CHICAGO — The Chicago Blackhawks signed former Michigan Wolverine John Madden today, adding a veteran center who has spent his entire 10-year career with the New Jersey Devils.
Speculation that Georgia could play Michigan in a football home-and-home series in 2010-11 apparently doesn&apost carry much weight.
The defensive end has more than 20 scholarship offers and has already visited Penn State, Kentucky, Iowa, Cincinnati, Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State.
Looks like at least a few folks at the athletic department agreed with my analysis on the score of the 1909 game against Syracuse. Back in March, I discovered that it appeared as though the official score of the October 30, 1909 game should have gave Michigan forty-four points in the contest. The Michigan Daily noted that the scorekeeper inadvertently failed to tally one of the Wolverines’ extra points.
I just checked the Bentley Library record for the season and it’s been changed with a footnote:
So,
As silly as this seems, I love it. It looks like the great archivist at the Bentley, Greg Kinney, took the research a bit further digging into the “Dope Books” and Michigan Alumnus. Thanks for Kinney for following up on this. As silly as something like this seems it means much to yours truly.
Here’s the entire original post, reprinted, explaining my take on the matter:
I’ve made a couple trips over to the Bentley Library researching a story on the 1909 season. I’ll probably have more on that later. But in between digging through the Michigan Daily archives, letters and contracts from the athletic department, and of course the online records, I uncovered a little oddity concerning the ‘09 season.
According to the Bentley web page for the 1909 season, and this link from mgoblue.com which lists Michigan’s all-time record against opponents, the official final score of the Syracuse game played October 30, 1909 at Ferry Field was Michigan 43, Syracuse 0:
So that’s the published word on the game from the top two sources from the University. But a little digging revealed some sources that differ.
Check this out. An article in the of the New York Times from 1914 lists Michigan’s results against eastern opponents, and shows the result of the 1909 game as 44-0:
Further, John Kyrk’s wonderful book Natural Enemies, the history of the Notre Dame-Michigan rivalry, makes a short reference to the game with the same final result:
The Orangemen were supposed to have presented a stiff challenge, but Michigan surprised the Eastern folk by crushing Syracuse 44-0.
Finally, back to a University-published source, the U-M yearbook (Michiganensian) for 1910 recapped the season and made two references to the 44 point final tally, including this summary of the 1909 gridiron campaign on page 222:
If you handed me the above references, I guess I’d lean toward the forty-four score. The official Michigan sites clearly have a lot of weight, but one error could have rippled through to all the U-M affiliated sites. When you have the Michiganensian from 1910 having the higher score and backed up by the Kryk’s work (the book is meticulously researched) and top it off with the NY Times, if nothing else you’ve got to question the 43-0 score.
Thankfully the Bentley has an extensive archive collection of the Michigan Daily, which was first published back in 1890. Here’s the headline on October 31, 1909, the day after the game:
So…case closed, right? But this doesn’t explain why the other sources have the score listed as 44-0.
That is, until I looked a couple days later in the Michigan Daily and found this headline:
The article explains a scoring error that occurred at the end of the game:
Michigan defeated Syracuse by a score of 44 to 0 instead of the 43 that was originally reported. The mistake resulted from a failure of the scorer to credit Michigan with an extra point after Referee Fultz and Field Judge Booth had both declared that Allerdice had kicked goal after Wells’ touchdown, the last one of the game. This credits Allerdice with kicking six out of seven goals instead of five.
I took the matter up with Greg Kinney at the Bentley Library. He said the Bentley scores are fed from the athletic department and suggested the matter would need to be taken up with the folks in media relations. Usually in a case like this, Kinney advised, they’ll add an asterisk by the score with an explanation (see the result of the Stevens Institute game back in 1883).
Here’s my suggestion:
- Change the score to 44-0
- Add an asterisk noting that, at the end of the game, the scoreboard showed 43-0.
- Issue me a varsity ‘M’ for scoring a point.*
* Or a Varsity ‘N’ for being a complete nerd
I'm filling in for Adam while he's on vacation so I'm sorry about the lateness of the links.
• WLFI.com did a Q&A with new Purdue offensive coordinator Gary Nord and defensive coordinator Donn Landolm.
• Bill Kurelic, the Midwest recruiting blogger for ESPN.com, writes that recruiting in the Big Ten has picked up in the past couple of weeks.
• Shannon Shelton of the Detroit Free Press compares the similarities between former Michigan running back Mike Hart and current Michigan State signee Nick Hill.
• Ohio State earned its seventh commitment for the 2010 class with a pledge from running back Roderick Smith of Fort Wayne (Harding), Ind.
• Three former Ohio State stars are in the process of building a trainer center for serious athletes to train for professional careers.
Obi Ezeh will enter his redshirt junior year as a two-year returning starter at middle linebacker. He led Michigan in tackles last year, and looks to continue that trend in 2009. Ezeh is a big, big guy who sometimes looks more like a defensive end than a linebacker, but he still has the necessary agility to defend passes in space. The MLB position is key to many defenses, and Michigan’s is no different. If they want to stop opposing offenses, Ezeh will be a key player.
William Campbell will just be a true freshman this fall, but it seems like he’s been a Wolverine almost as long as Ezeh. The 5-star defensive tackle from Detroit’s Cass Tech high school committed to Michigan before his junior year, and though there was a bit of a bumpy ride along the way, he stayed with the Wolverines and enrolled in January. He’s raw, but physically talented, and should contribute along the defensive line as a true freshman.
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.The poll will remain open for 7 days, closing at 5PM next Thursday. Have your heart set on a particular candidate? Try to sway others in the comments. The full bracket is visible here.
Other Open Polls:
Graham v. Banks.
Robinson v. Woolfolk.
Odoms v. Shaw.
Martin v. Koger.
Mathews v. Molk.
Completed 1st Round Poll:
Minor defeats Sheridan, 952-53.
Van Bergen defeats Gibbons, 516-201.
Warren defeats Stokes, 646-113.
Schilling v. Emilien, 487-248.
Mesko defeats Ortmann, 634-85.
Cissoko defeats Toussaint, 460-270.
Forcier defeats Patterson, 773-35.
Stonum defeats Roundtree. appx. 357-268.
Think Chad Henne should be higher than #13?
After several weeks and a lot of contemplation, my Top 15 of the Last 15 list is over. Now I want your input. Either write a comment on this post or send me an email (ace@thewolverineblog.com) with your own Top 15 list. The rules are simple, and as follows:
That’s it. Pretty simple, right? I’ll be compiling the reader vote into a single, superfan list, and posting it along with the lists of a couple writers from The Wolverine itself. I might post individual fan lists as well if there are enough and certain lists stand out. For comparison, here is my list, once again:
Offense:
15. Marquise Walker
14. Chris Perry
13. Chad Henne
12. Jerame Tuman
11. Brian Griese
10. Anthony Thomas
9. Tom Brady
8. Mario Manningham
7. Steve Hutchinson
6. Jake Long
5. Mike Hart
4. David Terrell
3. Tyrone Wheatley
2. Tshimanga Biakabutuka
1. Braylon Edwards
Defense:
15. William Carr
14. Leon Hall
13. Ian Gold
12. James Hall
11. Rob Renes
10. Alan Branch
9. Marcus Ray
8. Dhani Jones
7. Jarrett Irons
6. Marlin Jackson
5. Glen Steele
4. David Harris
3. LaMarr Woodley
2. Ty Law
1. Charles Woodson
Special Teams:
5. Zoltan Mesko
4. Marquise Walker
3. Garrett Rivas
2. Steve Breaston
1. Remy Hamilton
Another podcast guest spot, this one the Daily's "Daily Dose"; I'm on with Ace Anbender of The Wolverine Blog. Unfortunately, my mic drops out about halfway through… they're still early in their experiment here.
The countdown ends with two all-time greats, one who fittingly wore the #1 jersey and one who was the first primarily-defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy. Admittedly, there was little suspense as to who these two players were when I started the countdown, but I’ll be damned if that will keep me from writing about them.
Offense: Braylon Edwards, WR, 2001-2004
![When people can refer to a game simply by saying, "The [your name] Game" you have reached legendary status.](http://www.thewolverineblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/braylon.jpg "braylon")
When people can refer to a game simply by saying, "The (Your Name) Game" you have reached legendary status."
“Our offense is based on getting the ball to our playmakers,” says coach Lloyd Carr, “and that means getting the ball to Braylon.”
The numbers are incredible: Michigan’s all-time leader in receptions (252, Marquise Walker is second with 176), receiving yards (3,541, almost 500 yards ahead of Anthony Carter), and touchdowns (39). He had 38 consecutive games with a reception, and had two different streaks of four games with over 100 yards receiving. He’s the only player in Big Ten history (and the third in Division I) to have three seasons with over 1,000 yards receiving.
“Real n*ggaz do real things,” [Edwards] says. “What I do matters, not what I say. I began coming to every meeting early, every workout early, every practice. Nobody practiced harder. Real things.”
Braylon made John Navarre look like a decent quarterback, freshman Chad Henne look like senior Chad Henne, and collegiate defensive backs look like small, pathetic children. Just throw the ball to Braylon. He’ll come down with it. When a player makes a spectacular catch over a defender, my friends and I say he “Brayloned” somebody. When it comes to Michigan football, all receivers are judged relative to Braylon. I don’t know what other praise to heap on to the man: it has all been said.
I would be remiss to not post highlights from the 2004 Michigan State game, The Braylon Game, when Edwards almost single-handedly lifted Michigan over the Spartans. I would also be remiss to not post highlights from the rest of his career. Cue WolverineHistorian, and be sure to watch this one till the end:
“Braylon became a leader,” [Carr] says. “I have never questioned his character, only his maturity. He did some growing up. I’ve said he’s become the best player in the country. Now all he has to do is prove me right.”
There’s no questioning Braylon’s talent, character, or maturity anymore. That magical 2004 season answered all questions about talent. As for his character and maturity, well, the Braylon Edwards Foundation endowed the Athletic Department a scholarship for the player who wears the #1 jersey, and Edwards has spent a ton of time and money giving back to the University and the Detroit community.
“The program will be here long after I’m gone,” Edwards says. “It’s bigger than me or any other player. You can’t fight it.”
The program will always remember Braylon Edwards, both for his contributions on the field and his generosity off of it.
Quotes taken from “The Real Thing” by Karl Taro Greenfield from Sports Illustrated’s Oct. 25, 2004 issue.
Defense: Charles Woodson, CB, 1995-1997
A familiar sight for Michigan fans: Charles Woodson making a spectacular interception.
Charles Woodson probably could have made this list as a wideout if he so desired, or possibly even running back, the position he played in high school. Luckily for Michigan fans, he decided to play cornerback, and he decided he was going to be the best cornerback in school, if not collegiate, history.
Woodson does not hold a single season or career record at Michigan. Not one. His 18 career interceptions fall short of Tom Curtis’ 25. His 30 career pass breakups don’t come close to Leon Hall’s 43. Curtis’ 10 interceptions in 1968 bests Woodson’s 1997 mark by two. Leon Hall and Marlin Jackson both recorded three more pass breakups in a season than the 15 Woodson had his sophomore year. However, there is no doubt who is the best defensive player in school history.
All-Big Ten as a freshman, with two of his five interceptions against Ohio State in the season’s biggest game. All-American as a sophomore, with five more picks as well as a newfound penchant for offense (13 catches, 164 yards, one receiving touchdown; 6 carries, 152 yards, one rushing touchdown). Then, of course, came his junior season: unanimous, consensus All-American, Jim Thorpe Award, Bronko Nagurski Award, Heisman Trophy, National Championship.
Just in case you want to see that Michigan State pick one more time:
“…he has no idea that Charles Woodson can jump 15 feet in the air…”
Woodson reached mythical status that season, and it honestly wouldn’t have shocked me to see him jump 15 feet in the air, or intercept a pass thrown 70 yards away from him, or break the sound barrier while jogging. He was Superman in cleats, and he could do no wrong on the football field. The final image of his career, that majestic, leaping interception of Ryan Leaf’s pass in the end zone in the 1998 Rose Bowl, is perfect:
Everyone — Michigan players, Washington State players, referees, coaches, fans — stand and watch in awe of Woodson as he seemingly levitates to make a picture-perfect interception and the biggest possible moment.
Braylon Edwards and Charles Woodson share the same characteristic: their careers could easily, and appropriately, be described as awe-inspiring, and even at the age of 21 I wonder whether or not I will see another Wolverine of their talent at their positions in my lifetime. There was never a question of which two players would take the one-spot on this list. These are once-in-a-generation players. I’m just glad I was part of that generation.
Agree? Disagree? Want to share your favorite Edwards and Woodson moments? Be sure to drop a comment, and remember that I’ll be taking submissions for your top 15 offensive and defensive players (and top five special teamers) until I’m done with the list. Post your lists in the comments, or shoot me an email at ace@thewolverineblog.com, and I’ll compile the lists for the final post alongside the lists of members of The Wolverine staff. Make sure to check back every weekday: next I post the honorable mentions and other people’s lists.
Link to all Top 15 of the Last 15 posts
The list:
Offense:
15. Marquise Walker
14. Chris Perry
13. Chad Henne
12. Jerame Tuman
11. Brian Griese
10. Anthony Thomas
9. Tom Brady
8. Mario Manningham
7. Steve Hutchinson
6. Jake Long
5. Mike Hart
4. David Terrell
3. Tyrone Wheatley
2. Tshimanga Biakabutuka
1. Braylon Edwards
Defense:
15. William Carr
14. Leon Hall
13. Ian Gold
12. James Hall
11. Rob Renes
10. Alan Branch
9. Marcus Ray
8. Dhani Jones
7. Jarrett Irons
6. Marlin Jackson
5. Glen Steele
4. David Harris
3. LaMarr Woodley
2. Ty Law
1. Charles Woodson
Special Teams:
5. Zoltan Mesko
4. Marquise Walker
3. Garrett Rivas
2. Steve Breaston
1. Remy Hamilton
What with the 2009 college football season only a couple months away, the Sporting News decided it was high time to check in on the nation&aposs top NFL draft prospects for 2010.
ESPN.com's Ivan Maisel and Adam Rittenberg discuss the Big Ten's red-hot rivalries for '09.
by ErocWolverine (erocwolverine@gmail.com) at July 02, 2009 05:37 PM
It's the offseason. Michigan Football isn't praticing. Michigan Basketball is quiet. Bill Martin's out sailing. There is nothing going on. No player felonies to report. No coach's hilariously minor violations of NCAA rules to mock (save Kiffin, but we'll leave that to the SEC guys). Recruiting's kinda quiet and there are only so many times we can watch the video of a monkey sniffing its own butt. Just kidding. We laugh hysterically every time. But all this free time causes our minds to wander, and these are the things we think about...
It's time for a Godzillatron at Michigan Stadium
Yeah. You heard me. At Michigan we pride ourselves on accumulating the best sports enthused nerds on the planet. They're engineers with a football problem. They pack Michigan Stadium with mental charts of run direction percentages and optimum downfield pass (>15 yards) scenarios. When they're not in the Stadium or playing World of Warcraft, they design things. Electrical things. Things that display objects with the clarity it would take a thousand naked eyes to fully absorb. They design and build things that can project a smilely face on the moon, but have to watch Michigan Football replays on this?
That ain't right. Especially when you realize Texas, TEXAS, Has this thing.
Behold the majesty of Godzillatron. All hail. It's the size of an office building. It's got more pixels than your skin has pores. The power it takes to run it on game day would keep all of Columbia well lit for two weeks. It is glorious. If a place like Texas, who cages their nerds and feeds them food pellets every time they design something, has something like this, what stopping us from building something better? Our nerds are free range. There are no organized nerd beatings in Ann Arbor. Hell. They run the damn place.
So lets put them to use.
I'm not talking about a Godzillatron like the one at Texas. No way. That's thinking small, baby. I want something that can be seen from space. Something that the people directly beneath it get a suntan from. Something so powerful you can watch the game clearly from two counties away. We can build it. We have the technology. We can make it bigger. Clearer. Awesomerer.
We've put ten seconds a lot of thought into this. We've even commissioned a reputable engineering firm five year-old with crayons to prepare an artists rendering of what the new scoreboard should, nay, WILL look like. Behold it's awesomeness.
Mind blowing isn't it? This isn't a Godzillatron. No goddamn way. This is something that would consume the Godzillatron whole and slowly devour it over the centuries in its electronic colon. Godzillatron's a pussy compared to this.
As you can see, the CLOVERFIELDTRON is four hundred feet high and so large that you can't even make out the complete "Michigan" over the top of it because it wraps around to the other luxury box, not because we suck at MS Paint. Further, when football is not being played, the American Flag will be its screen saver, reminding the world that Freedom brings you cool shit like this. It will be a constant reminder to all that you should live American, breathe American and buy American (specifically GM cars. Please? Anyone?). This, frankly, is the most AMERICAN scoreboard ever proposed. What's more American than building something unnecessary and totally symbolic on the backs of migrant and likely illegal immigrant workers? Nothing. If you are against this you are against America, and probably watch men's figure skating. So why are you against America? You can't be. CLOVERFIELDTRON = America. Somewhere J Leman just shed a tear of joy. Hopefully someone caught it. It will cure cancer.
Please join us in our movement, nay, CRUSADE to have CLOVERFIELDTRON built. It must be done. If for no other reason than to piss off Texas. We know Bill Martin's got the money to build this squirrled away under his matress, so there's no reason not to.
This must be built. For America.
Thank Jesus. Paul Maguire will blight your television screens far less often this fall:
Although not formally announced, ESPN's Mike Soltys confirmed Sunday that college football analyst Paul Maguire, 70, will have a "reduced role" this season. Rather than having a full slate of games, says Soltys, Maguire will work only "the occasional game and do some studio shows and radio."
As long as that "occasional game" is the Society of Eastern European Panhandling Midgets versus Regan Pornography Czar Ed Meese's Metacarpals, I'm okay with it. Anything less obscure and we have issues. Just keep him away from the otherwise excellent Nessler-Griese pairing. And all other ones involving the Big Ten.
Side note: Maguire is 70! That guy is hitting up the Just For Men like crazy.
Hype video. Haven't had one of these for a while, and this one is well-executed:
(So… yeah, the top recommended Youtube video I'm getting for this: "So Ronrey." Is this because I posted about soccer earlier?)
Wait… what? The Free Press on Tim Hardaway Jr's commitment, screencapped because they'll probably fix it now:
It appears someone let a spellchecker loose on that article with "replace all" checked, or something. I'm at a loss how "Smotrycz" can become "Metrics" and "ESPN" can become "SPUN," though the latter is a serendipitous slam at the Favre-Owens Network. Evan Metrics sounds like a superhero from Square One who goes around teaching people about kilograms and centiliters; I suggest people condemned to write Smotrycz for the next four and a half years band together and force him to officially change his name. We'll buy him a Zorro mask and a meter stick in exchange.
M-Boned. So, yeah, the athletic department has switched official providers of Michigan apparel from the locally-owned M-Den to the Jerry Jones-owned and spammy-sounding "eSports Partners." The reason is the same reason it always is: money. eSports Partners has guaranteed millions that the M-Den could not, though I strongly suggest that the Athletic Department keep its PIN numbers to itself. Be suspicious of any barristers, yo.
Cue consternation from dual sources. MATW, the first link in the previous sentence, knows more about this than I do but has a dog in this fight; I don't really have an opinion yet.
There can be no better reason to do it than someone else's reason not to. Outgoing Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen is not well-loved by his fan constituents, who have to turn to Fox Sports Atlantic to catch any Pac-10 game not involving USC. And I don't think we should be big fans, either. TSN's Dave Curtis has an exit interview of sorts:
Q: So what are the chances of a playoff down the road?
A: We get playoff proposals around the calendar, with many more coming in the late fall. There just isn't anything that would be good in our opinion. We would have to go to 16 teams. The political pressure for participation would be even more intense than in the BCS. You'd have to play the games until the championship on campuses, so you'd be playing games at Michigan and Ohio State, weather-wise, in late December or January. Most of the TV time periods that are attractive then are taken by the NFL. There are some many factors that people never consider.
Well, one: that's just, like, his opinion, man, that you'd "have to" go to 16 teams. Why would the political pressure for participation be more intense? And why couldn't you structure a playoff such that everyone worthy is included? This is common anti-playoff gambit: you can't have a good playoff that makes sense, you have to have a stupid one because of fuzzy reasons I will not justify. In it is an admission that a properly structured playoff would be awesome.
Two: the bolded section is one of the best aspects of a true playoff. Who hates it when NFL playoff games are rough and tumble affairs on the frozen tundra of Lambeau? Oh, that's right: no one.
Low places. Vegas has released a bunch of win over-unders. Your most relevant set:
Michigan
Over 6 reg season wins -165
Under 6 reg season wins +135
Six seems low but you have to bet 165 to win 100, so it's not a great deal or anything. Still… if anyone wants to do the Forbidden Thing and wager on your own team, there you go.
Etc.: I've mentioned the hole Kiffin finds himself in re: QB recruiting before; Bleed Scarlet has a terrific overview of the situation, which after the commitment of Barry Brunetti to West Virginia comes down to hoping Jesse Scroggins does not pick USC as expected or grabbing a flier. The WLA reviews Rich Rodriguez. There are holes in Michigan's recruitin' bucket.
In a posting on TheWolverine.com "The Fort" message board Wednesday night, Morgan&aposs parents wrote that the surgery on their son&aposs left knee went well. The surgery, to repair articular cartilage, is projected to sideline him 4-5 months.
The last few months have been interesting. For one, I got married to a girl and my lack of posting over that time frame should prove that yes, bloggers do have a life, and sometimes that life interferes with, well, blogging. The past few months play in my head in much the same way that the characters from "Lost" must have felt while they were skipping through time this past season. At one point, I'm proposing, then there's a bright light and a bunch of shit I don't remember, and we're fighting over room-gift-bags (the bane of any wedding planning, I assure you), then another bright light and a migrain, and I'm dancing at the reception. A little bit of time passes, and I'm in Italy wondering what the hell this shiny thing on my finger is (I've discovered that the way I type causes my finger to flex against a ring in such a way that I'm going to have to completely overhaul this thing), and now I'm back. What just happened?
I managed to read one post while in Italy, and it had to do with stripes on a football and Indiana building a bigger drum than Purdue. I laughed out loud, then realized that I hadn't missed much.
It's easy for people as football obsessed as us to wish away the summer to get to a season that passes all too quickly. We're going to get some Big Ten previews up over the next few weeks/months, which should satiate your thirst, but in the meantime, get outside, go to a lake, and enjoy the summer. And, just because SBN keeps recommending I put it in a post, enjoy this picture.
2010 Michigan Recruiting Board.
OH QB Caleb Watkins appears to be a MAC-level talent. With that in mind, along with the fact that the Wolverines already have two quarterbacks committed, he’s ready to be removed from the board.
Josh Helmholdt says in the Free Press that which has already been internet scuttlebutt for quite some time: MI RB Austin White has been a Michigan lean since early this spring. The rest of the article is mediocre at best, with the general idea being “MSU is way better because they signed 12 guys from the state of Michigan last year,” but, like, Michigan only wanted maybe 304 of them, so what’s the point?
FL RB Eduardo Clements counts Michigan among his top 3 with Georgia and Miami. He plans an additional pair of official visits to Tennessee and South Florida.
FL RB Giovanni Bernard seems to have eliminated Michigan from the running:
“I have it nailed down to my nine right now. I don’t know exactly when I’ll make my choice, maybe make my one school decision around signing day. I’m just really trying to enjoy this, really concentrate on the schools I’m wanting to go to and at the same time concentrate on football. Right now, the nine schools are Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, FSU, Miami, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Notre Dame, and Nebraska.”
I’ll leave him on the board just a little while longer until it can be confirmed he’s naming a final 9, rather than just a top 9. He plans to announce his commitment near Signing Day.
GA RB Mack Brown will be announcing his decision in July, and is down to two choices (info in header). Since Michigan hasn’t been involved in his recruitment lately, it’s probably safe to assume that the Wolverines won’t be his choice. That’s reason enough for me to remove him from the board.
Removed GA RB Kendrun Malcome, who committed to UGa.
Removed MI RB Nick Hill, who committed to Michigan State. Actually, he was a guy who reeeally wanted a Michigan offer, so I’ll leave him on the board just a bit longer.
Removed PA RB Dom Timbers, who committed to Syracuse.
Fluff on LA WR Trovon Reed, about losing his mother this spring. Reed is a prototypical slot receiver, and part of a potential mega-package including TX RB Lache Seastrunk. With these factors in mind, it’s hard to imagine a reason that the Michigan staff hasn’t heavily pursued him, and instead went for players like Tony Drake and Drew Dileo. There’s always the chance that they know something we don’t, but doesn’t it seem like they didn’t even give top-ranked guys a chance? Michigan isn’t mentioned in the article, and Reed is soon to be long gone from the board.
FL WR Chris Dunkley doesn’t seem to be too high on Michigan anymore (if he ever really was):
“I like West Virginia, I like Florida, Florida State. I like Ohio State, I like USC, and I like Georgia. That’s not in any order I’m just naming schools off the top of my head.”
Since that’s not an official list at this time, I’ll leave him on the board. He plans to announce his decision during the Under Armour All American game in January.
Removed OH OL Taylor Miller, who committed to Toledo.
GA DT Michael Thornton has received a Michigan offer (info in header). His alleged excitement about it is more likely to be headline writing rather than an indication of his actual interest, though, so don’t think he’ll be committing to Michigan any time soon.
OH DT Jibreel Black has selected Indiana. This is only a moderate surprise, since his brother Larry already plays for the Hoosiers. However, Jibreel had a much more impressive offer sheet than his brother coming out of high school, including teams like Michigan and Michigan State. I wouldn’t put it past this Michigan staff to give Black one more big push. If they don’t, I’ll remove him from the board.
GA DE Henry Anderson was considering a Michigan visit this week:
Clemson and South Carolina will make the cut with DE/OL Henry Anderson (6-6, 245) of College Park, Ga., when he gets down to a final 10 this week. Anderson said last week Georgia Tech, Stanford and Virginia also will be on the list. He will visit Wisconsin on Tuesday and might see Michigan while he’s up in that area.
No word on whether he actually made it, but if he did, the Wolverines are likely to be on that top 10 list. When it is revealed to a free source, we’ll know if Michigan is still under consideration.
In your occasional 2011 snippet, Bucknuts guru Bill Kurelic thinks that 2011 OH CB Greg Brown might be committing to Michigan sometime soon. Brown has been favoring Michigan for a while now (though it had been thought that OSU was making a play for him this spring), and received an offer from the coaching staff following Michigan’s camp.
Whenever Michigan gets its first 2011 commit, the 2011 recruiting board will debut. If you know of anyone who should be on it, let me know in the comments or by e-mail.
Nick Hill runs like Mike Hart, has toughness like Hart and even resembles the former Michigan running back in stature and appearance. Hill, who lives in Chelsea, about 10 minutes from Ann Arbor, is not only a friend of Hart&aposs, but the two have a running joke
Michigan&aposs John Beilein knows about program-building, so he surely can relate to Detroit Mercy coach Ray McCallum, who is entering his second year. Which makes the teams&apos Dec. 13 game at Crisler Arena -- the first since Nov. 23, 1999 -- intriguing for teams trying to rediscover past glory.
Individually, I like all three of them (the maize jerseys stayed the same). I don't really like having the same layout for all three jerseys, though. And I especially don't like that they got rid of the whites from last year, which were quite possibly the best Michigan jersey ever (neck and neck with the gold dazzle from the championship years).
That said, I guess I've got two more jerseys to buy. And yes, I'm fully aware that people like me are the reason they change jerseys ever year.
There's no confirmation (yet) that these are the jerseys that the team will wear. But with the official Michigan store selling them, I have to believe they are.
They could be worse. Signed, North Dakota.
by noreply@blogger.com (Packer487) at July 02, 2009 03:26 AM
Greg Mathews enters his senior year at Michigan having become one of the most consistent receivers on the team. In a poorly-quarterbacked season in 2008, he was one of only two players to catch multiple touchdown passes. Mathews has never been known as a burner, but he can leap to catch the ball, and has hands like glue. With better QB play in 2009, he should be able to have a strong senior season on his way to the NFL.
David Molk is a slightly undersixed offensive lineman, but that hasn’t stopped him from succeeding so far in his Michigan career. He was expected to contribute as a true freshman, but missed the entire year (and lost several pounds) due to a battle with mononucleosis. Last year, he claimed a starting job as a redshirt freshman, and went from a slight liabilty at the beginning of the season to a solid performer on Michigan’s improved offensive line by the time the end of the year rolled around. He’ll be one of the key pieces on Michigan’s offensive line if they want to have more success in 2009.
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.The poll will remain open for 7 days, closing at 5PM next Wednesday. Have your heart set on a particular candidate? Try to sway others in the comments. The full bracket is visible here.
Other Open Polls:
Stonum v. Roundtree.
Graham v. Banks.
Robinson v. Woolfolk.
Odoms v. Shaw.
Martin v. Koger.
Completed 1st Round Poll:
Minor defeats Sheridan, 952-53.
Van Bergen defeats Gibbons, 516-201.
Warren defeats Stokes, 646-113.
Schilling v. Emilien, 487-248.
Mesko defeats Ortmann, 634-85.
Cissoko defeats Toussaint, 460-270.
Forcier defeats Patterson, appx. ___-___.
Yesterday, I joined MGoBlog’s Brian Cook on the Michigan Daily’s weekly podcast, the Daily Dose. We cover recruiting, our outlook for next season, and even touch on the Top 15 list in the half-hour podcast. A big thank you goes out to Joe Stapleton and Ryan Kartje for inviting me on and hosting the show, and also to Brian for joining me on the podcast. Hit the link to hear the podcast. Hopefully, this will be a recurring thing for me, so keep an eye out for more podcasts in the future.
Michigan will join Florida State, Marquette, Xavier, Baylor, Creighton, Alabama and Iona in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando.
The Michigan Daily reports this doozy of a rumor:
Some sources tell me that the Athletic Department is looking into a home game against the University of Georgia in 2010, one that would also bring the Wolverines to Athens in 2011.
Whaaaa? A quick check of Georgia's future schedules reveals an open date in 2010 but the opening week of the season is currently filled by Louisiana Lafayette. UGA's other nonconference games that year are @ Colorado and @ Georgia Tech. In 2011, Georgia's schedule is already complete, with home games against Louisville, GT and a couple of cupcakes lined up.
To add Michigan, Georgia would have to…
The former two would be unusual for any college football team not named USC. The latter two cost money. The athletic department can "look into" a home-and-home with Georgia all they want, but UGA is an poor fit for a home-and-home over the next couple years. They are not likely to go for it; if they do they're likely to demand exorbitant terms that Michigan will balk at.
Next, plz.
According to Jeff Goodman, Manny Harris and Cal’s Patrick Christopher were the class of the Paul Pierce Skills Academy. The field included E’Twaun Moore, Manny Harris, Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Christopher, Demetri McCamey, Ryan Thompson, Edwin Ubiles, Ricky Harris, Cory Higgins and Marshan Brooks which is not bad company. Manny told Goodman that he listened to those people around him who told him “to be patient” in regards to the NBA draft.
Here’s what Pierce had to say on Manny:
“He’s got a pretty good mid-range game,” Pierce said of Harris. “I like the way he comes off screens. He has tremendous upside and has a good basketball IQ. He’s also one of the guys that picked things up right away.”
It’s interesting to hear someone praise Manny’s midrange game, this is something that most would consider one of the weaknesses of Manny’s game. If he were to master the pull up jumper or some sort of floater he would be almost impossible to guard.
Goodman also mentions that Harris says that he plans to be more of a vocal leader rather than leading by example. Leadership is still my biggest question regarding next year and it would be great to see Manny take that next step.
Eight of the first nine picks in the NBA draft were alumni of one of the Nike Academies and it’s great that two current players (Sims and Harris) and one future player (Smotrycz) got the chance to particpate.
Please God, let this come to pass. Kyle. Doug. If this works out, you're tailgating with me. This may pave the way for my long held desire to party under the peach trees in Athens to actually come to fruition.
From Ryan Kartje of the Michigan Daily:
Some sources tell me that the Athletic Department is looking into a home game against the University of Georgia in 2010, one that would also bring the Wolverines to Athens in 2011.
Oh, if only. The Movement has been afoot since 2006, when Kyle first suggested the match up. It has been proclaimed dead. And now it is revived. I am hopeful, even if Kyle isn't.
Coming soon to a Big House near you? (Photo courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library)
Ryan Kartje of the Michigan Daily, writing on the Daily’s The Game blog, digs up an intriguing rumor about a possible Michigan-Georgia home-and-home series in 2010 and 2011. His sources are saying that the athletic department is looking into hosting Georgia for the 2010 opener, which would be the first game in completely-renovated Michigan Stadium. The Wolverines would then travel to Athens in 2011 for the second part of the home-and-home.
I cannot possibly express how awesome this would be. Scheduling a marquee SEC opponent brings a ton of positive attention to a program that needs some good press, and I’m sick of seeing us schedule Notre Dame and three patsies for every non-conference slate. Playing Georgia would also provide a great measuring stick as to how far the program has progressed under Rich Rodriguez — a victory over the Bulldogs would signal to the college football world that Michigan is back.
Bill Martin, please make this happen. I’ll make sure I take an extra semester at Michigan just so I can get tickets to this game. Prove to your school that you are willing to bring in top-flight opponents. Give the program good national exposure. Just do it.
And now, because Georgia will, until this rumor has passed, be on my mind:
For the historically inclined: Michigan has played Georgia twice, beating them 26-0 in 1957 and losing 15-7 in the disastrous 1965 season (preseason #4 U-M finished 4-6, 2-5 Big Ten).
EDIT: Brian over at MGoBlog takes this rumor apart, noting that Georgia has no open date in 2011, has Louisiana-Lafayette scheduled for the opener in 2010, and would have to move that game and be willing to play three tough nonconference road games (@Colorado, @Georgia Tech) and cancel a 2011 game to make this work. In other words, this isn’t happening. Damn.
University of Michigan men&aposs basketball coach John Beilein announced today the Wolverines&apos complete non-conference schedule for 2009-10. The entire schedule, including Big Ten games, is expected to be announced in mid-August.
Update 6/27: Video of WI P Will Hagerup, MI QB Devin Gardner (HT: UMGoBlog).
Articles on CT LB Khari Fortt, OH CB commit Courtney Avery (second), OH DT Jibreel Black, PA QB Malik Stokes, CA RB Dietrich Riley, LA WR commit Drew Dileo, FL RB Eduardo Clements, OH RB Andre Givens, GA DE Henry Anderson, NY DE Dominique Easley.
Removed DC LB Javarie Johnson(Miami), FL CB Lo Wood (ND), FL RB Roy Finch (OK), OH LB Jordan Hicks (dropped M), OH DE Jibreel Black (IU!?), MI RB Nick Hill (MSU), FL WR OJ Ross (M outside of top 5), MD S Lamarcus Coker (dropped M), FL WR Chris Dunkley (dropped M).
Added GA DT Mike Thornton, FL WR Quinton Dunbar.
Hello 2011 OH CB Greg Brown? As per usual, some links from Varsity Blue. Leaners from Helmholdt.
Editorial Opinion: Recruiting board lives here. Not a whole lot of movement this week except in one direction: off the board.
An interesting week in departures. FL WR OJ Ross listed a top five without Michigan in it; though I'd usually wait for a couple more articles that were more explicit, I'm being ruthless on the WR board given all the commits. He's gone. OH LB Jordan Hicks not including Michigan amongst his final six was no surprise, and FL CB Lo Wood's commitment to ND had been expected for a while. Michigan will pick up corners rated higher than Wood, whose early hype gave way to eh ratings and a lack of in-state interest. So yeah no surprises there. Four removals are of note, though:
FL RB Roy Finch committed to Oklahoma. If Michigan wasn't going to get Finch, and there wasn't any interest expressed there, that's the best spot for him to go as it might cause some wobble in the commitment of CA RB and former Forcier teammate Brennan Clay. Possibly-dubious rumors that Clay's commitment is not rock solid persist.
MI RB Nick Hill committed to Michigan State. Hill camped at Michigan and did not get an offer, at which point State swooped in for the rebound. More on Hill in the section on tailbacks.
OH DT/DE Jibreel Black committed to… Indiana? WTF? That one hurts. Black had sliced his list to Cinci, Kentucky, Indiana, State, and M, and unless there's an ulterior motive on a list like that, that usually presages a commitment to M. Black was a three-and-a-half star sort who would have been an excellent fit as the three-tech DT in Michigan's new defense; instead he's signed up to get his head caved in for four years. There's no accounting for taste.
Black's ulterior motive, by the way: his older brother currently plays for IU.
DC LB Javarie Johnson committed to Miami. That also hurts. Johnson showed well at camps and had high upside; he reacted so positively to his Michigan unofficial that one of his coaches told a Scout guy that he had committed. Instead he's off to Miami, depriving Michigan's recruiting board of a badly needed athletic strongside linebacker type.
Yet more recruitin' video on MI QB Devin Gardner, seen here throwing some passes at the Sound Mind/Sound Body camp. More impressive are the clips of Gardner playing receiver; he looks like Braylon crossed with a bull.
You know how Ohio State got a fade touchdown in their bowl game last year by having Boeckman chuck it to Pryor? Yeah, I think we should teach Devin Gardner the fade route. Here's what I'd say if I was Tony Dews: "go over there and run to the corner of the endzone. Then be 6'5" and capable of leaping over most of Andorra."
(HT: UMGoBlog.)
So Nick Hill goes off the board to State, and we're one step closer to completing the odd reversal from early expectations. MI RB Austin White committing to Michigan would be the final step. He remains a Michigan lean:
… U-M’s best chance is with White, who has been a slight Michigan lean since the spring.
Since it's White who's got the higher recruiting rankings and better offers I'm fine with that; also White's camp performance was considerably better than Hill's.
The other big fish Michigan is in the mix for is FL RB Eduardo Clements, who camped and now has a solid top three of Georgia, Michigan, and Miami. Clements on M:
“The whole coaching staff is a great group of guys. The things Coach Rich (Rodriguez) is trying to do with the offense this year, and the guys from Miami (area) who are there now look like they will play early. I just liked the whole campus and the whole atmosphere.”
That's not a final list above, however, and Clements currently plans on taking all his officials. Michigan will get a return visit. Since Clements was thought to be favoring Georgia before his camp swing, that's a win.
Meanwhile, OH RB Andre Givens is concentrating on the Big East($); his Michigan offer may not come with a lot of recruiting behind it as Michigan focuses on White and Clements.
That article cited above with an Austin White lean also has less salutary news on a couple of instate prospects:
[Dior] Mathis has recently expressed a strong affinity for Oregon, while [CJ] Olaniyan appears to be favoring Michigan State and Penn State.
FWIW. That would be a major change on Mathis; Olaniyan is supposed to be pretty wide open still; he's only moved to Michigan in the last few years and doesn't have any particular affinity for the local programs.
Ah, so this is why Michigan's got a half-decent shot at GA DE Henry Anderson:
Both of Anderson's parents graduated from Wisconsin and he plans to head to Madison in the near future for an unofficial visit and then narrow his list further. Anderson is looking for the best school for him on an off the field. He plans to major in either business or political science and then head to law school once his playing days are over.
Michigan is in a leading group of eight.
We have our first OMG shirtless punter ever:
That's WI P Will Hagerup, who has a Michigan offer and appears to be the top punter in the country according to issued offers. He took a visit to campus recently, perhaps attempting to gather information on the program so he can decide whether he wants to commit before Michigan offers MI P Mike Sadler and other folks. I bet something shakes out soon here.
Here's a new cornerback on the radar who favors Michigan and will probably commit soon:
[Greg] Brown’s first scholarship offer came from Central Michigan. While he was camping in the state of Michigan, Brown came away with two new scholarship offers.
“Michigan State and Michigan, they both offered after camp,” Brown said. “Michigan is my favorite. I’m probably going to decide pretty soon.”
Hey, cool. Small catch: Brown is a member of the class of 2011. IE: a rising junior. So, yeah. Not of immediate help. But a couple Big Ten offers by the summer of your junior year presages a nice ranking when it comes time for that, and Brown is from Fremont Ross, the home of a slightly good cornerback named Woodson.
Etc.: Fluff on NY DE Dominique Easley; don't get your hopes up there. CT LB Khari Fortt speculated to Penn State. FL WR Quinton Dunbar plans an official visit, FWIW. Highly likely to stay in-state. Fluffs one and two on OH CB commit Courtney Avery. This article on LA WR commit Drew Dileo has the worst tile ever. CA RB/S Dietrich Riley smoked the USC Rising Stars camp.
