NCAA football teams now allowed to wear home jersey colors in games

According to a new NCAA ruling, college football teams in 2009 may both wear home jerseys during football games as long as they are clearly contrasting in color:

Approved a request to allow teams, when approved by the conference office and agreed to by both teams, to wear colored jerseys as long as they are clearly contrasting in color. When an agreement is unable to be reached, the visiting team shall wear white.

Conferences have authority to make their own rulings on the matter, however.

There certainly are appropriate applications for this ruling. Well, OK "appropriate" may not be the best word. How about traditional? Because some college football uniforms are far from "appropriate". Some teams like Oregon, West Virginia, Georgia Tech and others have recently (since the 1990s) selected lighter colored variations of home jerseys jerseys and even non-white away jerseys. In southern California, most recall the colorful tradition associated with the epic battle for Los Angeles when PAC-10 powers USC and UCLA football teams would collide every autumn in the golden sun. In recent years, the Trojans and Bruins both had to suspend their home-jersey-wearing tradition for their meeting due to NCAA regulations that prohibited it. We know too that LSU in the SEC likes to wear their away white jerseys at seemingly every single opportunity they can.


Whoa! Yellow football duds. Is this the part where opponents feel "intimidated"?


Georgia Tech and Old Gold. That's because their school colors are Old Gold and White, for crying out loud. (No pun intended.)

In my view, this is a decidedly smart move by the NCAA because it allows football teams to follow tradition where it's actually warranted (e.g. UCLA vs. USC), but also provides much appreciated checks and balances (e.g. "agreed to by both teams") so that no team can assert the right for themselves alone. Both sides must concur well before kickoff.

I remember the 1976 Rose Bowl game, where the Big Ten champion faced the PAC-8 or PAC-10 champion on an annual basis on New Year's Day in Pasadena, California. In the Rose Bowl game, the designated "home team" was alternated every year between the two conference. In 1976, the undefeated 11-0-0 Buckeyes were the designated home team, yet Dick Vermeil's 8-2-1 UCLA Bruins ran onto the field in their powderkeg blue uniforms. The Bruins won this game 23-10, shocking the nation and destroying the Buckeyes' hopes for a national championship. It was the last time the Rose Bowl game featured both teams in home uniforms.


Blame it on the uniforms.

As for the Big Ten conference, I don't believe, for example, we will ever witness the Ohio State Buckeyes stepping onto the FieldTurf of Michigan Stadium with home Scarlet jerseys. Nor vice versa in Ohio Stadium.

Some traditions are best left unaltered.

Rumours Suggest Steven Threet May Transfer

The rumour mill today is suggesting that Michigan QB Steven Threet may transfer from the football team prior to spring practice.

Threet was Michigan's starting QB during much of the 2008 campaign and played in 10 of Michigan's 12 games. Threet led Michigan to two of it's three victories in 2008, versus Miami Ohio and versus Wisconsin.

Threet's 2008 Statistics over 10 games:

Passing:

200 Attempts 102 Completions 51% compl.% 1,105 yards 9 TDs 7 INTs 15 Sacks

Rushing:

76 Attempts 201 yards 2.6 yards/carry 2 TDs

If this rumour is true, Michigan's quarterback situation from an experience standpoint would again for the second straight season be rather dire. The next most experienced quarterback for the Wolverines would be Junior Nick Sheridan. Sheridan knows the spread offense probably better than anyone on the team, including Threet. But Sheridan was much maligned during 2008 for his apparent weaknesses, all the more poignant given the position he plays: poor arm strength and poor throwing accuracy.

Should Threet decide to transfer, Rich Rodriguez's options would include:

Nick Sheridan, Junior, 6-2, 190, Walk On


Tate Forcier, Freshman, 6-1, 190, 4 star, No. 15 QB


Denard Robinson, Freshman, 6-0, 176, 4 star, No. 13 CB/QB


Justin Feagin, Sophomore, 6-0, 190, 2 star, No. 93 CB (to play slotback in 2009)


David Cone, Senior, 6-6, 210, 3 star, No. 23 QB


Nader Furrha, Freshman, 6-1, 175, 2 star, No. 142 QB (Walk On)

Threet's potential departure only confirms the importance for Rodriguez to land a second QB in the 2009 recruiting class, which I mentioned in prior posts as if it came straight from Captain Obvious. Personally, I hope the rumour is false. Michigan needs Threet on the depth chart another year at least. Still, the Wolverines do appear to have 2 fine options at QB in Forcier and Robinson. There was great hope that somehow Threet and Sheridan could make "tremendous strides" in their throwing technique and knowledge of the offense during the off-season and that such effort would make itself apparent to coaches and fans in the spring.

Michigan was to be one of the few Big Ten teams returning it's starting QB for the 2009 season, and was the only team returning 2 QBs with substantial playing time. Michigan's competition at QB in the upcoming spring and fall practice sessions may still be intense, even if that competition likely only centers around the two incoming freshman who possess the footspeed, option agility and throwing accuracy to run Rodriguez' spread offense offense.

2009 Big Ten Quarterbacks: Returning Starters and New Candidates

Everyone knows the importance of the quarterback in football, be it college or pro level. Returning a starting quarterback is almost always considered to be a huge plus to any football team in terms of continuity and on-field performance.

Let's review 2008 briefly and the teams that returned starting QBs and the team records:

1.) Penn State 11-2
QB Darryl Clark replaced Anthony Morelli and was far more productive offensively.
Penn State led the Big Ten in scoring 40 pts. per game and in yards per game. Entering the 2008 season Clark was experienced in clean up duty and was very comfortable as starter.
2009 Nittany Lion QB Candidates:
Darryl Clark is back as a senior.
Then there is 2009 incoming freshman Kevin Newsome.
(Paul Ciancolo graduated and backup Pat Devlin transferred to the Delaware Blue Hens)

2.) Ohio State 10-3
QB Todd Boeckmann led OSU to the Big Ten title and national championship game in 2007. In 2008, Boeckmann played second fiddle to freshman sensation Terrelle Pryor at QB.
Buckeyes finished 5th in league scoring and a surprising 9th in yards/game. Great defense is what elevated Ohio State play most of the season. Oh, and a healthy Beanie Wells.
The Buckeyes landed a great freshman class for 2009 and the timing is perfect.
Pryor will need significantly better play for the OL and a rejuvenated running game under Brandon Saine and Jamal Berry. Otherwise, the overwhelming pressure on Pryor will only mount.
2009 Buckeye QB Candidates:
So. Terrelle Pryor
So. Joe Bausermann
2009 freshman recruit Ken Guiton

3.) Michigan State 9-4
QB Bryan Hoyer returned as the Spartans' senior starter for 2008. Offensively, Michigan State was decidedly mediocre in the Big Ten, measuring 6th in the league in scoring and 7th in yard/game. A strong running game, fewer turnovers and adequate defensive play allowed MSU to win key games in 2008. Hoyer graduates in 2008.
2009 Spartan QB Candidates:
Jr. So. Kirk Cousins
Jr. Keith Nichol
2009 Fr. recruit Andrew Maxwell

4.) Iowa 9-4
Redshirt freshman QB Jake Christianson lost his starting job to sophomore QB Rick Stanzi in the second game of the season, a 42-0 shut of Florida International. The Hawkeyes never looked back. With Stanzi under center and Shonn Greene at tailback, the Hawkeyes exploded offensively finishing 3rd in the Big Ten in scoring and 3rd in the league in yard/game - a major improvement of the prior year. The Hawks were the only Big Ten team to win their bowl game by crushing SEC rep South Carolina in embarrassing fashion in the Outback Bowl 31-10.
Jake Christiansen has transferred.
2009 Hawkeye QB Candidates:
Jr. Rick Stanzi owns this position right now.
So. Marvin McNutt
RS Fr. John Wienke
2009 freshman recruit Micah Hyde.

5.) Northwestern 9-4
CJ Bacher and Mike Kafka split duty at QB in 2008. Kafka was more productive (and dangerous) in the spread offense because of his running ability. Kafka has a good throwing arm as well, and I'm sure we'll see him throw more in 2009 since the Wildcat running game of Sutton and Conteh blew up last fall to injury and do not return. Northwestern finished 8th in scoring and 6th in yards/game.
2009 Wildcat QB Candidates:
Kafka is the heir apparent for 2009.
So. Joe Mauro
2009 freshman recruit Evan Watkins.

6) Wisconsin 7-6
Wisconsin had QB issues the minute Tyler Donovan graduated in 2007. Wisconsin finished 4th in scoring and 3rd in yards/game in 2008 in 2008. Not bad. Unfortunately, the Badgers never achieved the consistency they needed under starter Allan Evridge. I sort of expect improved numbers going into 2009 with backups Tolzien or Sherer at the helm, because I think they are more talented players than Evridge was.
2009 Badger QB Candidates:
Jr. Scott Tolzien
Sr. Dustin Sherer
Curt Phillips
2009 recruit Jon Budmayr round out the Badger QB depth chart.

7.) Minnesota 7-6
The Golden Gophers finished 6th in scoring and 10th in yard/game in 2009 under QB Adam Weber. Weber has been sidelined with off-season surgery, so it's not entirely certain whether he'll start the first few games of the 2009 campaign. He may get into the role again later into the season. No team in the Big Ten returns with more total starters on offense and defense than the Golden Gophers (estimated at 18), so it would not surprise me to see Minnesota winning again 7 games or more, upsetting a few Big Ten teams along the way in their new TCF stadium, and then getting embarrassed in a bowl game per tradition. By 2010 this Gopher team could be pretty good. Weber might miss the first 1 or 2 games of the season in 2009.
2009 Gopher QB Candidates:
Sr. David Pittman is the most experienced behind Weber.
Soph. MarQueis Gray
2009 freshman recruit Moses Alipate.
Sr. Adam Weber (surgery)

8.) Illinois 5-7
I'm still trying to figure out how you go from Rose Bowl team, return your starting QB (Williams), return an awesome WR (Benn), and sensational tailback Daniel Dufresne, and not become bowl eligible. I guess this explains Ron Zook's negative recruiting tactics. I think it's also explained by something called "Western Michigan". Regardless, the Fighting Illini return with Juice at QB, and hey, that's all you need, right? Well, minus the 16 soul-crushing interceptions, I mean. Juice Williams is probably the Big Ten's loudest demonstration that it's simply not good enough to have a Pat White under center making big plays and giving defensive coordinators fits. You can't turn the ball over. You need a consistent running game, and the defense has to stop people. It sounds strange to say this, but Juice Williams is entering his senior season for the Illini. He threw for a sick number of yards in 2008, but behind closed doors right now Zook has to be thinking very hard about his QB situation and whether Juice Williams is the right choice. Williams is brilliant....at times. No question about it. He destroyed Michigan (not much of a feat last year, but still) and he almost single-handedly knocked off Ohio State in Columbus a year ago. Still, at other times, Williams' throwing errors have literally sucked the life out of the Illini football team.
2009 Illini QB Candidates:
Juice!
Jr. Eddie McGee
RS freshman Jacob Charest
2009 freshman recruit Nathan Scheelhaase

9.) Purdue 4-8
Purdue's high octane spread attack earned a rating of 7th in league scoring and 4th in yards/game under star QB Curtis Painter. Painter graduates and coach Joe Tiller is being replaced by former Boilermaker offensive line coach Danny Hope. Will Hope continue Tillers passing attack or mix in some other razzle-dazzle? I'm not too optimistic about the Boilermarkers' future right now, mainly because I don't know about Danny Hope. I do know this: Purdue has a good QB coming back in Joey Elliott.
2009 Boilermaker QB Candidates:
Sr. Joey Elliott
So. Justin Siller
RS Fr. Caleb TerBush
then 2009 freshmen Najee Tyler and Rob Henry.

10.) Michigan 3-9
RS Freshman Steven Threet shared duties with Sophomore Nick Sheridan. Both performed poorly in the 2008 campaign overall as Michigan finished last in scoring and last in yards/game.
Both threw inconsistently and did not seem to fully grasp the offense. On the one hand, it's not going to be that difficult for Michigan to improve upon the 2008 QB numbers - they were that bad. On the other hand, Michigan enters the 2009 campaign with either low talent and low experience (Threet, Sheridan) at QB, or high talent and low experience (Forcier, Robinson).
One thing is certain now, head coach Rich Rodriguez finally has some players joining the football team in 2009 more to his liking, i.e. with good throwing accuracy, excellent footspeed and big playmaking ability. Threet has the inside track to start in 2009, in my view. Forcier and Robinson are going to push him very hard, however, in the Spring and Fall practice sessions. Threet's strength is his offensive playbook understanding, arm strength and game experience. His weaknesses have been lack of speed, poor throwing accuracy and hanging onto the ball way too long. But again, as far as arm strength goes, Threet may be the best there is in the Michigan lineup. Accuracy awards, though, will likely go to Mr. Forcier and Mr. Robinson. The quarterback position at Michigan is going to be interesting to watch for another reason in 2009: The Wolverine receiving corps may very well be the best in the Big Ten, if not the entire MidWest, from an overall speed, experience and talent perspective.
2009 Wolverine QB Candidates:
So Steven Threet
Fr. Tate Forcier
Fr. Denard Robinson
Jr. Nick Sheridan
Fr. Nader Furrha
So. Justin Feagin (playing slot)
Senior David Cone is also in the depth chart, but probably never before slotback.

11.) Indiana 3-9
I liked Indiana in 2007. Gaining bowl eligiblity and dedicating the season to Terry Hoeppner as they did was a cool thing. I thought it might be a program on the rise, to some extent anyway. 2008 was a disaster, however. Indiana finished 10th in league scoring and 8th in yards/game. The Hoosiers alternated talented quarterbacks Kellen Lewis and Ben Chappelle most of the season. The results were 12 TD passes and 11 INTs. I would expect these numbers to improve in 2009. Indiana's depth at QB is substantial, and Lewis could have a breakout senior season for the Hoosiers if he can stay out of trouble off the field, and if the other ten players on the Hoosier offense would only cooperate. Lewis's backups are capable and experienced.
2009 Hoosier QB Candidates:
Sr. Kellen Lewis,
Jr. Ben Chappelle,
Jr.Mitchell Evans,
So. Teddy Schell,
RS Fr. Adam Follett
2009 Freshman Edward Wright-Baker.

The Big Ten teams with the best QB outlook for 2009?

1.) Penn State (Darry Clark)

2.) Iowa (Rick Stanzi)

3.) Indiana (Kellen Lewis)

4.) Northwestern (Mike Kafka)

5.) Ohio State (Terrelle Pryor)

6.) Minnesota (When and if AdamWeber returns to full health)

7.) Michigan State (because of Kirk Cousins and Keith Nichol play to hype)

8.) Illinois (The Juice!!)

9.) Michigan (Steven Threet/Tate Forcier/Denard Robinson)

10.) Purdue (Joey Elliott)

11.) Wisconsin (Scott Tolzien)

The next key variable is total returning offensive starters. Here are my estimates for 2009 football teams in the Big Ten conference:

1.) Michigan 11+ returnees
2.) Minnesota 10 returnees
3.) Indiana 9 returnees
4.) Iowa 7 returnees
5.) Illinois 7 returnees
6.) Michigan State 6 returnees
7.) Wisconsin 6 returnees
8.) Purdue 5 returnees
9.) Northwestern 4 returnees
10.) Ohio State 4 returnees
11.) Penn State 4 returnees

Delaware State Hornets to Invade Michigan Stadium

Michigan and Delaware State have scheduled a non-conference match October 17th in Ann Arbor. The Hornets serve as Michigan's 12th opponent for the 2009 season and will be the second Division 1-AA school faced by the Wolverines since the 2007 game with Appalachian State.

Delaware State is from the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference), a collection of 11 predominantly black institutions including:

Bethune-Cookman
Coppin State
Florida A&M
Hampton U.
Howard U.
U of Maryland - Eastern Shore
Morgan State
Norfolk State
North Carolina A&T
South Carolina State

Although Delaware State's football success within the MEAC conference since 1970 has been rather limited, Delaware State climbed back into "winning tradition" status through the leadership of coach William Collick and more recently in 2007 with HC Al Lavan. DSU football achieved the following MEAC conference titles:

1985 (9-2-0)
1987 (8-2-0)
1988 (5-5-0) tied conf. title
1989 (7-4-0)
1991 (9-2-0)
2007 (10-1)

Some little-known facts about Delaware State football:

1.) DSU produced NFL superstar wide receive John Taylor who went on to star for the San Francisco 49ers and catching the game winning touchdown pass from Joe Montana vs. Cincinnatti in the closing seconds of Super Bowl XXI to win 21-16.

Exhibit 1 of Delaware State awesomeness, former Hornet WR, and Jerry Rice-side kick, John Taylor.

2.) In 1990 DSU defeated Liberty University (famous for Reverend Jerry Fallwell, 6,000 year old dinosaur bones, and otherwise having God on their team's side) by a score of 38-37 after facing a 37-9 deficit. God must have had it with the Liberty players pointing to the sky after every big play. I don't blame him.

3.) Ms. Annice Candy served as a side judge in 2002 and the first woman to officiate a Division I college football game when Morris Brown faced Delaware State in Atlanta, GA.

4.) Oddly, Delaware State had never ever faced its own cross-state rival Delaware University Blue Hens until the first round of the FCS playoffs of 2007, when Al Lavan's 10-1 DSU team was defeated 7-44 by the championship game-bound Blue Hens.

Delaware State vs. Delaware 2007. First-ever meeting. WTF?

The Delaware State Marching band is called the "Approaching Storm, and is famous for it's high-energy, high-stepping (sound familiar?), rhythmic performances pre-game, at half-time and during DSU's 5th quarter celebrations. Hip Hop, R&B, Jazz and classic Motown music and excellent dance performances have made "The Storm" a popular attraction at NFL football games as well.

Delaware State's "Approaching Storm" Marching Band. Better than Grambling State's or Southern U.'s marching band? Better than University of Michigan's Marching Band? Hmmmm......we'll soon see.

The Hornets finished 5-6 last year under head coach Al Lavan, who is entering his 6th year at DSU. Lavan must replace star QB Vashon Winton, leading rushers TBs Chris Strother and Kareem Jones, and leading receiver WR Eddie Brown. The Hornets do return second leading yardage receivers WR Larrone Moore and WR Erick Jones. Jones caught 4 TD passes in 2008. The new Hornet QB will likely be Anthony Glaud who was Winton's backup last fall (see photo above) or a 2009 freshman recruit Chris Johnson.

Personally, I'm not at all disappointed with this match up going into 2009. I've read a number of UM blogs lamenting this contest as being somehow "beneath Michigan". In my view, Michigan's embarrassing loss to Appalachian State blew that kind of arrogant, fondue-party, "down-in-front!" thinking out of the water 2 years ago. At that moment Michigan football fans, whether they realize it or not, sort of surrendered their "we're to good for *insert school here*" attitude. I think 3-9 and last year's loss to an awful Toledo team also supports my view.

The Delaware State game is going to be good for the Michigan football team as a confidence builder. It's going to be good for DSU in the form of a nice payout, and one for their football program record books. DSU has never faced an opponent of Michigan's stature in their football program's history. And finally, I believe the game will be great for Michigan fans as the DSU football team runs a spread offense and displays some very fast players. Also, the DSU marching band is really something special to watch. I hope Delaware State fans manage to travel to Michigan for the game, that they feel welcome and enjoy the experience.

That all said, I do think that Michigan will face this kind of last minute scheduling routine for some time to come. Michigan has to fill its stadium with a 12th opponent. It has to. Michigan cannot make the same amount of money playing road games. A road game payoff would always be far less than a Big House game. So over the next 10 years, it will become next to impossible to convince other Division I teams like LSU, Clemson, Miami(FL), Oklahoma, Nebraska, USC or Texas to only play Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Today, Michigan football is essentially damned in non-conference scheduling to MAC School, MAC School, Notre Dame (To whom I will frequently refer to on this blog as "Notre Stain") , and a fourth, undetermined-up-to-the-last-freaking-moment opponent.

This ridiculous Notre Dame scheduling arrangement is unfortunately chiseled in stone for Michigan's football until 2031. The only way Michigan football might ever escape this dreadful scheduling hell would be if the Notre Dame athletic administration started to hate NBC money, and decided to, shall we say, "grow a pair" and join the Big Ten conference. Right now Notre Dame is an independent, non-affiliated football program. The Fighting Irish, however, are a member of the Big East conference in basketball.

Such a unlikely development might release Michigan from it's obligations under contract, since Notre Dame would be hopping in an out of a regular season conference schedule with the Wolverines and other Big Ten opponents. It would also open up Michigan's ability, to schedule other, higher-caliber non-conference opponents such as those mentioned above.

This is all conjecture, since Notre Dame may never join the Big Ten ever, and is probably more likely to join the Big East or remain an annoying Independent. I mean, Iowa State, Pittsburgh and Missouri are all more likely candidates to make a "Big 10+2" a reality in the future.

Eleven Big Ten (Big Eleven?) teams sort of sucks right now, because it robs the conference of extra revenue dollars that a championship game generates. Also, there's an argument to be made about a 13th game and better bowl game preparation.

Prior to the start of the 2009 season I will post again on the subject of a 12th team for the Big Ten conference and what that arrangement might (should) look like.

I do not have much optimism regarding this subject, however, and until serious deliberations take place again by Notre Stain officials, I can only look forward to observing the football teams of Delaware State, Hampton, Florida A&M, Bethune-Cookman and even Delaware U. (nice helmets!) try their luck in Ann Arbor in the coming years.

Michigan Lands Top 15 Recruiting Class for 2009

The Michigan football program and head coach Rich Rodriguez finished the 2009 recruiting campaign strong for the second straight year, signing a class ranked 13th nationally according to Scout.com and 7th according to Rivals.com . Following the 3-9 2008 football season, many didn't know what to expect from Rodriguez and his staff on the recruiting trail.

Would prospective recruits see the 3-9 season as an opportunity for early playing time? Would UM verbal commitments during the 2008 football season eventually decommit? Would opponents use negative recruiting tactics against Rodriguez and his coaching philosophy (spread offense, doesn't throw the ball enough, RR philosophy not conducive to developing players for the NFL)?

The answer was yes to all. But Rodriguez and staff ignored the media bashing and continued to work. So how did Michigan's 2009 class measure up in the Big Ten recruiting rankings?

Not too bad at all. Yes, Michigan's recruiting class finishes behind their white hot rival Ohio State Buckeyes for a second straight year, but well ahead of Michigan State, Penn State (Rivals) and Notre Dame.

Rodriguez's 2009 haul of recruits appear to answer a number of key team concerns:

Quarterback

Holy mother of God, is it just me or were high school kids insane not to see the glaring Captain Obvious advertisment for early playing time in Ann Arbor? Incredibly, Michigan had to cope with the mid-season decommitment of then 5-star QB recruit Kevin Newsome (Penn State) and post season decommitment of 4-star QB recruit Shavodrick Beaver (Tulsa).

Yes, Penn State and Tulsa. Let that sink in for a moment or two.

Michigan's quarterbacks Steven Threet and Nick Sheridan were not productive in 2008. Inexperience, learning a complex playbook, and inexperienced offensive line, and poor throwing accuracy undermined their effectiveness. Come hell or high water, Rodriguez was going to get himself a QB or two. Only a few weeks ago this situation looked dire. Today Michigan signed freshmen Tate Forcier (No. 15 QB) and Denard Robinson (No. 16, QB/CB). Both are welcome additions to the Michigan QB competition this spring and fall respectively. The most notable attributes of these two fine freshmen are a.) blazing footspeed and b.) high throwing accuracy. Both achieved high school fame for their QB elusiveness and uncanny ability to make big plays. Both ran spread-run oriented offenses in high school which should only help with the timing and playbook-learning curve. The good news is that Michigan finally is accumulating the depth it needs at this position once again.

Running Back / Slot Back

Entering 2008 Michigan assistant coach Fred Jackson stated that Michigan may have the fastest group of running backs he's ever seen at Michigan. But numerous injuries and a young OL lessened the production of this group. Michigan adds 4 running backs to the fold in 2009, some of whom will play the slotback position in the spread formation: Teric Jones (No. 44 RB), Jeremy Gallon (No. 45 RB), Fitgerald Toussaint (No. 49 RB), Vincent Smith (No. 102 RB).

Most notable attribute of this group: 4.4, 4.5, 4.5 and 4.5 shuttle times in the 40 yard dash. Shazaam!

Defensive Line
Graduations in 2009 opened up a lot of opportunity for incoming Michigan freshmen. It's only surprising that more players didn't commit to Michigan for the DL.

Michigan landed Craig Roh (No. 8 DE) and Anthony Lalotta (No. 15 DE) to help lessen the blow of losing Tim Jamison to graduation last fall. Michigan also landed the Wolverine state's best player in William Campbell (No. 6 DE). Unfortunately Michigan did not land DE Sam Montgomery (committed to LSU), and both DT Pearlie Graves (Texas Tech) and DE Daquinta Jones (Arkansas) decommitted from Michigan on signing day.

Offensive Line

Michigan's offensive line in 2008 gradually improved as the season wore on. In 2009 Michigan's recruiting efforts havce paid off with the signing of Michael Schofield (No. 10 OL) , Taylor Lewan (No. 20 OL) and Quinton Washington (No. 25 OL). William Campbell played OT in high school and could play on offense next fall as well. For 2010 Michigan needs to seriously consider getting a top notch center.

Secondary

Anyone who observed a Michigan football game in 2008 can tell you that the Michigan secondary needs work. The Michigan defensive backfield gave up way too many big plays last year - and in virtually every game. The good news here is that Michigan has a good bit of talent and experience now at safety. Cornerback is the biggest question mark for 2009. Justin Turner (No. 3 CB) and Denard Robinson (No. 13 QB/CB) signed with the Wolverines today and should bolster the talent at that spot.

Wide Receiver ?

Come on. Honestly, is there a football team in the Big Ten right now that even remotely comes to close to Michigan's depth talent at wide receiver? Odoms, Mathews, Hemingway, Clemons, Stonum, Rogers, T. Robinson. The depth, speed and talent here is borderline disgusting. Rodriguez didn't have to land any WRs this fall. But he did anyway. Je'Ron Stokes (No. 17 WR) and Cameron Gordon (No. 82 WR) should get reps this fall at outside wideout. Stokes is supposed to be scary good.

Tight End?

Um, Michigan recruited zero tight ends in 2009 and probably won't be recruiting many going forward under Rodriguez due to the overstock.com sale on Michigan tight ends. I think Rodriguez prefers to call them "fullbacks".

Overall a great Michigan class, all things considered: 3-9 season, incessant negative recruiting, mid-season, post-season and signing day decommitments, and the limited recruiting time available after such decommitments. 8 of the 22 commitments for 2009 came from Florida. 7 of the 22 are already enrolled at Michigan. 2009 may very well constitute the fastest recruiting class top to bottom ever at Michigan.

Not too shabby, Coach Rodriguez. Good work.

(Photo of Denard Robinson, Sun-Sentinel.com)

2 Days to Go: Michigan Recruiting Nerds Play the Waiting Game

The 2009 college football recruiting season has almost run its course, and Michigan fans (including college football recruiting nerds like me) are still holding their breath.

In just 2 days America's top college football recruits will sign letters of intent to play football for the college of their choice on Signing Day, Wednesday, February 4th.

The Michigan Wolverines have landed 20 recruits so far and have earned a ranking of 20th in the land by Scout.com and 7th in the land by Rivals.com recruiting magazines respectively.

Following a disasterous 3-9-0 football season in 2009, Michigan has done remarkably well on the recruiting trail, but it has been an exhausting process with more ups and downs than any Michigan football fan might ever remember. With 5 spots left to fill and possibly more, here are the top remaining prospects for the Wolverines for 2009:

QB/CB Denard Robinson, 4 star, No 13 CB, 6-0, 176 lbs, Deerfield Beach, FL, 4.38 speed. Choice is between Florida and Michigan.

CB Adrian Witty, 2 star, NR Safety, 6-1, 185 lbs, Deerfield Beach, FL, speed unknown (was injured in 2008). Witty is considering Kansas State, Michigan and Florida.

OL Quinton Washington, 3 star, No. 125 OL, 6-4, 322lbs, St. Stephen, SC
Between Michigan and South Carolina. Too close to call.

Over the last 3 weeks Michigan has apparently lost out on landing the following list of interested recruits. Some of them visited the UM campus in Ann Arbor:

OL Marcus Hall, 5 star, No. 2 OL, 6-5, 293 lbs, Cleveland, OH, 5.4 speed, Committed to Ohio State.

WR/QB Travante Stallworth, 3 star, No. 120 WR, 5-9, 180 lbs, Leesville, LA, 4.4 speed. Auburn bound.

DE Bennie Logan, 3 star, No. 64 DE, 6-3, 245 lbs, Coushatta, LA, 4.8 speed.
Committed to LSU

WR Willie Haulstead, 4 star, No. 37 WR, 6-2, 195 lbs, Miami, FL, 4.6 speed
Committed to Florida State.

DE Sam Montgomery, 4 star, No. 7 DE, 6-5, 240 lbs, Greenwood, SC, 5.7 speed
LSU or North Carolina or Tennessee.

WR Je'Ron Stokes, 4 star, No. 19 WR, 6-0, 195 lbs, Philadelphia, PA, 4.5 speed
A Tennessee commit. Considered Michigan for a time, but apparently leaning toward flintlock, hound dogs and Davy Crockett, a.k.a Tennessee.

There have been the stunning decommitments of Kevin Newsome (Penn State commit) and Shavodrick Beaver (Tulsa). Beaver's decommitment came just 6 weeks before signing day, which forced a change in Michigan's recruiting efforts during the last several weeks. Michigan desperately needs 2 QBs in the 2009 class to build up talent and depth at this key position to ensure that Rodriguez's spread option offense might have an opportunity to run at full throttle. They have one in Tate Forcier, but need another to add depth.

If Michigan lands the above 3 recruits (Washington, Witty and Robinson) and somehow retains DT Pearlie Graves and DE DaQuinta Jones in the class, then Michigan will have landed 23 players total. Two to three additional spots remain for the class, but it remains unclear who would occupy them.

Should 4-star CB/QB recruit Denard Robinson decide not commit to Michigan for some reason, then the Wolverines' 2009 class would still be on par with previous classes under Lloyd Carr and Rich Rodriguez comparatively speaking. Over the last 8 years both Michigan and Ohio State have landed top 10 recruiting classes (actually identically ranked on average at 10th place over the last 8 seasons.)

Also noteworthy is that Rodriguez did land the No. 1 rated players in Michigan (DT/OL William Campbell) and Ohio (CB JT Turner) respectively.

The media will no doubt find ways to highlight the decommitments of Newsome and Beaver. But 2009 recruiting haul is a already sweet class for Michigan and can be made only sweeter by landing Denard Robinson.

(Photo of Denard Robinson by Nissa Benjamin of Miami Herald)

And then the punter decleated me

The Michigan Wolverines enter 2009 with arguably the best punter in the Big Ten conference, Zoltan Mesko. Here are Zoltan's 2009 numbers:

2008: 81 punts 42.9 yard average

2007: 71 punts 41.1 yard average

2006: 50 punts 40.6 yard average

Zoltan, Destroyer of Galaxies, appears to be improving every year, and might very well finish his senior year at Michigan as a Big Ten punting leader and a national punting leader once again.

Placekicking and kickoff duty for Michigan is another question. One of the more unsung, yet consistent aspects of Michigan football the last two years has been, believe it or not, PAT/FG kicking.

K.C. Lopata sort of came out of nowhere in 2007 to assume PK duties for the Wolverines. His handiwork never really received much notice by the press. But Lopata was consistent. He demonstrated considerable improvement in his duties between 2007 and 2008.

Career Kicking Stats

Year Game FGM FGA Pct XPM XPA Pct Pts
2007 8 11 12 91.7 28 28 100.0 61

2008 12 10 15 66.7 27 29 93.1 57

Career 20 21 27 77.8 55 57 96.5 118

100% on PATs and 11 of 12 on FGs. Yes, one of the missed FGs cost UM the opportunity to tie Toledo and go into overtime last year. But that final 10-13 loss result can hardly be pinned on Lopata's missed FG alone. The above stats are respectable numbers for a placekicker. Lopata will be missed.

As for 2009, Bryan Wright returns for his senior year at PK for Michigan this fall.
Rich Rodriguez also successfully earned the commitment of Brendan Gibbons of West Palm Beach, Florida, one of the nation's better kickers. Gibbons is 6-0, 210lbs. He is a 3-star and 11th ranked kicker in the country according to Scout.com.

As a kicker Mr. Gibbons doesn't appear to hesitate when the opportunity arises to dish out some embarassing, touchdown-saving punishment:



But uhhh, Brendan, don't believe for a second that you can make this a common practice because that kind of tackling can draw, shall we say either a flag (for helmet to helmet contact) or "unwanted attention" to a specialist like yourself. Attention just like that received by this unlucky punter one Sunday evening in the NFL:

Special teams are an essential part of any successfull college football team. If Zoltan continues his destruction of galaxies, and Gibbons or Wright can pull through on their end of the bargain with PATs and kickoffs, then this only leaves the kickoff return and punt return teams as the main area of focus for Rodriguez. With Michigan's improved team speed and elusiveness, even that coaching focus can be restricted to imploring Wolverine return men tonot fumble that prolate spheroid.

WVU's improvement in Year 2 Under Rodriguez

Benjamin Disraeli once said that there are "lies, damn lies, and statistics".

Studying statistics in the context of college football might very well be an exercise in self-deception, or at least wishful thinking.

Michigan football is closing out the 2009 recruiting campaign and will begin spring football practice in 2 months time. The Wolverine coaches and football players will endeavor to erase a painful 2008 campaign that ended with a 3-9-0 record and perhaps the worst offensive and defensive showing for a Michigan football team in decades.
Following the 2008 season, the Wolverine coaches and players realize that they have a lot of work to do, but that they are on a completely new path.

So what can Michigan fans come to expect from the Wolverine football team in 2009?

Good question.

We know that past performance does not guarantee future results. This is particularly true under current Michigan Wolverine football coach Rich Rodriguez.

Everyone knows the major transition undertaken by Rodriguez and his staff for the future of the Michigan football team. New weight training facilities, new conditioning program, new offensive playbook (spread option attack), and a new defensive scheme.

But Rodriguez has been through these transitions before, and the early stages of these transitions have historically proven to be brutal.

How brutal?

Consider his first inaugural football season as head coach at West Virginia.

Rodriguez inherited a 7-5-0 team from former head coach Don Nehlen, including veteran OL, receivers and backfield, but a relatively new defensive line, LB corps and secondary. Don Nehlen ran an multiple I formation attack since his first season at WVU in 1980.

Rodriguez did not hesitate. He proceeded to introduce his radically new player conditioning program and his Glenville College spread option playbook.

With so many veterans returning on offense, including two proven QBs in Brad Lewis and Scott McBrien, expectations for WVU football were very high in 2001.

Instead, West Virginia's on field actual results were disasterous under Rich Rodriguez. The team finished 3-8-0.

Below a comparison of WVU football team offensive stats between 2000(Nehlen) and 2001(Rodriguez) seasons :

Passing:


With the new spread option attack of Rodriguez, Brad Lewis and Scott McBrien's cumulative pass attempts in 2001 were the same as the year prior under Nehlen and their accuracy actually improved (48% to 54%) under Rodriguez. But interceptions just killed the Mountaineers in 2001 and no doubt cost football games. 19 interceptions and only 9 touchdown passes over only 11 games.

Whoa, those stats hurt. These passing turnovers left a mark on Rodriguez. He would change his approach the next season.

Rushing:


In 2001 West Virginia returned an impressive stable of running backs, including two shifty tailbacks named Avon Coubourne and Cooper Rego. Rushing attempts were essentially the same as under Nehlen, but spreading the field allowed the Mountaineers effectiveness to improve from 3.6 yards/carry to 4.2 yards/carry. The biggest change here was that the Mountaineer quarterbacks under Nehlen in 2000 rushed for -75 yards. Under Rodriguez, QB Rasheed Marshall became the Mountaineers' 2nd leading rusher (and the second string QB) with 210 yards.

Receiving:


The marked decline in passing offense was witnessed in the receiving statistics between 2000 and 2001. West Virginia just ceased becoming a big time scoring threat through the air. 16 passing TDs in 2000 vs. only 9 passing TDs in 2000. West Virginia was turned into a run-centric team in one season. The receiving yardage in 2001 under Rodgiuez was over 700 yards less. Rodriguez's sideline-to-sideline passing attack was evidenced in the yards per catch decline: 15.6 in 2000 to 9.4 in 2001.

What is more startling is to view West Virginia's offensive stats from 2001 (Rodriguez's first season) with Michigan's offensive stats in 2008 (also Rodriguez's first season):

Passing:


Shockingly similar passing stats in attempts. WVU's completion % was better, but Michigan's inexperienced quarterbacks Threet & Sheridan, if you can believe it, threw dramatically fewer interceptions that Brad Lewis and Scott McBrien did.

Rushing:


Michigan's 2008 rushing stats were virtually identical with those of WVU in 2001. Look at yards gained and yards per carry.

Spooky.

This is made more surprising if one considers that although Michigan did return veteran running backs Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown, both served mostly backup or cleanup duty roles prior to this season. Michigan also did not return a veteran offensive line in 2008. The Wolverines returned one starter (Steve Schilling) and that was it, and for the most part struggled to stay healthy and find cohesiveness.

Receiving:


Again, Michigan's 2008 receiving stats are almost a carbon copy of West Virginia's in 2001 in yardage, yards per catch. Only WVU's attempts were more than Michigan's.

Year 2:

So in 2002, Rodriguez's second year, the Mountaineers returned most of the OL and an experienced backfield. The Mountaineer receiving corps would be brand new, however. But Rodriguez had had just about enough of the interception throwing escapades from 2001. He would use Rasheed Marshall at QB full-time and in every game. RichRod's 2002 strategy emphasized the run even more with Marshall, Cobourne and new speed-demon slotback Quincy Wilson. The results were very, very different from 2001, and not a little bit impressive:

Passing:


Could the above chart be Rodriguez saying "f&ck you!" to interceptions? 19 interceptions in 2000, man. Nightmarish. Never again, he said. Note the massive drop off in passing attempts. The yardage and accuracy remained the same, but the effectiveness improved: more TDs, fewer INTs.

Rushing:


Whoa dude! That's what happens when flintlock-gun-packing Mountaineers run through the brambles and kick everybody's ass in embarrassing fashion!

Just spread the field, sprinkle in a workhorse tailback (Cobourne) with a mercurial slotback (Quincy Wilson) and a mobile and elusive QB (Rasheed Marshall) and guess what?

Defenses start to get deer-in-the-headlights confused on who to cover and where to be.

It's just science.

For the record, in 2002 QB Rasheed Marshall rushed for 666 yards (Football IS THE DEVIL!) and 12 Mountaineer TDs! The leading rusher Cobourne hit paydirt 17 times. Quincy Wilson 6 times.

West Virginia scored 38 touchdowns in 2002. 38!

That's 22 MORE TOUCHDOWNS than the year prior! WTF??

Receiving:


Yes, RR may have said to hell with the passing attack in 2002, but he really didn't.
The quarterback threw more efficiently, the receivers improved their yards per catch from 9.4 to 11.9, and scored 11 TDs. Also, eight different players caught TD passes for West Virginia in 2002. Go ahead, defensive coordinators. Game plan that one!

Spreading the field, dishing the ball off to multiple home-run capable slotbacks, and adding in a fast and elusive QB with just average throwing accuracy (53%) is sometimes enough to create mushroom clouds of destruction on the gridiron.

West Virginia finished 9-4-0 in 2002 and was one of the nation's most improved teams.

Can Michigan's team repeat such a ferocious turnaround in 2009?

This remains to be seen. The Wolverines have a more experienced and relatively, deep and improved offensively line, plenty of speed at slot and wide receiver.
But the Wolverines don't yet have a mobile and elusive quarterback. It's possible that freshman signal callers Tate Forcier (and possibly recruit Denard Robinson) might be able to contribute that last required ingredient to Michigan's success.

2009 Michigan Recruiting - Predicted Finish

Michigan has landed 20 recruits so far and should have a final class of 25 commits by signing day.

So who will occupy the final 5 open slots and join the other 20 to don the Maize & Blue in 2009?

Here are my predictions:

QB/CB Denard Robinson, 4 star, No 13 CB, 6-0, 176 lbs, Deerfield Beach, FL, 4.38 speed. Talented QB and CB. Provides RR with badly needed depth for QB position.

CB Adrian Witty, 2 star, NR Safety, 6-1, 185 lbs, Deerfield Beach, FL, speed unknown (was injured in 2008). Robinson and Witty come as a "package deal".

WR Je'Ron Stokes, 4 star, No. 19 WR, 6-0, 195 lbs, Philadelphia, PA, 4.5 speed

WR Willie Haulstead, 4 star, No. 37 WR, 6-2, 195 lbs, Miami, FL, 4.6 speed

DE Sam Montgomery, 4 star, No. 7 DE, 6-5, 240 lbs, Greenwood, SC, 5.7 speed

Other possible, but less likely, commits:

OL Marcus Hall, 5 star, No. 2 OL, 6-5, 293 lbs, Cleveland, OH, 5.4 speed, but tremendous local pressure for Marcus to commit to UM rival Ohio State

OL Quinton Washington, 3 star, No. 125 OL, 6-4, 322lbs, St. Stephen, SC, speed unknown. depends on Hall a little bit.

WR/QB Travante Stallworth, 3 star, No. 120 WR, 5-9, 180 lbs, Leesville, LA, 4.4 speed, but may confirm current commitment to Auburn shortly.

DE Bennie Logan, 3 star, No. 64 DE, 6-3, 245 lbs, Coushatta, LA, 4.8 speed. Depends on pending southern school visits, LSU's greyshirt situation and perhaps.

The best case scenario would be landing just one of the receivers above and Marcus Hall.

The worst case scenario would be a class absent Robinson, Hall and Montgomery. Michigan really must land 1 of these three players, and preferably 2 of the 3.

It's a pretty tall order given the competition. But Michigan's lack of depth, early playing opportunities, not to mention a world-class education, must weigh heavily on the minds of these prospects too.

Michigan finished strong in recruiting in 2008 under Rodriguez. It's important to finish strong again. The hour is late. Important spots (QB and DE) simply must be filled. It is very important too that Pearlie Graves and Daquinta Jones stay in this class or that comparable replacements are somehow found.

Rick Leach Enters Michigan Hall of Honor

Former Michigan All-American quarterback Rick Leach (1975-1978) will be inducted in to the University of Michigan Hall of Honor on Saturday, January 24th.

Rick Leach set all sorts of records in baseball and football while at Michigan. As quarterback, Leach started 48 consecutive games (a record at the time) and led Michigan football teams to 3 consecutive victories over Ohio State, one Orange Bowl and three consecutive Rose Bowl berths. Michigan's football record with Rick Leach under center:

1975: 8-2-2
1976: 10-2-0
1977: 10-2-0
1978: 10-2-0

Leach was one of Michigan's best dual-threat quarterbacks in school history as he operated Michigan's triple option attack out of the I formation between 1975-1977 and out of the wishbone on occasion in 1978.

One could imagine how a young Rick Leach might fair under the new spread offense philosophy of the Michigan football regime of Rich Rodriguez.

Greg Robinson, Michigan's New Defensive Coordinator

Danger, Greg Robinson! Danger, Greg Robinson!

Yes, I know it hasn't been officially announced (*Update: It's official now). But internet rumours as they are, this one is no longer a whisper in the corners of regional blogs. Scout.com and Rivals.com have both reported that it's 90% a done deal.

Defensive coordinator is a vital position for college football teams. Since defensive play is very indicative of a team's overall success, this position needs to be filled by an experienced, confident and knowledgeable coach. Strong leadership qualities, sound understanding of defensive strategy, creative playcalling and defensive alignments, and outstanding recruiting prowess are all essential characteristics of successful defensive coordinators in American college football.

Greg Robinson has been a football coach for along time in both the college and NFL ranks.

But what do we really know about Greg Robinson?

Most of the "good aspects" of Greg Robinson can be observed when he was a defensive line coach and/or defensive coordinator in college at UCLA and in the NFL for the Denver Broncos, and for a time, with the New York Jets.

Coincidentally, some of the "bad aspects" of Greg Robinson were also when he was defensive coordinator in the NFL for the New York Jets, and most recently, for the Kansas City Chiefs, and as a head coach at Syracuse. The performance and results of Greg Robinson's more recent endeavors have been, unfortunately for Michigan, less and less impressive.

The Good Greg Robinson:

1.) Coached as Assistant Coach and Def. Coordinator/DL coach under Terry Donahue at UCLA during arguably some of the best and most competitive years of UCLA Bruin football ever (1982-1989).

1982: 10-1-1 PAC-10 champs

1983: 7-4-1

1984: 9-3-0

1985: 9-2-1 PAC-10 champs
1986: 8-3-1

1987: 10-2-0

1988: 10-2-0

1989: 3-7-1 (Robinson was OC this one year for Terry Donahue)

2.) Coached as DC for Shanahan's NFL champion Broncos in 1997 and 1998.

The Bad Greg Robinson:

1.) As DC of the NY Jets under head coaches Bruce Coslet (1990-1993) and Pete Carroll (1994), the Jets' defense was ranked as followed in the NFL:

1990: 23rd out of 28 teams ypg surrendered, 17th in scoring defense with 22 pts./game

1991: 12th out of 28 teams ypg surrendered, 10th in scoring defense with 18 pts/game

1992: 16th out of 28 teams ypg surrendered, 18th in scoring defense with 20 pts/game

1993: 8th out of 28 teams in ypg surrendered, 6th in scoring defense with 15 pts/game

1994: 22nd out of 28 teams in ypg surrendered, tied for 14th in scoring defense with 20 pts/game

2) As DC for the Kansas City Chiefs 2001-2003 under coach Dick Vermeil, Robinson's performance displayed the following NFL rankings:

2001: 23rd out of 31 teams ypg surrendered, 23rd in scoring defense with 22 pts/game.

2002: 32nd out of 32 teams ypg surrendered, 28th in scoring defense with 25 pts/game

2003: 29th out of 32 teams ypg surrendered, 19th in scoring defense with 21 pts/game

2004: 31st out of 32 teams ypg surrendered, 29th in scoring D with 27 pts per game

3.) Greg Robinson as HC for Syracuse:

Syracuse team records:

2005: 1-10-0

2006: 4-8-0

2007: 2-10-0

2008: 3-9-0

Under Robinson's 4 year tenure, Syracuse won only 3 Big East conference games.

4.) Greg Robinson as a college football recruiter:

We don't have records of Greg Robinson's recruiting at as AC/DC at UCLA. It's more likely that Terry Donahue did a lot of the heavy lifting for UCLA, as he had become the face of the program after Dick Vermeil left in January 1976.

Recruiting kids to play football in the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY - a city where nothing even remotely interesting may ever happen - is certainly not an easy job to do. But Robinson carried the SU recruiting torch for 4 years and - all things considered and compared - didn't screw it up too badly. Robinson kept Syracuse recruiting at more or less the status quo:

Syracuse Recruiting Class Rank 2005-2008 (source: Scout.com):

2005: 49th
2006: 51st
2007: 46th
2008: 50th

Syracuse recruiting under former HC Paul Pasqualoni:

2002: 36th
2003: 62nd
2004: 50th

It's important to note that Paul Pasqualoni's previous head coaching success as Syracuse was decidedly better than Robinson with the same or worse talent.

So taking into consideration the above, it's difficult to know how Greg Robinson would perform at Michigan. Wolverine HC Rich Rodriguez pointed out earlier how important it was for the DC to "fit in" and "get along" with the other coaches. This was apparently a problem under former DC Scott Schafer (now the new DC at, wait for it..... Syracuse!).

Robinson is probably not a star-spangled recruiter anymore, and no one knows where his main connections lie - west coast, east coast? More likely further west.

It certainly will not be the Midwest, nor the cradle of great defensive players in Michigan's past: Ohio & Pennsylvania. Maybe this is not so important, since the other defensive coaches Gibson, Hopson, Tall and even WR coach Tony Dews are the ones doing a lot of the recruiting work anyway alongside Rodriguez himself. The University of Michigan does sell itself with respect to recruiting but Robinson will need to hit the road early and often in order to sow seeds of interest in Michigan's defensive play, and to get recruits to come play for him at Michigan.

Robinson's experience in the NFL should be considered an aggregate plus for Michigan, including the successful stint at the Denver Broncos and even for the NY Jets. The Kansas City debacle is a troubling observation because either Robinson had no players (as with Syracuse) or Robinson was starting to get tired of coaching. Robinson will be only 58 years old in October and will be the oldest coach on the Wolverine football coaching staff.

Michigan's 2009 Offensive Depth Chart

The Michigan Wolverine offense was much maligned in 2008. And for good reason.

Big Ten Statistics:

Scoring Offense: 11th with 20.3 average points per game.

Yards Per Game: 11th with 291 average yards per game, 143 yds/game.

Total Yards Passing: 11th, 1178 yards passing over 12 games, 291 yds/game.

Total Yards Rushing: 7th, 1771 yards rushing over 12 games, 148 yds/game.

Michigan's Big Ten statistics are damning enough, but the offensive numbers nationally are about as comforting as a root canal:

Scoring Offense: 98th out of 120 teams

Yards/Game: 109th

3rd Down Success Rate: 119th (27 % !!!), only godawful Washington State was worse.

Time of Possession: 110th with 27:33 minutes per game (in other words: run, run, pass, punt)

Penalties: 23rd (57 penalities for 500 yards)

Whoa.

That was excruciating to read.

Just about the only thing Michigan's offense was proficient at doing was offensive holding, performing illegal motion, and jump offsides slightly less than 97 other major college football teams during the entire 2008 season. How magical!

So indeed Michigan's offense was not just awful, but one of the nation's worst.

But is there any shred of hope for improvement in 2009, since most of the starters will be back on offense for Michigan?

Here are the 2009 Projected Offensive Starters (though the 2009 Recruiting Class has not fleshed itself out completely):

QB Tate Forcier - 2 Fr. 4 STAR
Steven Threet-10-RS So. 4 STAR
Nick Sheridan-8 So 0 STAR

FB Mark Moundros - 44 Sr. 0 STAR
Kevin Grady-24-Sr 5th 5 STAR


RB/SB Brandon Minor - 4 Sr 4 STAR
Michael Shaw-20 So. 4 STAR
Carlos Brown - 23 Sr. 4 STAR
Jeremy Gallon-? Fr. 3 STAR
Vincent Smith-? Fr. 3 STAR
Teric Jones-? Fr. 3 STAR
Fitzgerald Toussaint-? Fr. 3 STAR
Justin Feagin-3-So 2 STAR

WR Greg Mathews-13-Sr. 3 STAR
Darryl Stonum-22 So. 4 STAR
Cameron Gordon-? Fr. 3 STAR

WR Junior Hemingway-21 So. 4 STAR
Toney Clemons-17 Jr. 4 STAR

WR Martavious Odoms-9 So. 4 STAR
Terrance Robinson-7 RS Fr. 4 STAR

TE Kevin Koger-86 So. 4 STAR

RT Steve Schilling-52 Sr. 5 STAR
Perry Dorrestein-79 Sr. 3 STAR
Patrick Omameh-65 So. 3 STAR
Taylor Lewan-? Fr. 4 STAR
Michael Schofield-? Fr. 3 STAR

RG David Moosman-60 Sr. 5th 4 STAR
Kurt Wermers-64 So. 4 STAR
Ricky Barnum-56 So. 3 STAR

C Dave Molk-50 Jr. 4 STAR

LG Tim McAvoy-62 Sr. 5th 4 STAR
John Ferrara-74 Sr. 3 STAR DE
Elliott Mealer-57 So. 4 STAR
Mark Huyge-72 So. 2 STAR

LT Mark Ortmann-71 Sr. 5th 3 STAR
Dann O'Neal-78 So. 4 STAR
Rocko Koury-63-So. 3 STAR
Anthony Lalota - ? Fr. 4 STAR
William Campbell-? Fr. 5 STAR

Clearly Michigan enters 2009 with a great deal more depth (except at Center), overall talent, and experience than it did just one year before. Even with the losses of TB Sam McGuffie (transferred to Rice), Michigan is now a mile deep with youth, talent and speed at tailback and slotback positions. The Wolverines have considerable speed, wide receiver height and depth on the perimeter as well. The Michigan offensive line will likely only improve in 2009 given it's considerble experience, talent and depth.

But if there is a position on the Michigan offensive team that is still a cause of serious concern, it would have to be quarterback. That concern has more to do with questioning the skill, speed and "play-making talent" required to run the entire spread offense playbook of Rich Rodriguez.

The quarterback is instrumental to any offense in college football, but in order for the full power of the spread option offense to be displayed, the right person must be at the helm.

With Rich Rodriguez's spread offense attack, the quarterback must be able to make fast reads and make big plays - either with the arm, with the feet or with both.

Steven Threet has a strong arm, but lacks throwing accuracy, and was frequently injured (elbow and concussions) in games. In addition, Threet is a slow, long-stride runner. He tends to hesitate in the pocket and accepts unnecessary sacks.

Nick Sheridan is not much quicker than Threet, has below average throwing accuracy and a propensity to throw interceptions. Yet no one on the Michigan roster today knows the offense better than Sheridan.

Third string QB Justin Feagin, as far as anyone knows, can run a QB keeper pretty well, but that's the extent of what we've seen. David Cone remains a highly unlikely 4th option.

Threet and Sheridan alternated as the Wolverine starters all season long, but both struggled immensely making fast, defensive reads and managing this high-tempo, no huddle offense.

And so it is that a great deal of hope has already been pinned on incoming freshman quarterback Tate Forcier from Scripps Ranch High School of San Diego, CA.
Forcier's senior high school statistics:




Rushing: 76 attempts, 771 yards, 10.1 yards per carry, 11 TDs

Passing: 298 attempts, 195 complete, 3,331 yards, 23 TDs, 11 Ints.



Forcier brings all the ingredients that Wolverine head coach Rodriguez is looking for in a quarterback: quick feet, an accurate throwing arm, and the ability to make big plays. Forcier has enrolled early, will participate in winter workouts and can start to study Rodriguez's extensive playbook. He will also be eligible to play in the Michigan Spring Football game April 11th.

It should therefore surprise no one if we were to witness Tate Forcier as the leading candidate entering fall practice to start at QB for Michigan.

While Michigan does return both starting quarterbacks Threet and Sheridan, and young Forcier shows favorable promise, there is still cause of concern on offense.

The spread option offense requires the QB to run the football. He is therefore much more susceptible to injury. Should Forcier, for example, become injured, Threet or Sheridan would likely step in, and the Michigan offense might have to downshift a gear or two (or three!).

Rodriguez really needs two to three talented, dual-threat QBs in order to bring the full weight of the offensive playbook to bear on opponents, and to keep the Wolverine offense running on all cylinders.

Landing a second talented and skilled quarterback, therefore, must be a top priority for Rich Rodriguez's 2009 recruiting class. With 2.5 weeks to go before signing day, Michigan has not yet signed one to replace decommit Shavodrick Beaver.

Michigan's 2009 Recruiting Class - Now In The Final Stretch

With 2 1/2 weeks to go for Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez to fill out his 2009 freshman class.

With 20 recruits so far, the Wolverines' class so far is ranked 12th nationally by Scout.com and 8th nationally by Rivals.com. This leaves 5 spots open that still need to be filled and perhaps more if soft commits DT Pearlie Graves and DE DaQuinta Jones choose to decommit from Michigan.

In my view, Michigan's biggest needs are indeed:

Quarterback

Landing Tate Forcier was very important. But losing talented commit Shavodrick Beaver to Tulsa was a serious blow to Rodriguez's class. At this point in the year, there appear to be slim pickings as far as quality quarterbacks go. Florida CB/QB combo Denard Robinson is one option, and Austin Dantin is another, and LA QB Brandon Mitchell is yet a third target for the Wolverines, but Mitchell says he's 90% sure he'll be an Arkansas Razorback.

Wide Receiver

Senior Greg Mathews graduates this coming fall. Besides, with the spread formations Michigan runs today, more wideouts are needed than just Hemingway, Clemons, Stonum.

Je'Ron Stokes appears to be a prime target for this position right now alongside Travante Stallworth and Anthony Williams.

Offensive Line

Neither Rodriguez nor OL coach Greg Frey can be too satisfied with Michigan's offensive line situation. The Wolverines OL demonstrated the same slow and deliberate movement toward improvement as the Earth's tectonic plates. Michigan landed Schofield, Lewan and Lalota, but may want 1 more to play offensive tackle or guard. With Bond having Carolina on his mind, there remain massive Ohio OT Marcus Hall and SC OL Quinton Washington on the target list for Michigan.

Defensive End

This wouldn't be such an issue if Graves and Jones weren't so soft with their commitments to come to Michigan. An interesting option here is SC DE Sam Montgomery who said he was impressed with his winter visit of UofM. Defensive end is important however, as Brandon Graham graduates next fall. LA DE Bernie Logan is another target that will be visiting Michigan shortly. I do believe that OT John Ferrara will likely move back to defense (DE/DL) in 2009 to provide more talent and bodies on that side, rather than stay on the offensive line for the Wolverines.

Cornerback

In my view, Michigan needs better cornerback play because between 2005-2008 secondary play, in general, has been one collossal disappointment. Cissoko and Warren are very talented, highly regarded and capable. But Michigan needs more talent here, i.e. one or two "shutdown corners" going forward.

Denard Robinson is a CB, but would likely play QB at Michigan. Jayron Hosely is an almost certain South Florida lock for HC Jim Leavitt, so that leaves...nobody? Maybe some of many leftover Michigan's safeties will convert over to play CB.

The 2008 recruiting season ended on a very high note for new coach Rodriguez. With only a few weeks left it will be interesting to see whether Michigan football recruiting again ends with a fury of success, or an anti-climatic thud.

PA Wideout Je'Ron Stokes Liked UM visit

The Michigan Wolverines have some fine receivers on the 2009 roster already, but wideout is a position of serious need for the future:

2009 Michigan wide receivers:

WR Greg Mathews-13, 6-3, 195 Senior

WR Junior Hemingway-21, 6-3, 205, RS Sophomore

WR Toney Clemons-17, 6-2, 205, Junior

WR Darryl Stonum-22, Sophomore

Je'Ron Stokes is 6-1, 180 lbs wideout from Philly with blazing 4.45 speed.

Stokes will visit Penn State next week, but Michigan appears to have made a positive impression this weekend.

Great little capsule on Stokes from Prepticket:

OL Travis Bond sounding rather Tarheelish

Michigan recruit offensive lineman Travis Bond sure looks and sounds like he'll be blue. Carolina Blue, that is.

His verbal commitment will be announced soon. Bond plays at a position of considerable need for the Michigan Wolverines:

Pre-Season Michigan 2009 Offensive Line

RT Steve Schilling-52 Sr. 6-5, 300 5 star

RG David Moosman-60, Sr. 5th, 6-4, 298, 4 star

C David Molk-50, Jr. 6-2, 284, 4 star

LG Tim McAvoy-62, Sr. 5th, 4 star

LT Mark Ortmann-71, Sr. 5th

The Wolverines enter the 2009 season with considerable talent, experience and depth on the offensive line, but it clearly did not convincingly demonstrate much prowess on the gridiron. Otherwise the Wolverines would have finished far better than 11th in scoring and 11th in total offensive yards in 2009 within an anemic Big Ten conference (to say the least).

Bond, a 6-7, 323lbs "mountain of mean" from Windsor, NC, was one of two remaining undecided offensive lineman that Michigan coaches had targeted. The other, Quinton Washington, remains undecided.

See Bond's Scout profile here.

If Bond does commit to North Carolina, that would bring HC Butch Davis' class to 28 players. Davis' class is already ranked 5th nationally by Scout.com

When Carcajous Attack! Why I love Michigan football!

Michigan football has always been a passion of mine. I've been a Michigan football fan since I was very young. That passion has motivated me to starting writing about the Michigan football team and program on this new blog entitled "When Carcajous Attack!".

So what's a carcajou?

Well, I refer to the words of Ernest Thompson Seton, wildlife artist:




"Picture a weasel -- and most of us can do that,for we have met that little demon of destruction, that small atom of insensate courage, that symbol of slaughter,sleeplessness, and tireless, incredible activity --picture that scrap of demoniac fury, multiply that mite some fifty times,and you have the likeness of a Wolverine."Ernest Thompson Seton"Lives of Game Animals". 1925 - 1928. Vol. II

Carcajous are Wolverines.

And Wolverines are the nickname of the University of Michigan football team.

Let me first state that there are already a load of fantastic blogs out there that have been covering Michigan sports, and particularly Michigan football, extremely well. I read many of these blogs religiously myself. I simply wish to add to that critical commentary and discussion on this new blog. I will attempt to post as frequently as my work and other personal endeavors will allow, providing updates on the Michigan football team, football recruiting, coaching staff and college football in general.

From personal experience, being a Michigan football fan has always been a gut-wrenching experience. I grew up in the 1970s during which Michigan football experienced somewhat of a renaissance of success, winning 96 games, losing 16 and tying 3. One must bear in mind that some of Michigan's finest teams between 1970-1974were never invited to postseason play because the Big Ten conference administrative leadership would not allow it. Observing Michigan's gridiron success starting in the 1970s can certainly skew one's view of Michigan's true college football "greatness". When you witness a team lose 5 consecutive bowl games between 1976 and 1979, you can't help but think "man, being a Michigan fan sure does suck!". What I mean to say is, there have been moments of elation, but each one of those has seemingly been cancelled out by moments of despair.

Michigan fans should be, and are, quite proud of their football program. It's been lead by some great coaches and fantastic players, and comparatively speaking remains one of the most successful in terms of winning games. I am proud to be a Michigan football fan too. But my opinions about the football program right now are a little jaded given my observations over the last 40 years. This jadedness will no doubt make itself evident in my future writings.

And so we begin. I hope that everyone will enjoy this new blogging experiment and feel free to make comments and suggestions to me.

Thank you for reading!

Markusr2007