Devin Gardner wowed scouts at the Elite 11 camp.

Football:

• Elite 11: Ranking the Quarterbacks ($) — Rivals.com — Premium content here, so I won’t pull any direct quotes. However, Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Barry Every ranked the Elite 11 quarterbacks, and Devin Gardner came out on top, with Every comparing him to Jason Campbell, Vince Young (!), and (sigh) Terrelle Pryor. PSU commit Robert Bolden came in third, and MSU commit Joe Boisture 12th (out of 12). Gardner was also named by camp counselors as having the best feet and being the best in the classroom.
• Las Vegas Sets Michigan’s 2009 Over/Under — MVictors — Vegas sets U-M at 6 wins this year. If I was a betting man, I’d take the over. Also, odds of winning the national title are at 150/1. Don’t even think about it.
• U-M’s running backs offer variety — Detroit Free Press — Fred Jackson compares this crop of backs to 1992, when Michigan had Tyrone Wheatley, Ricky Powers, Ed Davis, and Jesse Johnson. High praise there, although I don’t see an elite back in this year’s group yet. However, Wheatley wasn’t elite until 1992, as a sophomore. Hopefully Minor, Brown, or Shaw can step up and be that guy.
• Remember when Chris Perry… — Spawn of MZone — Speaking of elite backs … nice video of Chris Perry’s ridiculous 51-carry game against Michigan State in 2003. Without that performance, I don’t think Perry comes close to the Doak Walker Award. What a game.
• Jarrett Irons: Walking Away From the NFL – Lost Lettermen — Great blog post from Irons on leaving his NFL dreams behind to enroll in grad school at Michigan. Awesome to read about how he lived and died with the team on Saturdays while taking business classes and doing a little radio on the side. A Michigan Man, to say the least.
• Football recruiting updates: Hagan likely to pick Ohio State — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — Ignore Hagan. CB Cullen Christian once again reaffirms Michigan’s place at the top of his list, and teammate Brandon Ifill (WR/DB) plans to visit Michigan on July 31. Ifill says Michigan and Maryland stand out among the teams recruiting him right now.
• Michigan could look here for 2010 opener — ESPN.com — Adam Rittenberg suggests four teams Michigan could schedule for the first game in the renovated Michigan Stadium: Virginia, Duke, Oregon State and Pitt. Out of those teams, I’d prefer Pitt … it makes sense geographically, and I’m sure Rich Rodriguez would love to beat his former rival, especially since they knocked West Virginia out of the national title game in 2007.
• Prater trims list to six; Shrock names new favorite — ESPN.com — Bill Kurelic reports that Rivals.com’s No. 1 wide receiver, Kyle Prater, has cut down his list to six teams, and Michigan is not among them. Although Michigan certainly has no need for another wideout in this class, Prater would have been a huge get, so this is a little disappointing. However, receiver is not a huge need, so this is by no means a crushing blow.
• Nick Sheridan’s goal: To start at quarterback for University of Michigan football team — AnnArbor.com — Good lord, who wrote that headline? Anyways, the headline pretty much says it all. Some good quotes from Sheridan; like I’ve said before, I really like him as a leader on this team, and as a future coach. I just hope somebody else starts, unless Sheridan has improved so much that he is completely unrecognizable.

Basketball:

• No visit from Sparty next season — The Columbus Dispatch (via MGoBlog) — The Dispatch compiles a list of all the “one-plays” for the 2009-10 season, and Michigan catches  a couple big scheduling breaks. We will not be facing Illinois on the road this year, and will only have one game against Purdue (albeit in their place). This is great for piling up the conference wins, although I hope it won’t end up being a big knock on our resume if we end up being a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament.

Hockey:

• Alumni Set to Return for 2009 Summer Hockey Showcase — MGoBlue — Friday, July 31 at Yost, fo’ free. Fans will be treated to two alumni games, the first a 35-and-over game, the second featuring the younger guys. Highlights include Red Berenson (!) skating with the 35-and-older guys, and 2008 Hobey Baker Award winner Kevin Porter in the other game. Should be a fun night of hockey.
• 2009-10 Michigan Ice Hockey Roster — MGoBlue — Get your freshman numbers! Hot off the presses! Freshman numbers!
• Hurricanes reaquire Ward from Bruins in trade — TSN — Former M defenseman Aaron Ward traded to Carolina. Interesting side story here, since in game 5 of the Bruins-Canes playoff series this year Ward was “sucker-punched” by Scott Walker of Carolina. They’re now teammates. Ward previously played for Caroline from 2001-2006 (with one year in Germany during the lockout).

Other sports:

• Lacrosse recruiting — Varsity Blue — Tim Sullivan puts together a complete list of Michigan’s incoming recruits, which is ridiculous, because it’s lacrosse and nobody knows this stuff except the coaches and apparently Tim. I can vouch for Cy Abdelnour though … I got to see the kid play at Pioneer (my alma mater) while my brother played there. He’s a dynamite goalie, and tough as all hell, making first team All-State in 2008 at 5-6, 150. I’m rooting for him to see the field at Michigan, though it will be tough, since Michigan also pulled in Conor McGee, a goalie from a Baltimore powerhouse who is the top-rated goalie in the country to go to a club team.

Similar Posts:

• Michigan’s Team of the Decade: Running Backs
• Wolverines on the Web Watches People Run
• Putting Michigan’s Recruiting Class in Context
• Recruiting Update: Part II (Rounding Out the Class)
• Wild Recruiting Weekend Recap

Cornerback Cullen Christian (right) jumped into the top 100.

Rivals.com came out today with the new Rivals250 for the Class of 2010, and several Michigan targets are listed among the top 250 prospects in the country. Here’s an update on the current Wolverine commits and targets that made the list:

• Tackle Seantrel Henderson still holds the top overall spot. Henderson recently announced his intended destinations for official visits, and Michigan did not make the cut, so it’s tough to feel optimistic about the Wolverines’ chances right now.
• Receiver Kyle Prater comes in at No. 4 in the Rivals100. The 6-5, 205 pound prospect from Hillside, Illinois is taking his recruitment slow, with Michigan listed among a large group of schools he is interested in. Don’t expect a whole lot of news on Prater until we get closer to signing day.
• Philadelphia DT Sharrif Floyd checks in at No. 9. Floyd’s leaders keep changing over his recruitment, so keep an eye out for news on the 6-3, 310 pound tackle. Pulling Floyd would be a huge get for Michigan, with the glaring lack of depth at DT on the current roster.
• Cleveland DB Latwan Anderson jumped from No. 74 to No. 35 in the latest rankings. Anderson had named Michigan among his top two with West Virginia, but recently named a list of six schools (WVU, Michigan State, Georgia, Cincinnati, Miami (FL) & UNC) in the running for official visits that did not include the Wolverines. Still, nothing is set in stone yet.
• Very surprising news today regarding OLB Tony Jefferson, who was named the No. 50 overall prospect today. Jefferson announced a commitment to UCLA less than a week after dropping USC as a contender and setting his official visits, which included a trip to Michigan on October 24th. He cited the overwhelming recruiting process as a reason for his early decision, and sounds very set with his decision.
• Pittsburgh CB Cullen Christian, long thought to be a Michigan lock, is the No. 60 recruit on the list after not being named in the previous Rivals250. The big (6-0, 180) corner has impressed on the camp circuit, winning defensive back MVP honors at the State College NIKE Camp.
• Safety Sean Parker gets the No. 85 spot on the list. Parker has expressed a strong interested in leaving the state of California, and is working on setting up an official visit to Michigan. He has stated that he will take a visit to Ann Arbor and to Notre Dame on Sept. 4, but has not named the other three schools that will receive visits, although he does maintain he will take all five officials.
• The first Michigan commit on the list checks in at No. 123. S/LB Marvin Robinson holds the top spot among Wolverine commits, although he may not hold that distinction for long if Christian drop for the Maize and Blue soon.
• Miami (FL) Booker T. Washington running back Eduardo Clements is listed at No. 127. Michigan is among a leading group of three for Clements, along with Georgia and Florida State, and he says none of the three schools holds an outright lead. He is expected to name a school before the end of the calender year, as he intends to enroll early at whatever school he chooses.
• Stone Mountain (GA) DT Mike Thornton earned his fourth star and moved into the No. 152 spot. Michigan only recently came forward with an offer for Thornton, which moved them into the top 10 in his recruitment along with a host of southern schools. He plans on cutting his list down to five soon.
• WR commit Ricardo Miller comes in at No. 158, a slight drop from being listed at No. 139 in the previous Rivals250. This may be a result of the early commitment, coupled with the fact that Miller has not been hitting the summer camp circuit.
• La Canada (CA) St. Francis DB Dietrich Riley is listed at No. 166. Riley, who would most likely come in as a safety, is still wide open in his recruitment, and Michigan is in the mix.
• Miami (FL) Northwestern OL Torrian Wilson checks in at No. 169. Wilson, who at one point named Michigan as his leader before backing off of that statement, mentions Michigan will be one of three teams he is sure will receive an official visit, along with Stanford and Louisville. He has stated repeatedly throughout his recruitment that academics is a large factor, which bodes well for the Wolverines.
• No. 171 on the list is Inkster (MI) quarterback commit Devin Gardner, placing him below Michigan State commit Joe Boisture (No. 104) but above Penn State commit Robert Bolden (unlisted) among in-state quarterback prospects.
• Two spots after Gardner is Detroit Cass Tech CB Dior Mathis. Mathis recently named Oregon and Michigan State as his top two, followed by Michigan and Miami, although he has yet to visit Oregon and has changed his top teams several times over the course of his recruitment. Michigan is not out of the running by any means, with Mathis noting that the Wolverines having three former Technicians in the last recruiting class (Will Campbell, Teric Jones & Thomas Gordon) is a definite positive.
• Miami (FL) Miami Central RB Brandon Gainer comes in at No. 184. Gainer has named Michigan and Florida State as his top two, and says he is “real close” to making a commitment. Unfortunately, that statement came after a visit to Tallahassee, so hopefully Gainer makes the trip up to Ann Arbor before making his final call.

That rounds out the list of targets in the current Rivals250. Head over to TheWolverine.com for more on football recruiting, and make sure to keep checking in to The Wolverine Blog for updates on Michigan commits and recruits.

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• Knight to Rutgers & Your Signing Day Primer
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Devin Gardner: The quarterback Michigan actually wanted.

This post brought to you by the one and only Ice Cube:

Varsity Blue, like they do every week, put out their weekly Big Ten Recruiting Rankings on July 12, and for the first time since April, a team besides Michigan stood atop the rankings. That team would be Penn State, on the strength of a commitment from Orchard Lake St. Mary’s quarterback Robert Bolden, a four-star on both Rivals and Scout. Bolden is a great pickup for Penn State, and he’ll slide in as the second quarterback in their class behind blue-chip prospect Paul Jones (4* Rivals, 5* Scout). Varsity Blue’s Tim does slide this little line into the equation: “The Nittany Lions grab Robert Bolden, and pass Michigan (even though he’s overrated).”

Naturally, Penn State blog Zombie Nation wasn’t entirely pleased with the comment, but their response makes no sense:

We move on to a little something to cleanse the palette, from Varsity Blue. All the Big Ten recruiting action has prompted a redux of the class rankings. Penn State jumped to the top, for now; so what does VB have to say about it?

“The Nittany Lions grab Robert Bolden, and pass Michigan (even though he’s overrated).”

That’s right, VB pulls a Leinart*.

…

*Pulling a Leinart: Using negative comments to dilute one’s own agony of defeat, while attempting to diminish the opponent’s legitimate and outright victory. Origin: In a postgame interview, Leinart said that despite the Trojans’ loss to Texas, “I still think we’re a better team. They just made the plays in the end.”

There was no agony of defeat. We have Devin Gardner, the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in the country, according to Rivals.com. Note that Bolden is No. 6 on that list. With Gardner in this class, and Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson coming in as freshmen this season, there was no way Michigan was going to secure the commitment of another blue-chip quarterback. Count in the fact that Bolden wasn’t exactly partial to the read-option offense (“Personally, I would like to run an offense that is not a spread,” Bolden said ($). “I’d like to get under center, run the spread, run the I-formation and everything else.” — that sounds a lot more like PSU’s “Spread HD,” a more diverse offense in terms of formations than Michigan’s read-option), and it came as no surprise to anyone who follows Michigan recruiting that Bolden dropped Michigan early on. We haven’t cared for a long time. Sorry to disappoint, but your “outright victory” came against another team (MSU) in a game we weren’t playing in. We’re more than happy with our haul of Gardner and South Carolina athlete Cornelius Jones, who provides depth at quarterback and the option of moving him to another position if it’s clear he won’t see the field, something that Bolden would most likely not agree to.

As for the overrated claim? Let’s take a look at junior-year statistics, for starters (via Rivals):

Gardner: 98-170 (58.0%, 11.1 yards per attempt), 1,886 yards, 26 passing touchdowns, 7 interceptions; 115 rushes, 1,401 yards (12.0 ypc), 22 rush TDs

Bolden: 72-113 (63.7%, 8.4 yards per attempt), 951 yards, 7 touchdowns (interceptions not listed); 73 carries, 260 yards (3.6 ypc), 3 rush TDs

Even with the missing interception data, Gardner blows Bolden out of the water with his high school numbers. The only edge for Bolden is a slight one, in completion percentage, and a quick look at the yards per attempt numbers explain much of that, as Gardner went downfield with his passes much more than Bolden. As for their scouting reports, the main knock on Gardner is mechanics (he has a Vince Young-esque three-quarters delivery), which isn’t as big an issue in the read-option spread as it would be in a pro-style offense (see: Vince Young). Bolden is lauded for his mechanics, but has had trouble with accuracy. Despite not having a chance to show off his true strength — his athleticism and playmaking ability in and out of the pocket — at summer camps, Gardner has stacked up well with more drill-friendly quarterbacks Bolden and Joe Boisture, and he took home MVP honors at the Scout.com Combine in Cincinnati. It really seems to me that Gardner is the much better prospect, even when I attempt to take off my maize-and-blue-tinted glasses. He does more with his athleticism, as clearly evidenced by the rushing numbers, and his passing stats are better than Bolden’s even with the quirky mechanics. Looking at Bolden’s numbers and his scouting reports, I just don’t see a guy who is in the same league as Gardner. Either Gardner is underrated, or Bolden is overrated.

So, Penn State/Zombie Nation, you can have Robert Bolden. We’ll enjoy the best quarterback the state of Michigan has to offer (State fans, please don’t get started with the Boisture talk until he runs a 4.5).

Similar Posts:

• Putting Michigan’s Recruiting Class in Context
• An Early Stab at the 2010 Depth Chart: Offense
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A new feature here at The Wolverine Blog: Around the Big Ten will take a look around the blogosphere for news on upcoming opponents, Big Ten rivals, and Notre Dame (try as you might, Domers, I’m still lumping you in with the Big Ten).

• Black Heart Gold pants pays tribute to murdered Iowa high school coaching legend Ed Thomas (pictured above), and also rounds up eulogies from around the web. Both are must-reads.
• The Only Colors, a Michigan State blog, holds a roundtable to predict their 2009 record. The consensus seems to be around 8-4, with no mention of Michigan in sight. It seems strange to be under the radar to Spartan fans, but that’s what 3-9 will do, I guess. Also, they welcome Saline QB (and Rivals’ No. 4 pro-style quarterback) Joe Boisture to the fold for their 2010 recruiting class. Big pickup for the Spartans, who needed a signal-caller in their class and got a quality player.
• We Will Always Have Tempe, a mouthpiece of the enemy (Ohio State), breaks down the Buckeyes 2010 recruiting class position-by-position. Sam isn’t fretting about the relatively small class thus far. As opposed to Michigan fans, who are fretting about a glut of early commits.
• More Buckeyes: Eleven Warriors previews Indiana’s season. In short: bad offense, decent defense.
• Bad news for Gopher fans fond of the firewater: The Star Tribune reports that alcohol will not be served at any Minnesota sporting events, including games at the new TCF Stadium.
• Lake the Posts, literally the only Northwestern football blog (and a damn good one), compares NW to Purdue and praises the job Joe Tiller did builing the Boilermaker program. A very interesting read.
• The Blue-Gray Sky, a Notre Dame blog, details the acrimonious departure of tight end Joseph Fauria. Fauria left the school instead of serving a one-semester suspension for an undisclosed disciplinary violation, and had some unkind words for the school before his exit:

“They don’t take character into account. It’s the letter of the law, but not the spirit of the law. It’s a Catholic environment, but there’s no Catholic spirit in the process, no spirit of Notre Dame. It’s all just trying to knock somebody down. It’s terrible…”

“If anyone knows me, they know I’m not some malicious person, not some predator. I’m a fun-loving guy. (Residence Life) didn’t see that.”