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INSIDE THE FORT: NOVEMBER 13 - Wisconsin Intel, Potential Depth Chart Shake-ups, Hoops and More ...

ChrisBalas

Austin Powers, Goldmember
Jul 6, 2001
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284,319
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Dexter, MI
www.thewolverine.com
The latest edition of INSIDE THE FORT, including plenty of football, basketball and recruiting information.

Starting with football, and an article earlier this week that surfaced about Jim Harbaugh and his future at Michigan …

Without going into detail about it, it was written that Harbaugh had gotten frustrated about disadvantages, etc. and was going to pack it in at Michigan at year-end. We can tell you know after speaking to a number of people close to it that this is patently false.

One said his extension is still there waiting to be finalized, and that it would have been by now had it not been for COVID-19. Another very close to it noted nobody at the forefront, from President Mark Schlissel to A.D. Warde Manuel, would have rescinded it, and Harbaugh is so entrenched in trying to figure out how to “fix” this season that he hasn’t even thought about the contract (which is what he’s been saying).

As for the long-term extension now, though … the pressure is mounting, and it’s been hard on a lot of people — not just Harbaugh, of course, but those close to him. There’s been a lot of negativity, which comes with the territory when you’re not winning at Michigan, and that takes its toll.

From what some close to it have gathered, the administration is willing to look at this as a “mulligan year” no matter what happens the rest of the way, citing opt-outs, injuries etc. as tough obstacles to overcome.

For now, however, those articles are pure speculation and only hurting the cause on the recruiting trail. That’s only making it tougher to turn it around.

But that’s the goal, and they’re looking for any and all answers. One source told us the Wolverines did some serious self-scouting last week and reached out to a number of people to get their opinions on why the defense was struggling so much — why it appeared offensive lines knew when blitzes were coming and from where, etc. That’s huge, of course, for a defense not generating any pass rush … as we wrote last week, it seemed Indiana was waiting for the linebackers to blitz and then throwing to the vacated spot.

From what we’ve heard, one who scouted it apparently found a “tell” in the U-M defense that made it a bit predictable. They could figure a few things out just be sending a player in motion, for example. If this is the case, we would expect that to be fixed and — hopefully — the players will be in better positions to make plays as a result.

The early-week address, meanwhile, was similar to what Harbaugh told the media … guys are going to get their opportunities to show what they can do, from seniors to freshmen. Doors have been opened, and while we can’t say for sure this is why, it certainly doesn’t help the cause for those who have become too accepting of losing.

There was too much laughing and smiling following a 38-21 loss at Indiana for the liking of some who still remember when every loss felt like a kick in the groin. There were some, though, like sophomore receiver Cornelius Johnson, who took it really hard, and it was obvious.

It was no surprise that Harbaugh mentioned Johnson as a guy who was moving up the depth chart. He played well, of course, but he also has the desire to be a winner that, frankly, needs to rub off on some of his teammates.

It will be very interesting Saturday night to see who plays and how much, but we expect a lot of rotation, and perhaps another change on the offensive line. We also believe there will be a shortened running back rotation, and perhaps a different role for one of the four.

More football …

One of the biggest storylines surrounding this weekend’s game is which Badger players will play and which ones won’t due to the virus. Nobody outside of the Wisconsin football building seems to know the answer to that question with any certainty, though Jake Kocorowski of BadgerBlitz did his best to try and break it all down for us.

“That is the million dollar question right now, honestly, and here's my long answer,” he began. “Wisconsin has not confirmed which players tested positive for COVID-19 and are subject to the Big Ten's 21-day protocol for return, though there were previous media reports about Mertz and also backup Chase Wolf receiving a positive COVID-19 test.

“Though the athletic department has not confirmed Mertz's positive diagnosis, some of the coaches have included insight. On Wednesday, offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph was asked about the situation in his quarterback room, and he said the question mark was Mertz.

“’He's in the protocol, and we'll kind of see how this week progresses with him. Does he get through it? Does he get to practice? Where would he be at that point?" Rudolph said. ‘In the meantime, we've had good practices and feel good about the guys that are rolling. A little bit of uncertainty there, but the guys that have practiced are, I think, ready to go.’

“Rudolph further clarified that the depth chart, if healthy, would be Mertz at No. 1, Wolf at No. 2 and Vanden Boom No. 3. The big question that the coordinator mentioned later was if Mertz gets to the point of practicing, will he get enough in to feel confident with him. Earlier in the week, head coach Paul Chryst mentioned that the redshirt freshman went through the mandated tests. He believed Mertz would receive some practice time, but also noted that they will see if he receives enough of it to play. That may be the biggest loss that we would know of, especially with how he played in the season opener.

“On Monday, Chryst said that some players are in position to contribute in roles they may not have been utilized in before.

“’I think we've got certainly some guys that are working in the depth [chart] right now with it, that haven't played snaps or a lot of snaps,’ Chryst said. ‘I think we got a couple guys that did some things on special teams, but now are getting some work with the first two groups on offense or defense.

“’I don't know how it's going to play out ... but I think we got some guys that – because of the situation, both what they're doing and kind of how they're progressing and obviously where the whole roster is — that we'll have some guys probably get some snaps that three weeks ago weren't probably in that position.’”

Mertz is obviously the headliner here, and his potential absence would be a blow for Wisconsin if he’s not able to go. Sure, his 20-of-21, five-touchdown performance came against a dismal Illinois team in the opener, but it was impressive, nonetheless.

“Where to begin?” Kocorowski said when asked to recap what stood out most about his debut start. “Just the array of throws Mertz provided. He showed touch on a few throws, including on a 10-yard touchdown pass to fullback Mason Stokke in the first quarter on UW's first offensive series. He also put enough spin on the ball in strikes a 14-yard score to tight end Jake Ferguson in the first half and on a deep third-down completion to Pryor in the second half.

“Of course, he was accurate as well. He completed 20-of-21 passes, breaking the school's single-game completion percentage record, and he hit wide receiver Davis perfectly for a 53-yard touchdown pass before the end of the first half against Illinois. Maybe most impressively, at least for one game, he lived up to the enormous hype surrounding his recruiting accolades and eventual signing with Wisconsin. Kudos needs to go out to the coaching staff for getting him in a rhythm early and then letting him roll like he did.”

There are several areas Wisconsin will have significant on-field advantages in against U-M on Saturday night, with Kocorowski revealing the biggest areas the Badgers may try to exploit on the Wolverines’ team.

“It is tough to say to an extent because of who may be available, but one area that has stuck out to me really has been the Wolverines giving up 300-yard plus performances in the past two weeks,” he noted. “The Badgers have talent at wide receiver and tight end. I'm intrigued to see who's under center (or in the shotgun or pistol) for Chryst's offense, but I think the supporting cast can help there.

“Maybe the best answer here lies within Wisconsin's defense. I think if they can contain the read-option, which they had trouble against Illinois on two Brandon Peters 30-yard-plus runs, it will definitely force Michigan to be one-dimensional. I like UW's secondary a lot, a strength not just on that unit but of the team.”

A postscript here … another Wisconsin source told us this today when we asked about Mertz:

“Nothing certain, but there’s some buzz he won’t play,” he said. “I assumed he was good to go up until late last night when that talk started.”

When we shared that this team lost to a crappy MSU team at home and we figured the Badgers would win anyway, he responded, “honestly, I don’t know about that.”

“They would be down to their fourth string quarterback (Vanden Boom) who is a fringe scholarship guy. And I don’t think Wisconsin can run the ball all that effectively this year," he said. "They will have double-digit guys out due to COVID … we just don’t know who yet.”

****

Some football recruiting …

There was plenty of recruiting buzz in the immediate aftermath of Michigan’s 27-24 home loss to Michigan State Oct. 31, including on East Lansing (Mich.) High three-star U-M wideout commit Andrel Anthony. The 6-2, 175-pounder chose the Wolverines over the Spartans and others back in July. Some reported that Anthony was likely to flip to the Spartans after the upset win … Was that talk overblown?

Probably a bit, yes. Anthony said one game doesn’t have a huge impact on where things stand with his commitment status. He was in Ann Arbor watching the game with fellow wideout pledges Cristian Dixon and Xavier Worthy, and though the result wasn’t what they expected or hoped for, they had a great time hanging out and getting to know each other in person.

“We were upset,” Anthony told us. “Definitely surprised. But we just said they have to bounce back.

“I mean, yeah, they won, but I don’t really look at one game. I just really look at how it goes for my position and where I will be playing at. The game can go either way, so I just look at how I fit in this offense, how they’re going to get me the ball and how they make plays.”

That being said, Anthony has never stopped responding to messages and phone calls from the schools he was high on before his decision, especially the Spartans, Notre Dame and Penn State, and you can bet MSU head coach Mel Tucker and his staff were all over him after their improbable win and a huge performance by true freshman receiver Ricky White, who exploded for eight receptions for 196 yards and a touchdown.

“It was funny — as soon as the game was over, all their coaches texted me and said, ‘Did you see that? Did you see that?’ Stuff like that,” Anthony said. “It was kinda funny. They just talked about how Ricky White went off, and same with Jayden Reed the first week.”

His high school teammate, three-star MSU offensive line commit Ethan Boyd, continues to make his pitch to Anthony as well.

“He’s always in my ear, just joking and stuff like that. He was just saying, ‘You see Ricky White?’ The [MSU] coaching staff, they don’t have the best players but they develop them, that’s basically what he’s been talking about.”

We asked Anthony about the conversations with other schools and if opposing coaches bring up Jim Harbaugh’s (lack of) contract extension, which has been ammo used against the Wolverines on the trail, especially after two-straight losses.

“I mean, no. Other coaches don’t really talk about other schools like that,” Anthony revealed. “They always say I’m not going to talk about other schools. But I see it on Instagram a lot. People send me stuff like ‘Harbaugh’s gonna get fired this year’ he’s gonna go to the NFL. I saw it was a recent thing, it was chatter or buzz that he’s gonna go to the league or something.”

With the current state of U-M’s team, on top of Harbaugh’s contract situation, it’s inevitable that Anthony and others hear the noise. But to the Wolverines’ credit, Anthony said the U-M coaches have been consistent with their contact and continue to push their own message — that freshmen are getting the ball in Josh Gattis’ offense and he can be in the same boat should he stick with the Maize and Blue.

****

Finishing with basketball and recruiting …

Starting with the team, where several are making a move. Freshman center Hunter Dickinson continues to improve by the week, and fifth-year senior Austin Davis is battling to hold him back. The good news — Davis has been one of Dickinson’s biggest teachers and fans, indicative of the unselfishness on this team.

There will be tough decisions to make on the starting lineup, but these things will sort themselves out. There are a number of guys who are playing too well to keep off the floor, so they’ll get their shots. Senior wing Chaundee Brown and senior Eli Brooks will rotate based on lineups, at least initially, and the “sure” starters for the Nov. 25 opener (we’ve heard — against Bowling Green. And for those who missed it, Oakland is the in-state team we've been telling you about. That game will be No. 29) … grad senior Mike Smith at the point, sophomore wing Franz Wagner and senior forward Isaiah Livers.

There’s no absence of playmakers on this squad, and if someone falters, others will get opportunities. In fact, they will, regardless.

We still don’t know what junior forward Brandon Johns’ role will be, but there are times he’s still taking too long to process. He’s also had some really good practices. This is a year, however, in which he’ll need to make a move with the talent around him and the talent coming in.

On recruiting, what else can you say about what head coach Juwan Howard is building? Kids are talking, and they want to play with other winners. Four-star forward Moussa Diabate’s recruitment really took a turn when five-star Caleb Houstan pledged — everyone loves Houstan as a player and a person — and he has promised he’ll make it on campus instead of the G-League. That’s why U-M accepted his pledge.

The Wolverines could take one more player in the 2021 class with the expectation that Wagner will be in the NBA next year, but we don’t expect that to happen. Five-star big man Chet Holmgren was in town for a game last night, but those close to it believe it’s Gonzaga or the G-League for the skinny but skilled forward.

As we’ve mentioned many times, U-M is in great shape for 2022 point guard Jaden Bradley, another of the “recruitable” five-stars and a friend of four-star Jett Howard at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, Juwan’s son.

Add those two to the talent already on the roster, and wow.

For the “how’s he doing it?” crowd … we asked assistant Phil Martelli this summer how they would proceed if they came across the “non-recruitable” five-stars. He made it clear U-M wanted nothing to do with that game, and we have no doubt Howard’s unbelievable work ethic and charisma is making the difference, with a huge assist from his assistants.

“I like people. I like connecting, and even the guys who are out there looking for something … you can just decide you don’t want to deal with that, just take them out of your rolodex, so to speak,” Martelli said. “I have always enjoyed engaging, and with this kind of methodology we’re using where we spend time talking to kids and their families and making sure there’s a connection …”

Well … you’re seeing the results.

As always, thanks for visiting TheWolverine.com!
 
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