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.
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.
The tremendous boredom of the summer months has reached its apex, and I am left to come up with content when there is little to nothing going on in the Michigan sports scene. Luckily, U-M has an amazing database of historical content. The Bentley Historical Library is an incredible resource on Wolverine history, and also a bona-fide time-waster. I love looking through the old team photos … it’s basically like checking out your parents’ high school yearbooks, except with more famous people and without the stigma of looking through your parents’ high school yearbooks. Anyways, I’ve decided to click to a random year and find the most awesome/silly/ridiculous-looking player for that year, and then dig up what I can find on said player’s career at Michigan.
As I was looking at the 1997 team photo for the previous post, I noticed a young Tom Brady looking quite silly in the middle of the photo:
Better hide this one from Gisele.
I realize Brady wasn’t a freshman in 1997, but the shock of seeing him from 14 years ago made me want to dig through the archives and check out the freshman photos of past Michigan greats.
Braylon Edwards
Tyrone Wheatley
Desmond Howard
Jamie Morris
Jim Harbaugh
Anthony Carter
Rick Leach
Butch Woolfolk
Ron Simpkins
Bob Chappuis
Tom Harmon
Benny Friedman
Wow, they grow up so fast. Not included in the gallery because of the tiny picture size was this photo of Charles Woodson, circa 1995:
He spots a Heisman in the distance.
That’s all until the next installment. Hit the tag for the rest of the Fun With Team Photos series, if you’re like me and have nothing better to do with your summer.
The Michigan Daily thinks Zack Novak is flying under the radar heading into 2009-2010.
Football:
Sources: Wermer [sic] was already out at UM — ESPN.com — According to Adam Rittenberg over at ESPN.com, Kurt Wermers was already academically ineligible before he transferred from Michigan and badmouthed the program on the way out. I laughed when I saw this. You stay classy, Kurt. That is, if you can spell classy.
History Suggests More Will Leave — When Carcajous Attack! — A very in-depth look at player attrition under Rich Rodriguez during his time at West Virginia. This is a purely numbers overview, and doesn’t delve into the reasons behind players leaving, but from the looks of it we can always expect to lose players each offseason before their eligibility expires.
New Football Practice Facility Named Al Glick Field House — MGoBlue — As a general rule, large buildings get named after you when your family donates $8.7 million(!), as is the case with Alro Steel Corp.’s Al Glick. Many thanks to Glick for his generous support of the University and the football program.
“I remember the Minnesota game, and nine times out of 10 that’s a touchdown,” Shaw said, referring to his 48-yard run, which led to his season-best 71-yard day. “I broke a long run and got dragged from behind. It was then that I was like, ‘I’m really hurting. I’ve never not been able to run, not been able to explode.’ “
Varsity Numbers: Introducing POE — Football Outsiders [via MGoBlog] — A new stat from the guys over at Football Outsiders suggests Brandon Minor has a good chance of being a very good running back next season. POE stands for “Points Over Expected” and looks at a player’s ability to be both a workhorse back and still gain a high amount of yards per play (lots of statistical stuff behind that, which I can’t begin to fully understand or explain). Anyways, Minor is the 10th best returning back according to POE, while Standup Sam McGuffie finished seventh from last in 2008, which sounds about right considering his running style.
“They Just Kept Coming My Way” — MVictors — Greg, being the historian he is, corrects a minor error in the new Maple Street Press preview magazine, Hail to the Victors, and takes a look at the ridiculous career and single game sack records of Mark Messner (including a quote from Messner himself). Side note: Northwestern was somewhat awful in 1987, when they game up five sacks to Messner because they kept rolling the pocket towards him.
Jarrod Bunch: Stop Calling Players “Busts” — Lost Lettermen — Jarrod Bunch posts over at Lost Lettermen, a blog that features former college athletes. Bunch defends former players (himself included, as well as Tyrone Wheatley) who are labeled busts, saying oftentimes the issue is overblown expectations from fans and teams. He even comes to the defense of former Buckeye Vernon Gholston, which, well, argh.
Preferred Walk-On QB Changes Mind, Will Attend MSU — Michigan Sports Center — Hudsonville (MI) quarterback Casey Blackport will go to State instead of Michigan, which would be a big deal if anyone had heard of him or known he intended to come to Michigan. And if he was good. That too. Moving along … nothing to see here.
Basketball:
The Daily Dozen: 12 Wolverines under the radar in 2009-10 — Michigan Daily — This really shouldn’t go under the basketball heading, since it encompasses all M sports, but Zack Novak tops the list compiled by Daily writer Ryan Kartje. There’s a few football players of note, as well as incoming hoops freshman Matt Vogrich, so you should head over and check out the whole list.
Hockey:
U-M’s Jack Johnson signs two-year contract with Kings — Detroit News — JMFJ inks a new deal to stay in Los Angeles. Article completely overshadowed by awesome picture of JMFJ leveling some poor Russian. JMFJ, FTW.
Bruins sign defenceman Matt Hunwick to contract extension — The Canadian Press — Of course, right as I post, this comes across my RSS feed. No terms yet, but the extension is a multiyear one, coming after Hunwick was third among Boston defensemen with 27 points in his rookie season. Also, I very nearly [sic]‘d the spelling of “defenceman” above … silly Canadians.
For the next indeterminate amount of time, I will be counting down my top 15 offensive and defensive players from the last 15 years. Today, I unveil my picks at #2 for each side of the ball:
As the countdown nears its conclusion, we reach the point where you can probably deduce the top athletes on each side of the ball. However, this is about the runner-ups, who were both great players in their own right (obviously). Without further ado, let me introduce the rest of my crew.
Offense: Tshimanga Biakabutuka, RB, 1993-1995
Biakabutuka: 313 yards later, no longer just the Michigan back with the crazy African name.
Despite spending 2/3 of his career as a backup to Tyrone Wheatley, I can’t do anything but put “Touchdown Tim” ahead of the man who kept him from the starting role for his freshman and sophomore campaigns. Why? Well, for one, if there was a single Michigan jersey I’d like to own, it’d be a #21 home blue with “Biakabutuka” on the back. Second, and much more importantly (unless you really care about my jersey preferences), he had the greatest season of any running back in school history as a junior, as well as arguably the best single-game performance of any player in the last 15 years.
Even as a freshman, Biakabutuka showed flashes of what was to come despite being the low man in a crowded backfield behind Wheatley, Ricky Powers, Ed Davis and Walter Smith. In the ninth game of the season, against Purdue, he exploded for 140 yards and two touchdowns after amassing all of five career yards in two previous appearances. As a sophomore, despite playing behind a bonafide Heisman candidate, Biakabutuka forced Gary Moeller to give him carries. Tim would finish the 1994 season with 793 yards and seven touchdowns on 126 carries, and had four 100-yard games despite going over 20 carries in a game only once on the year.
All that set the table for his junior season. After getting only seven carries in the opener against Virginia when Michigan had to claw its way back from a 17-0 deficit, Biakabutuka went nuts. His final 1995 numbers: 303 carries, 1818 yards, 6.0 yards per carry, 12 touchdowns, eight 100-yard games, four 190-yard games (yes, 190-yard), two-200 yard games. Oh, and a 313-yard game:
The fact that Biakabutuka’s performance came against Ohio State, a perfect 11-0 and ranked #2 coming into the Big House, boasting the nation’s top player in running back Eddie George (the eventual Heisman winner), vaults the game into the forefront of every Wolverine fan’s consciousness when they think of the best games by a Michigan player. I don’t want to discredit the rest of his tremendous career by saying that one game pushed him past all the other great Wolverine backs of the past 15 years, but it’s also tough to say it didn’t. Regardless, I will argue that Touchdown Tim is the best running back of the past 15 years at Michigan, and for that, he gets the #2 spot on this list.
Defense: Ty Law, CB, 1992-1994
Seriously, there are no good action shots of Ty Law at Michigan on the internet. This is a travesty.
Before that Woodson guy rolled through, Ty Law was the best corner to ever play at Michigan, and it’s a bit unfortunate for his legacy that his career was immediately followed by the eventual Heisman-winner. Talk about stealing a guy’s thunder (not that I’m complaining one bit, Charles). Like Woodson, Law was also a three-year starter at corner, a multiple-time All-Big Ten selection, an All-American, and an early-entry into the NFL Draft.
Law was a tremendous physical corner, using his 6-0, 201 pound frame to bully wideouts off their routes and gain position to knock down or intercept the ball. The numbers are good (19 career pass breakups, eight career interceptions), but you really had to watch #22 to appreciate his full impact. Like Woodson and Marlin Jackson after him, opposing quarterbacks chose to throw anywhere but at Law, so he earned every one of those stats. He also was great in run support, finishing with 164 career tackles despite not giving up completions to his man.
Ty Law was the complete package at corner, a big guy who could run with the fast wideouts and play physical with the big ones, adept at pass coverage and run support. Fittingly, he slots in at #2 on this list, one spot behind the corner who supplanted him (what, you really expected me to hold up the suspense on that one?).
Agree? Disagree? Want to share your favorite Biakabutuka and Law moments? Be sure to drop a comment, and remember that I’ll be taking submissions for your top 15 offensive and defensive players (and top five special teamers) until I’m done with the list. Post your lists in the comments, or shoot me an email at ace@thewolverineblog.com, and I’ll compile the lists for the final post alongside the lists of members of The Wolverine staff. Make sure to check back every weekday: next I post the #1 players for offense and defense.
Offense:
15. Marquise Walker
14. Chris Perry
13. Chad Henne
12. Jerame Tuman
11. Brian Griese
10. Anthony Thomas
9. Tom Brady
8. Mario Manningham
7. Steve Hutchinson
6. Jake Long
5. Mike Hart
4. David Terrell
3. Tyrone Wheatley
2. Tshimanga Biakabutuka
Defense:
15. William Carr
14. Leon Hall
13. Ian Gold
12. James Hall
11. Rob Renes
10. Alan Branch
9. Marcus Ray
8. Dhani Jones
7. Jarrett Irons
6. Marlin Jackson
5. Glen Steele
4. David Harris
3. LaMarr Woodley
2. Ty Law
Special Teams:
5. Zoltan Mesko
4. Marquise Walker
3. Garrett Rivas
2. Steve Breaston
1. Remy Hamilton
For the next indeterminate amount of time, I will be counting down my top 15 offensive and defensive players from the last 15 years. Today, I unveil my picks at #3 for each side of the ball:
The coveted top three is finally here, and we’ve got a little old school (relatively speaking, of course) mixed with a little new school today. Enjoy.
Offense: Tyrone Wheatley, RB, 1991-1994
"He has the best stiff-arm I've seen in college football in a long, long time." -- Joe Paterno. When JoePa says a long time, he means a looooong time.
The first Michigan football game I ever attended was the 1994 game against Penn State (we had season tickets, but I switched off going to games with my brother, and luckily for me we sold our Colorado tickets that year). Being only six at the time, I had not watched much football before that game, but I knew enough to quickly figure out who the best Wolverine on the field was that game: #6. Although we lost (31-24, to a team that finished undefeated and featured Kerry Collins and Ki-Jana Carter) I was immediately attached to Tyrone Wheatley in the way that six-year-olds tend to be. I’d go out in the backyard with my brother and throw the football around, and I’d pretend to be Wheatley. 19 carries for 144 yards and two touchdowns will do that to a kid.
I had no idea at the time that Wheatley was a Heisman candidate, was rewriting the Michigan record books, that he very nearly went to the NFL before I had ever set foot in Michigan Stadium. I didn’t know that he was the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year as a sophomore, rushing for 1,357 yards and 13 touchdowns on only 185 carries, for a ridiculous 7.3 yards per carry average. I didn’t know he had one of the greatest individual performances in school history in the 1993 Rose Bowl, going for 235 yards and three scores on 15 carries in a revenge victory over Washington. I had no idea he would leave Ann Arbor as Michigan’s career leader in touchdowns, 100-yard games, and 200-yard games, second in career rushing yards and yards per game, and first in single-season and single-game yards per carry (the last two records he still holds to this day). I didn’t realize he was the 1994 Big Ten 110-meter hurdles champion, or that he still holds the MHSAA Class B record in the long jump and 110 hurdles. I just knew I was watching a freak of nature, a guy who was way too fast for how big he was, but still powerful enough to run through tackles like a man playing among boys. Once again, WolverineHistorian comes through with video confirmation of what I’m trying to convey in words:
For being the best combination of power and speed to play for Michigan in the 15 years I’ve followed the team, Wheatley gets the three-spot in this countdown.
Defense: LaMarr Woodley, DE/LB, 2003-2006
I would not recommend standing between this man and his intended target. I'm looking at you, everyone on Notre Dame c. 2006.
Remember, children: Guns Don’t Kill People, LaMarr Woodley Kills People. I remember hearing horror stories from my friend who played on Huron High School’s freshman team when their varsity team traveled to Saginaw Arthur Hill to face Woodley and Co. Words like “unstoppable”, “beast”, “killer”, and any combination of the above (I like “unstoppable beast killer”) were thrown around in all seriousness. We all waited through a freshman season in which the five-star prospect mostly rode the pine, biding his time. Then came the next three seasons, and things like this happened regularly:
T-shirts were made, quarterbacks were irreparably damaged (Drew Stanton, everybody!), offensive lines were destroyed (Penn State, everybody!), and Michigan had its best pass-rusher since Mark Messner. Woodley finished his career with 24 sacks (3rd on the school list), 52.5 tackles for loss (2nd), ten forced fumbles (1st), five fumble recoveries (T-7th), and one incredible 54-yard fumble return for a touchdown against Notre Dame in 2006. His senior season, 2006, he was the superstar on a defense full of stars, the player above all others you had to prepare for when you played the Wolverines. For that, he sits at #3 on this list.
Agree? Disagree? Want to share your favorite Wheatley and Woodley moments? Be sure to drop a comment, and remember that I’ll be taking submissions for your top 15 offensive and defensive players (and top five special teamers) until I’m done with the list. Post your lists in the comments, or shoot me an email at ace@thewolverineblog.com, and I’ll compile the lists for the final post alongside the lists of members of The Wolverine staff. Make sure to check back every weekday: next I post the #2 players for offense and defense.
Offense:
15. Marquise Walker
14. Chris Perry
13. Chad Henne
12. Jerame Tuman
11. Brian Griese
10. Anthony Thomas
9. Tom Brady
8. Mario Manningham
7. Steve Hutchinson
6. Jake Long
5. Mike Hart
4. David Terrell
3. Tyrone Wheatley
Defense:
15. William Carr
14. Leon Hall
13. Ian Gold
12. James Hall
11. Rob Renes
10. Alan Branch
9. Marcus Ray
8. Dhani Jones
7. Jarrett Irons
6. Marlin Jackson
5. Glen Steele
4. David Harris
3. LaMarr Woodley
Special Teams:
5. Zoltan Mesko
4. Marquise Walker
3. Garrett Rivas
2. Steve Breaston
1. Remy Hamilton
…and you thought I had forgotten about this list. Today’s edition is going to be a little short, as I am writing from an Asheville, NC hotel with a crappy ethernet connection. If you’re on the road and need blazing fast internet, I would not recommend the Baymont Inn. Anyways…
Offense: Anthony Thomas, RB, 1997-2000
The A-Train reaches paydirt. Sorry, I couldn't think of a train pun that hasn't been beaten into the ground. (Photo courtesy of the Michigan Daily)
Before Mike Hart, Anthony Thomas held nearly every meaningful career rushing record at Michigan: carries, yards, touchdowns (still holds that one, with 55) and 100+ yard games. Like Hart, he saw playing time right away, rushing for 583 yards and five touchdowns as a freshman in 1997 while splitting time with Chris Howard and Clarence Williams. What sticks out for me from Thomas was his ability to hit the hole and GO — he was certainly a big back, but he had home run speed and great backfield vision. His 2000 season was ridiculous: 319 carries, 1,733 yards, 18 rushing touchdowns, nine 100-yard games — all four of those figures are second in school history for a single season. His career is worthy of a ten-minute YouTube video (compiled by WolverineHistorian, whose channel you really should be subscribed to by now):
So, you ask, why is he not higher on this list? To me, it’s simple. A lot of those holes he burst through were GIANT. Jeff Backus and Steve Hutchinson manned the left side of the line all four years of his career. I’m not saying the A-Train isn’t among the best Michigan backs of all time. I’m just saying that a lot of Michigan’s great backs would kill to be running behind the offensive lines Michigan had from 1997-2000, and their numbers would probably reflect that. Imagine Wheatley, Biakabutuka, or Hart taking the ball off-tackle behind those two road-graters. The career rushing lists might look a little different, no?
I love the A-Train. He was a great college back. And I’m putting him at #10. You can probably guess what backs are above him (hint: look up).
Defense: Alan Branch, DT, 2004-2006
Farewell, Mr. Morelli. See you in your nightmares.
Honestly, I would probably have placed Branch in the top 10 simply for providing me with this picture. I feel warm and fuzzy inside just looking at it. That is a cold-blooded killer casually leaving the scene of the crime. Awesome.
It helps that he was actually a really good player. The numbers aren’t spectacular, so I won’t even list them, but Branch had the uncanny ability to make plays beyond what any normal DT could. He could bull his way into the backfield, chase a running back down the line, or even take off and chase down a play ten yards downfield. Hell, he even had an interception against Ohio State in 2006. He’s probably the best athlete I’ve ever seen play tackle at Michigan, and unlike his linemate Gabe Watson, he seemed to utilize the bulk of his talent.
That’s all for today. Leave your thoughts in the comments.
Agree? Disagree? Want to share your favorite Thomas and Branch moments? Be sure to drop a comment, and remember that I’ll be taking submissions for your top 15 offensive and defensive players (and top five special teamers) until I’m done with the list. Post your lists in the comments, or shoot me an email at ace@thewolverineblog.com, and I’ll compile the lists for the final post alongside the lists of members of The Wolverine staff. Make sure to check back every weekday: next I post the #9 players for offense and defense.
"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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