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Inside Michigan Football w/Coach Rod
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Mailbag question: Any other receiver to move position?

Mailbag question: Any other receiver to move position?

I would like to start by saying this is the first thing I check every morning. It is fun but challenging to get exciting for Michigan football in the heart of ND land. Keep up the good work. I have two questions:

First a football question: There has been a lot of talk that one position where depth (number of bodies) may not be an issue is at the receiver spot. T. Jones appears to have made the transition from offense to defense fairly easily. Are there any other receivers that could/should make this move to improve defensive depth? It appears that recruiting WR’s is easier for Michigan than S/CB’s. Obviously with how Kelvin has performed, that is not a move you would want to make, but why didn’t Coach Rod push for that at the beginning of camp?

Second question is a general Michigan question: Which 2009-10 Michigan sports team will be considered the best of the year? Also which team will surprise the most people?

I guess my two questions grew into four.

Thanks for your research, opinions, answers, and hard work!

Darin
South Bend, IN

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Thanks for the question and comments.

Michigan does have a good numbers situation at split end, but we think running back has the best depth of any position.

Michigan needs to have adequate numbers at split end because Michigan uses multiple wide receiver sets a large majority of the time.

So, moving another split end is not as easy as it might appear. If any further receivers were moved, Cam Gordon to safety would currently make the most sense, at least in our opinion. That is why every year it is important to recruit team needs as much as good players. There is a need to balance out every other class and compliment each class back to back.

As far as the other Michigan sports, wow, this might be a tougher question that demands more than just providing a shallow, surface-scratching type of answer. That is one of the neat things about following the University of Michigan. It is not just football and basketball that demonstrate excellence. Most Michigan teams are very successful.

The answer requires an analysis of the usual Michigan teams that have demonstrated consistent quality, such as Softball, Hockey, Volleyball, Women’s/Men’s Gymnastics, Men’s Swimming and Diving, Water Polo, and Wrestling.

Softball should be loaded again this year, losing only two players on the roster and returning starting pitchers Nikki Nemitz and Jordan Taylor. They should make another run for the Women’s College World Series under Coach Carol Hutchins. And maybe this year the ladies will repeat what they did in 2005.

The Women’s Gymnastics team missed the NCAA Championships for the first time in the last sixteen years. That snapped the nation's fourth-longest streak of consecutive NCAA Championship appearances. They should be very good again under Coach Beverly Plocki.

Coach Berenson's hockey program is usually at the top of the CCHA and making it to the Frozen Four is almost a mainstay for his program. This will likely be a tougher road this year, but the Wolverines have many young talented players.

We also predict the wrestling team under Coach Joe McFarland will surprise many people, despite losing Steve Luke.

The surprise team, in our opinion, might be the Field Hockey program, which has struggled the last couple of years. But under Marcia Pankratz the program once again will try to bring that magic back and make it into the NCAA championships.

Michigan has many great athletic programs and we apologize for not mentioning them all. This question reinforces the saying “It’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine.”

Thanks for stopping by Go Blue Michigan Wolverine
If you have any questions please E-Mail

Written by CoachBt and ErocWolverine

Mailbag question: Defensive tackle recruiting?

Mailbag question: Defensive tackle recruiting?

Hello,

I recently read a post that made a less than favorable comment on the coaching ability of secondary coach Gibson. Would you either confirm or deny if the secondary coaching is up to par. Just curious.

Why is UM struggling to get DT depth in this system? Michigan did get Lalota and Campbell and Talbott and Paskorz could be moved to DT down the line. You had mentioned previously that the defensive line coach didn't recruit as hard as you would prefer.

How many more DT's would you like in this class? Would one more top DT put your mind at ease for this year even though that may not be ideal?

Cordially,
John W.

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Thanks for the question.

Coach Gibson is probably the best recruiter on the coaching staff.

We can also tell you Ryan Mundy speaks very highly of Coach Gibson. Coach Gibson had the difficult task of replacing a very popular and experienced defensive back coach who is now with the Florida Gators, a team that won two of the last three BCS National Championships. Not an easy task.

We are taking a wait and see approach on Coach Gibson. We want to see how he does when Michigan gets the type of athletes that coach likes to play in the Michigan defensive backfield.

Concerning defensive tackles: this is generally the toughest position to recruit. Finding big bodies that can run and are aggressive is not easy.

That is why we believe defensive linemen need to be a priority every recruiting year, because there is no certainty concerning how they will react to the college level and when asked to gain weight how each will handle it. Sometimes dt’s are so hard to project at the next level until they arrive on campus and see how they do and grow while on campus.

Anthony LaLota was playing "quick" the entire spring, so counting him at defensive tackle at this time is difficult.

William Campbell, if he improves his fundamentals and pad level, has the talent to be very good.

Terry Talbott, we think, was a very good pick up.

Jordan Paskorz, plays a two-point defensive end in high school, so he is a huge project who in our opinion will take longer to get a true read on.

This is why we have been concerned with the defensive recruiting for some time now. Yes, there are some bodies there, but we need quality depth that will not only help on Saturday's, but will cause all to perform better in practices. Having the first group go against a bunch of walk-ons and kids that just arrived in January did not really help anyone in spring practice.

Thanks for stopping by Go Blue Michigan Wolverine
If you have any questions please E-Mail

Written by CoachBt and ErocWolverine

Western Michigan: Coach talking Michigan

Western Michigan: There take on the 3 Quarterbacks

Michigan Football Practice: Fall camp video

Links of Interest for Michigan

Chow:
Marcus Coker Commits Hawkeye - PSU Scout

B10 and Team News:
Letters from camp - MGoBlue
Countdown to kick off: Receivers - MGoBlue
Pivotal year for B10 rep
The hammer and the nail - Dispatch
Herbie says ND better beat UM
BTN has your football fix
Millen & Co. salutes RR’s QB approach
Trap games
Western Odds
3s a crowd
Hart coming back from injury
Defending the spread
LB Hybrids
Top in-coming Frosh
Experts predict big UM improvement
5 things to change
Best stadium (Homer article)
Michigan men
Big Ten nees its mojo back
Zirbel will coach
B10 needs
Woolfolk enjoying the change
The real key
BooBoo’s court case
UM Best Case/Worst Case
Sorry Sparty you are Lil Bro
UM aims to rebound
Year 2 forecast
OSU shouldn’t overlook last game
Pivotal time for Arrington
High on Tate
Peering into the future
3 all year --- and
All 3 listed as 1st on depth chart
The view from inside --- and a tour --- and
Practice video
Talkin' About Practice
Dissecting the QB Battle
Facebook buddies
Inside UM football debuts Thursday
RR press conference audio
Suites 85K a year
McAvoy’s Little twin Bro’s
QB decisions
Did RR jump once to many times
QB rotation right for now

Football Recruiting:
QB:
Devin Gardner: UM Commit- Circle this date --- Game of the week --- UM Commits face-off in opener

RB:
Andre' Dawson: Football is his life

Slot:
Greg Hayes: Top players returning (and Deanthony Arnett)

WR:
Ricardo Miller: MI Elite 11 --- D1 Player
Jeremy Jackson: UM Commit – Opener vs Chelsea
Jerald Robinson: UM Commit – Notable returner
Baquer Sayed: Notable weapon

WR/TE:
Calvin Hall: starting corner - Salisbury Post

OL:
Christian Pace: UM Commit – Will anchor the line
Maurice Goodman: Keep an eye on
Seantrel Henderson: Everybody’s #1
Skyler Schofner: Teams Defensive tradition
Damien Robinson: A Dandy

DT:
Jeffrey Whitaker: Did not make first team - AJC

DE:
Lyden Trail: Defense wins championships mantra - Miami Herald http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/football/columns/story?columnist=shurburtt_jc&id=4423194 --- emerging as one of the top in the country

LB:
Zac Rosenbauer: Punishing tackler - Lima Ohio
Aramide Olaniyan: Taking his visits - Go Up State

CB:
Courtney Avery: UM Commit – Makes Lexington go - OH HS Sports
Dior Mathis: State of MI top CB - Det. News
Brandon Ifill: Not banking on being w/ Buck - Post Gazette
Tyler Blandin: High expectations - The Ledger
Brendon Felder: Splitting carries - Pittsburgh Live

S:
Latwan Anderson: phenomenal - Cleveland
Demar Dorsey: No longer on gator board - Gator Sports
Bobby Swigert: Tons of talent OH HS Sports
Tony Grimes: Ready to be a vocal leader - Miami Herald

Basketball:
UM Hoops could be better than you think - Free Press
SG Trey Zeigler: Sparty on him - M Live
SF Quincy Miller: Duke visit - Bleacher Report
C Marshall Plumlee: Duke Offer could make history - Citizen Times --- and - Citizen Times --- offer buzz - Bleacher Report

Other sports:
Women’s hoops schedule released - Free Press

Written by Steve