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:

Michigan Thursday: Michigan News and More Tressel Thoughts

Let's Catch Up on Some Michigan News:

• The Michigan coaches had lunch with the media yesterday and there were a lot of topics discussed.  A2.com and Mgoblog has extensive coverage.  The top things, I got out of those articles: Big Will should be Big and will play on the Defensive Line next year (I sure hope RR and Staff didn't screw him out of two good years),  That they really won't know what they have until they start spring practice, Mattison won't watch tape from last year - he wants to see what they have during practice, they will watch a lot of Ravens film, they want to stop the run first, Denard is interested in running less and throwing more and being a more complete QB.   More on the links.............

• Michigan has sold all the Suites and Luxury seating for the 2011 season at the Big House.

• The Michigan Basketball Team has an important game on Friday at 2:30.  If they beat Illinois, I think they are in for sure.  If they don't, they might be back on the bubble.   Go Blue!

Tressel is taking it hard in the media.  Writing the books on leadership and how to live your life isn't exactly helping him today.   In the past, his sweater vests seemed to be made of Teflon he didn't take heat for the mess at Youngstown State or the Clarett business.   I'm not sure if he is going to be able to escape this one with just a two game suspension and $250K.  The one thing the NCAA hates is when people lie to them, the NCAA could point back to Youngstown State and him hiding information.    

So know what?  The NCAA is investigating and I expect they won't accept Ohio State's penalty.   If I had to guess what the NCAA would consider a proper penalty:

• OSU knowingly played with 5 players that were ineligible last year.  I expect those victories might be vacated.

• I also wouldn't be surprised if Jim's suspension is increased.  I wouldn't expect (but they could) the NCAA to go "Dez Bryant" on him and suspend him for an entire season but I could see 6 or 7 games.

• The one thing that the NCAA is now focusing on is the person/coach.  If they find a history of Tressel lying or going against the NCAA rules he could be looking at a major penalty.   

I know Ohio State wants to keep Jim in place and just take a penalty and move on.  If this gets ugly and the program is hit with serious penalties and Jim is found guilty of covering up at ton of booster activity, he won't survive.  No coach ever does.    It makes you wonder about all the top recruiting classes that OSU pulls in every year. Are guys promised special benefits?  Is OSU the USC of the Midwest?

Michigan Thursday:Agrees with Alvarez's Sarcasm

Barry Alvarez was asked what he thinks the Big Ten should name the two football conferences: "Let's say you call (the divisions) Bo and Woody," he said, referring to football coaching greats Schembechler at Michigan and Hayes at Ohio State, respectively. "If I'm Ohio State, I'm saying, ‘This league's about us.' If I'm Michigan, this league's about us. I don't want to identify (them) with another school. They can call (the divisions) A and B as far as I'm concerned." I agree Barry, Bo and Woody makes the most sense. Good idea.  He wouldn't have gone for two against Minnesota either.

• Dhani Jones has designed a new bow tie to support Mott Children's Hospital.  The Bow Ties will be sold at Moe Sports Shops and Underground Printing for $55 per bow tie (his number at U of M).  He will also be at Underground Printing this weekend for those of you in A2. 

Want to hear from RR on Big Will and a change at LB?  Here are some quotes from the Detroit News:

Rodriguez said he expects to see Kenny Demens, J.B. Fitzgerald and Mark Moundros in the mix a bit more against the Hawkeyes. "Particularly if they have a good week in practice," Rodriguez said. "Kenny Demens in particular has had some real good practices and has shown some pretty good things when he's had an opportunity out there. So it looks like they've warranted the opportunity to see what they can do in the game."

Big Will:  "I think he's a better player than he was a year ago," Rodriguez said. "He'll continue to get better because I think the game is important to him.
"He still has to work on some things to be an every-down player for us and be able to help us in our base situations, and he knows that and he knows the things he has to work through. He's still a young player. He's got a good attitude and he's working to get better. There's another level he can get to, and we're hoping he can get there quickly."

• Brian at Mgoblog, tracks all the plays on offense and defense of the State game.   The defensive players that had the worst day were:  Ezeh, Banks at DE (also Black but he is a true freshman looking to hit the QB), true freshman CB's, and Cam Gordon (mostly for poor tackling).  Wrap up Cam!  Wrap up!

TV Tonight:  2 Thursday games: Kansas vs Kansas State and South Florida vs West Virgina. 

Michigan Tuesday: Wolverines MIA

It's been a few days since the Michigan State game and Michigan is in full preparation mode for Iowa on Saturday.   There has been plenty of talk of new players at linebacker, running back, cornerback, and the defensive line.   We need to remember the Wolverines are 5-1 not 1-5 so wholesale changes are not needed, but I think we all agree that some changes do need to be made.  

RR even said on Monday that Avery, Christian, and Talbott would all be redshirting if they had depth in the defensive backfield.   They all are playing and redshriting is now out of the question.  We don't need to re-cap all the DB's that are no longer on the team or down with injury.

I always get texts or emails that says, "what ever happened to this guy?" or "why isn't Big Will playing more?".   So I will tell you what I know or have heard, I'm not at practice, so some of this is speculation but here it goes:


"Big" Will Campbell, DT:  No surprise this guy makes the list.  Here is a 5 star guy that hasn't been able to pop into the starting lineup and has been #3 on the depth chart.  He is still early in his sophomore year but has lost his redshirt ability.   The knocks on Big Will has been his conditioning and his technique.  In High School he just man handled kids at Michigan you have to learn the correct technique for the position.  That is why some recruiting services had projected him on the O Line instead of the D Line in college.

Look for Big Will to get a lot more time this week if Mike Martin can't go.  I would like Big Will to be in regular rotation just so he can be a big run stopper.  Mostly if and when Michigan goes to a 4 man defensive fronts.

Je'Ron Stokes, WR: A 4 star Army All American guy coming out of high school.  Same as Big Will, he is a true sophomore without a redshirt year.   Je'Ron actually got a lot of playing time when Junior was out with an injury, he just didn't get a lot of looks.   With Junior healthy he might only get spot duty but I still think this guy has talent and may have a big game still in him this year.  He reminds me of Darryl Stonum.

Michael Cox, RB:  I have no idea what is going on here.  This is a big, athletic running back.  The "word" from practice is that he might be the best athlete on the team.  Maybe it's a passion or running style issue, but I'm guessing this could be one of those guys that practices poorly and plays well on game day.  If that is the case, I don't think he will get much playing time with Stephen Hopkins a true freshman beating him out already. 

Kenny Demens, LB:  I have given up on Obi Ezeh.  I'm sorry I just have.  I know he is a 5th year guy but watching State's first long run when Obi was chasing the offensive line and Baker ran right through Ezeh's gap/shadow for a 61 yard touchdown, I was done for good.  He was a running back in high school and this 4 year linebacker experiment has failed.   Kenny or JB Fitzgerald might not have his experience but they can't be any worse.  I would rather have a young guy in there making mistakes then a 5th year guy making the same ones.

Isaiah Bell, LB:  Remember this guy?  A safety from Ohio that ESPN loved?  Well he is now at linebacker at 6'1 245 and has out grown the safety position.  He is a guy that was able to redshirt last year and probably falls into the "not quite ready" camp.   It would be nice to see him at LB or Safety but lets hope his future is bright at linebacker.  (he is not listed on the 3 deep)

Marvin Robinson, SS: a true freshman who seems to be playing special teams.  He has also been beat up this year.    I know Kovacs is probably one of our best players on defense.  He is a smart kid plays and makes up for his lack of foot speed with heady play.   I just would like to see Marvin get some spot time, maybe on pass plays.  If he is that good of an athlete we need to find away to get him on the field.

Who will replace Odoms, who is out with a broken foot at SR?  I'm betting on Jeremy Gallon over Terrence Robinson.  I think TRob is still having some "catching" issues (the entire WR unit had them last weekend) but I think RR has more confidence in Jeremy. 

Michigan - BGSU Post Game

Well that was more like it.   We got want we wanted but it just came a week late.  Michigan got all 3 QB's in and all 3 looked pretty good.   Tate went 12-12 in throwing the ball and Denard was lighting it up on the ground before he went out with a knee injury.  65-21 is an obvious mismatch but it's good to be 4-0 heading into October and The Big Ten season.

Devin looked pretty sharp throwing the ball and even had a long bomb dropped by Junior Hemingway.   The defense played well for most of the game.   

So what did we learn from this game?  Not much in my opinion.  BGSU was not a very good team.  Their backup QB seemed to struggle most of the day.   Michigan got whatever they wanted on offense and didn't punt all day long.  They didn't even attempt a field goal.  

This game was good for confidence on both sides of the ball after a pretty humbling week against UMass last week.  All the running backs found holes and ran the ball well.  It was good to see Fitz Toussaint, Mike Cox and Stephen Hopkins get some touches at RB.   I would like to see Mike Cox be the goal line/short yardage running back. 

Let's quickly get to the Cheers and Jeers:

Cheers:

• The Michigan offense was un-stoppable
• Michigan finally got some pressure on the opposing QB and recorded 3 sacks
• Michigan got to go deep in the depth chart
• Confidence should be high going on the road to IU next week
• Defense seemed to be more aggressive this week

Jeers:

• Michigan seems a bit banged up with Denard going out with a knee and Shaw getting tripped in the 3rd quarter.  Shaw's injury could last into this week.  He was limping coming off the field after the game.  RR said Denard will be ready to play at IU next weekend.
• The Michigan defense did give up a big play on a 71 yard screen for a touchdown.
•  No punts or field goals mean our kickers didn't get any more confidence
• Devin's redshirt is for sure gone

Michigan played well and blew out a team they should of blown out.  It's difficult to see Denard go down in such a mismatch but it gave Tate a chance to show he isn't dead or transferring.  I still don't understand why they would blow Devin's redshirt unless they fully believe they will need him this year.   I guess he could always redshirt next year? 

So Michigan is again 4-0, just like last year.  The Big Ten season is now on tap with  a trip to IU next Saturday and then huge games against MSU and Iowa at home.  Michigan needs to prove they can win on the road and start off the season the right way.  IU likes to score points and they will test Michigan's defense.  Let's hope some of the guys banged up at linebacker will be back for next weeks game.

Let's also hope Denard's injury isn't serious and he will be 100% next week.

Go Blue!

Enjoy some photos from the game:

Barwis and Big Will

 Mike Martin

 Denard after the game

The last drive of the game