Unverified Voracity Gets Doinked Comment Count

Brian

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We're in this thing. Proudbox is carrying HTTV in its initial… uh… box, if you haven't already ordered a copy. In addition to HTTV the thing comes with a pile of other unique Michigan items, including a Harbaugh bobblehead that tweets trash talk at SEC coaches*. They're working with the university itself so each box comes with one piece of officially licensed merch and various other goodies like stuff from Shinola, Zingermans baked goods, special publications from The Michigan Daily, Michigan Marching Band music or "something really amazing," like a Jim Harbaugh bobblehead that tweets trash talk at SEC coaches***.

They've got an introductory deal for MGoBlog persons, and five percent of the proceeds go to the U or various charities like Mott. Check them out.

*[it does not do this**]

**[but maybe it does!]

***[again, it does not do this****]

****[unless it does!]

Jarrod Wilson doing well. He was an undrafted free agent since he was so boring at Michigan, but it seems like he might make the Jaguars:

In just two minicamp practices, Wilson has collected two interceptions. While he is playing against third-string talent, it is hard to ignore his clear playmaking ability.

“It’s amazing, he’s very sharp," defensive coordinator Todd Wash said on Wednesday. "He comes in, he learns the package really well, and he puts himself in position to make a lot of plays out of the middle field. It’s good to see. Up until today he was what we called our 'ball aware player' who was leading the team so far here. We’re excited about his progress so far.”

…veteran free safety and high-profile free agent addition, Tashaun Gipson, sees a little bit of himself in the rookie.

"I've been truly impressed with Jarrod," Gipson said. "He's truly one of those guys, he reminds me of myself, I made most of my noise around this time [as a rookie] heading into training camp. Like him I was undrafted."

Those two interceptions are half of his career total at Michigan, where he would not have been described as a "playmaker"; he was more an underappreciated security blanket. Maybe that was more an artifact of his deployment than his skills.

Harbaugh in Tennessee. His camp stop in Murfreesboro draws a long, good article from SEC Country because it's more interesting than looking at an empty field. I like Harbaugh talking like he's in Fargo:

Harbaugh then asks, “Is there anywhere else you’d rather be?”

Players (halfheartedly): “No.”

Harbaugh: “Anywhere at all?”

The players grunt.

Harbaugh: “Heck no! Ya like football!”

At some point a little kid watching from the sidelines gets bonked:

A tiny grade schooler on the other side of the fence is struck in the mouth with a wayward pigskin. “Oooooh,” say the people nearby.

The child, outfitted in a No. 4 Michigan jersey, is crumpled on the ground as his parents tend to him. No crying. Just shock.

Harbaugh notices the commotion.

“Everything OK?” He yells from the practice field.

The child is still lying face down on the ground. Several adults give thumbs up.

Good start for that kid. Demonstrating toughness. Later, Harbaugh catches up with him:

Before Harbaugh can escape (he’s not trying too hard), the parents of a little boy approach him. Their kid is the one who got clocked by an errant football earlier in the night.

“That was you?” Harbaugh asks, bending down to get on the kid’s level.

The kid nods. The coach imparts his wisdom.

“That would’ve killed a lesser man,” Harbaugh said. “A lesser man would’ve been dead.”

Whole thing is recommended.

Say what? Athlon's All Big Ten team goes four deep and looks pretty reasonable to me with a couple exceptions. One is the inclusion of Bryan Mone, who probably isn't even going to start over Ryan Glasgow. Glasgow isn't included despite the fact that he should be second-team at worst. Ryan Glasgow is good, and nobody seems to want to acknowledge this.

I went in to WTKA today to talk about the USA soccer match to night and along the way we got to talking about Glasgow because Sam posted what he's hearing about the configuration of the defensive line*; he had the temerity to list Glasgow as a starter. This caused a lot of people to groan about how that must mean Mone isn't going to live up to the hype. I read this thread. It was boggling. Nobody appreciates Ryan Glasgow. Read the dang UFRs!

*[Which is that the starters will be read Gary/Glasgow/Wormley/Charlton and backed up by Marshall/Mone/Hurst/Winovich.]

The second thing:

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I literally went "bwa hwa wha?!" when I saw Nicholson, who couldn't stay in the starting lineup of an abject MSU secondary last year.  People improve, etc.; having Nicholson that high on your list is asking for a truly spectacular one-year turnaround.

BTW, Michigan guys on the list:

  • First team: Jehu Chesson, Jake Butt, Mason Cole, Jabrill Peppers, Jourdan Lewis, Chris Wormley.
  • Second team: Taco Charlton, Erik Magnuson, Amara Darboh
  • Fourth team: Kyle Kalis, Bryan Mone, Peppers(PR), Lewis(KR).

Magnuson and Kalis are a bit high and leaving off Glasgow is goofy, but it's reasonable. I'd bet that Michigan's QB is better than Tommy Armstrong and Wes Lunt but since you don't have any idea who that's going to be it's hard to put them on a list. I applaud their bravery in leaving De'Veon Smith entirely off a list of Big Ten RBs that goes eight deep.

This guy again. OSU WR coach Zach Smith is really mad at Nebraska for some reason. It's a thing. This manifests publicly on Smith's twitter account, which is kind of like Harbaugh's if Harbaugh had the intellect of a cabbage:

7_4625682[1]

The scare quotes around "claim" really make this one. Quotes in previous sentence not scare quotes but actual quotes since they were used to quote the tweet. Anyway.

This at least the third time Smith has taken to twitter to yell at people and drop emojis like he's 14.

Lotta starts coming back. Michigan has one of the most experienced OLs in the country:

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That and a cup of acid thrown at a district attorney's face gets you legendary Batman villain Two-Face, but it's better than the alternative.

Etc.: Kenny Johnson profiled. Sounds like his brother minus the offensive side of his game. Nik Stauskas waiting for a breakout.

Comments

ijohnb

June 16th, 2016 at 12:47 PM ^

think Stauskus is going to be a good player.  I think he could be a journeyman for a while until he finds a really good fit but he is too naturally gifted of a player not to emerge.  I think he will be eventually be a major player on a good NBA team.

ijohnb

June 16th, 2016 at 2:33 PM ^

don't think that is the best case.  Redick could not load up and throw down on some dude the way Stauskus did in that clip.  Stauskus is far more athletic and a capable finisher.  A Redick like career is one possible outcome but certainly not the best in my opinion. 

SanDiegoWolverine

June 16th, 2016 at 3:25 PM ^

Per his sports VU data he made 32 out of 106 shots where the defender was 5 feet away or greater. That's 30% and quite horrible. He also might be the worst guard defender in the league. His defensive plus/minus is 81/97 shooting guards and subjectively it looks even worse than that. I think his best case scenario is more like Anthony Morrow or maybe JR Smith but certainly not JJ Redick.

mGrowOld

June 16th, 2016 at 12:52 PM ^

Any chance you might do one for the Citrus Bowl?  Seems like that game was the culimination of everything Harbaugh was trying to do last year and was successful WAY ahead of schedule (or at least ahead of how long it took him to achieve similar offensive results at Stanford).  

Pretty please?

ijohnb

June 16th, 2016 at 1:24 PM ^

I think Michigan played very well, but I also think that Florida was 1) overrated, and 2) not very engaged.  They got by mighty Vanderbilt 9-7 in a slugfest toward the end of the year and got humiliated by Florida State.  They also had several players with a foot out the door before the game even started.  It was still an impressive win, but I think Florida-suck was a thing that day as well.

1VaBlue1

June 16th, 2016 at 1:42 PM ^

Floriduh started the game pretty well - I'm not convinced that 'UF suck' started until they realized there was nothing they could do to impact the game positively (for them).  It got out of hand in the second half...

maize-blue

June 16th, 2016 at 2:00 PM ^

Florida probably quit but I think they gave a good effort for two quarters or so. I think UM's effort and intensity made them shut it down, which is ok in my book, that we made them quit. My biggest takeaway is that the O-line went up against some pretty legit dudes on Florida's D-line and overall put in a solid performance.

In reply to by ijohnb

funkywolve

June 16th, 2016 at 2:11 PM ^

If you mean late in the game after Florida's defense was gassed cause the Gator offense was awful, then yeah.  Up until the 4th quarter, Florida's defense was keeping them in the game.  FSU's offensive drives:

3 plays, 0 yds, punt

3 plays, 1 yd, punt

5 plays, 29 yds, punt

5 plays, 13 yds, FG

7 plays, 74 yds, TD

3 plays, 0 yds, punt

3 plays, 7 yds, punt

Halftime

3 plays, -12 yds, punt

10 plays, 46 yds, FG

4 plays, 23 yds, punt

3 plays, -19 yds, safety

4 plays, 52 yds, TD

7 plays, 90 yds, TD

Game over

 

Until the last 2 drives, FSU had 162 yds of offense.

Maizen

June 16th, 2016 at 12:52 PM ^

Zach Smith runs his mouth (fingers) a lot for a guy who never played at a higher level of football (high school) than half the people on this board. What an embarassment. 

The Maizer

June 16th, 2016 at 1:03 PM ^

Can't believe there are no comments about recruiting the kid that took the football to the dome yet. I always suspected satellite camps were motivated by the long-term dividends. Confirmed.

Cameron

June 16th, 2016 at 1:16 PM ^

"That and a cup of acid thrown at a district attorney's face gets you legendary Batman villain Two-Face, but it's better than the alternative."

That's in-season form, right there.

wahooverine

June 18th, 2016 at 3:38 AM ^

Just for additional explanation... it means the thing being referred to - "that" - isn't worth anything. "That" and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee (or any thing else that is priced at $1). "That" and a nickel will get you something worth a nickel.

GoBlueinMN

June 16th, 2016 at 1:42 PM ^

I believe Bo said it referring to a heart attack he suffered.

EDIT: a search led me to an old SI article:

He has two favorite expressions. The first is, "That would have, killed an ordinary man." He uses that to refer to almost every bad thing that happens to him. Not long ago he was knocked down on the football field. Everyone held his breath until Bo hopped up and said, "That would have killed an ordinary man." The other is, "Got it?" Every time Bo talks to you, you have to acknowledge you got it, got it?

http://www.si.com/college-football/2015/04/01/bo-schembechler-michigan-…

ST3

June 16th, 2016 at 2:11 PM ^

that has to be Tommy Armstrong, III, right? How is it possible that Tommy Armstrong, Jr. still has any eligibility left? Seems like he's been there throwing ducks forever.

csmhowitzer

June 16th, 2016 at 3:06 PM ^

The Glasgow thing is confusing, but I mean under the radar and all is better for us I guess. He'll show it on the field.

Peppers being on there twice also seems odd.

CLord

June 16th, 2016 at 4:13 PM ^

Zach Smith always makes me think of Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite for some reason, yet that feels like an insult to Uncle Rico.  Something about a dim brain coupled with a one dimensional love for football or something...  Let's just say if there were a Mt. Rushmore of football coaches that would be at the end of the list of people I'd like to have a beer with, Zach Smith is cheek to cheek with mirthless Mark D'Antoni. 

kevin holt

June 16th, 2016 at 5:30 PM ^

Those lists are always head-scratchers in at least a couple spots. Like if you're not gonna research why put out a list? Mostly good but yeah. Nicholson.