Tag: Lloyd Carr

Braylon Edwards is a waffler

If this guy doesn’t look like a wide receiver, it’s because he wasn’t.  It’s kicker Gregg Wilner.

I hate the Detroit Free Press, which is why I’m going to give you all the info you need here and you don’t have to click on the link, which can be found here if you like supporting terrorists: l.

I don’t think there’s a receiver that has emerged as a guy that can take over a game or a guy they can trust.  However, on the flip side, I wouldn’t mind Denard Robinson wearing it, the No. 1 this year. If it went in that direction, I would be honored that he continued the lineage of the ‘one.’ I would be happy with that all the way.

Those are the words of one Braylon Edwards.  Of course, this comment comes a few years after saying the following:

I’m glad you gave me a Go Blue question because Rich Rod gave the No. 1 jersey to an incoming freshman DB [J.T. Floyd], and the No. 1 jersey has never been worn by anybody outside of a wide receiver.  It dates back to Anthony Carter, (Greg) McMurtry, Tyrone Butterfield, Derrick Alexander, David Terrell, and yours truly. So I’m going to have a talk with him about that the next time I see him.  He’s getting that call soon – very soon. Exactly, we have a jersey scholarship fund for this whole deal. What is he thinking?
 

There are good things that can be said about Braylon Edwards.  He paid out a bunch of money to some inner city Cleveland kids to whom he had promised some college tuition.  He also started an endowment for a scholarship at the University of Michigan.  And, of course, he’s one of the best football players in Michigan history.

But he’s kind of a moron.  Aside from his legal troubles, this whole #1 jersey kerfuffle is absolutely ridiculous.  He specifically states that the #1 jersey has never been worn by anyone other than a kicker, even though it has been worn by LT Angus Goetz, G Robert Jerome Dunne, HB Harry Kipke, S Dave Whiteford, and K Gregg Willner throughout history.  Way to know the history of your own endowed scholarship, Braylon.

Now he’s publicly lobbying for Denard Robinson to wear the #1 jersey.  Denard Robinson does not play wide receiver.

For the record, I think the #1 jersey “tradition” is complete and utter nonsense.  It was never meant to be a tradition.  It was the result of a single coach challenging a single player.  Edwards asked to switch from #80 to #1 because his idol Anthony Carter wore it, and then head coach Lloyd Carr said, “If you want to honor Anthony Carter, then you should work for it and earn it.”  Edwards worked for it and had a great last couple years at Michigan.  There.  That’s it.  If anybody should have notoriety for creating the #1 jersey tradition, it ought to be Lloyd Carr, who devised the plan and realized that Edwards needed a challenge to get over his immaturity and trouble catching the ball.

I have no problem with Denard Robinson wearing the #1 jersey.  He’s a superstar college player, and by all accounts, he’s a leader of the team.  However, if Edwards just wants to hand out the #1 jersey to a superstar or the team’s best player or the team’s best offensive player or whomever, he shouldn’t make a big deal out of it going to a wide receiver.  When Rodriguez tried to give cornerback J.T. Floyd the #1 back in 2008, Edwards made a big deal out of it and got Rodriguez off to a horrible start with the media, fans, and former players.  He submarined the Rodriguez regime almost immediately.  And for what?  For a “tradition” that Edwards himself can’t properly explain.

So let’s give the #1 jersey to Denard for 2012.  Maybe next year Edwards can award it to running back Fitzgerald Toussaint.  Or left tackle Taylor Lewan.  Either way, Edwards has undermined his own previous statements.  I never want to hear about him wanting only to give the #1 jersey to a wide receiver again.

Mailbag: Does Hoke deserve blame for lack of OL depth?

Do you think Hoke deserves any blame for not going after OL/DL last year? I realize time was short, but he managed to snag a QB, TE, DE and LB – guys that hadn’t been targeted before.
Shouldn’t he have seen the potential train-wreck coming at OL and tried to address the situation? I’d imagine there were some marginal 3-star types available that could have at least contributed to depth. DT is probably a different story – since competition is so stiff and freshman can contribute right away. But OL…the needs been there for a long time. Besides Rodriguez’s class of 6 guys in ’08 Michigan has under-recruited the OL position since 2005 (no more than 3 OL in a class). Rodriguez recognized the need and immediately worked to rectify it. Yeah, he had more time, but we didn’t even hear of any new names pop up at OL in the 2011 class.

I think that Rodriguez deserves a little less blame for the OL situation. 1st, he was forced by Carr into recruiting a giant OL class in ’08. with all the other needs around he couldn’t keep taking 5 guys a year. So, the small OL classes in 09 and 10 were somewhat justifiable. 2011 was looking strong but the transition cost UM Fisher and probably some other OL recruit. I don’t think it’s all on him that the ’09 and ’10 OL classes now look to be so damaging.

The question above comes from a commenter in Tuesday’s recruiting update post.

No, I don’t think Brady Hoke deserves blame for not going after offensive linemen and defensive linemen last year.  First of all, he was hired less than a month before National Signing Day.  With that short of a start, I don’t think he can really accept any blame whatsoever.  But secondly, he did  go after linemen.  Hoke offered:

• Ohio DE/DT Keith Heitzman (Michigan)
• New Jersey DE Max Issaka (Rutgers)
• Arizona OT Ryan Nowicki (Penn State)
• Florida DT Trevarris Saulsberry (Tennessee)
• Florida DE Jordan Williams (Tennessee)

Furthermore, he continued to recruit former Michigan commit Jake Fisher, who ended up signing with Oregon.  I got the feeling that the new coaches were really pushing for Fisher and wanting to make him believe that he was their priority at the position.  The fact that Fisher chose Oregon was very disappointing to me, because I think Fisher is going to be an excellent lineman and he has already earned solid reviews in Eugene.

Rodriguez offered just 17 linemen in the class of 2010; one committed (center Christian Pace, who has since left the program).  Rodriguez offered just 13 linemen in the class of 2009; three committed (Taylor Lewan, Michael Schofield, and Quinton Washington, who has switched to defensive tackle).  Furthermore, by the time Rodriguez was fired in January 2011, he only had three offensive linemen committed (Fisher, Jack Miller, and Tony Posada).

The offensive line recruiting at this point has nothing to do with Lloyd Carr.  Carr left behind a mediocre group (Justin Boren, David Molk, and Steve Schilling along with a bunch of journeyman types), but Rodriguez had a few years to fix it.  And while Rodriguez did a decent job of bringing in talent, he clearly didn’t bring in enough of it.  This roster is full of Rodriguez recruits, Mark Huyge, David Molk, Rocko Khoury, and Elliott Mealer; Lloyd Carr hasn’t coached a game since January 1, 2008, yet two starters and two key backups remain from his regime.  Here’s a breakdown of who’s responsible for the expected 2012 offensive line:

• Carr: Rocko Khoury, Elliott Mealer
• Rodriguez: Ricky Barnum, Chris Bryant, Taylor Lewan, Jack Miller, Patrick Omameh, Michael Schofield
• Hoke: Blake Bars, Ben Braden, Kyle Kalis, Erik Magnuson, Caleb Stacey (plus a presumed sixth commit)

Lastly, you state that Rodriguez had so many other needs that he couldn’t commit more scholarships to linemen.  I think that’s a farce.  Every team has 85 scholarships to use.  Every team needs roughly the same number of cornerbacks, receivers, quarterbacks, etc.  Rodriguez had five slot receivers on the roster by the time he started recruiting for 2011 (Martavious Odoms, Jeremy Gallon, Terrence Robinson, Drew Dileo, and D.J. Williamson), yet he still offered five more slot receivers for the 2011 class.  Virtually every coach – except perhaps Rodriguez – would tell you that offensive linemen are more important than slot receivers, but Rodriguez whiffed on too many offensive linemen in the class of 2011.  After taking only one in 2010, he was on his way to taking only three in 2011.  The position group was going to continue to be thin under Rodriguez.  We’re talking about a difference of one guy (Fisher) between the current team and the team Rodriguez would have had.

With all that out of the way, take a look at what Hoke is doing now.  He threw out a late offer to Nowicki and didn’t get him.  Rather than poaching 3-star linemen from places like Vanderbilt and Purdue, he decided to throw himself into grabbing 4- and 5-star linemen for the class of 2012.  The Wolverines have enough depth for the 2011 season, so we’re talking about 2012 (and beyond).  Is a 3-star redshirt freshman loads better than a true freshman Kyle Kalis or Erik Magnuson?  Yes, it’s ideal that every lineman redshirts, but that doesn’t mean you necessarily take age over talent.

The 2012 offensive line looks to be:

LT: Taylor Lewan
LG: Ricky Barnum
C: Rocko Khoury
RG: Patrick Omameh
RT: Michael Schofield

The backups will be Elliott Mealer, Jack Miller, and Chris Bryant, plus a bunch of freshmen.  It looks like a pretty good starting offensive line, but whether the next guy in is a 3-star redshirt freshman or a 4-star true freshman, there’s bound to be a significant drop-off.

I don’t blame Hoke for any of the 2011 recruiting class, but I give him credit for Russell Bellomy, Tamani Carter, Keith Heitzman, Antonio Poole, and Matt Wile.  I also don’t blame Rodriguez for not getting a viable quarterback in 2008, but I do give him credit for pulling in Ricky Barnum, Justin Feagin, J.T. Floyd, Taylor Hill, Martavious Odoms, Patrick Omameh, Terrence Robinson, Roy Roundtree, and Brandon Smith.  But I will hold Hoke responsible if any of those five players wash out, just like I blame Rodriguez for wasting scholarships on Feagin, Hill, and Smith.

Ten Wolverines for Whom I’m Thankful

This post was supposed to go up yesterday, but I ran out of time due to holiday obligations.

These ten Wolverines are my favorite all-time Michigan players.  Some are great.  Some aren’t.  But for one reason or another, these guys have made it fun to be a Michigan fan.

1. Brandon Graham, 2006-2009.  Graham was a terror from the defensive end position.  In addition to his physical talents, he matured a great deal from his freshman year (in which he played defensive tackle because he really liked to eat).  Not only do I like Graham for the plays he did make (for example, blowing up MSU running back Glen Winston in 2009), but I like him for the plays he almost made, too (nearly chasing down Javon Ringer in 2008).  It all added up to a first round pick by the Eagles in 2010.

2. Charles Woodson, 1995-1997.  Everybody knows about Woodson.  He was an all-everything recruit and named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 1995.  He was a First Team All-American in 1996 and the Defensive Player of the Year.  Then he topped it off in 1997 with the Jim Thorpe Award and the Heisman Trophy.  Every time Michigan needed a play, it seemed like Woodson was there to make it.  There’s just something about the way Woodson moves on the field that makes him fun to watch, even now as a 34-year-old Green Bay Packer.

3. Tshimanga Biakabutuka, 1993-1995.  It seems like a long time since Michigan has had a player like Biakabutuka – a guy who carries a large load and can make big plays in the meantime, not just wear down the defense.  Biakabutuka was a soccer player as a youngster and is a great example of what I call “soccer feet.”  Soccer players have a certain, recognizeable gait and way of moving around the football field, and #21 had some of the quickest feet I’ve seen from a big back.  He became a first round pick of the Carolina Panthers, but was hampered by injuries in the NFL.  His school record 1,818 yards in 1995 might be broken by Denard Robinson this season, but it’s pretty special when a running back averages 6.0 yards a carry . . . for his entire career.

4. Lloyd Carr, 1980-2007.  Carr has taken a lot of heat for what happened to the program after his coaching career ended.  I think that is somewhat overblown.  Regardless, Carr was a great coach when he was in Ann Arbor.  He always seemed to do the right thing, and he kept issues private that ought to be private.  It also helps that he won a national championship.  While I’ve always respected Bo Schembechler, Lloyd Carr will probably remain my favorite Michigan coach of all-time.

5. Jason Avant, 2003-2006.  Avant was the most reliable receiver I’ve seen at Michigan.  His teammate Braylon Edwards got the hype and the high draft pick, but Avant seemed to catch every single ball thrown to him.  He wasn’t very tall and didn’t have great speed, but he was always in the right place and made the play.  He ended his senior year with 82 catches for 1,007 yards and 8 touchdowns, earned honorable mention All-America status, and was named the MVP of the team.  He cashed in his intangibles when he was drafted in the fourth round by the Philadelphia Eagles.

6. Desmond Howard, 1988-1991.  Howard was larger than life when I was a kid.  Even though Michigan became a more pass-oriented team later in the ’90s and into the 2000s, Grbac-to-Howard was the most lethal passing combination I’ve seen at U of M.  The fact that he won the Heisman Trophy in 1991 is secondary, though.  My favorite fact about Desmond Howard is that after the Wolverines beat the Purdue Boilermakers in that 1991 season, I was one of the little kids who stuck his hand through the railing by the tunnel . . . and Howard gave me a high five on his way into the tunnel.

7. William Carr, 1993-1996.  Carr was Mike Martin before Mike Martin was Mike Martin.  Playing the nose tackle position back in the mid-’90s, Carr had 82 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, and 6 sacks as a junior.  Those are ridiculous numbers for a nose tackle.  He was a fire hydrant in the middle of those stout Michigan defenses and was a first team All-American in ’96.  He was only a seventh round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals, though, and never did much in the NFL.

8. Brandent Englemon, 2003-2007.  Englemon was the type of success story that I like to see at Michigan.  He was a solid player throughout his career, but never had any spectacular seasons.  He could have departed after the 2006 season with his degree, but he wanted to remain for a fifth year and contribute further.  The coaches were ready to let him go and use the scholarship on a younger player, but Englemon convinced them otherwise.  He responded by earning the starting job at free safety, tallying 86 tackles and 3 interceptions in his final season.

9. Jake Long, 2003-2007.  Long was perhaps Michigan’s best offensive lineman of all time.  He was the athletic, mauling lineman that should be the prototype for the position.  At 6’7″ and 313 lbs. with long arms and quick feet, Long could collapse one whole side of a defensive line or stay in front of some of college football’s best pass rushers.  I was thoroughly excited to see Michigan pull out the good old “tackle sreen left” play in the 2008 Capital One Bowl against the Florida Gators; unfortunately, quarterback Chad Henne overthrew Long.  I would have loved to see Long rumble down the field with the football.

10. Jordan Kovacs, 2009-present.  It might seem odd for me to pick Kovacs here, a player whose talent I’ve derided right here on this very blog.  He’s pretty small, he’s not very fast, etc.  All those things remain true.  Still, it’s somewhat remarkable that he stepped onto the field at Michigan and earned a starting job as a redshirt freshman in 2009.  He tallied 75 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 interception that season, earning second team All-America status.  Despite Michigan bringing in some talented secondary players around him, Kovacs continues to hold onto the starting job at strong safety.  I have to admire what he’s achieved.

The Lloyd Carr Experience

Lloyd Carr at Rackham Auditorium

One of the reasons I haven’t been posting much is that I’ve been preparing to take a couple trips, including one to Michigan for this past weekend. The event was the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club’s 150th reunion, a gathering for the university’s oldest student organization. Yep, I was in the Glee Club in college.

Without venturing too far into the events of the weekend, a banquet was held on Friday night at which former U of M head coach Lloyd Carr spoke. The emcee of the program was Bob McGrath, who you might be familiar with if you’ve ever watched Sesame Street. The evening’s announcer was Carl Grapentine, whose voice you might be familiar with if you’ve ever attended a Michigan home game. Both McGrath and Grapentine are former members of the UMMGC. Carr not so much.

This is my second close encounter with Coach Carr. The first came when I was walking down State Street as an undergrad. He walked out of Starbucks at the corner of Liberty and State ahead of me. I followed him as inconspicuously as I could, but the only way I would have caught him would have been if I were incontinent and searching for a bathroom. I always walk faster in those situations. Anyway, he ducked into Nickel’s Arcade and I can only imagine he was crouched around the corner waiting to clothesline his stalker. Afraid of the impending whiplash, I crossed the street and headed across the Diag.

On Friday night, Coach Carr spoke for about fifteen minutes. Approximately 800 people had arrived at Rackham Auditorium to hear him speak. Part of his speech was about his connections to the Glee Club, but much of it – as one might expect – was about football.

Coach Carr told a story about former UMMGC director Willis Patterson, who directed the group from 1969 to 1975. When Carr was head coach, he invited Patterson to teach his players how to sing “The Victors,” Michigan’s fight song. After ten years of teaching the team the song, Patterson once said to Carr, “You know, those players just aren’t very good at singing that song.”
Carr responded, “Well, who’s teaching them?”

According to Carr, each year Patterson would arrive with a play drawn up that he thought Carr should run. When relating the story, Coach Carr said, “And as little as I know about singing beautifully, Willis knows even less about football.”

After the jokes ended – and there were plenty of them – Coach Carr settled into speaking about football. He spoke extensively about surrounding himself and hiring people who were passionate about football. He said that was the most important thing he looked for when hiring and recruiting. While he spoke extensively about being passionate, I couldn’t help but think about all the criticism he’s taken over the last few years for the “demise” of the football program. He’s been accused of “losing his fire” for the game and been blamed for recruiting players who couldn’t handle Rich Rodriguez’s tough new regime.

I have no idea whether Coach Carr lost his competitive edge. Just because he spoke about “passion” doesn’t mean he was passionate in the last few years of his career. But what I’ve always admired about him was the way he acted in public and supported his players. He acted with class. He refused to campaign for a shot at a national championship in 2007. Outside of his office in Schembechler Hall, he had a table with a dictionary and a stack of note cards; anytime a player wanted to speak with him, they had to find a new word and write the definition on the note card. This is a man who was interested in developing young men and setting an example, not just churning out good football players.

Even before I saw him speak, Coach Carr was a man for whom I would run through a brick wall. That feeling was only strengthened by seeing him speak Friday evening.

At the end of the evening, the UMMGC’s accompanist hopped on the piano bench and started playing “Varsity” and “The Victors.” The Glee Club’s current conductor, Dr. Paul Rardin, directed 430+ Glee Club alumni in a powerful rendition. Toward the end of the song, Dr. Rardin stepped down into the crowd and pulled Coach Carr onto the Rackham Auditorium stage. The evening ended with everyone in attendance, including Coach Carr, pumping their fists in the air and singing “Hail, hail, to Michigan, the champions of the west!”

It was a great evening.

What Could Have Been . . . Christian Wilson

Christian Wilson (#33)