JSN is a freak. He single handedly kept "The Game" within at least the prospect of being competitive. Some of his circus catches with players utterly blanketing him were astounding, and a season long highlight reel in one game. Truly, props to him, he's a beast at a different level. It wouldn't be shocking to see him getting a top 5 invite to NYC at the end of the year.
Go Blue, I was worried about who might be a replacement, but reading the 'oh shit shit shit' type remarks coming out of the ND camp on a Tom Loy's article (ND football coverage), seems like pretty great coaching upgrade, and a massive upgrade on the recruiting side. Plus it's always nice to poach anything ND that they get pissed about.
I agree. And here's what I've been thinking since very early this season, (unlike many who simply couldn't envision Cade's success and demanded JJ) : I expected the same kind of development in Cade as we saw in Jake Rudock in 2015. Second half of the year seeing real development: game by game, weakness by weakness addressed, the final step being the red zone improvement. No, he's not perfect, and you'd still like to see deep balls a little better, but even those are now enough of a legitimate threat that they have to be respected. It didn't help losing Ronnie first game, and it took time to find chemistry with other receivers. Seems he's found it one by one, and likewise these receivers got 'dramatically' better as season went on. Erik All is now the TE we all expected him to be and next year is a likely an ALL B1G or even ALL American. This team is now so multifaceted, and Gattis has likewise developed and improved that they are legitimately dangerous.
I think you nail a major hammer getting Jay the H out of there. Yes he can recruit, but he's got no business coaching these elite kids backs. Mike Hart turned more than a couple of lower star average backs into beasts. Betting the switch is going to be nothing short of program changing.
Great write up at the end of the article, and it's just so glaring what's going on. So the TSDS has "SIX" 5* in this class. Yes "6". For who??? Ryan Day? Get real. When you have 14 5* on your roster your coach could be Bob Davie or Clay Helton and still win 11 games.
Our bench mob and their energy is awesome. I'm saying that in practice every player counts. Your weakest player has to push your top players, hell, that's their primary role on the team. If you want, you could theoretically rank the players 1-17. Or go by position and rank them. Point is, we have those 4 I called out who practice against our starting/2nd line as scout and in drills and basic scrimmage. Who you play against every day matters, it makes a difference. I'm saying when you swap out 3 walk-ons with 3 McD All Americans, it raises the group as a whole. As for our 'bench mob' adding minutes, yeah, pretty awesome if you can comfortably go 10+ deep without material drop off. Hell even Adrian Nunez was getting real minutes and 4 starts even a year ago. In spite of the questions about #1 next year, as a whole I think we're insane deep.
Basketball point: I think there is an additional component missing from the discussion. The caliber of the players you're going against in practice day in and day out, is about to EXPLODE compared to this year. We have 4 seniors (Ozuna-Harrison, Wilson, Faulds, Baird) who are serious deep bench and only play when it's HVC minutes. Obviously those are good players and they'd start at smaller schools, and smoke the average player off the court, so I don't mean this too sound harsh, but 3 of them were WO/PWO, they are NOT McDonalds All-American caliber players.Those are the guys playing the scout team, those are the guys that are playing in scrimmage day in day out. You just swapped them with the #1 recruiting class in the country? The holistic caliber of the team jumps out of the gym. That alone is going to have an impact that's under appreciated.
That pressing high pressure defense also takes a lot of energy. You continually spend that energy and don't get a return on it, does more than take the figurative wind out mentally, it takes the real energy and you wear down. You can't press an entire game without getting results or without a 'lot' of subs, it's just too draining. Typically it's also draining for the team trying to break it, but breaking it as easy as Mich did, didn't really cost the same energy. Also once it's broken, the D has to bust a$$ to get back into a half court and that cost FSU additional energy. Whole thing compounded to wear FSU down.
TWill has got to take better care of the ball, and clean up the fouling.
On another note, I really like the UCLA match up. Let's face it, they're an 11 for a reason, and AL was a 2 for a reason. There were those who thought AL had 5th best chance of the sweet 16 to win it all. UCLA has had to play 1 more game, tonight they went to OT, that is likely going to impact their legs. GO BLUE, bring on the Bruins.
I'm in this camp. There isn't added caché for the B1G to have them in, despite name recognition. Sorry not sorry, I want Mich to dunk on them while they're down. Best of it would be sending all our HVC with 4 min to go in the game. Not to mention the more rest we can give our starters at this point the better. Truth of the matter, it would actually look better for the B1G teams not invited to the dance, to go over to the NIT and make some noise rather than be a low seed in the Tourny and get wrecked by a high seed.
Ok, I give props for finally at least including Dav V's name. I admit that the utter radio silence on the guy would lead you to believe that there is nothing there. Being fair however, Cade was mostly radio silence as well until McCaffrey bailed. As for Milton, happy trails, he had 2.5 years to marinate, develop and step in. I DO NOT believe that it's a coaching prob with Milton beyond the poor decision to give him the keys. His mental processing of the game just isn't there. His touch, not there. I get it, they thought 'maybe' he'd step up once the real thing was there, but I think beyond staged plays in practice, he simply doesn't have 'it'. He may be F'n adonis, but Cade would have been the 'clear' choice this year unless JJ came in and straight up balled out. I think what Cade showed pre-injury was some of the best stuff since late season Jake Ruddock. I'm 'ok' with this kid coming in as a backup and letting McCarthy have the time to adjust, but to me, if he is suddenly competing to start, I just can't feel it's a good sign. Circling back to Dan V for a moment, I would love to hear 'any' kind actual eval about how he's done.
Best of luck, no ill will. I was scared to death they'd give him another try. Spring practice starts MONDAY ...... timing isn't an accident. Guessing the QB's are getting together on their own and already throwing and working. He prob knows Cade's in front of him, and betting this is a sign that that it's clear, and that JJ is also already making it clear why he's a 5*.
What to say that hasn't already been said about utterly liquifying Wisconsin? Ok, I did see 'one' post about it, but suprisingly little else about the return of 'Big Country' (Austin Davis) to the line up. No he didn't come in and 'dominate' or anything, but he was solid in his minutes (12) and of course he's been out, so he's not going to be at full throttle. But 'great' to see him back out on the floor giving HD a breather and not hurt the line up. Next, since we have nit pic to find 'anything' to say about this team, would it be too much to ask to have the end of bench players end with a positive +/- or at least not surrender -10 net points when they hit the floor? I get the reality, you're sending players #11/12/13/14 out against a #9 ranked team so maybe it's expected. Maybe if they keep getting these final 3-4 minutes each game we can finally start to see them get comfortable? Though exactly as the announcers commented, a lot of their shots were hitting front of the rim and they weren't quite into a rhythm. As I said nit pic hoping our end of bench doesn't really show a drop off.
Loved how he let Zeb get some run out there with the regulars, and not just minutes when JH cleared the bench. Love how early he was willing to clear the bench and give the end of the bench more than just 60 sec. It takes players a min or two to find the rhythm of a game. If you literally wait till the last 2, they haven't even had a chance to find that feel. Getting him more time in there looked like it also made him more comfortable.
Speaking of off the bench, what is the deal with Williams? First few game games coming off the bench I really started to like what I saw from him. It felt with some time he'd find himself and be a serious contributor. These last couple games when he's been early off the bench I find myself not trusting what he's doing. Add to that his +/- these last 2 are not pretty. That's obviously impacted by who's around him on the floor, but he still seems to have actually gone backwards just a little. Seems to be trying to force things.
Enjoy the ride, this team has potential to run with anyone. Remember this little tidbit, this is only Juwan's SECOND year and covid has played havoc since the end of his first. Next year, in his THIRD YEAR, he already has the #1 class in the country. It's really really hard not to be excited about future of this program.
Kind of like a super high recruit where you don't want to expect too much of him, I want to try and pump the breaks on calling him the next Coach K or anything ..... BUT ...... I just did.
Wondering out loud: JH did great in San Diego & Stanford, but, did his time in the pros damage him for being a college HC? Did it turn into a 'job'? We've talked about how he seems a bit broken versus when he came, but I've been muddling over the idea that after being a pro coach, he expects guys to perform, to show up, to treat it like it's a job and get it done. I struggle with the idea that he can't develop players because there is some kind of disconnect going on. I look at how many successful pros he's putting in the league. There is no question he's getting guys ready for the next level, they're getting to the league and they're having success there. Why doesn't that seem to be a translation of success while they're at Michigan? I'm not sure I'm capturing it well, but I just can't get my head around that disconnect.
I want to see this be such a blood bath they start getting Cade snaps before the end of the first half, and by the end of the second half they're giving Dan Villari his first snaps.
Word coming out of Wiscy is that both Mertz and the number 3 QB Wolf have both tested positive. If so, they're out till after our game, and Wiscy is playing the next 3 weeks with redshirt junior Danny Vanden Boom. Since he's apparently been around a couple years he might at least know the system, but you gotta figure facing anyone in the B1G with your 4th string guy is doing things the hard way.
I'll be honest, I actually loved DV's tape. But at this point I think it indicates something that there is complete, total and utter radio silence about the kid. Sam was actually going to ask around about him, and I never heard him say another sentence. Nobody has apparently so much as uttered his name. Even since DM departed and he's now #3 in a covid world. You'd think they'd at least acknowledge he's showing up to practice. Does he look like he belongs? Over his head? If not him, are the actively identifying the third option of who's in line? Barrett? Below are the QB's on roster. Can we at least hear who they view at third in line?
Ok, but this doesn't sound like there is much new information based on how the fall preseason practices have gone, or how he's fitting. This almost feels like just a revisit of the info we had in the Spring and it would be a good thought to review since with DM moving on, DV becomes 3rd in line. I asked Sam about this not too long back and would love to know what people have actually seen. Seems like with DM moving on, that DV's slight bump to 3rd would at least draw some additional appraisal based on what he's actually looked like at actual Mich practices since August. Curious Minds want to know.
Who named him? Was there an official announcement of some kind? Did we all miss that? Nope this is all intell and comments from around the program. Look if you're playing D1, and it starts to be obvious who's better? There's a saying .... "Game Recognizes Game". When you're getting beaten by a margin, on a consistent basis, and even have the next guy in line giving you a run? You know it, you see it, the other players know it, they see it, the coaches know it, they see it. It's been hinted that there is more to this and it's complicated, so it may take a while before we know the full scope, if we ever do. But right now, the order is now solidified, Joe/Cade/Dan ... Next man up.
Brian, Have to say your comment "a true freshman Michigan picked up in a late scramble" isn't worthy of you. Dan Vallari is the name, and you're better than that, commenting on him such a dismissive manner. We haven't heard anything about him because all the focus has been on JM vs. DM but I'll chime in and say I loved that kids tape last year, in spite of the circumstances surrounding his signing. And now , here we are, one covid diagnosis or pulled muscle from him being the backup, and a quick couple injuries and they give him the keys.
As for DM, I have a suspicion that his exit may have something to do with Cade making a push to actually end up as backup. Maybe it wasn't even clear that DM had a sure thing at backup. After a couple years in the program, if DM was getting pushed to 3rd, and you have JJ coming next year, it's a pretty clear picture his window of opportunity at Mich had closed.
Yeah, I think we can all agree that Kendall seems happy trails just not yet stated. As for DE, it's starting to have that same vibe. OK is 'looking' like it may land Wheaton, and that 'may' actually be what Edwards is watching? I hate that we may be his 'fall back' but it kind of feels like we're the bridesmaid waiting and hoping here.
It's impossible to overstate how dire the MSU QB situation will next year. Not to mention bringing in a coach this late in the cycle will make getting asst coaches just as dire. Which then leads to retaining the staff? Yikes. So the entire organization will have to have to try and figure out a new system. Hell, Spring practice is only a month away. (MSU starts March 12) This hiring process could easily drag another week or 2. If they happen to drag hiring into Spring without an HC, the phrase "trainwreck" won't due justice to the product they'll put on the field next year. That's all not even adding what sanctions may be hovering like the sword of Damocles over the program.
The crazy part of all this, is when you watch the tape, and plays: QB, RB, DB, LB, S, WR , he's clearly dominating the field at HS level that he's playing, and a kid like this doesn't even have a profile in 247. It's crazy. It gives an appreciation for how insanely talented the 4 & 5 star players are. I've said it forever. If you're playing any sport at any level in college, chances are good, you were one of , if not the best , player on your HS team. All these college athletes are studs. Hard to know if he'll be able to break through and ever see the field at UM, but you have to love an attitude of a PWO who isn't afraid to go toe to toe with big time recruits. They know what they're walking into. Best of luck to him. I do like the idea someone had of placeholder as a way to see the field.
That's who came to mind for me too. DPJ was never really in play for MSU but it wouldn't be that surprising if he took a meeting and at least heard what MD had to say.
Can't be that hard to figure out the 5*. Time Blackwell was in the MSU role of " director of college advancement and performance" ; The announcement of that role was Aug 2, 2013 and announced his contract would not be renewed on May 30, 2017. So there is your window. So your 'potential' recruiting year windows are: 2014, 2015, 2015, 2016, 2017, and include 2018 if you were looking a year ahead. So what Detroit 5* were there in classes 2014-18. I'll let someone else look up that piece.
If for no other reason than depth, this is a drag. BUT it may very plausibly be that the coaching staff has essentially provided a firm handshake or given a clear message playing time is likely limited. Given either of these, it's really had to know the true inside story. Kind of like a marriage, you can never really know what transpires. My guess is he transfers somewhere smaller and is 'Big Mike on Campus' and gets full time snaps. Best of luck to him. As for us? Hope that transfer portal coughs up some good options.
I agree. That time was from Spring, and while his competition isn't TX 5A, he's juking and running away from DB's and LB's. He's throwing spin moves and not afraid to hit, he's got a lot more moves than his rating and offer sheet suggest. I don't buy the 5.0, that would be slow as molasses, and he's clearly not that slow.
Specific topic I'm curious, is exactly how deep can our bench reliably get? 15 on the team. Something that strikes me is that JH seems to be making active conscious concerted effort to rotate as deep as he can go. Through the years you can see how a deep bench helps, especially in the grind of March madness. Never got the feel from JB that it was necessarily a primary 'goal' to deepen the bench experience. More a function of circumstance and if he had players he trusted he'd play them, but this feels different. This feels like a coach actively working explicitly to deepen his bench. Can we turn this into a fully functioning 15 deep bench? Yes I know 15 isn't realistic, and would we even necessarily 'want' all 15 playing every game? This is more for for a broader discussion of what everyone 'wants' to see and what they think we 'can' see ... any thoughts out there?
I will also add that there 'are' some aspects of pure talent too. Perfect example, the one run where Haskins broke free on the left side and was pure race to the endzone and was caught from behind by #5, a 248 lb linebacker. A true speedster RB would have been gone and never caught like that. That is an example of pure ability gap. (see play with 56 sec left in 3Q).
Sorry, but going to take issue with this. Those 'mistakes' ARE the talent gap. It's a bit of a nuance to understand, but when you start talking about the talent level of both these teams, in both cases you're talking about almost incomprehensibly amazing athletes. The thin line ISN'T between what they can do or can't do. Point blank, any of the players on both sides can do the exact same things and make positively incredible plays. The DIFFERENCE is the consistency with which they make those plays. Please indulge an analogy: The Sunday duffer golfer who shoots an average game, may on occasion make an amazing shot, let's say a 220 yrd approach that hits within feet of the pin, but, he does that once a season. A pro golfer makes shots like that 70% of the time (made up comparison, but you get the idea). Same on this, but the line is 'much' finer. DPJ can make world class catches with the best of them, but is it every time? And does he 'always always' catch the standard catchable ball or only 9/10 times? At this elite level, consistency IS the gap that separates. We dropped balls, we fumbled standard snaps, we had inconsistent excellence, not missing excellence. When you start to think of the gap as not of ability but of consistency, you see how it adds up across a field of 11 players all being just 'a snap' more consistent in execution. Net Net: Talent gap should almost be called consistency gap.
Ok, wow, this this JH hire starting to look like all time epic hire? Hype train is about ready to cast a statue. Coming in after a coach like Beilein is a tough tough act. Hiring a coach with no college, no full HC experience, no question it's throwing the dice & right now it's coming up pure 7's.
Recent Comments
Great write ups. I might suggest one additional category for exploration ...
Then enemy ranked: The Coaches: Head/OC/DC (position if worth discussion?)
One of my true question for 'us' this year is we have new OC & DC. What will the play calling look like?
Could be worth exploring the question in an "Enemies Ranked". Go Blue.
JSN is a freak. He single handedly kept "The Game" within at least the prospect of being competitive. Some of his circus catches with players utterly blanketing him were astounding, and a season long highlight reel in one game. Truly, props to him, he's a beast at a different level. It wouldn't be shocking to see him getting a top 5 invite to NYC at the end of the year.
Go Blue, I was worried about who might be a replacement, but reading the 'oh shit shit shit' type remarks coming out of the ND camp on a Tom Loy's article (ND football coverage), seems like pretty great coaching upgrade, and a massive upgrade on the recruiting side. Plus it's always nice to poach anything ND that they get pissed about.
I agree. And here's what I've been thinking since very early this season, (unlike many who simply couldn't envision Cade's success and demanded JJ) : I expected the same kind of development in Cade as we saw in Jake Rudock in 2015. Second half of the year seeing real development: game by game, weakness by weakness addressed, the final step being the red zone improvement. No, he's not perfect, and you'd still like to see deep balls a little better, but even those are now enough of a legitimate threat that they have to be respected. It didn't help losing Ronnie first game, and it took time to find chemistry with other receivers. Seems he's found it one by one, and likewise these receivers got 'dramatically' better as season went on. Erik All is now the TE we all expected him to be and next year is a likely an ALL B1G or even ALL American. This team is now so multifaceted, and Gattis has likewise developed and improved that they are legitimately dangerous.
I think you nail a major hammer getting Jay the H out of there. Yes he can recruit, but he's got no business coaching these elite kids backs. Mike Hart turned more than a couple of lower star average backs into beasts. Betting the switch is going to be nothing short of program changing.
Great write up at the end of the article, and it's just so glaring what's going on. So the TSDS has "SIX" 5* in this class. Yes "6". For who??? Ryan Day? Get real. When you have 14 5* on your roster your coach could be Bob Davie or Clay Helton and still win 11 games.
Our bench mob and their energy is awesome. I'm saying that in practice every player counts. Your weakest player has to push your top players, hell, that's their primary role on the team. If you want, you could theoretically rank the players 1-17. Or go by position and rank them. Point is, we have those 4 I called out who practice against our starting/2nd line as scout and in drills and basic scrimmage. Who you play against every day matters, it makes a difference. I'm saying when you swap out 3 walk-ons with 3 McD All Americans, it raises the group as a whole. As for our 'bench mob' adding minutes, yeah, pretty awesome if you can comfortably go 10+ deep without material drop off. Hell even Adrian Nunez was getting real minutes and 4 starts even a year ago. In spite of the questions about #1 next year, as a whole I think we're insane deep.
Basketball point: I think there is an additional component missing from the discussion. The caliber of the players you're going against in practice day in and day out, is about to EXPLODE compared to this year. We have 4 seniors (Ozuna-Harrison, Wilson, Faulds, Baird) who are serious deep bench and only play when it's HVC minutes. Obviously those are good players and they'd start at smaller schools, and smoke the average player off the court, so I don't mean this too sound harsh, but 3 of them were WO/PWO, they are NOT McDonalds All-American caliber players.Those are the guys playing the scout team, those are the guys that are playing in scrimmage day in day out. You just swapped them with the #1 recruiting class in the country? The holistic caliber of the team jumps out of the gym. That alone is going to have an impact that's under appreciated.
That pressing high pressure defense also takes a lot of energy. You continually spend that energy and don't get a return on it, does more than take the figurative wind out mentally, it takes the real energy and you wear down. You can't press an entire game without getting results or without a 'lot' of subs, it's just too draining. Typically it's also draining for the team trying to break it, but breaking it as easy as Mich did, didn't really cost the same energy. Also once it's broken, the D has to bust a$$ to get back into a half court and that cost FSU additional energy. Whole thing compounded to wear FSU down.
TWill has got to take better care of the ball, and clean up the fouling.
On another note, I really like the UCLA match up. Let's face it, they're an 11 for a reason, and AL was a 2 for a reason. There were those who thought AL had 5th best chance of the sweet 16 to win it all. UCLA has had to play 1 more game, tonight they went to OT, that is likely going to impact their legs. GO BLUE, bring on the Bruins.
Ok, what's everyone got in terms of ranking the 4 brackets (W, E, S, MW) easiest to hardest?
Entirely possible it's Wisconsin, Purdue, & Ohio State, and tack on IL to make it to the final. That's a sick gauntlet for 'any' team.
Who's Andy Dalton ...
Lot of shots hitting the front of the rim, indicates legs. Airball free throw???
I'm in this camp. There isn't added caché for the B1G to have them in, despite name recognition. Sorry not sorry, I want Mich to dunk on them while they're down. Best of it would be sending all our HVC with 4 min to go in the game. Not to mention the more rest we can give our starters at this point the better. Truth of the matter, it would actually look better for the B1G teams not invited to the dance, to go over to the NIT and make some noise rather than be a low seed in the Tourny and get wrecked by a high seed.
Ok, I give props for finally at least including Dav V's name. I admit that the utter radio silence on the guy would lead you to believe that there is nothing there. Being fair however, Cade was mostly radio silence as well until McCaffrey bailed. As for Milton, happy trails, he had 2.5 years to marinate, develop and step in. I DO NOT believe that it's a coaching prob with Milton beyond the poor decision to give him the keys. His mental processing of the game just isn't there. His touch, not there. I get it, they thought 'maybe' he'd step up once the real thing was there, but I think beyond staged plays in practice, he simply doesn't have 'it'. He may be F'n adonis, but Cade would have been the 'clear' choice this year unless JJ came in and straight up balled out. I think what Cade showed pre-injury was some of the best stuff since late season Jake Ruddock. I'm 'ok' with this kid coming in as a backup and letting McCarthy have the time to adjust, but to me, if he is suddenly competing to start, I just can't feel it's a good sign. Circling back to Dan V for a moment, I would love to hear 'any' kind actual eval about how he's done.
Best of luck, no ill will. I was scared to death they'd give him another try. Spring practice starts MONDAY ...... timing isn't an accident. Guessing the QB's are getting together on their own and already throwing and working. He prob knows Cade's in front of him, and betting this is a sign that that it's clear, and that JJ is also already making it clear why he's a 5*.
What to say that hasn't already been said about utterly liquifying Wisconsin? Ok, I did see 'one' post about it, but suprisingly little else about the return of 'Big Country' (Austin Davis) to the line up. No he didn't come in and 'dominate' or anything, but he was solid in his minutes (12) and of course he's been out, so he's not going to be at full throttle. But 'great' to see him back out on the floor giving HD a breather and not hurt the line up. Next, since we have nit pic to find 'anything' to say about this team, would it be too much to ask to have the end of bench players end with a positive +/- or at least not surrender -10 net points when they hit the floor? I get the reality, you're sending players #11/12/13/14 out against a #9 ranked team so maybe it's expected. Maybe if they keep getting these final 3-4 minutes each game we can finally start to see them get comfortable? Though exactly as the announcers commented, a lot of their shots were hitting front of the rim and they weren't quite into a rhythm. As I said nit pic hoping our end of bench doesn't really show a drop off.
Loved how he let Zeb get some run out there with the regulars, and not just minutes when JH cleared the bench. Love how early he was willing to clear the bench and give the end of the bench more than just 60 sec. It takes players a min or two to find the rhythm of a game. If you literally wait till the last 2, they haven't even had a chance to find that feel. Getting him more time in there looked like it also made him more comfortable.
Speaking of off the bench, what is the deal with Williams? First few game games coming off the bench I really started to like what I saw from him. It felt with some time he'd find himself and be a serious contributor. These last couple games when he's been early off the bench I find myself not trusting what he's doing. Add to that his +/- these last 2 are not pretty. That's obviously impacted by who's around him on the floor, but he still seems to have actually gone backwards just a little. Seems to be trying to force things.
Enjoy the ride, this team has potential to run with anyone. Remember this little tidbit, this is only Juwan's SECOND year and covid has played havoc since the end of his first. Next year, in his THIRD YEAR, he already has the #1 class in the country. It's really really hard not to be excited about future of this program.
Kind of like a super high recruit where you don't want to expect too much of him, I want to try and pump the breaks on calling him the next Coach K or anything ..... BUT ...... I just did.
Wondering out loud: JH did great in San Diego & Stanford, but, did his time in the pros damage him for being a college HC? Did it turn into a 'job'? We've talked about how he seems a bit broken versus when he came, but I've been muddling over the idea that after being a pro coach, he expects guys to perform, to show up, to treat it like it's a job and get it done. I struggle with the idea that he can't develop players because there is some kind of disconnect going on. I look at how many successful pros he's putting in the league. There is no question he's getting guys ready for the next level, they're getting to the league and they're having success there. Why doesn't that seem to be a translation of success while they're at Michigan? I'm not sure I'm capturing it well, but I just can't get my head around that disconnect.
I want to see this be such a blood bath they start getting Cade snaps before the end of the first half, and by the end of the second half they're giving Dan Villari his first snaps.
Word coming out of Wiscy is that both Mertz and the number 3 QB Wolf have both tested positive. If so, they're out till after our game, and Wiscy is playing the next 3 weeks with redshirt junior Danny Vanden Boom. Since he's apparently been around a couple years he might at least know the system, but you gotta figure facing anyone in the B1G with your 4th string guy is doing things the hard way.
I'll be honest, I actually loved DV's tape. But at this point I think it indicates something that there is complete, total and utter radio silence about the kid. Sam was actually going to ask around about him, and I never heard him say another sentence. Nobody has apparently so much as uttered his name. Even since DM departed and he's now #3 in a covid world. You'd think they'd at least acknowledge he's showing up to practice. Does he look like he belongs? Over his head? If not him, are the actively identifying the third option of who's in line? Barrett? Below are the QB's on roster. Can we at least hear who they view at third in line?
4
QB 6'4" 227 lbs
Dan Villari
Freshman Massapequa, N.Y. Plainedge
5
QB 6'5" 243 lbs
Joe Milton
Junior Pahokee, Fla. Olympia
7
QB 6'3" 190 lbs
Peyton Smith
Freshman Ithaca, Mich. Traverse City Central
12
QB 6'1" 205 lbs
Cade McNamara
Sophomore Reno, Nev. Damonte Ranch
15
QB 6'4" 212 lbs
Andy Maddox
Sophomore Prairie Village, Kan. Shawnee Mission East
16
QB 6'0" 197 lbs
Ren Hefley
Sophomore Bryant, Ark. Bryant
18
QB 6'2" 205 lbs
Max Wittwer
Junior Utica, Mich. Eisenhower
Ok, but this doesn't sound like there is much new information based on how the fall preseason practices have gone, or how he's fitting. This almost feels like just a revisit of the info we had in the Spring and it would be a good thought to review since with DM moving on, DV becomes 3rd in line. I asked Sam about this not too long back and would love to know what people have actually seen. Seems like with DM moving on, that DV's slight bump to 3rd would at least draw some additional appraisal based on what he's actually looked like at actual Mich practices since August. Curious Minds want to know.
This kid is going to be a gamer, just like "Juice" (Julius Welschof), under the radar and way under valued.
Who named him? Was there an official announcement of some kind? Did we all miss that? Nope this is all intell and comments from around the program. Look if you're playing D1, and it starts to be obvious who's better? There's a saying .... "Game Recognizes Game". When you're getting beaten by a margin, on a consistent basis, and even have the next guy in line giving you a run? You know it, you see it, the other players know it, they see it, the coaches know it, they see it. It's been hinted that there is more to this and it's complicated, so it may take a while before we know the full scope, if we ever do. But right now, the order is now solidified, Joe/Cade/Dan ... Next man up.
Brian, Have to say your comment "a true freshman Michigan picked up in a late scramble" isn't worthy of you. Dan Vallari is the name, and you're better than that, commenting on him such a dismissive manner. We haven't heard anything about him because all the focus has been on JM vs. DM but I'll chime in and say I loved that kids tape last year, in spite of the circumstances surrounding his signing. And now , here we are, one covid diagnosis or pulled muscle from him being the backup, and a quick couple injuries and they give him the keys.
As for DM, I have a suspicion that his exit may have something to do with Cade making a push to actually end up as backup. Maybe it wasn't even clear that DM had a sure thing at backup. After a couple years in the program, if DM was getting pushed to 3rd, and you have JJ coming next year, it's a pretty clear picture his window of opportunity at Mich had closed.
Yeah, I think we can all agree that Kendall seems happy trails just not yet stated. As for DE, it's starting to have that same vibe. OK is 'looking' like it may land Wheaton, and that 'may' actually be what Edwards is watching? I hate that we may be his 'fall back' but it kind of feels like we're the bridesmaid waiting and hoping here.
Being reported they've Hired Mel Tucker. Colo has reported that he has resigned from CO. over on Bleacher.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2874790-mel-tucker-reportedly-to-be-hired-as-michigan-state-head-coach
It's impossible to overstate how dire the MSU QB situation will next year. Not to mention bringing in a coach this late in the cycle will make getting asst coaches just as dire. Which then leads to retaining the staff? Yikes. So the entire organization will have to have to try and figure out a new system. Hell, Spring practice is only a month away. (MSU starts March 12) This hiring process could easily drag another week or 2. If they happen to drag hiring into Spring without an HC, the phrase "trainwreck" won't due justice to the product they'll put on the field next year. That's all not even adding what sanctions may be hovering like the sword of Damocles over the program.
Hey, we picked up one PWO commit (even if he's so far off the radar he doesn't even have a 247 profile to go look up) .... bright side?
The crazy part of all this, is when you watch the tape, and plays: QB, RB, DB, LB, S, WR , he's clearly dominating the field at HS level that he's playing, and a kid like this doesn't even have a profile in 247. It's crazy. It gives an appreciation for how insanely talented the 4 & 5 star players are. I've said it forever. If you're playing any sport at any level in college, chances are good, you were one of , if not the best , player on your HS team. All these college athletes are studs. Hard to know if he'll be able to break through and ever see the field at UM, but you have to love an attitude of a PWO who isn't afraid to go toe to toe with big time recruits. They know what they're walking into. Best of luck to him. I do like the idea someone had of placeholder as a way to see the field.
Only 2 5* from state of Michigan from 2014-2018. 2014: Malik McDowell & 2017: DPJ
That's who came to mind for me too. DPJ was never really in play for MSU but it wouldn't be that surprising if he took a meeting and at least heard what MD had to say.
Would you? I don't know that I'd leave Pitt to go to MSU.
Can't be that hard to figure out the 5*. Time Blackwell was in the MSU role of " director of college advancement and performance" ; The announcement of that role was Aug 2, 2013 and announced his contract would not be renewed on May 30, 2017. So there is your window. So your 'potential' recruiting year windows are: 2014, 2015, 2015, 2016, 2017, and include 2018 if you were looking a year ahead. So what Detroit 5* were there in classes 2014-18. I'll let someone else look up that piece.
If for no other reason than depth, this is a drag. BUT it may very plausibly be that the coaching staff has essentially provided a firm handshake or given a clear message playing time is likely limited. Given either of these, it's really had to know the true inside story. Kind of like a marriage, you can never really know what transpires. My guess is he transfers somewhere smaller and is 'Big Mike on Campus' and gets full time snaps. Best of luck to him. As for us? Hope that transfer portal coughs up some good options.
https://nypost.com/2019/10/31/long-island-hs-football-coach-suspended-for-running-up-the-score/
Check out his Lax highlight tape:
https://www.hudl.com/video/3/8222984/5cf45d7515f6650e848cd72f
Did you go watch his full 9 minutes? That is good looking tape, sorry, I 'really' like this pick up.
I agree. That time was from Spring, and while his competition isn't TX 5A, he's juking and running away from DB's and LB's. He's throwing spin moves and not afraid to hit, he's got a lot more moves than his rating and offer sheet suggest. I don't buy the 5.0, that would be slow as molasses, and he's clearly not that slow.
Specific topic I'm curious, is exactly how deep can our bench reliably get? 15 on the team. Something that strikes me is that JH seems to be making active conscious concerted effort to rotate as deep as he can go. Through the years you can see how a deep bench helps, especially in the grind of March madness. Never got the feel from JB that it was necessarily a primary 'goal' to deepen the bench experience. More a function of circumstance and if he had players he trusted he'd play them, but this feels different. This feels like a coach actively working explicitly to deepen his bench. Can we turn this into a fully functioning 15 deep bench? Yes I know 15 isn't realistic, and would we even necessarily 'want' all 15 playing every game? This is more for for a broader discussion of what everyone 'wants' to see and what they think we 'can' see ... any thoughts out there?
I will also add that there 'are' some aspects of pure talent too. Perfect example, the one run where Haskins broke free on the left side and was pure race to the endzone and was caught from behind by #5, a 248 lb linebacker. A true speedster RB would have been gone and never caught like that. That is an example of pure ability gap. (see play with 56 sec left in 3Q).
Sorry, but going to take issue with this. Those 'mistakes' ARE the talent gap. It's a bit of a nuance to understand, but when you start talking about the talent level of both these teams, in both cases you're talking about almost incomprehensibly amazing athletes. The thin line ISN'T between what they can do or can't do. Point blank, any of the players on both sides can do the exact same things and make positively incredible plays. The DIFFERENCE is the consistency with which they make those plays. Please indulge an analogy: The Sunday duffer golfer who shoots an average game, may on occasion make an amazing shot, let's say a 220 yrd approach that hits within feet of the pin, but, he does that once a season. A pro golfer makes shots like that 70% of the time (made up comparison, but you get the idea). Same on this, but the line is 'much' finer. DPJ can make world class catches with the best of them, but is it every time? And does he 'always always' catch the standard catchable ball or only 9/10 times? At this elite level, consistency IS the gap that separates. We dropped balls, we fumbled standard snaps, we had inconsistent excellence, not missing excellence. When you start to think of the gap as not of ability but of consistency, you see how it adds up across a field of 11 players all being just 'a snap' more consistent in execution. Net Net: Talent gap should almost be called consistency gap.
Ok, wow, this this JH hire starting to look like all time epic hire? Hype train is about ready to cast a statue. Coming in after a coach like Beilein is a tough tough act. Hiring a coach with no college, no full HC experience, no question it's throwing the dice & right now it's coming up pure 7's.
Ok, so not sure we can really learn anything, hopefully coach was able to draw value out of a glorified pay to watch practice.
How was there no flag on this double pass? Ball has just released from DM
almost 2 full seconds later and 5 yds from where #93 when the ball released
full blindside from behind
Multi - year contributor back on the field? Yes please, thank you. Glad to hear he's back.
Multi - year contributor back on the field? Yes please, thank you. Glad to hear he's back.