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Rumors about staff changes

Dan Enos

I am not fully plugged in to the coaching search, but with the bowl game in the rear view mirror, here are some thoughts on how the coaching staff could play out. Keep in mind that safeties coach Brian Smith has already left to be Rice’s defensive coordinator, tackles/tight ends coachGreg Frey is headed for Florida State, and all teams will get a tenth assistant coach.

#1: HEAD COACH: I am fairly confident that the head coach for 2018 will be Jim Harbaugh.

#2: RUNNING BACKS COACH: Jay Harbaugh was the RB coach this past season, but he has more experience with tight ends. With Frey gone, there appears to be an opening with tight ends. I think a different person will be coaching running backs, and it might be former Boston College and Cincinnati coach Al Washington, who coached with Don Brown at BC. Washington has experience coaching running backs, defensive line, and special teams. Update on January 4, 2017: Some are reporting that this is a done deal.

#3: TIGHT ENDS COACH: To replace the departed Walder Frey, I think we’ll see the return of Jay Harbaugh here.

#4: OFFENSIVE LINE COACH: There are rumors about Greg Roman returning to the side of Jim Harbaugh, and it will be curious to see if Roman does come. If he does, he has mostly been with tight ends and the offensive line.

#5: WIDE RECEIVERS COACH: Former NFL wide receiver coach Scott Turner, the son of Norv Turner, spent the 2017 season as an analyst at Michigan. Michigan did not have a dedicated wide receivers coach this past season, and this might make sense as the additional assistant coach. Update on January 4, 2017: It sounds like Dan Enos (see below) may coach receivers.

#6: QUARTERBACKS COACH: It sounds like former Michigan State and Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos may replace passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton. He’s from the state of Michigan and has coached at CMU, MSU, and Arkansas.

#7: DEFENSIVE LINE COACH: I believe Greg Mattison will be returning in 2018.

#8: DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR/LINEBACKERS COACH: The man, the myth, the legend: Don Brown.

#9: CORNERBACKS COACH: Unless Mike Zordich gets poached by someone who can pay him more money, I expect him to stick around. He’s done an excellent job.

#10: SAFETIES COACH: Analyst, dad of Devin Bush, Jr., and former NFL safety, Devin Bush, Sr. spent time coaching the safeties during the bowl practices. The safeties didn’t make any great leaps forward, but that’s more a matter of personnel. As a young-ish guy with NFL experience and time spent coaching high school ball in Florida, he should be a good recruiter.

#11: SPECIAL TEAMS/LINEBACKERS COACH: It sounds like other teams are trying to steal Chris Partridge, who has been Michigan’s ace recruiter. It would be a loss for Michigan unless they can get another great recruiter, although Enos is supposed to be a good recruiter. There’s a good chance Partridge leaves, but I’m keeping him here for now.

IN SUMMARY

I’m leaning toward the belief that Pep Hamilton and Tim Drevno will be gone from Michigan’s coaching staff. I will be shocked if both stay, though I won’t be too surprised if Drevno sticks, since he and Harbaugh have been joined at the hip for years.

2018 Recruiting Update: January 3, 2018

Rochester (MI) Adams CB Vincent Gray (image via MI Prep Zone)

COMMITMENTS

Kansas City (MO) Park Hill wide receiver Ronnie Bell committed to Michigan (LINK).

Essexville (MI) Garber fullback Ben VanSumeren flipped from Iowa to Michigan (LINK).

Bayern (Germany) defensive end Julius Welschof flipped from Georgia Tech to Michigan (LINK).

Hit the jump for a couple new offers and a bunch of guys who went off the board.

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2018 Under Armour All-American Game

Myles Sims (image via Detroit News)

The 2018 Under Armour All-American Game will take place on January 4, 2018, at 6:00 p.m. EST. Played in Orlando, FL, it will be broadcast on ESPN. Below are the Michigan offerees who will be participating.

TEAM HIGHLIGHT

• QB Jacob Sirmon (Washington), #22
• QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson (UCLA), #14
• RB Keaontay Ingram (Texas), #28
• RB Brian Snead (Ohio State), #7
• WR Tommy Bush, #11
• WR Ja’Marr Chase, #10
• WR Jacob Copeland, #5
• WR Jalen Preston (Texas A&M), #15
• WR Alontae Taylor (Tennessee), #13
• TE Malcolm Epps (Texas), #8
• TE Brevin Jordan (Miami), #9
• OL Jaelyn Duncan (Maryland), #70
• OL Curtis Dunlap (Minnesota), #77
• OL Daniel Fa’alele (Minnesota), #72
• DE Eyabi Anoma (Alabama), #9
• DE Tyreke Smith (Ohio State), #14*
• DT Keondre Coburn (Texas), #99
• CB Kalon Gervin (Michigan State), #11
• CB Olaijah Griffin (UCLA), #2
• S Trey Dean (Florida), #3
• S B.J. Foster (Texas), #25

TEAM SPOTLIGHT

• QB Joey Gatewood (Auburn), #2
• QB Jack West (Stanford), #12
• WR Matt Hill (Auburn), #17
• WR Elijah Moore (Ole Miss), #11
• WR Joshua Moore, #6
• WR Justin Ross, #5
• WR Anthony Schwartz, #10
• WR Justin Shorter (Penn State), #15
• WR Xavier Williams (Alabama), #4
• TE Mustapha Muhammad (Michigan), #80
• OL Tommy Brown (Alabama), #75
• OL Verdis Brown (Illinois), #58
• OL Richard Gouraige (Florida), #77
• OL P.J. Mustipher (Penn State), #55
• OL Nicholas Petit-Frere, #78
• DE K.J. Henry (Clemson), #5
• DE Jayson Oweh, #22
• DE Stephon Wynn (Alabama), #90
• DT Robert Cooper (Florida State), #8
• DT Austin Fontaine (Maryland), #79
• DT Coynis Miller (Auburn), #30
• LB Nik Bonitto, #15*
• CB Al Blades, Jr. (Miami), #7
• CB Houston Griffith (Notre Dame), #3
• CB Anthony Lytton (Florida State), #2
• CB Asante Samuel, Jr. (Florida State), #13
• CB Myles Sims (Michigan), #6
• S Quindarious Monday (Auburn), #21

*Announcing his college decision during game

Outback Bowl: South Carolina 26, Michigan 19

Take a deep breath. Take a deep breath. It’s hard after that game not to be very frustrated with the state of Michigan football, but I’ll say the same thing I said toward the end of the regular season: This was not going to be a great season from the beginning. Michigan lost almost everyone on defense from 2016, lost a bunch of production on offense, and lost three offensive line starters. They also didn’t get back their starting LT who got injured from last year, got their best WR hurt, and lost their starting four games into the year. If you’re an objective observer, you can probably admit that those are some huge, huge hurdles to overcome.

Hit the jump for the rest of the game discussion.

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Outback Bowl Preview: Michigan vs. South Carolina

RUSH OFFENSE vs. SOUTH CAROLINA RUSH DEFENSE

Michigan is #40 in rush offense (186 yards/game) and #54 in yards per rush (4.51). They are led by junior Karan Higdon, who is 71 yards shy of 1,000 yards for the season (147 carries, 929 yards, 6.3 YPC, 11 TDs). Junior backup Chris Evans came on stronger during the second half of the season, and he sits at 661 yards, 5.3 YPC, and 6 TDs. Both players started their ascent during the latter half of the year, which is when the offensive line started to gel in the running game. The right side of the line will probably be totally different than the way it started the season, because right guard Michael Onwenu (replaced by Cesar Ruiz) and right tackle Nolan Ulizio (replaced by Juwann Bushell-Beatty) both struggled mightily in pass protection. Oddly enough, Bushell-Beatty has been superior in both phases, and Ruiz has been good enough in the run game that Michigan hasn’t really missed Onwenu. Michigan is #10 in Adjusted Line Yards and #9 in Power Success Rate. Defensively, South Carolina is #41 in Adjusted Line Yards and #123 in Power Success Rate, and that ALY number is their highest ranking in any of Football Outsiders’ nine categories. They are #45 in rushing defense (147 yards allowed/game) and #42 in yards per carry allowed (3.9). They are not great, but they have been very consistent, allowing anywhere from 2.54 to 4.84 yards per carry in every game. (For some perspective, Michigan has a higher ranked rushing defense but allowed opponents anywhere from 0.41 to 6.4 yards/carry.) The Gamecocks are led in tackles by 6’2″, 218 lb. senior WILL Skai Moore, who is their best overall defender with 88 tackles, 8 TFLs, 2 sacks, and 3 INTs). Sophomore MIKE T.J. Brunson (6’1″, 230 lbs.) is second with 75 tackles, and senior strong safety Chris Lammons (5’10”, 190) has 70. Sophomore weakside end D.J. Wonnum (6’4″, 251) leads the squad with 13 tackles for loss. Sometimes crazy things happen in bowl games, but the numbers suggest Michigan should be able to run the ball okay but won’t go hogwild.
Advantage: Michigan

Hit the jump for the rest of the preview.

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