Unverified Voracity Checks Injury Status
Injury status. You've probably heard about Charbonnet Panic 2019 by now, which had its origins in a Facebook post by a family member of a player, got Yodered by an OSU guy, and then ran around the world several times before meeting some pushback. Let's address that and Michigan's other walking wounded:
- QB Shea Patterson: says he's 100%: "I did get banged up in the first game, and it did kind of wear on me a little bit, but I’m ready to go. … I think it affected all aspects of (my play). An oblique is no fun, but I’m ready to go." Patterson said he was 100% after the Army game, when he was apparently not 100%, so… yeah.
- RB Zach Charbonnet: zillions of conflicting reports, some of which don't even make sense internally. Jon Jansen was pretty strident about the fact that Charbonnet has not had surgery and was walking around normally; Jansen said "fully expect[s]" Charbonnet to start Saturday. Other reports have been more circumspect. It seems certain that Charbonnet did miss practice earlier this week. That probably started up the rumor mill and now we're in the eight iteration of telephone.
- RB Tru Wilson: "We'll see if he's back this week, or soon," per Harbaugh on his radio show three days ago. Did not practice the previous week, paving the way for Christian Turner to solidify the #2 job. Turner seems fine after taking a hard hit late in the Army game.
- WR Donovan Peoples-Jones: ominous radio silence aside from a "not sure" from Harbaugh. His injury was reported very, very late in fall camp as a high ankle sprain, which is the kind of thing that can linger forever. No insider rumblings, which is in contrast to a lot of the other guys on this list. Signs point towards no.
- LT Jon Runyan Jr.: "Ready to go" per Warinner.
- DT Donovan Jeter: Played a few snaps against Army and was put in front of the media this week so should be full go.
- DT Mike Dwumfour: Was reputed to be ready to go two weeks ago against Army; did not play. Apparently the only issue remaining is with his arm(?) and could have been left out of the Army gameplan for tactical reasons. Like DPJ, no encouraging insider noises may mean he's still out.
- S Quinten Johnson. Johnson posted a picture in which he was about to undergo surgery. A redshirt, already likely, is now assured.
If Dwumfour is out I don't see how Michigan doesn't spend a significant chunk of the game in a 3-3-5. Michigan doesn't trust their freshmen, I can't imagine Ben Mason is going to be able to cope against the Badgers, and Kemp/Jeter are unlikely to play every snap.
[After THE JUMP: Spartan Stadium's beleaguered grass.]
Uh. Well. Warinner says that with Runyan's return Ryan Hayes is set to rotate at right tackle:
"There's nothing that would keep me from playing Ryan Hayes," Michigan offensive line coach Ed Warinner said Tuesday. "We haven't made all those decisions yet. Sometimes you see how it's going. But I think you'll probably see them both play."
Warinner made a habit of this at previous stops. I'd be more comfortable with this if we were talking about Andrew Stueber, who is clearly Wisconsin-mashing size. Hayes I'm a little dubious about after his last outing.
A long read. Ben Mathis-Lilley on American Football:
The first University of Michigan bumper sticker I saw while driving through Ohio to Ann Arbor to watch Michigan play Wisconsin last fall was affixed to a Subaru Outback. The Outback is a go-to vehicle for financially comfortable but socially conscious liberals, which was appropriate; it was being driven by a bearded sixty-something man, which was also appropriate.
I was going north on I-75 from Hamilton, Ohio, the town outside Cincinnati where my in-laws live. Hamilton was chosen as the subject of a 1982 non-fiction book called Hometown in part for its all-American demographic representativeness; at the time, it was a factory town, with facilities for manufacturing paper, tools, and safes. Now it’s disproportionately white relative to the rest of the country, though it has a growing Latino population, and the factories are closed; the big employer downtown is a call center run by a customer service contractor called StarTek. It’s still football country, and the afternoon before I left I had by coincidence ended up at a game between two high-school freshman teams (my wife’s niece was a cheerleader) from area Catholic schools.
Worth your time.
No apology forthcoming. Arizona State did a thing with a fork!
MOOD @StevenMiller71 pic.twitter.com/jigvohwJYo
— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) September 15, 2019
If Michigan had done this there either would have been a tearful apology from Brady Hoke or a months-long inquest about the damage done and the old lady terrified by it when Michigan laughed at the idea of saying sorry. It is in this way you can tell whether poking some grass is a real transgression or not.
Blackwell's deposition. Explosive allegations are contained within it:
Blackwell said in his deposition that multiple assistant coaches asked Dantonio not to offer Robertson a spot on the roster because he had a history of troubling behavior. Blackwell said he witnessed defensive line coach Ron Burton tell Dantonio that he didn't want Robertson to be on the same campus as his daughter.
"So for Ron Burton to say it was that bad that he didn't want his daughter around him, I knew he had some real serious sexual issues," Blackwell said in his deposition. …
Blackwell said that he, Burton and fellow assistant Dave Warner all suggested the team steer clear of Robertson in a meeting with Dantonio.
"I want to say [Warner] spoke with the principal and the coach ... and they had nothing good to say about him," Blackwell said. "[Warner] couldn't really find anybody that could say anything good about Auston."
Robertson went on to commit a sexual assault on campus and is currently in prison. Dantonio told the media Robertson had gone through an extensive vetting process, which was a lie:
No one from Michigan State requested information about Robertson's criminal history in Fort Wayne through formal records requests during the school's vetting process, according to the city's records department. Officials in Fort Wayne were not able to determine if anyone at Michigan State had attempted to contact local law enforcement officers via email or phone to discuss Robertson.
Allen County (Indiana) Prosecutor Karen Richards said no one from Michigan State contacted her or her office for records or discussion about Robertson during the time that Michigan State was vetting him. Richards' office prosecuted Robertson for the misdemeanor battery charge that prompted a delay of the scholarship offer.
That Dantonio still has a job is testament to MSU's broken culture.
What could possibly be wrong with the same pants? Jim Harbaugh has some kid running around presenting him with khakis:
Jim Harbaugh officially has a khakis guy pic.twitter.com/yEXOx5JUTD
— Gump Cathcart (@bubbagumpino) September 19, 2019
How can those khakis meet with disapproval? They're the same! They're all the same!
Gus! Harry Lyles Jr came up to AA two weeks ago for a piece on Gus Johnson. Johnson grew up in Detroit, of course, and has a connection with Michigan as a result:
After his Little League baseball games, his mom would serve up soup and sandwiches while he and his dad watched Bo Schembechler and the Wolverines. “Daddy and I would watch,” he says, “And Mama would always root for the other team for some reason. She just knew how to get on our nerves, and we’d be mad at her, like, ‘Why are you talking good stuff about them!’”
Johnson met Schembechler once at an airport. Schembechler was carrying his own bags, a fact Johnson seemed impressed by. He walked up to the legendary coach and introduced himself.
Schembechler told Johnson he was proud of him, before correcting himself and saying “we” are proud. “That was the only time I met him,” Johnson says, unsuccessfully fighting back tears. “That’s all I needed.”
It's nice that Michigan has a connect with both Keith Jackson and his successor, as much as anyone can succeed Keith Jackson.
I don't know how anyone watches the NFL, an ongoing series. Tulane pulled out a fake kneel last night:
Tulane with the fake kneel! pic.twitter.com/2RvatLW25O
— BettorIQ (@BettorIQ) September 20, 2019
They followed this up with a ludicrous touchdown where the safety came in and airballed on a guy. Chaos is good.
Etc.: Random USHL name for 2020 recruiting: WMU decommit Mark Estapa. ND also in the running. Ambry Thomas details his recovery. Mel Pearson wants some rule changes that small schools will shoot down because they suck. MSU LT Kevin Jarvis out "at least" six weeks, which takes him to the PSU game. Bo's first game.
September 20th, 2019 at 11:28 AM ^
If Michigan had done this there either would have been a tearful apology from Brady Hoke or a months-long inquest about the damage done and the old lady terrified by it when Michigan laughed at the idea of saying sorry. It is in this way you can tell whether poking some grass is a real transgression or not.
Exactly this. The faux outrage from MSU (specifically Dantonio) about Joe Bolden's stake is beyond childish. Devin Bush, eh, that was more of a thing but not the horror that MSU wanted to say it was.
Meanwhile, Arizona State does it and no one cares. (Nor should they.)
September 20th, 2019 at 12:27 PM ^
To be fair, they had much more embarrassing things to be concerned about after that disaster of a game.
September 20th, 2019 at 1:11 PM ^
Like signing Auston Robertson? Keep fighting the good fight Sparty.
September 21st, 2019 at 12:17 AM ^
Is that you, Jemele?
September 20th, 2019 at 11:28 AM ^
I'm curious how Brian reconciles his "chaos is good" takes with his aversion to the barely weighted plinko of single-elimination college hockey. Seems like chaos, which is good, right?
(For the record, I think college hockey playoffs should be best-of-three... just playing devil's advocate here).
September 20th, 2019 at 11:41 AM ^
There's a difference between random chaos in the middle of the season, middle of the week game between two teams that will be nowhere near a championship and random chaos when the best teams are trying to win a title. One makes otherwise meaningless games interesting, the other means your championship rarely goes to the actual best team.
September 20th, 2019 at 11:31 AM ^
Wait, what happened to Keith Jackson?
September 20th, 2019 at 11:35 AM ^
Moved on to calling women's beach volleyball games in Hawaii.
September 20th, 2019 at 11:38 AM ^
Oh Nelly!!! That was a great spike by Nelly,
September 20th, 2019 at 11:59 AM ^
It's a hot one here in Waikiki. It's so dang hot that I just saw a hound dog chasing a rabbit—and they were both walking.
September 20th, 2019 at 12:49 PM ^
LOL, three things you rarely see in Waikiki; rabbits, hounds and really hot days.
September 20th, 2019 at 2:16 PM ^
Thanks for that clarification
September 20th, 2019 at 7:13 PM ^
LOL, if you read this in his voice, ot's soooo much better.
September 20th, 2019 at 11:39 AM ^
I really expected to see this comment higher in the thread.
September 20th, 2019 at 1:27 PM ^
me too! I couldn’t believe I had the honors.
September 20th, 2019 at 11:44 AM ^
That Tulane/Houston ending was friggin incredible! That game winning TD pass was awesome! College Football is the best!
September 20th, 2019 at 11:57 AM ^
Gus Johnson, good dude, can confirm. I went to the Michigan/IU game in Bloomington last year and stuck around after the game a bit to check out the court (side note, they have a cool tradition there where they let fans on the court after the game to take a picture at midcourt. Everyone lines up and they even have a designated usher to take the pics). We weren't going to wait in line for that and instead struck up a conversation with Gus who had just wrapped up. Very, very good dude. We talked about Michigan, him being from the Detroit area like us, etc... but he honestly came across as more interested in what brought my pops and I to the game. After chatting, he was like, "lets get a picture guys!". Very cool, down to earth dude.
September 20th, 2019 at 11:58 AM ^
Dantonio you piece of shit. I always thought you were just a smug prick, but it's really a lot worse.
September 20th, 2019 at 12:18 PM ^
Wild ass guess based on Harbaugh being Harbaugh:
No one says a word about DPJ's status and all we get are shrugs. then he just shows up and plays in the first series like it's no big deal.
Also, constant chatter about Charbonnet turns into, "nah, what are you guys talking about??? He's good-no issues." and then we'll find out he didn't even make the trip.
September 20th, 2019 at 12:24 PM ^
Neither of these would surprise me.
It also would not surprise me if the sideline reporter chimes in right before kickoff to tell us that "oh by the way Michigan is completely decimated by like 3 other injuries that we just found out about. Lol have a great day!"
September 20th, 2019 at 12:41 PM ^
Which is why there's really no point in freaking out (or taking solace in) any injury-related news/rumors during the week. We'll find out at kickoff.
September 20th, 2019 at 11:09 PM ^
I am way more worried about DT than wr or rb.
September 21st, 2019 at 7:52 AM ^
Yeah I would speculate charbonnet got a couple stitches or wisdom tooth pulled, something like that -- someone mistakenly called it "surgery" when it was really a minor thing and it blew up over social media.
September 20th, 2019 at 12:18 PM ^
That Tulane player that took the handoff on the fake has some serious wheels. Wonder what his 40 time is.
September 20th, 2019 at 12:32 PM ^
Re: NFL. I get why people watch their favorite NFL team for sure (as I do every week), but I don't get how people can watch two teams they aren't affiliated with. A ton of college football games are amazing even if you have no dog in the fight. Most NFL games are snoozefests if you don't have a team you're pulling for
September 20th, 2019 at 12:37 PM ^
I tend to agree with you. I think without fantasy football and gambling the nfl ratings would crater. College games are typically much less predictable and you see so many more crazy comebacks.
September 20th, 2019 at 12:42 PM ^
Which is why the NFL is nothing more than background noise for naps/chores on Sundays.
September 20th, 2019 at 12:48 PM ^
I'm right there with you. Last night was Titans v. Jaguars. I could not watch that if I was being paid to do so.
September 20th, 2019 at 1:15 PM ^
I stayed awake for the first half, long enough to feel compassion for that Titans QB. He deserves better than what he got from the OL.
September 20th, 2019 at 1:08 PM ^
The NFL is predictable before the season starts, and so is college to an extent, but after week 10 in the NFL the playoffs are pretty much set. Plus in college more than one team may impact your team with a win or lose. Also, most fans build a relationship with college players over three to four years while in the NFL the parts move more often.
September 20th, 2019 at 2:07 PM ^
I couldn't agree more. I will gladly watch college football all Saturday, no matter who's playing, but I couldn't care less about NFL games, no matter who's playing. The emotion and pageantry of college football is what takes it to another level (which is also why I enjoy international soccer so much).
September 20th, 2019 at 2:13 PM ^
Agreed, I will never understand why somebody would find the NFL more appealing, but different strokes for different folks I suppose. On a side note, I bought Madden 20 this year just to give me a football video game fix, and while I like it ok the only thing I am thinking while playing is how much more fun I would having if this was a college football game. I would give my left nut to bring a college football game back.
September 20th, 2019 at 1:00 PM ^
I'm willing to bet that the khaki thing was some dopey kid trying to get JH to autograph his pants and Jim says, "No, I'm not doing that."
September 20th, 2019 at 1:46 PM ^
That's a reasonable and logical explanation. I, however, want to believe that Jim Harbaugh has a human being in his employ who's sole responsibility is to seek out different styles of khaki pants and present them to him at a moment's notice.
September 20th, 2019 at 1:03 PM ^
Why would UM spend most of the time in a 3-3-5 without a true NG on defense?
September 20th, 2019 at 1:13 PM ^
Because despite both having 3 down lineman a 3-3-5 and a 3-4 do not operate the same. 3-3-5 needs a quicker guy on the nose generally.
September 20th, 2019 at 1:08 PM ^
I’m not sure poking some grass is a real transgression or not, but I certainly enjoy it.
September 20th, 2019 at 1:19 PM ^
If we do go 3-3-5 against Wisconsins power run game they are going to run all over us. I don't see how we can win if we let them do that. I really hope they come up with a better plan than that to utilize the players available. Trust the coaches and all.
September 20th, 2019 at 1:27 PM ^
I'm sure I'm in the minority but the fake kneel is dangerous and I'm against it....from here on out you will have defenders PLOWING into the kneel formation to make sure this doesn't happen to them. This stupid play is going to put other people into danger and if anything should have been flagged for "intent to deceive"....this one is it.
September 20th, 2019 at 1:56 PM ^
Preach brother. The technical term is "perfidy." The kneel down formation is declaring the offense is not running a play, so the defense doesn't have to clobber anyone. It's like flying a white flag (which means you want to talk, NOT you want to surrender), then shooting at the other guys when they come out to talk.
September 20th, 2019 at 4:36 PM ^
This has nothing to do with "intent to deceive."
On the other hand, doesn't the NFL have a rule that as soon as the quarterback starts to lower himself (either to a knee or into a slide) the play is dead? That's a good rule, and should be the rule in college.
The NCAA outlawed fake fair catch signals years ago for the same reason. Players would just raise a hand without waving it from side to side and then take the ball and run.
September 20th, 2019 at 1:27 PM ^
With that much smoke on ZC. . . probably a little fire. Let's hope he can make a contribution tomorrow. . . and not be surprised if he doesn't play.
September 20th, 2019 at 1:47 PM ^
I am proceeding with the belief that he is out. Really hope that Tru Wilson can play.
September 20th, 2019 at 1:52 PM ^
Obviously Don Brown is not GERG, but I could not help but shudder when thinking of the 3-3-5 and Wisky. That was hands down the most demoralizing game of RR's disastrous tenure, 27 straight runs by WIsky. Wasn't that also the game GERG completely lost it and busted out the stuffed animal on the sidelines? In Don Brown we trust though, I am sure he has a good gameplan cooked up.
September 20th, 2019 at 2:34 PM ^
My hot take on injuries:
- Shea - muscle strain should be nearly recovered - he will not be limited this week like he was in the Army game. But don't expect a ton of keepers, more passing though.
- Runyan - bad backs are tricky so we will see how it goes for an entire game.
- Charbonnet - who knows for sure, but at best seems like limited action
- Wilson - broken bone in his hand or wrist ? Doubtful (RBs need both hands)
- DPJ - high ankle sprains can last 4-8 weeks - Doubtful (circle Iowa)
- Jeter - back to full strength ? hope so
- Dwumfour - basket case of injuries, might be done for the season
- Mayfield - "banged-up" so splits time with Hayes
Runyan back and Shea near 100% is huge. If Wilson can come in for pass pro, that would be good but I think the role goes to Charbonnet who will be limited in the standard run game. Turner needs to step up as the primary ball carrier on standard downs. Jeter takes a lot of Mason's DT snaps and they can now deploy Mason as a battering ram for short yardage / goal line success (I hope).
September 20th, 2019 at 4:18 PM ^
Great, as usual, and so was the Ben Mathis-Lilley piece on American Football.
September 20th, 2019 at 5:16 PM ^
I mean everyone nationally is constantly baffled that Dantonio didn't fire any of his offensive coaches and instead just shuffled the deck. It all becomes clearer when you realize his staff knows where the bodies are buried and he's trying to make sure there's nobody outside the tent pissing in.
September 20th, 2019 at 6:53 PM ^
Now look, I am not supposed to talk about this but I know my fellow MGoBlog denizens can keep a secret. The khakis quite plainly and simply are part of the play-calling scheme, along with the cards. Think of Harbaugh's reaction as being similar to a pitcher shaking off a catchers sign. It will make a lot more sense.
September 20th, 2019 at 11:00 PM ^
Fucking man up and do some shit! I am tired of this boo boo crap!
Comments