Blue By Ninety - Interview w/ Michigan Baseball's Ben Keizer, Harbaugh on OSU, and Recruiting Updates

Episode Date: May 27, 2020

This week we are joined by Michigan Baseball player, Ben Keizer, who gives us some great stories about their College World Series run and Coach Erik Bakich. We also discuss Harbaugh's comments on not beating Ohio State, give updates on the upcoming College Football season, and Michigan recruiting.

This is the University of Michigan. Touchdown, Michigan! The beach of Michigan! They can't court extra pass. And it goes for the win! The three-pointer by Jordan Poole! Down the sideline! Peebles-Jones!

Touchdown, Wolverines! but we're just going to carry on the torch here, guys. So we've got a good little show here, and Roe's going to talk about recruiting, I think. So, Roe, take it away. All right. So, yeah, we've got – I'll give a little recruiting update here on both football and basketball. So we've had some traction here, especially on the football side in the past week or two.

We're up to eight nationally in country for um according to 247 and second in the big 10 um i think everyone in the world knows who first is um and they're in first by about a mile so um we'll be chasing them forever but that's all right um we'll we'll get up there at some point but we do have 14 commits here so um getting up there as far as numbers which is good um and it sounds like we will actually be getting a ton of more not a ton but we'll be getting some more commits uh this week actually um this coming week so that could be be some huge. We've got some big targets here that I'll talk about in a second. But breaking down what those 14 commits are right now,

we've got one five-star QB, J.J. McCarthy, who is the dog. You know that. He's like our greatest recruiter out there. We should have him on payroll at this point. NCAA, shut your ears when we're talking about that but um but honestly he's like if he even if he doesn't pan out as a quarterback like he's already done more than many of the quarterbacks that we've had here just on the recruiting trail um and and i i do i'll touch on him a little bit here he is is, he's truly unbelievable. I actually saw a video of him on Twitter. He was,

he dunked on his home court, like threw down. So he is a legit athlete. I think we might, maybe we'll see him on the basketball court too. You never know. But he, I truly do think he is the next guy. I mean, we've got, we talk about Milton and McCaffrey every week, but I think, you know, we're in really good hands for the next four years with JJ coming in and Cade McNamara, obviously behind Joe and Dylan, but JJ is going to be going to be a stud here. He,

he has it all pro style quarterback. Who's got the arm. We've all seen those videos of him on twitter and and whatever else like he's got a cannon and can can fit it into some tight spots so very very excited about him as as our leader going forward especially on honestly off the field the leadership that he has already taking charge on this recruiting trail i feel like it's gonna you know he's gonna come in as a freshman here and probably make a splash um as far as being vocal and a leader um and so you might see his name come up you know in the next even year or two um here once he once he steps on campus uh as far as being in the mix for that starting spot.

But then moving on, we do have three four-star O-linemen commits, which Ed Warner is the man. Again, I said this before, we got to throw the bag at him. He has killed it for us. He has, like, I mean, turned that position group around unbelievably. So three four-star O-linemen with one four-star tight end, one three-star wide receiver, a four-star linebacker, two three-star linebackers, two three-star DNs,

one three-star cornerback, one three-star safety, and a three-star punter. So a little on the, on the three stars here for us, which I know that we all have opinions on and we'd love to have those four and five stars. But I do think a lot of those guys are right on the fringe of the four stars for, for a lot of those three stars. So I think we're, we're in pretty good shape here. Again, we're second in the big 10 and that's on top of Penn State and Wisconsin here.

So I'm happy about where we're at right now, especially if we can get some more momentum with commits coming in the future. Our most recent commits here, we actually had one on Sunday. Junior Colson is a four-star linebacker that committed to us. He's actually now the highest-rated commit on the defensive side of the ball for us for that 21 class. So we're pumped about him. He's going to wear the number five, which I love single-digit linebackers. I think that's got some swag. So I'm pumped about him coming in.

I really do think we could see him getting some PT as a freshman. He's ready to play. He's a big dude. We had Marcus Allen. He's a three-star wide receiver commit. And I'm really excited about these guys that are coming in on the wide receiver. You know, we've talked about that we haven't been able to produce those skill positions for the past few years. And I think, you know, as far as Josh Gaddis goes, he's a wide receivers coach. He's that guy. He's going to produce these guys and really help them develop. So I'm happy about those guys, even though they might not be, you know, the top recruits out there. Rod Moore, our guy,

he's a three-star safety that committed. So very excited about him. He runs like a 4'3". I was going to say, 4'3", 9'40". Unbelievable. I mean, yeah, that's Daxton Hill speed right there. And I'm not saying he's Daxton Hill, but I'm just, I mean, as a guy who's watched our defense get burnt too many times, I'm pumped about fast safeties out there.

So, and then the last one that committed recently was Tyler McLaurin, who's a three-star linebacker. So he'll join junior Colson there at the, and he's actually an outside linebacker. So he'll be more of maybe even the Viper position, depending on how he develops and his speed and everything. But getting into it, our most important positions that I think after that,

that we need to target here coming or going forward is the running back position. You notice, I didn't even say running back in any of our, we don't have a running back yet in the 21 class, which is a little bit of a concern. But we do have a stacked running back room right now. So I kind of understand it. You know, these guys don't really see that they're going to come in and play right away. Blake Corum, you know, is there as a freshman and he is highly touted.

So I understand it a little bit. But the wide receiver position as well on the offensive side of the ball, like I said, those three star guys, I'd love to see some four and five star guys come in. Especially under Josh Gaddis, where I know that in the coming in the future here, they're going to be able to put up some stats. I know we're,

we're getting our wide receivers the ball and they're going to be putting up thousand yard game or seasons coming up here in the near future and then on the d line our d tackles we've got some dns that have committed um that are at our studs but we we don't have the big boys in the middle yet that have committed so looking um for them on on the trail um and we'll see we'll see how that goes. And then a quick one on basketball. So it's just a completely different recruiting scene from Juwan Howard than it was for John Beeline. You know, we weren't even, you know, meeting or listening or talking to any five stars in the past. And now it's like any five star out there we're offering to them.

We've got offers out to 10 five-stars, four four-stars, and one three-star right now. So what that tells me is that Juwan Howard is not only just going to be super aggressive on the recruiting trail, and he thinks that we truly can get these guys. He believes that we are, you know, a top five program to come to at this point for these five star guys. So don't I would say to the listeners, don't get frustrated with these five star recruits because they, you know, they act like Isaiah Todd and Josh Christopher.

And they're all over the place. They chase a bag. They do all, you know, all that stuff. So the recruiting, we're in a whole different world now with Juwan Howard, but the two top targets that we have right now, Jaden Akins is a four-star point guard from Farmington. In-state guy, we got to have him, I think. You know, MSU obviously on the basketball front has dominated in-state recruiting for a while, um we are we're turning the page here and i think we can get him from farmington um and then trevor keels is a five-star shooting

guard from virginia that i believe we should we could get um tall guy can shoot the heck out of the ball so it's it'll be interesting to see how all that all of it pans out on the basketball side but um it's just like it's so much different man and i'm i'm excited um where the thing is that i'm i think it's a success for joan howard we've been in the top five for so many five stars in the you know even in year one it's only gonna get better he hasn't even had a chance to talk to these guys for a long time whereas we're now going going up the Duke up against the Dukes, Kentucky's Kansas is Michigan state. It's like, we're going up against those big dogs,

the blue bloods. And they've been talking to these dudes since they were 14. So once John gets really into the recruiting mix, especially on the AAU side, I think jet Howard will probably commit as well soon. And hopefully he can help us out on the recruiting side, too. I think we'll make a big splash in the next few years. So that's all I've got on the recruiting side.

That's a lot of good news, recruiting and a lot of information in general. But it's funny because I'm sure a lot of that will change next week. You know? Yep. We might have to do a whole nother second one next week and i i'm gonna run out of breath at some point if we keep talking about all this yeah i'm surprised you even got all that out glad i wasn't holding my breath but no it's all good uh but i'm sure we're all leaning towards

the same thing which is we want to recruit the best players that we can get so that we can beat Ohio State. And so I'm going to use that as our segue into Jack's topic. Jack, I think you got some good news about our attitudes towards Ohio State. Yes, and that is a big thing. So I know I'm sure everybody's seen this in the past week where Jim Harbaugh addressed, you know, how we haven't beat Ohio State. And the time that he's been there, basically he said, nothing makes us angrier than losing to Ohio State. And nothing makes us angrier as fans than losing to Ohio State. So I feel like, honestly, I'm like, I feel like we've never really had him address it like this, where he's really bringing it up.

And, you know, he's telling bringing it up and you know telling mike to re go you know we've got to beat ohio state like that's what we're working towards every day uh we beat we beat everybody else but we haven't beaten them and the fact that that is such a big focus right now makes me so happy all i want to see is us beat ohio state like that is our biggest drive we haven't beaten them since 2011 and basically that was that's what hardball was all I want to see is us beat Ohio State. Like, that is our biggest drive. We haven't beaten them since 2011. And basically, that's what Harbaugh was brought to Michigan for. Beat Ohio State, win the Big Ten, go to the playoff, win a title.

And he's yet to do any of those four. But that was the big expectation because he was a big name to come to Michigan and do that. Obviously, he's done a great job. But obviously, the big thing is, you know, we haven't been on the same page. So for him to be focusing on that is huge and great as a fan to hear. We've been so close a couple times under Harbaugh, but, you know, to see that really come out during the offseason where they're making that a big focus excites me

because I do think we have two of our best quarterbacks we've had under Harbaugh's tenure and a lot of talent, both on the offensive side and the defensive side of the ball. So I'm pumped, man. I'm pumped for this season. I know we've heard a lot recently about, you know, what's really going to happen, and there may even be fans in the stands, a lot of positivity is going towards this college football season.

So this is getting me more and more amped up no i'm with you um i honestly though i was a little bit confused because i thought hardball was always you know it's about the next game and then for him to say like oh like nothing makes us anger than to lose ohio state it kind of makes me say you know well why did you take the countdown clock away? Why don't you have the Ohio State minute every practice? Which maybe they do, and I just have no idea.

But the fact that he articulated it, that made me happy. And so I'm like, okay, now I know. I mean, I already knew, but now you're saying it. You know what I mean? You're up and up now. Yeah. And I think one thing you just said, Kalen, is, you know,

you don't know what they're doing on the inside, right? We have no idea what those practices are like, the meetings are like. They could be talking about it every day. And it just hasn't mattered because Ohio State is more talented. You know, that's where i get so frustrated where when with the with our fan base you know with them calling you know them out they don't saying they don't take the uh ohio state game seriously enough all that stuff like no none of us know you know you can't you can't possibly you know call them out for that when you have never stepped foot inside Schembechler Hall.

And I'm very certain that they think it's a big game. It's talked about nearly every day, you know, with Jim Harbaugh. You think he doesn't know it's a big game? So that whole take on, like, wow, he's not taking it seriously enough, I think is a bit ridiculous, to be honest. And I saw a stat that since, I think it was since Jim Harbaugh took over, the rest of the country is 8-67 against Ohio State. It's not like we're the only people losing to him, you know. So although 100% he does have to beat him, but like nobody else, you know, it's so although 100 percent he does have to beat him, but like nobody else, you know, Michigan State beat him twice, I think, in in Antonio's whatever, however many years.

It's like, I mean. Harbaugh does have to win some big games in my my biggest gripe with Harbaugh is not even the Ohio State thing. It's at some point you got to win games sometimes that you shouldn't. We have never won as underdogs. You know, we don't win on the road. He wins every game he should. But at some point to be a great coach, that's what Mark D'Antonio, that's how he cemented himself as a fantastic coach. He won all those games when they were 14-point underdogs, 10-point underdogs. We somehow can't get that done, and that's when it pisses me off.

I think I saw something. We are 29-0 at home against teams that are not Michigan State and Ohio State. We win the games that we're supposed to win. We win all of them, nearly. But then we lose nearly all the games that we're supposed to lose. And if you want to take that next step, if you're Jim Harbaugh, you have to win some of those games that you're not supposed to win. Maybe they should call up D'Antonio now that he's retired, right?

I'm sure he'd be happy to come over and help Harbaugh. They're best of friends. He's always looked so friendly. Just look at him. No, but another question that would lead me to ask is, am I going to have the chance to go see them, have the opportunity to beat Ohio State, especially this year, right? With all the stuff going down, are we going to play? If so,

are we going to play with any fans? You know, all of those questions. And so there's some kind of interesting remarks all around. The Michigan AD, Mark Schlissel, he said that there would be no athletics at Michigan if there was no students on campus. And it's especially different because Michigan has a stay-at-home order until June 12th, so no players can be on campus. Meanwhile, at Ohio State, Ohio State AD, Gene Smith, said that players can return on June 8th. Same in the SEC. SEC players are allowing players to return June 8th, and Illinois, for some reason, is allowing players to return June 3rd.

I don't know. I guess Lovey Smith wants a leg up, whatever. Meanwhile, the NCAA has said all athletes can return June 1st pending their universities. So what kind of what do we make about this? There's kind of a lot of information floating around. We even had Joel Klatt saying, like, you know, there will be a season with, you know, more fans than not, and it will be on time. Some of that sounds extremely optimistic, but I don't know. What are our thoughts on that? I mean, as far as like what I'm thinking and yeah, yeah, very, very.

I mean, obviously, we have no idea what's going on with this virus. I mean, everything's changed every day. The CBC comes out with something new every day. Like we have no idea what's going on with this virus. I mean, everything's changed every day. The CBC comes out with something new every day. We have no idea what's going on. But the weird, the crazy thing to me is Michigan seems to be the only university that is abiding by the fact that these are students first and athletes second. Not that I'm saying this right or wrong i'm just i'm just saying with where every other university they're like yeah bring football back they make us all our money um yeah they're students but you know this is where we get all our income come back this day whether it's safe for them or not where

michigan's like you know what if it's not safe for the students the football team are students and we're not going to bring them back. I'm not saying I disagree or agree with it or anything by that, but I think it's a very interesting stance by Michigan. Don't love it, don't hate it. But, I mean, obviously I want to see a football season, but I think we're in the right by saying if it's not safe for these players, we're not going to put them at risk. And that's showing that U of M really actually cares about their players where maybe, you know, maybe other universities aren't.

I'm still with that. And to your point there, Schlissel, I'm pretty sure, has either a doctorate or some type of training in immunology, right? Yeah, that's correct yeah i would think he might know a few things you know and he's probably erring on the side of of caution so to your point jay and here's the thing is is it it's been kind of a roller coaster over the past two weeks because we went from no football to all right where we you know there's a good chance we have a season to Ohio State's AD Gene Smith saying they're going to have 20 to 50,000 people at their games and then we come back and Schlissel is saying he's like you know saying

are we sure that we really will have a season so it it's all over the place. But what I think Schlissel is doing is he's probably just saying, let's tap the brakes a little bit here. We're not there yet. There are still people out there suffering and dying from this virus. And there's a, you know, could be the second wave. So I think he's being like the cautionary guy. And while everyone else wants to, you know, give optimism, which I love the optimism, but he's saying, you know, he's coming out and being a little more realistic on the side of,

we don't know yet. Whereas Gene Smith, who I'll say this right now, I think is a jackass for saying that he's going to have 50,000 people at his, at his games. Yeah. Like it's for him to come out and say that is on may 20th is outrageous um but i will say i talked to somebody from michigan yesterday and they put their percentage at football happening at 95 so if that that's gotta you know make everyone feel pretty good um i think that everyone is you know like right around that 20 000 people maybe uh mark as far as how many fans can attend i mean the the the whole uh you know governor whitmer said that we can uh gather in groups of 10 right so maybe we can uh tailgate in groups of 10 i don't know i don't know question can we tailgate

exactly i don't even football is kind of secondary to tailgating at this point but and my tailgates too there's about 100 people so we might have to break it break it down to like groups of 10 that's yeah scatter around um but i do i'm sorry i was just gonna finish up i do think football will happen um but i think that people you know everyone was just like so a hundred percent joel clatt is like you know saying it's a foregone conclusion and what happens in the next three months is gonna tell the tale and we don't know what's, what's to come there. Well, let me just ask you guys too. I mean, let's say they were letting 20,000 people into the big house and you had a ticket and they had, you know,

staggered entrance times or something like that. Would you go? And if you did, do you think you would still be able to enjoy the game? I actually had this conversation just yesterday too um when we were talking about it and i think i would just because the exclusivity of it it would be like you can say you're one of those 20 000 or whatever you know you were there at that time you know this is gonna be one of the craziest seasons of the last hundred years of football. So, like, to be able to say that was pretty cool, would be pretty cool. But I might say, you know, I'd rather tailgate in the parking lot and watch it on the TV with some friends instead of, like, a majority empty Michigan stadium is not going to have the same vibe, man.

I don't know if I want to see it like that. Yeah, Kaelin, great question, bro. Great. I like what you said. Like the exclusivity behind it would be cool. It's like, hey, I went to a game in 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic was going on and it was crazy. I was like sitting by myself and there's somebody and that's that's just how it was um i don't know if i'd want to go to a game i i think i think kind of like what

ro said at the end like i'd rather be around my buddies distancing uh with 10 people that i love and like you know i'm able to i'm able to drink on tv and enjoy the game um but also, you know, we've said it a million times. We want the big house to be loud. So I'd love to go to the game and be able to contribute in that way. But I'm leaning towards I'd rather watch it on TV. And I honestly don't think we'll have fans. But that's just because we have no idea what's happening. I mean, everything changes daily.

That's the side I'm going to take. But I'd probably rather watch it at home, be able to enjoy it, happening and everything changes daily that's the side i'm going to take but um i would i'd probably rather watch it at home be able to enjoy it and continue the party uh while i watch michigan win by 90 i i saw i saw something the other day obviously they're going to win by 90 they always do right um and um i saw something the other day thoughly. Like, if you've ever said down in front in Michigan Stadium, those are the first people that can't come in this year. If we've got a list running of who can come in and who can't, it's if you've ever said down in front or just sat during a touchdown,

you're off the list immediately. You know, those would be the list immediately. You know the thing that's cool? Those would be the first people to go in. It would literally be louder if we had no fans than those 20. 100%. I said, I mean, to be honest with you, if we had 20,000 of our loudest fans, it might be just as loud as 100,000 with 60% of those people being the sit-downers.

100%. I agree with you. Well, I hope that we can figure something out and I hope that we can still have a season and have just as much fun and make the big house as loud as we possibly can. Maybe we'll start pumping in some crowd noise

or something. I don't know. Love it. Make the big house loud again. Merch coming soon. Hey, yeah, I'm buying 30 of them, handing them out. Alright, that's all the topics we got for this portion

of the show. Does anybody else have anything they want to contribute? Nope. We got Ben coming on in a second, right? Yep. that's all the topics we got for this portion of the show. Does anybody else have anything they want to contribute? Uh, nope. We got Ben coming on in a second, right? Uh, yep. So interview with Ben Kaiser,

uh, Michigan baseball. So, uh, stay tuned for that. All right. Now we have Ben Kaiser on Ben. Thanks for joining us.

Hey, thanks for having me fellas. Happy to be here. Great. Great. What have you been up to during quarantine? Yeah, it's been a little different. I was telling the guys earlier we'd be playing the Big Ten tournament this weekend, so not being there is a little tough, but we've been keeping busy. I'm here in Ann Arbor right now. I've got a group of guys here that stuck around and been working out, throwing, staying up to it as much as much as possible keeping busy so it's been good good good glad to hear you're doing well glad to hear

you got a couple guys staying in ann arbor too uh jack you want to chime in with a question yeah so um well i guess yeah you said you guys are still in ann arbor like are you guys uh are you able to get on the fields or anything and access anything are you guys guys going out to just like the IM fields and like kind of working out? Or how's that work out right now? Yeah, so we've had to get a little creative. The university shut down the baseball field. They locked all the gates. They put a truck on the mound, trying to keep it off as much as possible.

They actually shut down, you know, like all the intramural fields and things along that line. So we've actually gone over to Huron High School, kind of go over there, get our work in. And we also got a little creative, too, with the weights. We were able to rattle up some weights from our indoor facility and put them in one of our friends' backyards. So we've got a little backyard gym back there, and we'll throw every morning, work out, and kind of get with our day. So it's been good, better than you can uh with all the gyms and stuff closing but making the most of it for sure for sure man um i guess and uh kind of jump off of um that with you guys staying in ann arbor how's that working with you as quite because i know you were you were a senior right you were going to graduate and you know kind of move on

you know do your next thing um is that is it mostly seniors staying back or is there underclassmen as well yeah so it's kind of a mix um so i was a red shirt senior this year got my undergrad last year finished up with a master's and um we had to finish with online classes and stuff but a lot of guys ended up going home so've got a group here right now with a couple juniors. A couple of the pro guys came back, like Jimmy Kerr and Troy Miller and guys like that came back. So there's about a group of eight or nine of us, a mix of juniors, seniors, and some of the pro guys, too. Cool. Nice. nice so um so getting into it a little bit here at the you know you said you're from you're from

portage northern um so homegrown kid here in the state of michigan was it a no-brainer that you were coming to u of m or um what was the recruiting process like what were your other options how did that all pan out yeah um michigan was always you know my dream school and it might sound a little cliche but it truly was my brother my oldest brother so we had two older brothers uh my oldest brother he's four years older than me he walked on to the football team here so i experienced that all throughout high school kind of lived vicariously through him i went to both of the the first two under the light games against Notre Dame, absolutely electric environment. So as a high school kid, you know, seeing that it was a

no brainer for me to come and be a part of it, be a part of the legacy and, you know, try to make a mark and contribute to, you know, the rich Michigan tradition that we have here. So I think from the outset, it was a no brainer. I had a couple of schools reach out to me locally, nothing too big, but as soon as Michigan came knocking it, it was a no-brainer. I had a couple schools reach out to me locally, nothing too big, but as soon as Michigan came knocking it, it was a no-brainer for me. Awesome. Yeah, I mean, I think if you're recruiting visits, or I don't even know if they were recruiting visits, but under the lights, I mean, that's the first one.

I think we were all there, at least around it, and it was like, I mean, they had to get every recruit possible that was there that day had to be a commit instantly so that was a good one to go to. I was absolutely electric. So obviously you've had a chance to spend some time in Ann Arbor if you're a registered senior you've been here for a little while what would you say is your favorite thing about Ann Arbor? That's tough. Ann Arbor's kind of become my home.

I think that's what's so great about it. I love the community feel. I love that everything's, you know, close, but not enough. I've been walking, but I don't feel like you're living on top of it. A lot of things to do. top of a lot of things. There's a lot of great people here, too, and I think that's huge. You're surrounded by excellence in the classroom, on the baseball field, you know, in the student athlete center. You know, there's so many amazing people and so many, you know, experiences.

I mean, you got people coming from California, Florida, you know, all across the country, all across the globe. And being able to, you know, pick their brains and learn from them, learn from their experiences. I think that's that's huge. I think the community overall and being able to connect with so many diverse people, I think, has been great. I agree with you. I mean, I love that part about Ann Arbor. What do you guys think? You got a favorite thing or you agree what do you think i mean i got what's your uh i know rowan and i have had this topic when we had we had our own thing uh what's your favorite bar in ann arbor man i'm curious i know we end up going to skeeps after the holiday party other than that what would you what would you say is your favorite bar or restaurant in ann arbor that's tough there's a lot of great spots.

I love Bill's Beer Garden in the summer. That's one of my top spots to go. But, you know, if it comes down to restaurants, there's so many different food places. It kind of just depends on the meal. You know, you go to Neo for pizza. You go to Chalice for Mexican, Tumacun for, you know, some Asian cuisine. So that's another great thing about Ann Arbor.

They've got a lot of great offerings, but if I had to pick one, it'd probably be Bill's. Definitely Bill's. Bill's. Great choice. I don't even care. I'll wait in a line down river just to get an Oberon that I can get somewhere else for $2. It's just beautiful weather.

Even today in Ann Arbor, this is rare for us right now. It's warm. It feels like summer. I just want to be a Bill's Beer Garden man, just drinking beer, playing games or something. Sign me up. playing games or something. Yeah. 85, 85 and sunny today has me trying to get to any patio out there. So, but so you mentioned that you, you guys would have been playing in the big 10 tournament right now. So going back to the beginning of quarantine here,

which feels like 10 years ago, but it's about two months, two months ago now. You know, what was that? How did that all go down when you guys realized or got the word that the season was going to be canceled? And as a redshirt senior, you know, this was your last go around, you know, how did you react personally? How was the team? How did you guys stay, you know, at did you react personally? How was the team? How did you guys stay, you know, at least somewhat positive during all that? Yeah, that was a rough time when we first found out. We were actually coming back from our spring break trip. So we went out to California,

played a couple games there, finished up at Pepperdine, and then we were headed right back home getting ready for the next week. And I think it was either Tuesday or Wednesday when we found out and we were just going to practice like normal we usually meet for about 30 to 45 minutes before kind of go through the day you know what we learned from the weekend things along that line and we were all in there ready to go and coach wasn't in there and we started to worry a little bit we saw on Twitter a lot of conferences started to you know postpone the season and things along that line so we kind of had an idea on the back of our head we didn't we didn't want it to be true but we were thinking along those lines and um coach comes in he calls the coaches and the seniors um to his office and at that moment we all kind of knew our hearts dropped he let us know that the season was canceled. It wasn't even postponed. And as

a redshirt senior and seniors as a whole, you know, we were devastated. We spent, you know, about an hour, two hours on the field crying together. We announced it to the team, let everybody know kind of what was happening. And we all just sat there. We sat on the field. We didn't want to leave. We were in our practice uniforms. We couldn't believe that it was over. I think the hardest thing for us is that as seniors, we didn't get that last opportunity to play on the field and play at Ray Fisher Stadium. That was tough for us. The one thing that we could take from it was that we were at it together and we had each other no matter what the next step was for us, whether it was

pro ball, summer ball, even next season. You know, we had each other. We had the memories that we made throughout the fall. We know all the work that we put in to get to that point, which was one reason why I made it so tough. But knowing that we went through that together and we were able to share that together and, you know, make the sacrifice and make sure that, you know,

everyone in the community is safe. And we put our selfish behaviors to the side and, you know, really get this thing under control. So, yeah, it was, it was a devastating moment. You know, it hit us hard for about a week, but we kind of refocused and realized we have a great opportunity here to, to get better and use these two months to develop it in some way. And hopefully, you know, propel us into summer ball, pro ball, the next season, whatever it may be.

Yeah, and I think the, I mean, there's the old saying of play every game like it's your last. And you guys, I mean, there's not many people out there that truly play the game, their last game, without knowing it was their last game. You know, usually you come to the end of the season or your senior year and you know you know you're either in a win or go home type of situation and it's like you guys didn't even get that chance so um it's kind of there there's it's

tough i'm sure as far as like there's no closure and you know you guys didn't want to leave you said it's that had to be as a former athlete, you know, we all are former athletes. It's like that tears at my heart just hearing it, man. That's brutal. Yeah, it's tough. But, you know, if it works out and propels, you know, next year's team to get back to Omaha,

then we know that, you know, everything we sacrificed is worth it. And I'm glad you said Omaha, man. So, sorry, guys, while I was gone. we sacrificed was worth it so and i'm glad you said omaha man so i don't so sorry guys while i was gone didn't get a dog it's that freaking dog man well we can kind of go over like what was that like like you're i mean your guys run last year i mean that was incredible honestly like um you know i went to i think I think a couple games with Aaron and just meeting up with Maddie to watch you guys play. And, you know, I think the game, the one game I really remember was,

I can't remember who hit it, but somebody hit a walk-off home run against Indiana. And that was one of the games we were at. It was just so cool to watch you guys play. Like, it seems you guys are brothers on the field. You just love playing together. And I guess what was your favorite moment during during that last last year's college wars series run or like what was the moment where you guys like okay like we can we can really go far into this yeah um the thing about

last year there's so many great storylines uh there's so many so many stories from Jimmy Kerr's legacy with his grandparents, his grandfather and his dad, Tommy Henry, flu game, Jack Blount breaking his feet. There's just so many unbelievable moments in that run, which truly is what made it special. I think the moment for me that made us realize we could do anything was you know that walk off against illinois in the big 10 tournament um and i think we can all say we we caught lightning in a bottle in that moment and and realize that you know this this is a real opportunity and to see the seniors go out on a strong note was huge for us um we know how much you know they put into this um we came in so that technically is my class as well but we came in at at a time where Michigan was coming off their first Big Ten title in a long time.

You know, the momentum was high, and we went through three tough years. You know, we came in second place by half a game. We had a 4-12 start one year. We were able to bounce back from all those bumps, but being able to finally break through, you know, get that walk-off hit and propel that into the tournament, be one of the last four seats in, and really get that opportunity, go to Corvallis, take care of business there, and then get to UCLA,

the number one team in the country. Played them earlier in the year, had some success, but we knew it was going to be a tough match, and I think from that point on we just we just trusted in each other we were just having fun we didn't really care about tomorrow we just focused on that moment and we were able to slow it down and then you know that took us in to Omaha and that experience in itself is something that you can't put a price tag on and so fortunate to be able to to have that experience and be there and,

you know, send the seniors off on a high note. And that, that was a cool moment, man. Like I was, I was, I sent a Snapchat to my buddies and I was watching that game. I can't remember who was pitching. It was either Jack or Tommy. And I was like, are you guys watching this game? Like they're, they're beating the number one team in the country right now. Like, I hope you're all watching this. And everybody was watching.

And I think that was kind of the moment where a lot of Michigan fans were, you know, traditionally, you know, I'll follow football and basketball. Even as a former baseball player, I never really followed Michigan baseball until Zach Putnam, who was an alumni from Pioneer High School, where Caelan and I went, where he went there. And they had great teams for a few years. But just watching you guys was so fun, man, and we sent it to everybody. I think everybody was just watching that, enjoying that run. But you brought up Omaha. I mean, what was that experience like? It's crazy, honestly.

And if you're not a baseball fan, I don't care. You've got to take a trip to Omaha. You've got to experience it. It's great that Michigan was there, and we've got a lot of alumni that were able to do that, but that place is unlike any other. It's truly like a kid going to Disney World, honestly. It's unbelievable. There's booths set up everywhere, tents with gear for every team,

and music on the streets, And there's the stage and just the electricity and the atmosphere and how many people are truly invested in baseball alone is crazy. And being able to experience that, you know, the first day we got there, we kind of had like a practice and then we did the whole media thing, had autographs, whatever. Then we had an opening ceremony and the stadium was filled just for the opening day. And it wasn't even the team's fans yet. Like our alumni weren't there yet, you know, Vanderbilt, Arkansas.

All those team's fans weren't there yet. They were just getting in. So it's just truly baseball fans. It's the city of Omaha. They're truly invested fully into those two weeks, and it's an experience unlike any other. That's awesome. I've had a lot of friends that have gone down or that's their yearly trip

and they swear by it that it's like honestly one of the greatest sports experiences out there, which I think people would never think about that just because college baseball isn't, you know, it's not on the stage of college football and college basketball as far as being on ESPN and primetime and things like that. But I've heard just unbelievable things about it. And I'm so happy you guys got to experience that. It's so cool. What was it like as, you know,

you guys are a team that up here in Ann Arbor, you know, let's be honest, you guys don't get a ton of fans here you know you'll travel to SEC or out west and and go play in places that do have a great home fan base was it a little bit of a shock factor to be in that in that environment that it's like people are loud and especially as a pitcher pitcher, you know, they're coming at you. I'm sure the opposing fans are booing and heckling and all that stuff. Yeah, we've actually gotten this question a lot, and I think all of my teammates will answer it the same way.

You know, I think the Big Ten tournament really prepared us for that moment. Being in Omaha, we'd already played five or so games there in that stadium, so we knew the ballpark. We knew basically everything there was to be and live in the hotel and just the whole atmosphere, the whole environment. That was honestly the most fans I've ever played in front of. But our night game against Nebraska that actually knocked us out of the tournament prepared us for that.

They were ruthless. And, I mean, the stadium was packed, but you know Nebraska travels well in every sport. And those fans, it was 13,000 just straight Cornhuskers deckers. Just unbelievable. They're chanting every pitch. Anytime they do something good, it erupts. Like, I think all my teammates can attest that

you know that moment they're playing against nebraska in the big 10 tournament in omaha kind of prepared us um and i think too once we got to omaha it's obviously a different beast uh you know 25 000 people in the stands it's you can't really prepare for it even though no matter how much you train for it but i think just being able to look at each other and laugh and joke and kind of ease those nerves really helped. But, you know, it's still like I'll never forget, you know, being able to look up into the stands, you know, see all of our fans, see all of our family, all of our friends,

and, you know, really just soak that moment in. And I just have one more thing before we move on from that. But you keep touching on the fun and the laughing and the joking and it's just crazy to me how I for me I could see that so easily from tv from home it was like you guys were truly just there like on the you know highest high you could be in there, like soaking it all up, which was so cool to see because I think I would assume, you know, for me as a former athlete, it's like I would be crapping my pants a lot of the time. It really didn't seem like you guys ever were, you know,

it felt like you guys had been there, you know, for the last 10 years straight almost. It was just another day at the at the office and it was like it was just so fun to see I equated to your guys uh team last year to the 2018 uh basketball team Michigan basketball team it was like they had the you know that unbelievable run and it's just so fun to watch great group of guys um great um personalities and everything so that was that, you keep touching on that. So I had to say it. It's like, it was just from, you know, a thousand miles away in my living room.

I could tell you guys were just like living your best life truly there. Yeah, we were. And it felt like that. Did, did Backage have fun when he was over there? Or was he all of a sudden? He loved it it's been his dream to go there ever since he he started coaching even as a player you know that that was their dream he kind of took over the reins i think it was eight years ago um you know that's been his dream that's what he told you know our administration that's what he told all the players

when he assumed that position and no one really him. And if you would have told me coming in as a freshman, I probably didn't believe him either. I thought it was great to shoot high and set your sights on the ultimate goal. But to actually get there and see that come to fruition, I mean, it's unbelievable. And that guy's put so much work into making Michigan what it is today. And, you know, a lot of our success can be credited to him and the rest of the coaching staff. And we're fortunate that, you know, the program's in his hands. And we've heard just based off of other podcasts and, you know, some other players going on there and talking to whoever's interviewing them,

you know, just some amazing stories. Like dealing with Backage and how he believed in you guys so much and how great of a leader he is. So I guess it can be funny, it can be serious, it can be whatever it is. What's your best Eric Backage story? I mean, he's provided me with material that will probably last me. He is something else. He's his own breed, and that's what makes him him, and it's awesome.

But the one that sticks out to me that describes him the most, he's all in all the time. And this actually goes back to the fall. So he actually received an email from his kid's elementary school that said if the temperature is above zero degrees, they're going outside for recess. So he brought that email to us one day in the meeting in December and showed us, and he said, look, if these eight, nine, ten-year-old kids can do it. So we all looked at him crazily. But believe it or not, we were in Januaryuary pre-season uh getting ready to to go out to

california and it's it's awful outside it's it's probably 20 degrees uh you know windchill it's snowing sideways they plowed off the field before practice so that we could use it we have turf so we're able to do that and we're all looking at each other like all right this man's crazy like he's pulling a prank on us like we're gonna go do that. And we're all looking at each other like, all right, this man is crazy. He's pulling a prank on us. Like, we're going to go inside, hit in the den, get our work in, and get out of there. We line up normally.

Like, we practice, get into that meeting. He sends us outside, and we're all shattering. Teeth are shattering. You know, hands in pockets like, God, this guy's crazy. We go through. We stretch. And he kind of stops us halfway through our stretch because he notices guys are kind of covering up

in their hands and their pockets, you know, hoodies up, whatever it may be. And I kid you not, he looks at us, rips off his shirt. You can't get hot unless you know the cold. And this dude's just screaming, like, running around in the snow. We're like wow like

he's actually serious and as crazy as it sounds you know it livened us right up you know we got into it we saw how how much he cared the passion that he had and how much he wanted us to get better that day and you know we ran with it. You know, the energy was up. We were jumping around, turned the music on, and we had a good day of practice outside, believe it or not. But, you know, his energy, his enthusiasm for Michigan and for us as players is second to none. And, you know, he's as crazy as can be, but we love him. That's awesome, man.

And that – I think that kind of turned into your guys theme and mantra for the rest of the year didn't it that was uh i remember seeing some stuff uh post on social media that it's uh you can't get hot unless you know the cold right yep it did and and believe it or not like that actually helped us it calloused our minds and you know we didn't play in those conditions necessarily but you know a lot of the adversity that went throughout the season was because of our training and how we went in and carried our business day in and day out so a huge testament to him and him that's awesome i mean that's i i don't even know what to say to that. That's a good story. And I'm glad you said that about Omaha, too,

because that wouldn't have even been on my list as just a place to go. But now, I mean, that's, you know, that's right up there. We've got to take a trip down, for sure. Have to. It's a must. Plus, I got my cat here trying to jump all over here i'm sorry we can we can see the tail wagging in front of the camera it's hilarious with baseball at michigan done uh what like what are you looking to do now are you are you pursuing a career trying to get into the mlb um have you kind of moved on from baseball? I guess, where are you at with that?

Yeah, my sights are still on playing. I think the way the season ended and, you know, having it taken away from us and not really being able to get that closure on the season, you know, it's fueled me and it's fueled a lot of my teammates. And, you know, the sights are set on Pro Bowl, and that's my goal. You know, the draft has altered a little bit, and it's going to be a little crazy come June 10th. But, you know, hopefully a team takes a shot and I get that opportunity

and get the opportunity to just run with it and give it everything I have. That's the thing with me. I still have a lot to give to the game, and I think, you know, with that opportunity, it would be unbelievable to, you know, see how far he can go. For sure, man. And, I mean, obviously it'd be unbelievable to, you know, see how far he can go. For sure, man. And, I mean, obviously, best of luck to you. Obviously, if we can see any Michigan alum, you know, get into MLB,

like that's always an awesome thing to be able to witness. But I guess, I mean, I think that's all of our questions. I have one more that wasn't on our list. But so you're a pitcher, right? A relief pitcher. So, I mean, that's on par with like kickers and punters as far as weird people go. Right? So I don't know if any of our listeners.

Forget that. I don't know if many of our listeners, you know, are familiar with baseball and stuff. But do you have any weird habits out in the bullpen? What was it like out in the bullpen? What would you say is the weirdest part about your game? Not a lot of people know, but the bullpen might be one of the weirdest places in sports. A lot of characters in that area.

So, you know, I don't do anything too weird. I get pretty hyped and, like, locked into the game. So you'll see me pacing around or, you know, talking to myself. But, you know, each guy kind of has their own thing. Some guys, you know, rip energy drinks or, you know, snort smelling salts or whatever it may be. I don't do anything along those lines.

That one was going to go. The bullpen definitely has some crazy stories too, so. You guys are like – it's your own team out there by themselves. So you got to – We're ourselves occupied. Yeah, I was just going to say you got to keep yourself occupied. Yeah. I was going to, I was just going to say, you got to keep yourself busy out there. Some of those games, you know, nine innings gets to be a long time with you,

especially if you're not not throwing that day. Yeah. All right. All good stuff. Does everybody get a chance to ask other questions and everything? Absolutely. Awesome. You got that hot take ready, Ben? Yeah.

Your hot take? Oh, my hot take. I've been thinking about these ones. I don't know how hot it might be, so I slowly know. Basically compare Joe Milton to Patrick Mahomes, so you can't do much worse than that. I think this one might be a little warm take,

but I think if Isaiah Livers comes back, doesn't end up going to the NBA, Michigan's going to go to the Final Four. Ooh. On his first Final Four appearance as a coach and uh get michigan basketball backwards i love it when we have people come on and they just hype me up man love it that is a great take great take um i i will go next because I've actually mine is on the on the same team as as uh Ben's here okay I've actually I've got John here as um my this is a little clue for it but um hold on I'll let me get ready and then you can start the timer all right go for it Caitlin all right are you ready yep your zero to 90 take begins right now

all right so we need to build john beeline a statue here at the university of michigan right outside chrysler center he is no doubt the greatest coach to ever come to the university of michigan your stat of the day here in the 10 years before john come to the University of Michigan. Your stat of the day here, in the 10 years before John Beeline, the University of Michigan Wolverines spent two weeks in the AP poll out of 200 total weeks there. 200 total weeks, and we only had two weeks in the AP poll before Beeline. And then he went to the national title twice. That's your 30 seconds.

That's a great stat, though. I love it. I love it. So is his statue going to have the water gun? I mean, we might as well do this exact one with a squirt gun here. It's iconic. That would be perfect. I do know he saw this, and the hair's a little too silver for him.

I think he had a problem with how gray his hair looks on this thing. We got to get it a little more blonde. I definitely think the square gun needs to be in the statue right outside Chrysler. Can we just build him a big bobblehead? Yeah. There you go. There you go. All right, Caleb. It's you. It's it's all you buddy let me know when we're ready

i'm not gonna need 30 seconds again i love it i love just being quick i don't have to worry about it don't all right jack zero to 90 begins right now go all right with the trajectory of all these programs at at michigan i'm gonna I'm going to say the big three. Sorry, hockey, I got to leave you out. But football, basketball, baseball, I say at the end of whenever the next full season

is going to be, every single team will finish top 10 in the country. Top 10. Love that. Wow. Top 10. Top 10. Love that. Wow. Top 10. Spot on. Top 10.

Left 10 seconds on the clock for his 0-90. Pretty good. Love the bad boys, I guess, you know? That was a great take there. I love it. That was spicy. And that pretty much means that baseball is going going back to omaha right it's top eight they go to omaha so there you go that's good that was our zero to 90 i didn't have any hot takes

oh gosh i i got nothing ben thanks for coming on it's a pleasure you definitely enlightened me to a little bit looking at scheduling my trip to omaha now um is there anywhere that we can find you on twitter or something like that or that you want to plug yeah i, I have Twitter and Instagram. B underscore Kaiser on Twitter and B underscore Kaiser1 on Instagram. So give it a follow. Yeah, check him out. And then check us out

at Blue by 90 on Instagram and at Blue by 90 Podcast on YouTube. Other than that, go blue. Go blue. Go blue. Thanks, man. Bikes on the roof getting high, sipping on my SoCo Live it up till I'm dead, ignorance in my head Fuck whoever you are, I'll be after that Half and half on the palm of G

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