couple points too high on average per player. But your posted ratings show mediocre knowledge of Michigan player quality. High school ratings are irrelevant once you have sufficient college film on a player. Your ratings are not facts. Facts require evidence.
especially with Harbaugh's splendid player developing skills. For comparison, look at the player ratings from some of our mediocre past teams (NCAA 13, NCAA 10, and NCAA 09). Over half the starters on those teams would be second string or worse on the 2017 team despite the youth of the 2017 team.
it looks as if 93+ is first, second, and third team all-Americans; 87 is borderline honorable mention all Big Ten; 84 a median FBS starter; 80 a median FBS second stringer; 76 a median FBS third stringer; 72 a median FBS fourth stringer, 68 a median FBS fifth stringer, so my guess:
QB
O'Korn 87
Speight 80
Malzone 79
Morris 79
Peters 77
Gentry 77
Moores 75
Cleary 70
Thompson 68
RB
D. Smith 84
Drake Johnson 83
Isaac 80
Walker 79
Davis 78
Higdon 75
Shallman 74
F back (H back)
Poggi 82
FB
Henderson 78
Volk 72
Beneducci 71
WR
Chesson 90
Darboh 85
Perry 81
Ways 81
Drake Harris 80
Crawford 78
D. Jones 78
McDoom 77
Dukes 77
Hawkins 76
N. Johnson 76
Jack Wangler 75
S. Smith 71
TE
Butt 90
Bunting 82
K. Hill 81
Wheatley 79
Asiasi 78
McKeon 77
Eubanks 76
Jocz 75
OL
Cole 87
Braden 86
Newsome 85
Magnuson 84
Kalis 83
Kugler 81
Dawson 81
Bars 81
Bredeson 80
Bushell-Beatty 80
Runyan 79
Ulizio 79
Onwenu 79
Froelich 77
Spanellis 76
Coleman 75
Vastardis 73
Key 72
DL
R. Glasgow 90
Mone 89
Wormley 89
Gary 88
Hurst 86
Charlton 85
Marshall 83
Godin 81
S. Johnson 79
Winovich 79
Pallante 78
R. Johnson 77
Dwumfour 76
Uche 76
LB
Gedeon 82
McCray 80
Furbush 80
Bush 79
R. Jones 79
Jared Wangler 77
Liesman 77
A. Mitchell 76
Mbem-Bosse 76
Kemp 76
Benda 75
Wroblewski 75
Gil 75
DB
Lewis 94
Peppers 93
D. Thomas 87
D. Hill 85
J. Clark 85
Stribling 83
Watson 82
Kinnel 82
Washington 81
Long 80
Canteen 80
R. Dawson 79
L. Hill 77
J. Glasgow 77
Hudson 76
Metellus 75
Evans 75
The Mathlete or someone else on this site calculated which service is most accurate a few years ago. Rivals is most accurate at predicting future success.
Surely, a great university with a great student, a knower of hermunetics, must also teach about small sample fallacies. Knowledge of the latter is far more important.
Any time we get the ball inside our five yard line, put in ten back ups (Miller, Bars, Braden, Pliska, Mateus, Gunderson, Bryant, Mitropoulos-Rundus, Godin, Paskorz) on the OL. Have this OL false start and block hundreds of times in a row. The OSU defensive line gets tired, then we put in our starting OL to run our offense against a worn out OSU DL or a scrub DL.
So what if the ball ends up somewhere around our own one picometer line. It is still first down, OSU's DL is ready for pancaking. Maybe the whole thing is illegal. I don't know.
Any time OSU has a first down inside our five yard line, put 50 defenders out there with super press (tackle the receiver) coverage. Hit their players every play. We get penalties every play. OSU has great difficulty scoring touchdowns. Eventually their offense gets discombobulated or worn out.
The NCAA will ban our tactics next year. OSU will be furious. Big deal. That's just out smarting the opponent. And just desert for all their dirty garbage over the years (such as the drug dogs searching our team.).
Liesman, Austin, and others are from the HS class of 2012. They have been on the team for many months. Wangler and company are from 2013. They will not be listed until August. I think last years preferred walk-ons--Jocz, Dever, Lawson and others--were not listed until August, perhaps in case they have a change their mind about football or get a better offer from someplace else before camp starts (since they have not signed a letter of intent). Graham Glasgow was going to be a preferred walk-on at OSU, then flipped to us in May or June.
Gallon mostly plays split end. Dileo is a slot. Chesson and York will probably be flankers. Reynolds is ahead of J. Robinson and Jackson on the depth chart.
Hopkins will be third string next year.
Bosch is not a left tackle. Pipkins will not play 3-tech. All the redshirt freshmen NTs will be ahead of Ash, including R. Glasgow.
Black may only play SDE on passing downs because his decision making at end is poor. Strobel and Heitzman will be ahead of Brink in the event Brink returns.
Ross will start. RJS does not want to play SAM.
Conley is gone. God help us if Furman and M. Robinson get significant minutes at safety.
Air force, Navy, Army, Virginia, Cal, BC, Vanderbilt, Duke, Stanford, but not Texas unless we play them in December. And forget ND. We gain nothing from playing them.
It is a more than a little premature to call Black a bust. Multiple practice watchers this spring said Black was our best interior defensive lineman. Campbell at 3-tech is mostly a rest rotational and bulk situational thing. No one else on defense has the size and quickness to adequately rotate with Black. Black is better at 3-tech than end because Black misses fewer assignments at 3-tech than he does at end.
Rich Rod should go for it more. Screw the mass media.
Mass media reeks. If you do the logical thing (going for it), but it sometimes fails, the talking heads crucify you. If you do the risk averse, conventional unwisdom thing (kicking), and it consistently fails, the media care little.
But at the end of the year, fans care about total wins and losses. Going for it produces more wins. The in season controversies are largely forgotten. Hardly anyone remembers the coaching decisions made during last year's Indiana game or any other individual game. But they do remember five wins and seven losses.
Good points about the expected values of Kelly's last play of the half decision. Rich Rod, God bless his ability to develop quarterbacks, should be the one under scrutiny for some of those fourth down kicks.
We knew going in that our defense and kicking game stink. There were at least three or four fourth downs where the expected values dictated we should have gone for it.
OSU wins again. That's the problem with breaking up based on past performance. The team with the best performance gets the easiest in division schedule because they don't have to play themselves.
Before long we will have six rivalry games: Iowa, OSU, MSU, ND, Minn, Neb. Our players will be even more beaten up and burned out.
And our bean counter AD will not blame himself. This is not how you turn around a struggling program.
The Stanley twins come from an outstanding family. They have excellent grades. The Coach Frey family, religious group on the OL helps. (The twin's father is a ND fan, however.)
WDE
Banks, Sagesse, Campbell, Patterson, Watson, Brink, Talbott
DT
Martin, Campbell, Sagesse, Patterson, Ash
SDE
Van Bergen, Black, Heininger (when healthy), LaLota, Wilkins, Watson, Paskorz
WLB
Mouton, Fitzgerald, M. Jones, Leach, Bell
MLB
Ezeh, Demons, Fitzgerald, Moundros, Ryan
SLB
Roh, Fitzgerald, Herron, D. Rogers
BOUNDARY CORNER
Floyd, Christian, Avery, T. Jones
FIELD CORNER
Woolfolk, J. Rogers, Anderson, Avery, Talbott
STRONG SIDE SPUR
T. Gordon, Simmons, Williams, Furman, C. Johnson
WEAK SIDE SPUR (BANDIT)
Kovacs, T. Jones, M. Robinson, Leach, Hawthorne
DEEP
C. Gordon, Emilien, T. Jones, Z. Johnson, Van Slyke, Vinopal
Based on last year and reports this spring, the top 10 players are (in not exact order):
1. Graham
2. Minor
3. Schilling
4. Webb
5. Koger
6. C. Brown
7. Boo Boo
8. Martin
9. Mesko
10. Moundros
Recent Comments
couple points too high on average per player. But your posted ratings show mediocre knowledge of Michigan player quality. High school ratings are irrelevant once you have sufficient college film on a player. Your ratings are not facts. Facts require evidence.
I'll just ignore the multitudes of hours I spent watching games, reading Magnus, Coachbt, Space Coyote, Pro Football Focus, Upon Further Review, etc.
It's just "all opinion."
especially with Harbaugh's splendid player developing skills. For comparison, look at the player ratings from some of our mediocre past teams (NCAA 13, NCAA 10, and NCAA 09). Over half the starters on those teams would be second string or worse on the 2017 team despite the youth of the 2017 team.
QB
Speight 84
Peters 83
when Bayless said Aikman would never win a Superbowl for the Cowboys.
The Mathlete or someone else on this site calculated which service is most accurate a few years ago. Rivals is most accurate at predicting future success.
Big Ten
Harbaugh as player:
Big Ten and Fiesta Bowl champion
Dropped pass away from an AFC championship
As assistant:
!-AA national champion
As head coach:
Two time Pioneer League champ with nonscholarship players
Took cellar dweller Stanford to an Orange Bowl championship
Couple questionable officiating calls away from winning Superbowl
Fact: Nick Saban won MNCs only when he had more talent than everyone else.
Wonder where Dave Brown and Tom Darden rank? Was there no forced fumble stat when they played?
Surely, a great university with a great student, a knower of hermunetics, must also teach about small sample fallacies. Knowledge of the latter is far more important.
Liesman, Austin, and others are from the HS class of 2012. They have been on the team for many months. Wangler and company are from 2013. They will not be listed until August. I think last years preferred walk-ons--Jocz, Dever, Lawson and others--were not listed until August, perhaps in case they have a change their mind about football or get a better offer from someplace else before camp starts (since they have not signed a letter of intent). Graham Glasgow was going to be a preferred walk-on at OSU, then flipped to us in May or June.
Steve Sharik and G. Simmons.
Just shocked to see a journalist spreading small, unrepresentative sample fallacies.
Gallon mostly plays split end. Dileo is a slot. Chesson and York will probably be flankers. Reynolds is ahead of J. Robinson and Jackson on the depth chart.
Hopkins will be third string next year.
Bosch is not a left tackle. Pipkins will not play 3-tech. All the redshirt freshmen NTs will be ahead of Ash, including R. Glasgow.
Black may only play SDE on passing downs because his decision making at end is poor. Strobel and Heitzman will be ahead of Brink in the event Brink returns.
Ross will start. RJS does not want to play SAM.
Conley is gone. God help us if Furman and M. Robinson get significant minutes at safety.
Roughly 31 among the top 100 list Michigan as a school of interest--much better than a few years ago.
Air force, Navy, Army, Virginia, Cal, BC, Vanderbilt, Duke, Stanford, but not Texas unless we play them in December. And forget ND. We gain nothing from playing them.
It is a more than a little premature to call Black a bust. Multiple practice watchers this spring said Black was our best interior defensive lineman. Campbell at 3-tech is mostly a rest rotational and bulk situational thing. No one else on defense has the size and quickness to adequately rotate with Black. Black is better at 3-tech than end because Black misses fewer assignments at 3-tech than he does at end.
Sounds like you are a coach. Please post more often.
Rich Rod should go for it more. Screw the mass media.
Mass media reeks. If you do the logical thing (going for it), but it sometimes fails, the talking heads crucify you. If you do the risk averse, conventional unwisdom thing (kicking), and it consistently fails, the media care little.
But at the end of the year, fans care about total wins and losses. Going for it produces more wins. The in season controversies are largely forgotten. Hardly anyone remembers the coaching decisions made during last year's Indiana game or any other individual game. But they do remember five wins and seven losses.
Shotgun snaps have been excellent all three games.
Good points about the expected values of Kelly's last play of the half decision. Rich Rod, God bless his ability to develop quarterbacks, should be the one under scrutiny for some of those fourth down kicks.
We knew going in that our defense and kicking game stink. There were at least three or four fourth downs where the expected values dictated we should have gone for it.
I cheered for OSU in non-conference games when I was a child. Then I went to a UM-OSU game and saw how OSU fans behaved. Never again.
Conference pride is BS. People in the South say the Big Ten sucks, no matter how many non-conference games the Big Ten wins.
OSU wins again. That's the problem with breaking up based on past performance. The team with the best performance gets the easiest in division schedule because they don't have to play themselves.
Before long we will have six rivalry games: Iowa, OSU, MSU, ND, Minn, Neb. Our players will be even more beaten up and burned out.
And our bean counter AD will not blame himself. This is not how you turn around a struggling program.
"Why isn't Ezeh starting? He's a first day NFL pick."
"Kovacs was a freshman all-American. He'll be all-big ten this year."
The Stanley twins come from an outstanding family. They have excellent grades. The Coach Frey family, religious group on the OL helps. (The twin's father is a ND fan, however.)
WDE
Banks, Sagesse, Campbell, Patterson, Watson, Brink, Talbott
DT
Martin, Campbell, Sagesse, Patterson, Ash
SDE
Van Bergen, Black, Heininger (when healthy), LaLota, Wilkins, Watson, Paskorz
WLB
Mouton, Fitzgerald, M. Jones, Leach, Bell
MLB
Ezeh, Demons, Fitzgerald, Moundros, Ryan
SLB
Roh, Fitzgerald, Herron, D. Rogers
BOUNDARY CORNER
Floyd, Christian, Avery, T. Jones
FIELD CORNER
Woolfolk, J. Rogers, Anderson, Avery, Talbott
STRONG SIDE SPUR
T. Gordon, Simmons, Williams, Furman, C. Johnson
WEAK SIDE SPUR (BANDIT)
Kovacs, T. Jones, M. Robinson, Leach, Hawthorne
DEEP
C. Gordon, Emilien, T. Jones, Z. Johnson, Van Slyke, Vinopal