Nico's back. Michigan goes 1/3 on junior WRs:

UNFINISHED BUSINESS..#ToBeContinued pic.twitter.com/XyejC0O0WH

— Nico Collins (@lbg_nico7) January 5, 2020

Now for the love of all that is big and leapy shove targets down this man's throat until he bursts.

As @SamWebb77 discussed on TMI, Nico Collins brings a different element to the #Michigan offense. Per @PFF_College here is the receiving data on throws beyond 20+ yards:

Nico Collins - 9/17, 15.7 YPA, 5 TDs, 113.4 passer rating

Everyone else - 13/48, 8.4 YPA, 2 TDs, 41.3 rating

— Jarad Evans (@Jarad_Evans) January 7, 2020

This does not include Collins drawing pass interference penalties at a higher rate than anyone else nationally. Hooray for Michigan turning their offense around midseason, now give Nico Collins 100 targets or we riot.

[After THE JUMP: I will never get over Lorenzo Romar]

Coaching movement. Chris Partridge is gone and Anthony Campanile was supposed to be next at BC; then BC hired someone else as their defensive coordinator. That leaves Rutgers as the other suitor, and that may be happening imminently:

Rutgers is believed to be close to a deal with Michigan linebackers coach Anthony Campanile to take over as its new defensive coordinator, according to several individuals with knowledge of the situation.  …

Michigan is Rutgers’ only competitor for Campanile at this juncture after Boston College - which was considered the favorite to hire him as recently as this past weekend - moved on Monday and hired former Rutgers assistant Tem Lukabu as its new defensive coordinator. Campanile previously coached at BC from 2016-18 before spending last season with Michigan. Campanile has a clause in his Michigan contract that allows him to leave for a job at Rutgers with no buyout penalty, and Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh is committed to trying to retain Campanile, according to the individuals.

That article further asserts that the deal on the table for Campanile is for more than their recently-hired OC, who's getting 800k. That would be hard for even Michigan to match.

So Michigan is probably going to be in the market for a couple of defensive position coaches, one of whom is likely to have East Coast connections. Sam Webb's been posting about candidates. These naturally include former grad assistant Aubrey Pleasant, who's come up in every defensive position coach search since time began, but the name that jumps out is Kentucky DBs coach Steve Clinkscale. Clinkscale had an excellent group this year even after losing a couple of second-day NFL draftees and also recruits the state of Michigan—particuarly Oak Park—heavily.

Pretty much. Michigan's OL checks in 16th amongst the 130 OLs across the nation, per PFF's reckoning:

16. MICHIGAN WOLVERINES

Highest-graded player: OG Michael Onwenu – 76.5 (18th)

The interior of the Michigan offensive line dominated the action this season as their collective play from their guards was the highest-graded unit in football. Onwenu and Ben Bredeson allowed just 18 total pressures in the passing game on a whopping 991 pass-blocking snaps.

Should be noted here that I don't believe PFF does any opponent adjustments—I don't even know how you'd do that in play by play grading—so some group of 5 teams may be overrated because they didn't go up against, you know, Chase Young. Michigan's placement feels about right since they had excellent pass protection but never really developed into the road graders you were probably hoping for midseason.

Onwenu had a bit of a fall by PFF's reckoning—mine too—from a midseason AA to a very good but not elite performer.

Meanwhile, MSU was slightly outside the top 20:

114. MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS

Highest-graded player: OG Luke Campbell – 60.9 (202nd)

When you see that Michigan State's highest-graded offensive lineman is in the 200s in terms of rankings, you can understand just how bad it was for the team. As a unit, the Spartans didn't crack the top 100 in run-blocking, pass-blocking or overall grades this season, and their highest-graded unit overall came by way of their center play — checking in at 83rd overall.

That OL plus a new QB and zero staff changes == more of the same.

In other PFF items, Brad Hawkins graded out as their #4 Big Ten safety. That's something that has to be taken into context since Hawkins was the guy who got to come up and thump a lot of crossing routes. I still think Metellus was the better of the pair by a significant margin.

Ye gods. Eamonn Brennan's first bubble watch of the season is out on the Athletic. It includes nine of ten Big East teams and 12 of 14 Big Ten teams. I mean:

Should be in: Michigan State, Ohio State, Maryland, Penn State, Michigan, Iowa
Work to do: Wisconsin, Rutgers, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana, Purdue

Have you girded thyself? I suggest girding immediately. Gird.

Also points to Brennan for reminding us of Indiana's incredibly bizarre 2018-19:

Indiana (11-3, 1-2; NET: 46, SOS: 45): Ah, Indiana. We meet again. The 2018-19 Hoosiers were perhaps the most frustrating, baffling, bizarre bubble team we can remember, one that started 12-2 with quality nonconference wins, then losses in 12 of its next 13 games — with the lone win in that stretch coming at Michigan State, because reasons — followed by four wins to end the regular season (including a sweep of Michigan State, because LOL), followed by a first-round loss in the Big Ten tournament. All in all, the Hoosiers entered Selection Sunday 17-15.

Michigan's bit of this was the game at Assembly Hall where they jumped out to a 17-2 lead amongst the angriest arena I've ever seen.

Matching this now more feasible. John Beilein recruited one five star in his tenure and Michigan ended up with as many NBA players as anyone except the two premiere one and done factories:

When John Beilein started at Michigan, it had four NBA players:

Webber and Howard, who matriculated 16 years prior;

Jamal Crawford, who played in 17 games for Michigan; and

Maceo Baston, who was getting seven MPG for the Raptors. https://t.co/gHTnIc21CV

— Michael (@BravesAndBirds) January 7, 2020

Nobody's going to match that so Michigan's gotta get some dudes in. So far so good.

Related fun exercise: which teams on this list got the least out of all this talent? Texas hasn't been past the second round since 2008. UCLA did have three Sweet 16s under Steve Alford and even had a couple of protected seeds, a 4 and a 3. Indiana also had three Sweet 16s under Tom Crean plus two Big Ten titles.

Your winner: Washington. Lorenzo Romar's magnificent tenure saw him fail to make the tourney six straight times to finish out his tenure. Mike Hopkins has had three years since in which he got a nine-seed once. And even during the relatively good years of Romar's tenure he managed to turn a one seed into getting bounced from the tourney in the Sweet 16. Romar managed to turn a team with Markelle Fultz and Matisse Thybulle into a 9-22 record!

RIP GLI? There is just one more year on the GLI contract and then it sounds like the thing may go the way of the dodo:

Looking at other venues (Van Andel) or returning to campus and everyone has 2 extra games.

— Dekers Club (@DekersClub) January 4, 2020

I would like to pitch my quasi-state championship idea again:

• Take the 7 in-state teams and add a guest either annually or on a permanent basis.
• Two groups of four with MSU and M in opposite groups, each team plays 6 games. If conference-mates are in the same group move up a conference series.
• Top half of groups compete for state title, bottom half go to consolation bracket.

This is tougher now that the Big Ten has 24 league games since this would occupy 8 of the remaining 10 slots. But I like playing for more stuff and that would be more meaningful than the GLI.

I don't think moving the GLI to Grand Rapids is going to do anything for it except confirm that it's no longer what it was.

Etc.: Rumors that Chuck Filiaga will transfer are debunked. Drew Henson is plugging Cato June for the open coaching spot.