The latest edition of INSIDE THE FORT, including plenty of football, football recruiting and basketball information …
Will the Michigan football team surprise its naysayers and come out like gangbusters against Utah next week – say, the way the 2006 team did at Notre Dame in a 47-21 win in which they dominated in every facet?
We wish we could tell you yes, but those that have seen the team in practice don’t expect it. What they do expect, though, is for U-M to have a very good chance to beat Utah for three reasons – the defense, the special teams and the rushing attack.
“The defense was really good in fall camp, so good that I let my mind wander to 2006, and there are a lot of similarities with really outstanding linebacker play, a line that is going to stop the run and this team will have a better secondary,” a source extremely close to the program said. “The one question that remains is whether there will be a great pass rusher like LaMarr Woodley.
“You need a couple of those difference-maker types. In 1997, it was Charles Woodson, it was Glen Steele and it was Marcus Ray, and because they were on the field, the defense had to pay attention and you saw so many other guys really blossom because they were in favorable matchups.
“In 2006, you had LaMarr Woodley, David Harris, Leon Hall and Shawn Crable, and then you had all of these unexpectedly big contributions from other players because the offense was dialed in on Woodley and Harris and Hall. I think you have to have one of those guys up front. I think we’re going to get it from Jabrill Peppers and Joe Bolden, and maybe James Ross, who has just been outstanding, but up front, we saw flashes – Chris Wormley, Maurice Hurst, Mario Ojemudia, Taco Charlton – but man, it wouldn’t be there on back-to-back days so you just wonder if someone will be able to do it game after game.”
On offense, the running game did struggle some in preseason practice, but our source attributes that to the front seven defensively. He saw enough positive signs to be encouraged.
“Technique of this offensive line is light years better than it’s been, and on run plays, you’re seeing the offensive line hold its own where in the past few years, they were taking a step back – they were a mess and there’s no mess now,” he said. “An area they can improve is at the second line of the defense, because the linebackers weren’t getting blocked consistently. But, again, I chalk that up to our defensive line being really good.
“I’ll say this -- when our backs had a hole, there was no wasted movement. The vision is better, in my opinion. If there’s the chance for five yards, they’re going to get it. The past two years there might be an opportunity, but our backs would get one or two yards, or get driven back. That’s not happening this season.”
At the same time, there still isn’t the type of depth you’d like up front. We still go back, too, to a few weeks when we reported they had three “very good linemen,” two that were solid and a few backups. It was encouraging to hear redshirt junior Kyle Kalis talk glowingly about redshirt junior Blake Bars, because he wasn’t one we’d heard anything about.
As for Kalis … he’s grown up, and a lot. There were times in his freshman year that he complained about playing time, other times he wasn’t the most coachable guy on the team. In hindsight - and given what many perceived to be offensive line coaching deficiencies and the fact that he snubbed Ohio State (and, essentially, lost out on a national title) for Michigan – maybe it’s somewhat understandable.
One Ohio reporter asked him on the way out of yesterday’s practice, “Do you regret your decision at all, choosing Michigan over Ohio State? Kalis responded, “not in the least. I’m a Michigan Man all the way.”
Kalis has done a complete 180 this year, and he’s quickly become one of the coaches’ favorites. He’s been dominant at times, and he could be on his way to living up to his five-star billing getting coached by some of the best in the country.
An underrated part of any team is the special teams, and Michigan has the chance to be one of the country’s best … in most facets.
“The biggest reason I’m optimistic we beat Utah is because I think the special teams are going to make two or three game-changing plays,” our source said. “We’re going to win the field-position battle, and I think the defense will keep the score pretty low. The offense just has to be good enough this first game.”
Another source, however, said (unsolicited) recently, “expect them to go for two or go for a lot of fourth downs in field goal range unless things change in the next week.” In other words, the kickers are struggling. Kenny Allen and Kyle Seychel are the two guys battling, but they aren’t getting the kind of consistency they need from that position.
Seychel might be the best bet, but he might also lack the mental toughness needed to compete at this level … at least for now.
Finally, all the hype about freshman wide receiver Drake Harris … it’s warranted, according to yet another one of our sources.
“He’s the best skill position player out there,” our source said. “He’s healthy and making a lot of plays.”
This is from someone who isn’t easily impressed, too. Harris could be the field stretcher the Wolverines need to loosen things up, and he’s certainly emerged as one of the pleasant surprises at camp. Some of his teammates openly worried this summer he’d never get the opportunity to shine because of his hamstring issues – knock on wood, so far, so good.
****
To football recruiting now …
Michigan’s recruiting class is filling more and more by the day but some sources in southeast Michigan believe there are two more big-time prospects that ultimately end up in Ann Arbor.
Farmington Hills (Mich.) Harrison defensive end Khalid Kareem committed to Alabama over Michigan in June, but people close to him don’t think he’ll ever make it to Tuscaloosa. We know that he is still being actively recruited by Michigan, and people close to the situation think he will end up in Ann Arbor.
The four-star end is a physical specimen at 6-4, 257-pounds. He will actually play offensive tackle this season for his Hawks, and he looks like he could develop into an absolute stud there.
No one can predict the future, but if he ends up at Michigan don’t be shocked.
An uncommitted prospect that had once written Michigan completely off may now be leaning toward the Wolverines. Detroit Martin Luther King four-star wide receiver Donnie Corley likes Michigan more and more with each passing day. If it was up to Donny Sr., his son would likely already be a Wolverine, and that’s a positive thing for the Michigan staff.
Corley’s mother, who accompanied him during two trips in one week, also loved what she saw from the coaches and the academic side of things.
A source who just two weeks ago thought Corley would end up either at Michigan State or West Virginia now thinks Michigan will snag the No. 82 player in the country. It’s no secret that Corley is quickly building a very solid relationship with the staff at Michigan. The 6-2, 187-pound receiver also loves the fact that Michigan has signed an apparel deal with Nike and Jordan. Gear isn’t the biggest factor in Corley’s recruitment by any stretch, but when so many teams are so close like they are, little things like that make a difference.
Corley has set up just one official visit, and that is to Michigan State on September 11 for the Oregon game. That environment could be hype, and if he commits to the Spartans on that trip, then what a lot of people thought would happen eventually would come to fruition.
If he leaves East Lansing and is still undecided, however, Michigan should feel very optimistic.
****
To basketball and recruiting now, starting with the former. As most read here, Detroit U-D Jesuit point guard Cassius Winston was in town not long ago for yet another unofficial visit. He’s been to U-M more than anywhere in the last year or so, and several sources say he’s leaning toward the Wolverines.
A few things work to Michigan’s advantage here. One, Winston calls junior Derrick Walton, Jr. his “big brother” and knows he can play next to him for a year before taking over the point guard duties as a sophomore (and yes, he’d be playing some point guard minutes as a frosh, too, if he earned them). He likes the fit in the Michigan offense and the way the Wolverines develop point guards.
Something else working in U-M’s favor – Michigan’s young guys have absolutely killed it in open gyms during which he’s played. No, you can’t tell a whole lot about what goes on in a typical open gym, but you can tell a few things, especially when you’ve got 10 or 11 guys vying to play this season getting after it.
Two guys that have really stepped up: redshirt freshman big man D.J. Wilson and redshirt sophomore transfer Duncan Robinson. Wilson continues to elevate his game in all facets, while Robinson is a lights-out shooter, but proving to be much more.
On Winston … our sources extremely close to it say Winston wasn’t tipping his hand at all while on campus (not looking like the kind of kid who knew what he was going to do, or at least not ready to give an inkling). There was a rumor going around he could commit at a school dance this weekend, but that’s bogus. He plans on deciding in an month following trips to MSU and Michigan (Sept. 19).
There’s still a possibility that U-M will take two more in the 2016 class, as well, depending on what happens with Winston. N.J. four-star point guard Bryce Aiken (6-0, No. 101) has a “tentative” Michigan visit on tap and probably likes the Wolverines the most, so he’s a backup plan to Winston at this point. Clifton Park, N.Y., Shenendehowa standout combo guard Kevin Huerter (6-6, No. 80) could be a 2016 and wants to be, though U-M had angled toward a 2017 possibility with him. If Winston were to pass, things with him could pick up very quickly.
Finally, on 2016 forward Miles Bridges of Huntington, W.V., Prep … he is a good friend of Winston’s, but we expect him to end up at Kentucky. Their sources are extremely confident they’ll land the elite forward, soon to be ranked in the nation’s top 10.
****
Finishing with hockey …
An odd addition this time of the year, but we did want to share a little bit of news from the ice. We interviewed the coaches and some select players this week as we prepare our hockey preview to come out in our October issue of The Wolverine, and the din continues to grow that this will be Red Berenson’s final season at U-M, win or lose.
Two early frontrunners have emerged to replace Berenson, though as multiple sources have shared – it all depends on who the next Athletics Director is.
According to one Michigan athletic department official that has the ear of Jim Hackett, he’s not convinced Hackett will stay on beyond football and basketball season, though he acknowledged the situation is fluid.
“I think his top priorities were and have remained football, the Nike deal, cleaning up some of the financial stuff that had gotten out of control, and generally just running a smooth athletic department after a lot of the PR mistakes under David Brandon,” this official said. "He knows this is a critical year for Michigan athletics and isn’t looking to leave, but I think he feels like once he’s done the job, that will be it.”
Back to the hockey coach, we’ve said this repeatedly but former Michigan assistant Mel Pearson, who is the head coach at Michigan Tech, and current assistant Brian Wiseman are the two top candidates today, but that could change significantly over the next few months.
“The job is Pearson’s if he has another really good season with Tech,” according to multiple hockey sources. “For Wiseman, Michigan has to have a great season – win a Big Ten title, make NCAAs - because then you can say, ‘Yeah, there was a little blip there, but this coaching staff has been incredibly successful for three decades and there is no reason to disrupt something that is working.’
“The worst-case scenario is Pearson struggles at Tech this year and Michigan fails to make NCAAs because then they really have to go outside the family and while there will be great coaches that want this job, I think one of the biggest lessons we’ve learned in this athletic department the past seven years is ‘if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.’”
Will the Michigan football team surprise its naysayers and come out like gangbusters against Utah next week – say, the way the 2006 team did at Notre Dame in a 47-21 win in which they dominated in every facet?
We wish we could tell you yes, but those that have seen the team in practice don’t expect it. What they do expect, though, is for U-M to have a very good chance to beat Utah for three reasons – the defense, the special teams and the rushing attack.
“The defense was really good in fall camp, so good that I let my mind wander to 2006, and there are a lot of similarities with really outstanding linebacker play, a line that is going to stop the run and this team will have a better secondary,” a source extremely close to the program said. “The one question that remains is whether there will be a great pass rusher like LaMarr Woodley.
“You need a couple of those difference-maker types. In 1997, it was Charles Woodson, it was Glen Steele and it was Marcus Ray, and because they were on the field, the defense had to pay attention and you saw so many other guys really blossom because they were in favorable matchups.
“In 2006, you had LaMarr Woodley, David Harris, Leon Hall and Shawn Crable, and then you had all of these unexpectedly big contributions from other players because the offense was dialed in on Woodley and Harris and Hall. I think you have to have one of those guys up front. I think we’re going to get it from Jabrill Peppers and Joe Bolden, and maybe James Ross, who has just been outstanding, but up front, we saw flashes – Chris Wormley, Maurice Hurst, Mario Ojemudia, Taco Charlton – but man, it wouldn’t be there on back-to-back days so you just wonder if someone will be able to do it game after game.”
On offense, the running game did struggle some in preseason practice, but our source attributes that to the front seven defensively. He saw enough positive signs to be encouraged.
“Technique of this offensive line is light years better than it’s been, and on run plays, you’re seeing the offensive line hold its own where in the past few years, they were taking a step back – they were a mess and there’s no mess now,” he said. “An area they can improve is at the second line of the defense, because the linebackers weren’t getting blocked consistently. But, again, I chalk that up to our defensive line being really good.
“I’ll say this -- when our backs had a hole, there was no wasted movement. The vision is better, in my opinion. If there’s the chance for five yards, they’re going to get it. The past two years there might be an opportunity, but our backs would get one or two yards, or get driven back. That’s not happening this season.”
At the same time, there still isn’t the type of depth you’d like up front. We still go back, too, to a few weeks when we reported they had three “very good linemen,” two that were solid and a few backups. It was encouraging to hear redshirt junior Kyle Kalis talk glowingly about redshirt junior Blake Bars, because he wasn’t one we’d heard anything about.
As for Kalis … he’s grown up, and a lot. There were times in his freshman year that he complained about playing time, other times he wasn’t the most coachable guy on the team. In hindsight - and given what many perceived to be offensive line coaching deficiencies and the fact that he snubbed Ohio State (and, essentially, lost out on a national title) for Michigan – maybe it’s somewhat understandable.
One Ohio reporter asked him on the way out of yesterday’s practice, “Do you regret your decision at all, choosing Michigan over Ohio State? Kalis responded, “not in the least. I’m a Michigan Man all the way.”
Kalis has done a complete 180 this year, and he’s quickly become one of the coaches’ favorites. He’s been dominant at times, and he could be on his way to living up to his five-star billing getting coached by some of the best in the country.
An underrated part of any team is the special teams, and Michigan has the chance to be one of the country’s best … in most facets.
“The biggest reason I’m optimistic we beat Utah is because I think the special teams are going to make two or three game-changing plays,” our source said. “We’re going to win the field-position battle, and I think the defense will keep the score pretty low. The offense just has to be good enough this first game.”
Another source, however, said (unsolicited) recently, “expect them to go for two or go for a lot of fourth downs in field goal range unless things change in the next week.” In other words, the kickers are struggling. Kenny Allen and Kyle Seychel are the two guys battling, but they aren’t getting the kind of consistency they need from that position.
Seychel might be the best bet, but he might also lack the mental toughness needed to compete at this level … at least for now.
Finally, all the hype about freshman wide receiver Drake Harris … it’s warranted, according to yet another one of our sources.
“He’s the best skill position player out there,” our source said. “He’s healthy and making a lot of plays.”
This is from someone who isn’t easily impressed, too. Harris could be the field stretcher the Wolverines need to loosen things up, and he’s certainly emerged as one of the pleasant surprises at camp. Some of his teammates openly worried this summer he’d never get the opportunity to shine because of his hamstring issues – knock on wood, so far, so good.
****
To football recruiting now …
Michigan’s recruiting class is filling more and more by the day but some sources in southeast Michigan believe there are two more big-time prospects that ultimately end up in Ann Arbor.
Farmington Hills (Mich.) Harrison defensive end Khalid Kareem committed to Alabama over Michigan in June, but people close to him don’t think he’ll ever make it to Tuscaloosa. We know that he is still being actively recruited by Michigan, and people close to the situation think he will end up in Ann Arbor.
The four-star end is a physical specimen at 6-4, 257-pounds. He will actually play offensive tackle this season for his Hawks, and he looks like he could develop into an absolute stud there.
No one can predict the future, but if he ends up at Michigan don’t be shocked.
An uncommitted prospect that had once written Michigan completely off may now be leaning toward the Wolverines. Detroit Martin Luther King four-star wide receiver Donnie Corley likes Michigan more and more with each passing day. If it was up to Donny Sr., his son would likely already be a Wolverine, and that’s a positive thing for the Michigan staff.
Corley’s mother, who accompanied him during two trips in one week, also loved what she saw from the coaches and the academic side of things.
A source who just two weeks ago thought Corley would end up either at Michigan State or West Virginia now thinks Michigan will snag the No. 82 player in the country. It’s no secret that Corley is quickly building a very solid relationship with the staff at Michigan. The 6-2, 187-pound receiver also loves the fact that Michigan has signed an apparel deal with Nike and Jordan. Gear isn’t the biggest factor in Corley’s recruitment by any stretch, but when so many teams are so close like they are, little things like that make a difference.
Corley has set up just one official visit, and that is to Michigan State on September 11 for the Oregon game. That environment could be hype, and if he commits to the Spartans on that trip, then what a lot of people thought would happen eventually would come to fruition.
If he leaves East Lansing and is still undecided, however, Michigan should feel very optimistic.
****
To basketball and recruiting now, starting with the former. As most read here, Detroit U-D Jesuit point guard Cassius Winston was in town not long ago for yet another unofficial visit. He’s been to U-M more than anywhere in the last year or so, and several sources say he’s leaning toward the Wolverines.
A few things work to Michigan’s advantage here. One, Winston calls junior Derrick Walton, Jr. his “big brother” and knows he can play next to him for a year before taking over the point guard duties as a sophomore (and yes, he’d be playing some point guard minutes as a frosh, too, if he earned them). He likes the fit in the Michigan offense and the way the Wolverines develop point guards.
Something else working in U-M’s favor – Michigan’s young guys have absolutely killed it in open gyms during which he’s played. No, you can’t tell a whole lot about what goes on in a typical open gym, but you can tell a few things, especially when you’ve got 10 or 11 guys vying to play this season getting after it.
Two guys that have really stepped up: redshirt freshman big man D.J. Wilson and redshirt sophomore transfer Duncan Robinson. Wilson continues to elevate his game in all facets, while Robinson is a lights-out shooter, but proving to be much more.
On Winston … our sources extremely close to it say Winston wasn’t tipping his hand at all while on campus (not looking like the kind of kid who knew what he was going to do, or at least not ready to give an inkling). There was a rumor going around he could commit at a school dance this weekend, but that’s bogus. He plans on deciding in an month following trips to MSU and Michigan (Sept. 19).
There’s still a possibility that U-M will take two more in the 2016 class, as well, depending on what happens with Winston. N.J. four-star point guard Bryce Aiken (6-0, No. 101) has a “tentative” Michigan visit on tap and probably likes the Wolverines the most, so he’s a backup plan to Winston at this point. Clifton Park, N.Y., Shenendehowa standout combo guard Kevin Huerter (6-6, No. 80) could be a 2016 and wants to be, though U-M had angled toward a 2017 possibility with him. If Winston were to pass, things with him could pick up very quickly.
Finally, on 2016 forward Miles Bridges of Huntington, W.V., Prep … he is a good friend of Winston’s, but we expect him to end up at Kentucky. Their sources are extremely confident they’ll land the elite forward, soon to be ranked in the nation’s top 10.
****
Finishing with hockey …
An odd addition this time of the year, but we did want to share a little bit of news from the ice. We interviewed the coaches and some select players this week as we prepare our hockey preview to come out in our October issue of The Wolverine, and the din continues to grow that this will be Red Berenson’s final season at U-M, win or lose.
Two early frontrunners have emerged to replace Berenson, though as multiple sources have shared – it all depends on who the next Athletics Director is.
According to one Michigan athletic department official that has the ear of Jim Hackett, he’s not convinced Hackett will stay on beyond football and basketball season, though he acknowledged the situation is fluid.
“I think his top priorities were and have remained football, the Nike deal, cleaning up some of the financial stuff that had gotten out of control, and generally just running a smooth athletic department after a lot of the PR mistakes under David Brandon,” this official said. "He knows this is a critical year for Michigan athletics and isn’t looking to leave, but I think he feels like once he’s done the job, that will be it.”
Back to the hockey coach, we’ve said this repeatedly but former Michigan assistant Mel Pearson, who is the head coach at Michigan Tech, and current assistant Brian Wiseman are the two top candidates today, but that could change significantly over the next few months.
“The job is Pearson’s if he has another really good season with Tech,” according to multiple hockey sources. “For Wiseman, Michigan has to have a great season – win a Big Ten title, make NCAAs - because then you can say, ‘Yeah, there was a little blip there, but this coaching staff has been incredibly successful for three decades and there is no reason to disrupt something that is working.’
“The worst-case scenario is Pearson struggles at Tech this year and Michigan fails to make NCAAs because then they really have to go outside the family and while there will be great coaches that want this job, I think one of the biggest lessons we’ve learned in this athletic department the past seven years is ‘if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.’”
