Well, what an off season the Michigan football program has had. Rich Rod's first few months on the job have been nothing but full of drama and intrigue.
He has had a nasty dispute with his "beloved" alma mater, started recruiting a gigantic haul for the '09 season, and has chased away numerous players carried over from the Lloyd Carr era, even pushing one to (gasp) Ohio State, and this all before he has stepped on the field.
You cannot say you've had a pretty summer as a Michigan fan so far. The new regime is the talk of the Big Ten town, and most of the time, not in a good way. That being said, there is some light at the end of the tunnel, and quite a bit if I might add.
First, let's start with the negatives heading into the season. The team is decimated, I mean DECIMATED.
They have lost their starting QB, RB, both starting WR's, and at least two starting O-lineman, one being the number one pick in the NFL draft and the other transferring to Ohio State after he believed the famous Michigan family values had eroded overnight when Rodriguez came on board, and that's only on offense.
O, happy day. The defense also lost two starting LB's and both starting safeties. A new system is being implemented, and it's not even close to what the returning players have seen. Rodriguez's spread option is oil to the traditonal Michigan power running game's water.
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Ok, now that I've gotten over that last paragraph and stopped crying, what are the positives? Well, more than you think.
First off, recruiting wise, Michigan never has trouble with talent and bringing in new blood, especially on defense this year. The spots that have been vacated will be filled by more-than-able bodies, guys who probably could've started last year for any other team in the nation.
There is also great talent returning to the offense, and other than at quarterback, guys who can fill in spots that the spread option demands, including a deep receiving unit that can fill the slot positions vital to the spread-option like Junior Hemingway and Toney Clemons and fast running backs like Carlos Brown and Brandon Minor.
There is still hope at quarterback, as Rich Rod has adapted his offense to more pass-oriented quarterbacks like Shaun King, who only set the passing efficiency record in 1998 at a 183.3 clip in a pass heavy offense. Recruits Justin Feagin and Sam McGuffie, at QB and RB, respectively, have the potential to fit into Rodriguez's scheme he used with guys like Pat White and Steve Slaton at West Virginia.
Rodriguez has had time to analyze what he has at Michigan, and what he has is talent way above what he had at West Virginia, Tulane, Glenville State, and anywhere else he has coached. All he has done at those places is accumulate a record of 104-62-2, and and a make little known prospect named Pat White into a Heisman contender this year.
Imagine what we can do when he inevitably corrals a blue-chip dual threat QB recruit. He might have already done it for next year with Kevin Newsome and Shavodrick Beaver, both four-star recruits and Top 100 prospects.
While this season might be a little bumpy, there is hope on the horizon. Look at what Illinois did to the Big Ten last year using a spread offense with substandard talent compared to traditional Big Ten powers.
The possibilities for Rodriguez's recruiting potential plus the problems Big Ten defenses have with fast players in the spread could equal huge results in the near future, and could rescue the team this year while they are in a period of transition. If it all works out, Rodriguez might just re-shape how the Big Ten works.
It's going to be a fun season, that's for sure.
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about 1 month ago
"...what he has is talent way above what he had at West Virginia, Tulane, Glenville State, and anywhere else he has coached..."
You're off your rocker. Better talent than the WVU teams that have gone 33-5 and won major bowls the last 3 years? I'll tell you what, not only is Michigan not going to go to a January bowl game this year, they'll be lucky to even make a bowl game period. If they win more than 7 games, I'll eat my hat.
"...the problems Big Ten defenses have with fast players in the spread..."
Where do people keep coming up with this misconception? THE SPREAD IS NOT NEW TO THE BIG TEN. There have been several Big Ten teams using the spread for one to several years now, among them Northwestern, Illinois, and Minnesota. Not exactly a murderer's row of winners, is it? Plus, Rodriguez does not have the horses right now to run the spread successfully. If he's smart, he'll run a more 1998 Tulane-style offense until he gets his guys in.
Don't get me wrong, I do believe Rodriguez will be a huge success in the B10 eventually. You'd best believe there will be some serious growing pains until then.
from about 1 month ago
i totally agree with you on the last two paragraphs, there will be some huge up and downs this year. he will have to adapt his offense in his old tulane mold, not in his wvu mold, but will get it eventually to how he had it at wvu. But I really think your kidding yourself if you think that Michigan doesn't get elite talent in, better that what wvu does. Michigan is more prestigious. In rivals rankings for 2008, michigan was 10th, wvu wasnt ranked in the top 25. For the '09 class, RichRod is looking like he might corral a top 5 class. He never did that at WVU.
about 1 month ago
Corey - You are right in that Michigan has always, and probably always will get better prospects than WVU. But I do think that it is important to remember that rankings in recruiting are simply educated guess. Whether a guy is a 2, 3, 4, or 5 start recruit is based upon the opinion of a scout or evaluator and just because a guy comes in as a "top" recruit doesn't guarantee that he will be successful. When you simply compare the talent on the field the last few years and not on paper, it is easy to then say that WVU has equaled Michigan in some ways. But overall Michigan's renewable resources are much more plentiful.
One more note however: It isn't just you, but a lot of people have said that Rodriguez made Pat White into what he is, or into a Heisman candidate. Rodriguez only brought Pat in off of the bench because his starter (a less then impressive choice) Adam Bednarik was injured. Pat White was not his first choice and was as you say "a little known recruit". I think the reality is that Pat White made himself into a Heisman candidate by going out there and playing hard. I think in doing so White made Rodriguez look better than he is as well. I am not saying that Rodriguez isn't a good coach though. Michigan will do well with him once they plug in his kind of guys. Michigan is still Michigan. Winning is their way.
from about 1 month ago
Your right, theres no doubt that recruiting can be a crapshoot. I think West Virginia just got more out of their talent, and their coach was Rodriguez, who maximized his players potential. Now he has moved to a program that traditionally has better overall talent, so if he can maximize his new players potential, I think he will achieve big things. Thanks for reading.
about 1 month ago
I don't think there's any doubt he will be a major recruiting success at Michigan. That's not what you said, though. You said "what he has." "Has" meaning currently, in the present. He doesn't "have" the talent right now he had at WVU - not even close, in fact. If what you meant to say is "will have," then yes, I'll agree with you.
If you think I'm nitpicking, I'm not. Accuracy is at the heart of getting your point across. Say what you mean, and mean what you say.
from about 1 month ago
The overall talent of the Michigan program is better than West Virginias. I truly believe that and I think you'll be hard pressed to find a majority of people of think West Virginia has better overall talent that Michigan. But that doesn't necessarily translate to victories, which has been proven by Michigan's underachievement the last few years.
about 1 month ago
Corey - You sure got it right when you said that talent doesn't necessarily translate to victories. It takes a good system, a good coach, and players that work as a cohesive unit. If talent always translated into victories then PITT would have won a National Title under Wanstead.
about 1 month ago
What I mean to say is that PITT is an example of a team that has been underachieving with the talent they have been able to recruit.
about 1 month ago
Corey, what are you basing this on? WVU was one bad loss away from going to the national championship game last year. You're absolutely in denial if you say that, right now, Michigan has a more talented team than WVU. In fact, if they played this year, I would venture that WVU would win by at least 3 TDs. You're purposely trying to make things more vague by framing it in terms of talent, rather than who has the better team. Will you agree WVU has the better team? Anybody who sees the huge disparity in the quality of the teams, and says "well, Michigan still has more talent" is only deluding themselves. In fact, let's start a poll - each respondent state which team you think has better talent.
And while we're talking about this, you yourself didn't even compare this year's Michigan to this year's WVU. You compared this year's Michigan to previous years' WVU teams. That makes the argument even more lopsided.
Will you just admit that you're wrong on this?
from about 1 month ago
Daniel, thanks for reading. I think that Michigan is the more prestigious program and brings in a higher level of player than a program like West Virginia, but West Virginia has been far more successful the last few years. I As you hopefully have see from my conversation with Shawn, talent doesn't necessarily translate into victories. That's all I'm saying. We are probably just going to have to agree to disagree. Let's not make this into a big thing.
about 1 month ago
Yes, no doubt Michigan is the more prestigious program. That is obvious to anyone. But that's not what we're discussing. Why do you refuse to address my question?
I agree that talent doesn't necessarily translate into victories. But WVU has so much more talent than Michigan, right now, that it's laughable.
about 1 month ago
Daniel - its up to you of course, but it seems it may be time to move on.
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