Michigan Friday: A Sneak Peak At The Jumpman Jerseys?

This was tweeted out this morning and could be an inside look at the new jerseys.  These jerseys don't include the number on the sleeve or shoulders which they call TV numbers.   We will see how close these are to reality next week.

• Practice/Fall Camp starts August 8th and expect more 4 hour practices and probably the return of the submarine. 

• With a us less then two weeks before camp opens, we have a bunch of articles on the internet asking the following:  What is the biggest question mark going into Fall Camp?  I believe there is only one major decision left, who is going to play QB?   We know this is Jimmy's field of expertise and he will make it as competitive as possible.  Most expect O'Korn or Speight,  I wouldn't be surprised if the light when on for Morris as some point during camp as well.  Some have speculated that Brandon Peter has a shot, I don't believe that to be accurate, he seems like he is a few years away from starting.   If Ways and Chesson are still banged up on offense, look for a few guys from the defensive backfield to play a little WR.    Peppers of course and probably Lewis. 

• As you already know, Jimmy threw out the first pitch at the Cubs - White Sox game this week.   What a Rock Star!

Michigan Thursday: News and Notes

• Michigan Basketball has a tough schedule next season.  They just added South Carolina to a home and home and the schedule also includes Texas, UCLA and Virginia Tech.  The home and home with Cincinnati seems to delayed or cancelled.   A Cazzie Russell coached Armstrong State will play Michigan for its exhibition game at Crisler.

• A lot of Wood is going to be at the Nike release party.  Both LaMar and Charles are expected to attend.

• Dhani Jones is going to be an NBC reporter at the Olympics.  

• 2017 Alabama OL Toryque Bateman plans to be at the BBQ

Wolverine Wednesday: A New Partner and Some Former Wolverines Get New Jobs

Many Michigan fans are excited about the Nike launch next week and The Big House Blog has a new Michigan apparel partner in Fanatics.  They will have all the new Michigan Nike apparel on August 1st.   If you love your Wolverines and this blog, please check out the site and purchase your new Nike gear through the banner ad on the left or this link!   (The banner will be updated with Nike gear starting next week!)  Go Blue!

• I haven't had a Big Will Campbell update in some time, but he just signed a contract with the Titans.  Campbell, who is 6-foot-4 and 311 pounds, has alternated between the offensive line and defensive line during his previous NFL stops with the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills and Green Bay Packers. He has never played in an NFL regular-season game.   I still haven't let it go, that RR wasted his redshirt year on the field goal team.

• Speaking of former large Wolverines, this guy went a little higher in the draft then Big Will did.  Jake Long is going to play for a Harbaugh in Baltimore.  He signed a one year deal.

• This writer believes Michigan and Jimmy are leaving the Illini in the dust. 

• He is not a former Michigan WR but a former 49'er, Anquan Boldin signs with the Lions.   I wonder if he has a good relationship with Jimmy?  Having one of the toughest WR's in NFL history around the Michigan WR group would have to be a positive experience.

Michigan Tuesday: Jimmy Speaks at Media Day

Well, he didn't really say much.  He did say he expects Chesson to be ready when camp opens and that Darboh is the #1 WR now.   The important take away is, we are getting close to football again! 

ESPN thought he stole the show on Day 1:  In short, Harbaugh was the same guy who dominated offseason headlines with his quirkiness. Yet something was also different about him.  At this same event last year, Harbaugh was evasive and even difficult at times during his interview sessions. He refused to give many specific answers to the media horde looking to lap up the story of his return to college football. On Monday, though, he was playful and animated, willing to talk at length about his team and other issues.

• Jourdan Lewis on possibly being named a captain: "it would mean everything to me."

• The Florida QB that Michigan faced in the Citrus Bowl, Treon Harris has decided to transfer from the Gators.  Treon is the 7th QB to transfer from UF in 3 years.  

• IA WR Oliver Martin who went from basically obscurity to a 4 star WR on 24/7 after his Nike Opening performance, will be at the BBQ at the Big House.

• 3 Star OH SDE James Hudson is planning to announce soon, there have been mixed reports if Michigan is still interested or not.   Right now MSU seems to be the leader in the clubhouse.  Sam Webb says that Michigan is trying to get him to the BBQ.

• Former UCLA commit CA DE Hunter Echols plans to take an official visit to Ann Arbor this fall.

Michigan Monday: Has Dytarious Johnson News

Michigan Blog Touch The Banner has confirmed with Alabama LB Dytarious Johnson that he has cleared up all his academic hurdles and will enroll in January. 

If you remember, Dytarious Johnson is a 3 star LB from Prattville, Alabama who committed to the Wolverines in the 2016 class but didn't sign an LOI.   He has enrolled in prep school and will join the Wolverines in January as a early enrollee for the 2017 class.   I will add his name to the 2017 class list.

Glad to see it worked out for the young man and a hat tip to Jimmy for sticking with him.

• Speaking of Jimmy, he played in the American Century Championship this weekend.  It's a celebrity golf tournament for charity and he tied for 62^nd.   Which means he spends more time on football then golf, which is a good thing!

• In terribly sad news,  Mike Sadler and Sam Foltz have died in the same car accident.  Mike was the former punter at MSU and Sam was punter for Nebraska.  If my memory is correct, I believe Mike committed to Michigan as a walk-on, then MSU quickly followed with a full ride scholarship.   Please send your thoughts and prayers today to both families.

Pancakes, T-Shirts, and Physicals

Pancake Breakfast Information:
The players will be serving pancakes As a fundraiser on July 30 from 8 AM to 11 AM at the Applebee's on Stadium.  The ticket sales conclude tonight. Amber will be at the school tonight at 6 PM to collect tickets and money from players. Her number is in the ticket packets and she can be contacted directly to arrange collection or request more tickets.

Ordering Hickman Football Apparel:
The Touchdown Club has arranged another chance to order merchandise. The deadline is August 5. You can place your order at http://store.midmoshirtshack.com/hickman_football_2016

Physicals:
Players must have a current physical (dated after Feb 1, 2016) turned in by August 1 or they cannot practice according to MSHSAA rules. Physicals are available at the walk-in clinics in HyVee, any of the Urgent Care centers around town, or from your family doctor. Players can turn them in to Coach Armer at practice on August 1.

Michigan Friday: Recruiting News and Notes

• Penn State is tired of negative recruiting due to the Jerry Sandusky case.   If your Penn State or Baylor right now, I think you have a huge hole to dig out of on the recruiting trail.  

• After getting offered by Alabama earlier in the week, Jaylen Kelly-Powell added an Auburn offer this week as well.   Maybe those teams should do a satellite camp in Michigan next summer. :-)

• We know that Michigan would still have to recruit Aubrey Solomon very hard after his surprise commitment last month.  Aubrey will take all 5 official visits and Michigan in one of them.   The others are Oregon, Florida, Clemson and USC.   I can't blame a kid getting to see the US in 5 free trips.

• Four-star VA S Jonathan Sunderland is making his announcement this weekend and has Michigan in top 4.   Insiders are not expecting him to end up in Ann Arbor and probably heading to Penn State.   Michigan as you know have quite of few DB's high on their board.

• CB Benjamin St-Juste goes from pretty much un-known recruit to a top 100 guy on 24/7.  He jumped up to the #92nd  player in the nation on 24/7 after his Nike Opening performance.

• A very quiet recruitment is 5 star TX LB Baron Browning.  He has visited A2 and his brother played for Jimmy at Stanford.   Many recruiting services believed Michigan isn't a serious contender in his recruitment.   Some new information suggests Michigan is in his top group and does have a chance to play for the Maize and Blue.   The recruits that don't talk much to the services, really could surprise everyone with their choice.

With Michigan Fall Camp around the corner and high school practices starting.   I expect we won't see a lot of new commits for awhile.   Recruits now will look to take official visits before making a decision and that can start as early as 9/3.   Michigan has 18 commits and probably 24 spots.   I believe the staff wants to keep the final 6 or 7 spots open for some the big time players still left on the board.

Michigan Thursday: Nike is Coming - Nike is Coming!

Some of the gear that will be available on August 1st is starting to leak.   

Here are a few of my favorites:

One of the things to notice is the new Maize color.  Nike calls it Amarillo or if you are on the technical side it's PMS 7406.   It's common knowledge that Jimmy prefers a deeper Maize then the highlighter yellow that Adidas was going with.   Amarillo will be a special Nike color only for use by Michigan.

MDen will be open at Midnight on 8/1 for the launch.  It will be a big party staring late on July 31st on State Street as the Michigan Band will be playing, etc.

On August 2nd, Nike will have an invitation only Forged For Greatness: The Victors Dress Code Event in Detroit.  During this event the football jerseys and a new Michigan-themed AJ Trainer 1 shoe will also be introduced.   If your a Michigan fan and Sneakerhead, I suggest you pick up a pair of the AJ Trainers 1 quickly as they will sell out on August 2nd very quickly.  

On August 6th the football jerseys will be available for sale.  The basketball jerseys will be reviled closer to the season.

Nike Golf will also be making a higher end line of Michigan gear that will be available at M Den's Victors Collection.

Wolverine Wednesday: Has Basketball News

collegespun

Coach B received a verbal commitment for the 2017 class last night from PG Eli Brooks.  Eli has been a prospect that has been getting a lot of attention in recruiting circles in last few weeks.   In the last two weeks he received offers from Villanova and Ohio State.  

Eli is not ranked and plays for a unranked AAU team called the Jersey Shore Warriors.   He is 6'1 and 170 pounds and averaged 25 points per game for his high school team Spring Grove.   He also knocked down 79 three point shots. 

Eli seems like a perfect Coach B recruit, talented but under the radar.  Michigan still has two open spots for the 2017 class and will be looking for a couple talented forwards.

• Reports are that Michigan Basketball has signed a home and home contract with Texas.  Sounds like UT will be at Crisler next year.

• DB Jaylen Kelly-Powell got offered by Alabama yesterday.

Michigan Tuesday: Talks Dunn

Last week, I did a post on Derrick Green who was the #1 RB and a 5 star recruit who never seemed to find his footing in Ann Arbor.   A similar story is Bri'onte Dunn at Ohio State. 

Let me take you back to the 2012 recruiting class.   Michigan already had a commitment from 5 Star DB Dymonte Thomas from Ohio and had their sights on OH 4 star RB Bri'onte Dunn.   Dymonte and Bri'onte are cousins and had talked about playing together at the next level.    Bri'onte was really torn between playing with his cousin at Michigan or going to his dream school Ohio State.   In November 2011, Urban Meyer considered himself healed and took the Ohio State job.  He quickly convinced Bri'onte to come to C-Bus. 

Dymonte's and Bri'onte's career in college seemed to be on a similar path as both had struggled to see the field.   Dymonte only had 3 starts before his junior year but started to find his role in the Michigan backfield in 2015 and will play a major role this season.   Bri'onte in his entire OSU career had run for a total of 291 yards and 3 touchdowns.   Mostly seeing time at the end of blow out games. 

This season was setting up to a big one for Dunn who was competing for the starting RB role with Detroit native Mike Weber, who was also tied in a recruiting battle between the two rivals.   Mike is coming off a torn meniscus last season.  Last night, Urban Meyer threw Dunn off the team for breaking team rules.   He is a senior and has a couple of weeks to find another team.  He did graduate from OSU in May and can play right away if he finds another school.  

This is another case of what might have been.   Michigan has had a hard time finding a full time running back before DeVeon Smith grabbed it last year.   Could have Bri'onte had different result in Ann Arbor? We will never know.   It will now be interesting to see what happens with Mike Weber who picked Columbus over Ann Arbor on signing day when Michigan signed Florida RB Karan Higdon.  If you remember, the OSU RB coach that convinced him to come to C-Bus took an NFL job the next day. 

• Have you given any thought on how good Michigan's DL could be this year?   It was pretty good last year and the Florida offensive line compared it to Alabama's after the Citrus Bowl.   Now let's add the following:  starter from last season Ryan Glasgow who was a clear difference maker before getting injured, Taco who showed to be quick off the edge to the QB in a limited role last year, Bryan Mone who got injured in camp but was considered one of Michigan's top players before getting injured and the #1 recruit in the nation Rashan Gary.    Jourdan Lewis is already impressed:

“You should see Rashan move,” Lewis said this week. “He’s very, very light on his feet. He and (nose tackle) Bryan Mone, it’s crazy. You should see them on the ladder drills. Oh my goodness, it’s unbelievable. At that size, you can’t teach stuff like that. It’s mind-blowing.”

Mone is listed in the spring roster at 6-foot-4, 320 pounds, while Gary is 6-5 and pushing 300 pounds.  The ladder drill develops footwork and quickness.

“It’s about how clean you are, and they barely touch that ladder,” Lewis said. “They are really fast on the ladder, and it’s really crazy.”

Practice Schedule July 18 -- 22

Coach Brown has modified the practice schedule a little this week. Thursday we will have an intrasquad scrimmage that you are welcome to watch. There is NO PRACTICE FRIDAY.

• Monday: 6-8pm
• Tuesday & Wednesday: 6-9pm
• Thursday: 7-8:15pm
• Friday: NO PRACTICE

Please encourage your athletes to hydrate with water during the day all week.

Michigan Monday: Air Jordan At The Big House

With the final few weeks before Fall Camp opens, there really isn't too much news coming out of Schembechler Hall.   Michigan will host recruits at the BBQ at the Big House (a hold over from the RR years) and then camp opens and we get back to business.   

Many of us are waiting for 8/1 when the Nike/Jordan Brand becomes Michigan's official outfitter.   If I'm a betting man, I think there might be a run of #5 jerseys with the Jordan/Jumpman logo on it.   To celebrate that new relationship, Michael Jordan will be the honorary captain for the Hawaii game.    September 3rd will be the first time a football team will sport the Jordan brand. 

• The Big House Inmates speak:  73% of you feel Michigan should have kept the $2M and Arkansas on the schedule then play ND on the road.   I agree with you.  I love that ND is back on the schedule, I just don't like that ND looked like they won the negotiation.

• Longtime Michigan RB Coach Fred Jackson lost a family member in the Baton Rouge shooting yesterday.   Fred is now the head coach at Ypsilanti High School.   Please send your support, prayers and thoughts to Fred and his family today. 

• If your wondering how RR is doing in Arizona, here is an article on RR going into his 5th year.  He is winning 62% of his games which is a lot better then most Arizona coaches in the past.   RR went 8-5 in his first two seasons, 10-4 in year 3 and 7-6 last year.   He also looked at a couple of openings last year as well.  RR makes just below $2M a year, but has a comp plan that includes a ($6M) big pay out if he is still the coach in 2018.  All in all, I think Arizona is happy with RR and getting to a bowl game every year (even if it's the New Mexico Bowl).  

Michigan Friday: Thinks About What Could Have Been With Derrick Green

Zimbio

Derrick Green's career at Michigan is a microcosm of the Brady Hoke era.    Derrick came to Ann Arbor as a 5 star #1 RB in the country.    Many expected him to start right away and tear into the Big Ten like a hot knife through butter.  

DG showed up in the summer of 2013 over weight and really had a hard time getting into football shape his freshman year.   In 2013, he got 83 carries but only gained 270 yards.

In 2014, his sophomore year we really thought DG started to figure it out.  He was in better shape, but was still a north and south runner who struggled to make defenders miss.   Ironically, he had 82 carries in 2014 (before he got hurt) for 471 yards.  That was an average of over 5 yards per carry.   His year was cut short with a shoulder injury.  

Under Jimmy, I expected two scenarios:  he would play a lot and be the focus of the offense or he would barley see the field.   We know that Smith took over the #1 RB spot and Houma became the power back.  A healthy Green only got 47 carries for 157 yards last season.    Most of those carries came when Michigan was comfortably ahead and the offense needed to run some clock. 

This 5 star RB got a total of 898 yards in 3 years in Michigan's offense.   Many of us expected that to be a low estimate for one year.  Not all of it is on DG as Michigan's offensive line struggled during this time in Ann Arbor, but his college career so far as been clearly disappointing.  

Sources are saying that Derrick has decided to transfer to TCU.  If DG was able to graduate early from Michigan, he will be able to play this season.   TCU's spread offense, should provide DG with some large holes and I expect he could easily run for a 1000 yards in that offense if he gets enough touches.   I hope he is in shape and has the luck Rawls and Cox had in transferring for their final year and making it to an NFL roster.  Rawls had the highest yards per carry average of any NFL running back last year before getting injured. 

Good Luck DG!

Michigan Thursday: Cornerback Gets The MSU Knocked Out of Him

MSU CB Jermaine Edmondson got into a scuffle with Warriors Draymond Green over the weekend and has now decided to leave the MSU football program.   It seems Edmondson and Green bumped into each other twice over the weekend in East Lansing and it ended with Green slapping Edmondson in front of the police early Sunday morning.   Green got arrested for simple assault and has put his Team USA status in jeopardy. 

Edmondson then asked for his release from MSU yesterday, citing he is looking for more playing time and a place where he doesn't get "big timed" from famous former school athletes.  :-)

DeVeon Smith tweeted at Smith that he is soft, but then quickly deleted the tweet. 

• Michigan Basketball will open the season in the 2K Classic which will have the finals in MSG.  They will play Howard and IUPUI at Crisler and then play Marquette in the semi-final at MSG.

• Michigan has signed a new radio deal with CBS Radio Detroit, WWJ Newsradio 950 (WWJ-AM), 97.1 The Ticket (WXYT-FM) and CBS Sports Radio 1270 (WXYT-AM).  

• If you are looking for low cost Michigan gear, MDen has their final markdowns on their Adidas Michigan gear.  Nike/Jordan Gear hits on 8/1.

• OSU CB commit Shaun Wade might make it to A2 for the BBQ at The Big House.

• Instate DB Ambry Thomas got offered by USC after his strong Opening performance.

Wolverine Wednesday: Thank Goodness Michigan Didn't Hire....................

When Lloyd Carr retired Michigan struggled to find the right head coach.   They couldn't decide on Les and actually offered the job to the Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano.   At the time, I thought it was a good choice.   Greg reportedly, accepted the job, declined the job and tried to re-accept.   By that time Sailboat Bill's boat as sailed to Rich Rod.

Many had expected that Greg would be inline for the Penn State job when Joe Paterno retired.   Greg didn't wait for a PSU offer and headed for a failed experience coaching Tampa Bay in the NFL.   We all know what happened at Penn State and many of us believed there was zero chance that Joe and others on the staff didn't know what Sandusky was doing.

Depositions were released yesterday, show that Paterno knew as early at 1976 when a young camper approached him about an assault.  He replied, "I don't want to hear about any of that stuff, I have a football season to worry about".   That statement to me sounds like a person, who had heard that allegation before and had taken a blind eye to it.   There were also reports from 1987 and twice in 1988 of staff witnessing Sandusky. 

The depositions also say that Greg Schiano and Tom Bradley knew what was going on.  Both have denied knowing after the reports came out yesterday.    Neither would have a spot on my staff.  Schiano is the assistant head coach at Ohio State and Bradley is the DC for UCLA.

This is the worst thing to ever happen to college football.  I don't know how you ever hire anyone that is even remotely associated with it. 

-----------------------------

Moving on to some lighter topics.

• Some freshman are strong! Gary is said to have put up (bench press) 225 pounds 26 times and Khaleke Hudson tweeted he did 25.    Expect to see both of these guys on the field early and often. 

• It seems that Michigan might have been knocked out of the pole position for both Cesar Ruiz (Alabama) and Drew Singleton (Clemson).   Jimmy and staff have their work cut out for both of these guys.  The good thing is Michigan is a close second or 1A.

• 4 Star DT Jay Tufele has a top 3 of Michigan, OSU at Utah.

• 4 star OT Jedrick Willis is planning another visit for the BBQ at the Big House

Michigan Tuesday: The Opening Finds a WR From Iowa

One of the things I was looking for when researching for yesterdays post was how Nico Collins and DP-J played.  It seems both had minor injuries which limited their playing time. 

With the loss of those big weapons, Ambry Thomas played WR and did quite well.    Another name to pop out was 3 star Iowa WR Oliver Martin, who seemed to have very good chemistry with McCaffrey.  So much so that Michigan quickly offered along with Oregon, Iowa, Michigan State, Indiana, Wisconsin, BYU and Illinois.  Oliver showed at the Opening that he has great hands, runs great routes and is a very good athlete at 6'1 and 190 pounds.   Oliver had mostly MAC offers before attending the Opening Finals.

Oliver has an interesting background, he is also a very good competitive swimmer and baseball player. Taking those athletic intangibles to another level, Martin’s father Jeff was a talented swimmer and his mother Lisa shined in track and field. His little sister Ruby damn near just made the Olympic Team as a rising junior in high school placing fourth in the 200 butterfly at last week’s Olympic Trials. Martin was able to drive to Omaha with some buddies to catch her sister in the finals before returning home for his baseball responsibilities while also training for The Opening.

Expect Oliver to receive a bump to a 4 star WR by most recruiting services in the near future.

• Speaking of recruiting services, it seems Scout is having some serious issues.   We may see some consolidation in recruiting services. 

Michigan Monday: Wolverine Opening Re-Cap

The 7-on-7 team with the most Wolverines were called Hypercool.   They had a nice run in the tournament but didn't make it to the finals. 




Here is some other buzz from the Opening:

• Sam Webb was blowing up twitter on Ambry Thomas who played WR mostly.  Could be a two way threat at the next level?  Ambry continues to be one of Michigan's top priorities in the class.

• Michigan just offered Iowa WR Oliver Martin who was on team Hypercool.

• Team Hypercool did knock out Team Alpha Pro which was mostly OSU commits

• 24/7 ranked McCaffrey 5th in the Elite 11 QB ratings

• Sam Webb had this funny write up.  (bold is the funny part)  Kai-Leon Herbert had really good day. He was matched up Hunter Echols and won two of three reps showing good feet and great lateral quickness. The key for Herbert moving forward as told by his coaches -- is technique. On the couple of times we saw him beaten came when he overset and allowed a pass rusher to get to the inside. A minor technical flaw, according to his coaches, that is easily corrected. You can’t teach his length his length, and his can’t teach his athleticism. And right now, at just 285-pounds, he has room to add 20 to 300 pounds of muscle. This kid is just scratching the service of how good he can be.   He is 285 pounds and if he adds 300 pounds of muscle, he is going to be un-stoppable! :)

• Benjamin St. Juste continued to impress at the Opening and had a very high SPARQ score.  Most people tweeted about his coverage skills for being a 6'3 corner.  Remember when he was a sleeper that nobody had heard about when he committed this time last year? He has to be on this way from not ranked to 4 stars.

• Cesar Ruiz was a top performer in the lineman drills.  He was considered on the top offensive lineman at the event.   His top two are Alabama and Michigan.  Some are saying that the Crimson Tide might have taken over the top spot in his recruitment.

• I was able to catch one game with ESPNU where Alpha Pro played.   OSU Tate Martell had issues with accuracy throwing the ball.

• Detroit OL Jordan Reid announced he will be attending MSU at the Opening.

Jourdan Lewis attended the Opening (left) to support his friends

Michigan Friday: Warde Has To Work On The Schedule

I will first try to answer this question from Tim in the comments:

Another thought - do you feel playoff committee looks differently at a week 1 loss vs week 4 loss?

Possibly, I think a bad loss is a bad loss no matter what week it comes in.   A loss to a quality opponent would be weighed the same early in the season (rather it was week 1 or week 4).   The issue is, does that quality opponent continue to win games?  Utah caught fire early and got has high as #3 in the polls I believe before they lost some games in the PAC 12.   That Michigan loss looked a lot better in say week 6 then it did at the end of the season.   All those factors play into the committee's decision. 

I'm also interested how the committee would see a re-match if both programs have great seasons? Would that be a negative for the one loss team?  If Michigan beats Florida in week one next year and both win the rest of their games and are SEC and Big 10 Champs.  Does the committee put Florida in for a possible re-match? I think the answer is Yes.

-------

The consensus is that David Brandon was very bad at this job as a Michigan AD.   Many DB decisions have been changed or reversed thanks to Jim Hackett who played the Hero AD until Warde took over recently.  One of the issues, we continue to pay for is David Brandon allowing the Big 10 to let Michigan to go to East Lansing in back to back years and having this big scheduling imbalance.

Then Warde makes the situation even worse in 2018 by giving up a home game to an SEC team to playing ND road and costing the school $2M.  I will put up a poll, but my guess is many fans would support keeping Arkansas on the schedule (and $2M) and scheduling ND in the future when it works better for U of M.  I have no problem Michigan doing 2 year home and home deals with ND but schedule them to the benefit of Michigan not ND. 

Having years, with ND, MSU and OSU on the road is just crazy.  Then the next year having the home schedule loaded, seems out of balance to me.

Warde went on the radio this morning and did say he was hopeful he could change the imbalance with MSU and OSU.  We will see, mostly when the Big Ten goes to 9 conference games.

• Can the best player in Alabama really leave the state for another school?  WR Nico Collins continues to list Michigan as it's leader.   Nico and DP-J would just be incredible! 

• Butt, Darboh and Lewis will represent Michigan at Media Days.

• MSU picked up OH TE Matt Dotson yesterday.   Matt picked MSU over Penn State.  Michigan and Matt's relationship was pretty good early but seemed to cool lately. 

Breaking News: ND is Back and Michigan Makes Questionable Scheduling Call

It has been rumored for months and now ND is back on the schedule.   That is the good news. 

Michigan has scheduled to play at ND in 2018 and in Ann Arbor in 2019.   Michigan bought out it's home and home contract with Arkansas, rumored to be a $2M hit.

So what's the bad news?

In 2018, Michigan opens at ND

Plays MSU in East Lansing

Plays OSU in Columbus

I hate when Michigan plays a difficult opponent in week 1, it doesn't make a ton of sense to me.   In 2017, they play Florida in Dallas to open the season.   I'm all for a difficult week 2 match-up after they open against a MAC school.   Does anyone think the Utah game would have gone different in Week 4 vs. Week 1 last year? 

Michigan also went to South Bend the last time they played.   Many of us has erased that game from memory.  

ND will also visit Ann Arbor in October in 2019, which is strange.

Michigan bought out a home game against an SEC team to play a road game at ND in 2018?

Glad the game is back, not happy how it got scheduled.  Should have been at Michigan in 2018 and at ND in 2019.



 

Michigan Thursday: Wolverines Land Another Big Man

Michigan landed another 4 star offensive lineman yesterday when Plantation (FL) American Heritage OT Kai-Leon Herbert picked the Wolverines at the Opening.  Big Kai-Leon is 6'5 and 185 pounds and visited A2 on June 17th with his teammate TJ Slaton who is 5 star OG. 

Both are photo'd below, KL is the big man on the Right.  I hope they can find a bigger hat for TJ.  :-)



I. Hole/247

 

 

 

Herbert is another guy with a ton of upside but his size and strength currently is just too much for regular high school players, even at a top program like American Heritage.   He is another OL commit that is nowhere near his ceiling and could use a redshirt year when he gets to Ann Arbor.   With the depth issues on the offensive line, he will need to learn quickly.


His offer list is an impressive one:   Auburn, Cal, Colorado, Duke, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Maryland, Miami, Mississippi State, NC State, UNC, Ole Miss, Tennessee USC, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.


Michigan still has 3 top lineman on their board which includes: TJ above,  OT Isaiah Wilson, and OC Cesar Ruiz.  Michigan will want all 3 guys but will they have room?  Michigan is now at 18 commits and might have 6 spots left.   Can I get a WR commit? :-)

Wolverine Wednesday: Denard Drives Into a Pond

Denard Robinson found himself in a strange place early Sunday morning. He was asleep at the wheel in a pond at 4:22 AM near Jacksonville. Denard was so tired he wanted to go back to sleep after the police knocked on his window with the car sinking.


Denard was in his Chevy Impala with a female passenger that was also asleep, when he drove into the pond. The police didn't file any charge, as they said Denard was not impaired.


Denard later apologized on Twitter saying that he shouldn't have been driving so late and thank god nobody was hurt. I agree with that!


 

Michigan Tuesday: Likes Long Weekends'

I hope everyone had a safe and fun holiday weekend!



Trey Burke got traded to the Wizards and will back up John Wall. He needed to get out of Utah.

More NBA news, maybe the best 6 man ever, Jamal Crawford re-signed with the Clippers.

Seems John O'Korn has been putting in the time this summer. He did the Manning Camp and has now hired Ken Mastrole a personal QB coach. He is also spending a bunch of time throwing to his WR's.

The inside scoop on Brad Hawkins joining the team, is not a positive one. Lets hope he makes it in this month. This rarely happens to a Michigan recruit, so maybe he will have to do a prep year.

Kai-Leon Herbert, a 4 star offensive tackle from American Heritage High School in Fort Lauderdale, will announce his commitment at the Opening tomorrow. He is down to Michigan, Miami and Florida.

Michigan Friday: Feels Hyper Cool

As an add on the to the "who to watch" post for the Nike Opening that I did a couple of days ago, you might want to keep an eye on 7-on-7 team Hypercool. 

You might recognize some of these names on team Hypercool:

• Dylan McCaffrey
• O'Maury Samuels
• Nico Collins
• Donovan People-Jones
• Josh Falo
• Josh Ross
• Benjamin St-Juste
• Ambry Thomas
• AJ Dillon

-Detroit OL Jordan Reid will announce his decision at the Opening.  He will choose between Michigan, Pitt, MSU, Florida and Tennessee.   Insiders expect this OG from Cass Tech is heading to East Lansing.

-Moritz Wagner showed up on campus last year at 211 pounds.  He is now up to 238. 

-Jimmy tweeted at Drake thanking him for his Michigan shout out on SNL.

-Michigan cancelled the American Samoa satellite camp due to the Zika virus.  This was the last camp scheduled.