ty law

I started a bit of offseason content during the long offseason so I might as well finish it. I'll post the 3-, 4-, and 5-star teams next to each other at the end and link a poll if you want to compare.

What is this? I'm making a team of Michigan four-stars since 1990. Offense is here. For the writeups I gave up on focusing on the recruiting rankings because compared to 3-stars (there's always a reason) and 5-stars (there's always a story), 4-star recruitments are boring. Instead I'll try to tell you something about the guy you didn't know.

More All-Michigan [Blank] Teams: 5-Stars, 3-Stars, Pro Offense/Pro Defense, 1879-Before Bo, Extracurriculars, Position-Switchers, Highlights, Numbers Offense/Numbers Defense, In-State, Names, Small Guys, Big Guys, Freshmen

Rules: Lower bound: must be a four-star to at least one major ranker of his era, and average over 4.0 stars on the Seth scale. Upper bound: cannot a 5-star to anybody or average higher than a 4.50 on the Seth scale. Since 1990 because data go back that far. College performance considered only.

Defensive Tackle

Left: photo via Maize and Blue Nation. Right: Bryan Fuller

Mo Hurst (2013) burst into the consciousness of recruiters with a play he made while on offense, as the nation delighted in the fullback shrugging off eleven overmatched Northeastern schoolchildren for a 70-yard touchdown run.

The rest of the tape was the dude teleporting into the backfield. His coach used "yay" as an adjective.

The recruiting comp for Hurst was Mike Martin (2008), whom Brian described as "pulsing" and "a single twitching muscle." A wrestler and "crab person" for his perfect pad level, the Detroit Catholic Central committed to Lloyd Carr in June and stuck when the staff switched. In the interim he blew up, with his film showing a slab of muscle running down ballcarriers like a linebacker. Because Michigan had just experienced The Horror while this was happening, every recruiter checked in with Martin to ask if he's sure he wanted to "be on a sinking ship."

All of that negative recruiting might have helped Michigan keep Martin in the fold when Notre Dame made their serious run at him in November; according to Mike he was swayable right up until his Notre Dame recruiter started his visit by badmouthing Michigan. If everyone else started their pitch with why he shouldn't choose Michigan, that probably meant they knew Michigan had the most to offer. I have his contact so I might reach out about bringing back this shirt:

[After THE JUMP: Even I can't make Dan Rumishek interesting, but I can certainly make you appreciate uninteresting]

Ty Law's in the Hall of Fame. Tom Brady's the GOAT. And a bunch of former Michigan players just had their first go in the new AAFL. So I'm making a 53-man pro team out of Michigan alumni.

Previously:

• Ancient History: 1879 to 1968
• All-Pro Team: Offense
• The 5-stars
• The 3-stars
• The Extracurriculars
• Position-Switchers
• Highlights
• All-Numbers Team Part I: The Offense
• All-Numbers Team Part II: The Defense
• The Best of Michigan (the state)
• All-Name Team
• All-Small Team

Rules are the guy's Michigan career is irrelevant except he has to have at least been on the field for Michigan—this is all based on how good he was as a pro. Pro Bowls, starts, and longevity are more important than team success. It's also not simply a list of the greatest pros—I'm building a team. I already did the offense. Here's Part II.

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Defensive Tackle: Tom Keating (1964-'75)

Start about 5:28 and watch #74

Tom Keating played nose tackle for some of the greatest teams of the '60s and '70s, and was the fulcrum for one of the nastiest (and most successful) defenses in the history of the game. Keating's claim to fame at Michigan is he was the first Michigan player to touch the banner while captaining the defensive line for Bump's worst two teams.

Keating's pro career started slowly. Drafted by the Vikings (NFL) and the Bills (AFL), Keating chose the latter as they were one of the premier teams in the game. That proved a mistake, as Keating relegated to a rotation spot on a stacked Bills roster (they were AFL Champions his first, second, and fourth years in the league).

Keating walked in 1966, and joined the Raiders. He was an immediate AFL All-Star, and by his second season in Oakland Keating was celebrated as the Aaron Donald of his time, anchoring a legendary Raiders defense that dominated the end of the 1960s. Except for the one season (1968) Keating missed with a leg injury, he was the premier DT in the league, and when the AFL merged with the NFL, he was the best in either. Their best defense was probably in 1970, the first year after the merger. But that was the year all of the Raiders' quarterbacks got injured and they had to re-sign kicker George Blanda to play quarterback. The injuries finally caught up in 1973 in one year mentoring what would become the front of the Steel Curtain. Keating's last great year was 1974 with the Chiefs, and he retired after 1975.

[After THE JUMP: One that got away]

You know those “make your all-time” lists that circulate in the offseason? I’m still making themed teams because it’s easy content and “Make a new website” and “Make HTTV” are in my job description.

Previously:

• The 5-stars
• The Extracurriculars.

This week: Position-Switchers!

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Rules: He had to play at least a season or a snap at a significantly different position at the college level (so no ATHs), and BEFORE this position. Jake Ryan’s move from quasi-DE in a 4-3 under to the Mike in an 4-3 over counts; Matt Godin going from 5-tech to DT does not. Neither does moving between safety positions unless you’re a FS who became half-linebacker. Also no pro moves (sorry Cato June), or playing a second, non-primary position (sorry Charles Woodson) even if you won the Heisman (sorry, Tennessee fans, but he did).

Cutoff Point: Recruited Post-Bo, so I don’t have to remember positions from when I was ten (sorry Tripp Welborne).

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Quarterback: Devin Gardner

“Wonky throwing motion” indeed. [Eric Upchurch]

In between the times he wore 7 and that awful Nebraska day, Michigan of the Denard era couldn’t resist getting one of their best athletes on the field. So despite no backup quarterback plan other than Russell Bellomy for Denard Robinson (who’d been knocked out for that nerve in the elbow before), for 2012 Mr. Gardner was shipped off to receiver. At first it looked to be a good idea: Gardner had touchdown passes in his first three games (Bama, Air Force, and UMass). He wasn’t a great route runner but with Denard getting the ball every play the receivers got a lot of one-on-one matchups, and Gardner was a big dude. Then Denard went out and we had to wait until the following week before the Devin at QB era could begin. The receiver experiment thus ended at 16 receptions, 266 yards, and 4 touchdowns.

As for quarterback, the end of that 2012 season was magnificent enough to portend great things, but the offensive line was never enough. Two virtuoso performances against Ohio State and Notre Dame as a redshirt junior, then a senior year of a lot of heart but a broken body and a coaching situation. If we do a “man I feel sorry for that guy” team he’ll be back.

Other candidates: Nope.

[Hit THE JUMP unless you’re an Iowa safety then you probably don’t want to know what’s next]