ESPN: Tate Forcier says he's going to CFL

Angelina Christina

Tate Forcier, who played two seasons at Michigan before becoming academically ineligible and then bouncing out of San Jose State University, is now going to play for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL.

Meanwhile, Denard Robinson is gearing up for a Heisman run.  This is one of the things that Rich Rodriguez didn't screw up.

Ex-Wolverine Updates: The Class of 2009

Shavodrick Beaver (pictured here in his days at Tulsa) is now at Midwestern State, which is a real place.

Former Michigan quarterback commit Shavodrick Beaver sat out the 2011 season after transferring from Tulsa to Midwestern State, which is in Beaver's hometown of Wichita Falls, Texas.  Midwestern State's starting quarterback, Brandon Kelsey, had 1,951 yards passing and 967 yards rushing.  Beaver will be a redshirt junior at MSU in fall 2012.

Former Michigan safety Vladimir Emilien sat out the 2011 after transferring from Michigan to Toledo.  He does not appear on the Rockets' roster, but has confirmed that he's at Toledo and will be a redshirt junior in fall 2012.

Former Michigan kicker commit Anthony Fera was 14/17 on field goals for Penn State this season with a long of 46 yards.  He also punted 64 times, averaging 42 yards, and handled the kickoff duties.

Former Michigan quarterback Tate Forcier transferred to San Jose State this past season and seemed to be in line for the starting quarterback job next fall.  However, he left SJSU in recent weeks due to "personal and financial reasons" and his career might be over.

Former Michigan defensive tackle commit Pearlie Graves left Texas Tech in late September.  He was reportedly transferring, but has not reappeared elsewhere, as far as I know.

Former Michigan running back and cornerback Teric Jones left the program last offseason due to a knee injury.  He remains a student at the University of Michigan.

Former Michigan defensive tackle commit DeQuinta Jones finished his junior year at Arkansas.  He played in all 13 games, making 19 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 1 sack.

Former Michigan defensive end Anthony Lalota transferred to Rutgers, but has since quit football altogether.  He practiced at tight end with the Scarlet Knights.

Former Michigan wide receiver commit Bryce McNeal caught 1 pass for 8 yards at Clemson in 2011 before transferring.  He is now at UConn and will be eligible in fall 2012 because he already had his bachelor's degree.

Former Michigan quarterback commit Kevin Newsome left Penn State after being buried on the depth chart behind Matt McGloin and Rob Bolden.  He has not yet announced a transfer destination.

Former Michigan wide receiver commit Dewayne Peace is now at Houston after leaving Arizona because of legal troubles.  He spent 2010 at Blinn Community College (made famous by Cam Newton).  Peace started one game for the Cougars in 2011 and played in 11 total games, making 13 catches for 105 yards (8.1 yards per catch) and 0 touchdowns.

Former Michigan wide receiver Je'Ron Stokes left Michigan this past season and transferred to Bowling Green State University, where his brother Malik will be a redshirt freshman quarterback in 2012.  Je'Ron will be a redshirt junior and eligible to play for the Falcons this coming season.

Former Michigan cornerback Justin Turner left Michigan in 2010 and transferred to Scottsdale (AZ) Community College to play football in 2011.  He played 11 games there and made 47 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 3 interceptions, 17 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries.  Here are his highlights from Scottsdale Community College.  He is committed to play for Hawaii in 2012, where he will be a redshirt junior.

Former Michigan cornerback signee Adrian Witty played in 12 games for Cincinnati in 2011 as a backup cornerback and special teamer.  He made 15 tackles, broke up 1 pass, and forced 1 fumble.  He will be a redshirt sophomore this coming fall.

Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia Update

The Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia is really interesting to me. I'm not sure why that is because ex-wolverines don't impact Michigan Football whatsoever, and in many cases, the players have spurned Michigan in one way or the other. On the other hand, I find the case study aspect interesting, and I like to know whether or not the players would have made an impact at Michigan if they had stayed.

Here's an update on a few players. For a complete ex-wolverine list, go here. As always, please email/comment with any info/updates.

Justin Turner

Turner reportedly enrolled at Notre Dame College of Ohio after leaving West Virginia during the 2010 season, which Justin was scheduled to sit out due to transfer rules. But an assistant coach at the junior college said enrollment never happened: "we thought for sure he was going to enroll, but then he dropped off the map." The coach also heard that Turner may attend "a college in California" but wasn't sure about the credibility of what he had heard.

Demar Dorsey

After being denied admission to Michigan, Dorsey enrolled in Grand Rapids Community College. Coach Andrews, the school's defensive coordinator, said that Dorsey chose GRCC because he knew several of the players on the team who are from Florida and, as a child, Demar even played little league football with a couple of his GRCC teammates. Despite a rocky start, Coach Andrews said that Dorsey has attended all of the team's voluntary workouts this summer and is slotted to see action as a defensive back and kick returner this fall, but he doesn't expect Dorsey to see any action on the offensive side of the ball.

Also of note, Coach Andrews recently spoke with Chris Singletary, who indicated that Michigan would still be interested in Dorsey if he continues to demonstrate positive behavior and invest in academics. For reasons unknown to Coach Andrews, Oregon is Dorsey's current "leader" although Dorsey hasn't had any recent contact with the University. "Maybe it's because they were just in National Championship game; maybe it's because he likes their uniforms," Coach Andrews speculated half-jokingly.

Conelius Jones

After failing to academically qualify at Michigan, Cornelius enrolled at Marshall University, a former member of the MAC and a current member of Conference USA. A Marshall blog posted an article that says Jones had more academic problems at the University, but the writer then added an emboldened "Edit" bit at the end of the page that says Conelius just wanted to be closer to home. Either way, it doesn't look like Jones will be continuing with his football career.

Justin Boren

Perhaps my least liked ex-wolverine, Boren signed on to play for the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent immediately following the NFL lockout.

Tate Forcier

Although most people seem to be disinterested with the Forcier saga, I find it fascinating for a couple reasons. Firstly, had he kept his academic house in order, I would have enjoyed seeing the role he might have played in the Borges offense. Secondly -- the first half of 2010.

So if you don't already know the story, Forcier reportedly committed to play for Miami (FL) but backed out because the school was too far from home. He then showed interest in Hawaii--which is a similar distance away from his San Diego home--but was denied enrollment due to issues with his Michigan transcript. Here's to hoping he lands on his feet.

What Could Have Been . . . Tate Forcier

Former Michigan quarterback Tate Forcier

Tate Forcier has decided to become a Miami Hurricane.  On top of pulling in former Michigan commits Dallas Crawford, Matt Goudis, and Antonio Kinard, coach Al Golden now has a former starting QB.

The ACC seems like a better fit for Forcier.

For more updates on former players and former commits, check out the Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia.

Tate Forcier, ex-Wolverine . . . for now

See you later, Tate.  Or not.

During Wednesday's press conference to introduce new head coach Brady Hoke, athletic director David Brandon was asked about the status of Tate Forcier, Michigan's starting quarterback in 2009 and backup in 2010.  Brandon responded that Forcier is "no longer with the program."

Some reports indicate that Forcier is no longer at Michigan due to flunking out during the fall semester.  Mike Forcier, Tate's father, stated that his son did not flunk out of school. Regardless, he was ineligible for the Gator Bowl against Mississippi State.  Forcier is supposedly enrolled at a community college in the hopes of re-applying to the University of Michigan.  If Forcier were to be reinstated to U of M for the fall semester, he would not lose a year of eligibility, as far as I know; he would be a true junior for the 2011 season.

Forcier is a 4-star recruit from San Diego who enrolled early in January 2009 to take the position vacated by Steve Threet (transferred to Arizona State) and Nick Sheridan (relegated to the bench).  He immediately seized the starting position and  held onto it for his entire season freshman.  The team went 5-7 and Forcier finished 165-for-281 (58.7%) for 2050 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.

Some reported immaturity and the meteoric rise of classmate Denard Robinson sent Forcier to the sideline for the majority of 2010.  He originally responded poorly to the benching, entertaining thoughts of a transfer when true freshman Devin Gardner overtook the sophomore Forcier for second place on the depth chart during the 2010 opener against Connecticut.  However, Forcier's third-place spot on the depth chart turned out to be maturity based rather than performance-based, and he eventually overtook Gardner.  Forcier saw spot duty in several games, but really showed out when Robinson was injured against Illinois.  Forcier finished out the second half of the 67-65, triple-overtime victory.  He ended the season 54-for-84 (64.3%) for 597 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions.

I was excited about Forcier when he was recruited back in 2009.  I thought he had a chance to be a version 2.0 Rich Rodriguez quarterback, the type who would throw the ball a lot, run a little bit, and hand off to some as-yet-undiscovered superstar Rich Rodriguez running back.  But . . . uhhh . . . none of that really happened.  Forcier turned out to be a little too headstrong for his own good, throwing passes he had no business throwing, scrambling with the ball loosely held in one arm, taking his starting job a little too lightly, and ultimately losing his spot on the football team.  He still has potential to be a decent quarterback if he matures - both on and off the field.  But I also won't be surprised if he fades into the background like both of his quarterback brothers (Jason, who was a backup at Michigan and Stanford; and Chris, who played at UCLA and Furman).

Forcier's departure almost guarantees that new coach Brady Hoke will need to recruit one or more quarterbacks for the Class of 2011.  Even if Forcier finds himself back on Michigan's campus in the fall, the quarterback position would remain thin with only three scholarship players.  While Hoke has promised to incorporate Denard Robinson's skills into the offense, I expect that Michigan will try to find a pro-style quarterback before National Signing Day.

Kevin Sousa, ex-Wolverine

Lake Nona, FL quarterback Kevin Sousa

Quarterback Kevin Sousa, who had been committed to Michigan since June 2010, has decommitted in favor of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.  Sousa is 6'2", 213 lbs., and the #22 dual-threat quarterback to Rivals.  Here's the commitment post I wrote for him a few months ago.

Sousa started to hint that he might be re-opening his recruitment last month when he showed a bit of disappointment that the Michigan coaches were continuing to recruit other quarterbacks, namely Marquise Williams (who was committed to North Carolina and now is a Virginia Tech commit).  While Sousa didn't seem to mind the highly touted quarterbacks already on Michigan's roster, he was clearly agitated that Michigan didn't seem to be fully devoted to him as their future quarterback. 

So while Michigan's coaches didn't seem convinced that Sousa was their guy, they also seem to have struck out on all or most of the quarterbacks ahead of him on their wish list (and mine).  The two remaining uncommitted quarterback prospects on Michigan's board are Cardale Jones (Cleveland, OH) and Tanner McEvoy (Oradell, NJ).  Jones hails from Glennville High School, a program helmed by Ohio State-loving Ted Ginn, Sr.  He's a bit of a poor fit for Michigan's system, and I can't see him succeeding in an offense predicated on the zone read option.  Meanwhile, McEvoy spent his high school career as a receiver before switching to quarterback prior to his senior season.  He did enjoy some success this past fall (26 passing touchdowns, 11 rushing touchdowns at last count), but one can only assume that he would be a bit of a project as a quarterback.

In my opinion, Michigan needs to bring in a quarterback prospect in the 2011 class.  Some fans think the Wolverines can get away with avoiding the quarterback position for 2011 and going after some players in 2012.  I think that would be a mistake.  It's entirely possible that the coaching situation at Michigan could cause one or more transfers.  If Rich Rodriguez remains at Michigan, the chance exists that Tate Forcier might want to go elsewhere; he's good enough to start at many places in the country.  If Jim Harbaugh is hired, I'm not sure how Denard Robinson fits.  Meanwhile, it's unclear how Tate Forcier would feel about playing for Harbaugh.  Forcier would seem a better fit for Harbaugh's system, but Tate's older brother Jason (also a Michigan Wolverine back in 2005-2006) threw a total of 13 passes under Harbaugh after transferring to Stanford.  Even if each of the quarterbacks remains, that gives Michigan only three on the roster (the aforementioned Forcier and Robinson, plus freshman Devin Gardner).  One or more transfers would obviously leave Michigan perilously thin at the position.

The decommitment of Sousa leaves Michigan with 13 commitments in the Class of 2011, and Michigan should have 22 to give.  Approximately nine slots remain open.

Michigan vs. Purdue Awards

Obi Ezeh led the team with eight tackles on Saturday.

Let's see more of this guy on offense . . . good Vincent Smith.  It's been about 11.5 months since Smith's ACL tear, and it looks like he's finally getting healthy.  Perhaps it's partially due to the fact that it was Purdue's defense, but Smith looked quicker and faster than he has all season.  I still don't like the fact that he was put on the field about nine months after tearing that ACL, but he finally seems to be rounding into form.  Hopefully he maintains his level of play.

Let's see less of this guy on offense . . . bad quarterbacks.  Denard Robinson seems to have regressed in recent weeks, both throwing and running the ball.  I think it's fair to say at this point that the number of carries Denard has averaged so far this season are catching up to Robinson and Coach Rodriguez.  Robinson was 13-for-21 for 176 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 bad interceptions.  The big plays are going to be there because of the quality of Michigan's receivers and the threat of Denard running the ball, but Robinson needs to become a more consistent passer - and soon - if he wants to beat Wisconsin and Ohio State.  Tate Forcier wasn't any better, hitting only 1/4 passes and averaging only .8 yards per carry.

Let's see more of this guy on defense . . . Obi Ezeh seemed to make a nice transition from middle linebacker to outside linebacker.  Since prior to 2008, I've thought that Ezeh was more of an OLB than a MLB.  In that season I really wanted John Thompson to play MLB and have Ezeh moved outside.  That obviously didn't happen, and Ezeh spent his entire career at MLB until recently.  He ended the game with 8 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 1 sack.  Ezeh's biggest problem at middle linebacker was that he read plays too slowly, but the reads at OLB are slightly simpler and one misstep won't necessarily get him out of position.  With Craig Roh now playing defensive end (which is also a good move), Ezeh is a good option at OLB.

Let's see less of this guy on defense . . . Mark Moundros.  He was voted defensive captain for a reason . . . and I think the biggest reason was that he was clearly willing to change positions (and sides of the ball!) as a senior just to try to help the team and get on the field.  However, I don't think he's fast enough, instinctive enough, or experienced enough to make an impact on defense.  Hopefully the guy he replaced (Jonas Mouton) returns soon from his chest injury.  If Mouton is still unavailable next week, I'd prefer to see J.B. Fitzgerald start at weakside linebacker, Demens in the middle, and Ezeh at OLB.

MVP of the Purdue game . . . Vincent Smith.  This was a tough choice, because nobody really took over the game this week.  There were several guys who had one or two big plays (Craig Roh, Cameron Gordon, Roy Roundtree, James Rogers), but Smith had a solid day and finished with just under 100 yards, including a stellar 19-yard run.  Good for him.

Preview: Michigan at Penn State

This must be how the remainder of Penn State's two-deep feels.

This is a big Saturday for me.  Not only does Michigan get a chance to avenge two consecutive losses to Penn State and earn a bowl berth, but I live in some fairly heavy Penn State country and these people talk a lot of smack.  I have some friendly bets with some of my players - the loser(s) have to run a mile after practice on Monday.

Rush Offense vs. Penn State Rush Defense
In comparison with a similar offense to Michigan's, the Nittany Lions gave up 282 yards on only 54 carries against the Illinois Fighting Illini two weeks ago, and that defense has further been depleted by injury.  Interestingly, Michigan has the #7 rushing offense in the country and averages . . . 282 yards a game.  Despite that outburst, Penn State sits at a middling #52 against the run.  As one might expect, Penn State's bad opponents (Kent State, Youngstown State, Minnesota) have run the ball poorly, and the solid opponents (Alabama, Illinois) have gashed them.  I have not been impressed with Michigan's running backs this season, but with PSU's injury issues on defense, I expect Denard Robinson and the Running Back du Jour to have a great day.
Advantage: Michigan

Pass Offense vs. Penn State Pass Defense
Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson has suffered a lull in his passing efficiency over the past couple weeks, turning in subpar passing games against both Michigan State and Iowa.  Iowa has the somewhat unique quality of being able to stick to their game plan and do a pretty good job of stopping whatever offense the opponent runs.  Whereas Michigan flops between several defenses, Iowa just played their base personnel and Cover 2 defense and they were able to stifle the previously explosive Michigan passing game.  Prior to the season, I suspected that Tate Forcier would become more valuable when the Big Ten season arrived; true to form, Forcier stepped in once Robinson got hurt in the third quarter and rallied the Wolverines to 21 points.  However, opponents are completing 63% of their passes against the Nittany Lions, and leading interceptor Nick Sukay will miss the game with an injury.  And not that defensive linemen have much of an impact on Denard Robinson, but the injuries to Penn State's defensive ends will make it difficult for Penn State to add to the total of only 4 sacks allowed by the Wolverines this season.
Advantage: Michigan

Rush Defense vs. Penn State Rush Offense
I don't know what to think here.  Running back Evan Royster has torched Michigan over the past couple seasons, rushing for something like 500 yards on 2 carries.  On the one hand, Penn State's offensive line is made up of wet Klee-nex, Stefen Wisniewski, and a balloon animal.  On the other hand, replace "Stefen Wisniewski" with "Mike Martin's sprained ankle" and that's a pretty good description of Michigan's defense, too.  Considering that Michigan hasn't been able to stop the run at all this year, I have to assume that Penn State will gash the Wolverines once again.  It will be the #86 rush offense against the #54 rush defense, but keep in mind that teams feel like they can beat Michigan through the air whenever they want; just ask Indiana and Notre Dame whether the running game was important for running neck-and-neck with Michigan.
Advantage: Penn State

Pass Defense vs. Penn State Pass Offense
Penn State is the #71 pass offense and the #93 pass efficiency offense.  So . . . they're crappy.  Recent reports indicate that freshman starter Robert Bolden will miss Saturday's game with concussion symptoms.  I got a chance to see former Michigan commit Kevin Newsome back in the spring of 2009 when he enrolled early at Penn State, and he looked like me playing quarterback, except only if I drank a fifth of whiskey first.  That means that redshirt sophomore, former walk-on Matt McGloin will likely get the start on Saturday.  McGloin's career stats are 6 completions on 15 attempts, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception.  And now that we're aware of the mediocrity that is Penn State's pass offense, you should expect at least 350 yards passing and a few touchdowns.  Okay, maybe not.  I'm feeling gutsy, so . . .
Advantage: Michigan

Final Predictions

• A healthy Denard Robinson runs for 180 yards
• Michigan exploits the middle of the field for 220+ yards passing
• For only the second time this season, Evan Royster rushes for 100+ yards
• One of Michigan's inexperienced cornerbacks gets his first career interception
• I won't be running a mile after practice on Monday
• Michigan 42, Penn State 24

Michigan vs. Iowa Awards

Let's see more of this guy on offense . . . Tate Forcier.  I'm not advocating for Forcier to be the starter or take away Denard Robinson's playing time.  Robinson has been excellent for the most part.  But this issue popped up in the Michigan State loss, and again this week against Iowa: Forcier is the better overall passer.  If and when Michigan is down by a few scores late, I think Forcier offers a better chance of leading a comeback via the pass.  He's better at reading defenses and understands the passing concepts better.  And to be completely honest, he looks more comfortable dropping back to pass than Robinson.  Forcier is like a solid long reliever.  If the starter isn't getting it done, #5 might be able to give you a few innings of good pitching and a chance to get back in it.  The Wolverines only had 7 points up until the point in the middle of the third quarter when Robinson got hurt.  In about 1.5 quarters, the Forcier-led Michigan squad put up 21 points (1 rushing TD by Stephen Hopkins, 1 passing TD from Forcier to Junior Hemingway, and 1 rushing TD by Forcier himself).

Let's see less of this guy on offense . . . Vincent Smith.  Please.  He averaged 3.9 yards a carry and had a key fumble on Iowa's 14-yard line.  There are better options, and Smith can see some time in passing situations or at slot receiver.

Let's see more of this guy on defense . . . Kenny Demens.  Demens seems to be an upgrade at the middle linebacker position, at least against a power running team like Iowa.  He plays downhill more than Ezeh and offers more pop.  At this point in the season, Michigan is #82 in scoring defense and #105 in total defense.  Any change at all just might be worth it.

Let's see less of this guy on defense . . . Adam Patterson.  It's not because I have anything against Patterson himself.  It's just that Mike Martin, the starting nose tackle, is perhaps the most valuable player on the defense right now.  Michigan's pass rush was virtually non-existent in the Iowa game, and the penetration up the middle that has at least slowed down running games this season was absent with Martin out of the game.  Hopefully the ankle injury caused by MSU's illegal chop block will heal quickly, because Patterson isn't a nose tackle.  I'm not quite sure why the coaches wouldn't put Renaldo Sagesse at NT instead of Patterson, but regardless, a 275 lb. nose tackle is begging for trouble.

MVP of the Iowa game . . . Tate Forcier.  He gave Michigan a spark when they needed it most.  He still showed some of the poor ballhandling and decision-making immaturity that he had last year, but he still finished 17/26 for 239 yards and 2 touchdowns (1 rushing, 1 passing) and led another scoring drive.  He needs to tuck the ball away when scrambling and make better decisions throwing the ball, but 21 points in 1.5 quarters is pretty productive.

Iowa 38, Michigan 28

Tate Forcier (#5) jumps for joy after a Stephen Hopkins rushing TD.

I expected an Iowa victory on Saturday, but once again, Michigan's defense failed in spectacular fashion.  Giving up 38 points to a team with mediocre offensive personnel is extremely frustrating.  I can't imagine what a team with a truly good offense - Oregon, for example - might do to Michigan's D.  Some bullets:

Tate Forcier is quarterback 1b.  I'm not prepared to call for the benching of Denard Robinson.  Robinson is still the prototype for Rich Rodriguez's zone read option offense.  However, Robinson also feasted on defenses early in the season who a) lacked athleticism or b) lacked complex defensive schemes.  How many times did we see him torch defenses that committed an extra safety or two to the run game, only to see Robinson and one of his receivers beat man coverage with a throw over the top?  Meanwhile, Forcier made a couple questionable throws, but provided a spark when relieving an injured Robinson late in the game.  Tate finished the day 17-for-26 for 239 yards, 2 touchdowns (1 rushing, 1 passing), and 2 interceptions.  Is there any question at this point that Forcier ought to be one of the top two quarterbacks on the team?  We haven't seen freshman Devin Gardner since the Big Ten season started, so I still can't understand why the coaches burned his redshirt against UConn . . . unless Gardner comes down with a mysterious "injury" or "illness" that allows him to get a medical exemption.

Denard Robinson runs the ball too much.  Posters over at MGoBlog have done "studies" to show that mobile quarterbacks and pocket quarterbacks have similar rates of injury.  When people have made the argument that Denard Robinson is bound to get hurt because of his small stature, some internet message boarders have scoffed.  Well, my study of Denard Robinson says this:

• On 143 pass attempts, Denard Robinson hasn't suffered an injury that caused him to miss playing time.
• On 137 rushing attempts, he has suffered injuries that have caused him to miss time in 6 games.

Robinson is too slight and/or injury prone to be carrying the ball nearly 20 times a game.  If I remember correctly, he had 17 carries at halftime.  Should Michigan really be running its MVP and starting quarterback 34 times in a single game?

Rocko Khoury is a solid backup.  Unlike last year, when right guard David Moosman replaced David Molk at center due to Molk's injuries, redshirt sophomore center Khoury played admirably after Molk aggravated an ankle injury early in the game.  Khoury had a case of the jitters early on and had some snap issues, but those seemed to get solved pretty quickly.

Vincent Smith should be relegated to backup duty.  I know I'm a broken record, but at least Rich Rodriguez finally figured out what I've been saying for awhile: Smith isn't a short yardage back.  Hopkins was the short yardage back on Saturday, and he responded with 8 carries for 38 yards (4.8 yards per carry) and a goal line touchdown (pictured above) in which he actually ran through a tackle.  Meanwhile, Smith had 10 carries for 39 yards (3.9 yards per carry) and a critical lost fumble on Iowa's 14-yard line.  For the record, Smith also had 2 catches for 22 yards and 1 touchdown, so he wasn't exactly useless.  But that's my thing with Smith: if he's lined up in the slot or catching passes out of the backfield, I'm okay with him being out there.  But he shouldn't be leading the running backs in carries.

Tate Forcier and Darryl Stonum are in love.  When Denard was in the game, Darryl Stonum got visibly frustrated with having to dig out a couple errant passes from hitting the ground.  When Forcier entered the game, it seemed like the QB was looking for #22 on every play.  Stonum ended the day with 9 catches for 97 yards, most of which came after Forcier's entrance into the game.  Forcier also hit Junior Hemingway a few times and Hemingway ended the day with 9 catches for 134 yards and 1 touchdown.

Run the ball, damnit.  It would have been nice if Michigan's offense could have kept Iowa off balance by running the ball late in the game.  I know they were running short on time, but passing on every down is extremely difficult.  Once Forcier entered the game, the playcalling seemed to want him to sling the ball all over the field.  Maybe it's just me, but I thought Forcier's second interception was the result of the lack of a running threat.  Like I said, the clock might have dictated the playcalling, so I don't have a huge problem with the call.  But it sure would be nice if a dangerous running back (hopefully Demetrius Hart in the near future) could make defenses think twice before getting to their drops.

Michigan's defense is atrocious.  I'm not going to spend too much time talking about the defense.  We all know which unit most needs to improve for Michigan to have any chance of success.  Michigan failed to come up with key defensive stops and allowed a mediocre running back to run for 142 yards.  And while Iowa's passing offense isn't prone to huge plays, quarterback Ricky Stanzi completed 71% of his passes.  My frustration reached its apex when JT Floyd aligned himself inside of Derrell Johnson-Koulianos to take away the slant and force the receiver to the sideline.  Johnson-Koulianos deked outside, Floyd jumped him, and Johnson-Koulianos waltzed untouched into the endzone after catching - what else? - a slant.  I don't know if that's poor coaching or poor execution, especially because Floyd made the same mistake a couple drives later (although it didn't go for a touchdown).

Jordan Kovacs is oh so close to being good.  On a corner blitz in the first quarter, safety Kovacs jumped a fade route near Michigan's end zone.  If Kovacs were a half step faster, the ball would have been picked and returned about 100 yards for a touchdown.  But since Kovacs is who he is, the play resulted in a PBU.  Kovacs played well for the most part, but his physical limitations will continue to make me wish brain transplants were feasible.  If Justin Turner had Kovacs' knowledge and work ethic, Turner would be an All Big Ten safety.

Kenny Demens played well.  He still did some frustrating things, but Demens showed more promise than Obi Ezeh has shown this year.  I'm still not entirely sold on Demens as the savior at MLB, but he made some strides against Iowa.

Special teams were atrocious, too.  Walk-on kicker Seth Broekhuizen has beaten out redshirt freshman Brendan Gibbons.  Gibbons must be horrible, because Broekhuizen had a field goal blocked for the second week in a row.  He also booted at least two (three?) kickoffs out of bounds to give Iowa great field position.  That's effing ridiculous.  And if you've been wondering why William Campbell hasn't earned more playing time on the defensive line, maybe that blocked field goal gives you an inkling - Iowa defensive tackle Broderick Binns got lower than Campbell and blew open a gap in the protection.  At least Will Hagerup played well and averaged 50+ yards a punt.  I wonder if he can kick off.

Michigan 28, Notre Dame 24

Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson ran for a billion yards on Saturday.

Yesterday was such a roller coaster of emotions throughout the game.

- Low: Michigan's defense sucks as Notre Dame QB Dayne Crist marches down the field for an opening-drive TD.
- High: This Denard kid is pretty good.
- Higher: Crist is hurt. Maybe Michigan has a chance!
- Highest: Denard Robinson runs 87 yards for a touchdown.
- Low: Why are all three guys with a deep third gathered in the middle of the field at the end of the half?
- High: Michigan is up by two touchdowns at halftime.
- Low: Dayne Crist is back.
- Lower: Crist throws a 53-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Jones.
- Lowestest: Crist throws a 95-yard touchdown pass to TE Kyle Rudolph over the head of FS Cam Gordon.
- High: This Denard kid is really good.
- Low: Cullen Christian's hero must be Shawn Crable.
- Coasting into the station: Dayne Crist throws an airball with :00 on the clock.

It was such a relief when the game was over. I was expecting a loss, but the thing about predicting a loss is that I'm either justified in my prediction . . . or I'm ecstatic that Michigan won. And I'd much rather see the Wolverines win than be right.

There were so many things that Michigan fans learned yesterday about their team, and I'll try to touch on a few of them here:

Denard Robinson is really, really good. Notre Dame's defense made a distinct attempt to stop him. He still ran for 258 yards (a Big Ten record for a QB) on 28 attempts (9.2 yards per carry), including an 87-yard touchdown and the 2-yard game-winner. The Fighting Irish have an experienced defense and run a 3-4 scheme that isn't seen much in college, but Robinson was also able to throw for 244 yards on 24/44 passing (55%) (EDIT: Reader MH20 pointed out that Denard was 24/40 for a 60% completion rate) against three seniors and a sophomore in the defensive backfield.

Michigan's running backs are not. Notre Dame keyed on Robinson and geared themselves to stop him in the run game. Still, running backs Vincent Smith (7 carries, 17 yards, 2.4 average) and Michael Shaw (5 carries, 12 yards, 2.4 average) were ineffective. These kids will take what's given to them, but they don't create yards for themselves. This seems to be an ongoing position battle, and hopefully running back recruits like Demetrius Hart recognize that the presence of a quarterback like Robinson should give them plenty of opportunities to get in space. After two weeks, Robinson is averaging 28.5 carries per game. That's too much for a sturdy running back, let alone a 194 lb. quarterback.

Michigan's receivers have stepped up. The only true drop I remember came from tight end Kevin Koger on a rollout pass early in the game. Otherwise, players like Darryl Stonum (4 for 33), Roy Roundtree (8 for 82 and 1 touchdown), and Martavious Odoms (7 for 91) made some highly contested catches throughout the game. If Robinson throws the ball within reasonable reach of Michigan's wideouts, they're going to catch it.

Cameron Gordon has a target on his back. Most or all of Notre Dame's big plays were the result of Cameron Gordon's inexperience and/or lack of natural talent. Luckily for Michigan, this Notre Dame team represented perhaps the most dangerous passing team on the Wolverines' 2010 schedule. But other teams will be forced to take note of Gordon's mistakes. There were numerous times where receivers ran past him or he lost track of them (the TD pass to Jones, the long pass to Riddick at the end of the first half, the 95-yard TD to Rudolph). I don't think it's a coincidence that Brian Kelly gameplanned to attack the redshirt freshman wide receiver-turned-safety. This is the reason that I lobbied for Troy Woolfolk to remain at deep safety back in the spring. Obviously, a broken ankle would have sidelined Woolfolk no matter what position he was playing, but you can't convince me that a Big Ten sprinter of Woolfolk's caliber would have been outrun by a 265 lb. tight end to the end zone. I would not be entirely surprised to see a player with more speed (perhaps Carvin Johnson or Marvin Robinson) take over the FS position in the coming years. I don't want to see him benched, but I think Gordon would fit better at Bandit or Spur.

Jonas Mouton is blossoming in this defense. He led the team with 13 tackles and also picked off a flea-flicker pass. He did miss some tackles on the elusive and speedy Armando Allen, but I can't say that I blame him - Allen could be a special college running back if used correctly. Overall, Mouton showed the play recognition and discipline to be a force for the remainder of the season.

The pass rush needs to improve. Through two games, Michigan's only sack has come from backup Spur Thomas Gordon, who started in place of the injured Carvin Johnson. Michigan frequently used a three-man rush in an attempt to get to the quarterback, and it repeatedly failed. That three-man rush often consisted of nose tackle Mike Martin, defensive end Ryan Van Bergen, and linebacker Craig Roh playing in a three-point stance. At 251 lbs. Craig Roh can't stand up to being double-teamed in the pass rush. Against a single offensive lineman, I'll take Roh to win that matchup a majority of the time. If a second lineman comes to help, Roh will get planted on his butt, which happened several times on Saturday. Ultimately, you play to win the game (thanks, Herm Edwards!), and Michigan did that. But the Wolverines also gave up 381 yards passing.

Tate Forcier is being a good teammate. There were questions last week about his behavior on the sideline after freshman Devin Gardner was inserted instead of Forcier. Forcier was shown giving Coach Rodriguez a hug prior to kickoff, he warmed up congenially when Gardner was inserted for one play, and he was shown cheering on his team over and over again. At least publicly, Forcier looks as though he learned a bit of a lesson from the media blowback last weekend.

You might hate me for saying this, but Notre Dame would have won the game if not for Dayne Crist's injury. Crist is only a sophomore, but he performed much better than his two replacements (Tommy Rees, Nate Montana) who had never played an FBS snap before. When Crist was available, Notre Dame outscored Michigan 24-7. Rees and Montana went 8/19 for 104 yards and 2 interceptions in Crist's stead. Crist was 13/25 for 277 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception, in addition to a rushing touchdown. Crist missed about 26 minutes of the game. If the Irish kept up that same rate of scoring (24 points per 34 minutes of Crist's availability), they would have scored about 42 points in the game. Despite Denard Robinson's heroics and record-setting performance, all may have been for naught if Crist remained healthy. Injuries are a part of the game, but I think Michigan fans should recognize that the Wolverines got a bit lucky yesterday.

Denard Robinson is the clear-cut Heisman leader right now. Robinson has 885 total yards (455 rushing, 430 passing) and 5 touchdowns through two games. He also hasn't turned over the ball once, and his team is 2-0. In addition, while several other Heisman candidates have played patsies at least once in the first two games, both of Michigan's opponents were bowl-eligible last season. Now that Robinson has performed well against solid teams - and rushed the ball 57 times - I'm guessing he'll get quite a bit of rest against UMass next Saturday. I doubt he'll remain the leader throughout the season because Michigan's defense will lose a few games this year, but he's been the best individual performer so far.

Burning Devin Gardner's Redshirt a Bad Idea

In the middle of the third quarter, during a 30-10 Michigan victory over UConn, quarterback Denard Robinson took off up the middle on one of his 29 carries. As he stretched for a first down, a defender put his helmet on Robinson's left hip, Shoelace flew up in the air and landed on his left hip, and then a large Husky landed on Robinson's right hip, driving his left hip harder into the ground. As Robinson squirmed in pain on the ground, Michigan fans' hearts leapt to their throats.

Now imagine if you didn't see the game or read the internet yesterday. If you were Coach Rich Rodriguez and forced to sub for Robinson, would you insert . . .

a) a sophomore who has 12 games of starting experience, 5 career victories as a starter, and 2,000+ yards passing to go along with 16 career touchdowns?

b) a freshman who has 0 games of starting experience, 0 career victories as a starter, no stats, and an opportunity to redshirt in order to preserve eligibility through 2014?

An objective reader would clearly choose letter "A." Not Rodriguez, though. Despite surely knowing that Robinson's injury was only minor and that he would probably be able to return to the game soon, Rodriguez left option "A" on the bench and told "B" to warm up.

Earlier in the week, Rodriguez told the media that Gardner probably wouldn't redshirt in 2010. He had apparently soaked up the playbook and shown excellent leadership since his arrival on campus in January 2010. Meanwhile, Forcier's leadership had been questioned repeatedly, most notably by Rodriguez and his coaching staff, who chose to force Tate to "earn his wings" at the beginning of fall practice; several student-athletes who hadn't worked very hard in the offseason were given plain blue helmets and told they had to work to get them back.

Leaving Forcier on the bench was apparently the punishment levied for poor offseason habits. He was essentially suspended for the game. And while Forcier had been standing on the sidelines with his teammates up to that point, afterward the television cameras caught him sitting alone on the bench with towels wrapped around his face, clearly unhappy with the situation. It was not a mature moment from Forcier (why sulk away from your teammates during a 30-10 opening day victory?), but the cameras and broadcasters focused on him for entirely too long. I can't say that I blame Forcier for being upset. I was, too. He shouldn't have wandered off by himself and covered his head during a win, but he's just barely 20 years old; expecting a 20-year-old to be great at hiding his emotions is asking a lot.

However, the choice by Rodriguez was questionable, perhaps even irresponsible and narrow-minded. For such a minor injury, it bordered on the ridiculous to send Gardner onto the field. An All-Everything recruit, he will now be unable to play in 2014, even if Michigan needs him. The only Michigan quarterback scheduled to be on the roster by then is Kevin Sousa . . . who is currently playing his senior year of high school and won't sign a Letter of Intent until February 2011. And now Michigan has three excellent quarterback recruits spread over only two classes of eligibility. If everything remains as scheduled, Forcier and Robinson will continue the quarterback battle/drama through 2012, then Gardner will be the unquestioned starter in 2013, and who knows after that? Furthmore, it's not so much the fact that Gardner burned his redshirt that frustrates me. It's the way it was burned, for a mere two snaps, neither of which was critical.

And while coaches repeat the mantras "There's no I in team" and "No one person is bigger than the program," Rodriguez seemed to make this statement: "Doing things my way is bigger than the program." It was punishment enough for 12-game starter Forcier that he didn't start and was relegated to relief duty on Saturday. Plugging in Gardner for a mere two plays (a handoff and an awkward -4 yard keeper) was a virtual slap in the face. It said, "I'd rather sacrifice having a potential All-American quarterback in 2014 than put you in the game for two snaps."

After the game the only quote Forcier permitted was "All you need to know is I'm out." Family members quickly asserted that, No no no, he was just saying that he was leaving the stadium! Yeah, right. If those were the actual words that came out Forcier's mouth, he's either a very poor communicator or he had at least momentarily decided to transfer. Just like putting the towels on his head in front of camera feeds being broadcast nationally - and 113,000 fans - Forcier almost surely knew what message he was sending. It may have been an emotional reaction in the heat of the moment, but it was his reaction nonetheless. Whether Forcier actually departs remains to be seen, but it's growing increasingly obvious that something has to give. Robinson is the starter but could play other positions. Gardner is apparently the #2, but he's only a year behind Robinson. Forcier seems to be the odd man out and doesn't have the ability to play another position, but he's got the best resume so far. For one of the three, a change of positions or a transfer seems more likely today than it did prior to yesterday's game.

The story/rumors of Forcier's impending transfer highlighted what seems to be one of Rodriguez's faults. Several Lloyd Carr-recruited players transferred away from Michigan after Rodriguez arrived, as well as several players who were recruited to Michigan by Rodriguez himself. Two players (Austin White and Justin Turner) have already transferred during fall camp. Forcier was a Rodriguez-only recruit. Hopefully he can manage Forcier's personality and mold him into a good teammate and leader. But if these attitude issues continue and/or Forcier transfers, Rodriguez's ability to recruit and judge character comes into question. Michigan can't afford to lose too many more players, or else they run the risk of facing sanctions for not graduating enough players. Rich Rodriguez needs to recruit players that he can keep around for years, and he needs to manage the personalities of those he recruits. His my-way-or-the-highway attitude is fine, but only if he recruits players who can handle it.

Tate Forcier is apparently transferring

This is according to Ann Arbor.com based on a quick comment Forcier made after the game.

Update: Other sources are refuting Mike Rothstein's assertion.

2010 Countdown: #3 Tate Forcier

Name: Tate Forcier
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 192 lbs.
High school: Scripps Ranch High School in San Diego, CA
Position: Quarterback
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #5
Last year: I ranked Forcier #2. He started all 12 games and completed 165 of 281 passes (58.7%) with 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also ran the ball 118 times for 240 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The hype for Forcier last season was amazing. It approximated the hype this season for Denard Robinson. Forcier was a highly touted recruit at a position of need with the pedigree and polish (if not the size) to turn the whole program around after a nightmarish 2008 season for Michigan. Things started off with a bang, as Forcier threw 3 touchdowns against Western Michigan in his first game and won the first four games of the season. His comeback victory against Indiana was followed by a near-comeback against MSU, but the 4-0 start to the season quickly devolved as Forcier went 1-7 as a starter down the stretch.

The offseason was somewhat tumultuous for Forcier. He had to recover from a bum shoulder that he injured late in the season. Then Denard Robinson took great strides in spring practices, earning rave reviews and seemingly relegating Forcier to a backup role. Rumors of Forcier's impending transfer sprouted up several times throughout the spring and summer, especially when Forcier had to "earn his wings" at the beginning of summer practices; several Michigan players, including Forcier, who had less than stellar offseasons were given plain blue helmets. While Denard Robinson was reportedly studying film, working hard on his mechanics, and participating in voluntary 7-on-7s, Forcier reportedly made rare appearances at voluntary sessions during the summer.

Forcier is still one of the top three most important players on the team due to his position and talent. Denard Robinson has received more snaps with the first string offense since the spring, and Forcier has been playing catch-up. And while Robinson is clearly a superior runner to Forcier, Michigan fans should remember that Shoelace is tearing up a Michigan defense that might be one of the worst in the Big Ten this year. Robinson made it clear in 2009 that he can gain yards on the ground against just about anyone, but he also made it clear that he has a long way to go as a passer. Forcier is virtually the opposite - he's just an okay runner, but has the ability to be a very good passer. Denard Robinson's legs might let him run past early foes with mediocre defenses like Connecticut, Notre Dame, UMass, Bowling Green, and Indiana. But the tougher defenses that loom in the second half of the season (Iowa, Penn State, Wisconsin, and Ohio State) will require a more nuanced passing attack, one that Robinson is unlikely to produce at this point in his development. Robinson was integral enough to be #5 on this countdown, but Forcier will end up being more valuable by the end of the 2010 campaign.

Prediction for 2010: Part-time starting quarterback; 1,700 yards passing and 15 touchdowns; 200 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns

Explanation of the Countdown

It shouldn't be a surprise that Brandon Graham was Michigan's MVP last year.

As I started the 2010 Season Countdown, I assumed (wrongly) that people would remember the series from last year. But after fielding several questions on the topic, I realized that . . . well . . . nobody really read my blog last year. This still isn't an extremely popular destination, but hey, 1,700+ hits for a full-time teacher and coach isn't bad.

On to the explanation . . .

The countdown is designed to highlight each player and offer some opinions and analysis on each one. They are listed in order of "Least Important" to "Most Important" for the 2010 season. In other words, Christian Pace is at the bottom of the list because he's the most likely to redshirt. Therefore, his impact on Michigan's 2010 performance will be almost nil.

Last year's 2009 Season Countdown had the following players in the top five:

1. Brandon Graham
2. Tate Forcier
3. Donovan Warren
4. Obi Ezeh
5. Brandon Minor

Now imagine if Brandon Graham had been lost to injury - Michigan would have lost 10.5 sacks and its defensive leader, and perhaps former walk-on Will Heininger would have drawn into the lineup. More likely, Ryan Van Bergen would have moved to defensive end full-time and Renaldo Sagesse, Greg Banks, or Will Campbell would have played 3-tech defensive tackle. Yeah . . . trading in Brandon Graham for Renaldo Sagesse - albeit a serviceable player - scares me, too.

Think about this: if Tate Forcier had been lost to injury and Denard Robinson had made the same number of passing attempts (281), Robinson's 12% interception rate would have translated to approximately thirty-three (33!) interceptions. Michigan fans would have been clamoring for Nick Sheridan.

Without Warren (and Boubacar Cissoko, who got booted off the team), imagine potentially having J.T. Floyd and Teric Jones as your starting corners. Yikes!

It turns out, Obi Ezeh was injured in 2009, which partly caused him to have his worst season as a starter. In his stead, Michigan played redshirt sophomore, 206 lb. Kevin Leach.

I probably overestimated Brandon Minor's importance to the team, since there were other running backs to pick up the slack. I still maintain that Minor was Michigan's best back for the past two seasons, but the drop-off between Minor and Carlos Brown isn't nearly as significant as, say, Brandon Graham to Will Heininger or from Forcier's 13 interceptions to Robinson's estimated 33 picks.

So I'm presenting the 2010 Season Countdown. On average, one player will be revealed each day until the beginning of the season, and the #1 guy is - in my estimation - the most important player for Michigan's success this coming season.

Kevin Sousa, Wolverine

Kevin Sousa, a 6'2", 213 lb. quarterback from Orlando, FL, committed to the Wolverines on Tuesday. He received an offer just over a week ago and immediately scheduled a trip to Ann Arbor. Sousa has been on the recruitment radar for several months, but the coaches admitted to him that their higher valued targets (Braxton Miller, Christian LeMay, Everett Golson, Kiehl Frazier, etc.) were headed elsewhere and they were expanding their recruitment of the position.

Sousa's actual size is a bit of a mystery, since he's listed in various places to be somewhere between the above height/weight and 6'4", 235. Six-feet-four and 235 lbs. sounds a little big to me, despite the fact that his arms in the above picture look like WIFFLE ball bats. But however tall and broad he stands betweens those ranges, Little Tate Forcier this is not.

Sousa just started playing football as a sophomore, after being a soccer player in his earlier days. Furthermore, Lake Nona High School's program was in its first year when Sousa was a junior, so there's plenty of room to improve, both for him and his team. In two seasons as a varsity quarterback, he's thrown for 2,636 yards and 16 touchdowns while rushing for 1,775 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also missed three games of his sophomore year due to a knee injury, so those numbers are slightly deflated. Also, all accounts point to Sousa being a highly coachable kid who's ready and willing to learn (video interview here).

Watching Sousa's highlight film, I see a lot of great things and several things that he'll need to improve. He's a great physical specimen with excellent size, good speed, and good vision. He has an above average arm to get the ball downfield. For being new to the sport, he's got a good head on his shoulders. He keeps his eyes downfield when he's scrambling and tries to find the open man. When he does tuck the ball and run, he can run around or through defenders. In fact, there are times where he tries to run over smaller kids rather than leaving them in the dust.

Mechanically, he has plenty to improve. He needs to hold the ball higher when dropping back, which will quicken his release. His windup is a little long, especially when scrambling. I also noticed that there were several times where he tried to escape pressure with the ball dangling from his right hand only; if you watched Tate Forcier at the beginning of the 2009 Ohio State game, you know that's not a good idea. I'd also like to see Sousa hop a little bit less. Most of his snaps seem to come out of the shotgun, and instead of taking steps to drop back, he hops up and down. Not only does it put him in a poor position to throw, but it also affects a quarterback's vision - the receivers and defenders are suddenly bobbing up and down in his sightline, as if he's standing on a dinghy. That was a problem in his junior season film (the first video) but seems to have been corrected by the spring game (second), so hopefully that problem has been fixed permanently.

Luckily for Michigan, Sousa should have plenty of time to improve. Tate Forcier, Denard Robinson, and/or Devin Gardner should be able to hold down the fort at quarterback through at least 2013. Sousa can redshirt in 2011 and continue to work on the little things. He's exactly the kind of quarterback that Michigan should be getting in this class, and realistically, Rodriguez and Co. couldn't have expected a much better outcome with QB recruiting. There are a few guys out there who are more polished, but not many with better physical talent. However, very few elite prospects would have wanted to come in a year after Devin Gardner and two years after Forcier/Robinson. Sousa is a great addition to the recruiting class.

Junior year:



Spring game before senior season:

2010 Countdown: #72 Devin Gardner

Name: Devin Gardner
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 195 lbs.
High school: Inkster High School in Detroit, MI
Position: Quarterback
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #7
Prediction for 2010: Redshirt

Gardner was arguably Michigan's top recruit in the class of 2010 and ended the recruiting cycle ranked as the #1 dual-threat quarterback in the country, according to Rivals. Actually, the argument is probably null and void now that Demar Dorsey wasn't accepted to U of M and will be attending Louisville instead. But anyway, Gardner is good. Everybody thinks so. He has great size, very good speed, a strong arm, and excellent leadership qualities. He has a few mechanical issues, but plenty of time to fix them . . .

. . . because Gardner is going to redshirt this year . . . I think. He should, anyway, unless Forcier and/or Denard Robinson gets hurt. There's no reason to have three extremely talented quarterbacks over two classes. Redshirting Gardner would give him potentially two years to start once Forcier and Robinson graduate after 2012 - perhaps more, if he beats them out. The young man you see above could be our starting quarterback through 2014. But in the meantime, he should stand on the sideline and learn how to make complicated hand signals.

Memories...

I came across this video created by The Wolverine Blog, and it made me wish the season started today. This was such an exciting day for Michigan fans, even if it was only Western Michigan.

Michigan Recruits are Speedy

Lies!

A few days ago, Dr. Saturday wrote another column about how 40 times are exaggerated. In the recruiting world, 40 yard dash times are thrown around by players, coaches, and fans in a careless game of one-upmanship. You know that guy at the party who says he drank 30 beers when you say you had 12? That guy is all over the place in high school and college football.

With the recent NFL Combine results being posted on the internet, I thought I'd compare those times to the times of recent Michigan recruits at a few positions.

QUARTERBACK
Denard Robinson - 4.48
Jarrett Brown (WVU) - 4.54
Tate Forcier - 4.55
Dan LeFevour (CMU) - 4.66
Zac Robinson (OK St.) - 4.71
Tim Tebow (UF) - 4.72
Colt McCoy (UT) - 4.79

RUNNING BACK
Sam McGuffie - 4.32
Jahvid Best (Cal) - 4.35
C.J. Spiller (Clemson) - 4.37
Michael Shaw - 4.40
Ben Tate (Auburn) - 4.43
Austin White - 4.44
Ryan Matthews (Fresno) - 4.45
Joe McKnight (USC) - 4.47
Teric Jones - 4.47
Montario Hardesty (Tennessee) - 4.49
James Starks (Buffalo) - 4.50
Fitzgerald Toussaint - 4.50
Mike Cox - 4.50
Stephen Hopkins - 4.52
Lonyae Miller (Fresno) - 4.53
Shawnbrey McNeal (SMU) - 4.56
Dexter McCluster (Ole Miss) - 4.58

WIDE RECEIVER
Jacoby Ford (Clemson) 4.28
Roy Roundtree - 4.40
Darryl Stonum - 4.40
D.J. Williamson - 4.40
Taylor Price (Ohio) - 4.41
Emmanuel Sanders (SMU) - 4.41
Golden Tate (ND) - 4.42
Brandon Banks (KSU) - 4.43
Kyle Williams (ASU) - 4.43
Je'ron Stokes - 4.44
Marcus Easley (UCONN) - 4.46

LINEBACKER
Josh Furman - 4.37
Jamar Chaney (Miss. St.) - 4.54
Dekoda Watson (FSU) - 4.56
Davion Rogers - 4.60
Jake Ryan - 4.60
Kavell Conner (Clemson) - 4.63
Cody Grimm (VT) - 4.64
Harry Coleman (LSU) - 4.65

So if one were to believe Rivals, Scout, and other recruiting articles, you would find that in the last three years, Michigan has recruited running backs who would have posted 7 of the top 14 times in the 2010 NFL Combine; wide receivers who would have posted 3 of the top 4 times; and linebackers who would have posted 3 of the top 5 forty times.

Furthermore, one would believe that Sam McGuffie would be the second-fastest player in the draft (behind Clemson wide receiver Jacoby Ford) and that linebacker Josh Furman would have tied Clemson running back C.J. Spiller for the third-fastest time.

What conclusions can we reach from this information? The first answer is . . . well, nothing that we didn't already know. High school forty times are exaggerated greatly. But the degree to which they are exaggerated borders on the ridiculous.

The second conclusion is that if Clemson can't win with such elite speed on its roster, then heads need to roll.

And the third conclusion is that, whether his time is fake or not, Denard Robinson is still really, really fast.

2010 Recruiting Grades: Quarterbacks

Devin Gardner

Michigan picked up two commitments from quarterbacks in the class of 2010. The most highly touted of the two is Devin Gardner, generally viewed to be the jewel of the class. While he's rough around the edges as a passer, Gardner has the speed, size, arm strength, and athleticism to be an absolute game changer.

The second quarterback in the class is Conelius Jones, another athletic player from Spartanburg, South Carolina. While he was recruited as a passer, there have been conflicting reports about his college position; various newspapers and recruiting sites have identified him as a wide receiver or a defensive back. He's said that he wants a chance to compete at quarterback, but he'll play wherever the coaches want him.

Prediction: Gardner will earn and/or be forced into playing time in 2010. Ideally, he'd redshirt, but Tate Forcier appears to be somewhat physically fragile, and Rich Rodriguez can't toy with giving important snaps to Denard Robinson this year. Jones will almost surely redshirt. And while some people have quickly passed him off as a future wide receiver, he could be the quarterback in 2014. If Gardner plays as a freshman and Jones doesn't, Gardner will run out of eligibility in 2013. Jones could be Michigan's version of Jarrett Boyd at WVU, a solid player who played well when he finally earned the starting job as a fifth year senior.

Grade: A. In a year after pulling in two quarterbacks, Michigan got another two quarterbacks. One has star potential, and the other is a developmental prospect who has the athleticism to contribute elsewhere if needed.

Image via journalgroup.com