Ex-Wolverine Updates: 2017, Week 4

Ex-Wolverine Updates: 2017, Week 4


September 26, 2017

Vic Viramontes (image via Press-Enterprise)

TRANSFERS

Ross Douglas, LB (Rutgers): Rutgers returned to its losing ways with a 27-17 loss to Nebraska. Douglas made 3 tackles and 1 quarterback hurry.

Shane Morris, QB (CMU): Morris seems to have fallen back to his old ways after a great week two against Kansas. He went 15/33 for 195 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions in a 31-14 loss to Miami-OH. He also ran 7 times for 33 yards and 1 touchdown.

Hit the jump for news on former commitments and coaches.

FORMER COMMITMENTS

George Campbell, WR (FSU): Campbell had the best game of his career with 3 catches for 85 yards in a 27-21 loss to North Carolina State.

Chris Clark, TE (Pitt): Clark made 2 catches for 9 yards in Pitt’s 35-17 loss to Georgia Tech.

Shaun Crawford, CB (Notre Dame): Crawford made 4 tackles and 1 forced fumble in Notre Dame’s 38-18 drubbing of Michigan State. Crawford has now created 3 turnovers in the last two weeks.

A.J. Dillon, RB (Boston College): Dillon ran 18 times for 57 yards and BC’s lone touchdown in a 34-7 loss to #2 Clemson.

Damien Harris, RB (Alabama): Harris ran 12 times for 151 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 59-0 destruction of Vanderbilt. He also caught 1 pass for 9 yards.

David Reese II, LB (Florida): Reese leads Florida in tackles with 26 after making 8 stops, plus 0.5 sacks, in a 28-27 victory over Kentucky.

Antwaine Richardson, CB (Maryland): Richardson made 1 tackle and 1 pass breakup in the Terrapins’ 38-10 loss to UCF.

Garrett Taylor, S (PSU): Taylor made 1 tackle in Penn State’s last-second victory over Iowa.

Victor Viramontes, QB (Riverside C.C.): Viramontes had a monster game for Riverside. In a 42-34 victory over Ventura C.C., Viramontes was 13/21 for 284 yards and 5 touchdowns; he also ran 21 times for 224 yards. That’s 508 total yards.

FORMER COACHES

Rich Rodriguez, Head Coach (Arizona): Arizona lost to Utah, 30-24. The Wildcats are now 2-2.

42 comments

  1. Comments: 1356
    Joined: 8/13/2015
    Roanman
    Sep 26, 2017 at 7:13 AM

    Why it is that Vic Viramontes and RR failed to tie the knot is absolutely beyond me.

    • Comments: 522
      Joined: 8/12/2015
      DonAZ
      Sep 26, 2017 at 3:44 PM

      Viramontes dropping down to a Community College might indicate there were some academic issues to work through.

      Was Viramontes a very quick, explosive runner? Bruising, yes; but quick and darty? I think the latter is what RR tends to look for. RR’s offense might be better served by a bruising QB that might stay healthy.

      • Comments: 3844
        Joined: 7/13/2015
        Sep 26, 2017 at 10:39 PM

        I don’t think it was academics with Viramontes. I think he didn’t jive with the new coaching staff at Cal, so he dropped down to a JUCO so he could play immediately and then be eligible with an FBS team in 2018.

      • Comments: 1356
        Joined: 8/13/2015
        Roanman
        Sep 27, 2017 at 6:56 AM

        I doubt RR has a serious preference beyond really good runner as opposed to not really good runner. .But we never talk about it, so maybe.

        • Comments: 1356
          Joined: 8/13/2015
          Roanman
          Sep 27, 2017 at 7:03 AM

          10 yards a carry usually indicates a guy who isn’t taking on and breaking multiple tackles when running the ball. Viramontes is a beast no doubt, but he has very nice acceleration, change of direction and vision to go with all that power.

  2. Comments: 528
    Joined: 9/13/2015
    michymich
    Sep 26, 2017 at 9:16 AM

    I’ll post this here because of Shane Morris. Harbaugh needs to be careful about the criticism of PU. He wasn’t here at the time but the Shane Morris concussion was a very bad look for UM and was one of the main reasons for the firing of Brandon.

    Harbaugh was upset but something tells me this Morris thing is going to pop up shortly and not from this post.

    • Comments: 55
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      gobluetwo
      Sep 26, 2017 at 10:42 AM

      Quite the non sequitur. Why should Harbaugh be wary of an incident that happened before he was hired? In fact, changes made since the Morris incident should only bolster Harbaugh’s position that player health/safety is very important. (irony of the general controversy over football itself notwithstanding).

      • Comments: 528
        Joined: 9/13/2015
        michymich
        Sep 26, 2017 at 11:08 AM

        For Harbaugh personally but he does coach at UM so it does open up the inevitable criticism for the university he represents.

        You’re point is valid but you understand politics, it isn’t fair and his enemies are going to use this against him and his program. I’ll post it when I see it pop up on some article.

        All that being said, Harbaugh did take a leadership role on an important issue and should be commended. His comments were directed at the entire conference but when you put yourself out there in the media world then things will get dirty.

  3. Comments: 528
    Joined: 9/13/2015
    michymich
    Sep 26, 2017 at 9:23 AM

    I remember the first time I saw Campbell on the highlight film, wow.
    Does anyone even care about Clark? TE’s are fantastic. Would you trade Gentry or McKeon for Clark?
    I would take Harris in a heartbeat. Big loss. I wish we had Dillon for the future.
    Crawford? Yes, please.
    Viramontes is in CC for a reason. Academics?

    • Comments: 182
      Joined: 9/15/2015
      ragingbull
      Sep 26, 2017 at 12:40 PM

      yeah crawford would be nice, same with roseboro and a few others they missed on in that transition class. theyre doing ok now but dont have much experienced depth in many spots, obviously another few impact contributors from 2015 class would go long way to shoring up this roster. then again true frosh being forced into backup roles and whatnot will be great for down the line the 2019 team and beyond

  4. Comments: 6285
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    Lanknows
    Sep 26, 2017 at 3:01 PM

    So you’re telling me a 5th year senior transfer who spent last year backing up Speight had one good game against a bad defense and it didn’t necessarily translate to future performances…

    • Comments: 522
      Joined: 8/12/2015
      DonAZ
      Sep 26, 2017 at 3:44 PM

      I see what you did there 🙂

    • Comments: 528
      Joined: 9/13/2015
      michymich
      Sep 26, 2017 at 10:15 PM

      He is 2-0 and undefeated. So there’s that.

      • Comments: 6285
        Joined: 8/11/2015
        Lanknows
        Sep 27, 2017 at 2:24 PM

        Against Purdue and Indiana. Speight’s record against this level of competition is also undefeated.

        Speight also has wins over Florida, PSU, Wisconsin, Colorado, etc. to his resume too.

        If O’Korn throws for 300 yards and a couple TDs to beat PSU – I’ll be very very happy to admit I’m wrong. I don’t see that happening without a dramatic improvement from the OL.

  5. Comments: 522
    Joined: 8/12/2015
    DonAZ
    Sep 26, 2017 at 3:46 PM

    Suggestion — include Tennessee’s defensive production, particularly D-Line stuff, to pick up former coach Brady Hoke?

  6. Comments: 6285
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    Lanknows
    Sep 26, 2017 at 4:27 PM

    Michigan Run Game Advanced Stats update:

    Rushing Success Rate 37.5% (rank 100)
    Opportunity Rate 31.0% (rank 119)
    Power Success Rate 75.0% (rank 45)
    Stuff Rate 21.9% (rank 97)

    but they don’t seem that bad!

    Rushing IsoPPP 1.08 (rank 19!!!)

    But will those big plays dry up? They only had 1 against Purdue…

    I’m sure we can count on our new savior to rescue us though…

    • Comments: 1863
      Joined: 1/19/2016
      je93
      Sep 26, 2017 at 8:57 PM

      Not one fan (here) has expressed optimism over our OL or run game. Pretty much the opposite, in fact
      What’s been debated is just how bad speight is, how much blame was on him, and if another QB on our roster could do better
      Against Purdue, JOK was far better. Can he be going forward? That’s the new debate

      • Comments: 528
        Joined: 9/13/2015
        michymich
        Sep 26, 2017 at 10:08 PM

        I bet I can count on one hand the number of people who view this like LK. I hope WS gets healthy and is able to play against MSU which will then beg the question is JOK starts then does Harbaugh know what he is doing or does LK know better.

        I am more interested now in discussing what preparations are going to take place for JOK and the OL to handle MSU. I think the qb situation has been settled at least when it comes to fans.

        • Comments: 6285
          Joined: 8/11/2015
          Lanknows
          Sep 27, 2017 at 2:07 PM

          I trust Harbaugh to make the call. If he starts Speight or O’Korn, I’ll agree with him.

          You’re getting into the habit of ascribing views to me that I don’t hold.

      • Comments: 528
        Joined: 9/13/2015
        michymich
        Sep 27, 2017 at 3:28 AM

        Correct. This is the new debate 99% of people are having right now.

        1. Was the JOK performance an outlier?
        2. Can JOK deliver a better performance than Speight has over his first 3 games.
        3. Is Speight healthy and when will he be 100%
        4. Is taking some of the pressure of WS a good thing and if and when he potentially comes back will the OL be more effective.

        LK still seems to be arguing likes it’s 1999. (reference to Prince)

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rblt2EtFfC4

      • Comments: 6285
        Joined: 8/11/2015
        Lanknows
        Sep 27, 2017 at 2:05 PM

        LOL. If only comments were archived on this site, I could prove you wrong easily. Oh yeah…they are.

        https://touch-the-banner.com/michigan-33-florida-17/

        The debate since Florida has been “what is the problem with the offense?”. Some argued it was QB, some the OL, others both. Everyone was pretty happy with the yardage, but not punching it in in the red zone.

        After Florida, Thunder said the OL was better than last year. He has called Ty Isaac a difference-maker. ” He said ” The running game and the defense put Michigan in a position to get those points ” while claiming Speight “sucked”. When I raised the yards per play of pass > run he called it the dumbest argument in the blogs history or something to that effect.

        JE said “the young offense was successful, despite the experienced QB”

        WCB said “I saw nothing in our running game that concerned me greatly. We put up 215 yards rushing, which was slightly above our average for all of last year (ypc was slightly below) against a distinctly above average defense.”

        JC said “Isaac did bust out a few very nice runs. I thought the running game looked great overall”

        GKBlue said “QB is my biggest concern”

        So yes – people have been praising the run game this year, or at best ignoring it, while piling on the QB.

        This is all from 1 post, but these kind of comments about the run game, and the OL have been common.

        For bonus fun you can run through the comments and see many people dissing on O’Korn here. That’s been a running theme as well. Based on 1 game pretty pretty much. Things change quickly when people let their emotions rule the day, ignore sample size, or consider context.

        But maybe I shouldn’t put it on emotions and instead on comically short memory.

        • Comments: 1863
          Joined: 1/19/2016
          je93
          Sep 27, 2017 at 9:27 PM

          I can only speak to my comments. Since January, I have been consistent with top concerns: 1)OL, 2)Secondary, 3)QB. After Florida, yes: I thought QB looked the worst, and still do. After Cincinnati I he was so bad that folks stopped talking about the OL, which was still a problem
          4games in, the Secondary has held up better than expected, OL & QB not so much. OL looked better against Florida; QB against Purdue

          We can sum up your posts too: despite horrid & unimpressive performances, speight’s stats fluffed by weaker teams discount how horrible his turnovers were, including many unforced by the opposition. How about the prediction he would improve? Just the opposite has happened

          You’re calling out posters, when pretty much everyone here witnesses you shifting the narrative, your devotion to stats (that you select), and cherry picking others’ statements, avoiding areas/stats proving you wrong

          • Comments: 6285
            Joined: 8/11/2015
            Lanknows
            Sep 28, 2017 at 2:22 AM

            You said “not one fan” said something. Then you say you can only speak for yourself. Then you talk about what “folks” are talking about. Then attempt (and fail) to summarize my comments.

            A microcosm of your inconsistency.

            I make observations – I try to back them up with stats when I can. Sorry not sorry to offend your feelings. Here is something that may upset you – though it is true – O’Korn is throwing INTs and getting sacked at a higher rate THIS year than Speight. A big part of why Speight won the starting job again was that last year he was very good at avoiding sacks and turnovers.

            • Comments: 1863
              Joined: 1/19/2016
              je93
              Sep 28, 2017 at 8:06 AM

              Context: I opened with speaking for myself regarding the first part of your post that applies to me, at
              SEP 27, 2017 AT 2:05 PM… Then I moved on, hence the paragraph breaks…

              We talked about the sacks elsewhere. Youre just in denial. We’ve also talked about INTs not bring the same: speight has 2, and neither were forced by the D. They were both bad throws (one horrendous), and another overlooked an easy first down. JOK’s bounced off Perry’s chest, but was the only open receiver (possibly could have been thrown a tad inside)… Not all INTs are equal, that’s why we watch, and not just read stats

              • Comments: 6285
                Joined: 8/11/2015
                Lanknows
                Sep 29, 2017 at 10:10 AM

                See when I read “I can only speak for myself”, I think you mean you can only speak for yourself.

                As for your argument that anecdotal examples trump stats – it pretty much says it all that you have to turn the lie that stats require not watching football into a mantra to make your point.

    • Comments: 528
      Joined: 9/13/2015
      michymich
      Sep 26, 2017 at 10:21 PM

      New savior? We aren’t looking for a savior but just someone who can hopefully execute the offense at a more efficient rate. What are you going to do if Harbaugh plays JOK if Speight is healthy?

      Hey LK, can you point to another fan or post who believes that Speight is getting a bad deal? I was on Mgoblog and their contributors all support at least a look at JOK.

      Ozone made your point that normally the head coach will play the better qb which is why I wanted Speight over JOK until after the PU game. Why the resistance to replace at least for 1 game a better performing qb over a struggling qb? Is it because Speight is a known commodity versus someone who has yet to prove they can win consistently at UM?

      • Comments: 6285
        Joined: 8/11/2015
        Lanknows
        Sep 27, 2017 at 2:08 PM

        If there was a bunch of people out there agreeing with me, I wouldn’t feel compelled to argue my perspective.

      • Comments: 6285
        Joined: 8/11/2015
        Lanknows
        Sep 27, 2017 at 2:57 PM

        I support giving O’Korn “a look” as you put it. Here’s part of the mgocrew that I agree with most:

        Ace: I agree with everyone else here for the same reasons so I’ll just note that since none of us predicted O’Korn would even be on the two-deep in this year’s HTTV, he’s a dead lock to hold onto the job.
        BiSB: The one caveat to Brian’s point about Speight’s production this year is that we have a significant sample from LAST season as well.
        Ace: I think the offensive line really changes this year’s circumstances, though. Speight hasn’t responded well to having consistent pressure in his face and it seems like it’s affected him even when he isn’t under fire.

        The part I’m disagreeing with is the assumption that O’Korn suddenly is excellent at handling pressure based on his performance against Purdue. We saw him no such ability against Indiana last year (when he got a full week’s worth of starters reps BTW).

        The thought of O’Korn, backed by this OL, against OSU’s DL terrifies me. It does with Speight as well, but the stats and your own damn eyes if you can harken all the way back to your brain a few days ago will tell you that Speight can probably handle the pressure better.

        Purdue may be the worst pass D we’ve faced all year and I don’t feel at all confident that O’Korn’s performance is transferable to tougher opponents. I hope it is. Stranger things have happened.

        I’m sure we’ll see more of him to find out.

        • Comments: 6285
          Joined: 8/11/2015
          Lanknows
          Sep 27, 2017 at 3:00 PM

          also valid:
          ” think what the coaches saw in Speight was the guy they weren’t ready to give up on. The guy who got shaky after Colorado, got a bye week to reset, and eviscerated all comers until Iowa. The guy who played hurt in the Horseshoe for them. Justice is a form of merit, and it was only justice to allow that guy a shot against Purdue’s leaky passing defense to make it to the bye.
          There’s a version of this story where Speight makes it through the Purdue game, gets a week to reset, and comes out refreshingly lethal against State. But that timeline didn’t have O’Korn use his opportunity to demonstrate he can handle the job. “

          • Comments: 1863
            Joined: 1/19/2016
            je93
            Sep 27, 2017 at 9:31 PM

            Speight has never “eviscerated” anyone, and will never be “lethal”

            What the crap are people smoking?

            • Comments: 6285
              Joined: 8/11/2015
              Lanknows
              Sep 28, 2017 at 2:26 AM

              He had 5 games with QBR over 90 last year.

              http://www.espn.com/college-football/player/gamelog/_/id/3115966/year/2016/wilton-speight

              • Comments: 1863
                Joined: 1/19/2016
                je93
                Sep 28, 2017 at 8:11 AM

                Done when did 90QBR “eviscerate” a team?
                Do you not remember the first Q of Rutgers? Awful. After the INT at sparty? JH shut down the Offense because of speight. Second half of Illinois? Outside of Higdon’s run, the offense showed what was coming with OL troubles & inconsistent QB play…

                Don’t just read the stats, watch the games

                • Comments: 6285
                  Joined: 8/11/2015
                  Lanknows
                  Sep 29, 2017 at 10:11 AM

                  Rutgers wasn’t one of them.

                • Comments: 6285
                  Joined: 8/11/2015
                  Lanknows
                  Sep 29, 2017 at 10:11 AM

                  Don’t just watch the games and react emotionally. Afterwards, check the stats for additional perspective.

                • Comments: 1863
                  Joined: 1/19/2016
                  je93
                  Sep 30, 2017 at 1:33 AM

                  Haha, you’re exact words were “eviscerated all comers until Iowa”
                  I named three of six that were far from “lethal”

                • Comments: 6285
                  Joined: 8/11/2015
                  Lanknows
                  Sep 30, 2017 at 4:08 AM

                  1. Those aren’t my words.

                  2. I pointed you to stats.

                  3. I think you are taking the spirit of the statement too literally. The point was that Speight was dong great until Iowa. Yes – against weaker competition, which is what happens to pretty much everybody. They do better when things are easier and worse when things are harder.

                  But if you want to quibble about Rutgers go ahead. The smart stats say he didn’t have a good game that day FWIW. Anybody who watched that game knows he didn’t need to do the job.

                • Comments: 1863
                  Joined: 1/19/2016
                  je93
                  Sep 30, 2017 at 11:48 AM

                  They are words you chose to quote, and fall in line everything else you complain about… 3 of those 6 games were faaar from impressive, which is why so many fans saw this year’s troubles coming

        • Comments: 1863
          Joined: 1/19/2016
          je93
          Sep 27, 2017 at 9:29 PM

          My point since last November

          “Speight hasn’t responded well to having consistent pressure in his face and it seems like it’s affected him even when he isn’t under fire”

    • Comments: 528
      Joined: 9/13/2015
      michymich
      Sep 26, 2017 at 10:25 PM

      So you have made the point that the run game is bordering on bad. Doesn’t that indirectly make the point that the team needs better qb play to compensate for the poor running game and OL?

      • Comments: 6285
        Joined: 8/11/2015
        Lanknows
        Sep 27, 2017 at 2:20 PM

        The point I’m making is that the run game is awful. Likely tanking the entire offense’s ability to execute.

        As for the QB debate:

        I think Speight is better than O’Korn.
        I think O’Korn played better than Speight has in while. Therefore, O’Korn has earned a shot to disprove the first statement.
        If that means starting or not — I don’t care. They both deserve to play and I would go with the hot hand if I was Harbaugh.
        Harbaugh’s rep with QBs is unassailable, IMO.

        Speight has struggled against good defenses and looked pretty good against bad defenses all year in 2016. In the 2 games sample we have – so has O’Korn. BUT – Speight was also not as good as he should have been against Cinci. So, again, O’Korn deserves a shot, However Harbaugh sees fit to do that is fine by me.

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