Ex-Wolverine Updates

Jay Hopson

Former DT Richard Ash: Ash's Western Michigan Broncos will play the Air Force Falcons in the Idaho Potato Bowl on December 20th. Ash has 40 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and 2 blocked kicks so far this season.

Former CB Cullen Christian: Christian's West Virginia Mountaineers will play the Texas A&M Aggies in the Liberty Bowl on December 29th. Christian has made 5 tackles this year.

Former CB commit Gareon Conley, former DT Chris Rock: Conley made 1 tackle in Ohio State's 59-0 win over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship game. That win propelled the Buckeyes to the #4 spot in the College Football Playoff rankings, and they will play #1 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl on January 1st.

Former CB commit Dallas Crawford, K commit Matt Goudis: Their Miami Hurricanes will play the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Independence Bowl on December 27th. Crawford has 35 tackles, .5 tackles for loss, and 2 pass breakups this year. Goudis was 4/6 on field goals and 6/6 on extra points this year but a back injury forced him to miss the final ten games of the year.

Former S Joshua Furman: Furman's Oklahoma State Cowboys will play the Washington Huskies in the Cactus Bowl on January 2nd. This past weekend Furman helped upset the Oklahoma Sooners in overtime with a 38-35 victory. Furman made 2 tackles in the game. He now has 58 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, and 4 pass breakups on the year.

Former RB commit Demetrius Hart: Hart's Colorado State Rams will play the Utah Utes in the Las Vegas Bowl on December 20th. Hart has rushed for 1,254 yards (6.7 yards/carry) and 16 touchdowns so far this year.

Former linebackers coach Jay Hopson: Hopson, now the head coach at Alcorn State, won the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) championship with a 38-24 victory over Southern. After a 4-7 start to his head coaching career in 2012, he is now 19-6 in the last two seasons.

Former RB Thomas Rawls: Rawls's Central Michigan Chippewas will play the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in the Bahamas Bowl on December 24th. Rawls has rushed for 1,103 yards (5.3 yards/carry) and 10 touchdowns this year.

Former head coach Rich Rodriguez: Rodriguez's Arizona Wildcats were blasted by Oregon in the Pac-12 championship game by a score of 51-13. They are currently 10-3 and will play the Boise State Broncos in the Fiesta Bowl on December 31st.

Former S Ray Vinopal: Vinopal's Pitt Panthers will play the Houston Cougars in the Armed Forces Bowl on January 2nd. Vinopal has 61 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, and 5 pass breakups on the year.

Former CB commit Adrian Witty: Witty's Cincinnati Bearcats will play the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Military Bowl on December 27th. Witty has made 3 tackles this year but has not played in the final eleven games, though I cannot find any information on why he has been out.

Ex-Wolverine Updates

Josh Furman (#14) attempts to tackle Texas's Tyrone Swoopes

Former DT Richard Ash: Ash made 1 tackle in Western Michigan's 51-7 beatdown of Eastern Michigan.

Former CB commit Dallas Crawford: Crawford made 2 tackles in Miami-FL's 30-26 loss to Florida State.

Former S Josh Furman: Furman had 5 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 1 sack in Oklahoma State's 28-7 loss to Texas. Oklahoma State started off 5-1, but they have since lost four in a row to Big 12 opponents. Furman has 54 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, 4 pass breakups, and 1 interception on the season.

Former linebackers coach Jay Hopson: Hopson, now the head coach at Alcorn State, moved to 9-2 on the season with a 56-6 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Former RB Thomas Rawls: Rawls had 3 carries for 16 yards in Central Michigan's 34-27 victory over Miami-OH.

Former head coach Rich Rodriguez: Rodriguez's Arizona Wildcats beat Washington by a score of 27-26. The Huskies were ahead 26-24 with three seconds remaining when Arizona kicker Casey Skowron missed a potential game-winning field goal, but Washington head coach Chris Petersen had called a timeout to ice the kicker. Skowron hit the field goal on his second try and Arizona pulled out the win. Arizona is now 8-2 on the year.

Former S Ray Vinopal: Vinopal had 5 tackles in Pitt's 40-35 loss to North Carolina.

Ex-Wolverine Updates

Oregon tight end Pharaoh Brown (image via Statesman Journal)

Former DT Richard Ash: Ash had 6 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks in Western Michigan's 42-21 win over Ohio. He helped hold the Bobcats to 88 yards on 36 rushing attempts (2.4 yards/carry).

Former TE commit Pharaoh Brown: Brown caught 2 passes for 30 yards and 2 touchdowns (21 and 9 yards) in Oregon's 59-41 win over Cal on Friday night. Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota finally threw his first interception on the year.

Former CB commit Dallas Crawford: Crawford had 2 tackles and .5 tackles for loss in Miami's 30-6 win over Virginia Tech.

Former S Josh Furman: Furman had 8 tackles and 1 tackle for loss in Oklahoma State's 34-10 loss to West Virginia.

Former RB commit Demetrius Hart: Hart had 13 carries for 87 yards and 1 catch for 21 yards in Colorado State's 45-31 victory over Wyoming.

Former linebackers coach Jay Hopson: Hopson and his Alcorn State Braves improved to 7-2 on the season with a 77-48 win over Prairie View A&M. Alcorn State gained 699 total yards (337 rushing, 362 passing) in a balanced attack, but they also gave up 545.

Former RB Thomas Rawls: Rawls had 3 carries for 4 yards in Central Michigan's 20-14 victory over Ball State.

Former head coach Rich Rodriguez: Rodriguez and his Arizona Wildcats beat Washington State by a score of 59-37. Arizona was outgained (543 to 491) in total yardage, but they returned a punt 81 yards for a touchdown and also returned a late WSU onside kick for a touchdown. Meanwhile, quarterback Anu Solomon threw for 294 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions.

Former S Ray Vinopal: Vinopal had 7 tackles and 1 tackle for loss, but Pitt lost to Georgia Tech by a score of 56-28. Five players for Georgia Tech had more than 50 yards rushing, and the Yellowjackets averaged 7.3 yards/carry.

Ex-Wolverine Updates

Pharaoh Brown (image via Daily Emerald)

Former DT Richard Ash: Ash made 1 tackle in Western Michigan's 26-14 victory over Bowling Green.

Former TE commit Pharaoh Brown: Brown had 3 receptions for a career-high 99 yards in Oregon's 45-20 victory over Washington. He has 18 catches for 314 yards (17.4 yards/catch) and 3 touchdowns on the season.

Former CB commit Gareon Conley: Conley made 2 tackles and 1 pass breakup in Ohio State's 56-17 dismantling of Rutgers.

Former S Josh Furman: Oklahoma State suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of TCU, 42-9. Furman made 5 tackles and 1 tackle for loss in the defeat. He now has 39 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 1 interception, 3 pass breakups, and 1 forced fumble.

Former RB commit Demetrius Hart: Hart's Colorado State team beat Utah State by a score of 16-13. Hart ran the ball 12 times for 60 yards (5.0 yards/carry) and 1 touchdown, and he caught 1 pass for 9 yards.

Former linebackers coach Jay Hopson: Hopson, now the head coach at Alcorn State, went to 6-2 with a 40-25 win over Texas Southern. The two losses came against Southern Mississippi in week two and Grambling State on October 11th. Hopson is 19-12 as a head coach in two-plus seasons.

Former RB Thomas Rawls: Rawls nearly continued his streak of 200+ yard rushing games, but alas, he ended this week's contest with 37 carries for 181 yards (4.9 yards/carry) and 1 touchdown. He also caught 1 pass for 6 yards, but Central Michigan lost to Ball State by a score of 32-29. Rawls passed the 1,000-yard barrier for the season and now has 1,007 yards and 10 rushing touchdowns.

Former S Ray Vinopal: Vinopal had 3 tackles and 2 pass breakups in Pitt's 21-16 victory over Virginia Tech.

Ex-Wolverine Updates

Jay Hopson has Alcorn State chugging along pretty nicely.

Former DT Richard Ash: Ash made 1 tackle in Western Michigan's 45-14 victory over Murray State.

Former TE commit Pharaoh Brown: Brown had 3 catches for 38 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown in Oregon's 38-31 win over Washington State. The game was tied 31-31 until the Ducks scored the go-ahead touchdown with 5:33 left.

Former CB Cullen Christian: Christian had 1 tackle in West Virginia's 45-33 loss to Oklahoma.

Former CB commit Dallas Crawford: Crawford made 3 tackles in Miami's 41-31 loss to Nebraska.

Former K Matt Goudis: Goudis sat out Miami's loss to Nebraska with an injury.

Former LB coach Jay Hopson: Hopson, the head coach at D-II Alcorn State, moved to 3-1 with a 52-9 win over Mississippi Valley State. His only loss this year came at the hands of Southern Miss, an FBS school, by a score of 26-20. Against D-II opponents, the Braves have scored 50+ points in each game and they have allowed 6, 7, and 9 points.

Former defensive coordinator Greg Robinson: Robinson is now the defensive coordinator at San Jose State, a team that is #99 nationally with 31 points per game allowed. They're also #59 nationally by giving up 375 yards/game, which isn't terrible considering two of their opponents have been Auburn and Minnesota.

Former head coach Rich Rodriguez: Arizona won a ridiculous game against Cal by a score of 49-45. Arizona was down 28-6 at halftime, but they outscored Cal 43-17 in the second half. The game was finally won on a 47-yard Hail Mary from Anu Solomon to Austin Hill as time expired. Solomon was 47/73 for 520 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. Receiver Cayleb Jones caught 13 passes for 186 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Hill caught 8 passes for 127 yards and 2 touchdowns. It's interesting to watch from afar as Rodriguez has gone from a run-heavy spread offense at West Virginia and Michigan to a passer-friendly one in Arizona, although they usually still run the ball well.

Former S Ray Vinopal: Vinopal made 7 tackles in Pitt's 24-20 loss to Iowa.

Ex-Wolverine Updates

Defensive coordinator Greg Robinson is helping out a Texas team that was thought to be sliding downward.

TE Pharaoh Brown: Brown had 1 catch for 18 yards in Oregon's 45-24 victory over Washington.

K Anthony Fera: Fera was 3/3 on field goals, including makes of 50, 43, and 31 yards. He was also 3/4 on extra points with the fourth attempt being blocked. His Texas Longhorns beat Oklahoma by a score of 36-20.

Linebackers coach Jay Hopson: Hopson's Alcorn State team moved to 5-2 after a 48-0 destruction of Grambling. The team rushed for 288 yards and passed for another 254

S Carvin Johnson: Johnson had 6 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 pass breakup in Hampton's 31-26 victory over North Carolina A&T. That's Hampton's first win of the year.

LB Mike Jones: Jones had 14 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, .5 sacks, and 1 pass breakup in Western Michigan's 33-0 loss to Buffalo. Western is 0-7 on the season, but Jones is having a decent year with 63 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, and 1 pass breakup.

Defensive coordinator Greg Robinson: Don't look now, but Greg Robinson - recently hired as Texas's defensive coordinator - helped the Longhorns to their 36-20 upset win over Oklahoma. Oklahoma managed just 263 total yards and quarterback Blake Bell got picked off twice, one of which was returned for a touchdown.

WR Jerald Robinson: Robinson had 3 catches for 33 yards and 1 touchdown in Walsh University's 38-28 win over Malone. He now has 24 catches for 306 yards and 5 touchdowns on the year.

S Marvin Robinson: Robinson started at safety and had 5 tackles in Ferris State's 54-44 win over Grand Valley State.

Head coach Rich Rodriguez: Arizona fell to 3-2 after a 38-31 loss to USC. The Wildcats were down 28-3 at one point, but they recovered to make it a one-score game. Quarterback B.J. Denker had a career day with 363 yards and 4 touchdowns through the air.

WR Je'Ron Stokes: Stokes had 1 catch for 8 yards in Norfolk State's 14-7 loss to Delaware State.

S Ray Vinopal: Vinopal had 6 tackles in Pitt's 19-9 loss to Virginia Tech.

CB Adrian Witty: Witty had 6 tackles and 1 tackle for loss in Cincinnati's 38-20 win over 0-6 Temple.

Ex-Wolverine Updates: Rodriguez's Staff

Former safeties coach Adam Braithwaite arguably had the most success of any former Rodriguez staffer in 2011,
as his Christopher Newport team almost finished in the top third of D-III defenses and the team went 8-3.
(image via Daily Press)

Former head coach Rich Rodriguez spent the 2011 season as an NCAA football analyst for CBS Sports.

Former offensive coordinator Calvin Magee spent the 2011 season as the offensive coordinator at Pitt.  The Panthers finished the regular season #68 in rushing offense (151 yards per game), #75 in passing offense (211 yards per game), #83 in total offense (362 yards per game), and #69 in scoring offense (25.75 points per game).  They also allowed more sacks than any other team with 4.75 per game.  Magee has been hired to re-join Rodriguez at Arizona and coordinate the offense.

Former defensive coordinator Scott Shafer ('08) has spent the last few seasons at Syracuse.  In 2011 the Orangemen finished #32 in rushing defense, #98 in passing defense, #64 in total defense, and #74 in scoring defense.

Former defensive coordinator Greg Robinson ('09-'10) spent the 2011 season away from football.

Former quarterbacks coach Rod Smith ('08-'10) spent the 2011 season as the quarterbacks coach at Indiana.  The Hoosiers went 1-11 with a victory over South Carolina State.  True freshman Tre Roberson finished the season  at 81-for-142 passing for 937 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions.  He also ran the ball 109 times for 426 yards (3.9 yards per carry) and 2 touchdowns.  Sophomore Edward Wright-Backer finished the year at 91-for-153 passing for 1,029 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions.  He ran the ball 46 times for 68 yards and 0 touchdowns.  Overall, the Hoosiers had the #80 passing offense, the #85 total offense, and the #101 scoring offense (21.4 points per game).

Running backs coach Fred Jackson ('08-'10) spent the 2011 season at Michigan, turning Fitzgerald Toussaint into an awesome running back.

Former wide receivers coach Tony Dews ('08-'10) spent the 2011 season as the tight ends coach at Pitt.  Starter Hubie Graham finished the year with 27 catches for 307 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Dews has been hired to re-join Rodriguez at Arizona as the wide receivers coach.

Former offensive line coach Greg Frey ('08-'10) spent the 2011 season as the offensive line coach at Indiana.  The Hoosiers finished #58 in rushing (161 yards per game) and #95 in sacks allowed (2.58 per game).

Former defensive line coach Bruce Tall ('08-'10) was hired as the defensive coordinator at Charlotte, a fledgling football program that won't begin playing until 2013.

Former linebackers coach Jay Hopson ('08-'09) spent 2010 and the first part of 2011 at Memphis.  However, he resigned at Memphis after the first two games of the season, when he gave up 59 and 47 points to Mississippi State and Arkansas State, respectively.  His current job situation is unknown.

Former secondary coach Tony Gibson ('08-'10) spent the 2011 season as the secondary coach at Pitt.  The Panthers finished #71 in the country in pass defense (233 yards per game) and his defensive backs made just 4 total interceptions.  Gibson has been hired to re-join Rodriguez at Arizona as the Wildcats' secondary coach.

Former safeties coach Adam Braithwaite ('10) spent the 2011 season as the defensive coordinator at Christopher Newport, a Division III program.  CNU finished #85 in rushing defense, #94 in pass defense, #83 in total defense, and #116 in scoring defense while going 8-3 on the year.  There are 238 teams in Division III.

Where did Rich Rodriguez's staff go?

Running backs coach Fred Jackson was the only coach to survive the Rich Rodriguez tenure. (Ann Arbor.com)

Adam Braithwaite (Safeties coach, 2010)
Braithwaite was fired along with the rest of the defensive staff in January.  He was recently hired by Christopher Newport University to be the team's defensive coordinator.

Tony Dews (Wide receivers coach, 2008-2010)
Dews was hired by new coach Todd Graham at Pitt shortly after the staff was fired from Michigan.  He will be the Panthers tight ends coach.

Greg Frey (Offensive line coach, 2008-2010)
Frey was hired by new coach Kevin Wilson at Indiana shortly after the staff was fired from Michigan.  He will be the Hoosiers offensive line coach.

Tony Gibson (Defensive backs coach, 2008-2010)
Gibson was hired by new coach Todd Graham at Pitt shortly after the staff was fired from Michigan.  He will be the Panthers cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator.

Jay Hopson (Linebackers coach, 2008-2009)
Hopson was hired by Memphis prior to the 2010 season to be the defensive coordinator and safeties coach.  The Tigers were #116 in total defense and #110 in scoring defense prior to Hopson's arrival.  Memphis finished 2010 with the #115 squad in total defense (460.67 yards/game) and the #117 scoring defense (39.83 points/game).

Calvin Magee (Offensive coordinator/tight ends coach, 2008-2010)
Magee was hired by new coach Todd Graham at Pitt shortly after the staff was fired from Michigan.  He will be the Panthers co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach.

Greg Robinson (Defensive coordinator, 2009-2010)
Robinson's current whereabouts are unknown.  Rumor has it that he's been auditioning for Just for Men commercials.

Scott Shafer (Defensive coordinator/cornerbacks coach, 2008)
Shafer was fired after the 2008 season.  He was then hired by Syracuse to be its defensive coordinator.  Syracuse had been #101 in both total defense and scoring defense prior to Shafer's arrival, but they improved to #37 in total defense and #81 in scoring defense by 2009.  Syracuse finished 2010 at #7 in total defense (301.46 yards/game) and #17 in scoring defense (19.31 points/game).

Rod Smith (Quarterbacks coach, 2008-2010)
Smith was hired by new coach Kevin Wilson at Indiana shortly after the staff was fired from Michigan.  He will be the Hoosiers quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator.

Bruce Tall (Defensive line coach, 2008-2010)
Tall was hired by Charlotte to be the program's first defensive coordinator.

"One step ahead of the grim reaper"

Equipment manager Jon Falk

challenges Mike Barwis in

bull-in-the-ring.

Michigan's official site has a piece on the coaches' exercise habits. I think many fans are largely unaware of how much time major college coaches spend working per day. Barwis states that they often work 16- or 17-hour days, and I've read about many a coach who regularly sleeps on the couch in his office. These guys barely get enough time to sleep, let alone exercise . . .

. . . which is why it's important for superfans to have this handy dandy guide to where the coaches work out.

Defensive line coach Bruce Tall says, "I have a nice route that goes from State to Eisenhower and I loop back around and end up on Packard."

Linebackers coach Jay Hopson has a different route. "I can't stand running," says Hopson, "but I have to keep the heart going. I'll do a 5K that takes me around campus and back through The Diag, which is a beautiful part of the run and something I look forward to. I don't listen to music. I just take off and start running."

Sadly, Rich Rodriguez and some of the other coaches do the majority of their exercising at Schembechler Hall, which makes it increasingly difficult and potentially unlawful to stalk them.

However, if you're going to stalk them, put on your sprintin' shoes or get out the Schwinn. When I lived in Ann Arbor a few years ago, Lloyd Carr walked out of the Starbucks at State and Liberty. My excuse is that I was only wearing flip-flops (that's right, ladies - only flip-flops), but that dude left me in his dust like I was Minnesota and he was Carlos Brown.