Another Michigan Season Prediction

Semi-Early Michigan Season Predictions

 Written By: Jared Bouck (@MichiganBoyAA)  

Can you feel it Michigan football fans? The season is almost here. In a little more then a month, 42 days to be exact, players donning the Maize and Blue, and Blue and Orange will lace up the cleats, put on the fitted helmets and kick-off what should be another great year, starting in Jerry's World. As the great Bob Ufer once said "football is a religion and Saturday is the holy day of obligation". Michigan is poised for a rebuilding year, according to national pundits, but I like the word "reload" much better. This team is going to be faster and stronger then any team we've seen in awhile, BUT, much like with every new team, we will have some growing pains. We're going to go through the schedule one by one and see if we can find them in this edition of early season predictions.

September 2nd, Florida

Here it is folks, game one, and it's not the sisters of the poor. This is our first chance to see all the progress and work these young kids have put on during the summer. Florida, much like us, is a very young team. This game is strength on strength, two powerhouses going at it on national TV. Expect to see a defensive slug fest in the first half, with Florida taking a 17-7 lead at halftime, showing their more experienced offense. Michigan adjust's just enough in the second half and scores 2 TD's in the 3rd, making it 21-17. Florida gets an early TD in the 4th to take the lead once more. But Michigan finds magic late as they score the final TD with 2 minutes left.

W-28-24

September 9th, Cincinnati 

Luke Fickell will lead this team into the Big House, in his first season. Not exactly a good welcoming. I don't expect much from a team that went 4-8 last year, even though they did earn a nice win over Purdue. Expect this game to be over quickly. 

W-45-13

September 16th, Air Force

This is the tricky one, a potential trap game before Big Ten play starts. Air Force runs the triple option, a very tough offense to stop in its own right, even harder when most of the defense is new. Expect some defensive frustration in the first half. I could see Air Force easily scoring 20+ on this Michigan defense. But expect the Michigan offense to make up for it in a big way. 

W-41-27

September 23rd, Purdue

Jeff Brohm, oh boy, what did you get yourself into? I have a tremendous amount of respect for what Brohm was able to do at WKU, that being said, the B1G schedule makers did Purdue absolutely no favors as Brohm's first B1G game is Michigan. Hey at least you get them at home! All in all, it's Purdue. Don't expect much more then a little "first year confidence" and a tad bit more fight then usual. This should be an easy win for Michigan 

W-48-7

October 7th, Michigan State

What an off-season for our rivals to the west, after an absolutely dismal 2016 season in which we saw the Spartans plateau at 3 wins and 9 losses. After allegations against players for issues that I won't get into, it seems that Mark Dantonio will hardly have a team to field this year. That being said, Michigan is the circled game on that green and white calendar in East Lansing. They are going to come at us with everything they have. After a close first half, expect to see Michigan's superior strength, speed and overall talent to show up as they start to pull away.

W-31-14

October 14th, Indiana

Indiana hasn't beaten a Michigan team since 1987, for those counting, that's 30 years. Indiana has given us some scares over the years, and some absolute instant classics, that won't happen this year. After a late season scandal that booted Kevin Wilson, Tom Allen took over and gave Utah the fight of their life in the bowl game, but let's be honest, Allen has an uphill climb in Bloomington, the defense should be stingy but lack of overall talent, and frankly coaching, is going to be tough to overcome. Michigan sails.

W-38-10

October 21st, Penn State

Oh boy, this is a big one. Last year, Penn State cruised to victories over Ohio State and Wisconsin and claimed A Big Ten Championship, something that has eluded the Wolverines since 2004. Michigan dismantled Penn State last year 49-10, after that game, the two teams went in two completely different directions, Michigan lost 2 games by the end of the season and Penn State rolled until an eventual loss to USC in the Rose Bowl. Don't expect a beat down like that this year. Happy Valley will be rocking for this white out game, this will be the Wolverines first real test in a hostile environment. This will be a great game, but Michigan is still too young. It will take everything in Penn States power to beat Michigan, but I think they get it done and hand a likely top 10 Wolverines team their first loss of the season.

L-27-24

October 28th, Rutgers

After a heartbreaking loss to Penn State, Michigan will have a chance to exercise some demons against the team we've all come to love, Rutgers. After a 78-0 skull dragging in last years game, Rutgers is going to want some revenge, but they're going to be disappointed. I don't think I need to say much else, it's Rutgers.

W-56-3

November 4th, Minnesota 

P. J. Fleck, you've made quite a name for yourself good sir! After taking every Michigan fans second favorite team, Western Michigan, to one of the greatest seasons they've ever had, he finally gets his chance at the big boy table. I have tremendous respect for Minnesota and what they became under coach Kill and coach Claeys, I really hope to see that continue under coach Fleck, just not against Michigan. Minnesota should be a good team this year with maybe the best group of runningbacks in the Big Ten. The potential for another thriller like in 2015 is exciting, but shouldn't happen this year. Tough battle but Michigan pulls away late.

W-34-17

November 11th, Maryland

What a job coach Durkin has done at Maryland, it seems as though some of the Harbaugh magic has rubbed off on Durkin, he took Maryland from dumpster fire to average in just one year, will he make another jump in 2017? Only time will tell. This game is AT Maryland so that poses a bit of an advantage, but much like other teams on this list, overall talent and coaching leads to a rather easy win for Michigan.

W-41-17

November 18th, Wisconsin 

Michigan and Wisconsin played an absolute instant classic last year, with Michigan winning 14-7 in a defensive slug fest of two heavy hitters, and I expect the exact same this year. This game scares me for many reasons, one of them being that I think Chryst is the most underrated coach in the Big Ten, another being Hornibrook. The freshman QB had his fair share of playing time last year and was above average for a first timer. I expect another year of development will make him one of the best in the Big Ten this year. Camp Randall is one of the toughest places in America to win a football game and much like the Penn State game, that might be a tad much for this still young Michigan team. I'm taking Wisconsin this year. 

L-21-17

November 25th, Ohio State

This is it folks, The Game, the greatest rivalry in Sports. "That school up north" and "the suckeyes". Who doesn't love a good old fashioned rivalry like this? Hmm well us Michigan fans haven't been too keen on it for awhile now, and that's because Ohio State has had our number, period. I'm one of the 90% around America who believe last years game was an atrocity, and a shame to great college referees everywhere, the better team lost that day. But forget about all of that, it's a new year and two new teams, this is the game where everything is put on the line, hearts and dreams are left on that field, the two states stop for about 3 hours for the most glorious rivalry in sports. This is a home game for Michigan and you better believe they want revenge. Ohio State is Ohio State, they're elite. The great thing is, Michigan proves they can play with the best every year, and that's why Michigan finally gets its win against Ohio State, its first win in 6 years against the dreaded scarlet and grey. Michigan needs to fight "tooth and nail". For every yard Ohio State gets, Michigan needs to get two. No more interceptions, no more fumbles or bad mistakes, take the game out of the refs hands. Play better then the refs ref -Rich Eisen. Michigan will get this win, believe it.

W-34-31

At 10-2, does Michigan get into the B1G championship? Let me know what your predictions are for the season @MichiganBoyAA on twitter 

Expected Visitors for Michigan's Annual BBQ

Expected

(ratings are based on 247)

Michigan Commits

Emil Ekiyor (Indianapolis, IN) 4-Star OT #5 overall OG (committed)

Myles Sims (Atlanta, GA) 4-Star CB #39 overall CB (committed)

Jalen Mayfield (Grand Rapids, MI) 4-Star OT #7 overall OT (committed)

Christian Turner (Buford, GA) 3-Star RB #23 overall RB (committed)

Gemon Green (DeSoto, TX) 3-Star CB #38 overall CB (committed)

German Green (DeSoto, TX) 3-Star CB #89 overall CB (committed)

Players Not Committed 

Cameron McGrone (Indianapolis, IN) 4-Star LB #3 overall OLB (2018)

Michael Thompson (St. Louis, MO) 4-Star DT #5 overall DT (2018)

Bryan Addison (Gardena, CA) 4-Star ATH #3 overall ATH (2018)

Rafiti Ghirmai (Frisco, TX) 4-Star OT #25 overall OT (2018)

Quavaris Crouch (Charlotte, NC) 5-Star RB #2 overall RB (2019)

J.T. Daniels (Santa Ana, CA) 5-Star QB #1 overall QB (2019)

Nolan Rumler (Akron, OH) 4-Star OT #15 overall OT (2019)

Kyle Ford (Anaheim, CA) 5-Star WR #4 overall WR (2019)

Stephen Herron (Louisville, KY) 5-Star DE #4 overall WDE (2019)

Jerrion Ealy (Jackson, MS) 4-Star RB #11 overall RB (2019)

Isaiah Williams (St. Louis, MO) 4-Star ATH #3 overall ATH (2019)

Shammond Cooper (St. Louis, MO) 4-Star LB #11 overall OLB (2019)

Marcus Washington (St. Louis, MO) 4-Star WR #13 overall WR (2019)

Marvin Grant (Detroit, MI) 4-Star S #6 overall S (2019)

David Bell (Indianapolis, IN) 4-Star WR #11 overall WR (2019)

Logan Brown (Grand Rapids, MI) 4-Star OT #10 overall OT (2019)

George Karlaftis (West Lafayette, IN) 4-Star DE #22 overall SDE (2019)

Nazi Smith (Grand Rapids, MI) 4-Star DT #10 overall DT (2019)

Trevor Keegan (Crystal Lake, IL) 4-Star OL #7 overall OL (2019)

David Bell (Indianapolis, IN) 4-Star WR #11 overall WR (2019)


There are A LOT of big time visitors to put it lightly. Hopefully Michigan makes an impression with all of them!

Some Thoughts on Chris Evans

Chris Evans

Written By: Josh LaFond (@JoshLaFond)

Chris Evans grew up a Buckeye fan, and going to Ohio State was always his dream. But in June of 2015 a man we all Jim Harbaugh hosted a satellite camp which Evans decided to attend, and as they say, “the rest is history.”
Michigan hasn't had a dominant running back since Mike Hart walked off the field for the last time. In my eyes, though, Chris Evans can be the heir to the Hart throne. That being said, why do I think that Evans can be successful as the starting running back, and what kind of numbers do I see him posting in the 2017-18 campaign? Let's take a look.

Vision:

Having the vision to look for the hole in the defense, and hit it is something that is somewhat rare in the college landscape today.

From his first play against his Hawaii - where he waited patiently for the block, made a move, and then burst forward for a generous gain that resulted in a first down - it was apparent that he had the aforementioned vision to identify those gaps in the defense and exploit them. As the season went on he continued to show this innate ability to find those weaknesses.

Another perfect example of his vision would be his touchdown run against Florida State in the Orange Bowl (seen at the 3:00 mark). Although it didn't end up winning the game for Michigan, it might be the most beautiful run I've ever seen. He showed the patience again by waiting for the hole to open up, made that beautiful juke we all remember, and then cut to the outside where he knew he would have the space to beat the last defender.

Speed & Quickness:

Vision isn't Evans only exceptional attribute, though. To be a successful collegiate running back you not only need to find the window, you need to be able to get through it before it closes. You can see some of that speed and quickness in the links I shared in the last subheading, but you really see more of it in the highlights of the Hawaii, Rutgers, Maryland, and Florida State games.

Michigan’s starting running back last year (who I won't name) may have had heart, but he didn't have an ounce of speed or quickness within him. Chris Evans will bring flash and flare that hasn't been seen in a Wolverine backfield in a long, long time.

Elusiveness:

Being able to evade would be tacklers is a combination of the aforementioned skills; vision, and speed & quickness. This is a attribute that the truly great backs in college football have. The ability to slip off a defender like you took a bath is cooking oil has always amazed me, and Chris Evans does this so well.

Season Projections:

Rushing Yards: 1,200 Touchdowns: 10 Receiving Yards: 400 Receiving Touchdowns: 4

I've long said that Chris Evans would have a great campaign this upcoming season, and I see that coming to fruition. 

With the addition of Pep Hamilton’s play calling, and Coach Harbaugh speaking on the record that they will feature more spread looks (as we in the spring game, will include Evans lined up in the slot as a receiver), it should aid Chris in posting a solid statistical season.

Adding to my previous comment about Chris lined up as a receiver... I see him getting at least a couple touches a game. He has the speed, the agility, and the hands to make a grab and go. Couple that with him in the slot, the screen passes he's going to get out of the backfield, and that's why I see him performing well as a receiver.

The running back depth chart may be loaded top to bottom, but when you have a special talent like Chris Evans, you find a way to keep the ball in his hands... and that's exactly what Michigan will do. 

Chris Evans Pt.2

Written By: Jared Bouck (@MichiganBoyAA)        

         "His name is Chris Evans" the color commentator announces as #12 steps onto the field for the first time. The date is September 3rd, 2016. The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors didn't know it, but they were part of a special day, even if the 63-3 drubbing didn't quite feel like it. They were the first opponent to have the "glorious" opportunity to stop Chris Evans, freshman sensation. With 3:12left in the first quarter, Evans converted a 3rd and 2 with ease. Evans finished the day with 122 yards on 8 carries and 2 touchdowns, his first game. Flash-forward 14 weeks and Evans is scoring the "go-ahead" touchdown against Florida State with a minute left on the biggest stage he's ever played on, Michigan lost but the point in moot, Chris Evans is a star in the making.

        Stop reading this article for a second, go to YouTube or whatever media streaming website your Wolverine heart desires, and look up Saquon Barkley highlights, then Chris Evans highlights, you tell me the difference. Now, I'm not saying Evans is even close to the level Barkley, heisman contender, is....yet. But the magic word is "potential". He was one of the more overlooked recruits of the 2016 class, coming out of Ben Davis high school in Indiana. Evans finished the year with 88 caries, 614 yards and 4 touchdowns in a stuffed backfield, not bad for a player who was expected to redshirt. 

         I'm not going to bash Brady Hoke or any former regime, that's not why I'm writing this piece, but with Jim Harbaugh in place, we've seen players like Chris Evans, Eddie McDoom, Rashan Gary, and Devin Bush, players with REAL speed, speed that the Wolverines haven't seen in, hmm any takers? The point is, players like Chris Evans are what is going to take this team to the next level. We want to win like OSU, Alabama, Clemson right? It's almost a feeling of euphoria to have a coach that can take us there when it seemed the previous two regimes had such trouble. 

         Karan Higdon, Ty Isaac, Chris Evans, Kareem Walker, get used to hearing those names. I'll be completely honest, the passing game is going to take some time, Wilton can deliver, but the timing between him and his new set of 4 and 5 star receivers needs some "in-game" experience to really become deadly. Players like Chris Evans and Karan Higdon NEED to step up against Florida, Air Force, Cincinnati etc. and I believe they will, I've never heard anyone complain about 250 rushing yards per game, have you? 

       Are you listening ESPN? Are you listening Fox? You're going to be saying #12's name a lot the next few years. That 5'9 200lb kid from Indianapolis? He's the next Michigan man for you to salivate over. Long gone are the days of Denard Robinson and Jabrill Peppers. It's Chris Evans turn. Pop quiz, who is the last Michigan running back to eclipse that elusive 1000 yard mark in one season? Anyone? Fitzgerald Toussaint 2011. 6 YEARS! That's over. Chris could easily hit the 1,200 yard mark this year and be in discussions for the Doak Walker award. Don't take my word for it, I'm just a 22 year old kid living in the thumb of Michigan, let him prove it.

The Speight Criticism is (a little) Unfair

Opinion: The Speight Criticism is (a little) Unfair

Written By: Darren Bennett (@darrenJ19)

Fans like to play the blame game when something doesn't quite go their way. Even though football is a team sport, we still like to point the finger at a unit or player after a loss. The criticism that Speight is receiving after a disappointing finish to the 2016 season seems to be at full force right now from a lot of fans. Although I think SOME of it IS justified, much of it (I think) is unfair and overblown by a lot of fans. So, what better way is there to evaluate Speight's QB play than to take a snippet from the classic Clint Eastwood  western, "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly." For those not familiar with this film, Blondie (The Good) is a professional gunslinger who is out trying to earn a few dollars. Angel Eyes (The Bad) is a hit man who always commits to a task and sees it through, as long as he is paid to do so. And Tuco (The Ugly) is a wanted outlaw trying to take care of his own hide. I saw the good, the bad and the ugly come to life in Speight's game last year so let's break it down Clint Eastwood style:

THE GOOD: EARNING HIS BUCKS

What most fans seem to focus on when it comes to Speight's play last year is the last quarter of the season but let's not forget the guy played well enough to beat #17 Colorado, #7 Penn St and #9 Wisconsin and racked up a combined 108 pts against them. Those are three legit teams that were fighting for a playoff spot the last two weeks of the regular season and went a combined 32-10. Take a look back at the Colorado game when our defense was banged up and we couldn't stop Sefo Liufau. Speight managed the game and kept pressure on Colorado's defense and threw for 229 passing yards. Not bad for his 3rd game as a starter. He completed 62% of his passes against PSU and threw for 189 yards in complete domination. Sure, PSU was banged up on defense but he still managed to put 49 pts on the board against the eventual B1G champions. Oh, and he also completed 63% of his passes against Wisconsin, who finished top 15 in total defense last year and threw for 219 yards.

Even in the heartbreaking loss to OSU, Speight looked downright brilliant at times making accurate throws in tight windows against a top 5 defense. Trust me, I'll get to the bad and ugly later but right now let's look at what he did right in that game. He completed 64% of his passes for 219 yards with 2 TD's on the road in a hostile environment. The fumble on the 1-yard line was definitely a mistake but if you look at the sequence that followed that play, an OSU fake punt fail put us nearly in FG range in which Speight rose up, drove down and scored within the next 5 plays so really no harm no foul on the fumble. Momentum shifted back into our favor and we went up 17-7. Same score it would've been had we scored on the 1-yard line. Only thing lost was time. Point is, Speight stepped up and made up for his mistake on the next drive.

THE BAD: PAYING THE PRICE

I'll get to the ugly later (hi Iowa game) but let's look at the bad first. Staying with the OSU game, the pick 6 was definitely costly. Speight made some nice throws prior to this and really started to get into a rhythm. Bad field position backed us up close to our own goal line, a play action was called, Deveon didn't pick up the inside blitz, the ball got tipped and sailed right into the hands of Malik Hooker for OSU's first TD of the game. (insert SMH gif here). Bad play all around. Bad play call, bad pass protection, bad decision to try and get the throw off. Just bad. Speight should have tried to escape the blitz and just tuck it and run around the end or inside. All we needed was to stay out of the end zone to avoid the safety. The throw was off balance and a hand was in his face. Option two, throw the ball away or even take the safety. 2 pts is better than 7. Even though you could say this was bad on Speight's part, I can see why it played out the way it did. Had Deveon picked up that blitz and bought his QB more time, it may have turned out differently. Had the play been something other than a play action in his own end zone, it may have turned out differently. Had the ball not been tipped, it may have flown over Malik's head, avoiding the pick.

Of course, there was more bad in that game than just the pick 6. The fumble on the 1-yard line was really bad. The ball clearly went into Speight's hands and he just dropped it. There's really no excuse for it but as I alluded to it earlier, Speight stepped up and scored on the next drive to get the momentum back. The second pick was also really bad. Good protection, plenty of time to throw and the ball just sailed. No excuse for it and it was at a pivotal point in the game so it hurt that much more.

THE UGLY: OUTLAWED AND OUTPLAYED

The Iowa game to me stings hard because it was against a clearly inferior opponent and had we won, it would've STILL put us in the College Football Playoff conversation with a 2OT loss to OSU. It was your classic trap game and all the pieces fell into place to make it an all-around disaster of a game. Let me be clear: Speight deserves the criticism for the Iowa game. He completed only 42% of his passes for only 103 yards with zero TD's and 1 pick. To put this in perspective, Minnesota, PSU and Nebraska all had statistically a better defense than Iowa. To play this bad against a mediocre defense in your 10th game is frankly unacceptable. I remember watching that game feeling utter disgust. It was just ugly. Speaking of ugly, first half of the FSU game was also ugly. 6 pts in the first half against again a mediocre defense is ugly. Speight completed only 55% of his passes with another pick. Ugh.

PERSPECTIVE

With all that said, I STILL think the amount of criticism that Speight is getting from fans is a little unfair. A lot of fans like to call him out for how he played vs Iowa. I'll level with you there. There's zero excuse for how he played. It was just an all-around bad, ugly, nothing good to say game. BUT, if you dissect the OSU game like I did, the pick 6 should not be all on Speight's shoulders. It was just a bad play all around and it's unfair to put all the blame on him (as I explained above). The fumble at the 1-yard line was a mistake but again Speight stepped up and scored on the next play. He didn't fold like a lawn chair, he answered the bell at a critical point in the game and changed the momentum back into Michigan's favor. You could say he didn't do enough to put us in position to win. He did make some great passes against the best defense we played and for the most part, made pretty good decisions under pressure. I would argue 2 of the 3 turnovers Speight committed should not get the criticism that they are getting so that really leaves one pick that is justifiably on Speight's shoulders that was not redeemed. Let's keep in mind that we are talking about Ohio State. The team that is year in and year out on a similar level as Alabama. To walk into OSU, a hostile environment as a first-year starter and commit 1 true/costly pick isn't as bad as some are making it out to be. I believe Speight DID put us in position to beat OSU but a few bad calls, unlucky plays and 1 bad spot (#JTwasShort) was the difference in the game. Not to mention, the OL/Run Game and play calling was absolutely terrible late in the Iowa and OSU games.

I know I'll probably get reamed for this but I'm pulling out the injury card. I've seen on a few boards that Speight was definitely not 100% in the OSU and FSU games so is it really fair to criticize him if he wasn't healthy in those games? Would you have rather seen JOK in their vs OSU and FSU? I wouldn't.

So, let's look at Speight's first season as a whole. He won 9 games, lost 3. Had one bad game for sure vs Iowa, arguably 1 turnover against OSU should solely be on Speight's shoulders (he made up for his fumble; bad play call/no pass protection on pick 6), he made some really nice passes (64% comp), kept us in the game despite no run game (remember, we were winning 17-14 until OSU kicked a last second FG to tie), and some really questionable calls (#JTshort, #OSUrefs), and played injured. Does that sound like a guy that should be getting heavily criticized?

It may be an unpopular opinion but I really think Speight can improve a lot this year with Harbaugh's direction and development. He has some things for sure to fine tune, especially how he handles pressure in the pocket, his overall accuracy and throwing long balls. Many fans are already calling for Peters to take over. My reaction: You'd rather see a freshman with zero experience go in there instead of a guy that won 9 games and was one bad call away from winning the B1G East/Going to the CFP? A guy that beat Colorado, PSU and Wisconsin in his first year? Unless something catastrophic happens, expect Speight to start and lead this team in 2017. Harbaugh has confidence in him and we all should too. In Harbaugh We Trust. GO BLUE.

Let's Not Panic About the 2018 Class

Do Not Panic!

By: Darren Bennett (@darrenJ19)

Recruiting is a fickle beast of twists and turns, commits and decommits, broken hearts and love affairs. It’s really a glorified soap opera acted out by teenagers that grown men (like me) can’t seem to get enough of. College coaches are getting paid millions of dollars to pull out the red carpet for these fine-tuned athletic machines that will (hopefully) one day make their program a roaring success. There really should be a reality show solely focused on the ups and downs of recruiting. It would no doubt be must watch TV and at the very least, allow us guys an alternative to watching 90 Day Fiancée with our significant others. But, I regress…

It's no secret the 2018 class for Michigan football is not off to a very stellar start for you star gazers and ranking seekers but please, step away from the bottle of Captain and chillax for a sec. Let’s first go back to the last two recruiting cycles:

2016 Class: #6 Nationally (per 247sports composite) / 1 Five Star and 14 Four Stars

2017 Class: #5 Nationally (per 247sports composite) / 2 Five Stars and 19 Four Stars

That’s a grand total of 3 Five Stars and 33 Four Stars. At least 36 players from a ranking and star perspective should be serious contributors at the college level. Plus, you have those lower ranked, diamonds in the rough, bulldog type kids that are on a mission to outperform their rankings and stars. I’ve followed recruiting long enough to know it’s not easy to pull highly touted kids from the south or west to a school like Michigan and that’s exactly what Harbaugh and his staff have done. You could argue Michigan’s 2017 class may be their best class in over a decade, despite being down during the Hoke and RichRod eras. Harbaugh and his staff have recruited with the top dogs in the nation despite no B1G Titles since 2004 and no Natty’s since 1997. That’s a rather large gap with no hardware to show off to recruits. I’m in sales and if there’s one thing I know, it’s hard to sell a product or service or program without tangible examples of proven and sustained success. In other words, if you can’t show me what makes you better than the competition, then why would I give you my business? Recruits are the same way. They want to see what makes Michigan better than Bama, OSU and others. It’s almost a, “Show me what you’ve done” type mentality. This is what makes Harbaugh’s recruiting efforts so impressive. Michigan as a program doesn’t have the recent hardware that Bama, OSU, and others have yet they are recruiting as if they do.

Now let’s look at where we are now with the 2018 class. Almost to mid-July with roughly 7 months to go until NSD:

2018 Class: #19 Nationally (per 247sports composite) / 0 Five Stars and 7 Four Stars

This is surely not the start I or many other fans anticipated for this class, especially following another 10-win season and getting the most players drafted to the league BUT, as my friend Robert Nesta Marley once said, "Don't worry about a thang cuz every little thing gonna be alright." So, take a deep breath and let me provide my two cents on why fans should not panic about the 2018 class:

1. WE HAVE TIME: I think it's important to keep in mind we are roughly 7 months away from NSD. A LOT can happen in that amount of time. Teams that are off to a great start can lose commits if their seasons start to crumble and teams like Michigan can make noise in recruitments if they go on a tear and make the CFP (see my other article about expectations). Recruits will have second thoughts, de-commit, visit and visit some more before making a final decision on NSD.

2. CLASS SIZE: As many of you know, the 2018 class will be considerably smaller compared to previous classes. The number that I'm seeing a lot is between 18-20 guys. This is very small considering we took 30 in 2017 and 29 in 2016. Of course, attrition is bound to happen that may open up more spots but don't expect a huge class this cycle. The way the 247sports composite rankings work, the larger your class, the better chance you have to move up in the rankings so having a significantly smaller class automatically puts Michigan at a disadvantage strictly from a rankings perspective. 

3. DIFFERENT APPROACH: This is the interesting one. The sense that I am getting is that since the 2016 and 2017 classes were so loaded with immediate impact type talent, I believe Harbaugh and his staff are taking a slightly different approach this cycle. Because of the small class size, I think they are targeting high ceiling/project type players that may be a little raw at the high school level but ultimately have a very high upside if developed properly. I see us looking to fill the class early with high ceiling guys while also kicking the tires with supers/higher ranked guys. Higher ranked players often take more time to decide so I get a sense we are being more patient and selective this cycle with no real urgency to fill the class right away. 

I'll wrap this up with this: Don't expect an out of this world top 5 class with 5 five stars because it isn't likely to happen. Appreciate the guys we are bringing in no matter where they are ranked because Harbaugh and his staff have a laser like focus and know exactly the type of player they want for their program. Although the 2018 class may not have all the glitz and stars of previous classes, rest assured Harbaugh is building an army of hungry young men that have the potential to be very good football players down the road. GO BLUE

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Opinion: Expectations Should Be Sky High For 2017

Expectations

By: Darren Bennett (@darrenJ19)

Expectations. Whether we are talking about sports or life in general, data and stats can be used to come up with expectations on how we predict or think something should turn out. Even if you expect to receive a Red Rider BB gun for Christmas or expect Michigan to win their division or conference, expectations can be all over the map and fun to dissect. So let me try my hand at what I think expectations should be for Michigan Football in 2017.

Now, before we go any further, I just want to preface this by saying: No, I will not call Harbaugh and his staff utter failures if these expectations do not come to fruition. I am merely taking a closer look at what other college coaches have done through their first 3 seasons and comparing it where Michigan sits heading into Harbaugh’s third year with the program.

Here is a table of the top 15 highest paid coaches in college football, with the year they won their first division title and the year they won their first conference title with their current teams. With the focus being on the first 3 years, Harbaugh is not included since he has yet to finish his third year.

School	Conference	Head Coach	Division Title	Conference Title
Alabama	SEC	Nick Saban	Year 2	Year 3
Ohio State	Big Ten	Urban Meyer	Year 2	Year 3
Florida State	ACC	Jimbo Fisher	Year 1	Year 3
Texas A&M	SEC	Kevin Sumlin	TBA	TBA
Auburn	SEC	Gus Malzahn	Year 1	Year 1
Mississippi	SEC	Hugh Freeze	TBA	TBA
Iowa	Big Ten	Kirk Ferentz	Year 4	Year 4
Penn State	Big Ten	James Franklin	Year 3	Year 3
Clemson	ACC	Dabo Swinney	Year 2	Year 4
Michigan State	Big Ten	Mark Dantonio	Year 4	Year 4
Florida	SEC	Jim McElwain	Year 1	N/A
Mississippi St.	SEC	Dan Mullen	N/A	N/A
Arkansas	SEC	Bret Bielema	N/A	N/A
Stanford	Pac-12	David Shaw	Year 1	Year 2
TCU	Big 12	Gary Patterson	Year 3	Year 3

As you can see, 9 of the top 15 highest paid college football coaches have won their division in year 3 or less. 7 out of 15 have won their conference in year 3 or less. In my opinion, this is a large enough sample size to place similar expectations on Harbaugh—who would rank second on this list of highest paid coaches in college football. Of course you could say Harbaugh lost a plethora of key starters and will be breaking in a very young and inexperienced team in 2017. I would counter that argument with Urban Meyer losing almost as many starters and getting to the College Football Playoff in 2016. You don’t think the coaches listed above faced some sort of similar rebuild within their first 3 years?

I think winning the division, conference or making the College Football Playoff is a fair expectation for a few additional reasons:

1.  We will have an experienced, returning starter at QB. Although many are writing him off as if we have already seen his ceiling, I believe with more molding and fine-tuning from Harbaugh and his staff, we will see a very improved Speight in 2017. You could argue the offense will be more dynamic in 2017 with more athletic WR’s, a more balanced run game and an improved OL. All things necessary for an experienced QB to take that next step.  Which I think Speight will.

2.  The addition of Greg Frey will pay huge dividends. I hinted on it above, but by sharing the O Line workload with Drevno, I think we can expect both the run blocking and pass protection to be a huge improvement from last season. It will create more lanes for our backs to run through and better pass protection for Speight. Ultimately giving us a huge boost on offense.

3.   More speed and athleticism on defense. I see our D line as being as good as last years with a possibility of being better. More athleticism on the edges and there will for sure be more speed at LB with Bush getting more reps. I also think Hudson is ready to break out at the viper position.  

4.  Our early schedule will be favorable for our young players. Florida will be a tough first test for our young team but if we can figure out how to get the Win, I can easily see us starting out 6-0 heading into PSU. With a half season in the books, this should give our young guys plenty of time to gel and fine tune things.

With many of you calling PSU “overrated,” MSU being down and The Game being home this year, this may be the year to take the division. Next year may be a better year to do it from a team experience perspective but we play both rivals on the road and add Notre Dame to our schedule. Not exactly a slam dunk scenario either.

So… expectations. Sometimes they turn out the way you think they should and sometimes they don’t. Just like it was fair for Ralphie to expect a Red Rider BB gun, I think it’s fair to expect a B1G East Title, a B1G Conference Title or a College Football Playoff berth in 2017. But, I will not shoot my eye out if it does not happen. GO BLUE.