Michigan Monday: Loves in Game Adjustments

The one thing that really bothered me about the Carr Era was we never seemed to make any meaningful adjustments when something wasn't working.  When it seemed USC had our play book, nothing.   It drove me crazy and probably you as well.

I wondered what was the reason for that?  Did they try to make changes and it didn't work?  Was it Lloyd not letting his coordinators change the game plan?  What was it?  (Side note on the RR years, I think they tried to make some defense adjustments from time to time, they just didn't work)

I don't have the answer to the above questions but I do know when I see a good game plan working effectively and when I don't.  Both Greg Mattision and Al Borges has impressed me regarding the in game adjustments and changes.  Al is coaching like a 17 year old with the keys to a brand new Lamborghini.  He knows how to drive but has never had a car this fast.

Greg on the other hand is trying to find the right personnel in game time situations.   Both have made very good in game changes and the reason the Wolverines today are 3-0 and ranked 21/22 in the polls.  I continue to be impressed on how Coach Hoke is letting them both do what they do best. 

Let's compare those strategies to our Rival to the north.  I was excited to see the match up this weekend between ND and MSU.  Sparty has owned ND over the past 10 years but was running into a difficult situation with a quality team that now found themselves 0-2.   MSU was ranked #15 in the polls and was a road dog to an 0-2 team.  

What happened was a terrible game plan by Mark Dantonio and staff.  It was like they didn't review any tape on ND the past two weeks.  ND continued to turn the ball over and MSU couldn't capitalize.  They even continued to call gimmick and trick plays.  A fake field goal from the goal line?  (side note; does anyone think ND practiced fake field goals a little bit extra this week? - just stupid).  MSU's game plan wasn't working and they just kept it and got blown out.  No adjustments = big loss. They weren't out manned on Saturday they got out coached.   If I was a MSU fan, I would be very upset at Dantonio playing Tressel Ball all day.

•  Michigan has taken a 2012 walk-on commitment from Fenton punter Kenny Allen.  Kenny had 1 scholarship offer from Oregon State and decided to stay close to home and punt for Michigan.  Kicking guy Chris Sailer had this to say about Kenny:   Kenny is a very talented young punter. He has the size and athleticism to dominate in this area. Can hit a huge ball. Also a great kicker. A top combo prospect in the Class of 2012. Will be a scholarship pick!  Kenny is averaging 43 yards per punt this year and is also a place kicker.   This is a good pickup for the Wolverines.  Anytime you can pick up a guy with scholarship offers to D1 schools as walk on, is a huge bonus.   If I was a fly on the wall, I'm guessing the Wolverines are concerned about their scholarship punter Will Hagerup who has been suspended 4 out of the last 5 games and still has one more game to sit out.

• Michigan is 21 in the Coaches and 22 in the AP.

• Michigan is an early 9 point favorite over San Diego State.

• 2013 State of Michigan offensive line recruit Steve Elmer surprisingly committed to ND over the weekend while he was on a visit.   Steve and Shane Morris are the top two prospects in Michigan for the 2013 class.  Michigan was recruiting Steve and had been on campus a number of times.

• Jordan Diamond took a visit to Illinois this weekend.  Has Michigan cooled on Jordan or has Jordan cooled on the Wolverines?

• RB Greg Garmon has Michigan in his top 4.   A month ago I thought there was no way Michigan was taking a RB in the 2012 class.  I now think Michigan has a fighters chance at landing Greg or Bri'onte Dunn. 

Michigan Football's Full List of Walk On's for the 2009 Recruiting Class

14 Nadar Furrha, QB
Ann Arbor, Mich. (Pioneer)

32 O'Neil Swanson, RB
West Bloomfield, Mich. (Detroit Country Day)

42 Al Backey, RB
Ypsilanti, Mich. (Ypsilanti)

36 Jonny Childers, FB
Muskegon, Mich. (Mona Shores)

27 Jordan Owens, Slot
Alpharetta, Ga.

85 Joe Reynolds, WR
Rochester, Mich. (Rochester Adams)

54 Jareth Glanda, OL
Rochester Hills, Mich. (Brother Rice)

59 Tom Lindley, OL
Shirley, N.Y. (William Floyd)

66 Christian Brandt, OL
West Bloomfield, Mich. (Saint Mary's Prep)

67 Adam Barker, OL
Adrian, Mich. (Adrian)

69 Erik Gunderson, OL
Milan, Mich. (Milan)

94 Curt Graman, LS
Cincinnati, Ohio (Elder)

67 Nathan Brink, DE
Holland, Mich. (Holland Christian)

39 Eddie Murray, PK
Royal Oak, Mich. (Royal Oak)

46 Seth Broekhuizen, PK
Holland, Mich. (Holland)

93 Kris Pauloski, PK
Indianapolis, Ind. (Pike)

Transfer from the Basketball Team:
19 Kelvin Grady, Slot
Grand Rapids, Mich. (East Grand Rapids)


Barker was ranked at 2 stars from Rivals
Tom Lindley was rated as one of the best HS offensive lineman in New York
It's good to see 3 kickers as walk on's since that spot needs some depth

Hopefully these are quality players that can help Michigan in years to come!

More Wolverine Walk On News

One of the tricks of the trade for Division 1 football coaches is to give an "athlete" a track scholarship when they have reached their limit of 25 scholarship in one recruiting year. This way the young man can get a scholarship, run track and still play football.

This was not the case with Joe Reynolds from Rochester Adams in Michigan. U of M's track coach Fred LaPlante took Joe's high school football video over to Rich Rod's office and Rich gave Joe a preferred walk on spot on the 2009 squad.

"He liked what he saw," said Reynolds, who is at U-M on the track scholarship and will run in the winter and spring. "He said I ran great routes and attacked the ball well."

Joe played DB and WR in high school and accounted for 700 yards receiving and 7 touchdowns as a senior. My guess is Joe should focus on the DB position if he wants to have a clearer path to playing time. Either way, I hope it works out for the soon to be Freshman, because we always can use more speed at the Big House.

Joe plans to enroll at U of M for summer classes so he can start participating in the "player" 7-7 practices.

Michigan Football's Walk-On Class in Review

We all know that Rich Rodriguez was a walk on at West Virgina and has a special place in his heart for guys that have to earn a scholarship. Since there has been a lot of news since signing day about Michigan's preferred walk on policy. I thought I would list all the walk on's to date and give you my opinion on who might contribute down the line.

With 3 scholarships left for this year, would any of these guys get/earn a scholarship? They might.............

1. Top Walk on Prospect: goes to New York Offensive Lineman Tom Lindley. Tom was one of the best offensive lineman in New York this past year and is 6"3 300 pounds. Tom earned first team all Long Island and The 2008 Zellner Award winner as Suffolk’s top lineman. He is also a member of the National Honor Society and plans to redshirt during the 2009 season.
2. Adam Barker, OL from Adrian, Michigan. Adam plays the center position and is rated 2 stars by Rivals. He is 6"3 270 pounds.
3. Eddie Murray, a kicker from Royal Oak, Michigan. You might wonder why I have a kicker so high on the walk-on board? Well, you could make a case that Eddie should be ranked #1 in this Walk On class with both of Michigan's kickers graduating last year. Eddie might have the best shot at seeing the field early as a kick off specialist this year!
4. Calvin Smith, FB from Joliet , Illinois. As you might have heard, full back is going to be a position that Michigan will mostly look for walk-on's to fill. Calvin is a big back at 6"2 235 and averaged 5.5 yards per carry in high school.
5. Johnny Childers, FB/LB from Muskegon, Michigan. He most likely will end up at full back and will compete against Calvin for time at the position in future years. Johnny is 6"1 233 pounds and most likely will end up as a back up FB and special teams player. More info on JC here.
6. Nader Furrha, QB from Ann Arbor Pioneer. Nader is a dual threat QB that gives Michigan some depth at a position that seems to be getting lighter by the day. With Threet's recent transfer news Nader becomes even a more important pick up for the Wolverines. With that said, the Michigan coaches hope Tate Forcier is a star and that Denard Robinson is a star in waiting. Most likely Nader will be competing against Nick Sheridan and Robinson for the #2-#4 spots on the roster.
7. Jason Nyhof, DT from Holland Michigan. Jason is 6"3 277 and has a nice frame for a DT. I expect him to spend a lot of time at Club Barwis to see if he can become a factor as an upper-class men. Jason does have the luxury of being at a position of great need for the Wolverines.
8. Nate Brink, team-mate of Jason's from Holland, Michigan is 6"5 218 Nate is way too skinny for a DT and will need to eat a lot of hamburgers before he is even in the conversation.

Another Preferred Walk On at Michigan

The BHB is starting to be the place where you get all your Michigan Wolverine walk-on news.

Coach Rodriguez has found another walk-on he would like to add to next years team. It's Fullback Calvin Smith from Joliet Catholic Academy in Illinois.

Smith is 6-2, 235 and rushed for 537 yards for an average of 5.5 yards per carry.

Now, Smith is planning to enroll in at least one class this summer so that he can participate in Michigan's summer workouts.

"I'd like to get on special teams next season and maybe get a chance to play in goal line situations," he said

My $.02 on walk-on's: I love the idea of a preferred walk-on coming to Michigan, it gives the team depth, but it also gives the team the ability to practice with a higher number of players. One of RR's comments this past year was, Michigan was doing a lot of good things on Monday - Friday that wasn't showing up on Saturday. Maybe having more kids at practice will allow Michigan the ability to practice at a different level and close the Saturday gap.

This policy also gives kids a chance to "live the dream" and put on the winged helmet in front of 110,000 fans on a Fall Saturday. Now that is something they can tell their grandchildren about!
I'm very much in favor of this new policy and hope it gardeners a "diamond in the rough"!