Six ex-Michigan players have signed free agent deals with NFL teams after going undrafted, including cornerback Donovan Warren, who was not picked in the draft after declaring a year early. The school’s official press release:

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Six former members of the University of Michigan football program joined the three draftees by signing free agent contracts with National Football League teams Monday (April 26) following the 2010 NFL Draft concluded April 24.

Cornerback Donovan Warren (Long Beach, Calif./Polytechnic HS), who left Michigan following his junior year, signed a free agent deal with the New York Jets. He was the only undrafted Wolverine to sign with an AFC team. Warren joins his godfather, former NFL safety Mark Carrier, who is the defensive line coach for the Jets.

Five seniors from last year’s squad signed free agent contracts with NFC teams. Wide receiver Greg Mathews (Orlando, Fla./Edgewater HS) and tailback Brandon Minor (Richmond, Va./Varina HS) joined the Chicago Bears organization, offensive tackle Mark Ortmann (Klein, Texas/Klein HS) reached agreement with the Carolina Panthers, offensive guard/center David Moosman (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville HS) signed with the Arizona Cardinals and tailback Carlos Brown (Franklin, Ga./Heard County HS) inked a deal with the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints.

Another former Wolverine has also received a shot at an NFL roster spot, as the Washington Redskins signed Marques Slocum, the former five-star prospect who could never overcome academic issues at Michigan, to a free agent deal. Slocum finished his collegiate career at Eastern Arizona after leaving the Michigan program, and I’m happy to hear he’s getting a shot at a professional career.

Posting will be very light for the next couple days, as I’m heading down the home stretch of finals season. When I come back Thursday, I’ll be on summer vacation, so there will be no excuses for not producing more content here, and I have several ideas for summer features that will start making their way onto the blog.

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From ESPN.com’s Adam Rittenberg:

The Big Ten won’t suspend Michigan starting left tackle Mark Ortmann after an incident involving Illinois’ Corey Liguet in last week’s game at Memorial Stadium.

Wolverines head coach Rich Rodriguez said Wednesday that the league reviewed the play and agreed with Michigan’s assessment and decided not to penalize Ortmann. Video appeared to show Ortmann striking Liuget after Liuget recovered a fumble early in the fourth quarter.

Ortmann told Rodriguez on Monday that he simply tried to push Liuget away with an open hand.

The YouTube video of the incident that was flying around the internet after the game has been removed, but I think it’s pretty clear here that Michigan, and Ortmann, got lucky. Last time I checked, you don’t push someone away by giving them a straight left to the nuts, but maybe I’m just doing it wrong. Regardless of whether a suspension was deserved or not, Michigan can breathe a sigh of relief — the last thing this team needs is another starter gone from the offensive line.

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It’s Thursday, which means another edition of “Five Things…”. First, a look back at last week’s game:

1. Establish Denard Robinson as a passing threat — 0-4, 2 interceptions. Bad. Two rushing touchdowns? Good. Still, Denard needs to show he can throw downfield with some accuracy if he is going to have consistent success running the ball.
2. Establish dominance up front — I should have clarified that this was pointed towards the defense. Well, the defense didn’t exactly dominate, and EMU had a fair amount of success running the ball in the first half. However, the defensive line (especially, of course, Brandon Graham) played fairly well against both the run and the pass. The linebackers, unfortunately, remain a point of major concern.
3. Obi Ezeh bounces back — Ezeh showed flashes against Eastern, making a few nice plays when he recognized a play early and attacked with confidence. However, there are still too many plays where he gets caught hesitating and gets taken out of the play. He took a step forward against EMU, but will have to take a few more to be the player we expect three-year starters to become.
4. One of the young tailbacks shows starting potential — Michael Shaw is a young Carlos Brown, if Carlos Brown managed to stay healthy. So yes, starting potential.
5. A cornerback besides Donovan Warren actually plays well — Eastern did not pass a whole lot, but Boubacar Cissoko looked much improved in the limited opportunities he was given to play the pass. That pass interference was just about the worst call I’ve ever seen made on a football field, and Cissoko had tremendous coverage on that play, so I was actually encouraged by a penalty. Yes, it has come to this.

At best, I can give Michigan a 2.5/5 for last week’s effort. Hopefully they’ll come out this week and show more improvement. Here are my keys to the Indiana game:

1. Contain Jammie Kirlew and Greg Middleton — The Hoosiers are by no means a good team, but they do boast two NFL-quality defensive ends in Kirlew and Middleton. Wolverine fans got a huge scare last week when Tate Forcier was slammed onto his back and stayed down on the field after the play; I’d rather not have to go through that again. The last thing Michigan needs is for Forcier to be uncomfortable in his own pocket. If Mark Ortmann and Mark Huyge (and Kevin Koger, to a lesser extent) can keep Forcier’s jersey (and bill of health) clean, Michigan should be able to pick apart the Hoosier defense.
2. Gel on the offensive line — With David Molk out and David Moosman returning (and moving over to center), Michigan will have to deal with a realigned offensive line for the second straight week. They responded well last week when dealing with Moosman’s absence, and hopefully will adapt just as well this week. Losing the center is tough, however, since he is the man tasked with making the calls up front, as well as shouldering the responsibility of making sure the ball gets safely to the quarterback. Moosman and Forcier will hopefully have built a solid rapport in practice this week, as Michigan has already dealt with a few fumbled snaps this season.
3. Re-establish a deep threat — Michigan eased Junior Hemingway back into the lineup last week, and he is now 100% according to Rich Rodriguez. It’d be nice to see Hemingway or Darryl Stonum stretch the field vertically a few times this game and keep Indiana from selling out against the run. If opponents are forced to respect Michigan’s ability to go deep, they’ll have a tough time stopping the run and not allowing a big play.
4. Shore up the run defense — Getting Jonas Mouton back into the lineup will help, but Michigan still has to prove that they can hold at the point of attack and stop the run consistently. The Hoosiers’ rushing attack is currently in the middle of the pack in the country (65th overall with 146.7 yards per game) despite playing a very easy schedule (Eastern Kentucky, Western Michigan, @Akron). The Wolverines should be able to limit Indiana on the ground, but will have to play better than what they’ve done so far this year.
5. Keep Brandon Minor healthy — Minor is again a game-time decision because of a high-ankle sprain. These are the kind of injuries that can linger throughout a whole season (or, in Minor’s case, seemingly an eternity). I don’t think the dropoff between Minor and Carlos Brown is enough to warrant risking Minor’s health if he is not close to 100%, while a fully-healthy Minor will provide a big-time weapon when the meat of the Big Ten season comes around. Minor was held out of practice yesterday, so I really doubt he’s close to 100% healthy. If Michigan can get away with sitting Minor and letting Brown carry the load Saturday, I think that would be the best course of action, especially with a trip to East Lansing just one week away.

It’s amazing how many question marks still surround this team (especially the defense) three weeks into the season. The D showed signs of improvement against EMU, and get a key cog back in Jonas Mouton. On offense, Michigan has established themselves as potentially one of the premier rushing teams in the country. I think that trend continues Saturday: Michigan 38, Indiana 20.

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Football:

• How Ohio State missed out on Zoltan Mesko — AnnArbor.com — If you’re going to be late to the party, Ohio State, you might as well not show up at all. Also, great quote from Zoltan: “They had about 300 kickers at their camp and Michigan had a smaller camp, so when Michigan noticed me, they offered me and I was like, ‘How can I refuse?’ Greatest combination of national exposure as a football program and academically. That’s what did it for me.”
• Rich Rodriguez: Denard Robinson will get plenty of reps, compete for starting job — AnnArbor.com — With all the Forcier hype (and I admit, I’ve gotten a bit caught up in that myself) people forget about the other four-star dual threat quarterback who will take the field in the fall. Rodriguez states that Robinson will only see snaps at quarterback, and not at any other position.
• Don’t call him Red Foxx — MVictors — Is Jamie Foxx Michigan’s next celebrity fan? Rich Rodriguez spoke with him for over an hour while in Chicago for Media Day.
• Big Ten Media Days, The Take Away on Michigan Football: Part I (Mark Ortmann), Part II (Stevie Brown) — Maize n Brew — Maize n Brew was in attendance at the Big Ten Media Days, and sat down with Ortmann, Brown, Mesko, and Rodriguez. The first two parts of Maize n Brew Dave’s summary are up, and are well worth checking out.
• Gardner shines over fellow Michigan QBs at Elite 11 event — USA Today — Rivals.com’s Greg Ladky with some more effusive praise for 2010 commit Devin Gardner. Money quote from Rivals.com’s Barry Every:  “His combination of size, athleticism [and] arm strength stood out,” Every said. “More importantly, he really took to the coaching. You can tell he is striving to be the best. He is getting the type of coaching at that event that he will get at the college level, and he responded really well.
  “The comparisons to Vince Young and Terrelle Pyror [sic] are legit. He throws the ball better than them at the same stage. Camp instructor Matt James told me the three dual-threat quarterbacks at the event, Garnder, Bolden and Barry Brunetti, are the best three they have ever had at the Elite 11.”
• Matt Millen believes in Rich Rod, will broadcast at U-M — Detroit Free Press — This is the most compelling argument for firing RichRod that I’ve ever seen. Also, as a Lions fan, seeing Millen’s face on TV makes me want to break something. Stick to cursing one team I love, please. Michigan never did anything to you.
• Pair of Michigan commits are ’100%’ with their pledges — Detroit Free Press — The Wolverine’s Josh Helmholdt reports that RB/Slot Tony Drake and LB Antonio Kinard are both firm in their commitments to Michigan, which is nice to hear after last year’s decommit-fest.
• Blame it on Per-per-per-per-per-personnel — Every Day Should Be Saturday — Pure comedic brilliance on the part of Orson Swindle/Spencer Hall and LSUFreek. Worth a click just for the animated gif, and the song is hilarious, even if it’s a little painful for a Michigan fan: “Blame it on Navarre/Blame it on the Henne/Blame it on the qb who run a six-fiddy”. Genius.
• Disproving Economic Armageddon Via Stubhub — The Sporting Blog — I had to see the picture evidence to believe it: $9,000 for a 47th-row corner seat in Michigan Stadium … for the Delaware State game. I consider myself a diehard, and I wouldn’t even venture into triple digits for a 10th-row 50-yard-line ticket to that game.

Basketball:

• Bringing the Shooter’s Touch … Freshman Matt Vogrich — MGoBlue — The official website profiles incoming freshman Matt Vogrich, and says he is already getting tips from Stu Douglass and Zack Novak. It’s great to read that two sophomores who will be competing with Vogrich for playing time are still willing to help him out.

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