http://www.wikio.com/search=Lloyd Carr Wikio - Lloyd Carr http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=69438360 There has been talk about the Tigers cutting back on player payroll after this season’s bitter disappointment, but I would be surprised if it turns out that way. It is not owner Mike Ilitch’s nature to throw in the towel, say it didn’t work, tear down and start rebuilding. He has done that in the past, but it was out of financial necessity. It was when the Tigers’ revenue was relatively low Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:41:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=69438360 2008-08-29T16:41:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=69350097 SALT LAKE CITY — Utah made an exception for a chance to play at Michigan. Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:27:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=69350097 2008-08-28T23:27:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=69339695 SALT LAKE CITY — Utah made an exception for a chance to play at Michigan. Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:46:47 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=69339695 2008-08-28T22:46:47Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=69235535 Last year, Michigan was overrated in the preseason for a simple reason: People looked too much at the offensive skill positions and not enough at the rest of the team. Thu, 28 Aug 2008 07:04:10 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=69235535 2008-08-28T07:04:10Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=69309976 It is a stunning but accurate declaration: Michigan State is a more stable football program at the moment than Michigan. Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:28:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=69309976 2008-08-27T16:28:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=69153416 HEAD COACHES expect to be second-guessed. A lot. It more or less goes with the territory. But for Rich Rodriguez, the number of those second-guessers - and the intensity of their objections to his career and personnel decisions - rose dramatically when he shifted his territory from West Virginia to a better-paying, more-prestigious gig at Mich Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:03:49 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=69153416 2008-08-27T14:03:49Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=69108645 Does new Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez need to win his first game with the Wolverines, who were upset by Appalachian State in last year's opener? Is there any extra pressure for him to get off to a successful start and prevail in Saturday's debut against the Utes? Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:25:04 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=69108645 2008-08-27T07:25:04Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=69102670 EAST LANSING -- It is a stunning but accurate declaration: Michigan State is a more stable football program at the moment than Michigan. Enjoy it while it lasts, worshippers of green and white. Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:02:10 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=69102670 2008-08-27T07:02:10Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=69115305 Here's a look at Michigan to get a better idea of what Utah is dealing with. 2007 Review: Michigan's 2007 season is most known for two things, their opening season loss to Appalachian State and the retirement of 13 year head coach Lloyd Carr. But lost in most of this is the fact Michigan took a disastrous start and turned things around, winning eight games in a row at one point and ending Carr's career with a pretty emotional 41-35 victory over Florida in the Capital One Bowl. But the season always goes back to that first loss to Appalachian State and as much as the Wolverines have tried to shake it, that moment will hang over the program for a while. At least until Rich Rodriguez can get things turned around to the point where they're not only defeating Ohio State, but knocking on the door to the national championship. And that has been something Michigan really hasn't done since winning their first championship in nearly 50 years back in 1997, a big reason why Carr was consistently being slowly edged out in Ann Arbor. Returning Starters: Offense Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Year/Elig. Carson Butler TE 6-5 250 Sr./Jr. Mark Moundros FB 6-1 232 Jr./So. Stephen Schilling OL 6-5 295 Jr./So. As you can see, Michigan doesn't return many starters on offense. So they'll have to rely on inexperience at key positions, especially at quarterback, where as of today, it's still an undecided position. Top Returning Statistical Leaders: Offense Rushing: Junior Brandon Minor had 90 carries in 2007 for 385 yards, which was a 4.3 average. He finished the season with one touchdown and is expected to be the key offensive player for the Wolverines, who are looking to replace the successful Mike Hart. Expect him to be the bedrock of this offense against Utah, since they still haven't settled on a quarterback and that could prove to be a weak position, at least early in the year. Passing: David Cone is the lone returner who saw action last season, where he completed one pass for 21-yards. That's it. Even though he's the only quarterback on the roster with actual D-1 game experience, Cone probably won't be the starter as it appears that battle is between Steven Threet and Nick Sheridan. Neither choice has experience, so Utah will be their first true test, but we've also got to remember that these are big-time recruits, as well. There is a reason for this and they should be ready. Sheridan & Threet via blog.mlive.com Receiving: Greg Matthews is the leading receiver from a year ago, catching 39 passes for 366 yards and 3 touchdowns. This experience will be important for either Sheridan or Threet, as like with the other offensive positions, there isn't any starting experience here. Returning Starters: Defense Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Year/Elig. Obi Ezeh LB 6-2 247 Jr./So. Brandon Graham DE 6-2 270 Jr. Tim Jamison DE 6-3 263 5th Sr. Will Johnson DT 6-5 285 5th Sr. Terrance Taylor DT 6-0 319 Sr. Morgan Trent CB 6-1 188 5th Sr. Donovan Warren CB 6-0 180 So. On defense, there is a bit more experience and this should help Michigan greatly, especially as the offense takes its time adjusting to Rodriguez's style of play. Top Returning Statistical Leaders: Defense Tackles: Obi Ezeh in 2007 had 68 tackles, 33 of which were solo, 35 assisted. However, if you look at career, that goes to Morgan Trent, who has 108 total tackles in his career with the Wolverines. Ezeh, a linebacker, looks to be the best of the linebackers core, which this season appears to be rather inexperienced. Sacks: Brandon Graham had 8.5 sacks in 2007 for 54 yards, which led the team and he should be a force on the Wolverine defensive line again this year. In fact, that line will be strong, especially with Tim Jamison, who was a solid pass rusher last year. The line could be Michigan's biggest asset all around, especially if Terrance Taylor lives up to expectations. However, if it struggles stopping the run like last year, Utah could find an opening on the ground. Interceptions: Corner Morgran Trent had two interceptions last year and returns as the leader in this category. Michigan defended the deep ball well in 2007 and with Trent and Donovan Warren at the corners, they should be able to keep the big-time passing plays to a minimum. For the Wolverines' defense to succeed, though, they will need to do it up front. Far too many times last season they were burned on the ground and even though they have a solid secondary, if they're not doing their job on the line, they will be in trouble. Because of this, look for the Utes to test their run defense and if Utah can find a ground game, it could be a difficult day for Michigan. If they defend the run well, the Utes could be forced into a throwing game and that may play right into Michigan's strengths in the secondary -- especially if Johnson looks deep. Review: If Michigan is going to win this game, it'll probably have to do it on the backs of the defense. Their offense is too inexperienced to really dominate, so this very well could come down to whether or not their defense can stop Utah's potentially explosive and experienced offense. If they do, it'll be a battle and they might just have enough juice in the tank to win a game in similar fashion to what we saw in 2002. However, if they give up the run, Utah will be in good position to steal a victory. As I said in my preview yesterday , I predict Michigan to win. That does not mean, though, I'm purely confident in that pick. It was made by default only because I have yet to see this team really perform well against a solid BCS program on the road under Whittingham (and Louisville doesn't count). I definitely see the possibility for a win and the needed mix of talent and experience is there, but we'll just have to wait and see. Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:59:34 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=69115305 2008-08-27T06:59:34Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=69051314 Quarterback Rating: 1. QB Yr. Nick Sheridan So.* Steven Threet Fr.* Justin Feagin Fr. The last time Michigan's quarterback situation appeared so dire it was 1995, Lloyd Carr's first year, and the quarterbacks were true freshman Scott Dreisbach and walk-on Brian Griese. Michigan was playing in the "Kickoff Classic" that year against Virginia. Michigan Stadium baked, Dreisbach started, and the team sucked. Down 17-0 at the half, Michigan looked lifeless. One of the weirdly vivid memories of my life is listening to an affable Virginia fan tell us Michigan was not going to win the game if they kept letting that freshman throw the ball. We nodded in rueful agreement. He would turn out to be wrong by one Mercury Hayes toe. Dreisbach finished with 374 yards on 52 attempts,* Michigan won, and all that quarterback stuff was quickly forgotten until the next week and the week after and especially when Dreisbach got injured and Brian Griese was called forth from obscurity and inserted into the starting lineup. This was good in the long term. In the short term, it was brutal: Name Att Comp Int Comp % Yds YPC YPA TD Brian Griese 238 127 10 53.4 1577 12.4 6.6 13 S Dreisbach 106 56 3 52.8 850 15.2 8.0 3 Michigan quarterbacks combined for 16 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, completed about 53% of their passes, and struggled to crack seven yards per attempt with an All-Star cast of future NFL receivers: Amani Toomer, Jay Reimersma, Mercury Hayes. So none of that was particularly good but the team didn’t exactly implode. Tim Biakabutuka ran and ran and ran and then ran some more in a 31-23 win over Ohio State and Michigan went 9-4. Not a nuclear waste site by any stretch of the imagination. So… there’s a chance. This year, your nominal starter is the walk-on and the freshmen appear set to wait in line. Nick Sheridan (left) is the walk-on. He’s the son of Bill Sheridan, currently the linebackers coach for the Giants and for three years a defensive position coach under Lloyd Carr. He was honorable mention all conference in high school. He’s about six foot, maybe six one, supposedly more mobile than the competition but more limited in terms of arm strength. And that’s all anyone knows about him. What limited intelligence we have from practice reports indicates Sheridan is a typical Northwestern quarterback, noodle-armed but bright and mobile-ish. He’s been more consistent than the competition, throws well on the run, and contrary to rumor can heave the ball farther than five yards, as this video of the “Beanie Bowl” indicates. He could be a non-liability who successfully keeps the heat off the other skill position players, and how’s that for Backhanded Compliment Of The Year? Sheridan’s main competitor is redshirt freshman Steven Threet (right), who enrolled early at Georgia Tech only to bolt for Michigan when Jason Forcier saw the writing on the wall and transferred. In January the writing reformed itself to read “please come back Jason,” but what can you do? Hypothetical newspaper-bearing time travel guy should stop screwing with Michigan fans and tell Forcier to stick it out. Threet is a classic dropback artillery piece in the Navarre/Mallett/Grbac mold, 6’5” and ponderous. He was a well-respected recruit, getting four stars from the gurus and landing in the top ten pro-style quarterbacks, but reports from practice have him tentative, erratic, and slow both mentally and physically. In the winter he was lauded as an emerging leader who the team actually liked, unlike that Mallett guy; this has not translated to the field. Sheridan’s likely to struggle at some point and Rodriguez keeps saying he wants “two guys he can win with,” so Threet will see the field at some point. He’s reputed to have a bigger arm and more big-play potential… for both teams. Freshman Justin Feagin talks a great game. He’s got the meaningless puff quote down cold. See this on Pryor : "What if he does go to Michigan? Shame on me if I sit back and think he's better than me. If he wants to play quarterback, we'll have to fight each other for the job. If I win the job, then I'll know I beat out the No. 1 quarterback in the nation." He’s also a heck of an athlete, the small-school player of the year in Florida last year and third in their Mr. Football voting. LSU and Miami offered him as a WR/DB. Unfortunately, he does not appear to be much of a quarterback at this point. Rodriguez claimed Feagin would “have to make an impression in the first two weeks” if he was going to be a serious candidate for playing time; a recent curtailment of his snaps indicates this impression has not been made. A week or so ago, Rodriguez made it clear he was not an option early: “He's not close to being ready.” I do have some inside baseball indicating that the coaching staff expects to work him in at some point during the season just to see what he can do; the most likely outcome is a few drives here and there that end poorly and a position swap once Beaver and Newsome hit campus in January. If David Cone sees the field something has gone very wrong. Running Back & Fullback Rating: 4. RB Yr. FB Yr. Brandon Minor Jr. Mark Moundros Jr.* Carlos Brown Jr. Vince Helmuth So. Sam McGuffie Fr. Kevin Grady Jr.* Mike Shaw Fr. -------- ---- Like quarterback, Michigan loses a four-year starter and program icon here. Unlike quarterback, there are six options of at least moderate viability and chances are some player or combination of players emerges into a strong Big Ten starter. Four players were listed as co-starters on the first depth chart; they’re discussed here. Brandon Minor 2006 Vandy 25-yarder State's too easy 2007 Zone during The Horror ND’s too easy Sweet spin Truckin’ Stiff-armin’ Plowin’ MN is too easy Brandon Minor is your nominal starter. After a few exciting glimpses his freshman year, Minor proved to be just okay in the more extended audition granted by Hart's ankle problems. Minor was healthy during the spring while Brown was not and is reputed by all to be a demonic worker, so he is the first back in practice. For whatever reason, though, I remain skeptical of his ability. I went back and scoured the UFRs, finding these comments: Oregon Minor is an obvious step down [from Mike Hart]. Notre Dame Brandon Minor missed an obvious read on one of the carries I charted above; I think the running back job is going to be wide open next year. Minor runs really upright and seems perpetually on the verge of getting his clock cleaned; he also clearly lacks Hart's ability to pick through traffic. The spin move on Zbikowski was sweet, though. Illinois Both Brown and Minor showed some indication they will be decent to good Big Ten runners next year. Minnesota Minor, I thought, was the better of the backs, consistently running with power and picking up YAC. That's not entirely helpful when I'm trying to make the case for someone else to start. Numbers might be: he averaged 4.3 yards a carry, eight tenths of a yard off both Hart and Carlos Brown's 5.1. Even if you hack Brown's 85 yard touchdown against Minnesota down to Minor's long of 46 yards (also picked up against Minnesota), Brown holds a significant edge in YPC. Minor runs too upright and stiff for my tastes. He's clearly slower than Brown and the fleet freshmen, has little wiggle, and tends to plow over and through defenders instead of trying to avoid them. Sometimes this ends with Minor spectacularly trucking someone; sometimes it ends with Minor taking a wicked shot from a headhunting linebacker or safety. In the best case, Barwis gives Minor the half-step he needs to get the corner and he’s a poor man’s version of Darren McFadden. In the worst case he’s David Underwood. He must be physically dominant to be effective because he's not going to make people miss much and he doesn't have Hart's remarkable balance. IMO, he gets his fair share of carries throughout the year but is clearly less effective than at least one other tailback and possibly two. Carlos Brown 2007 Loping vs Purdue Behind Jake Tripping over Leman Nice first down 85-yarder Carlos Brown has a knack for picking up annoying hand injuries. Last year Brown busted his hand in fall practice and missed the early portion of the season; in spring he cut or broke his finger or something in a “freak weightlifting accident.” I suspect Barwis bit it off and spent the summer growing a replacement in a jar. He was also the more impressive non-Hart tailback in 2007, deploying his speed to good effect and, as noted, coming out of last season with a Hart-matching 5.1 YPC thanks to the exceptional generosity of Minnesota’s defense. After his first extended action I summarized him like so: He seems like the exact opposite of Hart: a guy with questionable vision and little in the way of moves who has the speed to jet into the endzone if you give him a crease (and he sees it). The questionable vision could be due to inexperience -- he spent the spring at defensive back, then broke his hand -- and might develop in the future; Hart-like moves are not likely to. His two slashing touchdown runs were encouraging and he seems much less likely to get decapitated by a charging safety than Minor; he'll have a shot at the job next year. We're likely to see a four- or even five-headed rotation early. Brown's been moonlighting at quarterback in what must feel like a reprise of his high school career, when he was a quarterback in name only tasked with using his extraordinary athleticism to take Incredibly Surprising Quarterback Draws further than they had any right to go. If Brown does take live snaps at QB, it will be part of a Wildcat (or wild mustelidae) package; he's little threat to throw the ball except as a diversion. Brown was a big recruit and has the sort of outside speed that Steve Slaton did; I think he’ll end up with the slight edge. Sam McGuffie needs no introduction. Mixtape ho: ";" alt="" /> He flips over people for fun. People leap over him for fun. When he leaps over people for fun and there is no fun because people tackle him they post it on Youtube like it’s a big deal. He is an internet phenomenon. If you try to bring any of these things up to him he will scowl at you. His teammates call him “Vanilla Ice,” which no doubt also draws scowls. I’m on record expecting McGuffie to kick ass: I'm not one of those who scoffs at recruiting rankings, but their [Rivals’] continued skepticism about McGuffie is puzzling. He has the offers (Michigan, Florida, USC amongst a host of others), the stats at perhaps the highest level of competition available in high school football, and reel after reel of jaw-dropping highlights. He has the fourth-highest SPARQ rating in the history of whatever the hell a SPARQ rating is because he showed up at a combine before his junior year of high school and ripped off a 4.32 40, a 3.83 shuttle -- I'm not exactly sure if my calculations are correct, but I believe this means he finished the shuttle before he started it -- and a 41' vertical leap. He's a little small, and his his disappointing senior season was injury-wracked to the point where his nationally televised showcase game saw him spinning 180 degrees before contacting tacklers and driving meekly at the feet of oncoming blitzers, but even the skeptical Rivals named him last year's best running back in space and publicly wondered why he was heading for Michigan instead of a school that would spread him all over the field like Wes Welker—white guy, natch—and take advantage of his crazy speed and cutting ability. Uh, check. He’s nominally first on the depth chart already, and will see time all over the field. It begins. A second freshman, Ohioan Michael Shaw ( video ), was listed as a wide receiver on the fall roster but features as a tailback on the depth chart. He was a running back in high school; he figures to spend quite a bit of time motioning to and from the slot. The hype is building on Shaw because he chose the right time to juke a couple defenders and plow slot-sized freshman cornerback Boubacar Cissoko. The media was there doling out oohs and aahs as appropriate and a practice legend is born. There’s more to Shaw than proficiency in the “Michigan drill,” though. He hovered just outside the recruiting sites’ top 100 lists and spent the spring tearing up the track until he was banned for transfer-related shenanigans. He is fast . And he is fast. And he is fast. At the Penn Relays, Shaw won the 200 meters and anchored his team’s winning 4x100 and 4x200 relays, causing his coach to break down in tears: “I’ve been coaching since the ‘60’s,” Coach Waggoner said of his 46.4 anchor, Mike Shaw , “and I’ve coached a lot of guys, but he’s one of the best.” He is fast. He is also other things. McGuffie's not the only guy drawing superlative praise from Fred Jackson. Jackson on the nagging injuries picked up by the starters: "Those two guys right there, I PROMISE you that you stay nicked up too long, it's going to hurt you tremendously,'' Jackson said. Because Shaw and McGuffie can play right now, he said. Shaw and McGuffie are two of the most exciting freshmen he has ever coached at Michigan, he continued. They're Justin Fargas fast, but can cut better. Fargas-who-can-cut is this program’s Loch Ness monster. Avery Horn is fast as hell but redshirted last year because he wasn't ready to play in college. He ripped off a couple impressive runs in what passed for the spring game but has received little mention in the fall and seems far down the depth chart. Michigan picked freshman Mike Cox over top-100 instate back Jonas Gray when both attended the Michigan camp; he was a middling recruit with offers from Maryland and BC and will probably redshirt. Fullback Both players who saw time return, but the position has changed significantly. Under Lloyd Carr the fullback was a thick-necked ogre tasked with smashing his face into linebackers. He was the target of maybe three or four passes a year and never, ever got to take a handoff (no, BJ Askew doesn’t count). At West Virginia, Rodriguez deployed a thick-necked ogre who ripped off a 50-some yard touchdown against Oklahoma. Owen Schmitt was the hammer on option dives and an important outlet in the passing game; he touched the ball 59 times last year. Michigan fullbacks, as a unit, had three catches for eleven yards, all of them no doubt on third and long. This is why Rodriguez doesn’t actually have a “fullback.” Rather, he’s got an “MX” back, and he’s got to block and catch and run. This is a projection based on some practice reports and common sense, but once Kevin Grady manages to process the copious amounts of alcohol no doubt still flowing through his veins, he might be the guy here. Grady doesn’t really fit in with the new offense except as a downhill runner and blocker and now that the "fullback" is a guy who is actually an important cog in the offense he might be amenable to a move, especially if/when it becomes clear that players quicker than he have a death grip on all the tailback carries. Mark Moundros 2007 Debord Ugh Crushing Gophers Mark Moundros and Vince Helmuth are the more traditional options. You can find reasons either has an advantage over the other: Moundros is older and was the starter last year; Helmuth was more highly rated, should improve more quickly, and operated as a battering ram tailback at Saline High. I lean towards Helmuth. Wide Receivers & Tight Ends Rating: 3. Depth Chart WR Yr. WR Yr. Slot Yr. TE Yr. Greg Mathews Jr. Toney Clemons So. Martavious Odoms Fr. Carson Butler Jr.* Junior Hemingway So. Darryl Stonum Fr. Terrence Robinson Fr. Mike Massey Sr.* James Rogers So. LaTerryal Savoy Jr.* Mike Shaw Fr. Kevin Koger Fr. Despite the early departures of Mario Manningham and Adrian Arrington to the NFL, Michigan has stockpiled a considerable amount of talent at wide receiver and tight end and the dropoff shouldn’t be severe. There will be a dropoff, though, as no one on the roster save maybe Darryl Stonum can hope to replicate Manningham’s explosive deep routes, and Stonum is just a freshman. Greg Mathews Iowa scoop NW waggle NW post 2007 Easy ND score PSU Cross PSU Something NW YAC Pride comes before the fall Junior Greg Mathews is the most experienced returning player. As a sophomore he was Michigan’s third receiver, catching 39 passes for 366 yards. A YPC under 10 always signals possession receiver and that’s Mathews’ rep going into his first year as Michigan’s primary target. The upside here is Jason Avant, a reliable guy on a variety of short routes with outstanding hands and the strength to get off a jam. (We haven't actually seen the outstanding hands, yet, as Mathews has been reliable but unspectacular in the catching-stuff category, but Avant's reliability was only a theory before Braylon left.) Mathews is unlikely to be much of a vertical threat, however, and a credible deep threat will be important when it comes to keeping safeties from breathing down Sheridan's neck. Past Mathews things are uncertain. Four or five players vie for one and a half spots. Sophomore Toney Clemons spent the spring working out of the slot because the only other alternative was walk-on Jim Potempa, a player so obscure that the Michigan Stadium public address announcer messed up his name more than once during his half-dozen garbage time carries last year. With the arrival of the impressive, tiny duo of Martavious Odoms and Terrence Robinson, Clemons is likely to move back to the outside where he belongs... eventually. Robinson's "tweaked" knee, about which more later, leaves Michigan with one credible slot option and that's a true freshman. Expect Clemons to move inside and out regularly; his long term home should be on the outside. Junior Hemingway 2007 First catch Junior Hemingway suffered a severe ankle sprain in the fall and remained limited by it throughout fall camp. Though recruiting guru opinions on him varied wildly, Hemingway had a ton of early offers from national powers and turned in a productive senior year. He seemed ahead of Clemons when the two were freshmen, but the new coaching staff hasn't seen him healthy. He may not make a contribution until midseason. The impression I got from the limited time he saw last year and all the recruiting info I gathered is that Hemingway was a version of Marquise Walker, a spectacular leaper and potential jump-ball threat that lacked something in top-end speed. One player not lacking in top end speed, Darryl Stonum, was Michigan’s highest-rated recruit in the 2008 class. An NFL prototype wide receiver out of Houston, Stonum picked Michigan over USC, Florida, and everyone else. He’s a candidate for immediate playing time after enrolling early and participating in spring practices, and has a top-end ceiling on par with any of Michigan’s terror wide receivers from years past. Normally the most optimistic projection for Stonum’s freshman year would be something similar to that turned in by Mario Manningham—27 catches, 433 yards, 6 touchdowns—but the early enrollment should help him see the field earlier and more frequently. Forty or even fifty catches is not out of the question. Stonum’s listed as a co-starter at one outside receiver position with surprise LaTerryal Savoy , who’s seen almost no time in his three years in the program to date. Savoy was a sleeper out of Louisiana with no other major offers and seemed destined for a career of total obscurity until the moment the depth chart came out with his name atop the list. It’s doubtful Savoy’s suddenly become a much better receiver, so the bet here is that once Hemingway’s injury and Stonum’s inexperience subside so will Savoy’s prominence on the depth chart. He could be a Tyrece Butler sort who hauls in 10-12 catches. Those five will be your main targets on the outside. If there is a severe need Michigan could strip the redshirt off freshman Roy Roundtree , the kid who decommitted from Purdue and set off the whole snake oil brouhaha. He’s gotten a few approving mentions from Rodriguez during his hourly press conferences, but Roundtree is about 6’3” and weighs as much as slot ninjas a half-foot shorter than him. A redshirt seems advisable. Zion Babb and James Rogers are in hot competition for the title of most egregiously wasted redshirt of 2007; both bounced to and from the secondary, seeing meaningless snaps that did little to prepare them for roles they’re not going to have this year anyway. Neither was big recruit. Rogers was a high school running back plucked from obscurity at Michigan’s camp; Babb was a middling recruit out of California. Rodriguez hasn’t mentioned either of them this fall and playing time is likely to be sparing. Rogers is reputed to be ahead of Babb. Slot Receiver The arrival of Rich Rodriguez brings with it a smurfy new position: slot receiver. In the spread ‘n shred these guys are the targets of all manner of different things that aim to get a little electron-sized bastard in open space against a linebacker or safety: option pitches, bubble screens, reverses, etc. This is all terribly exciting, as Michigan now threatens to have four or five Steve Breastons on the roster at all times. This should be a great boon in the return game; in the context of the offense it provides a ton of YAC opportunities that reduce the burden placed on the quarterbacks. Michigan had none of these guys on the roster, or even in the recruiting class, until Rodriguez came aboard, but in the brief time allotted him he filled the position with authority. Martavious Odoms is from small-school Florida powerhouse Pahokee. His recruitment was extremely strange. He picked up an early offer from Notre Dame, and some months later he had a truly impressive collection for a 5’8” guy: Iowa, Rutgers, South Carolina, LSU, Oregon, Alabama, Tennessee, Auburn, and Rodriguez’s then-home of West Virginia. Odoms’ reaction to all this was to sit around doing nothing in particular as most of those schools filled up their classes. There was a cursory visit to Auburn, some discussion of USF and a grayshirt offer from Miami—by then so jammed with players they were trying to get Odoms to campus as a track athlete—and then signing day came and Odoms... did nothing. He ended up signing a few days later, and Michigan fans scrambled to find out just who the heck this kid was. He's small to the point where he only exists on alternate Tuesdays but he's been playing on Pahokee's varsity since he was 14 (he was an eighth grader at the time) and was smoking guys in the state championship game by the time he was a sophomore. Unlike many guys Odoms' size, he's always been a receiver, and few players can claim to have the extensive in-game experience he has. Practice reports have been universally positive, praising his hands, toughness, silky-smooth moves and ability to make the first tackler miss. I go back to what a Floridian high school football veteran and Friend of Blog told me unprompted when Odoms committed: He's a tough SOB. Small cat, really tough, will remind you of Steve Smith. Very, very fast. I'm a huge Martavious Odoms fan, you'll love him. Watch out for him; this is one of those guys you see named “Moss” playing for Miami and think to yourself "goddamn why can't we ever have kids like that?" Practice reports are very encouraging; he sounds like a Steve Breaston if Breaston had been a natural-born receiver. He’s listed as the starter in the slot for Utah. You will see plenty of him. Meanwhile, Terrence Robinson’s recruitment got off to a slow start because a junior-year transfer forced him to sit out 2006; when he saw the field for Klein Oak in 2007 he outrushed, outplayed, and outshone top-100 Texas commit DeShaun Hales. He also did this: ";" alt="" /> Sweet. Odoms spent five years at Pahokee smoking opponents and winning state championships while Robinson sat out with a transfer and played quarterback and running back and such; even if Robinson hadn’t “tweaked” his knee Odoms would be the odds on favorite to start in the slot. Robinson will be out for a few weeks and then work his way into the lineup. Tight End Carson Butler CMU waggle Iowa cross Iowa tiptoe Iowa cross #2 2007 Good block (!) PSU waggle NW TD Purdue waggle Very bad block Crossin’ Rich Rodriguez is going to have to use his tight ends a lot more than he did at West Virginia, because he’s got six of them and one has the potential to be ridiculously good as long as he’s not asked to block anyone ever. That fellow is Carson Butler , who came back from Lloyd Carr purgatory to claim the starting tight end spot after Mike Massey’s season-ending knee injury against Northwestern. Butler is the combination of freakish athletic gifts and frustrating mental errors that always gets dubbed “enigmatic” and this preview will be no exception: Carson Butler is one enigmatic mofo. His promise is obvious. In the Citrus Bowl, he took a tight end screen and loped 65 yards downfield (skip to 2:00) with the bulk of the Florida secondary in pursuit; no one on the Florida team could make up ground and it took a safety with an angle to force him out inside the ten. That is a very fast man in an improperly large body. Properly deployed, he could be an All-American. Butler’s drawbacks were equally severe, though. He false-starts with frustrating regularity. Asking him to block a pass rusher is asking for a helmet in your quarterback’s ribs. This outing against Michigan State was a typical performance: Ugly, ugly, ugly, especially on the part of Butler, not only complete fail in pass protection but also the culprit on several run plays that went nowhere and the recipient of two critical penalties, one a stupid personal foul and the other a comically inept holding call on Michigan's final drive. Is it much of a mismatch when your super-athletic tight end blocks like a 180 pound wide receiver? Not really. Evidently Rodriguez agrees since Butler is listed as an OR with not only Mike Massey but freshman Kevin Koger. I have no idea what to expect out of Butler this year. He could be an All-American caliber performer (he’s unlikely to get enough catches to be an actual All-American) in a contract year for him. He could lose his job in week two. Mike Massey , meanwhile, returns from that knee injury. In three years of sporadic onfield action, Massey hasn’t done much except almost make a couple of spectacular catches. He was the tentative starter last year until the injury in the Northwestern game. He seems totally average, a guy who will catch the balls he should and make most of the blocks he should but excel in no way whatsoever. Freshman Kevin Koger picked Michigan over Ohio State and has been mentioned as someone who could see playing time this fall; he is the third co-starter on the depth chart. The most likely outcome is a smattering of snaps in preparation for a starting job next year. Martell Webb 2007 Nice block Martell Webb was Butler’s backup once Massey went down and sometimes the temporary starter when Butler had seriously pissed off the coaching staff; he made no catches and drew no notice in UFRs. He did have an excellent block against Minnesota , for whatever that’s worth. Webb was a nobody recruit when he committed to Michigan , but ended up a four-star to both Scout and Rivals; he’s also that 6’5” basketball player that’s all the rage at TE. He could be pretty good if given the opportunity. Given the surfeit of tight ends on the roster and some reported issues with drops in practice he probably won’t get that opportunity until 2009. Steve Watson redshirted last year and seems to be way down the depth chart. Sparing playing time at best for him; watch for a potential move to the OL. Brandon Moore has an imposing frame at 6’6” and had been offered by a who’s who of college football programs by the time he committed to Michigan, but has gone totally unremarked upon this fall and seems a likely redshirt. If he fills out like whoah a move to tackle might be a possibility, but in high school he was regarded as a no-block TE with excellent hands. Offensive Line Rating: 1. Depth Chart LT Yr. LG Yr. C Yr. RG Yr. RT Yr. Mark Ortmann Jr.* Tim McAvoy Jr.* David Molk Fr.* David Moosman So.* Steve Schilling So.* Perry Dorrestein So.* Ricky Barnum Fr.* Rocko Khoury Fr. John Ferrara So.* Dann O'Neill Fr. Perhaps the saddest indicator of the potential looming tragedy that is the Michigan offensive line is this: last year this depth chart went three deep. There’s no one but freshmen unlisted this year and, uh… four freshmen in the actual two-deep as hypothesized above. The line took a hit it could not afford to sustain when certain starter and once upon a time touted recruit Cory Zirbel went down with a knee injury, forcing either David Molk or hastily converted defensive lineman John Ferrara into the starting lineup. Michigan is now one injury away from serious issues indeed. Tackle Hold me . Steve Schilling 2007 Clocking Illini Steve Schilling is the only returning starter on the line. Unfortunately for Michigan, last year he was frankly bad. There are a ton of mitigating factors—a freshman-year bout with mononucleosis was followed by a shoulder injury that spring, so he was basically being thrown on the field as a true freshman—but bad is bad. Vernon Gholston shattered him into little bits in the OSU game, which saw Shilling rack up a record –12 in pass protection . After the Illinois game he came in for a bit of criticism : The problems in pass protection have been matched with frequent issues in the run game. One sack and a dangerously batted pass were on him as he failed to contain Illinois DE Doug Pilcher. At the moment, the great hope of the 2007 offensive line, that Schilling and Boren would turn out to be better than the departed Bihl/Riley combo, has not come to fruition. It looks highly unlikely to get there any time this year. There is the potential for massive improvement here. Practice observers have indicated that Schilling now looks like a bonafide collegiate lineman after being far too small last year. As a freshman starter and former five-star recruit the expectation is he takes a major leap forward. He’d better. Mark Ortmann draws the unenviable task of attempting to replace the #1 pick in the NFL draft. This is his fourth year in the program and practice reports had him on the verge of starting for the last two seasons, but there was presumably a reason he was stuck behind the uninspiring Schilling last year. This year he’s Michigan’s starting left tackle virtually by default, as there is one other non-freshman tackle on the roster. He could be okay. He could be really bad. We have no indicators either way. Interior Line David Moosman slides into Zirbel’s spot at right guard. He’s not from Wisconsin despite this blog’s repeated insistence that he is. He’s from Illinois, and I have inside info that he’s very nice to his GSIs. Moosman was a four-star recruit who picked Michigan over Wisconsin and is entering his third year in a college program, so he could be good. Dave Molk is a feisty, undersized center from Illinois who was one of only two offensive line recruits in Lloyd Carr’s final Michigan class. He fits much better in this system than Carr’s, as it emphasizes his mobility and places a much smaller premium on size, but Rodriguez made it clear he was battling John Ferrara for a starting job. Two weeks ago Ferrara was a defensive lineman. Crap. Tim McAvoy saw sporadic time last year at both guard spots due to injury and general lethargy on the part of others. Like Ortmann, he nas stuck behind an extremely uninspiring starter (Alex Mitchell) and doesn’t have much in the way of recruiting hype to fall back on. He’s been a defacto starter since the departure of Mr. Plow; lord knows if he’s going to be any good. Backups There are virtually no backups as long as Cory Zirbel's knee injury persists, and the word from Rodriguez is that could be the entire season. Mark Huyge exists, I guess, but he’s a redshirt freshman Michigan snatched away from the MAC. He’s unlikely to be ready. He’s also got a high ankle sprain and will miss a chunk of the season. As mentioned, John Ferrara was whiling his time away at defensive tackle until the Zirbel injury forced a position switch. Ferrara’s never blocked in his life. He may start. At tackle, Perry Dorrestein is most famous for having his one-point-something GPA outed by the Ann Arbor News; insider buzz has been totally silent on him. He was a decent recruit. It’s down to true freshmen, then. Rodriguez has specifically said these guys are not ready to play but the situation might demand it of them. Guard Ricky Barnum is the least unprepared. He was a highly-rated Florida commit until Rodriguez wandered by with his snake oil cart and has gotten some public praise; he’s probably the second guy off the bench in the event of issues with the interior line. Rocko Khoury has been garnering praise as a center and will start the season in the two deep. God willing, four other freshmen will redshirt. Tackle Dann O’Neill was a top-100 recruit and has great upside but is not prepared to play this year. Kurt Wermers and Patrick Omameh would never, ever see the field in a normal year but this is not a normal year and they could wander onto the field if things get dire. Elliot Mealer is out with a shoulder injury suffered in the tragic Christmas Eve crash that killed his father and girlfriend. Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:38:59 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=69051314 2008-08-26T16:38:59Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=68964676 With just days remaining to Michigan's first game with Rich Rodriguez as coach, plenty of questions about the season remain. ... Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:45:21 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=68964676 2008-08-26T03:45:21Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=68969735 With just days remaining to Michigan's first game with Rich Rodriguez as coach, plenty of questions about the season remain. Among them is: 'So who's going to play quarterback, anyway?' Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:00:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=68969735 2008-08-26T03:00:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=68959485 Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez's move from West Virginia was anything but smooth, with lawsuits and player unrest following. Rich Rodriguez, who led West Virginia to national prominence, arrives at Michigan with plenty of fanfare and unexpected controversy. Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:53:34 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=68959485 2008-08-26T02:53:34Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=68960312 With just days remaining to Michigan's first game with Rich Rodriguez as coach, plenty of questions about the season remain. Among them is: "So who's going to play quarterback, anyway?" Seven positions on the offensive depth chart did not have starters listed Monday, including quarterback and running back - the highest-profile positions in the new coach's spread option system. Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:35:37 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=68960312 2008-08-26T02:35:37Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=68935788 Read full story for latest details. Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:05:18 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=68935788 2008-08-25T19:05:18Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=68918750 Read full story for latest details. Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:25:54 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=68918750 2008-08-25T18:25:54Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=68881520 To get you started on the week, check this stuff out: It’s the Monday before the season starts, and Auburn still hasn’t named a starting quarterback. But Tony Franklin (you’ve heard he’s a genius, right') isn’t worried. Meanwhile in Tuscaloosa, Nick Saban plans on as many as ten of his true freshmen - that’s about ten percent [...] Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:41:26 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=68881520 2008-08-25T10:41:26Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=68848263 Cass Tech's Thor has been a big deal for quite awhile now. Former University of Michigan coach Lloyd Carr offered William Campbell a scholarship on the spot at a camp two summers ago after seeing him dominate drills. Then he went on to have a stellar junior season. Mon, 25 Aug 2008 07:15:04 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=68848263 2008-08-25T07:15:04Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=68971483 These might not be the biggest games of the 2008 season, but they offer some of the most intriguing story lines, writes Mark Schlabach. Mon, 25 Aug 2008 07:00:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=68971483 2008-08-25T07:00:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=68767764 Here is a look at the BCS conferences, with predicted orders of finish and analysis from N&O staff writer J.P. Giglio, a voter in The Associated Press weekly poll. Sun, 24 Aug 2008 05:30:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Lloyd+Carr?rinfoid=68767764 2008-08-24T05:30:00Z