Recent ongoing poll has Michigan ahead to win the Big Ten Championship!!

   In a recent ongoing poll provided by Bleacher Report a question was asked simply "Who will win the Big Ten'? To most critics surprise the leader is not Ohio State or Michigan State... Yes you guessed it right!! The Michigan Wolverines are taking the lead not by a little margin but by over 15%. With over 5,000 votes taken so far Michigan has rushed to the front of the pack. Is it true? Is the college football fan starting to believe in Michigan again? I think something has changed for sure. Hype train or not many can agree much improvement has taken place thus far. The Jim Harbaugh Era has truly arrived in full force!

Reference
Bleacher Report Article


Just as an added side note,

Vegas Longshot Michigan, Michigan was listed as a 500-1 longshot to win the National Championship heading into week 4. The Wolverines were moved to 60-1 after they dismantled BYU on Saturday. This is just another example of major improvement being noticed in Ann Arbor.

Reference
ESPN Article

Join the Reddit conversation now
Reddit forum

Michigan Defense ranked 2nd in the Nation

  After 4 weeks of game play the Michigan Wolverines have broke into the AP Top 25 at 22nd in the nation. This is the first time since 2013 when they peaked at 23rd.  But what is more important the Michigan's Defense is now  ranked 2nd in the nation in total defense.

 Reference
 http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/22

    Many people must agree that   "Defense wins Championships".   Teams are scoring just 7.8 points per game against Michigan. Our Defense and team as a whole have been  improving each week. With the way Michigan is playing don't be surprised if we surpass everyone's expectations at the beginning of the year. 7-8 win season seems like a cake walk with the way Michigan is playing.  This is a nice start to the season D.J. Durkin and Greg Mattison have done an amazing job with this team.

Michigan ranked No. 22 in latest AP Top 25

                                             
It only took Jim Harbaugh four games to get Michigan into the AP Top 25, Wolverines check in at No. 22 after a 31-0 win over BYU. The Wolverines didn't even receive one AP vote last week.

Sunday marked the first time Michigan's been ranked in the AP Top 25 since the Wolverines were No. 23 prior to the loss at Michigan State on November 2, 2013. Ohio State and Michigan State better take Notice!!!

This is a hungry team with lots of talent. I'm looking forward to an amazing conference race. When I look back at all the haters who said Michigan was playing a cupcake Utah team  I could only laugh. I knew Utah was a great team and after the beating Oregon in a convincing manner it looks like I was right. Michigan is only one pick 6 away from being undefeated and that is a fact. Harbaugh has truly turned this team around.....
  

Deveon Smith goes 60 yards against BYU in a 31-0 shutout victory!!!

"He Can Play Well Until He Hits the Red Zone"

Part II

Well, I rambled a bit in the last post, so I'm going to try and keep Part II of my analysis of Denard Robinson's quarterbacking a bit more concise. Since I think analyzing the quarterback on any team is a difficult task, I'm dividing this into three pieces. Part I focused on his throwing ability, Part II will focus on his ability to score in the red zone, and Part III is an analysis of Denard's success against "good" teams.

So when determing Denard's ability to score in the red zone it would make sense to look at Michigan's offensive stats from last season. Michigan had the most offensive yards of any Big Ten last year, but seemed dropped off a little in actual scoring. Michigan had the 3rd best scoring offense and the worst red zone success rate in the Big Ten. So with a quick glance, anybody looking at these stats can see Michigan could move the ball, but they seemed to have quite a bit of trouble in actually putting points on the board when it counted.

So Michigan's 2010 red zone offense seemed to leave much to be desired, but before we place all the blame on Denard, let's take a look at the team's scheme. Is this failure to convert in the red zone something that can be linked to Rich Rodriguez's offenses, or is this more correlated with Denard Robinson? Well, with a look at West Virginia's offensive statistics, it can be seen that Michigan's poor red zone scoring offense cannot be linked to Rich Rod's schemes. Rich Rod's teams at West Virginia boasted red zone success rates near 90%, much higher than Michigan's 78% in 2010.

So what was the difference between Michigan's 2010 offense and Rich Rodriguez's West Virginia teams? What could possibly have caused a 12% drop in red zone success when players are using the same schemes? The easiest way to explain this drop seems to be to point at the quarterback, Denard Robinson. If you look at Denard's stats, he only passed for 7 more touchdowns than interceptions and seemed to struggle at points in the red zone. Denard's inability to throw these touchdowns seems the most obvious cause of the drop off from Rich Rod's earlier teams.

However, with a little more analysis, this doesn't seem to add up. In fact, in 2006, Pat White's stats ended up being almost identical to Denard's passing stats. Pat White threw just 6 more touchdowns than interceptions (5 fewer total touchdowns than Denard), had a 65.9% completion percentage (3.4% higher than Denard), and had 1655 yards (about 900 less than Denard).

So what this tells us is that Pat White was not that much better of a passer than Denard in 2006. So if Denard performed near the same level as West Virginia's quarterback, then what caused the 12% drop off? I point, not to Denard Robinson as the cause of Michigan's poor red zone success last season, though some is surely his fault, but to Michigan's running backs.

Although Denard made a significant impact as a runner as well as a passer, this cannot discount Michigan's poor performance at running back. This is because Pat White was almost, or just as good or a runner as Denard. In 2006, the season where West Virginia had an almost 90% red zone success rate, Pat White ended up with 18 touchdowns (4 more than Denard) and over 1200 yards (500 less than Denard).

However, West Virginia's 2006 offense had another rushing threat to complement White which Michigan lacked in 2010. Not only did Pat White put up amazing numbers as a quarterback, but Steve Slaton did some great things as a running back. He scored 16 touchdowns (9 more than the highest Michigan running back) and ran for over 1700 yards (almost 1100 more than Michigan's highest running back).

So what we can say based on this data is that Slaton had much more success than any single Michigan running back. However, anyone who watched last season knows that Michigan used several running backs. So what I did was add together the top 3 running backs on both West Virginia and Michigan for touchdowns and yards. West Virginia top 3 running backs ended up with 8 more touchdowns and over 1100 more yards than the top 3 running backs from Michigan.

Bottom line, West Virginia's performance from its running backs was far superior to the performance of Michigan's running backs. Though running backs shouldn't be accountable for all the offensive production, they are vitally important in the red zone. With a strong running back attack like that West Virginia, Michigan's red zone numbers would surely have improved. Since Michigan already scored more passing touchdowns than West Virginia, closing the gap for rushing would have been an enormous improvement.

So the data seems to show that Denard shouldn't be blamed for most of Michigan's red zone woes, but let's take a look at his turnover margin. Since red zone success is determined by scoring, let's take a glance at Denard's scoring numbers. Denard ended up with 18 passing touchdowns, but threw 11 interceptions. Though this was a massive improvement from 2009 (See Part I on Denard), this still appears to be a place for improvement. A +7 td/int ratio is not anything to brag about seeing that almost all the other Big Ten quarterbacks had a higher ratio.

However, there's one glaring omission from this ratio. Denard Robinson had almost as many rushing touchdowns as passing touchdowns. For example, Kirk Cousins had a +10 td/int ratio, but only had 1 rushing touchdown. If you add this, he ends up with a +11 td/int ratio. However, if you add Denard's rushing touchdowns to his ratio, he ends up having a +21 td/int ratio. Though this isn't exactly a perfect statistic, it's important to realize that his passing touchdowns numbers most likely were decreased from his frequent use of his legs to score.

Is Denard a perfect red zone quarterback? Of course not, but simply blaming Michigan's poor red zone success on him is not right either. In fact, Michigan's red zone success actually IMPROVED in 2010 with Denard Robinson in the quarterback position. With an analysis of West Virginia's offensive numbers, it can be seen that Michigan's poor running back success most likely had much more to do with Michigan's poor red zone success than anything Denard did or didn't do last season. Along with this, simply pointing at his +7 td/int ratio can't be seen a proof he "can't" play well in the red zone because it ignores his success as a runner.

I can't wait for Part III and make sure to follow me on Twitter:

Tom

"Sure, he can run, but when he has to throw, he can't do anything"

Part I

Last weekend, when speaking with several friends, I was astounded by the lack of faith in Denard Robinson's abilities at the quarterback position. Though it's quite common for a quarterback to receive scrutiny from fans, it baffled me that people would blame one of the few players with a productive 2010 season.

The biggest criticisms of Denard seemed to rest upon his "inability" to throw accurate passes, "failure" to convert in the red-zone, and inability to compete against "good" teams. Though there is probably some elements of truth in each one of these criticisms, I'd like to analyze whether these criticisms actually hold real significance. I'm dividing my analysis into 3 sections, with the first focusing on his passing abilities.

"Sure, he can run, but when he has to throw, he can't do anything"

Since Denard took his first snap against Western, we've all heard the rants against his passing abilities. Everyone recognized Denard's instant ability to run and move the ball, but many criticized his accuracy and throwing. Though there's some truth to these claims, with further analysis, his passing abilities seem far more established than believed by many.

During the 2009 season, I don't think anybody would claim that Denard was even an average passer. Denard not only routinely missed open receivers and reads, but he almost constantly seemed to be pressured and in a panic-mode. Though he only attempted 31 passes in 2009, he completed just 14 passes, making his completion percentage 45.2%.

However, what's horrifying about Denard's 2009 debut was that in just 31 passes he threw 4 interceptions. That means almost 13% of his passes were intercepted. For example, Denard threw 291 passes in 2010. If he had held the same interception ratio from 2009 he would have thrown 37.55 interceptions. Just contemplating those statistics can make one realize how bad Denard was as a passer in 2009.

So after after the 2009 season, there was almost a unanimous agreement that Denard's passing was FAR behind his rushing abilities (if you even wanted to compare them at all). Denard did outstanding as a runner, 351 yards and 5 touchdowns, but performed horribly as a passer, throwing an interception in almost 13% of his passes. Although Denard seemed destined to be moved to another position on the field, though a lot of this was due to Tate Forcier's success as quarterback, he made a massive improvement over the off-season.

Denard went from completing just 45.2% of his passes to a much improved 62.5% in 2010. He ended up passing for 2570 yards and 18 touchdowns. However, his interception numbers still remained high at 11, but with 291 passes, this means that he brought his interception rate down from almost 13% to just 3.7% over one off-season.

So what does this mean? Denard's passing went through a major improvement, but this alone doesn't make Denard a solid passer. I mean Denard was so horrifying as a passer in 2009 that simply improving isn't saying much. It's like Eastern Michigan doubling their win total, they will be better, but still a losing team (sorry Eastern fans). So what makes Denard a legitimate passing quaterback? Well, let's look at his stats for a second.

The first thing that strikes out is Denard's 62.5% completion rate. Is this the top rate in the Big Ten? No, but that doesn't mean that Denard is a poor passer. In fact, look at the stats, out of the 5 quarterbacks with a higher completion percentage (Stanzi, Tolzien, and Pryor are no longer in the Big Ten) only Persa and Tolzien are more than 5% higher than Denard. Plus, Denard had less pass attempts than all of the Big Ten quarterbacks with a higher completion percentage. Granted, you cannot assume Denard's completion percentage would have improved, but I think it's fair to say that a quarterback that is less than 5% behind others who have almost 50 more pass attempts cannot be called a significantly weaker passer than the others.

An even deeper look was done by MGoBlog last season. Instead of using raw numbers for completion percentage, they actually went through and analyzed every pass. For example, if a pass is dropped, the numbers are not counted against Denard. If you recall, there were a number of dropped passes last season, which hurt Denard's stats. For instance, Denard had a 58% completion rate against Michigan State last year, but if you used the adjusted statistic, Denard's rate jumps to 68%. This implies that there is far more going on than Denard "missing passes."

So, passed on this information, it's safe to say that Denard is just about as good all the quarterbacks in the Big Ten in terms of completion percentage aside from Tolzien and Persa. So let's look at yards. Denard was 7th in passing yards in the Big Ten. Not very impressive, but let us remember that he only attempted 291 passes. When you calculate the average yards per pass, Denard averages 8.83 yards per pass which is actually 2nd in the Big Ten only behind Tolzien. This alone is quite impressive. Though yards alone make Denard seem to be a below-average passer, he seems to be much more productive when he actually passes than the majority of the Big Ten.

Next, I would move on to turnover ratio, but I think that is most relevant to Part II, which I hope to post very soon, regarding Denard's success in the Red Zone. So for now, ignore the turnover ratio until the next part.

The finals stats that relate to Denard's passing ability and pocket presence are passing efficiency and number of sacks allowed. In terms of pass efficiency, Denard was 6th best in the Big Ten, less than 1 point behind Kirk Cousins. Then in number of sacks allowed, Michigan was tied with Penn State for the fewest allowed last season, though this probably has a lot to do with Denard's rushing abilities.

So to sum Part I of my analysis of Denard's quarterback abilities, I think it's safe to assume that Denard is AT LEAST an average or above average passer in the Big Ten. His completion percentage is near or above most of the Big Ten, especially considering 3 of the quarterbacks above Denard's completion percentage have now left college football. His yardage also seems to show weakness, but when adjusted for his number of pass attempts, he had the 2nd highest yards per pass in the Big Ten, only trailing Tolzien, who graduated. Denard's efficiency rating was about average, but he was spectacular in number of sacks allowed, although this is not only controlled by him.

Look for Part II, where I'm going to break-down Denard in the end-zone and his turnover margin. Follow me on Twitter here:

Tom

More trouble may be coming for OSU this week

Scandal

Reports from Dave Hyde that the NCAA will be coming to South Flordia this week to investigate several High-school football stars and the methods of several colleges and there recruiting practices. One of the colleges in question is the OHIO STATE University. When will it end for OSU???If they don't have enough problems. As I posted today in a earlier article OSU had it's first commit cut ties with Ohio State because of all the turmoil. I think if the problems keep happening you may see many more commits to follow. For more on this story click the link below!

Hyde5: NCAA in South Florida investigating recruiting

EVERYTHING MICHIGAN AND MORE | Blog Talk Radio

ScottGromnicki Online Radio by EVERYTHING MICHIGAN AND MORE | Blog Talk Radio

Don't miss the Inaugural show June 25th at 6:30pm

Andrus Peat a 5 star offensive tackle to visit

Andrus Peat a 5 star offensive tackle, will likely be visiting next weekend. A 5 star would be a nice compliment to our class! The fact that he's willing to take an unofficial out from AZ really says something about his level of interest. This Was a tweet From Tom VanHaaren Confirming the visit:

@TomVH Tom VanHaaren

If you missed this last night, 5 Star Arizona OL Andrus Peat is making his way to Notre Dame and Michigan Sunday to Tuesday of next week.

 

Very excited about this Visit Peat is a Stud every major college is after him Peat has offers from most of the Pac-12, plus Alabama, Nebraska, Auburn, FSU, Florida, Texas and Notre Dame, among others and it is great he is coming to check out Michigan. Andrus Peat is from Corona Del Sol High School, Tempe, Ariz.

• Ht:6'7"
• Wt:305 lbs
• 40:5.2 secs
• Class:2012 

 

WR Darryl Stonum In trouble again!.

 Breaking news on Thursday!! WR Darryl Stonum was ticketed on Thursday for driving on a suspended license. This two weeks after his DUI.  He will be sentenced on Friday the 10th. Wow!! I don't have much to say here this has took me by surprise. I was hoping Darryl would make some serious changes in his life. Well Hoke has to make a decision here he can not allow his players to get into trouble like this. Unfortunately this may be the end of Darryl's time at Michigan it is ashame that as talented as he his he could not make better choices. I had a poll question up this week!  The question being should Darryl be allowed to play this season?  Up and till now he had the advantage slightly. I think now with the latest developments everyone's minds will change that voted for him to play. I think I was one of the biggest supporter of Stonum but now I have to say Its not worth causing a problem with team chemistry. And I feel that Darryl has left Coach Hoke no choice.

My hopes of Gunner Kiel Commiting to Michigan are fading fast!

On Wednesday,

Durron Neal, a St. Louis prospect rated among the top 10 high school receivers in the nation, verbally committed to Oklahoma

Neal visited OU in conjunction with the Sooners' annual high school football camp. Among those who have been sighted in Norman include wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham, Rivals' No. 1 high school player in the country from Springfield, Mo., and Gunner Kiel, considered by some to be the nation's top high school quarterback from Columbus, Ind. 

All things are pointing towards Norman For one of the top QB's in the nation. I'm hoping I will not have to change my top 3 wishlist but it is starting to look real bleak for our chances to land Gunner at this time! As I posted earlier in the week Gunner is to make his decision sometime during the week. With all the new developments I would have to guess that Oklahoma made it clear that Michigan has a nice stable of QB's. His playing time at Oklahoma would more likely happen sooner. Lets face it we have some very nice QB options. Denard,Devin and now Shane Morris and that is a lot of competition. Maybe for Michigan it is better that Gunner don't commit it leaves the spot open for anther position of need. Our 2012 class is filling up fast I think its time to slow down and just figure out what and who we really need. There is no need to have to many commits and later have to decide who to cut. That is no way to do business and not a good way for Hoke and his staff to start things off. Word travels fast we all know about Twitter and what it can do. Time will tell I am not closing the door on Gunner because crazier  things have happened when it comes to recruiting. We will just have to wait and see.

Erik Magnuson Update

 Erik Magnuson a OT  HT:6-6  WT: 275lbs

Encinitas (Calif.) La Costa Canyon Highschool

Erik started as a sophomore and junior and earned all-league honors as a tackle  in 2009 and 2010. Erik Magnuson plans to visit on June 10th and still says Michigan is definitely on top right now, doesn't know what to expect but if things go well he says there's a chance he could commit. Could be a Huge commit for Michigan this could get the ball rolling for other prospects outside this area. Not to mention where Erik is from is great football country. Lets hope he makes a quick commit. So we can lock him in for 2012.

Branden Joe reveals Source

Former Ohio fullback Brandon Joe speaks out on the apparent "source" regarding Terrelle Pryor's business dealings on twitter. FB Brandon Joe, who went undrafted in 2005 after playing at Ohio State posted on his Twitter. That the Source of Pryors downfall was:

@Branden_Joe38  Branden Joe

CORRECTION OTL's report anonymous "ex friend" who claimed TP made $500-$1000 per signed mini helmet was ex buckeye Antonio Henton's Brother

Antonio Henton recruited heavily by Ohio State, Henton was a three-star quarterback looking to make a splash at the next level.  He wowed the coaches as a freshman, but the team opted to redshirt him to allow for future growth. 2007 rolled around, it was time for Henton to vie for the starting role.  Instead, he was found on the wrong side of a sexual solicitation arrest. The charges were dismissed but Henton was still suspended by the team. The following June, Henton opted to head back home where he would transfer to Georgia Southern. Wow Twitter seems to breaking alot of news Lately!! And so much for the Sacred Brotherhood it looks like its every man for himself in Columbus.

Pryor Leaving OSU?

Is this the end of Terrelle Pryor at OSU? Is his mentor out of touch with his lawyer? Did anyone really believe he wasn't going to leave after the OSU fans turned on him? The Tressel era is taking a beating. With the promises that the suspended players were going to stay at THEE Ohio State University, another lie is tumbling. Pryors Lawyer says he will be leaving. Pryor leaves most likely to try his hand at the Supplemental NFL draft. This was expected by many people. Stay tuned for further updates.

Big 10 football schedule released for first 3 weeks of season.

The times for the first 3 weeks of big 10 football have been released. The big game here for Michigan will be Notre Dame on Sept 3rd at 8pm on ESPN. This will let us know where our program stands. Other schools match ups we might be interested in are,Virginia at Indiana, Arizona State at Illinois, Pittsburgh at Iowa, and the one non Michigan game I am really wanting to see is Washington at Nebraska.

September 1
UNLV at Wisconsin, ESPN, 8 ET

September 2
Youngstown State at Michigan State, BTN, 7:30 ET

September 3
Arkansas State at Illinois, BTN, 3:30 ET
Tennessee Tech at Iowa, BTN, Noon ET
Western Michigan at Michigan, ABC (ESPN2 reverse mirror), 3:30 ET
UT-Chattanooga at Nebraska, TBD, 3:30 ET
Akron at Ohio State, ESPN or ESPN2, Noon ET
Indiana State at Penn State, BTN, Noon ET
Middle Tennessee State at Purdue, BTN, Noon ET

September 10
South Dakota State at Illinois, BTN, Noon ET
Virginia at Indiana, BTN, 7 ET
Notre Dame at Michigan, ESPN, 8 ET
Florida Atlantic at Michigan State, ESPN or ESPN2, Noon ET
New Mexico State at Minnesota, BTN, 3:30 ET
Fresno State at Nebraska, TBD, 7 ET
Eastern Illinois at Northwestern, BTN, 3:30 ET
Toledo at Ohio State, BTN, Noon ET
Alabama at Penn State, ABC, 3:30 ET
Oregon State at Wisconsin, ESPN or ESPN2, Noon ET

September 17
Arizona State at Illinois, BTN, 7 ET
South Carolina State at Indiana, BTN, 3:30 ET
Pittsburgh at Iowa, ESPN or ESPN2, Noon ET
Eastern Michigan at Michigan, BTN, Noon ET
Miami (Ohio) at Minnesota, BTN, 3:30 ET
Washington at Nebraska, ABC (ESPN reverse mirror), 3:30 ET
Southeast Missouri State at Purdue, BTN, Noon ET


http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/060711aaa.html

Michigan Prospect Chris Wormley At States

Congratulations to Michigan prospect Chris Wormley for qualifying for the Ohio State Track and Field Tournament. Chris qualified for both Discus and Shot Put and advanced all the way to States a Junior for the Toledo Whitmer Panthers. With throws of 181-02 and 172-07 He placed 6th. in discus. A.J. Hicks from Solon won with throws 200-07 and 181-07. Chris placed 9th in Shot Put with throws of 54-02.75 and 54-11.25. And the winner of that event was Michael Bennett of Centerville  with throws of 64-06.00 and 63-11.00. Congratulations Again for representing Northwest Ohio and the Whitmer Panthers. And always GO BLUE  I would like to throw this in as a side note :)

from an interview on bucknuts...

Housteau: Obviously people associate you Michigan as well at the top?
Wormley: “Yeah definitely. They’re probably my number one right now.”

The interview was done at a track meet yesterday.  They refer to him as the #1 prospect in Ohio.

So Jim Tressel guarentees a victory Nov 27th HaHa

Well I just got done reading the article http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6626390. on ESPN college football. And I must say I think Jim Tressel has lost his mind. Did you forget you are no longer the coach of tOSu football team. Tressel states at a rally on his front doorstep that he would always be a Buckeye and that the team will beat Michigan again this November. He even has the nerve to say "
Don't forget: Nov. 26th we're going to kick their ass! 
                                  
What a joke this guy is I think instead of making silly comments and ticking off our coach Brady Hoke you should be working on your Defense for your upcoming encounter with the NCAA. Don't forget Mr. Tressel it is still to be determined what players tOSU will be allowed to field on NOV 27th. MY former high school football team the Toledo Whitmer Panthers may be a better match up than what OSU can put out on the field after the NCAA gets done with you. 

Tressel was forced to resign Monday for his role in covering up his knowledge of his players taking improper benefits from a Columbus tattoo-parlor owner.

Keep Cheering and singing in Columbus. When Nov 27th gets here you will be shocked at what your actions have caused. Thanks for adding extra fuel in this Rivalry I'm sure Brady will use it to his advantage.

Gunner Kiel Could commit Within next Ten days!

Gunner Kiel Could make his decision in the next 10 days. Gunner a Pro-style quarterback from Columbus,Indiana Ht:6'4 Wt:220 lbs and rated one of the top QB's in the 2012 class. Has Michigan as one of his Top choices. Michigan Fans wait patiently for his decision. The one two punch of Keil and Morris would be very exciting for Michigan and the Big ten fans. These two quarterbacks together remind me of what Jordan Taylor and  Nikki Nemitz brought to the Ladies softball team. This could be the next big combination. Go Blue Keil

*************************************************************************************** ****Update****  I have got a number of hits on this article so I will just add to it. From everything I'm hearing this Sunday should be the magic day Gunner makes his commitment.. Lets cross our fingers and hope for a Miracle but like i have posted everything is pointing in Oklahoma's direction. Anything can happen I would rather him wait a little while longer and have another visit to Michigan but that don't seem to be the case. I think he would rather get it out the way before his final season in Highschool that way there is no distractions.


****************************************************************************
Maybe there is a Michigan God??? change of plans as soon as I posted that This from Gunner himself

"I'm sorry to everyone who thought I was going to commit this Sunday. I still have a lot to think about and when I am ready I will announce. Thanks"

 

Awsome more time for Michigan This could be Great!!!!!!Cause this is like a Heavy Weight Bout

MI LB Royce Jenkins-Stone a force to be "WRECK-ON" with!

On April 16th, 2011 Michigan LB Royce Jenkins-Stone committed to the University of Michigan. Stone is a highly touted prospect in the 2012 class. He is from Cass Tech highschool in Michigan.He plays as much fullback for Cass Tech as he does linebacker. Scout has him at a 4 star #7 OLB , Rivals ESPN has him 93 overall 4 star , and 24/7 has him #174 overall 4 star also. The recruiting sites are in near-complete agreement: Royce is 6-2, 215 pounds. Scout's Allen Trieu:"He just might have as much upside as any other prospect in the state. He has a great frame at 6'2, 215-lbs, and has athleticism and speed to go with it. As a junior, he really stepped it up one more notch by adding discipline and the ability to make reads and attack to his game". I feel that he is an excellent prospect. His frame and athleticism are both near-perfect, and he has a lot of upside if he lives up to his potential. He reminds me much of my Favorite NFL LB Lawerence Taylor. He brings that kind of Intensity to the game. I am very excited he decided to play for Michigan. I feel he will help our defense get back to what most people expect at Michigan. We are very lucky to have him after looking at some of the offers he had. Royce had offers from the likes of Alabama, Oklahoma, and Florida just to name a few. As a junior he Registered 90 tackles, five sacks and three interceptions. Rushed for 10 touchdowns NOT BAD stats I would say. I also follow Royce on twitter at twitter account @Mr2012RJS and i have to say he is one of my favorites that I follow. Some of my favorite tweets recently.

"@Mr2012RJS: i would never talk bad about TP but i will knock him out on the field whn i get my chance" right on! #goblue"

Talking about Pryor. Gotta Love it. It's in his blood to go hard after Ohio State. This is what our defense needs and what it has been missing for a while. Another tweet that made me think was

"@Mr2012RJS OSUorDIE. I'd die"

Talking about going to Ohio State. That about sums everything up with this young recruit. We have alot to be happy about with Royce Stone. In the coming weeks i will be taking time to feature all of our incoming recruits it will be fun. I love Michigan football and I hope everyone that reads my blogs has as much passion as I do? Royce was just selected to the 2012 Army All American game. Congratulations Royce  Check out some of his highlights above! Go Blue Forever!!

Michigan is poised to turn the kicking game 100% around

I am like most Michigan fans and that our kicking game from last year scared the hell out of me. How many close games could Michigan of won if they only had a kicker? My guess is at least two or three. How many things did i break as a kick went wide right or left? Well two many to count,and I'm not proud to admit that. Michigan's kicking game sent my blood pressure to some of the highest points in my life. And after I went to the Michigan game this Spring I felt those feeling from last year coming back. I now realize why I made so many trips to the bathroom during the 1 hour game and I was not even drinking. Michigan's kicking game just flat out sucks. Are we gonna go through the same old thing this year? Hell no! After doing some research I found out that Michigan has an incoming freshman that may take the field his first year. Matt Wile is on his way Michigan fans and he has a hell of a leg. I was very impressed when I watched his highlights on Youtube. Here is a link if you would like to check him out http://youtu.be/acD2QxoVrUQ Matt is from San Diego, Ca And went to Francis Parker High School. He 6'1" 200lbs.

Evaluation

Matt is an athletic kicker/punter who is also solid in coverage. Matt has made multiple tackles in coverage. He has a field goal approach that is repeatable. The ball jumps off his foot and he has a smooth rhythm.

I think Michigan fans will be very impressed with Matt. I also think alot will be said about his ability to change things around immediately. Can't wait for Matt to put his work in at the Big House in 2011 I




.