The football program at a big-time Division I University is a multi-faceted entity, and it requires many changes to individual aspects in order to radically change the program as a whole. Improvement can be measured in terms of wins, merchandise, exposure, academic achievement, even recruiting rankings, but most accurately by some sort of aggregation of these things. The Michigan football program, while still the nation’s winningest of all time, has room for improvement. To move in a direction of positivity and modernity, I propose the following changes. Some of them apply to the athletic department on the whole.

• Upgrade/update the spring game.
• Create a new website (separate from MGoBlue) about Michigan’s facilities. People (including recruits in every sport) care about the facilities at schools. A virtual tour of every facility for practicing, competing, or studying would be entertaining and enlightening. You have the facilities, so make a well-designed website to brag about them. Model it after the Arkansas version of same.
• Speaking of websites, scrap the new MGoBlue. It looks terrible and is a pain in the ass to maneuver. Cloning the (terrible) layouts of CSTV sites was an awful idea. The new video, audio, and photo items are great, but there had to have been a better way to integrate them into the site.
• Encourage more media exposure. With the Rich Rodriguez regime, this has improved a great deal. Rod has been all over ESPN and the local media, and even Mike Barwis is getting interviewed by Brice Feldman. Still, encourage more of this. The all-access feature on College Football Live was a great start. Being more friendly to the media (local and national) means that the media will be more friendly back to you.
• Encourage walkons. Like media exposure, Rodriguez has already started doing this. Like Bo Pelini’s plan to revive Nebraska football, having homegrown walkons will help the team because they are proud to be Wolverines. Take kids from Michigan and Ohio especially, but also any other student who can make the cut. If kids would rather walk on at Michigan than get a scholarship at Michigan State, it would put a smile on my face.
• At least try for a night game. If it means the old alumni won’t come, well… that may not necessarily be a bad thing.
• Give out free maize shirts to fans during maize out games. A sponsor will undoubtedly cover the entire cost, and the “special event” game will no longer look like crap.
• Like Beilein’s meeting with the Maize Rage to brainstorm ideas, have Rod (along with Bill Martin, Bruce Madej, even Marty Bodnar) meet with students for the same purpose. I am not the only person with these sorts of ideas, let the other ones come out.
• Perhaps most importantly (and, unfortunately, least under our control), continue beating Notre Dame and Michigan State, and start beating Ohio State. On top of bragging rights and prestige, this helps recruiting. Enough said.

This is just a little collection of some ideas that didn’t take me more than five minutes to come up with. If you have any of your own, drop them in the comments.

Posted under Coaching

After Braylon Edwards stated yesterday in an ESPN chat that Rich Rodriguez had decided to give the #1 jersey to an incoming freshman – who wasn’t a wide receiver (and later clarified on the Mike Tirico Show that it is in fact a defensive back – people are telling me it’s JT Floyd), Michigan fans seemed to be clearly split on the issue.

Jared Kent West Union IA: What are your thoughts on the new MICHIGAN regime.
Braylon Edwards: I am already mad that Rich Rod because he gave the No.1 jersey to someone other than a WR, which is breaking tradition. But I think he is a great coach and will lead Michigan to a turnaround.

It is important to note here that Braylon is throwing his support behind Rodriguez, and it is merely one issue that the two disagree on (no pun intended). Braylon even said on the Tirico show that he planned to call Rodriguez and voice his displeasure/suggestion.

Background on the #1
Who has worn the jersey before? Paul Goebel wore it waaay back in the day (when “wide receivers” didn’t exist – he was a “forward pass receiving end” on offense), and since then, fellow Wolverines Anthony Carter, Derrick Alexander, David Terrell, and Braylon Edwards have followed in Goebel’s footsteps and earned All-American honors.

Until his junior year, Edwards wore the #80 jersey. He believed that, as a very good receiver, he should be able to wear the #1. When Edwards approached Lloyd Carr with this request, he was told that he would have to earn the number. Braylon, who had previously had a reputation as a less-than-stellar effort player and far from a workout warrior, put in the time in the weight room, and became the player that Carr believed he could be. The motivational tactic paid off, and Lloyd gave Braylon the #1 jersey. Stellar junior and senior years showed that he had indeed learned his lesson, and made him into the #3 overall pick in the NFL draft. It is plain to see why the #1 holds a special place in Braylon’s heart.

Upon his graduation, Braylon began to establish what has become a fairly robust charity, known as the Braylon Edwards Foundation. Since Edwards was told by Lloyd he had to earn the right to wear the #1 jersey at Michigan, the number meant something special. As part of the BEF, Edwards endowed a scholarship for the wearer of the #1 jersey at Michigan:

The Scholarship Endowment for the University of Michigan’s No. 1 football jersey was announced in April 2006. The charitable gift provides support to a student/athlete wearing the No. 1 football jersey. The scholarship endowment will recognize future athletes who demonstrate character and commitment both on and off the field. Athletes wearing the No. 1 jersey are selected by U-M’s coaching staff.

When he gave the original endowment, Edwards undoubtedly believed that the tradition of #1 going to a wide receiver would be continued. Rich Rodriguez was either unaware of this, or didn’t care about it.

The #1 should go to whomever asks for it
This camp of fans believes that Michigan should not reserve the #1 jersey for anything special, and that any player who asks for it should receive the uno. Since nobody had to earn the jersey before Braylon, there was no real tradition before him, despite the illustrious gentlemen who preceded him.

Since Rodriguez and his staff are trying to turn around a program that has been slowly slipping from the forefront of American consciousness, they should reserve the right to do whatever they so choose with any number. They will be able to establish their own traditions.

The #1 should be reserved
This bloc wants the #1 to continue being something special, going to any transcendent Michigan receiver. While a defensive back may want the jersey, he should be told that he is out of luck, and to pick a different number. Tradition is one of the aspects that sets college football apart from almost every other sport, and even if one does not exist yet (as those other fans suggest), it should be established.

My Take
I believe, in this particular instance and overall, that the #1 jersey should be reserved for a wide receiver. Braylon has expressed displeasure with granting it to a different position, and what is the benefit of alienating one of the highest-profile Wolverines in the NFL (arguably 2nd behind Tom Brady)? Overall, I think that establishing traditions like reserving #1 for a great wide receiver, or #2 for a great defensive back (which has not been done, but I think should be in honor of Woodson) can only help the program. It can restore some mystique that has perhaps been lost from the Michigan program, and can be used as a major recruiting tool.

This also leads me to the topic of retiring numbers. I think it is appropriate for Michael Jordan’s number to be retired from the Chicago Bulls, and certainly for Jackie Robinson’s #42 to be retired throughout baseball. However, I think that college sports are not served by retiring numbers. Establishing tradition and continuing said traditions (as mentioned above) give personality to schools like Michigan (whose prestige is largely based upon tradition), and can help with recruiting, as players undoubtedly believe they can carry on the tradition (or at least want to try). While the Wistert Brothers did great things at the University of Michigan, it may be disrespectful to prevent anyone from trying to follow in their tradition. And what high-profile running back recruit wouldn’t want to follow in the footsteps of Old 98 (which would be an awesome number for a tailback to have in the modern game).

In the end, I guess I’m a traditionalist (whether that be continuing old ones, starting new ones, or supporting fledgling ones). Leave the #1 to a wide receiver. As someone said to me yesterday, “Keeping and establishing traditions cost nothing. Eliminating them can destroy your program.”

Posted under Analysis, Coaching

The Board. A few guys on the board attended the Tuscaloosa Nike Combine.

Added:
FL S Vladimir Emilien. He has received a Michigan offer, but he is another of those guys Ohio State fans are supremely confident about.
LA OL Chris Faulk. Michigan offer. Have to assume LSU is leading. He also plays discus in track.
GA LB Devekeyan Lattimore. He has received a Michigan offer.

New Information:
VA RB Tavon Austin. Link to about 30,000 videos.
FL S Jonathan Scott high jumps.
OH DE Davon Custis. He is fast for a DE.
TN OL Alex Bullard. He is going to cut to 5 schools soon, with the first 3 being ND, Tenn, and Florida. Can UM be one of the last two?
LA WR Rueben Randle. Spring fluff.
PA CB Corey Brown. If he gets an OSU offer, expect them to be the favorite.

Etc.: 2008’s Kevin Koger is pretty fast for a guy his size. Barwis fluff from Detroit News.

Posted under Recruiting

Good question left in the comments by Max:

Will the aggregate transition of both new players and a new system make for a “whole is less than the sum of the parts” situation?

That is to say, while I’m sure the compounded issues will make for a more difficult transition than if the Wolverines had to endure only one or the other, perhaps the fact that the players are indeed “new” will help speed up the implementation of the new schemes.

Would you rather have Chad Henne step into the new offense after 4 years of being groomed in the old system, or Steven Threet (I won’t use Feagin as an example since it’s not really a fair comparison) take the reigns having not played a snap of college football in any other system? Henne is likely still the best bet, but the point is that the playing field is shifted in Threet’s favor. Add Feagin into the equation and I think it becomes a dilemma that may even compel one to lean toward him and Threet.

While congruent comparisons are harder to draw with Mario Manningham, Adrian Arrington, and Mike Hart as their respective positions are more grounded in athleticism, they can still nonetheless be made.

I’ll start with the easiest part of this question, which also happens to be the least important. In terms of other skill position players, I don’t think the transition will have a huge effect. Wide receivers will still have to run routes (and many of the same ones). Players who have spent 2-3 years not having to block (that much) might resent that they now have to do so, and half-ass it, but the new scheme itself is not impeded by the fact that they were taught by other people before. Same thing with running backs, but they will be even better off. They have been learning a zone run scheme for the past two years, so they will be continuing to do that, with the patience, vision, and other skills they have learned over the past couple years. As a bonus, they still have the same position coach.

Moving along, offensive linemen might have to do a little deprogramming before they can learn the new system (meaning that incoming freshmen may be slightly better off because they don’t have to unlearn anything – though they’ll still be behind in terms of college conditioning programs). An offensive lineman who has, for example, spent three years knowing that his pass-protection first move will be X may take some time to stop doing X instinctually, and remember (through actual memory or muscle memory via repetition) to do Y instead. Same thing with run blocking. However, it can be said that, in general, pass blocking techniques and schemes aren’t going to be vastly different from each other, and as far as run blocking, the linemen have been learning a zone scheme for the past two years. The returning guys might need to unlearn a few things, but they will also still start ahead of the incomers (who have to unlearn some of their high school schemes, anyway).

As far as QBs, this may be the area where your idea makes the most sense (and you seem to agree, as that was the primary framework in which you asked it). If we’re going to start with all things equal, we would have to be talking about the same quarterback, since Steve Threet and Chad Henne have different natural skill sets and learning ability (not that I’m implying Henne is any smarter than Threet or vice versa, just that it’s unlikely they are of the exact same intelligence – football or otherwise). So, we will start with a redshirt freshman Chad Henne who has learned under the tutelage of Scot Loeffler for one year (and, if we’re nitpicking, GT’s terrible QBs coach for one spring (not that I know anything about GT’s QB coach other than that he must be terrible if Reggie Ball was able to start at Tech)), and a veteran Chad Henne, who has learned under Loeffler for four years, and see what we end up with.

I think I would still have the veteran Chad Henne, and have to deprogram him a little bit. First, there are some things that will apply to a quarterback, regardless of system. As long as he is able to memorize plays, he will be able to make the right read. Senior Chad Henne will invariably be better at recognizing coverages, and knowing which receiver to hit in said coverage, than Redshirt Freshman Chad Henne. In the passing game at least, SCH is definitely preferred. Of course, there are other aspects to quarterbacking. Having the confidence to ride out fakes, and being acquainted with the speed of the college game both benefit SCH over RFCH.

However, there is some unlearning to do that will favor RFCH. The footwork in the system is likely to be completely different, and SCH will have to forget all the old stuff if he wants to succeed. This is similar to the situation of the O-linemen. Also, SCH will be unfamiliar with reading the DE on zone-read plays (which we all know are a very important part of the RichRod offense). RFCH might have to adjust to the speed of DEs at the college level, but he won’t be trying to wrap his mind (already filled with other information) around something completely new.

In all, I think it is preferable to have veteran players, regardless of whether you are teaching an entirely new system or not. While there is some unlearning to do, they are also more used to the process of learning football things than new players would have. They might make a couple mistakes by accidentally replicating the old system, but is that really any worse than a mistake of completely not knowing what you have to do? Also, there is the conditioning issue. Even if Michigan’s old S&C regime was outdated, it was a college training program (and returning players have also had Barwis’s winter program as well). Under almost any circumstances (i.e. you are not trying to re-teach a quarterback with the intellect of Anthony Morelli), you’d take the veterans. Alas, Michigan doesn’t have that choice at many positions (especially quarterback), and will be starting young(er) guys almost all over the field.

Posted under Coaching, Personnel

I’ve come to realize that the commitment pages aren’t always updated by the end of the week, so if you’re a fan of a school that doesn’t get much notice, drop any commitments your team might get in the comments.

Action since last rankings:
4-19-08 Minnesota gains commitment from Victor Keise
4-24-08 Northwestern gains commitment from Mike Trumpy.
4-28-08 Iowa gains commitment from Brad Rogers. Ohio State gains commitment from Corey Linsley.
4-29-08 Michigan gains commitment from Shavodrick Beaver. Penn State gains commitment from Malcolm Willis.
4-30-08 Ohio State gains commitment from Zach Boren. Penn State gains commitment from Mark Arcidiacono.
5-1-08 Scout unveils new set of rankings, changing EVERYTHING.

New Rankings:

Ohio State remains the class of the conference, as they pick up more instate players. The lower ranking isn’t something to worry about as linemen are always the most difficult to project. Boren’s commitment is more important to the Bucks in that it meant they got his older brother as well. A couple guys picked up their fourth star (Linsley, Wood), and one lost his (Chris Fields, who was expected to be one of the top players in Ohio).

Michigan adds another 4-star QB in Beaver. Bell will likely end up as high 3-star, Jones and Toussaint have been ranked. Kevin Newsome moves up to 5-star (deservedly).

No movement since the last rankings, but they got pounded by Scout’s reevaluations, losing their only 5-star rating (in Baker).

Losing Melvin Fellows wasn’t enough to drop the Illini below a couple teams with more commits.

Minnesota picks up a mid-range (from OMG SEC Speed Territory) wideout, and sneaks past Wisconsin in the rankings. Moses Alipate moves up to 4-star.

Despite new commits, JoePa is still death to Penn State’s ability to recruit top players. Arcidiacono actually had some pretty good offers, albeit from schools that offer anyone with a pulse (Notre Dame and Florida).

No movement. Their guys aren’t highly ranked, but Wisconsin develops linemen like it’s their job (side note: it is, in fact, their job).

A new commit for Northwestern.

Their only commit comes from one of the least important positions on the field. Huzzah!

T-10th – Indiana, Purdue (0 commits)

Posted under Recruiting

RJ asks:

How does the class look so far compared to most years at this point?

and fellow commenter Max answered:

RJ, at roughly this point in recent years (Stars are per Scout):

’03 – No commits (First was 4-star Jake Long on July 10, 2004)

’04 – 4-star (WR) Morgan Trent committed in February 2003. After that, the first big push was in mid-June, when the Wolverines got verbals from 4-stars Max Martin, Will Johnson, and Roger Allison; 3-stars Chris Rogers, Charles Stewart, and Mike Hart.

’05 – September 2003 commit from 5-star Kevin Grady. As of May 11, 2004, commits included Grady; 4-stars Justin Schifano, Mario Manningham, and Laterryal Savoy.

’06 – As of May 13, 2007, commits included 5-stars Brandon Graham and Justin Boren.

’07 – As of May 5, 2006, commits included 5-star Ryan Mallet; 4-stars Vince Helmuth, Ryan Van Bergen, Martell Webb; 3-star Artis Chambers.

’08 – As of May 17, 2007, commits included 5-star Boubacar Cissoko; 4-stars Dann O’Neill, Elliot Mealer, and Kurt Wermers.

Strictly speaking, at this point (May 2nd), Michigan had only Trent in his year, all but Savoy in ’05, just Graham in ’06, all but Webb and Chambers in ’07, and all but Wermers this past year. For comparison, Michigan currently has the following players committed:

• 5-star William Campbell
• 5-star Kevin Newsome
• 4-star Justin Turner
• 4-star Teric Jones
• 4-star Shavodrick Beaver
• 3-star Fitzgerald Toussaint
• unranked Isaiah Bell

However, it’s not the strict numbers game that had people worried (until recently), but the class compared to others, including rivals. Michigan State had a very early start to the recruiting class this year, and Michigan’s looked poor in comparison (though very good overall). Michigan State has never had more than one commit at this time in the past 6 recruiting classes.

This year (and perhaps it’s a long-term trend) many prospects (including top guys – 20 of Scout’s 50 5-stars) are committing early. This hurts teams in transition years – such as Michigan – because they have catching up to do in various other areas before they can worry about recruiting ’09 kids. However, with the recent batch of commitments, Michigan is back at pace for the 2009 recruiting class.

Posted under Mail Bag, Recruiting

The Board. One formatting note: I changed players’ names to links, so if you want to see previous updates involving a particular player, just click on his name in the main board. Soon I will remove a lot of prospects whom I don’t see mutual Michigan interest with.

Moved to committed:
Shavodrick Beaver. Commitment article from local paper.

Added:
FL RB Jaamal Berry. He has a Michigan offer, though rumors say I should be ready to remove him soon because he will commit to the Bucks.

New Information:
MN WR Fritz Rock. He has apparently had his Minnesota offer pulled. He is a candidate for removal in the not-so-distant future.
SC DE Chris Bonds plans to take a Michigan official visit, and will decide around Christmas. He is also Adam Patterson’s HS teammate, which I guess might be obvious, but I hadn’t realized until just now.
OH OL Chris Freeman. He is still wide open, and will visit LSU this month.
MI WR Cameron Gordon. Fluff.

Removed:
A bunch of QB recruits who aren’t guys that Michigan would likely take as the third guy in a class, and didn’t have offers yet (and would be unlikely to move to other positions).
FL QB Eugene Smith
IN QB Morgan Newton
IN QB Jordan Luallen
MS QB Clayton Moore
TX QB Kolby Gray
IL QB Darwin Rogers
MO RB Ronnie Wingo. No mention of mutual interest in any articles.
Dangerously close to removing MI TE Reid Fragel, who Michigan only wants at OT, and apparently wants to stay at TE.

Etc.:
Nice Rivals video piece on the QB commits. Freep article on same. Also from Rivals: article on Nike camp, featuring lots of UM recruits.

Posted under Recruiting

Coming into the 2009 recruiting season, the biggest need for Rich Rodriguez was the quarterback position. With a few QBs on the 2008 roster, but only one being a dual-threat who is capable of running his system effectively, he needed to get at least one run-pass signal caller, and preferably more. With a highly-ranked QB in Kevin Newsome, and now a second player in Shavodrick Beaver, the quarterback position is solidified, and it could become a strength if Tate Forcier were to become a Wolverine as well. Coming into the Michigan job, Roriguez also needed several slot receivers, and has seemingly recruited 7,000 of them in his time as a headman in Ann Arbor.

So with issue #1 taken care of, what is left?

The most pressing need becomes defensive ends. While most Michigan fans were banking on Detroit King’s Nick Perry to become a Wolverine, Perry had plans of his own, turning to the more attractive depth chart at USC. This left Michigan with slim pickins behind their starters, one of whom (Tim Jamison) is graduating, and the other (Brandon Graham) a potential early entry candidate for the NFL. Michigan will need players to fill this void, and as of right now, it doesn’t seem like they have a ton of great options.

The next main issue that needs to be addressed is the entire defensive backfield, but particularly safety (when was the last time Michigan landed a bigtime safety?). Isaiah Bell is a pretty speedy guy at safety (he returns kicks for his high school team), and if he doesn’t bulk up and become a linebacker, he can hopefully maintain his speed in the backfield. Justin Turner can either be a very speedy safety, or a pretty big corner (for now, I think he is more likely to stay at corner).

The biggest need once safety is addressed is (finally) something on offense. The line has been hit hard by graduation and defections. Though there is a large class coming in, Rich Rodriguez has said he likes to have 16 O-linemen on the roster, and there are currently only 14, which leaves room for 2, and possibly more if Rich Rodriguez can land some top guys.

Posted under Personnel, Recruiting

I heard about the Bryce McNeal MySpace yesterday during the day, and was like “ok, whatever. Recruits’ Myspace pages are not ‘news’.” Then, last night, I received a tip from a reader that McNeal was indeed going to commit today. I told him thanks and I’d wait until it hit something a little more mainstream (while figuring that the teaser I posted was vague enough that it could refer to anyone).

This morning when I woke up, I had several e-mails telling me that MGoBlog was reporting that McNeal was a commit. With no front page news on either pay site, I was skeptical, but decided it was worth running. I changed the article to be entirely speculative about everything other than McNeal’s telling of Facebook/MySpace friends (which did, in fact, happen), and run the story.

When the story turned out to not be true, instead of removing a post (and the associated comments), I decided to give an update that the information within it had been discredited by sources with much more inside information than I have (Tom Beaver of GoBlueWolverine). I figured this would be in the best interest of the kid, and I would sacrifice not giving premium information (which the non-commitment ironically classified at the time) for the sake of the athletes in question. I’d rather be a jerk for a couple days than a jerk who potentially ruined a kid’s chance at going to the school he wants.

For anyone who is mad that I misled them, or about anything else, I apologize, and will continue doing my best to maintain the journalistic integrity of Varsity Blue.

Posted under Recruiting

Note: At this point, still a rumor on an internet, seeking confirmation. Update 9:30AM: According to GBW’s Tom Beaver, McNeal has not committed.

Minnesota WR Bryce McNeal (6-1, 180, 4.46) has apparently told friends he intends to give Rich Rodriguez his pledge to become a Michigan Wolverine. If this does indeed come to fruition, “B-Meezy” becomes the eighth member of the 2009 recruiting class. McNeal is an outside receiver with enough wiggle and speed to spend some time in the slot (physically reminiscent of a slightly taller, maybe shiftier, Mario Manningham).

Recruiting Notes
Michigan fans started following Bryce McNeal’s recruitment heavily when he was offered the weekend of St. Patrick’s Day. He originally said he had planned to announce his decision at the Army All-American game, to which he has been invited, but the opportunity at Michigan was too much for him to pass up. McNeal visited Michigan on Monday, March 24th on his way home from the Akron 7-on-7 camp. On March 25th, he told GopherHole that he had a Top-5, but the only schools that he was going to reveal from it were Michigan and Minnesota. At this time, it was assumed that Michigan was his leader, with Minnesota in second. Though he didn’t manage to make it to Ann Arbor for Michigan’s spring game, he had planned to visit the next weekend (which also fell through). McNeal waited to make his decision until Michigan had a quarterback locked up for 2009, and when they got the top player on their board (and another good prospect at the position), McNeal was apparently ready to commit to Michigan.

Player Notes
In 2007 he had 33 receptions for 670 yards and 8 touchdowns at Breck high school, where the base offense was a version of the spread that he will be running at Michigan. He has also gotten some attention for track, but it is unknown whether he will try to compete in both sports in college. He is a speedster with good hands, though he will have to add some muscle to compete at the Division-I level. McNeal was invited to attend the Army National Junior Combine in January, where was named to the all-combine first team. Despite this acclaim, he was listed as a three-star player on both sites, but his ranking went up to more reasonable levels after the latest round of re-rankings from each site.

Video

Miscellany
One more interesting fact about McNeal is that his girlfriend, Tayler Hill, is a basketball prospect. McNeal has hinted in his interviews that the two might like to attend school together, but women’s hoops recruiting info is so (oddly) hard to find that I haven’t been able to unearth whether she has interest in Michigan or not. She is a top prospect, and a commitment would help out Michigan’s hoops team greatly. That said, I’d be surprised if one of the top prospects would pick a school that can’t even win the NIT (at least they can get there. ZING!).

Posted under Recruiting