//

Great Heisman Campaign Champion

Brandon Graham for Heisman!

The fans have spoken and have selected last year’s team MVP to get a push to become the second defensive player or all time to win the Heisman trophy. Only 31 votes separated the two players. The final was Brandon Graham 337 and Brandon Minor with 306. Congrats to both Brandons for getting to the finals and thanks to the readers who voted and commented.

Posted under Blog News, Football

The Great Heisman Campaign: Finals

Minor vs. GrahamGo.

Polls close at 10am EST.

Minor v. Graham

  • 2 Brandon Graham (53%, 339 Votes)
  • 1 Brandon Minor (48%, 307 Votes)

Total Voters: 643

Loading ... Loading ...

Posted under Football, Personnel

Lacrosse Recruiting

Not much in the way of football recruiting info today, so I’ll drop some lacrosse knowledge. Yes, I’m doing a recruiting post for a sport that is not only non-revenue, but not even varsity. Partially inspired by commenters who have filled me in on a few guys to look out for (special thanks to Roger and Old Blue). Quick note: since Michigan’s program is club, it’s difficult to tell which players are actually going to be enrolling in Ann Arbor (the last couple years’ commitment lists seem to have a bunch of guys who never ended up on the team), since there are no letters of intent. The full list (from LaxPower):

ID Div Name Hometown State HighSchool HS_St Position Status College
504 U McGee, Conor Baltimore MD Gilman School MD Goalie R Michigan
737 U Abdelnour, Cy Ann Arbor MI Pioneer MI Goalie R Michigan
978 U Johnson, J.D. Malibu CA Loyola-Los Angeles CA Defense R Michigan
993 U Steenland, Willie Minneapolis MN Blake School MN Midfield R Michigan
1593 U Gualtieri, Andrew Amagansett NY East Hampton NY Midfield/FO R Michigan
1594 U Silver, Harrison Cross River NY John Jay-Cross River NY Midfield R Michigan
1595 U Hrusovsky, Joseph Lake Forest IL Lake Forest IL Midfield R Michigan
1596 U Boshes, Lee Deerfield IL Deerfield IL LSM R Michigan
1597 U Gothelf, Ross Owings Mills MD Owings Mills MD Defense/LSM R Michigan
1598 U Paras, Thomas Lakewood OH St. Ignatius OH Attack R Michigan
1599 U Dauch, Zach Bloomfield Hills MI Lahser MI Midfield W Michigan
1600 U Scadron, Travis Bloomfield Hills MI Lahser MI Midfield W Michigan
1620 U Ives, Joey Newton MA Newton South MA Defense R Michigan
1720 U Asher, Nick Portage MI Portage Northern MI Midfield R Michigan
1762 U Cox, Forrest Alexandria VA Phillips Andover MA Defense R Michigan
1953 U Wells, Adam Lake Orion MI Cranbrook Kingswood MI Goalie W Michigan
2143 U Sklarin, Jeff Atherton CA Menlo Atherton CA Midfield/Attack W Michigan

Conor McGee, G, Baltimore MD
1st team all-Baltimore selection by the Baltimore Messenger. McGee is the only player on the list that is not playing varsity in college, except for one player moving along to a boarding school (where he’ll undoubtedly rock some serious pastels) and one junior. Gilman is a serious lacrosse school (unlike those total scrubs from Brother Rice), finishing the year ranked #1 in the country. McGee received interest from smaller D-1 schools, but opted for the big-university experience at Michigan. According to the LaxPower database, he’s the nation’s top goalie that will head to a club program.

There is, oddly enough, a ton of video of McGee available, most likely stemming from the fact that his high school program is teh rulz:

There are also non-embeddable Gilman highlights out there if you’re interested.

Cy Abdelnour, G, Ann Arbor MI
Since Conor McGee was the top goalie in the nation to go club, it may be expected that the Wolverines would let several other goalies slide through their grasp before picking up another in the class. That’s not the case, however, as Pioneer’s Cy Abdelnour is the second-best goalie in the class of 2009 to commit to a club school, and he’s also going to Michigan (the first goalie headed to a non-Michigan club team is the #1156 overall recruit, headed to Florida State). He had also been recruited by D-3 Adrian. Cy is a Peruvian adoptee whose adopted father was a linebacker at Florida, and though he’s a little guy (5-6, 150), he led Pioneer to unprecedented heights in the state tournament. He was named first-team all-state in 2008, alongside Quinnipiac signee TJ Yost..

JD Johnson, D, Malibu CA
JD Johnson hails from Los Angeles, where he played at Loyola Academy. He’s a long-stick midfielder/defenseman who was first-team all-league. In addition to his defensive prowess, he was the faceoff man for the Cubs. I couldn’t find measurements on Johnson, but from the video, it appears that he’s much bigger than most of his opponents.

Willie Steenland, M, Minneapolis MN
Steenland was the leader of his Blake School team in 2009, after the departure of 2008’s star player, Dartmouth’s Kip Dooley (who was the Big Green’s leader among freshmen in all statistical categories – please click that link, if only to see Dooley’s outfit). He led his Blake Bears to a fourth-place finish in the state. Steenland was not a consistent scoring threat for his team, but managed to score more than a goal per game over the season while excelling on defense.

Andrew Gualtieri, M, Amagansett NY
Andrew Gualtieri is a midfielder/faceoff specialist from Long Island. For his East Hampton/Bridgehampton team in 2009, he scored 10 (or 12?) goals on the year, and had 4 (maybe 5?) assists. His lack of scoring output leads me to believe that Michigan is looking at him primarily as a faceoff specialist, though some articles on him implied that he ran the offense for the Bonackers. East Hampton/Bridgehampton also sent two players two varsity programs in the class of 2009, with Jared Bowe heading to Delaware and Mark Simmons on his way to Wesleyan.

Harrison Silver, M, Cross River NY
Harrison Silver is a midfielder/faceoff specialist from John Jay High School in Cross River New York, a traditionally strong lacrosse program (1 D-I and 6 D-II players in the class of ’09, in addition to Silver, and 6 D-I and 6 D-III players in the previous class). He earned playing time as a sophomore and a junior, but as a senior, Silver was named a captain for the Indians. He’s a little guy, at 5-9 and 160 pounds, yet still managed to be named all-section (and was a halfback on the Indians’ football squad).

Michigan Lacrosse Joey HrusovskyJoseph Hrusovsky, M, Lake Forest IL
The last name likely sounds familiar to Michigan lacrosse fans, as Joseph’s older brother, Anthony, will be entering his senior season with the Wolverines in the fall (his 5th academic year). Joseph was all-state his junior season, as well as his senior year. He’s a high-scoring midfielder (not unlike older bro).

Lee Boshes, LSM, Deerfield IL
Lee Boshes is a longtick middie/defenseman who is one of the stronger defensive players in the Michigan class.

Naturally, Boshes is one of the team’s captains this season.

“He plays long stick middle,” said Deerfield coach Derrick Tiveron. “And defense. He has done a fantastic job helping us to build our defensive unit.”

Among Michigan’s top recruits, he and JD Johnson are the only players who appear to be defensive specialists. Since Michigan’s program is built around a strong defense, adding top defensive players is certainly a priority.

…and I guess the top 8 recruits is a good enough place to stop for now. If you’d like to share info on any of the guys mentioned (or any of those that I didn’t cover in further detail), feel free to do so in the comments.

Posted under Other Sports, Recruiting

The Great Heisman Campaign: Semifinal

The timetable for the Great Heisman Campaign has hit overdrive, and it’s time to get down to a final pairing. Because of this, there will be no quarterfinals, and instead there will be a 4-way competition on each side of the bracket to determine who the finalists will be. Here’s the updated bracket:

Round 3 Results of the Great Heisman Campaign

There are 2 polls in this post, so make sure you vote in both of them. These polls will only be open for 24 hours, so get to votin’.

West Region Semifinal

  • 1 Brandon Minor (80%, 582 Votes)
  • 2 Donovan Warren (10%, 76 Votes)
  • 1 Greg Mathews (5%, 39 Votes)
  • 2 Carlos Brown (4%, 32 Votes)

Total Voters: 728

Loading ... Loading ...

East Region Semifinal

  • 1 Brandon Graham (54%, 394 Votes)
  • 2 Tate Forcier (30%, 214 Votes)
  • 1 Zoltan Mesko (12%, 85 Votes)
  • 2 Martavious Odoms (4%, 30 Votes)

Total Voters: 723

Loading ... Loading ...

Posted under Football, Personnel

Academic Progress

When Kurt Wermers left town, he tried to take a potshot at the Michigan coaching staff, comparing them unfavorably to Lloyd Carr’s (under whom he never played, for the record). This, of course, has a serious short term effects of making the media insufferable for about a week, and compounding the similar accusations made by Justin Boren on his way out of Ann Arbor. Long term, it may diminish offensive line depth, and even chip away at Michigan’s ability to recruit players (though it flies in the face of, like, everything that anyone else has said about the staff).

Michigan Wolverine Ohio State Buckeye Justin BorenPerhaps the most serious damage Wermers may have inflicted, though, is not in terms of what he did do, but rather what he didn’t: stay eligible. Michigan’s football APR has been declining slightly over the past few years, as the Carr tenure waned and now even more Rich Rodriguez has come into town with his demanding program. Several players – whether they didn’t fit the system, weren’t willing to put in the work, or just wanted to go to Ohio State in the first place but were guilted into Michigan by Bo and used a father’s plow service(!) as an excuse to leave Michigan – have departed since the new sheriff in town took over.

The NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate is used by The Toothless Organization to determine which schools aren’t taking care of their student-athletes academically. It is calculated by a 4-year average of scores out of 1000, and if said score dips below 925, tTO will write you a strongly worded letter, then give no actual sanctions (though they’ve gained some teeth, and have punished even a couple BCS conference teams). So how has Michigan done over the past couple years? Take a look:

Michigan APR
Year APR Score
2006 958
2007 951
2008 947
2009 ???

These numbers have, as mentioned above, been on the decline for a couple years, and as higher-APR scores from years past move out of the 4-year average, and the more recent years (with worse APR scores) go into the equation, it doesn’t necessarily bode well for Michigan. Each player leaving the Michigan program costs the team 1 point out of 1000 in the APR calculation for that year. If a player leaves while he is ineligible for NCAA competition, it reduces overall score by 2 points. It’s unclear exactly when players count towards the next score: I believe those who left before the 2008 season have already been counted, and no others have.

Michigan Attrition
Player When Left Notes
Ryan Mallett Winter 2008 Arkansas transfer
Chris McLaurin Winter 2008 Medical reasons, unclear whether he’s still in school or will count against APR
Corey Zirbel Spring 2008 Career-ending injury, still in school and won’t harm APR
Justin Boren Spring 2008 OSU transfer
Marques Slocum Summer 2008 Likely ineligble
Marcus Witherspoon Summer 2008 Left after 2 weeks at school (does he even count against APR?), academically ineligible
Tony Clemons Winter 2009 Colorado transfer
Zion Babb Winter 2009
Artis Chambers Winter 2009
Avery Horn Winter 2009
Sam McGuffie Winter 2009 Rice transfer
Steven Threet Spring 2009 Arizona State transfer
Kurt Wermers Spring 2009 Ball State transfer, academically ineligible
Dann O’Neill Spring 2009 Western Michigan transfer

That means 8 players have already left the team since the end of the 2008 season. According to history, more may be on the way. With Michigan’s APR trending downwards, it appears as though the 2010 score will be more of the same. Will the Wolverines dip into the danger zone – below 925? They haven’t come close yet, though they’re certainly heading in the wrong direction. But hey, there’s always applying for waivers.

Posted under Coaching, Football, Misc., Personnel

Great Heisman Campaign: Brown v. Robinson

Carlos Brown enters the final year of his injury-plagued Michigan career looking forward to finally being healthy for an entire season. He’s had ankle and wrist problems, but when healthy, he’s shown flashes of brilliance. Last year he ran for 122 yards, almost all of which came in Michigan’s loss to Northwestern.

Denard Robinson is one of the most exciting players in Michigan’s 2009 recruiting class. A high school quarterback, he provides the possibility of an athletic signal-caller, but can still throw the ball down the field. He was a 4-star recruit to the major recruiting services, and is a world-class sprinter. He finished 3rd in the Florida High School 100m dash, and ran as fast as a 10.28-second time this spring. If opposing defenses allow him to get into space, it will probably mean 6 points for the Wolverines.

Carlos Brown v. Denard Robinson

  • 2 Carlos Brown (60%, 365 Votes)
  • 3 Denard Robinson (40%, 248 Votes)

Total Voters: 613

Loading ... Loading ...

For the second round each poll will only be open for 3 days, so make sure you vote early in order to be counted. For the updated bracket, click here.

Open Polls:
Odoms v. Martin.
Mathews v. Ezeh.

Completed 2nd Round Polls:
Minor v. Van Bergen.
Warren v. Schilling.
Mesko v. Cissoko.
Forcier v. Stonum.
Graham v. Robinson.

Posted under Football, Personnel

Comments Off on Great Heisman Campaign: Brown v. Robinson

Tags: , , ,

Recruiting Update 7-20-09

The Recruiting Board can be found here.

The Wolverines have offered MN OL Seantrel Henderson the chance to play basketball during the offseason, one of several schools offering him the chance to do so in order to lure him to their teams. While we’re discussing Henderson, take a look at this hilariously oblivious article on his recruitment. Money quote: “USC may be the dark horse.”

I won’t add him to the board quite yet, but keep an eye on FL OL Ed Christian. He is a Florida State commit, but of the super-soft variety. He’ll take visits during the season, and likes the South Carolina Schools along with Michigan and Tennessee.

Removed SC OL Eric Mack, who hadn’t seemed interested in Michigan for a while. He’s now committed to South Carolina.

2010 FL OL Chaz GreenRemoved FL OL Chaz Green (seen at left), who has what amounts to a final 4 of Florida, USC, Georgia, and Ohio State. He had planned to make a summer commitment, but wants a chance to visit the Trojans and Buckeyes, which may delay his decision. Doesn’t sound like any other schools have a serious shot to get back into the mix for him.

NC DT/DE Gabe King has narrowed his list to an approximate top group, which does not include Michigan. I’ll leave him on the board a little longer until it’s a firm final list of schools.

Removed NC DE Prince Shembo. He’s down to a top 4 (info in header), and hasn’t been a major prospect of interest with Michigan so far this year. It think it’s fairly obvious that the Wolverines aren’t in that final list.

Removed LA DE Jordan Allen. He committed to LSU.

Removed SC DE Corey Miller, who committed to Florida State.

Removed OH DE Darryl Baldwin, now an Ohio State Buckeye.

Michigan is in the top 6 for CT LB Khairi Fortt. He’s soon to visit Georgia, and if they’re up to snuff, the Bulldogs will make the list. Otherwise, he’ll probably be down to a top 5. That leaves Michigan as one of the few schools he likes that, if I’m remembering correctly, he has not visited. He plans a summer Michigan visit, and only plans to take 3 official visits, likely to schools on his list that he hasn’t yet seen. Fortt plans to enroll early at his school of choice in January.

OH LB Jewone Snow is still waiting on a Michigan offer. Unless Michigan plans to fill out the defensive class with really highly-rated guys, it seems like he should be a shoo-in. He’s a middle linebacker (a major position of need), he’s a Michigan legacy (son of Garland Rivers), and has a younger teammate who may be the top prospect in Ohio (2011 DE Steve Miller). If the Wolverines were to eventually offer, it seems like they’d have a pretty good shot at Snow.

PA S Brandon Ifill is planning to visit Michigan by the end of the month (info in header). Despite not having visited Ann Arbor yet, Ifill lists Michigan in his top two, along with Maryland. Would a very good visit convince him that he’s ready to commit?

Sam Webb Detroit News fluff on FL CB Tony Grimes. An article entitled “Michigan will be ‘tough to beat'” probably bodes lots of good quotes for Wolverine fans:

“For me to already have a good connection with Coach Hopson is a big plus.”

“Man, there ain’t nothing like the Big House — let me say that right now,” Grimes said. “It was even bigger than I thought it would be.”

“Michigan is going to be tough to beat,” he said. “It’s a great program. The networking is on point at Michigan and the alumni system is amazing. The coaching staff is building something great over there.”

To date, Grimes has scheduled only one of his five official visits. He plans to return to Ann Arbor for the Sept. 12 matchup against Notre Dame. The remainder of his itinerary is a work in progress.

From the way he effusively speaks about Michigan, that Notre Dame official visit may be a pretty good time to look for a potential commitment from Grimes. Scouting report:

“He is considered by some to be (Florida’s) most physical corner,” said Scout.com Florida analyst Geoff Vogt. “He will beat receivers up mentally and physically, and he does not get beat one-on-one. He has the ability to mirror receivers all over the field and he will come up in the run game and make his presence felt. He doesn’t have lights-out speed, but he is physical, and his competitiveness just can’t be taught.”

He also has decent height for a corner (which I guess is predictable for a guy whose physicality is his most praised attribute). The lack of elite speed may be a question mark, but Michigan already has super-speedy guys like Boubacar Cissoko and Courtney Avery, so a couple taller corners might be in order anyway. lance at UMGoBlog also rounds up a bunch of the available information on Grimes, including video:

Added FL CB Eric Mitchell. This Scout header is particularly revealing: he visited Michigan over the summer, and the Wolverines stand in his top 5 along with Ole Miss, South Florida, Vandy, and Louisville. To the best of my knowledge, he does not yet hold a Michigan offer.

Removed FL CB Travis Bell, who has committed to West Virginia.

Removed FL CB Spencer Boyd, who (as predicted) committed to Notre Dame over the weekend.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Great Heisman Campaign: Mathews v. Ezeh

Greg Mathews is the lone holdover at wide receiver from Michigan’s glory days on offense in 2006. He was one of Michigan’s top receivers last year, and the only wideout with more than one touchdown grab (a far cry from the days of 15 for Edwards or 12 for Manningham). He looks to continue making the tough catches with his spectacular hands, though he’s unlikely to beat many players deep.

Obi Ezeh will be a third-year starter at middle linebacker, and he’s had an up-and-down career thus far, including a one-handed interception against Northwestern in 2007:

If the Michigan defense is to be successful, Ezeh will have to be on his game the whole year.

Greg Mathews v. Obi Ezeh

  • 1 Greg Mathews (53%, 293 Votes)
  • 4 Obi Ezeh (47%, 265 Votes)

Total Voters: 558

Loading ... Loading ...

For the second round each poll will only be open for 3 days, so make sure you vote early in order to be counted. For the updated bracket, click here.

Open Polls:
Graham v. Robinson.
Odoms v. Martin.

Completed 2nd Round Polls:
Minor v. Van Bergen.
Warren v. Schilling.
Mesko v. Cissoko.
Forcier v. Stonum.

Posted under Football, Personnel

Comments Off on Great Heisman Campaign: Mathews v. Ezeh

Tags: , , ,

Big Ten Recruiting Class Rankings 7-19-09

Compare to the previous edition of the recruiting class rankings. Action since last rankings:

7-13-09 Iowa gains commitment from Andrew Donnal. Wisconsin gains commitment from Joseph Brennan. Purdue gains commitment from Josh Davis.
7-14-09 Penn State gains commitment from Alex Kenney. Indiana gains commitment from Harrison Scott.
7-15-09 Michigan gains commitment from Austin White.
7-17-09 Notre Dame gains commitment from Spencer Boyd.
7-18-09 Indiana gains commitment from Cody Evers.

Penn State passes Michigan on the basis of a much better ranking per commit, and not that many fewer commits overall. In addition, Scout released their 2-stars, so nearly every Big Ten commit now has a ranking of some sort on that service.

#1 Penn State – 13 commits
Name Pos Rivals Scout ESPN
Paul Jones QB **** ***** 150*
Adrian Coxson WR **** ***** 150*
Evan Hailes DT **** **** 150*
Robert Bolden QB **** **** 150*
Silas Redd RB **** **** 79
Mike Hull LB **** **** 77
Kyle Baublitz DE **** *** 150*
Alex Kenney WR **** *** 150*
Miles Dieffenbach OL *** **** 150*
DaQuan Jones DT *** **** 77
Tom Ricketts OL NR **** 77
Luke Graham OL NR *** NR
Levi Norwood WR NR NR NR

The inevitable Kenney commitment has finally come to fruition.

#2 Michigan – 16 commits
Name Pos Rivals Scout ESPN
Ricardo Miller WR **** **** 150*
Devin Gardner QB **** **** 150*
Marvin Robinson S **** **** 150*
Jerald Robinson WR **** *** 77
Ken Wilkins LB *** **** 77
Austin White RB *** **** 77
Jeremy Jackson WR *** *** 150*
Christian Pace OL *** *** 150*
Jordan Paskorz DE *** *** 78
Stephen Hopkins RB *** *** 77
Antonio Kinard LB *** *** 77
Drew Dileo WR *** *** 75
Tony Drake RB *** ** 77
Courtney Avery CB NR *** 73
DJ Williamson WR NR *** NR
Cornelius Jones QB NR ** 77

Austin White continues Michigan’s in-state dominance.

#3 Notre Dame – 13 commits
Name Pos Rivals Scout ESPN
Chris Martin DE ***** ***** 150*
Blake Leuders DE **** **** 150*
Alex Welch TE **** **** 79
Andrew Hendrix QB **** *** 150*
Kendall Moore LB **** *** 77
Christian Lombard OL *** **** 150*
Daniel Smith WR *** **** 78
Bennett Jackson WR *** **** 77
Chris Badger S *** *** 150*
Spencer Boyd CB *** *** 79
Lo Wood CB *** *** 78
Justin Utupo DE *** *** 77
Tommy Rees QB *** *** NR

Spencer Boyd commits to Notre Dame.

#4 Ohio State – 8 commits
Name Pos Rivals Scout ESPN
Andrew Norwell OL **** ***** 150*
Jamel Turner DE **** ***** 150*
Roderick Smith RB **** **** 150*
JT Moore DE **** *** 78
Scott McVey LB *** **** 77
David Durham LB *** *** 150*
Taylor Graham QB NR *** 78
Drew Basil K NR *** NR

No change for the Buckeyes.

#5 Michigan State – 9 commits
Name Pos. Rivals Scout ESPN
William Gholston DE **** **** 150*
Joe Boisture QB **** **** 150*
Max Bullough LB **** *** 150*
Mylan Hicks CB *** *** 78
Nick Hill RB *** *** 75
Tony Lippett WR NR *** 78
Travis Jackson OL NR *** 77
Taylor Calero DE NR ** 76
Michael Dennis OL NR NR 76

Nothing new for MSU.

#6 Minnesota – 10 commits
Name Pos Rivals Scout ESPN
Jimmy Gjere OL **** **** 79
Lamonte Edwards Ath **** *** 76
Antoine Lewis WR *** *** 76
Matt Eggen OL *** *** 76
Tom Parish QB *** *** 73
Zac Epping OL *** *** 73
Donnell Kirkwood RB *** ** NR
Mark Lenkiewicz OL NR ** 75
Kip Smith K NR *** NR
Allen Veazie CB NR ** 75

Nothing new for Minnesota.

#7 Illinois – 8 commits
Name Pos. Rivals Scout ESPN
Corey Cooper CB **** **** 150*
CJ Fiedorowicz TE **** **** 150*
Chandler Whitmer QB *** *** 150*
Daniel Easterly Ath *** *** 78
Shawn Afryl OL *** *** 69
Andy Gallik OL *** ** 74
Dexter McDonald S NR *** 79
Mark Wilson LB NR *** 76

Illinois has nothing new.

#8 Iowa – 10 commits
Name Pos. Rivals Scout ESPN
Andrew Donnal OL **** *** 150*
Matt Hoch DE *** *** 150*
Austin Gray LB *** *** 77
Louis Trinca-Pasat DE *** *** 76
Mike Hardy DE *** *** 76
James Morris LB *** *** 74
Brandon Scherff OL *** *** NR
Jim Poggi LB NR *** NR
Anthony Ferguson DT NR *** NR
Austin Vier QB NR ** NR

Iowa gets an important lineman in Andrew Donnal.

#9 Wisconsin – 8 commits
Name Pos. Rivals Scout ESPN
Konrad Zagzebski LB *** **** 76
Joseph Brennan QB *** *** 78
Marquis Mason WR *** ** NR
Frank Tamakloe S NR *** 150*
Bryce Gilbert DT NR *** 74
Cameron Ontko LB NR ** 66
Jake Irwin DE NR ** NR
Dallas Lewallen OL NR ** NR

Joseph Brennan commits to the Badgers.

#10 Indiana – 11 commits
Name Pos. Rivals Scout ESPN
Jibreel Black DT *** **** 78
Xavier Whitaker RB NR *** NR
Logan Young WR NR ** 76
Leneil Himes TE NR ** 74
Antonio Banks RB NR ** 73
Marlandez Harris OL NR ** 72
Andre Kates CB NR ** NR
Ryan Phillis LB NR ** NR
Matt Perez RB NR NR 74
Harrison Scott DE NR NR 69
Cody Evers OL NR NR NR

Indiana picks up a couple new commits.

#11 Northwestern – 6 commits
Name Pos. Rivals Scout ESPN
Shontrelle Johnson RB *** *** 77
Rashad Lawrence WR *** *** 73
Trevor Siemian QB *** ** 79
Paul Jorgenson OL NR ** 79
Collin Ellis LB NR ** 77
Chi Chi Ariguzo LB NR ** 74

Nothing changes for the Wildcats.

#12 Purdue – 6 commits
Name Pos. Rivals Scout ESPN
Sean Robinson QB *** *** 78
De’Ron Flood TE NR *** 74
Charles Torwudzo WR NR *** NR
Ryan Isaacs DE NR ** NR
Jeremy Cornelius WR NR ** NR
Josh Davis DT NR NR 75

Sean Robinson picks Purdue.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Comments Off on Big Ten Recruiting Class Rankings 7-19-09

Tags:

Great Heisman Campaign: Odoms v. Martin

Martavious Odoms was Michigan’s most used receiver last year, grabbing 49 passes for 443 yards. Since he performed so well as a freshman, there’s good reason to hope he does the same as a sophomore – if not better. Competent quarterbacking and a more effective overall offense should give Odoms the chance to make a lot of plays. He’ll also be used in the kicking game, and he returned one punt for touchdown last year.

Mike Martin was inserted into heavy rotation at defensive line, which is rare for a true freshman. He performed well, including a crushing of Allan Evridge that helped seal the victory over Wisconsin.

Martin finished the year with 20 tackle (4.5 for loss and 2 sacks).

Martavious Odoms v. Mike Martin

  • 3 Mike Martin (57%, 284 Votes)
  • 2 Martavious Odoms (43%, 215 Votes)

Total Voters: 499

Loading ... Loading ...

For the second round each poll will only be open for 3 days, so make sure you vote early in order to be counted. For the updated bracket, click here.

Open Polls:
Forcier v. Stonum.
Graham v. Robinson.

Completed 2nd Round Polls:
Minor v. Van Bergen.
Warren v. Schilling.
Mesko v. Cissoko.

Posted under Football, Personnel

Comments Off on Great Heisman Campaign: Odoms v. Martin

Tags: , , ,