The magic number

.. is 29. Right now Michigan's football team sits at 25 commitments, with room for 2 (or maybe more) possible de-commitments.

With that being said, Michigan is expected to be able to give out 29 scholarships in this recruiting cycle. That's why the staff are still actively pursuing a number of different options around the country.

Offensively, the staff isn't focusing on any "sleepers" or "diamonds in the rough". At this point, they're going for top-250 caliber talent, mainly on the offensive line.

Miami, Florida OG Torrian Wilson, who at one time named Michigan his leader, recently de-committed from Stanford and now has a top 3 of Tennessee, Michigan, and South Florida. He'll be visiting Michigan early in January so this is definitely one to watch.

According to a number of current Wolverine recruits, the staff is also in on a very good offensive lineman. It appears that this mystery recruit is either Iowa-commit Andrew Donnal or North Carolina-commit James Hurst. Most gamblers' money is on Donnal at this point, but recruiting analysts aren't spilling any details until more definitive information (like an official visit) becomes public.

With that being said, the staff are still in on a number of defensive recruits. In the secondary Hollywood Hills, Florida CB Tony Grimes has consistently listed Michigan as his leader. He has stated though that he plans on waiting until National Signing Day to announce, so Wolverine fans may have to wait to hear his plans.

Harbor City, California Safety Sean Parker is actually a recruit that has only come on strong to Michigan as of late, but many experts think that Michigan now leads for his services. The Wolverines will have to beat out both in-state schools California and USC, but Parker has repeatedly stated he wants to leave the state of California, and at this point Michigan looks to be in strong position with him.

Another cornerback/safety to watch is Jacksonville, Florida CB Rashad Knight. Earlier in the year he listed Michigan as his leader, but didn't get a chance to visit for the Ohio State game after he missed his flight. Depending on how Sean Parker's recruitment plays out, Michigan may or may not increase their pursuit on Knight. He still looks favorably upon Michigan, and will be visiting in January.

A huge area of concern for Michigan's defense is linebacker, and the staff is still trying to address that situation even with the scholarship crunch. With Josh Furman and Antonio Kinnard committed Michigan is still looking for a true MLB-type. Probably the staff's two top options at this point are Florida LB's Darrin Kitchens and Georgia-Tech commit Quayshawn Nealy. Kitchens was initially interested in Florida but it will be interesting to see how that situation pans out with Urban Meyer taking a leave of absence. He's also very interested in Syracuse, but will be visiting Michigan in January. Nealy seems pretty solid with GT and it's doubtful that he'll end up blue.

Perhaps the most intriguing situation is that of Detroit DT Jonathan Hankins. Everybody knows the story, as Hankins grew up a Michigan fan but didn't get that offer at their camp. The staff wanted to see his senior film and decided later that they wanted to offer him. Unfortunately, top programs like Ohio State and Florida had already jumped aboard, leaving Michigan behind in the running for the nose tackle. Alabama has recently gotten into his recruiting as well.. so things will definitely be interesting to watch with Hankins as NSD approaches.

Defensive thoughts

It's a slow day in the house, so I figured I'd discuss some things I've been reading up on and thinking about. The defense next year is going to be paramount to Michigan's success. If things can get turned around and Michigan plays solid or even decent defense, they could win 7 or 8 games. But if the defense continues to spiral downwards.. well, I won't go there.

There are two particular recruits that I'll have my eye on in the spring and in fall practice. And that's Marvin Robinson and Adrian Witty. Both of them are Florida natives, and both know how to ball. Robinson was highly rated and wanted by everyone; Witty was a two-star who, because of an injury, missed much of his senior season. Still, I think both have a chance to be major contributors next fall.
Per the latest rivals article (today), Robinson said he's now at 203 lbs, and has his 40 down in the 4"4's. He's currently slated to come in and try and shore up the free safety position (plays close to LOS), but at that size he's got to be destined for the SAM linebacker position in the future. Unless he can stay at that size and maintain good speed, then I'm all for him staying at safety. Robinson will be enrolling early next month, so I wouldn't be surprised if he is starting at safety in the fall.
Adrian Witty's road to Ann Arbor has taken him longer than expected. He signed with the 2009 class, only to find out he was academically ineligible. But give props to the kid, he didn't just sit around or head to a junior college. Witty took an online math class, got a B, and is now set to enroll in January. So essentially he's become a 2010 recruit. He'll still have all his eligibility, so there's no worries there either.

Like I mentioned before Witty missed a lot of time due to injury, but he showed a lot of promise early in his high school career. FlaVarsity.com analyst Mike Langston had this to say -

"A lot of people said he was a risk, but I, too, saw what Michigan saw when he was a junior, how explosive he was. They weren't just taking this guy to get Denard. He was a sensational player as a junior, one of the quickest I've seen as far as closing on the ball."

Rumor has it that Witty was the only player on Deerfield Beach (his high school) who could beat Denard Robinson in a race. And we all saw how fast Denard was this year. So basically, when healthy, Witty is a quick bugger. And we need speed in the secondary, see- Boo Boo against Notre Dame this year. Luckily, he's also really motivated;

Witty's proving it with his training regimen, which includes lifting, speed training and other exercises. He was busy running sprints and working on his explosion when we reached him and rarely takes a day off, working with friends, teammates and others in preparation for his collegiate career.

With Donovan Warren gone Witty has an excellent chance if he can get acclimated with the defensive schemes and the speed of the game. If he can stay healthy, I think he'll contribute on the field in the fall, on special teams at the least.

Josh Furman goes blue

I was out of town last night, but I suspected that Millersville, MD Athlete Josh Furman would be picking the Wolverines, and much to the joy of Michigan fans across the web he did.

Furman is a 3-star athlete who plays primarily running back in high school, but projects to play the SAM linebacker position at Michigan next fall. He's listed around 6"3, 195 lbs, so he's already got a solid frame to build upon. His intangibles are off the charts as well, with a listed 4.39 40-yard dash (it was timed but wind-aided), and a 42" vertical leap. So basically, he's a freak - as you can tell from the picture above.

After watching his highlights on defense it's obvious Furman has a lot of work to do there. But he's got all the physical tools, he'll just need to get coached up. Luckily Greg Robinson is his position coach, and Greg did a very solid job coaching Stevie Brown after moving him from safety to linebacker this past spring.

Continuing the recent trend of defensive recruiting, Furman fills a major position of need at linebacker, and with 25 commitments on board now, the class is almost full. Word on the street is that California safety Sean Parker is leaning towards Michigan right now. He'd be the cherry on top of a very solid recruiting class that addresses a lot of this team's needs. Still, Parker won't be announcing until signing day, and Michigan will have to battle USC and Cal for his services.

Donovan Warren goes pro

Per ESPN, junior cornerback Donovan Warren will take his skills to the NFL, and forgo his senior season.

Warren was impressive this past season, garnering 1st team All-Big Ten Honors after amassing 66 tackles, 4 interceptions, and 7 passes broken up. His stats don't really speak to his true coverage skills though, as teams threw away from him all season.

Well, this basically sucks for Michigan's secondary. With Troy Woofolk as the only other experienced, real capable player back, things aren't looking too bright for a terrible secondary that gave up way too many big plays last year.

The only positive is the current recruiting class is stocked with cornerbacks and safeties, and redshirt-freshman Justin Turner is expected to see the field as well at corner. So hopefully the coaching staff can shore things up, because Tony Gibson and co. have a hell of a job ahead of them.

Let the bowling begin

Usually December to early January is my favorite time of the year, because Michigan is preparing for it's annual BCS/High-level bowl and I'm able to watch other teams compete until then. Well.. that didn't happen again this year, but there are a number of intriguing bowl games to watch.

As the bowl season begins I'll be making picks and keeping my record throughout it. Today we have two bowl games to start off with, The New Mexico Bowl and the St. Petersburg bowl.

Nothing like some good old football to start the Christmas holidays!

New Mexico Bowl - Wyoming vs. Fresno State

Fresno State had another solid year under long-time Head Coach Pat Hill, finishing 8-4 overall and 6-2 in the WAC. Bulldog running back Ryan Mathews was one of the nation's best kept secrets, as the talented junior led the nation in rushing at 151 YPG. He finished the year with 1,664 yards and 17 touchdowns.

The Bulldogs will take on Wyoming who's under the guidance of first-year coach Dave Christensen. Wyoming didn't take on Fresno State- even though they play in the same conference, but they'll have a chance to do so tonight. The Cowboys had a fairly balanced offense with 2,000 passing yards and 1,500 rushing yards, but their biggest priority will be stopping Mathews. Wyoming finished 91st in the nation against the run, so you can be sure they will have their eyes on Mathews the entire game.

The pick: Fresno 28, Wyoming 14.

St. Petersburg Bowl - UCF vs. Rutgers

Rutgers finished the season 8-4 and are in their 5th straight bowl game under Greg Schiano. The offense is led by freshman quarterback Tom Savage, who threw for 1,912 yards with 12 touchdowns in the regular season. But watch out for all-purpose threat Mohamed Sanu, who will line up in the Wildcat, throw it, run it, and catch the ball downfield. Rutgers also finished with the 19th best defense in the nation, so when they can't score, they sure can stop it.

UCF continued it's trend of going to bowl games every other year (a strange trend) finishing 8-4 overall and 6-2 in Conference USA play. Like Rutgers, the Black Knights don't score a lot of points, but play solid defense (#3 against the run) and are led by a solid quarterback in Brett Hodges.

The pick: UCF 21, Rutgers 17.

Richard Ash goes blue

Yesterday Michigan received a huge boost in recruiting when Pahokee DT Richard Ash committed to the Maize and Blue. Previous reports stated that Ash had committed to West Virginia last week, but a visit to Ann Arbor changed his mind.

Ash is a four-star prospect from Pahokee, FL - that's right, that Pahokee. The same school that has been raided by Michigan 3 times in the last two classes. So far only WR Martavious Odoms has seen significant playing time, but diminutive RB Vincent Smith saw action (and played well) against Delaware State, Wisconsin, and Ohio State. LB Brandin Hawthorne is expected to contribute at the spinner position this year as well.

Many Michigan fans have been clamoring over Rodriguez and Co's recruiting skills, and how they've completely ignored the defensive side of the ball, but Ash is a big-time prospect that fit's a position of need. However, he's not exactly what you think of as a true defensive tackle. In reality, he's more of a fit at the RVB DE/DT position.

Ash is a 3-tech defensive tackle who is best when he's playing at 240-250 lbs. He was extremely highly-touted in his junior year, with offers from every team in the nation including USC, Florida, LSU, etc. But he showed up to a lot of camps at about 270 lbs and performed poorly, so a lot of top teams cooled on him. Basically, I think he's a kid with a lot of talent who has a tendency to slack, which isn't always great to hear, but with Mike Barwis & co. working on him, I think he'll find a solid weight, stay in shape and contribute well. Also, Ash is reporedly only 16 years old, meaning he still has plenty of time and room to grow.

With the commitment of both Ash and T. Talbott at the 3-tech position, and Ryan VanBergen only a junior this season, both will have a chance to redshirt, bulk up a bit, and learn the technique required to play the position. This will pay great dividends in the future as we're starting to build up some defensive depth as well. Overall, a solid get, and hopefully the staff can land a certain Nose Tackle from Detroit who's being pesky about his choices..

The great debate

This is something that has been relevant in the past, and thanks to Barry Alvarez, has apparently come onto the table once more. Adding a 12th team to the big ten. From Alvarez -

Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez says the Big Ten will soon make a more aggressive push toward adding a 12th member.

Speaking to Wisconsin's athletic board on Friday, Alvarez, the former longtime Badgers football coach, said the conference already has investigated possibilities for expansion "from all over the country." And though he places no timetable on the search, Alvarez thinks conference commissioner Jim Delany will respond to a group of athletic directors and coaches who want expansion.

Here's a map of the current big ten (11) schools.


Now I won't go into detail on who should the 12th team just yet; my biggest problem is how the conference will be sorted out if said team is added. Normally you could just split the conference in halves and have them play for a championship at the end of the season. But take a look at the map. If you divide the schools in half north/south, then Michigan, Penn State, and Ohio State all end up in the same division. Not fun.

If you try and split it across the middle, then you still end up with Iowa, Penn State, and Ohio State end up together again. I think the only way this will end up working out is if the big ten goes the route the ACC took, and basically just scattering teams in the different divisions. Ideally, I'd prefer to see something like this -

Division A:

• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Wisconsin
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Illinois
  

Division B:

• Ohio State
• Penn State
• Michigan State
• Purdue
• Northwestern
• Missouri

Ha! If you look close enough you've found my choice team for slot #12. Actually I don't have a real preference. If it came down to two schools I'd say Pittsburgh or Missouri. With this divisional format you're able to keep some of the rivalry games by having them between conferences, and also the balance is a little better than just slapping a line on the map and calling it a day.

Will it happen? Probably not this quickly. I think Missouri or Pittsburgh are both a solid choice, but I don't see Mizzou leaving the Big 12 unless the Big 10 and Commish Delany give them an offer they absolutely can't refuse. And with Brian Kelly out at Cincinatti, that makes Pittsburgh probably the most stable team going into the conference next year (sorry West Virginia).

Commish Delany: I'm gonna make Mizzou an offer they won't refuse. Okay? I want you to leave it all to me. Go on, go back to the party meeting.

2011 Commitments

Now that the 2010 recruiting season is basically over, I will begin updating this 2011 list in it's place.

Current commits: 4

QB
1. Kevin Sousa - 6"2, 215 lbs (Orlando, FL) 3*/3* scout/rivals.

RB

WR
1. Shawn Conway - 6"4, 185 lbs (Birmingham, MI) 3*/3* scout/rivals.

TE

OL
1. Jack Miller - 6"4, 265 lbs (Perrsyburg, OH) 3*/3* scout/rivals.
2. Jake Fisher - 6"7, 260 lbs (Traverse City, MI) 4*/3*/ scout/rivals.

DE:
1. Brennen Beyer - 6"4, 220 lbs (Plymouth, MI) 4*/4* scout/rivals.
2. Chris Rock - 6"5, 250 lbs (Columbus, OH) 3*/3* scout/rvials.

DT

LB

CB
1. Greg Brown - 5"10, 180 lbs (Ross, OH) 3*/3* scout/rivals.
2. Delonte Hollowell - 5"8, 165 lbs (Detroit, MI) 3*/4* scout/rivals.

S


Notes:
This isn't expected to be a real large class, with only 13 seniors graduating next year. Of course there will probably be some added attrition, with some seniors not receiving a fifth year as well.

He has arrived

After much speculation and basically a week of deliberation, Brian Kelly was officially named Head Coach of the Fighting Irish.

It comes as no surprise to anyone, really. Kelly was one of the most successful D-II coaches in the country at Grand Valley State University, where he went 118-35-2, with 2 national championships.

He then went on to Central Michigan University, revamped their program, and won a MAC Championship in his third season. When a higher-level team came calling in Cincinnati, Kelly departed and built another strong football team.

The Bearcats went 10-3, 11-3, and 12-0 in his three full season there. His high-flying spread offense put points in bunches on the board, and even his defenses were solid. Kelly now has the chance to coach on the greatest stage of all, at one of the most historically-prominent schools in all of college football.

Though Notre Dame has been "down" for quite some time, there still is an immense draw to coaching there. Using the school's name alone, Kelly will be able to recruit regions he's never historically recruited like California, Texas, and elsewhere. Being a midwest native, Kelly will still have access to all the players he's recruited for the last 20+ years.

As a Michigan fan, this scares this shit of me for two reasons. 1- Kelly will now be in an even better position to compete for many of our recruits. And 2- With Michigan playing him every year, and Kelly's ability to develop low-level recruits (See Cincinnati's recruiting classes), I'm slightly afraid to see what he'll do with all the blue-chip recruits Notre Dame can get.

The one challenge standing in Kelly's way is defense. Notre Dame's biggest obstacle in being successful this decade has been the lack of a real dominant (or in recent years - good) defense. Now, word on the street is Kelly will be bringing in his former defensive coordinator (and current GVSU Head Coach) Chuck Martin. If Martin can whip the Domer's defense into a more respectable unit, and knowing Kelly's offensive prowess, then Notre Dame may just turn into the machine everyone believed they would be when Charlie Weis took over.

Recruiting Stuff

Recruiting is something that is extremely pivotal to Michigan's success and future at the moment, so as the winter drags on I'll continue to try and keep you all as updated as possible with the current commits, future commitments, and prospect

LB Greg Hickman to visit Michigan - Greg Hickman is a 3-star linebacker from Tampa, Florida. Have I told you how badly we need linebackers? He's got a Michigan offer, along with offers from FIU, USF, Purdue, Western Kentucky, Marshall, Florida A&M and Iowa State. Not the strongest group in the world, and Hickman is extremely large for a linebacker, clocking in at 6"1, 255 lbs. If he is recruited to Michigan, I'd say he's a spinner candidate who could eventually slide down to the defensive line. But at this point, I don't think we'll end up seeing him in the maize and blue.

LB Darren Kitchens is another interesting name that's come up - He's an outside linebacker prospect from Homestead, Florida, who also has a Wolverines offer, along with offers from FIU, Florida State, Maryland, South Florida, Southern Miss, UCF, and Wake Forest. Not a bad list overall, and he's receiving interest from both Florida and Ohio State as well. According to rivals ($) he'll be taking a trip up to Ann Arbor on January 8th.

Kitchens is much better suited to be recruited right now. Even though we're at 23 commitments and will probably fill up to 28, if Kitchens really likes Michigan I would guess the staff would have room for him. I haven't had a chance to take a look at his film yet, but the offer list is solid, he's got good size (6"3, 215 lbs), and fits a position that we desperately need talent and depth at. It appears that he's being recruited by some schools as a defensive lineman, and he's been quoted as saying he wants to stay close to home. So this probably won't happen either.

As for the rest of the class...

A poster on rivals got in communication with the Big Ten Director of Compliance, which basically helped clarify the scholarship situation and if backtracking is allowed.

Basically, scholarships are like a headcount. The year/semester you enroll, you're counted. So since Michigan took 21 commits last year, they can take 3 more than 25 if they have room. With the class sitting at 23 right now and possible impending commitments from LB/S Josh Furman, CB Tony Grimes, DE Clarence Murphy, and DT Jonathan Hankins, this class could be filled fairly soon. And couple that with the fact that there may be one or two disqualifers and that will certainly leave room for more recruits as well.

Heisman finalists announced

The five finalists for college football's most coveted award were announced today, including Colt McCoy, Mark Ingram, Toby Gerhart, Ndamukong Suh, and Tim Tebow.

McCoy is a fairly obvious choice; the Texas Quarterback has thrown for 3,521 yards and 27 touchdowns, and added another 348 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground after leading Texas to a 12-0 record, the Big 12 Title, and National Championship Game berth.

Alabama running back Mark Ingram finished the year with 1,542 yards and 15 touchdowns as he helped (literally) carry Alabama to a 13-0 record, the SEC Title, and National Championship face-off against Texas.

Gerhart has helped Stanford take a trip to it's first bowl game since 2001, and he's done it in style, amassing 1,736 yards and 26 touchdowns this season. Suh, on the other hand, is the first defensive tackle to be invited to New York since Warren Sapp did it in 1994. He's been extremely disruptive all year, totaling 84 tackles and 12 sacks.

Then there is Tim Tebow. The Heisman winner in 2007, he's seeking to become the second two-time Heisman winner since Archie Griffin did it for Ohio State in 1974 and 1975. He's thrown for 2,413 yards and 18 scores while rushing for 859 yards and 13 touchdowns.

If it's my pick, I'd take Ingram or Suh. Not to take anything away from Toby Gerhart, because he's had an absolutely phenomenal season; but his team isn't really playing in a bowl of any major relevance. And to add to that, Ingram is but a sophomore. Gerhart is a senior and is (should) be at the peak of his career.

Suh has just been an absolute beast all year long, and that's coming from the defensive tackle position. I mean, how often do you hear about a tackle dominating? Yeah, they can stuff the run, but Suh can be seen flying all over the field during games.

Another reason I decided against McCoy and Tebow was because, well quarterbacks get enough glory these days. McCoy and Tebow's numbers have both dropped signifcantly since last year, and while I'll give Tebow some credit for playing in the SEC, McCoy played a fairly watered down schedule (WEAK) outside of the Big 12, and wasn't that impressive overall. Are both great players? Most definitely. I just want to see somebody else take home the hardware this year.

Brandon Smith to transfer

It started on rivals, but now has been confirmed by TomVH of mgoblog- redshirt freshman Brandon Smith is set to transfer.

He was a highly touted athlete by rivals, and had been bounced back and forth between safety and linebacker this past year.

Insiders/those close to the team say he wanted to play safety and wasn't happy with playing linebacker. But clearly Smith was a little too slow in coverage, as we saw a Mr. Kovacs see signifcant playing time over him.

With the Big Ten's rule preventing oversigning a class of 25 recruits, this transfer doesn't help the team one bit. Smith may have been more of a contributor on this years team (played on special teams, started against Wisconsin last year) and leaves the team with less and less depth once again.

Fuck, it's really starting to be difficult to stay positive with this team. Hopefully Ezeh and Mouton make less than 95% mistakes in the next season, or else we're screwed at linebacker again.

Warren looking at NFL

Via annarbor.com,

Michigan cornerback Donovan Warren is leaning "heavily" towards entering the NFL draft.

"I'm definitely, I'd have to say heavily, I like the chances of me coming out," Warren said at Michigan's annual football bust.

Warren said he planned to make a decision “within 2 weeks or so,” likely before the advisory committee reports back on his draft status.

This obviously sucks, as our secondary was terrible last season. This wasn't because of Warren, who turned in an All-Big Ten year, or by his counterpart on the other side of the field Troy Woofolk, a converted safety.

Still, we need everything we can get in the back four, so here's to hoping he receives bad news about his status and sticks around.

The end of some roads, the start of others

In the last two days, two-high profile coaches from very historically prestigious schools have been let go. Charlie Weis, who went just 35-27 in five years at Notre Dame, was dismissed in a fairly official manner, while news came out today that Bobby Bowden, who himself amassed a staggering 388-129-4 record in 50 years of coaching, is gone as well.

It's no surprise that either is now gone. Weis was on a very tight leash coming into the season, with expectations set at 10-2 and a BCS bowl-game or bust. Bowden, on the other hand, was just trying to keep Florida State afloat after falling to mediocrity in a fairly weak ACC conference.

Bowden has the track record, Weis doesn't. Still, I don't think everything can be blamed on both of them. Weis' offenses were typically very good-Notre Dame's biggest weaknesses came on the defensive side of the ball, where an undersized Irish unit always seemed to be dominated by most teams. There was plenty of talent in South Bend, the only problem was Weis and his staff never seemed to be able to put it all together.

Ever since Bobby Bowden named Jimbo Fisher the official "head coach in waiting" things haven't gone very well for Florida State. Their defense, which once produced All-American after All-American under the tutelage of guru Mickey Andrews, is nothing like the outfit we saw that literally dominated the college football world in the late 80's and 90's. The offense has been there, especially with Christian Ponder at the helm- but it will take a strong defensive coordinator, good quality recruiting, and a few years to rebuild that defense.

Now that the coaching search is on for Notre Dame, we will just have to wait and see who is selected as the next Irish head coach. Brian Kelly is obviously the front runner right now, but over the weekend numerous reports surfaced that Bob Stoops was a possible candidate for the job. Bob said he'll be sticking with Oklahoma, but it will be an interesting development to watch over the next few weeks.