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School in the News: Texas A&M

Houston (TX) St. Pius X QB Grant Gunnell (image via Scout)

Texas A&M fired Kevin Sumlin on Sunday, which wasn’t surprising and yet seems somewhat befuddling. The guy has four straight 5-loss seasons but is 51-26 over six years in College Station. That’s not great, but it’s not terrible for a team that’s now competing in the SEC. I don’t see Texas A&M being on the precipice of greatness, and they aren’t historically a great team. You shouldn’t ever stop striving for greatness, I guess, but I’m not sure how much better they expect to be.

Anyway, here’s a look at the recruits who could possibly be poached.

2018 commits with Michigan offers: OT Colten Blanton, DT Bobby Brown, OT Barton Clement, WR Jordan Moore, S Leon O’Neal Jr., WR Jalen Preston, DE Max Wright
2019 commits with Michigan offers: QB Grant Gunnell
2017 roster players offered by Michigan: WR Jhamon Ausbon, OT Kellen Diesch, WR Hezekiah Jones, WR Christian Kirk, DT Daylon Mack, DE Justin Madubuike, S Charles Oliver

The two biggest names to potentially keep an eye on are Max Wright and Grant Gunnell. Wright was somewhat interested in Michigan and visited campus before pulling the trigger for the Aggies. Meanwhile, Gunnell was highly valued by Michigan’s coaching staff, but the rumor was that he wanted to go somewhere where he could be The Man. In a class following Joe Milton, Kevin Doyle, Dylan McCaffrey, and Brandon Peters, there’s going to be quite a bit of competition. Gunnell is 6’6″, 212 lbs. He’s a 4-star, the #2 pro-style quarterback, and #30 overall. Otherwise, Michigan offers a bunch of kids from Texas, but guys with a ton of interest in coming to Ann Arbor are few and far between.

The most persistent rumor is that the Aggies are going to make a run at stealing Jimbo Fisher from Florida State, which I think is unlikely. But you never know.

Ohio State 31, Michigan 20

That was a great game plan by Michigan. I’ve complained about the play calling earlier this year – and so have plenty of others – but I have to give credit where credit is due, too. This was the best effort by the offensive coaching staff all season. They showed new formations and broke tendencies left and right. We saw Khalid Hill and Ben Mason lined up at tailback, we saw fullback sweeps, we saw a fake double-screen pop open a tight end, we saw Michigan play with down and distance a bit, etc. I had an issue with a couple play calls, but fewer than most tight games (and there are always going to be questionable play calls). The creativity kept Michigan in the game longer than I expected them to be in it. After all, I predicted a 38-10 loss for the Wolverines, so the gap was 17 points tighter than I thought.

Hit the jump for the rest of the recap.

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Visitors: Michigan vs. Ohio State

Nicholas Petit-Frere (image via Bulldawg Illustrated)

2018

Eyabi Anoma – DE – Baltimore (MD) St. Frances: Anoma is a 6’5″, 230 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Maryland, and Michigan, among others. He’s a 4-star, the #3 weakside end, and #41 overall. His head coach, Biff Poggi, says that Anoma is the best player he’s ever coached, and that includes a bunch of a high-quality players from his days at Baltimore (MD) Gilman. Anoma also visited for the BBQ at the Big House. All six Crystal Ball picks have him going to Alabama. This is his official visit.

Michael Barrett – RB – Valdosta (GA) Lowndes: Barrett is a 5’11”, 215 lb. dual-threat quarterback who projects to running back in college. He’s a 3-star, the #61 athlete, and #706 overall with offers from LSU, Maryland, and Michigan, among others. This is his official visit. UPDATE: Barrett is no longer visiting.

Ja’Marr Chase – WR – Metairie (LA) Archbishop Rummel: Chase is a 6’2″, 190 lb. prospect who recently decommitted from Florida. He’s a 4-star, the #12 wide receiver, and #69 overall with offers from Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, TCU, and Tennessee, among others. TCU has taken the Crystal Ball lead with 76% of current predictions. Michigan just recently offered, so that relationship is still new, but it’s a positive sign that he scheduled a visit to Ann Arbor so quickly. This is his official visit.

Hit the jump for several more visitors.

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Taylor Upshaw, Wolverine

Taylor Upshaw (image via Twitter)

Bradenton (FL) Braden River defensive end Taylor Upshaw committed to Michigan on Friday. He flipped his commitment from Florida – which is going through a coaching change – and picked the Wolverines over Arizona, Cal, Clemson, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pitt, Tennessee, UCF, USF, and Wisconsin, among others. Normally I wouldn’t include Cal in a list of noteworthy offers, but that’s where his father – NFL veteran defensive end Regan Upshaw – played his college ball.

Taylor is 6’5″, 240 lbs. He claims a 4.93 forty, a 30″ vertical, a 310 lb. bench, a 510 lb. squat, and a 300 lb. power clean.

RATINGS
ESPN: 3-star, 78 grade, #65 DE
Rivals: 3-star, #24 SDE
247 Sports: 3-star, 86 grade, #33 SDE

Hit the jump for more on his commitment.

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Preview: Michigan vs. Ohio State

RUSH OFFENSE vs. OHIO STATE RUSH DEFENSE

Michigan is #35 in rushing offense (194 yards/game) and #52 in rushing average (4.64 yards/carry). Starter Karan Higdon has been hampered by an ankle injury over the past couple weeks and managed just 7 attempts for 20 yards last week against Wisconsin. With Ty Isaac working through an injury, Michigan’s three-man rotation was largely limited to Chris Evans (11 carries for 25 yards last week). Michigan is #20 in Adjusted Line Yards and #49 in Standard Down Line Yards. The line had been playing better for a few weeks, but the Wisconsin game saw the lowest yards per carry (1.57) all season, as well as the lowest rushing output (58 yards), with the previous low being 102 against Michigan State. Ohio State is #12 in rushing defense (114 yards allowed/game), and they allow the 10th fewest yards per carry (3.16). Their defense is actually #1 in Adjusted Line Yards and #4 in Standard Down Line Yards, so they’re very stout up front with a lot of guys they can rotate in as part of the front four. They’re #8 in tackles for loss with defense ends Nick Bosa (6’4″, 270 lbs.) and Sam Hubbard (6’5″, 265) leading the way with 11.5 and 7.5, respectively. Somewhat surprisingly, Ohio State’s top two tacklers are safeties Jordan Fuller (6’2″, 207) with 54 and Damon Webb (5’11”, 195) with 49. The last time Ohio State’s leading tackler wasn’t a linebacker and the last time when the leading tackler didn’t have 100 tackles was in 2011, when safety C.J. Barnett led the squad with 75 tackles. The Buckeyes have some quality linebackers, but they don’t have a dominant player like Ryan Shazier or Raekwon McMillan.
Advantage: Ohio State

Hit the jump for the rest of the preview.

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