5 Reasons Not To Worry

So im in the middle of a Family reunion (all die hard Michigan fans), and on my way up to Clare, I notice something. I have seen just as many OSU reps, as I have Michigan. This usually doesnt bother me until I realize...IM IN MICHIGAN. I know were falling on downtime but come on people. Show your true colors! I will not settle being out repped by OSU in MICHIGAN, I will not!

We may have had some bad past couple seasons but we will very soon return to the old Michigan. Book it. Let every OSU fan hear what I am saying! Michigan will defeat them in the next 2 years. Below is my reasoning.


#1. The Two Headed Beast

We have "QB controversy! OH NOO!"
FAIL. We have two legit QBs that are from what I have seen equally good. Both can run, both can pass, and both can do one while doing the other, and one (Denard) is improving rapidly. Ummmm, why not have a QB controversy? One will just make the other one better. Is that not what we want? Two QBs pushing each other to get better? Constantly? Thats exactly what we want.


#2. Roundtree and Crew

Our WRs, while not yet very experienced, will end up being the most consistent in the country. We have four legit targets, at all times. Some are better than others but none are good enough to shut us down if they get double teamed. If they double team the good ones and every one is covered? Denard runs 46 yards for a TD. No matter what play we run, no matter who is open and who is covered, we always have one good receiver to throw to.


#3 Brick Wall

Our defensive line, even though we lost Graham will be in the top 15 in the nation. We have the most power, agility, and speed in that area out of everyone in the Big12Ten.


#4 Defensive Backs

We suck. There is no way around it. All we can do is improve. If we can win 5 games with virtually no secondary then we can win 10 with a halfway decent one!


#5 Were Freaking Michigan!

Were one of the top football schools in the nation! Always! Even when were doing horrible we get the best recruits! They just keep on coming. With Rich Rods recruiting we will in very few years be a powerhouse again. He is getting us good players. Great players. So stop giving him a hard time. They WILL perform on the field, give him two more years, that will be a full class that is 100% on him. We will be back on top. Just wait.

So for all you Michigan fans freaking out, chill. We will get back on top, everything will be fine, we will soon beat the Buckeyes.

And for the OSU fans I saw in and around Clare, Michigan...
GO BLUE!

-Hunter Stephens

New Recruits: Kevin Sousa

Now I am not a recruit expert, but I will give you everything I know about Kevin Sousa and tell you why this is good for Michigan.

First of all, its good for Michigan because this will give Devin Gardner some extra motivation if he has to battle for the starting position when Tate and Denard leave. Second, this kid has only been playing football two full season! And hes already gaining National attention from colleges with prestige! Ex. Michigan! He had delivery issues and mechanical issues but has been to every combine and camp he get word of and every single time the people running the camps say he is getting better! Why not have this kid on our team?!

6’2”

213 lbs

40: 4.5-4.8

Shuttle: 4.4-4.6

Bench: >300

Squat: 400

Cling and Jerk: 260

Oh and by the way he is on the weightlifting team at his high school.

This kid has the body of a linebacker, but throws like Randy freaking Johnson! At the VERY least he can play any position on the field we ask him to, and with a recent quote from him saying “I will do whatever they tell me to do” when asked about changing positions proves he is Michigan material! A hard working kid, raw with super potential, that will do whatever is told. On top of that, he has a whole year to progress in high school football still.

He will be coming to Michigan when Tate and Denard are Juniors. When they leave he will be a Junior and will likely be battling Devin Gardner for the starting QB spot. He will have two more years left at Michigan to be a starter. If worse comes to worse, he will start his senior year unless he becomes a Cone/Threet/Sheridan like bust. 2 full years in the system, and possibly one more before he becomes full-time starter will give him enough experience to make a difference when it matter in my opinion.

Now I am kind of biased as i have been high on Sousa from the moment i heard about him on MGoBlog. (full of snobby people that think they know everything about Michigan football along with a few people that actually know what they are talking about). I believe he will be an excellent fit for Michigan. Big, strong, hard worker, will do whatever is told, duel threat QB. We need someone like that to take the ropes when the two headed beast (Tate and Denard) leave.

Welcome to Ann Arbor Kevin Sousa

-Hunter Stephens

Which QB Do You Think Should Start?

After watching some videos posted by fellow MGoBlog-er MGoVideo, i am still undecided about who i want to start the season. After watching the videos.

Tate looked indecisive and slow, well for him at least. He made a couple OUTSTANDING throws. But then again, he made some decisions that looked like last years Tate. That leads me to believe he is erratic just as last year. This is NOT what Michigan needs this year. This year (as you read in my previous posy hopefully) is a turn around year for Rich Rodriguez. This is the year for him to prove what has been doing might be working. He does not need an erratic QB.

Denard looked night and day from last year. He almost looked like a pocket passer, until he tucked it and blew by everybody on the field. He made great throws almost the entire game, other than a few throws where he led the receiver too far or threw a little high on the run. I am a little bit worried from his lack of experience though. We all remember last year. Everytime he came in the game we silently crossed our fingers and hoped he would run the ball. Everyone knew what they were doing when they put him in. We the fans knew it, the other defense knew it, heck even my own girlfriend said “oh hes coming in that means they are going to run it right?” when Rodriguez put Denard in. After watching the spring game clips though, he looks like a viable QB who can both pass and run. As you can tell i am very high on Robinson. I would like to see him start a few games. Maybe even start the season. While UConn is not at all an “easy opponent”, they are not as hard as the Big Ten teams he will be facing. I would like to see Denard start the season, against the easier teams so he will get experience before the harder teams come in.

Devin Gardner looked as everyone predicted he would. He has a lot of talent and a lot of potential. He is very raw and young looking though from the video. He had some good passes dont get me wrong but he did look very young and inexperienced, not to mention slow, as opposed to the video clips i saw of him on You Tube.

Any way you look at it we will have little problems at QB this year, Tate and Denard look very good for the Michigan Offense. Watch the videos below and decide for yourself who you think should start.

- Hunter Stephens

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Tt7q9_mcz0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YIYzL3Mi-s&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKMUWE6xSxY&NR=1

Important Year For Rich Rodriguez?

The Beginning of an Era

As many of you know by now this year is supposed to be the turn around year for the Michigan Wolverine football program. Rich Rodriguez has had two years to bring his players into the system and get his offense/defense style into effect. The past two years have been dismal but showed improvement from year one to year two. Quarterback Tate Forcier is erratic but shows signs of greatness. We have a strong D-line and an amazing receiving core. All improvements aside, this is the Hot Seat year for Rich Rodriguez. Most of the players in Ann Arbor are his players so this year we will see how good his system is working.

Recruiting

Last years recruits for Rodriguez had many good players come into the system. Tate Forcier no doubt the most helpful as he showed he can lead this team and with effort, could become the Michigan Savior we all want. Although he was very erratic he threw for over 2,000 yards with 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. With a 58% completion rate, maybe he will be able to get that TD-INT ratio a little bit better.

Denard Robinson was another good recruit Rich brought into the system last year. He was not a very good QB. He had only 2 touchdowns with 4 interceptions but did not get anywhere near the playing time Forcier did. While Robinson may not be much of a starting QB, he definitely poses a threat whenever Michigan decides to run the Wildcat formation (even if it is only a couple plays all year long), Gardner has exceptional speed and is very agile.

Vincent Smith promises to be a good running back. He was second on the team with 5.8 yards per carry behind senior Carlos Brown with 5.9.

This years recruits are not amazing (with the turndown of Demar Dorsey) but some are attracting a lot of hype, such as Devin Gardner. The ESPNU top 150 recruit and Under Armour All American is predicted 3rd string but many think if Tate and Robinson falter, he could be moved up in the depth chart.

Defense?

Rich Rodriguez will need to improve Michigan's defense if he wants to have a better year than last years 5-7 season. Michigan ranked 91st in rushing defense last year, 67th in passing defense, 77th in scoring defense and 82nd overall. This will have to be improved if Rich wants to get to a bowl game this year.

Although we lost Brandon Graham, who had more sacks than the rest of the line last year, this year our D-line is looking to be a strong one (although not as strong as last years) with the rest of the D-line returning.

With Donovan Warren and Boubacar Cissoko gone, J.T. Floyd and Troy Woolfolk will need to step it up this year to make our secondary not as horrendous as last years.

Wins

Rich Rodriguez will need to win at least 7 games this year if not more if he wants to coach the Wolverines much longer. While i doubt Michigan will fire him if he goes 5-7 again it will definitely be discussed at the end of the season if Rodriguez cannot turn things around in Ann Arbor. Michigan has a very easy non-conference schedule with the exception of Notre Dame this year. Starting the season off with Connecticut, Notre Dame, Massachusetts, and Bowling Green respectively. The Maize and Blue faithful will be expecting 3-1 at the VERY, and i stress very, least. After that we begin the always tough conference schedule with Indiana, although not strong they did compete with us last year. Then we have Michigan State at home, Iowa, and Penn State in Happy Valley. We than have easier games, although not definite wins with Illinois and Purdue. We then finish off the season with Wisconsin and a trip to the Horseshoe to battle Ohio State. Rodriguez will need to beat Ohio State if he wants total job security at the end of the year.

This is going to be a crucial year for Rodriguez. He will need to impress the fans more this year than ever. He will have very little excuses this year unless we have injury trouble.

My Prediction

This is looking to be an exciting year for the Wolverines. We have many good prospects coming in to go along with old ones still trying to prove they have what it takes. I personally think the Wolverines will go 8-4 this year, challenging Ohio State to the last minute, earning a bid to the Alamo Bowl or the Champs Sports Bowl and winning it. Anything less and i will be very shocked. I think Tate will develop into a better than average QB this year with very few erratic moments. I also think our secondary along with our D-line will step up to make our defense in the top 50. This will be a very important year for Rich Rodriguez and Michigan Football.

-Hunter Stephens