ncaa: the lawsuits

Harbaugh gonna Harbaugh. I'd be more surprised if this story ended up involving anyone else:

To the surprise of Ofc Cooper, the good Samaritan was @CoachJim4UM who wanted to help clear the road. Ofc Cooper then gave Coach a pair of work gloves and the two of them went to work. (2/3)

— Ann Arbor Police (@A2Police) February 23, 2023

I went to Home Depot once and the first person I saw was Harbaugh, wandering around looking for something like he was just a person, a normal person.

Your new punching bag. The NCAA has a new president. Here he is not saying "absolutely not" to a thing:

Asked if SEC football players should be paid—a question that his predecessors would have answered with a resounding “No”—Baker took a different tack. He paused, then said it was something he planned to address with his member schools and conferences. Pressed on what those conversations might entail, he remained vague.

“I guess what I would say is that I’m planning to have a conversation with the membership about change,” he said, adding that he preferred to have those talks before saying more. “We’ll see what that kind of change can look like. But I certainly believe there will be change.”

This may be more about the writing on the wall than any genuine change of heart from Generic Suit in Charge Of NCAA. But at least that's something? Baker also says you "don't have to treat everyone the same… and probably shouldn't," which is sensible enough.

[After THE JUMP: we are willing to compromise on toe length.]

Why can't you just be in one place? Well, offseason coaching attrition may not be done yet:

Jesse Minter coordinated one of the top defenses in the country last year. The #Eagles are scanning both the NFL and the college ranks (they talked to former Wisconsin DC Jim Leonhard, as @JFowlerESPN reported) and Minter has experience at both levels (former #Ravens assistant).

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) February 21, 2023

Not-yet-mothballed SB Nation blog Bleeding Green Nation has an overview of the Eagles DC search, which is currently up to six candidates. Math indicates Minter is likely to remain Michigan's DC, but the interview indicates we shouldn't get too comfortable with him in the role. If Minter goes you have to figure Jim Leonhard gets a phone call, right?

Photo choice: not inspired. So when you draft an offensive lineman the perfect thing to demonstrate his prowess is to show a picture of him getting his ass beat by Mike Morris:

No. 1 overall 🔥

With the first overall pick of the 2023 USFL College Draft, we select OT Jarrett Horst, @bmocj77. 🐾 pic.twitter.com/HG6yKk0HYl

— Michigan Panthers (@USFLPanthers) February 21, 2023

Probably the best one they could find from that game.

[After THE JUMP: nobody's buying it anymore.]

Phonebooks (not that phonebook) are here. Bill Connelly has released his preseason rankings for 2023. Michigan's up there, as you might imagine:

Penn State? I guess Penn State. Drew uber Alles, per SP+. Notable that there is a pretty big gulf between #4 and #5 there, and and even bigger gulf between Penn State and the rest of the Big Ten. The next-best B10 team is Wisconsin at #25, followed by Iowa at 27 and Minnesota at 30. MSU is at 47.

One reason Michigan ranks so high is that they're 5th in returning production and that may undersell it a bit because Connelly's offensive formula has returning RB yards as just 6% of the total. I think that's generally reasonable since RBs are fairly plug and play these days but probably underrates the impact getting Donovan Edwards and Blake Corum back has for M. Let's read a nice thing:

Michigan (third in SP+ in 2022, fifth in returning production in 2023)
When FSU has a chance to be the story, FSU is the story. That's the way these things tend to work. But it's pretty jarring to see a team that made the CFP one year also rank in the top five in returning production the next.

The Wolverines are projected to return quarterback J.J. McCarthy, running back and Heisman hopeful Blake Corum and nine of their 12 defenders with 400-plus snaps. Plus, Jim Harbaugh made deft use of the portal, adding reinforcements to both the linebacking corps and an already-awesome offensive line. Both Ohio State and Penn State enter 2023 with hopes of preventing a third straight Big Ten title for Michigan, but they'll have to clear a really high bar.

Yeah. Clear our bar, please. FWIW, Connelly has Michigan at 50/50 to finish 11-1 or better, which means they're about 80-90% to enter the OSU game as a virtual playoff quarterfinal, give or take the backdoor route.

[After THE JUMP: Aussie gonna Aussie.]