Tag: site news

The 2026 Season Countdown is Coming!

Every year since 2009, I have counted down from the least important player on that year’s roster to the most important player, including starters, scholarship players, preferred walk-ons, special teams players, student body walk-ons, and everyone in between.

YEARLY DISCLAIMER: The countdown is by the player’s importance to the team, not his overall talent. A talented player at a deep position won’t necessarily be missed a lot if he gets injured, but an injury to a moderately talented player at a thin position could be devastating. For example, I had cornerback Ambry Thomas ranked at #2 in 2020 because he was the team’s only proven cornerback. Naturally, he opted out of the season and the team as a whole was an unmitigated disaster. Meanwhile, first round pick Kwity Paye was #6 because more talent was returning on the defensive line.

TEMPORARY DISCLAIMER: As many might have noticed, posting has slowed here for personal reasons. Not because of any loss of passion, but due to limited time/energy. I will probably never return to the point of posting multiple times per day like I did in some years past, but my goal is to return to daily posting – not yet, but in time. As such, I will be starting the countdown in a condensed fashion with some of the lower ranked players being combined into chunks of players.

If you appreciate the content here at TTB, please consider making a donation via Paypal. Thanks to Stephen, David, Robert, and Ben for their recent donations!

Site News: What’s Going On?

If you’re still visiting TTB, you’re most likely a loyal reader. And I appreciate it.

For the past few weeks, I have been producing less on the blog than I probably ever have. And there’s a reason for that. It’s not just a coincidence.

I don’t want to go into too many details, but unfortunately, I have a close family member who has an addiction problem that has created a great deal of personal and financial woes. I’m somebody who tries to learn about problems and fix things, which has led me to dive deep into researching, reading, watching videos, listening to podcasts, etc. about addiction.

I was already stretched pretty thin because I’ve had my primary job while always juggling coaching, side gigs, writing, etc. The blog has always been my third- or fourth-biggest source of income, so I have to treat it as the third- or fourth-biggest professional priority.

I’m still updating the recruiting boards and watching film, but to be honest, it’s tough to focus on the more elaborate pieces that I used to enjoy putting together so much – the scouting reports, the film breakdowns, the hypothetical scenarios, etc.

Go Blue.

The 2025 Season Countdown is Coming!

Every year since 2009, I have counted down from the least important player on that year’s roster to the most important player, including starters, scholarship players, preferred walk-ons, special teams players, student body walk-ons, and everyone in between.

In case you want a look back at last year’s list, here it is (LINK). The top two players, Will Johnson and Colston Loveland, both got hurt, and it’s probably not a coincidence that the team struggled mightily at times, even though there were also other deficiencies.

YEARLY DISCLAIMER: The countdown is by the player’s importance to the team, not his overall talent. A talented player at a deep position won’t necessarily be missed a lot if he gets injured, but an injury to a moderately talented player at a thin position could be devastating. For example, I had cornerback Ambry Thomas ranked at #2 in 2020 because he was the team’s only proven cornerback. Naturally, he opted out of the season and the team as a whole was an unmitigated disaster. Meanwhile, first round pick Kwity Paye was #6 because more talent was returning on the defensive line.

I had to wait an extra week this year to watch the spring game on TV, and I was also waiting to see if the house settlement would reduce rosters to 105, but it doesn’t look like we’ll get any clarification on that anytime soon.

If you appreciate the content here at TTB, please consider making a donation via Paypal. Thanks to Stephen, David, Tony, and Rich for their recent donations!

The 2024 Season Countdown is Coming!

Every year since 2009, I have counted down from the least important player on that year’s roster to the most important player, including starters, scholarship players, preferred walk-ons, special teams players, student body walk-ons, and everyone in between.

In case you want a look back at last year’s list, here it is (LINK). Michigan was very lucky to keep its top players healthy, including #1 overall J.J. McCarthy, who is poised to be a top-10 draft pick here in a few weeks.

YEARLY DISCLAIMER: The countdown is by the player’s importance to the team, not his overall talent. A talented player at a deep position won’t necessarily be missed a lot if he gets injured, but an injury to a moderately talented player at a thin position could be devastating. For example, I had cornerback Ambry Thomas ranked at #2 in 2020 because he was the team’s only proven cornerback. Naturally, he opted out of the season and the team as a whole was an unmitigated disaster. Meanwhile, first round pick Kwity Paye was #6 because more talent was returning on the defensive line.

Another thing to note is the transfer portal, which causes players to jump in and out with more frequency than in the past. So despite my having a list already put together, there are going to be guys who enter and leave the program in the interceding months between now and August.

If you appreciate the content here at TTB, please consider making a donation via Paypal. Thanks to Stephen, Ashley, James, and Paul for their recent donations!

Top 10 Posts of 2023

I meant to post this at the beginning of the month, but you know, Michigan’s exciting activities in the Rose Bowl and then the national championship distracted me. I don’t think many other people care, but it’s always good for me to review the numbers to see what kind of content people like the most. Year after year, the most viewed posts primarily consist of post-game discussions.

So here are the top ten posts of 2023, including links to the posts (the Blogger versions) in case you want to go back and discuss:

1. Michigan 45, Nebraska 7
2. Michigan 52, Indiana 7
3. Preview: Michigan vs. Bowling Green
4. Michigan 30, Ohio State 24
5. Michigan 49, Michigan State 0
6. Michigan 41, Purdue 13
7. Michigan 24, Penn State 15
8. Michigan 52, Minnesota 10
9. 2023 Season Countdown: #13 Donovan Edwards
10. 2023 Ex-Wolverine Updates: Week 4