Showing posts with label Boubacar Cissoko. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Boubacar Cissoko. Show all posts

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Michigan Thursday: Michigan Lands The BIG 3 as Terry Richardson Gives his Pledge

This morning Terry Richardson gave his pledge to join Michigan's 2012 recruiting class.  Michigan's Big 3 is what I consider the top instate recruits in the 2012 class which include; LB Royce Jenkins-Stone, LB James 'Biggs" Ross and CB Terry Richardson.  All are highly rated 4 star prospects and this trio happens to be close friends.  This makes 12 verbals for the 2012 class and all 12 are from Michigan or Ohio.  MSU has received 0 commits from players that has Michigan and MSU offers. 

Terry is rated 4 stars by Rivals, Scouts and 24x7 Sports.  He is 5'9 160 pounds and has an offer list from the top programs like Alabama, ND, USC, Oklahoma, MSU, UCLA, LSU, Penn State and many others.   24x7 sports has Terry as the #1 player in the State of Michigan , #3 CB in the country and #31 player ranking in the nation.  Scouts has him ranked the 10th CB in the country.

Terry plays at Michigan feeder school Detroit Cass Tech who has sent a number of players to Michigan the past few years including 5 star prospects Big Will Campbell and Boubacar Cissoko.   As you have seen over the years, Michigan has been targeting taller CB's who can match up with taller Big Ten WR's but Terry's talent was too hard to pass up for Michigan and the other big time programs that had offered him.

My hope for Terry is that he can redshirt and learn from Michigan's coaching staff.  His height doesn't concern me if it doesn't concern guys like Mattison, Saban and Stoops. I just hope he isn't rushed on the field unless he is so talented that it's warranted. 

I expect Michigan to still take at least one more DB and probably two.  Most likely are guys that can play both corner and safety.  I would consider Armani Reeves and Wayne Morgan the top candidates.  Allen Gant might want to "accept" his Michigan offer pretty quickly.

This is Michigan's 12th verbal commit in this class and there are roughly 20-22 opening next year.  Outside DB's, priorities still remain at defensive tackle, offensive line, 1 QB, and 1 RB.





  • The #2 rated DT in the country is planning a visit to Ann Arbor.  Jarron Jones a 6-foot-5, 300 pounds DT is a "soft" commit to Penn State but wants to take some visits and U of M looks to be one of them next month.

  •  From the Detroit News: According to Tom Lemming of Prep Football Report, the players Michigan has landed instate has put Michigan State in a hole.

    "I've never seen anything like this," Lemming said. "These kids are committing to U-M without seeing other schools. U-M is everywhere.


    "Michigan State ran into a Michigan buzz saw. They have to spend more time in Ohio and the Chicago area to get the players they need. They do a great job of developing players, sort of like Wisconsin and Iowa. They can't beat Michigan head-to-head in recruiting. They have to beat them on the field."

    "There is such a thing as momentum in recruiting," said Josh Helmholdt of Rivals. "Getting Ross to commit early was big. It's an exciting time to be around Michigan. These guys are just kicking butt. They're out-working everyone. They're creating excitement and they have openings (for starting positions).

    "All this has happened in two months."

ESPN Magazine Cover:

Friday, September 10, 2010

Michigan vs Notre Dame Preview

*I want to pre-note this post with the truth that I am very torn between my head and heart on this game.  My head says one thing and my heart says another.  So I am going to write this and hope one is clear winner by the time I'm done.

Michigan at Notre Dame
Time: 3:30 EST
Location: South Bend
TV: NBC
Weather: 60% Rain and a high of 70 degrees
Line: ND-4

Remember when the Michigan - ND game was a defensive battle?  Where a winning score would be 14-10?  Not these days, last years 38-34 Michigan win was the highest scoring battle in the history of the series.   Most media members are expecting another shootout between these two historic college football programs.

Similar to last week, this is another match up between 3 former Big East head coaches with Kelly at UC, RR at WVU and Greg Robinson at Syracuse.  Both QB's on each side don't have a ton of playing experience: Denard Robinson got spot playing time last year and Dayne Crist is a junior but really made his debut last week as well.

So how do they match up?  Lets go to the tail of the tape:

Michigan Offense vs ND Defense = Michigan
Michigan has advantages at both running and passing the ball against the ND D.

ND Offense vs Michigan D = ND
Michigan Run D vs ND Running game is close to a push in my mind.  The big advantage comes with the ND Passing game vs Michigan secondary.

Special Teams = Push 
Neither one is especially strong.  Hopefully Darryl Stonum can repeat his strong kick off returns against ND like he did last year.

Intangibles = ND
Something strange always happens when Michigan visits ND.  Some examples: wind stops on and ND winning field goal, It rains so hard that Michigan fumbles a 100 times, Lou Holtz plays for a tie, a ball ends up a shoulder pad of a defender on a pass play, and so on. 


Here is what scares me being a Michigan fan. 

#1 Michael Floyd - Michigan could not stop him or Golden Tate last year at all.  (that was with Woolfolk, Boubacar and Warren)

#2 Denard's first road and rivalry game - That is a lot to handle for the guy making all the headlines this week.

#3 South Bend has been a house of horrors for Michigan.  There is a 10% chance of rain today in South Bend and Sunday there is a 0%.  Saturday 60%.

#4 Michigan has one road win under RR.

This game is another clear example of which team gets the most stops will win.  Pretty basic right?  I think Michigan will do a decent job against ND's run game.   My biggest concern is if Dayne can get the ball down field to the ND's WR's.  Michigan has to protect the ball and can't visit fumbleville like they did during their last visit.  Neither team can afford to give the other free points or short fields. 

Sing Hail to the Victors if:
  • Michigan gets a lot of pressure on Crist.
  • Michigan shows some new wrinkles in the passing game (like the deep ball).
  • No turnovers.
  • Someone can catch a punt.
  • Greg Robinson's past success against ND can even out Michigan's bad luck in SB.  Remember his Syracuse teams weren't very good but were pretty successful in South Bend.
Worry if:
  • Dayne turns into Joe Montana on Saturday
  • ND runs the ball effectively with Armando Allen
  • Brian Kelly has a solution to stop Denard's run game

Brian Kelly feels that Denard is just a running back playing QB.  Michigan fans disagree and hope he can showcase his passing skills against ND.  The run fake, then pass should be effective in moving the ball down field against the ND defense.  Picks and fumbles concern me in this game.  The game two years ago is still fresh in my mind and worries me even more if it rains again.  I sort of have a strange feeling we may see Tate for a few series, mostly if Michigan gets behind and has to pass.  There are many questions on both teams coming off week one wins.  I think RR knows what type of team he has, not sure Brian Kelly knows his fully yet.  I think this will be a close game and one mistake might be the difference.   I wouldn't want to prepare for Denard and that "running back comment" should be plenty of motivation for Saturday.  I'm going with Heart!   Michigan 28  ND 21


Go Blue!