Breaking Down Michigan football 2013
After today's disheartening loss, I thought I'd distract us from bball for the moment and look at the strengths and weaknesses of next year's football team and we are solid at almost every position with a few weaknesses mixed in.
OL: Lewan and schofield will be one of the best tackle combos in the big ten. The interior of the line will be young but talented. I think Kalis will make a huge impact next year.
RB: This was thought to be a weakness but after signing Smith and Green and the good reports on Fitz this could turn out to be a strength of the offense.
WR: We're a little thin on depth here. Gallon really came on strong last year and I believe he was 4th in the big ten in receiving yards. He'll be the go to receiver. Dileo showed flashes of briliance but disappeared during some games last year. The other WR spot will ikely go to either Darboh or Chesson.
TE:This should be one of the strengths of the team. After Funchess' freshman year, he should dominate with a year in the weight room to improve his blocking.
QB: Devin was really good in the NW and Iowa games and really played well against SC. I think he'll be our most accurate QB since Henne.
LB: This is definitely our best unit. Jake Ryan, Desmond Morgan, Joe Bolden, and James Ross are all solid.
CB: Hopefully Countess is healthy because he could be one of our key players on defense. Raymon Taylor was good in some games and torched in others.
S: Thomas Gordon played ok in 2012. I think either Jarrod Wilson or Dymonte will start at the other safety spot.
DL: This unit had some terrible games and some great games. I think it will really improve in 2012 with an extra year of coaching and young players like Ojemudia, Pipkins getting time in the weight room. I predict Quinton Washington will be a beast next year.
K: Gibbons has been money since his sophomore year. Wile looked good in the few kicks he had.
P: Even if Hagerup doesn't come back, I think we'll be fine here. Wile can boot the ball just as far.
CMU W
ND tossup/win (at home and at night we should pull it off)
Akron W
at Uconn W
Minnesota W
at PSU W
Indiana W
at MSU win (they don't have the offense without bell and Sims)
Nebraska W (they don't play well away from home and Mattison will force Martinez to throw)
at NW W (could be a trap game)
at Iowa W
Ohio tossup
February 10th, 2013 at 11:06 AM ^
February 10th, 2013 at 11:21 AM ^
If you can Hoke now you can be sure that you'll be in a rut like ND was after Willingham. Not quite so bad because Hoke has refilled the pantry the last few years. It is hard to get out of that rut.
Meyer won with an already stacked roster, which means only DOOM once he gets the kids he wants in. Harbaugh did an amazing job at Stanford, I agree.
All I am saying is, becareful what you wish for. A coach, especially in any non-SEC setting, should get 5 years to implement his system. By the point the players have either bought in 100% or not so much. Take Kiffin for example.
February 10th, 2013 at 1:14 PM ^
February 10th, 2013 at 3:22 PM ^
By Michigan standards RR emptied the cupboards. I think that one recruting class of his was a total disaster. In Alabama terms in the course of 5 years, you are now down 2 full recruiting classes. Takes forever to recover from. I suggest you take a gander at the recruiting classes levied by Willingham. Most of which led to our Horror of 2007.
February 10th, 2013 at 12:29 PM ^
We have had waaaaay to many bad seasons, if Hoke cannot do it then we need someone who can come in and WIN NOW...and yes its possible,
In other words, you are blaming Hoke for the fact that before he got here, we had some bad seasons. Yeah, that's rational thinking.
And no, Harbaugh did not win right away at Stanford. He went 4-7, 5-6 and 8-5 in his first three seasons.
February 10th, 2013 at 12:59 PM ^
February 10th, 2013 at 2:10 PM ^
Your OSU and ND comparisons are invalid. Despite their struggles, ND has always recruited well. Ohio struggled in 2011 because Tressel was fired, their QB left, and a bunch of other key players were suspended for huge swaths of the season. But OSU recruiting has always been strong and there was plenty of talent on the roster when Meyer came in.
Michigan had some down years recruiting in the late 2000s and into 2010. When Hoke arrived, we had huge holes on defense and no depth on the OL.
February 10th, 2013 at 4:23 PM ^
Now what i said is strong driven coaches come in an make huge impact on the team and actually WIN with what they have...2011 osu still had Tresels recruits which btw were top notch correct?? And the only guys suspended were a WR and a RB, which were good players..i hate mentioning this because i hate the guy but Meyer went to Utah and they kicked Alabamas ass in a BCD bowl game...again DAMN UTAH did this, he put Utah on the map football wise...
Kelly goes to ND with a freshman as a QB and with Weis's guys takes a team to a NC the second year....i can seat name plenty of ppl like that...all i am saying is i want us to be relevant again and be a powerhouse again and not let OSU beat us every year for a decade... Bo's days and Car's earlier days are over we need to play football and be just as dirty as others..there is no more fair in NCAAF..PERIOD...u want honest football go watch Harvard or Dartmuth
February 11th, 2013 at 7:51 AM ^
Just for clarity. For Kelly it was year 3, most of the Weis kids were out and it was a Redshirt Freshman. Also, the offense was pretty putrid.
February 10th, 2013 at 12:37 PM ^
This may depend a lot on our guards play. If we block better and one of the RB emerges as the go to back, I think we will do quite well. I think Greg will continue on his way to building us a stellar defense.
The toss up games will be ND, MSU, NU and OSU. The tough but winnable game will be NE.
If we lose to PSU with their talent downward spiral, then we will have one of those 6-6 or 7-5 seasons. I do not think this will occur.
The worse case scenario will be 8-4 the best case scenario will be 12-0. I'm thinking 10-2. Coach Hoke better beat OSU at home. We can't allow another Tressel type winning streak to occur with Meyer.
February 10th, 2013 at 1:01 PM ^
February 10th, 2013 at 12:59 PM ^
I foresee a national championship for Michigan!! GO BLUE!!
February 10th, 2013 at 1:27 PM ^
Michigan State still concerns me for some reason, even after losing Sims and Bell on offense. I have a feelilng it'll be another close game in a hostile environment.
Northwestern is going to be tough on the road. We'll get their best, again.
February 10th, 2013 at 1:35 PM ^
February 11th, 2013 at 8:28 AM ^
The game with MSU will likely be another close defensive struggle with the winner eking out at 7 point or less victory.