AnnArbor.com: Inside the Michigan Bust

Yen Nguyen

Kyle Meinke covers the Michigan Bust that took place last night.

Schools in the News: Wisconsin

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rivals 250 for 2013 updated

Dymonte Thomas is the #107 player in the nation

Rivals updated its top 250 prospects for the class of 2013.  Here's what it looked like back in August.

Movers and shakers for Michigan:

- Dymonte Thomas dropped from #102 to #107
- Chris Fox fell from #112 to #123
- Jake Butt fell from #131 to #141
- Jourdan Lewis jumped from #150 to #147
- Taco Charlton jumped from #233 to #231
- Ross Douglas dropped from #232 to #238
- Logan Tuley-Tillman dropped from #241 to #245
- Wyatt Shallman dropped out of the top 250

101. Alvin Bailey - WR - Florida (Florida)
102. Wyatt Teller - DE - Virginia (Virginia Tech)
104. Jake Raulerson - OT - Texas (Texas)
105. Priest Willis - CB - Arizona
107. Dymonte Thomas - S - Ohio (Michigan)
109. Evan Lisle - OT - Ohio (Ohio State)
110. Antwuan Davis - CB - Texas (Texas)
113. Keith Ford - RB - Texas (Oklahoma)
114. James Quick - WR - Kentucky
116. Justin Davis - RB - California (USC)
121. Elijah Daniel - DE - Indiana
123. Chris Fox - OT - Colorado (Michigan)
124. Isaac Rochell - DE - Georgia (Notre Dame)
130. Maurice Smith - CB - Texas (Alabama)
133. Michael Hill - DT - South Carolina (Ohio State)
138. Jake Oliver - WR - Texas (Texas)
139. Brendan Mahon - OG - Massachusetts (Penn State)
141. Jake Butt - TE - Ohio (Michigan)
143. Greg Webb - DT - New Jersey (North Carolina)
145. Yannick Ngakoue - LB - Maryland
147. Jourdan Lewis - CB - Michigan (Michigan)
148. John Reschke - LB - Michigan (Michigan State)
151. David Dawson - OG - Michigan
157. Scott Pagano - DT - Hawaii (Clemson)
167. Joe Mathis - DE - California
169. Kevin Olsen - QB - New Jersey (Miami)
171. Hunter Bivin - OT - Kentucky (Notre Dame)
173. Darren Carrington - WR - California (Oregon)
174. Billy Price - DT - Ohio (Ohio State)
180. Tim Harris - CB - Virginia
184. Jordan Cunningham - WR - Florida
192. Kenny Lacy - OT - California (UCLA)
201. Nadir Barnwell - CB - New Jersey (Rutgers)
202. Jayme Thompson - S - Ohio (Ohio State)
204. Ishmael Wilson - OG - Texas (Texas A&M)
215. Jason Hatcher - DE - Kentucky (USC)
219. Chase Abbington - ATH - Missouri (Missouri)
226. Ebenezer Ogundeko - DE - New York
231. Taco Charlton - DE - Ohio (Michigan)
233. Na'Ty Rodgers - OT - Maryland
234. Darius Latham - DT - Indiana (Indiana)
238. Ross Douglas - CB - Ohio (Michigan)
241. Sebastian LaRue - WR - California (USC)
244. Eldridge Massington - WR - California (USC)
245. Logan Tuley-Tillman - OT - Illinois (Michigan)

Video: Taylor Lewan - Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year

Stephen Hopkins, Ex-Wolverine

Spring 2010: Walk-on Phil Monolo, Stephen Hopkins, Michael Shaw, coach Fred Jackson,
Fitzgerald Toussaint, John McColgan, and Vincent Smith

Junior fullback Stephen Hopkins has left the football program.  He tweeted that he would get his degree from Michigan.  Hopkins was recruited by former Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez to play tailback in the spread offense, but he was just occasionally effective as a runner.  As a freshman in 2010, he had 37 carries for 151 yards (4.1 yards/carry) and 4 touchdowns.  When Brady Hoke arrived in 2011, that signaled a move to fullback for Hopkins, who proceeded to run just 11 times for 43 yards (3.9 yards/carry) as a sophomore, along with 1 catch for 28 yards.  Hopkins played as a blocking fullback in 2012 but never touched the ball.  Altogether, he ends his Michigan career with 48 carries for 194 yards (4.0 yards/carry) and 4 touchdowns, with that 1 reception for 28 yards added on.

Hopkins's departure is one of the losses that I had heard to be rumored last offseason.  Hopkins seemed not to be thrilled with the fullback's role in the offense, since he came to Michigan to be a tailback.  He decided to give it one more go in 2012, but his commitment seemed to be iffy.  He lost playing time to a less physically talented player in the form of redshirt freshman Joey Kerridge, and not touching the ball all year likely bothered him.  By comparison, Kerridge had 1 reception for 12 yards against Nebraska and was targeted a couple more times throughout the year, in particular on a wheel route against Notre Dame.  Hopkins did a poor job of blocking in the Ohio State game, and it seemed like he wasn't really giving 100%.

Hopkins's departure leaves just two fullbacks on the roster - Kerridge and freshman Sione Houma.  Sophomore Thomas Rawls might have the ability to contribute some at fullback, and 2013 recruit Wyatt Shallman has some potential there, too.  However, this shouldn't be a huge concern, because the fullback position can often be filled by walk-ons and position-switchers.

This is the 14th member of the 2010 recruiting class to depart early from Rich Rodriguez's largely doomed class.  The class of juniors and redshirt sophomores is already down by more than 50%, and a couple remaining members of that same class have yet to see the field (Jordan Paskorz, Ken Wilkins).  However, this opens up a 24th scholarship for the class of 2013.  The coaches are expected to take at least 25 commitments in February.

Smart Football: Should Georgia Have Spiked the Ball?

Tika Ivezaj

At the end of the SEC Championship game, the Georgia Bulldogs got a first down with eight seconds left, ran a pass play on which the receiver was tackled in-bounds, and then ran out of time.  I know Chris Brown has some numbers that suggest spiking the ball is a bad idea in the situation, but I still think you spike that ball and have about six seconds left.  Six seconds should be enough to run two plays, which is better than one hurried play.

Rivals 100 for 2013 updated

Patrick Kugler was the lone Michigan commit to move up in the updated rankings

Rivals released its updated top 100 prospects today.  Here's what it looked like back in August, and here are Michigan's movers and shakers:

- Shane Morris fell from #17 to #25
- Henry Poggi fell from #58 to #68
- Patrick Kugler jumped from #88 to #79
- Mike McCray fell from #81 to #88
- Kyle Bosch fell from #92 to #99

Here's a list of Michigan's offerees:

5-stars:
3. Jaylon Smith - LB - Indiana (Notre Dame)
5. Su'a Cravens - S - California (USC)
8. Kendall Fuller - CB - Maryland (Virginia Tech)
9. Vernon Hargreaves III - CB - Florida (Florida)
10. LaQuon Treadwell - WR - Illinois
11. Laremy Tunsil - OT - Florida
13. Jonathan Allen - DE - Virginia (Alabama)
14. Derrick Green - RB - Virginia
17. Montravius Adams - DT - Georgia
19. Leon McQuay III - S - Florida
20. Ty Isaac - RB - Illinois (USC)
25. Shane Morris - QB - Michigan (Michigan)

4-stars:
28. Eli Woodard - CB - New Jersey (Ohio State)
29. Marquez North - WR - North Carolina
31. Cameron Burrows - CB - Ohio (Ohio State)
32. Eddie Vanderdoes - DT - California (USC)
38. E.J. Levenberry - LB - Virginia (Florida State)
40. Larenz Bryant - LB - North Carolina (South Carolina)
44. Ethan Pocic - OT - Illinois (LSU)
47. Dorian O'Daniel - LB - Maryland (Clemson)
50. Alex Anzalone - LB - Pennsylvania (Notre Dame)
51. Joey Bosa - DE - Florida (Ohio State)
56. Steven Elmer - OT - Michigan (Notre Dame)
62. Demorea Stringfellow - WR - California (Washington)
63. Adam Breneman - TE - Pennsylvania (Penn State)
65. John Montelus - OG - Massachusetts (Notre Dame)
68. Henry Poggi - DT - Maryland (Michigan)
71. Michael Hutchings - LB - California (USC)
72. Tray Matthews - S - Georgia (Georgia)
73. Peter Kalambayi - LB - North Carolina (Stanford)
74. Robert Foster - WR - Pennsylvania
79. Patrick Kugler - OG - Pennsylvania (Michigan)
87. Chris Hawkins - CB - California (USC)
88. Mike McCray - LB - Ohio (Michigan)
95. Cole Luke - CB - Arizona (Notre Dame)
97. Al-Quadin Muhammad - DE - New Jersey
99. Kyle Bosch - OG - Illinois (Michigan)