Michigan Friday: A Strange Week 1 For Some Big Ten Teams

I know we are a couple weeks from the season starting and I was starting to look at the week 1 games and the Big Ten has some strange match-ups.    Usually, you will see the Big Ten play a ton of MAC schools.  There is some of that but there are also some really strange games.  Let's take a look:


This is Weird?


Michigan vs. Florida in Dallas.   I continue to think this is a strange game.  Would rather see the Wolverines play in the Swamp or Gators in the Big House.


Washington at Rutgers:  A playoff team is opening their season at Rutgers?  This might not be good for Rutgers.


Maryland at Texas:  That is a strange week 1 match up.  This will be Tom Herman's first game as head coach of the Longhorns. 


Louisville at Purdue:  At least the Purdue fans will get to see what a Heisman Trophy winner looks like.


Ohio State at Indiana:  OSU is opening their Big Ten season in week 1.   The Buckeyes OC is the former head coach at IU.

• Michigan got a QB PWO for the 2018 class in Kyle Grady.  He is not related to the Grady brothers that played at Michigan.   Kyle is 6'3 and 185 pounds and is from San Diego.  With this walk-on commitment and Joe Milton already in the fold, I doubt Michigan will add another QB in this class.

• A follow up to yesterday post,  Usher will be a honorary captain this fall.

Michigan Thursday: 2 Fab 5 Members Attend Football Practice

Jimmy is not afraid to invite anyone to practice that can share an experience or advice with his young team.   We have seen former NFL Wide Receiver Chad Johnson and now Fab 5 members Juan Howard and Jimmy King, who visited with the players on Wednesday.


Howard and King met with the team after practice Wednesday. Speight said they told the players “to be comfortable being uncomfortable.”


“It was really cool,” Speight said. “That’s what blew me away. We grew up watching those guys and they’re legends around here, and Juwan came up to me and was like, ‘Can I get a picture with you? My son’s going to love this.' I said, ‘Yeah absolutely,’ but I didn’t want to act too shocked. That’s the Fab Five, you know. That was a cool moment.”


On a side note, a friend of the program and Pro Wrestling legend Rick Flair is in a serious medical condition in an Atlanta hospital.   We hope Rick continues to get better and is back on his feet soon.

• Speaking of the Fab 5.  The special Fab 5 Jordan's that were released awhile ago are selling for $20,000 on eBay.  If anyone wants to send me a pair for my birthday, please feel free to!  :-)

• CBS announced its pre-season All American team- Michigan didn't have any players on the list.  Florida has three 2nd teamers:  Martez Ivey-OL, Duke Dawson - CB, and Eddy Pineiro - Kicker.

   

Wolverine Wednesday: Spending a Year With Jimmy

Could you imagine trying to keep up with Jim Harbaugh for a year?  The recruiting trips, satellite camps, strategy sessions, 3 hour practices, etc.    Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer David Turnley did just that and ESPN yesterday shared a few pictures from the book David and Jim published.  


Its a short read and one I recommend checking out.   This is a heart breaking photo that David took after Jeremy Clarks injury.

David Turnley

• Former Michigan recruit Jean Delance a 4 star offensive lineman from the 2016 class is transferring from Texas.  He was very high on the Wolverines and I believe picked Texas because it was closer to home.  No word yet if the Wolverines are interested in picking him up.  He played in a couple games as a freshman and would have to sit out a year before being eligible.

This surprised me a bit as I seem to remember him struggling with the deep ball, maybe those were Rudock flash backs.

Michigan Tuesday: Backups on the DLine Could Be Starters on other Teams

Chase, Rashan, Mo, and Bryan are locked into starting roles on Michigan's defensive line.   Those are the best of the best and the only time that's important is on the depth chart.   Defensive Line coach Greg Mattison is known for his rotation of a number of players on the defensive line and the starters and the backups will get a ton of snaps each game.   This is the best way to keep players fresh and put consistent pressure on the QB and the running game of the other team.


Since we know who the starters are, who are guys that will be in the rotation?  Coach Mattison mentioned a guy we really haven't heard about in a few years:  “I hate saying this because you jinx them sometimes… I've been waiting for this for three years… Lawrence Marshall has had a very, very good camp. He's up to about 290-pounds, he worked really hard in the weight program, and he's a young man that I think will be able to play some 3-technique and be able to give Mo some work. He's done well. There's two things that are different… he's a lot stronger, his weight is up where it should be to play in there, and I think he's bought totally in. Let's be real honest… he's always been a guy that has played a little bit, and now I think he's bought in. I think he really wants to contribute to this front and he showed it. Like I said, I don't want to jinx him but every practice he's looked better that way."


Other guys that coach mentions is Carlo Kemp and Mike Dwumfour.  Carlo has been getting a lot of buzz since Spring Practice and if you saw the BTN camp update, had a huge wrap on his hand.   He is expected to be 100% healthy for the Florida game.  Mike had a shoulder injury from high school that he decided to get surgery on last year.  He has had to work hard to get the strength back in that arm and he should be ready to play a lot of snaps this year.  


We haven't even gotten to true freshman like 5 star Aubrey Solomon, DIB, Kwity Paye, Donovan Jeter or Luiji Vilain yet.   That is going to be a deep rotation!

• Josh Jackson the son of Fred Jackson was named the starting QB for Virginia Tech.  He is a red shirt freshman and if you ask Fred, Josh has the release of Marino, the smarts of Brady, the body of Cam Newton, the deep ball of Rodgers and the speed of Denard.  :)

Michigan Monday: The Gators Suspend 7 Players

Head coach Jim McElwain (who may or may not have hugged a shark naked) suspended 7 players this weekend including Florida's top playmaker WR Antonio Callaway.  The official stance is they made some extremely disappointing decisions.   The rumor mill is saying it was some type of credit card scam.


The only other player of the 7 that might have seen the field in Dallas is DE Keivonnis Davis who is primarily a back up.




Jimmy had a camp presser on Friday and said a few interesting things.

• QB seems like a two horse race between Wilton and John O'Korn.

• My favorite line from the presser:  Jimmy is talking about emerging freshman that could make a difference this year like Chris Evans did last year:  “And James Ross is really playing well.”
  Josh Ross?
  “Josh Ross. I call him James half the time to his face.” :-)

The New Michigan Nike's Week 0's released today!   Get them Here!   Free Ship if you get them today!  (It also helps support the BHB!)

• Michigan is still in the top 3 for 2018 WR Jahan Dotson.

• Grant Perry has been reinstated to "full participation" to the football team.  He was suspended for the last two games last year and from team activities for most of the off season.  

• Taco got his first pre-season sack against the Rams this weekend.

• Jake Rudock completed 13-of-21 passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns yesterday against Indy.

Michigan Friday: Time To Spend Some Mone

maizenbrew.com

Michigan had one of the best defensive lines in the country last season.   Taco, Glasgow, and Worm are in the NFL now and it's time for Mo Hurst and Rashan Gary to set up.     Michigan also has a fast DE in Chase Winovich that will get plenty of sacks and TFL's.  


A guy that could really stand out this year is Bryan Mone.  We have been waiting for Bryan to become an all Big Ten/All American type of player.   When Jimmy took over the job he called out Bryan as being one of the best players on the team.   Injuries have really killed Bryan's last two years and the Michigan faithful is waiting to see that player.  


Sam Webb has a free practice report up and J.T. Rogan, Michigan Director of Communications and Operations for Football had some interesting things to say about Mone:  "I've just seen a lot of really great things out of Bryan Mone. I've seen power, I've seen quickness, and I've seen speed. I think I have seen what Michigan fans had hoped to see for a couple of years now. There's a lot of optimism about him on the defense."


There are going to be a lot of good Dlines this year.  Ohio State will have one, FSU another, Florida, and Alabama will have dominating defensive lines.   You can add Michigan to that list and if Mone becomes the player we think he is, they could be right at the top.

• Michigan is in the Top 5 for 2018 TX 4 Star TE Mustapha Muhammad.   Most expect the Wolverines to lead for the talented TE.

• Wisconsin LB Jack Cichy is out for the season after tearing his ACL in practice.   He might have been the #1 LB in the Big Ten.

• There are reports that Nike will release the Michigan Jordan 13's later this month.   Below is a PE (player edition) that was released to players earlier this year.   These will be expensive and in high demand.

Michigan Thursday: The New Nike Michigan Trainer

These were actually released last week to the media and I missed it.   This is Nike's latest Michigan Trainer, each Nike school will have this shoes with their specific team colors. 



Nike Free Trainer V7 Week Zero.  They will be released for sale on Monday.   Price is $110.

• Logan Tuley-Tillman will play is final college season in El Paso at UTEP.

• Jimmy was rated as the Most Over Rated Head Coach in college football by a coaches survey from CBS Sports.  #Jealous

• Pep had some good things to say about Michigan's new true freshman QB Dylan McCaffrey:  "Oh wow -- he's a smart kid, smart kid," Hamilton said on Wednesday. "His football IQ is off the chart, which is what you would really expect from a kid that grew up in a football family. And he's been very impressive up until this point."