The program has been built up to be a consistent contender (a perennial 6-15 program) - from scheme through talent on both offense and defense. The major thing it is missing to make the leap is a dominant, NFL caliber quarterback.
What this season with LSU has taught us is that pass first offenses, when executed well, are almost impossible to keep pace with. But they require a QB who can make coverage reads and go through their progressions at almost an NFL level. We haven't had a QB in that class since at least Henne.
At this point there really aren't any strong indicators either way on McCaffrey or Milton, but we are doing really the only thing that you can - aggregate as much talent at QB as possible and eventually one will click. Hopefully that will happen in 2020.
As an aside - It will be interesting to see how Justin Fields develops this offseason. He is obviously immensely talented, but hasn't shown the ability to consistently make reads and push the ball down field.
I think the issue is that even if it does come out and the programs participating in this get in trouble, it will be a momentary blip for them and it won't solve the root of the problem. It will just transfer power for a few years or a decade max.
I actually think the best path forward is some form of the NLI rules that are being discussed. Allowing players to benefit from their likeness will see programs with lots of influence and prestige (like Michigan) setup programs designed to maximize returns for their players. Michigan would likely be uniquely advantaged here and close the gap with Ohio State. In some ways, it will even further concentrate talent with the traditional blue blood programs, but at least Michigan would be similarly advantaged (if not moreso than others).
As a side note - I don't think we will ever be able to enforce true parity in college football, like is done in the NFL. Simply too many teams and too many subjective ways to compensate players (value of eduction, location, social life, etc.). And if we did go the stipend route, Bag Men would simply pay more on top of the stipend to attract players.
NLI done right would basically be bringing the Bag Men model above board.
Totally disagree. Him and Lewis have been very good in coverage. They haven't finished by batting down passes but they've been in great position. Think they'll both play a lot by the end of this season.
You really think RR inherited a bigger mess than Hoke still? RR inherited an ok (not great) but still decent roster and left it as a crater. Are there still talented players left from that era? Sure, but as a whole he made the situation much worse.
I agree, the running ability is deadly to have, but as we've seen with denard, only if you have the ability to throw accurately. People also seem to forget how rare guys like kaepernick and devin and Russell Wilson are. I'm sure if the staff can land another devin Gardner they would, but these guys just don't come around that often.
I think Gerry Dinardo (yeah I know lots here hate him) made a comment that we were the most improved team in the B1G. I totally agree with this. We looked much bigger, faster and more physical on both sides of the ball. We also have to be one of the youngest teams in the nation.
Our talent, youth and coaching together will allow us to also improve greatly over the course of the year.
I think the only 50/50 games are Nd and Ohio state. Now we are young and inexperienced and may make some mistakes against inferior teams, but I really like how we look so far.
I don't think they look that good. I think the only teams in the big ten that looked good all around today were michigan and Ohio state. Northwestern seems overrated. I'm sure they will have a good season but people have been talking them up a little too mich
Don't look at the recruiting rankings or all conference honors for a second and you'll see that meaner, Barnum and ommameh didn't fit a downhill, man blocking scheme very well at all. Neither guard could pull, and none of the three could drive anyone off the ball. We will be better this year.
Good post. Between this and the comments in the article about Bryant looking good in practice - I think Glasgow may just be the real deal, and miller may be pretty solid at center. If that's the case then we have the makings for a pretty good OL this year. I really hope the positive insider news about Bryant is true because then, even if miller or Glasgow doesn't work out, we have someone pretty good to come in.
Beyond that, I seriously doubt that most donors or alumni are actually pissed off with the job he's doing. In fact I bet that most are pretty happy with what he's been doing. There are obviously minor slips here and there but if you look at the big picture. Things are going pretty well
This statement doesn't make sense. Obviously the AD's work in similar fashion at michigan, penn state and Ohio state. It just seems like this guy writes things to stir up shit
I think the recruiting has been fairly even. The difference, and what will make them Florida to our Alabama, is all in the coaching. Hokes teams will play more fundamentally sound, intelligent and physical football than Meyers, and that will be the difference.
Also reminds me of Eddie lacy. I know green gets compared to lacy but looking at smiths balance and ability to roll through tackles seems really similar. Overall I think it would be huge if he could be a guy to consistently pound out 4-5 yards a carry
Yeah I think this is it. I think people get overly concerned this time of year. Wilson is a talented kid who has been working hard by all accounts. I'm sure he'll be fine. If not, then we have depth and talent
Great point. Dont want to split limited time among two totally different philosophies. This team is and will be a power running team in the future and we need to stick to that. Anything Gardner can give us on scrambles is a bonus, but he will do his damage through the air.
Yeah I think this s why we've seen less commits from Ohio this year. The difference between Hoke and RR and Carr to an extent is that Hoke has great relationships with coaches in Ohio so I don't think we will be locked out in the future any more. I think we will continue to get our fair share of top ohio players in the future.
Sure, Brian was and many others were excited but the point still stands that we never had the proof in both quality of play and recruiting back then in 09 that we do today.
Don't think any realistic people ever thought the same thing in 2009. We were not recruiting any where near what we are now and that 2009 team still did not look nearly as good as any team under Hoke.
Definitely agree here. We are building big, fast and physical O and D lines and will play a very similar style. I believe we will physically dominate Ohio
I think they have proven that they don't do that kind of thing. He probably realized that he was getting passed up by much younger players and wasn't going to get much pt this year.
I definitely do not agree with this. I think we are deeper and more talented at every position this year and will be much, much better than a year ago. Consider that last year we lost to 4 top 10 teams and were close in all but one of those games. We will also face a much easier schedule this year. I'm predicting 10+ wins and a high chance of a B1G championship.
I really hope we get rid of Adidas ASAP. These factory issues are bad and on top of that they have just been terrible at supplying the program with quality uniforms. Every time we take the field we look second rate
After seeing the whole game for the first time I will say that I don't think the highlights did the team justice. Both the o and d looked big, fast and physical. Much more talented than any team since 06 or 07.
The rush ends particularly looked impressive. Clark has a freakish first step and Mario and taco both looked pretty good. Cam Gordon and Beyer both looked much better than at any time in the past as well. I'm pretty excited for this season after seeing that.
I think this is probably a short term move. The positions are pretty similar and I think I saw him getting snaps at the 5 tech in the spring game anyways.
I'm excited to see what a healthy Beyer can do. In high school he was reported to be very fast and explosive but he has had nagging injuries both seasons here. With Mattison saying he has improved more than anyone in getting to the QB maybe we are finally going to see what he was billed as a recruit.
The defense is supposed to be ahead of the offense in the spring and early fall. It is important for the offense to develop timing and chemistry (especially the OL) which usually puts them behind the defense. I wouldn't worry too much about the OLine. We know Schofield and Lewan are two of the best tackles in the country and Braden and Kalis have great potential. Miller has been good by all accounts.
What impressed me most in this highlight was the way the defense ran to the ball, and how the secondary looked much faster and more physical and the receivers still made some tough catches in traffic.
I think Andersen was a very good hire for Wisconsin. He's a defensive guy so I don't think he will bring the spread over. Wants to play tough defense and have a physical offense. Seems good at teaching fundamentals to win at Utah state. Good for Wisconsin and good for the B1G
It looks like vandy but I will say, we still haven't offered Charles Woodsons nephew from Florida (forgot his name) tht seemed to be the backup plan. Now maybe, Delano Hill or Reon Dawson took that spot but maybe the coaches are feeling good about McQuay. I read recently that the in home visit went very well
Yeah we will definitely young. We will also be more talented. All the attrition that we have had is related to this as we are losing people who don't fit our program for some reason or another. Not that there is anything wrong with who is leaving and they are not being pushed out, but they are being replaced by much more talented players. I think what some people forget is that we are in the middle of a massive rebuilding job from the 07-10 years/recruiting cycles. Now that is not all RR but he is certainly the biggest factor. Many thought that we were set up to come out of that lull with a talented team but the reality is that these have been the least talented michigan teams in a long, long time. This has been masked by 11-2 last year and a defense that is playing with much more physicality and technique, but the fact remains that we are in the middle of a rebuild and will be much, much better in 1-2 years.
He did not recruit a ton of offensive talent. In fact he didn't really recruit much talent anywhere. You build championship football teams from the inside out and Hoke and his staff have been pulling very talents OL, DL and linebackers. Eventually, the skill positions will come, though I think the guys we have been getting are pretty good.
I think Taylor will be better next year than Floyd has ever been. Taylor seems to have the speed/athleticism neccesary and is also physical. Like you pointed out, Floyd is very un physical and not very fast. I remember multiple plays this year when he literally ran away from blocks - I think we will be better next year.
I think Jaron Dukes is being overlooked a little bit - He could be pretty good. I also think that Chesson and Darboh will be pretty good next year. Damario Jones looks like a pretty good athlete as well. Im still hoping that Treadwell remembers what made Michigan his favorite when he comes back for a visit and commits.
I think Jaron Dukes is being overlooked a little bit - He could be pretty good. I also think that Chesson and Darboh will be pretty good next year. Damario Jones looks like a pretty good athlete as well. Im still hoping that Treadwell remembers what made Michigan his favorite when he comes back for a visit and commits.
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The season will ultimately come down to QB play.
The program has been built up to be a consistent contender (a perennial 6-15 program) - from scheme through talent on both offense and defense. The major thing it is missing to make the leap is a dominant, NFL caliber quarterback.
What this season with LSU has taught us is that pass first offenses, when executed well, are almost impossible to keep pace with. But they require a QB who can make coverage reads and go through their progressions at almost an NFL level. We haven't had a QB in that class since at least Henne.
At this point there really aren't any strong indicators either way on McCaffrey or Milton, but we are doing really the only thing that you can - aggregate as much talent at QB as possible and eventually one will click. Hopefully that will happen in 2020.
As an aside - It will be interesting to see how Justin Fields develops this offseason. He is obviously immensely talented, but hasn't shown the ability to consistently make reads and push the ball down field.
I think the issue is that even if it does come out and the programs participating in this get in trouble, it will be a momentary blip for them and it won't solve the root of the problem. It will just transfer power for a few years or a decade max.
I actually think the best path forward is some form of the NLI rules that are being discussed. Allowing players to benefit from their likeness will see programs with lots of influence and prestige (like Michigan) setup programs designed to maximize returns for their players. Michigan would likely be uniquely advantaged here and close the gap with Ohio State. In some ways, it will even further concentrate talent with the traditional blue blood programs, but at least Michigan would be similarly advantaged (if not moreso than others).
As a side note - I don't think we will ever be able to enforce true parity in college football, like is done in the NFL. Simply too many teams and too many subjective ways to compensate players (value of eduction, location, social life, etc.). And if we did go the stipend route, Bag Men would simply pay more on top of the stipend to attract players.
NLI done right would basically be bringing the Bag Men model above board.
Our talent, youth and coaching together will allow us to also improve greatly over the course of the year.
I think the only 50/50 games are Nd and Ohio state. Now we are young and inexperienced and may make some mistakes against inferior teams, but I really like how we look so far.
The rush ends particularly looked impressive. Clark has a freakish first step and Mario and taco both looked pretty good. Cam Gordon and Beyer both looked much better than at any time in the past as well. I'm pretty excited for this season after seeing that.
What impressed me most in this highlight was the way the defense ran to the ball, and how the secondary looked much faster and more physical and the receivers still made some tough catches in traffic.
I think Jaron Dukes is being overlooked a little bit - He could be pretty good. I also think that Chesson and Darboh will be pretty good next year. Damario Jones looks like a pretty good athlete as well. Im still hoping that Treadwell remembers what made Michigan his favorite when he comes back for a visit and commits.
I think Jaron Dukes is being overlooked a little bit - He could be pretty good. I also think that Chesson and Darboh will be pretty good next year. Damario Jones looks like a pretty good athlete as well. Im still hoping that Treadwell remembers what made Michigan his favorite when he comes back for a visit and commits.