I for one am certainly stoked about the wealth of talent in Rich Rod's first (real) class. Needs at quarterback, receiver, and running back were all met. That is the certainty of the deal. What makes me nervous is how will these guys perform.

Coach Rod's spread offense worked at West Virginia basically because he had the speed and the talent against mostly inferior opponents. And I will argue all day that Rutgers, Pitt, Cincy, South Florida, and UConn are not even close to elite teams. Also, top to bottom, none of these teams played with the hitters that are in the Big Ten.

I look at the first real athlete of the Rodriguez era, Sam McGuffie. He took shots all season long and by the end of the season was a shell of himself. He took off and headed south to most likely Rice. Think he'll take the same hits in Conference USA?

The other question is how will the offensive line be? Last year they were just offensive (pun intended). Certainly, they will not be that bad again. Plus, with Minor, Grady, and Brown, there will be some bruising running at some point.

Now, as I read this article it seems like a real downer. That is not what it is intended to be. Eventually with the speed that has been recruited in, instead of the two and three-yard runs, they become seven and eight-yard runs with the potential to always break a big one.

I am excited about the future. That is all Michigan fans have felt since the season ended. It will be fun to watch our guys run by the competition. So I say this Michigan fans: Get your hopes up. Help is on the way. But don't set the ceiling too high just yet.