I hadn't been this excited about a hand since I was 15. I'm sorry. 

Sigh. Sad day indeed. I just hope that failure on the field this yr does not set back recruiting. If it does, it might get the coaches fired.

Engineering Schools ranked by US News and Reports: #7 U of M, #112 Alabama. This was not about academics, or career aspirations concerning civil engineering. I bet ya he doesn't even end up getting into their engineering program. He won't even finish his degree there if he is the player we think he will be. This was about Nick Saban, Alabama dominance, national championships, and selecting the place that will give him the best chance at an NFL contract. You really cannot blame the guy. But I still am disappointed. I thought this young man had something different about him, something special. From what I read, he was thoughtful, introspective, mature beyond his years, and likely the kind of recruiter hat wouldn't buy into the ESPN hype machine when it came to making his selection. I thought he valued relationships with coaches - all of which favored michigan. He went to Bama once. he spent one evening there. He came to michigan multiple times! he formed relationships with the coaches and other 2014 recruits. And at the end, none of that mattered. I wish him luck, but calling BS on the reasons he offered for his decision today. What do I know. I'm very bitter right now,...

I haven't posted much but this riles me into action.  IMO this loss is BIG.  I think of losing Hand as our 4th loss of the year.  We should have won, but we blew it.  Like Penn St. and Nebraska, Alabama didn't win this one, we gave it away.  If we don't implode, DeShawn Hand would be wearing a winged helmet next year.  

Because we lost DeShawn Hand, I blame:

#1.  Al Borges for failing to gameplan and adjust to a quick release passing game.  If he simply had done that, we would undoubtedly be 8-1 (at least) right now, and NOT unraveling.  (I bet Greg Mattison hates Al Borges by now.  Borges just cost Greg one hell of a tool for his defensive box.

#2.  Brady Hoke for backing the playcalling instead of going "all Bo" on Mr. Borges and demanding better!

#3.  Fred Jackson for his inability to develop running backs who can block a blitz.

#4.  Darrell Funk to a lesser degree (because of youth).  But still....underachiever.

#5.  Dave Brandon.  For rewarding Nick Saban, Alabama, and the unscrupulous SEC recruiting practices that built that recent program by scheduling that season opener vs. Bama last year when his coach had only 1 full recruiting season under his belt.  Seriously, how delusional could he be, to put such a "not ready for prime time" product up against the evil empire so early in the transition to Manball?  Brandon branded Michigan in front of the nation as "weaklings".  Who's getting the most recruiting mileage out of that brilliant move now?

Crap... I want to puke.

Hand from the mlive.com article: "They don't lie to you, they tell you how it is," Hand said during the live broadcast. "I know when I go in, I'm not going to be No. 1 on the depth chart. They had the most freshmen playing this year, so anything is possible."

Alabama has the most freshman playing this year, huh? Strange how youth doesn't seem to hurt their execution. Somebody should ask Hoke to explain this paradox.