Wolverine Wednesday: Recruiting Blitz and Other News

Before we get to recruiting news, I have a couple sports related business topics for Wolverines and football fans. 

• More Jersey News:  Nike has bought the NFL contract away from Reebok/Adidas.  Which could mean layoffs in a plant in Indianapolis that produces replica jerseys for NFL teams and of course teams like the University of Michigan.  Maybe Adidas can open up the plant to Michigan fans so they can get a "special" jersey's when Michigan is in Indy next year for the Big Ten Championship game.

• If your interested and why wouldn't you be? :) I am again the guest on the Michigan Man Podcast this week, re-capping the MSU loss and previewing the Iowa game.  You can find the podcast here or download it on ITunes.  

• Fanvision: If you haven't heard, Fanvision is a new held device that you can watch the game, replays, or different camera angles from your seat at the game.  Michigan is the only NCAA team that has these devices available.  Over 12 NFL teams are piloting them this year.  The devices are from a company that Dolphins owner and Michigan grad Stephen Ross owns.   The cost is $200 for the device and $5 per game and this guy is a fan.   Part of their marketing plan was to send a bunch of these devices out for free to season ticket holders.  I wasn't one of the lucky ones.  Talking to some of the fans at the Big House, they like it for tailgating before, during, and after the games.

• Chris L. Rucker celebrated his team's win over the Wolverines on Saturday by going out getting drunk and then driving on Sunday morning.   He was of course arrested and will be suspended but the MSU coaches expect to have him back playing this year.  Chris was charged and is on probation for last years Dorm fight as well.  I guess this is strike 2 for Mr. Rucker.

Now on to the Blitz:

-TomVH gives us an update on recruiting visitors expected to attend the Iowa game:  
2011


DT Timmy Jernigan - 6'2", 275 lbs, 4 Star, Lake City, Florida

TE Drew Owens - 6'5", 225 lbs, 3 Star, Charlotte, North Carolina

DB Dallas Crawford - 5'10", 185 lbs, 3 Star, Fort Myers, Florida

WR Sammy Watkins - 6'1", 180 lbs, 4 Star, Fort Myers, Florida

WR Hakeem Flowers - 6'2", 175 lbs, 3 Star, Greenville, South Carolina

WR Quinta Funderburk - 6'5", 204 lbs, 3 Star, Chesapeake, Virginia

2012

DE Chris Wormley - 6'4", 255 lbs, Toledo, Ohio

RB Will Mahone - 5'11", 205 lbs, Austintown, Ohio (He confirmed he will be there)

DB Luc Haupt - 6'0", 180 lbs, Austintown, Ohio

DB Chris Davis - 5'10", 183 lbs, Austintown, Ohio

QB Demitrious Davis - 5'10", 183 lbs, Austintown, Ohio

-Avery Walls, a CB that Michigan fans are high on for the 2011 class has recently been to Oregon and CAL and he now tells TomVH this: "I'm going to go to Michigan State, South Carolina, Virginia, and U Conn. Once all my visits are done then I'll decide from there. I don't have a leader right now, because I haven't seen all the schools yet. I'm still evaluating different things about each school."  That doesn't sound like the best news for Wolverine fans.

-Dee Hart talks more about Michigan with ESPN:  "The Michigan fans are such friendly people, they make you feel comfortable and calm," Hart added. "They want you to enjoy the Michigan experience and take it all in. And the coaches are the same way. They wanted us to be around the team and experience everything first hand."

On RR: "I liked Michigan either way and if he were to leave it wouldn't affect me because I think I can play in any offensive system," Hart said. "So it really wasn't my concern.

"That being said I wanted to make sure everything came together. He's winning ball games right now and the future looks good, so it's coming together."

On Denard: "First of all he's a great person; he's the leading candidate for the Heisman," Hart said. "And he can throw first, he's not limited to just running. They have to check the other guys, like Martavious Odoms and Vincent Smith. The offense tries to get everyone in space, and with him and me in the same backfield it's going to be very fast. Speed kills."

Being sold on the Wolverines: "I was always sold on Michigan because I love what they offer from an educational standpoint," Hart said. "My field of study is going to be business management and I have a great opportunity to see first-hand how everything functions in that program.

"Just getting a four-year degree from a school like Michigan is going to help me have success over a long-term period. Long after football is finished."


As you can tell, Iowa is going to be a big visit game for the Wolverines.  The next big game is clearly Wisconsin, which could include Dee Hart and many of his Dr. Phillips teammates, Kris Frost, and 5 star DB Karlos Williams (who could do an un-official and might do his official after the season).  Karlos is currently committed to Florida State.

Michigan to Wear New Adidas Techfit Jersey

It seems Michigan will be wearing a new type of jersey this weekend against Iowa.  It's called the Adidas Techfit which Adidas has been developing over the past 4 years.  This announcement did not come from U of M, so it hasn't been validated that the Maize and Blue will be in these jerseys this week.  Here is the article that stated 7 teams including Michigan will wear them this weekend:

"This is all about making the athlete faster," said Mark Daniels, director of football and team sports for Adidas.


Adidas employees specializing in kinesiology, biomechanics, materials, design, wear testing, sports marketing and brand development contributed to the product, called "Techfit," Daniels said.

"Every department that touches the football category was involved," Daniels said.

With no seams on the torso, only the shoulder area, the jersey fits like a tight-fitting tube. Whereas jerseys typically are fitted with a numerical system similar to that for suits, the Techfit comes in four body sizes -- all of them tight.

Though he did not have before and after jersey weights available, Daniels said the Techfit product had been made lighter through the use of a proprietary fabric, reduced seams, and a name and numbering system. The jersey are also designed to keep players cooler with an improved ventilation system.

Besides UCLA, other Adidas-branded collegiate teams that will use the jerseys initially include Michigan, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Texas A&M and Louisville.

What will the players think of this new jersey?  University of Cincinnati quarterback Zach Collaros tried on the new jersey this summer and told head coach Butch Jones, "we gotta have this."

Here is another quote from the press release:  “The new TECHFIT jersey design will make old jerseys obsolete,” said Mark Daniels, director of football and team sports for adidas. “adidas is changing the game with this revolutionary jersey construction and compression fit because we know the right gear can make a difference during a split second play. Less material and a tighter fit means the jersey is harder to grab and you can’t tackle what you can’t grab. College football is more competitive than ever before and teams need every advantage they can get on the field.”

Sounds good to me.  I hope the players are excited about wearing them this weekend.  (if they actually wear them this weekend?)

Denard + a jersey that could make him even faster has to be a good thing.

Michigan Manic Monday: Wonders if it's the Shoes?

• Ryan being Ryan in Arkansas Spring Game: However, in the Red-White game Saturday night, Mallett made a couple of shaky decisions he will need to avoid in SEC play. No word on any fumbled snaps.

• Toney Clemons visited Colorado this past weekend and had this strange quote: “It’s a gorgeous campus, even with the snow,” Clemons said. “I got to see the Rocky Mountains. I went to an elementary school reading about the Rocky Mountains and actually seeing them was a great experience. There is nothing like it. It was breathtaking.” Ok, I guess. Toney also plans on visiting Brian Kelly's Cincinnati before making a decision on his next school. “I do intend to visit Cincinnati and view the situation and see what they’re offering from their side of the spectrum as far as playing time and everything like that,” Clemons said. “I’m not sure when, but probably the first week in May or something like that.”

• Is Lo Wood still afloat for Michigan? Lo Wood a CB from Apopka, Florida has maintained Michigan at the top of his list of potential schools to attend in 2010, until this past weekend when he visited ND and spent a lot of time with former Wolverine Corwin "Cornflakes" Brown. Many are saying that Michigan and ND are now neck and neck for Lo services and that maybe ND took a slight lead after his visit.

• Caleb Lavey a 2010 LB recruit from Texas whose father was an equipment manager under Bo, deiced to commit to Oklahoma State over the weekend. This was a surprise commitment to recruiting insiders.

• In a strange development, Rick Neuheisel blames Adidas for his injury problem at UCLA: "I had a similar circumstance at Washington," Bruins coach Rick Neuheisel said. "I had Jerramy Stevens there, a tight end, who broke his fifth metatarsal, and the complaint was the shoes that they're wearing doesn't have enough sole for their foot because they're big guys. The little toe hangs over the edge when they make their cuts, and (the injury) almost always happens when they're cutting on it." Sounds crazy right? Well, UCLA TE Logan Paulsen is the third Bruin to break his fifth metatarsal in less than a year, according to the L.A. Daily News. So it could be the shoes? Of course, Michigan moved to Adidas last year and we haven't heard of any problems with the new shoes, but it needs to be watched closely and expect Adidas to come out with a press release soon. If Tate Forcier breaks his foot because of the shoes he is wearing, there will be hell to pay! I wonder if he could wear another brand if he wanted?

Thanks to VB for this Tate Spring Game highlight video: