Frimpong is another really nice player for them. The coach has already committed to coming back next year. It will be interesting to see if they can keep the “team of players no one else wanted” together and if they will have the same drive next year.
Over the past three weeks or so Leverkusen has had some pretty close calls. They needed 98 minutes to pull even in a Europa game they didn’t need to score to advance. It truly has been incredible to see them go from Neverkusen to Neverlosin in two years. While Man City’s treble last year was an amazing accomplishment, I might be even more impressed with Leverkusen this year. It’s been really fun to follow.
I had a similar take as I was reading the ESPN article until I got to the part where they interacted with the ESPN reporter.
Reporter was watching.
Scheffler sees him and calls out "Hey, can you help me here?"
Police offer says, "there's nothing you can do, he's being arrested and taken to jail" and tells ESPN reporter to stand back.
That sounds like a cop pissed off his wrist was hurt because he chose to attach himself to the side of the car and wasn't going to let reason settle anything.
Part of the answer is the SEC only plays 8 conference games. They play the same style of schedule as the B1G except they get to change out a conference game late in the season for a tomato can.
Some of the SEC schools have "locked in" OOC games with ACC teams. Georgia plays Georgia Tech, South Carolina plays Clemson, Florida plays FSU & Miami and Kentucky plays Louisville. Interestingly...Alabama, LSU, Auburn, and many other SEC teams do not have this type of arraignment so they have a lot of say on how difficult or easy 1/3 of their schedule is.
I'd love to see the wording in that document for how the SEC is going to avoid sending their perennial big boys north of the Mason Dixon line to play in the Big House or the Toilet Bowl.
To avoid 3rd and long, teams have to have a running game and a short passing game. If Orgi has that figured out, then the offense will look a lot like 2021. If not, Tuttle might be the answer. Again, with all of the other talent on the team, I expect 2021 will be the most likely comparison. A team which competes in games against good teams.
To gauge what the QB situation will be like, I think you need to only go back a few years and ask if the combo of Tuttle & Oriji is better or worse than the combo of McNamara & FR McCarthy. If healthy, I think Tuttle is a better QB than McNamara. That's not as bad of a starting floor as people may think.
The one caveat to all of that is the O-Line.
The 2021 O-Line was: Vastardis (Gr Sr), Zinter (So), Keegan (Jr), Stueber (Gr Sr), Hayes (Sr)
The expected 2024 O-Line is: Crippen (Jr), El-Hadi (Jr), Priebe (Sr), Hinton (Sr), Gentry (So)
I couldn't say how those compare, but that is a better starting ground than if the 2021 line was obviously better.
While at Wisconsin he was fairly well recognized for helping create the incredible run of O-lineman and RB’s who went to the NFL. Wisconsin also had a run of good defensive players during his time as well.
Thank you for posting this and highlighting the part about injuries. That was my first question. Keeping the players on the floor is far more important than before and after pics.
It's safe to say Hunter is a significantly better rebounder than Goldin IMO
We will see how Goldin holds up in the B1G when it comes to rebounding, but if he makes consistent effort and ID's who to box out, he is already better than Hunter.
Hunter's rebounding stats are a bit of a mirage. When he is dialed in and focused, he gets boards. All too often he doesn't ID who to box out properly. There are also far too many times he doesn't even make an effort allowing much smaller people to play bigger than him. The guy is a legit 7 footer in college. He's going to get boards based on size alone. That does not make him a good rebounder. He was so frustrating to watch because it often times directly impacted the outcome of the game negatively and it showed up in the teams record.
I think the “Harbaugh model” will prove to be the best route long term. While it takes a school out of the running for a segment of recruits, there are many really good recruits who will care about the coaches, the program, the school, the location, etc and will still want to maximise their earnings as part of the total equation. Jerk coaches will struggle to keep guys after their first year no matter how much they get paid. Programs who can’t compete at the higher levels will lose guys after a few years no matter how much they pay. I believe the general workforce is a good barometer for what this eventually looks like. For some, money will be everything, but those will also be the most fickle to deal with. For others, they will balance their key factors while making sure they earn enough.
It would not shock me at all to find out Harbaugh was the strong impetus behind “transformational not transactional”. That wreaks of Harbaugh. I also wouldn’t be shocked if Warde strongly supported that idea because it fits his beliefs as well. I also would not be shocked if Juwan strongly disagreed with this, but was never going to win an argument where Warde and Harbaugh agreed. With Harbaugh and Juwan gone. Now Warde had to listen to two new coaches saying they need NIL to be competitive, thus the sudden changes.
How fun was it as a Michigan fan during the period which must not be spoken of in football? Having a little parity at the top isn’t a bad thing. Especially for a school like Michigan.
JJ put up similar numbers against all levels of competition. He did not feast on cupcakes or struggle against anyone. That capability and consistency in the NFL, where parity exists, is the foundation for a great career. Assuming he doesn’t get stuck with an inept franchise, JJ will have more wins than Williams and Maye. Williams and Maye will need to adapt to playing in a more structured offense against better competition. The likelihood is one of those two flames out. Daniels is interesting. He feasted on cupcakes, but he also had very good numbers against “good teams”. The SEC may have been very over valued this year. It won’t take long to find out. Penix should have a good career, but it probably won’t last as long due to age and the number of miles he already has on his body. If winning is your goal, the Vikings got the best QB in the draft.
I blame Calipari. Currently there's a bunch of Kentucky NIL donors running around with money they can't spend on basketball because they only have 7 scholarship players.
Were I still living in Texas, I would have to listen to many baseball fans exclamations of "What in tarnation, ya'll!!!". In Minnesota I'm sure it will be a few comments of "this is unfortunate dontcha know."
And yet two WR just got drafted and there are multiple receivers who played for Harbaugh at Michigan who were also drafted before them. Playing WR at Michigan has the same odds of getting you to the NFL as many other schools.
While I love that Charles is still the only primarily defensive player to win the Heisman, what Suh did that year combined with who was voted ahead of him, I think, earns him the spiritual Heisman. 52 solo tackles, 85 total tackles, 20.5 TFL, 12 sacks & an interception. That's basically Kris Jenkins, Mason Graham & Kenneth Grant's stats from this past season combined.
While the move to the full slate of games between leagues is mostly positive, I think it was a bad choice to make the rivalry series a home & away 4 game series always during the week. I understand the math doesn't work out otherwise, but I agree, having the regional rivalry games always during the week sucks. The same think happened with the Twins-Brewers. Our kids love the Twins and their cousin loves the Brewers so it could have been really cool to do a home/away weekend hosting, but alas, MLB doesn't care about kids and families.
It's not like this will be plastered all over the national news. The kid is making decisions based on changing situations. It's not his fault people like us are constantly scouring every obscure source of information on all things Michigan sports related.
While I prefer blow outs for my mental state, it would be really awesome if he kicked the game winning field goal in the Horseshoe this year just to show Michigan portals better than OSU.
Michigan just had a top 100 D-lineman commit on Monday. You’re acting like they are completely inept because they don’t sign the guys you want. If there is anything I’m going to trust Sherrone Moore on, it’s finding guys who fit the program. He built the O-line that lead Michigan the past three years. Michigan has proven they understand the value of the portal. Maybe they tried and the kid wanted to go somewhere else. Maybe they didn’t try because they didn’t want him. Either way, he’s not going to Michigan and it’s not because someone now has a smoking hole in their foot.
How could you have joined in 2013 and still not understand there are very intelligent people on this blog. Not all, but more so than most sports focused sites. You better have your shit together when you post something here because there is probably someone who knows more about it than yourself who will be reading it. Personally, I appreciate it. It’s far more entertaining than typical sports drivel.
I think there are ways to mitigate the issues you point out. I also think a few issues are not as big of a deal. Maybe things change going forward, but there has typically been a significant amount of support across athletes competing in different sports. They all understand the sacrifice it takes to be a college athlete. That's true for revenue and non-revenue athletes.
I don't think every individual school needs to be represented, as long as a fair and balanced representation of like schools exist. Just like politics, the representative from your district may not represent your beliefs, but your voice probably is represented even if from a different district. (I hesitate to use a political reference, but I thought it the best analogy).
Regarding turnover, leadership isn't purely a function of age. I trust good leaders wanting to take part will emerge from all classes. I think the bigger issue is developing processes of engagement which works with the students schedules/life. This will probably be the hardest things for adults to accept.
You pose the age old question, "how do you take power away from a group of people who have been in power and don't want to give it up?".
Ideally the adults in the room would behave honorably since they are leaders at our academic institutions....I think the history outlined in this post shows that isn't likely.
That leaves a few other avenues:
Political pressure. Target politicians who think they can get more votes from young people to advocate for change. This could be done in a few key states or at the federal level.
Use the courts. I'm not a legal expert, but I'm guessing you could build a case the current NCAA structure has significant influence over student athletes yet they do not have a voice. Side note - currently there is student representation on NCAA committees but it is set up to where they basically have no power/influence/control. It's merely a voice for the adults to consider.
Public sentiment. This is a much longer process, but if people start putting pressure on the schools through public voice and reduced giving, that usually gets schools to consider change.
Leverage the one power they do have. Refuse to play in high profile situations unless meaningful changes are agreed to be discussed and implemented. I wouldn't do this as a surprise last minute move. I would do this over the course of the entire season. Every chance athletes get to make a public statement, say the teams that make the playoffs or championship will boycott if a process isn't initiated by then to give the athletes a bigger voice. This forces the conversation to stay in the news over a longer period of time and it probably keeps public sentiment on your side. The NCAA & networks will not want to play chicken with this and risk having nothing to televise after fans got to watch a full season. This is probably the best way because the networks will be on the phones to the conferences, CFP, and NCAA telling them to get their shit figured out because the check will NOT be in the mail otherwise. While I think the networks care about the money going to certain conferences/schools because networks like brands, I also believe they could care less if 20 - 40% of the check goes to an organization which helps student athletes play fair and stay safe.
This is phase 4 of OSU’s effort to finally beat Michigan. They are now giving NIL to other schools to entice Michigan players to enter the portal. So tough!
It's almost impossible for this to work out due to timing and volume of games, but I think that is the most interesting way of creating something to play for at that level and still having access to the big revenue.
This will be a very interesting draft to look back on in 5 years. For the number of QB's who could be drafted in the top 10, I think there are serious questions about all of them. I still believe JJ will be the best. His performance leading Michigan to points was the most agnostic to quality of opponent as any of the other top QB's. I think Williams and Maye have the biggest question marks.
It kind of did. By the 70's there were 667 member colleges and universities in the NCAA. They all competed as one big group. That was when DI, DII, and DIII were created. About a decade later, DI split into two groups.
These original splits happened because of the financial investment schools wanted (were willing) to make into their athletic departments.
These new splits would be initiated because Conferences/Schools want to grab the biggest share of the revenue. A very different impetus.
I agreed with the first round of splits because it was a choice. It's harder to support something when it is purely about greed.
That is a hard comparison to make for many reasons. Every one drafted into the NBA is an elite athlete with natural gifts. Rebounds are still going to happen so the stats will be there regardless. Roster construction and style of play is also different. Just like there are 3 and D guys. There are more roles for D and rebounder in the NBA because they have designated scorers. So far, that strategy hasn’t been adopted into college as much. Thank goodness. That article only looks at rookies and it is extrapolating to full game statistics. The majority of NBA rookies are not going to step in and be the team’s featured scorer so they have to do the other things. I would expect their rebounding and assist numbers to be higher on a full game average because that is what the team needs them to do for the minutes they are on the floor.
Other than potential NIL impacts, staying at Michigan is basically no different than transferring this year for GWIII. New coach, new teammates, new system to learn. It was worth sticking around to see how it goes. If it doesn’t work out, he can always transfer next season and this coaching staff has the connections to help him do that if that’s how it turns out. Staying really was a good choice for him.
Personal experience playing against a broad range of guys from DIII to DI. It’s harder when the athletic skill set gets better and there are more of them on the court. A guy like Wolf will not have played the same level of athletes night in, night out like he will in the B1G. Same for a guy like Jones and Goldin. Fundamentals and effort are important but can not overcome a better athlete who also excels in those areas. That is what those guys will be adjusting to.
For conference scheduling next season, you play everyone once and three teams twice. I'm guessing MSU and maybe OSU will be two of the play twice teams due to rivalries.
Because it is so hard to know what each team's roster will look like season to season now, using a basic "better than", "similar to", "not as good as" ranking based on recent history, portal additions, and coaching expectations here's how I think Michigan compares (with expected record against):
Not as talented as (1-3, I think you all know who that one is against):
Illinois, Indiana, MSU, Purdue
For single plays alone, that gets a record of 8-9.
Let's assume Dusty is as good as we are all hoping he is. If he goes 1-2 in the double play game, that gets Michigan to 9-11 with a good chance of bumping that up to 10-10 in year one in conference. Assuming the non-conference isn't a complete disaster, that puts Michigan on the safe side of the bubble going into the B1G tournament.
I have some questions about Rooths fitting what May wants so I think there is a good chance he doesn't commit. That said adding a Freshman forward would help the overall matrix of the long term roster.
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Frimpong is another really nice player for them.
The coach has already committed to coming back next year. It will be interesting to see if they can keep the “team of players no one else wanted” together and if they will have the same drive next year.
Over the past three weeks or so Leverkusen has had some pretty close calls. They needed 98 minutes to pull even in a Europa game they didn’t need to score to advance.
It truly has been incredible to see them go from Neverkusen to Neverlosin in two years.
While Man City’s treble last year was an amazing accomplishment, I might be even more impressed with Leverkusen this year. It’s been really fun to follow.
I had a similar take as I was reading the ESPN article until I got to the part where they interacted with the ESPN reporter.
Reporter was watching.
Scheffler sees him and calls out "Hey, can you help me here?"
Police offer says, "there's nothing you can do, he's being arrested and taken to jail" and tells ESPN reporter to stand back.
That sounds like a cop pissed off his wrist was hurt because he chose to attach himself to the side of the car and wasn't going to let reason settle anything.
And so was the team!
Part of the answer is the SEC only plays 8 conference games. They play the same style of schedule as the B1G except they get to change out a conference game late in the season for a tomato can.
Some of the SEC schools have "locked in" OOC games with ACC teams. Georgia plays Georgia Tech, South Carolina plays Clemson, Florida plays FSU & Miami and Kentucky plays Louisville. Interestingly...Alabama, LSU, Auburn, and many other SEC teams do not have this type of arraignment so they have a lot of say on how difficult or easy 1/3 of their schedule is.
I'd love to see the wording in that document for how the SEC is going to avoid sending their perennial big boys north of the Mason Dixon line to play in the Big House or the Toilet Bowl.
To avoid 3rd and long, teams have to have a running game and a short passing game. If Orgi has that figured out, then the offense will look a lot like 2021. If not, Tuttle might be the answer. Again, with all of the other talent on the team, I expect 2021 will be the most likely comparison. A team which competes in games against good teams.
To gauge what the QB situation will be like, I think you need to only go back a few years and ask if the combo of Tuttle & Oriji is better or worse than the combo of McNamara & FR McCarthy. If healthy, I think Tuttle is a better QB than McNamara. That's not as bad of a starting floor as people may think.
The one caveat to all of that is the O-Line.
The 2021 O-Line was: Vastardis (Gr Sr), Zinter (So), Keegan (Jr), Stueber (Gr Sr), Hayes (Sr)
The expected 2024 O-Line is: Crippen (Jr), El-Hadi (Jr), Priebe (Sr), Hinton (Sr), Gentry (So)
I couldn't say how those compare, but that is a better starting ground than if the 2021 line was obviously better.
While at Wisconsin he was fairly well recognized for helping create the incredible run of O-lineman and RB’s who went to the NFL. Wisconsin also had a run of good defensive players during his time as well.
Thank you for posting this and highlighting the part about injuries. That was my first question. Keeping the players on the floor is far more important than before and after pics.
We will see how Goldin holds up in the B1G when it comes to rebounding, but if he makes consistent effort and ID's who to box out, he is already better than Hunter.
Hunter's rebounding stats are a bit of a mirage. When he is dialed in and focused, he gets boards. All too often he doesn't ID who to box out properly. There are also far too many times he doesn't even make an effort allowing much smaller people to play bigger than him. The guy is a legit 7 footer in college. He's going to get boards based on size alone. That does not make him a good rebounder. He was so frustrating to watch because it often times directly impacted the outcome of the game negatively and it showed up in the teams record.
This is great. Thank you!
I think the “Harbaugh model” will prove to be the best route long term. While it takes a school out of the running for a segment of recruits, there are many really good recruits who will care about the coaches, the program, the school, the location, etc and will still want to maximise their earnings as part of the total equation.
Jerk coaches will struggle to keep guys after their first year no matter how much they get paid. Programs who can’t compete at the higher levels will lose guys after a few years no matter how much they pay.
I believe the general workforce is a good barometer for what this eventually looks like. For some, money will be everything, but those will also be the most fickle to deal with. For others, they will balance their key factors while making sure they earn enough.
It’s a dual event. First part celebration party, second part job application filling out and submission.
It would not shock me at all to find out Harbaugh was the strong impetus behind “transformational not transactional”. That wreaks of Harbaugh.
I also wouldn’t be shocked if Warde strongly supported that idea because it fits his beliefs as well.
I also would not be shocked if Juwan strongly disagreed with this, but was never going to win an argument where Warde and Harbaugh agreed.
With Harbaugh and Juwan gone. Now Warde had to listen to two new coaches saying they need NIL to be competitive, thus the sudden changes.
How fun was it as a Michigan fan during the period which must not be spoken of in football? Having a little parity at the top isn’t a bad thing. Especially for a school like Michigan.
JJ put up similar numbers against all levels of competition. He did not feast on cupcakes or struggle against anyone. That capability and consistency in the NFL, where parity exists, is the foundation for a great career.
Assuming he doesn’t get stuck with an inept franchise, JJ will have more wins than Williams and Maye. Williams and Maye will need to adapt to playing in a more structured offense against better competition. The likelihood is one of those two flames out.
Daniels is interesting. He feasted on cupcakes, but he also had very good numbers against “good teams”. The SEC may have been very over valued this year. It won’t take long to find out.
Penix should have a good career, but it probably won’t last as long due to age and the number of miles he already has on his body.
If winning is your goal, the Vikings got the best QB in the draft.
Yes, the method is called "how long does it take to get 5 fouls".
Everyone knows a coach gets a recruiting bump going into their 11th year! Can't wait to see what happens for Sherrone in 2035!!!
I blame Calipari. Currently there's a bunch of Kentucky NIL donors running around with money they can't spend on basketball because they only have 7 scholarship players.
Were I still living in Texas, I would have to listen to many baseball fans exclamations of "What in tarnation, ya'll!!!". In Minnesota I'm sure it will be a few comments of "this is unfortunate dontcha know."
Michigan just had their two starting receivers drafted. I think that is a good reason why a WR would want to go to Michigan.
Got the same email in Minnesota. Right as the Twins are riding a 9 game win streak. TV really does enjoy trying to kill itself.
And yet two WR just got drafted and there are multiple receivers who played for Harbaugh at Michigan who were also drafted before them.
Playing WR at Michigan has the same odds of getting you to the NFL as many other schools.
Maintaining a college football roster requires its own dedicated staff department now.
One of those guys was legit, the other was steroids. I still hate that Rose Bowl game.
While I love that Charles is still the only primarily defensive player to win the Heisman, what Suh did that year combined with who was voted ahead of him, I think, earns him the spiritual Heisman. 52 solo tackles, 85 total tackles, 20.5 TFL, 12 sacks & an interception. That's basically Kris Jenkins, Mason Graham & Kenneth Grant's stats from this past season combined.
While the move to the full slate of games between leagues is mostly positive, I think it was a bad choice to make the rivalry series a home & away 4 game series always during the week. I understand the math doesn't work out otherwise, but I agree, having the regional rivalry games always during the week sucks. The same think happened with the Twins-Brewers. Our kids love the Twins and their cousin loves the Brewers so it could have been really cool to do a home/away weekend hosting, but alas, MLB doesn't care about kids and families.
I've had great experiences at every park I've gone to and I grew up going to Riverfront in Cincinnati.
It's not like this will be plastered all over the national news. The kid is making decisions based on changing situations. It's not his fault people like us are constantly scouring every obscure source of information on all things Michigan sports related.
While I prefer blow outs for my mental state, it would be really awesome if he kicked the game winning field goal in the Horseshoe this year just to show Michigan portals better than OSU.
Thank you for the great summary.
What an amazing turn around.
Michigan just had a top 100 D-lineman commit on Monday. You’re acting like they are completely inept because they don’t sign the guys you want.
If there is anything I’m going to trust Sherrone Moore on, it’s finding guys who fit the program. He built the O-line that lead Michigan the past three years.
Michigan has proven they understand the value of the portal. Maybe they tried and the kid wanted to go somewhere else. Maybe they didn’t try because they didn’t want him. Either way, he’s not going to Michigan and it’s not because someone now has a smoking hole in their foot.
How could you have joined in 2013 and still not understand there are very intelligent people on this blog. Not all, but more so than most sports focused sites. You better have your shit together when you post something here because there is probably someone who knows more about it than yourself who will be reading it. Personally, I appreciate it. It’s far more entertaining than typical sports drivel.
I think a little blue pill could solve Henry’s organ only working in disruptive spirts.
I think there are ways to mitigate the issues you point out. I also think a few issues are not as big of a deal. Maybe things change going forward, but there has typically been a significant amount of support across athletes competing in different sports. They all understand the sacrifice it takes to be a college athlete. That's true for revenue and non-revenue athletes.
I don't think every individual school needs to be represented, as long as a fair and balanced representation of like schools exist. Just like politics, the representative from your district may not represent your beliefs, but your voice probably is represented even if from a different district. (I hesitate to use a political reference, but I thought it the best analogy).
Regarding turnover, leadership isn't purely a function of age. I trust good leaders wanting to take part will emerge from all classes. I think the bigger issue is developing processes of engagement which works with the students schedules/life. This will probably be the hardest things for adults to accept.
You pose the age old question, "how do you take power away from a group of people who have been in power and don't want to give it up?".
Ideally the adults in the room would behave honorably since they are leaders at our academic institutions....I think the history outlined in this post shows that isn't likely.
That leaves a few other avenues:
Bai Jobe, I don’t think they’ve got it.
This is phase 4 of OSU’s effort to finally beat Michigan. They are now giving NIL to other schools to entice Michigan players to enter the portal. So tough!
It's almost impossible for this to work out due to timing and volume of games, but I think that is the most interesting way of creating something to play for at that level and still having access to the big revenue.
This will be a very interesting draft to look back on in 5 years. For the number of QB's who could be drafted in the top 10, I think there are serious questions about all of them. I still believe JJ will be the best. His performance leading Michigan to points was the most agnostic to quality of opponent as any of the other top QB's. I think Williams and Maye have the biggest question marks.
It kind of did. By the 70's there were 667 member colleges and universities in the NCAA. They all competed as one big group. That was when DI, DII, and DIII were created. About a decade later, DI split into two groups.
These original splits happened because of the financial investment schools wanted (were willing) to make into their athletic departments.
These new splits would be initiated because Conferences/Schools want to grab the biggest share of the revenue. A very different impetus.
I agreed with the first round of splits because it was a choice. It's harder to support something when it is purely about greed.
That is a hard comparison to make for many reasons. Every one drafted into the NBA is an elite athlete with natural gifts. Rebounds are still going to happen so the stats will be there regardless. Roster construction and style of play is also different. Just like there are 3 and D guys. There are more roles for D and rebounder in the NBA because they have designated scorers. So far, that strategy hasn’t been adopted into college as much. Thank goodness.
That article only looks at rookies and it is extrapolating to full game statistics. The majority of NBA rookies are not going to step in and be the team’s featured scorer so they have to do the other things. I would expect their rebounding and assist numbers to be higher on a full game average because that is what the team needs them to do for the minutes they are on the floor.
Other than potential NIL impacts, staying at Michigan is basically no different than transferring this year for GWIII. New coach, new teammates, new system to learn. It was worth sticking around to see how it goes. If it doesn’t work out, he can always transfer next season and this coaching staff has the connections to help him do that if that’s how it turns out. Staying really was a good choice for him.
Personal experience playing against a broad range of guys from DIII to DI.
It’s harder when the athletic skill set gets better and there are more of them on the court. A guy like Wolf will not have played the same level of athletes night in, night out like he will in the B1G. Same for a guy like Jones and Goldin. Fundamentals and effort are important but can not overcome a better athlete who also excels in those areas. That is what those guys will be adjusting to.
Most popular Sparty tatoos:
1-800-phone sex #
Where's your manager?
I'm lying in the weed(s)
Couches & bonfires, what's the difference?
I'm shorter than you, what's your problem?
Yes, but who wants the back-up DT for Miss St. appearing in your car dealership ad in East Lansing?
They can claim the contract is no longer binding because the player changed the nature of the agreement.
For conference scheduling next season, you play everyone once and three teams twice. I'm guessing MSU and maybe OSU will be two of the play twice teams due to rivalries.
Because it is so hard to know what each team's roster will look like season to season now, using a basic "better than", "similar to", "not as good as" ranking based on recent history, portal additions, and coaching expectations here's how I think Michigan compares (with expected record against):
Better talent than (3-1):
Northwestern, Iowa, Penn State, USC
Similar talent to (4-5):
Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, OSU, Rutgers, Wisconsin, UCLA, Washington, Oregon
Not as talented as (1-3, I think you all know who that one is against):
Illinois, Indiana, MSU, Purdue
For single plays alone, that gets a record of 8-9.
Let's assume Dusty is as good as we are all hoping he is. If he goes 1-2 in the double play game, that gets Michigan to 9-11 with a good chance of bumping that up to 10-10 in year one in conference. Assuming the non-conference isn't a complete disaster, that puts Michigan on the safe side of the bubble going into the B1G tournament.
I have some questions about Rooths fitting what May wants so I think there is a good chance he doesn't commit. That said adding a Freshman forward would help the overall matrix of the long term roster.
Doubling down....bold move Cotton.