Posts under: Blog

Addressing Michigan’s Coaching Situation

Following a 2-4 season and five straight losses to Ohio State – plus an embarrassing loss to Michigan State in 2020 – questions about Jim Harbaugh’s status as head coach have been non-stop. I have a hard time calling for coaches’ jobs, because as a (lower level) coach myself, I know some of the struggles with coaching.

Of course, college coaches have a different situation than high school coaches, because they have more power and more control over which coaches and players enter their program. But there are similarities in that your team’s success is subject to injuries, off-the-field behavior of young people, administrative limits, etc.

So here I would like to address which coaches I would prioritize bringing back, from highest priority to lowest:

Sherrone Moore (Tight Ends): Moore is Michigan’s top recruiter, especially in-state. According to 247 Sports, he’s the #6 recruiter in the country and #2 in the Big Ten (behind Ohio State’s Brian Hartline). I have not been extremely impressed with the performance of Michigan’s tight ends over the past couple seasons, but I think that’s more of an issue with the structure of the offense than the individual players. Regardless, tight end is a position where you can hide a mediocre X’s and O’s/technique coach if the guy coaching them can recruit his butt off. And Moore can. He’s listed as the primary recruiter for QB J.J. McCarthy, OT Giovanni El-Hadi, C Raheem Anderson II, TE Louis Hansen, LB Tyler McLaurin, and WR Andrel Anthony, and he’s the secondary recruiter for RB Donovan Edwards.

Hit the jump for more.

2021 Recruiting: Early Signing Day Grades, Defense

Check out last night’s post for the offensive side of the ball (LINK).

DEFENSIVE TACKLE: D-
Need: 2
Signed: 1
Michigan only signed one player at a position of need. That player is Dominick Giudice (3-star, #102 WDE, #2007 overall). No offense to the young man, but he was so far off 247’s radar that they left him ranked as a weakside end despite the fact that he’s already 6’4″ and 260 lbs. Michigan should be able to land higher-profile recruits at the position. There were several defensive tackles that Michigan just seemed to stop recruiting (Victory Vaka, Anthony Hundley, Tywone Malone, etc.). Of course, insiders will often say that some players aren’t a fit for the Wolverines, but you know what else doesn’t suit the culture in Ann Arbor? Losing. Michigan still has a shot to sign Rayshaun Benny (verbally committed to MSU but not signed) or George Rooks (reportedly leaning toward PSU), but the staff may need to look to the transfer portal to shore up the interior.

Hit the jump for more.

Will Hart, Ex-Wolverine

Punter Will Hart posted on Twitter that he’s pursuing a grad transfer opportunity elsewhere in 2021. This is very interesting, because Hart was a fifth year senior in 2020, so he’s the first “senior” of any sort for Michigan to indicate that he plans to play college football again in 2021. Of course, because of COVID and the NCAA’s exception for collegiate athletes this year, every player still has eligibility in 2021, including seniors, fifth year seniors, and even sixth year seniors.

Hart had a very weird career at Michigan. A walk-on player, he was a Ray Guy Award semifinalist and first team all-conference player in 2018 after averaging 46.98 yards per punt. He followed that up by averaging 44.24 yards per punt in 2019 and . . . a very disappointing 37.75 yards in 2020. So he steadily regressed, and Brad Robbins took his punting job during the 2020 season. I’m unaware if that was because of injury, a loss of confidence, etc., but regardless, Hart looks to be headed out the door.

This does not really affect Michigan’s roster or scholarship numbers, considering Hart was a walk-on who had lost his starting job. But it does remove a punting option, and Robbins himself has had injury issues. It’s also worth noting that Michigan signed one of the top punters in the 2020 class in Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s specialist Tommy Doman.

2021 Recruiting: Early Signing Day Grades, Offense

Keep in mind with the grades below that this is just based on the early signing period. Players can still sign in February (or beyond), transfer in, etc. So the ink isn’t dry on the class just yet.

QUARTERBACK: A+
Needed: 1
Signed: 1
Michigan landed an elite player, J.J. McCarthy (5-star, #2 pro-style QB, #22 overall). Not only is he elite on the field, but I think his attitude helped keep the class together when things got a little bit rocky. Naturally, the hope for Michigan fans is that he maintains that kind of leadership throughout his career in Ann Arbor. He’s also the first quarterback recruited out of high school by Jim Harbaugh who actually fits the mold of an RPO signal-caller.

Hit the jump for more.

Donovan Edwards, Wolverine

West Bloomfield (MI) West Bloomfield running back Donovan Edwards committed to Michigan on Wednesday afternoon. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Georgia, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma, among others.

Edwards is listed at 5’11” and 190 lbs. As a junior in 2019, he ran for 1,326 yards and 16 touchdowns, while also catching 33 passes for 419 yards and 5 touchdowns.

RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 86 grade, #4 RB, #66 overall
Rivals: 4-star, 5.9 grade, #3 RB, #74 overall
247 Sports: 4-star, 95 grade, #2 RB, #29 overall

Hit the jump for more on Edwards’s commitment.