Michigan Monday: Off Season Should Now Be Called Transfer Season

If the NCAA adopts the Harbaugh rule that every kid gets one no penalty transfer then College Football and Basketball Free Agency is on.   It already seems to be underway:

• Michigan's Basketball team has taken in two transfer this off season, 1 from Columbia (Smith) and 1 (Eastern) from Purdue.  

• Michigan Basketball lost 3 guys to transfer: 1 to Cincinnati (DD), 1 to Florida (Castleton) and another (Bajema) to Washington.  

• Michigan Football has seen more players leave rather then head to A2 lately.   The latest headliners to leave are WR Black to Texas and DT Dwumfour to Rutgers.   Shea Patterson Michigan's starting QB the last two years was a transfer and DE Mike Danna transferred from Central Michigan last season and got drafted.   The only transfer this year is special teams player and son of OL coach Edward Warinner from MSU.  Others leaving this year include:  RB Wilson to Northern Colorado, OG Spanellis to Vandy, LB Gill to USF, and S Woods to Duke.  

• Guys like TE Muhammad, LB Anthony, and CB JK-P have yet to announce where they are going to play next season.   

Even Juwan's son Jett Howard a 4 star SG in 2022 is transferring high schools and will play at IMG next season.  Tua's brother left Alabama last week to play at Maryland.

When you think the last 3 Heisman Trophy winners were transfers, its clear this is the new normal.   

• Michigan is trending for 4 star 2021 CA WR Christian Dixon

• CB Andre Seldon and WR Giles Jackson will be the first Wolverines to wear #0 at Michigan. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/05/michigan-monday-off-season-should-now.html

Michigan Friday: Purdue's Nojel Eastern Transfers to Michigan not Eastern Michigan

kokomotribune.com

I made a joke earlier this week that Nojel Eastern should transfer to EMU.   Instead, he picked another Washtenaw Country University and will play for Juwan Howard.

Eastern is known has a huge guard at 6'7 225 and a lockdown defender.  He was been on the Big Ten Defensive team for two years.  He also has a good handle and solid on dribble drives.    What he is lacking is a jump shot, he was 0/3 from the 3 point line last year. 

What's in question is, if Eastern will be immediately eligible next season?  Most experts believe he will have to sit out a year if he doesn't get a waiver or some special COVID-19 transfer policy. 

Does this transfer make sense for Michigan's basketball program? Hell yes, because he is a lockdown defender and the other option was nothing.  Sure it will be better if Eastern can play next year but either way, Michigan needs some upper classman leadership and hopefully he will be able to fill that role. 

If he wants to fill a Dennis Rodman role (from his time with the Pistons ) I'm all for it.   Welcome Nojel!

• Josh Gattis says there isn't a leader right now for starter at QB.  That is coach speak and wanting both guys to work hard prior to camp (whenever that happens).    I have no doubt they know who all the expected starters are.   The 2019 class will really need to step up at WR as the roster lost 2 upper classmen to the NFL and Texas.

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/05/michigan-friday-purdues-nojel-eastern.html

Michigan Thursday: The Clarkston Combo

This year the State of Michigan might have better senior high school top tier talent then the State of Ohio.   Which is saying something.

Part of that talented group is 2 prospects from Clarkston, Michigan: 4 star OT Garrett Dellinger and 4 star OG Rocco Spindler.   Garrett is 6'6 and 280 and just released his final 4 yesterday.   Rocco is 6'5 and 295 pounds and plans to release his top 5 next week.  

Garrett who insiders believe is leading towards LSU, also included Michigan, PSU and Ohio State as his finalists.   Most of Rocco's crystal balls are leaning towards the Wolverines.  

Jimmy and staff have their work cut out for them, as these two talented offensive lineman and the #2 rated RB in the country Donovan Edwards are seen as must wins for the Wolverines.   Can Michigan keep these talented player home?  Time will tell.


Recruiting Coordinator Matt Dudek, takes us through how a normal visit would go for a prospect vs. what is happening today:

“Let's go through a visit, for example, when they come to campus, they're greeted by me and my staff, as well as the coaching staff. We take them around the building for a building tour or a photoshoot, meeting with Herb, meeting with nutrition, meeting with academics or campus tours to the stadium, we sit down with your position coach, sit down with the head coach and all those things are roughly an hour each. You got to keep the day moving because, at the end of the day, they leave. They got to go to the next school, they got to go home, whatever the case may be.

“So an eight-hour visit, you get about an hour of everything. Then you're not doing that follow up call to get on a Zoom or FaceTime and do more chalk talk with Don Brown. Has it happened? Sure, of course it's happened. Would it happen twice a week three times a week at 9 pm? Probably not. Because, again, Don's on the road at this time. I say Don, every one of our 11 coaches are doing exactly the same thing. It's just he called me after his nine o'clock last night that's fresh in my mind. It's one of those deals that I think that building and layering that communication and that relationship, I would say it's just it's building a better Michigan communication and relationship."

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/05/michigan-thursday-clarkston-combo.html

Wolverine Wednesday: The Unknown

This is strangest time in history for sports.  Nobody knows if and when their favorite sport will come back.   The NBA is trying a way to do their playoffs, MLB is trying to squeeze in their season, the NFL doesn't know when they will start, and college football doesn't know if they can play if there isn't any students on campus.  

The California State Schools closed their doors for the fall semester and will continue with virtual classes.   What does that mean for UCLA or CAL football?  We don't know.  

The MAC has cancelled a number of sports end of the year tournaments for the next 4 years already.  Florida Tech has completely closed their football program. 

The NCAA is not going to mandate any return to sports.  It will be up to the State Government, the University Presidents, and large organizations like the Big Ten.  

I don't have the answer but I'm not loving the outlook for sports in 2020.  

• Purdue Guard (basketball) Nojel Eastern is in the transfer portal.  He clearly should head to EMU.  

• One year ago today, Coach B left for the CAVS.   What a bad decision that was and I can't believe he didn't know that before he took that role.  

• Did you know that Jimmy has hired a former Navy Seal to help players become better team leaders? I didn't and love that.  

• Don Brown went on Jon Jansen's podcast and talked about current players stepping up.

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/05/wolverine-wednesday-unknown.html

Maryland organizations promote environmental education while restoring the Chesapeake Bay

The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) has partnered with the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) and the Living Classrooms Foundation to launch a pilot education program that encourages activities aimed at reducing and preventing pollution in Maryland waterways and the Chesapeake Bay.

from http://open.maryland.gov/blog/maryland-organizations-promote-environmental-education-while-restoring-chesapeake-bay/

Michigan Tuesday: Dylan Staying Sharp

Freep

During this Pandemic imagine you are the presumed starting QB at Michigan.  How are your going to stay sharp?  How are you making sure you don't lose your job?

Dylan has an un-fair advantage.   He has a home full of a former NFL WR/College head coach, a current All Pro RB in the NFL, and another Big Ten QB.    That seems to be a good group to stay sharp, all he needs is a neighbor that is a pro bowl cornerback!

Ed, 51, often will put Dylan and Luke through passing drills while Christian warms up. Ed also will run routes. He's well qualified, having made 565 catches for 7,422 yards and 55 touchdowns in 13 NFL seasons.

"It's awesome," said Dylan, the heir apparent to Shea Patterson as Michigan's starter. "It allows me to train at the highest level I possibly can, which is tough for a lot of people during this time."

When Christian joins the group, he'll work on routes from his new playbook provided by first-year offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who helped make LSU quarterback Joe Burrow the Heisman Trophy winner and first pick of the 2020 NFL draft, by Cincinnati.

The brothers are keeping their playbooks separate, even though I would love to grab a few Joe Brady plays for next season. Nebraska is not on Michigan's schedule if your worried about any Big Ten play leakage.  

• Michigan HS Football is planning to have a full season this fall.  Let's hope so!

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/05/michigan-tuesday-dylan-staying-sharp.html

Michigan Monday: Double Commit Weekend

Michigan this past weekend picked up two 2021 commits on defense.   The first was a 3 star LB from Illinois and the next was a 3 star Safety from Ohio. 

The first to drop was Tyler McLaurin a LB from Bolingbrook, IL.   He is a 6'2 210 LB in the mold of Devin Bush.  Even McLaurin's name sounds fast.  Tyler is currently the 26th OLB in the country. 

His offer list includes: Iowa, BC, Illinois, MSU, Nebraska, Missouri, UK, Syracuse, GT and others. 

Welcome Tyler and please be like DB! 

Next is Rod Moore from Clayton, Ohio.  It's always nice to pull guys out of Ohio and Rod is a borderline 4 star 5'11 180 pound safety.  Rod is also a teammate of recent WR commit Markus Allen.  

Rod has a nice offer list that includes: Duke, GT, IU, Iowa, UK, Maryland, ND, Pitt, and Wisconsin.  

I expect we might see a rise in Rod's ranking as the recruiting season matures.  With the loss of summer camps, we might not see a ton of movement until next football season.  Rod is currently ranked at the 22nd Safety in the country. 

• 2 Wolverines were in last nights ESPN's "Last Dance"  Glen Rice and current head coach Juwan Howard. 

• Michigan now has the 10th ranked 2021 class on 24/7

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2020/05/michigan-monday-double-commit-weekend.html