UM Football Recruiting - by WM Wolverine

[lineygoblue]

Now, STFU all of you...I know there's more evidence to support the contrary, but just like last year, there's not an unwinnable game on the schedule.

Actually, I agree. When we are talking about POTENTIAL, this team could certainly over-achieve in a huge way and even get a berth in the 4 team playoff. That POTENTIAL is there, without a doubt. The problem is getting everyone on the same page, and pulling in the same direction. Along with that, maybe a feeling of "enough already" would be nice as well.

[iam416]

Any BCS team has a "chance" to be in the playoff. M's chances, like most, are extremely slim.

WM:

I don't disagree with you re Noah Spence. Perhaps a better comparison is Taylor Decker. But more to the point, I disagree with your timeline for OL. Generally, I think by year 3 in the program OL should be ready to go. As I've noted previously, OSU will start at least 3 such players on its OL this season, and I don't view youth as an excuse.

OSU and M provide ample evidence of the importance of coaching. Mattison, while not the supergenius he first appeared, showed what even competent coaching can mean to a defense. And, IMO, Borges and Funk illustrate what bumbling chuckleheads can do to a unit. At OSU, the offensive staff (and Warriner, in particular) showed the difference between the worst coaching known to man (The Walrus + Fickell) and good coaching. While defensively, I think you see what subpar coaching leads to -- OSU wasn't undertalented on defense. At most, they lacked LB depth.

I know we disagree on this, but from my perspective, this is a do or die year for Hoke and his staff in terms of whether they'll ever get the job done. They aren't undertalented. They need to look the part of a B10 contender -- even if they lose to MSU and OSU. The wins need to be encouraging and the losses need to be competitive.

[Hannibal]

Well that is good news, also Hoke said on the radio that Funk is without a doubt the best O-Line coach in college football. Not sure about that one (lol)


Big House Football

According to some of the younger players on the team, Taylor Lewan specifically and the senior class were the major problem in the locker room. The underclassmen did not like Lewan’s leadership and certainly didn’t like the seniors surrounding him.

Some players recounted stories of fights in the locker room, which isn’t uncommon, but there were many and they always pitted the seniors against the underclassmen. Lewan was an entitled “psycho” who didn’t care about anything but his own draft status according to some in the locker room, while the younger players were initially looking to the senior for leadership, what they found were self entitled bullies who really weren’t interested in showing the younger guys “the Michigan way.”

For his part, Brady Hoke has always maintained that Lewan was never a problem as a leader and did everything the right way. But we simply cannot believe anything that comes out of Hoke’s mouth, he has continually played fast and loose with the truth and out and out lied too many times to have any credibility.

The underclassmen and a near revolt and transfer tidal wave was averted late in the season, but most of the younger players are not happy that the coaching staff let Lewan run the show, knowing he was allegedly involved in intimidating a potential rape victim and that he did indeed punch an OSU fan. This explains the teams lackluster performance in the bowl game against Kansas State. The underclassmen simply weren’t interested in sending the seniors out with a win.

The graduation of Lewan and his minions just might be the best thing that has happened to Michigan since Hoke arrived, expect a more cohesive club this fall now that Taylor Lewan and his ilk are gone.

I wish that I could buy this but the team just sucked way too bad from the getgo for me to put much credence into it. The offensive line play was so outrageously incompetent that it can't just be attibuted to lack of effort caused by the team not getting along.

The Lewan issue is a classic example of what can happen when you have a "player's coach" like Brady Hoke in charge. Without the dominant personality of the head coach to take charge, the players' personalities take charge. We saw it with Booby Williams at MSU and we saw it with Wayne Fontes all the time. This is why ironically a team with a "players' coach" may have lower morale than a team with a curmudgeonly control freak at the helm like Nick Saban or Mark Dantonio. If Lewan was really that much of a drag on morale then maybe they can be better without him, but it is still a very troubling sign. There is mounting evidence that Hoke has nothing whatsoever going on between the ears.

I also remember vividly the predictions that Michigan would be much better after 2008 once the "malcontents" that didn't buy into the RichRod system were gone. Practically everyone recognized that there was terrible senior leadership on that team. But after 2008, there was no improvement on the team outside of OL and QB play.

[hack]

I'm sure there's something to this, but I'm skeptical too that the departure of Lewan (and who are his minions?) is going to make a big difference.

I agree that there's plenty of potential here, and I'm keen to see how much the Borges>Nussmeier upgrade helps. I think it could a fair bit, actually.

[Da Geezer]

My question is where Gardner falls in this story. Is he a leader?

I'll find it unusual if a 5th year QB is not one of the co-captains this year.

[hack]

Lewan might have been an ass, but we saw him playing hurt this year and playing hard through the gimmicks, etc. I'm sure that even if he weren't an ass, the task of senior leadership last year was made so much more difficult by the dysfunction of the offense. Players play harder when executing the offense results in points. When you don't believe in the scheme you're less likely to respond to exhortations from seniors anyways, right?

That said, if the kids in the program hated the seniors, well, those seniors were players who spent the majority of their careers playing for Hoke. And they are guys that were young and got to see the wonderful senior class of Molk/Koger/RVB/Martin be a group of wonderful seniors. So arguably if senior leadership was really a problem then you can trace that back to Hoke as well.

[Rocky Bleier]

Is Ty Isaac willing to sit a year and stay at Michigan? I guess he is since he already announced his decision, but has anyone heard if that is contingent upon his receiving the waiver?

[lineygoblue]

I thought the release was granted as long as he didn't go to Notre Dame?

[WM Wolverine]

Heard conflicting reports but one of which was the NCAA wouldn't have a decision for awhile, after he chose his destination.

[WM Wolverine]

Cornell's top 6: Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Penn State and Ohio State

Probably playing for our competition, M will have a chance to lure him if he takes another visit or two here before his late August decision.

[Da Geezer]

The Isaac decision by the NCAA should also take into consideration that USC fired their coach mid-season, hired another coach for 1/2 of the season, and then fired him to hire a 3rd coach.

[WM Wolverine]

Allegedly Isaac is more concerned about the style of offense USC intends to run than any hardship. Coaches leaving (getting fired) imo is cause for anyone to transfer but don't think the rules allow that.

[*JD*]

I don't know if it's been mentioned (I skipped a few pages) but Mike Weber is visiting U of M today.

[WM Wolverine]

Grant Newsome OT (4*, Virginia) made a recent visit to Ann Arbor (+ Happy Valley), he's going to decide soon (about a week) between Penn State and Michigan.

[Rocky Bleier]

Yeah, I'll be very surprised if he goes Blue. Franklin is pretty slick, has been negative recruiting the shit out of Michigan (he almost swayed Jabrill Peppers), and has "new coach" momentum on his side.

Probably a long way to go in his recruitment anyway. I did a quick check on 24/7 and he's only made unofficial visits. He'll verbal and then look around. Some day next winter he'll decide he wants to take official visits to other warm weather schools.

http://247sports.com/Player/Grant-Newsome-26834/TimelineEvents