2009 TSUN News (football only discussion)

[BuckTwenty]

So OSU was "dropped" by Gardner, a player to whom we never gave a scholarship offer? Gotta love how "UM recruiting gurus" are spinning things any way they can in an attempt to convince themselves that UM got the upper hand on OSU on a particular recruit.

Eh. Whatever makes them sleep better at night.

 

[Redhawk]

Good luck with that true freshman quarterback, Michigan.

Most of the time, when a team winds up starting a true freshman quarterback, the process is just that: Winding, either through injuries or some other minor disaster. Even in the case of an obviously special athlete like Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State didn't want to throw him into the fire -- it was just obvious with Todd Boeckman's collapse at Southern Cal that the Buckeyes had no choice. Ditto pending No. 1 draft choice Matt Stafford, who only ascended to the top of Georgia's depth chart midway through the 2006 season by virtue of senior Joe Tereshinski's all-too-obvious limitations.

Michigan's situation is unique, then, in that the Wolverines are the rare outfit that is virtually certain to start a newbie, and has all offseason to brace for the impact: With four-star recruit Tate Forcier already on campus and only beleaguered walk-on Nick Sheridan on the returning depth chart, Steven Threet's decision to transfer all but guarantees Forcier -- or classmate Denard Robinson, a wannabe Pat White who show up in the summer -- will be the top signal-caller from the first whistle in August.

Usually, this means disaster. Rivals looked at the top freshman quarterbacks of the last five years earlier this week, and even if you disagree with their list (uh, Bo Levi Mitchell over role player Tim Tebow, huh?), it's hard to argue with this much: The pickings are slim. Only two true freshman quarterbacks on that list -- three at most, if you count Erik Ainge -- were unquestioned successes out of the gate, and Chad Henne and Robert Griffin are certainly the exceptions:

It's a mixed bag, except for this: All of the quarterbacks with good records -- say, at least eight wins, even in cases (like Leak and Stafford) when that was considered a disappointment -- were role players with a lot of talent around them, and even quality efforts by surprises like Griffin and Tuitama didn't do much to lift their teams out of mediocrity. The question, then, is whether Michigan is still stocked enough to surround Forcier with the kind of supporting cast that benefitted Ainge, Leak, Henne, Mustain and Stafford (Pryor is not exactly a realistic comparison). If you think so, based on available evidence at the Wolverines' skill positions, who, exactly, might you be referring to? Maybe Brandon Minor in the running game, but that's assuming a vastly improved offensive line.

Of course, success is all relative. In the wake of last year's Chernobyl-like meltdown, .500 and a middling bowl game with a true freshman starter who eventually solidifies himself as a long-term answer might suit Michigan just fine. If you compare the Wolverines to the handiest available precedent, Notre Dame's rebound campaign last year, that's as far as the Irish bounced off their 3-9 disaster, and that was with a sophomore with a full season under his belt and the world at his feet as a recruit. Forcier is very, very reminiscent of a less-hyped, more athletic Jimmy Clausen, another relatively polished California kid preceded by in the big-time college ranks by his older brother. Unlike Charlie Weis, though, who was coming off a pair of BCS bowl bids in his first two seasons in South Bend, Rich Rodriguez can't really afford another mulligan.

 

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

The biggest insult in that article is referring to Michigan as an "outfit"

Tressel runs an organization...... RR has an outfit.

I love it.

 

[Steve19]

We had a TSUN alumnae over for dinner tonight. He is a very good man doing wonderful work in medicine here. It was really fun to hear his comments about football and basketball, which don't appear to really be that interesting to TSUN fans anymore.

 

[Jaxbuck]

We had a TSUN alumnae over for dinner tonight. He is a very good man doing wonderful work in medicine here. It was really fun to hear his comments about football and basketball, which don't appear to really be that interesting to TSUN fans anymore.

You are trying to tell me you didn't know they have always been a hockey and womens indoor tidiliwinks school? C'mon.

 

[MaxBuck]

We had a TSUN alumnae over for dinner tonight. He is a very good man doing wonderful work in medicine here.

Heartwarming vignette about someone overcoming his rough background.

 

[Wingate1217]

We had a TSUN alumnae over for dinner tonight. He is a very good man doing wonderful work in medicine here. It was really fun to hear his comments about football and basketball, which don't appear to really be that interesting to TSUN fans anymore.

I was on a flight from Houston to home (Charlotte) and I struck a conversation with one of the guys in my row. Turns out he lived in Michigan and was a graduate of Scum. Over finding out that I was an OSU alum the conversation went something like this:

Scum alum: Whoa, I shouldn't even be talking to you....

Me: Ok, but how 'bout we talk but considering your year how about we don't talk football....

Scum alum: That's ok we will better next year...

Me: You do know that your starting QB for most of the season just announced he is tranferring...

Scum alum: Yes, but that's ok since he didn't fit into our system and we have this Forcier kid and a QB out of Florida coming in.....

Me: You are going to have some growing pains next year and will probably end up 5-7 maybe 6-6 or close to that....

Scum alum: Heck I can guarentee that we will be in a bowl game this year, a New Year's Bowl...

Scum alum: That guy playing QB for you is in the wrong position. (At this point I am think WTF????) He is terrible at passing the ball...

Me: You do know that Pryor did led the Big Ten is passing effieciency last year.....

Scum: Well, it is only the Big Ten

Me: Didn't Michigan want him real bad? to play QB? (no response from Scum alum) Tell me would you want him right now leading your offense? (still no response) Well, I guess we have him at the right position, then....

The Scum alum quickly changed the subject to the flight we were on....:scum4:

 

[buckiprof]

I was on a flight from Houston to home (Charlotte) and I struck a conversation with one of the guys in my row. Turns out he lived in Michigan and was a graduate of Scum. Over finding out that I was an OSU alum the conversation went something like this:

Scum alum: Whoa, I shouldn't even be talking to you....

Me: Ok, but how 'bout we talk but considering your year how about we don't talk football....

Scum alum: That's ok we will better next year...

Me: You do know that your starting QB for most of the season just announced he is tranferring...

Scum alum: Yes, but that's ok since he didn't fit into our system and we have this Forcier kid and a QB out of Florida coming in.....

Me: You are going to have some growing pains next year and will probably end up 5-7 maybe 6-6 or close to that....

Scum alum: Heck I can guarentee that we will be in a bowl game this year, a New Year's Bowl...

Scum alum: That guy playing QB for you is in the wrong position. (At this point I am think WTF????) He is terrible at passing the ball...

Me: You do know that Pryor did led the Big Ten is passing effieciency last year.....

Scum: Well, it is only the Big Ten

Me: Didn't Michigan want him real bad? to play QB? (no response from Scum alum) Tell me would you want him right now leading your offense? (still no response) Well, I guess we have him at the right position, then....

The Scum alum quickly changed the subject to the flight we were on....:scum4:

Too bad he decided to talk football instead of adhering to the tried and true motto all skunkbear fans should follow: 'Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Article

Bold below is mine but it makes you wonder how this guy managed to get through the Bariws experience and still lack explosiveness, lateral mobility or have his effort questioned.

Just something to keep in mind the next time a player leaves or doesn't commit to scUM because he doesn't want to work hard.

Terrance Taylor, DT, Michigan (6-1, 314)
Taylor, who was considered the top-rated interior defensive lineman by National scouting agency at the start of the year, saw his stock plummet dramatically last season. Maybe it was the constant changing of defensive schemes at Michigan, or maybe it was the team?s overall struggles. Either way, the effort Taylor gave on a play-to-play basis was inconsistent and uninspiring. He does possess impressive first-step quickness for his size and does a nice job holding the point of attack inside vs. the run. However, he struggles moving laterally and doesn?t make many plays away from his frame. He lacks length and was exposed at the East West Shrine Game for his inability to shed blocks and be sudden on contact. There are always teams in need of a powerful, low-built lineman like Taylor who can clog up run lanes and eat up blockers. But he isn?t anything more than a two-down defender and doesn?t warrant much more than a mid- to late-round grade.

 

[HINYG8]

RR has an outfit.

And it is FAAAAABULOUS!!!!

 

[mooktarr]

We had a TSUN alumnae over for dinner tonight. He is a very good man doing wonderful work in medicine here. It was really fun to hear his comments about football and basketball, which don't appear to really be that interesting to TSUN fans anymore.

Whoa , I didn't know that Mickie d's hires doctors now.

 

[jwinslow]

U-M's Taylor: Poor season hurt draft stock | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Saturday, February 21, 2009
NFL Scouting Combine
U-M's Taylor: Poor season hurt draft stock
John Niyo / The Detroit News
INDIANAPOLIS -- Former Michigan defensive tackle Terrance Taylor is among the more than 300 prospects working out this weekend at the NFL Scouting Combine. And he admitted Saturday he can't help but wonder how much Michigan's miserable 3-9 finish last season hurt his draft stock.
"No doubt. They see a team losing and, I don't know -- if you watch film and know the player, it shouldn't matter," said Taylor, a 6-foot, 306-pounder projected to be a mid- to late-round pick, if he's even drafted. "But it probably does (matter), what the team does. (Especially) at Michigan, if the team doesn't go to a bowl game.

"Because, I mean, I didn't go to the Senior Bowl. I was supposed to, but I didn't. Somehow, I didn't get invited. ... At the beginning of the season, I was the No. 2 tackle and at the end I was No. 10. So it is what it is, and I'm fortunate enough to be here to prove myself, and I'm grateful for that."

"Being your last year, it was pretty tough," Taylor said. "But you had to buy in, because if we didn't buy in, underclassmen wouldn't. So we bought in to everything he said and things we wanted to do. It just didn't turn out like everybody envisioned. What people don't know is, we put in a lot of hard work. A lot of people sacrificed a lot, because we knew how the season could turn out. And even though it did turn out the worst way, I'm still proud of everybody I played with and I'm gonna miss 'em."

"Not when you go to Ohio State," said Taylor, who was seated at a table with fellow U-M draft prospect Tim Jamison. "It was easy if [Boren] wanted to go to Ohio State. He ain't my brother if he wants to transfer to Ohio State. I'm a Michigan man. He made his choice. I mean, he's a good player and he's my friend, but brother? No, Tim Jamison's my brother. Guys that stayed, you know, 'Those who stay will be champions.' He didn't stay. A Michigan man? He's a Buckeye."

 

[TheIronColonel]

Terrance Taylor sounds confused about the definition of champion.

 

[BuckeyeNation27]

Terrance Taylor sounds confused about the definition of champion.

look where he went to "school".

 

[ochre]

"Being your last year, it was pretty tough," Taylor said. "But you had to buy in, because if we didn't buy in, underclassmen wouldn't. So we bought in to everything he said and things we wanted to do. It just didn't turn out like everybody envisioned. What people don't know is, we put in a lot of hard work. A lot of people sacrificed a lot, because we knew how the season could turn out. And even though it did turn out the worst way, I'm still proud of everybody I played with and I'm gonna miss 'em."

umm. Yeah. We worked our asses off because we knew this season could have been a disaster.

<insert failship picture>

It's a good thing the underclassmen bought in though.