Tag: Wisconsin

School in the News: Wisconsin

Antonio Williams (image via 247Sports.com)

Well, head coach Gary Andersen pulled a shocker this evening when it was announced that he was leaving Wisconsin for the ripe football program at . . . Oregon State? In the world of rodents, I guess Beavers are cooler than Badgers.

I didn’t care much when Oregon State lost Mike Riley to Nebraska, because Michigan doesn’t compete with the Beavers for recruits very often. But Wisconsin and Michigan do cross paths quite a bit on the recruiting trail. In fact, class of 2016 running back Antonio Williams – who had developed a good relationship with Michigan assistant coach Roy Manning – just committed to the Badgers last week. So depending on the hire in Madison goes, Michigan might be able to get back in the equation if they make a good hire in Ann Arbor.

2015 commits with Michigan offers: None
2016 commits with Michigan offers: RB Antonio Williams
Roster players recruited by Michigan (with 2015 eligibility): OL Ray Ball (5th), LB Vince Biegel (RS Jr.), RB Corey Clement (Jr.), RB Melvin Gordon (5th), QB Tanner McEvoy (5th), DE Conor Sheehy (So.), OL Dan Voltz (RS Jr.), Robert Wheelwright (Jr.)

I wouldn’t expect anything to come out of this for Michigan as far as transfers, but the coaching change may have a slight effect. There’s no doubt that Wisconsin would want a run-heavy coach to fit their personnel since they’ve been having quite a bit of success, so someone like former Wisconsin offensive coordinator Paul Chryst (now the head coach at Pitt) makes sense.

Schools in the News: Wisconsin

News came out this afternoon that Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema, who played linebacker at Iowa, has been hired as the new Arkansas Razorbacks head coach.  The Badgers have generally lost to Michigan and other big-time teams in recruiting battles, but they have a few offerees who might be of Michigan fans’ interest.

2013 Wisconsin commits: Rob Wheelwright
2014 Wisconsin commits: Conor Sheehy
Current roster players: LB Vince Biegel, RB Melvin Gordon, RB Vonte Jackson, OG Dan Voltz, RB James White

For what it’s worth, I really liked Biegel and Voltz when they were coming out of high school; regardless, it’s unlikely that Michigan could grab any current roster members from Wisconsin because players usually don’t transfer within the conference.  Sometimes it’s interesting to think about what could have been, though.

Meanwhile, Sheehy visited Michigan, and the Wolverines were supposedly high on his list, so it might be possible to coax him into decommitting.  Wheelwright never seemed to be seriously interested in the Wolverines, although Michigan would still like to add a wide receiver to the class.  The Badgers also have a commitment from 2014 quarterback Chance Stewart, a pro-style guy from Sturgis (MI) Sturgis. Several Michigan people thought that he would jump on an offer from Michigan, but he never earned that offer and one didn’t seem to be forthcoming anytime soon.

I am somewhat surprised by Bielema’s departure from Madison because he seemed like a Big Ten guy, but he may have realized that a national championship would be difficult to achieve at Wisconsin.  While he did an excellent job of taking mid-level recruits and turning them into Big Ten champions, record holders, and such, he just didn’t seem to garner the elite athletes that one needs to win national championships and dominate the conference.  Now he’ll have the SEC name, the weather, and the recruiting territory to build an even more athletic version of his teams at Wisconsin.  The biggest question to me is whether he’ll be able to make the guys in the south buy into his program as well as he did with the Badgers.  Personally, I have never been a fan of Bielema because of his pompous attitude, so he’ll fit just fine in SEC country.

It may be interesting to see what direction the Badgers go now with their coaching situation.  I would not be surprised to see former offensive coordinator Paul Chryst come back to Wisconsin.  He did a great job of running their offense prior to this season and would seem like a natural fit to keep that program running without any hiccups.  And that would be quite unfortunate for the Pitt Panthers, who could be on the cusp of losing a second coach after just a one-year stint.  Todd Graham coached there for the 2011 season before bolting for Arizona State, and now Chryst’s old stomping grounds might lure him back after just one season in Pittsburgh.

Michigan vs. Wisconsin Awards

Maybe Wisconsin is good for something.

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Kelvin Grady.  I never really expected much from Grady, but he’s turned out to be more of a player this year.  His playing time diminished last year, and it seems to have diminished once again this season.  But it seems like every time Michigan quarterbacks throw in Grady’s direction, he makes a good play.  I don’t think he’s a gamebreaker or in line for the #1 jersey; he just seems clutch.  The kid has 16 catches for 200 yards on the season (12.5 yards per catch) and made a very nice catch on a ball thrown behind him this past Saturday. 

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . eh, I dunno.  I thought the guys played pretty well on Saturday.  Denard Robinson failed to make some key plays on Saturday, but I’m not about to call for him to be benched at this point.  He’s pretty good and stuff.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Thomas Gordon.  What ever happened to Thomas Gordon?  He hasn’t played defense since the Illinois game, and he hasn’t been on the injury report, either.  When I see 5’10” and . . . ahem . . . 197 lb. true freshman free safety Ray Vinopal creeping up to the line to run blitz, it makes me wonder why Prison Abs Gordon is sitting on the sideline.  Gordon isn’t huge, but he’s had a couple years in the strength and conditioning program and he didn’t earn the aforementioned nickname for nothing.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . run-blitzing Ray Vinopal.  Greg Robinson, leave Vinopal 10-15 yards off the ball.  Yeah, he takes good angles and hasn’t really let anyone behind him yet this year.  I’m not sure what those qualities have to do with him stopping 5’11”, 236 lb. Montee Ball running up the middle every play and/or taking on a tight end/fullback/offensive lineman.  That’s just poor defensive scheming.  It’s not like you don’t have other options (Cam Gordon, Thomas Gordon, and Jordan Kovacs) to send on a run blitz, guys who are more adept and more physically ready to make those plays.  But, you know, whatever.  I can’t say I was surprised to see a harebrained defensive scheme fail miserably in Week 11.

MVP of the Wisconsin game . . . Denard Robinson.  It’s odd that Denard passed for 239 yards, rushed for 121 yards, and accounted for all 4 touchdowns (2 passing, 2 rushing) . . . and I still wasn’t that impressed.  I’m sure there are a lot of plays that Robinson wishes he could do over, and it’s a testament to the offense’s design that so many plays were left on the field.  Denard was clearly Michigan’s best player in the game, but losing by 20 points makes it tough to call anyone an “MVP.”

Wisconsin 48, Michigan 28

Denard Robinson tackles defensive end JJ Watt after an interception.

Bullets:

I’m not upset.  This is a game that I expected Michigan to lose.  Almost everyone did.  That’s not to say that I wasn’t frustrated by some of the things that the coaches and players did – and the offensive production in the first half was somewhat embarrassing – but ultimately, this outcome is what most educated observers foresaw.

Denard’s overthrow early was a killer.  No one play completely destroyed Michigan on Saturday.  That’s impossible when you lose by 20 points.  But I can’t help but think “What if?” about that long pass from Robinson to Darryl Stonum in the first quarter.  Due to Denard Robinson’s running ability, he’s going to see a lot of Cover 0 with no deep safety.  He must take advantage of those opportunities.  Stonum is a blazer and probably would not have been caught from behind if Robinson had put the pass within reach.  If I remember correctly, that would have tied the game at 7-7.  Instead, Michigan went into halftime down 24-0.

Vincent Smith’s concussion looked ugly.  We’ve all seen our fair share of concussions on television (and/or in person).  The scariest are when players get knocked out cold, but it gives me a queasy feeling to see players stumbling around in a daze like Smith did when he tried to get up.  As commentator Chris Spielman said, kudos to Smith for having the toughness to try to get up after taking a knee to the head from 292-pound defensive end J.J. Watt.  Smith’s reaction was reminiscent of Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Stewart Bradley earlier this season, who was inexplicably allowed to re-enter the game almost immediately; luckily, Michigan’s training staff seems to care more about its players than the Eagles’.  Hopefully Smith heals quickly, but . . .

Injuries are mounting and chances against OSU are slimming.  Starting running back Vincent Smith will probably miss the Ohio State game due to his concussion.  Starting defensive end Craig Roh apparently had concussion-like symptoms, too.  Starting wide receiver Darryl Stonum was carted off the field with his left ankle heavily wrapped in ice.  Starting nose tackle Mike Martin missed much of the second half with his ongoing ankle problems.  Michigan’s top two cornerbacks (Troy Woolfolk, J.T. Floyd) are already out for the season due to ankle injuries.  This seems to be shaping up to be a more beaten-up unit against the Buckeyes than the 2007 team that featured a noodle-armed Chad Henne and a gimpy Mike Hart in the backfield.

The deployment of free safety Ray Vinopal was dumb.  First of all, it’s important to point out that Ray Vinopal has been an upgrade over Cameron Gordon at free safety.  There’s no question about that.  But why in the hell was Greg Robinson using Vinopal as a blitzing box safety?  This type of decision makes me want Robinson replaced at the end of the season.  Against the biggest, most physical, run-oriented team Michigan will face all season, it makes absolutely zero sense to put a 5’10”, 197 lb. (yeah, right) true freshman up at the line of scrimmage to take on a fullback, tight end, or pulling guard.  That’s ridamndiculous.  If you’re going to blitz from that position, put in Thomas Gordon.  Or send Jordan Kovacs from the edge.  There’s no excuse for that kind of matchup at the line of scrimmage, and that’s not Vinopal’s fault.  The Greg Robinson experiment needs to end.

Roy Roundtree is good.  Despite one inexplicable dropped pass on which he was wide open, Roundtree had another good day with 7 catches for 114 yards and a touchdown.  I’m looking forward to seeing him wear that #1 jersey.

Congratulations to Denard Robinson.  Robinson passed the NCAA record for most rushing yards by a quarterback, previously set by Air Force QB Beau Morgan in 1996.  He has now passed for 2,229 yards and rushed for 1,538 . . . and he still has two games to go.

Michigan Wins or Malaria Loses

Several years ago, I started donating $10 to Nothing but Nets for my friends’ birthdays. If a friend had a birthday, somebody in Africa got a mosquito net. As I’ve grown older and busier with my life, I’ve been doing a worse job of keeping track of birthdays.

I have a weird feeling that Michigan is going to beat Wisconsin tomorrow. Wisconsin is on a roll at 7-2 and Michigan is on a slide at 5-5, but I just have a feeling. And maybe my feeling is wrong, but either way, something good is going to happen.

If Michigan loses tomorrow, I’ll donate $50 to Nothing but Nets. If Wisconsin loses, well . . . I’ll still donate $10. I encourage any of you to donate if you’re feeling generous.