Early Report on 2016 5* RB Kareem Walker's visit

Submitted by MGoLaw16 on

First post, please be gentle. I checked the board and didn't see this posted yet. 

There's not a ton of information, but it appears Kareem Walker enjoyed his visit (how could he not after that game), and has legitimate interest in Michigan. As most of you probably know, Walker is close with several major Michigan commits/target from NJ. 

There have also been rumblings in the twitterverse that Walker might be trying to come back for another visit this weekend for the game against MSU, but I didn't see any official sources corroborating that information yet. If true, this could be very good news for Michigan. 

Link: http://www.scout.com/college/michigan/story/1598139-recruiting-notebook-kareem-walker-intel

SWFLWolverine

October 12th, 2015 at 1:11 PM ^

Harbaugh isn't a big fan of the red shirt, except for QBs and OL. He said in his press conference that this is the time of year that you find out if the freshman can play or not....and the ones that can are the ones will make impactful contributions down the road and into the professional level. I would agree. If you want an elite team, you do not get there by giving mass numbers a 5th year. 

M-Dog2020

October 11th, 2015 at 10:47 PM ^

Folks said I was full OF shit - I said OSU would implode in QB controversy and "look-at-me-I-am-so-good" complacency and I also said MSU would be lost on D without Narduzzi. Felling like a prophet folks. Where was I wrong? Michigan at the #1 defense in the nation, trending to top 10 in total offense - WOW !

God, Hoke/RR warped our confidence ... CAN YOU BELIEVE WE HAVE HARBAUGH !!!

Danwillhor

October 12th, 2015 at 12:09 AM ^

those teams aren't dogshit, both still undefeated and we're 6 games in. I don't see why anyone would view msu - the team coached by a guy that would happily go 1-11 if it meant beating us - as a sure win. I'm not saying to fear them but they'll throw the sink at us like they did when he took over. Last year he didn't have to do anything special as they were just better. Now? He'll treat this like the Fucking Super Bowl again. Their defensive weakness is not losing strength on strength run stopping battles but the one thing we're pretty bad at - passing consistency. Their secondary is suspect but do you feel like Rudock can win a game on his arm? We'll also have to bust out some hidden packages, IMO. I still see a loss. A closer loss but I don't think they're as bad as their games have shown. I want to be proven wrong again! If we dominate the shit out of them I'll be the first to officially declare my PTSD cured. I just think they're perfectly suited to stall our offense as I never trusted NW being the power their stats showed. I was the 468th poster in the "guess the score" contest so I had to pick an outrageous, unlikely score/outcome to win but I didn't believe that. I still think our offense costs us at least two more: msu/osu. If we had an above average QB? We run the table! I'd bet on it! Yet, yesterday is about the best Rudock can play and his worst is BAD. We need Rudock to look more like Cook to win, IMO. They'll score. Peppers weakness is covering shifty guys running slants so they'll run that all day. We need Lewis to shut down Burbridge and to keep help up top for deep balls as they'll throw a ton, per usual. It's BY FAR the best offense we'll face since Utah and they'll be ready. Cook is an NFL QB to some degree and that = very good CFB QB. Hurt OL? They started 4 guys for the first time a few years ago and one was a converted DT with no falloff. They ran at will. We may win, we may lose but I'd guess a close, hard fought loss because of the offense. This isn't a team that Smith can power ahead for 3-4 yards when hit at the LOS. We'll see a ton of 3rd & 6+. If we pants them I have playoff fever. I want playoff fever b/c no team in the West scares me. Iowa, NW or UW will emerge there - yawn.

Stringer Bell

October 12th, 2015 at 12:23 AM ^

Did you watch Rutgers?  Their no name QB was able to pass it against the MSU defense.  I trust Rudock to make the throws against MSU's weak secondary if the pass protection holds up.  Cook is very hit or miss.  If he's on, then MSU can win.  If he's off, it's essentially over.  Advanced stats favor us pretty significantly in this game, much like they did against Northwestern.  The only thing MSU is hanging on to is the preconceived notion that they're still a great team because of what they accomplished the past 2 years.  I expect we'll win by more than a touchdown.

Also, don't underestimate the impact of coaching on this game.  Harbaugh will find ways to exploit MSU's weaknesses and will throw wrinkles into the gameplan that we haven't seen before.  He will also have this team prepared to match MSU's intensity, which is something that Hoke seemed incapable of doing.

Danwillhor

October 12th, 2015 at 7:08 AM ^

hence the outrageous score. One must assume the logical ones are taken by the 50th post...ish? 51-100 a little odd, 101-450 really out there and 450+ absolutely batshit. I mean, if you want to win a shirt. So I guessed a crazy ass score that I didn't believe. Where is the humor in that? ha

Danwillhor

October 12th, 2015 at 9:18 AM ^

I'm on app. The browser probably doesn't show comment count, huh? The app does and i couldn't check in until very late. I now likely see why you wondered if I counted they high...lol

clarkiefromcanada

October 12th, 2015 at 1:54 AM ^

I think you're kind of responding to 7 years of ennui here. It's okay to accept that this coaching staff (filled with guys NFL teams paid a lot of money, coaching lifers and in at least one case a  future NCAA head coach) is differnt than the last two staffs. That is, they have taken the quality talent (these are national recruits Hoke signed) and made them more than their sum as individuals: a team. This team is well coached, disciplined, brutally physical and has some swagger. This was how Michigan always used to be back when I came up as a young man. Bo's teams were all like that, Mo, Lloyd (see: 1997 MNC). Bottom line, this team is going to physically stand toe to toe with Sparty and punch them in the mouth. I'm not guaranteeing a win: you have to play the games, but I can guarantee that they won't be pushed around, bullied or apologize for anything. Harbaugh is a great coach surrounded by great assistants who are every bit the equal if not better than anything Sparty has...they won't get out schemed. They will bring some scheme Sparty hasn't seen.

I'm confident going into Saturday which is a good feeling and not one i have had since Lloyd was running things with Mr. 4-0 Mike Hart.

Danwillhor

October 12th, 2015 at 7:05 AM ^

and thanks. I've never denied having full blown football PTSD lol. Plus it's been a superstition to throw praise on opponents since Carr's last game. I was talking about UNLV being a sleeper so I'd figured most knew my shtick. What I say until 11:59 on Friday is not the same guy on Saturday. So, again, they're just playing possum because their schedule allowed it and if we don't play our best game msu wins easily.

UMForLife

October 12th, 2015 at 7:39 AM ^

Whatever works for you to keep the superstition going... We will need the win. I just want to say that even if M does not play the best, I don't think MSU will win easily. It is actually the other way around. MSU has to play their best and M has to play their worst in order for MSU to beat M at home.

I agree with you that MSU will throw everything they have at us. But, Cook has not seen pressure like he is about to see this Saturday. When Rutgers brought pressure, he did not do that great. His WRs bailed him out a few times. That is the advantage they have over M's WRs. But, our CBs are way better than what Rutgers' have. In my opinion, BYU had better WRs than MSU. Cook cannot get away with throwing up for grabs all the time. Sure he will a few times, but M's secondary will make him pay. 

Key is if we can get a push on our running game. If we do, it is game over for MSU.

ND Sux

October 12th, 2015 at 7:45 AM ^

overrated team in the nation right now.  I can't believe you're delusional enough to think they're better than us.  They BARELY escaped Purdue at home.  The same Purdue who lost to a horrible Minny team at home Saturday.  The Spartans have not looked particularly good in any of their games, save Oregon, and Oregon isn't looking so hot now either.  We ROCK MSU this year, bank on it. 

ND Sux

October 12th, 2015 at 7:35 AM ^

What?  Did you watch Rutgers?  MSU got stuffed repeatedly until Q4.  Their lines are not what they once were, and the no fly zone is open for business.  I don't see MSU scoring more than 6-10 on us.  Cook is about the only thing they have going for them, and he's eating grass on Saturday.  UM 27 - MSU 6

clarkiefromcanada

October 11th, 2015 at 11:39 PM ^

I like your moxie on here Jon Ross. 

I want to see how your quarterbacks do against this Michigan defense. I mean, it will be their only test this year based on schedule.

As to controversy, your quarterbacks have looked piss poor (versus the hype) the first quarter of the season. I don't see controversy, I just wonder what the hell is going on with them.

buckeyejonross

October 12th, 2015 at 12:39 AM ^

OSU's QBs have been victim to a few problems.

First, everyone alive would have underperformed the media expectations. I've never seen anything to the level of jerking off about OSU's QBs before this off season. JT and Cardale didn't ask for any of that.

Second, losing ex-OC Herman hurt, but in ways that probably aren't as obvious. Yes, he was a good OC, but he faced (justified, at times) backlash for three years for his playcalling. What hurt OSU more than anything was promoting their OL coach to Offensive Coordinator too. That made the OL play worse because the new OC was spending less time with them, and it made the offense as a whole play worse because the OL was playing worse, and the new OC wasn't experienced at calling plays yet. The lack of time theory makes sense when evaluating OSU against Va. Tech vs. against Hawaii and NIU as well. Our line looked great when they had the entire fall camp to prepare for Va Tech, but once the new OC/OL coach had to compress his game-planning and OL coaching to a week-long time-frame, you could see the OL (and O in general) really struggle. Our starting LT said after the Hawaii game they didn't expect Hawaii to run the defense they ran. I mean how is that possible? The past two weeks, as the OL/OC adjusted to his new role and balanced his time effectively, saw the offense put up 500 yards again.

Because of the issues described above, the QBs looked worse. Jones (and JT) spent most of the NIU and Hawaii games running for his life behind shoddy pass-blocking, and tossed some head scratching picks as a result. Furthermore, JT got no spring reps, and less fall reps working back from the injury. He was rusty to begin with.

Against Maryland, you could finally see the offense take shape. The OL looked good in pass protection. And the QBs played well as a result. I know playing two QBs is a wonky idea, but both looked great in their clear and defined roles. Playing JT in the red-zone maximizes his two biggest skills (accuracy on the short and intermediate throws and running) and playing 'Dale everywhere else maximizes his biggest skills (deep ball, and better RB-centric running game with less aggressive safties). Neither guy has to look over their shoulder, because they both know when they are going to play.

IMO, the offense will only play better from here on out, with everyone having a defined role. Big test this week against PSU, who will easily be the best defense since Va. Tech. If the current QB alignment plays well, I'll ramp up my excitement meter again.

Sorry for the novel.

Scarlatina

October 12th, 2015 at 1:03 AM ^

... in the stands, it looked like the defense was genuinely surprised by Hills' speed. I honestly did not know where Hills came from either... At the line of scrimmage all the defenders were taking really poor angles that Hills was fast enough to accelerate past.

My guess is that Esdall was trying to insert a lot of QB runs to throw the defense off in a last ditch effort to keep his job.

buckeyejonross

October 12th, 2015 at 1:03 AM ^

Tyquan Lewis and Joey Bosa were both in the backfield all game. They played great. Tommy Schutt continues to just be there, nothing really impactful to say about his performance ever. He's just a guy. Adolphus Washington is having a great year too. Depth at DE is solid. At DT it's suspect. 

I didn't think the DL was bad, per se, against Maryland. Maryland's entire offense was their QB scrambling around and avoiding sacks and running. He ran 25 times for 170 yards, 75 on one play. He completed like 30% of his passes. There were some drops, but these were on innaccurate throws caused by pressure.

As you guys have seen the past two games against you, our defense remains hyper-aggressive in pursuit and really exposed to simple misdirection plays and rollout throwback plays. Harbaugh terrifies me in this regard because he is going to design some ridiculous double fake TE screen that will go for 50 untouched yards. I just know it. QB runs are killing us right now. You'd think we'd see it in practice a few times and have a clue, but alas.

Teams haven't passed well on us all year. I remain confident a pocket passer will not have a bonkers game on us. Conley and Bell and Powell are too good. Apple is prone to penalties. Teams with a statue at QB will get buried under the pass rush. I can't tell you how glad I am to not have to face Devin Gardner this year. I'd play a Rudock-type 10 times before I want to see another Gardner or Zander goddamn Diamont. Defying all logic, the only running QB OSU has shut down in three years has been Marcus Mariota. This Marlyand kid lit us up on the ground, but only because he ran around and made one big running play. I don't think Cook, Hack or Rudock can stress OSU's defense with their feet. Those three will have to be really calm under pressure and accurate to move the ball. I can see the Minnesota kid having a decent game, just because he can run, despite his utter inability to throw.

B1G_Fan

October 12th, 2015 at 2:59 AM ^

You don't think Your DE's being in the back field all day had anything to do with Marylands QB running for 200 yards? It's all about perspective, you're looking and trying to find what's good and we're looking and seeing whats bad. I haven't really saw OSU's defense stop anyone this year besides Hawaii.

 As for the guy who said OSU had a QB controversy, you posted stats to one game. I think it's fair to say they do have one regardless of the last game. Cardale was the starter, go benched a few times for J.T, most of the fans seem to want to J.T and the coaches cant really decide. That is the very essence of a controversy.

 You don't really have to break off 50 yard QB runs to be an effective runner as a QB. Rudock won't break off 30 yard TD runs but when a play breaks down or the WR are covered he can scramble for a first no problem. Cook might have somethign to really stress over but have you seen our O line pass block this year? Your DE's are talented, they'll make plays but there is a significant difference between our line and anything you guys have seen this year and looking at your schedule, probably wont see until you play us.

I think Herman leaving really hurt, Tim Beck is not getting the job done. I'm sure you guys will get better but right now you're struggling. Even Maryland was still in the game until the fourth quarter ( most of the third)