Urban Meyer is on paid administrative leave because he’s a lying liar who lies (LINK).
Ohio State sucks for so many reasons, but one big one is the hypocritical douche that is their head coach. Another big one is the other hypocritical douche who was their head coach for the early 2000s, who tweets out holier-than-thou things on a regular basis and is now a university president.
Hey, I was reading Mgoblog’s review of the 2018 class and Brian (or Ace) keeps complaining about the slack/terrible job that the rating agencies are doing, as the fall into the tank. Apparently, they barely view Michigan players and only provide minimal effort. Here is an example of that criticism – https://mgoblog.com/content/2018-recruiting-luke-schoonmaker.
I think you and Brian should work out a deal so that your ratings (and comments) are included in the initial player write-ups and/or look-backs. Your ratings [for Michigan players] would be a good addition. They are well-documented, well-researched, well-founded [insofar as you are a coach with an experienced eye for rating talent], consistent, based on your own applied system, long-standing [insofar as you’ve been doing this now for years], and easily available for people to view. A win-win-win for Mgoblog, TTB, and fans.
Thanks for the e-mail and the compliments. I’m glad to know my thoughts are appreciated and respected.
Regarding the premise about recruiting rankings, I somewhat agree with MGoBlog. Brian has suggested over and over again that recruiting coverage has tanked a little bit. I think the tech bubble popped, and there was a glut of information. Websites and media coverage were getting bloated, which is why ESPN, Fox, Sports Illustrated, and others started cutting employees. ESPN seemed like an up-and-comer in the recruiting realm at one point when they had specific sites for team/recruiting coverage, and Chantel Jennings, Tom Van Haaren, and others were basically covering only Michigan. Meanwhile, Scout had Sam Webb, 247 Sports had Steve Lorenz, and Rivals had . . . kind of a rotating cast of characters.
Scout has been absorbed by 247, ESPN’s coverage of Michigan on Recruiting Nation was cut, and Rivals has lost some people. Rivals people have mentioned before that they basically bump up players who go to their camps and Five Star Challenge, which (rightfully) caused some people to distrust their evaluations. ESPN evaluates sophomores and juniors, and then doesn’t bother re-evaluating them again, even if the players have matured physically, added 25 lbs., or shaved off two-tenths of a second off their forty. In the last few years, it seems like recruiting coverage has gone from too much to . . . a lot of fluff.
I would feel guilty about propping up my own rankings as being superior to those national analysts’. I think 247 Sports is the cream of the crop right now and they pay the most attention. I also believe their recruiting analysts know more about football and player evaluation than the people at Rivals, and they seem to have more manpower than the recruiting division at ESPN. I try to do my best, but I’m only one man and this isn’t my full-time gig. (Full disclosure: I also feel a little guilty that I have yet to update my TTB Ratings for the 2018 class, which I hope to finish soon.)
As for combining with MGoBlog, that site has provided TTB with a lot of links and a forum on which to discuss football, which has probably directed a fair amount of traffic to my site. I appreciate what that site has done for me, even if it has been inadvertent. Several years ago, when MGoBlog was looking for someone new to cover recruiting, I volunteered my services. For whatever reason, that didn’t pan out. That’s a bit of a different topic, but I’m just not sure if the guys at MGoBlog would be totally down with it.
My TTB Ratings are also a bit flawed when it comes to meshing with the 247 Composite and/or helping with the star ratings, since I give only a numerical rating without stars attached. That’s probably an easy fix – I could easily assign a star value – but it would require a change.
Ultimately, I’m pretty satisfied with where the site is right now. I have at times purposefully avoided opportunities that I could have taken to expand the website, because it’s a lot to handle. Right now I’m not beholden to anyone except myself for the website, which is great because I’m at a place in real life where I have a lot of responsibility. MGoBlog can certainly use any of my information anytime they want, but I feel like my guilt would multiply if I had a gaggle of MGoBloggers hankering for rankings updates. The regular readers of TTB seem to have a pretty good understanding of what I do and what I can offer, and I’m just happy that there’s a community here that can just talk football and fandom.
Thanks again for the e-mail, and I appreciate all of you! It’s very humbling to think you took time out of your day to compose that e-mail. Sometimes on the internet, it feels like you’re the tree falling in the woods when nobody’s around to hear. I’m glad you people are around.
To hear me fall.
Okay, maybe that wasn’t a perfect analogy . . .
Devin Gil (image via Zimbio)
Name: Devin Gil
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 220 lbs.
High school: Pembroke Pines (FL) Flanagan
Position: Linebacker
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #36
Last year: I ranked Gil #73 and said he would be a backup linebacker and special teamer (LINK). He made 5 tackles and recovered a blocked punt.
TTB Rating: 63
Gil redshirted in 2016 and then stepped up into a backup role in 2017. He even got credit for a start against Florida. He played in thirteen games throughout the year, but Michigan spent most of the time with Mike McCray at weakside linebacker, leaving very few snaps for backups.
I have almost zero confidence in this ranking, but Don Brown called Gil a “dude” and insiders are suggesting the WILL linebacker spot is Gil’s to lose. I haven’t really seen anything from him that suggests he should be the next starter at the position, so his presence here at #27 is largely based on hype. The Wolverines have other options at WILL, including Josh Ross and freshman Cameron McGrone. A starter is a starter, I guess, and Gil is the first projected full-time starter to come off the board. The good thing is that if Don Brown thinks he can play, he can probably play. I’ll be interested to see how he looks when the season rolls around.
Prediction: Starting weakside linebacker
James Hudson III (image via Twitter)
Name: James Hudson III
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 302 lbs.
High school: Toledo (OH) Central Catholic
Position: Offensive tackle
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #55
Last year: I ranked Hudson #63 and said he would be a backup defensive tackle (LINK). He redshirted.
TTB Rating: 85
I gave Hudson a TTB Rating of 85 coming out of high school, and that was with the thought that he would play defensive tackle, the position for which he was recruited. I always saw Hudson as more of an offensive tackle, though. While he came in expecting to play defense, it hasn’t taken long for Michigan to switch him to offense.
Lo and behold, the talk all spring and summer has been that Hudson is in a battle to start at left tackle. In one corner, you have fifth year senior Juwann Bushell-Beatty, who started part of the 2017 season at right tackle and did a pretty good job of run blocking (not so much in the passing game). In the other corner, you have redshirt freshman Hudson, who has yet to take a college snap. My metaphorical money is on Bushell-Beatty to start the first game, but he’s been out of shape in his career and he’s not a great athlete. It would be great if he can take a leap as a senior, but I stop expecting a ton of growth going into years four and five. Aside from the two incoming freshmen (Ryan Hayes and perhaps Jalen Mayfield) and the injured Grant Newsome, Hudson is physically the best suited guy to play left tackle. I expect Hudson to start at left tackle for at least a portion of the season.
Prediction: Part-time starting left tackle
Ambry Thomas (#1, image via Michigan Daily)
Name: Ambry Thomas
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 179 lbs.
High school: Detroit (MI) King
Position: Cornerback
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #1
Last year: I ranked Thomas #41 and said he would be a nickel corner and special teamer (LINK). He made 7 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, 2 fumble recoveries, and 1 forced fumble; he also returned 20 kickoffs for 396 yards (19.8 yards/return).
TTB Rating: 90
Thomas was one of the most heralded recruits in Michigan’s 2017 class and might have been the jewel of many classes. Unfortunately for him, he was overshadowed a little bit by Donovan Peoples-Jones and others. Thomas was very skinny coming out of high school, and the transition from high school to heavy playing time in college can be difficult, even for talented skill guys. Michigan had two pretty good guys on the outside in 2017, Lavert Hill and David Long. Thomas saw most of his time in the slot and playing on kickoff return.
Hopefully a year under strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert will help him become a little more physical. I mentioned when I profiled Brandon Watson a couple days ago that Michigan has perhaps its most talented group of cornerbacks in a long time, and that includes Thomas, who would probably be starting at almost every other Big Ten school. Instead, he’s probably going to be a part-timer as the nickel corner, as long as Hill and Long stay healthy. Watson saw more snaps on the outside, while the coaching staff tried to limit Thomas to learning the nickel spot. It’s unclear whether they’ll free him up to play more on the outside this season if needed, but the point is that he should play quite a bit. His kickoff returns were uninspiring last season and his 19.6 yards/return was not impressive, but that additional strength and maturity might help a little bit there. If Hill and/or Long leave early for the NFL after the 2018 season, look for Thomas to get his shot.
Prediction: Nickel corner, special teamer