You're Tiger Bait wrote:peake I wanted to ask you a question. I know hiring harbaugh made the guys in them funny helmets go wild. but in your opinion, do you think this will make an instant change coaching/success wise immediately. I really hope it does, I hope the big ten starts hitting on all cylinders now. even with harbaugh being an alum. they begged him for months to come there. and had to pay an astronomical amount to get him.you'd have thought that would be his dream job. even with his success at Stanford and san fran it kinda seemed like he wanted to get out of the game. and lost his locker room. what are your thoughts.looking forward to harbaugh/meyer this year.
Thank you to everyone who welcomed me back. Glad to be back.
Bait,
Great question my ol friend. I think Harbaugh and company have one of the finest collection of assistants in the country (Durkin, Fisch, Mattison, Dreveno, Wheatly, Baxter). It has been years since UM has had a coaching staff as good as it has now. Will this translate into wins immediately? Good question. I think the toughness and mentality of this team will be completely different. Harbaugh teams are tough, and if you're not, you're gone, as you've already seen with attrition. Does that mean they will win now? Yes and no. I think you look at the schedule, and I see 5 wins (Oregon St, UNLV, NW, Indiana, and Rutgers), than I see 6 games that are winnable (Utah, BYU, Minny, Maryland, MSU, and OSU). I think you probably get three out of the 6 winnable (MSU, BYU, and MSU), and you're looking at an 8 win team, with the possibility of more, or possibly less. It is hard to tell without seeing a single game. I can say this....
Michigan will have talent, unlike when Brady took over and the roster was Denard, Lewan, Hemmingway, Molk, Martin, and a bunch of other no bodies. Now this roster will have talent and depth imo.
QB- Iowa transfer Jake Rudock imo will start, and he will be the type that won't be counted on to be more than a game manager.
RB- Deveon Smith, Ty Issac, and Green are all former 4 and 5 star top 10 RB's in their class. In fact Issac was #1 and Green #2. Does that mean anything now? Not really, but you have to think the talent is there.
WR- This group needs help. Darboh reminds me of early 2000's WR Jason Avant. He is a great #2, and is big, strong, and catches everything. However, he isn't a number 1. It will be interesting to see if Chesson has developed, or if young guys like Mo Ways, Drake Harris, or Bryan Cole are ready to contribute.
TE- Jake Butt is the best TE in the conference, no worries here, aside from staying healthy. Having Kahlid Hill back will help.
OL- Very solid veteran group. I look for starters to be Cole (Sophomore), Khalis (RjR), Glasgow (Rsr), Mags (Rjr), and Braden (Rjr). Everyone has had at minimum a year of starts, and Glasgow is a third year starter.
DL- It hurt losing Mone, but Henry, Wormley, Hurst, Glasgow (brother), Ojamudia, Taco, and Lawrence Marshall should be a very solid front four. Michigan will run more 3-4 this year, so it will be interesting to see how they use some of the DE's.
LB- Tons of experience. Bolden should an all-big ten type player this year, he was a stud at Cin. Colerain. James Ross has had two years of starts under his belt, and RSr Demond Morgan is back after an injury led him to a medical redshirt. Desmond is a three year starter for the Wolverines. This group is very solid.
DB- I really like Jordan Lewis, I feel he is the next Wolverine to be Marlin Jackson or Leon Hall. Kid is a player. Wayne Lions, former Stanford Cardinal, will be inserted into the starting lineup, and should make this group really solid.
Nickel- Jabril Peppers. I'm ready to see what this guy can do.
FS- Jarred Wilson is a three year starter. He is pretty solid at everything, great at nothing.
SS- Delano Hill. One of the better athletes on the team aside from Peppers.
I think Michigan has to be able to run the football, and if they can, will be a heavy play-action team with Rudock. I like this team, and feel they should win 7-8 games minimum.