Weekend Wolverine: What Happened to the Class of 2009 Quarterbacks?

Jump into the time machine with me for a minute. I know it's not a great time so we won't stay there too long.  

Michigan was coming off the disaster that was the 2008 season where we had two quarterbacks that didn't fit RR's offense and it looked like it. Watching Threet trying to run the spread option was tough to watch, so was watching Sheridan trying to hit open receivers.

Michigan could offer the top rated QB's in the country (2009 class) immediate playing time. Which was a strong selling point for them to come to Ann Arbor. 5 star Kevin Newsome attended the Michigan Spring Game at Saline High School and decided he wanted to be a Wolverine. Shortly after that Shavodrick Beaver a 4 star QB said he was coming to Ann Arbor as well.

Both held true to their commitment for a few months and then both jumped to other schools. Newsome picked Penn State and Beaver Tulsa. Which sent the Michigan coaches scrambling to fill the QB void now in the class. Tate Forcier who was very high on the Wolverines jumped on board, which still left one open spot as signing day approached.

Michigan did get a QB commitment on signing day that year and it happened to be Denard Robinson.

Now jump back out of the time machine to current time:

•  Tate Focier was thrown out of school at Michigan due to academics after a long search has settled at San Jose State in the WAC.

• Shavodrick Beaver just left Tulsa for Midwestern State due to academics and playing time.

• Kevin Newsome just announced he is planning to transfer from Penn State after trying to do so after last season.

• Denard Robinson is going into his Junior year after playing two years for the Wolverines (1 as a starter). He was briefly a Heisman Trophy candidate last year and won the Big Ten MVP award in 2010. He also set the 1 year NCAA record for rushing yardage from a QB.

The last guy Michigan picked up that year turns out to be the best all around kid. The guy that most schools wanted to play CB instead of QB. Well Done Denard!

Michigan Thursday: Could 2 De-commits have Saved Rich Rodriguez Job at Michigan?

For those of you that don't care for RR you have a laundry list of reasons why: 

• Weird new offense
• Really bad defense
• Not a Michigan Man
• Paying him too much money
• Stretching too long before practice which lead to NCAA Violations
• A bad record
• Recruiting kids that are borderline academically
• Piped in music at the Big House
• Transfers
• De-commitments

I'm sure you can list many more.  What's strange is maybe two QB de-commits could have saved his job.

Let's take a trip down memory lane, shall we?  The time is August 2008.  Michigan will be starting a season where a walk-on and a non-mobile red shirt freshman are Michigan's only options at QB.   Though help was on the way through recruiting for the 2009 class.  Michigan had two 4 star QB's verbally committed to that class:  Shavodrick Beaver a 6'3, 180 pound QB out of Wichita Falls, Texas and Kevin Newsome a 6'2 225 pound QB from Portsmouth, Virgina. 

Both of these guys had solved Michigan's future QB depth problems and now the Michigan coaching staff could focus on recruiting Offensive Line and Defense.  Well, that good feeling at QB didn't last long as Kevin decided to de-commit from Michigan on August 19th and Shavodrick did the same in December.  From a comfortable feeling to a really bad feeling. 

Michigan went 0-2 on their QB recruits for 2009 but help was on the way, Tate Forcier a long time Michigan fan gave his verbal during the season and things were back on track.    Michigan still had only one QB recruit until signing day when Denard Robinson signed up.   So you could say that Shavordrick and Kevin's decision to not join the Wolverines gave the opportunities for Tate and Denard to.

So that is one interesting point.  The other is what has happened to all four players since then. 

• Shavodrick Beaver is a back up at Tulsa and in two years has completed 5-9 passes for a total of 41 yards.
• Kevin Newsome is 3rd string at Penn State and 14-24 in two years for 144 yards.
• Tate was 165-281 for 2050 yards in 2009 and 30-39 for 349 yards in 2010
• Denard was 14-31 for 188 yards in 2009 and 97-143 for 1319 yards in 2010

Ironically, Michigan on Saturday could face (he is questionable due to a concussion) Robert Bolden a true freshman QB from the State of Michigan that picked Penn State after Devin Gardner verbally committed to the University of Michigan in the 2010 class.  My understanding is that Kevin Newsome is third string behind walk-on redshirt sophomore Matt McGloin.  Tulsa on the other hand plays Notre Dame this weekend and "The Beaver" might see a few snaps.

It was clear that RR and staff did a great job in recruiting both Tate and Denard.  Will that recruitment save his job?  I think the next 3 weeks will go a long way in answering that question.

Wolverine Wednesday: Is this Team Different Then the 2009 Sqaud?

Everywhere a Michigan player or coach goes these days, there is one question on the mind of Michigan fans:  Is this team better then last years team?  It gets asked by every media member to every player or coach at Michigan. 

Coach Rod doesn't look back and uses his favorite line from the Lion King about the Monkey hitting the Lion and the Lion asking, "Why did you do that?"  The Monkey:  "It doesn't matter it's in the past".  That DVD must be stuck in his player because he dusts that line off a couple times a year. 
The players say, this is a different team.  They have had another year in the system and they are just a lot closer family this year. 

The reason the question gets asked is Michigan has had a lot of similarities between the two years, both teams: started 4-0, had wins over ND, had an early season Heisman trophy candidate, and had higher expectations then before the season started.  The bottom fell out of the 2009 season and Michigan could only muster one more win against a very poor FCS team.  That memory is still fresh in the minds of Michigan fans and many are scared that history could repeat itself.

All of the above is true, but I will give you the real reasons Michigan is better in 2010 then 2009:



#5:  Greg Robinson is coaching the linebackers.   Take away the UMass game and the linebacker play has improved from 2009.

#4: Michigan already has a road win.  Michigan has struggled the past two years on the road under RR and only had one win in two years.  Michigan played well at ND which should give them confidence to play on the road at IU, Penn State, Purdue, and OSU.

#3: Speed on offense.  Remember when Michigan had two QB's that ran a 40 in about 6.0 flat?  The running backs were beat up and Michigan didn't have a deep threat at WR?  Well times have changed and Michigan has depth at all the skill positions and many have contributed in a positive way.  Roy Roundtree is on his way to earning the #1 jersey next year and Darryl Stonum is running by CB's down field.  You get Junior Hemingway back catching the ball and this is one dangerous unit.  (we haven't even mentioned the WR in the freshman class or the true sophomores either)

#2:  Michigan's offensive line is playing very well and there is depth at each position.  Taylor Lewan has had one start under his belt and is already being compared to another famous #77 Jake Long.    David Molk is healthy and leading the charge from his center position.

#1:  Surprise!  It's Denard.  Who has taken college football by storm and is so humble he acts like he doesn't even notice.  He is the perfect combination for a RR QB.  He has personality, fast feet and a strong arm, a defensive coordinators nightmare.   What's interesting about this team is, it's just not Denard.  Michigan has two backups ready to play and play well.  Devin Gardner is a true freshman but has looked good so far and we all know Tate has one of the most accurate arms in all of college football.  Michigan has three guys that can beat you at QB and that is a great feeling for Michigan fans who remember the Sheridan and Threet days.

Sounds good!  What's the catch?

I can't type here and say the defense is better in 2010 with the losses of Brandon Graham, Donovan Warren, and Troy Woolfolk.  Michigan will have to out score some opponents in the Big Ten season and some games might look more like a track meet then a football game.  What I can tell you is, that Greg Robinson does know what he is doing and will do his best putting the Michigan personnel in the proper position to make plays.  Michigan is young pretty much everywhere on defense but I don't feel like we will get out coached on that side of the ball.

Special Teams is a big concern:  Punting has not been good and the field goal kicking has been terrible.  Missing field goals in Big Ten play will cost Michigan a game or two.  The good thing is RR knows this and will be more aggressive in getting first downs then settling for field goals.  Look for Michigan to go for it on a number of 4th downs.  

So there you have it.  Agree or disagree with me, but I now fully expect a bowl game and to be very competitive in games I thought were losses before the season started. 

Michigan Monday: Recruiting Tidbits

• One of the mysteries this recruiting season is 6"3 325 pound defensive tackle Jonathan Hankins from Detroit Southeastern. As we all know, DT is a major need for the Wolverines in the 2010 class and Jonathan is right in their backyard. Did I also mention that Jonathan is holding offers from Oklahoma, Ohio State, and Wisconsin as well? Recruiting insiders has questioned Jonathan's conditioning and wondered if he could keep up with Greg Robinson's high tempo defense. Jonathan attended camps at both Michigan and Michigan State this past week (State hasn't offered either). Some folks that attended Michigan's camp said that Jonathan got "gassed" after 5 quick plays in a row. So it's pretty clear that the Michigan coaches are worried about his size and lack of conditioning, but why isn't that a concern for Oklahoma and Ohio State, two big time programs? I think the jury is still out on Hankins and if he loses some weight he still could get a Michigan offer, maybe late this Summer or Fall.

• JD Pride, Minnesota QB was at Michigan's camp late last week. Why is this news? JD is Seantrel Henderson (#1 recruit in the nation) best friend. I don't expect JD to get a Michigan offer (maybe an invite to walk on), but he could end up somewhere like Eastern Michigan. Ron English, former Michigan DC and now Eastern's head coach attended Michigan's camp during the week.

• There has been some rumors that Will Gholston's commit to the Spartans last week was a "soft" one and that he still plans to take some visits. He may take visits but I expect Will to keep his commitment to Michigan State.

• Incoming Freshman Fitzgerald Toussaint scores two touchdowns in the Big 33 Football Classic (Ohio vs Pennsylvania). The most impressive one was a short pass that he took 54 yards for the touchdown. Thanks to Mgoblog here is a video of the touchdowns at 1:20 and 4:30.
  
  
  
  

• We all know that Michigan has an open date in 2010 and that AD Bill Martin wants a "BCS game" to open the new Big House. There is one program that has an open date on that day and is looking to get paid. That program is Boise State. Here is what BSU's AD had to say: "Right now, I'd go where I can make the most money," Boise State athletic director Gene Bleymaier said. "If I can play at home and make that much money, then I'm going to play at home. But it's difficult to make that much money in our stadium size. ... I've tried to avoid those [guarantee games]. Now they're much more of a reality going forward."If Bill Martin comes with a good guarantee, I think Boise State would jump at the opportunity. In fact, I don't think Bill really has too many options left on the table for that date.

Tate Forcier: What to Expect Next Season: Threet 08 or Henne 04?

The summer of 2009 seems very similar to the summer of 2008 for Michigan fans. Michigan will start over at quarterback just like they did in the 2008 season. Sure, somethings are different: the offensive line has more experience in the spread and so does the back up quarterback, Nick Sheridan. But don't be fooled by coach speak (RR says the QB position is still up for grabs), this is Tate Forcier's team in 2009.

As Michigan fans, what should we expect out of Tate Forcier next year? Sitting in June of last year, the Michigan faithful had high hopes for a redshirt Freshman that came to Michigan as a 4 star QB via Georgia Tech, Stephen Threet.

As we all know now, Stephen didn't tear up the Big Ten and didn't even get the start against Utah (Michigan's opening game 2008). He looked decent at times (the Wisconsin comeback) and terrible others (the 100 yard Toledo pick 6). That is pretty much the definition of a freshman QB. Threet's numbers in 2008: 51% completion rate, threw for 1105 yards with 9 touchdowns and 7 pics.

So why will Tate be different? Actually, we don't know he will.

Let's compare Tate to another Freshman starter that had a pretty good first year under center; Chad Henne. Chad came to Michigan has one of the top rated QB recruits in the nation, he enrolled in the summer and was the surprise starter opening day after a shoulder injury to expected starter Matt Gutierrez. Chad had a very nice 2004, throwing for 2743 yards with a 60 percent completed percentage. He threw for 25 touchdowns and 12 picks while leading the Wolverines to the Rose Bowl that year. Chad was named All-American Freshman Team QB in 2004.

I would call those numbers the possible upside for Tate. So what's the difference between Chad and Tate that make this upside possible?

1. Tate enrolled in January. Chad in the summer. Tate got spring ball and a ton of experience being around the coaches for 6 months.
2. Tate's QB coach. Tate regularly worked with a QB coach in high school and is probably one of the most prepared QB's in recent memory to start as a Freshman.
3. Tate is very accurate. Thanks to his high school training and QB coach (and we saw some proof in the Spring Game) Tate hopefully can match Chad's 60% completion rate in 2009.
4. Tate's mobile. Chad and Threet weren't. They were strictly drop back passers. Tate hopefully will be able to avoid the rush and get some first downs with his feet. Many analysts say your QB needs to get at least one first down with his legs a game. Michigan fans are hoping more for 4-5 from Tate.
5. Tate doesn't need to win games, just not lose them. You will hear that quote for any Freshman QB so it would apply to Chad and Threet as well. With Tate's mobility hopefully Michigan will be able to have some longer drives and give the defense a break
6. Tate has the skill set to run the spread. Threet didn't.

So there you have it Wolverines Fans. There is plenty to be optimistic about in 2009, but we will need to remember that: Tate will make Freshman mistakes, still has a thin high school senior like frame, and defenses will do their best to confuse the young man.

So the upside for Tate is: Chad 2004 the downside is Threet 2008. Good luck Tate, the Wolverine faithful is counting on you.

Michigan Looking to Sure up the Kicking Game

As a regular follower of this blog, I'm sure you have seen that Michigan has been very active in signing walk on kickers and punters for 2009. In fact, Michigan just added another preferred walk-on punter from outside Indy just this week to the class of 2009.

Not using a scholarship on Punters and Kickers right out of high school is a pretty regular practice in college football. Most programs try to get a number of them to enroll in school and join the team as a walk-on. Recently, Rich Rod and staff have been offering scholarships to some of the top kickers and punters in the country. Zoltan Mesko got a scholarship right out of high school (Carr Era) and soon to be Freshman Kicker Brendan Gibbons is also on scholarship.

The next scholarship kicker/punter candidate is Will Hagerup who is one of the best punters in the country with an average of 41.2 yards per punt as a Junior.

“Michigan offered me,” he reported, adding, “It definitely has a football tradition that is hard to beat and the school itself is in the top two or three in the Big Ten probably. It makes my decision harder.”

Will is sporting 11 scholarship offers from across the Big Ten and from schools like Florida, Arkansas, and Tennessee.

• CAL and Michigan were in talks to play each other but CAL wanted a home and home series. Michigan won't do a home and home so they can maximize revenue with one more home game. Michigan also has a terrible record going to the West Coast to play. So not a good idea at all. HT: MSC
  


• Lane Kiffin has fired his S&C Coach after 6 months: Don't you just love Lane Kiffin? He has a news story every week. Sources told ESPN.com that Kiffin and his strength and conditioning coach, Mark Smith, met on Thursday and agreed to part ways. The details of Smith's departure as strength coach were still being finalized, and Tennessee athletic department officials declined to comment.
  
  Smith, who was previously the strength coach at South Carolina under Steve Spurrier, was one of the first hires Kiffin made after being named the Vols' coach on Dec. 1. Smith was given a $50,000 raise to come to Tennessee, bumping his annual salary up to $190,000.
  


• Bill Martin, Michigan's AD wants one more Big Ten football game during the season so he doesn't have the headache of scheduling nonconference opponents like Utah or App. State (that end up being good): "We talk about that at every meeting," said Michigan athletic director Bill Martin, who added that the drive for nine is getting more support. "As the guarantees [for nonconference games] go up and up and up and the fans want to play our sister institutions in the conference, to me it's a nobrainer. Play 'em." Martin ideally would want to play a true round robin in the Big Ten, but he admits it's "not realistic" because of the revenue from home games that league members need to sustain their athletic programs. The Michigan AD said he has even tried to schedule the two teams Michigan doesn't play during the Big Ten schedule as nonconference opponents.
  

Larry Raper Is Not Coming to Ann Arbor

Many believed that Michigan might use one of it's 2-3 remaining scholarships for 2009 on former Clemson commit Larry Raper. Larry is a 5"10 165 lbs. athlete from Shelby North Carolina with break away speed but was rumored to have some grade/test issues. The Michigan coaching staff had some "thoughts" of Larry playing CB for the Wolverines.

Larry put all the speculation to rest today and signed with North Carolina A&T. I'm guessing that Michigan wasn't really seriously interested in Larry and did not offer him. Larry had offers from Toledo and South Carolina State.

Friday News and Notes

• More Walk On News: This from BHB reader Biggame7: Johnny Childers has accepted a preferred walk on invite to join Michigan's 2009 recruiting class. Johnny is 6"1 233 and played LB and FB in high school for Muskegon Mona Shores. Here is Johnny's ESPN write up: Childers is a tough, thickly-built, blue-collar fullback prospect who also is an effective inside run plugger when employed at linebacker. Looks a bit like a throwback player and his game lacks a lot of finesse. He has good height and a compact, well-built frame that could bulk up to the 240-pound range while retaining his adequate straight-line speed. More of a battering ram of runner who is effective on quick North-South hitters up the middle. Good initial quicks through the hole for his size and will surprise you now and then with his agility as a runner. Tends to run high though and flashes difficulty sliding through the small creases. YAC is inconsistent. Won't be much more than a short-yardage fullback at the next level but has soft hands out of the backfield and shows the physical tools needed to develop into an effective blocker. Can stalemate defenders but will need to work on leverage and controlling/finishing blocks at the point of attack. Not as powerful or superior at the high school level as you would think as a blocker. Defensively, he is a bit stiff, range is limited to between the tackles but he can blow up the Iso and is difficult to turn at the point of attack. Overall Childers looks good on the hoof and has the physical tools for a mid-major program to mold as a situational fullback
  
  
  
  
  

• Central Michigan is now joining the Adidas family. Central is leaving behind "New Balance" and joining The University of Michigan in the Adidas family. This will be the first time Central has had an apparel and athletic shoe contract. Central's athletic department is struggling so this new contract should off set some costs for the Chips. Terms of the deal were not released.

• Athlon Ranking: Defensive Tackles: Remember earlier this week when Athlon ranked all the DE's in the 2009 recruiting class. Well, it's the DT's turn and "Big Will" Campbell ranked #4 nationally.

• The Miami Dolphins hints it would have started Chad Henne, if Chad Pennington wasn't released by the Jets: Coach Sparano, "Henne ran our football team pretty well in [the] preseason. That was a good problem to have." "Knowing Chad [Henne], if he was in the [starter] situation I would have been comfortable with him there. Look at the two young quarterbacks that had to play this year. They did a nice job," Sparano said.

• Update on the young man with the unfortunate last name, Larry Raper. Larry was thought to be "possibly" getting a Michigan offer this week. Larry was a Clemson 2009 commit before the coaching change, when he de-committed. Then it's believed Larry didn't have a qualifying test score that kept this 3 star speedster off many of the top programs recruiting boards close to signing day. It is believed that Larry has qualified and Michigan still has a couple of scholarships available and are looking at this 5"10 165 lbs. with 4.4 speed in the 40, athlete to play cornerback. Larry was mainly a running back and WR in high school. Michigan has asked Larry to visit Ann Arbor before they offer and his visit is expected to happen in the next few weeks. If Larry impresses the coaches, I would expect him to get offered. Michigan needs depth at CB and having a guy with 4.4 speed doesn't hurt.

• Check out his break away speed below!! The kid can catch the ball as well. After watching this video, I think Michigan should offer (if he can qualify acdemically of course).

What is going on around here?

The day Stephen Threet leaves Michigan, another former Wolverine leaves his new school:
Jason Forcier (pictured to the right) brother of "soon to be starter" Tate Forcier has left Jim Harbough's Stanford Cardinal program. I wonder if there has ever been a case where, you transfer from one school to another, only to go back to the original school? This is another clear case where Jason made "too quick" of a decision on transferring and would most likely have been Michigan's two year starter right now. I wish Jason luck and hope he pays his own way and comes back to Michigan. BTW: 7 players left the Stanford program yesterday.

• Recruiting Update from TomVH at Mgoblog: It seems RR and staff will decide today if they want to offer Larry Raper a scholarship for the 2009 class. Larry reportedly will sign on the spot if offered by the Wolverines. The word on the street is this guy is crazy fast. Not sure why he didn't/doesn't have more offers. If this kid qualifies academically, then I say we take a flier on him and see what he can do. We all know Michigan has another scholarship available now. Michigan is looking for him to play cornerback.
  
  


• Also, top 2010 QB recruit Devin Gardner from the State of Michigan has dropped OSU due to their focus on a young man with a pretty good blood line: Nick Montana. As we have heard in the past, Devin has always been an OSU fan so we will see how this plays out over the summer. If Nick does go "nuts" and picks the Buckeyes, I would guess Devin would look elsewhere.
  
  


• Rumor Mill: is saying that Threet might end up at Eastern Michigan to play for former Michigan defensive coordinator now head coach Ron English. If Steve, did decide this route he would have to sit out a year and have two years still remaining to play. Since he transferred once already, he loses the right to redshirt.
  
  


• I know zero about Hockey but Michigan is pretty good and ranked #3 in the country.
  
  


• Michigan AD Bill Martin says the $226 million expansion and renovation of Michigan Stadium are on track to be complete for the first home football game of the 2010 season. He also said the athletic department is in a strong financial position, but he expects to see a downturn in donations from private individuals and less corporate sponsorship because of the nationwide financial crisis.
  
  


• 2010 Safety prospect: LaTwan Anderson, from Lakewood Ohio has got a Michigan offer. LaTwan happens to be tight with Michigan 2010 commit Jerald Robinson. LaTwan is 5"11 185 with offers from State, BC, Iowa, Cincinnati, and Indiana.

Thursday's Pot Luck of Michigan Information

• Do you remember QB Lee Mondol? I guess he was a Wolverine at one point and then transferred to Ventura College and now is joining South Dakota State. Good for him, I guess. I don't remember this kid at all.

• Is Michigan still looking to add to the 2009 class? The answer is yes and maybe this kid could be a candidate: Larry Raper, the 5-foot-10, 165-pound three-star wide receiver/running back from Shelby, NC. He says he’d like to sign with either Michigan or East Carolina, but neither have offered. “I know that Michigan has been talking to my coach a lot recently,” Raper said. “We sent them some tape and they are checking that out. I’m not sure how many offers they have left but they are recruiting me so they must be interested. If they offered me I’d sign right away.” Scout.com’s No. 61 wide receiver in the country says the Wolverines are recruiting him as a cornerback/athlete.

• U of M Baseball will retire Jim Abbott's #31 on April 18 before a game against Michigan State. "It is truly an amazing feeling," Abbott said in a statement released by the university. "When coach (Rich) Maloney called to tell me, I was speechless. I never could have imagined this happening. For me, going to Michigan was such a proud accomplishment. Being able to wear that jersey and represent the university was so fulfilling for me. I had such a great experience at Michigan and to have them do this for me is beyond words."

Michigan 2009 Recruiting Class: "Name" Awards

Michigan 2009 class was setting up be the "best" unique named players in the country when the de-commitment bug hit some the "named" stars in this class. Michigan lost: Shavodrick Beaver, DeQuinta Jones, and Pearlie Graves and replaced them with names like Robinson, Washington, and Stokes.

Michigan went quickly from the top of the mountain in the "mystical" top unique recruits names title to middle of the pack. The reason LSU had the top class this year was not the number of 4 and 5 star recruits they were able to attain, it's because they were able to sign Barkevious Mingo. That is a 5 star name if I have ever seen one.

The best the "Vest" could do was Jack Mewhort a 4 star OL from Toledo. Ohio State's class is full of names like Hall, Carter, Brown, Fields, Jackson, and Bell. How is anyone going to recognize those names? I know OSU fan, why don't you give every player on the team a nickname? Things like "Boom" or "Beanie" should do the trick.

Now on to Michigan's nominee list for this year's award (5 player minimum):

1. Fitzgerald Toussaint
2. Vladimir Emilien
3. Tate Forcier
4. Anthony LaLota
5. Taylor Lewan

Players that were not eligible for the Mystical Title include:

1. Isaiah Bell
2. William Campbell
3. Jeremy Gallon
4. Brendan Gibbons
5. Cameron Gordon
6. Thomas Gordon
7. Brandin Hawthorne
8. Mike Jones
9. Teric Jones
10. Denard Robinson
11. Craig Roh
12. Michael Schofield
13. Vincent Smith
14. Je'Ron Stokes
15. Justin Turner
16. Quinton Washington
17. Adrian Witty

As you can see Michigan's top two names are great! But after the losses of Shavodrick, DeQuinta, and Pearlie. Michigan never had a clear shot at the title. There is no way your going to win this title with 2 Gordon's, 2 Jones, a Robinson, and a Turner for goodness sakes. I like Je'Ron coming in late but his last name wasn't enough for him to get nominated.

Outlook for 2010? Not good! There is a Miller, Jackson, and Robinson already verbally committed. The names in this class better start getting unique or we will have to look to 2011 for another trophy. I think Barkevious might have a younger brother?

Top 10 Ten Players to watch for in 2010 and Lots of New Walk On News

Ricardo Miller, gets called out by this Sporting News article as one of the Top 10 recruits to watch for in 2010: Ricardo Miller, WR, 6-3/200, Dr. Phillips (Orlando) Gave pledge to Michigan early, and has family ties in the area. Said he wants to help turn around the program. There is another Michigan prospect on the list as well: Devin Gardner, QB, 6-4/200, Inkster (Detroit)Intriguing personality already has a boatload of scholarship offers, with Notre Dame coming most recently.


Another Walk-on from the State of Michigan: Adam Barker, OL, Adrian: The 6-foot-3, 270-pound Barker helped increase Adrian’s suddenly plentiful list of Division I players after accepting a preferred walk-on offer from Michigan.“He wanted to get a scholarship, but that fell through, so he said he was going to walk on at Michigan,” Jacobs said at Wednesday morning's signing. “(Michigan head coach) Rich Rodriguez was a walk-on at West Virginia, so he treats walk-ons special. Adam is rated 2 stars by Rivals. Seems like a nice pick up!

• More Walk-on news, this from New York: Though he would have merited a ride somewhere else, lineman Tom Lindley of William Floyd will attend Michigan as a preferred walk-on next fall and try to earn a scholarship down the road. Tom is 6'3 297 and played OT in high school.
  
  
• Remember defensive end Quintin Woods? He has spent some time in JR. college in California and signed with Kansas this week.
  

• Did you know Troy Aikman has a step daughter at Michigan? Me either.

• "And the thing about it, until about six months ago, he was the biggest Michigan fan I ever met. But he really loves the Buckeyes now, I am telling you. It's amazing." regarding OSU signee, Duron Carter.



• Just for laughs: Can you ID this person?
  
  
  
  Yes, it's Zach Boren now of Ohio State. Where both Boren's are residing.

12th Game and a Must Win for Michigan Basketball

• 12th Game added: Michigan has added it's 12th game for October 17th at home. Drum roll, please............It's Delaware State of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, in the FCS, formerly Division I-AA. Delaware State did win the MEAC championship in 2007 but was 5-6 last year. I know many fans will say, WTF? regarding this game, but let's be honest here, when your trying to rebuild your program we don't need to be bringing in Utah or some PAC 10 team. If your interested, MSC does a nice job of breaking down Delaware State's record and his thoughts regarding Michigan's 2009 schedule. Another thought many Michigan fans might be having; "is this another App. State disaster?". Anything is possible, but this team isn't the defending FCS National Champions, so they are not going to be bring in too much fire power to The Big House. Hopefully, it's just a great payday for them and a chance for Michigan to get a W, hopefully. Last Question on the minds of Michigan Fans; "Can we find 6+ wins next year?" Here are the best candidates: Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, ND, Indiana, Delaware State, and Purdue are all at home and most should be winnable. ND might be favored after their nice vacation to Hawaii last December.



• Michigan 71 Penn State 51: Coach Beilein played with the lineup last night and the improved defense got Michigan a much needed win. The major changes were that Grady only saw a minute on the floor, Douglass went for a career high 13 points for the Freshman, Gibson started for Sims but Sims got more minutes, Manny went Manny with 28, and LLP is also seeing a bunch of bench time while he continues his shooting slump going 0-4 last night. Michigan needed this win because they visit #1 ranked UConn on Saturday and host Michigan State on Tuesday. Saturday could be ugly, but Tuesday is the much more important game.



• Michigan offers 2010 WR: Michigan already has two top commits at WR for the 2010 class, but they could always use more: The latest recruit to get offered by RR's staff is 6"4 2o5 lbs. WR from Illinois, Kyle Prater. Kyle currently has a long list of offers from pretty much every program out there.


• More Pahokee Florida kids in 2010? This from the Palm Beach Post: Rodriguez's run in Palm Beach County could roll into next year's class, too. He already has made an offer to Pahokee junior wide receiver De'Joshua Johnson.
  
  
• Per a poster at Mgoblog: It seems Denard is a little bit of a jokester. Seems he is going to fit in well with "Big Will"!

Then he made the right choice!!

New Walk On Depth at DT

After losing 2 four star defensive tackles in the last 24 hours, Michigan has added some depth to the position with two walk-ons from Northern Michigan. Linemen Nate Brink and Jason Nyhof finalized their walk-on status to the Wolverines on Wednesday. Both players are from Holland Christian in Holland, Michigan.

Holland Christian head coach, Willie Snead says:

“I know Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez. He was a walk-on at West Virginia. He has an affinity for kids who are willing to come in and work,” Snead said. “He’s a blue-collar guy. If I’m going to walk on, I’d prefer to walk on to his place or Urban Meyer’s place at Florida.

For the record: Nyhof is 6-3 277lbs and is Brink 6-5 218lbs. Maybe they never see the field during a game, but at least they give Michigan some depth for emergencies and practice.

Signing Day Aftermath

Since we have already re-capped signing day, we will use this post to discuss what's next and try to clarify a couple things.

• First off: It seems I have angered some Texas Tech fans, when I mentioned that Mike Leach might have been doing some negative recruiting against Michigan. Please let me be clear, I don't have any proof that Mike or his staff was doing any negative recruiting, but Sam Web from Scouts and GBW did mention that coaches close to Pearlie were saying things like Rich Rodriguez and staff are going to be fired or will leave after next year. Since Pearlie was down to Texas Tech and Michigan, I assumed it came from TT. Again, no solid proof, but it's not a long jump. Also, Rich Rodriguez talked about some negative recruiting "in general" on ESPN yesterday. Negative recruiting is part of recruiting and mostly after a 3-9 season, but lying to kids is another matter. (no mater who did it). Rod Smith, Michigan's QB coach spoke about the negative recruiting in this Detroit News article: "It's sad, it really is, but at the same time it's out there," he said. "It's some people's tactics. To me, if you've got to bash someone, you're hiding something you don't want to reveal." Smith offered some examples of negative recruiting.
  • "Everybody talks about the weather -- that got worn out."
  • "Rich is going to get fired after one year."
  • "They're not going to play you at quarterback, they're going to move you to another position because they've talked to someone up here.

• 22 out of 24: Michigan signed 22 out of the 24 recruits they wanted yesterday. So what happens with the 2 other scholarships available? Most likely those will go to walk-ons or Michigan could look for a couple of "under the radar" players to fill depth concerns on the defensive line or at linebacker.

• How did the class rank nationally? When you look at class ranking the best serviceses to use are Scouts or Rivals. Their business is recruiting. It's just a part time thing for ESPN and they usually rely on Scouts anyway. Michigan finished 7th in the country to Rivals and 13th to Scouts. Which on average places Michigan second in the Big Ten to Ohio State. Penn State was ranked 10th on Scouts but 25th on Rivals. For those of you that follow Michigan State, they came in at 16 on Rivals and 37th on Scout.

• There have been some rumors flying around about a few guys in this class that might need to get their test scores up or finish strong in the last semester. Here is what Coach Rod had to say about that during his press conference yesterday: "Everybody's registered with the clearing house, but there are still a couple of them that have to have good semesters. Every one of them that was on the list that we signed had (an academic) plan. They're taking the right classes. They're doing the right things to prepare for the test and all of that to be eligible. There's just a couple of them, but that's going to be the case every year, probably just about every program. You're going to have two or three guys that their senior year they better make sure they do the right things and follow the plan.
  "Every one of these guys has a plan from their high school guidance counselors and coaches and families to make sure they're set and ready to go. Our plan is to have them here by summer school so they can get oriented to Ann Arbor and our football program." BTW: kids should have 3 or 4 more chances to get their SAT scores up before August.

• Recruiting never sleeps, time to look for at the class of 2010: So who will Michigan be recruiting in 2010? Michigan already has a jump start on 2010 with WR's Ricardo Miller and local boy Jeremy Jackson already verbally committed. Both are considered 4 star WR's and Ricardo might be 5 star worthy. Michigan also is recruiting a few names you might have heard about already: Dior Mathis, a DB from Cass Tech has 4.3 speed another cornerback from Florida Lo Wood, and maybe one of the top players in the country Safety Marvin Robinson from Eagle Lake, Florida. Along with Dior, Michigan will need to do a lot of work in-state with some big time prospects like: Devin Gardner, a 6"4 dual threat QB from Inkster and 5 star worthy Defensive End William Gholston from Detroit's Southeastern. (yes, he is related to former OSU's DE Gholston).

• Can't get enough Signing Day? Then feel free to watch this video of RR on the BTN:

A Wild Ride..........Signing Day in Review

Want to know what happened today in just a few seconds? Well this post if for you:

• The day started out with a number of verbal commits sending in their LOI's early
• Then around 9:30, Michigan found out they had lost 4 Star DT Pearlie Graves to Texas Tech, I don't want to talk out of school but Mike Leach might have been doing some negative recruiting regarding Michigan and Coach Rodriguez.
• Then at 11:00 Michigan found out they landed the team mates from Florida Denard Robinson a 4 star Athlete QB and Adrian Witty a defensive back.
• Around 12:30 Michigan found out they lost another "soft" DT verbal commit DeQuinta Jones to Arkansas.
• At 3:00 Michigan learned they got the WR they had been recruiting since late fall and former Tennessee commit Je'Ron Stokes.

So to net it out for you, in the last 24 hours: Michigan signed 3 four star players (Quinton Washington, Je'Ron Stokes, and Denard Robinson) and lost 2 four star players.

This is a solid class which should rank around #10 nationally. Rich Rod and staff signed 22 of the 24 players they were recruiting. So it was a successful day, there still remains needs on the defensive line which will be a focus for the 2010 class.

Je'Ron is Blue

Today has been a good day, a couple of losses but some huge pick ups as well. The latest is 4 star WR, Army All American, Je'Ron Stokes!

Welcome to Ann Arbor!!!

Je'ron Stokes is a 6"1, runs 4.4 and is ranked the 14th WR in class by Rivals. He had orginally commited to Tennesse but changed his mind after the coaching change.

This is a huge pick up and after the decommitment of Bryce McNeal during the fall. Many believe Stokes to be a better WR then McNeal.

4 More LOI's in to Ann Arbor

• Cameron Gordon
• Denard Robinson
• Adrian Witty
• Craig Roh

All the LOI's are in. Now we wait for Je'Ron!

2 Up, 2 Gone: Michigan Loses DQJ

• Report is that DeQuinta Jones sent his LOI into Arkansas.

Recap: Michigan gets: Denard Robinson, Adrian Witty, Quinton Washington

Michigan loses: DeQuinta Jones and Peralie Graves two 4 star DT's.

Still in Play: Army All American WR Je'Ron Stokes planning to announce at 3:30.

Coach Rod doing his press conference at 3:00, you can see at mgoblue.com. He is also all over ESPN and ESPN U.

Florida Teammates Go Blue!

Michigan got what they needed in another QB in Denard Robinson and one more DB in Adrian Witty. Both just choose Michigan!!

Video of DRob for your pleasure:

Snake Oil Alert: A Syracuse verbal Dale Peterman who is a 3 star corner from Youngstown, OH, just got offered by Michigan today.