A few more football details...
RB1 Higdon (clearly the first option); RB2 Evans; RB3 Competition....wide open. Too early to project the WR corps, but Collins will make an immediate impact. Black is probably the best of the group. DPJ is getting coached up.
Spanelis is probably the 6th best OL at the moment. The kicking game belongs to Nordin and no earthly idea who will punt. It should be an improved version of Robbins.
The defense is loaded. Ambry Thomas, Ambry Thomas, Ambrhy Thomas. Did I mention him yet? Watson will play. JKP will be the next best Safety if he doesn't win the job. LB=loaded. Paye and Vilain are perfect examples of why we can push Kemp inside.
March 27th, 2018 at 11:39 PM ^
Damn daylight savings time
Has Evans packed on some muscle?
So excited for ANY football news, even after my dog just farted in bed.
March 28th, 2018 at 12:35 AM ^
WOTS was he could have played in the bowl game if we needed him. He should be fine.
I'm not surprised Black is still ahead if that's true. He's very good, and it's not like he stopped being on the team when he got hurt.
DPJ is very talented, but he was very raw last year and he didn't exactly have time to work on a lot of technique given that he was the #1 option by the end of the year and he had to digest weekly (voluminous) gameplan installs.
Thing with DPJ is that he could skate through on physical talent, make some impressive plays, contribute, and get drafted.
But to truly realize his potential, he needs to master the position. He needs the footwork to make a catch and tip a foot or two in-bounds. He needs routes. He needs to know how to block and make reads. He needs to know how to use his tremendous physical tools to get every advantage against defenses.
It's the difference between being good and being great. Getting a guy who knows how to coach working on him can be huge. But he needs to break him down and build him up.
However, I'm putting some of it on coaching. I thought our pass offense was not well thought out. It didn't do any of the young WR's any favors. I'm hoping the new blood will solve some of the scheme issues.
March 27th, 2018 at 10:08 PM ^
March 27th, 2018 at 10:56 PM ^
March 27th, 2018 at 11:09 PM ^
sits on an ice seat. 2017 will be Harbaugh's worse season. 8-4 after losing your starting QB is not too bad of a season. The only game we were never in was @ PSU. 2018, we may lose a couple games in 2018 but getting a 10 win season will be the start of great run with Harbaugh as our coach.
March 28th, 2018 at 12:33 AM ^
Michigan will likely be ranked in the preseason top-10, will again have one of the absolute best defenses in the country, will either have an experienced starting QB or a 5-star RS freshman who beat out multiple experienced players for the spot, and only needs to hit on a couple 4-star OL prospects to have a complete offense. The current nucleus of this Michigan team will remain intact for at least another two seasons, and already another top-10 recruiting class is being assembled for 2019.
Yes, the program is coming off a frustrating bowl loss, which capped a disappointing 8-5 season. But if that's a tire fire, then sign me up for some third-degree burns.
March 28th, 2018 at 12:55 AM ^
March 27th, 2018 at 10:57 PM ^
Very much looking forward to seeing Kwity Paye's improvement.
UMBig, you mentioned before that we should still expect more transfers, and that some could have an impact on the group that sees the field. Is this still expected?
March 28th, 2018 at 10:31 AM ^
Thank you for the information.
March 28th, 2018 at 10:44 AM ^
Seems like he's turned over a new leaf.
He seems to be in a good space.
You could sense it in his presser last week.
It's nice to see.
March 28th, 2018 at 10:58 AM ^
The two best and most experienced teams with the best defenses going into 2018 will be Michigan and Michigan State.
Only Ohio State comes close, and they will again be a lead contender.
But Michigan needs their QB and OL questions answered. And decisively so.
March 28th, 2018 at 11:57 AM ^
..... any TE updates?
March 28th, 2018 at 12:25 PM ^
Not ready to turn the page with Walker yet, but there always seems to be something that's preventing him from consistently seeing the field. But that likely just means that it gives one of the younger guys a chance to step into that role.
I've really been looking forward to seeing what O'Maury Samuels could do once he gets onto the field. He's got speed that we've probably never seen at the position, minus D-Rob's brief RB stint at the end of the 2012 season. Depending on Walker's injury/academic status, Samuels could gobble up a good chunk of those RB3 carries this season and set himself up nicely to push for RB1 duties in 2019 after Higdon graduates.
Really hope Black and Vilain can stay healthy next year. Luckily we didn't end up needing Vilain anyway, but losing Black hurt big time. And as far as the OL, I don't really care who starts and who the 6th man is as long as the six best players are on the field. Got to hope Warriner can work some magic between now and September 1st.