Maibag question: Coach Rod being more open as a good thing

Coach and Eroc,

Do you guys see Coach Rod being more open as a good thing for the Michigan program? Will this help Michigan in the media especially the local media? How does Coach come off to you guys by what you have seen.I don't really want to rehash the whole Boren deal, but it seemed like the kid had a beef and that the coaches might have backed off the kids a little bit this week since Boren left what do you think from the reports of the practices to be more positive and more encouraging?

Thanks guys,

Mark
--------------------------------------------------
Thanks for the question. Think the openness is good thing. Programs that are open and get high school coaches on campus regularly have better relationships with the coaches. This can really help program. I am of opinion that Coach Rod and staff had planned to back off at certain point. People close to West Virginia that is what they did there in the past have, told me.

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Maibag question: Where does Michigan need the most attention

Coach and Eroc,

Where do you guys think Michigan needs the most attention in for recruiting this year? Seems like Quarterback, Defensive End, Offensive Line, and Defensive Back’s? What do you think? In addition, how do you think Michigan is doing with their three commits and how they will fit in? Have you seen film on these people yet?

Dan from Sandusky Ohio
-------------------------------------------------
Thanks for the question. I am hoping the new regime at Michigan takes a more balanced approach to recruiting. One of my main pet peeves with “Old Regime” was not having balanced classes. In bringing in offensive line classes of six or seven one year, and then one the next two years leads to problems assimilating the players. It also leads to teams with depth and inexperienced players at key positions at same time.

I think your list of positions I think Michigan needs to emphasis is pretty darn good. Although I do believe, Michigan also still needs another slot or two for depth and practice. Have seen film on Michigan’s three new commits and think they have potential to be quality football players. All three play positions of need. All three come from areas Michigan needs to emphasis in recruiting.

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Women's hoops program loses to MSU in ugly WNIT game

MSU defeated Michigan 45-30 in OT to advance to the Final Four in the WNIT on Sunday. Michigan was held scoreless almost the last seven minutes of regulation while only scoring three points in OT all from the free throw line. Michigan shot 21% from the floor and only 58% from the free throw line.

Kevin Borseth might be a little angry how the team played on Sunday, but he has to be proud how this team responded this year and how he has took over a struggling program and turned it over into a winning program. This was the first time in six years that the women’s program was able to make a post season tournament. They had their 4th best record ever in the thirty-fifth year history at Michigan and falling one game short of 20 wins (19-14 with a 9-9 Big Ten record). From a program the last few years to struggle to get wins especially Big Ten wins 10-20 with 3-14 Big Ten record in 2007, 6-23 with 0-17 Big Ten record in 2006, and 5-23 with 1-16 Big Ten record in 2005.

Michigan loses four seniors lead by Krista Clement, Janelle Cooper, Ta’Shia Walker and Katie Dierdorf. This program has several players that it can build off of and continue to get better with Krista Phillips, Jessica Minnfield and Carly Benson next season being the leaders of the women’s basketball program. Getting into the WNIT and making a run will only give this team confidence to keep improving and inspire for better things to happen the next few years. I think this program could make the tournament next year if they continue to improve and work on the little things. They had several games this year where it could have went either way down the stretch and let those games slip away which could gotten them close to the Big Dance. Third and seventh was separated by two games this year while the Big Ten was able to get four teams into the NCAA tournament this year.

Congratulations to the women’s basketball program along with Kevin Borseth for turning this program around in a short time period. This is the type of season Michigan should have every year and continue to work on and start competing for the Big Ten and getting into the NCAA tournament year in and year out.

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Coaches Corner: Defensive players Michigan is "possibly" look at

Justin Turner, Natural fit as either SS, or as bandit or spur in 3-3. odd stack. Kid fills like a LBer!

Melvin Fellows- 2nd best edge rusher I have seen on film. Kid gets off the ball like a shot. But what impresses is how he uses speed and quickness to get leverag and bull biggger stronger players.

Zach Boren- Kid without a true position at colege level. but love his intensity and fire. If he grows 2 inches or so, would make excelleent 1 tech DT.

CJ Barnett- very good in your face CB who really hits and plays game with aggresive edge.. Could also fit at nickle or safety in zone blitz package. also shows a nice little burst. needs to get beter with his jam and feet in jam.
Will try to make some time and check film on some of the others. Let me you received.

DJ Hunter became available
Hunter- Bit undersized for safety, but makes for it by being technical sound. Does evryhting well, but nothing great. good speed and quickness, good tackler and hitter. Also shows ability to blitz. would make a very nice nickle.

Will Studlien- Could play either SLBer or MLBer IMO. Fills and reads well. Gets low and takes on both lead blockers and O linemen. Takes good angles and really delivers a blow. Scraps OK, but does get a touch too close to LOS at times.

Julius Ferrell- This kid really hits, just a natural MLBer. Fills with a vengence and gets good drops. Excellent former tackler, who moves the pile and RB backwards.

Austin Moore- Mlber who lacks ideal size for the position. Does evrything OK, nothing exceptionally. Good tackler who rarely misses tackle and hustles on every play. But has trouble with lead blockers and really has problems handling O linemen and does not consistantly move the pile or RB backwards.



Isiah Bell

Strengths:
He has great combination of size and movement skills. He is an excellent tackler and big sticker. He fills inside and the lane very well. Reads plays well and reacts to ball in the air. Potential play multiple positions and be excellent on special teams.Needs work:
He Needs to be more consistent on his angles. Also tends to drop his head when tackling.

Coaches Corner: Offensive players that Michigan is "possibly" looking at

Strengths
Marcus Hall- Big strong physical O linemen who could play any position along the O line. Literally overwhelms his opponents when running blocking. Excelent drive blocker who moves the LOS. might actually better fit at OG than OT.

Needs work-
Definitely needs to get his feet quicker. also needs to develop his lateral movement. Speedier DEs coming off the edge were a major challenge for him. Which why I am not sure he is not better fit at OG, where his size and bulk would be major asset.

Marcus Hall- Big strong run blocker. Needs to improve his feet and lateral movement. Will Campbell bull rushed him with easy in San Antonio


Darrell Mason- Nice fit for inside zone scheme. Runs with shoulders square and makes both nice shallow cut and keeps ball between the hashes. Runs very hard between the OTs and shows god vision. Also a tough physical defender!

Chris Freeman- Big strong OT who needs to improve his conditioning. Bends his knees well and shows some movement skills. really needs to learn to keep his feet moving.

Mailbag question: How do you feel about the information highway today?

Gentlemen,

Please correct me if I am wrong but when Bo came in I don't think he kept any of Bump's staff. I think he ran some very tough practices. I think he had several players quit. I think he hung that Champions sign for a reason. I believe he told Dan Dierdorf," Your fat, your mine, and I never forget". Dierdorf turned down Miami of Ohio.

I believe somewhere down the line he was heard to shout," G*da*n it, Leach, pitch the Da*n ball".How do you feel about the information highway today? Can it be detrimental to football programs in regards to attrition, infractions, academics, recruiting etc? It wasn't around when Bo took over.

Great web site

Don
---------------------------------------------------
The advancements in media have definitely presented coaches with new challenges. But it has also presented programs with additional interest. Internet and other advancements have turned college football into a 12 month sport instead of the 6 month sport it was in Bo’s days. Also makes contact with recruits easier, makes breaking down film and such easier also. As much as internet and communication changes, changes in society and what is considered proper has changed.

Things my high school coaches said and did in the 70’s would get me fired today. Things my teachers said and done would get me fired today. Our program/administration actual brings in "experts” to talk to us about dealing with parents and kids. As with all things, standards and such are always evolving. In today’s PC world, is it really a surprising how it reached into college football?

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Mailbag question: What do you predict for the defense

Coach and Eroc,

With all the panic around the offense, what do you predict for the defense? My thought is that even if the offense starts struggling, the defense with a greater emphasis on speed and conditioning combined with more aggressiveness will be able to keep us in games. With the return of Graham, Taylor, Trent, Warren, and others along with (hopefully) Brown and Mouton emerging, I like the possibility of us having a very good defense.

Bart
---------------------------------------
Thanks for the question. Defense definitely has more starters returning than offense. In addition, defense has some solid to very good players returning. However, the defense also has some large holes and some questions to answer. Unless our linebackers play and safety play improves it will be difficult for the defense to be a dominate defense. Defense also needs for either Tim Jamison or Brandon Graham, and hopefully both to step and provide consistent edge pressure. Need one of the defensive tackles to develop into solid inside pass rusher?

(IMO) the biggest thing in the upcoming season will be improving special teams. Our return game needs to improve to help the offense by providing more short fields. Our punting and kick off team need to play solid ball to help the defense by making offenses drive the field. Over last few years, with exception of Breaston's return skills, special teams have been a major “Achilles heal”. This needs to change, and quicker the better. Remember last year when it seemed like Michigan struggled to get to the twenty yard line on kick off returns while the other teams Michigan played seemed to always get to the thirty-five to forty yard line.

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Mailbag question: Learning more about Coach Rod's system:

Coach and Eroc,

Is there a way to learn more about how Coach Rod runs his Zone Read (backfield and responsibilities). Possible compliments off of zone read?

Wilfred
---------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for the question. There are a number of very good videos available about running inside zone series. Coach Rod has one himself that is excellent called “running the inside zone” series. There is another by staff from Georgia Southern. You can also check a good book series called Coach of The Year Series. There are a large number of articles on this subjects.

Here is a link for the 3 DVD's that Coach Rod put together:
http://www.championshipproductions.com/cgi-bin/champ/p/Football/West-Virginia-3-Pack_FD-02057.html

The Spread Offense: Inside Run Game
with Rich Rodriguez,
West Virginia University Head Coach;
and Rick Trickett,
West Virginia University Assistant Head Coach & Offensive Line Coach

Head Coach Rich Rodriguez and Assistant Head Coach Rick Trickett give an excellent demonstration of their inside run package within their explosive spread offense.

This offense is an excellent way to stretch the defense both horizontally and vertically in addition to controlling tempo. In this video, they walk you through two key inside running plays - the zone and inside trap. Each play is shown against both odd and even defenses, with either three or four wide receivers and from either a shotgun or under center formation. Block and read responsibilities for every position are interspersed with key coaching points. 56 minutes. 2003.

The Spread Offense: Outside Run Game
with Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia University Head Coach;and Calvin Magee,West Virginia University Running Backs Coach & Run Game Coordinator.

Coach Rodriguez and Coach Magee detail their successful outside run package for the spread offense. Three key plays are demonstrated - speed option, sweep and reverse. Each play is diagrammed against even and odd defenses with various receiver packages. These plays are run from both a shotgun as well as under center formations in pro, I and one-back sets. Blocking and read responsibilities for every position is detailed and each play is complemented with game footage. 40 minutes. 2003.

How to Run the 3-3 Odd Stack Defense
with Jeff Casteel, West Virginia University Defensive Coordinator/Linebacker Coach;and Bill Kirelawich,West Virginia University Defensive Line Coach.
Includes a foreword by Rich Rodriguez West Virginia Head Coach.

The Mountaineers finished the 2001 season ranked 104th in NCAA Division I rushing defense . in 2002, they implemented the 3-3 Odd Stack Defense and finished the year ranked 11th in rushing defense! The 3-3 Stack is a rush-oriented defense that is simple to run, gives your defense more second level players (making it easier to see and get to the ball), the odd-man front confuses offenses and creates problems for blocking schemes and it's great for teams with smaller personnel on defense. Casteel and Kirelawich give you everything you need to start running the 3-3 Stack: personnel suggestions, alignments, responsibilities, and techniques. They present all of the principles of the defense with detailed diagrams and practice footage. An excellent defensive overview! 49 minutes. 2003.

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Women's Basketball team wins and plays MSU in the WNIT

from MGoBlue.com

http://www.mgoblue.com/basketball-w/article.aspx?id=131684

Second-Half Surge Sends Michigan Past Southern Miss in WNIT

March 27, 2008
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Arena)
Event: Postseason WNIT
Score: Michigan 59, Southern Miss 45
Records: U-M (19-13), Southern Miss (21-14)
Next Game: Sunday, March 30 -- at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.), 2 p.m.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team earned a quarterfinal berth in the Postseason WNIT thanks to a 59-45 victory over Southern Miss Thursday evening (March 27) in Crisler Arena. The Wolverines (19-13) broke the game wide open with a 30-2 run over a span of 12:06 in the second half, and the U-M defense held the Lady Eagles (21-14) 27 points below their season average.

Juniors Jessica Minnfield (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic HS) and Stephany Skrba (Toronto, Ontario/Langstaff Secondary School) scored 13 points apiece to lead Michigan to its second win in four days. Senior Janelle Cooper (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance HS) chipped in 10 points, five rebounds and three assists. Junior Ashley Jones (Southfield, Mich./Martin Luther King HS) came up big once again, scoring all eight of her points during the key second-half run.

Just as they did in Monday's (March 24) second-round victory over Virginia Commonwealth, the Wolverines came out firing on all cylinders and jumped out to a 17-4 lead 7:30 into the contest thanks to 6-of-11 shooting from the field. Minnfield spearheaded the charge, knocking down back-to-back triples and a pair of free throws over a span of 3:09.

The Lady Eagles stormed back into contention, using a 14-2 run to cut the Michigan lead to 19-18 with 1:37 to play until the break. Sophomore Krista Phillips (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan/Aden Bowman Collegiate HS) closed out the first-half scoring with a basket at 1:26, and the Wolverines took a 21-18 advantage into the locker room.

Southern Miss found its rhythm early in the second half and took its first and only lead of the game, 27-25, on a three-point play by Andrea Barber at 14:44. Jones then took charge, as she came off the bench and drained her second triple of the season before scoring two more on a strong move in the lane. Jones’ inspired play proved to be the catalyst to a 30-2 outburst that vaulted U-M into a commanding 55-29 lead with just 2:23 left on the clock. The Maize and Blue was able to capitalize on a number of transition opportunities, as the Lady Eagles went cold and hit just one of 11 attempts from the field and turned the ball over eight times during the Wolverine run. Skrba was the main benefactor, recording seven points.

Michigan never let the lead dip below 14 points the rest of the way, and U-M walked off the floor with its program-record 12th home win of the season.

The Wolverines will meet intra-state rival Michigan State in the Postseason WNIT quarterfinals on Sunday (March 30) at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start and can be heard live on radio station WTKA (AM 1050).

A bus trip is planned for the Michigan-Michigan State game. The cost per person is $10 and includes a ticket to the game. The bus is scheduled to leave Crisler Arena at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. To RSVP, please contact Katy Jackson at (734) 647-1261 or katjacks@umich.edu.

Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423

Mailbag question: Michigan program where is it headed

Coach and Eroc,

Where do you guys place where the Michigan program is headed? Seems like Coach Rod is really taking the bull by the horns and turning this program into his program very quickly especially with all the departures this year. Do you see Michigan struggling on and off the field this year along with recruiting? It looks like we could struggle to get into a bowl game this year.

Jimmy
-------------------------------------------------


Thanks for the question. This year is going to be an adventure. First five or six games could be very ugly. What this tells us is same thing that Arrington, Manningham, and Mallett leaving told us. That Coach Rod and staff are going to take the offense in direction similar to what they did at West Virginia. Same thing that hiring Coach Frey, Smith, and Dews told us, Michigan is changing over to a read option offense. Look at the players he recruited, people who play slot in spread offense, smaller and more athletic offensive linemen, and a quarterback recruited as an athlete by other schools. You do not do these things if you intend to run an offense similar to the New England Patriots

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Mailbag question: With Boren leaving what does that do?

Coach and Eroc,

With Boren leaving how will this change the offensive line along with the possible freshman having to play this year? I really like Coach Rod, but not sure, of everything he is doing now right now with the players? Seemed like all Michigan needed was a "tweaking" of things such as the S&C program, but not a complete overhaul? What do you think?

Thomas
--------------------------------------------

Thanks for the question. Loss of Boren causes multiple problems. Biggest (IMO) is lack of bodies to practice against day to day. It takes a certain number of offensive linemen to run drills, scrimmage against #1 defense, etc. Next problem is losing the top and most experienced offensive linemen. This will have profound consequences for next two years. You just do not replace your top three offensive linemen in one season without a drop off in performance. What I wonder is does this mean that Schilling finally moves inside and plays Boren’s spot. Next concern is depth. Does a untested, not ready freshman get forced into playing? This can cause a long-term and short-term effect. Kid having to burn his red shirt and an extra year of development and maturity.

As for tweaking or complete overall, this is excessively late to worry about because Eroc and I have been warning any one who would listen that this was going to happen. That Coach Rod for better or worse was going to rebuild this from ground up. You do not bring in “read option staff” to “run pro-style offense.” I knew something was up when Manningham, Arrington, and Mallett left. It told me all I needed to know. That Coach Rod was going to tear this program down and rebuild from ground up. Not saying anything is wrong with that because he is the head coach and the guy in charge and he can do it his way, but just trying to point out that he had several top asst. coaches here already for a pro-style offense and decided to bring all his staff that wanted to come with him.

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Mailbag question: Regarding the Defense:

Hey guys,

We heard under Coach English that he wanted to play fast, be fast, etc. Almost the same stuff that Coach Shafer is saying now. So what are the differences and things that might be the same under the defense? I hope our defense plays tougher and takes better pursuit angels, tackles and covers pass coverage a lot better than the previous couple of years.

See ya,

Fred
---------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the question. The Defensive Coordinator’s both were in favor of fast aggressive defenses. The biggest difference (IMO) is Coach Shafer's stressing of fundamentals. He is fanatic about doing the little things properly. He likes keeping everything in front, keeping offense between the hashes, and being best tackling team in Big Ten. This year Michigan’s defense will do more hitting and full scrimmaging then last years. This year’s team is also going to be more aggressive in the secondary; you will see more press coverage and use of zone blitz packages. This will make Michigan to be aggressive, sound, and change up looks. (IMO) last years Michigan defense was far to limited in schemes.

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Mailbag question: Regarding the hardest position in Coach Rod's system:

Coach and Eroc,

What is the hardest position to learn under Coach Rod's system? Also how long does it really take to learn everything in his system?

Stu
---------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for the question. Hardest position to learn and most important position is QB. This is a QB based offense and play at QB is crucial to success of the offense. The offense itself is not difficult to learn. The terminology is going to take some time. Been my experience that all teams use different terminology and that can cause communication difficulties. Biggest problem with Coach Rod’s offense is the timing of the offense. This timing and rhythm offense, and if the timing is not perfect the offense is not as successful. One of the major reasons that practice intensity and speed is so important is that it is necessary to develop proper timing. You cannot get the timing right unless you practice at full speed. (IMO) the first few games this year could be a real adventure, but by game 5 or 6 believe you will start to see marked improvement.

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Poll results:

Who is going to be the biggest offensive surprise this spring?

Avery Horn............5.......(8%)
Dave Molk..............8.....(12%)
Carlos Brown.......13.....(20%)
Steven Threet.....23.....(37%)
Kevin Grady........13.....(20%)

Votes so far: 62

Poll closed

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Mailbag question: Regarding the Quarterbacks we have:

Coach and Eroc,

Regarding how it seems that Threet isn't the clear starter and Sheridan a walk-on is taking a lot of snaps with the first team do you see Coach Rod using his system he had at WV then using what he said of using his athletes?Do you see Feagin making a bigger impact this fall now compared to earlier when he signed after hearing some of the spring reports that are coming out?It seems like Ryan Mallett made the right direction on leaving what do you think coach or would the offense have been different if Mallett and Arrington would have came back? I know a lot of that is speculating.

Thanks,
Toby
-----------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for the question. Looks to me like Coach Rod and staff are checking out personnel to see who best fit for his system. Sheridan as demo squad QB already has experience running this system. That is huge advantage. He does not have to unlearn everything from Michigan’s old system.

Also think as both Eroc and I have stated before staff wants to use the QB read scheme he used at West Virginia. This will be a big advantage for Sheridan, who definite best overall athlete of the three players taking snaps at this time. It also should help Feagin, this schemes ideal for his skill set.

Regarding Mallett did what was best for him. No hard feelings, just business in this day and age of college football.

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Mailbag question: How is staff perceived in Ohio:

Coach and Eroc,

What have you noticed so far the difference between the old staff and the new staff or is it to early to tell. You’re from Ohio if I remember correctly do you notice a difference in how Michigan is recruiting in Ohio compared to the old staff and how have the new staff been perceived so far by the Ohio coaches or is it to early to tell?

Franklin
-------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the question. First half of the question we will be better able to answer after attending the Michigan coach’s clinic in two weeks. Lot of these questions we can do follow up on after attending practice and clinic.

For second part I have seen huge difference in how Michigan is recruiting Ohio under Coach Rod. It was a hot topic at the OHSCA clinic in February and again at NWOCA clinic in March. Every coach I talked to said same thing, they had received more mail since new regime took over then for last 2 or 3 years under old staff. Most of the coach’s had to contact the university to get information about Michigan’s coaching clinic. Not this year, every coach again had received information regarding spring practices and was encouraged to visit practices if they could not attend clinic. All the coaches I spoke to, even Ohio State fans were ecstatic that Michigan was trying to get reestablished in Ohio. Most feel if kid cannot go to Ohio State, then might as well be Michigan.

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Mailbag question: Regarding Coach Rod's system:

Eroc and Coach,

Great site!

I was wondering regarding Coach Rod's system what will be the biggest things for the team to learn coming from the "old regime" at Michigan to his new system along with what will the coaches learn about the players during the spring?

Jim

------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the question. Biggest difference is the intensity Coach Rod and staff requires during practice and S&C. Coach Rod and staff use speed to stress the defense. They are always demanding more and faster from the team. This style of play requires a mental toughness along with physical conditioning. (IMO) 75% or more of the game is mental. What staff is learning is who on the roster has the mental toughness and physical skill set to play this brand of football. They are also checking to see if players need to change positions to be successful in new system. Michigan might not be 13-0 this year, but they no longer will be out worked. That (IMO) is a major upgrade.

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Borseth after the WNIT win on Monday

Kevin Borseth talks about the victory of VCU.

Michigan Women's hoop team moves on in the WNIT

Michigan Wolverines women's basketball team got a victory with a 75-57 win of Virginia Commonwealth. The Wolverines will meet Southern Miss in the third round of the postseason WNIT this Thursday (March 27) 7:00pm EDT. at Crisler Arena. Come out and support the women's hoop team. Go Blue wear Maize.

Southern Miss won 62-61 over Mississippi State.

Coaches Corner: QB's that Michigan is "possibly" looking at so far:

Donavan Tate:
Donavan is 6'3, 195lbs. from Cartersville, GA (Cartersville High School)

Strengths:
He is an excellent athlete and outstanding runner. Very quick and explosive and makes things happen in space. Nice package of size and movement ability. Good arm strength and throws a nice easy to handle pass and he is an average ball handler.

Needs Work:
He vacates pocket earlier then necessary. Does not step into his passes and throws with his whole arm. He needs to work on reading his fakes a touch longer. His accuracy also needs to be a touch finer. His passes are not always in best position to allow receiver to gain yards after catch.

Film from Scout.com
http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=11&nid=3006115&isFirstMediaIdAudioOrVideo=video&playlist=http%3A//scout.scout.com/asxplaylist.aspx%3Fs%3D73%26mediaids%3D493261

http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=11&nid=3006115&isFirstMediaIdAudioOrVideo=video&playlist=http%3A//scout.scout.com/asxplaylist.aspx%3Fs%3D73%26mediaids%3D493260

http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=11&nid=3006115&isFirstMediaIdAudioOrVideo=video&playlist=http%3A//scout.scout.com/asxplaylist.aspx%3Fs%3D73%26mediaids%3D493259

http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=11&nid=3006115&isFirstMediaIdAudioOrVideo=video&playlist=http%3A//scout.scout.com/asxplaylist.aspx%3Fs%3D73%26mediaids%3D451340

Tate Forcier:
Tate is 6'1, 190lbs. from San Diego, CA (Scripps Ranch High School)

Strengths:
Throws a really nice ball that is easy to handle. Very good pocket presence and shows excellent patience in the pocket. Good ball handler and runner, who sets up and reads blocks very well, solid mechanics and quick release, and also shows ability to read coverage’s and can audible to hot receiver.

Needs Work:
Not real explosive or elusive and not as big physically as some of the other potential recruits. Also has habit of dropping ball while in pocket. Needs to force ball and keep it in better position to throw the ball.

Film from Scout.com
http://michigan.scout.com/a.z?s=162&p=11&nid=2549737&isFirstMediaIdAudioOrVideo=video&playlist=http%3A//scout.scout.com/asxplaylist.aspx%3Fs%3D162%26mediaids%3D516002

http://michigan.scout.com/a.z?s=162&p=11&nid=2549737&isFirstMediaIdAudioOrVideo=video&playlist=http%3A//scout.scout.com/asxplaylist.aspx%3Fs%3D162%26mediaids%3D515989

http://michigan.scout.com/a.z?s=162&p=11&nid=2549737&isFirstMediaIdAudioOrVideo=video&playlist=http%3A//scout.scout.com/asxplaylist.aspx%3Fs%3D162%26mediaids%3D450402

http://michigan.scout.com/a.z?s=162&p=11&nid=2549737&isFirstMediaIdAudioOrVideo=video&playlist=http%3A//scout.scout.com/asxplaylist.aspx%3Fs%3D162%26mediaids%3D433455

Kevin Newsome:
Kevin is 6'3, 210lbs. from Chesapeake, VA (Western Branch High School)

Strengths:
Excellent combination of size and speed. Outstanding runner, who reads and sets up blocks like a running back, very explosive and dangerous in space, good arm and touch on his passes, and runs option well and reads it just as well.

Needs Work:
Has to watch his ball security, both when scrambling and when running the ball. Drops ball when in pocket, instead of forcing it up so it is easier to deliver and at times he has a hitch in his throwing motion.

Film from Scout.com
http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=11&nid=2810851&isFirstMediaIdAudioOrVideo=video&playlist=http%3A//scout.scout.com/asxplaylist.aspx%3Fs%3D73%26mediaids%3D523315

written by CoachBt and ErocWolverine

Thanks for stopping by http://gobluemichiganwolverine.blogspot.com/
If you have any questions please e-mail erocwolverine@gmail.com

Michigan Women's Swimming and Diving Team: Brunemann Wins National Title in 1,650-Freestyle

from http://www.mgoblue.com/

Site: Columbus, Ohio (McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion)

Event: NCAA Championships

U-M Team Standing: 9th Place (130 points)

Next U-M Event: Season Completed

• Notes & Quotes Photo Gallery

COLUMBUS, Ohio. -- Junior Emily Brunemann (Crescent Springs, Ky./Notre Dame Academy) of the No. 11-ranked University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team claimed the national title in the 1,650-yard freestyle relay with a time of 15:53.69 -- a full four seconds ahead of the field -- Saturday (March 22) at the NCAA Championships in McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. Her title helped boost Michigan to a ninth place finish with 130 points, besting all other Big Ten teams. Arizona was crowned champions with 484 points.

Brunemann clinched the first national title for the Wolverines since 1995 and is the only U-M swimmer in program history with a distance championship to her name. It was the tenth national championship for Michigan, all coming under head coach Jim Richardson. Richardson also led the Wolverines to their 13th top ten finish at the NCAA Championships.

The Wolverine junior carried a narrow lead over North Carolina's Whitney Sprague through the first 500-yards. Her lead slimmed to as little as two-hundredths of a second at 500-yards as Sprague launched a comeback bid. Brunemann regained the lead at 800 yards and, even when it seemed the two were going stroke-for-stroke, Brunemann would emerge from the turns with a lead that grew every time down the pool. With 200 yards remaining, Brunemann created a body-length lead and would not relinquish it until after the national title was hers.

In the process of picking up her third All-America honor, Brunemann's 1000-yard split of 9:36.67 marks a new program record for that distance. Junior Emily Hanson (Bloomington, Ill./Normal Community) also scored in the mile, placing 13th on a time of 16:13.41.

Senior Justine Mueller (Monroe, Mich./Monroe) claimed victory in her last individual race for the maize and blue, winning the consolation final in the 200-yard breaststroke. A personal-best time of 2:10.64 earned her an All-America honorable mention. Mueller's certificate comes in the third different individual event for the senior who has also earned the status in the 200- and 400-yard individual medleys.

Michigan continued its domination of the consolation finals in the 200-yard butterfly. Fifth-year senior Melissa Jaeger (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) missed her personal-best by two-hundredths of a second en route to a second place finish in the 'B' final. Her 10th place finish earned her an All-America honorable mention in both butterfly events. With a tight pack of swimmers screaming down the pool toward the finish line, only Jaeger was able to bring her split time under 30-seconds in the final 50-yards. In the end, Jaeger couldn't overcome the race leader, touching the wall second.

The foursome of sophomore Margaret Kelly (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer), junior Hannah Smith (Dexter, Mich./Dexter), Jaeger and Mueller touch the wall in 3:18.39 to conclude the championships with a 13th place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The relay clinched its spot in the consolation finals on a time of 3:17.08, the second-fastest run in program history.
Complete meet results along with postseason awards can be found at the NCAA Championships website: http://www.ncaasports.com/.

Michigan All-Americans

Emily Brunemann (3): 1,650-yard Freestyle (1st), 500-yard Freestyle (4th), 400-yard Individual Medley (6th),Margaret Kelly (1): 200-yard Individual Medley (7th)

Michigan Honorable Mention All-Americans

Emily Brunemann (1): 800-yard Freestyle Relay (14th)Emily Hanson (1): 1,650-yard Freestyle (13th)Melissa Jaeger (6): 100-yard Butterfly (9th); 200-yard Butterfly (10th), 200-yard Freestyle Relay (11th), 400-yard Freestyle Relay (13th), 400-yard Medley Relay (13th), 800-yard Freestyle Relay (14th)Payton Johnson (1): 200-yard Freestyle Relay (11th)Margaret Kelly (5): 200-yard Freestyle Relay (11th), 100-yard Butterfly (13th), 400-yard Freestyle Relay (13th), 400-yard Medley Relay (13th), 800-yard Freestyle Relay (14th)Elyse Lee (1): One-Meter Diving (14th)Justine Mueller (3): 200-yard Breaststroke (9th), 400-yard Freestyle Relay (13th), 400-yard Medley Relay (13th)Hannah Smith (4): 200-yard Freestyle Relay (11th), 400-yard Freestyle Relay (13th), 400-yard Medley Relay (13th), 800-yard Freestyle Relay (14th)

Team Standings (Final)

1. Arizona 484
2. Auburn 348
3. Stanford 343
4. Texas A&M 315
5. Cal 291
6. Florida 277.5
7. Georgia 198
8. Tennessee 179.5
9. MICHIGAN 130
10. Indiana 128

Top Eight/U-M Finishers(Preliminary time in parentheses if faster than finals time)1,650-yard Freestyle
1. Emily Brunemann, U-M 15:53.69
2. Whitney Sprague, UNC 15:57.77
3. Kelsey Ditto, Georgia 15:59.01
4. Maggie Bird, Auburn 15:59.81
5. Lauren Boyle, Cal 16:01.80
6. Laurabeth Guenther, Florida 16:03.74
7. Whitney Hentzen, USC 16:04.45
8. Alcia Aemisegger, Princeton 16:06.14
13. Emily Hanson, U-M 16:13.41

200-yard Backstroke
1. Gemma Spofforth, Florida 1:50.70%
2. Kateryna Zubkova, Indiana 1:53.17
3. Kristen Heiss, Texas A&M 1:53.52 (1:53.37)
4. Stephanie Proud, Florida 1:54.16
5. Leah Retrum, Florida 1:54.22
6. Caitlin Iversen, Arizona 1:54.45
7. Julia Smit, Stanford 1:54.94 (1:54.70)
8. Erica Meissner, Auburn 1:55.92 (1:54.87)
28. Hannah Smith, U-M 1:57.69

100-yard Freestyle
1. Lacey Nymeyer, Arizona 47.50%
2. Julia Wilkinson, Texas A&M 47.56
3. Christine Magnuson, Tennessee 48.15
4. Kara Denby, Auburn 48.20 (47.92)
5. Emily Silver, Cal 48.21
6. Caroline Burckle, Florida 48.26
6. Michele King, Tennessee 48.26
8. Anna Turner, Arizona 48.57 (48.42)

200-yard Breaststroke
1. Rebecca Soni, USC 2:06.32~
2. Elizabeth Smith, Stanford 2:08.73
3. Alia Atkinson, Texas A&M 2:09.48
4. Ariana Kukors, Washington 2:09.78
5. Caroline Bruce, Stanford 2:10.00
6. Jessica Btozum, Virginia Tech 2:10.13
7. Jillian Tyler, Minnesota 2:10.61 (2:10.46)
8. Annie Chandler, Arizona 2:10.64
9. Justine Mueller, U-M 2:10.64
48. Valeria Silva, U-M 2:19.57

200-yard Butterfly
1. Saori Haruguchi, Oregon State 1:52.39~%
2. Elaine Breeden, Stanford 1:53.27
3. Ava Ohlgren, Auburn 1:54.64
4. Elizabeth Shaw, Virginia 1:54.98
4. Dana Vollmer, Cal 1:55.48 (1:55.39)
6. Kelly Nelson, Penn State 1:55.86
7. Annie Broome, Georgia 1:57.35 (1:56.33)
8. Elizabeth Hill, Georgia 1:57.93 (1:56.21)
10. Melissa Jaeger, U-M 1:56.27
30. Payton Johnson, U-M 1:59.60

Platform Diving
1. Brittany Viola, Miami 362.60
2. Margaret Hostage, Stanford 347.20
3. Kara Cook, Purdue 311.00
4. Kristen Asman, Ohio State 291.35
5. Shana Karp, Stanford 280.65
6. Lacey Truelove, Houston 272.35
7. Audra Egenolf, SMU 233.55
8. Monica Dodson, Florida 206.10

400-yard Freestyle Relay
1. Arizona 3:11.34%*&^
2. Cal 3:13.03
3. Texas A&M 3:13.08
4. Auburn 3:13.65
5. Stanford 3:13.77
6. SMU 3:14.86
7. Georgia 3:15.95
8. Tennessee 3:16.58
13. Michigan 3:18.39

(Margaret Kelly, Hannah Smith
Melissa Jaeger, Justine Mueller)

* NCAA record
~ Meet record
& American record
! Big Ten record
^ U.S. Open record
% McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion record
@ Michigan school record
+ Career-best time

NCAA Selection Highlights

Michigan #1 Seed overall after winning the CCHA Tournament, CCHA regular season and also the GLI tournament this year. Good luck to the Hockey program and hopefully another trip to the Frozen Four. Anything can happen this time of year with one and down format for college hockey especially if a goalie "stands on his head".

NCAA Hockey Bracket Breakdown

http://www.ncaa.com/uploadedFi...D1MHBracket.pdf
actual bracket

East Seeds
1. Michigan (1)
2. St. Cloud St.
3. Clarkson
4. Niagara

East: Times Union Center
Albany, New York
March 28-29

St Cloud St. plays Clarkson at 4:00pm EDT. ESPNU
Michigan plays Niagra at 7:30pm EDT. ESPNU

I think St. Cloud St wins
I think Michigan wins

Then on Saturday I think Michigan wins and will play the West winner (Colorado College) in the Frozen Four.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northeast Seeds
1. Miami (Ohio) (2)
2. Boston College
3. Minnesota
4. Air Force

Northeast: DCU Center
Worcester, Massachusetts
March 29-30

Boston College plays Minnesota
Air Force plays Miami (OH)

I think Boston College wins
I think Miami (OH) wins

Then on Sunday I think Miami (OH) wins and will play the Midwest winner (North Dakota) in the Frozen Four.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Midwest Seeds
1. North Dakota (3)
2. Denver
3. Wisconsin
4. Princeton

Midwest: Kohl Center
Madison, Wisconsin
March 29-30

North Dakota plays Princeton
Denver plays Wisconsin

I think North Dakota wins.
I think Denver wins.

Then on Sunday I think North Dakota wins and will play the Northeast winner (Miami OH) in the Frozen Four.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
West Seeds
1. New Hampshire (4)
2. Colorado Col.
3. Michigan St.
4. Notre Dame

West: World Arena
Colorado Springs, Colorado
March 28-29

Colorado College plays MSU.
Notre Dame plays New Hampshire.

I think Colorado College wins,
I think New Hampshire wins.

Then on Saturday I think Colorado College wins and will play the East winner (Michigan) in the Frozen Four.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frozen Four
Michigan plays Colorado
Miami OH plays North Dakota

I think Michigan wins.
I think Miami OH wins.

All CCHA final (I am a homer I should pick North Dakota, but thought it would be cool)
Michigan plays Miami OH

I think Michigan wins it's 10th National Championship by beating Miami OH

Happy Easter E-bloggers

Happy Easter:

Well after getting all the peeps and peanut butter eggs this morning while going out hunting for Easter eggs I hope everybody celebrates with family and friends today while remembering what this time of year represents.

Happy Easter everybody and Go Blue!

I wasn't going to comment on the Detroit / Ann Arbor media, but sense everybody else has here goes:

Have you noticed that there is a good guy/bad guy in the Detroit area media? There is an obvious good guy/bad guy western movie feel like back in the old cowboy movie days where there was the black hat (bad guys) and white hat (good guys) situation that has been out there for a few years regarding the University of Michigan and especially the Michigan football program.

White hat: The Detroit News and GoBlueWolverine now associates with them especially with recently Sam Webb's weekly column now.

Black hat: Detroit Free Press and Ann Arbor News who also seem to use quotes from the rivals network these days while it seems to use Helmholdt quotes in these two papers.

You have a local paper that the day of a kid signing to a certain school that local paper gives reasons and reruns a past article why the kid should attend the hated rival in Ohio. You would never see that from the Columbus Dispatch having a story of the reasons for this kid to attend Michigan instead of the hometown team OSU. Then you have a columnist (not sure if you can call him anything else besides a local sports hater) Drew Sharpe that does an article that Tressel won against Coach Rod 1-0 already and basically said that this kid could be just what OSU needs to get back to the National Championship game again. The thing is these little beat writers who condemned the message boards and the whole recruiting process would actually follow recruiting they would have know months ago that this kid was not coming to Michigan. The funny thing is the paper actually paid these people to go to Pennsylvania to cover this story in person. Why and then start of with the headline of “It's still basketball season and already Rich Rodriguez is 0-1 against Ohio State?”

With regarding to the seven months of trying to dig up dirt on the University of Michigan and the Football program Jim Carty’s 4 part articles that he finally put together. I decided to finally read them so I could comment on them here, but if you missed them or refused to read them good for you and showing how you feel towards the negativity of the local newspapers and the University of Michigan. He is a guy that sees the negative article as a good thing and it actually gets him attention. He goes on WTKA for a weekly response usually to one of his negative articles along with being the “Drew Sharpe” of Ann Arbor. The best way to ignore to deal with these kinds of reporters is to ignore their paper, ignore their web blogs and web pages, and tell the advertisers that you will not purchase any of their product if they continue to support these people. Another thing is these papers know for the most part negativity sells and that they actually feed off talking about it no matter good or bad because they are talking about the paper and the person who wrote it.

While the Detroit News has an article stating “And in an independent examination completed earlier this year, the U-M psychology department executive committee reviewed work of more than 50 students from Hagen's fall 2007 courses”. Officials concluded: "We have found no evidence to suggest that students, including student-athletes, did not produce the work required to earn academic credit in these courses." They also found "there is not a pattern to indicate that the way Professor Hagen assigns grades to athletes and non-athletes is any different from the way the rest of the department assigns independent studies grades to athlete and non-athletes."
How sad is it that an Ohio paper the Toledo Blade is better than two of the three Michigan papers for following the University of Michigan and they had a recent exclusive article with Coach Rod.

Is there another school in the country that has so many local media papers and journalist (if that is what you want to call them) against the local school and football program? After reading the past articles, I am on a ban of the Ann Arbor News and the Detroit Free Press. I will only be looking at the Detroit News along with the Toledo Blade web pages for coverage of Michigan.

These are web pages I endorse for Michigan:

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=SPORTS0201

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=SPORTS17

http://www.bigtennetwork.com/schools/michigan/

http://www.mgoblue.com/home/

http://michigan.scout.com/

http://gobluemichiganwolverine.blogspot.com/

http://www.wtka.com/

http://bigten.cstv.com/

http://www.971theticket.com/

http://wdfn.com/main.html

http://www.wtrxsports.com/

http://www.mden.com/

written by ErocWolverine

Thanks for stopping by http://gobluemichiganwolverine.blogspot.com/

If you have any questions please e-mail erocwolverine@gmail.com

2008 "ErocWolverine" Michigan Football Spring Roster

2008 "ErocWolverine" Michigan Football Spring Roster

..#.....Name..............................Position ...................Eligibility
??.....Ricky Barnum...............Offensive Line.........Freshman
??.....Boubacar Cissoko..........Cornerback..............Freshman
??.....Mike Cox........................Running Back..........Freshman
??.....Kenny Demens..............Linebacker...............Freshman
??.....Justin Feagin.................Quarterback............Freshman

??.....J.B. Fitzgerald................Linebacker...............Freshman
??.....J.T. Floyd.......................Cornerback..............Freshman
??.....Taylor Hill......................Linebacker...............Freshman
??.....Rocko Khoury................Offensive Line.........Freshman
??.....Kevin Koger...................Tight End..................Freshman
??.....Mike Martin...................Defensive Tackle.....Freshman
??.....Elliott Mealer..................Offensive Line..........Freshman
??.....Sam McGuffie.................Running Back...........Freshman
??.....Brandon Moore...............Tight End.................Freshman
??.....Martavious Odoms.........Slot Receiver...........Freshman
??.....Patrick Omameh............Offensive Line.........Freshman
??.....Dann O’Neill....................Offensive Line.........Freshman
??.....Terrence Robinson.........Slot Receiver...........Freshman
??.....Roy Roundtree................Split End..................Freshman
??.....Michael Shaw..................Slot Receiver...........Freshman
??.....Brandon Smith................Safety.......................Freshman
22.....Daryl Stonum.................Split End...................Freshman
??......Kurt Wermers...............Offensive Line..........Freshman
??......Marcus Witherspoon.....Linebacker...............Freshman

58.....Brandon Herron..............Linebacker..............Red-shirt Freshman
34.....Avery Horn......................Slot Receiver..........Red-shirt Freshman
72.....Mark Huyge.....................Offensive Line........Red-shirt Freshman
50.....Dave Molk........................Offensive Line........Red-shirt Freshman
10.....Steven Threet..................Quarterback...........Red-shirt Freshman
53.....Ryan Van Bergen.............Defensive End........Red-shirt Freshman
81.....Steve Watson...................Tight End................Red-shirt Freshman
40.....Michael Williams.............Safety......................Red-shirt Freshman

26.....Zion Babb.........................Cornerback..............Sophomore
38.....Artis Chambers...............Safety.......................Sophomore
17......Toney Clemons...............Split End..................Sophomore
33.....Marell Evans....................Linebacker..............Sophomore
32.....Vince Helmuth.................Fullback...................Sophomore
21......J.R. Hemingway..............Split End..................Sophomore
30.....James Rogers..................Cornerback..............Sophomore
95.....Renaldo Sagesse..............Defensive Tackle....Sophomore
..6.....Donovan Warren.............Cornerback..............Sophomore
80.....Martell Webb..................Tight End.................Sophomore
29.....Troy Woolfolk.................Cornerback..............Sophomore

92.....Greg Banks.....................Defensive End..........Red-shirt Sophomore
12.....David Cone......................Quarterback............Red-shirt Sophomore
79.....Perry Dorrestein............Offensive Line.........Red-shirt Sophomore
45.....Obi Ezeh..........................Linebacker...............Red-shirt Sophomore
94.....John Ferrara..................Defensive Tackle.....Red-shirt Sophomore
93.....Jason Kates....................Defensive Tackle.....Red-shirt Sophomore
..8.....Jonas Mouton.................Linebacker...............Red-shirt Sophomore
52.....Steve Schilling...............Offensive Line..........Red-shirt Sophomore
91.....Marques Slocum...........Defensive Tackle......Red-shirt Sophomore
43.....Bryan Wright................Kicker.........................Red-shirt Sophomore

65.....Justin Boren..................Offensive Line...........Junior
23.....Carlos Brown.................Running Back............Junior
..3.....Stevie Brown.................Safety.........................Junior

55.....Brandon Graham..........Defensive End...........Junior
13.....Greg Mathews...............Split End....................Junior
..4.....Brandon Minor..............Running Back............Junior
99.....Adam Patterson............Defensive End...........Junior

85.....Carson Butler................Tight End...................Red-shirt Junior
88.....Andre Criswell..............Tight End...................Red-shirt Junior
24.....Kevin Grady.................Running Back.............Red-shirt Junior
41.....Zoltan Mesko................Punter.........................Red-shirt Junior
62.....Tim McAvoy.................Offensive Line...........Red-shirt Junior
60.....David Moosman...........Offensive Line...........Red-shirt Junior
71.....Mark Ortmann.............Offensive Line...........Red-shirt Junior
82.....LaTerryal Savoy..........Split End....................Red-shirt Junior
75.....Cory Zirbel....................Offensive Line...........Red-shirt Junior

27.....Brandon Harrison........Cornerback.................Senior
46.....Brandon Logan.............Linebacker.................Senior
54.....Austin Panter (JC).......Linebacker.................Senior
67.....Terrance Taylor...........Defensive Tackle.......Senior

35.....Doug Dutch...................Cornerback.................5th year Senior
90.....Tim Jamison................Defensive End.............5th year Senior
97.....Will Johnson.................Defensive Tackle........5th year Senior
83.....Mike Massey...............Tight End.....................5th year Senior
..5.....Charles Stewart...........Safety...........................5th year Senior
49.....Johnny Thompson......Linebacker...................5th year Senior
14.....Morgan Trent..............Cornerback..................5th year Senior

2004 recruiting class: 5th year Senior
2005 recruiting class: Senior or Red-shirt Junior
2006 recruiting class: Junior or Red-shirt Sophomore
2007 recruiting class: Sophomore or Red-shirt Freshman
2008 recruiting class: Freshman

Have 10 people not returning with eligibility left for various reasons from last year’s roster:
2004 class: Adrian Arrington (NFL), Jeremy Ciulla, Brett Gallimore, Alex Mitchell and Grant DeBenedictis
2005 class: Antonio Bass, Mario Manningham (NFL) and Chris McLaurin
2006 class: Quintin Patilla
2007 class: Ryan Mallett

written by ErocWolverine

Thanks for stopping by http://gobluemichiganwolverine.blogspot.com/

If you have any questions please e-mail erocwolverine@gmail.com

Baseball Field Construction Photos and Updates

from MGoBlue.com



To see all the picture updates vist
http://www.mgoblue.com/baseball/article.aspx?id=112466

Baseball Field Construction Photos and Updates
March 14, 2008

Follow construction at the Wilpon Baseball and Softball Complex with photos and updates. The seating bowl at baseball's historic Ray Fisher Stadium, built in the early 1920s, will be upgraded and a new two-story addition to house barrier-free seating, a press area, improved public restrooms, concession areas and team administrative functions will be built. A new team clubhouse and indoor hitting facility also will be erected during the project.

Coach Beilein and Maize Rage meeting

from the Maize Rage e-mail

Maize Rage,

I hope all of you can attend our meeting with Coach Beilein on April
16th, at 6pm in the Junge Champions Center. We will eat training table
with the team and coaches at 6pm, and then head into Crisler Arena to
discuss our vision for the Maize Rage next year. As far as I know, the
Maize Rage has never done anything like this with the team before, so
please take advantage of this!!

So, here's what I need from you all....

1) Because they are going to be ordering extra food, they need an
accurate count of who will be attending. Please RSVP to me if you are
going to attend this event.

2) Bring ideas. Bring ideas. Bring ideas. There are not many
opportunities for us to meet with Coach Beilein like this, so it is
essential that we are efficient and present GOOD and realistic ideas to
them. They are very open-minded, but with that said, there may be some
influential people from the Athletic Department, so please save the
more "extreme" ideas for our meetings.

3) This event is FREE for any student at Michigan.

I hope all of you can make it to this event, it will be a really
memorable experience, and it will help us forge a tighter bond with the
new staff and team.

Coaches Corner: Dual threat QB's the past two years

1. Terrelle Pryor, QB, Pennsylvania - OHIO STATE
Despite all the drama, this kid is an outstanding athlete. Unreal skill set. Combination of size and speed is scary and also has cannon for an arm. Passing mechanics need some work and has tendency to throw into coverage.

2. Russell Shepherd, QB, Texas - LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
An even better runner than Pryor IMO. Kid is scary in space. He does not have Pryor's size or arm strength, but he really explosive. Passing mechanics need some work also.

3. Kevin Newsome, QB, Virginia - UNDECIDED
Another, great athlete. Kid is dynamite in space and shows very good arm. Mechanics are rough and needs to improve his decision making, but again ... the skill set is outstanding.

4. Tate Forcier, QB, California - UNDECIDED
The most polished QB of the group, reminds me of Drew Brees. The kid has an outstanding head for the game and shows leadership ability also. Everything you want from QB. He is not quite the overall athlete the others are, or as dangerous in space.

5. Marqueis Gray, QB, Indiana - MINNESOTA
Excellent athlete. Not the passer top 3 are, but plays very well in space.

6. Justin Feagin, QB, Florida - MICHIGAN
He has a very good skill set for Rich Rodriguez's offense. Creates well in space, shows an excellent head for the game, and makes good decisons with the ball. Average arm, and not as big physically.THE NEXT TIER (Excellent Prospects, But Not As Good A Fit As Top 6)

7. Star Jackson- QB, Florida - ALABAMA
I loved this kid's film. Makes all the passes with great touch short and plenty of arm strength. Another QB with leadership qualities and a high IQ for the game. He is not the threat in space or running the ball as the top 6, but if I was running LSU's or USCs offense, this kid would be a big target for me.

8. BJ Daniels- QB, Florida - SOUTH FLORIDA
Another excellent QB for right offense. Excellent arm and he runs well too. Just not the threat in space as others nor does he create for others in space.

9. Tajh Boyd - QB, Virginia - WEST VIRGINIA
Very good QB prospect in the right offense. He shows a real nice arm and OK movement skills. He is just not the running threat the others are

10. Donovan Tate - QB, Georgia - UNDECIDED
Great athlete and overall talent, but he has average QB skills. If Coach Rodriguez wants to stay with the system he currently has at West virginia (with Pat White), this kid would be great fit. I am hoping he is adding a touch more passing including the vertical passing game as he talked about earlier.

written by CoachBt

Thanks for stopping by http://gobluemichiganwolverine.blogspot.com/
If you have any questions please e-mail erocwolverine@gmail.com

Michigan Tidbits:

Well let us start off with some good news and that is the Michigan women’s basketball program and getting into the WNIT. This was the first time Michigan has been in any tournament since 2002 and in the first year under coach Kevin Borseth really shows that he was the right guy for the job. He took over a struggling program and turned it around with some upperclassmen that really turned things around. They won almost more games in the Big Ten this year with ten then they have in the past four years with eleven. The ladies have played well at home (10-3) and hopefully that trend will continue and the fans will come out and support the team this Monday.

The lady Wolverines will have a bye for the first round in the WNIT and will face either Virginia Commonwealth or Charlotte on Monday (March 24, 2008) at 7:00pm EDT at Crisler Arena. Be very interested o how this team plays in a tournament setting along with different competition. Good luck Michigan Women’s basketball program.

Hockey news this week as Michigan goes for the Mason Cup at the Joe Louis Arena on Friday and hopefully Saturday night. Congratulations to Max Pacioretty for becoming the freshman of the year, Red Berenson for coach of the year and Kevin Porter for CCHA player of the year. This is the time of year that you need your team to get on a roll along with your goalie to get hot and as they say “stand on your head” type performances these next several weeks. Michigan can make its road easier by winning the CCHA Championship and locking down the number one seed overall and getting into the easier bracket. Michigan will be without Max Pacioretty because of getting into a fight last Saturday night when they face Northern Michigan Friday night. Good luck to the hockey program this weekend and stay out of the penalty box.

Men’s Basketball program finished the season last weekend with winning one game in the Big Ten Tournament and then losing to Wisconsin who ended up winning the tournament overall. This year was a struggle, but one thing I would like to point out is this team (IMO) looked better as a Michigan team then the last few years Michigan’s teams. This team was very young with limited playing time from last year’s team with four seniors. Epke Udoh was basically the only guy that got significant playing time last year. Ronnie Coleman got injured early on and was a non-factor most of the year. DeShawn Sims (IMO) was basically a freshman this year or red-shirt freshman with all the things he went through last year with his bother. Michigan was playing with guys that either saw limited time last year, road the bench last year or just came from high school. That is not making excuses, but telling you what the problems were early on especially with no real upperclassmen leading this team with Coleman out and Sheperd not playing that much this year as a junior.

This team (IMO) will get better next year just because of being able to learn the Beilein system and what the assistant coaches expect from the players. They lose Coleman who was a non factor on the floor this year so basically everybody will be back with another year of experience and gaining new recruits who might be three or possible four freshman depending on what Beilein and the coaching staff decides to do with the remaining scholarship. One huge factor which again (IMO) hurt this team early was the top five schedule out of 341 team last year in which the team struggled even against teams they should have beaten because they had no confidence in themselves or their teammates because they were learning on the run. It is a lot easier to learn a system when you’re winning games and building confidence along with adapting to a new coach, new assistants and new system completely then your basically counting on true freshman to carry your team the entire year and if he has a bad night your team suffers. Also the team will have Lucas-Perry (transfer from Arizona) on the squad which will help his team out tremendously with depth on the bench and not having to rely on walk-ons to have such an active role on this team. Another thing will be practice time where the competition during that time will be more competitive and that is how a team gets better on the court.

I am not expecting miracles next year, but I believe we will see major improvement and a team that should get into the NIT for sure and who knows possible their first attempt in over ten year to the NCAA big dance. That being said I am not saying this team will make the tournament next year, but it should be a goal for them. They are bringing in some freshman that can actually help this team with problems that they suffered this year. They are bringing in guys that will actually make t easier for guys like Manny, Grady, LLP and DeShawn. They have guys that can hit the outside shot so when Grady or Manny drive to the hoop they can kick it out to those guys from 15-22 feet and hit the open shot. This will make it easier on Manny especially since he felt the pressure to have to do everything in his mind set this year.

Recruiting this year people have different opinions on what direction this team should go and want to downgrade Coach Beilein for the 2008 recruiting class. First off recruiting in basketball is so much different than football with kids committing earlier and earlier every year. When Beilein got here the ’08 class was nearly half way signed with the great to good players committed or had their minds made up what schools they were interested in. I believe Beilein went after guys that could help out his ball club, guys he could land and along with balancing out the type of players he has on the team. This team needed guys that can hit the 15-20 foot shot consistently and I believe they got two of those guys along with a big guy that will help down the road that can work well in Beilein’s system. Hard to teach seven foot and find it as well. The big question will be the 2009 and beyond recruiting with Coach Beilein (IMO) and they have gotten a local kid in Morgan which is a decent piece to the puzzle. Several key recruits are being targeted for the ’09 class that could help this team out as soon as they arrive on campus.

Michigan football spring practice is in full swing now and the coaches are getting their first real look at what they have this year. One thing about it the team feels like they are in better shape and conditioned with Barwis in control of their S&C program. Just think it has only been three months and the players already feel a huge difference and they are buying into the new system which took them a few hard weeks for most if not all to “get it” now. A few minor injuries have happened, but nothing serious. They are putting on the pads now and look for more physical practices along with some frustrating practices as well which is to be expected when learning on the run with a new system, new offense and new coaching staff with players that were not counted on last year. This is a very young offense and the defense will have to carry this team (IMO) this year to be successful. Biggest question will be what will the offense look like this spring compared to this fall when the freshman arrive especially the guys that the new staff targeted once they arrived. The players (IMO) that will make the biggest impact will be the three slot receivers in which I could see all three of them getting playing time as soon as they arrive. We will be able to have more detailed reports once we see practices first hand and once the team gets into the swing of the new system.

written by ErocWolverine

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WNIT Announced

Michigan women's program makes the WNIT and gets a first round bye. Will play Monday at Crisler Arena.

Women's Hoop back in the WNIT

From Mgoblue.com
http://www.mgoblue.com/basketball-w/article.aspx?id=112342

Michigan Returns to Postseason for First Time Since 2002

• 2008 WNIT Bracket
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The University of Michigan women’s basketball program will return to postseason play for the first time in six years. The Wolverines were selected to compete in the Postseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) late Monday evening (March 17). The Wolverines earned one of 18 at-large berths and drew a first-round bye in the 48-team field. U-M will host the winner of Virginia Commonwealth and Charlotte in the second round next Monday (March 24) at 7 p.m. in Crisler Arena. It marks the seventh postseason appearance in the 35-year history of the Maize and Blue program.

Ticket prices for Monday's game are $6 for adults and $4 for seniors, students and children under 18. To purchase your tickets today please call (866) 296-MTIX (6849), visit www.mgoblue.com/tickets, or purchase them at the door. The game can also be heard live on radio station WTKA (AM 1050).

"We are very excited to get the opportunity to extend our season with a berth into the WNIT," said first-year head coach Kevin Borseth. "Our team has worked very hard to position itself for this chance. We're most excited for our seniors who have never played into the postseason."

Michigan will make its third appearance in the Postseason WNIT. In 1999, the Wolverines traveled to Kalamazoo, Mich., and earned a 73-64 first-round victory over Western Michigan before U-M dropped a 69-68 decision to Michigan State in Ann Arbor three days later. Michigan returned to the tournament in 2002 and fell to Valparaiso by a score of 62-49 in a first-round game in Crisler Arena.

Borseth has guided his teams to 12 straight postseason appearances, including WNIT berths in 2000 and 2006 while at Wisconsin-Green Bay. Borseth has made 17 overall postseason appearances in his 26-year head coaching career.

Borseth and his staff led the Wolverines to a 17-13 record in their first season in Ann Arbor, marking the program’s highest win total in six years. U-M finished the Big Ten Conference season tied for sixth place at 9-9, which was their highest finish in the league standings since 2001. Michigan also won a Big Ten Tournament game for the first time in four years -- a 64-54 triumph over Penn State on March 6.

Virginia Commonwealth enters the WNIT with a 25-7 overall record, including a 13-5 mark in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). The Rams won seven straight before they fell to No. 14-ranked Old Dominion 71-64 in the title game of the CAA Championship on March 16. The Wolverines hold an all-time record of 1-0 against VCU.

Charlotte carries an 18-13 overall record into the tournament, including a 9-5 mark in the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10). The 49ers won four of their last six regular season games before they dropped a 77-53 decision to Dayton in the quarterfinals of the A-10 Tournament on March 8. Michigan and Charlotte have split two previous meetings.

Virginia Commonwealth and Charlotte will meet in the first round on Saturday (March 22) in Charlotte, N.C.

Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423

Poll results:

What are you looking forward to with spring ball starting?

Tired of talking basketball .................. 4 ..... (12%)

Just hit somebody ................................ 2 ..... (6%)

Tired of talking about it lets see it ..... 4 ..... (12%)

Want to see all the new changes .......22 ..... (68%)

Votes so far: 32

Poll closed

Spring Practice day 1

Coach Rod interview about first day of practice.