Unverified Voracity And Stuff

That's what I'm saying. Pierre Woods' final season in a Michigan uniform remains a mystery to everyone, including his current coach. Asked about the difference between third-round pick Shawn Crable, now a Patriot, and undrafted Pierre Woods, Bill Belicheck seemed as befuddled as us:

BB: Woods was one of the top players in the country as a sophomore. He didn't play as a senior. You'd have to ask Michigan why they didn't play him, or maybe they thought they had better players. I don't know. That's a question they'd have to answer. Athletically, he was an astounding player as a sophomore. I think he got some... the same thing as a junior and then he didn't play much as a senior.

This is a semi-accurate recollection. Woods (68 tackles, 13 TFL, 7 sacks) was possibly the best player on Michigan's defense and an All Big Ten performer his sophomore year. But whatever off-field issues he had started then and his playing time was severely curtailed as a junior, only playing in nine games and seeing his stats dip to 22 tackles and 2 TFLs with no sacks. It was more of the same as a senior, only more maddening: just nine games played and 24 tackles but 9 TFLs and 2.5 sacks; when injuries to Woodley and Biggs left Michigan no other choice but to play Woods extensively against Iowa he had 4 tackles, 2 TFL, a sack, and a pass breakup along with a ton of other pressure. No reasonable observer could have thought Woods wasn't worth starting, if not on the defensive line -- where Pat Massey was busy moonwalking as Alan Branch played out of position at DE -- then at linebacker where Michigan's starters on the outside were the horrible sophomore versions of Chris Graham, Prescott Burgess, and Shawn Crable.

We don't know exactly what his problems were. Carr probably stretched his boundaries to the limit to keep him on the team and, in that, did him a big favor. But if he's on the team, and he's better than the other people who are on the team, what was the point of not starting him?

Belicheck went on to compare the situation to that of Tom Brady, but this is more of the same inaccurate legend-making that had him "not even a starter" in college. Brady had just under 80% of Michigan's passing attempts his senior year and while it's true Michigan played Henson from time to time, 30 of Henson's 90 attempts came in blowouts against Rice, Purdue, and Northwestern and another 28(!), oddly, came in a narrow road win over Syracuse in which Brady only had 10 attempts. I don't remember that at all; all I remember from that game was Michigan playing a frustrating, disjointed game and CBS providing the worst camerawork I've ever seen. Anyway, outside of that Syracuse game Henson had about 30 meaningful attempts. Which is kinda weird, sure.

!!!!! A lot of weird stuff went down at the draft this weekend. I'm not so arrogant to assume I know better than NFL people unless we're talking about Matt Ryan, but of the Michigan draftees only three didn't surprise me with their placement: Long, Henne, and Crable. I guess Manningham's slide is understandable with his status as this year's Wonderlic booby prize and obvious fondness for weed.

But things I just don't understand:

• Arrington going so low. Rangy, sure handed, and seemingly fast enough, I thought he was a little less proven than Avant and would be a third or fourth round pick when he declared; it quickly became clear that this was overrating him.
• Ditto Hart. He ran slow, as anyone on the planet could have told you would happen. Injury issues, etc; still thought he was a third-fourth round sort.
  
• Jamar Adams is undrafted. Ryan "Yards After" Mundy goes in the sixth round. Barwis be praised.

The Mundy thing is what really gets me. He was so bad that -- in my speculative opinion -- Michigan cut him loose after his fourth year in the program, which is unprecedented for a kid who's seen extensive time as a starter. Mundy squeezes himself into a rapidly-closing loophole and manages to transfer to West Virginia without penalty, where he becomes a decent starter on a good defense and is drafted. To play in the NFL. You know, the professional football thingy. If you could have bet on that last year, what would the odds have been?

Our dearest friend. A former NFL scout on new Arizona Cardinal FA Anthony Morelli:

“He has all the tools you look for in a QB; an athletic body, very strong throwing arm and far better movement then I had expected, but is acutely undercoached and unprepared for the job of being a professional QB."

"Acutely undercoached"... does anything sum up Penn State better than those two words?

Gentlemen. Hey, guess what?

Melvin Fellows had been the most prominent Ohio high school football player in the Class of 2009 to escape the grasp of Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, but with a phone call over his lunch break today, Fellows changed all that.

The Garfield Heights defensive end informed Tressel that he was switching his oral commitment from Illinois to the Buckeyes, delivering a blow to the Illini and bringing OSU's growing class to 12 pledges.

Joe Tiller's full of crap.

Also full of crap, the Columbus Dispatch, which claimed Lloyd Carr facilitated Justin Boren's transfer to OSU:

"That's a lie," Carr said through school spokesman Bruce Madej.

Etc.: Crable fluff from Bastan; BCS isn't changing any time soon, except in the way that it always changes because it's the BCS.

Taylor Back

One bit of good news:

Muskegon High School coach Tony Annese said Tuesday afternoon that his former player had decided to return to Michigan for his senior season.

"I had lunch with him and we really talked about getting a degree," Annese said. "And he said that's what he wanted to do."

The only player rumored to be an early-entry candidate we've yet to hear from is Tim Jamison, though he's expected to stay.

Adios, Mario. Or Adieu. Or Whatever "Goodbye" Is In Plumber

This conclusion was forgone but not official:

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Mario Manningham confirmed Monday he will skip his senior season at Michigan to enter the NFL draft.

“It was a hard decision, but after discussing it with my family it was the right one for me to make right now,” Manningham said in an interview with The Associated Press while driving home to Ohio. “I’ve heard I will be drafted in the first round because of the lack of depth at wide receiver.”

Let us remember the good times:

Exeunt Unverified Voracity

Right... UFR. Uh. Well, it's like this: without the obvious deadline of next week's game it turns out it's a lot easier to procrastinate on these things. I'm working on it but it's gonna be a bit late.

Happy Trails, Pt II. Rodriguez went to the Indiana game last night -- soon you will wise to the ways of hockey, RR -- and spoke briefly to reporters there. The bluntness from the Rome interview was not, er, blunted. On Mallett:

"He's not playing for Michigan," Rodriguez said . "I'm concerned with whose [sic] playing for Michigan. That's my concern."

Rodriguez also said that Arrington's departure is official and that Manningham didn't attend today's introductory team meeting; he's also unlikely to return. Terrelle Pryor, come on down. Also plz some other people.

Shooting Blue perused the audio available on Rivals and notes a few other newsbits: Hopson has officially been hired, but not necessarily as the defensive coordinator. Rodriguez still has to hire one more guy on that side of the ball, and that guy could be the DC. Michigan expects to field a full class of 25; some of the attrition will be medical. And Michigan will be looking for wideouts and quarterbacks in quantity.

Happy Trails? Terrance Taylor is also considering the NFL:

Muskegon coach Tony Annese said Monday that he had spoken with Taylor the previous evening and that the player had not received a report from the NFL advisory committee about his possible draft position. Annese said Taylor would not reach a decision until after he heard from the NFL.

Hopefully said report is unsatisfactory. No offense, Terrance.

Right. An official release from Michigan has the following persons in the following places:

Name • Position
Calvin Magee • Associate Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator
Tony Dews • Wide Receivers
Greg Frey • Offensive Line
Tony Gibson • Secondary
Jay Hopson • TBA; Defensive Assistant
Fred Jackson • Running Backs
Rod Smith • Quarterbacks
Bruce Tall • TBA; Defensive Assistant

Tall and Hopson are TBA with one more defensive assistant to come; though Tall did safeties for the past few years at WVU before that he did the defensive line for a couple seasons at WMU and was a DC/LB coach for nine years at Harvard and Northeastern. He could well end up the LB coach. Heck, he might have been an LB coach at WVU: the official release says he was WVU's "spur and bandit" safeties coach; those two guys are the LB/DB hybrids that often stick their nose in the box.

We should know who the final piece of the puzzle is by the weekend, according to Rodriguez. Also note that Gibson's been relieved of his duties as recruiting coordinator. Michigan has a standalone recruiting coordinator in Chris Singletary, who was retained along with most of the administrative staff. WVU's refusal to provide this sort of administrative support was one of the cited factors in Rodriguez' departure.

Word. Jim Carty's piece on Jay Bilas' obsession with Michigan is worth a read. I probably would have gone more ad hominem on Bilas, whose latest petulant outburst about the Michigan program is the second-stupidest one yet (#1 remains the suggestion that Martin should be fired for getting rid of Tommy Amaker after a mere six years), but it's rare to see a newspaper columnist bring it hard against another member of the media. This blog, on the other hand, does it all the time. So this means more coming from the Ann Arbor News:

Given that, it's probably time for someone at ESPN to suggest to Bilas that - after calling for athletic director Bill Martin's firing and now ripping a first-year coach who's in the midst of a rebuilding job - its time to leave the Wolverines alone for a while.

And time for Michigan fans to turn somewhere else for serious analysis of their basketball program.

As mentioned, word. Bilas' breathtaking lack of professionalism about this Amaker situation has permanently killed his credibility with anyone who watched Amaker's teams flail about, turn the ball over 20 times a game, and never make the NCAA tournament. Bilas -- so eager to jump all over Beilein half a year into his tenure -- apparently expected Michigan's Methuselan patience with Amaker to extend a full decade, because there's no freakin' way this team was going to the NCAA even if John Wooden was coaching them. It was fire him now or waste a year and fire him then. Or, I guess, never fire him ever because Jay Bilas once spooned with him after a Final Four game.

Heavens to Betsy. The Chicago Tribune has the most shocking news of the year:

Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman said Monday he was "cautiously optimistic" an agreement could be reached with Comcast, the largest cable distributor in the area. The parties began having "productive conversations" in December, Silverman said.

Sure, the year is only nine days old, but... !!!

The standoff here was more about tiers than cost according to the BTN, though when I talked to a Comcast VP this summer I managed to get an approximate "We would pay X to have the BTN on expanded basic" figure out of him: a quarter. That, like the BTN's widely cited (and apparently either fictional or outdated) $1.10 asking price, was likely a negotiating position and not a realistic assessment of what they would pay to get it on the basic tier. Assuming the final numbers become public here, it'll be interesting to see what the final negotiated price is. Also interesting: actually getting the BTN.

Etc.: Lloyd's cousin reflects on his career.

Happy Trails

Rich Rodriguez was on Jim Rome this afternoon, and the news was attrition-errific. First the receivers:

"I've talked to Adrian since the bowl game a little bit and I think he's leaning toward coming out," Rodriguez said on the show. "I don't think he's made the announcement yet. I have not seen Mario, and I don't think he's back in Ann Arbor yet, so indications are that he may be coming out, as well. I want to wish them the best. I didn't know them very well. I've watched them play, and they're great players, and obviously for selfish reasons I'd like to have them come back, but if they feel that's what's best for their careers, they've got to do that, and we'll be OK as well."

Then Mallett:

"I believe he's going to transfer," Rodriguez said. "He has not told me specifically and he's told other folks in the program. I talked to him a couple times, again, before the bowl game and once after the bowl game and gave him our spiel. But, again, if he chooses to leave, he's going to make a choice that's best for him, and we'll be OK."

More:

"I talked to him and all the quarterbacks about how our system can adapt to the quarterback because we've had throwing quarterbacks in this system that have had great careers and gone on to the NFL and all that," Rodriguez said. "But I did it a couple times (with Mallett.) I recruited him once, I recruited him twice and after the third call, I'm thinking okay, three calls is enough for me. It's a great institution and if somebody doesn't want to be here that's already here, you wish them well and move on."

I... wow. Both of those quotes are blunt as hell. The very idea that Carr would 1) deign to appear on Jim Rome and 2) actually give substantive answers to somewhat delicate things like "Will Player X leave early/transfer?" is refreshing from the point of view of the information-starved Michigan fan.

Update: Apparently Carr made a yearly appearance on Rome; 1) above withdrawn.

Manningham's grandfather has a "we're still undecided and waiting on the NFL's evaluation" quote in the same article, but I'm with Rodriguez here. Rivals has a fuller transcript; Rodriguez again repeats that he expects to sign a full 25.

Manningham 90% To Stay Unless 90% Likely Thing Happens

Ain't believing this until January 16th, but Manningham's grandfather says MM is likely to return:

‘‘We’re 85 to 90 percent sure (that he’ll) return to Michigan, unless something spectacular happens,’’ Simpson said. ‘‘He has every intention to return for his senior year unless something spectacular happens.’’

"Spectacular"? The only thing that could be construed as spectacular that might occur would be a highly positive response from the NFL's draft advisory panel. Like this:

‘‘If someone comes to you and says that you’re a first-round draft choice, that weighs a lot,’’ Simpson said. ‘‘No one has said that to us, yet.’’

Is Manningham a first-rounder? That seems a silly question to ask for a guy who caught 72 passes for 1100-some yards this year, but he's not exactly Braylon Edwards-sized and has reputedly had some maturity issues. Maybe he'll get a second-round grade and return to prove the haterzzzz wrong?

No, probably not.

Update: Right, forgot. FWIW: a previously-reliable insider says both Manningham and Arrington are likely to depart, and this info came yesterday. Maybe grandfather isn't in the loop.

Update II: Hey, GBN's latest draft board has Manningham #36. (Jake Long #3, Shawn Crable #44, Mike Hart #55, Chad Henne #73, and Jamar Adams #113 FWIW. Also: remember Jason Jones, the Eastern Michigan DT who had a disturbing field day against us? Legit NFL prospect who checks in at #96.)

Unverified Voracity Says Hello, Goodbye, Hello

Lots of news, so a special weekend UV.

Ohhhhh, C-YA. This is the time of year when various persons announce they're heading to the NFL, and the preliminary news is pretty good for Michigan fans. Michigan State WR Devin Thomas and Illinois RB Rashard Mendenhall are gone. Also gone is Indiana WR James Hardy, though Michigan doesn't play IU next year.

And then there's an ESPN report that Mario Manningham is staying in school. This is just a TV thing -- no article yet -- and ESPN hasn't been rock solid about Michigan football in recent weeks, but that's still encouraging. Maybe he got a second-round grade back after a season of ups and downs?

Inverse C-YA. NJ S Brandon Smith committed to Michigan at the Army All-American game. Smith is a mid-four star who started off in the top 100 most places, but has steadily dropped as the year's progressed. Reports on him were mixed at the AA bowl practices.

Some inverse, some conventional C-YA. The latest on the assistants situation from WVU:

Defensively, West Virginia is pretty much set. Defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel agreed on Friday to stay with Stewart and the Mountaineers, and that was a huge save for the newly named head coach. Defensive line coach Bill Kirelawich is also staying on board and Stewart hopes and thinks he can retain safeties coach Bruce Tall, although Tall isn’t expected to give him a definite answer until today. Only secondary coach and recruiting coordinator Tony Gibson has been lost.

Offensively, though, the only coach remaining is first-year wide receivers coach Tony Dews. Offensive coordinator Calvin Magee planned to join former coach Rich Rodriguez at Michigan right from the start, while quarterbacks coach Rod Smith and Greg Frey made their decisions Friday to also join Rodriguez.

The Mountaineers also figure to lose much of the strength and conditioning staff, including strength coach Mike Barwis and skill development coach Chris Allen. They are also expected to inform Stewart of their final decisions today and Stewart fully expects them to be leaving.

Differences from yesterday:

• Casteel officially staying
• Dews officially staying
• Tall still waiting
• Barwis and his S&C staff now strongly expected to go to Michigan.

Would have liked to get Casteel, but other than his decision to stay that falls out just about perfectly for Michigan fans hoping to see Stripling and Campbell retained. Michigan now has a sizable hole to fill at defensive coordinator; as mentioned yesterday, Wake Forest's Dean Hood seems like a natural fit except for his expertise as a secondary coach. If Rodriguez knows he can get Hood maybe it would be best to leave Tall at WVU and start looking for a linebackers coach.

Unverified Voracity Knits

Cartoon by Joel A Morgan.

Presented without comment.



Well, this will just increase the factor of crushingness. Mario Manningham?

Even though many have assumed Manningham will turn pro, he insisted that isn't true.

"I'm going back," he said. "I want to get my degree."

When a reporter told the receiver he seemed to be joking, Manningham didn't back down.

"I'm being for real," Manningham said.

Probably just afterglow; the deadline to declare is the 15th. We'll have to keep fingers crossed about not only Manningham, but Arrington, Taylor, and Jamison. From a Carty article:

Junior wide receiver Adrian Arrington said he would talk to Rodriguez this week about how he'd fit in next year's offense before deciding whether to opt for early entry to the NFL Draft. Arrington said the decision was currently 50-50. Juniors Mario Manningham and Terrance Taylor refused to discuss whether they'd return to Michigan or turn pro after the game.

If this Mallett transfer comes to fruition, I would assume Arrington would take that as a sign to leave. Manningham and Taylor's silence indicates that they're giving the NFL serious consideration at the very least.

Trent is staying according to the first article, not that he was regarded a major threat to leave.

Right, about that: Mallett's mom doesn't know anything.

“No decision has been made,” Debbie Mallett said Thursday night of her son, the freshman quarterback — currently — at Michigan.

“Everybody thinks they know what Ryan’s doing. But Ryan has not made a decision yet. All these sources? They never came from anyone here.”

Classes started yesterday but I believe Mallett can transfer whenever he wants since the season's over. Until we get something definitive from him, it'll be a festival of speculation.

Elsewhere in the attrition beat. The Free Press listed guys returning, leaving, early (er) entering, and possibly transferring, dumping Mallett, David Cone, and Jason Kates in the latter category without even the vaguest hint of an explanation. We all know the score with Mallett. Kates missed some bowl practices; I've heard the reason was a relatively minor violation of team rules but if this was pattern behavior it could have been the last straw. Cone... well, he wasn't going to play before unless a meteor hit -- he was behind a walk-on this year -- and certainly isn't going to now; perhaps Rodriguez is encouraging him to find a place he can play. I have also heard that Rodriguez is scouring JUCOs for QBs in anticipation of a rough depth chart next year; it will be interesting to see the results of that.

Take heart. Take heart, Matt Zemek and that guy who wrote about Michigan's win being for "smashmouth" and "three yards and a cloud of dust" in the aftermath of a career day for Chad Henne: as long as Fox Sports is paying Jay Mohr to put crayon to paper, you are not the worst sportswriters on the planet. Mohr on Carr's retirement:

I am still trying to wrap my head around the Lloyd Carr "retirement." After five Big Ten titles and a national championship, out you go. I am a big believer in "what have you done for me lately," but the guy did have a 75 percent winning percentage. That seems like a lot of "doing for you lately."

But unfortunately, Lloyd couldn't consistently beat THE Ohio State University. His record was 6-7 against the Buckeyes, and that may have been what did him in. Never mind his winning records against Notre Dame, Michigan State and Penn State. If you don't consistently beat your archrival in college football, you lose your job. ...

Good luck Rich, and don't say I didn't warn you that you won't last long in Ann Arbor. Lloyd Carr had to coach in Bo Schembechler's shadow. It may be harder to coach in Lloyd Carr's shadow. A 75 percent winning percentage throws a lot of shade.

Jay Mohr pays less attention to college sports than I pay to Jay Mohr, or he would have known that Carr was expected to retire voluntarily even before the season started. And yet he still gets to write this thing. So I'm going to write this thing about Jay Mohr.

JAY MOHR: PEDERAST OR AL-QAEDA MEMBER?

By Walter Cronkite
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Hey... remember when Jay Mohr had that comedy reality TV show and only his buddies got on and he introduced us all to that really fat guy from Oklahoma who isn't even funny in that "hey, he's really fat!" sort of way that even the most talentless hacks can pull off? Yeah. I saw that guy on Celebrity Fit Club. He's been loosed into the realms of C-level celebrity reality shows. He'll be on VH1 for the next 20 years. And this is all Jay Mohr's fault. Obviously Jay Mohr is either a sex offender who's only attracted to baby fat or in Al-Qaeda.

Jay Mohr: you ruined America.

Hidden advantage? Bill Stewart's hiring at WVU is probably not good news for Mountaineer fans -- hello Bobby Williams -- but might have some beneficial effects for Michigan fans. One: Central Michigan head coach Butch Jones, a former Rodriguez assistant, won't be the next WVU HC. The two might be able to link up at camps and stuff and help each other with instate recruiting. Two: if you were a little leery of Rodriguez displaying maximum croni-style by bringing his entire staff to UM, Stewart will likely hold on to a number of WVU assistants. The WVU Rivals site is already reporting that DL coach Bill Kirelawich will stay with the Mountaineers, presumably opening up a spot for Steve Stripling. WR coach Tony Dews might stay, too, which might open up a spot for Soup Campbell.

The downside is that he might pick off someone Michigan should really want. One of the three, OC Calvin Magee, is already committed to Rodriguez, but S&C guru Mike Barwis and DC Jeff Casteel (who I've really come around on after doing the research that went into Tuesday's "Yay 3-3-5" post and Wednesday's Fiesta performance against one of the nation's best offenses) could be convinced to stay. Casteel in the aforementioned Rivals article:

"Hey, as a coach, what would be a better place to be," he said. "I mean, I've coached in the Sugar Bowl (victory over Georgia in 2006) and the Fiesta Bowl. This is pretty good," said the architect of the most consistent portion of the 2007-08 11-2 team.

("Most consistent"... woo unbiased reportybits!) That's not committal, and since WVU is paying Stewart beans -- one of the benefits of making a dumb hire -- they might have the funds to hold onto a coordinator.

FYI. From Winged Helmet:

Here are WVU's recruiting rankings for the last 5 years and Oklahoma's

WV 46, 47, 31, 52, 23

OK 4, 8, 3, 9, 14

I hope they're playing "Scrabulous." A reader forwards this little earthquake on his Facebook newsfeed:

For those uninclined to squint, Terrelle Pryor and Sam McGuffie are now friends. Aww.

Etc: I don't think I buy this; must be photoshopped; McGuffie flips over stuff; Rosenberg on Carr; McGuffie article w/ quote from yours truly; Stadium & Main recaps the win.

Unverified Voracity And Such And Such

Light posting today.

I'll take "more players with W" for 600. Woodson yesterday, Wheatley today. What happened to the electric speed in the NFL? One of the perpetual mysteries.





Pay that lawyer! How on earth did John Beilein squeeze out of 40% of his buyout? The wording on the contract seemed clear enough to me, though it didn't specify a payment schedule: 500k per year remaining on the contract. Somehow, Beilein managed to hack that down:

As a result, Beilein, now at Michigan, will have to pay only $1.5 million over the next five years.

"After very productive discussions with Bob Fitzsimmons ... we are pleased to have finalized the details related to Coach Beilein's departure from the university," Dorer said in the media release.

"Obviously, from the fact we reached an agreement, both parties wanted to move on and amicably resolve any issues."

Beilein will pay installments of $300,000 over the next five years to the West Virginia University Foundation. The first installment is due in April 2008 and the final one in April 2012, WVU said.

...and since he doesn't have to start paying until next year and has spread it out over five years, the present value of the money he has to pay out is something even lower than the 1.5 million. Plus, the fact that the money is specifically being donated to the "West Virginia University Foundation" makes one think that it may be classified as a tax-deductible donation. That's some good law-talking right there.

Oh, snap. I'm terribly sorry about that bolded section header. I am, truly. Anyway, graduating long snapper Turner Booth is probably going to get an NFL job because he's awesome at it:

A dozen or so NFL teams have expressed an interest, Booth said. ESPN's draft guide rates Booth as the top long snapper available. And his agent, who represents three of the league's long snappers, said his client has what it takes.

"I saw him snap this year and last year and thought he did an excellent job,'' said Kevin Gold, Booth's Harrisburg, Pa.-based agent. "He's also got the size NFL teams like.''

This can only mean that Michigan will dominate long snapper recruiting for the forseeable future. Watch out, USC!

I am writing this extremely coherent and awesome text message to you. No more hilarious abbreviations when discussing text messaging, which has been officially officially banned for, like, the sixth time. Coaches, naturally, are displeased...

Most coaches have expressed dismay over the loss of text messaging. The American Football Coaches Association beseeched the Division I Board to delay action and find a compromise. The AFCA didn't know the game already had been decided.

...and those who converse with them regularly are jumping aboard. Ivan Maisel:

So score one for the Luddites. The NCAA may have become an old man at the beach, bucket in hand, intent on holding back the tide of technology that has washed over modern life. Said [UF OC Dan] Mullen, "I have had a couple of recruits ask, 'How are we going to communicate?'"

Florida must be recruiting the best and brightest if they can't figure out how to scroll down to "Urban Meyer" and push the green button on their phone. Recruits have always been able to voluntarily initiate conversations -- why do you think so many text are dead period CALL ME NOWs? -- and the NCAA isn't changing that, they're just preventing the unchecked spread of irritating behavior. College head coaches have proven time and again that without regulation they are psycho hose beasts...



...with no use for decorum. (French!) No one is hurt by the text messaging ban. Recruits will no longer be reminded to go to school. They will still communicate with the universities that are recruiting them whenever they want. Coaches can stop getting carpal tunnel texting inanities and spend some time with the family review more film. I guess Verizon is pissed, but whatever.

Unverified Voracity... A NEW CAR!

Whatever. There were reports over the weekend that Michigan had been eliminated from the decision process of the plinko machine that is Alex Legion, but reports of our demise were at least slightly exaggerated:

Legion, a 6-foot-5 senior guard out of Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., who visited the University of Kentucky from Thursday through Saturday, told Rivals.com he’s down to Kentucky, UCLA and Michigan.

(KU is out of the running since they want Legion to wait on Brandon Rush's NBA decision. Rush entered the draft but has not retained an agent and may withdraw.) Wait... UCLA? One of the two teams that an enraged Official Mom of Legion said her son would most certainly not attend, Tim Green be damned? Yes. UCLA. Alex Legion is less decisive than Charlie Weis at Baskin Robbins. So it's with the strongest hesitation that I offer any prediction whatsoever, but it sounds like UK is his probable destination:

“With UCLA, I’ve always been a fan,” Legion said. “I always thought it would be nice to play there. They have great tradition like Kentucky. With Michigan, it’s still home. I’m still going to give them a shot. I just don’t know how I’d fit in with what coach (John) Beilein wants to do. I was excited about playing for coach Amaker (Tommy, new coach at Harvard), so that kind of changed my feelings about Michigan.

“I’m real comfortable with Kentucky right now. It’s only five hours from home, not too far at all.”

+1 to the Lawrence Journal-World reporter for laconically mentioning that "It should be noted that schools have reappeared on Legion’s list after getting sliced." Indeed.

A no-doubt insane Todd McShay puts together a mock draft of not 12345 or 6 but 7(!) rounds for ESPN. Michigan players in his latest:

• #10 Leon Hall
• #11 Alan Branch (behind the Louisville guy, which is completely insane)
• #35 Lamarr Woodley (one pick after he has the Lions taking Trent Edwards with Stanton still on the board)
• #52 David Harris (crazy low)
• #191 Steve Breason (mid-sixth round)
• #204 Prescott Burgess (towards the end of the sixth)

NFL.com's Gil Brandt -- who I almost call "Gil Thorpe" whenever I type his name; who's called "Gil" in this day and age anyway? -- has Harris his #2 inside linebacker:

He had a very good workout at the Combine, running better than people thought he would, and looked good in drills. He has good strength for the position. He's smart and will compete on every down. He's good, but not a great athlete. His best position most likely is at inside linebacker in a 3-4 defense. He uses his hands well and has been well coached.

Well, that's totally unexpected. Scott Dreisbach's life has been a weird one, but I don't know if this can be topped. He's currently in the Arena Football league. In Columbus...

3) I think Columbus backup QB Scott Dreisbach is probably the only backup signal caller in the League truly ‘playing’ for his paycheck (that was until Andy Kelly and Tony Graziani went down forcing backups Steve Bellisari and Juston Wood into the lineup).

... playing linebacker:

Instead of holding a clipboard on the sideline and charting plays, Dreisbach plays a handful of series at ‘jack’ linebacker on defense (6.5 tackles on the season) and covers kicks on special teams for the Destroyers.

His role has expanded as he gets used to it:

Again, the whole team gave a full effort. This included two late stops “Jack” positioned-reserve QB Scott Dreisbach, who played defense and special teams.

“Scott made very crucial stops in the 4th,” Columbus Head Coach Doug Kay explained, “We have been working on that all week; we need to stick to the (opponent’s) quarterback with every play. David Saunders is excellent, too; at that position.”

Dreisbach made five tackles.

I got nothing here. It's just weird, that's all.

I hope to have more on this later, but the Big Ten Network is rapidly morphing from a cool idea into a disaster waiting to happen. They're reportedly asking for $1.10 per subscriber in the local area and trying to get placed in the same price band ESPN does. They should ask the NFL network (70 cents a subscriber and placement in areas of cable it takes a sherpa to reach) how well that's going to work.

No big deal as long as the football games are of the Northwestern-Illinois variety, right? Unfortunately, the network is going to have some weeks that they have the second or third pick... before ESPN, so there's a possibility that several Michigan games could be yanked off national TV and shoved onto a tiny cable network no one gets in a power struggle.

The answer to all of this is a la carte pricing for cable, which will come as soon as Congress passes a law demanding it. IE: not by this fall.

Unverified Voracity Avoids Draft-Related Puns

Draft stuffs: Depending on who you listen to, Leon Hall is either doing well or not. Well:

Michigan cornerback Leon Hall displayed smooth ball skills during drills, using their hands rather than trapping the ball.

Not:

Michigan CB Leon Hall was also very physical, but appeared a step slow at times breaking on the ball; Hall may have also been a tad over-aggressive as he was beaten on a number of double moves.

Woodley's out with some sort of minor injury, but before he went out he was "violent":

Michigan defensive end Lamarr Woodley had an interesting day, looking violent in pass rush and getting involved with Boston College offensive tackle James Marten in some extra curricular activity after the whistle.

(redundancy sic.) So is that good? Or bad? Or what, exactly?

Both Burgess (arrgh wasted redshirt) and Harris are drawing praise for being good 'n' stuff:

Michigan linebacker Prescott Burgess showed good pursuit upfield against the run and his toughness is notable. Fellow Wolverine David Harris continues to bring the lumber on the interior, and along with Pittsburgh linebacker H.B. Blades, it is daunting to run inside on this group. All are talented players who will help some team at the next level.

Elsewhere:

David Harris of Michigan looked good at the line versus the run.

Yet elsewhere:

The Michigan duo of MLB David Harris and OLB Prescott Burgess also both did nice jobs getting off blocks.

While Alan Branch is obviously going to go much higher than Harris in the draft, I'll miss the latter more. And it's likely so will the team. Will Johnson had a good year backing up Taylor and Branch; I'm relatively confident he can step into the starting lineup and produce. Middle linebacker is a complete mystery. We've got a JUCO and a redshirt junior whose entire resume is half a game against Iowa two years ago.

MLive has a forum denizen who's either in Mobile or near Mobile or flies out to Mobile to watch senior bowl practices filing reports on various local prospects and trying to find any semblance of hope for the Lions. Awesome exchange with Leon Hall:

I asked him the direct question "What if things worked out so that you somehow landed with the Lions?" He paused on that one for a moment (he's a native Californian) and then he said "If they get me, they get me".

The implied foreboding is wonderful.

Then, apparently after contemplating that possibility, he said "That would allow me to be near Ann Arbor, and that would be pretty great".

And hopefully pave the way for our new recruit "Leroy Hall," a sleeper who you've never seen before. You can't tell because this is the internet, but I just did the "These aren't the droids you're looking for wave." So there you go. Similar sentiment from Harris:

What about playing for the Lions? "That would be great", he says. "I'm from Grand Rapids, (Ottawa Hills HS) and that would permit my family to be in close touch, plus I'd still be near Ann Arbor."

"Dan Harris," jedi wave, awesome 2007 defense pending actual secondary, etc.

Branch Announcement At 3PM

There's a press conference at three where Alan Branch will announce his intentions in re: NFL draft. Since he ain't enrolled, it doesn't look good. But official word will go here as soon as there is one.

Update: ESPN says he gone. Not a surprise.

One Down

The Free Press has confirmed yesterday's widely-circulated internets rumor that Jake Long will return for his senior year. Divers alarums, and six points to anyone who gets that particular obscure reference. There is, of course, one to go: Alan Branch. As speculated on the Fanhouse, chances are he goes. He's a top-ten lock if he does. All anyone has at the moment is common-sense speculation, though, and that should be regarded as an aimless prediction, not anything solid.