Recent Comments

Here's a free article from 247 on the camp. They list the top five competitors, and Speight isn't one of them. However, they do give him a form of "honorable mention."

http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/California-Elite-11-regional-Morgan-Mahalak-leads-the-way-131257

I think it's just not very likely that shorter guys have the wingspan/length necessary for the job.   Wingspan approximates height, so guys who are 6'3" are less likely to have the reach necessary; they also lose a couple inches worth of weight, so then you have to worry about their strength at the point of attack, too.

At Michigan the majority of tackles over the last decade have been 6'6" or taller (according to Michigan's rosters).  Lewan, Schofield, Ortmann, Dorrestein, Huyge, Kolodziej, etc.  I think the last 6'5" guy to play tackle was Steve Schilling, who...moved to guard.  The guys in the OT pipeline are 6'6" and 6'7" players like Tuley-Tillman, Braden, and Magnuson.  It's clearly a trend with Michigan's coaches, not just recruitniks.

There's virtually no buzz about any of those tackles committing.  Jones is probably the closest, but Michigan is probably #2 or #3 there right now, pending some visits next month.

Casey Tucker has expressed a little bit of interest after decommitting from USC.  Roderick Johnson has visited. Otherwise, we might need to send out some new offers.

Don't talk about "John Carter" that way.

Or breaking into a convenience store to get a burrito for Brooklyn Decker.

I think we have our next Attractive Michigan Girls of the Week...

Brandon Graham ALMOST chased an MSU running back down from behind.  Crable missed a tackle as the play went to the defense's right, then chased him down all the way back to the left and downfield to make the tackle.

P.S.: I think it was A.J. Jimmerson, but I might be wrong.

That's one reason why I've stopped posting pictures of the fairer gender.

Well, I don't know what he benches or squats or power cleans or anything.  But he struggles sometimes with bringing runners down, which caused the "functional strength" comment.

I'm not so sure that Swain looks like a SAM.  To me he looks like he could be a WILL, maybe like a Ben Gedeon type with WILL skills and the potential to grow into a MIKE.  Unless he's hit a growth spurt, he looks a little short to be the prototypical SAM that Michigan's coaches have been pursuing.

I usually profile about 90 players and lead right up to the first game, so it should start at the end of May/beginning of June. I haven't set the schedule yet, so I can't tell you an exact date.

Yeah...the last one was Lawrence Marshall.

I'm not going to argue that the Lions are GOOD, but they are certainly talented. The problem with the Lions was poor secondary play, injuries, and a few head cases (Titus Young, Ndamukong Suh, Nick Fairley).  All those guys were talented, plus Stafford, Calvin Johnson, etc.  It's not CFL talent.  The Raiders, however, are very much lacking in talent.

Gale Sayers.

It's a surprise.

Branding = Quin Blanding

He's projected to be a WILL, maybe a MIKE if he bulks up.  

I've made the new phone app available to everyone but you. Sorry.

If we're talking about refilling the roster, Cameron Gordon will graduate and Ringer/Jones have left.  There's some flexibility, but if your roster is balanced in the first place, then you probably want to take as many players (or more) as you're losing.

His straight line speed isn't great either. He runs well on a track but doesn't have good football speed.

FWIW, I've gathered as many freshman jersey numbers as I can:

http://touchthebanner.blogspot.com/2013/05/class-of-2013-freshman-jersey...

The gist that I got when following Delano Hill's recruitment is that he's a stellar athlete when it comes to measurables (size, speed, leaping ability, etc.) but hasn't put it together on the field.  He's a Michael Cox/Josh Furman type, who can run fast and pass the eyeball test but doesn't make plays consistently.

I hope I'm wrong, but I don't see the balls-to-the-wall, aggressive, playmaking instincts/mentality that I think he should have.

They serve beer.

My pompass skills are just fine, thank you very much.

How's that?

For a second there, I thought that GIF was the old Hill Auditorium.  That place is pretty awesome.

Some members of the 2011 class are Rodriguez's, so a few will probably last through the 2015 season.  So it will be 2016 before it's an all-Hoke team.

Frankly, I'm surprised Mike Jones stuck around this long. I thought he might be on the way out when Hoke first got hired, I was a little surprised when he stuck around for 2012, and then I was even more surprised when he was still on the roster this spring.  I don't wish him any will, but he's clearly just not on par with Michigan-caliber players athletically.  If he wishes to continue his football career, I hope he does it on the FCS or D-II level, because I don't think he can hack it in FBS.

24 players remain from the 2009-2011 recruiting classes that were recruited by Rodriguez.  Including the 22 from 2009, the 27 from 2010, and his 10 verbals from 2011 before getting fired, that's a total of 59 possible.  So that's a little less than 50% of his commits/signees still remaining.

Marshall.

Yes, he was. He graduated in 2002:

http://rivals.yahoo.com/michigan/football/recruiting/player-Gabriel-Watson-765;_ylt=AiaTWyATM4pOKhOmFDKdSbxmspB4

I mostly agree on the size thing, but I disagree on the explosiveness aspect and the projection for their positions.  I think Robinson is a more explosive player, hits like a ton of bricks (or at least 230 lbs. of them), and projects well to the WDE spot.  The difference between him and Marshall is the wingspan/bulk, which can't be helped much.

Um...okay.

I don't know, but there might be some consternation about putting a 6'7" guy at defensive tackle.

My entire second paragraph was devoted to explaining that Mattison has probably watched game film of Marshall.  I guess you missed that section.

Yeah, I think that would be the best place for him if he were to come to Michigan.  He supposedly moved to LB in 2012 (after previously playing DE) in an attempt to get more college exposure because a lot of teams thought he would be too small to play DE at the next level.

You often see defensive linemen blowing up blockers, using hump moves, swim moves, rip moves, etc.  I don't think the DE position lends itself to opponents' lowlights any more than any other position.

You won't ever hear me suggest that I'm a better evaluator of talent than Mattison, but there's a decent chance that he has never seen Marshall play football in person, either.  He has probably seen game film and/or camp film, but I don't know if Marshall attended Michigan's camp (here's at least a partial list of participants from last summer).  For all any of us know, Mattison okayed extending the offer to Marshall based on perhaps a little more film than is available to us on the internet.

Again, he's a better coach than I am, and I'm perfectly capable of being wrong.

Heh. As I mentioned, I think Marshall would start out as a weakside end, but I see him eventually playing strongside end once he starts to add significant weight.  If he remains below 260, then he's obviously not going to move to the strong side.

I'm not sure I agree.  Yes, they are usually good with leverage and using their hands, but they often seem to be interior players like Mike Martin, Brady Pallante, etc., who are hand fighting with 6'2"-6'4" guards and centers.  That's different than playing against 6'6" or 6'7" offensive tackles.

Again, those camps heavily favor defensive linemen.  I wouldn't put too much stock in that MVP award...

He doesn't look anything like Jibreel Black to me.  I wouldn't be disappointed if the coaches offered Gelen Robinson, as long as the coaches were/are able to get one of those higher rated guys, too (Hand or McDowell).  But I do think Robinson is small-ish and might get swallowed up by decent offensive tackles.

Correct.

I'm not sure if the coaches have seen him at camps, but they have almost surely had more access to him than I have.

...read my comment again.

Scouts don't typically attend MSU pro days, though.  It's a pain in the ass to get clearance for entry to Jackson State Penitentiary.

I mean, feel free to get excited about whomever you want.  This is just my evaluation.  Now I feel like we need pictures of Kate Upton to cheer you up...

I think there's the potential for his career to develop somewhat like Roh's, where he starts off at WDE and eventually grows into a SDE.  I think there's plenty of room for him to add enough weight to play SDE; he's thicker and taller than Frank Clark was in high school, and Clark is up around 280 now.

That's just brother-on-brother smack talk since his bro now coaches at Kentucky.

I only applied to Michigan, too.  I didn't realize until a few years later how risky of a choice that was.

I don't understand why people say that James Rogers wasn't very good.  He had 3 career receptions for 64 yards while playing receiver.  He returned 1 kickoff for 24 yards.  And when he finally became a starter (as a senior at cornerback), he had 40 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 pass breakups, and 3 interceptions.  The kid did a pretty decent job wherever the coaching staff put him.  I won't suggest that he was an all-conference player or anything, but people were all over J.T. Floyd's nuts when I was criticizing him; Rogers had as many picks in one year as a starter as Floyd had in 34 career starts.  Rogers also was an upperclassman during the Rodriguez years, so if he had played under Mattison/Mallory, who knows how good he could have been?

Personally, I think Rogers is one of the most underrated players of the past decade or so.  He made mistakes, but he was a good athlete who made some nice plays in limited time.

It's really nice that they don't have to play three of the best teams in the conference (assuming PSU can maintain its decent play from 2012).

Okay, you don't like this thread.  Got it.

Perhaps you should go peruse the one about the X Games, Jason Cornell, the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.  

Nobody is making you stay here and whine more about it.

I am not a head coach, but I have handled some of the administrative/recruiting related information for my high school's program.  In addition to colleges employing private recruiting services (guys who keep databases, visit schools to watch practices and workouts, etc.), local universities send out questionnares to the high school coaches in their areas asking for contact information for players who might be interested/able to play at their level.  For example, high schools in Michigan probably receive mail from Michigan, MSU, CMU, EMU, WMU, Miami-OH, Akron, Ball State, etc.  I've also talked to some D-I coaches who just showed up at our school and flat-out asked about potential FBS prospects.  Also, a guy like Ricky Powers (who coaches at Akron Buchtel now) might call up Brady Hoke and say, "I've got this sophomore safety that you might want to keep an eye on."

With all of those resources in place, though, I still don't really see a problem with Urban Meyer and/or other coaches using Rivals, Scout, etc. to monitor recruiting.  There are always going to be guys who slip through the cracks of your employees, and you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't keep an open mind to players who haven't previously been on your radar.

I have some character concerns about this prospect.  There are rumors that he could be troublesome and incur some sanctions against Michigan, and I don't know if he'll stay all four years.

TTB Rating: 37

He's still reeling in offers, and he doesn't seem in a hurry to choose.  There's still mutual interest between the two parties.

I somewhat agree but saying "we shouldn't take a RB" is different than saying "we should only take an elite RB." If all we can get is someone like Vincent Smith, I might agree. If we can get Fournette or Mixon or Hood, then we should take a RB.

Rawls and Hayes will be a senior and redshirt junior, respectively, when the 2014 class arrives. There's a strong possibility that Green will leave early. So that essentially leaves Johnson, DeVeon Smith, and Norfleet as long-term options. That group has potential, but there's no one that really jumps out. I think you need at least one RB in every class, maybe more. Hole said he wants at least two every year.

He's tall and very lean. Projecting him forward requires a leap of faith that he can both add weight and maintain his athleticism. Not saying he won't be good, just that he's a long way from being fully developed.

Putting Peppers at safety wouldn't leave much room for the tweeners to get PT if/when the coaches discover that Delano Hill or Channing Stribling or Reon Dawson can't play corner.

Braden Smith has supposedly dropped Michigan.

Gardner was kind of a no-brainer among those three, but I'll give credit where credit is due - he recruited a good one in Gardner.

Well, he missed a lot of games for Baylor.  I'm not sure if it was the coach's decision, being buried on the depth chart, injury, or what, but there may be some other issues there.

I wouldn't be surprised if we have a 2015 commitment prior to Under the Lights Part Deux.

This kid could play safety or wide receiver and be good at either one.  He also has a handy nickname, since John Smith is just kind of boring and makes me think of Pocahontas.

I forget where I read it, but somebody wrote that if he were eligible, Brett Hundley would have been the top QB picked in the 2013 NFL Draft.  I always really liked Hundley, and there are significantly more high-impact QBs from the 2011 class than Gardner's 2010 class.  Due to that reason, I somewhat expect a few high-profile QBs to leave early after the upcoming season (perhaps Bridgewater, Hundley, Hogan, Manziel, etc.).

For all we know, that was Clark's first offense.  Hagerup has been suspended EVERY SINGLE YEAR he's been in college, and basically, that streak is being extended to include 2010-2013 (four straight years!).  In about a year and half, we'll see if he can get suspended for a fifth consecutive year...

Riddell or Schutt should look into making football helmets look like that.  I think that might help with the concussion problems.

They make pills for that.

I might be wrong, but it has seemed odd to me that Michigan offered a bunch of SAM prospects for 2014...and suddenly, not too long ago, they offered Kyron Watson.  Either Michigan plans to take a third linebacker (perhaps Watson and Winovich?) or they wouldn't mind taking a MIKE prospect like Watson and moving Michael Ferns to SAM.  In my opinion, Ferns could play either spot.

903, 42, 11

It was generally a gut feeling. I just didn't think he was a guy who would stick around if he had to watch from the sideline, and the other guys in his class/position (Ross, Bolden, Morgan, etc.) made that a pretty strong likelihood.

He was talking about his belly button.

It seems rare that a guy would be 6'2" and fast without seeing the field.  The coaches will probably find a place for him at some point in his career, whether as a corner or safety or special teamer.  I don't think he has the instincts and fluidity to be an absolute stud, but it would take a serious failure for him not to "make it" in some way, shape, or form.

Oh no!  Why did Denard cut off his dreads?!?!?!?!

MSU is the obvious choice.  That's where good offensive linemen go to be great.  Just look at...umm...Flozell "The Hotel."

Stupid, immature nicknames like "DickRod" are frowned upon around here.

Yeah, sorry for the tangent, but Chee-tos are important.  Almost as important as Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

Graham also had a pretty decent season last year, with 5.5 sacks a year after he tore his ACL.  Not that it really matters who it is, but guys like Donovan Warren and Ernest Shazor come to mind as players who left early and never latched on in the NFL.  I have heard that Warren is back in Ann Arbor to work on finishing up school.

Yes, that was Morgan Trent.

I'm not sure how you get those two mixed up...

Do you guys remember that one time when Donovan Warren busted through the line against MSU and absolutely crushed Glenn Winston?  Man, that was awesome.

I rarely say that Michigan cooled on players.  That just so happens to be the case with Doles, whether you like it or not.

He's like an NFL team's general manager, minus the drafting/contract negotiations portion.  He takes care of finances, logistics, etc. for the coaches and team.  The AD obviously has lots of other sports to oversee, too, although they're less important because football rules.

Oh, stop complaining - the Lions went 0-16.  Compared to that season, the Jags are a juggernaut.

I have a hard time reading the thread title without thinking that Michigan hired a pageant winner from down south.

This is fun.

Boy, I can honestly say I've never been called "pompass" prior to now.

I think we're all going to learn a lot from you.

WOTS was that Michigan kind of cooled on Doles, too, so it was sort of a mutual parting of ways.

He had fewer receptions and blocking assignments than most running backs, too.

Real recognize real?  Marshall committed to Ohio State and then decommitted a couple days later.  Neither party is "real."

How did he get one of those?

It's odd that a video of a guy dunking would help you reach this conclusion.

Virtually the entire NBA and most college basketball players are qualified to date your daughter(s), if and when you have them.

Marvin Jones, huh?  He was pretty good as a linebacker at Florida State and with the Jets.  It's quite a move for him to slim down and move to WR.

Stanford only took a 12-man class in 2013, and there were just two 3-star linemen in that class.  But in 2012 they got seven linemen, two of which were 5-star offensive tackles, four 4-stars, and one 3-star.  That's a total of two 5-stars, four 4-stars, and three 3-stars.  That's an average star rating of 3.89.

Michigan got one 5-star, seven 4-stars, and two 3-stars in that span.  That's an average star rating of 3.90.

So that's virtually a dead heat.  I haven't watched film of Stanford's 3-star guys, but I might prefer to take the class(es) that included Andrus Peat, Kyle Murphy, and Josh Garnett from a pure talent standpoint.

Robinson was listed at 185 as a true freshman in 2009.

After what has happened with the last couple Crete-Monee players, I'm not surprised that the Nyles Morgan thing hasn't got off the ground.  And Clifton Garrett hasn't even been offered, I don't think.  He's a MIKE prospect and the coaches want(ed) Michael Ferns III to play MIKE, although the offer to Watson suggests that maybe they could take an ILB prospect and move Ferns to OLB.

Stanford doesn't have any fans.  Only rich alums who are too busy making millions of dollars and operating on brains to pay attention to football.

Not that I'm above criticism, but lots of people want me to tone things down...and if I listened to them, I'd be writing the same cheesy, sunshine-and-rainbows evaluations that the guys at Rivals and Scout write.  I generally just say what I think; some people will like it, and some won't.  Personally, I find evaluations to be completely useless unless they're frank about both the positives and the negatives.

Like I said, you're free to have your opinion.  But chances are slim that I'm going to change my approach.