Very glad to see the softball team do well. I've been a believer in Bonnie. She didn't start with much talent. Hutch's last 5 years of recruiting were ranked 42-86 with Hutch's last year being the 86.
Bonnie's first year was #30 and this year #56. She's got a nucleus of young hitting and pitching sophomores that are starting to click. She will be challenged to recruit well in the North, but Northwestern is finding ways, so I'm confident that Bonnie will as well.
They have a lot of work left to do this year, but I see a bright future ahead for Softball.
For me, without a doubt 2021 OSU. My whole family was there for the game. 2 of us are UM grads and one was a student at UM at the time. Watching the Buckeyes quietly slink out while my daughters danced on the field was one of the highlights of our lives.
I think freshman have no problem to get in and juniors have almost no chance, but in the case of sophomores, I think then their academics come into play for Michigan. So, it will largely depend on whether he has been a decent student at St Mary's.
I always appreciate when someone uses a word properly. IMHO, I could see using the term "chock-full of guff" especially when listening to a Buckeye fan talk about losing the last 3 years for any variety of reasons other than actually admitting defeat, as an example.
I'm going with the following on Orji and hope that this is validated in the Spring Game.
QB: Alex Orji -minus
I feel like someone uber-physically talented and has provided meaningful snaps in backup is more than a Guy. I put him at Dude-minus who has seen very limited playing time because he was behind a first round draft choice that just won the national championship.
This is a huge decision and they have plenty of time. I wouldn't be rushing to jump into the portal. I would want to hear the story from the new coach, see what my current teammates feel like they want to do, talk to my parents, old coaches and any other mentors and then make a decision. Adding in Easter, I wouldn't expect to make or announce a decision for another week.
To a certain extent, I get it. UM has substantial academic rigor no matter the degree. Players will get a lot of tutoring to help them balance the multitude of activities. Nonetheless, if your grades from a previous institution suggest that you're only here to play school, then maybe this isn't the best fit for either of us.
I guarantee the young guys from Harvard and Yale would get in as long as their grades have been decent at those institutions, i.e. 3.0 or better. They don't offer athletic scholarships, but of course they do give some weight to athletic ability and potentially playing varsity. So, these had to be very good HS students to get into Ivy League schools.
Not sure if you know, but he actually signed on with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL in January after being waived from the Jaguars practice squad last Sept, so you were pretty close.
I 100% agree. Yesterday was a perfect example. Northwestern played a mediocre first half. Collins made great adjustments at half time to improve the ball movement and improve their shot selection. Both teams played very good defense as both were way over their season averages in TOs.
Only poor choice for Northwestern last night was slowing the game down too early. They got totally out of sync offensively as they took the air out of the ball with 6 minutes to go and let FAU back into the game.
They were fortunate to get it into OT and then get back into their rhythm.
As well as the others recommended here, I would also strongly recommend Camp Sumter in Andersonville, GA.
Camp Sumter was only in operation for fourteen months, however, during that time 45,000 Union soldiers were imprisoned there, and nearly 13,000 died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding, or exposure.
I had 2 uncles die in Gettysburg while fighting with the 57th regiment of PA and another lost a leg in this battle and returned to be a farmer and have a family. One more of these brothers fought all the way to the end of the war. He captured the confederate flag three days before Gen. Lee surrendered the last major Confederate army at Saylor's Creek, VA. As a result, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on May 10, 1865. However, like so many survivors of any war, he struggled afterwards, never married but lived to the age of 73 in the town that he grew up and that I later grew up, Mercer, PA.
I am grateful and proud for their enormous sacrifice for a more perfect Union.
How about Lamont Paris who is 49 years old and just won SEC Coach of the Year? He's got USC ranked #16 at the end of the season. They were picked last in the SEC before the season, yet made the SEC finals and are now a 6 seed in the tourney.
He's from Findlay, OH and coached under Bo Ryan for several years, then coached Chattanooga for 5 years, taking them from a doormat to the NCAA tournament. Just in his 2nd year at South Carolina, he is someone that I would want to meet.
OSU has the only crystal ball for Top 100 RB Bo Jackson from Villa Angela St Joe, the same HS that Desmond and Elvis graduated. Hopefully, Tony comes to town and brings Bo with him.
But of course a real Clevelander stands in line for at least an hour on St Patty's at the original location on St. Clair. It's a great way to start the holiday!
For sure, there is not enough evidence, so you may be totally right there. Of course, McNabb went to 6 Pro Bowls but he only averaged 59% completion rate with 18 TDs and 9 INTs per year.
Would you say that Jalen Milroe might be like Donovan McNabb? And everyone says that Orji is an unpolished Milroe. So, by the transitive property...
I think Orji might be able to put together a typical McNabb season this year if given the opportunity, but he's got to prove his accuracy this spring to have a legit shot at starting.
Orji might be a better comp for McNabb. Both are 6'3", ~240 lb and very athletic. I don't see McNabb being a good comp for JJ.
I'm going with Fran Tarkenton. Fran was only 6ft and 190 lbs but he was relatively lean, agile and could throw to all parts of the field while on the run. We didn't see JJ scramble too much largely because he was well-trained to stay in the pocket and consistently had the best OL in college. BTW, Fran led the league in passing percentage in 1977 at 60.1% which virtually every starting QB in the NFL exceeded last year. Of course, that was almost 50 years ago.
Joe Burrow is currently the all-time leader in NFL pass completion percentage at 68.0%. JJ's completion percentage at Michigan was 67.6%.
However, past behavior and as a result performance is the best predictor of future behavior.
Granted the landscape has changed dramatically but the guy was a winner his entire life.
Former Michigan head coach John Beilein on Big Ten Network regarding Michigan's 23-point loss to Ohio State and the state of the Michigan program at the moment: "I don't have a comment right now. I really don't have a comment."
He rebuilt the program once. If he knocked on the door, I'd certainly sit down and listen to everything he has to say.
As I ride on planes quite a bit, headphones are OK in my book. They mean that you are not to be disturbed. If you've got them on, then nobody should check to see if you want a drink, etc.
My rule would simply make it illegal to talk to anyone while wearing headphones unless it's an emergency. I'm pretty sure that was what Mason Graham was politely trying to say, too.
Ron Bellamy joined us in 2021 and was the safeties coach the first year. He is listed as the primary recruiter for Jadyn Davis as well as receivers L'Marion Stewart, Semaj Morgan and Karmello English. He also helped recruit Will Johnson and Keon Sabb who only left because we are so good at the safety group that he left.
As the West Bloomfield HS coach, he was consistently successful and helped Donovan Edwards make the decision to pick UM. That's been slightly helpful in a couple of big games...
I also don't get the WR development. He's been the WR coach for 2 seasons. CJ and Roman will most likely be drafted despite playing for a team that hardly threw the ball after the first half of the PSU game. The WRs starting next year will be his. Let's see how they he actually develops receivers from HS and if we're actually willing to throw the ball to make this call.
I'm glad that we have him and think this was a reasonable and fair deal for both.
In other words, 95th percentile of all DT in the last 37 years. That's clear 5 star territory from a guy that was rated a 3 star recruit.
As a recruit, he was listed as a 240 lb DE with free agent NFL potential. His father was a 2nd round pick that played 10 years in the league and went to 2 Pro Bowls, so he has the genes but still fantastic development.
I've been doing every 3 years for the last several and they've removed 6 polyps so far. It's really not that bad. If you have a family history, start early. If you don't, at least start by 45.
I agree and think winning the championship was a combination of Steve being calm and the "Us Against the World" mentality after losing their coach. Some obvious similarities to a football team this year, of course.
I'm still reveling in our National Championship, but if you must bring this up, then let's look at the facts. The defender did not catch him. The defender has an angle with a 5 yard head start, i.e. defender at the 38 and Donovan at the 33.
As Donovan breaks the line of scrimmage, the safety Bud Clark, has 5 yards on him.
Ten yards later, Clark now only leads him by 2 yards.
Another 5 yards and Edwards has already pulled even with Clark.
15 yards later, Edwards has one full yard separation but Clark is able to leap forward, briefly grabbing the back of his jersey just enough to slow him down and enable Clark to get Donovan down.
My only complaint with the run would be Donovan cutting upfield slightly just before the defender is able to grab his jersey. However, it appears that he sees the other defender, #1, and that is what turns him slightly and gives #26 the opportunity to grab his jersey. If he continues to his right, I think there is no way either defender gets anything other than maybe his heels.
My niece works for a company that manages the assets for people that are Ultra High Net Worth Individuals. There are a lot of kids in America where their family made enormous money, e.g. Campbell (soup), DuPont, Mars (candy), etc.
These kids (many now old enough to get social security) have over $30M just to be a client. Her job is basically to manage their monthly allowance and make sure that they don't eat any of the principle. At $30M, they get an allowance of at least $1.2M / yr ($100k / month) and yet many of them are constantly asking for more. "Oh, I want to sell this house and buy this house. Or, I need to go to the South of France with my friends for a month. I'll take a cut the next month." It's amazing.
People like this don't need a manager to invest their money. They need a manager to keep them from blowing it.
I don't see it as that big of a stretch. I also don't remember the deep devotion post 2020 season.
After COVID, we lost our starting QB and RB (Joe Milton and Charbonnet) as well as top return man (Giles Jackson) as well as a very good DE in Luiji Vilain, all players that have had success post Michigan as well as a few others. Transfers were just becoming a thing and at that time, Buckeyes were even joking if we'd have enough players to play them in 2021.
Harbaugh's coaching staff was in complete disarray. He had a coach that didn't even show up. No one was on the same page. Everyone was completely frustrated. I still believe that Harbaugh wanted to make these changes earlier, but Schlissel tied his hands, but that's another story.
Fortunately, Harbaugh made the huge staff changes with virtually every hire being a phenomenal success. As a result, we have a national championship banner, we developed a ton of 3 and 4 stars into the draft and more than half of the coaches will be in the league next year.
Does Juwan have the connections, the aptitude to completely revamp his staff, and is he getting the backing? He clearly has the NBA connections. Hopefully, he has the aptitude to see that this needs an overhaul and to find the assistants that can accomplish what Harbaugh was able to do. Finally, if Warde does give him an extension then he also needs to provide him with the financial backing to find the best assistants to resurrect this program.
I've always thought the best coaches are the ones that are generally the least athletic but learned how to adjust and make up for it in other ways. They know from personal experience what it takes to be successful and then pass that on to even the uber athletic.
I have been a fan for over 40 years and have bought one jersey in that time... #20 Mike Hart. I have many favorites, but he still tops my list as well. Wish him all the best!
This was the best and most enduring line for me as well.
It might also sum up OSU now. Day has had great players the last 3 years, but it feels like he's consistently played not to lose. When you play not to lose, you are effectively focused on yourself rather than your opponent.
Hope that we can continue to keep the focus on winning rather than not losing.
I would place Bradshaw ahead of Mahomes and behind Montana. Bradshaw was 4-0 in the Super Bowl and had a better passer rating and more TDs on roughly half the attempts than Mahomes. His YPA were fantastic at over 11 YPA in 4 Super Bowls, but the 4 INTs keeps Joe Cool in #2.
Montana in four Super Bowls:
83-122, 1142, (9.4 YPA), 11 TDs, 0 INTs, 127.8
Bradshaw in four Super Bowls:
49-84, 932, (11.1 YPA), 9 TDs, 4 INTs, 112.8
Mahomes in four Super Bowls:
107-164, 1071, (6.5YPA), 7 TDs, 5 INTs, 85.2
100% agree. This was the process that Harbaugh used with Ed Warinner. He wasn't an NFL rerun, but he knocked around a little and was very good at evaluating talent and developing an OL. I think the knock on him was that he could be a little rough, but he helped develop Sherrone Moore for a couple of years and that obviously worked out phenomenally.
This is in keeping with the Harbaugh tree and system. Clink can learn from an NFL DC that has had success in a system that has also worked for us. I don't think it's a stretch to think this is how it was sold to him and why he stayed.
With all due respect to Ono, this wasn't his top priority and shouldn't have been. Yes, it's the top revenue generator and Jim Harbaugh was the highest paid public employee in the state of Michigan, but Jim had just gone to the CFP for the 2nd time with 2 Big Ten titles and the ship wasn't exactly sinking. Meanwhile, the 2nd highest paid employee in the state of Michigan was at that other school and we know how 2023 played out for him.
Things that were sinking a year ago just a few months after his start date of Oct 2022 and were higher priorities included:
The creation of an office for ethics and integrity because of the previous president and successfully finding a great person to lead it.
Managing through the graduate student strike.
Work to finalize the new campus housing that is underway as well as develop longer term campus plans Vision 2034 and Campus Plan 2050.
Manage the University's stance on the Israel Hamas war.
Update the Executive staff, including:
Name Laurie McCauley as Provost.
Replace Chief Sustainability Officer
New VP of Communications
Warde needs to do his job. I would blame Schlissel before I would blame Ono.
I agree. Mike MacDonald is now the youngest HC in the NFL, so John was wise to give him the opportunity at the expense of Martindale. I'll take the guy that helped develop him.
From a Ted Nguyen Jun 22, 2022 article in the Athletic regarding MacDonald taking over the DC role, Ravens DC Mike Macdonald transitioning defensive philosophy with varied, flexible approach, it talks about Martindale's style.
"Martindale’s signature was heavy, aggressive blitzing with man coverage. At Michigan, Macdonald transitioned the defense from former defensive coordinator Don Brown’s man-heavy system to what was essentially a simpler version of Nick Saban’s and Kirby Smart’s man-match-heavy system, and as the season progressed, he added his own twists to it. However, he isn’t married to a particular scheme, and he has collaborated with the Ravens’ staff to develop a system that fits the strength of the players on the roster. Macdonald’s flexibility is likely one of the reasons he was chosen to replace Martindale, who stubbornly stuck with his aggressive scheme despite not having enough healthy corners to cover man-to-man at a high rate last season.
The Ravens will move away from playing so much man-to-man and will be more varied in their defensive approach. They’ll play more split safety (two-deep safety) coverages like quarters, cover 6 (quarter, quarter, half) and Tampa 2 (two-deep zone). At Michigan, Macdonald didn’t blitz as much as Martindale, but there were games when he cranked up his aggression, like against Ohio State. But he used more simulated pressures, which are pressures in which the defense rushes four but with the fourth rusher coming from a second- or third-level defender instead of a defensive lineman, rather than bringing five or six at a high rate."
Clearly, they were here because of Harbaugh and rightfully so, he is a great leader, and we were fortunate to have him.
To quote Sherrone Moore's first public words as the UM coach, "I want to thank Coach Harbaugh for the faith that he has displayed in me over the past six years and for supporting my growth as a football coach during that time."
Hopefully, he has left a lasting legacy that Sherrone and the remaining staff can now replicate.
My prayers and best wishes for your father-in-law and your sons.
By coincidence, I just saw an article about one of the most famous people to be afflicted with Parkinson's, Michael J Fox. He reacted as most of us would in the prime of their life, but with courage and great family support, he has done more to hopefully end or at least improve the lives of others to come than any before him.
In keeping with your statement that the years go fast, Fox Socratically tells us, “The last thing you run out of is a future. It doesn’t matter where you are or what you do, you’ll always have the future. Until you don’t. Then it’s moved, and it really mattered. But I’m in it for the final scene. I’m not leaving early to get to the car before the crowd starts.”
I agree that a succession plan should be in place for every head coach, but I put that on Warde not Beilein. As the administrator, Warde should make sure that he has either a succession plan or a clear list of alternatives in place for each of his top revenue generating coaches. This is a business, and it's his job to make sure that things don't fall apart when changes like this happen. This is no different than a GM for a professional sports team.
Similarly with Carr, I put that on Bill Martin for not having a plan. I will say that Carr was a little short sighted to the organization in not helping Bill Martin better prepare for his departure, but it was still Bill's responsibility to be prepared.
I agree on the Saban comments. Most of the Saban understudies had extensive track records but had flaws that needed correction. In each case, Saban's teams improved under the leadership of these understudies while the understudies also grew, resolved their flaws and developed as evidenced by their later success, although they still couldn't beat the master.
Relative to Harbaugh, I also agree that he is a leader and developer of talent. Looking forward to seeing Coach Moore continue to develop and blossom as a leader, and I'm sure that he'll still call upon his mentor occasionally to hone his skills. That is the Michigan Difference.
OK. He just won the AFC Championship by catching everything thrown in his vicinity. He's going to the Super Bowl. Taylor Swift is sucking his face after the big win. Maybe he's got it better than us, but nobody else!!
Crisler's 1947 team also won a National Championship, but the NCAA does not recognize. This was the season that Notre Dame finished 9-0 and was awarded the AP #1 ranking at the end of the season, but UM slaughtered USC in the Rose Bowl 49-0 causing the AP to add a poll after the bowls and re-rank Michigan #1 by a 2-1 margin as we beat 3 common opponents each by a larger margin. Nonetheless, the NCAA does not recognize this championship.
Then, despite the loss of their great coach as well as the entire offensive backfield, both tackles, center and star end, the 1948 squad only gave up a total of 44 points across 9 games, enabling the undefeated and undisputed national championship of 1948, slightly ahead of a 9-0-1 Notre Dame team.
Hoping that history repeats itself and the 2024 defense mauls our opponents into a second national championship.
I'm pretty sure Warde is prepared, but I do not agree that anyone in his position is prepared. We had a legendary AD in Canham but the position slowly degenerated to the Tom Goss era, at which time we were running a deficit and getting hammered by the NCAA for Ed Martin. So, businessman Bill Martin was brought in to get our finances in order, improve the facilities and restore order. He did improve the finances but disgracefully retired. As well, he was completely unprepared for Lloyd Carr's retirement even though it seemed to be inevitable the last few years. He did get the Athletic Dept back to running a surplus, so his business skills were obviously strong.
However, his lack of planning and insight resulted in absolutely zero succession planning, at least for the primary revenue generator, football. As well, Lloyd Carr's assistants in general were weak and he seemed completely obtuse to these issues. As a result, we ended up with Rich Rod and the devolution of UM football. Nonetheless, I will credit Bill Martin for giving us Tommy Amaker and John Beilein, both of which helped rebuild our basketball program after the Ed Martin scandal.
Top 5 OL and top 10 DL for Lions and top 5 OL and DL for Wolverines.
That's been the key to the Wolverines and Lions resurgence back to the top.
The corollary to this is why OSU is struggling. Great backfield of QB, RBs and WRs, but their OL has gotten worse each year under Day. It's good enough to handle the bad teams but struggles against top defenses.
I think there's also a culture piece that seems to be changing from the top down as well.
The backfield for Alabama was phenomenal but the front seven weren't shit. They also weren't typical Alabama caliber either other than edge Dallas Turner. I also see after further research that they pulled Downs toward the line on a lot of plays so he was playing a pseudo-LB in those cases which would account for more tackles.
Per Drain's pregame analysis, "mega-5* Caleb Downs, who is a true freshman. Downs has played exceptionally well this season and earns a star from me, impressive for a Tr Fr safety."
He will certainly add to the challenge of The Game next year.
I love our guys and as a team we were fantastic, resulting in a perfect season.
However, this guy is a certified stud. He had 107 tackles on a very good defense last year... as a true freshman and not in the LB position. Nobody does that, anywhere.
Yes, he starts over anyone that we've had since Charles Woodson. He's that good.
Recent Comments
Very glad to see the softball team do well. I've been a believer in Bonnie. She didn't start with much talent. Hutch's last 5 years of recruiting were ranked 42-86 with Hutch's last year being the 86.
Bonnie's first year was #30 and this year #56. She's got a nucleus of young hitting and pitching sophomores that are starting to click. She will be challenged to recruit well in the North, but Northwestern is finding ways, so I'm confident that Bonnie will as well.
They have a lot of work left to do this year, but I see a bright future ahead for Softball.
For me, without a doubt 2021 OSU. My whole family was there for the game. 2 of us are UM grads and one was a student at UM at the time. Watching the Buckeyes quietly slink out while my daughters danced on the field was one of the highlights of our lives.
I think freshman have no problem to get in and juniors have almost no chance, but in the case of sophomores, I think then their academics come into play for Michigan. So, it will largely depend on whether he has been a decent student at St Mary's.
I always appreciate when someone uses a word properly. IMHO, I could see using the term "chock-full of guff" especially when listening to a Buckeye fan talk about losing the last 3 years for any variety of reasons other than actually admitting defeat, as an example.
I'm going with the following on Orji and hope that this is validated in the Spring Game.
QB: Alex Orji
-minus
I feel like someone uber-physically talented and has provided meaningful snaps in backup is more than a Guy. I put him at Dude-minus who has seen very limited playing time because he was behind a first round draft choice that just won the national championship.
I see Kalel similarly, as you indicated.
This is a huge decision and they have plenty of time. I wouldn't be rushing to jump into the portal. I would want to hear the story from the new coach, see what my current teammates feel like they want to do, talk to my parents, old coaches and any other mentors and then make a decision. Adding in Easter, I wouldn't expect to make or announce a decision for another week.
To a certain extent, I get it. UM has substantial academic rigor no matter the degree. Players will get a lot of tutoring to help them balance the multitude of activities. Nonetheless, if your grades from a previous institution suggest that you're only here to play school, then maybe this isn't the best fit for either of us.
I guarantee the young guys from Harvard and Yale would get in as long as their grades have been decent at those institutions, i.e. 3.0 or better. They don't offer athletic scholarships, but of course they do give some weight to athletic ability and potentially playing varsity. So, these had to be very good HS students to get into Ivy League schools.
Indeed, Jesse Owens was a hero and one of the greatest Americans of all time.
Not sure if you know, but he actually signed on with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL in January after being waived from the Jaguars practice squad last Sept, so you were pretty close.
https://www.cfl.ca/2024/01/23/bombers-sign-seven-american-players/
All the best to the young man!
I 100% agree. Yesterday was a perfect example. Northwestern played a mediocre first half. Collins made great adjustments at half time to improve the ball movement and improve their shot selection. Both teams played very good defense as both were way over their season averages in TOs.
Only poor choice for Northwestern last night was slowing the game down too early. They got totally out of sync offensively as they took the air out of the ball with 6 minutes to go and let FAU back into the game.
They were fortunate to get it into OT and then get back into their rhythm.
As well as the others recommended here, I would also strongly recommend Camp Sumter in Andersonville, GA.
Camp Sumter was only in operation for fourteen months, however, during that time 45,000 Union soldiers were imprisoned there, and nearly 13,000 died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding, or exposure.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andersonville_Prison
I had 2 uncles die in Gettysburg while fighting with the 57th regiment of PA and another lost a leg in this battle and returned to be a farmer and have a family. One more of these brothers fought all the way to the end of the war. He captured the confederate flag three days before Gen. Lee surrendered the last major Confederate army at Saylor's Creek, VA. As a result, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on May 10, 1865. However, like so many survivors of any war, he struggled afterwards, never married but lived to the age of 73 in the town that he grew up and that I later grew up, Mercer, PA.
I am grateful and proud for their enormous sacrifice for a more perfect Union.
How about Lamont Paris who is 49 years old and just won SEC Coach of the Year? He's got USC ranked #16 at the end of the season. They were picked last in the SEC before the season, yet made the SEC finals and are now a 6 seed in the tourney.
He's from Findlay, OH and coached under Bo Ryan for several years, then coached Chattanooga for 5 years, taking them from a doormat to the NCAA tournament. Just in his 2nd year at South Carolina, he is someone that I would want to meet.
I'm looking forward to the book in a decade, but I think Schlissel was blocking Jim from making wholesale changes earlier.
That's the reason Jim was stuck in 3rd gear and then accidentally stuck it in reverse before finding the rest of the gears.
OSU has the only crystal ball for Top 100 RB Bo Jackson from Villa Angela St Joe, the same HS that Desmond and Elvis graduated. Hopefully, Tony comes to town and brings Bo with him.
From 11W:
But of course a real Clevelander stands in line for at least an hour on St Patty's at the original location on St. Clair. It's a great way to start the holiday!
For sure, there is not enough evidence, so you may be totally right there. Of course, McNabb went to 6 Pro Bowls but he only averaged 59% completion rate with 18 TDs and 9 INTs per year.
Would you say that Jalen Milroe might be like Donovan McNabb? And everyone says that Orji is an unpolished Milroe. So, by the transitive property...
I think Orji might be able to put together a typical McNabb season this year if given the opportunity, but he's got to prove his accuracy this spring to have a legit shot at starting.
Orji might be a better comp for McNabb. Both are 6'3", ~240 lb and very athletic. I don't see McNabb being a good comp for JJ.
I'm going with Fran Tarkenton. Fran was only 6ft and 190 lbs but he was relatively lean, agile and could throw to all parts of the field while on the run. We didn't see JJ scramble too much largely because he was well-trained to stay in the pocket and consistently had the best OL in college. BTW, Fran led the league in passing percentage in 1977 at 60.1% which virtually every starting QB in the NFL exceeded last year. Of course, that was almost 50 years ago.
Joe Burrow is currently the all-time leader in NFL pass completion percentage at 68.0%. JJ's completion percentage at Michigan was 67.6%.
Awesome potential.
However, past behavior and as a result performance is the best predictor of future behavior.
Granted the landscape has changed dramatically but the guy was a winner his entire life.
Former Michigan head coach John Beilein on Big Ten Network regarding Michigan's 23-point loss to Ohio State and the state of the Michigan program at the moment: "I don't have a comment right now. I really don't have a comment."
He rebuilt the program once. If he knocked on the door, I'd certainly sit down and listen to everything he has to say.
As I ride on planes…
Haha.
As I ride on planes quite a bit, headphones are OK in my book. They mean that you are not to be disturbed. If you've got them on, then nobody should check to see if you want a drink, etc.
My rule would simply make it illegal to talk to anyone while wearing headphones unless it's an emergency. I'm pretty sure that was what Mason Graham was politely trying to say, too.
Ron Bellamy joined us in 2021 and was the safeties coach the first year. He is listed as the primary recruiter for Jadyn Davis as well as receivers L'Marion Stewart, Semaj Morgan and Karmello English. He also helped recruit Will Johnson and Keon Sabb who only left because we are so good at the safety group that he left.
As the West Bloomfield HS coach, he was consistently successful and helped Donovan Edwards make the decision to pick UM. That's been slightly helpful in a couple of big games...
I also don't get the WR development. He's been the WR coach for 2 seasons. CJ and Roman will most likely be drafted despite playing for a team that hardly threw the ball after the first half of the PSU game. The WRs starting next year will be his. Let's see how they he actually develops receivers from HS and if we're actually willing to throw the ball to make this call.
I'm glad that we have him and think this was a reasonable and fair deal for both.
In other words, 95th percentile of all DT in the last 37 years. That's clear 5 star territory from a guy that was rated a 3 star recruit.
As a recruit, he was listed as a 240 lb DE with free agent NFL potential. His father was a 2nd round pick that played 10 years in the league and went to 2 Pro Bowls, so he has the genes but still fantastic development.
I've been doing every 3 years for the last several and they've removed 6 polyps so far. It's really not that bad. If you have a family history, start early. If you don't, at least start by 45.
Except when we come here. Thanks to Brian, Seth and the whole gang!
I agree and think winning the championship was a combination of Steve being calm and the "Us Against the World" mentality after losing their coach. Some obvious similarities to a football team this year, of course.
I'm still reveling in our National Championship, but if you must bring this up, then let's look at the facts. The defender did not catch him. The defender has an angle with a 5 yard head start, i.e. defender at the 38 and Donovan at the 33.
As Donovan breaks the line of scrimmage, the safety Bud Clark, has 5 yards on him.
Ten yards later, Clark now only leads him by 2 yards.
Another 5 yards and Edwards has already pulled even with Clark.
15 yards later, Edwards has one full yard separation but Clark is able to leap forward, briefly grabbing the back of his jersey just enough to slow him down and enable Clark to get Donovan down.
The full clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5uPfw8nkms
My only complaint with the run would be Donovan cutting upfield slightly just before the defender is able to grab his jersey. However, it appears that he sees the other defender, #1, and that is what turns him slightly and gives #26 the opportunity to grab his jersey. If he continues to his right, I think there is no way either defender gets anything other than maybe his heels.
My niece works for a company that manages the assets for people that are Ultra High Net Worth Individuals. There are a lot of kids in America where their family made enormous money, e.g. Campbell (soup), DuPont, Mars (candy), etc.
These kids (many now old enough to get social security) have over $30M just to be a client. Her job is basically to manage their monthly allowance and make sure that they don't eat any of the principle. At $30M, they get an allowance of at least $1.2M / yr ($100k / month) and yet many of them are constantly asking for more. "Oh, I want to sell this house and buy this house. Or, I need to go to the South of France with my friends for a month. I'll take a cut the next month." It's amazing.
People like this don't need a manager to invest their money. They need a manager to keep them from blowing it.
I don't see it as that big of a stretch. I also don't remember the deep devotion post 2020 season.
After COVID, we lost our starting QB and RB (Joe Milton and Charbonnet) as well as top return man (Giles Jackson) as well as a very good DE in Luiji Vilain, all players that have had success post Michigan as well as a few others. Transfers were just becoming a thing and at that time, Buckeyes were even joking if we'd have enough players to play them in 2021.
Harbaugh's coaching staff was in complete disarray. He had a coach that didn't even show up. No one was on the same page. Everyone was completely frustrated. I still believe that Harbaugh wanted to make these changes earlier, but Schlissel tied his hands, but that's another story.
Fortunately, Harbaugh made the huge staff changes with virtually every hire being a phenomenal success. As a result, we have a national championship banner, we developed a ton of 3 and 4 stars into the draft and more than half of the coaches will be in the league next year.
Does Juwan have the connections, the aptitude to completely revamp his staff, and is he getting the backing? He clearly has the NBA connections. Hopefully, he has the aptitude to see that this needs an overhaul and to find the assistants that can accomplish what Harbaugh was able to do. Finally, if Warde does give him an extension then he also needs to provide him with the financial backing to find the best assistants to resurrect this program.
I've always thought the best coaches are the ones that are generally the least athletic but learned how to adjust and make up for it in other ways. They know from personal experience what it takes to be successful and then pass that on to even the uber athletic.
I have been a fan for over 40 years and have bought one jersey in that time... #20 Mike Hart. I have many favorites, but he still tops my list as well. Wish him all the best!
This was the best and most enduring line for me as well.
It might also sum up OSU now. Day has had great players the last 3 years, but it feels like he's consistently played not to lose. When you play not to lose, you are effectively focused on yourself rather than your opponent.
Hope that we can continue to keep the focus on winning rather than not losing.
I love Greg Scruggs' resume.
Clearly using these skills to take the initiative and call the players first, especially in this age of NIL and transfers.
So psyched to see Greg join the staff.
I would place Bradshaw ahead of Mahomes and behind Montana. Bradshaw was 4-0 in the Super Bowl and had a better passer rating and more TDs on roughly half the attempts than Mahomes. His YPA were fantastic at over 11 YPA in 4 Super Bowls, but the 4 INTs keeps Joe Cool in #2.
Montana in four Super Bowls:
83-122, 1142, (9.4 YPA), 11 TDs, 0 INTs, 127.8
Bradshaw in four Super Bowls:
49-84, 932, (11.1 YPA), 9 TDs, 4 INTs, 112.8
Mahomes in four Super Bowls:
107-164, 1071, (6.5YPA), 7 TDs, 5 INTs, 85.2
100% agree. This was the process that Harbaugh used with Ed Warinner. He wasn't an NFL rerun, but he knocked around a little and was very good at evaluating talent and developing an OL. I think the knock on him was that he could be a little rough, but he helped develop Sherrone Moore for a couple of years and that obviously worked out phenomenally.
This is in keeping with the Harbaugh tree and system. Clink can learn from an NFL DC that has had success in a system that has also worked for us. I don't think it's a stretch to think this is how it was sold to him and why he stayed.
With all due respect to Ono, this wasn't his top priority and shouldn't have been. Yes, it's the top revenue generator and Jim Harbaugh was the highest paid public employee in the state of Michigan, but Jim had just gone to the CFP for the 2nd time with 2 Big Ten titles and the ship wasn't exactly sinking. Meanwhile, the 2nd highest paid employee in the state of Michigan was at that other school and we know how 2023 played out for him.
Things that were sinking a year ago just a few months after his start date of Oct 2022 and were higher priorities included:
Warde needs to do his job. I would blame Schlissel before I would blame Ono.
I agree. Mike MacDonald is now the youngest HC in the NFL, so John was wise to give him the opportunity at the expense of Martindale. I'll take the guy that helped develop him.
From a Ted Nguyen Jun 22, 2022 article in the Athletic regarding MacDonald taking over the DC role, Ravens DC Mike Macdonald transitioning defensive philosophy with varied, flexible approach, it talks about Martindale's style.
"Martindale’s signature was heavy, aggressive blitzing with man coverage. At Michigan, Macdonald transitioned the defense from former defensive coordinator Don Brown’s man-heavy system to what was essentially a simpler version of Nick Saban’s and Kirby Smart’s man-match-heavy system, and as the season progressed, he added his own twists to it. However, he isn’t married to a particular scheme, and he has collaborated with the Ravens’ staff to develop a system that fits the strength of the players on the roster. Macdonald’s flexibility is likely one of the reasons he was chosen to replace Martindale, who stubbornly stuck with his aggressive scheme despite not having enough healthy corners to cover man-to-man at a high rate last season.
The Ravens will move away from playing so much man-to-man and will be more varied in their defensive approach. They’ll play more split safety (two-deep safety) coverages like quarters, cover 6 (quarter, quarter, half) and Tampa 2 (two-deep zone). At Michigan, Macdonald didn’t blitz as much as Martindale, but there were games when he cranked up his aggression, like against Ohio State. But he used more simulated pressures, which are pressures in which the defense rushes four but with the fourth rusher coming from a second- or third-level defender instead of a defensive lineman, rather than bringing five or six at a high rate."
And also no longer having to worry about the NCAA checking to see if you picked up the tip for a recruit's lunch.
Clearly, they were here because of Harbaugh and rightfully so, he is a great leader, and we were fortunate to have him.
To quote Sherrone Moore's first public words as the UM coach, "I want to thank Coach Harbaugh for the faith that he has displayed in me over the past six years and for supporting my growth as a football coach during that time."
Hopefully, he has left a lasting legacy that Sherrone and the remaining staff can now replicate.
My prayers and best wishes for your father-in-law and your sons.
By coincidence, I just saw an article about one of the most famous people to be afflicted with Parkinson's, Michael J Fox. He reacted as most of us would in the prime of their life, but with courage and great family support, he has done more to hopefully end or at least improve the lives of others to come than any before him.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/feb/02/i-hate-it-it-sucks-but-it-didnt-defeat-me-michael-j-fox-on-pity-parkinsons-and-a-potential-cure
In keeping with your statement that the years go fast, Fox Socratically tells us, “The last thing you run out of is a future. It doesn’t matter where you are or what you do, you’ll always have the future. Until you don’t. Then it’s moved, and it really mattered. But I’m in it for the final scene. I’m not leaving early to get to the car before the crowd starts.”
I agree that a succession plan should be in place for every head coach, but I put that on Warde not Beilein. As the administrator, Warde should make sure that he has either a succession plan or a clear list of alternatives in place for each of his top revenue generating coaches. This is a business, and it's his job to make sure that things don't fall apart when changes like this happen. This is no different than a GM for a professional sports team.
Similarly with Carr, I put that on Bill Martin for not having a plan. I will say that Carr was a little short sighted to the organization in not helping Bill Martin better prepare for his departure, but it was still Bill's responsibility to be prepared.
I agree on the Saban comments. Most of the Saban understudies had extensive track records but had flaws that needed correction. In each case, Saban's teams improved under the leadership of these understudies while the understudies also grew, resolved their flaws and developed as evidenced by their later success, although they still couldn't beat the master.
Relative to Harbaugh, I also agree that he is a leader and developer of talent. Looking forward to seeing Coach Moore continue to develop and blossom as a leader, and I'm sure that he'll still call upon his mentor occasionally to hone his skills. That is the Michigan Difference.
OK. He just won the AFC Championship by catching everything thrown in his vicinity. He's going to the Super Bowl. Taylor Swift is sucking his face after the big win. Maybe he's got it better than us, but nobody else!!
Good find. I would have included that had I searched a little.
Crisler's 1947 team also won a National Championship, but the NCAA does not recognize. This was the season that Notre Dame finished 9-0 and was awarded the AP #1 ranking at the end of the season, but UM slaughtered USC in the Rose Bowl 49-0 causing the AP to add a poll after the bowls and re-rank Michigan #1 by a 2-1 margin as we beat 3 common opponents each by a larger margin. Nonetheless, the NCAA does not recognize this championship.
Then, despite the loss of their great coach as well as the entire offensive backfield, both tackles, center and star end, the 1948 squad only gave up a total of 44 points across 9 games, enabling the undefeated and undisputed national championship of 1948, slightly ahead of a 9-0-1 Notre Dame team.
Hoping that history repeats itself and the 2024 defense mauls our opponents into a second national championship.
I'm pretty sure Warde is prepared, but I do not agree that anyone in his position is prepared. We had a legendary AD in Canham but the position slowly degenerated to the Tom Goss era, at which time we were running a deficit and getting hammered by the NCAA for Ed Martin. So, businessman Bill Martin was brought in to get our finances in order, improve the facilities and restore order. He did improve the finances but disgracefully retired. As well, he was completely unprepared for Lloyd Carr's retirement even though it seemed to be inevitable the last few years. He did get the Athletic Dept back to running a surplus, so his business skills were obviously strong.
However, his lack of planning and insight resulted in absolutely zero succession planning, at least for the primary revenue generator, football. As well, Lloyd Carr's assistants in general were weak and he seemed completely obtuse to these issues. As a result, we ended up with Rich Rod and the devolution of UM football. Nonetheless, I will credit Bill Martin for giving us Tommy Amaker and John Beilein, both of which helped rebuild our basketball program after the Ed Martin scandal.
Orji along with a backfield rotation of Mullings, Bredeson, and Hall. They will be rotating in thunder to pair with the Don's lightning.
I agree. I'm very interested to see the QB play in the Spring game as well as the entirely new offense of OL.
Top 5 OL and top 10 DL for Lions and top 5 OL and DL for Wolverines.
That's been the key to the Wolverines and Lions resurgence back to the top.
The corollary to this is why OSU is struggling. Great backfield of QB, RBs and WRs, but their OL has gotten worse each year under Day. It's good enough to handle the bad teams but struggles against top defenses.
I think there's also a culture piece that seems to be changing from the top down as well.
The backfield for Alabama was phenomenal but the front seven weren't shit. They also weren't typical Alabama caliber either other than edge Dallas Turner. I also see after further research that they pulled Downs toward the line on a lot of plays so he was playing a pseudo-LB in those cases which would account for more tackles.
Per Drain's pregame analysis, "mega-5* Caleb Downs, who is a true freshman. Downs has played exceptionally well this season and earns a star from me, impressive for a Tr Fr safety."
He will certainly add to the challenge of The Game next year.
I love our guys and as a team we were fantastic, resulting in a perfect season.
However, this guy is a certified stud. He had 107 tackles on a very good defense last year... as a true freshman and not in the LB position. Nobody does that, anywhere.
Yes, he starts over anyone that we've had since Charles Woodson. He's that good.