Unverified Voracity Is A Pretty Bear Indeed
WOOP [Eric Upchurch]
Exit Shane Morris. Per Tom Van Haaren, Shane Morris will pursue a graduate transfer. CMU is the most likely destination.
Morris never lived up to the titanic hype that his arm strength generated when he was a high school junior. First, a bout of mono his senior year put him behind the development curve; second, Al Borges finished the job. An inexplicable start against Minnesota in 2014 resulted in a probable mild concussion, setting off a firestorm of controversy Dave Brandon's incompetence stoked until it resulted in both his and Brady Hoke's firing.
Morris will, but shouldn't be, remembered mostly for that. He was a Michigan kid through and through, to the point where he played slot receiver in the spring and was happily a lead blocker on sweeps. It didn't work out at M; here's hoping he goes Thomas Rawls at CMU.
We were already banking on Morris's departure in our recruiting calculations, so that won't affect the size of the class.
PFF's All Big Ten team. Michigan folks:
- Offense: Amara Darboh ("highest-graded run blocker among Big Ten receivers ... 2.65 yards per route run average ranks second in the conference"), Khalid Hill, Erik Magnuson (2nd), Mason Cole (2nd).
- Defense: Taco Charlton ("absolutely dominant force in Big Ten play"), Ryan Glasgow("posted four sacks and 14 total pressures to go with nine total defensive stops" in final four games), Maurice Hurst(2nd), Mike McCray("24 total pressures on just 77 reps"), Jourdan Lewis, Channing Stribling (2nd), Jabrill Peppers (as a slot corner), Delano Hill(2nd).
Peppers was obviously the punt returner; Jordan Glasgow was their All Big Ten special-teamer. Entertainingly, OSU punter Cameron Johnston was the ABT punter and was graded out at –13.8 before the Michigan game. PFF hates specialists, like any red-blooded American.
You'll notice a few omissions: Mackey winner Jake Butt, Chris Wormley, and Ben Gedeon. Wormley scored around +31(!), basically level with Charlton and Hurst and a hair behind Glasgow. He got left out because of Jake Replogle's existence and some guy named Steven Richardson from Minnesota. Butt got a bunch of pass blocking minuses(?!) and didn't have the same kind of receiving impact he did a year ago. (If we're being honest, he should have won the Mackey last year; getting it this year is a bit of a lifetime achievement award.) Gedeon was +12, so he was on the verge. There were a ton of good linebackers in the league.
So you're saying there's a chance. Jabrill Peppers made an appearance on the Dan Patrick show ("THAT'S RIDICULOUS," exclaim Ohio State fans, "MALIK HOOKER SHOULD HAVE MADE AN APPEARANCE ON THE DAN PATRICK SHOW"), and on that show he denied that he'd made an NFL decision:
During an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show, Patrick asked Peppers -- who is eligible for the NFL Draft this year -- why he would stay at Michigan?
His answer?
"To get a degree, to try to finish some unfinished things here, to keep getting better at my craft," Peppers said. "I don't know, man. I've got a tough decision to make."
I... no. I am not taking this seriously, but I appreciate Peppers making it sound like a hard choice. FWIW, Peppers also said he'd vote for Deshaun Watson for Heisman.
This is probably fine. Buried at the end of an Ole Miss press release about Hugh Freeze dumping his offensive coordinator:
Ole Miss announces OC/QB coach Dan Werner will not return. Also, at the end of the release, Asst. AD Barney Farrar no longer part of staff.
— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoAP) December 8, 2016
No word about the "assistant athletic director for football operations," John Miller, who directed Tunsil to talk to Farrar about getting some more money.
I throw many shades at uniformz so only fair to acknowledge the flipside. These are gorgeous.
Ladies and Gents, here's your first look. This weekend, the Nanooks will wear throwbacks to 1938 for the #GovCup series against UAA. pic.twitter.com/PyODTUUpA3
— Nanooks Hockey Blog (@NanookHockey) December 7, 2016
I miss playing Alaska-Fairbanks, for the 8-0 wins Friday and inexplicable 2-1 losses Saturday, and for the two free games Michigan got whenever they went up there. Also I cannot figure out how to buy this jersey.
Knives out for Butch Jones. 247's Travis Haney has a feature article featuring an absolute ton of people slamming Butch Jones as not up for it:
“You talk about the time and place to say something like that - and that is not what our fans wanted to hear,” one Tennessee administrative source told 247Sports, referring to the “champions of life” comment. “That will never go away. That soundbite will never go away.” ...
“It’s like he doesn’t think he should be there,” [another] source said. “It’s like he doesn’t think he belongs. And that permeates through the program. Everyone feels that.” ...
“The culture is a disaster,” said someone who works in the football building.
There are many more quotes from different people; even the supportive folk on the record are mostly talking about how Jones's accomplishments, such as they are, have not been fully appreciated. Add in Jalen Hurd's highly unusual midseason transfer and it looks grim for the future of the Jones regime. Regardless of the veracity of the claims in the article the number of people saying those things, even anonymously, for publication gives off a strong Rich Rodriguez vibe. He has problems of his own making, and now that he's down in a hole the rest of the program is digging for him.
This is of tangential interest to Michigan fans because of two things: Marcus Ray's bizarre insistence that Jones should have been the man instead of Harbaugh and Jones topping that hot take by hiring Michigan Olympic sports administrator Mike DeBord as his offensive coordinator. The parallels between Tennessee's breakdown of culture and discipline and those of the late Carr era are obvious.
More Butch Jones. Tennessee just got a commit from Trey Smith. Depending on who you listen to Smith is the top OL and possibly the top player in the country. Tennessee's sales pitch?
Trey Smith said a critical factor for choosing #Vols was branding. Smith said Butch Jones told him #Vols could help build his brand.
— Rhiannon Potkey (@TennesseeBeat) December 6, 2016
wut
As Get The Picture points out, their real sales pitch was "we will give your sister money to be executive assistant to the head coach." At least Michigan hires actual football coaches.
Also knives out for someone you may know. Also in bad-idea coordinator hires:
Wow. The Oregon president is out here taking shots, says the only advice he can give is to "Go out and find a great defensive coordinator."
— Chantel Jennings (@ChantelJennings) December 8, 2016
I confess that I thought hiring Brady Hoke might not have been the worst idea in the world—look at his track record with under-recruited Michigan DL. It turned out to be... unhelpful. At least. It's possible that he took over a unit so far away from competence that he was doomed either way; it is extremely unlikely anyone will take that chance. Tell you what, though, whoever hires him as a DL coach is not wrong.
The Counterfactual. The #1 alternate universe of the past ten years in college football: what if RichRod takes the Alabama job? Nick Saban goes... somewhere. Michigan hires... somebody. He probably still fails extensively. John Talty looks back at one of the most fascinating coaching searches in CFB history.
Etc.: Excellent scouting report on Will Lockwood, one of the bright spots on the hockey team. A major reason Willie Taggart got the Oregon job: Jim Harbaugh. Lane Kiffin still the frontrunner for the Houston job. Me, I'd just hire their DC. Assistant salaries skyrocket, they have the money to pay players, etc.
December 8th, 2016 at 3:45 PM ^
We were negotiating with RR when he changed his mind again about accepting our offer.
December 8th, 2016 at 3:50 PM ^
the third member of that Big East troika who also changed jobs that year... But I'm not sure he'd have gone over well.
December 8th, 2016 at 4:00 PM ^
During that 2007 coaching search he was finishing his first of three seasons at Cincinnati after leaving CMU.
December 8th, 2016 at 4:07 PM ^
But I beleive he'd taken the Arkansas gig by the time Rich Rod was available.
FWIW, I had an email correspondence with then Ann Arbor News columnist Jim Carty regarding Kelly, and he was pretty dead set saying it was never an option, pointing to some of the off field issues some of his players had in Mt. Pleasant.
December 8th, 2016 at 4:09 PM ^
Aside from the thin resume, the controversy over comments he made in Mt Pleasant made him toxic in AA.
December 8th, 2016 at 5:11 PM ^
Exactly. All the "obvious" candidates were basically black listed before the process ever began.
December 8th, 2016 at 4:56 PM ^
Yeah, it would have been Schiano. Which I think would have resulted in something similar to an extended Hoke era as opposed to the RR flameout.
December 8th, 2016 at 4:01 PM ^
...in 2007. There was internal struggle on whether to hire Les Miles. So not getting RR probably gives us Hoke 3 years before when we actually got him. From there, I have not clue what happens.
December 8th, 2016 at 4:04 PM ^
I choose to look at it as we'd have hired Harbaugh in '08 if RichRod had gone to Bama or stayed at WVU...
He had just guided quite the turnaround at USD
December 8th, 2016 at 4:07 PM ^
Harbaugh's comments about academics probably killed his chances in '07.
December 8th, 2016 at 4:36 PM ^
I suppose some would have opposed JH being hired to replace Lloyd because of those comments - Hell, I know at least one person that was still against it in 2014!
December 8th, 2016 at 3:53 PM ^
You need money to build a brand if you catch my drift
December 8th, 2016 at 3:53 PM ^
Brian, those are easily explained by Friday Night Alcohol.
December 8th, 2016 at 4:01 PM ^
Are you suggesting Fairbanks is a Mormon state?
How did those yokels NOT go for some post-game alcohol?
Freakin cool hockey sweater for sure!
December 8th, 2016 at 3:59 PM ^
Don't even get me started with the OSU fans and their "Malik Hooker is better" bull shit. If UM defeated OSU (oh wait, they did, until the refs realized how much more they were getting paid for that game), then dumb OSU fans would be singing a different tune when it comes to Jabrill. All they're doing is comparing stats, which are fairly equal, but also a stupid argument. There is more to football than numbers in a document. Jabrill is better.
December 8th, 2016 at 4:12 PM ^
but the FAIRBANKS and the shadowed polar bear underneath do look awesome. Clean up those sleeves and make that your permanent jersey (assuming budget constraints don't end your program Hockey Bear)
December 8th, 2016 at 4:40 PM ^
Who gets a weird happiness when Brian uses "veracity" in the body of an "Unverified Voracity," right?
December 8th, 2016 at 5:04 PM ^
That's the joke. He knows the difference between veracity and voracity, whereas he once quoted a professional journalist who did not. (And that journalist took a shot at bloggers, IIRC.)
December 8th, 2016 at 4:48 PM ^
Will he be going with the team?
I really wish things had worked out better for him.
December 8th, 2016 at 4:50 PM ^
I don't know man, that's a pretty weighty decision. I do recall when he arrived on campus, that Jabrill promised his family that he wouldn't leave Ann Arbor without his degree.
All the reasons he cited for staying are as valid as the reasons to leave are. And Jabrill becomes a captain next year and a leader not just by example, but as a role model player.
I do think he benefits from another year of college seasoning. At the same time, he is the most-pro ready talent who can make the adjustment to whatever level of football he is required to elevate his game to. It seems almost odd that the hype machine and Jim Harbaugh's impact on college football since his arrival at Michigan has simply raised the profile of every kid he's challenged with his competitive spirit and love of the game.
I can think of no better combination of coach and player than Harbaugh and Peppers. Just gold, Jerry, gold. There are reasons why Michigan didn't succeed to the ultimate level we all wanted. But motivation and desire to reach those goals weren't the shortcoming issue.
imagine Michigan with Jabrill next year. And the calendar could not turn fast enough for another football season. I want whatever is best for this kid. I know his hometown and the places where he grew up, because I used to live there. Jabrill is a great kid. And he'll make the best choice for him. It was great watching him play for my favorite team and school.
December 8th, 2016 at 5:29 PM ^
I would love for another year with Jabrill. But he would be a fool to do it. Risking a career ending injury for a degree he can finish either in the NFL offseason or after he has retired? Just doesn't compute. His stock won't go up much by the extra year.
December 9th, 2016 at 2:59 AM ^
He's "fallen" to a top 15 position. His combine numbers will be amazing.
Coming back would be insane. Jim Harbaugh should be telling him, "Hey man, we'd love to have another year, you're awesome. But, as a guy who has coached in the NFL, I need to tell you that you should take this opportunity and enter the draft this spring."
Or something to that effect. It's the only honest thing he can say.
December 8th, 2016 at 4:57 PM ^
Agree for the most part, but how Pepper's was used on offense this year is one of the more head scratching moments for me with the the Harbaugh tenure so far. For a coach and staff who seem very adept at coming up with new wrinkles to keep the defense off balance, there seemed to be very little thought and imagination as to how they could fully use Pepper's skills on offense.
December 8th, 2016 at 5:16 PM ^
The comment about hiring his sister seems a little hypocritical. Don't we do the same thing?
http://www.upi.com/Sports_News/College-Football/2016/02/18/Report-Michi…
http://www.si.com/college-football/2015/05/18/jim-harbaugh-michigan-wol…
December 8th, 2016 at 6:58 PM ^
December 8th, 2016 at 9:02 PM ^
I have a hard time differentiating between the article and hiring a transfer's mom as 'team mom.' I'm not saying I disapprove. If it isn't explicitly disallowed, then do it. But I just have a hard time looking down the nose at other teams that seem to be playing the same end-around.
December 8th, 2016 at 9:22 PM ^
In Gwen Bush's case, I think Harbaugh was clearly after her specifically since Wayne Lyons barely played last year
Devin Bush Sr is a little hazier but its not like Jr was an omg 5* - though I'm sure he will be very good - it seemed like Harbaugh really wanted Bush Sr for his Florida ties and recruiting acumen
Hiring a top 5 recruits sister to be a glorified secretary is....different
December 8th, 2016 at 5:20 PM ^
When is UAF going to have an alternate jersey with HOCKEYBEAR on it
December 8th, 2016 at 5:57 PM ^
"here's hoping he goes Thomas Rawls at CMU."
seconded
kid deserves it
December 8th, 2016 at 6:59 PM ^
with those post-game and pre-game interviews, man.
Goddamn, those were painful to watch:
Road loss Cal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuWxrz8SKt4
The post Washington and post Washington St. games were horrible also.
December 8th, 2016 at 7:19 PM ^
I actually don't think Jones is doing that bad a job at Tenneesee considering the program he inherited. From 2005 to 2012, a period that includes the tenures of Fulmer, Kiffin and Dooley, Tennessee went 52-48 (.520) with 5 losing seasons. Since 2013, when Jones took over, Tennessee is 29-21 (.580) with 1 losing season (his first). His win totals have gone from 5 to 7 to 9 to 8 (with a chance to add a 9th this year). His recruiting classes have finished 24th, 7th, 4th, 14th, and his current class ranks 10th. We laugh at his hire of DeBord but Tennessee's offense ranked 32nd this year per S&P (Michigan's ranked 26th). If anything, defense has been his problem.
It is dissapointing to not win the SEC East this year especially with how bad the division is, but I guess I don't see Tennessee as a program that should be doing much better than they have been under Jones. Florida and Georgia will always be able to out recruit Tennessee and South Carolina is no longer the cupcake it used to be for much of its history. Realistically, Tennessee should be finishing 3rd or 4th in the East most years. More importantly, Is there someone out there who would be a guaranteed upgrade over Jones?
December 8th, 2016 at 8:02 PM ^
and he's now a big part of it.
December 9th, 2016 at 10:24 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
December 8th, 2016 at 8:42 PM ^
Classy kid, CMU will pick up a lot of fans next year.
December 9th, 2016 at 9:23 AM ^
Nice words about Shane Moris written by Brian in this piece. Really a shame that things didn't turn out differently.
December 9th, 2016 at 2:44 PM ^
so this may have been said, but in the same alternate universe of many years ago, what if Michigan had landed Pitino instead of Amaker.
Pitino and Saban in the same athletic department? (This is not an endorsement or wish for what could have been. Very happy with where we are today.)
December 10th, 2016 at 6:00 PM ^
The old CCM hockey jerseys were awesome.
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