Posts by: touchbann_adminuser

Video: Spring Practice – March 19, 2015

Delonte Hollowell, #24

Delonte Hollowell (foreground, #24)

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HIGH SCHOOL
Coming out of Detroit (MI) Cass Tech, Hollowell followed the likes of Boubacar Cissoko and Teric Jones, both of whom were diminutive Technician cornerbacks who would eventually play at Michigan, albeit with shortened careers. Hollowell was a Rivals 3-star and the #25 cornerback in his class, choosing Michigan over Central Michigan in January 2010, approximately a year before National Signing Day.

COLLEGE
Hollowell mostly played as a special teamer in 2011, making 6 tackles and 1 fumble recovery, the latter of which came in the Sugar Bowl against Virginia Tech. He played a little more in both phases of the game as a sophomore in 2012, totaling 4 tackles and 1 more fumble recovery against Purdue. Then as a junior in 2013, he made 2 tackles and 1 fumble recovery. I hypothesized that he would have a 2014 season that included 0 tackles and 1 fumble recovery, but he broke the trend by making 15 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 2 pass breakups. Those numbers came in significantly increased snaps on the defensive side of the ball, as injuries and ineffectiveness opened the door for him to play more.

CAREER STATISTICS
27 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 3 fumble recoveries, 2 pass breakups

AWARDS
None

SUMMARY
Hollowell was a small corner coming out of high school, and I questioned his abilities at the time. When he started his career at Michigan, I was surprised that he played as a true freshman. I thought he would be the type of kid who would certainly redshirt, but that turned out not to be the case. Brady Hoke burned his redshirt and got a fumble recovery out of him. Hollowell would eventually turn into a pretty solid gunner and special teams coverage guy, but he never panned out on defense. Aside from the three career fumble recoveries, his play on defense this past season was very frustrating. When Raymon Taylor and Jabrill Peppers were injured, and when Blake Countess was benched for stretches because of poor play, Hollowell got more time on the field than anyone probably wanted. The results were not positive, as several teams picked on him as soon as they saw him enter the game.

I WILL REMEMBER HIM FOR . . . 
. . . being the first recruit to earn me some hate mail. If you look back at my commitment post from January 2010 (LINK), you’ll see that I gave him a TTB Rating of 58 and questioned whether he would make an impact at Michigan. You’ll also see if you scroll down to the comments that various family members, Cass Tech people, etc. were not happy with my characterization. I received a couple e-mails objecting to my statements, too. That was really the first time that a bunch of people came out of the woodwork to descend on my site with anger. Five years later, I still remember that as a landmark in my blogging “career,” although not necessarily a positive one.

PROJECTION
Hollowell was the star of Michigan’s pro day last week (LINK), running a hand-timed 4.34, showing off a 37″ vertical, and doing other things that pro scouts generally like. Unfortunately, his play on the field probably won’t warrant a look at the next level. He was never a starter (well, he started one game as a senior), mostly played special teams, and never made an interception. Michigan has had better corners who never did anything in the NFL (Donovan Warren, J.T. Floyd, Todd Howard, etc.), so I think Hollowell will probably follow in their footsteps.

My Take on Michigan’s Recent Staff Hires

Erik Campbell (right) worked at Iowa with head coach Kirk Ferentz

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When Jim Harbaugh was negotiating for the job at Michigan, he required permission to expand the football staff. Obviously, athletic director Jim Hackett agreed, which has resulted in a hiring binge. These hires have been well publicized in the last several weeks, and I want to take a look at a few of them.

Erik “Soup” Campbell, unidentified administration job: I have talked about Erik Campbell several times on this blog, and devout Michigan fans are probably already familiar with the name. Campbell was a safety and wide receiver at Michigan in the 1980’s, became a GA for the Wolverines in 1988, and then coached the wide receivers for the Wolverines from 1995-2007 under Lloyd Carr. His acolytes include Braylon Edwards, David Terrell, Marquise Walker, Mario Manningham, Tai Streets, Jason Avant, and Steve Breaston, among others. When Rich Rodriguez was hired, he somewhat inexplicably fired Campbell, who went to Iowa and coached Marvin McNutt, Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, and tight end Tony Moeaki. He has spent the past two seasons with the Montreal Alouettes. It’s unclear what Campbell’s job description will be at Michigan, but it’s a possibility that he will replace Jedd Fisch at some point. Fisch was hired on a one-year contract and generally changes jobs every couple seasons. Campbell’s return to coaching the wide receivers would be welcome.

Hit the jump for discussion of three more staff hires.

Rick Finotti, Director of Football Operations: Finotti was the head football coach at Cleveland (OH) St. Edwards from 2009-2014, winning two state championships. One of his players (Kyle Kalis) ended up signing with the Wolverines, although St. Edwards was known more as a pipeline to Ohio State. Players from the state of Ohio aren’t going to accept scholarships to Michigan just because the Wolverines hired Finotti, but he does know the lay of the land and could provide some connections to schools and coaches in the area. A director of football operations does a lot of the dirty work for a football program. He’s in charge of making travel arrangements, prepping facilities for practices, arranging summer camps and clinics, etc. Since high school coaches often have to do these types of things on their own, becoming a college director of football operations is largely doing the same things but on a higher level.

Col. Jim Minnick, Director of Football Operations: It’s unclear how the jobs of Finotti and Minnick will differ, but Minnick was a childhood friend of Jim Harbaugh’s and became a United States Marine Corps recruiter. He was working in Kansas City as the area recruiter for 14 states when Harbaugh got the job in San Francisco, and the two have remained close friends. Here’s an interview of Minnick from 2011 (LINK). With the military connection, it reminds me of how Brady Hoke sent the seniors in 2012 and 2013 to train with the Navy SEALs at Coronado. Anyway, Minnick obviously has some organizational skills since he was in charge of recruiting 14 states for the Marines, and he connects the Marines closely to the game of football in that linked interview. It will be interesting to see how his old job and his new job dovetail, but I expect positive results. Plus, Minnick and Harbaugh teamed up to help at a car accident scene on I-94 a couple weeks ago, which brought some positive publicity their way (LINK).

Chris Partridge, Recruiting Coordinator: Partridge was the head football coach at Paramus (NJ) Catholic for five years, up through 2014. Two of his players (Jabrill Peppers, Juwann Bushell-Beatty) ended up signing with the Wolverines, and a 2016 prospect from Paramus is one of Michigan’s top targets – and one of the top few players in the country – in the form of Rashan Gary. Recruits constantly mention Partridge, who must have one of the most active Twitter accounts around. Partridge reportedly had a deal in place to join the Rutgers program, but the state school of New Jersey received some flak from high school coaches around the state because Partridge had a bit of a bad reputation. It turns out that Paramus, which is a private school, did some recruiting and pulled in some of the state’s top prospects, including Don Bosco’s Peppers. When the agreement with Rutgers fell through, Harbaugh pounced on the opportunity to reel in Partridge. California, Florida, and Texas are some of the most recognized football player-producing states, but New Jersey’s reputation as a football hotbed might surprise some. Getting Partridge on the staff could help Michigan make some inroads where a cultural connection between Ann Arbor/New Jersey has long been apparent.

THE TAKEAWAY
Obviously, it’s too early to tell the results of Jim Harbaugh’s hires. However, one thing seems to be clear – Harbaugh is bringing in people who do their jobs well. They might not be at the highest level of the sport, but these people are all winners who have been go-getters. Reaching the FBS level of coaching is not for followers, so I don’t mean to imply anything negative about Brady Hoke’s staff (Aaron Wellman, Roy Manning, Darrell Funk, Dan Ferrigno, etc.). But the differences are stark between the two staffs.

Finotti and Partridge are young-ish high school coaches with multiple state championships each. Erik Campbell is a college coach who has tutored multiple first round draft picks and All-Big Ten performers. Colonel Jim Minnick is, well, a colonel in the Marines. Greg Jackson is a former All-American and NFL safety. The list goes all the way down to Jay Harbaugh, who at the young age of 25, has been around a Super Bowl team with the Baltimore Ravens. Obviously, he has a lot to prove as a coach, but these guys are all winners on an individual or a team level.

All of these men have succeed, know how to succeed, and come from various backgrounds. While a few have worked together, they are not a group of friends who have meandered through college football by each other’s sides. I won’t pretend to know all the staff members at the football powerhouses around the country, but it’s hard to believe that many staffs – including coaches and administrative guys – have amassed more impressive collective resumes.

Video: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – The NCAA

I don’t have an HBO subscription, but luckily, Youtube is an excellent place to watch some John Oliver commentary. Here’s his takedown of the NCAA:

Site News: Help me redesign the website!

As I mentioned over the weekend, I have started the ball rolling on redesigning the website. I have explored a few avenues, met with a web developer, and chosen a path. Based on the developer’s references, I am confident that the new site will be something of which I can be proud and we can all enjoy.

With that goal in mind, I have placed a Paypal button on the left sidebar in case you would like to contribute to my push for the redesigned website. My goal is to raise $3,000, which covers most (but not all) of the proposed funds required for everything I aim to include. I know this goal might seem ambitious, but I want to grow the website for us all to have a better experience. Some aspects of Blogger have begun or continue to frustrate me. I want to assure you that I will be pocketing $0 of any donations up to the above number, because every single penny – and more –  of that would go toward the redesign. Anything and everything would help, and your contributions are greatly appreciated. You can track the progress of the goal with the thermometer on the right sidebar, which I plan to update on a daily basis (or whenever donations come in).

As always, thanks for reading and for discussing Michigan football with me. Go Blue!