UM Football Recruiting - by WM Wolverine

[Rocky Bleier]

Don't forget we also have Sione Houma. That makes five TE/FB types committed so far, plus Ricardo Miller.

Houma is 6 ft. 210 lbs. He will not be playing TE. I think he's Borges's WCO Tom Rathman.

[WM Wolverine]

At FB M only really has Siona Houma; Rawls played a lil' there last fall and might get moved there for good this spring...

At H-back M has Ricardo Miller (rs so), Funchess and Hill. Shallman might get moved there down the line... Williams is strictly a blocking tight end (as is probably Paskorz) till he shows he can catch the football... I really like Jake Butt, ideally he'd get a redshirt but M probably won't have that luxury with the TE situation. Hoke/Borges is recruiting to a different style of offense than some are expecting, M will sometimes have 3 FB/TE's on the field at once.

[WM Wolverine]

M is probably losing ground on Treadwell, he was expected to commit early and instead he's taking visits all over. I like M's chances but not as good as I did a few weeks ago.

[Rocky Bleier]

At FB M only really has Siona Houma; Rawls played a lil' there last fall and might get moved there for good this spring...

Hopkins?

[SeanB]

I was wondering that, too, Rocky. Especially since he's had a habit of putting the ball on the ground.

[Rob F]

Hopkins?

hmmm...I kinda forgot about him. He's certainly big enough to play FB, but is he planning on shifting there?

One thing the recruiting success is doing and will continue to do: competition for playing time will become more fierce than ever. Anyone who wants to see the field will have no choice other than to work their tail off, including knowing the playbook. Kids buried in the depth chart will have to be open-minded to switching positions as a way to get on the field.

And last (but not least)--an underachiever here or there might decide that Michigan Football isn't right for them, leave and open up another roster spot/scholarship.

[Pasadena Blue]

losing ground on Treadwell sounds very bad.

With Shane Morris in the fold and leading the recruiting the charge for PRO Set offense I can't believe we are doing this bad with top flight wide outs. Is our WR coach turning people off?

[Rocky Bleier]

Stephen Hopkins is already listed as a FB on the depth chart. No need to move him there.

[Pasadena Blue]

three 5* in M class according to scout.

http://annarbor.com/sports/um-football/qb-shane-morris-among-3-michigan-recruits-to-pick-up-fifth-stars-according-to-scout/

[Rocky Bleier]

"Doesn't matter because scUM has always had higher rated classess" - Sparty

"No worries, Urban/God will have Thomas in the fold sooner or later" - Schmucks

[Rob F]

three 5* in M class according to scout.

http://annarbor.com/sports/um-footba...ding-to-scout/

Before clicking on that link to read, I expected that the 3 with 5 *'s would be Morris and 2 of the following group: Thomas, Fox, Bosch, LTT, or even McCray. Kugler? Didn't see that one coming!

[Hannibal]

If Hoke picks up another TE in this class, then that makes a whopping 9 guys devoted to specialist type positions on scholarship for 2013 (if you count Hopkins). They are:

Stephon Hopkins, Jordan Paskorz, Sione Houma, Ricardo Miller, Devin Funchess, AJ Williams, Jake Butt, Khalid Hill, 3rd 2013 TE. That's a hell of a lot of scholarships devoted to some positions that tend to have a pretty low impact on the performance of the offense and rarely have more than two on the field at the same time. There are a lot of positions that I'd rather take this year than another tight end.

TE/H-back is apparently the new slot receiver.

[Pasadena Blue]

agree with Hanni. This lovefest on tight ends has got to end.

I think Koger was a pretty talented tight end ... Borges hardly used him last year.

Letting Treadwell slip way is not excusable.

[Rocky Bleier]

If Hoke picks up another TE in this class, then that makes a whopping 9 guys devoted to specialist type positions on scholarship for 2013 (if you count Hopkins). They are:

Stephon Hopkins, Jordan Paskorz, Sione Houma, Ricardo Miller, Devin Funchess, AJ Williams, Jake Butt, Khalid Hill, 3rd 2013 TE. That's a hell of a lot of scholarships devoted to some positions that tend to have a pretty low impact on the performance of the offense and rarely have more than two on the field at the same time. There are a lot of positions that I'd rather take this year than another tight end.

TE/H-back is apparently the new slot receiver.

Hopkins and Houma are FBs. Paskorz is converted from defense. Miller is an over-hyped WR. Funchess is really thin and may be a WR. Williams is a blocker who didn't catch a pass his senior season. TE is still not a solid position on the team.

[Hannibal]

Some of the positions are sort of interchangeable though, as I understand it (e.g. Koger and Webb sometimes lined up on the line of scrimmage, sometimes in the backfield). They all serve somewhat the same function, to be mobile blockers for a power running game and catch the occasional pass. If you have a fullback or H-back on the field, you probably won't have two tight ends out there too. But none of them are positions that have to be out there an every down. I figure you'll have 1-3 of those guys out there on any given play. I have seen Houma described as a highly versatile fulllback/H-back type. Miller sounds a lot like Funchess and Hill to me (i.e. "versatile" guy too slow to play WR and too small to play TE"). IMHO you don't need to go three deep on a specialist position that's only on the field for half the plays. It kinda reminds me of the "slow safety/undersized LB" and the "mediocre RB/slot" gluts that we had in the Rodriguez years.