Michigan Football: News and Rumors
The opening kickoff is less than 10 weeks away. There hasn't been this much anticipation since Rich, well, never mind.
Wolverine fans are hopeful Brady Hoke and his staff can reverse the fortunes of the last three seasons. And believe it or not, we've actually had help from the school down south.
Michigan will get an early test against Notre Dame before a prime-time national television audience. Both teams will be outfitted in retro-looking, but hopefully not retro-fitting uniforms. Michigan's will be unveiled today (June 10) at a Big House photo-op.
There are other items of interest as we close in on the regular season.
A glance at the following few slides might make your game experience more enjoyable. There is one thing we know for sure. The mood in Columbus will get worse before it gets better.
Recruiting Wars
1 of 10There's no doubt Brady Hoke and the Wolverines are making recruiting noise in the State of Ohio.
Michigan has already received verbals from six Ohioans, including Kaleb Ringer and Joe Bolden, a pair of 4-star linebackers.
The goal is to steal some of the better prospects from the Buckeyes, something the Wolverines have had no luck in recent years.
Ohio State supporters still scoff at the Wolverine inroads, claiming none of the Michigan commits have been offered by the Buckeyes.
Considering OSU's current dilemma with the NCAA, several Ohio prospects are now reconsidering.
Signing a few of these not only would be a coup for Hoke, it might even quiet some of the Buckeye pundits.
Here's a short list of 4 and 5-star recruits on both schools' radar:
DE, Adolphus Washington, Cincinnati, 5-stars
OLB, Ifeadi Odenigbo, Centerville, 4-stars
DE, Se'Von Pittman, Canton, 4-stars
WR, Dwayne Stanford, Cincinnati, 4-stars
DE, Greg McMullen, Akron, 4-stars
DE, Chris Wormley, Toledo, 4-stars
DE, Tom Strobel, Mentor, 4-stars
Big 10 Football Championships
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Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, which will host the inaugural Big 10 championship football game in December, has recently been awarded the contest from 2012 through 2015. The decision was made by the Big 10's Council of Presidents/Chancellors.
The addition of Nebraska gave the conference its 12th member, allowing the Big 10 to hold the lucrative championship game.
It sounds a bit peculiar that the Big 10 couldn't rotate the game among other sites.
Ford Field in Detroit has been a big player in events of this magnitude. In the past few years the Super Bowl, Final Four and Frozen Four have all taken place in downtown Detroit.
The Minnesota Vikings are closing in a deal to build a new retractable-roof stadium in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Chicago's Soldier Field has been more than eager to host the game.
Sure, the weather may be an issue, but the Big 10 has considered playing night games outdoors in November.
It probably won't be long before television revenues dictate the Michigan-Ohio State being played on a cold November evening.
Just wondering why it was necessary to award the game so far out.
Chicago fans are are wondering too.
Your Son Could Be a Big House Star
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Most of these readers live and die Michigan. There might be a diploma or two in the family, or you just happen to be near a Wal-mart.
Anyway, your son is turning 11 and he can already toss a football 50 yards and can run a 4.7-40 yard dash..
So before a hot-shot recruiter from East Lansing shows up, enroll him into one of the Michigan football camps. Here's all the info you need to know:
Michigan Football Technique Schools
Dates: High School Camp -- June 19-23; Youth Camp -- June 24-26
Cost: High School Camp -- Residential $415, Commuter $190; Youth Camp -- Residential $315, Commuter $150
Eligibility: High School Camp -- Boys entering grades 9-12; Youth Camp -- Boys entering grades 6-8
Camp Contact: Phil Bromley
Phone: (734) 647-1232
Email:pbromley@umich.edu
Michigan Football Kicking, Punting and Long Snapping Camp
Dates: June 11-12
Cost: Residential $435, Commuter $385
Eligibility: High school/junior high
Directors: Brandon Kornblue, Phil Bromley
Camp Contact: Brandon Kornblue
Phone: (561) 702-0203
Email: coach@kornbluekicking.com
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Throwbacks
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Drum roll please. At any moment, Michigan will unveil its "retro" uniforms to be worn during the upcoming prime-time matchup with Notre Dame
This will actually be the second jersey marched out for the game. It was earlier determined that the first one, sans stripes, was not a throwback at all.
Being the traditionalists they are, Michigan has done its best to keep its uniforms the same for many years. (see 1980 photo).
After all, along with the winged helmet, Michigan's home uniform is one of the most recognized in all of sports. In fact, the iconic helmet was recently named the nation's best by LostLettermen.com.
So why the throwback uniforms? It just so happens that adidas and Michigan share a valuable merchandise contract.
No Cheering in the Press Box
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As an aspiring young journalist, I can hardly forget the scene in the Michigan press box when the Wolverines upset Ohio State in back 1969.
It the back of my mind, there was an unwritten rule telling us there's no cheering the press box. No there wasn't excessive of cheering, but there sure was excessive dancing.
Today, Michigan fans and reporters alike are disappointed with the recent results of the Michigan-Ohio State series.
This morning I checked out the Columbus Dispatch to see if anything exciting may have happened overnight.
What I did find was a contradiction. There was an article written by Dispatch editor Benjamin J. Marrison giving kudos to the newspaper for its fair coverage on the Tressel/Pryor/Buckeye controversy.
For that I'd have to agree. The Dispatch was behaving like the newspaper it's supposed to be.
Then I clicked over to the Buckeyes.com page and it hit me square in the face:
Right up there to the left of the masthead. It read: " 2757 days since Michigan's last victory over Ohio State in football."
I began to dial the complaint number, but I finally calmed down, and realized we just have score more points.
Leave the Driving...
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Tailgating at a Michigan football game makes for a great football Saturday. But some of us stay at motels or run tighter schedules.
The AATA shuttle offers a convenient alternative to fighting traffic or paying for parking.
For just $3 round trip, you can board the bus at several motels or park-and-rides around town. We've been doing it for years.
Call 734-996-0400 for information on possible route changes as we get closer to the season.
Terrelle Pryor Snubs CFL Offer
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Terrelle Pryor could be be playing in the Canadian Football League very soon.
With the uncertainty of the NFL's labor situation and Pryor's question marks at the quarterback position, the move would make perfectly good sense.
Pryor could take advantage of the larger field and the wide-open CFL offenses. He'd give NFL scouts a chance to critique him at a higher level, and he'll get a season of running an offense.
Not so fast. Apparently the offer made by the Saskatchewan Roughriders couldn't lure him across the border.
He's intent on joining the NFL via the supplemental draft, so we'll just wait and see.
And the Winner Is...
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Timeless, a video telling the story of renovated Michigan Stadium, won a pair of local Emmy awards, while a live telecast of the Big Chill at the Big House won a third.
The hardware was awarded last month by the Michigan Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Writer/producer Michael O'Leary and animator Heather Baldwin were the "Timeless" honorees.
Fox Sports Detroit won a live broadcast award for the hockey game between Michigan and Michigan State, played before a world-record crowd of 104,173 at the Big House.
A Recruiting Pipeline
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For many years Cass Tech was best known for its academic reputation as Detroit's finest high school.
Football was not a huge priority. In fact, it only took 100 years for the downtown school to build its own full-size field.
But as years passed, the magnet school began attracting good athletes, too.
Arnie Simkus, Tom Seabron, Harlan Huckleby, Curtis Greer and Clarence Williams all went on to play at Michigan and then in the National Football League.
Former Wolverine halfback and track all-American Thomas Wilcher took over the Technicians' head football job in 1997, and the Michigan pipeline continued.
Current Wolverines Thomas Gordon, William Campbell and Teric Jones all played for Wilcher.
Delonte Hollowell will be on Michigan's roster this fall, while Terry Richardson and Royce Jenkins-Stone are 2012 verbal commits.
Ticket Availability
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The Michigan ticket office normally has a limited number of single-game tickets available during the summer.
I'd keep a close eye on the website or call the ticket office for availability. Of course, finding a seat for Notre Dame or Ohio State through the university is normally impossible.
Third-party brokers such as stubhub.com have a wide variety of tickets to every game. Prices, however, are higher.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
