2007 TSUN News

[NightmaresDad]

For one, I care.

I care because without their excitement about any recruit they get, without their excitement (irrational excitement at that) about the next savior of college football coaching in DickWad, without their excitement in the new S&C coach, without any of it, the inevitable fall (and failures) aren't nearly as delicious.

Would the past year of watching the ineptitude of ND's offense been as enjoyable as it was if it weren't for the NDChiefs of the world pumping Charlie "Michelin Man" Weis up as the offensive genius with a schematic advantage and all his shiny SB rings to wow recruits? Don't get me wrong, watching ND suck ass was a thing of beauty bringing much joy to my life, but the NDChiefs of the world added a little more joy to it.

(Since this has become the "Fonzi" thread)

Exactamundo!!!

 

[BUCKYLE]

You forgot about how you were lapped 3 times in the 40 by John Navarre.

fify

 

[osugrad21]

DFP

Rich Rodriguez changes Michigan captain tradition

FREE PRESS STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES ? May 22, 2008
Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez won't name season-long captains, ending a tradition that has lasted mostly for 100 years at Ann Arbor:


Rodriguez, on the captains: ?I don?t pick permanent captains before the season. It?s just my philosophy. I want to see them lead throughout the year and pick permanent captains at the end. Sometimes you pick a permanent captain and he winds up not being one of you best leaders and you?re stuck with him. So we will have game by game captains, seniors and at the end of the year, the team, the players themselves will pick the permanent captains at the end of the year. We will also have honorary captains that are former Michigan greats. For every game, we?ll have one or two.?


MICHIGAN CAPTAINS SINCE 1879
According to the Michigan Athletic Department

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

DFP

Rich Rodriguez: Wolverines will not celebrate; 'They?re going to hand the ball to the official'

May 22, 2008
As Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez addressed more than an hour and a half of questions on Tuesday, more than a few interesting topics arose ? many which there was not room for in Wednesday?s paper

We?ll spread those out over the coming days and weeks.

On how he balances the drama of West Virginia?s lawsuit against him with his other obligations: ?I?ve compartmentalized everything. I?ve hired lawyers and I have my wife to help deal with that. It?s not been real distracting from my day-to-day activities but, more than anything, it?s not letting me enjoy this opportunity as much as I?d like to. A transition and a move is usually exciting. It is still exciting but when you hear about another story that?s out that?s not true or its? part of a smear campaign, it?s geez, I?ve got to deal with that now. It?s been unfortunate. I thought there would be some reaction, some emotional reaction, but not to this level. I feel for my family but again, I?ve chose to stay focused on the future. I?m at a great place with a great staff.

?For me I?ve just compartmentalized everything and moved forward with Michigan. But there?s been some days and some nights, in particular, where it hasn?t been much fun. A 7 1/2-hour deposition wasn?t fun. But it wasn?t difficult. It?s easy when you tell the truth. If you lie, you?ve got to remember what you lie about. If you tell the truth, all you have to do is sit there and tell the truth. It wasn?t difficult, but it was time-consuming.?
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

DFP

Rich Rodriguez: Talent pool 'OK' but expect many freshmen to play

May 22, 2008
Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez joined the Hugh Show in Grand Rapids this week. A highlight from the conversation


Rich Rod, on the talent pool right now at Michigan

?I think it?s ok, it?s really inexperienced. That's not excuses or nothing like that. I usually just kind of tell it the way it is, generally. We just don't have a lot of experience, especially on offense but we've got some on defense so I think we are going to be more experienced more talented on the defensive side. I think we are going to have some talent on offense.

"We are going to be a little bit faster with when the young guys get in there some of the freshmen but they haven?t played, so I don?t know how they?re going to react. I do really like the class that?s coming in, we?ll probably play more freshmen this year than we have in the past.
Cont...

 

[MONTbigBuck]

A Mich. fan on MGoblog said the recent activity made things look like Mich under RR was fast turning into a juggernaut in college recruiting, and one of the "in" places to be like USC, etc.. My question is when did the state of Michigan make mind-altering drugs legal so that this guys brain could have been so easily fried? Being objective, I can't see how a Mich. fan could feel confident that they will win the recruiting war against OSU, MSU, or any other team that they will go head-to-head over several players with this year. Snake oil schnapps perhaps...



Before someone hammers me for not linking to this wednesday post at Mgoblog, I must admit I don't have the computer knowledge to do it. My apologies to anyone who wants to read it, but that site is linked on the front page of BP.

 

[TheIronColonel]

I've got your back.
mgoblog: Mailbag!

The other side of the coin:

Hello Brian,

I've been noticing Ohio State's recruiting of late. They're starting to look
like a Midwestern USC, as one of my friends pointed out. Could you
please discuss this topic?

-omar​

Maybe a little. Last year they were third in star average, the year before that fifth, and this year they're off to an extremely strong start. If the smug truckers with names like "BucksLOL!!1!" on their message boards are right -- and since internet confidence usually trickles down from insiders on high, they probably are -- they're the favorite to reel in another set of OMG shirtless sorts. This is a slight improvement on their results from earlier in the decade.

But this is nothing particularly new. Ohio State and, except for a period when Willingham was incredibly inept, Notre Dame have always recruited well. The numbers above show that Michigan has, too. It will always come down to coaching. And luck.*

Anyone expecting Ohio State to drop off in the near future is going to be disappointed. Tressel is 55 and at least ten years from falling off into Bowden-Paterno senescence. They're going to be a power. Michigan is hoping for Ten Year War II.

*(consider how differently this Tressel-Carr thing looks if 1) Drew Henson doesn't sign a baseball contract, 2) Braylon Edwards doesn't get a dodgy offensive PI call in the 2002 game, 3) Carr goes for it on third and four in the 2005 game, and 4) Chad Henne's shoulder exists in 2007. You figure #1 is a clear win and Michigan probably takes one of the other three, which would put the Tressel-Carr record at .500. Thin margins, always.)

Seems to be a pretty even handed reply, although I think he's on shaky ground by claiming that a mere handful of plays would have changed the outcome of all of those games. Either way, Brian is still one of the better CFB bloggers out there (far and away better than Spencer Hall, who I think is atrocious and vastly, vastly overrated).

 

[MONTbigBuck]

Thanks for the pick-up IC. I do agree with you that Brian's responses were fairly even handed. A slight over-sell for the MI side, a slight under-sell when looking at the OSU end. Just my opinion. Overall, the post from the fan just struck me as outragous in that picking up a good quarterback and a decent 4-star reciever out of MN over a months time all of the sudden vaults you into USC of the cornbelt status.

 

[HINYG8]

A slight over-sell for the MI side, a slight under-sell when looking at the OSU end. Just my opinion. Overall, the post from the fan just struck me as outragous in that picking up a good quarterback and a decent 4-star reciever out of MN over a months time all of the sudden vaults you into USC of the cornbelt status.

Agree...funny how a 'close political race' plays out to a decent gap in percentage terms...if you pick up a 5 point swing in the vote..that sounds close..but in the big picture that turns a tie into a 55% to 45% victory..which doesn't look all that close on the scoreboard.

Same deal here...the sky is hardly falling at UM, but at the same time OSU seems to be picking up a percentage point here, and another there...and all of a sudden the scoreboard looks a little lopsided even tho neither side is hardly failing.

I'll just say I really like the direction OSU is headed in and at this point in time I have no interest in trading places with UM.

 

[brutus2002]

Look at RR career as a coach. He averages about 8-4/7-5 every year. The only super years he really has had is(2004-2007) when BC,Miami, and VT left the BE. It's not a coincidence at all. He is vastly overated as a coach...he is considerexd a genuis because of a three year stint where the majority of his competition has left his conference.

I think Michigan may end up having 1-2 10 win seasons but thats will not start till 2010. He doesn't have a QB this year and will have a true freshmen in 2009 running the show. He has 1-2 years of serious growing pains before they are even a B10 contender. Thats gives the conference 2 years to adjust.

 

[3074326]

It's tough to say that he'll have the same rate of success (or lack, whatever you want to call it) when the best program he coached was WVU. WVU is definitely on the rise, but that has a lot to do with him. scUM is one of the best programs in the country. He'll be recruiting better talent and he'll have more depth.

I know his history isn't awesome, but I'm going to be surprised if he keeps up with his 8-4 seasons (not counting his first year). scUM is too good of a program to fall into such mediocrity, in my opinion. Maybe if the Big 10 had more perennial powers.. but it's OSU and scUM at the top, with a solid amount of room between the team in third..

Just my opinion of course..

 

[brutus2002]

^Hes not recruiting as well as lloyd Carr and add the fact hes coaching in a big boy conference now. The sledding is gonna get tough. This is his lyptmus test as far as I'm concerned...his record doesn't lie though...he has a 7-5/8-4 coach.

 

[3074326]

If he hadn't have went to scUM, I'd agree with you. I think his recruiting will be fine, and I think the Game will still be the most important game of the season every year.

Only time will tell. :)

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

It's tough to say that he'll have the same rate of success (or lack, whatever you want to call it) when the best program he coached was WVU...

To put what brutus2002 said in a different way:

It's tough to say that he'll have the same rate of success (or lack, whatever you want to call it) when the best conference he coached in was the big east.

 

[NFBuck]

^Hes not recruiting as well as lloyd Carr and add the fact hes coaching in a big boy conference now. The sledding is gonna get tough. This is his lyptmus test as far as I'm concerned...his record doesn't lie though...he has a 7-5/8-4 coach.

Sorry, grammar/spelling nazi on call...litmus test.