Michigan Friday: U Can or UConn

Warde finally filled the last spot in the 2022 schedule as he picked the UConn Huskies to join the likes of Hawaii and Colorado State on the non-conference home Michigan schedule.  Michigan cancelled a home and home with UCLA and put UConn in that spot.  The Huskies will get $1.8M for a nice Fall weekend in Ann Arbor.   How do I feel about it?

I like it.  There is zero reason to play a difficult non-conference anymore.  It helps build team confidence and gets them ready for the Big Ten season.   This past season was an example of playing a difficult non-conference schedule and having the team not gain that confidence they needed entering into Big Ten play.

Part of me also wants to see Michigan play the big boys, but I see very little upside for that to happen in the first couple of weeks of the season.   Let's also face it, Michigan hasn't done very well in many of those match-ups.   Michigan opens at Washington next season.  

• Chris Partridge didn't get raise to go to Ole Miss, he did get a promotion in title.  Anthony Campanile is still MIA as far as a job with the Dolphins goes. 

• Former Detroit Tiger Curtis Granderson has called it a career

• Michigan Basketball plays at MSG on Saturday, no word if X is playing or not.

• Good look for the former Wolverines playing in the Super Bowl.  Chad Henne and Frank Clark with the Chiefs.   Other names you might know: Mike Weber is on the Chiefs practice squad, Andrew Wylie played at EMU, Eric Fisher CMU  SF: Joe Staley CMU and former Michigan recruit and Detroit Lion  Anthony Zettel.

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-friday-u-can-or-uconn.html

Michigan Thursday: Welcomes a New Kicker to the 2020 Class

Michigan struggled at times last year to kick field goals.   Even with two scholarship kickers on the team, its important to add a kicker probably every other year.   In 2020, it looks like 5 Star (Kohl Kicking) Cole Hussung will be joining the Wolverines class.   Cole is coming to Ann Arbor right now as a walk-on but Harbaugh has offered him the first opportunity to get on scholarship, as soon as one comes available (I assume for a special teams player).

From the Courier Journal: Hussung’s career long field goal in a game is 49 yards, along with multiple connections from 46, 47 and 48 yards. This season, 41 of his 63 kickoffs were touchbacks. At practices, his career-long field goal off a tee is 70 yards. On the ground with a kicking stand, he’s hit from 65. He’s connected multiple times from beyond 60 yards from a live snap and hold. As a punter this past season, he pinned 12 punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.

Welcome Cole and hit those field goals and extra points! 

• Wisconsin Basketball loses its 2nd leading scorer as Kobe King has left the team and wants to transfer. 

• Tony Romo is going to be the top free agent in NFL Broadcasting this off season.  ESPN is expected to offer him something north of $10M a year and CBS is now reporting that they will also be competitive.   I think Tony does a great job, but I don't think he is a good match with Jim Nantz who is well past his prime and should focus on just golf.   ESPN has been struggling to find a good MNF booth since Gruden and Tirico.   CBS or ESPN should also use Tony for golf, maybe as a walking reporter.  

• ABC News has suspended reporter Matt Gutman for reporting inaccurately that all of Kobe's children were on board the helicopter that crashed. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-thursday-welcomes-new-kicker.html

Six Maryland farm families celebrate more than 100 years in business

Governor Larry Hogan recently honored six Maryland farm families during the 2020 Century Farm ceremony at the State House. This recognition is given to farms that have been owned and operated by the same family for more than 100 years. 

from https://open.maryland.gov/blog/six-maryland-farms-celebrate-more-100-years-business/

Wolverine Wednesday: Mid Week News and Notes

Michigan Basketball got its first road win of the year last night against Nebraska.  Michigan was without Simpson and Livers but ended up finding a way to beat the helpless Cornhuskers.  Brooks went for 20, Wagner with 18, Johns 16, and Teske had 9.   This team still has a plenty of issues but a road win is a road win.  

• Richard Sherman continues to complain about his time at Stanford under Harbaugh.  If you want to read why the Diva CB continues to complain about things that happened 12 years ago, you can hit the link.  

• Recently, there has been a lot of information out there showing how bad the Michigan WR's played last year.  Mgoblog has an article up, detailing a ton of drops and that Patterson's passes were on target.  The truth is in the middle, Shea did struggle with accuracy during the year and that was on display last week at the Senior Bowl.  He will be lucky to be drafted.   The WR's also had some bad drops, which killed drives and cost the team points and games.  The stat that shows Ronnie Bell with the most drops in the college football is a bit overblown, but there is also an issue there and he has to catch more balls.   I went into the year, thinking Michigan had the best WR's in the country and then the former basketball player Ronnie Bell becomes the #1 WR.   This is also why I thought DPJ should have stayed one more year.   The truth is neither Shea or the WR's played up to expectations last season.  

• IU QB Payton Ramsey is in the transfer portal.  I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up at MSU.

• RIP NFL Hall of Famer Chris Doleman   

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/01/wolverine-wednesday-mid-week-news-and.html

What makes up Maryland’s innovation ecosystem? One of the best global incubators in the world, for starters.

For more than 20 years, the Baltimore-based incubator and accelerator Emerging Technology Centers (ETC) has powered more than 500 companies and attracted more than $2.4 billion in capital to the region. ETC has an earned an incredible reputation locally, but it’s not just locals who recognize its impact. Recently, UBI Global recognized ETC as a top five global public business incubator. To determine its rankings, UBI Global assessed 1,580 programs worldwide using 21 key performance indicators related to value for the ecosystem, value for the program, and value for client startups. 

from https://open.maryland.gov/blog/what-makes-up-marylands-innovation-ecosystem-one-of-the-best-global-incubators-in-the-world-for-starters/

Michigan Tuesday: Did Don Misuse Josh?

When I think back at the stars Michigan had on defense a couple years ago, I get sick.  Gary, Winovich, Bush, Lewis, the list goes on.  These guys are playing regularly in the NFL and Don Brown couldn't find a way to win big games while they were at Michigan.

Did Michigan miss another opportunity to have a dominating player?  Josh Uche for all accounts was not blockable during Senior Bowl week.   He displayed that in game and even had a mental lapse when he "two hand touched" Oregon QB Justin Herbert during the first drive, instead of sacking the highly ranked QB.

PFF (Pro Football Focus) yesterday came out with their highest graded performer all week at the Senior Bowl, you guess it:  Josh Uche.   According to PFF Josh had 11 pass-rush snaps and five QB pressures in the game. 

Per SI: According to the scout, “He (Uche) won me over during Wednesday’s practice. He doesn’t have the typical edge-rusher build but likely projects as an outside 'backer who can sustain pass-rushing downs in certain situations." The talent evaluator added, “Loved how explosive his lower-body movement showed up in individuals. Great bend. They’ll call him a tweener in every draft profile you read, but he’s so versatile that every NFL team could find a role for a guy like this."

Draft experts are now saying Josh probably jumped up a round from the 3rd to the 2nd round with his Senior Bowl week performance.

Don used Josh all over the field as a SAM LB at his time at Michigan, which lead to some pretty good numbers.  Josh finished his career with 16.5 Sacks, with 8.5 coming last season.  He also had 11.5 tackles for a loss and 2 forced fumbles during his senior year.

So now the question remains, should have Josh been lined up more at DE?  During the Senior Bowl your not able to blitz, so when Josh rushed the passer he was in the traditional DE position.

If Michigan is going to improve, it has to put its best players in the best position to win games.   The Wolverines have done a very poor job of that on both sides of the ball during the Harbaugh rein.

• Michigan Basketball is imploding due to injuries, poor play, and bad decisions.  Zavier Simpson has been suspended by Coach Howard for breaking team rules tonight against Nebraska.   The length of the suspension is still unknown.   Just like their run through the best teams in the country in the Bahamas, I didn't see this coming either.  

• With the final signing day next week, Michigan fired off a late 2020 offer to 5'11 175 pound athlete Chayce Bishop.  His offer list includes Vandy, VA Tech, Purdue, Northwestern, Memphis, Mizzu, and Ball State (where his dad played).   He is ranked a 3 star and the #87th athlete in the country.   As you can tell, Chayce is not a DT or OT but does seem to be a good student. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-tuesday-did-don-misuse-josh.html

Maryland travels to Arab Health 2020, awards 16 companies with export grants

from https://open.maryland.gov/blog/maryland-travels-arab-health-2020-awards-16-companies-export-grants/

Kobe RIP

Many people believe death is just the next chapter in living.  A chapter we don't understand and that many times comes to a very sudden end.   All sports fans morn today at the loss of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gigi, Orange County Baseball Coach John Altobelli and family, along with Christina Mauser, Sarah Chester with her middle school aged daughter Payton.

Death for a 41 year old basketball legend and young kids doesn't make.  Our brains just can't process it.   Everyday whether at work or at home, we try to solve every problem, find a solution to every issue.   Death doesn't have a solution, its the true meaning of final.   It just doesn't make any sense and very hard to process.  

Whether you were a Kobe fan or not, you had to admire his work ethic.  We have all seen gifted athletes not work hard and limit their career or championship opportunities.  That wasn't Kobe, he worked hard at everything, including in practice.   He knew his talent was a gift and he wasn't going to take that for granted.   He also wasn't perfect, many thought he was too competitive, sometimes not a great teammate, and of course had the allegation in Colorado.  

I believe Kobe's direct tie to the University of Michigan was through his agent and now Lakers GM Rob Pelinka.  Who was of course a former Michigan Basketball player that played during the FAB 5 run.  Yes, I'm sure Juwan knew Kobe as every NBA Basketball player did as well.   Kobe's new VC firm also invested into FocusMotion, a technology company started by two U of M Ross alums Cavan Canavan and Grant Hughes.

Kobe w/ FocusMotion at NYSE on 8/22/2016 from michiganross.umich.edu

If your wondering, Kobe used helicopters regularly to beat the traffic in LA.  He would even take a helicopter to games during his career.  After he retired, I recall an adverting spot of him getting in a helicopter from his new non-basketball office.   The helicopter ride on Sunday morning was supposed to be a 15-20 minute ride from Orange County Airport to the Mamba Sports Academy where they were  hosting a girls basketball tournament.   It was about an 85 mile drive if they had elected to go that route on Sunday morning.  

Today, I don't morn for the basketball player, he lived his dream.  I morn for the 41 year old father, the children who had their future taken away, John Altobelli and his wife, Christina Mauser an Elementary School Basketball Coach, and Sarah Chester.   I also morn for all the families of the victims in the crash and wish them peace of mind as soon as they are able to find it.  

This is just another example that life isn't fair and many times way too short. 



from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/01/kobe-rip.html

Michigan Friday: News and Notes

• Michigan Basketball will finally have a recruit in the McDonalds All American Game, Isaiah Todd was selected to the team.   So was Josh Christopher who has Michigan in his final group along with Greg Brown who is also considering Michigan.  Who was the last Michigan player in the game?  Daniel Horton hears a who.  The year? 2002.  Yikes! 

• Shea is having a very bad senior bowl experience: "He struggled with accuracy and had no zip to power through wind when throwin into it," draft analyst Matt Miller said on Day 1. "I don't think he's draftable". And then there were the muffed exchanges early on Day 2, which ground practice to a halt.  That does not sound good for the former 5 star QB and experiences Michigan fans can relate to.  

• Good feedback on Ben at the senior bowl:  One player Bears fans should highlight as a name to watch is Michigan offensive lineman Ben Bredeson. He looked the part on Tuesday. He has strong hands and the kind of powerful playing style that tends to lead to success in the NFL. He showed pretty good feet, too. He has a chance to rise up the board if he stacks two more positive practices together.

• Michigan seems to have offered Cade McNamara's brother in the 2020 class.  He is 5'8 and 170 pounds WR. Its unknown if its a scholarship offer or a walk-on.   24/7 reports two offers from Ohio State and CMU.   I can understand the Central offer but I'm pretty sure the OSU offer is no longer available.   He is rated a 2 star and #3195 player in the country.  Best guess this is a walk-on offer. 

• Where in the world is Anthony Campanile? He was not announced with the new coaches hired by the Miami Dolphins last week and is not on the team's website list of coaches.   Is this a timing thing or has AC cost himself his current job, two DC's offers, and an NFL gig for some reason?

• Shaq's son Shareef is transferring from UCLA, he has played limited minutes this season after sitting out last year with a heart condition.  Reports are that Josh Christopher and Shareef are good friends.   Shaq of course knows Juwan from his time in the NBA. 
  

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-friday-news-and-notes.html

Michigan Thursday: Not Good

Michigan's Basketball team is pretty good when everyone is healthy and hitting shots.  When one of their upperclassman goes out with injury and the 3 ball isn't dropping they are pretty bad.   Last night was another example as the Wolverines got embarrassed on their home floor by Penn State.

Michigan was lost on both sides of the court, Teske is struggling guarding anyone and Michigan as a whole is giving up way too many open looks.   The offense is turning the ball over and struggling to shoot the ball.   Those struggles make Michigan look like a bottom tier Big Ten team, which is exactly where they find themselves in the standings.

Livers better be sleeping in a hyperbaric camber!

• Todd Graham who has had a few head coaching jobs in college, got another one, this time Hawaii.   Not a bad place to land.  

• Boise State is suing the Mt. West over TV money.   

• Drew Henson is working with the QB's at the Senor Bowl and wants to be an NFL scout.   Don't go to the Yankees Drew! 

• From PFF's senior bowl notes:  Michigan’s Josh Uche, however, might be the one who actually sticks as a pass-rusher. He checked in at 241 with 33-inch arms and has been putting on a pass-rushing clinic the past couple days. He’s not only gotten around the edge consistently, but he’s gotten movement on tackles via the bull-rush.

• Coy Cronk the IU OT grad transfer that Michigan was kicking the tires on, has transferred to Iowa.   I doubt there was much interest from either side in Coy coming to Ann Arbor. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-thursday-not-good.html

Kroger brings robotic customer fulfillment center to Maryland

from https://open.maryland.gov/blog/kroger-brings-robotic-customer-fulfillment-center-maryland/

Four local businesses receive nearly $1 million in financing

from https://open.maryland.gov/blog/four-local-businesses-receive-nearly-1-million-financing/

Wolverine Wednesday: Everyone Cheats and Nobody Cares Anymore

This is where we are at in big time college sports now and maybe all sports.  Major League Baseball which is struggling to keep pace with other big time sports in the US just found their former champions were cheating during the World Series.  

Lets quickly look at college football, it's known that Alabama has a "system" that funnels money to players and even the National Champion LSU Tigers had a recent scandal that nobody noticed.   A LSU Booster named John Paul Funes  pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $800,000 from a hospital charitable foundation.  How did he get caught?  He paid $180,000 of the foundation’s money to the father of Vadal Alexander, a former LSU offensive lineman.   Not to mention OBJ handing out $100's after the NC game (which I really don't have a problem with), is just another example that times have changed.  

How about the College Basketball Scandal with the FBI Wire Taps?  How has that effected Kansas coach Bill Self or Arizona's Sean Miller?  The answer is, it hasn't and nobody seems to care.  

MSU's Mark Dantonio brought a known sex offender to his team and the MSU athletics department seems happy to employ him because he won a Big Ten Championship and went to the College Playoffs.   They seemed to have learned nothing from one of biggest sexual assaults' scandals in history of college sports.   Mark's program is in a steep decline and there are more reasons to fire him then to keep him.  

OSU's star transfer QB Justin Fields, hasn't really seen the Ohio State campus as he is taking online classes and heads directly to the football facility.    This isn't breaking the rules but another example of the student fading from the term student-athlete.   OSU is running a professional football program and Michigan isn't.

Why do we wonder why Michigan isn't competing with these programs?  Michigan of course shot itself in the foot for many years with the RR and Hoke hires and then have been on a long re-build with Harbaugh.  No of us are happy how long its taking.    We also want Jimmy and the program to be above the rules.   He admitted last summer, "that its hard to beat the cheaters".  Yes, it is.

Kids go to class at U of M, Michigan doesn't pay players, and you need to be elite on the field and in the classroom.   If you are an 18 year old 5 star and Bama offers you a chance to compete for National Championships, $100K in your pocket (or your parents pocket), have a great shot at getting to the NFL, and very light college class schedule.   How many of you are turning that down at 18?  I wonder why Najee Harris didn't get on the flight to Detroit.

I'm not saying we go Lance Armstrong but if something doesn't change we need to be happy understanding with losing to the programs that are.



from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/01/wolverine-wednesday-everyone-cheats-and.html

In a sea of used books, Maryland bookseller rescues everything it can

Strolling among the rows and rows and rows of shelves in the Wonder Book warehouse in Frederick, it can be difficult to appreciate the scale of what you’re seeing. The facility covers about 130,000 square feet and contains about 2.5 million volumes, said owner and founder Charles Roberts.

For book lovers, the experience may even be a touch intoxicating—not only are there more books than you could read in a lifetime, there are probably more books than you could read in several lifetimes.

from https://open.maryland.gov/blog/sea-used-books-maryland-bookseller-rescues-everything-it-can/

Michigan Tuesday: Another Howard and a Transfer to Rutgers

Jace Howard made it official last night, as he will be joining his father for the 2020 class.   Jace is an athletic forward at 6'7 and 205 pounds.   He is rated 3 stars to all basketball recruiting services and 24/7 places him at #250 in country.

At this point we don't know if its a scholarship or a walk-on and probably depends on if Todd goes overseas and Josh Christopher's decision.  I expect Jace to redshirt and maybe sit a few years with a stacked roster full of forwards: including Wagner, Johns, Livers, Williams (Fr), and Todd (Fr.).

Welcome Big Man!

Feels like an inside job, when Mike Dwumfour made a quick decision to transfer back home to Rutgers .  Insiders are saying this was a joint decision between the Michigan coaches and Mike to look for a new place for his graduate transfer year.   He will leave with his Michigan degree and maybe even a graduate degree from Rutgers, which is a great way to take advantage of his educational opportunity.

We wish Mike all the best and hope he can stay healthy.  '

• Transfer season: QB Franks goes from Florida to Arkansas 

• Transfer season: QB King goes from Houston to Miami 

• Kerry Coombs is heading back to Ohio State as the DC after coaching the Titans DB's.  What's interesting, I have not seen any reports that its a co-DC role with Greg Mattison.  

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-tuesday-another-howard-and.html

Michigan Monday: Changes Course on Coaching Hires

Was it the internet feedback? Probably not

Was it the Big House Blog questioning the decision? Definitely not

Keeping anything quiet these days is hard to do but Jimmy did exactly that with his hire of former USF DC and Interim Head Coach Brian Jean-Mary.   In fact, Jimmy seemed to have thrown insiders a curve ball as it was reported widely that assistant S&C coach Tank Wright was getting the gig.

BJ-M is exactly what this program needed as he is considered a very strong recruiter with ties to Florida and Texas.  He was a star LB at App. State and has been the recruiting coordinator at Louisville, Texas, and USF.  He grew up in Apopka, Florida (Jeremy Gallon Territory) and brings the recruiting chops the Wolverines lost and maybe even more contacts in the South.

Just speaking of recruiting, Jimmy hired two guys with recruiting area backgrounds that matched Partridge and Camp, Shoop's contacts are in the East and BJ-M is focused in the South.   These are also two great minds in the defensive strategy room.  Michigan basically now has 3 DC's on staff and should be able to mix in a few more looks for future opponents.

I also love that BJ-M is in his mid 40's, knows the LB position like the back of his hand, and will probably work his tail off on the recruiting trail.

This of course leaves open questions on guys like Tank and Devin Bush, Sr.  We did hear that Bush, Sr. might be looking at a role at Mississippi State and I'm guessing Tank was filling in while the two assistant coaching roles where open.

Jay also got a promotion to Special Teams Coordinator and will continue coaching the RB's as well.

• Micah Mazzccua officially committed to Baylor last night and will be known as David Aranda first recruit.  This isn't a situation to get upset at because Micah's only way to Ann Arbor was probably through prep school and I don't expect he was sent an LOI to sign in December.   Some players stay committed to a program to help their exposure with other programs.   Glad he found a soft place to land as he is from the Biff Poggi's program.  

• Both Jon Runyan and Mike Onwenu dominated at the Guard position in the East West Shrine Game over the weekend.  I'm guessing both helped their draft stocks.  Even though Jon played tackle at Michigan, I believe he projects to Guard in the NFL. 

• Chad Henne has a chance to win a Super Bowl Ring with KC.  

• Did you know that Karan Higdon spent all year on the Texans practice squad and the Texans signed him to a futures contract for next season last week?  I didn't and was expecting we might see him in the XFL.  Good for him! 

• If you watched the NFL Championship Games last night you might have seen RB Raheem Mostert run for 220 yards and 4 TD's for the 49'ers.   What might surprise you, is that he played his college football at Purdue.  

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-monday-changes-course-on.html

Michigan Friday: Oh Shoop

Clarion-Ledger

For a team that's in the off season, Michigan Football continues to make headlines.  The latest is that Bob Shoop (Not Stoops) is joining the defensive staff.   Bob is a long term DC with stops at places like Penn State, Tennessee, and recently Mississippi State.   Bob led the #1 defense in country in 2018 but did not have the same luck at Tennessee or last season at MSU.  

 

Development vs. Recruiting - why do we have to choose? Shoop is known as a very good defensive mind but not at all a recruiter.  This seems to be a McElwain type of hire for Harbaugh.  

I'm a bit confused and hope this becomes clear, because after losing your top two recruiters if you hire another DC and an assistant S&C guy, I'm going to lose my mind.  The Shoop hire would be good for a Brown replacement but I don't believe that is happening. 

I do agree the Michigan's defense needs good minds around player development, game plans, and coverages but the lifeline of any program is recruiting and Michigan is a step or two behind the top programs right now.   

Please hire a known recruiter with the last spot open on the staff! If Jimmy has excelled at one thing while at Michigan, its been hiring top assistants.  I sure hope that streak continue, because if you can't recruit, you shouldn't be on the coaching staff. 

• Chris Evans practiced 3 times with the team during bowl prep and was/is in good shape.  
• Winter Conditioning for the football team started on Thursday. 
• There are two spots the team could travel to in the Spring.  Jimmy is not spilling the beans on the locations. 
• Jimmy is looking at Coy Cronk an OT from IU who is in the transfer portal.   Coy has started 40 games at IU but was injured last season, he is also not a DT. 
• Michigan Basketball plays Iowa on the road tonight without Livers.   Yikes! 
• LSU has lost both coordinators to new jobs and all of its players to the NFL.   After everyone wakes up from the drunken week, there are going to be a few holes to fill. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-friday-oh-shoop.html

Michigan Thursday: Pull Up The Stakes - Camp Is On The Move!

Wolverine Wire

Remember the question I asked you yesterday?  What would you do in this situation?  Your former company offers you $1M a year, a promotion, and a chance to work with your brother.   The catch is, its with the worst company in your market.

Here is another one for you:  Your a young defensive coach with a background of being a very strong recruiter.  For the past 3 weeks you have been recruited by BC and Rutgers to be their DC's which of course is a promotion with a big salary bump.   You take a long time to make a decision and then decide to stay in your current role.   Then in what looks like a very quick decision, you completely change course and head to one of the worst NFL teams to be a position coach.  That NFL team is owned by a Michigan Alumni in a role that doesn't take advantage of your greatest strength (recruiting).   Is that the move you make over the DC's roles?

Coach: Anthony Campanile 
Team: Miami Dolphins 
Owner: Stephen Ross 

I have a post in my head, with the title: Everyone Cheats.  This is a clear example Michigan doesn't understand how any of this works, as one the richest alumni is taking coaches off the staff instead of paying them or players to make the program better. 

Remember when I said, we don't know the entire story?  There is probably another Bacon Book in this hire alone.  

So now what?  Has Michigan lost out on some of the young coaches they were hoping to bring in? Are they going to hire a guy off the S&C staff?  Your guess is a good as mine, even the insiders seem to be confused at this point.  

Please note, I'm still in the camp (no pun intended) that losing coaches is a sign of respect from other programs.  Alabama loses a ton of coaches every year, MSU doesn't.   I'm more concerned about the impact to recruiting, which is clearly an area Michigan can improve in.   

Stay tuned as this has been a wild month.





from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-thursday-pull-up-stakes-camp.html

Wolverine Wednesday: One DT Out - One Coach Stays

Michigan Football has seemed to have gotten good news and bad news on the same day.

The Bad is that Michael Dwumfour has decided to enter the transfer portal.  Which I really don't understand, which leads me to believe we don't know the entire story.   We all know that DT is a huge area of need and that when Michael was healthy in practice was making news as a good DT.   The issue is he never seems to be healthy and even skipped the Citrus Bowl to get surgery in early December.

So why would a DT transfer when there is plenty of playing time available?  Carlo Kemp is coming back for a 5th year, but I don't expect that was the reason.  If I had to guess, I believe its that Michigan is recruiting 2 Stanford Transfer Portal DT's.    I like Michael a lot but this rule seems to apply to him:  The best ability is availability.   Good Luck, Big Man!

The Good:

What would you do in this situation?  Your former company offers you $1M a year, a promotion, and a chance to work with your brother.   The catch is, its with the worst company in your market.

That is the situation Anthony Campanile was dealing with and seems to have turned down.  The program was Rutgers, the job DC, and salary was rumored to be $1M.  Many insiders believe Anthony is now sticking with Michigan, though Joe Brady said he was staying at LSU and two days later takes the NFL Panthers OC job.   Rutgers has already hired a new DC, so that window seems to be closed.  

This is good news for the Wolverines and staff, Campanile is considered the best recruiter on staff  (after Partridge left).  Losing both top recruiters would be very hard to replace.   Jimmy and Don did a good job saving this one.  

The Strange:

With AC staying now the focus goes to, who is going to replace Partridge?  The leading candidate (per Mgoblog) seems to be Tank Wright an assistant on the Strength and Conditioning staff.   This makes zero sense to me and seems like a way to save a few dollars.   I don't know Tank's background but this would be one of the stranger hires Jimmy has ever made if it happens.   For Michigan not to find a few $100K more for a young raising defensive coach in college football is problematic to me. 

• You can try to fire Bobby Petrino but he just finds his way back.  He is the new head coach of Missouri State. 

• As a reminder the two Stanford DT's are Michael Williams and Jovan Swann.  A new name that Michigan is considering is Quincy Roche from Temple.  Quincy is a DE that had 13 sacks last season.  He is more Uche then Gary at 235 pounds. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/01/wolverine-wednesday-one-dt-out-one.html

Michigan Tuesday: Better Team Won

Vegas probably took a bath on the National Championship game, as the rumor was all the money was on LSU and for good reason.   It was basically a home game and they have one of the most confident QB's under center that I have seen in college football.

As much as we want to hope, Michigan is not close to either team.   Both teams had elite QB play (even though Lawrence struggled at times), elite RB's, and elite WR play.   Clemson on defense went with 3 DL's, 1 LB, and 7 DB's to try to stop the LSU passing game.   That and some bad field position worked for a quarter, until the LSU figured it out.  Then it was over.

I was also impressed by both defensive lines and how they were able to rush the passer even with only 3 guys rushing.   The lack of quality DT recruiting is going to hurt Michigan upfront for years to come.

Good job on the comments from yesterdays post!

LSU was the best team and it was a Cinderella year for them.  Congratulations to the LSU Tigers, now everyone is 0-0 again and its time to get back to work and see if the Wolverines can shrink the gap.

• Time Machine commit from DB Myles Rowser in the 2022 class.  Myles is an instate product at Belleville and brother of Andre Seldon.   Still very early for 2022 rankings but he is not in 24/7 way too early top 100.  Myles continues the brother theme for the 2022 with Alex VanSumeren the only 2 commits in that class so far.  Myles reports a Penn State and West Virginia offers so far. 

• Michigan finishes 18th in the final AP Poll. 

• In an expected move,  LB Edward Warriner has transferred from MSU to Michigan to join his dad who is the Wolverines OL coach.  Ed was a 3 star LB and probably will have to sit out next year with 2 to play.  No word if he is on scholarship or a walk-on, either way I support this move to keep daddy happy.  

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-tuesday-better-team-won.html

Help Maryland residents re-enter the workforce in 2020

If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to help others in your community, we have the perfect suggestion for how to reach your goal.

While Maryland’s unemployment rate is the lowest it has been since March 2008, there are still plenty of individuals looking to re-enter the local workforce. 

from https://open.maryland.gov/blog/help-maryland-residents-re-enter-workforce-2020/

Michigan Monday: National Championship Night

I don't have anything on Michigan's loss to a bad Minnesota team yesterday.  I do have a PSA for you: if you want to remain a sane Michigan sports fan this winter, just watch Michigan Basketball at home or neutral site games.   Nobody in the Big Ten seems be able to win on the road this season.

When you watch the game tonight, I want you to watch with Maize and Blue glasses on.  What I mean by that, look at the difference between both LSU and Clemson and our beloved Wolverines.  

What are the major differences you see?  I would love your feedback in the comments on Tuesday.

I have watched both teams a few times and I will give you my list.

1. Talent level.  Each team has athletes at every level/positions.  
2. Defensive Tackles are real DT's.  Look to see the 300+ pound human beings on the interior defensive line.  (Not beefed up DE's or LB's) 
3. Speed at Skill Positions.  There are fast guys everywhere. 
4. How running the ball at the QB position, extends drives and wins games.

I have flip flopped on Don Brown from loving him to hoping he finds a new job outside of Ann Arbor.  With that said, I don't believe Michigan has a coaching problem.   I believe the 4 bullet points above are the differences from going Good to Great in Ann Arbor.   Michigan played Alabama and OSU and the talent difference was clear.  I believe Harbaugh has closed the gap but Michigan still has a long road until they have an LSU turnaround (which should be the example Michigan uses). 

The last time LSU won a NC, it was a huge turning point for Michigan's program.  If LSU wins tonight, maybe Michigan's curse will be over.   :)

• Jimmy's brother John had a crushing loss on Saturday as the Ravens were expected to advance and maybe play in another Super Bowl. 

• Ambry Thomas confirmed he was coming back to Michigan next season.  The depth chart is a bit thin at CB so this was good news. 

• For a University that has gone through one of the highest profile sexual assaults scandals in history.   It's unbelievable that MSU still keeps a football coach that brought Auston Robertson to campus.  Losing football games doesn't compare to bringing a sexual predator to campus and putting every female student at risk.   Mark Dantonio makes a $4.3M bonus on Wednesday, every dollar should go directly to Robertson's victims.  

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-monday-national-championship.html

Ferraro Foods selects Maryland for new distribution center

Harford County, Md. is the newest addition to Ferraro Foods’ growing presence across the East Coast.

from https://open.maryland.gov/blog/ferraro-foods-selects-maryland-new-distribution-center/

Michigan Friday: Needs Livers

This is a unique Michigan Basketball team, we thought they would likely be an average Big 10 team and then had a great weekend in the Bahamas and jumped into the top 5 in the nation and the only team to beat the #1 team in the nation (currently).  

Now their top shooter Isaiah Livers is hurt and Michigan is struggling to find any outside shooting.   Eli Brooks has again found his mid-season slump and shot 3 three pointers and 2 free throws that was no where near going in.  Wagner had 15 points with a nice 3 pointer in OT but he is much too quiet on the court and sometimes just lost on offense.

Teske again got their opponents center's best game and guy named Trevion Williams went for 36 against him and threw up any kind of shot that went in.  He even hit a Harden like 3 pointer which was his 2nd 3 pointer of the season.  Williams did miss the most important shot of the game when he had an uncontested layup to win the game in regulation and shot it with T-Rex arms.   Teske had 18 points and probably played the most minutes of his life last night.

The hero was Simpson who went 9-13 from the field with 22 points and was killing the Boilermakers with his dribble drives.  He kept the Wolverines in the game, when it was clear the team was looking for answers on offense.  His senior leadership was the difference and the reason the Wolverines snuck out a win in double OT.

Another issue is that Michigan left 9 points at the free throw line going 15-24.  Michigan will need to find some outside shooting as they travel to The Barn in Minneapolis on Sunday.   Lets hope that groin heals quickly.

• Tru Wilson will look to grad transfer to another school and spend one more season playing football.  He is now in the transfer portal.  He has a nice story as a former Michigan walk-on.  Michigan's RB depth is in very good shape next season. 

• If you missed it JKP is also in the portal.  Injuries and depth chart, hurt his chances to get on the field outside of special teams. 

• 16 of the 30 players in the 2017 class have now left the program (2 are to the NFL)

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-friday-needs-livers.html

Michigan Thursday: Old Names - New Places

Brady Hoke is a head coach again, for a place he was a head coach before.  San Diego State where he coached for 1 year (2009-2010) before taking the Michigan job.   Rocky Long Brady's former DC stepped down as head coach yesterday and they quickly named Brady head coach.  

Brady has had a very bumpy road since being fired from Michigan.  He was at Oregon for one year,  Tennessee for one year, NFL Carolina Panthers for one year, SDSU as the DL coach last season, and now head coach again.  The only job he wasn't fired from (after 1 year) after Michigan was SDSU.   

Nick Sheridan, former Michigan QB under RR now is the co-OC at Indiana where he joins Mike Hart who continues to be the RB coach.  

Good luck to these coaches! 

• Speaking of former Michigan coaches:  There seems to have been 2 people in the world who thought Coach B would be a good fit in the NBA: John Beilein and Dan Gilbert.  He is having a terrible first year with a terrible roster.  It's going to be very strange to see him coaching at another NCAA school next season.  Maybe this was Coach B's retirement plan?

• The National Director of Recruiting for 24/7 Steve Wiltfong criticized Michigan Football's recruiting approach as un-organized, putting too much on the assistant coaches and not the norm compared to other schools.   Interesting take:  Michigan seems to do well in recruiting every year with a top 10 class, though its clear OSU and Alabama have better athletes on the field.  Matt Dudek recruiting coordinator is also very well respected in the industry.   I would say Michigan has to find top tier athletes, top trier students, and guys that aren't interested in "getting paid" which has to be a pretty rare combination in todays market.   This goes to my take that Michigan, ND, Georgia Tech, Stanford's of the world is not going to be able to compete with other schools breaking the rules.   Case in point, The University of Miami has some of the best talent in the nation in a 20 mile radius.   They have been down because after getting in trouble, they have changed their "recruiting investment policy" and kids are electing to go to other schools.  

• There continues to be positive buzz about 2020 5 star guard Josh Christopher to Michigan.  I would pump the breaks a bit, but things seem to be heading in the right direction.  

• Georgia is losing a number of players lately.  Including it's QB to the NFL, Offensive lineman, and a 2020 5 star RB who just got let out of his LOI.   Cade Mays' father (one of the offensive lineman transfers) had a part of his pinky amputated when a folding chair at a UGA event failed.  That is one hell of a story and seems to be accurate as the Mays are expected to be suing the chair manufacture and UGA.   Sam Pittman the former OL coach has also left to coach  Arkansas.  Former Michigan commit LB Otis Reese is now officially in the transfer portal as well.  No word if Michigan is interested as its really not a position of need like the DL or OL with the loss of Ruiz and Spanellis last week. 

• Michigan takes on Purdue tonight at Crisler. 

• Michigan DB Jaylen Kelly-Powell has entered the Transfer Portal 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-thursday-old-names-new-places.html

Wolverine Wednesday: Trey and Derrick Get Guaranteed

Trey Burke and Derrick Walton both got some good news yesterday as they got their contracts guaranteed for the rest of the year on their respective NBA teams.

Trey is on the 76'ers and averaging 7.7 points per game, while playing 14 minutes a game.
Derrick is averaging just under 3 points per game, while playing 9 minuites per game.  Derrick will make $1.4M this season.

Rumors are that Duncan Robinson is going to particating in the 3 point contest during NBA;s All Star Weekend.

Congratsulations to the former Wolverines on success in the league!

• Some names floating around to replace Partridge include: LA Rams Aubrey Pleasant who was a former grad assitant at Michigan and UK's Steve Clinksdale.  Pleasant is an up and coming defensive mind in the NFL and even interviewed for NFL DC's roles last season and Clinksdale has been recruiting Michigan very well. 

• Seems the Chuck Filiaga transfers rumors are incorrect and he is staying.   I think he has a huge upside and now has the opportunity. 

• Seems Nico is considering a move to the #1 jersey.  He is the #1 WR and should wear whatever number he wants.   

• Matt Rhule is heading to the NFL from Baylor. Good luck to him in Carolina. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/01/wolverine-wednesday-trey-and-derrick.html

Michigan Tuesday: Jimmy's Assistant Coaches

Whether you love or hate Jim Harbaugh you have to admit the guy can hire strong assistant coaches.  It makes a ton of sense why Saban loses basically his entire coaching staff every year.   There isn't a program in the country that wouldn't want Alabama's high level of success over the last 10 years.   So maybe one of the assistants can replicate it at your favorite University.  Michigan has fished from that lake bringing in 2 offensive coordinators with the latest being Josh Gattis.

What is interesting to me, is that Michigan has had nowhere near the success Alabama has on the field and programs come after Jimmy's assistants every off season.   In college, assistant coaches not only have to develop and coach players on the field, they also have to recruit.   You could be an average coach but an elite recruiter and get a pay raise and a promotion from another program.

What I find interesting is two guys:

Chris Partridge:  Jimmy hired Chris to his staff in 2015 from Paramus Catholic HS to help recruit Rashan Gary. Chris prior college coaching experience was one year at the Citadel.  In 2016, Chris was promoted to an on-field coaching position.  During that time, Chris also became a top tier recruiter and teams started to come after him every year, including Saban.   Last week, Kiffin made an offer he couldn't turn down, Co-DC with another Harbaugh assistant DJ Durkin.  That is a pretty quick rise up the coaching ladder from high school head coach to SEC DC.

Anthony Campanile started his college coaching experience in 2012 when he joined Rutgers the team he played for.   He was there through 2015 coaching on both sides of the ball.   He then moved to BC where his highest position was Co-DC in 2018.  Anthony joined Harbaugh's staff in 2019 and in the past week has had offers from BC as it's DC and Rutgers.   BC has moved on and it now seems to be a Michigan - Rutgers battle for his coaching services this season.   (His brother was the interim head coach at Rutgers after they fired Chris Ash)  There were some suggesting that Anthony was going to be a head coach candidate for Rutgers when the deal initially didn't work out with Greg Schiano.   He has been here one year and his career seems to have sky rocketed.

A guy named Nate Woody was on Harbaugh's defensive staff (not an on-field position) this season and got job as Army's DC last week as well.

So with Jimmy having one and probably more coaching positions open, I'm not worried at all about him finding a quality guy to fill the role.  Though it would be nice if some of these quality coaches equaled more wins on the field.

• If your concerned about more guys heading to the transfer portal, I would keep an eye on Chuck Filiaga and Donavan Jeter.   Both lines will have open competition this Spring for starting spots.    

• Michigan is expected to have 10 players enrolling early.  8 are currently enrolled. 

• Khaleke Hudson has been invited to participate in the Senior Bowl.

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-tuesday-jimmys-assistant.html

Michigan Monday: Looks Like I Picked The Wrong Week To Stop Sniffing Glue

Wow, that was some week we just had has Michigan fans.  I'm glad its over and we can start anew today.  I know you don't want me to re-cap but I will for our readers that might have watching nothing but Netflix for the past week:

1. ↓ - Wednesday -  Alabama flexes its muscle in the 2nd half and beats the Wolverines.  
2. ↑ - Wednesday-  Michigan Basketball gets 2020 4 star forward Terrance Williams. 
3. ↓ - Thursday - Chris Partridge goes to Ole Miss 
4. ↓ - Thursday - Stephen Spanellis enters the transfer portal 
5. ↓ - Friday - Michigan's talented center Cesar Ruiz announces he is headed to the NFL 
6. ↑ - Saturday - Michigan receives the public commitment of 4 star CB DGW (he is already signed)
7. ↓ - Saturday - DPJ announces he will also go to the NFL 
8. ↓- Saturday - The greatest Wolverine QB is knocked out of the playoffs and could retire  
9. ↓- Sunday - The media is reporting that BC and Rutgers are in a bidding war for Michigan assistant Anthony Campanile as its DC. 
10. ↓ - Sunday - A short handed Michigan Basketball squad gets run in East Lansing.
11. ↑ - Sunday - Nico Collins decides to stay for his Senior Year.

That is a hell of a lot of news between Wednesday-Sunday.  It's strange that Michigan lost its top 2 centers on the depth chart in two days.  There was some reports that Zach Carpenter was taking 2nd team snaps in Bowl Practice.   Talk about the depth chart opening up for him! 

DPJ's decision was and wasn't surprising.  I was hoping he would stay and kill it as a senior, but he decided to head to the NFL.  Right now ESPN has him as the 10th WR in the draft, I'm sure he will climb the rankings with a good NFL combine and team workouts.   It is a very deep WR draft class. 

The commitment of DGW was not a surprise as he signed last month and asked the team to keep it quiet.  He will be enrolling early and might be on campus already.   CB was a  position of need in this class.  

Deep thought of the day:  If Michigan's defense has been the difference in this team going from good to great?  Then why are other programs coming for Michigan's defensive assistant coaches every off season?  This includes Michigan's biggest rival Ohio State, who took two last off season and now OSU DC who is the head coach at BC is going after another.  

The best news of the weekend was that Nico is staying, he said he wanted to get his degree and had unfinished business.   

Michigan Basketball probably wasn't going to win in East Lansing even with Livers, but his scoring is really missed when this team is on the road and it sounds like won't be ready anytime soon.  It also doesn't seem like Michigan runs any offense for Wagner and they really need him to score more.  

• Former Michigan commit who flipped from Michigan to Georgia on NSD, Otis Reese is rumored to be heading to the transfer portal.   Michigan doesn't really need LB's/Vipers.  There is also a chance that Ed Warriner's son makes history and transfers from MSU to Michigan. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-monday-looks-like-i-picked.html

Michigan Friday: Lots of News

Juwan Howard continued his impressive recruiting skills with the commitment of Terrance Williams another 4 star in the 2020 class. Terrance is a 6'5 225 pounds combo-forward that has a very complete game for a high school senior.   He has a nice shot from 3, a mid-range game, but also loves to mix it up in the post and gets boards.   He seems like an all around player and the type of skill set we have rarely seen in Ann Arbor.   Terrance averaged just under 16 points with 5 boards in the EYBL.

With Todd, Michigan currently has the #4 class in the country just behind the blue bloods basketball programs.  Todd is still a question mark, if he will stay with college or go overseas for a few dollars.  Either way, Juwan has proved to be a top notch recruiter, with still one more 5 star guard Josh Christopher considering Michigan as well.   His son Jace will also end up in the class.

Michigan travels to East Lansing on Sunday without a healthy Livers.

• Michigan lost a good coach and even a better recruiter yesterday when Chris Partridge took what seems to be the co-DC role at Ole Miss for Lane Kiffin.   The interesting part of this hire is that Kiffin also hired DJ Durkin after his troubles at Maryland.  Don't love the Kiffin - Durkin match as they both have trouble in their past and seems a bit explosive together.   It was only a matter of time before Partridge left the Wolverines for a bigger role and more dollars, programs were trying to hire him every off season.  Coach Harbaugh found him and turned him into a very good assistant coach. (Coach Brown also had something to do with that)

• Who might fill Partridge's role? I'm willing to bet its a familiar name:  Devin Bush, Sr. 

• Rumors are that Anthony Campanile is probably heading out as well to take a role at Rutgers. 

• Former Wolverine who was dealing with depression James Hudson played his first game at OT for Cincinnati last night.  He seemed to play well in a game which had an hour 1/2 weather delay and a big UC win. 

• Nate Woody who was on Harbaugh's non-coaching staff this season, also got a promotion and will be Army's DC.  

• Blake Corum had a TD in the Under Armour Game last night

• Tarik Black is hinting at big news on Twitter, I guess he is close to announcing his new school.  My guess would be BC for former OSU DC Jeff Hafley.   Who knows something about covering Black. 

• Penn State's WR and instate product KJ Hamler is heading to the NFL Draft. 

• Michigan's OL coach Ed Warriner's son Edward (redshirt sophomore) who is a LB at Michigan State is entering the transfer portal.

• In a sign of the times, the top ranked TE picked Georgia in the UA game last night because they provide child care. 

• There seems to be some smoke around Urban Meyer and the Cleveland Browns. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/01/michigan-friday-lots-of-news.html

Alabama Post Game

This post will be a little bit more than the traditional Cheers and Jeers.  As attending this game, gave me some further insight into things that TV just doesn't show.

Atmosphere:

This was my second Citrus Bowl, its an interesting event.  It's a Bowl Game that's not quite a New Years Day 6 but it isn't the Alamo Bowl either.   So neither fan base was crazy happy to be there and it showed.   I would say it was 55% Bama and 45% Michigan fans, the game was about 5,000 short of a sell out with mostly open seats in the upper decks.

Bama has what they call the "Million Dollar Band" (yes they pay the band as well) and have a terrible cheer where the spell B-A-M-A.  This was my first Alabama game and sort of expected a better fight song with all their tradition.

Parking:  As many know, the Citrus Bowl is in an industrial/lower cost hosing area.   If you want to tailgate, you should purchased a permit for parking in a Citrus Bowl lot.   You can find parking near by for as low as $20, but expect to pay $40.   We parked in a parking lot of a business, where the highlight was a bunch of Alabama fans knowing knives at a wooden board.   First time I have seen that at a tailgate.

Weather was great.  It was 68 degrees and sunny all game.

The Citrus Bowl stadium announcer made a ton of mistakes on identifying Michigan players and commonly messed up the down and distance.   There was also a hype man on the field who was pretty bad as well.

The Game 

If you asked me to asses this team in one sentence it would be, "this team can't take a punch".    Here are my headlines:

Gattis called a great first half
Don Brown failed again
Saban is the devil

Let's start with the first half, Michigan came out with passion and played well against one of the best teams in the nation.   Gattis was on point and found running lanes against Bama's defenses.   Kicking fields goals and not scoring touchdowns was really the only negative for the offense in the first half.

Don Brown needs to find a new job.  His philosophy is to solve issues with aggression, I feel like you need to solve issues with intelligence.   Belichick always takes away his opponents best player, Don Brown always lets his opponents best player have a career day.   Case in point this year:

Wisconsin: Taylor 203 yards
PSU: Hamler 108 yards receiving
OSU: Dobbins 211 yards and Fields 302 passing
Bama: Judy 204 yards and Harris 136 rushing

Before the snap of Alabama's first play, Saban had targeted Dax Hill by putting Judy in the slot.   I yelled before the snap that Judy was getting a 20 yard cushion and was on our freshman safety.  You know the rest.  How is Bama's best player not getting special coverage or even a CB?   Double cover that guy!

Michigan's offense is not great but its not the problem either.  Don Brown and his inability to change or stop good offenses is.   We will look back at some of these defenses and wonder how Don Brown F'ed them up.

His lack of DT recruiting is also going to hurt this program for years.   Michigan tried to stop Alabama's NFL offensive lineman with a walk-on and a true freshman.   Unacceptable and embarrassing.

Saban hates Michigan from his MSU days and didn't need that last TD, he also targeted Dax who flipped from Alabama to Michigan on signing day on the first play.  He's not a fan of Harbaugh and made sure his team knew that at half-time as the real Crimson Tide played the last 30 minutes.

Cheers

• Michigan OL played well and put 165 rushing yards on Bama's defense 
• Gattis with 1st half play calling 
• Nordin was Michigan's MVP 
• Jackson is going to be good returning and at WR next year. 
• Michigan was competitive
• Michigan's RB's could be pretty good next year

Jeers with Details

• Shea was terrible - What you can't see on TV is how poorly Shea sees the field.  He missed wide open WR's and was missing opportunities to run for positive yards or even first downs.  I was supporting him all year as I thought he was Michigan's best option to win, I no longer believe that and will wish him well.   Many say that Shea is best when he is off schedule, I disagree - if he doesn't make a quick decision, he makes a bad one.  
• I like Ronnie Bell, but he is really having trouble catching the ball.   Others around me were saying he was having trouble catching in warm ups.   Which continued into the game.    If he can't fix this, we might have a McDoom situation here. 
• Don Brown was able to find the stadium 
• The roughing the passer penalty changed the game.  I'm not saying Michigan wins the game if that call isn't made, I'm saying Michigan had 100% of the momentum and that call gave Bama 4 extra points they didn't need.  The Bama fans even thought it was a bad call.   I can't stand officials that insert themselves into games and change the outcome.  
• Michigan's defensive line is at the highest level of concern.  
• I thought the offensive play calling was not great in the second half, it was clear Bama had made adjustments, I didn't see Michigan make any.   
• Michigan couldn't get off the mat after Alabama landed the 1st TD punch of the second half. 

What's next

Michigan has to fix the defensive line as quickly as possible.  The transfer portal, recruiting, and better development.  

Don Brown is the defensive Rich Rod.   Don is fine coaching at UMass, Harvard, BC, and UConn but he is not capable of coaching a high preforming defense against a top tier offense.   His defense is designed to beat Illinois and Rutgers not OSU and Alabama.   I don't want to hear about his highly ranked defense, it hasn't won shit.   

It's basketball season and Juwan Howard just landed another 4 star recruit, which will discuss tomorrow.   Also Stephen Spanellis is transferring as a graduate transfer, which seems strange with two guard spots and maybe a center position open next season. 

Happy New Year

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/01/alabama-post-game.html