The latest edition of INSIDE THE FORT, including football, basketball and recruiting information …
Starting with football, and the quarterback situation …
We’ve heard some complaints recently about our portrayal of redshirt freshman Brandon Peters — specifically, we’ve said that he may not be Michigan’s quarterback of the future unless something happens soon to push him to that next level when it comes to leadership, etc.
Too many fans seem to take it personally, as though it’s personal to us. There’s not a kid on the team we don’t want to succeed — seems obvious, but also necessary to make that clear — but criticism comes with the territory. It was similar with sophomore Mike Onwenu early, when we called out his play at times (based on what All-Americans, All-Big Ten players who actually played the position were seeing on film).
He’s since turned it around and made great progress, and we couldn't be happier for the kid. It will be the same if and when Peters puts it all together.
Period.
For now, though — and again, please don't shoot the messenger — we continue to hear the most buzz on true freshman Dylan McCaffrey. From some close to it, backing up what we’ve heard behind the scenes:
“There are those [extremely close to it] who act as though it is a foregone conclusion (in a GOOD way, not arrogant, just matter of fact) that Harbaugh DOES in fact have his next Andrew Luck in hand, and it's McCaffrey. There is no "hope" when they speak of him, just "fact" about how special they think he is, and how confident they are that they got it right with him.
“There is still some haze to the timeline with him, due to not knowing whether or not Peters will have a say, Wilton Speight will return for a fifth year, etc., but there’s no doubt they believe McCaffrey is a special talent.”
As we mentioned in last week’s ITF, recently confirmed by the Detroit News in a conversation with Speight’s parents, Speight could be available for the last two games of the year, working hard to get back on the field.
Finally, when things go poorly, rumors of transfers, etc. always pop up. We heard an absurd one about freshman Donovan Peoples-Jones recently (debunked), and there will be others, often attached to kids far from home.
One came to fruition last offseason when tight end Devin Asiasi left. Others didn’t. All we can say is it’s par for the course, and more often than not those kids stay put.
****
Some football recruiting now …
Eureka (Mo.) High two-star running back Hassan Haskins is modestly rated right now, but is expected to get a significant bump the next time Rivals goes through the process. The 6-2, 195-pounder has had a great senior season, and that caught Michigan’s eye. He picked up an offer from the Wolverines a couple of weeks ago and is officially visiting this weekend. He’s excited for what he may see, and could be primed for a commitment.
Haskins admitted that there’s a chance he’ll commit over the weekend, and also said he’s already discussed pulling the trigger with his high school coaches. The plan for this weekend is to see what everything is about in terms of academics, game day experiences and vibe of current players within the program. Feeling out the coaches in person is also a huge part of the weekend and will likely determine whether or not he ends up committing to the Wolverines.
As one prospect potentially comes in, another is likely heading out. Indianapolis Cathedral four-star guard Emil Ekiyor’s commitment has been a hot-button topic over the last couple of months, and it may come to a head this weekend.
The 6-4, 339-pounder has been to Alabama more than he’s been to Ann Arbor this year and has been openly discussing the idea of flipping to the Tide. He was a “maybe” for Michigan’s contest against Rutgers this weekend but has since been confirmed as a “no.” The Indy native has seemingly been more “interested” in Michigan than “committed,” and that ultimately led to some less-than-perfect vibes between the two parties.
Fans and readers have already been upset over this potential occurrence for a while, which is understandable. Ekiyor is a highly rated, athletic interior lineman who is coveted by Alabama.
With that being said, there are some things about Ekiyor that caused some concern for U-M’s staff. He’s been injured quite a bit and that, along with a couple of other physical issues, caused him to look less than dominant on the field at times. There have been mixed opinions on whether or not Ekiyor was truly wanted by the Michigan staff throughout this process but one thing is clear — Ekiyor had the word “committed” next to his name, but hasn’t acted like a Michigan commit in some time.
****
To basketball now, where head coach John Beilein tempered expectations (or at least tried to) at media day in saying his team ‘wasn’t very good,’ adding he felt they’d have some bumps in the road early.
“I anticipate this year with a 31-game season, I am certain — and I hope I’m not being a Debbie Downer with this thing — our early schedule, we’re going to be hit with stuff,” he said. “We’re going to say, ‘Okay, it’s part of the proposes, and we’re not going to keep thinking about [what happened] last year … we’ve got to understand it’s part of the process. With this schedule, the youth on this team, three guys and then [sophomore point guard Zavier Simpson], who played six minutes, who walked out and played any type of minutes. We have to be patient and watch it.
“I hate it that we have to continue to try to rebuild, reinvent. It’s been that way every year. Pretty much, except for a couple, that’s been the story. Sometimes we’ll be more equipped to win early; sometimes we won’t be.”
This is one of the years they won’t, he said after watching 16 practices.
“There’s not this rainbow waiting at the end. You’ve got to earn that rainbow,” he said. “I don’t want them to hold that back and think they can turn it on at the end. We’re going to go through some stuff this year and going to have to stay strong, get better and better, not point fingers. We’re going to have to be very positive, and me as a coach, so we can grow.”
That’s to be expected, probably, with three new starters in the lineup. The Wolverines have some nice parts, but grad transfer point guard Jaaron Simmons is still learning the offense — he looks good, but it could still take some time — and two freshmen will have to contribute.
At this point, it appears to be point guard/combo guard Eli Brooks and power forward Isaiah Livers, showing once again how recruiting rankings aren’t always indicative of what a kid will be able to do.
Through 10 years with Beilein, we’ve picked up on his buzzwords and matched what he’s saying publicly with what we’ve heard behind the scenes. When he says, ‘he is (or can be) a good shooter, but he has to do it when the lights go on,’ that usually means a guy isn’t shooting as well as he can in scrimmage situations, for example.
Redshirt sophomore Charles Matthews is one. He has great moments, is very athletic and can slash, but he’s been streaky. He shot well in drills, making 65 in the three-point drill (out of 85 … for comparison’s sake, Duncan Robinson is low 70s, and freshman Brooks has already hit 67), but it’s when they go live that they need to make them, obviously.
“What we've learned, and we saw this before with Mark Donnal, Duncan Robinson, is when the lights go on it’s a little different,” Beilein said. “When you’re really being held accountable.
“He’s had some great days of practice, some other days not great. He’s working through it. He hasn’t been on the court in a real situation, real minutes, not coming out of the game, since he was in high school. He’s a work in progress like Austin Davis, where the talent is there. Now, am I going to be able to do the things to win games? Can I make winning play after winning play, whether it’s taking a charge, being in position to be in position, making a foul shot? All those things are evolving.”
True freshman Jordan Poole is another in a similar position. We expected he could contribute immediately, but he’s still adjusting to the speed of the game, and his scrimmage triples aren’t matching his output in drills … he’s another guy Beilein said would get it as they went live more and more, but acknowledged Poole needed to do it when the lights went on.
Beilein is also waiting for redshirt freshman big man Davis to take that next step. He reiterated that Davis was nearly unstoppable at times on the scout team last year, wanting to make sure people knew he wasn’t blowing smoke (“they’d score 16, and he’d have 12 of them,” he said), but Davis has been deferential too often while fighting for minutes with sophomore Jon Teske.
Livers is very athletic and starting to come into his own as a shooter, and Brooks has been very good from both two-point range (50 percent) and three (40-plus) in scrimmages. That’s usually telling in the early going, and both should play critical roles.
The Wolverines scrimmage Toledo Sunday, and they’ll likely struggle, the way they have with Akron, Eastern Michigan and others over the last several years (including last year).
We can’t tell you the number of panicked texts we get from people after these scrimmages (‘we lost a half to Akron, OMG, this team sux!’). Beilein is not concerned in the least about winning these … he’s looking for the right combinations to put on the floor in games that matter.
Finally, as noted, this team has plenty of new faces on it this season, and sometimes the newcomers don’t always mesh with those already in place. However, that does not appear to be the case with this unit.
They seem to be an incredibly close group of guys, and the chemistry is outstanding.
Fifth-year senior grad transfer point guard Jaaron Simmons is fitting in nicely with the culture at Michigan so far — he was recently given an emphatic ‘Go Blue’ from a fan, and his eyes lit up before responding with an enthusiastic ‘Go Blue’ of his own.
Sophomore Ibi Watson and freshman Poole are already great friends — and it shows — having met on the recruiting trail a few years ago. Watson also seems to have hit it off with freshman forward Livers. After Livers finished up his media day interviews on Wednesday, Watson snuck up to him, pretended to be a reporter, and stuck a Gatorade bottle (as a microphone) in his face and proceeded to ask him comical questions.
The two shared a laugh afterward.
Livers is mature beyond his years, and doesn’t have the makeup of a 19-year-old. He’s outgoing, confident and very charismatic. Having grown up in Kalamazoo, he also understands what Michigan basketball is about. When asked what game he’s most looking forward to this season, Livers didn’t hesitate — “Michigan State. That’s the big one.”
Having been recruited by both schools, he knows how intense the rivalry is, and how crucial it is to beat them, a tough task this year for sure given that the only game is against a loaded Spartans squad in East Lansing.
Starting with football, and the quarterback situation …
We’ve heard some complaints recently about our portrayal of redshirt freshman Brandon Peters — specifically, we’ve said that he may not be Michigan’s quarterback of the future unless something happens soon to push him to that next level when it comes to leadership, etc.
Too many fans seem to take it personally, as though it’s personal to us. There’s not a kid on the team we don’t want to succeed — seems obvious, but also necessary to make that clear — but criticism comes with the territory. It was similar with sophomore Mike Onwenu early, when we called out his play at times (based on what All-Americans, All-Big Ten players who actually played the position were seeing on film).
He’s since turned it around and made great progress, and we couldn't be happier for the kid. It will be the same if and when Peters puts it all together.
Period.
For now, though — and again, please don't shoot the messenger — we continue to hear the most buzz on true freshman Dylan McCaffrey. From some close to it, backing up what we’ve heard behind the scenes:
“There are those [extremely close to it] who act as though it is a foregone conclusion (in a GOOD way, not arrogant, just matter of fact) that Harbaugh DOES in fact have his next Andrew Luck in hand, and it's McCaffrey. There is no "hope" when they speak of him, just "fact" about how special they think he is, and how confident they are that they got it right with him.
“There is still some haze to the timeline with him, due to not knowing whether or not Peters will have a say, Wilton Speight will return for a fifth year, etc., but there’s no doubt they believe McCaffrey is a special talent.”
As we mentioned in last week’s ITF, recently confirmed by the Detroit News in a conversation with Speight’s parents, Speight could be available for the last two games of the year, working hard to get back on the field.
Finally, when things go poorly, rumors of transfers, etc. always pop up. We heard an absurd one about freshman Donovan Peoples-Jones recently (debunked), and there will be others, often attached to kids far from home.
One came to fruition last offseason when tight end Devin Asiasi left. Others didn’t. All we can say is it’s par for the course, and more often than not those kids stay put.
****
Some football recruiting now …
Eureka (Mo.) High two-star running back Hassan Haskins is modestly rated right now, but is expected to get a significant bump the next time Rivals goes through the process. The 6-2, 195-pounder has had a great senior season, and that caught Michigan’s eye. He picked up an offer from the Wolverines a couple of weeks ago and is officially visiting this weekend. He’s excited for what he may see, and could be primed for a commitment.
Haskins admitted that there’s a chance he’ll commit over the weekend, and also said he’s already discussed pulling the trigger with his high school coaches. The plan for this weekend is to see what everything is about in terms of academics, game day experiences and vibe of current players within the program. Feeling out the coaches in person is also a huge part of the weekend and will likely determine whether or not he ends up committing to the Wolverines.
As one prospect potentially comes in, another is likely heading out. Indianapolis Cathedral four-star guard Emil Ekiyor’s commitment has been a hot-button topic over the last couple of months, and it may come to a head this weekend.
The 6-4, 339-pounder has been to Alabama more than he’s been to Ann Arbor this year and has been openly discussing the idea of flipping to the Tide. He was a “maybe” for Michigan’s contest against Rutgers this weekend but has since been confirmed as a “no.” The Indy native has seemingly been more “interested” in Michigan than “committed,” and that ultimately led to some less-than-perfect vibes between the two parties.
Fans and readers have already been upset over this potential occurrence for a while, which is understandable. Ekiyor is a highly rated, athletic interior lineman who is coveted by Alabama.
With that being said, there are some things about Ekiyor that caused some concern for U-M’s staff. He’s been injured quite a bit and that, along with a couple of other physical issues, caused him to look less than dominant on the field at times. There have been mixed opinions on whether or not Ekiyor was truly wanted by the Michigan staff throughout this process but one thing is clear — Ekiyor had the word “committed” next to his name, but hasn’t acted like a Michigan commit in some time.
****
To basketball now, where head coach John Beilein tempered expectations (or at least tried to) at media day in saying his team ‘wasn’t very good,’ adding he felt they’d have some bumps in the road early.
“I anticipate this year with a 31-game season, I am certain — and I hope I’m not being a Debbie Downer with this thing — our early schedule, we’re going to be hit with stuff,” he said. “We’re going to say, ‘Okay, it’s part of the proposes, and we’re not going to keep thinking about [what happened] last year … we’ve got to understand it’s part of the process. With this schedule, the youth on this team, three guys and then [sophomore point guard Zavier Simpson], who played six minutes, who walked out and played any type of minutes. We have to be patient and watch it.
“I hate it that we have to continue to try to rebuild, reinvent. It’s been that way every year. Pretty much, except for a couple, that’s been the story. Sometimes we’ll be more equipped to win early; sometimes we won’t be.”
This is one of the years they won’t, he said after watching 16 practices.
“There’s not this rainbow waiting at the end. You’ve got to earn that rainbow,” he said. “I don’t want them to hold that back and think they can turn it on at the end. We’re going to go through some stuff this year and going to have to stay strong, get better and better, not point fingers. We’re going to have to be very positive, and me as a coach, so we can grow.”
That’s to be expected, probably, with three new starters in the lineup. The Wolverines have some nice parts, but grad transfer point guard Jaaron Simmons is still learning the offense — he looks good, but it could still take some time — and two freshmen will have to contribute.
At this point, it appears to be point guard/combo guard Eli Brooks and power forward Isaiah Livers, showing once again how recruiting rankings aren’t always indicative of what a kid will be able to do.
Through 10 years with Beilein, we’ve picked up on his buzzwords and matched what he’s saying publicly with what we’ve heard behind the scenes. When he says, ‘he is (or can be) a good shooter, but he has to do it when the lights go on,’ that usually means a guy isn’t shooting as well as he can in scrimmage situations, for example.
Redshirt sophomore Charles Matthews is one. He has great moments, is very athletic and can slash, but he’s been streaky. He shot well in drills, making 65 in the three-point drill (out of 85 … for comparison’s sake, Duncan Robinson is low 70s, and freshman Brooks has already hit 67), but it’s when they go live that they need to make them, obviously.
“What we've learned, and we saw this before with Mark Donnal, Duncan Robinson, is when the lights go on it’s a little different,” Beilein said. “When you’re really being held accountable.
“He’s had some great days of practice, some other days not great. He’s working through it. He hasn’t been on the court in a real situation, real minutes, not coming out of the game, since he was in high school. He’s a work in progress like Austin Davis, where the talent is there. Now, am I going to be able to do the things to win games? Can I make winning play after winning play, whether it’s taking a charge, being in position to be in position, making a foul shot? All those things are evolving.”
True freshman Jordan Poole is another in a similar position. We expected he could contribute immediately, but he’s still adjusting to the speed of the game, and his scrimmage triples aren’t matching his output in drills … he’s another guy Beilein said would get it as they went live more and more, but acknowledged Poole needed to do it when the lights went on.
Beilein is also waiting for redshirt freshman big man Davis to take that next step. He reiterated that Davis was nearly unstoppable at times on the scout team last year, wanting to make sure people knew he wasn’t blowing smoke (“they’d score 16, and he’d have 12 of them,” he said), but Davis has been deferential too often while fighting for minutes with sophomore Jon Teske.
Livers is very athletic and starting to come into his own as a shooter, and Brooks has been very good from both two-point range (50 percent) and three (40-plus) in scrimmages. That’s usually telling in the early going, and both should play critical roles.
The Wolverines scrimmage Toledo Sunday, and they’ll likely struggle, the way they have with Akron, Eastern Michigan and others over the last several years (including last year).
We can’t tell you the number of panicked texts we get from people after these scrimmages (‘we lost a half to Akron, OMG, this team sux!’). Beilein is not concerned in the least about winning these … he’s looking for the right combinations to put on the floor in games that matter.
Finally, as noted, this team has plenty of new faces on it this season, and sometimes the newcomers don’t always mesh with those already in place. However, that does not appear to be the case with this unit.
They seem to be an incredibly close group of guys, and the chemistry is outstanding.
Fifth-year senior grad transfer point guard Jaaron Simmons is fitting in nicely with the culture at Michigan so far — he was recently given an emphatic ‘Go Blue’ from a fan, and his eyes lit up before responding with an enthusiastic ‘Go Blue’ of his own.
Sophomore Ibi Watson and freshman Poole are already great friends — and it shows — having met on the recruiting trail a few years ago. Watson also seems to have hit it off with freshman forward Livers. After Livers finished up his media day interviews on Wednesday, Watson snuck up to him, pretended to be a reporter, and stuck a Gatorade bottle (as a microphone) in his face and proceeded to ask him comical questions.
The two shared a laugh afterward.
Livers is mature beyond his years, and doesn’t have the makeup of a 19-year-old. He’s outgoing, confident and very charismatic. Having grown up in Kalamazoo, he also understands what Michigan basketball is about. When asked what game he’s most looking forward to this season, Livers didn’t hesitate — “Michigan State. That’s the big one.”
Having been recruited by both schools, he knows how intense the rivalry is, and how crucial it is to beat them, a tough task this year for sure given that the only game is against a loaded Spartans squad in East Lansing.
