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