Thinking out loud on a number of subjects on a muggy Thursday in Ann Arbor …
“What’s Michigan’s ceiling this year?”
That’s a question we’re asked a lot on radio shows, etc., and the answer is the same … this is a team with a lot of similarities to Ohio State last year. The Buckeyes lost a ton of talent to the pros, reloaded, got some breaks and made the college football playoff.
It was clear they weren’t the best team in the country. They struggled mightily against the best (should have lost to Michigan, a team OSU head coach Urban Meyer said was ‘right up there with Alabama among the best teams we’ve played,’ got blown out by Clemson) … yet they made the playoff and won the games they were supposed to win.
U-M has young talent all over the field. The offensive line shakeup would be more of a concern if last year’s veterans hadn’t made so many mental mistakes at big times — they looked like first-year players, on occasion.
The biggest concern is at corner. The young guys need to add some toughness to their games, have a long way to go in run support and need to learn how to play through bumps and bruises. Lavert Hill and David Long are very talented, and they’ll need to step up … they’re being pushed.
D.C. Don Brown is going to continue to put them in press man situations 90 percent of the time, which means lots of pressure on the corners. Penn State’s arm punt offense could be on full display in Happy Valley this fall, and cornerback play could be the difference between a win and a loss.
A few other football thoughts:
• Harbaugh’s team will start and end the regular season with wins. Yes, that means victories over Florida and Ohio State.
The Gators are going to have a hard time moving the ball on U-M’s young but talented defense, and Michigan’s got the offensive minds and enough talent to score some points. This one ends something like 24-13.
For all the angst about OSU, the Wolverines got the better of that offensive line for most of the day last year (eight(!) sacks), including the second group. They deserved a better fate.
Things tend to even out. There were a few games during U-M’s dominance of the John Cooper teams that stand out, in fact. Many forget that U-M ran for only 44 yards on 44 carries against the Buckeyes in 1997, for example, and struggled mightily on offense.
Two years later, Cooper employed a unique trap to the running game and the Buckeyes grossed 287 yards rushing to U-M’s 102 … and still lost, 24-17, to Tom Brady and Co.
The breaks haven’t gone the Wolverines’ way over the last 15 years, the way they didn’t for the Buckeyes the previous decade-plus. It’s time for it to even out, and Harbaugh will be as prepared for that game as he’s been for any in his career. Bank it.
• Fifth-year senior center Pat Kugler is one of the keys to this season. By all accounts, he’s really putting in the time to be better physically, and that’s the key to his success. If they can keep senior Mason Cole at left tackle with sophomore Ben Bredeson at guard, that side of the line could be very, very good.
Fair or not, it’s exciting to see some new blood up front, too, and see what they’re capable of. The inconsistency of the men up front over the last few years was maddening.
Oh, and there are still some who strongly believe Cesar Ruiz will be one of U-M’s best five lineman, and that he’ll work his way into the lineup at some point in the season.
• Talking to a Michigan assistant coach several years ago about Mississippi’s recruiting … the notable bump it got under head coach Hugh Freeze … he laughed and said, “they aren’t doing it legally.”
Seemed clear to everybody in the country, especially when kids were flashing stacks of cash, jewelry etc. on twitter during their visits. There was still the “prove it” faction, of course, who still don’t understand what goes on out on the recruiting trail.
Well, here’s a bit of light reading on the Rebels to get everyone caught up on the fallout from those elite classes:
https://www.outkickthecoverage.com/houston-nutt-buries-hugh-freeze-new-lawsuit/
The stories seem to get better each year, too. Someone should write a book …
• Except kids, for whatever reason, aren’t willing to talk, even years later. Remember when Ohio State’s Maurice Clarett spoke after the fact about what he received at OSU? The backlash was incredible. Some hinted he feared for his life.
Challenging the system in the South, it seems, would be like taking on big oil … something you don’t want to mess with. Those people are … uh, passionate about their football.
It’s been going on for years, too. We spoke with former cornerback John Lott (1983) recently for a Where Are They Now? article, and he told us how hard it was for him, even back in 1978.
“Bo [Schembechler] said, ‘I can promise you two things when you leave. I promise you you’ll have a degree in hand, and that you’ll be a man,’” Lott recalled. “I look back at all the shady things going on in recruiting even then … I had offers for cars, I had an offer for a house. Thank God for my mom …”
Think about it. He could have taken care of his mother with a new house and been set, and there were times in his first year he continued to think about that, he admitted. But when he went down to an event in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio with Schembechler during his freshman year, Lott realized doing things the right way was the right thing to do.
“Bo and Earle Bruce were both on the docket. Earle Bruce just told a bunch of jokes,” Lott recalled. “When Bo began to talk character, what makes a man, supporting a community … if I had had issues with going out of state, I didn’t have them after that.”
That was nearly 40 years ago. The pool of elite, recruitable athletes continues to shrink, so whatever Harbaugh and Co. do on the recruiting trail to level the playing field — within the rules — is fine with us.
And he is.
****
Finally, hard to believe we’re only 11 days away from Big Ten Media Days in Chicago … and amazing how much it’s changed over the years.
It’s still exciting — the unofficial start to football season — but there’s not a ton you pick up there now that you didn’t already know. Social media, etc. has changed the game in that respect (who is working hard, who isn’t, etc.), and the flow of information is crazy.
Case in point - day one used to be arriving at night, getting the hands on media guide and going through the freshman numbers and heights and weights. Now there are no printed media guides, and most of the frosh numbers are known.
This year’s Michigan contingent, DT Maurice Hurst, OL Mason Cole and LB Mike McCray, are great representatives. Two of the three are great talkers (McCray talks like former Detroit Lions great Barry Sanders, mannerisms and all — a bit more subdued than the others, but still fun to chat with).
Best memories include former MSU head coach Bobby Williams going off on us (“where you from? #$%^”) after a question about the Big Ten changing the clock-keeping rules following the 2001 clockgate game in East Lansing (“you think they would have changed that for us?”) and asking first-year OSU head coach Jim Tressel why he called out Michigan during his introduction at an Ohio State basketball game.
“Because it’s real,” Tressel said.
Wasn’t sure what that meant at the time … only knew that talking to him for 15 minutes was like listening to a crooked politician.
Sitting at Joe Paterno’s table and being in awe was great … for the first 10 years or so. After that it was painful, and now it’s just sad to think about who he really was. Penn State used to be on that pedestal as a Michigan-like program you could respect. Now, visiting Happy Valley is like a creepfest.
Get your questions ready for U-M’s players and head coach Jim Harbaugh. We’ll ask for them next week and try to get to as many of them as possible. As for us, we want to know how sophomore Michael Onwenu is doing with his conditioning — it was clear on spring film he needed to drop a good 20-plus pounds, and that redshirt freshman Stephen Spanellis might be a better option.
We’ll ask about junior receiver Grant Perry’s status, of course, backup defensive tackles (we’ve heard good things about Michael Dwumfour, and seen some on social media) … some will get answered, some won’t. But it’s always fun trying.
Looking forward to a great year and sharing our experiences together here on The Fort.
“What’s Michigan’s ceiling this year?”
That’s a question we’re asked a lot on radio shows, etc., and the answer is the same … this is a team with a lot of similarities to Ohio State last year. The Buckeyes lost a ton of talent to the pros, reloaded, got some breaks and made the college football playoff.
It was clear they weren’t the best team in the country. They struggled mightily against the best (should have lost to Michigan, a team OSU head coach Urban Meyer said was ‘right up there with Alabama among the best teams we’ve played,’ got blown out by Clemson) … yet they made the playoff and won the games they were supposed to win.
U-M has young talent all over the field. The offensive line shakeup would be more of a concern if last year’s veterans hadn’t made so many mental mistakes at big times — they looked like first-year players, on occasion.
The biggest concern is at corner. The young guys need to add some toughness to their games, have a long way to go in run support and need to learn how to play through bumps and bruises. Lavert Hill and David Long are very talented, and they’ll need to step up … they’re being pushed.
D.C. Don Brown is going to continue to put them in press man situations 90 percent of the time, which means lots of pressure on the corners. Penn State’s arm punt offense could be on full display in Happy Valley this fall, and cornerback play could be the difference between a win and a loss.
A few other football thoughts:
• Harbaugh’s team will start and end the regular season with wins. Yes, that means victories over Florida and Ohio State.
The Gators are going to have a hard time moving the ball on U-M’s young but talented defense, and Michigan’s got the offensive minds and enough talent to score some points. This one ends something like 24-13.
For all the angst about OSU, the Wolverines got the better of that offensive line for most of the day last year (eight(!) sacks), including the second group. They deserved a better fate.
Things tend to even out. There were a few games during U-M’s dominance of the John Cooper teams that stand out, in fact. Many forget that U-M ran for only 44 yards on 44 carries against the Buckeyes in 1997, for example, and struggled mightily on offense.
Two years later, Cooper employed a unique trap to the running game and the Buckeyes grossed 287 yards rushing to U-M’s 102 … and still lost, 24-17, to Tom Brady and Co.
The breaks haven’t gone the Wolverines’ way over the last 15 years, the way they didn’t for the Buckeyes the previous decade-plus. It’s time for it to even out, and Harbaugh will be as prepared for that game as he’s been for any in his career. Bank it.
• Fifth-year senior center Pat Kugler is one of the keys to this season. By all accounts, he’s really putting in the time to be better physically, and that’s the key to his success. If they can keep senior Mason Cole at left tackle with sophomore Ben Bredeson at guard, that side of the line could be very, very good.
Fair or not, it’s exciting to see some new blood up front, too, and see what they’re capable of. The inconsistency of the men up front over the last few years was maddening.
Oh, and there are still some who strongly believe Cesar Ruiz will be one of U-M’s best five lineman, and that he’ll work his way into the lineup at some point in the season.
• Talking to a Michigan assistant coach several years ago about Mississippi’s recruiting … the notable bump it got under head coach Hugh Freeze … he laughed and said, “they aren’t doing it legally.”
Seemed clear to everybody in the country, especially when kids were flashing stacks of cash, jewelry etc. on twitter during their visits. There was still the “prove it” faction, of course, who still don’t understand what goes on out on the recruiting trail.
Well, here’s a bit of light reading on the Rebels to get everyone caught up on the fallout from those elite classes:
https://www.outkickthecoverage.com/houston-nutt-buries-hugh-freeze-new-lawsuit/
The stories seem to get better each year, too. Someone should write a book …
• Except kids, for whatever reason, aren’t willing to talk, even years later. Remember when Ohio State’s Maurice Clarett spoke after the fact about what he received at OSU? The backlash was incredible. Some hinted he feared for his life.
Challenging the system in the South, it seems, would be like taking on big oil … something you don’t want to mess with. Those people are … uh, passionate about their football.
It’s been going on for years, too. We spoke with former cornerback John Lott (1983) recently for a Where Are They Now? article, and he told us how hard it was for him, even back in 1978.
“Bo [Schembechler] said, ‘I can promise you two things when you leave. I promise you you’ll have a degree in hand, and that you’ll be a man,’” Lott recalled. “I look back at all the shady things going on in recruiting even then … I had offers for cars, I had an offer for a house. Thank God for my mom …”
Think about it. He could have taken care of his mother with a new house and been set, and there were times in his first year he continued to think about that, he admitted. But when he went down to an event in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio with Schembechler during his freshman year, Lott realized doing things the right way was the right thing to do.
“Bo and Earle Bruce were both on the docket. Earle Bruce just told a bunch of jokes,” Lott recalled. “When Bo began to talk character, what makes a man, supporting a community … if I had had issues with going out of state, I didn’t have them after that.”
That was nearly 40 years ago. The pool of elite, recruitable athletes continues to shrink, so whatever Harbaugh and Co. do on the recruiting trail to level the playing field — within the rules — is fine with us.
And he is.
****
Finally, hard to believe we’re only 11 days away from Big Ten Media Days in Chicago … and amazing how much it’s changed over the years.
It’s still exciting — the unofficial start to football season — but there’s not a ton you pick up there now that you didn’t already know. Social media, etc. has changed the game in that respect (who is working hard, who isn’t, etc.), and the flow of information is crazy.
Case in point - day one used to be arriving at night, getting the hands on media guide and going through the freshman numbers and heights and weights. Now there are no printed media guides, and most of the frosh numbers are known.
This year’s Michigan contingent, DT Maurice Hurst, OL Mason Cole and LB Mike McCray, are great representatives. Two of the three are great talkers (McCray talks like former Detroit Lions great Barry Sanders, mannerisms and all — a bit more subdued than the others, but still fun to chat with).
Best memories include former MSU head coach Bobby Williams going off on us (“where you from? #$%^”) after a question about the Big Ten changing the clock-keeping rules following the 2001 clockgate game in East Lansing (“you think they would have changed that for us?”) and asking first-year OSU head coach Jim Tressel why he called out Michigan during his introduction at an Ohio State basketball game.
“Because it’s real,” Tressel said.
Wasn’t sure what that meant at the time … only knew that talking to him for 15 minutes was like listening to a crooked politician.
Sitting at Joe Paterno’s table and being in awe was great … for the first 10 years or so. After that it was painful, and now it’s just sad to think about who he really was. Penn State used to be on that pedestal as a Michigan-like program you could respect. Now, visiting Happy Valley is like a creepfest.
Get your questions ready for U-M’s players and head coach Jim Harbaugh. We’ll ask for them next week and try to get to as many of them as possible. As for us, we want to know how sophomore Michael Onwenu is doing with his conditioning — it was clear on spring film he needed to drop a good 20-plus pounds, and that redshirt freshman Stephen Spanellis might be a better option.
We’ll ask about junior receiver Grant Perry’s status, of course, backup defensive tackles (we’ve heard good things about Michael Dwumfour, and seen some on social media) … some will get answered, some won’t. But it’s always fun trying.
Looking forward to a great year and sharing our experiences together here on The Fort.
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