Despite the commitment of Rivals three-star Stephen Hopkins, Josh Helmholdt thinks Michigan still has a need at running back.

Football:

• Premature Assessments: Michigan picks itself off the mat — Dr. Saturday — Matt Hinton previews the Michigan football season. His “non-binding forecast” puts the Wolverines at 7-5 with a .500 record in the Big Ten, something I’d happily accept. Also, you’ll probably recognize the YouTube video he embeds in his post…
• Defender at the Gate: Stevie Brown — Wolverine Liberation Army — WLA member cfaller96 declares this to be the year that Stevie Brown finally has a positive impact on the defense, thanks in no small part to Greg Robinson, his magnificent hair, and the spinner position. If you don’t love the WLA, I really don’t know what to tell you.
• Running back still a need for Michigan in the 2010 class — Detroit Free Press — The Wolverine’s Josh Helmholdt thinks Michigan needs to add at least one running back with the impeding departures of Minor, Brown, and Grady. With Austin White announcing on July 15, this may become a moot point in the very near future. Brennan Clay is still a longshot, even with his commitment to Oklahoma, and I would love to see him added to this class as well.
• Putting the ball into athletes’ hands — ESPN.com — Brian Bennett pens (keyboards?) a very interesting article on high school athletes’ use of social networking sites in their recruitment. One of the players highlighted is quarterback commit Devin Gardner, who maintains a Facebook page with updates and highlight videos and accepts fan friend requests. Very interesting read, although I find the whole business of “friending” potential players borderline creepy and a potential recruiting gray-area.
• 2009 Big Ten Preview: Minnesota — Varsity Blue — Tim looks at the Golden Gophers, one of only two Big Ten teams to fall to Michigan last year. Unfortunately, we don’t play them this year, but he still provides a good in-depth look at a team that potentially is on the rise in the conference.
• The Great Debate: The Iowa Hawkeyes — Maize n Brew — The Maize n Brew crew debates the merits of Iowa, who hosts Michigan for their homecoming game (a night game at that) this season. Personally, I think Iowa is overrated, but there are a lot of people who think traveling to Kinnick Stadium poses the toughest road test (or game, period) for Michigan this year.

Other Sports:

• Former Wolverine Zach Putnam sets his sights on the major leagues — Ann Arbor News — Putnam, who starred as a starting pitcher for Michigan (as well as my alma mater, Pioneer High School), is now moving up the minor league ranks as a reliever in the Cleveland Indians organization. He hopes to be on the big club by next September, and it would be great to see him achieve that goal.

Similar Posts:

• Wolverines on the Web Watches People Run
• Wolverines on the Web Sounds the Cannons
• Wild Recruiting Weekend Recap
• Recruiting Update: Part I (Early Enrollees)
• A (Very) Early Look at the 2010 Offense