2013 Michigan Wolverines Football: Strugglin'

[sachmoney]

Draft:
Denard drafted by the Jacksonville 
Campbell by the NY Jets.
 
UDFAs:
Jordan Kovacs signs with Miami.
Craig Roh signs with Carolina.
Patrick Omameh signs with the 49ers.
Roy Roundtree signs with the Bengals.
 
The lack of draft picks really speaks to Rich Rod's recruiting. He wasn't recruiting guys who had NFL futures for the most part. He wasn't really developing them either. I mean, you really can't complain about the lack of draft picks when a top 10 player decides to stay at Michigan. That says a lot about the program and the kids they recruit. I don't see a lot of draft picks in the next couple of years, but we'll start to see Hoke's recruiting reflected in the draft in 2-3 years.

 

[Granite Sox]

I think you're right. Barring injury, Lewan figures to go in the first round. Outside of that, perhaps Jake Ryan and Quinton Washington get drafted (I think Q will play on Sundays with another year of growth under Mattison). Possibly Thomas Gordon and Jeremy Gallon get drafted. Schofield, Jibreel Black UDFA types.

The year after that will begin to produce a more predictable flow of talent, assuming continued growth.

 

[sachmoney]

I think you can add Gardner to that list, though I'm more bullish on his prospects as a quarterback than others.

Michigan landed a 3/4 star tight end yesterday named Ian Bunting. He's 6-7 215 lbs and he plays WR/CB for his team. Yeah, you read that right. I think he has the potential to be another Funchess type. He's missed parts of the last two seasons due to injury, which may be the reason he's overlooked by a couple of the recruiting services. 
 
Michigan now has a QB, OG, WR, DT, LB, and TE. There's been heavy speculation that WR Moe Ways will commit soon, it's just a matter of when. There's a lot of talk about CB Parrker Westphal too. Look for Michigan to take another LB, a 2-3 DL, a couple DBs, another WR, a slot, a couple OL, and a RB. As good as the classes have been the last couple of years, this one has the potential to be even better.

Moe Ways committed Friday. I think he's going to be a pretty good prospect that needs to develop more consistency catching the football. He has the ability, he just has to put it all together. When you hear people already comparing him to Braylon, you have to get a little bit excited. 
 
I think the bigger implication of Ways committing is that we finally have a guy who is pretty close to campus. I think one of the benefits of having Shane Morris was that he was not only a great recruiter, but he was close by. Whenever a kid visited, Morris was there to greet him and recruit him. This class so far is a lot more spread out. Ferns lives 4 1/2 hours away. Harris is a couple hours away. Bunting is from Illinois. Mone from Utah. Cole from Florida. Speight from Virginia. There's no guy close to campus that you can realistically count on to be there. Ways might be that guy (he's from Detroit). The kid obviously loves Michigan and I think his commitment is bigger than what people may think. 
 
The big news today is that Michigan gained the commitment of Juwann Bushell-Beaty. JBB is a good prospect in his own right, a 3/4 star offensive lineman, but bigger still is that he's teammates with the #2 prospect in the country, Jabrill Peppers. Peppers has Michigan and Stanford at the top of his list, and there are a lot of rumblings that Michigan will be his choice. JBB and Peppers have talked about going to Michigan together, so hopefully, this will have a positive influence.
 
Hoke is putting together a monster class.

 

[Granite Sox]

I think you can add Gardner to that list, though I'm more bullish on his prospects as a quarterback than others.

I may have lost track, but doesn't Gardner have TWO more years now that he has been awarded a redshirt? I had him in mind with the post-'14 NFL crop.

Peppers would be fantastic. Are we still in on Hand (DL) as well as Adoree Jackson (DB)? If Peppers and Westphal commit, and we get Jackson as well, we will have hit the mother lode of DBs...

 

[sachmoney]

I may have lost track, but doesn't Gardner have TWO more years now that he has been awarded a redshirt? I had him in mind with the post-'14 NFL crop.

Peppers would be fantastic. Are we still in on Hand (DL) as well as Adoree Jackson (DB)? If Peppers and Westphal commit, and we get Jackson as well, we will have hit the mother lode of DBs...

Right, but you mentioned Ryan who is a RS Junior and will most likely stay for his RS Senior year with his knee injury keeping him out of action this year, that's why I threw out Gardner. 
 
It sounds like we're in the Top 2 for Hand with Virginia Tech. VT is close to home and has had the longest relationship with him. If Michigan can get him on campus again, I like our chances. He did change his major after talking to a professor at Michigan, so that could be a positive signal. I think three of the major SEC schools, Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina, are on the outside looking in, right now. 
 
I haven't really heard much about Adoree recently, so I'm not going to get my hopes up for him. I think he's probably going to stay out west. When he visits, we'll talk.

 

[RedOctober3829]

Brett McMurphy
‏@McMurphyESPN
2m
Michigan & Virginia Tech schedule home/home series in 2020-21; at Michigan in 2020; at Virginia Tech in 2021

 

[WayBackVazquez]

WTF??
 
I suppose this is a replacement for ND, but it's a pretty piss poor one.

 

[twibnotes]

WTF??
 
I suppose this is a replacement for ND, but it's a pretty piss poor one.

I do hope they get that UConn game moved to a bigger stadium (Gillette?). I'm worried it will be real tough to get tix, and UM doesn't make it out our way...well, ever.

 

[Dan Murfman]

I do hope they get that UConn game moved to a bigger stadium (Gillette?). I'm worried it will be real tough to get tix, and UM doesn't make it out our way...well, ever.

No way is the game being moved. But you can buy a cheap season ticket and get tickets to the game.

 

[WayBackVazquez]

I missed this when it was announced. I think general admission seating for the student section will work well for the bigger games, getting the section nearly full by kickoff. I worry that for the cupcakes it might end up leaving even more seats empty, since people who might show up late may just decide to keep playing flipcup rather than stand at the top of the Stadium.
 
Also, sucks for this year's seniors.

 

[sachmoney]

WTF??
 
I suppose this is a replacement for ND, but it's a pretty piss poor one.

What's the problem? You don't like them scheduling Virginia Tech? They are usually a top 25 team. I'm looking forward to going to Lane Stadium. I know that it doesn't have the national appeal of a game against Notre Dame, but there really isn't an equivalent, IMO. 
 
Anyway, the Moe Ways commitment has already paid off as Michigan landed Lawrence Marshall today. He's a WDE from Southfield and he played AAU ball with Ways. Pretty sure the guy these Detroit kids will be going after is McDowell. I fully expect Michigan to continue to go after McDowell and Hand regardless of the DL situation. There's a realistic possibility that both end up at the Big House.
 
The Jabrill Peppers recruitment sounds like it's steaming Michigan's way. He's moved up his commitment date to early June. I don't think it's an open and shut case as he is still visiting Penn State (with a teammate who doesn't have an offer yet) and Stanford. Again, Stanford is the big opponent here. I think Michigan looks good though. Why does Michigan want Peppers? Oh yeah, he's fast. Faster than Denard.

 

[WayBackVazquez]

What's the problem? You don't like them scheduling Virginia Tech? They are usually a top 25 team. I'm looking forward to going to Lane Stadium. I know that it doesn't have the national appeal of a game against Notre Dame, but there really isn't an equivalent, IMO.  

No, I don't. It's a team with no history, from a mediocre conference, and I believe it's a program in decline. From a selfish perspective, I don't really care if Lame Stadium is loud, or a cool place to play, because I'm not going to go there. As a season ticket holder, I want to maximize home games. The WTF was because of Brandon's clearly stated intention not to play non-con road games. I understand things have changed somewhat with realignment and the conference directive to play a BCS conference noncon game every season, but we should still be trying to negotiate for the best deals, which means home games only or 2 for 1s whenever possible. I think VT should be a team we're giving a 2 for 1 to, not a home and home. Just my opinion.

 

[sachmoney]

I just wanted you to expand on what you said. I agree with a lot of your points. 

 

[Dave Stapleton]

Wait what? Over the last nine years VT has won 20+ more games than Michigan and been to 5 BCS bowl games (plus 2 chick fila and 1 gator). I'm assuming you are referring to brand of the program since over the last 10 years VT has had a pretty successful program.

Maybe this makes your argument but recently Lane was named the number 1 home field advantage in college football by Rivals. It's an excellent place to see a game and you weren't getting a 2 for 1 from them.

 

[WayBackVazquez]

Wait what? Over the last nine years VT has won 20+ more games than Michigan and been to 5 BCS bowl games (plus 2 chick fila and 1 gator). I'm assuming you are referring to brand of the program since over the last 10 years VT has had a pretty successful program.

Maybe this makes your argument but recently Lane was named the number 1 home field advantage in college football by Rivals. It's an excellent place to see a game and you weren't getting a 2 for 1 from them.

 
"Wait what" what? How was I unclear?
 
"It's a team with no history," - It had never appeared in the Top 10 of the Final AP Poll until 1995, and had only been in the top 20 once before 1986.
"from a mediocre conference," - The ACC is not good. Sagarin ranked it the worst BCS conference last year.
"I believe it's a program in decline." Pretty self-explanatory. They sucked last year in the aforementioned weak ACC, this year's incoming class is ranked 34th in the country and 6th in the ACC. Their program was basically built on the backs of two criminal QBs who aren't walking back through that door.
 

Maybe this makes your argument but recently Lane was named the number 1 home field advantage in college football by Rivals. It's an excellent place to see a game and you weren't getting a 2 for 1 from them.

 
Well, we didn't get a 2 for 1 from them, but we should have (or just got a single home game like Notre Dame did), or we shouldn't have scheduled them. They travel to friggin' East Carolina every other year, and are going to play at Old Dominion. They're not some elite program holding all kinds of leverage.
 
And I know they've been to a bunch of BCS games -- thanks to playing in that mediocre conference. They're 1-5 in them, and only managed to beat the Big East team. I was at the Sugar Bowl a couple of years ago, in fact.
 
EDIT: And this is all kind of beside the point. If VaTech, or you think they're worthy of home and homes with the elite programs, that's fine, and they should negotiate aggressively. But again, as a season ticket holder, I want home games. If we have to give up a home game and play on the road, I want the reciprocal visit to be exciting. I am simply not excited about the prospect of VaTech visiting Ann Arbor. There are at least 15-20 programs against whom I'd rather schedule a home and home.

 

[Dgilpin]

I'm with WBV on this , this is a "meh" matchup at best . The best thing about it is VaTech will be a ranked team that Michigan shouldn't have a ton of trouble with.

 

[sachmoney]

Jabril Peppers commits to Michigan. This is a big one. He's got a college ready build, strong as an ox, unreal potential. I'm guessing he'll find his way to playing in multiple situations (offense, defense, special teams).

 

[WayBackVazquez]

A. Maize. Ing. I have such a mancrush on this recruiting staff.

 

[Granite Sox]

Peppers also recently broke the NJ HS record in the 200. He already declared he was "coming strong... emphasis on strong" after Da'Shawn Hand and Malik McDowell.

Watching his (delayed) commitment on ESPNU, he's got a lot of personality.

Countess, Taylor, Thomas, and Peppers will be a nice secondary next year.

 

[Zososoxfan]

Just coming in to post a fist pump. I know coaching em up counts for a lot, but getting the biggest and best athletes goes a long way too. This staff is really recruiting All-American talent and pairing them with the best D-Coordinator in the country. It's beautiful to watch.

 

[sachmoney]

Peppers would be fantastic. Are we still in on Hand (DL) as well as Adoree Jackson (DB)? If Peppers and Westphal commit, and we get Jackson as well, we will have hit the mother lode of DBs...

So Peppers is recruiting Hand, Jackson, and Leonard Fournette, another top prospect from Louisiana (RB). I feel pretty good about Hand. Jackson said that he and Peppers have talked about playing together, dating back before Peppers committed. Jackson is originally from Illinois, by the way. It would be insane to land both Peppers and Jackson. They're unbelievable athletes. Fournette isn't really someone you should put your hopes into right now.
 
This isn't even Hoke. This is the kids doing. It's incredible.

 

[Granite Sox]

Picked up another nice commitment today, this one from PA LB Chase Winovich. Beat out Ohio and Pitt, among others (Stanford, Northwestern, Harvard!).

 

[sachmoney]

Sounds like the battle for Da'Shawn Hand has changed dramatically as he just dropped Virginia Tech. It is now a Michigan, Alabama, and Florida race. Alabama has made up a lot of ground, but Michigan is the presumed leader at this point in time. Florida is third, but still in it.

 

[Granite Sox]

Apparently Hand is interested in a Sports Management major and the Michigan professor blew him away. (Supposedly) VaTech doesn't offer the major. On the other hand, he is interested in Alabama's Engineering program, even though Michigan's Engineering program is ranked in the top 10 (and its safe to say that Alabama's isn't).

 

[WayBackVazquez]

I do hope they get that UConn game moved to a bigger stadium (Gillette?). I'm worried it will be real tough to get tix, and UM doesn't make it out our way...well, ever.

I just bought two tickets. Not sure whether I'll be able to make it back east for the game, but if not, I'll put them in the face value forum.

 

[sachmoney]

How'd you get them? Through the Victors Club?

 

[WayBackVazquez]

We are pleased to offer you the opportunity to order up to four (4) tickets to cheer on Team 134 when they travel to Connecticut (September 21) this fall. The limited number of tickets remaining are only available to Season Ticket Holders who are Donors to Michigan Athletics on a first come, first serve basis.

 

[Dan Murfman]

If you guys really want to see it and are worried about the price through scalpers you can get a season ticket for UConn for $175.

 

[WayBackVazquez]

Michigan is implementing dynamic pricing for single-game tickets. Anticipated initial (endzone) pricing is $195 for the Notre Dame (night) game, and $175 for OSU. Pricing won't go below $65. 

 

[Average Reds]

Michigan is implementing dynamic pricing for single-game tickets. Anticipated initial (endzone) pricing is $195 for the Notre Dame (night) game, and $175 for OSU. Pricing won't go below $65. 

 
Juuusst a slight increase from when I was a student...

 

[WayBackVazquez]

Student season tickets are set at $40/game this year, which I think is about double what it was when I was there, and not far removed from the grown-folk price. 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgJ8l5KJeOI

 

[Average Reds]

Dating myself as being older than dirt, but I think the student price was something like $7 or $8 per game when I was in Ann Arbor.

 

[sachmoney]

We picked up 2 more commits today both from Eastern Christian Academy in Elkton, Maryland. Not sure how to describe the school, but it's basically a specialized athlete high school which is centered around the football team. They played 3 games last year after teams canceled on them. Both kids are underexposed and have performed well at camp. The WR is Freddy Canteen. The CB is Brandon Watson. We finally have some sleepers in this class.
 
Devin Gardner is at Elite 11 as a counselor. Some interesting Gardner stuff though that article doesn't center around Gardner.

 

[sachmoney]

Picked up a three star linebacker, Noah Furbush, from Kenton, Ohio. 

 

[sachmoney]

One of the top prospects in the country, LA RB Leonard Fournette, is going to be in town for the Big House BBQ. Peppers aka The Commish has been working really hard on Fournette and considering he is supposed to be a LSU-Bama lock, this is big news. The toughest part is getting a kid like this, who is in LSU's backyard, to campus. I think the goal will be to get him to take an official back, but this could be a big visit as far as making an impact on this kid. You become an actual player for this kid, you're the favorite for Da'Shawn Hand, AND you've already got Jabrill Peppers in your back pocket? I be like dang. 
 
Full list of visitors for the BBQ from TTB. If I had to guess on who is most likely to commit, I'd say it's 2015 OH CB Shaun Crawford. He's supposed to visit Miami (YTM) again before he makes a decision, but Michigan is the presumed favorite. It would be another good addition to the 2015 recruiting class, which features Jon Runyan's kid, Jon Runyan Jr. and a kicker.
 
Hoke is building a championship squad.

 

[Infield Infidel]

Bill Connelly has his Michigan preview up 
http://www.sbnation.com/2013/7/24/4540806/michigan-wolverines-football-2013-preview-schedule-roster

 

[sachmoney]

Uh, we just earned the commitment of the #3 prospect of 2015, the top receiver in the class. I am going to stroke out now. Not masturbation. Literally Gammons stroke out.

 

[Zososoxfan]

Uh, we just earned the commitment of the #3 prospect of 2015, the top receiver in the class. I am going to stroke out now. Not masturbation. Literally Gammons stroke out.

 
No pants dance time!

 

[sachmoney]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzbqqqqVunY
4.36 speed? Yeah. Me want. Oh, he's 6-3? Oh. Oh. Oh.
 
BTW, he plays WR/DE.

 

[Granite Sox]

I'm pretty stunned at the timing. Lets hope it sticks!

I've also seen him reported at 6' 5". He looks a bit bigger than 6' 3" in that video.

Michigan has gone from smurfs to giraffes at WR. Darboh, Chesson, Jones, Jackson, Dukes, York, Ways, Harris, and Campbell are BIG dudes - 6' 2" or taller. Canteen is the only "smaller" commit, and he is listed at 6' even. Wow.

 

[Dgilpin]

Michigan picks up a commit from Damien Harris today, the 3rd ranked RB by ESPN in the 2015 class.
 
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/player/_/id/167914/damien-harris

 

[Infield Infidel]

Lewan's diet
 
"I eat 12 eggs a day, 12 tablespoons of olive oil a day, six cans of tuna; I only eat carbs right after my workout or not at all." Lewan also said he orders a salad and five chicken breasts when eating out.

 

[sachmoney]

Michigan picks up a commit from Damien Harris today, the 3rd ranked RB by ESPN in the 2015 class.
 
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/player/_/id/167914/damien-harris

Two five stars and a four star potentially on the way (Shaun Crawford) for the 2015 class? Can someone tell me if this is a good start? WBV, you've been telling it like it is lately. Do you have a take on this?
 

Lewan's diet
 
"I eat 12 eggs a day, 12 tablespoons of olive oil a day, six cans of tuna; I only eat carbs right after my workout or not at all." Lewan also said he orders a salad and five chicken breasts when eating out.

Yeah, he's nuts.

 

[WayBackVazquez]

I don't see how it can be anything but encouraging. I don't think anybody has questioned the program's ability to recruit defensively since the new regime came in, but the recent success with offensive skill players from the south is a very happy development. And continued success recruiting in Ohio is always a good thing.
 
That said, I try to temper my excitement about commitments from rising juniors lest I get disappointed down the road. Sometimes these kids don't develop as expected, and sometimes they decommit. But yeah, still loving the direction.

 

[sachmoney]

I was commenting on your asserting dominance over the BC thread, but if you want to be sedate in this thread, that's okay with me. I'll be the hype one and say that it's awesome start.

 

[sachmoney]

I got a three game package for UConn so I'm going to our game against them. I also have tickets to the Maryland game (day of Akron...at night)...and Louisville, which is on a Friday night. Looking forward to seeing a future B1G opponent and a potential Heisman candidate in addition to Michigan.

 

[twibnotes]

I got a three game package for UConn so I'm going to our game against them. I also have tickets to the Maryland game (day of Akron...at night)...and Louisville, which is on a Friday night. Looking forward to seeing a future B1G opponent and a potential Heisman candidate in addition to Michigan.


Think I'm going to suck it up and just buy tix to um-uconn on stubhub. Prices are pretty ugly though

 

[sachmoney]

The three game package was cheaper than the cheapest ticket on StubHub for what its worth. It was like $126 including fees.

 

[sachmoney]

Dienhart posted his impressions of Michigan on BTN's site. Also, Dienhart, Revsine, and DiNardo all posted stuff on Twitter. General summary is that the team looks pretty good, but they're young. They're impressed with the practices cuz there's a lot of teaching going on. Glowing impressions of Gardner. We're going to be big, fast, and physical. Biggest issue as expected is the interior offensive line.

 

[Granite Sox]

Another good summary of the aforementioned tweets from the BTN:

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=162&f=2019&t=11766850

Also, some galleries to support the comments that this is a physically impressive-looking team:

http://michigan.scout.com/2/1314928.html

http://michigan.scout.com/2/1314899.html

http://michigan.scout.com/2/1314820.html
 
http://michigan.scout.com/2/1315341.html

So many individual players that are intriguing.