Tag: Ex-Wolverines

Damien Harris, ex-Wolverine

Berea (KY) Madison Southern running back Damien Harris officially decommitted from Michigan yesterday, which is the second huge decommitment from Michigan’s 2015 class, following Tarpon Springs (FL) East Lake wide receiver George Campbell. He originally committed to the Wolverines last August after being offered in the summer of 2012 when he camped in Ann Arbor. In fact, he was the first player to be offered by Michigan in the 2015 class. While no definitive reason has been stated for rescinding his pledge, his family was apparently fond of former offensive coordinator Al Borges; with Borges out the door and Michigan’s 15-11 record over the past two seasons, it’s somewhat understandable that the 247 Composite #2 running back would have second thoughts. However, it’s still disappointing for a Michigan fan base who expected that Harris’s love for his childhood favorite would carry him through to National Signing Day in February 2015.

New offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier and running backs coach Fred Jackson visited Harris in his hometown recently, and obviously, Harris wasn’t 100% comfortable with the situation. His mother has told recruiting outlets that the Wolverines are still #1 on Harris’s list, but the vast majority of kids who decommit end up choosing another school.

Michigan has a few options at this point. They immediately responded by offering Princeton (NJ) Princeton 3-star running back Johnny Frasier, who holds a middling offer list. Detroit (MI) Cass Tech runner Mike Weber has had an offer for a while, but he has stated that Michigan wasn’t recruiting him very hard, so it might be hard to get back in the race with him after teams like Michigan State and Tennessee have worked on him. Orlando (FL) Timber Creek’s Jacques Patrick has a cousin who coaches in Detroit, and Plano (TX) West’s Soso Jamabo holds an offer as well, but both of those players seem like longshots.

Despite a couple mediocre seasons, Michigan still has the brand name and the television presence to pull kids in from around the country. Nussmeier has some different connections and some different philosophies, so it will be interesting to see which players get offered next. Two names I plan to keep an eye on are Hubbard (OH) Hubbard’s Larry Scott and East St. Louis (IL) East St. Louis running back Natereace Strong

, a teammate of linebacker Kyron Watson, a Kansas commit who was offered in the 2014 class.

For other news on ex-Wolverines, you can check out the Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia.

Al Borges, Ex-Wolverine

Denard Robinson had some good times with offensive coordinator Al Borges back in 2011.

Michigan head coach Brady Hoke announced on Wednesday that offensive coordinator Al Borges would not be retained for the 2014 season, meaning almost everyone got their wish. Borges sprinkled amazing offensive performances (including record-setting 2013 games against Indiana and Ohio State) in with too many horrific game plans. I said after the bowl loss against Kansas State that heads should roll. Lots of other people called for it earlier, of course, but I wanted to see how 2013 played itself out.

Borges was hired by Hoke at San Diego State prior to the 2009 season, spending the next five seasons (two at SDSU, three at Michigan) together. They had some very good years together in San Diego and things started off pretty well in 2011 when the team went 11-2 and Michigan had two 1,000-yard rushers in quarterback Denard Robinson and tailback Fitzgerald Toussaint. But things started to go south in 2012 when Robinson failed to mature as a passer and the running game festered despite a veteran offensive line. A younger offensive line in 2013 forced the offense to mostly take steps backward again, with historically bad performances against Michigan State and Nebraska.

I hesitate to get into potential replacements, because these things almost never work out like you hope they will. What I would be looking for with the personnel and philosophy Michigan has is an offensive coordinator that has experience with the pistol and multiple tight end sets. As opposed to shotgun, the pistol lends itself more to pro-style and power running, which suits running backs Derrick Green and De’Veon Smith. Meanwhile, Michigan has the horses in Devin Funchess, Jake Butt, Khalid Hill, and Ian Bunting to make multiple tight ends work. Furthermore, quarterback Devin Gardner can run some option looks out of the pistol while still playing in a shotgun type of passing offense that suits his skills. Beyond Gardner, who’s only around for one more year, Michigan has quarterbacks Shane Morris and Wilton Speight in the pipeline, both of whose skills are suited to more of a pistol/shotgun spread look. Michigan has a spate of good receivers on the team and headed to campus, and they don’t have the maulers up front to be Alabama, so meshing Hoke’s power running philosophy with a pistol passing philosophy seems like the best idea to me.

Running backs coach Fred Jackson was Michigan’s offensive coordinator in 1995 and 1996 but is rumored to be nearing retirement, making him an unlikely candidate. Wide receivers coach Jeff Hecklinski has been an offensive coordinator in the past, most recently at Central Missouri State in 2002; he was also the passing game coordinator at Arizona in 2003. Tight ends coach Dan Ferrigno has not been an offensive coordinator since 1986 when he was at Western Michigan. Offensive line coach Darrell Funk has never been more than a position coach at the FBS level.

Michigan’s previous offensive coordinator, Calvin Magee, spent 2011 as Pitt’s offensive coordinator before reuniting with head coach Rich Rodriguez at Arizona in 2012. Before him was Mike Debord, who spent 2011-2012 as the Chicago Bears’ tight ends coach before getting hired as the University of Michigan’s Olympic sports administrator, a position he currently maintains.

Ex-Wolverine Updates: Post-Bowl Edition

Ray Vinopal

CB Dallas Crawford: In the Russell Athletic Bowl, Crawford had 11 carries for 35 yards and 3 catches for 22 yards in 36-9 loss to Louisville.

K/P Anthony Fera: Fera was 1/1 on extra points and averaged 42.1 yards on 7 punts, including landing 4 inside the 20-yard line, in the 30-7 loss to Oregon in the Alamo Bowl.

K Matt Goudis: Goudis was 1/1 on extra points in Miami’s loss to Louisville.

Head coach Rich Rodriguez: Rodriguez and his Arizona Wildcats finished the season with a 42-19 win over Boston College in the AdvoCare V100 Bowl. Running back Ka’Deem Carey finished with 27 carries for 169 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Ken Griffey, Jr.’s son Trey had 3 catches for 41 yards and 2 touchdowns. Rodriguez finishes at 8-5 for the second year in a row, making him 16-10 during his time in Tucson.

Defensive coordinator Scott Shafer: Shafer and his Syracuse Orangemen achieved a 21-17 victory over Minnesota in the Texas Bowl. Shafer finishes at 7-6 in his first season as a head coach.

S Ray Vinopal: In the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, Vinopal led his Pitt team his tackles with 11, adding 1 sack. The Panthers beat Bowling Green by a score of 30-27.

CB Adrian Witty: Witty had 4 tackles and 1 pass breakup as his Cincinnati Bearcats lost to North Carolina by a score of 39-17.

Ex-Wolverine Updates

Demar Dorsey

CB Demar Dorsey: Dorsey has been signed by the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League. The last time he played football was in 2012, when he played four games for Arizona Western Junior College, making 12 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 1 interception.

K Anthony Fera: Fera hit a 42-yard field goal, had a 44-yarder blocked, was 1/1 on extra points, and average 38.3 yards on 9 punts as the Longhorns lost to Baylor by a score of 30-10 in the Big 12 Championship game.

Defensive coordinator Greg Robinson: Robinson’s Longhorns defense gave up 508 yards and recorded zero turnovers in the 30-10 loss to Baylor.

CB Adrian Witty: Witty had 4 tackles in Cincinnati’s 31-24 overtime loss to Louisville in their final regular season game.

You can find other players and their stories in the Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia.

Ex-Wolverine Updates

TE Pharaoh Brown: Brown had 1 catch for a 1-yard touchdown in Oregon’s 42-16 loss to Arizona.

CB Dallas Crawford: Crawford had 16 carries for 55 yards and 2 touchdowns, as well as 2 catches for 7 yards. Miami beat Virginia by a score of 45-26.

K Matt Goudis: Goudis was 6/6 on extra points and hit a 33-yard field goal in Miami’s 45-26 win over Virginia.

S Carvin Johnson: Johnson had 10 tackles in Hampton’s 42-39 double overtime loss to Howard. He ended the year second on the team with 122 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 3 interceptions for 59 yards, 6 pass breakups, and 2 fumble recoveries.

LB Mike Jones: Jones and his Western Michigan Broncos play Northern Illinois tonight at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN2. Jones is the third-leading tackler on the team with 86 stops.


Head coach Rich Rodriguez: Rodriguez notched perhaps his signature win against the #5 Oregon Ducks with a 42-16 victory. The Wildcats were outgained 506 to 482 but mostly kept the Ducks out of the endzone. Rodriguez’s team forced 3 turnovers – including 2 interceptions from Marcus Mariota, who hadn’t thrown one yet this year – and gave up 0. Running back Ka’Deem Carey rushed 48 times for 206 yards and 4 scores, and quarterback B.J. Denker rushed 14 times for 102 yards. Denker was also nearly perfect through the air with a 19/22 performance for 178 yards and 2 scores. Arizona is now 7-4.

S Ray Vinopal: Vinopal had 8 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and .5 sacks in Pitt’s 17-16 win over Syracuse.

CB Adrian Witty: Witty had 2 tackles in Cincinnati’s 24-17 win over Houston.