News and Notes on New Year's Eve

• Michigan opens the Big Ten Basketball season today at 2:00. DeShawn Simms who turned an ankle against North Carolina Central, should be ok to play. The game will be on ESPN 2.
• Official Recruiting Visitors for January 9th include: LB Barkevious Mingo, DE Sam Montgomery, QB Denard Robinson, WR (current commit) Cameron Gordon, OL (current commit) Michael Schofield, DE Bennie Logan , and CB Demontre Hurst.
• Western Michigan's Bill Cubit agreed to a new 5 year contract before kick off of last nights Texas Bowl. Good timing, WMU got blown out by Rice 38-14. Blown out is maybe the wrong term, I guess they got "Boiled" by Rice.
• UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker has been hired as New Mexico State's head coach. Congratulations DeWayne and long overdue!
• Do you think Michigan has the best facilities for education and athletics? Well, the NYT says U of M has a construction campaign budgeted at $2.5 billion, ranking it among the largest university building programs in the United States. If it doesn't now, it will soon!
• Former Michigan QB and current Stanford head man, Jim Harbaugh is still being mentioned as a head coach candidate for the Oakland Raiders. (Hey Jim, that wouldn't be a good career move!)
• Memo to any former Michigan State Spartans WR: Go down in your basement and stay there for at least 6 months. There is some serious bad mojo following you and your former peers. For another example, see this from Monday: Andre Rison, was arrested early Monday morning in San Antonio, Texas, and charged with public intoxication.
• Expect former Michigan and Detroit Lions QB coach Scott Loefler to be named to the same position at Washington.
• Does this rule need to be changed? In the second half of the Motor City Bowl, the CMU tailback ran for an 80 yard touchdown. There were two penalties on the play, one was an off sides on a Florida Atlantic rusher and a face mask penalty against a CMU WR on the 10 yard line right before the tailback entered the end zone. The officials called off setting penalties and replayed the down. Wait a minute? If Florida Atlantic didn't jump off sides, The Chips would have gotten a 15 yard penalty from the 10 yard line (and gained 55 yards from the original line of scrimmage) . Instead, they have to go all the way back to the 20 yard line and get a TD erased because the other team jumped off sides? I believe the rule needs to be changed (if the refs called it correctly), where CMU could have declined the off sides on FAU and gotten hit with the 15 yard face mask penalty from the 10. Just my $.02.

Happy New Year everyone and guess what? 2008 is over and it's time to start getting ready for Big Ten Basketball and the 2009 Football Season!

Updates from Army All American Practices

• Gallon is putting on a show: via Rivals: The Apopka (Fla.) High four-star receiver caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Murray during 11-on-11, and then the duo connected again later during the drills on another long completion."He's electric," East coach Terry Smith said. "He's very shifty, very athletic. We're trying to get some plays to get some space for him to let him do what he does best." - "He's good," wide receiver Je'Ron Stokes said. "They have him in the slot and the way our offense is run I might want to go to the slot. He's getting a lot of passes thrown his way. He's doing a great job. The thing is they have a receiver lined up on the linebacker. That's a mismatch right there." Je'Ron is a soft commit to Tennessee (some are saying a decommit)and is visiting Ann Arbor in January. Watch Gallon's TD Catch.
  
• Anthony LaLota confirms his commitment to the Wolverines.
• Another soon to be Wolverine Justin Turner also impressed on Monday. Turner was playing corner during practice but has the size and speed to also play Safety. “He’s physical at the line. He’s not the biggest kid, but he’s a taller kid,” Gorney said. “He and (Arkansas commit) Darius Winston were the first team cornerbacks and they both looked like they belonged on the field. "I haven't touched the field since we lost in the playoffs so I'm very surprised with what I did," Turner said. "All the great athletes and coaches out there watching, you can't get beat. You don't want to get beat. That was my first time on the field since we lost. I've been lifting. I feel good."

Backstage with a Basketball Genius: John Beilein

Michigan's basketball team record last year was 10-22. Michigan's record as of 12/29/2008: 10-2 after tonight's 20 point win over North Carolina Central. Michigan opens the Big Ten season on Wednesday against Wisconsin. If they go .500 in Big Ten play they should make the tournament with high profile wins over Duke and UCLA.

I know it's very early to say this, but I believe the John Beilein hire was a "great" hire by Bill Martin and he could go down as the best coach ever to wear a "maize and blue" tie on the Michigan bench.

BTW: For those of you that caught the Big Ten Network telecast tonight, Tim McCormick is the biggest "homer" on television and I love it! It's nice to see a Michigan "homer" in a broadcast. I think he dropped about 20 former Wolverine basketball players names. He even got a Ricky Green shout out in there.

The BTN went all access with Johnny B:

Lions, Roses, and Trojans....Oh My!

Phil and Tony discuss the Rose Bowl and the USC Trojans. Can the Lions avoid distractions and claim the Rose Bowl title?

Previews, Predictions, Recruiting and News & Notes

• Jeremy Gallon, Army All American doesn't have any doubts regarding his commitment to Michigan. "I'm not going on visits to anywhere else," Gallon said. "I actually made that decision before my senior year. They came to me, and they were talking to me about their football team and their education system." Gallon will do his official visit to Ann Arbor in two weeks.


• Barkevious Mingo the 10th ranked LB in the country will make his first official visit to Ann Arbor in two weeks. With that said, Michigan still has some work to do to get Barkevious on campus this fall, who lists his top 3 as USC, Alabama and LSU. Barkevious is 6-foot-5, 209 pounds and would fill a need for the Wolverines with the loses of two 4 star LB prospects from the 08 class due to grades and home sickness.


• In Scott Shafer's separation agreement, he agreed "that I will not issue any statements to the media or in a public or similar setting which demean or disparage the University of Michigan, the football program, or any of their employees, in any way." This is not a big deal and regular contract language. Way to blow it out of proportion Detroit Free Press!


• Gus Malzahn Tulsa's offensive coordinator is leaving Tulsa to lead the offense at Auburn. Shavodrick Beaver Tulsa's top recruit who de-committed from Michigan just days after confirming he was enrolling at Michigan in January, had no comment on someone committing to him then leaving just days after.

The Big Ten is 0-1 in bowls so far with FSU making Wisconsin look like the team that played Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, all back to back. Now, the Big Ten as another opportunity (to look bad) with Northwestern taking on a solid Missouri team tonight.

Expect Mizzou to light up the scoreboard. Mizzou 51 NW 21

If you need something to watch on TV tonight, tune in to the Big Ten Network and see the #24th ranked Michigan Wolverines in their last non-conference match up against North Carolina Central at 7:00 pm. Thank goodness for college basketball!

As Big Will Turns

So we reported last week before Christmas that a William Michael Campbell enrolled at Michigan or created a unique user name which some students say equal an enrollment.

Is this the same 5 star DT from Detroit William Michael Campbell or some random "new" student with the same name? Who knows?

Then "Big" Will gets to his hotel for the Army All American Game today and speaks to Rivals and surprises everyone by saying that he is no longer considering Michigan.

Per Rivals: Also making news was William Campbell saying Michigan "probably" won't be one of the final three teams he'll chose from on Saturday. The Detroit Cass Tech five-star defensive tackle said he will pick Miami, Florida or LSU and that a Wolverines cap will probably not even be on the table when he announces.

Still don't believe it? Listen to Big Will getting interviewed.



So now what? Well, some have speculated this was a joke and he wants to surprise everyone during the game. Reports from people "in the know" are that, they are shocked at what he had to say.

Pure speculation by BHB, but maybe just maybe he was a little pissed off that the news he was enrolled leaked out and wanted to throw everyone a curve ball. If that isn't the case, then the Wolverines just lost their top prospect from their backyard.

I guess we will know on Saturday during the game. Maybe NBC wanted a few more viewers from Michigan!

Couldn't Resist a Little Auburn Humor!

Tide's turnaround in 2008

1. Nine hungry, determined seniors
2. Jim McElwain's arrival as offensive coordinator
3. Julio Jones lived up to the hype
4. Dont'a Hightower is more than anyone expected
5. The secondary found contributors
6. Winning at LSU earned a championship
7. Glen Coffee is unheralded but not unappreciated
8. Leigh Tiffin and P.J. Fitzgerald made solid contributions
9. Clemson was a tool for the foundation
10. The rest of the conference didn't measure up

10 reasons for Tide's turnaround in 2008

'Bama 2009 All American's

Alabama left tackle Andre Smith and nose tackle Terrence Cody are among the 25 play­ers named to the 2008 Football Writers Associ­ation of America's All-America team.

Smith, Cody named to All-America team

2009 'Bama Football Schedule

Date Opponent

Sept. 5 vs. Virginia Tech (Atlanta)
Sept. 12 Florida International
Sept. 19 North Texas
Sept. 26 Arkansas
Oct. 3 at Kentucky
Oct. 10 at Ole Miss
Oct. 17 South Carolina
Oct. 24 Tennessee
Oct. 31 ---Open Week---
Nov. 7 LSU
Nov. 14 at Mississippi State
Nov. 21 Tennessee-Chattanooga
Nov. 28 at Auburn
Dec. 5 SEC Championship Game (Atlanta)

Sugar Bowl! 'Bama Favorded by 10.5

What Alabama has to do to win: Run the ball until Utah can’t stand it anymore, and then run some more. The Crimson Tide has a big advantage up front with its line and with its backs Glen Coffee and Mark Ingram. The Crimson Tide does not turn the ball over and it just needs to grind. The other key will be to find a wide receiver to trust besides Julio Jones. If I am Utah, and a third-down play comes up, there are two defenders on Jones, the splendid Alabama freshman receiver. Do not let him make plays.

The Crimson Tide has a thick defensive playbook with blitz after blitz and Utah is going to see things it has not seen all year.

Opening point spread: Alabama by 10.5 (46.5)

Prediction: Alabama 37, Utah 7


MVP: Alabama RB Glen Coffee

No. 4 Alabama (12-1) vs. No. 7 Utah (12-0)

Couldn't Resist This One!

By gottfriedSucks

Taylor vs. Mt Cody!

By Sean Smith's account, Zane Taylor is one of the strongest players on Utah's team.

By Utes offensive line coach Charlie Dickey's account, Taylor is one of the smartest players and, as his starting center, one of the most technically sound.

It's a good thing that Taylor receives such ringing endorsements from his teammates and coaches when it comes to his best attributes. He's going to need them in the Sugar Bowl when Utah squares off against Alabama.

The job for the sophomore from Moab will be one of the most important of the game. He's the one who has the task of slowing down Terrence Cody, the monstrous Crimson Tide nose guard who is one of the best defensive linemen in college football.

Ute center to face off against Alabama giant

Coach of The Year = SABAN

This season, Saban led a team with only nine scholarship seniors to a 12-1 record and a Sugar Bowl date against Utah for only its second Bowl Championship Series berth.

In voting by college football writers, he drew 32 of a possible 62 votes. He outdistanced Texas Tech's Mike Leach (nine), Utah's Kyle Whittingham (six), Georgia Tech's Paul Johnson (five), Penn State's Joe Paterno (three) and Ball State's Brady Hoke (two). Five coaches got one vote apiece.

Saban named AP coach of the year

Bizzaro World

What a strange year this has been. Things seem to be just the opposite of what we expected this time last year, not unlike George Costanza's Bizzaro World on Seinfeld. Here are just a few examples of why this was such a strange year for Michigan fans.

• The Michigan Football Program hired a new coach with out any ties to the program for the first time in nearly 40 years.
• Michigan had a losing season
• Michigan didn't make a bowl game
• Michigan State is in a News Years Day Bowl
• Penn State had a good year
• Ohio State is not in the national championship game and lost two games this year
• Michigan lost to a MAC team and a Mountain West team
• Northwestern and Iowa are in bowl games
• Cincinnati Bearcats are in a BCS game
• Notre Dame won a bowl game. The first time in 15 years
• The Michigan Basketball program is on the rise and even ranked in the AP (the first time since 2006).
• Michigan State is actually putting together a decent recruiting class
• Jake Long was the #1 draft pick in the entire NFL Draft
• Michigan could have up to 6 recruits enrolling early. They had 1 last year
• Ron English is the head coach for Eastern Michigan (congrats Ron!)
• Brady Hoke is the head coach at San Diego State (congrats Brady!)
• Stan Parrish is the head coach at Ball State (congrats Stan! - There are former Michigan coaches everywhere!)
• The Lions are about to make NFL History
• Gas was $4.00 a gallon and now around $1.70
• Our beloved Big House wasn't the largest stadium in the nation. (due to construction - Penn State was the biggest this year)
• Michigan played their spring game at a high school
• The Michigan basketball team beat Duke in front of a sold out Crisler Arena
• JoPa who was thought to be in his last year, just signed a new 3 year contract. He now will coach to his mid - late 80's!
• Bill Martin hasn't hired a coach from West Virgina in over a year

(did I miss any?)

The12 Days of Michigan Football Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, Coach Rod gave to me.........A Forcier that is fumble free

On the second day of Christmas, Coach Rod gave to me......two defensive turnovers and a Forcier that is fumble free

On the third day of Christmas, Coach Rod gave to me .........3 O Linemen, two defensive turnovers, and a Forcier that is fumble free.

On the fourth day of Christmas, Coach Rod game to me.........4 Star recruiting, 3 O Linemen, two defensive turnovers, and a Forcier that is fumble free.

On the fifth day of Christmas, Coach Rod gave to me.......5 ROSE BOWL RINGS!, 4 star recruiting, 3 O Linemen, 2 defensive turnovers, and a Forcier that is fumble free.

On the sixth day of Christmas, Coach Rod gave to me.......6 kids committing, 5 ROSE BOWL RINGS!, 4 star recruiting, 3 O Linemen, 2 defensive turnovers, and a Forcier that is fumble free

On the seventh day of Christmas, Coach Rod gave to me........7 men a sacking, 6 kids committing, 5 ROSE BOWL RINGS!, 4 star recruiting, 3 O Linemen, 2 defensive turnovers, and a Forcier that is fumble free


On the eight day of Christmas, Coach Rod gave to me.........8 wins were praying, 7 men a sacking, 6 kids committing, 5 ROSE BOWL RINGS!, 4 star recruiting, 3 O Linemen, 2 defensive turnovers, and a Forcier that is fumble free

On the ninth day of Christmas, Coach Rod gave to me..........9 touchdown dances, 8 wins were praying, 7 men a sacking, 6 kids committing, 5 ROSE BOWL RINGS!, 4 star recruiting, 3 O Linemen, 2 defensive turnovers, and a Forcier that is fumble free

On the tenth day of Christmas, Coach Rod gave to me.........10 McGuffie's leaping (or leaving), 9 touchdown dances, 8 wins were praying, 7 men a sacking, 6 kids committing, 5 ROSE BOWL RINGS!, 4 star recruiting, 3 O Linemen, 2 defensive turnovers, and a Forcier that is fumble free

On the eleventh day of Christmas, Coach Rod gave to me.......... 11 pretty pass plays, 10 McGuffie's leaping (or leaving), 9 touchdown dances, 8 wins were praying, 7 men a sacking, 6 kids committing, 5 ROSE BOWL RINGS!, 4 star recruiting, 3 O Linemen, 2 defensive turnovers, and a Forcier that is fumble free

On the twelfth day of Christmas, Coach Rod gave to me........12 DeQuinta's Dominating, 11 pretty pass plays, 10 McGuffie's leaping (or leaving), 9 touchdown dances, 8 wins were praying, 7 men a sacking, 6 kids committing, 5 ROSE BOWL RINGS!, 4 star recruiting, 3 O Linemen, 2 defensive turnovers, and a Forcier that is fumble free

I wish you all a Happy Holidays and Dewayne Peace on Earth!

Did Michigan Fans Get an Early Christmas Present?

The Michigan Daily is reporting that someone by the name William Michael Campbell created a unique user name in Michigan's registration system which will allow him to enroll for the semester starting in January. Of course, we can't officially confirm it's "Big Will" the 5 star DT from Detroit, but there is pretty good odds it is. On a separate note, Robert Forcier (Tate), Vincent Smith, Brandin Hawthorne, Vlad Emilien all have unique names and email's addresses now in the system.

So let's keep this information between us and let "Big Will" make his announcement on January 3rd at the Army All American Game.

Other news and notes:

• It's official, Michigan Basketball center freshman Ben Cronin will have surgery on his injured left hip and miss the remainder of the season. He is expected to receive a medical redshirt.


• The rumor mill is saying that Coach Rod continues to look outside the program for his new defensive coordinator. If we don't get news on a new DC in the next week, look for Jay Hopson to get the gig.


• A potential replacement for Beaver is: Denard Robinson a 6"1 185 lbs 4 star athlete from Florida. Denard is planning to visit Michigan on January 9th. "I like Michigan because the old coaches from West Virginia are there," Robinson said. "Coach Rich Rodriguez is trying to install his system there and I think I'd be a good fit. They need a good dual-threat quarterback like me. I won't be making a final decision until after my visits." Denard has visited Florida, Georgia, and also plans on visiting Kansas State and Central Florida.


• Pernell McPhee hasn't made his final decision yet but expect him to stay in the SEC and not head north to Michigan. Florida is making a late push for his services.


• Defensive lineman DeQuinta Jones has verbally committed to the Wolverines but hasn't made an official visit to Ann Arbor yet. He is planning on doing that in the next month but will also take some other official visits. I would consider DeQuinta to be a "soft" commit at this point.

Michigan Weekly Recuiting Blitz

• Beaver's de-commitment from Michigan couldn't have come at a worse time for the Wolverines (ok signing day would have been worse) currently in December's dead period for recruiting. Most of the "top" dual threat QB's are committed to other schools. Which doesn't mean Rich Rod and staff can't break out some "snake oil", but it still will be an up hill climb since the Wolverines thought they were all set at QB for this class. The top targets include: Tajh Boyd a 5 star QB that has been committed to two schools so far this year. He was committed to WVU for awhile and then decided to re-open his recruitment, he recently committed to Tennessee until Lane Kiffin came in and told him he wasn't a fit for his offense. So now he is looking again and has taken a trip to Columbus and plans on visiting Oregon. It's highly doubtful that Michigan can get in this sweepstakes since they haven't been recruiting him (until now). The other highly regarded QB in this class is Florida's Eugene Smith who is currently committed to WVU (to replace Tajh). Michigan has been recruiting Eugene even when Kevin Newsome, The Beaver, and Tate Focier were in/out of the fold. Michigan will have to turn up the heat on this one and see if they can get an official visit before signing day. If Michigan can't get interest from either Tajh or Eugene, Michigan will have to look at other 3 Star prospects at QB. A second QB in this class is a must.
• One question is: Did this come as a surprise to the Michigan coaches? Maybe, but maybe not. Coach Rod said something funny last week: "I really think recruiting's going very well," he said. "We're going to have quite a group come in at midterm (in January). Anywhere between six-eight, and that's pretty exciting. ... We'll sign a full class of 25, and we've got about 20 commitments. You've still got to recruit those guys. The response has been really good, and we've got a great place to sell." At this point, Michigan had 21 commitments. Beaver was also expected to enroll early.
• Another question is: What if Michigan can't get another QB in this class? Michigan is expected to give at least 2 QB's preferred walk on status. One of those QB's is rumored to be Holland, Michigan's AJ Westendorp who ran a spread attack in high school and lead his team to the Division 4 State Title this past season. (I know you Michigan fans are thinking: "all we need is another Sheridan!" The folks that have seen him play say he is a real QB with a strong arm and a big upgrade from Nick. Not a great athlete but is a very fierce competitor)


• Michigan's big target for the rest of the class still remains 5 star DT "Big" Will Campbell. Will has visited both Florida and Miami the past two weekends. He is keeping pretty tight lipped about those visits but the recruiting experts didn't think he saw anything that blew him away. Will now has completed all his visits and will announce on January 3rd at the Army All American game. He still plans to enroll at the college of his choice in early January.


• Ohio defensive back Michael Edwards visited Cincinnati this past week and plans on visiting Michigan and Tennessee before making a decision. Mike had a very nice senior year with 50 tackles and 6 picks. Mike's high school coach is Ted Ginn, Sr. so expect him to wait and see if he gets an OSU offer in the next month.
• Rumor Mill: Has Michigan former DC Scott Shafer interviewing with Syracuse new head coach Doug Marrone for his open DC role.
• Michigan is still in the running for an official visit by 5 star DB Dre Kirkpatrick.

Do you want to be Michigan's new DC?

Feel free to submit your resumes here: http://ncaamarket.ncaa.org/jobdetail.cfm?job=3048540

Let me add two more requirements: Defense must be able to tackle running backs and cover receivers down field. Keeping a team under 10 points is preferred.


Assistant Football Coach
POSTED: Dec 17

Salary:
130,000.00 - 150,000.00

Location:
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Employer:
University of Michigan

Type:
Full Time - Experienced
Category:
Football

Required Education:
4 Year Degree

Description
The University of Michigan invites applications for the position of Assistant Football Coach. This position entails assisting in the planning, organizing, directing, and implementing of all phases of a Division I football program. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Identifying and recruiting athletically and academically qualified student-athletes, organizing and planning practice and match strategies, participating in public relations and fundraising efforts, observing team members and determining the need for individual or team improvement; determining position assignments of team members; recommending contest strategy for a facet of the sport; insuring adherence to all association and conference rules by athletes and supporting staff; assisting in the monitoring of academic progress and status of team members.


NOTES:
Additional Salary Information: Salary dependent upon experience and qualifications. Employer may assist with relocation costs. (Wow! Thanks!)


Requirements :
Qualifications/ Skill Requirements: Bachelors degree is required, prior participation and coaching in collegiate and/or professional football is required, proven ability to train and motivate athletes, excellent communication and organizational skills, ability to serve as a mentor and leader, thorough knowledge of NCAA rules and regulations, personal computer and related software skills are all desired. (I got the software skills covered)

English to EMU and LLP is impressive in debut

• ESPN and the Detroit News are saying that Ron English will be the new head coach at Eastern Michigan as soon as Monday. Ron is the current defensive coordinator at Louisville and the former defensive coordinator at Michigan under Lloyd Carr. English would become just the fifth African-American head coach among the 119 Football Bowl Subdivision schools.

• Michigan beats Oakland 89-76 on balanced scoring and a "hot" 10-18 from 3 point range in the first half. Sims was the leading scorer with 20 points, Manny Harris had 15, Laval Lucas-Perry had 14 in his Michigan debut, and Stu Douglass was hot e$arly in the game and ended with 12 points.

Come on Beav!

It what seems like a complete 180, Shavodrick Beaver has de-committed from Michigan and committed to Conference USA's, Tulsa Golden Hurricanes.

He committed to Tulsa after in home visits from 3 Tulsa coaches: “It’s about who you’re going to be with over the next four years,” Beaver said on Friday, adding that proximity played a big role. “I was impressed with how (the Tulsa coaches) carried themselves. They told me everything that was offered, and everything they said made sense.”

Beaver said TU coach Todd Graham discussed the importance of growing as a person away from the football field, an emphasis that Michigan didn’t approach. It made a difference, the player said.

In another quote: "It's about family, faith and friends. I needed to go to Tulsa. Tulsa is all about family. They have great support there with the coaches, team and university. Picking a school is not all about the logo."

BHB opinion: I know 18 year old kids change their mind and want to be closer to home, but this seems like a very short sighted decision. He picked Tulsa over Michigan? Anyway you compare the schools, Michigan wins. The only negative is that Ann Arbor isn't in Texas or Oklahoma. Don't get me wrong he has every right to change his mind, but he left a chance to earn a very valuable Michigan degree, to start at a major BCS program that is on TV every week for a Conference USA team that gets little to no coverage at all.

Not to completely throw this young man under the bus, but I'm guessing he heard the rumors that he would redshirt next year or be the third string QB behind Forcier and Threet and decided that being a Golden Hurricanes was a better situation.

BTW: Beaver has been saying things like he was 100% committed to Michigan and was excited to start classes in January as late as Wednesday of this week. Doesn't make much sense.

Look for Michigan to pursue: Tajh Boyd and Eugene Smith.

Quick Fire Friday

• Rumors are that Scot Loeffler might leave the Detroit Lions to join Steve Sarkisian at Washington. Scot was the QB coach at Michigan from 2002-2007. Leaving the Detroit Lions is always a good thing!


• McGuffie will decide between Rice, Houston and Texas A&M in the next couple of days.


• Looks like 7"0 Freshman Ben Cronin will redshirt this year. Ben has been dealing with some health issues and has only seen limited action this year.


• As predicted former Michigan Assistant Stan Parrish was named head coach at Ball State. Stan has also been a head coach at Wabash, Marshall and Kansas State with an overall record of 57-41-3 as a head coach. His first game as head man at Ball State will be against the bowl game on 1/6 against Tulsa.


• JUCO prospect Pernell McPhee was supposed to sign his commitment letter this week, but has decided to keep his recruitment open for a few more days. This doesn't look good for a Michigan commit and the word on the street is that Florida is doing a full court press for Pernell.


• For those that got the new SI this week, Yes that is former Wolverine Lamarr Woodley on the cover. Nice job Wood!

Michigan News and Notes

• The word on the street is that Jay Hopson is the leading candidate for the defensive coordinator position at Michigan. Coach Rod says his focus is on recruiting: "I know a lot of people in this profession," Rodriguez said Wednesday at the National Football Foundation/Detroit Free Press all-state banquet at the Dearborn Inn. "My main focus right now is recruiting, and that's what I've been concentrating on." "Obviously, as a head coach, it's my responsibility to find the best fit for the program, and I'll do that," Rodriguez said. "I don't have a specific timetable other than I hope to have it by the time our student-athletes come back on Jan. 7. I'd like to have it in place by then, but I don't have to." It seems maybe RR is open to looking nationally for the next DC and that Jay is not a slam dunk.
• Michigan is still expecting 6-8 recruits to enroll early next month. RR: "I really think recruiting's going very well," he said. "We're going to have quite a group come in at midterm (in January). Anywhere between six-eight, and that's pretty exciting."
• Does the loss of Shafer as the DC affect "Big" Will Campbell decision in schools? "It really doesn't affect me because my defensive line coach is still there," Campbell said, speaking of U-M assistant Bruce Tall, who also attended the banquet. "It also doesn't affect me at all because I don't know where I'm going. Even if I was still committed there, it probably wouldn't make a difference because my coach is still there." That is good news, I think?
• LLP is ready to play! For those that don't know that LLP is short for freshman guard and Arizona transfer Laval Lucas-Perry who is eligible to play in Michigan's game this weekend against Oakland University at the Palace. LLP is 6"3, 185 and is expected to be a physical presence at point guard. Things are point up for the Michigan Basketball program right now! At 7 wins they have 70% of the wins they had last year and were not in the Big Ten season yet.
• Snake Oil Alert: WR Auburn commit Travante Stallworth says he is still committed to Auburn but will take a visit to Ann Arbor 0n January 9th. He told Mgoblog: "With Michigan there’s so much history. My coach called me two weeks ago and said Michigan is interested, and my eyes got big, because not everyone gets that opportunity. I already know what kind of offense they run, and it’s the same offense we run in high school."
• If Michigan is interested in former Tennessee defensive coordinator John Chavis and/or former Auburn defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads, they better hurry because they are both rumored in the DC opening a Clemson.

Who could be Michigan's Next DC?

Who can it be now? Since Shafer has left the program who will take his place as defensive coordinator? My best guesses are the following candidates:

• Jeff Casteel, West Virginia DC: didn't originally come with Coach Rod and staff last December. Maybe he felt he was going to be a candidate for the head coaching position? With the bumpy road at WVU this fall maybe he is looking to stay with RR? We also know RR likes the 3-3-5 formation.
• Jay Hopson, LB coach Michigan: Jay is in his first year as LB coach with the Wolverines and has DC experience after spending three seasons as defensive coordinator, defensive backs and middle linebackers coach for the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles. Jay, right now has to be the leader out of the gate to get the job.
• John Chavis, former Tennessee DC: John is out of a job and was known to run a very good defense at UT. Usually the head coach has some type of relationship with a coach before they hire them to a high profile role. I think this is pretty unlikely, but would be a big name outside the program.
• Paul Rhoads, former Auburn DC: Is also out of a job and was the former DC at Pitt so RR knows his style. His defense was the one that keep his team out of the National Championship game last year. If RR was going to go outside the program (meaning no Hopson or Casteel), I would think Rhoads might be a good choice. Auburn had a pretty good defense this year.

If RR mind is set on the 3-3-5 the only one with real experience in that set is Casteel. The "bad press" out of West Virgina may make this hire less attractive then others.

If I had to rate the race at this point:

1. Hopson
2. Casteel
3. Rhoads
4. Chavis or a Mystery Pick

______________________________

News and Notes:

• Today is the first day that junior college players can sign a letter of intent and enroll in January. Michigan is interested in one player: Pernell McPhee, a DE who is rated the #3 player in JUCO this year. If Pernell joined the Wolverines he would have 3 years to play 2.
• DJ Swearinger is verbally committed to the SC Gamecocks but says this of Michigan: "Michigan is coming at me too. They said to take my time and try to decide if I want to come up for an official visit."
• Josh Gordon, a 6"4 215 lbs WR from Houston is rated 2 stars by Scouts said this about Michigan: "I'm getting an in-home visit from some (Michigan) coaches this week," he said. "I like Michigan because they are rebuilding their offense and have been recruiting me a lot more lately," he said. "I think I'd have a good chance to play early there and get the offense there going." Gordon says he hopes that Michigan offers next week because he doesn't plan on waiting for the Wolverines much longer. "If they offer me this week then great," he said. "I'll take a visit there and see what it's like. If not, I'm just gonna focus on the ones I have offers from and move on." Gordon reports 10 offers from schools like Baylor, Nebraska, Texas Tech and Missouri. He admits that TT and Mizzu have maybe lost interest in Gordon lately. If Josh were to commit to the 2009 Michigan class he would be the 3rd "Gordon" along with Cameron and Thomas Gordon (not related).
• Looks like Ryan Mallett's transfer to Arkansas has prompted Nathan Dick a redshirt freshman to transfer from Arkansas. Nathan is reportedly looking at D1AA schools so he can play right away.

Shafer One and Done: Michigan's Defensive Coordinator Resigns

After a very poor year, Michigan's Defensive Coordinator Scott Shafer has resigned.

"Scott and I agreed that moving in a different direction was in the best interest of the program," said coach Rich Rodriguez. "I appreciate Scott's hard work on behalf of Michigan football the past year. He is a good football coach, a good person and a true professional. We wish him well in the future."

Read between the lines here: Scott was asked to leave after a very poor 2008 performance from his defensive unit that was supposed to have been the strength of the team and allow a very young offense to gain experience.

When asked by the Free Press if he resigned:

"Yes, it is accurate," Shafer said this afternoon. "We just had a mutual decision. We had different thoughts on the way we did things. I take full responsibility for the demise of where Michigan's program is at this time."

The coaches had a difference of opinion on which defensive formations to run, RR liked the 3-3-5 and Shafer liked the 4-3.

"That’s kind of the reason the decision was made," Shafer said about their differences. "It's one of those deals throughout the whole deal (we debated.) We came up with that decision that it was time to go our own ways. It just didn't fit as simple as that is. I wish Michigan all the success in the future."

The lowest moment of the year for the Michigan Defense, was the 48-42 loss against Purdue when Michigan's defense let Purdue's third string QB (that was a RB at the beginning of the year) pass for 266 yards and 3 touchdowns and run for 77 yards and 1 more touchdown. Shafer implemented a new defense formation for the game that obviously backfired and gave 10th ranked offense in the Big Ten a big day.

Auburn's Fit

Since, I predicted that Sir Charles would go crazy over this hire, I will chime in and give you my thoughts on the hiring of Gene Chizik. First off let me clearly state, that I know nothing about the Auburn program or have any inside information, I will just give you my opinion from a Michigan fan that went through a "painful" coaching search last year.

Here is Barkley's comments on the hire:

"I believe race had a factor. Of course I do," Barkley, a former Auburn and NBA star, said Monday in a phone interview with The Associated Press hours after Chizik was introduced. "First of all you can't compare these two, their records. That's not even close to being fair.

"I look at things from a commonsense standpoint, how do you interview Turner Gill and pick Gene Chizik over Turner Gill?"

Here is Auburn's AD's comment: Jay Jacobs denied that race was a factor, saying he picked "the best fit for Auburn."

I have been very critical of AD's this off season picking coordinators with no head coaching experience to lead their programs. I talked about the difference in being a leader versus learning how to be a leader. This is one of the reasons why I believe Gene was the wrong choice for Auburn. He was a very successful coordinator at Auburn and at Texas but he lost 10 games in a row this past year as the head coach for Iowa State. Gene had two seasons experience at being a head coach and went 5-19 overall. Is this the type of resume Auburn wanted? Someone page Bob Davie!!

Was race a part of the decision? I don't know, but I believe Sir Charles brings up a valid point. What made Gene the right fit for Auburn? Was he the White fit? Only Jay Jacobs and the rumored "Good Old Boys" network down at Auburn really knows.

I can tell you one thing, if Michigan had hired a former assistant that was now a head coach, who had just completed a season where he lost 10 in a row. Bill Martin (Michigan's AD) would be on this sailboat full time, because the Michigan faithful would have thrown him out of office and ran him out of Ann Arbor.

Auburn could have gone a number of directions with this hire, Brady Hoke, Turner Gill, heck even a former NFL guy like Brian Billick and nobody would have given it a second thought. In these days, where last year is all that you remember, I don't see anyway that Gene can be successful at Auburn. It's un-believable that nobody at Auburn, took a step back and said, "Wait a second!, what type of ramifications does this hire have on the program?" (Mostly when one of your famous alums is Charles Barkley)

Auburn fans you have every right to be mad at the program you love. You have every right to yell at airports, during games, or where ever you can be heard. This hire makes zero sense and being the right fit, doesn't explain anything.

I'm afraid this situation is only going to get worse.

Michigan WR's have a good Night on MNF!

Obviously the Browns never had a chance in this one, but it's always good to see former wolverine wide receivers doing well in the NFL.

Braylon Edwards: had 102 yards on 5 catches with his longest reception of 28 yards.
Jason Avant: had 101 yards with 5 catches with his longest of 25 yards.

I believe those were career high numbers for Jason.

Michigan's Weekly Recruiting Blitz

• Update: Pernell McPhee is Announcing Tomorrow. Pernell is one of the top rated JUCO recruits in the country. The word is it's between Michigan and Mississippi State (where he committed to before the coaching change). Pernell is a 4 star DE.
• Alabama linebacker Tana Patrick doesn't have a leader but likes Michigan is his top group (with Alabama, Auburn, Miami, Florida State and LSU): Patrick says that Michigan has been coming on strong as of late. "They are telling me they like my defensive style and that I'd be a good fit for them," he said. "I like that they have a good tradition and history of football at Michigan."
• Cleveland Glenville star lineman Marcus Hall just completed a visit to Columbus but also plans on visiting Michigan, Illinois, Miami (Fla.) and LSU. He plans to announce his decision on signing day in February. You don't need a crystal ball to predict this recruitment. The smart money is on Ohio State.
• Offensive Lineman Travis Bond confirmed that his UNC official visit has been moved to the weekend of January 16 and that he still "may" visit Ann Arbor
• Visiting Clemson this past weekend is a familiar name: WR Bryce McNeal (6-2, 175) of Minneapolis. That was his final official visit following trips to Colorado, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Oregon. "I liked the people and the atmosphere, the tradition,"he said. "I'm going to go home and weigh my options and decide Jan. 3 (at the US Army All-American Game)."
• Michigan recruit, OL Quinton Washington (6-4, 315) has official visit dates set with USC on Jan. 17 and Tennessee on Jan. 24. He also will visit Clemson. Quinton has already visited the Wolverines.
• DE Sam Montgomery of Greenwood (6-5, 240) has set official visits in January with Michigan, North Carolina, LSU, Tennessee and Oregon but he is favoring LSU.
• DB Jaron Hosley (5-11, 175) of Delray Beach, Fla, will visit Clemson on 1/31, Michigan on 1/17, and South Florida on 1/24. Jaron is also considering Ohio State and Vandy. Not sure where OSU has room for Mr. Hosley.

Random Thoughts: Monday Edition

• Does anyone want to be Jay Jacobs, Auburn's Athletic Director today? He fired a very successful head coach in Tommy Tubberville and replaced him with a guy that has been a head coach for two years at Iowa State that went 5-19. Gene Chizik was a very respected defensive coordinator for Auburn and Texas but you can't say he was ever a "respected" head coach and wasn't on anybodies short list. Just so I understand this, Jay picked Gene over Turner Gill, Brady Hoke, and Tulsa's Todd Graham? Not a very good move Jay and good luck with that decision. I can't wait to hear what Charles Barkley has to say about this one!
• Did anyone else think Ed Werder would be the fall guy in all the Cowboys "drama" that went down last week? I'm sorry but it looks like Ed got set up. I know the Cowboy's are "America's Team" but running that silliness as the lead story is ridiculous.
• Speaking of ESPN: Is it me or should be the colors on the ESPN ticker be reversed? When I'm checking for a score I aways think the team in white was the winner, but actually it's the tan color that won.
• Does anyone know where I can sell my un-wanted gold jewelry?
• Why do some guys wear their blue tooth headsets all day? I'm sure they are very busy and have important jobs, but wearing those headsets all day makes them look like a dork. Maybe they all have a CIA complex or something?
• Why do people go to malls or shopping centers, when you can order online from home get free shipping and not pay any tax?
• Great hire by San Diego State: Brady Hoke is a great choice for SDS and will likely triple his $240,000 salary by taking the job. Not to mention, maybe the nicest place to live in the entire country. Brady should have gotten the Syracuse or Auburn jobs but their loss is SDS gain. Brady was a former Michigan assistant coach and his brother was also an assistant for SDS from 87-88. Good luck Brady, Michigan has an open date on 10/17!
• Look for Stan Parrish another former Wolverine assistant be the leading candidate to replace Brady as Ball State's head coach.
• How drunk was Billy Simms at the Heisman presentation? Usually Mike Rozier is the person that does something "unique" during the presentation.
• The "rumor" on the street is that Michigan's Scott Shafer maybe out as Michigan's defensive coordinator after one year. Shafer's defense under achieved this past year and was thought to be Michigan's strength. Shafer has not been at the last two Michigan basketball games, both were big recruiting weekends for the Michigan football program.
• More info on McGuffie has come out. It seems the young man was having some very serious family problems back home in Texas. His position coach Fred Jackson said this on Saturday: “There was too much stuff there – he had to go home. There was a lot of issues as far as his sister and brother.” “The kid wanted to be here,” Jackson said. “It’s just that things happened with his family that weighed heavy he couldn’t concentrate.”

The Recruiting Revolving Door: Michigan loses one, Gains one!

Recruiting these days is "big business", kids get ranked and called non-stop by schools and recruiting services. They have their own highlight videos on YouTube and kids are committing earlier and earlier to their favorite schools.

When 18 year old kids make a "huge" decision they sometimes change their minds in the the many months before signing day. Michigan has seen some high profile kids verbally commit then de-commit a few months later. Kevin Newsome, Will Campbell, Bryce McNeal, are just a few that pulled the old switch a rooo on the Wolverines in the 2009 class.

Now, Jordan Barnes a 3 star LB from Indiana is the most recent Wolverine to de-commit for the 2009 class. Jordan was never a priority recruit for the Wolverines and maybe he felt the same way towards Michigan. To net it out, this is not a huge loss for the Wolverines.

With the loss of one recruit comes the addition of another.





Yes, the Wolverines have landed Taylor Lewan a 4 star Offensive Tackle from Scottsdale. Taylor is 6"7 and 272 pounds and is a high school teammate of Michigan defensive end commit Craig Roh. Taylor becomes the Wolverines 21st commitment for the 2009 class.

"Things went good and I did commit," Lewan said before sitting down to discuss the trip and the decision with his parents.

Taylor is a huge pick up in a position of need for the Wolverines. As always, here are the particulars on Taylor from Varsity Blue:

Recruiting Notes:
Lewan was unknown early in the recruiting season, but a solid senior year at a new position and a new school has given him the ability to pick from a virtual who's-who of colleges. Michigan offered him after the first few games of his final high school campaign, and when they landed Craig Roh, it greatly increased their chances to land Taylor. However, Lewan's father is a native Minnesotan, and attended the University in St. Paul. Because of his father's roots, Lewan has described himself as a displaced midwesterner. After a Minnesota visit, Lewan maintained that he would still take trips to Michigan and Oregon before making his decision. Taylor visited Ann Arbor the weekend of December 13th, and attended Michigan's basketball victory against Eastern Michigan. Shortly thereafter, he told Rich Rodriguez that he wished to be a Michigan Wolverine, and committed to the Maize and Blue.


Player Notes:
In his junior year, Taylor Lewan was a little-known defensive end prospect from Cactus Shadows High School in Scottsdale, Arizona. A transfer to Chaparral High School (a more successful program) and a move to the offensive tackle position (at which he is a better physical fit) gave Lewan a new lease on football life. He has become one of the fastest-rising prospects in the country over the course of a few short months. Lewan is a true offensive tackle, and a four-star prospect to both recruiting sites. He plays with an edge to his game that sets him apart from other offensive linemen. New teammate Craig Roh had a mutually-beneficial relationship on the practice field with Lewan, and the pair helped each other improve. Roh has described Lewan as a gym rat that won't be outworked by anyone.

Even though Michigan lost a recruit this weekend this was a Net gain for the Wolverines.

Crime Dog to Patrol Another City: Sam McGuffie Transfers from Michigan

Now what are you going to do with those #2 jerseys you bought for Christmas?

What has been rumored for weeks became official today as Sam McGuffie has gotten his release from the Michigan Football program.

"I just got out of the compliance office and picked up my release," said McGuffie. "They gave me a full release – no restrictions. I will be somewhere else in January."

"It's just been weighing on me for a while," he said. "There are a number of factors that went into [the decision]. It's nothing against the Michigan football team or the university. I felt that I had to what is best for myself and my family."

Sam doesn't have a final destination but he does have some thoughts on where in Texas he would like to play. "There are a couple of schools that I'm interested in such as Texas A&M, Texas Tech, TCU, Oklahoma State and a couple of others." It seems A&M would might be the best fit. "They were one of my top teams last year," McGuffie said of the Aggies. "I have a former teammate, Chris Lathrop, that signed with them last year and he loves it. I've talked to him a bunch about it. I know a lot of guys on the team there and I have a bunch of friends from home that go there, too."

BHB Opinion: I have always been a big fan of Sam's and wish him nothing but the best . The one thing I think he needs to take very seriously and so does any other program thinking about signing him, is his tendency to get concussions. Having 3 concussions in the last 5 games is a very serious matter and I hope he is getting good advice from his family and the proper medical staff. Sam is a special talent but his size wasn't a good fit for a 25 carry a game Big 10 tailback.

Does the loss of McGuffie cause Michigan any problems for 2009 and beyond? Not at all. With his concussions problems, even if he stayed he most likely would have moved to Slot WR. Michigan continues to be loaded at running back and also has an impressive list of running back recruits for the 2009 class.

Good Luck Sam!

Everyone Loves a Good Coordinator

If I am Brian Kelly, Brady Hoke, or Turner Gill, I have to wonder what I have to do to get a premier coaching job these days? This "hiring" season has to be titled the Year of the Coordinator! It's crazy how many coordinators are getting college head coaching jobs.

Breaking News: It seems head coach "in waiting" at Texas and defensive coordinator Will Muscamp will be named the new Auburn head football coach today. Auburn interviewed but did not hire, Turner Gill, Brady Hoke, and Tulsa's Todd Graham before choosing Will. Of course this will be looked at as an solid hire since Will was in such huge demand and most likely turned down the Washington job. Update: Will is saying he is not going to Auburn.

Syracuse: tried to hire a current head coach but Skip Hotz turned down the job. Which was actually a smart move, I'm not sure Syracuse is a better job then East Carolina anyway. Now, The Big Orange is planning on naming New Orleans Saints' offensive coordinator Doug Marrone. That same Doug Marrone who just lost in overtime to the Bears last night. I'm sure Doug is a good coach but to choose him over Brady Hoke and or Turner Gill is crazy in my mind.

Washington: Also got "one of the hottest" coordinators in the country in hiring USC's offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. I really can't argue with this hire, he is from out West, he knows the PAC 10, and is a great recruiter. Very good choice.

Tennessee: Picked another former USC offensive coordinator who had a "cup of coffee" in the NFL as a head football coach with the Raiders. Lane Kiffin has been a head football coach for a total of 20 games. So most of his experience comes from being a coordinator under Pete Carroll since 2005.

New Mexico: Hired Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley. I believe this is a great pick up and that Mike was another "hot" commodity in the coordinator ranks. No offense to the New Mexico program but this is the type of job a very good coordinator should be getting.

Mississippi State: Hired Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen who now has to decide to build his staff and recruit or coach in the National Championship Game which is played sometime in mid-January. I think this was a solid hire, but I would have leaned to someone with some head coaching experience.

So there you have it, 5 "Big Time" college football job openings and all of them (depending on how your rate Lane Kiffin) went to a former coordinator. I think college athletic directors are getting to focused on trying to find the next great coach and passing up 3 really good candidates with leadership skills. These AD's should know more then anyone that everyone doesn't have leadership skills. Do you really want your new head coach learning his job at the expense of your program? Sure, some of these guys will do well but others will fail. If it was my couple of million dollars a year, I sure would want a guy that knew how to captain the ship.

These three guys, Brian Kelly, Brady Hoke, and Turner Gill should be leading top college programs. Brady now has to interview with San Diego State, Brian is happy at Cincinnati if they double the capacity of their stadium and get a practice field, and Turner Gill keeps doing something with nothing at Buffalo. I can't believe how many AD's missed the boat on these 3. Keep your chin up boys, the Notre Dame Job will be open next year!

Michigan Receives its 21st Commitment to the 2009 Class: Cameron Gordon

Hot off the presses: Michigan just received it's 21st commitment from Cameron Gordon a WR/LB from Inkster, Michigan. Gordon is a 6-3, 210 and is rated 4 stars by Rivals, he's the number 5 player in the state of Michigan and No. 222 in the nation. Cameron runs a 4.6 in the 40.

"He's excited," said Inkster head coach Greg Carter. "He got the offer only about a month ago, but the Michigan coaches have liked him for quite a while."

The rundown by VB:

Recruiting Notes: Gordon started the recruiting year as someone Michigan fans expected to likely end up in the Wolverines' recruiting class. However, it certainly ended up taking significantly longer than they expected (although he had always planned to take his time with a decision). At the end of his junior year, he announced that he would be transferring from Melvindale High School to Inkster, where he would have a better opportunity to excel athletically. During the summer, he attended Michigan's summer camp. The Wolverine coaches told him that they liked him more as a linebacker, and told him that he would receive an offer if he was willing to play at that position in college. With a noncommittal answer, Michigan's offer took significantly longer to arrive than Gordon would have otherwise liked. When he finally received his offer in November, Gordon took a visit to Iowa, who had been on him all along. However, the allure of the Michigan offer was too much to pass up, and he committed to Michigan today.

Player Notes: Gordon is a big, physical receiver, with large measurables for the position. He lacks elite speed, but is able to beat defenders, using his body well and catching it at the highest point with his biug hands. However, Michigan fans liked the physical play he could bring to a linebacker position at the next level. It will be interesting to see whether he remains at receiver when he gets to the next level, or at least be open to a potential position switch.

Etc: This year, Gordon was catching passes thrown by 2010 dual-threat quarterback prospect Devin Gardner, who is certainly one of the top targets on Michigan's recruiting board. Securing a commitment from Gordon should go a long way to helping Michigan land his teammate in the next recruiting class.

Slow Thursday News and Notes

• Kevin Newsome has trouble with commitment: We all remember Kevin Newsome, the 5 star QB that attended Michigan's Spring Game last year and quickly committed saying that Michigan was a the perfect mix of athletics and academics. Well, things have changed since then: He loses his 5th star due to poor throwing mechanics during the summer elite QB camps. Then Kevin decides to leave his high school Western Branch and transfer to Hargrave Military. Next he decides to de-commit from the Wolverines and re-open up the recruiting process. Now comes word he is leaving Hargrave Military for Churchland so he can enroll early at the college of his choice. He says he final list is Virginia Tech, Penn State, Ohio State and Boston College. Can anyone tell me how you can transfer High Schools in December and think you will be enrolling at college in January? Quick Prediction: Whichever college Kevin picks, look for him to transfer within two years (like he is going to sit behind Pryor for two-three years?). That Tate Forcier pick up is looking pretty good right now.
• Ohio State QB Sneak Killer and redshirt sophomore qurterback Pat Devlin has left Penn State and plans on transferring to Division 1AA school, so he can play right away.
• Latest rumor is that LSU is looking to hire former Syracuse coach Greg Robinson as it's defensive coordinator.
• From reports it looks like Skip Hotz has an offer from Syracuse and trying to make a decision to take the job or stay at East Carolina.
• Brady Hoke is very interested in the Auburn job and has interviewed with them. It sounds like Auburn is going in another direction.
• 2009 Tight End and Basketball prospect Dion Simms has eliminated Michigan from his list of schools. This is not a big loss for the Wolverines since Dion is not committed to playing football in college and prefers basketball.
• Michigan official visitors for this weekend include: Taylor Lewan, OT from Scottsdale, NC CB Josh Hunter (North Carolina Commit), FL S/LB Commit Mike Jones, and FL K Commit Brendan Gibbons.
• William Campbell is retaking his ACT this weekend, which could put his early entry into jeopardy.

Rumor Mill

• Louisville defensive coordinator Ron English is believed to be Sarkisian's top choice to be the Washington Huskies defensive coordinator. English was Michigan's defensive coordinator from 2006-07 and was a candidate to join USC's staff last year.
• It seems Lou Holtz son and current head coach of East Carolina Skip Holtz is the front-runner for the Syracuse job. Skip coached at UConn before East Carolina. I'm not sure the Syracuse job is better then East Carolina?
• MAC coaches Turner Gill and Brady Hoke both interviewed for the head coaching position at Auburn, but neither are considered a top candidate. Look for Turner Gill to be the next Syracuse coach if Skip, skips out on them.
• Sounds like Ohio State wants another dual threat QB and are actively recruiting Kevin Newsome (former Michigan commit) and Tajh Boyd (a former WVU and Tennessee commit). Look for Tajh to commit to Ohio State but then end up at like Nebraska? :-)
• Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson and South Carolina defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson are rumored to be the top two candidates for the Mississippi State's head coaching vacancy. Update: ESPN is reporting that Mississippi State will hire Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen.

Michigan Football Weekly Recruiting Blitz

• Michigan had an impressive list of recruits in for the magical weekend win over Duke: including: 5 Star Big Will Campbell and JUCO DE Pernell McPhee who is ranked the #3 JUCO player in the nation and was a verbal commit to Mississippi State before the coaching change. The initial reports are that Big Will "feels comfortable" at Michigan but will still take two more visits to Miami and University of Florida. Pernell was very impressed by his Michigan visit,"I hadn't ever been around snow. That was my first time,” McPhee said. “When it was snowing, it was nice … I loved it.” Pernell would have 3 years to play 2 if he chooses Michigan (and can get past U of M's admissions policies). Big Will plans on announcing 1/3 at the Army All American game and enrolling early at the school of his choice. All the recruits joined the students in rushing the court after the big win over Duke on Saturday.
• Also visiting U of M this past weekend was 2010 recruit Detroit Southeastern DE/LB Will Gholston. At this point he is rumored to be a Michigan State lean but Saturday had to go a long way in him thinking about coming to Ann Arbor. As some of you might have guessed, Will is a cousin of former Ohio State and top NFL draft pick Vernon Gholston.
• 2 "needed" recruits that didn't make it in this weekend were: WR Stanford commit Jamal Patterson, WR Tennessee commit JeRon Stokes. Both are considered long shots to sign with Michigan but both are interested in re-scheduling their visits.
• TX WR Dewayne Peace currently a "soft" verbal commit to Michigan, made his commitment "solid" today when he said he is staying on board with the Wolverines.
• SC OL Quinton Washington is receiving in-home visits from the Wolverine coaches.
• FL CB Jayron Hosley plans to visit Ann Arbor in January. “I’m just seeing what Michigan has to offer, see the campus. I’m excited to go up to see new things. I’ve never been up there before. It’s the first time for me, so just get up there, see the sites and enjoy it.”
• LA DE Bennie Logan has been offered a scholarship from Michigan.
• Michigan still seems to be in the running for NC OL Travis Bond but UNC seems to be the leader for Mr. Bond's services. The rumor is Travis likes his Gatorade "shaken but not stirred". Bond, Travis Bond.
• Michigan is in GA CB Darren Myles top 6 with Alabama, LSU, West Virginia, Purdue, and Georgia Tech.
• Brendan Gibbons kicker from West Palm Beach and Michigan verbal commitment was named to the Army All American game.

Michigan currently has 20 players verbally committed to the 2009 class with 8 (Tate Forcier, Shavodrick Beaver, Vincent Smith, William Campbell if he re-commits, Anthony LaLota, Brandin Hawthorne, Mike Jones, and Vlad Emilien) expected to enroll by the end of the month. Coach Rod expressed this weekend that he will sign a full class of 25 players. The new offers and needs point to the Defensive Back and Defensive End positions with the remaining 5 spots. Michigan also needs a "big" WR.

If I had to guess the 5 spots per position are as follows:

• Defensive Tackle, "Big" Will Campbell?
• Offensive Tackle, Taylor Lewan maybe?
• WR/DB, Cameron Gordon from Inkster, Michigan?
• Another DB
• Defensive Back or Defensive End

Expect Michigan to sign more then 25 (when players enroll early you can use a spot from the 2008 or 2009 class) if 5 star recruits Rueben Randle or Jelani Jenkins surprise Michigan with a commitment.

BCS DECLARES GERMANY WINNER OF WORLD WAR II - US Ranked 4th

Breaking News!

After determining the Big-12 championship game participants, the BCS computers were put to work on other major contests and today the BCS declared Germany to be the winner of World War II.

"Germany put together an incredible number of victories beginning with the annexation of Austria and the Sudetenland and continuing on into conference play with defeats of Poland, France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Greece, Belgium, Czechoslovakia and the Netherlands, plus Austria (by forfeit). Their only losses came against the US, England and Russia; however considering their entire body of work--including an incredibly tough Strength of Schedule--our computers deemed them worthy of the #1 ranking."

Questioned about the #4 ranking of the United States the BCS commissioner stated "The US only had two major victories--Japan and Germany. Italy’s forfeit was negligible, as Italy was ranked 117 of 118 anyway.

The computer models, unlike humans, aren't influenced by head-to-head contests--they consider each contest to be only a single, equally-weighted event."

The German Chancellor said "Yes, we lost to the US; but we defeated #2 ranked France in only 6 weeks." Hitler has been criticized for seeking dramatic victories to earn 'style points' to enhance Germany's rankings. "Our contest with Poland was in doubt until the final day and the conditions in Norway were incredibly challenging and demanded the application of additional forces," said the Chancellor.

The French ranking has also come under scrutiny. The BCS commented "France had a single loss against Germany and following a preseason #1 ranking they only fell to #2."

Japan was ranked #3 with victories including Manchuria, China, Burma, Malaysia, Borneo and the Philippines.

Being Sam McGuffie

Let's take a step back today and think about the decision that Sam McGuffie is trying to make. The best way to do that is to try to walk in his shoes.

Let's take a quick trip back to the past so we can understand a little bit more about Mr. McGuffie............. (cue that weird music when you go back in time)

Sam was a high school superstar out of Cypress Cy-Fair in Houston, Texas. Where he was a 4 star running back recruit by Rivals, rated #10 all purpose backs in the country, and had offers from every major college program in the country (Notre Dame, USC, etc). Sam is 5"11 and 185 pounds.

What really made Sam stand out from other recruits was his YouTube mix tape that as of today has had 2.7 million hits. Sam is seen jumping over on coming tacklers in this famous YouTube video.

So Sam is 18, a highly recruited running back and now a rock star!

Fast forward to February 2008 signing day, when all Michigan commits have sent in their faxed signed letter of intentions but McGuffie's has not shown up. Was he having second thoughts about Michigan? Maybe the coaching change? Did his last minute trip to Cal have him re-thinking his Michigan verbal commitment? Well, late that afternoon after some soul searching Sam sent in his letter to the Michigan athletic department.

Now we move to the first game of the year against (now a top ten team and BCS Bowl member) Utah. Due to injuries and suspensions at running back, Sam finds himself in the starting lineup playing on national TV against a ranked opponent and hasn't even been to his first class yet. He carries the ball 8 times for 8 yards with a touchdown and had two receptions for 22 yards.

His touches and yards then start to go up in the next games:

• Miami: 17 carries 74 yards, 3 Rec for 32 yards


• ND: 25 carries, 131 yards, 4 Rec for 42 yards


• Wisconsin: 15 carries, 36 yards, 1 Rec for -3 yards


• Illinois: 19 carries, 70 yards, 2 Rec for -1 yards


• Toledo: 25 carries, 105 yards, 5 Rec for 44 yards


• Penn State: 4 carries, 36 yards, 1 Rec for -5 yards


• MSU: 2 carries, 10 yards


• Purdue: Did not play


• Minnesota: 3 carries, 16 yards, 1 Rec for 39 yards


• Northwestern: Did not play


• Ohio State: 1 Kick off return for 16 yards

Final year stats for Sam: 8 touchdowns, 118 carries, 486 rushing yards, 19 receptions, 175 receiving yards.

The reason Sam's numbers dropped off late in the season was he received a concussion in the Michigan State game, did not play against Purdue, got another concussion in the Minnesota game after his long receiving catch, sits out the Northwestern game, only to come back for the Ohio State game where he touches the ball once on a kick off return, which results in his third concussion of the season.

To make things even worse he loses a close family member (believed to be his grandmother) the week of the Northwestern game.

As you can see, this young man is dealing with a whole host of issues; he is in his first semester of college, is far away from home, he just lost a close family member, and is recovering from 3 concussions in the last 5 weeks of the season. That is a lot for anyone to deal with, multiply that times two when your only 19.

The latest is Sam is still enrolled at Michigan and going to finish up the semester. After that it's anyone guess on what he does next. Many are speculating that he may transfer and play closer to home, somewhere like Texas Tech or TCU.

My advice to Sam would be to stick it out at Michigan. The first semester is always the hardest at college. Second, he has some of the best Doctors in the world in Ann Arbor that can help him make a sound decision regarding his football future. Third, if he does get cleared to play again move to the slot WR position so he doesn't get so many direct hits. If he is not cleared to play again, get a medical scholarship and try out for the track team. Either way you will leave Michigan with a valuable degree and a bright future.

Sam, no mater what you decide, good luck to you and your Michigan fans wish you nothing but the best.

What Are We Doing To Youth Sports?

When I was a kid growing up in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I spent the spring/summers playing baseball, the fall playing football, and the winters playing basketball.

During those glory days, we enjoyed a sport for that season and then moved to the next one. Things are different today and there is a new alarming trend in youth sports. The days of having a 10 game season (pick your sport) has turned into a 30-40 game season with off season work outs. Kids are worried if they don't focus on just one sport they won't make the varsity team in high school.

In a recent study by Michigan State, kids were asked "what they wanted to get out of playing sports" and the highest ranked answers were: having fun, playing with friends and doing an activity. I was surprised that winning ranked #10. Another youth sports study showed that 75 percent of kids will stop playing sports by the age of 15.

This report tells me that kids haven't changed, the adults have changed the system. We want kids to play a ton of games and to focus on one sport so they can become the next Tim Tebow or LeBron James. We want to over load them with games and work outs so they can be the best of the best. Another item from the MSU study stated that "75 percent of all parents think their (high school) child is good enough to get a college scholarship based on their athletic ability" Less then 1% of high school athletes will earn a college scholarship. That is a huge perception problem and one of the reason we have child obesity problem in this country and why kids are burning out before their 16th birthday.

So my question is, are we (the adults) ruining youth sports? Are we not letting kids be kids and putting too much pressure on these young men and women to take their games to the next level? The fact is, most kids will not earn a scholarship and even less will earn a living playing professional sports. It seems to me, kids want to play sports for fun and to bond with their peers, it's the adults who have the unrealistic expectations.

As the NFL says, "get out and play". Who cares what the sport is, just go out and play!

A Quick Look at the Big Ten Bowl Games

So the BCS did what they usually do, which is nothing exciting. With that said, let's take a quick initial look at all the Big Ten games:

1. Rose Bowl: USC vs Penn State: A great accomplishment for Penn State, for USC it's like a home game. In fact, didn't USC just play in that same stadium on Saturday night? If you look at both teams, USC is much more talented and could make a case for the National Championship game. (Does the winner of this game, play the winner of Oklahoma vs Florida?). If USC has their hearts and mind in this one, then they should win easily. They have already opened up as a double digit favorite (10.5). Poor match up for the Big Ten.



2. Fiesta: OSU vs Texas: Ohio State attends more fiesta's then Dora the Explorer. This year is no exception as they get to face the "very mad" Texas Longhorns who feel they should not have only played in the Big 12 Championship game but be on it's way to Miami for the National Championship game. Again, Ohio State is way over matched in this game against a Texas team that could easily put up 40+ points against the Buckeyes. The Longhorn again are double digit favorites to win this game (10.5). Another poor match up for the Big Ten.



3. Capital One: Michigan State vs. Georgia. Wow, Dog fans had hoped to be in the National Championship game as the pre-season #1 rated team. Instead they get a trip to Disney World to play the Michigan State Spartans. This has been a good year for "Sparty" but they have more then their hands full with this Georgia team. Did you watch MSU play Ohio State and Penn State? Well expect an even worse blow out against he Dogs! Terrible match up for the Big Ten.



4. Outback: Iowa vs. South Carolina. This is an interesting match up between good coaches that should compare bank account balances before the game. Neither team is play a very exciting brand of football but Iowa finished the year must stronger then USC with their highlighted win over Penn State. Look for Iowa to win this game. A good match up for the Big Ten!



5. Alamo: Northwestern vs. Missouri. Let me understand this correctly: One team just played in it's conference title game and the other finished 4th in the conference? With that said, I expect Northwestern to be competitive in this game but lose a close one to Mizzu who is more battle tested this year. An average match up for the Big Ten.



6. Champs Sports: Wisconsin vs. Florida State. This will be a decent match up of teams that had high hopes at the beginning of the season. Wisconsin pulled their season out of the fire late in the season but has struggled all year. Florida State all most made the ACC Championship Game. Advantage: Seminoles. An average match up for the Big Ten.



7. Insight: Minnesota vs. Kansas: Quick question for the group. What do you get when you lose 55-0 in your last game? A trip to the Insight Bowl! Minnesota is coming of 4 losses in a row where they really were only competitive in one. Kansas attended a BCS Bowl game last year and has a pretty good Big 12 passing attack. This one won't be competitive at all. A terrible match-up for the Big Ten.

From the looks of it, the Big Ten could have another "embarrassing" bowl season. Let's hope someone can pull a "Michigan" and pull an upset, like Michigan did over Florida last year. BTW: In the last 12 months the two teams that have beat Florida and Heisman Tim are Michigan and Old Miss. Very strange.............

Side Note: The BCS put together 3 games with double digit lines and two games with lines under 5. Not exactly the great match ups we were looking for.

• Bama -11 over Utah



• USC -10.5 over PSU



• Texas - 10.5 over OSU



• Cincy -2 over VTech



• OK -3 over Florida

A Historic Win

Plan and simple a historic win. Michigan 81 Duke 73, December 5, 2008

Michigan fans welcome back to a basketball program that is on it's way up. They have two huge wins this year over top 5 teams UCLA and Duke. This Michigan program hasn't beat Duke since December 1997. It's finally time to get excited about Basketball again. The history books have wiped out the Fab 5 and Robert Traylor has turned to a life of crime. Michigan now has one of the best college coaches in the sport. Yes, a man that knows how to motivate, make adjustments, run a complicated offense/defense, and knows how to use personnel. When was the last time as a Michigan fan could you sit back in your chair and know that the Michigan coach was one of the best in the business? It's been a very long time! John Beilein is one of the top 10 coaches in the business and he might even be in the top 5.

What an effort today from the entire team. DeShawn Sims was crazy good and played the best game of his career with 28 points. Manny Harris scored 17 points and Zack Novak scored 14 on four three-pointers for Michigan. All 3 guys hit huge timely baskets that lifted the team in the second half. Kelvin Grady should also be recognized for taking care of the ball and showing quickness and speed getting the ball up the court. The entire team shot well from the free throw line going 16-20.

This team is young, full of energy and talent. There will be nights when they make freshman mistakes and lose a game they shouldn't but there will be other nights like tonight when they can compete and even beat one of the best teams in the country. In a week, where Michigan State got blown out by North Carolina and coming off a 3-9 football season, this feels pretty good.

This team is going to be fun to watch all year. This is a great example of when you mix great coaching with talented players that want to learn a system they can win and compete at all levels. We all should take a lesson on whats going on at Crisler this year, because the same thing will be coming to Michigan Stadium in the next few years.

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Update on potential transfers per coach Rodriguez today;

• Sam McGuffie is considering a transfer but is still enrolled at Michigan and will finish the semester before he makes a decision.
• Carson Butler is looking into the NFL
• Avery Horn is also considering a transfer
  

'Bama vs. Florida - No RESPECT! Not Yet Anyway!!

Florida 24, Alabama 20. The Crimson Tide are the more physical team and while they will be typically strong up front, they just don't have the speed to match the Gators on either side of the ball. New school trumps old school as Florida punches its ticket to Miami.

Florida 28, Alabama 25. The No. 1 team in the country is a 10-point underdog? Really? Think Nick Saban won't use that as extra motivation? Don't be fooled: This one's going to be a season-ending dogfight.

Florida 31, Alabama 20. Alabama will play well early on and will weather the storm, and then two big haymakers thrown by the Florida offense will open things up. Bama QB John Parker Wilson will throw two key interceptions in the second half to turn a close battle into a rout, making the fourth quarter all about the coronation of the Gators as they grind out the clock with its own solid running game.

Florida 23, Alabama 16 . The mistake made by other defenses against Florida is that they stay in a base look too often. Saban is going to mix it up and basically take chances. Try to out-audible Tebow with last-second changes. To sit back in one defense is crazy.


BTW, let's not Forget Mt. Cody!! Hello Tebow

Hello - Goodbye or Aloha!

• Goodbye Sam McGuffie? Sam didn't attend Michigan's 88th Michigan Football Bust last night. The "word" (which could change) out of Ann Arbor is that Sam is again looking to transfer closer to home. The rumored schools he is looking at is Texas Tech and TCU. On a side note, I'm a big Sam McGuffie fan, but I'm concerned about his health with at least two concussions last season (some have thought as high as 3). I hope Sam takes some time and considers staying at Michigan and even not playing football again.



• Hello Brandon Graham: Who was named the MVP at the Michigan Football Bust and declared he was coming back for his senior year. Let's hope! Michigan needs all the help they can get in 2009 and Brandon will be a huge part of the defense!



• Goodbye Michigan State: What a bad week for Sparty! First Plaxico Burress goes and shoots himself in the leg, then the MSU Basketball team gets "run" out of Ford Field by North Carolina, and now Charles Rogers former State WR and top draft pick of the Detroit Lions, ends up in jail because he tested positive for narcotics while on probation for a Assault and Battery charge back in September. Kids, if you want to be an NFL WR, please follow Amani Toomer's example and not Charles and Plaxico's example. Where did Amani go to school again? That's right: Michigan!



• Hello Steve Sarkisian: Which sources are saying will be named the new head coach of the Washington Huskies. Steve turned down the Oakland Raiders job last year and is known as a great offensive mind. I know these programs are very interested in the next "hot" candidate but there comes a lot of risk when you choose someone that has never been a head coach. I'm not sure you want that person learning how do be a head coach at the expense of your program. Look at Urban Meyer background: head coach at Bowling Green, Utah, then Florida. That is a very good resume in leadership.
  
• Goodbye Julius Franks Jr.: Julius was laid to rest this week at the age of 86. Julius will be remembered as All-American guard for UofM in 1942, only the second black man to achieve the feat for the Wolverines at that time. He was also a well known dentist in Grand Rapids.



• Hello Tim Beckman: Tim has been the defensive coordinator for Oklahoma State and was just named the new head coach for the Toledo Rockets. Sounds like a good hire for a guy with Ohio ties.



• Goodbye Auburn Recruits: ESPN was reporting last night that of 5 Auburn recruits de-committed from Auburn and re-opened up their recruitment's after the resignation of Tommy Tuberville.



• Hello: The latest list of recruits Michigan have coming in this weekend for an official visit: Michigan verbal commits: Thomas Gordon, Teric Jones, Isaiah Bell, Fitzgerald Toussaint, Justin Turner. Big time Recruits: MI DT William Campbell, DE Pernell McPhee is a Mississippi State commit and WR Jamal Patterson a Stanford commit.