The above is WolverineHistorian’s latest YouTube masterpiece, a compilation of Michigan running back highlights from Jamie Morris all the way through Mike Hart. For me, it’s great to see not only guys like Wheatley, Biakabutuka, and the A-Train on film again, but also the players that predated my time watching Michigan football (I’m going to sound really young here) like Morris, Leroy Hoard, and Tony Boles (holy crap, was he ever fast). When you find a spare ten minutes, watch the whole thing — you won’t be disappointed.
In other YouTube goodness, Greg went through the Bentley Historical Library and picked out all the pictures of Fielding Yost from the team portraits, compiling them into a cool video that shows how he changed from year to year. Seeing Yost age before your eyes really puts into perspective how long he was here, and also how far camera technology progressed during his Michigan career.
In football posts, Brian posted his breakdown of the defensive position battles for the spring. He gets very similar results to what I posted in my depth chart, except he expects (but does not want, by the way) Troy Woolfolk to remain at corner, with a big ol’ question mark at free (box) safety and Vlad Emilien playing strong (deep) safety. I still expect Woolfolk to end up at SS, but we’re all just guessing at this point, anyway.
Maize n Brew scored an interview with ESPN’s Big Ten blogger, Adam Rittenberg, on the 2010 recruiting class. They talk about the strengths and weaknesses of the class, Demar Dorsey, social media in recruiting, and also what fans should expect out of this class:
MnB Dave: Should Michigan get its hopes up for 2010 because of this recruiting class?
AR: People should be excited about this class. But people also need to understand that this recruiting class needs to be a difference making class. Michigan will score points this season, but if the defense doesn’t get a lot better it’s not going to matter. The defense will have to make plays, and as a result these incoming defensive recruits will have to contribute right now.
Over at Genuinely Sarcastic, (Other) Brian tells us to give up hope on getting class of 2011 linebacker Lawrence Thomas of Detroit Renaissance, a school that has become a Michigan State pipeline in recent years. While Antonio Watts’ affinity for the Spartans, and apparent dislike of Rich Rodriguez, certainly doesn’t improve Michigan’s chances of landing the potential five-star prospect, I don’t think Rodriguez and his staff are ready to write off Renaissance as a lost cause. Thomas is the best prospect in the state in his class, and you can expect Michigan to be heavily involved in his recruitment.
In hoops, Dylan throws five questions at former captain David Merritt in preparation for tonight’s game against Iowa. Topics include Darius Morris, the Minnesota game, Michigan’s defensive improvement, and what the team needs to do to stay motivated. He also posts a scouting report and video of class of 2011 prospect Amir Williams, a four-star forward who may be more college-ready than 2010 prospect Jon Horford. Here’s Calvin, who scouted Williams and took the video, on the 6-10 Detroit Country Day prospect:
That being said, whoever lands Williams is going to get a heck of a player. We still don’t know if he’s done growing. He can leap, he’s quick and he has pretty good hands. His offensive game can be molded essentially from scratch. Defensively, he will always be a threat. Basically, he will be an immediate contributor just because of his size and athleticism coupled with the presence he can provide in the post. And that’s awesome.
Finally, Formerlyanonymous starts his baseball preview series at MGoBlog by looking back at last year’s team. I’m going to avoid commenting, as every team I love has made me miserable this year. Maybe if I completely ignore baseball, we’ll win something.
Joe Paterno's 25th-ranked 2005 class, which included future stars Darryl Clark and Sean Lee, came on the heels of consecutive losing seasons in 2003 and 2004.
According to Rivals.com, Michigan has managed to put together the nation’s #20 overall recruiting class despite coming off two consecutive losing seasons. This doesn’t happen often — in the Rivals era (covering the class of 2002 through today), a school has managed to haul in a top-25 recruiting class after two losing seasons just 16 times, an average of exactly two per year. To be honest, I was surprised the number was even that high. I thought I’d take a look at the teams that pulled off the feat, and attempt to (1) explain how they were able to put together a good recruiting class and (2) see how the team fared down the road. In chronological order, here are the schools that finished in the Rivals top 25 team rankings after consecutive losing seasons:
Team/Year:Penn State, 2002 (Rivals.com’s #21 overall class) Coach: Joe Paterno (34th year at Penn State) Previous two seasons: 5-7 (2000), 5-6 (2001) Why?: The back-to-back losing seasons were the first by Penn State in the Paterno era, and came right after a 10-3 1999 team that featured the top two overall picks of the 2000 NFL Draft (Courtney Brown and LaVar Arrington), so Penn State could sell early playing time, a strong winning tradition, and a potential NFL future to their recruits, as well as the chance to play for a legendary head coach who wasn’t going to get fired despite the team’s uncharacteristically poor performance. How did they fare?: This class wasn’t as strong as it appeared on paper — it featured 11 four-stars, but only four (Levi Brown, Tamba Hali, Jay Alford, and Calvin Lowry) would really live up to their billing, and the class didn’t get much contribution from its two- and three-star players. After a 9-4 2002 season, Penn State would undergo another back-to-back losing stretch (more on that later) before an 11-1 2005 season brought them back to the top of the Big Ten.
Team/Year:Arizona, 2002 (#25) Coach: John Mackovic (2nd season at Arizona) Previous two seasons: 5-6 (2000), 5-6 (2001) Why?: Putting together his first full recruiting class, John Mackovic was a big-name coach (with prior head-coaching stints at Wake Forest, Illinois, and Texas) for a team coming off its best decade in school history. Also, anyone who has been to Arizona knows that it should not be difficult to recruit high school kids to Tucson (a quick Google image search for “University of Arizona” brings up Olympic swimmer — and former Playboy covergirl — Amanda Beard studying in a pool). How did they fare?: Not so well. Mackovic had to publicly apologize to his players during the 2002 season because of his over-the-top verbal abuse (in the most publicized incident, he called tight end Justin Levasseur a disgrace to his family), and was fired five games into the 2003 season. Arizona finally hit the .500 mark in 2006, and wouldn’t field a winning team until 2008. You’ll be seeing the Wildcats on this list again, as well.
Team/Year:Mississippi State, 2003 (#9) Coach: Jackie Sherrill (13th season at MSU) Previous two seasons: 3-8 (2001), 3-9 (2002) Why?: Sherrill was the first coach to lead the Bulldogs to four consecutive winning seasons (1997-2000) since the 1940s, so despite the two losing seasons, this was still a Mississippi State squad that had recently experienced almost-unprecedented success. Sherrill had also hauled in the nation’s #17 class the previous year. The elephant in the room: after Sherrill retired following the 2003 season, the NCAA put the football team on four years of probation, took away eight scholarships, and banned them from postseason play for recruiting violations involving two assistants and boosters between 1998 and 2002. So, there’s that. How did they fare?: The Bulldogs obviously weren’t helped by the NCAA sanctions, and this class suffered through another four losing seasons. Those who made it to a fifth year, however, did get to play for Sylvester Croom’s 8-5 2007 squad, so the class wasn’t a total loss. I wouldn’t take much away from this class because of the obvious cloud hanging over its legitimacy.
The WLA, in the wake of the MGoBlog/Maize n Brew piped-in music feud, gives their own proposal for how Michigan should handle in-game music: cannons. Like, real ones. The above video comes highly, highly recommended, as long as you don’t mind over-the-top visual enhancements and, well, cannons (and Miley Cyrus, briefly). Chitownblue, you are full of WIN.
Signing day has come and gone, and Michigan has 27 shiny new recruits to talk about: The Rivalry, Esq. evaluates the class, Burgeoning Wolverine Star and MVictors run down yesterday’s press conference, and the Big House Blog has highlights of preferred walk-on Baquer Sayed, a three-star WR from Dearborn. MVictors also has the audio from yesterday’s grilling of Rich Rodriguez by Drew Sharp and Dave Birkett on Demar Dorsey’s legal history, for those of you who missed it. My quick take: Dorsey was acquitted of one charge, and the other was dropped, and he was 16, he hasn’t been in legal trouble since, and I think it’s pretty uncalled for to turn a signing day presser — when we are celebrating the arrival of these high school kids — into a moral discussion about an 18-year-old. Rich Rod obviously did his homework checking into Dorsey’s background, and decided it was worth it to offer him a scholarship. I realize these reporters were doing their jobs, but they took it too far when it comes to a juvenile — back off, let the kid have his day, and the issue will be addressed in full if Dorsey hits a legal snafu as an actual adult.
In hoops, Dylan had a correspondent at the Grand Ledge – Jackson game last week, and he has a full scouting report and video on Jon Horford, Al’s brother and a potential 2010 recruit for Michigan. Horford put up big numbers against an undersized and overmatched opponent — he appears to be a pretty raw prospect, but a guy with the potential to be a solid Division I player.
Dorsey is Rivals.com’s #13 safety and the #162 overall prospect. ESPN is very high on Dorsey, rating him as a five-star prospect and the #12 overall player in the country.
Here are some highlights of Dorsey from the Under Armour All-American Game (EDIT: Original video was removed by the uploader, who is a Florida State fan. Sore loser. Here’s another highlight tape from the same game — again, I’m in class, so be warned if you’re at work that the sound may not be appropriate):
Watching that video, you learn three things about Dorsey:
He’s fast. Very fast. [Note: His cousin is Denard Robinson. I hope there are more cousins. We could field a whole team.]
He has good instincts around the football.
He likes to dance. A lot.
In my opinion, we need all those things from a safety (okay, the dancing is just an added bonus). This is a huge pickup for Michigan, and another signing day feather in Rich Rodriguez’s cap.
Sean Parker surprisingly chose Washington over UM and USC.
We’re in the thick of signing day now, and one of Michigan’s two remaining targets has made his decision: four-star safety Sean Parker announced this morning that he would attend Washington, a surprise late entry in what was seen as a two-horse race between Michigan and Southern Cal.
In better news, Michigan fans bracing themselves for a surprising decommit (after last year, I don’t blame you) will be happy to hear that all 19 commits who had not enrolled early have sent in their Letters of Intent, including DT Terry Talbott, who had been struggling with a decision between Michigan and North Carolina.
Also, there have been some positive message board rumblings about four-star Florida safety Demar Dorsey, who will announce his college choice at 1 pm. Dorsey, once a Florida commit, is down to Michigan, USC, and Florida State, who until today appeared to be the clear leader, with rumors of a possible silent commitment even being thrown around. I’ll have an update as soon as Dorsey makes his decision.
Programming note: Between signing day and a busy Wednesday class schedule, I’m going to pretend last night’s hoops debacle at Northwestern didn’t happen. If you want postgame coverage, check out UMHoops.
Sean Parker is one of two four-star safeties that could commit to Michigan during tomorrow's National Signing Day.
College football’s National Signing Day is tomorrow, and although it signifies the first day that recruits can sign a letter of intent, it usually marks the last day in a prospect’s recruitment. With 26 prospects already committed, Michigan should have a relatively quiet NSD, but they are still in on a couple of big-time safety prospects. Unfortunately, one player Michigan was looking to have come in at defensive back came off the board today, as four-star safety Rashad Knight told SI he had chosen Rutgers over Michigan. That leaves three players for Michigan fans to keep an eye on over the next day or so, barring any unforeseen circumstances:
Demar Dorsey (Rivals 4*, #13 safety, #162 overall): Dorsey, a former Florida commit who had his offer pulled when he continued taking visits, will announce his decision at 1 pm tomorrow. He is expected to sign with Florida State, and USC has also become a major factor is his recruitment, but Michigan has an outside shot after an impressive in-home visit from several coaches last week. The odds are strong that Dorsey will be a Seminole, but stranger things have happened on signing day.
Sean Parker (Rivals 4*, #21 safety): Parker must be a morning person, as the California prospect has set his announcement for 7 am PST (10 am EST) tomorrow morning. His decision will come down to USC and Michigan, and this is a call that could go either way — insiders from both sides each seem to think their school has the inside track. With Knight going to Rutgers, Parker is Michigan’s best chance at adding a four-star safety to this year’s class — I like Michigan’s chances with him, but you always have to be wary when the opponent is USC (see: Johnson, Ronald and Perry, Nick).
Terry Talbott (Rivals 3*, #61 DT): Terry, along with his brother Terrence (3* CB), has been committed to Michigan since August, but he took a late January visit to North Carolina that caused him to take another look at his decision. His brother, who did not accompany Terry on his UNC visit, is still firmly committed to Michigan, and still expects that the brothers will attend the same school. According to The Wolverine’s Josh Helmholdt, Terry should have his final decision made by tonight. I’d be surprised if he didn’t end up at Michigan, simply because that would be spurning his own brother, but, again, you never know with football recruiting.
Updates will be posted as soon as information gets out. Hopefully Rich Rodriguez can one again work some signing-day magic.
So, it figures: last week I put up a post running down the list of potential recruits that could round out Michigan’s 2010 class. This weekend, Michigan has a huge visit week, resulting in two commits for this class — neither of whom were in my rundown. Sorry, everyone.
Michigan actually ended up with three commitments this weekend — linebackers Davion Rogers (Rivals 3*, #26 OLB, former West Virginia commit) and Jake Ryan (Rivals 3*, #45 Ohio prospect) both pledged for the class of 2010, and Cass Tech corner Delonte Hollowell became Michigan’s second early commitment for the class of 2011, joining fellow defensive back Greg Brown.
Rogers, who is listed at 6′6, 210 pounds, says he will be a “stand-up defensive end” for Michigan, which leads one to believe he’ll be playing Craig Roh’s hybrid spot. With Rogers’ frame, he’ll probably be taking a redshirt year to fill out and learn the defense. Here are his highlights, courtesy of ScoutingOhio.com — Rogers shows off impressive instincts and sideline-to-sideline speed:
Ryan, a 6-3, 225 pound outside linebacker from Westlake, Ohio, showed up lately on Michigan’s recruiting radar and received a scholarship offer during his official visit this weekend — he committed today, so he was obviously very excited to be offered by the Wolverines. Ryan boasts a very impressive highlight tape himself, coming from the OLB position to terrorize opposing backfields:
Hollowell comes from a long line of talented but pint-sized corners from Cass Tech, following in the (small) footsteps of Boubacar Cissoko and Dior Mathis. Hollowell is listed at 5-8, 163, and even that might be generous, but he has generated interest from the likes of LSU, UCLA, Michigan State, Iowa, and Illinois, so the talent is obviously there for him to be an impact corner. Hollowell has nice highlights, as well — I like how he reads the quarterback and breaks on the ball, and he packs a lot of punch for a guy his size:
Adding to the good cheer was the news that Inkster quarterback Devin Gardner, who had attempted to enroll early but ran into paperwork issues while trying to graduate high school early, will in fact enroll at Michigan and start classes this week. This is great news for Michigan — now Gardner will be able to get a jump on learning the offense, developing physically, and give Tate Forcier some elite competition for the starting job. Even if Gardner eventually redshirts, he’ll still be a threat that should push Forcier and Denard Robinson to improve mightily on their performances from 2009.
It’s been a great weekend for Michigan sports (even hockey got into the act, taking three of a possible four points from fourth-place Alaska-Fairbanks this weekend). Here’s hoping we have many more to come in 2010.
It’s been a while since I posted any updates on football recruiting, and with the Feb. 3 national signing day less than a month away, I figured I’d catch up on everything before the class completely rounds out and renders my opinion entirely irrelevant. In part one, I’ll looked at the six players who have enrolled early. Today, I examine the players that Michigan is looking at to fill the final few spots in the class of 2010.
For what seemed like an eternity, it was assumed that Michigan would be adding high school teammates Tony Grimes (Rivals 3* CB) and Clarence Murphy (3* DE) to the class of 2010. However, Murphy shocked recruiting experts by picking Maryland last week, and it is looking increasingly unlikely that Grimes, who will visit Ole Miss on Jan. 22 and also is considering Maryland, will choose Michigan. Also, the news that Adrian Witty had failed to qualify, coupled with rumblings that current commit Tony Drake is unlikely to qualify himself, means that there are a couple more spots available in the class than was initially expected. With signing day rapidly approaching, who are the candidates to fill out Michigan’s class? Let’s take a look:
Dillon Baxter, Mission Bay, CA (Rivals 5*, #22 overall, #1 all-purpose back): Baxter, along with wideout Kyle Prater, and the two most noteworthy USC commits who have opened up their recruiting in the wake of Pete Carroll jumping to the NFL. Michigan has been in contact with Baxter since Carroll left for Seattle, and will definitely be a player in his recruitment — the long-time Trojan commit took an official visit in November, and left impressed with the facilities and the coaching staff. Considering the only other official he has taken was to San Diego State, one would think that Michigan has a good chance at landing the blue-chip recruit. Baxter is a versatile back who can run between the tackles, bounce it outside, and even play some receiver and wildcat quarterback. Landing him would be a coup, and could change the entire outlook of this class.
Jatashun “Big Tex” Beachum, Dallas, Texas (Rivals 3*, #37 athlete): Beachum is not your typical “athlete” recruit, standing at 6′2, 275. With the commitment of Jonathan Hankins to Ohio State, Michigan is still in need of a true DT who can clog the middle, and Big Tex fits that mold. However, Beachum is much more than just a defensive tackle — the Arkansas soft commit plays quarterback and running back for his high school team, and shows speed and agility that are, quite frankly, freakish for a player of his build. Just check out his highlight tape, and I guarantee you’ll want to see this kid in the maize and blue (warning: highlights contain NSFW language). Beachum is down to Michigan and Arkansas, and will be announcing his decision on signing day.
Jibreel Black, Cincinnati, Ohio (Rivals 3*, #24 strongside DE): Black has had a tumultuous recruitment, having initially committed to Indiana in June before changing his pledge to Cincinnati in October, and now is opening up his recruitment after Brian Kelly took the Notre Dame head coaching job. Michigan was a strong contender for Black before he committed to Indiana, and have jumped right back into the picture — Black will take four official visits this month, to Cincinnati, Michigan State, Michigan, and Indiana, in that order. The Wolverines are looking at Black, who is 6-2, 253 pounds, to come in at strongside defensive end, a definite need in a class that is lacking in true defensive ends.
Rashad Knight, Jacksonville, Florida (Rivals 4*, #20 CB): Although Rivals has Knight listed as a cornerback, he would likely come in as a safety if he committed to Michigan. The Wolverines have been a consistent presence throughout Knight’s recruitment — although he was unable to make it to an official visit on Ohio State weekend, coach Rod Smith visited his home last week, and Knight will be taking his official visit this weekend. He recently visited Auburn, but has now narrowed his list to three schools: Michigan, Ole Miss, and Rutgers. He will be taking visits to both other schools following his trip to Ann Arbor. Although Sean Parker appears to be Michigan’s top target at safety, Knight would certainly be a welcome addition to this year’s class.
Steve Mehrer, Dublin, Ohio (Rivals 3* ILB): The 6-1, 220 pound Mehrer possesses an impressive highlight video, but as of yet no scholarship offer from Michigan. Mehrer took an official visit for the Penn State game, and came away very impressed with Michigan — it is very likely that he would commit as soon as Michigan offered him a scholarship. With Mehrer playing a position of great need (inside linebacker), and with the extra scholarships freed up for various reasons, it would not be surprising to see Mehrer — who holds offers from Indiana and a bevy of MAC schools — become a late addition to this year’s class.
Sean Parker, Harbor City, CA (Rivals 4*, #21 safety): Michigan, once thought to be on the outside looking in with Parker, has come on strong in recent weeks, helped by the fact that USC — and Pete Carroll — were thought to be the Wolverines’ strongest competition for Parker’s services. The 5′11, 185 pound Parker is not the most striking physical presence, but the Army All-American possesses great ball skills and instincts and gets the most out of his physical abilities. He narrowed his list of schools down to Michigan, USC, and Cal at the end of December, and will announce his decision on signing day. With Carrolls departure, Michigan appears to have the inside track to land Parker, who has expressed an interest in leaving the state of California, but he has been relatively quiet of late. This is one player to keep an eye on as signing day approaches.
Michael Taylor, Atlanta, Georgia (Rivals 3*, #13 ILB): Taylor, a Tennessee commit, has stated an intention to look around before signing day, and Michigan could be in line to receive an official visit this month, as well as Notre Dame. Taylor was the MVP for the Blur team in the Under Armour All-American Game, and is a hard-hitting presence at inside linebacker, a position of great need for the Wolverines. There hasn’t been much word on Taylor’s recruitment in the past week or so, but he would be a great addition to the class if Michigan can get him on campus and change his mind about where he goes to school.
Mike Thornton, Stone Mountain, Georgia (Rivals 4*, #10 DT): Michigan has hung around the fringe of Thornton’s recruitment for a long time, and although they’d be considered a long-shot at this point, they’re not out of the running just yet. The 6′2, 280 pound DT has taken official visits to Penn State and Georgia, and Miami and Auburn are also in line to get visits this month, but Michigan could be the team that receives his fifth and final official. Thornton would be a huge pickup if Michigan managed to make a late push, although it looks like he’ll probably be headed elsewhere.
Torrian Wilson, Miami, Florida (Rivals 4*, #2 guard): Michigan was an early leader for Wilson before he made a sudden, and surprising, commitment to Stanford after his official visit there. Wilson decommitted from the Cardinals just before Christmas, however, and Michigan was said in a final three with South Florida and Tennessee, although Wilson has also added a visit to Louisville as well. Wilson will take an official visit to Ann Arbor on Jan. 22, and the Wolverines have the advantage of being a team that has recruited him the whole way, and Wilson also has an aunt who lives in the area. Michigan, with only one current commitment on the offensive line, could really use Wilson. Hopefully the coaches can convince him that Ann Arbor is the place for him.
WR Ricardo Miller is one of six early enrollees for Michigan.
It’s been a while since I posted any updates on football recruiting, and with the Feb. 3 national signing day less than a month away, I figured I’d catch up on everything before the class completely rounds out and renders my opinion entirely irrelevant. In part one, I’ll be looking at the six players who have enrolled early. Tomorrow, I’ll examine the other commitments to the Wolverines, and over the weekend I’ll be breaking down the recruits who could round out the 2010 class.
Six players were able to enroll early at Michigan. Unfortunately, for those hoping to see a three-way quarterback showdown in the spring, Inkster QB Devin Gardner was not one of the six. The athletes that were able to arrive on campus for the winter term, however, have the potential to be immediate contributors to a team in need of just that.
Jeremy Jackson, Ann Arbor Huron (Rivals 3*, #92 WR): Jackson, of course, is the son of Michigan running backs coach Fred Jackson. Don’t let that convince that he is just a legacy recruit, however — his combination of size (6-3, 194) and hands give him the potential to be very valuable as a receiver. I was able to scout one of Jackson’s games this past season, and my impressions of him pretty much fall in line with those of the scouting services. He has great hands, and adjusts very well to the ball, allowing him to catch most everything thrown in his direction. However, Jackson takes a while to hit his top speed, and he lacks the high-end speed that one would desire in a Division I wide receiver. He could have trouble getting separation from defensive backs at the college level. Despite his lack of speed, I could still see Jackson having an impact at receiver (or potentially tight end, although he’s coming in at wideout) — his reliability separates him from most prospects at this level. I don’t think he’ll ever become a superstar, but Jackson fits the Jason Avant mold of a solid possession receiver.
Stephen Hopkins, Flower Mound, Texas (Rivals 3* RB): Hopkins immediately leaves an impression because of his size for a running back — at 6-0, 235 pounds, he looks like a linebacker in the backfield. This should give him a leg up on the other incoming running backs for playing time. With mighty mite Vincent Smith and the speedster Michael Shaw in line to share carries for Michigan in the fall, there’s an opening for a bigger back who can grind out carries in short-yardage situations. Hopkins was able to do just that in high school, rushing for over 1300 yards and 19 touchdowns on 211 carries in his senior season after a 1600+ yard, 22 touchdown season as a junior. Hopkins should get a crack at playing time as a true freshman, and could develop into a great complement to the speedier tailbacks that Rich Rodriguez has been known to recruit.
Ricardo Miller, Ann Arbor Pioneer (Rivals 3*, #67 WR): Miller, who moved to Ann Arbor from Florida for his senior season after committing to the Wolverines, has been rated as high as four stars from Rivals (and now is example 1A for message board conspiracy theorists who think there’s a southern bias in recruiting rankings) and boasts offers from Florida and Tennessee, among others. He’s another big wide receiver, standing at 6-2, 208 pounds, and while he also lacks elite speed, he boasts a tremendous pair of hands and great jump-ball instincts. Miller has always been somewhat of a personal favorite, as he transferred to my alma mater and has been instrumental in helping convince uncommitted recruits to come to Michigan. I see Miller as having Junior Hemingway (on a good, non-injured day) abilities, a guy with great size who can be a reliable deep threat without sprinter speed. He’ll get ample opportunity to contribute right away with the graduation of Greg Mathews and Laterryal Savoy.
Christian Pace, Avon Lake, Ohio (Rivals 3*, #7 center): Although Pace’s size — he’s just 6-3, 262 — limits both his potential position (he’s a center, and that’s that) and his recruiting rankings, he’s a perfect fit for Rich Rodriguez’s offense. Pace is a strong player for his size, but also boasts the athleticism to allow him to get to the second and third level on run plays, which should come in handy when he’s tasked with mastering the pulls and reach blocks that are so prevalent in the zone read. Pace almost certainly won’t be asked to play right away, as Michigan has a very good center in David Molk, but the spring practice time should allow him to learn technique and the playbook while apprenticing under Molk. It won’t be good for Michigan if Pace is forced into action early in his career, but he has the potential to develop into a very solid interior lineman.
Jerald Robinson, Canton South, Ohio (Rivals 3*, #47 WR): Robinson is a great athlete and another very solid deep threat — he amassed 756 yards and seven touchdowns on just 34 receptions as a junior — who could use to add a little weight to his 6-2, 175 pound frame. Robinson is known for his ability to go get the ball in traffic, and strikes me as a Roy Roundtree-like threat — not the biggest guy, and not the fastest guy, but a player who will make plays when called upon. We’ll have to see if Robinson can compete for early playing time with Miller and Jackson, who boast more college-ready bodies, but if he does see the field, you can expect to see a player who can make an impact both at outside receiver or in the slot.
Austin White, Livonia Stevenson (Rivals 3*, #10 all-purpose back): White is truly an all-purpose back, having lined up as a tailback, wingback, and wide receiver in high school and having an impact at all three positions. I was able to scout his game against South Lyon in the fall, and he didn’t fail to impress, rushing for 173 yards and three touchdowns on just eight carries. White is a lanky back, at 6-0, 186, and he is more of a speed back than a power guy. He runs a bit high for my liking (think Brandon Minor, without all the crushing broken tackles), but shows very nice speed and shiftiness, and he also has great hands out of the backfield. White could have an immediate impact as a tailback who can also split out and catch passes, especially with a solid knowledge of the offense after he gets spring ball under his belt. The Michigan backfield is certainly crowded, but White’s ability to do a little bit of everything should open up the opportunity for him to see the field early.
Hagerup on his official visit at the Indiana game.
According to ESPN.com ($), Michigan has picked up their 19th commitment of the Class of 2010 in punter Will Hagerup. Hagerup, Rivals.com’s No. 4 kicker and a three-star prospect, took his official visit this weekend, and clearly came out impressed with the Wolverines, choosing them over Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Florida, among others. He will be competing for the starting job as soon as he steps on campus with the graduation of Zoltan Mesko after this season.
I’m on the fence about this pickup. On one hand, we’ve all seen what a weapon an elite punter can be, and Hagerup certainly looks like an elite talent at the position. On the other hand, Michigan is coming very close to filling up this recruiting class, and there are many positions of glaring need (defensive tackle, cornerback, offensive line, and linebacker come to mind) that I think should take priority over a specialist, especially when solid kickers and punters are usually available as walk-ons. I won’t be passing judgment on this one until the class fills, but this is certainly an interesting commitment for the Wolverines.
"When your team is winning, be ready to be tough, because winning can make you soft. On the other hand, when your team is losing, stick by them. Keep believing."
- Bo Schembechler
“I ask no man to make a sacrifice. On the contrary! We ask
him to do the opposite. To live clean, come clean, think clean.
That he stop doing all the things that destroy him physically,
mentally and morally, and begin doing all the things that make him keener, finer and more competent" - Fielding Yost
“People come up to me and say, ‘I’m sorry.’ I’m not sorry because I received the greatest thing from the University of Michigan anyone can receive: a degree.” - Zia Combs
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