1  hour and 12 minutes

This is the second of three we recorded as this year's gigantic preview podcast at the Residence Inn Ann Arbor Downtown, our gracious hosts and yours this fall if you act fast enough.

We Couldn’t Have One Without the Other

We can do this because people support us. You should support them too so they’ll want to do it again next year! The show is presented by UGP & The Bo Store, and if it wasn’t for Rishi and Ryan there wouldn't have been a season 5 let alone 10.

Our other sponsors are also key to all of this: HomeSure Lending, Peak Wealth Management, Ann Arbor Elder Law, the Residence Inn Ann Arbor Downtown, the University of Michigan Alumni Association, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, and Ecotelligent Homes

---------------------------------

1. Defensive Line

starts at 1:00

Wheeee! Let's start with the TFL machine who never comes off the field, then the #1 overall player in his class who's a potential #1 overall pick, and the five-star defensive tackle about to blow up, and the guy getting more hype then all of them. Backups? Trust Don Brown to pull a guy out of Rhode Island, but the rest are eh, not that the starters come off the field.

2. Linebackers

starts at 25:03

Let's talk about the best hybrid space player in the country, unless you mean the middle linebacker. Josh Uche is a special player about to have a much greater impact, and oh man are there some new guys jumping into the fray. Rabid squirrels and doom.

3. Secondary

starts at 41:47

It's just not fair: Michigan has four or maybe five guys who might start for any team in the country, including perhaps the top two cornerbacks in the country. That Detroit-style cornerback pipeline means something totally different now.  Casey Hughes the Utah Transfer has found a home as the fifth guy. Brandon Watson love is shared, though we're not comfortable yet with "ol' Bwat" as a nickname. Behind them is a parade of unready spiders.

4. Special Teams

starts at 56:02

Wild Thing, you make my heart do things. Ace isn't sure he agrees with our new definition of a "bet" as it relates to his haircut. Concern about consistency. The punters were bad and could be a weakness this year. Discussion of Michigan's punt blocking, which is still good but came down hard from seven(!) blocks in 2016. Punt returns are a disagreement over DPJ. Kick returns are over: the anti-Foug rule is the end of kick returns unless your kicker can't boot it out of the endzone. But practice a power return just in case they can't. Brian wants there to be a Hayden Epstein rule.

MUSIC

In case you didn't notice this morning our season preview gives tribute to the Queen.

• "I Take What I Want"—Aretha Franklin
• "Sweetest Smile and Funkiest Style"—Aretha Franklin
• "It Ain't Fair"—Aretha Franklin
• “Across 110th Street”

THE USUAL LINKS

• Helpful iTunes subscribe link
• General podcast feed link
• Direct download link
• What's with the theme music?

I should have told Jim Harbaugh that we were doing this podcast today because he would come in here just to join us for the Dwumfour segment.