Blue By Ninety - Coaching Changes, Players Leaving, and a look at the 2020/2021 Recruiting classes.

Episode Date: February 3, 2020

Listen to us talk about the coaching changes, players leaving, the 2020 recruiting class, a little bit of the 2021 recruiting class, and some general news!

Welcome to Blue by 90, your Michigan football podcast. We are three dudes who talk maize and blue. I'm Kalen, joined by Nate and Jack. Hey, what up? Guys, we've had a lot of news kind of since the National Championship game and since our last episode. So what do you say we just kind of go through our Michigan news and then we'll jump through our regular assorted news beyond that. Sound okay? Sounds good. Okay. So let's start at the top. We've had a lot of changes in just personnel. So let's start with coaching, right?

Chris Partridge, out. Chris Partridge took a job at Ole Miss with Lane Kiffin, right? Our guy, you know, he's very, very fair and straightforward and following all the rules down there. No, Partridge, that's a big hit for us, right? Partridge, he was a good recruiter. He's had some of our highest-rated recruits, right? Like Rashawn Gary, Jabril Peppers even he might have been involved in.

He was the coach at the high school at the time, I think. Daxton Hill. Daxton Hill. Part of that. Yeah, some of that stuff. So he was a very good recruiter. So Ole Miss is going to be loving him. Other than him,

Anthony Campanelli. Campanile. Campanile. Campanile? You've got to say it like Italian. You've got to go Campanile! That's how I'm going to be like, hey coach, Campanile! Well, that guy, he was a good coach too, but he was only with us for a year.

We thought we were going to keep him, hold on to him, right? He was almost at Boston College, and he was almost at Rutgers, and he was like, no, I'm not going to either place. I'm going Miami Dolphins, right? Kind of a shock. Yeah, and we're all like, what? Okay. But, you know, some guys, that's how it is, right?

Pros come knocking, and that's where you go. And then even to follow up on the Partridge thing, he was up for Otis Reese. Remember him? I think he was a linebacker recruit. Oh, yes. And he ended up going to the transfer portal, and guess where he ended up once Partridge went to Ole Miss?

Went to Ole Miss. Oh, my God. That's the only guy we could have got if we could have kind of sealed that deal with Partridge staying with us. Yeah, I don't know what his deal was. It sounds like he just wanted to be defensive coordinator or something. I mean, definitely got a promotion. I'm sure a huge pair is.

Yeah. I feel like a guy like Partridge, like, to me, I'm like, okay, he, like, went somewhere else. Totally respect his decision if that's what he wants to do. Like, you know, and if he wants to move up in the ranks, you think okay he's a high school coach came to michigan became like special teams uh coach and um he wants to have the opportunity like call his own plays and totally respect that i'm like hey dude if that's what you want to do like go ahead and do that the only thing for me the loss was otis reese because i was like you, we could use more, you know, big-time players because we have so many guys transferring all the time.

Other than that, though, I was like, hey, you know, this is kind of what happens when you're a big-time program. You're going to get a lot of people come in. They're going to stay for two years. They're going to say, like, oh, I'm here long-term for recruits. They're going to tell recruits lies, blah, blah, blah. Oh, I'm going to stay, like, you know. But kids come for

different reasons right they come for the program the head coach name like that seemed to always be the thing with urban meyer nobody's like oh man i came for came to ohio state because you know the defensive backs coach or something recruited me you know what i'm saying like i think he's a great recruit he's got some great great people um but you know, I think the brand itself brings in people. That's true. And I think winning big games will do that. So even though he left, I think we've got some great guys who have experience and they'll come in, they'll continue to get good recruits,

and I think we'll be pretty much on the same track. Yeah. Well, let's, I mean, just following up on that to segue into the guys who we did bring in, right? So Partridge's replacement is Bob Shoup, who was the DC at Mississippi State, right? Mississippi State. They just hired, uh, Mike Leach, right? As our head coach.

Yeah. So that'd be interesting little rivalry down there. But, yeah, Bob Shoup, I mean, what? I don't know if anybody has his statistics up. I know in 2018 they said he had the nation's top defense statistically. Yeah. In the country. So, I mean, that's good news to bring to our defense.

Yeah. I kind of said another note on him, not a bright spot, but he's not a great recruiter. According to 247 Sports, he was 119th in the assistant coach recruiting rankings in 2019, and was outside the top 400 in the 2020 class.

Not a good recruiter. We got the guy from USF coming, though. We do, and apparently he's a good recruiter. And another thing on Bob Shute, they said, because he has more experience, maybe you know that issue where we have with talent development where we're bringing those four and five star guys that aren't really panning out. He might be more

suited to help develop those players and help develop that talent just because he's got a little bit more experience or more experience in part. More of a player's coach than a recruiting kind of coach. He's a developed player, so we get, we need that 100%. Yeah, so it's nice that we got him to kind of take care of that issue. And then you kind of were talking about the replacement for Campanelli

is Brian Jean Mary. He coached with Charlie Strong at USF. He also coached with Charlie Strong at Texas. So he's got ties to Southern Florida and Texas. I think he was with him at Louisville too. He probably was as a GA or something. Since he was there at Louisville, I'm not sure if it was the same time as Charlie Strong, but I'm assuming so. Right.

This guy's got pretty good ties to some good pipeline kind of states where we can get good recruits and good talent. According to Charlie Strong, this is his prote is like his protege, right? This is a guy who really knows his football, knows his positions, and can help develop talent in that linebacker spot.

And we need that, right? Because all we've got returning, I think, is Cam McGrone. Well, Josh Ross. We've got Josh Ross coming back. And then we've got some young guys that will hopefully be able to step up as backups. But yeah, Josh Ross, Cam McGroan, Anthony Solomon, who was a big-time recruit, ladded in 2019 class, so he's been on campus. But these are all underclassmen who haven't seen as much play time.

Yeah, Michael Barrett. So these are all guys who could really benefit from having a guy who's maybe seen some of that SEC, even those Big 12 rivalry games, Texas, Oklahoma, and some of that Southern Florida ball, right? Another cool thing about Gene Murray is, do you guys know who Vamps Bedford is? No. Former U of M coach, I guess from a 97 championship team and some other years under Lloyd Carr. Apparently, he worked with Gene Marie for seven years.

So he's a super high-energy guy, high-intensity guy, always running around, getting on the players, and the players love him. But he said he's a teacher first. He's in the classroom. He's teaching the guys how to watch video, teaching them how to do little things right. And he said, he calls him BJ. BJ is going to teach the fundamentals first and then teach guys scheme second.

Okay. Good. I mean, I'm all for that, right? Yeah. Teaching these young guys how to improve their game at a critical position group, right? Nate, what do you think about Brian G. Merritt? I think Jack pretty much touched on all the things. Like, yeah, I think Brian G. Guy.

And we've had – the thing I liked about the recruiting class like this year, there seemed to be a lot of like freshman playing. And so I think going forward, like just getting somebody to teach these guys a couple more things. Like the recruiting class was like what, 11 or something? Ten. Ten nationally, yeah. For like the

freshman class yep um and uh with that freshman class they seem to be better than what their numbers showed like on a national level so my thought is that you just keep teaching these guys and they're gonna keep learning and i don't know. I'm with you. I think those are good hires because when both of those guys left, I was kind of like, I have no idea where to go from here. I've heard hearing names here and there, but nothing crazy.

Another interesting thing with their contracts that I was reading on MLive, I'm not sure how many years, do you guys know if there are any years left in Campanella's contract or Partridge's contract? I don't know. I'm not sure either.

But what it noted on MLive is that with Shoup and Jean Marie, they have heavy buyout clauses in their agreements. So if either coach decides to leave Michigan prior to the end of their deal, both end on January 10, 2022, they will owe the school 100% of their current base salary. Oh. Previously, assistants only had to pay up to 50% of their salary if they decided to leave prior to the end of their agreement.

And they said in many cases it was only 25%. But in a quote out of their contract, it said the buyout shall be paid to the university in full within 30 days of the announcement of your departure. That's a big hit, which is a good incentive to stay for the full extent of the contract. Hopefully,

they're good coaches and we'll have them for two years. Yeah, 100%. Guaranteed. Because that's huge too, right? Coach turnover. Good. I'm glad to get those guys and I look forward to seeing what they can do. Moving on to some of the shifting in personnel with the players, right? Tons of guys leaving, whether it's guys graduating, going to the NFL, or transferring, right?

I mean, just in a couple position groups alone, right? You're looking at starting QB Shea Patterson, looking to go to the NFL. We've heard some kind of shifty things about how he played in the Senior Bowl, right? You're looking at starting QB Shea Patterson looking to go to the NFL. We've heard some kind of shifty things about how he played in the senior bowl, right? He threw a touchdown. He also threw a pick. DPJ looking to go to the NFL. Some people are kind of like, he doesn't really have the numbers. He was, you know, number one overall in his class. Who was number two? I think it was Jerry Judy. Jerry Judy.

Very different career. And there was an article that came out that said, I mean, basically kind of what we were thinking, I mean,

obviously we're hoping that DPJ, you know, goes to the NFL and does well, but there was an article saying, you know,

they think he may have made a mistake. Like he wasn't ready. So, I mean. I think he's definitely counting on just his physical attributes,

right? Yeah. Because he's just a freaking nature. counting on just his physical attributes, right? Yeah. Because he's just a freaking agent. Got the size, got the athleticism. Yeah. Some of the under-the-radar guys who turned out to be great, Josh Uche, right? Yeah. Huge performance at the Senior Bowl.

Yeah. I kept reading articles about him. Oh, Josh Uche, this guy looks crazy. Josh Uche, just flying up the draft charts. Yeah. I'm like, oh, my gosh, man. I thought Uche was solid but I mean I guess he's just really fits that kind of prototype for linebackers in the

NFL nowadays right he was like the only guy who I thought on the team had like a shot of right playing in the NFL other than that like I'm looking at these guys I'm like Khalid like Mike Mike and Khalid Hudson's another guy who's leaving, trying to go to the NFL. I've heard nothing about him. Who? Khaliq. Yeah. I mean, going off what you said, Uche definitely. But I mean, I think our entire line that left is going to have a successful career in the NFL.

Right. John Runyon, Cesar Ruiz, Wayne U, Bredesen. Bredesen and Wayne U, it's like, yeah. Those guys, I mean, they're graduating, right? But it's like, I'm still... You guys know my opinion're graduating, right? But it's like, you guys know my opinion on Caesar and DJ. We needed them. We need them. I think it would have helped them more than anything to come back.

Yeah, I think it would have helped them to come back. Actually, I think Runyon is one of those guys where I'm like, he has improved so much. You remember like two years ago when we were like, get Runyon out of the game. I did not like it. But he's improved a lot. And then he was played and I was like, wow, we need this guy in the game. And so now for him to have a chance to go to the NFL, I'm like, hey, man, you earned it. You have improved so much.

I think it speaks to the coaching, too. Ed Warner. We kind of knew he would kind of be that guy coming in. He's done a great job with the line. Jag, you can throw a party. Sean McCune, gone. See ya. Take a drink for that, yeah.

We even saw some grades come out. He was like one of the top senior cadets or something. He's got a really good pro football focus grade. Yeah, that's a plus. That's one thing with the Michigan team that we love using these deep analytics, and it makes us look way better than I feel like we actually are. Because one of those numbers is like, Shea Patterson is one of the greatest QBs in all of college football,

if you take into account passes thrown on targets and eliminate drops. All of a sudden he's got like an 89% complete, whatever. And you look in the bowl game and it's like seven overthrows. Yeah, and you're like... It's inconsistency that we had to deal with earlier. These numbers mean nothing now. Yeah. So, whatever, I'm going on a tangent.

Levert Hill, corner, trying to go to the NFL. Was he graduating or he left early? I think that's his fourth year. Yeah, he was graduating. But he's talented. He'll do well in the NFL. Either way, I think it was a good move for him. Metellus, trying to go to the NFL.

We'll see. I saw that clip on Instagram, him getting burned by an OSU receiver. K.J. Hill. K.J. Hill, yeah. Oh, man. Familiar, familiar scene. Actually, these guys, there's some really legit guys. They'll get drafted for sure.

Honestly, I think every one of these guys will end up on a team. Yeah. Well, I don't know, man. Shea, to me, is like a guy where I think he might end up. He'll get a tryout. He'll get a tryout, and then he might not make the cut or whatever, and then he'll do baseball or something. Yeah, that's true.

Yeah. So that's still in there, involved. And then going on to the transfers, right? We only got one, two, three, four, five transfers. Two, maybe three that are, yeah, go ahead. Sorry. I mean, well, yeah, the two big ones, I would say, are like Tariq, and he made that apparent pretty early on.

And then three big ones, True Wilson and Mike Dwumfor. Dwumfor is my big one, yeah. Yeah, Dwumfor, I mean, that's big for our defensive depth. And he's transferring to Rutgers. I know he's from New Jersey. Yeah, you were saying it's like a close-to-home kind of thing. So I'm thinking maybe he, you know, is trying to go close to home, finish up some sort of grad program.

Who knows? I don't know what his NFL grades look like right now. I thought he was a junior, though, right? I thought he was a senior. Well, he could have graduated in three years. Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, I don't know. But that's a – I don't like that.

I'm just more nervous about, like, Big Mike and Spinellas. Like, I just want, like, guys in our defensive and offensive lines. Yeah. Guys like Tariq and True. Dude, I love True. He's a great back. He made some great plays, but we're solid at that position.

Wide receiver, we're solid at that position. I have no worries about that. Jordan Castleberry. Never saw the field. I thought that was weird with Spinellas and Ruiz. Spinellas goes, I'm transferring Castleberry's like never saw the never saw the yeah we didn't even know who it was but yeah I mean I thought that was weird with Spinellis

and Ruiz right Spinellis goes like I'm transferring and like 12 hours later Ruiz goes like I'm going to the NFL I'm like was this miscommunication

like what's going on did you really not want to play him because you would assume that Spinellis would have been the starting center other than the

Zach Carpenter guy was I guess projected to be the I've never heard of him yeah he's the underclassman. I mean, who knows? I don't know. But I just thought that was very

weird in and of itself. So that's all the guys leaving. Do you guys think that's, like, an acceptable number of guys to leave? I mean, we've got a lot of guys going to NFL, graduating, and five guys transferring. I mean, honestly, for... I know we've kind of had this conversation.

As far as, like, transferring, because it's only one or two guys in my mind that would actually, I mean, count Tariq, three guys that would actually probably get a decent amount of playing time, I don't think it's that concerning. As far as, like, guys going to draft, I do think think it's that concerning. As far as guys going to draft, I do think DPJ should have stayed. I do think Ruiz should have stayed. But it's also

great to see all these... There's a lot of guys that are able to have that opportunity to go to the NFL, which says something good about Michigan and that class that came in. I'm not too concerned about the transfers. All the transfers to me pretty much show, like, these are guys that are like, okay, I want to shot up the NFL.

I'm not going to play in Michigan. You know, this is kind of what I told you. It's like a lot of these guys, they come into, like, Michigan. It's like, okay, this is my opportunity. I'm going to do this, and I'm going to go to the NFL. And then they have that realization, like, like crap not everybody makes it to the nfl and now in their last like year or two they're trying to scramble to like find somewhere to like get a ton of tape be the main guy there and so this is what happens this is just kind of the nature of like um college sports that we live in and i think all

these guys are honestly probably doing the best thing for them. Like, even Big Mike, like, I mean, I think it's sad to see him go, but, you know, we got guys who are, he's probably not going to start. And, you know, Tariq, I mean, he's pretty much seen nothing this entire time. So, I think all those guys are making a smart decision, especially True. Yeah, I just, when I see like Tariq Black transfer, to me that rounds up the entire picture of the 2017 draft class, right? Because that class has had like, I think something crazy, like 70% of that class has transferred.

Because, I mean, you're thinking guys like Tariq and DPJ, who are of course in that class. Brandon Peters. But let me see if I can pull it up here for Tariq it was kind of shocking but it kind of wasn't because he didn't get much playing time last year those young guys showed a lot of upside Aubrey Solomon

was in that same class Cesar Ruiz, same class Luigi Villain, same class. Guy who didn't pan out the entire time. But Luigi, he's still there. He's still there.

Yeah, but so he's got a chance. Yeah, he'll play next year. Drew Singleton, another guy in that same class, transferred to Scarlet Knights. Jordan Anthony,

did he transfer? No, he's there. Dude, I hope Luigi comes out next year, man. Oh,

no. Dude, he's the scariest dude on the field, man. He's going to play. He's got the best name ever. Oh, he's going to play. Ollie Martin, same class. Yeah, like Jim.

Let's keep going down the list. James Hudson, transferred to Cincinnati. Yeah, transfer. Deron Irving-Bey, transferred to Central or had some sort of issue and had to go. Jalen Kelly Powell. I mean, the list goes on and on of these guys in that same class. Who are highly talented recruits. I'm like, what's up with that class?

Maybe they didn't pan out. Issue there. I don't know if you guys have any thoughts on that, but we can move on. I think you probably get people going, like, it's Harbaugh, blah, blah, blah. Then you get people going, like, it's something with the class blah, blah, blah. Then you get people going like, it's something with the class. I have no idea.

No idea. Yeah, no, you never know. We're on the outside looking. We've got to get our mini microphone in there. Hide it under Harbaugh's desk, see what's going on. Yeah, see if he's got one of those Amazon Alexas or something. Yeah, he's tagged into Alexa. Ask his FBI agent.

Okay, so we'll move on into the recruiting, right? Guys coming in, right? Chris Evans is back. Chris Evans is back, yeah. That's huge. That gives us depth at running back. I think it gives us depth at wide receiver, too. Well, slot receiver.

We have four running backs next year. Are you kidding me? What the hell? Dude, Haskins showed up this year at the especially towards the end man i was so impressed by him and charbonnet like he was my guy like i was like this is the dude yeah this is the dude like coming in and then blake quorum dude i am so high on blake quorum it's like oh my god this guy is legit our running backs are gonna be sick next year anybody who's in there i'm like dude let's go like the offense is gonna be sick next year. Anybody who's in there, I'm like, dude, let's go.

The offense is going to be explosive next year. This is the thing. People go like, oh, the expectations are super high this year. And I'm thinking, I don't know, man. This season was like, you know, and then she's going to be gone. We actually can maybe see who wins the spot. Whoever wins, that's going to be so competitive. I just love that.

Like this offseason, it's like those two guys, Dylan and Joe, are going to be competing. And they're just going to get better and better. And whoever gets that spot is going to be balling, dude. Dude, you've just fired me up so much. We're just going to drive down the street to Schembechler Hall and drop you off in front of the team. Let you fire them up, dude.

And I think the other thing we know for sure is no matter who the QB is, we're going to be better off than we were last year. Yes, 100%. When you talk about Blake Corum, I was reading this interview with him and he says, before I committed, I looked at running backs that were previously there and stuff. They've had some guys

but not like a big time guy. I definitely want to try to leave my legacy and be the best running back to ever come to Michigan. That's my goal. He's legit. He is legit, dude. I was watching the Under Armour All-American Bowl. He was crushing it.

He was crushing it. He had a guy I was like, Mom! Mom! My mom was watching it with me. Mom, be loaf! Be loaf! We were watching it and it's like, whoa, dude. Like, he was going to get tackled, and I was like, oh, my God, he just got tackled.

Nope. Just, whoop, this little cut under the guy, 10 yards. I was like, oh, my God. He's perfect for Gatton's offense. He's like Mike Hart and, like, Tavon Austin put together, and he's going to be legit. Those are two, like, obscure guys. That's what I'm thinking of. That's huge.

I'm hyped for it. Yeah, those are, like, weird opposites, but also I see where you're going. He's like a little bunny, and he's just, like, jacked, right? And he's just, like, jumping around the field. Dude, he is legit. That's good. Dude, Blake Corham is going to be a one-two punch, and you're going to be third down. Okay, get Chris Evans in.

You know, you have no idea what these running backs are going to do because you have guys who can run and catch the ball. Like, do we know what year is it? Haskins was a sophomore last year, right? Yes. So we've got, technically, all these guys stay four years, which I don't expect them to.

Maybe they will, actually, looking at it. We've got four. Four all these guys stay four years, which I don't expect them to. Maybe they will, actually, looking at it. Who knows? We've got four. Four solid, like you were saying, four solid running backs we can count on. Corum, Evans, Haskins, and Charbonnet. That's legit. Legitimately for the next two years, right? Well, Evans will be gone, but...

But we've got Charbonnet and Corum. Charbonnet and Corum. And probably Haskins. Think about this. That's because we got Charbonnet and Corum. Charbonnet and Corum. And probably Haskins. Think about this. Charbonnet and Haskins both averaged for nearly five yards per carry last season. How insane is that? They combined for just 28 yards of negative play all season.

That's pretty good. So, I mean, as much as we can go like, you know, Haskins, you missed a hole in the Ohio State game. Brian, you can't. Overall, the numbers are hard to argue with, right? Yeah. Jack, I heard that. I know.

But, yeah, let's look at some of the 2020 class top recruits. I mean, they got, like, McGregor. They got Corum, like you're saying. What's that last guy's name? Selden? Oh, yeah. Andre Selden. Andre Selden, who shot up the recruiting. Flew up the charts.

Real quick. That clip of him guarding. Who's that guy who was guarding? Like 6'7 or something? Dude. Oh, my goodness. And the big thing, too, is McGregor and Corum are already enrolled. They're already enrolled in classes.

Yeah. Selden is already enrolled in classes. So that means they're on campus right now. They're legit. Dude, this is what I'm talking about. Macari Page is on campus. Zach Zinter. O'Lyman.

I mean, like, a lot of our top recruits are on campus. I mean, some of them aren't. A.J. Henning is not on yet. Khalil Mullings, Sheldon Morant. Darian Green-Warren, who we got during, I think, the Army All-American game. Oh, yeah. And we've got a lot of good recruits coming out. Dude, like, that's what I'm saying. Like, it's like, okay, yeah, they're not like... Oops. Oh, yeah. And we've got a lot of good recruits coming out. Dude, that's what I'm saying.

It's like, okay, yeah, they're not like... Oops. Oops. Sorry, guys. My phone dropped. They're not like top five recruiting class, but they definitely, like, the guys last year, these freshmen who just played, they were way above what I thought they were going to be.

Right. They're really good. And I feel like this is going to be the same type of class. Underrated, kind of quiet, and they come out there and it's like, whoa, crap. Now just in relation to Ohio State's class, us being second in the Big Ten, Ohio State number one in the Big Ten, I know we all say like stars don't matter, composite scores don't matter, blah, blah, blah. Look at Ronnie Bell, he was a two-star or whatever.

So Michigan's composite score is 257.74. Ohio State's is 295.08. That's a pretty good difference, right? Do we know what those numbers mean? You know, if you asked me to explain it, I couldn't explain it to you. I feel like something's different, though. Something different this past season compared to this year. There's guys I just was like, we can't compete with Ohio State.

This year, I'm like, we can compete. We got guys on our defense that are like Dax Hill, Cam McGrone. Vincent Gray is a young DB. Vincent Gray did a great job. I don't know. I did not feel like we could stop the run this year at all. Oh, no, no, no. But I'm saying, give us another year, man.

Give us another year. See, now you're buying into, like, what happened? What happened to the D? I know. No, dude, it's the opposite way. Everybody's going like, you know, they're never going to get it done. They start complaining and bitching. Like, dude, this year is different.

If they're going to have one loss, maybe, this year, they're going to be legit. And the quarterback, if he can throw a deep ball, dear God, this team is going to be different. So to go back on that, I was listening to the In the Trenches podcast, and, you know, obviously the same conversations we have they were having and it was John Jansen was saying, people were talking about McCaffrey can't throw the ball. I was at a practice, I think it was a Citrus Bowl

practice, he said he can make every throw on the field. Hey, that changes the conversation. We know he can run, we know he's solid and he's composed in the pocket and he can make, you know, I think it goes back to 2018 against Notre Dame when he went in. He looked more comfortable than Shaded. By a mile. 100%.

And if he can throw a deep ball, I mean. We've got Nico coming back. He better run a little more. Dude, Nico's coming back. That's huge. Ronnie Bell's coming back. We've got four stud running backs. Our offense is going to be good.

Our defense, I think, with the D-line, Carlo Kemp coming back, is huge. And then we just got to see the development of Mozzie Smith and Chris Hitt. In terms of the talent that we have on the team and the talent that we're bringing in, we're kind of put in the same line slightly better than Penn State. Just in terms of the rankings and their numbers and all that stuff, right? Does that seem to gel with you guys? Do you think that's fairly accurate? I'm good with that.

They got K.J. Hamler's gone in the NFL. We don't have to deal with that. If that dude was not on the field this past season, they would have won the game. And we're playing at home this year against the two teams we lost to and the two teams that always, it's like, you know, Wisconsin and Penn State. Those are the two good, the better teams in the league.

And we have a chance to play them at home. The only one is Ohio State on the road. Well, I think we've got Minnesota on the road, too. Oh, yeah. You've played Minnesota? Yeah. Dude, Minnesota, no. No.

I can't buy it yet. I can't buy it yet. Didn't they beat Auburn? They did, but I can't buy it yet. Dude't they beat Auburn? They did, but I can't buy it yet. Dude, this team is legit. I'll give props to Shea in the second half. But if Shea wasn't the quarterback in the first half, we would have won that game.

Even with Hammer on the field. He was a liability. No, you're not wrong. Overall, that's kind of the 2020 class. We got some pretty good-looking guys, guys who are moving up the charts. You guys talk about D-line. We don't know about the run. Dude, this McGregor guy is legit.

He could come in and start. It's like him and Aiden and Carlo. I'm sorry. I'm getting way too overhyped. He's from Port Huron, Michigan too Which is great We gotta see how his Injury recovers too Oh that's true

He's injured or something Yeah He'll be back So I mean We got some good guys Right Zach Senter

Nikai Hillgreen Yeah AJ Henning So Yeah Big wide receiver group Kalel Mullings So we got guys

Coming in who You know Yeah they can do some damage. But let's look even further ahead, right, because those guys are already coming in. I think, would you say, National Letter of Intent Day is on Wednesday, and that's the final one for 2020 class. So let's look at 2021 class, right? Overall, in terms of who we have already, we only got two guys. National rank, 25. Two guys that we got.

Yeah, let's go. J.J. McCarthy and Giovanni Elhadi. Is that how you say it? Yeah. Four-star lineman. Hey, that's good, man. I'll take it. And J.J. and Gio have been doing recruiting work.

They've been out here talking to all these guys. I mean, you look at some of these prospects that are on our radar. Let's go. We've got some five-star guys really seriously thinking. I think we've got a couple crystal balls on some Michigan guys. I know that the... Donovan Edwards. He's got a good amount of crystal balls heading to us. He's a running back at West Bloomfield.

Number two running back. Number two running back in the class. Got some O-linemen. Can't remember who. Yeah, Garrett Dellinger. And I think there's an O-lineman that is recruiting him as a D-lineman. Which might be enticing to him.

Aaron Armitage. I mean, yeah, the list goes on with this class of guys who are really seriously considering it. And if we can come over that hump and get them to actually commit, this class could be a huge difference to me. The biggest thing, too, is J.J. McCarthy. We have our best recruit we're going to get in that class already signed, doing a lot of the recruiting

for us. I mean, I follow him on Instagram and he's always putting stuff up. Like, follow this guy, go like this guy, comment, mention this guy. He's doing such a great job recruiting, especially for a quarterback, the leader of the team, by default, right? That's doing all of that on top of the

coaches doing it. I think 2021's going to be a big, right, that is doing all of that on top of the coaches doing it, I think 2021 is going to be a big, big, big class for us. Think about it too, because when he comes in, I mean, I know we got McNamara, but there's going to be a quarterback battle then again, because either Joe or, you know, like within two years when he gets there, right? Those are guys who we're looking at for next year. They're going to be gone. Milton might stay. Milton might stay.

I mean, who knows? But I'm pretty hyped. Another thing on that, too, is something Michael Spath, I believe, came out with something. There's rumors that Harbaugh might sign his extension within the next coming weeks, which is really good for the 2021 class because a lot of these guys might be kind of— On the fence about that. On the fence because they're like, all right, is Harbaugh going to be there or not? Like, I don't know.

But if he signs that, that'll help that too, and we'll just continue to grow. If these guys—if we can win all of our games up until the Ohio State game, it will show like, look, dude, last year was a little bit of a down year. The program is still really legit. Guys will sign. And then you just have to win that final game of the year within maybe two or three years. And we can see the tide really start to shift. So I want to kind of transition while we're talking about the recruiting

into uh this question i was listening to uh like the big podcast i think is what it's called wolverine 247 sports yeah zach sean wilfong um steve wilfong um talking about just different recruiting and um stuff like that and he made a comment while he was talking about Michigan recruiting, and he said, Michigan recruiting is no longer elite. What do you guys think about that? Do you think that we are no longer recruiting elite players? Now, what he's talking about is we don't recruit to play these elite teams like Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State, LSU now, and actually win the game.

What do you guys think about that? Well, I mean, we don't. We don't have those players. I mean, obviously we don't get them. There's some reason behind it. I'm not sure exactly what the reason is. I know we've talked about it before. But I think there's so many different layers as far as, you know, facilities, coaching,

just, you know just playing up north. There's so many factors that go into it. And winning. Winning is a huge factor. They're like, Ohio State's technically up north, but they're getting the chance. Yeah, well, they're winning. And they're going to Big Ten championships consistently. Going to the playoff.

It's easier for them to be able to get that, and that's not an excuse for us. I mean, technically we're supposed to be able to compete with them. But what I was reading from that, and what I remember we were talking about, is you kind of said they're just kind of on their own. Each position coach is on their own. They don't actually meet collectively. So I was listening to James Yoder's Michigan football report, and he was saying that he had a source who told him

that Michigan recruiting is done by the recruiting coaches just going after recruits that they've heard of and they you know it was up to them to figure it out and there was no like we are having a recruiting meeting these are the guys on our list that we need and these are the guys that we all need to work together to go for i don't know if that's true or not uh but that is that's concerning yeah if it is yeah that's not good yeah if it is it's not good but but take everything that you're going to say with a grain of salt yeah so but i feel like even on um will fong's thing that it was pretty similar. Yeah, similar kind of a knock on the program a little bit.

Just saying they didn't have it put together and things like that. You pulling up anything right now? I've got something. No, yeah, Will Fong. Talking about Partridge and him leaving because he was such a big recruiter. Right. And basically talking about Partridge. They haven't filled the role and we'll see who they fill it with because michigan

is one of those schools where assistant coach recruiters are incredibly important because they don't recruit in the same traditional way that almost every other program that we cover does well as long as said there's not recruiting meetings there's just a lot on assistant coaches plates to go out in their territories or in their position rooms and find guys that they think are good enough to help Michigan win championships. Yeah. I mean, that's concerning, right?

Yeah. I mean, and that's up to a little bit of, um, what's the guy's name? Matt Dudek, the recruiting coordinator. I mean,

that's why you're there, right? To hold these meetings. To coordinate the recruiting effort. Yeah. Uh, so I wonder if we'll hear any follow-up on that. I wish I had ears in their office to know some more.

Another concerning thing, Michigan has zero top 100 24-7 sports players in this 2020 class. Anybody realize that? Not until you told me. Yeah, not. That's where I become concerned. That's where I'm like, I know we say, you know,

numbers don't matter, but obviously they matter. That's why guys like LSU, Clemson, Ohio State are always at the top. Always at the top. Yeah. And which was that?

Is that the composite rankings? Because I know there's two different rankings. But I'm looking at this now. Yeah. Our highest score is 122 nationally. Right. And that's Braden McGregor.

Yeah. So, yeah. Something to be concerned about. And hopefully we'll see it kind of take that leap into the numbers realm of those elite teams. Especially if Gattis can prove, I mean, like, how Ohio State gets these, what, like, three of their top receivers in the top 30 nationally or something? Or in the top 10.

So it's something where if Gattis can prove this system and where it's something where receivers can get their numbers up, quarterbacks can get their numbers up, then it's easier to recruit those guys and be like, hey, get your numbers up, prove that to the NFL, get paid. That's their goal. So if Gattis can put together a string of a couple years where that can happen, or even

just next year, that'll help with the 2021 class because we know we have a solid QB and McCarthy is going to be there while I'm there. And I know he can throw dimes and get the ball to me and if this offense is proven to be able to get numbers, imagine what I can do as a receiver with that

kind of quarterback talent. So I think that's a huge, I mean, we just got to see what happens this next year. Yeah. And that could be a huge, huge leap. I agree with you. I think Gattis is kind of locked in with Harbaugh. Like, it's like those two together, like they could get rid of Don Brown or something like next year, right, if something happens.

But like, if Gattis wants to like go somewhere else as a head coach, which is happens. If Gaddis wants to go somewhere else as a head coach, which is what I guarantee you he wants to do, he's got to be successful in Michigan. I think recruits are going to be like, we know Gaddis is actually going to be there for three more years. Maybe I'm just

talking on my butt. I hope that's the case. Let's move into some of the news items uh devin bush devin bush said something on an espn show about the mentality of the michigan team when they're playing ohio state and he was saying um i don't know if you guys were familiar with the story he said something about we can't come into the game going like man I hope they just have a bad day right? and it's like yeah

you're 100% if that's how we're thinking something is definitely wrong but I don't know dude I don't think this is like it's like it's like getting over the hump man it's so hard it's like you're in a slump it's like a pitcher who's, man. It's so hard.

It's like you're in a slump. It's like a pitcher who's in a slump for such a long time, and he's trying his best, and you know it's there. You know he did stuff in the past, but it's just like, you know, you've got to give it time, man. You've got to hope for some times that things fall into place. It's tough, too. It's a mental block.

You've got to be doing the right thing, though, too. And part of doing the right thing is you can't show up and go like, oh, man, well, we're playing them again, so that's a L. You know, you've got to at least

show up and be like, this is why we play the game, right? Yeah. We've got to show up and we've got to play 100%. And, you know. Let's go kick their asses. Yeah, let's go.

Yeah. If we're going in just, okay, we're going to lose again. You know what it could sound a lot like? What? You ever heard Shea Patterson in an interview? Oh my God. Sorry, I had to get that.

That was just rude. Yeah, I don't know. I'm very excited for a different award. I get both points, right? It's like, okay, like... Give it time. Give it time, but also, yeah, do you get to come prepared? And, you know, it doesn't seem to be an issue with Auburn, like... Give it time. Give it time, but also, yeah, do you get to come prepared?

And, you know, doesn't seem to be an issue with Auburn, too, so... Right, exactly. And Desmond Howard kind of said a similar vein. He was more talking about, like, the talent gap, right? Which we've already kind of touched on, right? He was saying, like, you know, it's the QB, the skill positions. There's obviously some talent gap there, but it's not just one thing. It's not just, we get a better QB and we'll win the game.

It's a couple different things. Where they consistently have that, where we maybe get one or two guys recruiting class. Right, exactly. You know what we never talked about between this and our last podcast was LSU won the national championship. Yep. Yeah, and they looked pretty good doing it, too. I mean, they kind of looked unstoppable.

At the beginning, they looked a little sloppy. I was going to say, not going to lie, I fell asleep, I think, in the second quarter when Clemson was up by, what was it, 16-0? Am I quoting that wrong? That halftime? Dude, it took like four hours. I think in the second quarter when Clemson was up by, what was it, 16-0? Am I quoting that wrong? That halftime? Dude, it took like four hours to get to halftime. I was like, I got home from work late and I was just watching.

I'm like, dude, it's still the first half. Like, I was, so many commercials. Like, let's get that game off of a Monday. Let's put it on a Saturday prime time. Oh, yeah. 100%. I'm with you. But, yeah, they won the national championship. Joe Burrow lived his kind of fairytale season, right?

So, good for him. He's a legend, man. He is a legend. One thing that I saw after that was from 2015 to 2018, LSU had 59 touchdown passes combined. Then last year, Joe Burrow had 60. Wow. That's the turnaround we need. But that should be

great news for us because that means that's how quick it happens. So we can just get the right guy with the right scheme and the right coaches and boom, we beat Ohio State and win a national championship. Obviously, it can happen. Don't get your hopes up. the right coaches and boom, we beat Ohio State and win a national championship. I mean, obviously it can happen.

Don't get your hopes up. Obviously it doesn't happen every day. But yeah, there you go. I was also thinking it would be kind of fun with the QB battle coming up. Obviously you've got Joe Milton, you've got Dylan McCaffrey, you've got even Cade McNamara if somebody's crazy.

Yeah, two people get hurt. Dan Valeri if somebody's real crazy. Guys, who is your pick for starting QB? Let's make your argument. I will say this. Either way, I would be happy going into the season. I like both quarterbacks a lot. Like, a lot.

God, you know. Dude, I love Jay Milley, dude. I love Jay Milley. He's just got such a canon. I hope that he's, like, just... I don't know. I hope that this offseason they both those guys can like just learn the playbook even more feel super comfortable they can come in and like just

make plays happen i feel like both of them have potential to just like make plays but i do feel like i mean we've seen dylan make some plays he had a touchdown run in Wisconsin. I think Joe, though, has this swag. He's just got this swag, dude. He can run it. He can pass it. I mean, he can dance around the pocket and make something happen. I feel like that's what we've been missing. This guy who's just

like, you have no idea if this is going to be a two-yard thing or it's a touchdown. he just has that explosive ability like oh it's a you know 80 yard touchdown pass or oh he just ran for 20 yards on third down it was third and 15 like i feel like he's that type of guy i think dylan's great too like i just and i've dude i've been on the hype train for Joe since so long. When I saw him in high school,

he was like, dude, when I saw him playing in high school, it's like making throws off of like one foot, like while running. And it was like 60 yard bombs. You're like, I don't know anybody who can do that.

Like, he's insane, man. Like, I, I hope that he's like, he has like Vince Young type of like, man. I agree. I hope that he's like... He has Vince Young type of... Your comparison.

He's very Vince Young-esque. And he worships Cam Newton. He worships Cam Newton. Yeah. Dude, I hope he's like... He's the same build as Cam Newton already? He's got another year? He's like 245.

He puts another 10 pounds on? Oh my gosh. Like, are you kidding me? Like, dude, we saw him walking around campus. I was like, oh, my God. Those are shoulders the size of my head. And I have a ginormous head. Like, I couldn't believe it, dude.

He's insane. And he just seems like a guy who the team could rally around. Right? Yeah, I can see that. So, gosh, dude, I love Dylan too, but I love Joe Miller, dude. Love Jay Miller. Yeah, that's who you like, man. Jack, who you got?

I'm, I love Nate's hype. Dude, I'm hyped for next year. Because I'm going to agree with him too. Not in the fact that either way, we're going to have a good quarterback. I think you're right where Milton's got that swagger about him, right? Like, he's got the confidence. He's got a little bit of hot sauce on top of him. You know, where, like, he feels comfortable going to make a play if he needs to, right?

Yes. Where with McCaffrey, I think he's got that confidence too he looks comfortable, he's very poised he's got the confidence in the pocket knows when to tuck it and run, knows when to throw it away going based off of what previously we've heard between the two guys

I think it'll be McCaffrey again, either way I'll be happy but I think McCaffrey will be the guy. And I'll be happy either way. If McCaffrey can make the throws that we need him to make, we know he can run. We know he's comfortable in the pocket. I'm going McCaffrey.

But again, if Milton's the quarterback, I will be ecstatic. Like, if I see McCaffrey out there, I'll be like, all right, cool. Like, good. But if I see Joe Milton, I'll be like, all right, cool. Like, good, good. Yeah, no. But if I see Joe Milton, I'll be like, hell yeah, let's go. Hail Mary, first play. I don't see how far I can throw it. You know?

He's got that, he's got the arm talent, right? Like, that's the exciting thing. Like, he's just going to, oh, I just want to see him let it go. He's like, like, you guys know me when I play, like, NCAA. I get a quarterback who can run, and I just take him around and I run around and I chuck up a pass. Give me Johnny Mansell. This is it for me, man. Who do you got, man?

Who's your quarterback next year? You both said it, right? I love both of these guys. Pretty much any time Dylan was in the game, I felt so secure with whatever was going to happen. I was always like, dude, Dylan's in the game? Okay, let's go.

I'm ready to play. Yeah. Right? And then when Joe got a shot, I was like, okay, let's go. Let's go. Joe's got a shot now, right? So anytime either guy was in the game, I felt really good. And I think that says something, right?

Yeah. Just to cut in real quick, that's another thing, too, where there's a lot, like I saw from multiple articles, I can't remember where they were, but where players would talk about how Milton and McCaffrey were the two hardest working quarterbacks on the team. And they think they should have got a better shot, but Shea was just like the golden child. You know, it was kind of hard to take it away from them. I've heard some of that, too. Whether those were credible or not, now it's like legit. Like, all right, we know we're going to have one of our guys be the quarterback next year. And I think that puts a lot of confidence in the team

for just the players with their quarterback moving forward. Either way, either way we're good. I'm pumped. So, I mean I love both guys my knock with Dylan is he's just a little

too injury prone he gets you know the pass isn't there so he pulls out to run and he's such a competitor that he's just like I'm gonna make this play happen

and it's like it's not there for you he doesn't put himself in position you're not a 260 defensive tackle or something. He's pretty lanky.

You're just a lanky guy. Obviously the concussion, not his fault. That's not his fault. He broke his collarbone twice. Collarbone, concussion. He's been injured a number of times. And as the QB, you've got to know a little better. So that's my one knock on Dylan.

My knock with Joe is just his lack of finesse on the pass game. We've seen so limited of these guys so it's hard to say. Joe's completion percentage in high school was 47%. That's pretty low.

That's something where you and I have talked. Is he just throwing the ball hard? Yeah, maybe he's throwing the ball hard. That's another thing too. You've something where you and I have talked, right? We're not like, is he just throwing the ball hard? Yeah, maybe he's throwing the ball hard. From your receivers? But that's another thing, too. You've got to know when to put touch on the ball. Yeah. You do have to know that kind of stuff.

Or is it an accuracy failure? Yeah, that all comes with experience, too, though, right? So it's really hard for me to pick a guy because I love both guys so much. But if I had to pick, I'm going to say my long-term pick is Joe. I want to see Joe carry this team. Who do I think is going to start? McCaffrey. And that's just based on time he's been there.

Even though they've both been under Gattis the same amount of times. Right. time he's been there. Even though they've both been under Gattis the same amount of times. I just think McCaffrey has been practicing longer. Jim knows him better. All that kind of stuff. I'm with you where we want to see Joe, but I think either way, we're very happy.

I want to see, moving forward, more quarterbacks like Joe Milton come in. McCarthy's kind of that guy. Big arm, can run, athletic. That's what we want to see, moving forward, more quarterbacks like Joe Milton come in. McCarthy's kind of that guy. Big arm, can run, athletic. That's what we want to see. I don't think Joe is as fast as we think he is. I feel like he's kind of those long

guys. We compare him to Cam Newton, and I don't think he's Cam Newton's good. Here's the thing, though. There's a difference between being fast and being agile. And Joe is really agile. Yeah, I agree. And that's the thing that I like to see because, look it, football is not a four-yard dash.

It's one five-yard box, ten yards, right? Joe, in the first ten yards, shimmy, boom, gone, slides down, gets the first down. That's what it takes. And he's big enough and strong enough. He can stiff arm, get a couple extra yards if he needs to. We don't need him to make those big, long runs like McCaffrey does. It's nice if he can, but we need first downs that end up in touchdowns. Very true.

I think Joe, if he learns to get that finesse and that touch on the ball, he could be a really good quarterback. NFL quality. He might be our first guy who's a skilled position on offense drafted in the top 20 if he can really solidify some of that stuff. He's got the body for it. I honestly feel like if Joe really comes out and balls like a Joe Burrow type of thing, he's the number one pick in the draft.

If it, yeah. I mean, he's got that type of like. If it coalesces, yeah. He's right there. I would say, man, I hope if Dylan doesn't get it, I hope he doesn't transfer because I really like him. Yeah. I totally would respect his decision if he did.

I would like to see him, if they did, be like, hey, you're going to play wide receiver for us too. Oh, wow. I would love to see that because I feel like he's got speed. He's got the athletic family. He's got the athletic family. His dad was a wide receiver. Yeah.

I always find it funny how Dylan is so lanky and his brother is just short. He's freaking diesel. Dude, he spent two years in the NFL and just became the Hulk. You're just like, oh my gosh. He's big, dude. Dude, he spent like two years in the NFL and just became the Hulk. Yeah. You're just like, oh my gosh. He's big, dude. Yeah. So, yeah. Well, the last thing I guess we'll touch on is the passing of a legend, right?

Kobe Bryant passed away. I mean, that's really sad. Kobe meant a lot to me. I know he meant a lot to you guys. And I guess he will be missed, right? Yeah. I mean, obviously, we, you know, a lot of people, you know, older generations, they had Jordan. Like, we grew up on Kobe Bryant.

Right. And I think we all just kind of had a, you know, didn't, kind of didn't believe it when it first came out. And, you know, ended up being a real tough day. And then you hear that his daughter was involved and it's just it was an awful day i mean obviously we got to say something um you know again a legend passing and very unfortunate and our condolences go out to the family tragic tragic event uh but in michigan football land um i think that we can see a pretty good trajectory with the guys we've recruited and kind of where this program is going.

I didn't even think about when you said McCaffrey a receiver. Wow. That could be a possibility. He's a big dude. He's a big guy. He's fast. Put some muscle on him if he's not going to be quarterback. I like trying to go Taysom Hill type.

You never know. I know the state of the program always people want to talk about it. Like, dude, just like – it's like, you know, let's just forget about the bickering back and forth and, like, let's just look for next year. And I think that there's a lot of promise next year, and I think the schedule works out pretty well. And I think they can make it happen, man. You know, you just got to give yourself, you put yourself in the opportunity to get to that championship game

and then last game of the year we'll see what happens and I think they have a real shot. I don't know. Yeah, I agree with you. And I think, you know, we'll keep paying attention and we'll keep rooting for them. Spring ball coming up. Spring game coming up.

April 18th, I think, was the date. So we'll keep you posted, I guess, right? Yeah. I guess if any crazy news comes up, as of right now, come at you after the spring game? Yeah, we'll see. I don't know if something crazy happens. We'll pop up before then.

Yeah, keep looking out for us. Check us out on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook. If you have any feedback you want to give us, feel free to shoot us an email at blueby90 at gmail.com. Leave a comment. Leave a comment on YouTube. Other than that, you guys got anything else? Go Blue, man.

Go Blue. Go Blue. RIP Kobe.