Chad Lindsay Picks Ohio State

So how is our football program at the moment? 

Answer:  Not Good

Chad Lindsay former Alabama offense lineman is expected to sign with Ohio State.  His former OC couldn't convince him to join the Wolverines with a guaranteed starting position.  In turn, he signs with our biggest rival.   Good Times!


In other news, the Big Ten Network likes to promote new Big Ten games at night....................

Michigan Tuesday: Coach Hoke Has Regrets

We all do coach, It's good you are starting to realize it:

"I have to be a better leader, I should have taken some of the leadership (opportunities myself) and not anointed some of that (to just senior players)," Hoke said. "I could have done a much better job with consistency. Every day.

"(I should have stepped in) a little more, yeah. I think that's part of it."

Things are different this year:

"(The leadership this year) is different," Hoke says. "You've got guys who are leaders that are older, but we've changed the model a bit. Our seniors are always going to be important, but you always worry about entitlement, so what we've done is put together a leadership representative group. It's four guys from each class, and they were all voted on by their classmates.

"That's really been effective. We've already met twice, and we'll meet here in another week. And it's interesting to listen to perspectives at different levels and different maturities."

I like coach and think he is a good man but the above is a rookie move.   A good coach understands his team and understands what type of leadership it needs.   You shouldn't have to throw away a season to understand how to lead a team.   When you mix in the incompetence of Big Al, last year was a huge failure by the coaching staff.

• David Brandon is getting concerned about next years ticket sales.  Student tickets are way down and now faculty and staff are getting letters reminding them to renew.    Maybe David should look at the schedule and the current product on the field.  Time to buy a better grade of cheese!! (BTW - not allowing the Big Ten to give MSU back to back home games is also an issue).   What is the best home game this year?  Penn State?  Utah?  Maryland's first trip? That App. State game, selling future & past home games to Dallas and the seat licenses are starting to bite the AD in the wallet.

• One transfer is off the market at 6'9 Sean Obi committed to Duke last night.

• Michigan offered 2015 QB Deondre Francois, WR Miles Boykin and WR Auden Tate yesterday. 

Michigan Monday: Some Recruiting Notes from Easter Weekend

We all know about the champ committing, but here are a few other things going on in both basketball and football.

• Going into the weekend, it was thought that Michigan would take just one of the two players visiting.  After MAAR committed, Michigan offered Aubrey Dawkins.   That was a bit of a surprise.   It sounds like Aubrey really enjoyed his visit but is still going to visit Dayton this week.   Dayton has been recruiting him for a long time, so it seems like the right to do in keeping that visit scheduled.   It sounds like we might have resolution to losing Nik and GR3 as early as this weekend.  

• VOR had a question regarding Austin Hatch and his ability to play D1 basketball.  Many had thought that as soon as Austin hit campus, Michigan would give him a medical redshirt which would not allow him to play in any games in his Michigan career.  Coach has said, he does not plan to do that and is willing to give him a chance to heal and see if he can get his game back.  I am hoping he can come back and be a contributor but many believe that is a long shot.   Either way, he will be the hero of this team moving forward. 

• TE Chris Clark who just de-committed from UNC, visited Ann Arbor and C-Bus this weekend.  He loved both visits.  I also expect ND and others to be play in his recruitment.   A decision late summer is expected.

• Michigan also hosted OT from NJ Grant Newsome.  His recruitment is very early in the process.

Wolverine Weekend Update: "The Champ" Commits

Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman has committed to the Wolverines on his visit today.   It seems he got a scholarship offer and shook John Beilein's hand and said, "I accept".

MAA-R is a 6'4 180 pound guard that is in serious need of a nickname.   This from UMhoops:   Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman, a wing from Allentown, Pennsylvania. Abdur-Rahkman had a monster senior year for his Central Catholic high school team, averaging 23.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game this past season. Before his senior year, Abdur-Rahkman held offers from mostly mid-majors: Bucknell, Drexel, Lehigh and Harvard were all in on his recruitment. But since then, he has caught the attention of some high-major schools. One of them is Michigan.

Abdur-Rahkman would be a slight departure from the prototypical Michigan recruit in that he isn’t known for his shooting. In fact, the graduating senior said that while his shot has improved, he made his living getting to the rim and playing great man-to-man defense.

"The Champ" said Coach Beilein was calling him at least 3 times a week, which is a clear sign Coach liked what he saw on tape.  Coach Bacari Alexander was at one of his workouts just last week.

He is the 5th player in this class joining:  Kam Chatman, Ricky Doyle, Austin Hatch, and DJ Wilson.

Welcome to the team Mohammad!

Michigan "Good" Friday: A Couple BBall Recruiting Updates

Sam Webb on the radio today discussed the two players (Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman and Aubrey Dawkins) visiting this weekend and noted Michigan is probably only interested in one.   Both are expected to jump at a Michigan offer if offered.   Sounds like the Michigan players might have a role on which guy gets the offer. 

Another area of recruiting is in players looking to transfer.  (BTW: Did you hear that Florida is interested in Jon Horford?)   A couple guys on Michigan's radar include:  6-8 forward Cole Huff from Nevada and 6-9 forward Sean Obi from Rice.   I like that Michigan is looking at some bigs, I don't like that they probably won't be eligible to play for a year. 

Sean Obi seems to be a hot prospect as more of a traditional low post player.  He has already visited Vandy and plans to visit Duke next.   He shot almost 60% from the field, averaged 11 points and 9 boards a game.   That is exactly what the Wolverines and many other programs need.

Cole Huff seems to be more at the beginning of his process.  He just had a compromise with Nevada to let him to go Southern California schools in the PAC 12 or WCC.   Cole seems to be more of an outside shooter, then a low post big.  It seems he would be a fit for coaches system, but maybe not the type of player the Wolverines need at this point.   His AAU coach said Cole is most interested in: Dayton, Iowa, Creighton, Vanderbilt and Michigan.

USC's leading scorer is 6-foot-5 wing, Byron Wesley who is also looking for a new home.   He is more of a slasher then a shooter and the Los Angles Daily News reports he is looking and Michigan and Indiana.  It's still unclear if Michigan is considering him.

Michigan has a ton of room on the roster right now and it seems this is a long way from over. 

Have a great holiday weekend!

Michigan Thursday: Basketball is Stealing Headlines

John Beilein's program has done a great job the last few years is shifting the focus of Michigan fans from the inconsistent football program to a championship level basketball program.    That trend continues this week as two sophomores declared for the NBA Draft and we still await the decision from Michigan's low post player and pre-season All-American Mitch McGary.

What were the odds that Michigan would go through two football coaches and zero Big Ten Championships to John Beilein's two in a similar time frame?  I sure didn't expect the success this program has had.

The Michigan Basketball coaches aren't wasting any time trying to find a few guys to fill the spots left by Nik, Glenn and Jon.   Reported yesterday, "The Champ" Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman is taking an official visit to Ann Arbor this weekend.   He will now be joined by Johnny Dawkins son, Aubrey, who is also expected in this weekend. 

Aubrey Dawkins, is not rated by Rivals but a 6'4 180 pound shooting guard from New Hampton Prep.   We know coach likes sons of former NBA guys and Aubrey fits that mold.   Coaches are a pretty tight group, I don't know if John and Johnny are close but Michigan did play Stanford this year in Brooklyn.  So there might have been a call placed (one way or the other) regarding Aubrey.

A fair question is, why isn't Aubrey going to Stanford?  Could be the difficult admission policy or maybe they are full.   Right now he has offers from Dayton and Rhode Island, which are two solid basketball programs. 

Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman is also 6'4 and 180 pound guard and hails from Allentown, PA .   Rivals rates him as a 3 star prospect, with offers from Bucknell, Rice, Robert Morris and George Mason.   He is known as being more of slasher/driver of the basketball then a shooter and a good defender.

Coach does give out offers without a visit to Ann Arbor, which both prospects will fulfill this weekend.  Would the Wolverines take both?  I expect both would jump at a Michigan offer.     

• Caris LeVert did ask the NBA Draft Advisory Board for a review of where he would go.  He is for sure coming back.  He also got invited to Kevin Durant's Skills Academy this summer.

Wolverine Wednesday: They Gone

As expected, sophomores Nik Stauskas and Glenn Robinson III will leave Michigan early to enter the NBA Draft.   It's hard to argue with these decisions.   Nik is the Big Ten Player of the Year and GR3 has an upside that the NBA loves.   It's funny because Nik is probably close to his ceiling and GR3 is expected to have plenty of room to develop. 

I never thought we would have a basketball program sending guys to the NBA at the rate John Beilien has put together.   He really has a great eye in recruiting and developing kids into NBA caliber talents.

It will be fun to see who Michigan brings in during the spring signing period to fill the spots left by Stauskas, Robinson and Horford.   Let's hope McGary isn't on the list.    Coach is on record saying he will start looking for bigger/shot blockers type of kids with the new defensive rules that are now in place.

Here are a couple names to watch:  Ryan Taylor, Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman and Aubrey Dawkins.  Muhammad is expected in this weekend for a visit and Aubrey is the son of Stanford coach and former Duke assistant Johnny Dawkins ( I wonder why he isn't going to Stanford to play for his dad?).   Aubrey is also expected to visit Ann Arbor at some point.  The great thing about basketball recruiting is there is a ton of talent out there and limited scholarships.   The Michigan coaching staff could can easily go out and find a Spike or Caris this late in the cycle.

• When Michigan plays Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament, there is a good chance the Volunteers will lose their head coach.   First Bruce Pearl and now Cuonzo Martin has taken the CAL job.