Reading the Tea Leaves: Friday Afternoon Edition
I waste way too much time on Michigan athletics. Here are some things I felt like summarizing / predicting based on known information from the B10 meetings (and cryptic TomVH / Rivals mods posts):
On this season:
1) Stonum will play again for the Maize and Blue if he satisfies Coach Hoke's requirements. Word is that keeping Stonum on the team was a battle between Coach Hoke (keep him) and Dave Brandon (let him go), and Coach Hoke has won. I rationalize this because of all the players saying, "It's up to Coach Hoke" as to what happens with Stonum.
2) There are four true freshmen competing for significant playing time at two positions: running back and nickel back. Not to say there won't be another freshman who steps up and sees the field, but I think it's pretty safe to say the most likely are Rawls, Hayes, Countess, and Brown. I think Rawls and Countess could be household names among Michigan fans by seasons' end. Would love to see Rawls as primary back and Hayes as a third down option for the next four years (wait, didn't we say the same thing about our incoming RBs in 2008?).
3) Expect more than just one player to step up this year and become a difference maker. Glowing reports from coaches and players on Will Campbell's progress. Reportedly he is down from 340 lbs (!!!!), close to 320. If he can keep the weight off and play "every down", he will be a key to our success this season. On the offensive side of the ball, if Rawls/Hayes can't contribute then someone has to step up (don't they?). On the WR side, word is that Hemingway has lost weight and is primed for a monster year. Both Robinsons and Drew (what's the) Dileo have looked great in 7on7's and will push for serious playing time.
On this weekend's BBQ:
1) Do not be surprised if we get 1-3 commitments from Sunday's affair - all of which will be high profile names and one of which would be in the 2013 class. The Pipkins information is obvious. I am not going to shed any new light on that. There is a "chance". But given cryptic messages from our TomVH and others at paysites, it seems that a certain RB/S who is very highly regarded for the 2013 class could be ready to announce this weekend.
On the basketball team:
1) We have a legit shot at a top 5 2012 recruit, Mitch McGary. Whether we're in his top 5 or his top 3, it is impressive to be listed among the UKs, Dukes, and UNCs of the world.
2) Without McGary we still have a top 10 2012 class. GR III is primed to be a top 25 recruit in the final rankings and Stauskas could move up into the top 75 or even the top 50.
3) With the results, the recruiting, and the renovations, Beilein has this team heading in the right direction. And that's a total understatement. With him at the helm, we should have expectations of making the tournament every year, and finishing in the top 25.
Anyway, some of this is probably old hat to some of you. Figred it would be worth mentioning though for the majority of the readers. I am not Ace Williams, and I approve this message. So, what do you think?
I did see that Drew Dileo's name mentioned there and I thought that was pretty cool to see him maybe get some good time on the field this year. Sometimes I see the kids as they are recruited but then two years later or so, I haven't seen their name in awhile. I would absolutely love for William Campbell to have a big year.
Great stuff. Thank you. If you can, do this more often.
It was very pump-up-y
Will Campbell was a 5-star DL stud out of Cass Tech. I would love to see this kid finally live up to his potential and not be labeled a product of a very effective PR campaign.
One of my fond memories was seeing him play a district basketball game against U of D Jesuit (my alma mater). On the floor at the same time were three U of M commits, all in different sports: Campbell in football, Jordan Morgan in basketball, and Dan Fields in baseball. (Fields, Mr. Baseball that year, eventually signed a multi-mllion dollar deal to play for the Tigers.) U of D won the game and Campbell, as it was painfully obvious, did not have a future in basketball.
Good to see other Cubs running around. I remember when Morgan was in the Academy and he was 6-5ish. Felt bad for other middle school teams.
Also, my buddy (DeLasalle guy coincidentally) used to play basketball at the CCRB all the time last the couple of summers. He told me he used to see Campbell there playing a lot. Blocked Campbell once (which is impressive since my friend is 5-9, yet a very good bball player). Apparently Campbell likes to talk shit and would frequently stop to talk trash to guys on other courts. My buddy also said he should stick with football.
Excellent Job, would like to see this type of post more often.
If he can make the leap to an all-conference type player (and this is about the time Gabe Watson made that same leap), this team will crush people.
In the player interviews, I think all the talk about everyone buying into the weight and conditioning program is likely about Campbell. IIRC, he and some of the other Cass Tech guys (Gordon) worked out on their own last summer, and he obvs didn't report to camp in the greatest of shape.
great read. I am hoping BWC does well this year. Too much hype for Rawls. Sure if he turns into a Mark Ingram that would be great. I'm just crossing my fingers Wile kicks FG's good like his youtube videos!
Wile hits FG's like Nik/Nick Stauskas hits 3 pointers. Automatic. (At least on YouTube)
Didn't TomVH specifically say that his cryptic remark was NOT related to Dymonte Thomas?
TVH said his post wasn't specifically trying to imply it was Thomas.
I kinda miss the action on the recruiting front these days, and it almost feels like TomVH isn't around as much anymore. When it's really busy on the player commitment front, it's like TomVH is a friendly ghost, appearing out of nowhere with good tidings and great news.
CasparVH
What about Barnett, he could see PT
It turns out that he tore his ACL (MCL?) - some part of his knee - during his senior season. He's apparently in the unusual position of being able to run (and practice, I think) but also needing to rehab his knee.
Very nice job. I agree that this could be a bi-weekly or so diary post. I would love to see Rawls as our primary back, and I think Hayes has an opportunity to be a nice threat in the return game.
To summarize your summary: It's a great time to be a Michigan Wolverine.
I would like to add - would LOVE to hear what Moon Man ("FormerWolv") has to think about all of this. I would be willing to do these summaries in the future if there is enough info out there to warrant them. Just did this one because we've got the B10 meetings, BBQ, and college basketball recruiting season all in the same week.
Next one would probably be after practice starts (August 8th I believe).
On this season:
4) Beavis at 8:03 PM on September 10th (just after ND night game kicks off):
I think the most disturbing part about this is he appears to be drinking irish cream or something. No man should ever black out on irish cream.
Overrated: Thomas Rawls hype before he sets foot on campus
Underrated: My man-crush on Stephen Hopkins
Also Underrated: Cox's and Shaw's chances of being the starting back.
I am pulling for Shaw, personally, but word is he just didn't put in the work in the offseason under the previous coaching staff, and hasn't added the ~15-20 pounds of muscle he needed to be an every down back in the B10.
Word is Cox can't learn a playbook to save his life, and Hopkins might have a similar issue (although to a much smaller extent).
Hopkins also might have a small case of the fumbleitis.
I've never seen so much run from one fumble on a bad hand-off.
I wish I could moderate this past 5.
I'm really hoping Rawls doesn't need to be the primary back. I'd like to see Hopkins take that role over this year, along with some help from Toussaint, Smith, and Cox.
I try not to invest too much into the position, but I have to hope Rawls is the real deal. The fact that at RB the "Allies ae always over gthe next hill" has been the standard for a while man disallows me to be opptomistic, but what else can be done? I certainly don't see it being Hopkins.
And you left off the guy who was probably our most effective RB last year, Mike Shaw (9 TD and a full yard per carry better than Smith/Hopkins). Sans cast he could have a very nice senior season.
Have you completely given up? I'm still holding out faint hope that he can finally put it together. Too often injured, even this spring... but it's possible this type of offense suits him more than the spread*.
*I'm on record as saying we'll see a more spread-like offense than most believe, but MANBALL will live, and if you open a hole and tell a RB to go through it (rather than having him pick his hole), Shaw may find that more to his liking.
Didn't leave him out on purpose. Hopefully Shaw can carve up some D's as well.
Very nice read to finish off July. Thanks for sharing.
I haven't heard anyone mention Toussaint in a while, including this thread. Did he get injured again or has he just sunk to the bottom of the depth chart?
I was wondering the same thing. If I remember correctly, FormerWolv said he was head and shoulders above everyone else. It would be crazy for a superstar back to emerge out of our corps of good backs.
If he's healthy, he's the best back on the team. We'll see if they want to go with a bigger guy (Rawls/Hopkins) or if Fitz has a chance.
BTW, there is no bias in this post.
Hopkins is bigger, but he doesn't run big. He's much better in space than at getting hard yardage.
Did not know that. Well i guess worst case scenerio he red shirts
Great news regarding Will Campbell and the BHBBQ. I'm excited to see who we get out of it, although I'm pretty sure it's obvious who to expect at the moment.
I hope he turns out to all we hope for. But if he does nothing but find his classes, go to his classes, succeeds in his classes and lifts for a year it may be a good thing. He had trouble qualifying and I think it may be best if he learns how to be a college student first. It may help him stay qualified.
Love the recap (that's what I think it as). I would love to see this every other week or so, to not only catch people up that may have missed this information but also to remind people of events / things happening lately related to Michigan.
It would be amazing if we got mcgary!
Chris Bryant to have a big freshman year. If Porkins McBoren can make an impact as a freshman then Bryant has a pretty good shot of doing him one better. We could use him this year as Mealer is our only scholarship backup Guard on campus right now.
Regarding the BBQ, I would think Shallman is more likely to commit than Thomas but I'm not expecting either. Also, even though he won't be at the BBQ, I think Amara Darboh will eventually be blue.
Re: Darboh - there is some rumbling on another site from a respected poster that things are looking good for Michigan.
1) Stonum will play again for the Maize and Blue if he satisfies Coach Hoke's requirements.
Do not ever criticize ND for the Michael Floyd situation.
To number 2 if you are a tru Michigan fan these names are already in the household.
Hasn't Thomas Gordon pretty much locked that position down? He showed some flashes last season, and I'm looking forward to him asserting himself in that role this year.