Erick All, Wolverine

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24Jun 2018
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Erick All, Wolverine

Fairfield (OH) Fairfield TE Erick All (image via WCPO)

Fairfield (OH) Fairfield tight end Erick All committed to Michigan on Sunday. He chose the Wolverines over offers from Florida State, Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Wisconsin, among others.

All is listed at 6’4″, 225 lbs.

RANKINGS
ESPN: 3-star, 78 grade, #13 TE
Rivals: 3-star, #23 TE
247 Sports: 3-star, 88 grade, #22 TE, #478 overall

Hit the jump for more on All’s commitment.

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24Jun 2018
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2018 Season Countdown: #80 Joe Milton

Joe Milton (image via Orange Observer)

Name: Joe Milton
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 220 lbs.
High school: Pahokee (FL) Olympia
Position: Quarterback
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #5
Last year: Milton was a senior in high school (LINK). He was 90/188 for 1,317 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions; he also ran 59 times for 262 yards and 5 touchdowns.

The quarterback position is a unique one in many ways, and one reason in college football is this: a whole year of recruiting goes by, and most schools only take one QB. So when you’re The Guy in any given class, the eyes of the world (in this case, the Michigan sphere plus some others) are upon you. There are only a few people who care about NFL quarterbacks once they drop past the second round or so, but every school gets a guy who is The Future. The current guy can’t get it done, but watch out for this rocket-armed, scrambly, laser-guided-missile dude we got out of Nowhere, Kentucky.

For Michigan in 2018, Nowhere, Kentucky is actually Olympia High School in Florida. And the rocket-armed, scrambly guy is an M1-A1 Abrams melted down and poured into the mold of a 6’5″, 220 lb. cyborg. Central casting in Hollywood ain’t got nothin’ on Joe Milton.

The problem is that, unlike Hollywood, Michigan only gets so many takes before errant passes turn into losses and the director gets fired. Milton never completed more than 50% of his passes in any of his three seasons as the varsity starter at Olympia, and his 10-to-6 TD-to-INT ratio isn’t very impressive for a guy headed to major college football. Reasons for this poor completion percentage range from “He’s flat-out inaccurate” to “He throws the ball too hard for his guys to catch” to “He doesn’t have a good supporting cast.” What’s the real answer, and does it matter? He’s on campus now, and Michigan has to make the best of it.

Aside from the bazooka attached to his right clavicle, Milton can run a little bit (rumors are he ran a 4.6 forty, though others say his fastest time is a 4.8). He’s also reported to be a Leader with a capital “L.” That leadership thing is something that has never been uttered about Brandon Peters, the guy who could be around for the next three years and has more snaps in a Michigan uniform than anybody else on the roster (hint: the other guys have zero combined). Ole Miss transfer Shea Patterson might be a leader, but he might also be a one-year rental.

Will Milton play this year, or will he redshirt? Odds are he’ll stay on the sideline. Patterson will start unless something bizarre happens, and the backup role appears to be pretty neck-and-neck between Peters and redshirt freshman Dylan McCaffrey. The coaching staff seems to be high on Milton, but he’s unlikely to make the leap necessary to surpass those other guys in year one. I’m putting him here on the countdown, because he might be a valuable scout team quarterback, and you never know what will happen if injuries or bad attitudes infect the guys ahead of him on the depth chart.

But if you’re driving down Main Street one Saturday afternoon this fall and see a brown, oblong projectile headed for your windshield, this isn’t your Donnie Darko moment. It’s just that 52.1% of the time, the ball ends up in some unexpected places.

Prediction: Redshirt

23Jun 2018
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How can you support the blog?

(image via gfycat)

This was originally posted on June 23, 2018.

One thing that has crossed my mind is asking for your support, which can come in many ways. So if you don’t mind, please indulge me as I discuss some ways you can help Touch the Banner become more successful.

FIRST OF ALL, WHY SUPPORT THE BLOG?

Here are a few reasons to support TTB in one way or another:

  • Running a business costs money. First and foremost, what I do isn’t free. Servers cost money, tech support costs money, and then there are the plain old costs of domain fees, taxes, licenses, etc.
  • I have my eye set on site improvements. I’m not 100% satisfied with the blog design and would like to make some tweaks. Tweaks take time and money, but I want to improve the user experience, especially when it comes to discussion and the message board.
  • This is the best free site for Michigan football and recruiting information. Maybe I’m living in my own little world, but a lot of Michigan sites have come and gone, while TTB keeps chugging along. There are generally at least two posts per day, almost all of which are centered around Michigan football and recruiting. There’s no other site – free or not – that literally covers every single Michigan offer and tracks all 250-300 offers in every recruiting cycle, right up to or beyond National Signing Day. There are offer boards for every cycle and individual profile pages with highlights, measurements, notes, etc. That’s not to say every post here is superior to every post on the other sites, but you get more of it, and it’s often in more depth. Not only that, but I do my best to respond to readers’ individual questions and requests.

So here’s how you can make it happen:

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22Jun 2018
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Joey Velazquez, Wolverine

Joey Velazquez (image via 11 Warriors)

Columbus (OH) St. Francis DeSales linebacker/safety Joey Velazquez committed to Michigan on Friday morning. He had previously been committed to Ohio State to play baseball only. He picked the Wolverines over Cincinnati and Indiana, among others, and he plans to continue his baseball career in Ann Arbor as well.

Velazquez is listed at 6’0″, 205 lbs. As a baseball player, Velazquez has been timed at 6.84 in the 60, and his throwing velocity has been measured at 85 miles per hour as a left-handed outfielder. His measureables are even more impressive when translated to football, where he has a 4.54 forty, a 390 lb. bench press, a 570 lb. squat, and a 600 lb. deadlift. He ran for 356 yards and 7 touchdowns on offense as a junior, and he made 50 tackles, 2 interceptions, and 4 pass breakups on defense.

RATINGS
ESPN: Unranked
Rivals: 3-star S
247 Sports: 3-star, 87 grade, #52 S, #651 overall

Hit the jump for more on Velazquez’s commitment.

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22Jun 2018
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Ex-Wolverine Updates: 2018 Pre-Season

Vic Viramontes is going to row the boat…at Riverside City College (image via Twin Cities)

TRANSFERS

Devin Asiasi, TE (UCLA): Asiasi sat out the season due to NCAA transfer rules. From what I can gather, he’s pegged to be the #2 tight end this season.

Ian Bunting, TE (California): Bunting will be a fifth year senior at Cal this fall.

Brian Cole, S (Mississippi State): Cole is listed as a 6’2″, 210 lb. redshirt junior safety at Mississippi State and is projected to be the Bulldogs’ starting nickel player. He spent last season at East Mississippi Community College.

Kekoa Crawford, WR: Crawford will transfer, though his destination is unknown.

Kingston Davis, RB (UAB): Davis is a 6’0″, 245 lb. running back at UAB after spending last season at Independence Community College in Kansas. He looks to be one of the featured players on the upcoming season of Last Chance U on Netflix.

Ja’Raymond Hall, OG (Central Michigan): Hall announced that he would transfer to Central Michigan in the off-season, which means he will have to sit out 2018 due to NCAA transfer rules.

Elysee Mbem-Bosse, LB: It’s unknown at this point whether Mbem-Bosse will continue his football career.

Kareem Walker, RB: Walker will transfer, though his destination is unknown.

Keith Washington, CB (West Virginia): Washington, who played this past season at Co-Lin, has transferred to West Virginia, where he’s listed as a 6’0″, 173 lb. redshirt junior cornerback.

Maurice Ways, WR (California): Ways will be a fifth year senior at Cal this fall.

Hit the jump for news on former commitments and coaches.

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