So Long, Richard Ash
http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1023340 - sounds like he's all but committed to wvu, according to rivals.
December 1st, 2009 at 3:36 PM ^
Ash to ash, dust to dust,
landing Big Tex, we must.
December 1st, 2009 at 3:38 PM ^
+1, but should have been "Is a must"
December 1st, 2009 at 3:53 PM ^
"Land Big Tex, we must"
December 1st, 2009 at 3:37 PM ^
I'm baffled by these guys that want to go to WVU. No offense to the university, but that place isn't that great!
December 1st, 2009 at 4:07 PM ^
WVU is still riding on RR's wave
December 1st, 2009 at 3:39 PM ^
Where the hell did this come from?
December 1st, 2009 at 3:58 PM ^
Lets hope we can get Hankins/Beachum, the are the last DTs we're in on and Beachum looks closer to recommitting to R-Kansas then coming to AA.
December 1st, 2009 at 4:03 PM ^
Do you mean both or just one of the two? I think two would be overkill with Talbott in the mix.
December 1st, 2009 at 4:09 PM ^
I meant either, we cant use an extra spot for a DT with Knight, Parker, Furman, Grimes, Murphy, and Jefferson still in the fold and only room for 3 atm
December 1st, 2009 at 4:10 PM ^
how does Talbott compare with Hankins?
I understand Talbott is considerably smaller (about 70 lbs.), and could potentially play the "Van Bergen" DT spot while Hankins is more of the "Mike Martin" DT spot.
Who would you be more excited about?
Who has more upside at UM? etc...
as a plebe, i'm just looking for some info on some of these guys.
December 1st, 2009 at 4:15 PM ^
More athleticism and he plays against better competition, which can only better his game. I'm not going to pretend like I know a lot about these two, but those are my observations.
December 1st, 2009 at 4:20 PM ^
It's difficult to compare. They play two different positions. Hankins would be a nose tackle, so his job would be to eat up a double team every play and try not to get blown off the ball. I think we need a guy like that, because Mike Martin is better suited for the 3-tech DT spot. If we move Martin to 3-tech, that means we only have Sagesse (Sr.) and Campbell (Soph.) at nose tackle.
Meanwhile, Talbott would probably play 3-tech DT. That position is currently inhabited by Van Bergen (RS Jr.) and Greg Banks (5th year), along with Martin if he moves there. But I would guess that Van Bergen will move to DE, so that basically makes us two-deep at both NT and DT before we get to incoming freshmen.
Yeah...our depth is questionable.
If I had my druthers, I'd pick Hankins over Talbott, just because we need size on the defensive line. Hankins isn't the athlete that Campbell was when Will came out of high school, but he's more technically sound. I think Hankins could contribute in short spurts as a true freshman, whereas Talbott probably needs a year or two to bulk up and refine his technique.
December 1st, 2009 at 4:41 PM ^
I agree that we make this move if one of Campbell or Sagesse can establish himself as one of our top four defensive lineman. Either way, I'd like to see Van Bergen add another ten pounds of muscle. I feel much better about him winning his matchup and occupying blockers if he's around 280-285. At 6-5, I think he has a frame to support that kind of weight without sacrificing too much quickness.
Even if Van Bergen moves to DE in the base package, if another end steps up as a rotation player or situational pass rusher, we can slide Van Bergen back over to DT as either a regular part of the rotation or situational pass rush.
December 1st, 2009 at 4:13 PM ^
We are so thin at DT it is ridiculous. And remember these guys probably won't be fully effective until after Sagesse and Martin have graduated, so getting DTs like RIGHT NOW is very important. Getting DTs next year is already a bit too late to properly fill the vacancies that will occur in 2011 and 2012.
December 1st, 2009 at 4:23 PM ^
So who would you exclude in order to leave room for both of them? That's the problem. If we could take 28 guys, I'd agree with you.
December 1st, 2009 at 4:40 PM ^
I'd either lose his phone number (the jerky route) or talk him into coming as a preferred walk-on or grey shirt.
December 1st, 2009 at 5:15 PM ^
I hope that this is the last time I ever read that someone hopes that a Michigan football coach withdraws a scholarship offer and asks that player to be a preferred walk on instead.
Seriously, that is such a bullshit thing to suggest about a kid who has been committed for about a year and probably lost other scholarship opportunities because of his commitment to Michigan.
December 1st, 2009 at 5:34 PM ^
the team has needs.
It would be great to see us get everything we need, but right now we're far from it.
December 1st, 2009 at 5:36 PM ^
That would be BS.
December 1st, 2009 at 5:21 PM ^
Can you point me to a source that says we can't count early enrollees to 2009?
- Oklahoma already has 25 commits and they are still in the hunt for several more top prospects.
- Oklahoma State has 26 commits and they continue to recruit.
- BYU has 25 commits and they are not done recruiting.
The NCAA rulebook for this year says that you can count early enrollees against openings in the previous class. Depending on fifth years returning we can certainly exceed 25.
December 1st, 2009 at 5:45 PM ^
via TOMVH
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/torrian-wilson-visiting-michigan - about halfway down the page
He spoke with compliance (a department?) at U of M, who said that they cannot back-date any of the commits.
December 1st, 2009 at 4:51 PM ^
Don't be surprised if Talbott takes visits elsewhere.
December 1st, 2009 at 4:01 PM ^
New avatar? Is that Shooter McGavin?
December 1st, 2009 at 4:06 PM ^
guy to WVU our damn coach built the frickin school. Michigan eats WVU
December 1st, 2009 at 4:13 PM ^
i struggle with this too...
here's a few thoughts:
WVU is ALOT closer to Florida than is Michigan
Michigan's class is getting full; maybe WVU was pursuing him harder?
Early playing time, comfortability with the school, etc...
Finally, we have won 8 games in the past 2 seasons, so... yea...
December 1st, 2009 at 4:26 PM ^
Ash was/is a DE or 3-tech DT for us. There's no chance that he could play nose tackle, which is where Michigan seems to be recruiting hardest right now.
WVU isn't that much closer to Florida than Michigan is.
December 1st, 2009 at 4:39 PM ^
I think the difference between Michigan and Pahokee and WV and Pahokee is negligible.
December 1st, 2009 at 5:07 PM ^
Ann Arbor Mich - Pahokee Florida...1,280 miles
Morgantown West Virginia - Pahokee Florida...1,091 miles
December 1st, 2009 at 6:32 PM ^
i just have a really loose definition of "ALOT" i guess
December 1st, 2009 at 4:46 PM ^
here is my thought... academics. WVU might match up better in some eyes for the reasons you listed but I think academics plays a big role in why we miss on some guys too. (or in the case of wilson it might help us get the kid from stanford)
just a thought.
December 1st, 2009 at 4:16 PM ^
With BARWIS! it would seem like we should have ability to take some of these huge balls of goo and mold them into 300-320 pound blocks of twisted blue steel. Ya know?
December 1st, 2009 at 5:24 PM ^
I think picking up a guy for "upside" is not a great idea. I am ok with it if there is a player who grew a lot late in high school, or who didn't get exposure or who had poor coaching. But Barwis can only mold guys who want to work their ass off. I respect and really like the fact that Rodriguez seems to prefer effort and heart to simple numbers when it comes to recruiting. I mean, he wants guys with great numbers, but it seems clear based on the last three years of recruiting that he pays a lot of attention to attitude and work ethic.
December 1st, 2009 at 4:19 PM ^
What I don't get is how a kid can "miss his flight" to visit another school. Did he honestly miss his flight, or is that just a euphemism for the fact he chose to go somewhere else. If he honestly just didn't make it on the plane, then book him on the next Delta flight north.
December 1st, 2009 at 4:24 PM ^
I know if I was in that position, I'd be at the airport like Tom Hanks in "The Terminal."
December 1st, 2009 at 6:18 PM ^
IIRC he was one of those guys who had a flight the morning of the game. They probably couldn't find him another flight to get him there in time
December 1st, 2009 at 11:31 PM ^
He all, thanks for letting me get involved in U of M football (recruiting) discussions. I not sure siging Talbott, Hankins and Beachum would be over kill. I can see Hankins at NT, Talbott at DT and Beachum (considering his athleticism) at the DE spot. If we did sign all three and Martin, Roh, Campbell and Lalota continue to improve I can see G-Robinson's D being much more versatile. I also feel strong D-lines hide A LOT of weaknesses in the LB'ing group. If anything, with a strong core of athletic D-linemen we could play more 4-3.
Edit- forgot about Paskorz and Wilkins. All three probably would be over kill.