable than a single OL. Especially considering our OL has gelled pretty decently in the past two years, whereas we've struggled with QB play (aside from Tate's first five games).
When Will Campbell flattens him on the way to a bone-crushing hit on Saine in November. You just watch.
Ted Ginn. It's not even close. If we offer him and get him then the Glennville pipeline to OSU maybe doesn't exist.
I don't mean this as a slight against John Navarre; he was put in a difficult situation when Henson left and did his best for four years. But if Michigan had had a top-flite QB between 2001 and 2003, there might be more hardware in the case at Schembechler Hall.
Jai Eugene. Knock-on effect would have been "les" animosity between Carr and Miles over his eventual yoink. Of course that is speculative.
Pretty sure we weren't in the running for him, but having Eric Berry the last few years would have been great for that secondary. Maybe we could have avoided The Horror.
I don't know if he was a scholarship athlete, but Brett Swenson would have been useful last year.
Olesnavage's missed FG and PAT against Purdue likely cost Michigan bowl eligibility.
You spend an entire thread supporting DeBord and now this?
You sir, are an idiot. Perhaps you should discuss a front office job with Al Davis. He has a penchant for taking kickes in the first round.
So, you think it's worthless not having a scholarship placekicker on the roster who can contribute? Obviously RR thought the same, that's why he brought in Gibbons but had to redshirt him for whatever reason.
But yeah, if you look at the Purdue game, had Olesnavage hit the PAT in the third quarter, the worst that would have happened at the end was that Michigan would've tied the game and gone to OT.
OK - that's great man. That's one game. On our WALK ON kicker.
If I were to have told you - "our walk on kicker will only cost us one game this year" you probably would have taken that, right?
AND It's debatable if he even cost us that game - our defense folded. It wasn't like it was some 13-10 or 14-13 final or something.
Think about all the losses last year and why we lost them:
MSU: Tate's first road game (slow start) or the defense's inability to stop MSU's drive where they scored with 100+ penalty yards
Iowa: Tate's injury, Denard's inability to throw, and our defense's inability to cover a TE
Penn State: Everything went wrong
Illinois: Everything went wrong after Roundtree is caught
Purdue: Our defense gave up 38 points to Purdue. That should be enough said.
Wiscy: Ditto, except add a touchdown to that total.
OSU: Tate's play was the deciding factor.
So add that up on who cost us games last year:
- Freshman QB's (including injury): 3+
- Defense: 4+
- Walk on Senior Kicker: 1 at most
So yeah, good analysis man. That kicker of ours last year would DEFINITELY be the one person on the team I'd replace with a 5* producer.
[Edit - I don't mean to slight Tate by any of this - I thought he was excellent for a freshman QB last year, but he was dinged up and he was a freshman QB. That is going to cost any team some games.]
I don't know why but I got a kick out of you guys going after each other over Mike DeBord and Jason Olesnavage
That's all I'm going to say before I get negged into oblivion.
Super sad face :(:(:(:(:(:(
Having a Rhodes Scholar on the team would have certainly helped our image.
I'm wondering if Dillon Baxtor will one day be in a similar thread
As long as he gets to wear the Iron uni...
Rojo... I mean, duh, guys.
Here are some of my thoughts:
- Ron Johnson - We got Donovan Warren that year but Johnson would have been a stud and the best player in the state. But USC promised him he could play offense and Carr wanted him to play defense. (I'm sure there was more to that recruitment, but that's what I remember.)
- Nick Perry - Having him on the opposite side of Brandon Graham would have meant that you could have played with an entire secondary of walk-ons and it wouldn't matter since they would have eaten QB's alive.
- Ted Ginn - Aside from opening up Glenville, I don't really care that we didn't get Ginn. During his tenure we had Breaston, Manningham, and Arrington. We weren't hurting for receivers and thought we had Bass too.
- Antonio Bass - I do think this was one of the most devastating injuries to the program ever, especially given the transition of coaches.
- Jason Forcier - This is far lower on the list, but I think it really hurt that he transferred when Mallett arrived. Mallett struggled a ton as a freshman and then bolted. Had Forcier stayed he could have started the past two seasons and then handed the job to his little brother this season.
That's not why Rojo went to USC.
nick perry wasn't really a loss as he was leaning more towards state than UM.
ted ginn should've been taken just based on his athleticism.
bass wouldn't have played QB for us even if he had been healthy so thats moot.
forcier left because he was promised the offense would be tweaked to fit his skills and it wasn't, on top of that mallett was immediately made the backup over him as a true frosh.
I know it's kind of your style to make statements like "bass wouldn't have played QB for us even if he had been healthy so thats moot" without explaining, but care to explain?
he was a 40% passer in HS and really didn't have the arm strength to be a college QB. he was a great athlete but not a good enough athlete to overcome his lack of arm strength
Was it similar to a Denard (at least last year, crossing my fingers for this year) situation, then?
would have been worse. there just wasn't enough arm strength for bass to be a good enough threat to play QB
Matt Leinart - We came in second behind USC and instead took Navarre. Navarre had a great 2003 season, but I think Leinart would have taken us to a whole other level.
Desean Jackson - Savoy took his spot, Jackson really wanted to be a wolverine.
Ginn - Didn't look good at DB at the UM camp, so Carr didn't offer.
I think Tim Tebow has to be the answer here. Not only would he have been a good player in Rodriguez's offense, but he probably would have positively affected a lot of the "image issues" that Rodriguez has suffered from critics.
By the way, all that '06 crap about having Justin King instead of Morgan Trent is revisionist history. USC was just flat-out better than Michigan, and still would have been better if King was a Wolverine or not. Leon Hall was a better cornerback than Justin King, and Leon Hall got beat by Matt Leinart and Co. USC was a juggernaut. One player would most likely not have changed that outcome.
I think Justin King got more love because of what happened in the OSU game - you know, the one where if we won we could have played for the Natty title?
and beat ohio state, we wouldn't have been playing USC. that's probably the least revisionist history of all of these. in the 4th quarter against ohio st, the buckeyes went almost exclusively at trent to score the game sealing TD. king showed earlier in the season that he could lock down ted ginn, he likely would've at least done something similar and almost certainly would've performed better than trent did.
...had LC actually employed the type of offense in his final game (Cap One) to the rest of his games? Just saying...
Although I think a large part of the success of the scheme employed in that game was the element of surprise. Florida prepared for one team and philosophy, but got a very different one. If Michigan had employed that kind of open gameplan on a regular basis, it would have been something Florida was more prepared to deal with.
Plus, it was also probably the only big game that year where all the important components were actually healthy at the same time.
Not to state the obvious or anything.
Also, Nick Perry (imagine him lining up opposite Graham), Ronald Johnson.