Vance Bedford, who previously served as the defensive backs coach of the Wolverines 95-98, has been rehired at the position, leaving the Defensive Coordinator spot at Oklahoma State, the Tulsa World reports.

In his previous stint here, Bedford coached such greats as Charles Woodson, Daydrian Taylor, Todd Howard, Marcus Ray, and Cato June. It is unclear exactly which positions he will coach, as the word on the street is that English will continue to coach one of the defensive back positions.

Posted under Coaching

You are the biggest pussy ever. ever think that it’s not the rules that are the problem, but rather the enforcement of said rules? You are an embarrassment to college athletics.

Posted under Analysis

Jim Stefani came up with an interesting post on the GoBlueWolverine forums regarding the ceilings and floors of recruits. High ceiling types are those who have virtualy limitless potential, and can be absolute stars if they live up to said potential. Guys with high floors might be able to come in and contribute right away, and are college-ready.

These two concepts likely correlate, but this is not always the case. Guys who are adjusting to new positions in college, etc. might not be able to contribute right away, but once they make the adjustments, are able to shine. I, on the other hand, would be a very low ceiling and floor guy.

Rankings will be given on a 1-5 basis for both ceiling and floor, with 5 being the best, and 1 the worst. a 3-3 would be your average recruit, 5-5 would be your top-top players. A 1 for ceiling doesn’t mean that a certain player can’t contribute, as long as the floor is high. I apologize in advance for all the guru-isms I’m about to spout.

Ryan Mallett
Floor:5 Ceiling:5.
Enrolling early will really help his floor, and he has a strong arm and the size to be one of the all-time greats.

Donovan Warren
Floor:5 Ceiling:4
Very polished, but doesn’t have that elite speed to have limitless potential.

Vince Helmuth
Floor: 4 Ceiling:3
Again, enrolling early can only help with floor level. A fullback can only have so much potential for greatness.

Dave Molk
Floor: 4 Ceiling:2
He has a lot of the qualities you look for in an offensive lineman, but doesn’t have the ideal height required of high-potential guys.

Michael Williams
Floor:4 Ceiling:4
Fairly polished, not an elite physical specimen.

Ryan VanBergen
Floor:2 Ceiling:4
He could be really good, or he could be Pat Massey.

Toney Clemons
Floor:2 Ceiling:5
Outstanding athlete, but raw, raw, raw as a receiver.

Steve Watson
Floor:5 Ceiling:1
Not a great athlete, but he comes in very polished as a coach’s son.

Martell Webb
Floor:2 Ceiling:5
He has to learn two positions, and find his role, but he has the physical tools to be a great tight end OR receiver.

James Rogers
Floor:1 Ceiling:4
Seems to be a much more natural safety than receiver, but in terms of position skills, he is rather raw.

Brandon Herron
Floor:1 Ceiling:5
An elite physical specimen who couldn’t really translate his skills into results on the field in high school.

J.R. Hemingway
Floor:4 Ceiling:3
Doesn’t possess great top-top speed, but has good hands, and could pan out to be another Jason Avant-like player.

Zion Babb
Floor:1 Ceiling:5
A great athlete, but he will probably be moved to defensive back, which he wil have to learn as it is not his favored position.

Austin Panter
Floor:4 Ceiling:3
Already playing college (of the junior variety) ball, I’d be surprised if he isn’t well polished, but he doesn’t seem like an off-the-charts athlete.

Marell Evans
Floor:1 Ceiling:4
Another guy who is switching positions (high school safety, college WLB). Can he make the necessary adjustments to be a good one?

Artis Chambers
Floor:2 Ceiling:3
Another non-elite athlete who can hopefully contribute. Floor bumped up 1 point for early enrollment.

Troy Woolfolk
Floor:1 Ceiling:5
Fast fast fast, but is he going to be able to improve his pure cover-corner skills enough to turn that potential into results?

Avery Horn
Floor:2 Ceiling:5
Fast fast fast, but is he going to be able to improve his pure RB skills enough to turn that potential into results?

Mark Huyge
Floor:1 Ceiling:5
Such a project player, you have to think he has great upside to be going to a top-notch football school like Michigan.

Renaldo Sagesse
Floor:1 Ceiling:4
Canadian guys always seem to have a tough time adjusting. He has good measurables for the position, though.

Obviously most of the guys we missed out on are going to be 5-5 guys, though I’d peg Rojo os a Floor:4 Ceiling:6 guy, with off the chart potential.

Posted under Recruiting

No in-depth info on the signees here, but Michigan did manage to score 20 Letters-of-Intent signed, and the top class in the Big 10.

Rankings are according to Scout. Numbers in parentheses are position rankings.

5* TX QB (2) Ryan Mallett (enrolled)
5* CA CB (4) Donovan Warren
4* MI FB (1) Vince Helmuth (enrolled)
4* IL C (3) Dave Molk
4* CA S (5) Michael Williams
4* MI DE (8) Ryan VanBergen
4* PA WR (10) Toney Clemons
4* CO TE (15) Steve Watson
4* MI TE (17) Martell Webb
4* MI S (17) James Rogers
4* TX SLB (18) Brandon Herron
4* SC WR (26) J.R. Hemingway
4* CA WR (55) Zion Babb
4* KS MLB (JuCo) Austin Panter (enrolled)
3* VA WLB (29) Marell Evans
3* IN S (34) Artis Chambers (enrolled)
3* IN CB (44) Troy Woolfolk
3* CA RB (77) Avery Horn
2* MI OT (33 C) Mark Huyge
2* QC DT (NR) Renaldo Sagesse

Of note: Martell Webb was originally ranked ahead of Steve Watson, and will play both TE and WR. Troy Woolfolk is a legacy recruit (son of Butch Woolfolk), and he and Herron attended the same school, Sugarland Dulles, where a top junior WR (Daryll Stonum) is also a Michigan target. Mark Huyge is ranked as a Center, though he is obviously a tackle project player for Michigan.

Recruits by state:

MI: 5
CA: 4
TX: 3
CO, IL, IN, KS, PA, QC, SC, VA: 1 each

Posted under Recruiting

… It’s on to Cissoko. Here’s someone who’s MAN enough to announce his early commitments to the world. Welcome aboard, Boubacar, I hope you show more class than your fellow early commits.

Posted under Recruiting

However, especially with regards to Warren, this one ain’t over yet…

Posted under Recruiting

Until everything shakes out, I unfortunately will not be posting about it. A little overzealousness in reporting on sensitive recruiting information can do nothing but hurt the program.

Posted under Recruiting

DOOM

Posted under Misc.

…or lack thereof. So far, the only things we know are that the EMU game will be moved into the Oct. 6 spot, leaving the bye week on the first week of the season. Who is going to fill in that spot? Not Vanderbilt. Thus far, nothing official has been stated since the Vanderbilt attempt was apparently quashed, though the rumor is Stanford might fit that spot (keep in mind Jim Harbaugh is their new HC).

Who would I like to see fill that spot? So glad you asked. Since Bill Martin has deluded himself into thinking that Michigan needs eight home games to not go bankrupt (we just barely survived this year, of course), it will have to be someone who won’t require a straight up home-and-home. Let’s ignore the fact that a big-time opponent would deserve a night game in AA (another thing Martin refuses to do, though we won’t get into that), and bring in more money than your standard MAC-level opponent, on top of getting more exposure (national TV, etc.), to follow the framework that Mr. Martin has so graciously provided us. He probably wouldn’t go for a 2-for-1 setup either, but for the purpose of argument, I’ll allow it.

Among teams that wouldn’t require a straight-up home & home are mid-to-lower-level BCS conference teams (not as far as rank in their conference, but overall “prestige” to cop a term from EA Sports), or non-BCS opponents. I’d prefer the best choices among this pool.

Wishlist:
1) Rutgers – Team on the rise, probable 2-for-1.
2) South Carolina – SEC team, beatable but decent, 2-for-1.
3) Boise State – They’ll be good again, 2-for-1.
4) Clemson – Good for most of last year, likely 2-for-1.
5) Cincinnati – Could be much better with Kelly, we could beat him twice in a row. Money transaction.
6) Stanford – Harbaugh, etc. Probably money transaction only.
7) TCU – decent team, bowl winners in ’06, money transaction.
8) San Jose State – Good team, up-and-coming, money transaction.

Allow me to cry while I realize that we will probably play a MAC team, and probably not even a good one.

Posted under Misc.

With signing day just a week away, Michigan’s final class is far from wrapped up. With 18 Commits, Michigan is still pursuing 5 targets heavily, though don’t expect them to land all 5.

Ronald Johnson – RoJo visited Florida this weekend, and Urban Meyer is in his home today. He’ll decide between UM, UF, OSU, MSU and USC at his church on Sunday. Chances of landing Johnson still look good.

Jerimy Finch – After his commitment switch to Indiana (and shortly thereafter, a softening of his Indiana commit), Finch visited Florida this weekend as well. Michigan has still been recruiting him, but don’t expect them to land Finch.

Renaldo Sagesse – An Illinois DT commitment from Quebec, Michigan has been coming on hard to Renaldo lately. Michigan and Illinois both have in-home visits this week, but he did promise Ron Zook his signature, and that will weigh in his decision.

Rashad Mason – Mason is interested in Michigan, Clemson, and a bunch of crappy SEC/ACC schools that can offer him a lot of playing time. From the way he talks, it seems like UM and Ole Miss (footbaw) are his two favorites, with a pending Clemson official visit.

Donovan Warren – The 5-star defensive back from Long Beach Poly has long been thought to be a USC lock. The allure of playing time at UCLA and UM are keeping them in the hunt, and he may visit Ann Arbor tomorrow with his dad (who has loved UM all along).

It looks like chances are good for Rojo, increasing for Warren, around 50% for Sagesse and Mason, and not so good for Finch. After the recruiting class is wrapped up, the prognostications for next year, the NFL Draft, etc. will begin.

Posted under Recruiting