Michael Brewster, he of the Ohio State Buckeye Unofficial Recruiting Team, has assembled a group of his friends called the “Brew Crew.” This seems a little douchey, but harmless, right? The latest word from Jeannete, PA, however, is that three members of said OSBURT (Brewster, JB Shugarts, and not-yet-enrolled Jacob Stoneburner) are in attendance at one Terrelle Pryor’s basketball game. This, in itself, sounds like a great way for NCAA violations to occur.

Let’s learn some rules!

13.02.5 Enrolled Student-Athlete. An enrolled student-athlete is an individual whose enrollment was solicited by a member of the athletics staff or other representative of athletics interests with a view toward the student’s ultimate participation in the intercollegiate athletics program. Any other student becomes a student athlete only when the student reports for an intercollegiate squad that is under the jurisdiction of the athletics department.

13.02.5.1 Permissible Recruitment Activities for Enrolled Student-Athletes.
(a) Off-campus contacts. Off-campus, in-person recruiting contacts that are unavoidable incidental contacts between enrolled student-athletes (or other enrolled students) and a prospective student-athlete are permissible if such contacts do not occur at the direction of a coaching staff member

(d) Unavoidable incidental contact. If unavoidable incidental contact occurs between a student-athlete and a prospective student-athlete (even at the prospective student-athlete’s high school), such contact is permissible, provided the institution had no prior knowledge of the occurrence of the contact.

Certainly there is a very clear violation of the spirit of the law if not the letter. It’s hardly “unavoidable” or “incidental” for the players to drive 3 and a half hours from Columbus to Jeannette. Where they got the idea and means to carry it out are questionable, but nothing could ever be proven here.

Then, an insider from OSU Scout affiliate BuckeyeSports.com posted the following:

“They were greeted by high fives and hugs”

When it is pointed out that this would take the players into far less murky waters and straight into the realm of “very clear rules violation,” the sentence was removed from the premium board.

The Pryor recruitment gets sketchier and sketchier. The OSU enrolled recruits, were they as confident as Buckeye insiders claim to be, would likely not be pulling out all the last-ditch efforts they could. The further this recruitment drags on, the less I want Pryor. Great player though he may be, there seems to be a lot of smoke in the air for there to be no fire.

Posted under Recruiting

On Saturday, you may recall that I took offense to the very poorly-written article appearing on the Free Press website, written by one James Jahnke. I e-mailed my response to Jahnke, and he was kind enough to to provide a prompt reply:

Thanks for the note, Tim.

I’m at work right now and don’t have time to read that post on the blog. (I did skim it, however. Embarrassed to be in the same state? Ouch.) But I’m guessing it says pretty much what all of my other e-mailers have been saying.

You should know that I was asked by the Freep Web editor to write that column as a counterpoint to the why-Pryor-should-go-to-Michigan column that ran on the site a few days earlier. I reckon that if the site editors properly packaged them as a point-counterpoint, the vitriol would have been reduced a little. Instead, people think I wrote that on my own initiative, which isn’t true in the least.

Anyway, I regret doing it for several reasons. First, I’m not a columnist. I’m a copy editor. In hindsight, to ask a copy editor to write a column during a 30-minute break in his “normal” shift was unfair. It prevented me from putting sufficient thought into my points and crafting them into a suitable fashion. I admit that the column, as it ran, was shallow. Oh, well. I won’t make such a mistake in the future.

Hope your blood pressure isn’t off-the-charts on account of me,
JJ

He’s mostly just making excuses (but what else can he do with such a bad article?), but fairly straightforward, and I certainly appreciate that he took the time to respond.

Posted under Recruiting

Here’s the interview:

Here are some comments from the always-classy WVU fans, who are clearly stalking Rich Rodriguez, seeing as how this video hasn’t been linked anywhere yet (the comments have been removed due to profanity and lack of class, the standard WVU responses):

I hope his son grows up to be a gay exotic dancer. With a name like Rhett, he’s well on his way. Did I say his wife’s skin looks like leather?

“I plan on being here for a long time.” – WHAT A JOKE!

You realize how he throws promises out like bubble screens. He just PROMISED these 2 douchebags that meatchicken would score another goal. ROD THE FRAUD strikes again!!!!!!!!!!!!

Enjoy the honeymoon dickrod. It won’t last long.

yea dick rod you to face bitch

LETS GO MOUNTAINEERS

O-H-I-O MUTHERFUCKERS

I’m beginning to learn that WVU fans are about as classless as it comes.

Posted under Hockey, Video

Detroit Free Press writer James Jahnke claims it is in Terrelle Pryor’s best interest to sign with Ohio State.

Jahnke makes one key assumption in his argument: The #1 priority for Terrelle Pryor is making it to the NFL. Nothing else even matters (I think we’re begin to see wherein lies the stupidity of this column). He ignores several other factors, such as immediate playing time (which he admits is in Michigan’s favor), and friendship with other commits (which he states to be in Ohio State’s favor). By the way, every other school is eliminated from contention by Jahnke (while this may be the general consensus in the recruiting world, completely omitting other options – such as Oregon and Duke – is vastly oversimplifying the problem).

Terrelle Pryor is a Vince Young-like talent, and the consensus #1 player in the country (ESPN’s consistently terrible rankings notwithstanding). Jahnke believes that Ohio State is the correct choice for Pryor, because Michigan will not be able to adequately prepare him for the NFL.

He’s a quarterback in the mold of Vince Young, tall and mobile. Given the depleted state of the Wolverines’ depth chart, the Jeannette, Pa., product would be the first-stringer the moment he signed on the dotted line…. Rich Rodriguez’s zone-read offense is tailor-made for Pryor. But what will that do for him at the next level? West Virginia quarterback Pat White – Rodriguez’s former pupil — is a terrific college player, but his best bet for an NFL future is as a cornerback or kick returner. Granted, Pryor has better physical tools than White. But NFL teams will be skeptical of a QB coming out of a zone-read offense, no matter how talented he is.

Let’s compare the talents of Vince Young (former NFL rookie of the year at quarterback) and Pat White (future NFL kick returner), and determine which one of the two is more like Terrelle Pryor (note: even Jahnke did not say “he’s a quarterback in the mold of Pat White” – despite trying to put him on the same level as White):

• Vince Young was 6’5″, 200, with a 4.4 dash time coming out of high school. Pat White was 6’2″, 180 (both rather generous), with a 4.5 dash time. Pryor is 6’6″, 225, 4.4 dash. Which one is he more like? (I’d vote for Young)
• Vince Young was the #1 recruit in the country his senior year, a five-star quarterback. Pat White was the #53 quarterback in the country, a two-star who attended West Virginia primarily because Rich Rodriguez was the only coach who promised him he’d play QB. Terrelle Pryor is the #1 recruit in the country, a five-star quarterback. (Young? check)
• Vince Young ran the zone-read in college. Pat White ran the zone-read in college. If he attends Michigan, Terrelle Pryor will run the zone-read in college. (OK, they’re all the same)

The talent level isn’t the only area where Jahnke is way off, however, it’s offensive style, as well. He states that Pat White rarely drops back, so Pryor’s game film for NFL scouts would be lacking. While it is true that Rodriguez’s scheme operates mostly out of the shotgun, there are some misrepresentations in this point as well. Rodriguez does have his quarterback drop back occasionally. In addition, Vince Young (drafted #3 overall) rarely dropped back in college. He ran a similar offense to what Michigan will be running in the near future. The final point on offensive scheme is the lack of downfield passing by West Virginia. This can easily be explained by talent. Vince Young’s arm != Pat White’s arm. #1 Quarterback recruit != Guy who was offered as a safety by every other school. Even still, Pat White’s long in the Fiesta bowl was 79 yards. Jahnke assumes that Ohio State’s offense is adaptable to adding the zone-read, while assuming that Michigan’s offense is not adaptable to anything but the zone-read.

The other advantage for a quarterback avoiding a straight-up zone-read offense is longevity. Every time Pryor runs the ball, he risks blowing out his knee. He would, of course, also run at OSU, but not as much as at U-M. You can get hurt in the pocket, too, but it’s much safer in there than out on the edge, trying to juke safeties and linebackers diving at your legs every play.

Prove it. Give me any study, ANY empirical evidence that shows quarterbacks are hurt more often outside the pocket than in it. Pat White’s sole injuries in 3 years at WVU are a case of turf toe and a broken thumb. Vince Young went 2.5 years at Texas without getting hurt once. Chad Henne, on the other hand, who only leaves the pocket at gunpoint, managed to shred a knee and a shoulder this year. Great analysis, Jim.

Jahnke’s final point is the fact that he doesn’t believe it is in Pryor’s best interest to start right away (ignoring the fact that this is one of the things Pryor is looking for in a school). It would serve Terrelle better to play spot duty behind Todd Boeckman than to start at Michigan. Never mind that the Wolverines also have other quarterbacks. Steven Threet, incumbent or not, was a four-star player, and currently the odds-on favorite to start next year – perhaps even if Pryor comes to Ann Arbor.

Is this how far sportswriting in America has fallen? Trying to ignore the facts and influence recruits to attend the school of your choosing? I’m embarrassed to be in the same STATE as James Jahnke, let alone the same profession. It’s no coincidence that a search for “Jahnke” on freep.com asks if I meant to type “junk.”

Posted under Recruiting

Not only will graduating seniors at UM not have the ability to graduate in the Big House, but the construction that is currently underway will also prevent Michigan from hosting a spring game in the nation’s largest football stadium, as well.

Fans of the Wolverines were excited to get their first look at the 2008 squad this spring, with a return to the tradition of hosting a spring game. Rodriguez’s West Virginia teams took part in the yearly tradition, and the Michigan headman was expected to have his new team face off in the Big House.

The unavailability of Michigan Stadium won’t necessarily preclude the Wolverines from having any spring game, however. There is still the possibility that Michigan could have their inaugural spring classic at Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions. For Field will be unavailable on April 19 and 26th, as Team Michigan of the AAFL will be playing home games on those dates, but the field is not in use on April 12th. The Michigan open spring practice (not game) took place April 14th last year.

The possibility of a spring game in Ford Field has both positive and negative aspects for the Michigan football program. In terms of negatives, this makes it significantly more difficult, if not impossible, for many students to attend the game. Additionally, it prevents recruits from being able to experience the Big House for the first time. On the other hand, a spring game in Detroit allows easier access for many (right on I-75), and since the previous spring practices weren’t too well attended, maybe the on-campus location wasn’t such a big deal in the first place. Additionally, those who were concerned about Rich Rodriguez’s ability to recruit Detroit may be comforted by the fact that his squad will be exposed to citizens of Motor City firsthand.

What do you think? Feel encouraged to comment.

Posted under Spring Coverage

Michigan’s change in the coaching department is not limited merely to the new headman, Rich Rodriguez, and his coaches, but Director of Weight Training Mike Barwis is now a Michigan man, bringing his support staff with him.

Blue Steel

Not only is Barwis’s philosophy different from outgoing S&C guru Mike Gittleson, but his equipment is as well. Rumors of Michigan’s purchase of $600,000 circulated shortly following Rodriguez’s introduction as UM’s head coach. Confirmation comes in the way of an auction, held this Sunday at Oosterbaan fieldhouse. The Michigan Athletic Department is selling off all of Schembechler Hall’s old gear.

Barwis is known as an intense motivator, who expects nothing less than the best from his players. Ryan Mundy, ex-Michigan and West Virginia YAC-ceding safety has experience in the programs of both Gittleson at Michigan and Barwis at West Virginia. Mundy thought Barwis’s program was much better:

As far as the strength and conditioning program is concerned, Mundy says West Virginia’s program is much more intense than Michigan’s. Other players that have transferred to West Virginia have said similar things in the past, explaining that at some other places the players coming into the program are physically bigger and more explosive. West Virginia develops it.

“Down here we do a lot of Olympic lifts – squats, power clings, hang clings and things like that – and I hadn’t done that type of stuff since high school,” Mundy said. “I had to get my body back used to doing those types of movements. As far as the practice down here we run after practice and we never ran after practice at Michigan.”

For a nearly-obsessive look at Mike Barwis, check out Go Blue Michigan Wolverine, and try to ignore the fact that he’s practically illiterate.

Posted under Coaching

Dean Hood’s WF Bio

Hood runs a 4-3 defense at Wake, and his teams have been successful comparative to their recruiting rankings, especially in the past two years. None of Hood’s defenses (or Wake’s teams, for that matter) have had a four-star recruit, let alone a five-star. Hood has taken mostly two-star recruits, with the occasional three-star, and turned them into not only respectable, but actually good units.

Wake’s 2007 team, after losing several starters off a great 2006 squad (including 3-star turned-NFLer John Abbate), was 27th in total defense, without facing any 1-AA teams to pump up the stats. 2006’s team was more lauded, but was actually worse, 45th in the nation in total defense.

One area in which Wake has excelled is forcing turnovers. Though turnovers are somewhat random occurrences, if a team consistently forces them, there has to be some schematic or style element that helps cause them (this is particularly true of interceptions, which is where Wake’s defense gets the majority of their takeaways). In 2006, the Deacons gained 31 turnovers, good for 10th in the nation. 2007’s team gained 35, 3rd in the nation.

These gains between 2006 and 2007 were made despite the team losing 6 starters on the defensive side of the ball. This includes John Abbate, an early entrant who led the team in tackles.

Posted under Coaching

Rodriguez’s staff is still being completed, but as of now we know (or assume) the following:

Offensive Staff
Coordinator/RB Coach Calvin Magee, QB Coach Rod Smith, and Line Coach Greg Frey are following Rodriguez from Morgantown to Ann Arbor. UM holdover Fred Jackson will also be on the offensive staff. West Virginia’s WR coach Tony Dews is still questionable, but those in the know expect him to come along. Magee will apparently step back from RB coaching duties, with Fred Jackson taking them over.

Defensive Staff
Coordinator Jeff Casteel has agreed to stay on Bill Stewart’s staff at West Virginia. Safety Coach Bruce Tall and Secondary Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Tony Gibson, however, are heading to Michigan. It is expected that Michigan’s DL Coach Stripling will be rehired, as Bill Kirelawich is staying at WVU. Michigan will need a new coordinator, in addition to a linebackers coach. Wake Forest’s Dean Hood has coached with Rodriguez in the past, and is being mentioned as a potential DC, for the 9th and final spot.

Others
West Virginia’s Mike Barwis is expected to become Strength and Conditioning coach at Michigan, taking over not only football but all men’s programs. His wife, Autumn, would then be named as director of strength training for women’s programs.

Since Hood is a new name to most Michigan fans, more will be coming on him soon.

Posted under Coaching

I didn’t want to say it, for fear of a jinx, or looking like an idiot when we got obliterated, but for some reason I just had a feeling that Michigan would be able to knock off Florida. The talent that Michigan had all year was finally able to put together a completely healthy effort, leaving the 2007 season with a major “what if?” for Michigan fans. Notes:

• I was talking to some Florida fans before the game. The UF Athltic Department tells the fans what color to wear for each game, and they manage to get (mostly) everyone wearing either blue or orange. In two years of teeling everyone to wear the same color for every single game (no confusion excuse), how is it possible that Michigan is unable to get a uniform crowd, even for a maize out?
• It’s not all positive for Florida fans, though. They really showed off their SEC speed in getting the hell out of the stadium with 3+ minutes left in the game (after the first failed fourth down conversion).
• How is it possible that Michigan ticket sales were cut off because they ran out, yet the stadium was still 80% Florida fans? Something in bowl ticket distribution definitely needs to be adjusted.
• The Michigan band’s halftime show was a mixture of a few songs from their various crappy halftime shows this year. At least they know how to make more than 5 different formations unlike the Florida band. Speaking of which, how awesome would it be for one of the band formations to be a shape of Michigan?
• I didn’t hear any talking heads spouting about SEC speed after the game. How about Morgan Trent chasing down OMG HEISMAN SHOE-IN 2008 Percy Harvin from behind, coming all the way across the field. Of course, all will be forgotten by the National Championship game, regardless of who wins that one (unless OSU just houses Louisiana State).
• Great scheming, both offensively and defensively, by the coaches. If only DeBord had called games like this all year long. On a similar note, word on the street is that coach English will be named DC at Louisville. Good luck to him in the future.
• Pat Forde is really dumb. I’ve heard people criticizing him consistently for the past couple years, but only recently started reading to see what the big deal is. They were right.
• Players leaving? Rumor and innuendo are all that is out there, but among impact players, Manningham, Mallett, Taylor, and Arrington are the only ones consistently cited. Hell of a showcase game for Arrington if he decides to leave.

Pictures from the game (maybe) coming when I get back to Ann Arbor.

Posted under Analysis

I wanted to watch some Florida games before writing a preview of their team, but I didn’t have the opportunity here in Orlando. Specifically, I wanted to be able to see what Auburn did against the Gators both this year and last (this year: held them to 17 points, the only time they scored below 30; last year: hold them to 17 points, only team to defeat the Gators). Obviously, I’m of the opinion that if Michigan can hold Florida below 17 they can win this game. Instead, I’ll have to give a more shallow preview, for which I’ll apologize now.

Pretend like this isn’t BC and Michigan State.

Florida starts and ends with Tim Tebow. The 2007 Heisman trophy winner rushed for 838 yards and 22 touchdowns, while passing for 3132 yards and 29 touchdowns. He is, like, good and stuff. Michigan will look to Shawn Crable to stuff Tebow’s running, and the Michigan secondary to stop his passing. The Wolverines’ secondary has turned into something of a strong point this year with two senior safeties in Brandent Englemon and Jamar Adams, along with a very good corner in Morgan Trent, and a developing freshman in Donovan Warren. The main question in defending the pass is the depth, as Florida will try to spread apart Michigan with 5-wide sets (which will also open up the scramble for Tebow). Brandon Harrison is an adequate nickel, and Stevie Brown will be a good safety someday. However, neither of these players is a world-beater. Quarterback pressure will play a key role in forcing Tebow to throw, rather than run (by containing him, something Michigan has done very poorly this year), and also by making him get rid of the ball more quickly than he wants to.

Percy Harvin is Florida’s other key offensive weapon, and he is a fast one. Harvin was recruited as a wide receiver, but most of his offensive touches this year have been runs. However, he is still the Gators’ second-leading receiver, to Andre Caldwell. The Florida O-line has still been incapable of coming up with a conventional running attack, but with Tebow and Harvin in the backfield, that is nearly irrelevant.

The Florida defense is where more of the vulnerability lies. 37 points ceded to Kentucky and 42 to Georgia are certainly signs that this isn’t last year’s Gator D. The pass efficiency defense, in particular, is a sore point for the Gators, ranking 63rd after last year’s #4 unit. Losing sackmaster Jarvis Moss hurts, as does the entire secondary, most of whom (including big-hitting safety Reggie Nelson) are playing in the NFL. The problem for Michigan is quarterback play. Chad Henne hasn’t been healthy all year, and Ryan Mallett clearly isn’t ready to lead Michigan yet (and may be considering a transfer). The receivers are fairly reliable, with the occasional ball they shouldn’t drop, and the protection has been slightly subpar this year as well.

The running game for Michigan may be a problem as well. The Wolverines struggle in 2007, especially towards the end of the year. The offensive line performance was pitiful against Ohio State, and if they don’t get it together, this could be an ugly game. Mike Hart’s high ankle sprain has had some time to heal, and his backups got some time this year, in case he is unable to compete at 100%.

The coaching will play a large role in this game as well, and herein lies the separation. Urban Meyer is one of America’s elite coaches, and Lloyd Carr is on his way out, partially because he just can’t do it anymore. Urban calls the plays for Florida, and he does a great job, with last year’s National Title game as a prime example. Genius plays such as the Tebow Option Pass left the Buckeyes defense… er… defenseless, and Chris Leak was able to complete his first 8 passes, helping develop his confidence. Michigan’s defensive braintrust has thus far been unable to stop a spread-option offense, and Rich Rodriguez has not worked with the Wolverines yet to help with this situation. Michigan’s offensive playcalling is just bad, and Michigan fans probably won’t be sad to see Mike DeBord leave after the Capital One Bowl.

In terms of intangibles, perhaps the most important factor is Michigan’s coaching staff being in control of this game while on the way out. Will the team fire up to play for Lloyd’s last game, or fold because their leaders are lame ducks? In addition, many on the coaching staff may be worried about their next stop, rather than this game, causing them to lose focus. Home field advantage will be strongly against Michigan (as it almost always is in the bowl season). At the Champs Sports Bowl, an usher told me he expects the crowd of 72,000 to be split 75-25 in favor of the Gators (note to Michigan fans attending the game: see this as an opportunity, not an excuse) (for the record, the Champs Sports Bowl was 60-40 in favor of State). The last intangible to take into consideration is the Curse of the Heisman. Like nearly all such curses, the COTH is likely a myth. However, there may be some truth to egos being inflated for players taking home the trophy. Troy Smith, Reggie Bush, and Jason White all lost their bowl games, though it’s fair to say that Urban Meyer, Vince Young, and the USC Trojans had something to do with that.

Posted under Analysis