Posts under: Blog

Ex-Wolverines: Class of 2008

Boubacar Cissoko (image via Bleacher Report)

If you want the scoop on other former Michigan commits and signees, check out the Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia (LINK).

TRANSFERS/RETIREES

Boubacar Cissoko – Cornerback – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech
Cissoko was an early commitment in 2007.  Highly recruited, he played extensively as a freshman in 2008.  A starter at the beginning of 2009, Cissoko made 16 tackles, 2 pass breakups, and 1 interception before being suspended and eventually kicked off the team for personal conduct issues.  Cissoko was then arrested for robbery charges that occurred after his football career ended.  He was released from jail and played semi-pro football.
Current status: Out of football

Hit the jump for more on the class of 2008.

read more

Recruiting Snapshot: Wisconsin

Kayden Lyles (image via Twitter)

2017 Team Ranking: #41 nationally. #8 in Big Ten. Wisconsin has one 4-star, fourteen 3-stars, and one 2-star.

Cream of the 2017 Crop: Middleton (WI) Middleton offensive guard Kayden Lyles is a 4-star, the #12 offensive guard, and #206 overall. He’s a 6’3″, 323-pounder who turned down offers from Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and USC, among others, and moved from Scottsdale, AZ to complete high school after committing to the Badgers. They’re also bringing in Iowa Western Community College weakside end Andrew Van Ginkel, who’s a 3-star, the #2 weakside end, and #24 overall in the JUCO rankings.

Commitments Offered by Michigan: OT Tyler Beach, OT Logan Bruss, TE Alex Fenton, OG Kayden Lyles, S Scott Nelson (see below)

read more

2017 Recruiting Update: January 27, 2017

Antjuan Simmons (image via Eleven Warriors)

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017

Ft. Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas wide receiver Mike Harley decommitted from West Virginia. He’s a 4-star, the #42 wide receiver, and #303 overall. Michigan had an in-home with him a few weeks ago, but he’s now favored to go to Miami.

OFF THE BOARD

Warren (OH) Harding safety Lynn Bowden committed to Kentucky. Bowden had put Michigan on his top list at one point, but there wasn’t a ton of contact between the two parties.

Clearwater (FL) Central Catholic wide receiver C.J. Cotman committed to North Carolina. He had previously been committed to Tennessee.

Hit the jump for several more players who committed elsewhere recently.

read more

Visitors: January 27-29, 2017

Iowa City (IA) West wide receiver Oliver Martin (image via The Gazette)

Ellis Brooks – LB – Richmond (VA) Benedictine: Brooks is a 6’2″, 233 lb. prospect who was committed to Duke at one point. He also has offers from LSU, Maryland, Michigan, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oregon, and Virginia, among others. He’s a 4-star, the #12 inside linebacker, and #267 overall. He has had a bit of a meandering journey with the Duke commitment, a few different leaders, a few teams slow-playing him, etc. In fact, both Michigan and Notre Dame have pulled back at times. UPDATE: Michigan is no longer pursuing Brooks.

Joel Honigford – OT – Sugarcreek (OH) Garaway: Honigford committed to Michigan in June of 2016 (LINK). This is his official visit.

Oliver Martin – WR – Iowa City (IA) West: Martin is a 6’0″, 188 lb. prospect with offers from Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Ohio State, among others. He’s a 4-star, the #28 wide receiver, and #170 overall. He played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl a few weeks ago, and as a senior in 2016, he caught 85 passes for 1,272 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was also Gatorade Player of the Year in Iowa. Michigan had been his leader at one point but backed off when they thought Nico Collins was coming. Now that Collins seems to be headed for Georgia, Michigan has picked things back up for Martin. This will be an official visit.

Hit the jump for some more visitors.

read more

Review of 2016 Season Predictions

Now that the season is over for Michigan, it’s a good time to go back and look at my predictions from September 1, 2016, to see how close I came to being right. Or to see how embarrassingly terrible I did. You can find the predictions post here (LINK).

LEADING RUSHER

Prediction: De’Veon Smith, 870 yards
Actual: De’Veon Smith, 846 yards
Analysis: Okay, that was pretty damn accurate to start.

LEADING RECEIVER

Prediction: Jehu Chesson, 900 yards
Actual: Amara Darboh, 852 yards
Analysis: I screwed the pooch on this one. Chesson ended up with 500 yards. He really didn’t look like the same player that he was in the second half of 2015. Maybe it was the knee injury, or maybe it was a lack of chemistry with new quarterback Wilton Speight. Either way, it was a disappointing year for Chesson.

LEADING TACKLER

Prediction: Ben Gedeon, 80 tackles
Actual: Ben Gedeon, 100 tackles
Analysis: I got the player right, but Gedeon played more than I expected. Even though Michigan didn’t have a great option at middle linebacker behind him, I thought the Wolverines would play someone else in blowouts or just to give the guy a break. That didn’t happen much, though. He was an iron man out there, and I guess when the next guy on the depth chart is converted walk-on defensive end Mike Wroblewski, you probably want to stick with Gedeon most of the time.

Hit the jump for more of a look back at Michigan’s season and the predictions I posted here.

read more