Thursday, March 29, 2012

Wolverine Basketball: The Departed

Following the disappointedly early exit from the NCAA Tournament by the men's basketball team, there were several departures that are worth mentioning. Of course there was the obvious departure of Stu Douglas and Zack Novak, since both were seniors, but there were a few surprises as well. 


Evan Smotrycz, Carlton Brundidge and Colton Christian all decided to transfer from the University of Michigan last week. Smotrycz was a big contributor who started many games this last season; however, Brundidge had a few minutes here and there backing up Trey Burke and Christian would get a few minutes in mop up duty. So obviously the loss of Smotrycz is what is going to hurt the team the most. But with the class of freshman that are coming in this next season there was a good chance that his minutes were going to dwindle a bit with that added competition. 


The loss of Brundidge could hurt Michigan as well since Burke is looking at his draft potential for the upcoming NBA draft. Hopefully Burke decides to stay at Michigan at least one more year since Coach Beilein has not yet received a commitment from a point guard to even back up Burke if he does stay. While Brundidge did appear to be behind in learning the system, he was the best available backup for Burke on the team.


While these departures hurt the team, at least we have some solid players coming in next season to lessen the impact. The biggest issue though is what happens if Trey Burke decides to also leave (for the NBA)? Time will tell, since we should know in a few weeks, but if he leaves, we could be in some trouble.

Monday, March 19, 2012

New Wolverine: DeVeon Smith


DeVeon Smith, a running back from Warren (OH) Howland High School, became the 16th commitment of the class of 2013 on Saturday. He is currently listed at about 5'11" and 210 lbs., which makes him a good size for a running back. He is the second running back to commit to the class, alongside Wyatt Shallman. Smith is a powerful back that literally does not go down. It takes a defense about three guys to bring him down and that is after he breaks multiple tackles. His highlight film is pretty good showing his ability to drive through would be tacklers on his way to the end zone. 

Smith's speed is my only question. However, while he doesn't have the speed of Ty Isaac, Smith is still able to outrun a few players. Once he gets on campus, he will have every opportunity to compete for the starting position, depending on the status of Fitzgerald Toussaint. I think Smith will come in and be the backup for his freshman season and then come his sophomore year, he could become the starter. 

Plus, if Ty Isaac plans on committing too, that would be one great compliment to DeVeon Smith. Isaac has the speed, but Smith has the pounding ability. We will see what Isaac decides to do, but Smith is definitely a great running back for this class. As you see below, I think DeVeon Smith is a very underrated running back, other than Scout of course.

The following are the current recruiting rankings for DeVeon Smith:
Scout: 4*, #7 RB, #58 Overall
Rivals: 3*, #32 RB
ESPN: 4*, 79 - Scout Grade, #28 RB, #18 OH
247: 3*, 89 - 247 Rating, #32 RB, #18 OH

Depth Chart Update

On Friday afternoon, Coach Hoke had his first press conference of spring practice. Most notably was the announcement of the following players not coming back for their fifth year of football:


Rocko Khoury - Offensive Line
Terrence Robinson - Wide Receiver
Mike Cox - Running Back
George Morales - Long Snapper


According to Coach Hoke, all four are graduating by the time fall football practice starts. The one that hurts depth the most is Rocko Khoury, as he was one that was assumed to be battling for the starting center spot. But with Ricky Barnum getting a shot at center, I think we will be ok at the position as long as no one gets hurt. Terrence Robinson turned into a pretty good gunner on special teams this last fall and Mike Cox always found a way to make a highlight reel run... albeit against MAC level competition. Then George Morales seems to be one that would probably not have contributed much as he is a long snapper, and we have a few on the team that will get the job done.


So far, the only one I know of that is continuing his football career is Mike Cox. He transferred to the University of Massachusetts and oddly enough will play in the Big House one last time, on his new team this fall as UMass travels to Michigan on September 15.


Good luck to all four of these guys on their future endeavors and may Mike Cox not have a big run against Michigan this fall.

Monday, March 12, 2012

March Madness 2012

Hopefully we see a ton of this happening


Congrats to Michigan for being the 4 seed in the Midwest Region for the 2012 NCAA Tournament. They will play the Ohio University Bobcats (yes, the real Ohio, not the other "Ohio") on Friday March 16 at 7:20 pm. It appears that Michigan is a 5 point favorite to win. Hopefully the Wolverines will come to play, unlike they did against Ohio (yes, that Ohio) in the B1G Tournament championship. As long as Tim Hardaway Jr, Jordan Morgan, and the others give Trey Burke some help, this should be a relatively easy victory.


I see the California Golden Bears beating the South Florida Bulls in the "First Round" and then also beating the Temple Owls in the second round. Therefore, this sets up Michigan and California in the third round. I think Michigan will be able to pull out a somewhat close game and then play the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Sweet Sixteen. However, I think that is where Michigan's run ends... and it will possibly end in doom. But maybe the Wolverines prove me wrong. 


Anyways, again congrats to the boys and good luck. GO BLUE!

New Wolverine: Gareon Conley


Gareon Conley, a cornerback from Massillon (OH) Washington High School, committed to the class of 2013 over the weekend and making him the 15th recruit in the class. He is list at about 6'1" 170 lbs., which would mean he will be the tallest corner on the team by the time he reaches Michigan. I really like Conley's skill set and I think he is pretty underrated by the recruiting services. He is not real fast, but his height and length makes him a nice corner prospect for the Wolverines. Being that tall will be really nice because it gives Michigan someone bigger to match up with the tall receivers throughout the B1G. 

I honestly think that Conley could push for playing time his redshirt freshman year. He is pretty light and needs to add some weight and muscle. But his size makes you excited to see him match up with the bigger receivers. His film is fun to watch because he has the length to fly to the ball and knock it away without interfering with the receiver. He also goes up and high points the pass pretty well too.

The following are the current recruiting rankings for Gareon Conley:
Scout: 4*, #22 CB, #227 Overall
Rivals: 3*, NR Athlete
ESPN: 4*, 81 - Scout Grade, #6 CB, #63 Overall, #3 OH
247: 3*, 88 - 247 Rating, #43 CB, #27 OH


Isaiah Bell Leaves the Program

Just last night it was reported that Isaiah Bell, a redshirt junior, has left the football program. Bell was a linebacker / defensive end that never saw the field in actual playing time. I heard some rumors that he showed up his freshman season a bit overweight (and not good weight) after being recruited as a safety / linebacker tweener. He was buried on the depth chart at linebacker and it was assumed he would probably not get his fifth year on the team. 


I want to wish Isaiah Bell good luck in life and hope that he lands on his feet. He had some promise coming out of high school, especially according to ESPN, but unfortunately just fell behind.


This does technically open a scholarship for the 2013 class, which will now be up to about 20 right now.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Current Recruiting Rankings for the Class of 2013

The following are the current recruiting rankings for each commitment to the class of 2013. They should be current up to the last week or so. With the Scout 300 coming out yesterday, we now have an idea on where each commit is ranked across the four major recruiting services. 


Shane Morris - QB
   Scout: 5*, #3 QB, #28 Overall
   Rivals: 4*, #16 Overall
   ESPN: 5*, ESPNU 150 Watch List
   247: 4*, 97 - 247 Rating, #2 Pro QB, #14 Overall, #1 MI


Wyatt Shallman - RB
   Scout: 4*, #1 FB, #179 Overall
   Rivals: 4*, #160 Overall
   ESPN: ESPNU 150 Watch List
   247: 4*, 92 - 247 Rating, #9 SDE, #187 Overall, #4 MI


Dymonte Thomas - S
   Scout: 5*, #5 S, #35 Overall
   Rivals: 4*, #77 Overall
   ESPN: 4*, ESPNU 150 Watch List
   247: 4*, 95 - 247 Rating, #6 S, #40 Overall, #3 OH


Jourdan Lewis - CB
   Scout: 3*, #24 CB, #251 Overall
   Rivals: 4*, #167 Overall
   ESPN: NR CB
   247: 4*, 90 - 247 Rating, #22 CB, #7 MI


Jaron Dukes - WR
   Scout: 3*, #38 WR, #287 Overall
   Rivals: NR WR
   ESPN: NR WR
   247: 3*, 87 - 247 Rating, #63 WR, #28 OH


Khalid Hill - TE
   Scout: 3*, #14 TE
   Rivals: NR TE
   ESPN: NR TE
   247: 3*, 86 - 247 Rating, #21 TE, #9 MI


Logan Tuley-Tillman - OT
   Scout: 4*, #14 OT, #153 Overall
   Rivals: 4*, #109 Overall
   ESPN: ESPNU 150 Watch List
   247: 4*, 94 - 247 Rating, #13 OT, #89 Overall, #6 IL


Chris Fox - OT, OG
   Scout: 4*, #4 OG, #137 Overall
   Rivals: 4*, #46 Overall
   ESPN: 4*, ESPNU 150 Watch List
   247: 4*, 95 - 247 Rating, #7 OT, #47 Overall, #1 CO


Kyle Bosch - OT
   Scout: 4*, #4 OT, #49 Overall
   Rivals: 4*, #60 Overall
   ESPN: 4*, ESPNU 150 Watch List
   247: 4*, 95 - 247 Rating, #5 OT, #42 Overall, #2 IL


Patrick Kugler - OG, C
   Scout: 5*, #1 OG, #25 Overall
   Rivals: 4*, #54 Overall
   ESPN: 4*, ESPNU 150 Watch List
   247: 4*, 92 - 247 Rating, #7 OG, #190 Overall, #4 PA


David Dawson - OG
   Scout: 3*, #9 OG, #264 Overall
   Rivals: 4*, #199 Overall
   ESPN: ESPNU 150 Watch List
   247: 4*, 92 - 247 Rating, #8 OG, #196 Overall, #5 MI


Taco Charlton - DE
   Scout: 3*, #35 DE
   Rivals: 4*, #183 Overall
   ESPN: ESPNU 150 Watch List
   247: 4*, 92 - 247 Rating, #5 OLB, #99 Overall, #5 OH


Jake Butt - TE
   Scout: 4*, #6 TE, #147 Overall
   Rivals: 4*, #96 Overall
   ESPN: ESPNU 150 Watch List
   247: 4*, 90 - 247 Rating, #9 TE, #15 OH


Mike McCray - OLB
   Scout: 4*, #20 OLB, #202 Overall
   Rivals: 4*, #44 Overall
   ESPN: ESPNU 150 Watch List
   247: 4*, 92 - 247 Rating, #10 Athlete, #168 Overall, #8 OH


Here is the breakdown per recruiting service:
   Scout: 5* = 3 (Shane Morris, Dymonte Thomas, Patrick Kugler)
              4* = 6 (Wyatt Shallman, Logan Tuley-Tillman, Chris Fox, Kyle Bosch, Jake Butt, Mike
                   McCray)
              3* = 5 (Jourdan Lewis, Jaron Dukes, Khalid Hill, David Dawson, Taco Charlton)


   Rivals: 5* = 0
              4* = 12 (Shane Morris, Wyatt Shallman, Dymonte Thomas, Jourdan Lewis, Logan Tuley-
                    Tillman, Chris Fox, Kyle Bosch, Patrick Kugler, David Dawson, Taco Charlton, Jake  
                    Butt, Mike McCray)
              NR = 2 (Jaron Dukes, Khalid Hill)


   ESPN: 5* = 1 (Shane Morris)
              4* = 4 (Dymonte Thomas, Chris Fox, Kyle Bosch, Patrick Kugler)
              ESPNU 150 Watch List = 11 (Shane Morris, Wyatt Shallman, Dymonte Thomas, Logan
                     Tuley-Tillman, Chris Fox, Kyle Bosch, Patrick Kugler, David Dawson, Taco Charlton, 
                     Jake Butt, Mike McCray)


   247: 5* = 0 
           4* = 12 (Shane Morris, Wyatt Shallman, Dymonte Thomas, Jourdan Lewis, Logan Tuley-
                 Tillman, Chris Fox, Kyle Bosch, Patrick Kugler, David Dawson, Taco Charlton, Jake 
                 Butt, Mike McCray)
           3* = 2 (Jaron Dukes, Khalid Hill)


So far, Michigan has a pretty solid class for 2013. Hopefully they can close this class out with some more good prospects to add to these above. I will update this post throughout the year until National Signing Day in February 2013.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Scout 300 for Class of 2013

The Scout 300 has just been released. I will be updating the Michigan 2013 Offer List over the next couple days to reflect the changes. I will also probably make a post with the current Michigan commitments and their current recruiting rankings soon.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

New Wolverine: Mike McCray II


Mike McCray II just became the 14th commitment to the class of 2013 and the first linebacker. He is from Trotwood (OH) Trotwood-Madison and is listed at about 6'4" and 220 lbs. or so. McCray is slated for the sam linebacker position and could even move down to the weak-side defensive end position. He has good size for SLB and has pretty good coverage skills. McCray also seems to have decent speed as well for his size. 

There have been some rumblings that McCray could switch to the Buckeyes if they were to offer, since his dad is a former captain for them. I don't know if that will / would happen and I hope not since McCray has nice upside. He could come in and compete for a backup spot to Jake Ryan. If not, McCray will take that redshirt year to refine his skills and be ready to play come his redshirt freshman season. 

The following are the current recruiting rankings for Mike McCray II:
Scout: 4*, #20 OLB, #202 Overall
Rivals: 4*, #8 OLB, #44 Overall
ESPN: 4*, 81 - Scout Grade, #7 OLB, #75 Overall, #4 OH
247: 4*, 92 - 247 Rating, #12 Athlete, #173 Overall, #8 OH

Monday, March 5, 2012

Regular Season B1G Champs!

Congrats to the Michigan Wolverines Men's Basketball Team for winning a share of the regular season B1G Championship along with the Michigan State Spartans and the Ohio State Buckeyes. Thanks to the Buckeyes for knocking off the Spartans yesterday, it allowed Michigan to get its first B1G Championship since 1986. Congrats again to the Wolverines and GO BLUE!