Michigan's New Blood

With national signing day fast approaching, it’s time to take a look at the 2009 Michigan Wolverines recruiting class. Given how last season turned out Michigan fans will be expecting to see some progress from their football team.

Fortunately, second-year head coach Rich Rodriguez has been very busy this offseason and has recruited one of the best classes of incoming freshman in the country.

Offensively, the need for a quarterback was made painfully obvious very early in the season. It’s a good thing that Scripps Ranch QB Tate Forcier saw this and decided to commit to Michigan at the end of August.

Forcier was even able to graduate from high school in December ’08 and is already enrolled at U of M. He will have the benefit of going through a full offseason of workouts and spring camp which will allow him to be that much further along in the offense when the season starts. Needless to say Forcier will likely be the starter for the 2009 season opener.

Forcier’s commitment has a lot of Michigan fans excited about this coming season but not as much as the commitment of Detroit Cass Tech DT William Campbell, the 26th rated player in the country according to Rivals.

The 6'5", 317lb Campbell has the size and ability to become a dominant interior lineman and is a natural fit in Michigan’s 4-3 defense and will need to be double teamed often. With Big Will eating up blockers Brandon Graham should be able to get around the edge more often than opposing quarterbacks will like.

Speaking of pass rushers coach Rodriguez has recruited two of the top 15 defensive ends in the country in Craig Roh and Anthony LaLota. Not only have these two given their verbal commits to Michigan but it appears that Michigan is still in the running for another top 10 defensive end, Sam Montgomery.

Regardless of Montgomery’s impending decision Michigan should have an extremely aggressive defensive line this fall which should make it very difficult for their opponents to execute their offensive game plans.

Now, what about that secondary? Coach Rod has the answer in Justin Turner, the number one rated player in the state of Ohio. Turner will add more young talent to the secondary that already includes Donovan Warren and Boubacar Cissoko.

Turner also brings versatility to the team and can play both safety and cornerback; he can also contribute on offense.

I don’t want to make comparisons to Charles Woodson but Justin Turner could pose the same kind of threat on both sides of the ball. Along with Turner, Lauderhill Plantation safety Vladimir Emilien will be headed to Ann Arbor this fall.

These two young defensive backs when added to the existing secondary will improve Michigan’s defensive unit a great deal.

While the season is still months away you cannot help but be excited about Michigan’s chances with players of this caliber being there. Only time will tell if these players can live up to the hype they have received throughout their high school careers.

With proper coaching I believe they, along with Rich Rodriguez, can and will bring another National Championship to Ann Arbor. Go Blue!