Michigan Friday: Another Close One

In full transparency, I was traveling back from Phoenix yesterday and missed the game but read a few summaries.   Michigan Basketball has been living on edge of wins and loses all season.   Last night was another example with Burnett hitting the game winning 3 at the buzzer.  

Rutgers is a tough Big Ten team as they have a couple of NBA pro's on the roster but not much else.  Michigan's guard play must improve with Gale and Donaldson.  Both are struggling from the field and Michigan's needs their offense and experience when tournament play begins.  Let's hope they are getting their bad game out of the way now, so they can step up and lead during a Big Ten Tournament and NCAA runs. 

I know the book is out on Michigan's big man pick and roll but Michigan is still struggling to be consistent on offense.  If the 3 doesn't fall, Michigan should have an advantage in the low post.   I also would love to see Michigan shoot at a higher percentage from the line as it's losing too many points shooting in the 60's% as a team from the line. 

Michigan has a tough road ahead with hosting both Illinois and ranked Maryland in less then a week before traveling to East Lansing to wrap up the season. 

• RIP to Gene Hackman, the star of one of the best sports movies ever - Hoosiers

• Mason is only going to lift at the combine.  Many are projecting him at #3 to JAX.

• Kenny Grant has a minor hamstring strain found at his medical in Indy and won't do any on field work. He still wanted to run and is still planning to do so at Michigan's pro day. 

Michigan Thursday: Big House Music Blog?

There has been ice hockey and professional soccer played at the Big House.  Even Slippery Rock played a game at Michigan Stadium.  I always thought it would be a good concert venue for some major band getting back together. It would be a once in a lifetime event, like a Led Zeppelin reunion or maybe the Fat Boys. 😃

Michigan announced that on 9/27 that they will be hosting a Zach Bryan and John Mayer concert.  That seems like a unique pair.  John has been the lead singer for the Grateful Dead and I could see that being a concert.  U2 maybe?  I will just keep naming bands that performed at the Sphere in Las Vegas.  Hometown hero Bob Seger is another one.  Eminem and Kid Rock representing Detroit would've worked in my mind.  

As long at it makes money for the UM and supports NIL, I'm for it! 

• If you dumped cable and signed up for You Tube TV, you could lose CBS and the rest of the Paramount channels today.  Not good for Big Ten Basketball or the NCAA Tournament. 

• OSU did hire former Lions head coach Matt Patricia, the 85 year-old Wayne Fontes turned them down. 😂

• Here are your NFL Combine invites:

Michigan Friday: Saturday is JJ Day at the Combine

Scouts seem to be split on JJ as an NFL QB.  Some love him and consider him a John Elway type and others are not sure due to average stats in college.  To the average stats, JJ had this to say today:

“The only stat I cared about was Ws, and we did pretty good in that category.”

JJ is expected to throw on Saturday, but won't run the 40 or do the vertical jump due to a tweaked hamstring.

Mel Kiper has JJ at 12 to Denver right now.

• Washington WR Jalen McMillan says Michigan DB Mike Sainristil is the toughest player he faced in college. “He was pissing me off…he was calling out formations…routes.” per
  @nolanbianchi

• Roman Wilson expects Fred Moore to have a big year next year at WR: “He’s got the size, the speed, the work. He’s gonna be a dawg this year and next year and the year after.”

• Coach Belmany got got a promotion to Pass Game Coordinator and a raise to $600K.

Michigan Thursday: 14 Teams Now?

Michigan will be the final National Champion of the 4 team playoff.    Next year kicks off the 12 team playoff system with Michigan AD Warde Manuel at the helm of the Playoff Committee.  Which probably explains the report that the playoff committee is now looking to grow to 14 teams with 3 automatic qualifiers from the Big Ten and SEC.  

I know it's good to have future conversations but let's see how 12 teams goes before we move to 14 and this becomes the NCAA Basketball Tournament. 

• Famous comedian and OSU grad Richard Lewis passed away yesterday.  He is currently on this season's Curb which I assume will be his final piece of work.  I always have respect for folks that make people laugh with just a microphone.  RIP. 

• Mike Barrett on JJ at the NFL Combine: “He's the kind of player, that Patrick Mahomes type, where he can make a play at any moment. You can't sleep on him when you think he's down. He'll throw a ball outta his butt, for real.”

• Stephen Ross was named the top owner by the NFL Players in a NFPA survey. He is also looking to sell a percentage of the Dolphins to clearly fund a Michigan NIL Collective! 😄 The back-to-back Super Bowl Champs got some seriously low grades (outside of head coach which got an A+).  Ownership for the Chiefs got a grade of F-.  

Wolverine Wednesday: Midweek News & Notes

• In sad news, former Michigan defensive lineman Craig Roh lost his battle with cancer.  Please keep a good thought for his wife and family.  Rest in peace Michigan Man.   Craig was 33 years young. 

• Dug will now be able to play on the road again. 

• Ohio State self-reported 4 recruiting violations and $13M in player salaries. 

• JJ might be the most discussed player at the combine this week.  Some say he is John Elway others aren't sure if he is a 1st round pick. 

• Michigan edge rusher Braiden McGregor says Lucas Oil Stadium feels like Schembechler Hall with how many Wolverines are here this week.

• After winning three Big Ten titles here, Jaylen Harrell says Indy feels like “home.”

Michigan Tuesday: Don Brown to the MAC

UMass head coach and former Michigan DC Don Brown is headed to the MAC in 2025.  UMass was in the MAC from 2012 -2015 and had a record of 7-25 in league play. Don is trying to turn around one of the worst football programs in America. 

• JJ and Blake have a big opportunity this week at the combine.  If JJ can show his arm strength and accuracy he could be a top 10 pick.  Blake will need to show his speed in the 40. 

• US News and Reports says Ann Arbor is the #1 city in the US for quality of life.  90% of the residents live less than 10 minutes from a park.  Who are the 10% that don't live near a park - Barton Hills?

• Marvin Harrison is not working out at the combine or doing a Pro Day. 

• A Wolverine was spotted in Oregon, Welcome to the Big Ten! 

Michigan Monday: Locks the Portal

It seems Michigan players have had the portal open forever.  Michigan played in the last game of the year, so they had an extended portal opening.  Then Jim left for the NFL and the portal stayed open for another 30 days.  It finally closed on Friday at Midnight.  With only one loss to the two deep in Keon Sabb who is headed to Alabama.  

Now, I believe there is another chance for  players to jump after Spring Practice but for now things are steady.  That is some great work by Sherrone and his new staff.  You know everyone and their brother were after the likes of Will Johnson, Ken Grant, and others.   Keeping the core on both sides of the ball with zero defensive coaches is well done.  

Michigan of course did lose one signed recruit in Jaden Smith who elected to further his education and football skills at Kentucky.   That is now 3 Michigan recruits who have flipped to UK in this last class.  Ironically, all 3 recruits had the last name Smith.  I wonder if UK is servicing up more than Bourbon down there?

• JJ is planning on throwing at the NFL Combine this week. 

• One guy at CBS has Mikey in the first round in his mock draft. 

• Michigan Basketball dropped another one to Purdue on Sunday.  We all knew they were going to be bad this year,  but not sure this bad. 

• Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams will not be throwing at the combine. 

• NFL Legend Peter King is retiring.  

• Eric Bieniemy was hired as UCLA's OC and Associate Head Coach.   I have to say, that is a solid hire for a program in deep debt. 

Wolverine Wednesday: Update on Coaching Search

It sounds like Sherrone is close to closing out the defensive side of the ball.  Let's take a quick look at where we are at:

• Wink Martindale has been hired as the DC.  
• Greg Scruggs from Wisconsin has been hired as DL coach.  
• Brian Jean-Mary, LB Coach from TN and former Michigan coach is expected to head to Ann Arbor but UT continues to try to keep BJM. 
• Houston Texans Safeties Coach Stephen Adegoke is in the mix HIRED!
• Lamar Morgan Louisiana DC has also interviewed and has the Minter endorsement. 

Sam Webb reports the final spot is between Stephen and Lamar. 

For me the only bad decision is Wink but if he can keep the current players happy by prepping them to play in an NFL Defense and teaching one of the new hires the Ravens Defense, then I guess it's worth it.   If he is Don Brown Part 2, it will be a disaster. 

• Michigan is sending a record 18 players to NFL combine.  That should help recruiting. 

• JJ continues to impress scouts that are watching tape.  If you think about it, JJ has had elite NFL QB training at Michigan.  He should be a top 10 pick.  He is not Stenson Bennett. 

• Tiger Woods new apparel line looks a little strange.  The logo looks good but the quality of the clothes look a bit questionable. 

Top 5 Wolverines that denote Valentines Day:

#5: ROMAN Wilson

#4: Jake Butt 

#3: Colston Loveland 

#2: Jalen Rose 

#1: Mike Hart 

Yes, I understand I left out the Michigan QB.  😅💓

Michigan Thursday: Mazi Smith Combine Profile

Michigan runs the same drills as the NFL Combine to show NFL teams what type of athletes, they're drafting out of Ann Arbor.  This strategy helped Rashan Gary become a high first round draft pick, even though he had a bit of an uneven college career.  He has now turned into one of the NFL best defensive players. 

Mazi Smith reportedly has had some eye-popping combine stats at Michigan and topped Bruce Feldman's "Freak List".   Mazi will have a chance to prove those numbers this week in Indy and possibly could be the top Wolverine selected.  

Here is NFL.com's preview of Mazi:

Dontari Poe might be the physical and athletic player comparison for Smith, but more consistency from Smith is needed before he finds the Pro Bowl, as Poe did twice in his career. Smith’s blend of size and quickness is rare. He can punch and control a base block with relative ease. However, he struggles to match the initial movement of move blockers, which diminishes his effectiveness. He has space-eating potential but needs to become more consistent at taking on double teams and securing his gap. Smith’s size and testing could give his draft slotting some juice but he’s more of a Day 2 talent with exciting upside than a plug-and-play starter.

• Michigan Basketball has a big game tonight @ Illinois.  ESPN 7:00 EST

• The LIV Golf field was 100% better than the PGA's Honda Open last weekend and only a few people watched on the CW.  LIV is really going to test the theory that "they have too much money to fail". 

• Get to know Michigan's newest LB Ernie Hausmann. 

Wolverine Wednesday: Minter Staying

When you win championships other programs and professional teams come for your assistants.  See Alabama every year.  We thought Michigan might have gotten away without major losses in the coaching staff and possibly a great re-hire of Chris Partridge.   That feeling quickly turned into a stomach ache when the Super Bowl runners-up Philadelphia Eagles interviewed Michigan DC Jesse Minter.  

That tummy ache didn't last long as it's expected the Eagles to look to a Seahawks assistant to fill that role.  Keeping good young coaches is really good for stability, scheme, and recruiting. 

• Many believe Michigan Basketball needs to go at least .500 in its last 2 games and then win 1 or 2 games in the Big Ten Tournament. 

• At the combine, Mike Morris was asked who was going to step up at edge at Michigan next season, and he replied, "We are Edge Rush U"

Michigan Thursday: Combine Invites

Michigan got 9 invites to the NFL combine those players include:

• Ronnie Bell
• Ryan Hayes 
• Jake Moody
• Mike Morris
• Olu Oluwatimi
• Brad Robbins
• Luke Schoonmaker 
• Mazi Smith 
• DJ Turner

Green was left off the list.

• Michigan Basketball beat Nebraska last night for its 3rd win in a row. 

• Partridge was officially announced as a coach. Get to recruiting! 

• Michigan Basketball commit Christian Anderson had 46 points with 8 three-point shots in a high school game.

Michigan Monday: Michigan Steals One Back and is JJ Hurt?

Iowa came into Crisler last week and ruined Senior Night for the Wolverines.  In a weekend, where we saw UNC ruin Coach K's awkward last game at Cameron, the Michigan Basketball team did the same thing to Ohio State on Sunday.  I guess that was the theme of the weekend.  

I've been very hard on graduate transfer Jones this season, but he stepped up yesterday when Hunter was out with a stomach bug.  The offensive spacing was better and Michigan got a great win in Columbus.   I sure hope Caleb Houstan can get used to sleeping in hotels, because he struggles on the road.  Large hat tip to Phil Martelli on keeping the team together and beating MSU and OSU in the same week. 

Juwan is back and Michigan takes on IU on Thursday afternoon in the Big Ten Tournament.  Hopefully they can grab a win or two this week and lock down an NCAA bid.  

Now to a rumor floating around the Michigan Football program.   The team has been off for spring break and the rumor is that JJ has a shoulder injury (his throwing shoulder) that needs some cleaning up and will miss the remaining spring practices.  The cleaning up part means he is scheduled to have minor surgery and will be back this summer for Fall Camp.   Again, this has not been confirmed by the program but seems to be minor issue.

• Some NFL Combine highlights
• Hutch ran a 4.74 but has short arms, which I guess is a negative 
• H2 didn't run because he has a high ankle sprain but put up 27 reps on the bench. 
• Ojabo ran a very fast 4.55 
• Dax ran a 4.38

• Michigan Hockey swept MSU over the Weekend. 

• Michigan Wrestling won a Big Ten Championship this weekend as well!

Michigan Monday: OSU Hits Michigan With the W's

Michigan Basketball had a bad week, they went 0-2.   The bottom line was their opponents hit the 3 and Michigan didn't.   If you look at the stat line on yesterday's OSU game it will show a clear lack of defense on guys whose names start with W.

Washington 20 points
Walker 15 points
Wesson 14 points
Wesson 14 points

If you defend the W's you might get a W.  Wagner Michigan's only W got 18 points.   It was a weird W day that ended with L.  Speaking of L, Livers with 6 points is not going to do it.

• Josh Metellus is fast and ran a 4.55 at the Combine. 

• Hudson also had a good 40 at 4.56 

• Ruiz and Runyan both ran a 5.08

• McKeon, Bredeson, Onwenu, Uche, and Hill didn't run.

It's hard to say who improved their draft stock and who didn't.  But DPJ had a very good Combine, which might raise his 4-5th round grade.   Hudson could also be the steal of the draft.  

Michigan Friday: X Goes Off in a Loss

Zavier Simpson exploded for 32 points in a home loss to Wisconsin last night 81-74.  Michigan was without Brooks with a broken nose and Livers struggled with only 9 points.   Wager played well in the 2nd half and finished with 17.  The issue is no other Wolverine had more then 7 points.

Wisconsin beat the Wolverines by contesting the 3 and shooting the lights out of Crisler.  Wisconsin shot 63% in the first half and 44 % in the second.   The Badgers also shot 58% from 3, while Michigan shot only 30% from deep.

Michigan will learn from this game but it will hurt their Big Ten Tournament standing.   If Michigan had played well at home in the Big Ten season, they would be getting a double bye in Indy.

• Shea ran a 4.67 in the 40 at the Combine.  That is faster then I expected.  

• DPJ's fastest time was a 4.48 and did 44.5 in the vertical jump. Which was pretty fast for WR's at the Combine.  Bama's Ruggs ran a 4.27.

Wolverine Wednesday: Mid-Week News and Notes

• Michigan Football has cancelled its overseas trip this spring due to the Coronavirus.  Which seems like a smart decision.  Better be safe then sorry. 

• Josh Uche has a minor injury and won't do on-field drills during the NFL Combine this week. 

• Ruiz expects to be drafted in the first round. 

• Ben Bredeson has tweaked a hammy and won't participate at the combine. Planning to show his skills during U of M's Pro Day. 

• Shea is starting to realize he probably needed another year in Ann Arbor and didn't want to risk a long decision from the NCAA on his 5th year.  He is projected as a late rounder or a free agent.  This is a big week for him after a tough Senior Bowl.   

• MSU beat Iowa last night. 

Michigan Friday: Rivalry Night

ESPN has a special night for basketball fans lined up on Saturday.   Its starts off with Duke @ North Carolina and ends with Michigan @ MSU.    There are plenty of similarities between the two games:

-Both are instate rivalries
-All 4 teams are in the top 10
-Both games were played two weeks ago
-Both games had the visitor win
-Both games had a starter go down with an injury
-All 4 teams have famous coaches

From a Michigan standpoint the big question remains if Charles Matthews will dress and play in his last Michigan regular season game.  The winner of the Michigan/MSU will probably share the regular season Big Ten Title with Purdue.  So there is plenty to play for.

There is also reasons to not play Charles.   Michigan has the Big Ten Tournament coming up next weekend and the NCAA after that.   If Matthews needs more time, not playing on Saturday night means he will have 3 weeks worth of rest before Michigan hits the floor in Chicago.

Either way, it has been a great season for the Wolverines and I'm looking forward to, what's next!   I sure how the jumpers are working in East Lansing!

• Did you know Khaleke Hudson, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Tarik Black attended the NFL combine as a way for the NFL to prepare high profile college players for the NFL? I didn't know that program existed!

• The Florida - Miami game has been approved and will be played in Orlando on 8/24.  Those teams get to start fall camp early! A good game in August?  Thank you college football!

• Shane Morris has signed a contract to play in the Arena league in Baltimore. 

• Here is a story about Shea Patterson at the Rangers Spring Training prior to Michigan's Spring Practice. 

Michigan Monday: Loves Balance

When the game started late afternoon on Sunday, two questions went through my head:
1) Will Michigan hit any outside jumpers in this game?
2) Will this be a Maryland blowout?

Michigan in the first half played solid defense, shot terribly, found Teske inside, and lived off some impressive sky hooks from Zavier.   That got them a 4 point lead at the half, which was enough time for the Wolverines to find their outside shooting touch.

Michigan played great in the second half and won an impressive 69-62 road victory over a ranked Maryland team.  As I have mentioned before, Iggy is the straw that stirs the Wolverines drink on offense, he went for an impressive 21 points.  The rest of the starters?

Simpson: 12
Poole: 12
Teske: 11
Livers: 11

The only bench scoring was from new 6th man Colin Castleton with 2 points.   CC actually gave coach B some good minutes at the 5, so Teske could get a little rest.   He is now going to be a factor in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.  

If Matthews comes back rested and healthy, it will be fun to see how this team plays.   I would rank Sunday's win, one of the best of the season.   The team now has a week off before they travel an hour north to East Lansing for the final game of the season.

• Former Wolverines showed out well at the combine this weekend.  Bush ran a Denard like 4.44 in the 40.  Gary and Winovich ran a 4.59.   I would say the Michigan's defenders had an excellent weekend.  It's not over either, as David Long is up today.  

• If it was a great weekend for the former Michigan defenders it was just the opposite for Zach Gentry, who many are questioning his decision to turn pro.   Zach ran a very slow 40 at 4.9, was last in the 20 yard shuttle, and second to last in the 3 cone and 60 yard shuttle drills.   This is a very deep TE class and it probably made sense for Zach to stay in Ann Arbor another year.  Maybe he can improve on his numbers on Michigan's pro day?

• Denard scored his first professional TD on Sunday for the Atlanta Legends in the AAF.  It was also Atlanta's first win of the season.