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It’s always been strange to me that people let extracurricular activities get in the way of their career, profession, schooling, etc., but I guess Mitchell and Johnson aren’t the only ones.

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He also tweeted that he was moving to Ann Arbor on June 3. So he’s definitely in town, but I don’t know the rest of his academic situation.

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I thought it was a little bit odd that he was leaving now, but maybe this is pure coincidence. I saw some people say really positive things elsewhere when this was announced, but I find it difficult to regret the departure of a guy who got a DUI within the past couple years. I think it’s one thing to get a DUI when you’re 22 years old and don’t have a handle on being a responsible adult/drinker, but it’s quite another when you’re 52 (or however old Minick is). Both are bad, but men who are in their 50s should know better.

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I don’t know why Dantonio would deny that Copeland was leaving the team when he was in fact leaving the team. It doesn’t make any sense, and if you lie about something like that – which becomes public a day or two later – then what else are you lying about?

I wonder why Sam Webb and others are defending Blackwell so much when there are news reports – not just message board rumors – that Blackwell was escorted out in handcuffs. Police generally don’t cuff you and walk you out of a facility for no reason.

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I hope it’s very painful for Dantonio.

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Well, that was a short career at MSU for a top in-state talent.

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Here’s an article from Business Insider that looked at the 1,700-ish players in the NFL and their home state. Michigan is well behind the top talent producers, but it’s actually #12, which isn’t bad.

http://www.businessinsider.com/nfl-rosters-by-state-2016-9

Naturally, Florida, Texas, and California produce a lot more NFL talent, which we’ve known for a long time. That’s one reason why I like the Greg Frey hiring (Florida), and it would be nice if Michigan’s connections in Texas and California could lead to a few more signings from those states, too.

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Thanks! And I love the username/avatar.

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I’ve been thinking about this lately, too, in regard to the countdown. I feel like this is a much more talented roster than we’ve had in recent years. There are still going to be washouts and guys who can’t crack the starting lineup, but I’m seeing guys in the 80s that probably would have been ranked in the 60s in prior years.

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When did I claim that he had a career-ending injury?

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We’re at 84 scholarships and probably 83 soon. Obviously, you want better options if you can get them, but you might as well take a guy who can help. Young or not, we’re thin at safety.

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I’m not revising anything now. I’m saying you act like Pipkins signing with an NFL team is a smoking gun that Harbaugh was just cutting people for no reason, and it’s not a smoking gun. There’s plenty of evidence for an argument in the opposite direction. You’ve been beating the drum for a year or two now that Harbaugh axed Pipkins immorally, and it’s really nothing but a random guess.

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You don’t really have evidence. You have a theory. The numbers occurring at schools in the SEC are somewhat irrelevant to Pipkins’s case itself.

There is also evidence in the opposite direction, such as the shortage of nose tackles that year, his recruiting profile, the other schools who thought he was talented enough for a scholarship, the fact that he is apparently a good enough player to make it to the NFL, the fact that Michigan was forced to put an inconsequential walk-on on scholarship (Dan Liesman), etc.

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I don’t think Michigan said his career was over due to injuries. They said his injuries were significant enough that he couldn’t play for them. It happens frequently where doctors differ in opinion. How many times do NFL and MLB trades get vetoed because a guy didn’t pass his physical for a new team? It’s not an everyday occurrence, but it’s also not rare. It’s entirely possible that Michigan’s doctors weren’t comfortable with Pipkins’s health, but Texas Tech’s were. It’s also entirely possible that Michigan’s doctors were okay with Ben Braden continuing his career, but NFL doctors weren’t.

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You can never have too many defensive tackles, so I think saying “He was expendable because Michigan had two nose tackles” is a little bit dismissive. Those guys are banging inside frequently, and it’s not uncommon at all for them to get hurt – whether it’s a shoulder, a pec, an ankle, a knee, etc.

As for opening up scholarships, Michigan gave a scholarship to walk-on Dan Liesman in 2015. I don’t think much more needs to be said on that angle. Nobody in the country wants someone with Dan Liesman’s size/athletic potential over someone with Ondre Pipkins’s size/athletic potential, unless there’s an underlying issue.

As for Pipkins’s health, he supposedly had a torn ACL and at least two concussions during his college career. And when you have a torn ACL as a 320-pound dude, it’s tough to recover. Bryan Mone took a long time to recover from his broken leg, and broken bones are supposed to be easier to overcome than ligament injuries.

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I don’t think there’s any real reason to question Harbaugh’s handling of the situation with Pipkins. He was a formerly highly rated recruit who some (not me, really, but some) thought had played well during his first couple years on campus. Michigan had some depth issues in 2015 when Pipkins was sitting out, but Harbaugh still didn’t have room for him. We could have used an extra NT since Mone’s injury was trouble, and Glasgow’s injury even more so.

If Pipkins was lucky enough not to get injured in his time at Texas Tech, that’s great.

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Harbaugh hasn’t really kept the competition open from week to week. Rudock was the unquestioned starter once the 2015 season began, and Speight was the unquestioned starter once the 2016 season began.

I disagree about the insider info. There is LOTS of chatter from insiders that the QB battle is getting closer and closer.

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I was going to do it around the middle of the month, but you can if you want.

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Harbaugh has no choice. He can say he’s all about competition, but if you question your team leader publicly, you risk undermining him. And the starting QB is a team leader. There’s no point in undermining your starting QB five months before the season begins. Speight is the incumbent, so Harbaugh is going to be supportive of him in front of the microphone.

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I know some people were down on Mason after the spring game, but I thought he looked pretty good. I don’t know if he’ll be ready this year, but I think Michigan got themselves a good player with him.

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Based on everything I’ve seen from this spring, I don’t see how Speight could be identified by anyone as the far-and-away leader at the QB position. Peters looks like he’s gaining significant ground.

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Interesting. I had heard earlier that they would be holding a coaching clinic at that time in Ann Arbor.

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It’s not a coincidence that he’s started shooting up the depth chart now that he’s growing his hair out.

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I agree that Milton would be a good consolation prize, and he might end up being the better QB. It seems like the coaching staff has grown increasingly enamored with Milton, though maybe that’s because Thompson-Robinson was fading away. He has a ton of potential.

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What Michigan or NFL tight ends did you want to emulate growing up?

What was the attitude of the offensive players during the Tom Brady vs. Drew Henson playing time battle? Was the locker room split, or did they think both guys could get the job done?

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I agree with this take. Zordich is a great interview. He’s not as flashy or funny as Don Brown or Jim Harbaugh, but he seems to be a straight shooter, like you said. Some coaches like to pretend everything is all sunshine and rainbows for the media, but Zordich gives you a chance to read between the lines without being openly negative.

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AFAIK, this is it. Other than the previous stuff with the doctor and the fact that there’s a staffer involved with the 3 aforementioned players.

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German Green played some safety as a sophomore, so maybe he’s the one. We’ll see how it all shakes out.

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I wouldn’t be too mad if one of the quarterbacks was James Graham, a dual-threat kid who could play wide receiver. He’s good enough at QB that he could potentially play that position down the road, but he’s speedy enough to make an impact at WR, CB, or KR, too.

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I usually enjoy bad things happening to MSU, but unfortunately, this type of bad stuff requires there to be true victims who are negatively affected.

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LOL. You can have as many accounts as you want, but I believe this is your third account. I believe you’re also registered as wolfman and wolfman64. It makes no difference to me. Just thought it was humorous! Thanks!

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Thanks for reading!

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I think we’re nearing agree-to-disagree status, but two final points:

1. Every cornerback “gets thrown at.” Teams don’t avoid throwing at cornerbacks, period, at least not unless you’re an all-time great like Deion Sanders or something. So the “He’s getting PBUs because people are throwing at him” excuse is kind of lame. People are throwing at these guys because a) they have to throw the ball and b) wide receivers are generally bigger playmakers than tight ends, running backs, etc. in the passing game. You can use tight ends as outlets or occasional primary receivers, but it was 2016 – teams throw the ball out wide.

2. I’m not just a statistics guy, even though you try to paint me in that way sometimes. I’m capable of looking at play on the field and making determinations based on what I see. Just because I use statistics to back up my arguments doesn’t mean I’m unwilling to look at other things. If I were just a stats guy, I wouldn’t be on the Ty Isaac-over-Karan Higdon bandwagon. Along that same vein, your “Both guys averaged 1.5 INTs per year” argument is disingenuous. Two of Stribling interceptions came when a) Hawaii’s QB threw the ball right to him with no WR in the area and b) on an ill-advised fake field goal pitch against Florida. That accounts for a full 33% of his career picks. I don’t remember Lewis being gifted any interceptions like those. This isn’t to imply that Stribling was bad at coverage, but THESE are the types of things that cause fluctations, the “luck” sort of plays, when it comes to statistics. There are INTs/PBUs that come from good coverage (Stribling vs. Wisconsin, Lewis vs. Wisconsin, Lewis vs. Northwestern in 2015, Stribling vs. UNLV in 2015), and there are INTs/PBUs that come from being a guy who just happens to be there when something is handed to him (Stribling vs. Florida, Matt Godin vs. Northwestern a couple years ago, etc.).

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How many teams are supremely confident that their backup QB could drive down the field for a game-winning TD? Did you have that confidence in Wilton Speight before he did exactly that against Minnesota in 2015? Your expectations are unrealistic.

I suppose if we had Tom Brady backed up by Aaron Rodgers backed up by Ben Roethlisberger, maybe then you would be satisfied.

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You’re going to get people excited…

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I think your point is self-defeating. You say that the great cornerbacks’ interceptions FLUCTUATE, but by fluctuating, you’re acknowledging that they exist. They don’t hover at zero. If it were attributed to luck, then why wouldn’t good cornerbacks get 4 then 0 then 6 then 2 then 0. Aqib Talib isn’t an all-time great, but I’m sure we can agree that he’s been a solid player; he’s had 4, 5, 6, 2, 2, 4, 4, 3, and 3 interceptions throughout his career. With a high of 6 and a low of 2, he’s averaged 3.7 per year. Darius Slay is not as good as Talib, and he’s had 0, 2, 2, and 2 interceptions in his career, with the 0 coming when he didn’t play much as a rookie.

If luck is so important here, why is Darius Slay averaging 1.5 (or 2) interceptions a year and consistently putting up lower numbers, while Talib is putting up better numbers consistently, regardless of whether he’s playing with Tampa Bay, New England, or Denver? The answer is obvious: Talib is better than Slay.

There wasn’t fluctuation with Stribling. Naturally, I agree that there’s *an* element of luck. For example, Stribling was very lucky that Hawaii’s QB threw the ball directly into his chest for a pick-six in the season opener. That wasn’t great coverage or talent. It was a crappy play by an overwhelmed QB. But that doesn’t account for all of his interceptions and pass breakups. I think you’re overstating how much luck is involved in playing cornerback.

(BTW, you seem to be limiting this conversation to interceptions, whereas I have repeatedly stated that pass breakups should also be used in the equation. I might agree that 2 interceptions can turn into 4 interceptions because of “luck,” but 3 PBUs doesn’t turn into 13 PBUs because of “luck.” Your stats don’t improve by 433% because of random chance.)

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I will before the draft, but not right now. I try to take a more concentrated look at the draft prospects before I make those projections.

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Peppers did return a punt for a TD, against Colorado.

I think it’s worthwhile to point out that 1 of Stribling’s interceptions in 2015 came on a busted fake field goal by Florida when Stribling tore through the line and Florida basically pitched it right at him. It’s an INT, of course, but it’s not really indicative of his coverage.

I think Stribling did improve, though. That’s why he’s grading out so high this year after not grading out so well in 2015. It’s also why there was talk in the spring last year that he was the best player on the defense. There have been lots of signs that he improved as a player, and that improvement has been steady.

You say that stats are “volatile,” but he went from 0 PBUs as a freshman and sophomore to 3 as a junior and then 13 as a senior. His interceptions also went from 0 to 0 to 2 to 4. Yes, he played more as a senior, but he didn’t play four times as much (to go from 3 PBUs to 13). When you steady improvement in both play and statistics from freshman to senior year, I’m not sure how you don’t acknowledge that personal improvement was a part of it. If he had started as a freshman, he wouldn’t have made 4 picks and 13 pass breakups; he needed to get better in order to make that happen.

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I can’t really argue with much of this. I don’t think I’ve been as harsh on Stribling as you think sometimes. The main thrust of my argument is that if I were an opposing team, I would target Stribling over Lewis; in other words, I think Lewis is better than Stribling. Considering Lewis is considered to be someone who will probably go in the first couple rounds of the draft, I think that’s a perfectly defensible position. My main frustration with Stribling early in his career was an inability to make actual plays on the football (a valid critique, IMO), but he improved upon that as a senior. And then his tackling is an issue, which was verified by PFF. Stribling is a fine college cornerback, but his slow 40, lack of reps on the bench press, poor tackling, etc. make him one of the less athletic cornerbacks available.

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Then I think you have to consider Speight’s ceiling. Every player has a ceiling, so where can Speight get by this season that he didn’t get to by the end of last season? Physically, he’s probably the least talented of that bunch (Barrett, McSorley, Speight). Mentally, maybe he can surpass those guys, but they have coaches, too…and Barrett’s coach has produced a Heisman winner and multiple national championships in the past. Harbaugh’s no slouch, but I just don’t think Speight can pass those guys up when he doesn’t have any proven receivers and the OL is in question.

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I get that this is pre-spring, but we’re pretty much looking at this in competition with other teams. So whether it’s spring or fall, these grades don’t really fit with our expectations, IMO. All this adds up to an average grade of about 2.5, which is between a C+ or B-. Is that where we expect to be in the Big Ten? Out of 14 teams, that grade probably puts us at about 6th.

Who are the five teams that are better off than Michigan on defense?

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I don’t think Speight will be the best QB in the Big Ten. First of all, Trace McSorley led the conference in passing efficiency last year by a wide margin (16 points over #2 Perry Hills, 17 over #3 Speight). Second, if you’re gung-ho about running factoring in, then J.T. Barrett is superior; he also had more TDs, the same number of INTs, and a similar completion percentage.

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I think the grade for the offensive line is a little unfair. Michigan’s line was not great in 2016, true, but there are some highly touted guys coming behind most of them. And Greg Frey has helped a great deal with offensive tackles in the past, which is a position that is in question more than the interior spots. I’d probably go D+ or C- there.

Otherwise, I think this is a pretty fair rundown.

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Oh, so close! Just a few hours off…

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Yeah, it was funny that he talked about Maddux before he knew Maddux was there. It was a pretty convincing disguise, though. A lot of sound/tech guys look pretty wild. I also like how he was annoyed with the guy and then started to respect him after a pitch or two.

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Louisville must have been upset that they didn’t make the list, so here’s a revised “top five” from Brown.

Correction

Top 5

1. North Carolina
2. Virginia tech
3. Ohio state
4. Michigan / Louisville
5. Alabama

— Dyami Brown (@deuce2_) March 10, 2017

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Ah, okay. I thought you meant he was calling Michigan out somehow. Yeah, I do agree that he didn’t seem 100% in favor of the move by his son.

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Well, you were close with our score. The final was 74-70 in favor of Michigan (as I’m sure you already know).

Better luck in the upcoming thread…

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Can you explain the “call-out” comment? I don’t really see anything like that, but I’m wondering where you’re coming from.

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After watching a little bit of what he did at Akron this past season, I do think Tuley-Tillman would be a step up from our current options at offensive tackle, save a healthy Grant Newsome. From a talent perspective, it would behoove Michigan to get him back on the team for one more year.

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