todd collins

HTTV Note: The books are done and we're going to have copies in hand by the end of the week. If you backed the kickstarter and want to skip waiting for the mail (which is going to take longer than usual this year), we have socially distanced pickup options at Cultivate in Ypsilanti this Saturday, at Five Shores Brewing in Beulah next Saturday, and after I drive a few boxes out there, at Bryan Fuller's wife's Cheese Lady franchise in Kalamazoo. If you want to get your books there email me and let me know. If your address has changed email me and let me know.

--------

Are we starting to get desperate for content? Sure. But also I noticed we talk a lot about 3-stars versus 5-stars, when Michigan's classes have historically been filled primarily with standard 4-stars. And by that I mean "just" 4-stars—not top-150 players, and not high 3-stars either. They're the kind of players who would headline a Michigan State class, whom Ohio State would take but not fight too hard for, the constant subjects of Notre Dame-Michigan-Penn State battles with a hometown favorite thrown in.

Previously: Pro Offense/Pro Defense, 1879-Before Bo, 5-Stars, 3-Stars, 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 be ranked top-100 by anybody or higher than a 4.3 on the Seth scale. Since 1990 because data go back that far. College performance considered only.

The Mike Hart Thing: Hart was the equivalent of a solid four-star to places that didn't create a lasting online database of the 2004 class, and a high 3-star to Rivals and Scout, who did, forever after immortalizing him as a "3-star" (this is a well-known malfunction of the human brain). Just giving you fair warning that your brain is going to rebel. Also "bucket list" wasn't in the lexicon until the 2007 film.

Quarterback: Tom Brady (1995)

Rankings:

(Ranking is among Michigan recruits at his position, which has a sample roughly as large as an annual national class so I've included it. National Recruiting Advisor was proto-Rivals.)

This seems like an obvious answer but Brady really only narrowly won a competitive three-way competition with longtime starters who preceded him and proceeded him. That's a good summary of Tom Brady's Michigan career, which has been poured over by so many better journalists there's not a lot I can add to it.

The just-a-four-star rating is also representative of his recruitment. Brady had a few top schools after him as a #2 option behind some monster 5-star or close to it. He might have gone to USC if they didn't get their first two guys on the board, and Cade McNown committing to UCLA removed Michigan's main competition. Michigan waited until Florida won the battle for 5-star Bobby Sablehaus then pulled the trigger on Tom.

2nd Team: Todd Collins (1990)

The only data point I have on Todd is he was Tom Lemming's #8 Pro-Style QB. Well that and pick two guys out of these three:

Player B is Tom Brady. The guy with nearly identical college stats and vastly higher yards per attempt is the longtime starter who also had an extremely long NFL career. You also have to know that the two years of Collins starting were even more frustrating offensively than the Borges and DeBord offenses, and the Number 1 frustration was they weren't uncorking the passing game. Amani Toomer and Mecury Hayes were the Nico Collins and Ronnie Bell of the era, except when Michigan did deign to send them a pass Collins almost always put it on the money. Watching the semi-heralded Collins outperform Notre Dame golden boy Ron Powlus was one of the highlights of my young fandom.

The Field: Collins (4.24, 199), Scot Loeffler (4.20, 1993), Cade McNamara (4.12, 2019), Joe Milton (4.11, 2018), Nate Holdren (4.07, 1990), Alex Malzone (4.06, 2015), Spencer Brinton (4.05, 2001), John Navarre, who's Player A above (4.04, 1999)

[After THE JUMP: Guys who were dudes]

Previously: Krushed By Stauskas (Illinois 2014), Introducing #ChaosTeam (Indiana 2009), Revenge is Terrifying (Colorado 1996), Four Games In September I (Boston College 1991)

This game: WolverineHistorian highlights

Welcome to 1994, baby.

Mark Jones looks exactly the same, somehow

A lot has changed for Boston College since they put a scare into Michigan at home in 1991. After reaching nine wins in his third season, highlighted by a 41-39 upset at #1 Notre Dame in late November, Tom Coughlin took the head coaching job with the NFL's expansion Jacksonville Jaguars, which also gave him a good deal of control over their personnel.

Boston College hired Dan Henning, best known for his two stints as Washington's offensive coordinator in which they won two Super Bowls, in hopes of repeating their success of targeting a top-flight NFL assistant. Whereas Coughlin had won a ring with the New York Giants in the year before going to BC, however, Henning was coming off two years as offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions, which didn't finish better than 16th in points or 19th in total yards in his tenure despite boasting Barry Sanders, Herman Moore, and Brett Perriman.

Here are some other decisions from 1994 that turn out about as well as this one:

• Jeff Gilooly finds a creative way to get his ex-wife, Tonya Harding, a leg up on figure skating rival Nancy Kerrigan in the months before the Winter Olympics.
• To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the legendary music festival, three of the original promoters put on Woodstock '94, billed as "2 More Days of Peace and Music."
• Major League II is released in theaters with a PG rating.

Michigan enters the season ranked fifth in both polls. They have a lot of stability: Gary Moeller entering his fifth year as head coach, Lloyd Carr his eighth as defensive coordinator, senior Todd Collins throwing to junior receivers Amani Toomer and Mercury Hayes, senior Tyrone Wheatley leading a stable of touted running backs, and talent across the defense. They aren't quite as loaded heading into the season opener as expected, though, with Wheatley out two weeks due to a separated shoulder and receiver/co-captain Walter Smith lost to a season-ending knee injury.

Henning decides to start his new job with a bang:

Over breakfast at the team's hotel this morning, Boston College's Dan Henning told quarterback Mark Hartsell that he wanted to open the game against Michigan with a play called the speed pump, a bomb that he hoped would go for a touchdown.

Both Henning and Hartsell were making their respective debuts, Henning as the Eagles' head coach and Hartsell as the starting quarterback.

Henning argued with his assistant coaches over the prudence of the play. Hartsell was taking over for quarterback Glenn Foley, a seventh-round draft pick by the Jets. Henning thought it would be good for Hartsell to get his feet wet and silence the 105,936 at Michigan Stadium.

Just as Henning drew it up, Hartsell rolled right. He waited, waited, waited. Then he heaved a 74-yard touchdown pass to receiver Greg Grice. In 16 seconds the Eagles were up by 7-0, Hartsell wasn't nervous and the crowd was silenced.

Unfortunately for BC, the Henning Era is about to hit its apex.

[Hit THE JUMP to see the third-string running back take over.]