Michigan Friday: #21 Makes it to the Hall

#21 in your program and one of Michigan's most dynamic play makers ever, Desmond Howard was voted into the College Hall of Fame yesterday.  As we all know, Desmond won the Heisman Trophy in 1991 when he was basically a human highlight reel.

As I think back on that season, it seems like he did something special pretty much every week.  Clearly, the highlights were his diving catch against ND and his famous Heisman pose after returning a punt against Ohio State.  Where we heard Keith Jackson's famous call, "Good Bye and Hello Heisman!".

I know Michigan runs a ton of WR screens these days, but there was nobody better at running those then Desmond Howard.  I remember a game against Indiana or something, watching him run those and thinking, "that play just isn't fair, they can't stop it!".

I know there is a debate on whether numbers should be retired or not.  (Some folks are in the camp that: Yes we should do it - Others say it's huge for recruiting if a guy has a chance to wear #1, #2, #7, or #21).  Either way, Michigan needs to do something to recognize our great players of the past.   Wall of Fame, Ring of Honor, something.

After Michigan, Desmond went on to have a 10 year NFL career with 6 different teams.   He was drafted #4 overall to the Washington Redskins and finished his career with the Detroit Lions.   The highlight of his professional career was of course his MVP in the Super Bowl during the 1996 season when he took a second half kick off 99 yards for a touchdown.

Desmond after football has also found success as a college football analysts on ESPN's College Game Day and even assisted the Bill Martin and the University of Michigan in finding a new football coach after Lloyd Carr retired.

Desmond is a class act and this is a well deserved honor.   Not bad for a kid from Cleveland, that took a chance on heading North for his education and wearing the Maize and Blue.   Go Blue!

Michigan Thursday: 2011 Recruiting Class Size

In 2010 Michigan signed 27th players to scholarship LOI.  Michigan hopes all 27 make it to campus this Summer or Fall.  The rumor mill says 2 players are borderline, so we will see. 

In the class of 2011 Michigan is expecting to sign a much smaller class.  The numbers are expected to be in the neighborhood of 15-17 kids.  Michigan has 4 verbal commitments so far for the 2011 class: 2 DB's, 1 DE, and 1 WR.  We know the focus on a majority of the spots will be to increase the depth numbers on defense. 

Here is what I expect the remaining, let's say 12 final spots could look like:

• 1 QB - Many might question this strategy.  Why take another QB when you have 2 Freshman (both may redshirt) and 2 Sophomores on the roster?  QB is one spot that you probably need to take every year.  Michigan probably doesn't need a 5 star guy but a solid 4 star QB would be a welcomed addition to this class.
• 1 TE - RR never really used TE's at WVU but has really found a nice place in his offense for them.  This isn't a huge need, but Michigan is looking to get a talented TE in this class.
• 3 OL - Michigan took 1 offensive lineman in the 2010 class with a pretty strong offensive line class in 2009.  Michigan has 3 redshirt seniors on offensive line in 2010.  Michigan looks to have built some nice depth on the line in 2010 but needs to continue that process moving forward.  
• 3 WR:  RR likes his WR's and even though he took 4 in 2010 he continues to recruit that position hard in 2011.  He has one verbal and a number of offers out.  Some of the leaders to fill those remaining spots are : AJ Jordan, DeAnthony Arnett and Sammy Watkins. 
• 3 CB's:  Michigan has two in the fold already with 4 coming in (1 remains borderline academically) this summer.  CB's currenly has serious depth issues with the loss of Warren to the NFL.  So expect a young guy to play often this year (most likely Christian and/or Dorsey)  
• 1 Safety:  This is one of those positions where you can take CB's that don't have the speed or have added weight with Barwis into a safety spot.  Getting 1 true safetywould be good in this class.
• 1 DE: Michigan has 4 DE's that are either true or redshirt freshman, so this spot maybe full for 2011.  I could see Michigan maybe taking one more.  (this is another spot where you can take a LB and ask them to pay with their hand down)
• 2 LB's:  This position continues to need depth and IMO Michigan needs a true middle linebacker.  
• 2 DT's : Michigan needs big run stoppers on the defensive line.   They lose 2 seniors and Mike Martin is a Junior.  They have 2 coming in as freshman.
• 1 RB:  Demetrius Hart this spot is yours! There are 3 guys on the roster that are true or redshirt freshman and 2 sophomores.  

 
Hey BHB, I'm not a math whiz but you said there was 12 -13 spots left and your numbers add up to 18! What gives?

So now you can see the problems with this class.  Michigan might have a few more spots open up due to guys not making it in from the 2010 class, guys not getting a 5th year, or transfers, etc.   Michigan I'm sure would like to take two RB's in this class, they might also only be able to take 2 WR's (next one in might lock down the class for that spot).   They need big guys on both lines and linebacker continues to be a weakness until some guys step up at that position.   

Another big question mark remains the depth at DB.  If your looking to cut some numbers DB's and OL are your two spots.  OL is the bigger need.  They could also take walk-on TE if they don't get one of their targeted guys. 

What's interesting is Michigan has a small class with only 4 spots filled.  OSU has a bigger ceiling this year and has 11 spots already filled.    If players want to be Blue, they better consider committing early because if they wait they might lose their spot.

Wolverine Wednesday: Time to Get Back to Football

Remember when I mentioned if you had a day to read the Michigan information dump yesterday on the investigation?  Well, Brian from mgoblog the gold standard in Michigan Blogs did.   His findings were amazing. 

To summarize them:

• Michigan's tracking process as been broken for a long time.  Even before Rodriguez got hired.
• There was clearly two athletic department personnel responsible for the bottleneck.   They both were clearly asleep at the wheel.
• The Michigan compliance department was actually doing it's job, they just were using a feather instead of a hammer when requesting lost forms.
• Rich Rodriguez was not briefed on the process or lack of documents until very late in the process.
• The two staffers that were the bottle neck and clearly asleep at the wheel, when asked why they didn't alert RR about the forms? Were basically afraid to because they thought RR would think negatively about them. 

Guess what!  Now the whole world thinks negatively about you!  I would imagine these two staffers will not  be long for the road under David Brandon.  Good luck delivering pizza's boys!

Take aways:

1. Problems were there before RR even started.
2. Clearly two guys not doing their job
3. The Michigan compliance office had predicted a problem before it surfaced and the only thing they did wrong was not push the "panic" button or escalate earlier.
4.  This investigation and penalty should not fall on Rich Rodriguez shoulders alone it was clearly a huge break in the process.   With that said, everything falls on the leader and RR is the leader of the Football Program.
-------------------------

• Game Times for UConn and Umass have been announced.  UConn is at 3:30 on ABC and UMass is BTN at 12:00. 

• Want to read a good article on how much the Freep report missed the mark?  Read this one.  BTW: add the guys that didn't research that story to the pizza delivery line.  

Michigan Tuesday: It Cuts Like a Knife but Feels Alright

Since we started with the music theme yesterday, I thought I would continue it today with an old Brian Adams song. 

Drivin' home this evening
I coulda sworn we had it all worked out
You had this boy believin'
Way beyond the shadow of a doubt
Well I heard it on the street

I heard you mighta found somebody new - yeah
Well who is he baby - who is he
And tell me what he means to you - oh yeah


I took it all for granted
But how was I to know
That you'd be letting go


Now it cuts like a knife
But it feels so right
Yeah! It cuts like a knife
Oh, but it feels so right


There's times I've been mistaken
There's times I thought I'd been misunderstood - ooh yeah
So wait a minute darlin'
Can't you see we did the best we could -ooh we could


This wouldn't be the first time
Things have gone astray
Now you've thrown it all away

Today we learned what penalties Michigan will self impose regarding the allegations made by the NCAA and the Free Press.  I wish I had a full day to read the response, if you do please enjoy! 

Here is the recap of the penalties:

• Michigan has cut back their Quality Control Staffers by 2.  They will also limit their roles in 2010.  They will not be able to be in coaches meeting, attend practices, or games. 
• Michigan will cut 130 hours out of practice and training times over the next two years.  BHB: exactly what an 8-16 team needs, less work.  Thanks Free Press.
• Michigan also has new processes in place to make sure this never happens again.
• 2 years probation
• Alex Heron was fired.  QC guy that lied about his involvement.

Michigan has researched this to the fullest extent and even hired a third party NCAA investigation firm with former NCAA investigators.  Michigan believes this penalty fits the crime. 

Many including the Michigan Brass believe the NCAA will accept these penalties and move on during their meeting on August 13th.   If I wanted to play Devil's advocate: the two things that still stick out a bit is RR's past history (is this a first time or a repeat offender?) and does Michigan fall under the repeat offender policy because of the NCAA probation Michigan Basketball program was under back in 2003.  Michigan was just weeks away from being off probation when the allegations came to light.

Michigan also sent a firm message to Rich Rodriguez: 

"The university agrees that it failed as a whole to adequately monitor its football program to assure compliance regarding the limitations upon the number, duties and activities of countable football coaches and the time limits" for practice," it said. "The university also agrees that Rodriguez failed to satisfy the monitoring responsibilities required of head coaches."

Michigan also sent a firm message to the Free Press:

"The University is satisfied that the initial media reports are greatly exaggerated if not flatly incorrect."

RR pleads the fifth on Michigan's former compliance process:

Rodriguez's response was submitted by his attorney, Scott Tompsett. He said the coach was "very disappointed that his administrators failed to provide the job descriptions on multiple occasions and he is disappointed that the compliance staff never brought their failure to his attention. Rodriguez has always had an open-door policy for anyone to bring matters to his attention."

Why not more severe penalties like loss of scholarships or a loss of coaches? 

"That's usually a result of something deemed to be an offense that created a competitive advantage," Brandon said. "Those kind of sanctions are also typically related to academic fraud, gambling, recruiting violations and extra benefits."

To net this thing out:

• The Freep was only a little right in their story.  They were a lot wrong.  You be the judge if you want to read that publication ever again. 
• Michigan has done it's research to the best of it's ability and believes the NCAA will accept their penalties. 
• Michigan also believes these are minor incidents that combined could been seen as major but there wasn't any intent to gain an competitive advantage or any academic cheating.   It was a miss communication between the compliance office and the coaching staff.
• This doesn't bring this case to a 100% close, but I would say it's 90% done with most experts believing the NCAA will accept these penalties in August.

"We're not happy to be in this process, but we're handling it in a professional and transparent manner before we move on," Brandon said. "The NCAA will hear our case in August, then will deliberate as long as is needed -- and that could be weeks -- before making a decision that we can agree with or choose to appeal."


Let's hope the experts are right and this is the end of the story.

Michigan Monday: Till Tuesday

Voices or Penalties Carry?

I'm in the dark, I'd like to read his mind
but I'm frightened of the things I might find
Oh, there must be something he's thinking of
to tear him away when I tell him that I'm falling in love 
he is 8 - 16, why does he say


Hush hush
keep it down now
voices carry


I try so hard not to get upset
because I know all the trouble I'll get
oh, he tells me tears are something to hide
and something to fear
and I try so hard to keep it inside
so no one can hear

Welcome to Infractions eve or the day before we know how naughty or nice Rich Rod and staff have been over the past two years. 

Tomorrow Michigan will announce their response and self imposed penalties to the NCAA.   Today, Michigan will officially send the documents and tomorrow they will make it public. 

What should we expect?

• Double the time penalty.  If Michigan was over the practice limit by 15 minutes a day.  The penalty could be a 30 minute practice deduction per day.
• New and improved practice logs - which we already know have been deployed.
• Limited use of Quality Control Staff
• There are two wild cards here:  1) the coach that lied to the NCAA and 2) Michigan being on probation for the Ed Martin stuff.  Michigan has already fired the coach that lied and might also suspend one coaching role for up to a year.  The years of probation is a tricky one.  If Michigan wasn't currently on probation I would guess maybe one or two years.  With Michigan on probation (when the overages happened) I'm guessing maybe 2-3 years total.   
• We won't know until August if the NCAA found that RR had a 'history" of practice overages.  So I don't believe Michigan will address that in the response. 

It will be interesting to see what Rich's response will be in this matter as well.  Either way, after Tuesday Michigan will be one step closer to putting this behind them.  In most cases the NCAA will take the penalties that the University has levied on themselves and not add additional punishment.   (RR's history is a big wild card on additional penalties).

Michigan Friday: Hot Like BBQ!

Today is a big day for the Wolverines in their Spring period for recruiting.  Today is the BBQ at the Big House and there are a number of recruits that are coming in to Ann Arbor to hang out with the coaches and get to see what the Michigan Wolverine program looks like.

Here are the confirmed attendees:

• Instate OL Anthony Zettel
• Ohio DE Chris Rock
• PA LB Brandin Jackson
• DT from Maryland Darian Cooper
• DE from Virgina Corey Marshall
• OL from Ohio Ray Ball
• Michigan DB Deon Lee
• All Michigan's current verbals (Beyer, Brown, Conway, and Hollowell)
• There could be some members of 2012 recruiting class as well.

Big Maybes from :

• Ohio LB Trey DePreist
• Ohio WR AJ Jordan

If you your thinking, who might commit during the BBQ this weekend?  I would put the highest odds on Zettel, Rock and Jordan.  I personally believe these guys are the closest to committing but they may also wait a few weeks or months as well.

Here is to a great Ann Arbor weekend and some strong recruiting efforts for the 2011 class!

Michigan Thursday: Guess Who is Not Coming to the BBQ?

If your an athlete and it's late May of your junior year, you might have a few things planned.   You could be playing baseball, running track, or even going to your junior or senior prom.  Well, it seems some of Michigan's invited prospects will not make it up for the BBQ on Friday.   That list includes:

 

• D. Hart scheduling and travel issues
• Kris Frost - travel costs but will be up for the 1 day camp in June.
• Valdez Showers
• Aundrey Walker
• Doran Grant
• Justice Hayes

Either way Michigan will have a nice showing on Friday for the BBQ.  I will have an updated list tomorrow morning!

• Brian at Mgoblog does a nice write up on 2010 signee LB Jake Ryan.  

Wolverine Wednesday: Lloyd Carr and QC Staff & SDSU Cashes a Big Check!

Here is a question for you to ponder:  Did Quality Control staff ever give coaching advice under Lloyd Carr's tenure as Michigan head coach?  Some Michigan fans have pointed the finger at Rich Rodriguez as being the only one that would do such a thing.   Well, here is an article from Daily Illini that has an interesting quote regarding the chances of Juice Williams making a roster spot on the Bears:

Before entering the NFL as a coach for the San Francisco 49ers and the Bears, Day coached in the Big Ten in 2006 when Williams was a freshman. Day was the quality control coach for the University of Michigan and also spent time working with the quarterbacks there.

The bold is mine.  Of course it's not a fact but interesting none the less.  We also know that is was common under the Carr staff for players to run the Big House stairs every morning during the summer if they got into some type of trouble.  So let's not put a 100% of the blame on RR and staff for all the NCAA violations.

The Big House is always been an attractive revenue for visiting teams because they know they can get a nice pay day and are pretty much guaranteed TV coverage with great exposure.  If they win look out!  App. State is still living off the hype from their win 3 years ago.  Well, Michigan announced that San Diego State was rounding out their 2011 home schedule and it seems Michigan is paying them big dollars to travel across country.   The Aztecs' will receive over 1 Million dollars to make the trip to Ann Arbor in the Fall of 2011.   This will for sure help San Diego State's athletic department budget and maybe even them pay former Wolverine and current Aztecs' head coach Brady Hoke's salary. 

• John Beilein is looking to Europe for some of their player needs in the 2011 class.  They had a 6'7 forward named Jonathan Gilling (sp?) in from Europe last week visiting Ann Arbor.  Speaking of Europe it seems John Beilein is trying to schedule a European tour for the Wolverines this summer.   "We’re working through some of the possibilities there right now," Beilein said from the Big Ten spring meetings. "We can get games, it’s where we can get them because the Italian leagues are just finishing, the German leagues are just finishing, the Belgian leagues are just finishing. It’s hard to get a coach to make a commitment for Aug. 23, so we’re working. That’s what we would like to do." 

• Former Detroit Lion Daunte Culpepper signs with the UFL and coach Dennis Green.

• Add one more hot dog on the BBQ this weekend.  It seems Brandon Jackson a LB from PA will be heading to the BBQ at the Big House.

Michigan Tuesday: BBQ at the Big House

Love or Hate Rich Rod, but the one thing you can't argue with is his creativity when it comes to recruiting.  He has been successful recruiting teammates and has brought a number of new events to get recruits on campus in Ann Arbor.   The number one way to get instate or out of state recruits to love Michigan is by getting them on campus and spending more time with the coaches.  There are two ways to do that.  One would be an official visit that Michigan pays for the travel costs.  Recruits can take up to 4 official or paid for visits.   The second way is un-official visits and players can take as many of these they feel comfortable.  They just have to pay their own way.  

One of those potential visits is the BBQ at the Big House which will happen this weekend.  The event is hosted by Rich Rodriguez and staff and allows recruits to come to the campus with their families and spend some informal time with the coaching staff, see the university, dig into the academics, and take a tour of the football facilities. 

How can Michigan provide food and drink to a recruit and their family if this is un-official visit?  Good question!  Michigan charges the recruit and their family members to attend the BBQ.  It's a nominal fee, like a few bucks per person. 

Michigan has had success in the past few years getting commitments during the BBQ:  Jordan Paskorz and Ken Wilkins in 2009  (Ken officially commitment a couple weeks after his BBQ visit) and Bryce McNeal in 2008 (Bryce ended up signing with Clemson).

So who is coming this year?

• The big name is Demetrius Hart who was planning to attend but is having trouble with travel plans.  He is still tentative at this point and it seems now like he won't make it.

•  Michigan's current commits will be there: Delonte Hollowell, Shawn Conway, Greg Brown, and Brennen Beyer. 

•  Other recruits planning to attend (warning freep print link)  include:  offensive tackle Ray Ball, Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha, defensive tackle Darian Cooper, DeFuniak Springs, Fla., defensive end Deon Lee, Dinwiddie, Va., defensive end Corey Marshall, Damascus, Md., cornerback Brandon Phelps, Madison Heights Madison's Valdez Showers and West Branch Ogemaw Heights lineman Anthony Zettel.  Others planning to make it to Ann Arbor include: Ohio DE Chris Rock, WR AJ Jordan, and Corey Marshall.

• Recruits on the bubble to make it include: Saginaw wide receiver DeAnthony Arnett, Virginia Beach (Va.) Kempsville linebacker Travis Hughes and Cleveland (Ohio) Glenville quarterback Cardale Jones.

Other Michigan News:

• It seems Michigan might schedule Brady Hoke and San Diego State in 2011 for a visit to the Big House. 
• This isn't news since we learned it last week but Michigan is expected to have their response to the NCAA and self sanctions ready to announce by the end of the week.
• Michigan has offered West Allegheny’s Mike Caputo.
• Michigan has offered defensive back 5-11, 170 pound Demetrius Nicholson.
• Michigan has also offered  6'1 215 pound linebacker Travis Hughes.

Michigan Monday: Spring Injuries and More..........

Rich Rodriguez and other Big Ten Coaches will be in Chicago on Monday for the Big Ten's Spring Meeting.  He is interested is learning what the Big Ten is thinking regarding expansion:  “That would probably be the hottest topic for us coaches,” Rodriguez said Sunday at the Champions for Children’s Hearts golf outing. “I don’t think we’re going to have a lot of say in that. I think it’s probably just going to get us informed, see where we’re at.”

“I think it’s interesting,” Rodriguez said. “I think it’s all pretty exciting because from a league standpoint we’re dealing from a position of strength. We’re in a great situation right now, and it looks like it’ll be even better.”

RR also gave us a couple updates injuries:  Will Heininger had surgery at the end of spring practice and is ahead of his rehab, Rodriguez said.“We’re hoping to have him back by midseason,” Rodriguez said.  Regarding David Molk:  “I don’t know where he’s at running wise or anything like that, but I saw him the other day, he walked by the office, and he looks great,” Rodriguez said. “I think he was anxious to do more in the spring but obviously for precautionary reasons we held him out but I think he’ll be 100 percent certainly for August stuff.”

• The Michigan - Iowa game time is set for a 3:30 kick on ABC.
• The Michigan - PSU game will be a night game (8:00) at Happy Valley.
• Former Wolverine golfer Justin Hicks won The Nationwide Tour BMW Charity Pro-AM this weekend.  
• Westerville, OH Offensive Lineman Ray Ball has a new Michigan offer.
• TomVH reports that Arizona QB Brett Hundley also has a new Michigan offer.

Michigan Friday: Thinks about the "Good Old Days"

I'm not ready to write Rich Rod and staff off yet.  They need at least 3-4 years to completely fail at Michigan.  With that said, I do miss some things from the old time Michigan Wolverine Football program.   So I thought I would to a quick comparison of Then and Now and how things are really different. 

Then: The local newspaper would do a "ground breaking" story un-covering that Michigan football players seem to take easier classes then regular Michigan students.   The response from Michigan fans was laughter and the paper turned into an online edition and the author was sent to law school in Toledo. 

Now:  A local paper does a "ground breaking" story that should have months of research in a couple of weeks on illegal stretching.  Response is an NCAA investigation and possible penalties.  The newspaper in question currently is losing money like an broken ATM and the author of the story has moved to SI.com.


Then: Freshman weren't allowed to play or speak and mostly to the media.
Now: Freshman make up a large percentage of Michigan's starting lineup.  They also were quoted in the "stretch-gate piece" because they said they were working hard during the off season.

Then: Lloyd Carr's response to an injury was "he seems ok to me?"
Now: Weekly injury reports.

Then: Media access to the Michigan program was pretty much limited to press conferences.  When something went down, Lloyd pretty much didn't answer and made the kid run the stairs at the Big House. 
Now:  The media has a lot more access and there happens to be some type of controversy per week. 

Then: Under preforming meant 8-4.
Now: Under preforming means no bowl game.

Then: You might have to catch the Michigan - Eastern Michigan game on the radio if you didn't have a ticket.
Now: We have the Big Ten Network.

Then: The Big Ten had 10 teams
Now: The Big Ten might have 16 teams?

Then: The Big House had what two bath rooms and we liked it!
Now: There are new buildings just for that purpose.

Then: The Big House Press Box was cold and had a couple of tube TV's
Now: Not sure, but hope it's heated and has some nice HD TV's

Then:  A luxury seat was a small bench seat near the 50 yard line.
Now:  Brand new luxury suites with catering and entertaining.  The seats look comfortable and it looks like you don't have to seat sideways during a big game. :)

Then: When our coach got in trouble in the off season, he got drunk in Southfield. 
Now: It's bad real estate deals.

Then: Our coach used "foul" language in practice.
Now: Our coach uses "foul" language in practice and the media is there to prove it.

Then: Michigan had QB's as big a tight ends
Now: QB's are mobile athletes

Then: Michigan had maybe one Junior Day for recruiting.
Now: Michigan now has BBQ's, Night of Champions, and many other Junior Days.

Then: Michigan players arrived at the stadium a few hours before the game.
Now: We now have the Victors Walk.

Then: A pretty boring Spring Game scrimmage.
Now: Now a Spring Game Event with Alumni Flag Football, Locker Room Tours, with a boring scrimmage.

Then: Never a Night Game at home
2011:  A Night Game against ND at the Big House

Then: You could buy your Michigan gear at the game from the MDen.
Now:  It's some company that is partly owned by Jerry Jones.

Then: An upgrade to the Big House was that ugly yellow siding. 
Now: It costs $226 Million.

Then: Michigan had a indoor practice facility that you couldn't practice special teams in.
Now: Michigan has a new practice facility that is similar in size to the Silver Dome.  (just kidding - but it's big).

Then: Michigan's strength and conditioning program was invented somewhere in the 1970's.
Now: Michigan's program is state of the art with Mike Barwis.


Those were just the top of my head and I'm sure you have many more.  As you can see, believe it or not Rich Rod and staff has brought some positives things to the program.   It's really not all negative.

• An Mgoblog reader heard U of M President Mary Sue Coleman speak in Boston this week.  Highlights:  Self imposed sanctions are due by the end of the month.  The reason the overages happened was due to confusion between the compliance office (internally at U of M) and the coaching staff.  She believes most Universities will be dropping compliance people on the football staff due to the confusion with giving coaching advice. 

Michigan Thursday: Thinks about the word Formal

I keep reading these reports on the Big Ten and the universities they didn't offer spots to.  The replies from the Universities and the Big Ten seem similar:

Universities: We haven't received a formal offer to join the Big Ten.

Big Ten: No formal offers have been sent out. 

The use of the word formal, intrigues me.  It's clear that the Big Ten doesn't want to be turned down "Bachelor" Style like they were the last time they asked Notre Dame to join the Big Ten.  It seems to me that the Big Ten is following the same process as Athletic Directors do when they are trying to hire a big name coach.   If your not familiar with the process, here it is.  When a big time program like a ND wants to hire a big time coach, they don't want the interview process and a possible "no thanks" to be all over the media.  So they work through 3rd parties to "gauge interest in the position".  If the interest comes back to be "no thanks" ND doesn't lose face by offering a candidate that turned down the position.  

It seems to me the Big Ten is doing the exact same thing with the Universities on the list like Missouri, ND, Rutgers, Nebraska, Pitt, and so on.  Why else would Missouri be meeting internally on the possibility of moving to the Big 10 if they didn't have a reason to?  So yes, the Big Ten might take 12-18 months to reach a final decision but when that time comes they will know for sure who is in the Big Ten Boat and who isn't.

• Sam Webb from Scouts and Detroit News does his regular Thursday article on Kris Frost from North Carolina.  I'm guessing playing in the Big Ten and colder weather doesn't bother this young man. :)  Kris plays WR and Linebacker.  Last year was his first year on defense and he dominated.

• Former Wolverine Jon Runyan who is now running for Congress in New Jersey learns that there is no privacy when your running for office.  Jon reveals that he got a DUI while in college, paid some taxes late, and had a copyright issue with a book on his NFL Career.

• Sam McGuffie is getting some early pre-season run in this article.  I love how everyone talks about his You Tube highlights, high school career stats, ND game, but fails to mention his 3 concussions.   Stay safe Sam. 

Michigan Wednesday: Short Recruiting Blitz

The Michigan coaching staff has to worry about two things when it comes to recruiting this summer. 

1) Will the signed 2010 class that is not already enrolled make it past the Michigan admission office and the NCAA Clearinghouse.  The rumor mill is saying there are at least 2 kids in the class that it will come down to their final grades.

2) Which recruits will fill out the small (under 20) 2011 class?

As far as #1 goes, the Michigan staff got good news recently when 4 Star safety recruit from Florida Marvin Robinson said he will be on campus on June 1st.  I'm sure the coaches continue to hold their breathe on 5 star CB Demar Doresey. 

For #2 the next big event for 2011 recruits and prospects is the May 21st BBQ at the Big House.   For some of those recruits hoping to earn a Wolverine offer they will have to camp at Michigan this summer. 

Here are some updates from the Recruiting Trail:

• The reports that Anthony Zettel maybe leaning towards MSU are un-true.  Anthony still has Michigan leading in his recruitment with ND, MSU, and PSU.  He is one of those guys that could commit at the BBQ or wait until the season starts. 

• The word is that North Carolina athlete Kris Frost tore up a Nike Camp at Virgina Tech this past weekend and is planning a Michigan visit this summer.  

• Michigan has offered Florida Offensive Tackle Zach DeBell.

• The Michigan basketball team will get to re-live it's NCAA Tournament game from a year ago when they go on the road to play Clemson in the Big Ten - ACC Challenge next year.

• TomVH from Mgoblog says that Florida Linebacker Kent Turene will get a visit from Tony Dews this week.  Kent plays at the same high school as Demar Dorsey. 

Michigan Baskeball Signs a New Player for 2010 - 2011

The new Michigan signed commitment is from Colton Christian from Bellevue, Washington who played last year at Hargrave Academy where John Beilein found Joe Alexander when he was at West Virgina.   CC averaged a double/double at Hargrave last year, 14 points and 14 boards a game.

Colton is a 6'7 205 pound power forward who originally signed with Tulane last Fall.  Here is a write up from a Bellevue paper.  I'm guessing he liked his former nickname.

Colton Christian, a 6 foot-7 former Bellevue Wolverines basketball player, has signed with Tulane University as part of its class of 2010-2011.


Christian, who averaged 16.2 points and 10.4 rebounds last season, helped Bellevue to a 26-3 record and a third place finish in Class 3A.

"Colton just adds to what we are trying to develop, which is a very athletic team that can play different styles," said Tulane head coach Dave Dickerson. "He is a great rebounder and his scoring will come with his activity and with his rebounding ability."

Here is ESPN's free evaluation:  November, 2009: Tulane may have landed a sleeper as Christian plays a very efficient, and college ready, brand of basketball. He isn't going to dominate the game with his scoring but has some inside-out skills and impacts the game in a variety of ways.

This would seem to be the end the Michigan recruitment of  Isaiah Sykes .

Michigan Tuesday: Carr Clears the Air and Big Ten Rumors at 31 Flavors

Detroit News Michigan insider Angelique Chengelis spoke to Coach Carr yesterday on the Morgan Trent situation.  Here is his response:

"That paragraph is completely a distortion of my conversation with Morgan," Carr said. "That is a complete distortion, and it is not accurate. I have never spoken with the author. I have never met him. I have never had a conversation with him to the best of my knowledge."

Morgan Trent then responds:

"Lloyd didn't bring any of this to my attention," Trent said. "When we spoke, I brought it up to him, and he said he had heard some of the same things."

"I heard it from enough different sources as far as coaches and scouts, obviously it wasn't make believe," Trent said. "I'm not losing sleep over it. It's something that happened a year ago, and I've got other things I need to worry about."At that time, it was motivation for me to prove that wrong and to show these scouts and the Bengals that I could play, that that wasn't my character. It's dead and gone now. It's water under the bridge."

Morgan Trent is clearly not a Rich Rod fan.

Now on to the Big Ten's latest rumors. 

This process has been nothing short of hilarious.  How many reports have we had that this institution had been offered by the Big Ten to find out they aren't accurate?  I think Ferris Bueller will have a report next week on who the Big Ten has offered.  An ESPN radio station out of Kansas City reported yesterday that Missouri, Rutgers, Nebraska, and ND were all invited to join the Big Ten.  Andy Katz quickly jumped on the phone and said his sources close to the situation at a couple Universities on the list denied being offered by the Big Ten.   I think we should only accept reports from the Wall Street Journal on this topic moving forward.  Not a radio station from Kansas City.  With that said, If I was in charge of the Big Ten those would be 4 schools near the top of my list.

Some Recruiting News:

• Trey DePreist still may make it up to the BBQ at the Big House.  It depends if he has a conflict with his baseball schedule.

• Louisiana friends who have Michigan offers might visit Ann Arbor together this summer.  The friends are Mickey Johnson and Trai Turner. 

• Michigan is also recruiting two linebackers from Cincinnati: Antonio Poole and Sean Duggan.

• TomVH from Mgoblog gives us a nice recruiting update.  The biggest news is D. Hart is still not confirmed to attend the BBQ.  It seems it might just be a scheduling issue.  Many of us expect him to announce his commitment at the BBQ.

• The rumor mill is saying that the Michigan Basketball program might be getting a new basketball commitment this week.  

Michigan Monday: Trent Said - RR Said - Carr Said

It wouldn't be a Monday if the Michigan coaches didn't have to respond to some type of controversy.  The latest comes from a book by Rivals.com writer Bobby Deren that states Morgan Trent slipped in the NFL draft because Rich Rodriguez had bad mouthed him to NFL Scouts.

Here is the excerpt from a Detroit newspaper (warning! for those that are Freep-less): 

In the book, “Draft Season: Four Months on the Clock” Deren follows Trent and three other draft prospects. The most controversial part came at the end of the book.

“Shortly after the draft, Morgan made good on his promise to pay his former head coach (Lloyd Carr) a visit. Morgan was always happy to see Coach Carr and gave him a warm greeting. However, it didn’t take long for Coach Carr to get to the main reason why he wanted to see Morgan. It was there that Coach Carr told Morgan why he wasn’t drafted until the sixth round.

“Apparently, current Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez had cost Morgan quite a bit of money. Rodriguez had bad-mouthed Morgan to every NFL scout he could. Rodriguez claimed that Morgan was lazy, he had an attitude problem and he was a big reason why the Wolverines finished with a 3-9 record, the worst in school history. In essence, an entire draft season and an entire college career of hard work were decimated by a few petty words. Those words may have meant the difference between a $1.86 million deal and a $2.86 million deal. It may have meant the difference between the sixth round and the third round.”

Of course Rich Rod gave a strong denial:

“The comments attributed to me are inaccurate and absolutely ridiculous,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “I said just the opposite about Morgan Trent to NFL scouts and wish him well with the Bengals.”

The book doesn't give a source to where RR's negative comments came from and the Bengals said they didn't talk to Rodriguez. 

Here is my take:

• Morgan Trent's junior and senior year was his strongest at cornerback for Michigan.  Which in my opinion weren't very strong at all.  He was pretty much known as a fast corner not a cover guy.
• I never heard Morgan was rated to be a 3rd round prospect.  I always heard his grade was a late round to not drafted at all. 
• I don't see any reason for RR to bad mouth Trent to NFL scouts.  If his players get drafted it helps with recruiting. 
• I know Lloyd is respected in the football communities, but he had Trent for 3 years vs 1 with RR. Wouldn't the scouts take his opinion over RR's?  Are Scouts really calling Lloyd to gossip on his former players?  Hey, guess what Rodriguez said about Morgan? Since the author didn't give a source maybe he confused ARod with RRod?
• I'm happy Trent has found a home in Cincinnati and that he got a lot of time during his rookie year, but this seems silly and pretty far fetched.

Michigan Friday: Breaks Ground on Basketball

Michigan will take a new step in upgrading the Michigan Men's and Women's basketball program with the ground breaking of the new Player Development Center.  The ground breaking will take place on Monday at 1:00.  David Brandon, John Beilein, and Kevin Borseth will all be in attendance.

• There are some rumors that West Branch Offensive Lineman Anthony Zettel is starting to lean towards MSU over Michigan and that a decision could be coming in Late May or June. 

• Another Ohio Glenville player is considering Michigan. He is Audrey Walker a 6'6 355 pound offensive lineman.  Of course Glenville is an Ohio State feeder school but it seems Audrey is really going to give Michigan a serious look.

 

• Big Chill Tickets are now at 100,000

• Michigan Iowa football game time is set at 3:30.

• Did you know that in the Big East if you transfer to another Big East school you are not allowed to play the same sport?  For example, if you are playing football at Syracuse and want to transfer to Louisville.  You are free to do that you just can't play football.   That is pretty harsh and I'm sure Justin Boren is happy that's not a rule in the Big Ten.  In the Big Ten you just can't be on scholarship. 

Michigan's Fab 5 and The Media

I don't really get too much in the NBA until this time of year when the games get more intense.  As I was watching SportsCenter and TNT's coverage of the playoff, I started to think about how well the Fab 5 has done after basketball when it comes to getting jobs in the media.   We all know they were the center of media coverage during their Michigan recruitment, Final 4's, Time Outs and even the Ed Martin scandal.   But most of the 5 have gone on to solid basketball careers off the floor.  Let's take a quick re-cap of what all the Fab 5 members are doing these days.

First off, Juwan Howard is still in the NBA and playing for the Portland Trail Blazers.  He is averaging 6.0 points and just over 4 boards a game.   Juwan is now 37 years old and has had a 15 year NBA career, which is very impressive.  Congratulations Juwan, I hope you continue playing!

Chris Webber also had a 15 year NBA career and has also seen some success off the court as well.  He is a regular on TNT's studio coverage and also an analyst on NBA TV's Gametime live.  As you may also recall, CWeb has a Charity called the TimeOut Foundation and has an impressive collection of African artifacts that he started collecting in 1994 when he joined the NBA.

Jalen Rose had a 12 year career in the NBA and has become a regular NBA analyst on ESPN's Sportscenter.  I also learned during research for this post he also did a couple of stints as a sideline reporter for TNT as well.  Rose is also the owner of Three Tier Entertainment, an independent, LA based management and production company. Created in 2007, Three Tier Entertainment is heavily involved in the development of television and film projects and also manages talent including directors, actors and screenplay writers.  Many expect Jalen to get into coaching a some point and maybe even as an assistant coach for the Wolverines.  Talk about a guy that could recruit and mostly in Metro- Detroit!

Jimmy King was not as lucky as his Fab 5 teammates during his NBA career. Jimmy only played two NBA seasons with two teams the Toronto Raptors and the Denver Nuggets.  Jimmy bounced around other professional leagues for a few years as well.  He was the CBA MVP in 1998 and won a bronze medal representing the US in the 1998 FIBA World Championships.   Even though Jimmy didn't have a high profile NBA career he as also found away to make a few dollars in the media.  Jimmy did Michigan Basketball games on the radio for the 2008-2009 season and also did a few Michigan Basketball games on The Big Ten Network last year. 


Ray Jackson is the final member of the Fab 5 but he never made it to the NBA.  He was cut in 1995 by the New York Knicks and a year later cut by the Detroit Pistons.  Ray did play some professional basketball getting drafted in the 3rd round of the CBA draft by the Grand Rapids Hoops.   A highlight of Ray's professional career was that he was named the CBA Rookie of the Year during the 1995-1996 season.   During an interview with Yahoo Sports in 2007 Ray said: "It took me a long time to get over the fact that I was the only one that didn't make it to the NBA from the Fab Five, but I'm over it because I'm back home and I'm happy with what I'm doing with my life."  Ray lives in Austin, Texas and runs a moving company and youth non-profit organization called Rise Up.

Wolverine Wednesday: Remembers a Detroit Sports Legend

First off today, I want to mention the passing of Ernie Harwell.  Ernie was an Michigan sports Icon and the best play by play baseball announcer I have ever heard.    He might have also been the victim of  Bo Schembechler's worst decision as a coach or sports executive when he fired Ernie in 1991.    Bo was quote: "(Harwell's firing is) not going to change no matter how much clamor is made over it" was cold and wrong. I'm glad that decision got "fixed" a year later when Mike IIitch bought the Detroit Tigers and brought Ernie back.  RIP Ernie, "A man from heaven just caught that foul ball off the bat of  "sweet" Lou Whitaker" 

• Stuart Mandel of SI.com has his #2 thing he learned this spring was that Denard maybe has beaten Tate out as the #1 QB under center for the Wolverines. The competition between the two continued this spring, however, and Robinson showed off a considerably more balanced set of skills. He was the star of Michigan's spring game, throwing a 97-yard touchdown pass to Roy Roundtree. In an earlier scrimmage, he went 15-of-20 for 82 yards while running 12 times for 105 yards and two touchdowns.

• ESPN's Len Pasquarelli has a nice piece on the NFL's draft advisory board and Donovan Warren.

• Cam Gordon made the Sporting News All Spring Team.  Former Wolverine Toney Clemons also was mentioned as a new WR at Colorado.   Nice to be mentioned but not sure there should be a national All Spring Team. 

• Collegefootball News.com  has Michigan playing Oregon in the Holiday Bowl next season.  I'm pretty sure most Michigan fans would take that result. 

Michigan Tuesday: 2011 Wide Receiver Recruiting Updates

DeAnthony Arnett is/will be rated the top high school football prospect in the State of Michigan.  He is a 4 star (borderline 5 star) 6'0 170 pound WR from Saginaw that has a very impressive offer list.  Some of the schools on that list include; USC, ND, MSU, Michigan, Alabama, Oklahoma and more.   DeAnthony has been on a number of visits to Ann Arbor and many insiders expect DeAnthony to make his decision after the football season.  

Ohio State had a Nike Camp this past weekend and DeAnthony was there.  Here is what Bill Kurelic from ESPN had to say about Mr. Arnett:   

Wide receiver DeAnthony Arnett (Saginaw, Mich./Saginaw) may have arrived in Columbus with a chip on his shoulder. Arnett has approximately two dozen scholarship offers, including Michigan State, Michigan, USC, Oklahoma, Alabama and Notre Dame. However, the one school he has visited, but has yet to offer is Ohio State. Arnett walked into the Woody Hayes Athletic Center wearing Michigan garb. But the talk around the OSU indoor facility did not center on the Wolverines when it comes to Arnett's eventual destination. If Arnett ends up anywhere but Michigan State (his slight current leader), USC or Oklahoma, it will be a surprise.

Do you want to know how accurate Bill's recruiting information is?  He predicted that Earnest Thomas a 2010 Safety recruit out of Metro Detroit was a lock to join the Wolverines in last years class.  The problem was, Michigan did not offer Earnest and he committed to Illinois.   I guess you could say Mr. Kurelic doesn't have the strongest information when it comes to recruiting and mostly about kids from the State of Michigan.  ESPN should rename his section/blog to Buckeye Recruiting.

• Speaking of 5 star WR's: Sammy Watkins from Florida still has Michigan in his top 3:  Sammy said he and his coach will sit down next week and narrow his list of schools down to 10. As of now, the only schools he knows will make the cut are Florida, Miami and Michigan.

• Tom VH from Mgoblog catches up with Ohio WR AJ Jordan: I spoke with AJ Jordan (WR/Trotwood, OH) today, and he told me that he'd like to commit to a school before his senior season starts. When I asked him if Michigan will be that school, he said, "There's a good chance it might be them." .   AJ is planning a visit to Ann Arbor this month for the BBQ at the Big House.

• North Carolina athlete Kris Frost has Michigan in his top 5.

• As I mentioned yesterday, WR Darius Patton got a new Michigan offer.  What I failed to mention, is that Darius is a friend of 2010 recruit Cullen Christian. 

With Michigan taking 4 WR's in a 27 player 2010 class, you would think Michigan would only be looking to add 2-3 WR's in a small 2011 class (expected to be under 20 players).  With one WR already committed for 2011 (Shawn Conway), it would seem that space is limited in 2011 for WR's.   On the other hand, we all know RR likes talented wide receivers for the outside and slot position.  You can also move some of these guys to corne back or safety if the depth chart at WR gets too deep.

If your a 2011 WR recruit you have to like your potential future with Michigan talented QB's.

MDen now at The Big House Blog

Some of you Big House Blog regulars might have noticed some new advertising on the site today.  The MDen is now the official sponsor of the Big House Blog.   You can find your way to their online store by clicking either the Ad on the right tool bar or the banner at the top. 

Here are some of the reasons to purchase your Michigan gear through the MDen:

1. They are a local owned Ann Arbor based business.
2. They have supported the University of Michigan for many years.
3. They have provided jobs for many of high school and college students in Ann Arbor. 
4. They support Michigan blogs! :)
5. They have 5 shops in Ann Arbor and Metro Detroit.
6. You can now support the Big House Blog by clicking on the ads and buying your new 2010 season Michigan gear. (we all know everyone needs new Michigan gear for every season!) 

Thank You to the MDen and the Big House Blog readers on making this partnership possible!

Go Blue! 

-Bob

Michigan Monday: Jets to Move Warren to Safety?

Remember when I talked about what happens when your projected in the 3rd or 4th round of the NFL Draft and you run a slow 40?  (hint: you drop out of the draft).   Which is exactly what happen to Michigan's best CB in 2009 Donovan Warren, who left the Wolverines a year early to enter the NFL.  Donovan didn't get drafted but got signed as a free agent by the NY Jets. 

You know what else happens when your a CB and run a slow 40?  You get moved to Safety and that seems exactly what the Jets are planning. 

“He’s a smart kid,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “We’re playing him in both spots — corner and safety — but I think his best shot will be as a safety. He was probably the highest-rated player (on our board) that was still left.”

 Here is what DW had to say about not being drafted: 

“Being undrafted, I feel like I have a chip on my shoulder,” Warren said during the Jets’ rookie minicamp in Florham Park. “Every day I’m going out there, I got something to prove. That’s something I’m looking forward to each and every day. That’s just motivation for me to just keep on pushing and keep on going forward.”

Warren's godfather and former NFL player and current Jets coach Mark Carrier weighs in: 

“Every decision is a gamble,” said Warren’s godfather, Mark Carrier, who was hired as the Jets’ defensive line coach this offseason. “I don’t think he regretted it. Obviously, I think he wished things worked out a little bit different for him. But . . . the Michigan he went to wasn’t there anymore. For him to go back, was that going to be more of a burden?”

Being a free agent in the NFL is a difficult road but us Michigan fans are pulling for Donovan.  We all remember he was a 5 star CB from California that choose Michigan over USC the week before signing day.

• Michigan offer Doran Grant from Akron, OH played well at the Nike Camp this weekend and was named Camp MVP for cornerbacks.  

• Another player that is interested in Michigan and has a familiar name was also at the Nike Camp at Penn State.  Maika Polamalu plays on offense and defense but projects as a safety in college.  He has offers from Temple and Villanova and Penn State has told him that an offer" is in the mail".

• Michigan has offered Poland, OH athlete Darius Patton.  Not to hard to predict his nickname. 

• Michigan has also offered Jonah Austin a 6'5 315 pound offensive guard from St. Augustine, LA.

• Donte Moncrief a 6'3 203 WR/S expects to get a new offer from Michigan.