Blue By Ninety - Michigan’s Transfer Portal Pursuits Heat Up and Basketball Blows Another Lead

Episode Date: December 19, 2024

Justin and Tanner break down Michigan’s transfer portal class and Michigan’s 87-86 loss to Oklahoma.

All right. Welcome back to blue by 90. I'm Justin joined by Tanner today. It is December 19th and the portal is popping. It has been a crazy couple of weeks for Michigan football guys leaving guys coming. So this is, I mean, just to start it off, like the portal is just an insane time period. Now it's a window, right, in the winter before there's the spring portal period as well. But right now, it's just like, this is chaos. I mean, yesterday, Damon Payne, former Belleville recruit who spent the last four years at Alabama, you know, it gets announced early in the morning on Wednesday the 18th that he's committed. He signs with Michigan. He had signed paperwork and then everybody was like, no, actually that never happened. And, and I think on three reported that his paperwork was nullified. And then he ends up committing last night. Officially.

It sounds like there was some confusion on what paperwork's pain was actually signing. He didn't realize he was signing to come to michigan um you know i guess was concerned about a leak problem is justin is i'm sure you're aware in the portal if you were if you sign anywhere that is public knowledge many many people have access to that portal database so um just a you know one small example of this crazy portal of these kids that change their mind and go back and forth and it's interesting i'm trying to think of like what paperwork you thought you were citing that is not like you're signing to go to michigan but it's not i i don't know i mean i'm sure it's all very confusing because it all happened so fast

and there's a lot of you know legal stuff and whatever i get that but But yeah, wild times. I also saw, this is another example of it, but five-star wide receiver that was committed to, actually signed with Oregon, I believe, is asking to be out of his national letter of intent and going to Florida. So even when, like, the point, like, we're to the point where a commitment means nothing right like if you commit like it's basically every commitment is just a soft

commit it's like all right he may be coming here but not really kids every kid seems to be still taking visits after committing um now even after they sign you can't trust that they're actually gonna play for ut yeah i mean you see this all the time i mean michigan's been a benefactor of this uh brandon hillman was signed with notre dame and got out of his loi and came to michigan uh before last season in 2023 so yeah you see it it's it's interesting um dallas wilson's the five-star receiver who's probably gonna to go to Florida. Is there any chance? Joe Lynn, hey, you know, fire up the money cannon.

I would like some more receivers. We'll get into, you know, who Michigan is sort of targeting in the mix for. But, yeah, it's a new day and age, man. There's no salary cap. You know, teams have their own that they've instituted to make sure that they're not blowing through their budget. But every guy is a free agent at any waking moment. I can understand why college coaches are leaving this sport and going to the NFL.

I mean, you've seen it with guys like Jeff Hathaway, who was the head coach at Boston College, left to go be the defensive coordinator with the Green Bay Packers. Just less stress, more time off. You don't have the headache of having to re-recruit your roster 365 days a year. So I don't know what the answer is. Thankfully, Justin, I don't get paid to figure out the answer. So they got to figure something out, man. And now another point, and I'm sure we were going to get to this, but Diego Pavia, the quarterback at Vanderbilt,

got another year of eligibility or won some sort of injunction against the NCAA because they're saying now his JUCO season doesn't count. It's five years to play four. What are we doing? I don't, and he, the, I saw the lawsuit was like that he could make a million dollars and and that's what they're like taking that away from him right it's like okay well they're not because

yeah you could if you had eligibility there has like i okay i did see somebody say this yesterday which i don't think i'm quite to this point but but it's like they said, I'm starting to feel bad for the NCAA a little bit, right? And I kind of agree with them in the point of like, everyone's like, oh, there needs to be structure. There needs to be rules. There needs to be whatever. So the NCAA is like, okay, here are the rules. And then they just get a lawsuit slapped on them.

And they're like, okay, well, no rules then, I guess. Because when we do try to make rules they're you know so like listen you know I like Diego Pavia like I you know sure that that's fun for Vandy to have that their quarterback back I think that's could could be good for college football but like at some point man it can't just be like all right i'm just gonna sue them and you know keep playing forever right so i i don't know yeah man i just where does it end right like not to be the old men yelling at the at the sky but like where does it end like i don't understand what we're doing here um you know a lot of these rules are archaic the just back to the transfer portal i think

jim harbaugh nailed it a few years ago. You get one free transfer. You should not be able to put, I mean, dude, you see Hayes Foss's tweets. These guys have played for three or four programs and they're transferring again.

It's absurd. And that's not, I honestly believe this is kind of an old man. Take a Jim Harbaugh, Tom Izzo type take of like like that's not good for the kids right like to to have four programs in four years or more that is you're not growing you're not developing you are just jumping from ship to ship and ultimately at the end of the day like that kid would be better off by he'd be better off just by like showing adversity and battling through but b

he'd be a better football player because he's learning the same you know you're learning and getting better at the same thing right instead of trying to go to a new uh new program new you know uh different uh system scheme all that stuff like Like, ultimately, I agree with you. I think Jim Harbaugh nailed it on the head of NIL, nailed it on the head of the transfer portal. He was way ahead of his time. Should get a lot more credit for that, let's be honest. Yeah.

So, all right, let's get into where Michigan stands right now. So, I think, actually, anthony broom just came out with it that they have michigan as the third ranked team for uh in the portal so far um so again there's a lot of time left uh but uh there well when i say a lot of time how much time is there left actually there's not that i think until the 28th so players don't have to commit by the 28th you know they just need to get into school right they can stay in the portal they have a deadline to get into the portal um and then it's where you know then they can you know recommit or commit to a school i don't know what that rule looks like if you're in the portal when it

the deadline ends and then you want to go back to your original school i don't know if you have to do something additional with that um you got to think about this too man so we're two days away actually we're one day away from the college football playoff which i'm very excited for yeah it's like dude go look at the weather for south bend tomorrow night i don't know it's gonna be 20s i was thinking about this too sorry we're now going on a little bit of a tangent but like being in, being in the state of Indiana this weekend has to be just absurdity, right? I have family in Indiana. I'm going to be in the Fort Wayne area this weekend to see family. And, you know, we're definitely going to make a beat-up strip.

I honestly wish that I could, in time, get an Indiana hoodie, you know, an SMU jacket, and a Tennessee hat. that's what we're in for texas clemson i know you got the clemson affiliation i don't really care who wins that one i'm a hater i want to see all three of those teams lose you're you're like the uh the lakers cowboys yankees guy like that yeah i'm rob low with the nfl hat yeah i love it i will know i mean just think about though like i i don't think ind-Notre Dame is quite this big of a rivalry, but think about Michigan-Michigan State, right? An in-state rivalry at home, like, either at the big house

or at Spartan Stadium on Friday, December 20th at 8 p.m. Like, the state would explode. Yeah, you just gave me anxiety thinking about that scenario. I don't know if that'll ever happen it'll be interesting to see where the program said in the future but but so my point with the cultural playoff is by sunday you're gonna have four teams that are out of the playoffs so you're gonna have four teams with guys that are probably gonna enter the portal and you're seeing some guys from those teams start to filter through and their names are in the portal

but i just think you know michigan so far has done a good job quarterback has been interesting and we'll talk about that receiver has been interesting they do have a commit there um but there's going to be quite a few more guys i would imagine that are going to enter before the end of the portal deadline this is another problem though justin comfortable still happening and there are 12 teams that are in the playoffs that are playing for a championship and maybe their guys want to go elsewhere want to put themselves in a position to make more money to go to the nfl to continue their playing career and it's just like it's tough because yeah you have school that starts january 7th or whatever it might be for these different institutions so it's just a mess honestly like it's gotten worse and worse every year

i know james franklin went off on a tangent of it because he's dealing with it right now michigan dealt with it last year like to the max right i i just don't know the solution because, to your point, like a lot of teams, their season has ended on the Thanksgiving weekend. So, naturally, like they're going to get working in the portal, right, whether it's tampering or not. The other thing that's happening right now is everybody tampers, and the NCAA does literally nothing about it. Every school is bat-channeling. Every school, like Bamaama clemson georgia

all of us are back channeling to try to get players to get into the portal say hey you know we're working with their agent we didn't directly contact the player but we know who his agent is and we said hey you know we've got seven hundred thousand dollars for him to play you know whatever school next year i don't know man it's it's a broken system um what do you think though like on a broader scale as you think about your enjoyment of college football has it diminished it i don't think so for me i just don't love it there's like there's that camp out there that this is like ruining college football um i think that it it ruins a little bit of like i i like the guys i've always liked this in pro

sports too the the derrick jeters who played for one team their entire career. I just think that their legacy is so much more. Even Tom Brady, like, yes, he went and won a Super Bowl with the Bucs, but I truly believe that his legacy would be better off if he was just a patriot for life and like was the face of that franchise for the rest of history, right? Like, I think that part stinks where it's like, okay, I can't really cling on to a guy, you know,

when he's probably going to, or not probably, but very well could transfer at any time. And it's like, okay, am I going to go get a jersey? Am I going to go, like, you know, be in love with this guy who was a michigan wolverine for life like that's what makes blake corm and jj mccarthy so awesome is you know they're mikey sanger still right like they're michigan through and through you know that doesn't mean that i don't love josiah stewart also but it's just a little bit different scenario right um well dude think of

how long ago like you know think about blake quorum committed well jj committed before tearing um crazy committed as a sophomore and so you're just more in touch with these recruits because they commit to your school two years before they ever stepped foot on the field i mean that was what 2018 right, right? It was like May 2019 when JJ committed. And I think Blake committed. And Michigan, I know this because this is how Michigan recruiting goes, is that they load up in June. So Blake commits in June.

A guy like Quentin Johnson commits in June. I remember his commitment. And he made not the flashiest player that's ever down the winged helmet. But think about his play against Ohio State on a neckache. I mean, he's been one of those consistent guys. I think he is similar on the defensive side to Cornelius Johnson on the offensive side where it's, like, never – obviously, CJ had the two big plays in the Ohio State game and Quentin had a big play in the Ohio State game.

But, like, they're so reliable and don't make mistakes and just like that type yeah same same as like mccary page you know he was a i believe a 2020 kid and uh made huge plays in his last game uh you know i guess ohio state so yeah i'm with you but you know this is a way to refill the talent on your roster in a year that michigan kind of needs to make an overhaul and you look at a program like Indiana as we were talking about within one year one offseason they completely reshaped the future and the outlook of their program and they're sitting there at 11-1 in the college football playoff Michigan we talked about their schedule on our last show

it's very favorable so you know Michigan is going to be aggressive I think you know people are a little bit uneasy about how slow moving Michigan has been but over the last few days you've seen them gain a number of transfer portal commits and there's some other guys out there justin that i think they're extremely talented so what you know we kind of i think should start with quarterback that's probably the most pressing need at this point uh you know obviously bryce underwood is coming in so we'll see how that looks again is he good i don't know uh i think they compared him to vince young was it vision yeah i don't know i still think obviously like you need to i i think you just need a an older guy right an experienced qb to come in and and just it's a just in case bryce isn't

which is a tough situation like i think that a lot of people are wanting to go michigan to also go spend a million dollars on the best quarterback in the in the portal and it's like okay the reality is this kid like the best case scenario is this kid comes in and gets beat out by bryce underwood right here's here's the thing though billy edwards is getting a million dollars i know it's crazy so i also you know we talked about this but some of the reporting of of the details of the underwood uh nil package have been detrimental to michigan's pursuits of players in the portal. Other recruits, oh, Bryce is getting X? I want this much.

And it's detrimental to Michigan. So a quarterback, though, I mentioned Billy Edwards. It seemed like, gosh, I think before Bryce was ever even a thought, the consensus was that it was going to be Miller Moss from USC. Yeah. And then it sounded like he maybe got cold feet because of Bryce Underwood's presence which is right he lost his job at USC uh so it's like I don't want to do that again and honestly him going to Louisville that's a kind of a fun fun uh marriage there with Jeff Brom we know

what Jeff Brom can do he's he's been a really good coach since he's been with Purdue uh and at Western Kentucky before that so um you know that's that's a you know it it happens it gets away and then it seemed like it kind of transitioned to Billy Edwards the Maryland quarterback he's the guy if you remember that scored three one-yard touchdowns against Michigan at Maryland uh the week before Ohio State in 2023 every the game where everyone's probably clenching really really hard and Mike Samer still has a couple picks. And so he ends up going to Wisconsin. The crystal balls are in for Michigan from the on three guys,

and then he cancels his visit to Michigan. I think he was supposed to go to Virginia, commits to Wisconsin. Then Michigan's like, okay, where do we pivot to? Daquan Finn, former Toledo quarterback, Baylor last year, gets hurt last year. A very athletic guy. I don't know how great of a pure quarterback he is. Watched some of his film. I think things kind of break down.

He plays a lot of backyard football, for lack of a better term. And I think that the allure for him is he plays a similar style to Bryce, right? So it would be like if both of them could play the whatever style and it's the same thing right yeah I guess I mean obviously Bryce is you know just a completely different level of quarterback um he Finn's probably more athletic I think I think Finn if he doesn't you know if he loses a job or you know the job has a job for five weeks i think can be some sort of gadget guy uh you know a great athlete man i mean i was watching his highlights and his uh kind of his breakdown against ohio state two years ago if you remember he he made some throws he made some plays very athletic guy uh did not look out matched on that field against

ohio state so um i mean i think they put up i want to say they put up 21 or 28 points in that game which with toledo it's you know you play against ohio state it's pretty impressive so yeah um now i believe that they are turning to uh mikey key if you remember the fresno state quarterback we've seen him yes we have seen him um and he his name was thrown out there early for michigan and then it went quiet, and now they're back. I don't hate this. Like, I think both these guys could be good options. Again, I'm sitting here saying, like, best-case scenario,

Bryce Underwood's playing for us, right? So I think that you're not – just with the situation, you're not going to go – no big-time number one top quarterback in the portal is going to come to Michigan, I don't think, with the situation. So I like both these guys. I like Mikey Keene. I think he played pretty well against us against him. You're not going to go against Will Johnson next year.

You don't have to worry about throwing a pick six. No, I think – I mean, Ole Miss has been the kings of the portal, right? Like the last two years, the last two cycles, they have been dominant in the portal. They're getting a lot of guys this year. He just came off a visit to Ole Miss. Honestly, if a quarterback is being recruited by Lane Kiffin, I can get bought into that, right?

So I think he's visiting this weekend. I think we'll probably have a lot more clarity on the quarterback situation over the next few days. You know, again, relatively early in the portal. I mean, it's been open for 10 days. And, again, who knows what's going to happen. I mean, look at what's going to happen at Texas. That's one that I am interested in,

is Michigan maybe trying to see what's going on with Quinn Ewers because I feel like you have to start Arch Manning. Otherwise, you're going to get negatively recruited into the sun like look the number one player in the country in his class sat for three years at Texas so I don't think Quinn Ewers is going to go to the NFL I think he's going to transfer and go to a I mean and there's already a report out there that some Big Ten school has an enormous amount on the table for him I don't think that's Michigan I think that's probably Oregon I'm going to guess it's Oregon't think that's michigan i think that's probably oregon i'm gonna guess it's oregon because this that's literally what they've done the past two years is yeah a ton

of money on a really good court dot and more is going to get recruited over so you know it is what it is uh yeah so quarterback i think we'll see some clarity you know i think it'll probably if i had a guess i would say it's probably keen or finn at this point um and i think bryce is starting by october i will put that on the record. I just feel like he's just too talented. And, you know, JJ as a freshman, you could see was really good. I think Bryce is probably further along than JJ was at this point. And Bryce is also younger.

I was with him at Will Johnson's toy drive. You were there too. Yes, that was electric. It was, yeah, great. It's a physically imposing kid. at will johnson's toy drive you were there too yes that was electric it was yeah great so physical and like a physically imposing kid i didn't realize how big he this dude is that's what i was just gonna say is like i that was the first time i had i'd been with him in person and i mean he's huge he's got to be closer to six six than six five and just like i know he had a coat on but still just for a an 18 year old like he's 17 17 year old he's huge yeah like i just i'm you know obviously you're you're looking at

him for come august and september but i'm thinking down the road even you know as a sophomore to junior like that kid is going to be physically special absolutely i mean i you could see where the vince young comparison comes in the cam newton comparison i don't know if he'll get to 250 like cam was probably 230 240 you'll be curious to see what he looks like over the next you know eight months he's going to get in there he's going to be in the strength and conditioning program the nutrition program i mean he's you know it's going to be interesting to see how he develops physically but man he looks he looks the part i'll say that um you know just a big

strong looking kid which i think is crazy because we i i believe we talked about this on our last podcast too jj when he was 17 and 18 looked like a close yeah he was tiny he didn't have a single hair on his face right like he he is you know it was very different and obviously he grew up a lot over a couple years it took until his junior year though like his sophomore year still he was pretty pretty frail and then his junior year i think he bulked up a little bit which his junior year like he that was like honestly where i was like okay he essentially hit puberty like he he grew like he was taller he was bigger like he just he became a man honestly in that junior year whereas like i just think it's very interesting that bryce is coming in like already looking like jj was in that junior year yeah yeah it's it's i mean just

it's we don't want to turn this into the bryce underwood i mean we could we could blue by underwood is what our new name will be but let's talk about who he's throwing to so uh some commits that are let's talk about who's who is committed to michigan in the portal Donovan McCauley coming in from Indiana I think 6'5 receiver automatically gets me like all right I'm all in like we never had that guy in a while you know is it can can Donovan McCauley be Nico Collins or like at least play that role uh I don't know I would need to go back and watch his junior year film so in 2023 he has 48 catches 644 in yards six touchdowns for a bad indiana team like a bad indiana team he gets hurt last year and then when he comes back his boy chris ignetti is rolling with his

boys from jmu and in the portal so he doesn't get much run i think he was like technically well not technically but like yeah for all intents and purposes he was in the portal in like october yeah once he realized he was not going to play um this is the guy that michigan wanted last year i think would have immensely helped the roster if he was on it uh just that receiver room obviously we know in 2024 is not ideal um but yeah he's a big bodied outside receiver kind of the first one that michigan's had in quite a while i mean because even cj was what six one six two so this is the first section it was cj was bigger i think cj was probably more six three six four okay um but he didn't play like some big you know dominant right he's not going up and mossing guys for them i mean he had a couple

catches where he went up and made a play and and honestly man i would take cj on on any michigan team any day i thought it was very solid uh i think there's some portion of the fan base that like is not a fan of his i don't know why like he's always gonna be a michigan legend to me uh so but yeah to your point man i mean he's he's the you know the big you know the big body receiver that michigan really hasn't had since Nico. So I don't know what they're going to pair him with as far as the other receivers. You have some freshmen that are here this year. I think about Amarion Stewart, Channing Goodwin.

There's rumors that Michigan finished second for Jordan Shipp, who is at North Carolina right now. Who knows if he hits it off with 72-year-old Bill Belichick. Or his girlfriend. Well, yeah. He's a Providence Day kid right so channing goodwin jayden davis um i think there's some other there might be like a walk-on on the team that's from providence day as well so obviously a lot of familiarity um so i think he'd be a guy he would have three years of eligibility or maybe four i think he redshirted this year he's hurt um but he's like a top 100 kid uh i think we'll come in

and play right away um but just from you know michigan uh you know channing goodwin is coming into his second year marion stewart um and then you have the the recruits from the 2025 class coming in led by andrew marsh i think marsh will play right away i think he's just physically ready he looks the part uh but i would feel a lot more comfortable they wouldn't got two more proven receivers at this point i agree i agree i do think marsh plays right away i think you also have to hope too that like fred moore steps into a big role too well it's tyler moore's comeback too like he's not committed anywhere is there an opportunity for him to return i think if you have an actual outside receiver like donovan McCullough, you have him in the slot, you have another outside type of receiver to pair with those guys. I would be totally fine with running it back with Tyler Morris.

I think I've seen that he can make plays. I would, too. He's just Tyler Morris is never going to be your number one outside option, right? Like he he doesn't fit that mold. So I totally agree. I think I feel pretty comfortable. I agree with you you i would say maybe one more receiver and i would be i'd be pretty happy um right but if you're running it with

donovan mccauley andrew marsh fred moore samaj morgan possibly tyler moore's back you know i think that i that's not a bad you know maybe peyton O'Leary comes back for the experience bet right like I don't know what the p-dog the p-dog why not you know so I I think that either way you're looking at an improved receiver room immensely improved well and don't forget too that you know Michigan's still going to rely heavily on tight ends and so you have i think coming back dog dude yeah yep hogan hansen i think you know i think if if davis gets that ball up a little bit we're really talking about hogan hansen i was like wow this is a guy that you know similar coastal level would have had a touchdown as a true freshman at the shoe right and you're like okay i'm not saying he's going to be colston but i think

he's going to be a guy that will you know probably have 25 to 30 catches next year and then set himself up for a strong junior season. But then in the portal, Michigan is after Max Clair from Purdue, who I would say was one of their two or three best players. Not a great team. He's the number one tight end, though, in the portal. Yeah. Yeah, he put up 51 catches for almost 700 yards before touchdowns last year um he originally amazing yeah so i think he visited texas texas a&m and then he had originally

committed to purdue under jeff braum and so he visited louisville he's also visited michigan i believe i don't know exactly when um i want to say with this week he visited uh i think michigan gives him a lot to think about as far as their production with tight ends over the last number of years the guys they have put into the nfl you think about colson level is going to be a first round pick this year luke schumacher has been playing a lot with the dallas cowboys eric all i know transferred to iowa but before he got hurt he was playing really well with the bengals that's another guy that michigan points you and say hey we developed him um you know the Bengals. That's another guy that Michigan can point to and say, hey, we developed him. You know, there's a lot of guys that you can point to in the NFL, you know,

since Jim Harbaugh has been with Michigan. And Sharan Lork obviously comes from that coaching tree, and that's not going away, right? Like, look at what Colson was for this offense in 2024. He was the most pivotal piece by far. And with the – I i mean the thing is for colston with with a competent quarterback and and just passing game he is by far the most dominant tight end in the country right tyler warren was great for penn state colston loveland was so much better in terms of being a dynamic receiver slash tight end right so there's a reason i can guarantee you that

uh colston loveland goes higher than tyler warren in the in the draft um yes he's also can you imagine colson loveland as a fifth year senior playing yeah oh my god like that discourse was really annoying like okay like colson loveland is far and away better he's far and away better like if put colson loveland on that penn state team with drew allard is like i mean it's not yeah it's not even close colson loveland's still i think only 20 years old like yes chill anyways uh all right so and then on the offensive line uh we brought in bradyorton from FCS Cal Poly. So, I mean, I think FCS guys can be pretty hit or miss if they're ready. But he was, it sounds like, the best offensive lineman in the entire FCS last year.

Yeah. Huge kid. 6'4", 270 right now. I'm sure that he will bulk up even more. But interior O-lin lineman which we desperately need i think he can play tackle you think he can yeah i mean i you know he's got i've read that he has very long arms and so as a tackle those that's important if you're not six seven um if you if you're six five and you have long arms that's going to help you keep that defensive

lineman at a certain certain length right you're going to be able to it's just going to help you be a better pass pro guy um that's that's really what it comes that's why you always see taller guys at tackle positions because taller guys naturally you're going to have longer arms so if you are six foot four six foot five and you've got those longer arms you're going to be able to play tackle so but he's a guy that gives him a lot of flexibility i think he's 290 is what i saw 270 is pretty well i'm yeah i don't know i mean this is i'm on on three right now it says interior line 64270 but who knows can't trust on three all the time so no you can't um you know just ask this random podcast man uh but yeah he's a guy i a guy. I mean, Ohio State offered him, and then 12 hours later,

he was committed to Michigan. I love guys like that. Even though Brady Hart's going to be going to Texas A&M, still love his commitment when he's, like, visiting Ohio State and then commits, like, two hours later to Michigan. So, always appreciate guys that get an offer and then commit to Michigan to get an offer from Ohio State. But, yeah, very coveted guy.

He crossed out the L. Brady, we don't have to do that here uh it's okay i think it was a pretty funny shot at it it was yeah no it was especially because he probably talked to ryan day like 12 hours before then so um but no sometimes you know you're uh you know you're a michigan kid or you're an ohio state kid right that's what it comes down to uh as far as these recruits go so yeah uh i don't know who else josh thompson from northwestern i think michigan's in a really good position for from what i've read and i think if you do would you feel comfortable if they get brady norton and josh thompson are you comfortable with what we have in that room then with sprague and blakezier and hopefully Gio coming back?

I would say so. I believe I saw that Wake Forest – so I missed this, by the way, until I saw that Jake Dickert was hired to Wake Forest. I didn't realize Dave Clawson had stepped down. I saw that Wake Forest – I don't have his name in front of me, but I saw their center had entered the portal. I think if we could get a center, I would feel very good about Josh Thompson, Brady Norton, and a center.

And then you fill in the rest with a guy like Geo. You see what Evan Link – you know, how he progresses at right tackle. And obviously Sprague coming up, Blake Frazier coming up. Blake's a guy that we got to talk to at the Will Johnson toy drive. Pretty physically opposing kid for a true freshman right now. So, we'll see what another year of strength and conditioning does for him. But, yeah, I think if you were able to go and get a center. I know they were, you know, they had hosted a kid, Jordan White, from Liberty.

I believe he's going to Vandy. So, shout out to Vanderbilt. Shout out Clark Lee for getting that done. But if you get a center and Thompson I'd be feeling pretty good man I I agree I think that right now um you know I feel good about our defensive line I think you got to round out the offensive line and then I'll feel really good um what's where we're at because you do land Damon Payne after, I don't know, we talked about it at the beginning. A long day, weird day, who knows what really went down there. But you land him, and now you've got a rotation with Derek Moore coming back, TJ Guy coming back, Rayshon Benny.

You've got Damon Payne. You've got Eno Eta coming up, right? You've got Cam Brandt still there. So, like, I think our defensive line, you know, I don't know that you're going to have Kenneth Grant, Mason Graham, and Josiah Stewart, but you're reloading pretty damn well on that D-line. Yeah, and you think another year of, you know, Jay Sean potentially moving down the edge is interesting.

You think about, you know, they're going after Keyshawn Silver, who's a defensive tackle from Kentucky, who's a big-time fish out there in the portal right now. So I was like, Michigan's squarely in the mix for that one. I kind of assumed that they would probably drop out. He's going to be expensive. But this is a new Michigan. This is a new time.

I will say, like, it really is a new Michigan in terms of you went from Jim Harbaugh in 2023, like, refusing to even talk to a recruit if they're asking for money. Like, literally, like, would not even, like, all right, if you're even mentioning money on a recruiting visit, like, see ya. We pay our guys that are on our team that have earned it to now fast forward to the 2024 into 2025 off season it's like we're paying a lot of money to guys right like we are in the mix in terms of top offers around the country including our quarterback right so yeah i i mean i i do want to give credit to michigan the athletic department the collective chery Sherelle Moore, right, in terms of just, like, coming to the table and saying, all right, we're going to play ball, right? Why not?

So that's pretty great. And then, let's see, the Metcalfs. Yeah. So Tevis and TJ Metcalf, I think that's big for our secondary, right? Yeah, I think so. I mean, TJ is the one that's played more. Tevis, I believe, is the corner. TJ is the safety.

TJ had three picks last year. He had a forced fumble, had 56 tackles, played a lot for Arkansas. And again, you had guys like – you think about Jaron Mangum, who was injured in 2024. So he's coming back. You know, Brandon Hillman, I would assume, is coming back. So we'll see what Rod does. I think if Rod comes back,

it just changes the dynamic of what you can do defensively. I think Zeke Berry, just talk about the secondary, I think might have a future playing camp. Yeah. I mean, he was not great at the nickel spot, but at the outside corner spot i thought was awesome towards the end of the season we were very critical of zeke and he played his ass off man much more of a need at that spot i think right now so i think it actually would fit not only just

him playing better there but of what our need is um and to your point about rod moore coming back like that does change everything because he is the leader even while he was injured this year still was a huge leader for that defense right uh yeah you know he's essentially another coach on the sideline so i i think that having an old head like him uh which is weird to call him an old head now right i feel like just that you know it was just yesterday that he was just a young buff that was starting at safety as a sophomore for us so um but i think that if you add you know add the met caps in there i i don't know what jair hill is going to do uh

but hopefully you get hillman back hopefully you get zeke back um and you know i i think that our secondary can be much improved as well. Yeah, I mean, you've got Shamari Earls coming in. You've got Josiah Edmond from last year's class who was a late riser. I always like those kids that kind of shoot up the rankings towards the end of their senior year. I think that those guys typically have a higher hit rate than the guys who are just ranked as a sophomore

because they're highly athletic. So, you know, Josiah said that he wouldn't be shocked if shamari earl starts day one yeah i think he's a dog i mean i honestly am uh you know i think he's a stud so um yeah i think there's a lot that michigan's you know gonna gonna do still in the portal i know that they're after todd bull's son uh troy bulls who was at georgia uh was a big-time recruit that michigan was in on initially coming out of high school i believe they offered a linebacker from i want to say washington i don't have yeah from me i'm trying to like there's so there's information scattered so much i need to like there's there's something new coming up about yeah interested who's offered

like literally every every 20 minutes uh yeah they had uh let's see i've got it um where'd the uh well and then real quick we skipped over running back so justice haynes from alabama i believe i read is visiting this weekend he is it's kamori house who uh they're gonna offer he's like one of the higher ranked linebackers in the portal as well. They also need a linebacker if Jay Sean's moving to edge, right? Absolutely. I mean, Jimmy Rolder another year, you know, his career has been plagued by injuries. Unfortunately, I always liked him coming out of high school.

I thought his film was phenomenal. And as a freshman, I thought he popped. So maybe this is an opportunity for Jimmy to get in the lineup and make some plays. Cause I've always thought he has the ability. And then, so running back, Justice Haynes, and then Dante Dowdell from Nebraska. He entered the portal, returned to Nebraska, then reentered the portal, and I saw a bunch of Nebraska people saying that the reason he entered the portal again

was because of Michigan. So, I don't know. I think I would – he has had some fumble issues in nebraska um where he he's a really good running back but he'd have he'd fumble and then he'd sit and so um i think i would prefer justice haynes but again just another guy that has played a lot of football at running back to pair with jordan marshall and ben hall and whoever else i don't think is a bad idea at all i've been saying that for the last couple of months now i think i've sounded like a broken record on wanting a running back,

but I just think that you want somebody with some experience because Jordan Marshall didn't get a lot of playing time last year because of injury. I definitely agree. I think that – I mean, Justice Haynes would change the dynamic. I think he would come in and probably be the starter, right? And so, again, I think you're tearing a little bit of like the yours the dynamic i think he would come in and probably be the starter right um and so again i think you're tearing a little bit of like the yours in arch manning thing not that not to that degree

but like at some point you know jordan marshall and ben hall like you you have to give him some run right you have to yeah jordan marshall's top recruit so um and i think he will he's gonna bulk up even more than he already is uh and i i have a i i have a really good feeling that he's going to be a huge part of this offense um whether they get a running back or not yeah no absolutely i want to uh real quick because we talked about max claire from purdue i just saw that ohio state's getting there getting in that one um yeah if you're listening to the podcast uh well you should like it because it's hilarious to me uh they're leading tight end last year g scott had 16 catches for 150 yards and two

touchdowns uh their next leading tight end was two catches for 61 um hey these tight ends continue to go there hey max they're gonna throw it to jeremiah smith i'm just gonna let you know that well unless they're playing michigan i guess but uh that's a different story um let's just real quick colson loveland 56 catches 582 yards five touchdowns missed two games let's say you're gonna be literally the focal point of our offense or be the fifth option at ohio state what's what's better hey somebody get aj barner on the phone with this guy yes indiana could do maybe some familiarity you know literally uh i mean i'm not saying that michigan solely A.J. Barner an NFL tight end, but he doesn't become an NFL tight end

without the run that he had at Michigan. No, absolutely. So, yeah, I mean, Colson was – again, he missed two games, but he missed probably like three and a half because he was just like out at various times, like against Texas and Michigan. No, Northwestern was out at half so yeah uh dude come on why why are these tight ends going to ohio state ask what is jeremy rucker up to these days that's a throwback um so okay where where do you look to round out the portal talk and then we're

going to talk hoops in a second um where do you like are you thrilled with what michigan's doing in the portal are you indifferent are you disappointed what would you say i'm content with what they're doing at this point um i feel i want to see some more movement but i'm not freaking out either it's like some people are at the moment i think what they're doing they're being calculated i think sean mcgee has done a great job of making sure that they're not just blowing through their budget and like hey we we have what we're going to pay for particular guys and sticking to that um some folks unfortunately around the program have made it more difficult for michigan to kind of keep its cards close to their chest is what it is but i'm okay with michigan not over i'm not i'm okay with them

not paying uh seven figures for you know average quarterback so well especially i i think right now like you know do you want to pay one to two million for a qb that might not even be playing come down the stretch of your season i'd rather go spend that money on two to three more linemen that will change our offense complete absolutely no i'm 100 with you um i'd rather you know i'd rather find a guy that's going to be a bridge to bryce because i think bryce is going to play i think he's going to be starting like i i think i i agree with you i mean listen we've talked about this you have a three-year window with the number one quarterback in the country that is is physically ready i you know is he mentally ready i don't know that yet to play in the big 10 that's probably the biggest like leap

that he needs to make i imagine um and just decision making and learning and all that stuff but like you've gotta put him in as much as possible, in my opinion. You're spending way too much money to not do it. Yeah, I'm with you. I'm with you on that. Yeah, but I feel good. Again, you know, just going back to the schedule for next year, you know, they continue to make some moves.

I like what they've done so far. I think, you know, shoring up the defensive line, you know, helping the offensive line as well. I really like what they've done so far. And maybe not the splashiest of moves yet. That's okay. You don't need to be like, I don't know. I think some of these teams that are the splashiest

are overspending like crazy. And, you know, I think it's still, here's how I feel about the portal. Yes, you need to go get a lot of talent no doubt you need to get the right pieces too absolutely it doesn't miss you in 2023 it doesn't just mean hey we need to go get as many four and five stars as possible you need the the talented guys that fit what you're trying to do you know we talked to blake frazier about this at the toy drive and this video will come out here soon but talking about just how blake frazier is the type of guy that you want at michigan because he gets it right you need to still stick with that as your foundation of your program in 2024 and 2025 right that there are still going to be programs like

texas a&m like florida state that have tons of talent all over the place but they don't have an identity and they're just it's just a bunch of guys playing right and so like i think that you know for any of you fans out there that might be freaking out a bit like michigan is you know oregon's dominating the portal yes they are or you know you know whatever there are teams that out there that are dominating it sure and i mean we can be worried about oregon there's no doubt about that they're undefeated right now they're the best team in the country right but i'm my point being like you need to trust that sherelle moore is doing this in the right way um i do and i think that he's building a foundation because the culture is more important than anything and we've you know

again everyone has to think back to 2023 that's literally how we won a national title was by having the right guys in the right spot so that's where I'm at with this football program and still very excited at where we're going to be. So you want to talk about some hoops? I don't really want to, but let's do it. Let's do it. I mean, I think that speaking of trusting in a coaching staff, I still very much believe in Dusty May. I'm not freaking out because they have three losses by five total points.

I think disappointing and just like tough. I don't know if it's luck or just like not, you know, they're just not doing things down the stretch that need to be done. They're not consistent. Go ahead. They're not consistent. I mean, they've been up double digits in all three of their losses right they're up 25 13 against wake forest and then it just seems like a flip gets switched where michigan's playing great defense you know they're scoring at a good pace and then the other team just starts

hitting shot after shot after shot and it seems like michigan is frantic on defense they're jumping at every potential three-point shot right and they're they're they're just getting frantic um last night again i mean up 11 with under 10 minutes to go somehow lose that game it's just it's just frustrating my thing anytime that michigan's in a close game under three minutes danny wolf should have the ball no matter what. I don't need to see Roddy Gale have the ball. I don't need Trey to have the ball. Give it to Danny Wolf. Get it to Danny Wolf at the top and run the pick and roll with him and Vlad

because that's the go-to. Also, I think the frustration from myself last night, I was ready to punch a wall with Roddy Gale waving off Trey Donaldson, who Trey was playing phenomenal. Absolutely. Trey was not. I know Roddy got to the hoop and drew fouls all day, but he literally, like, didn't make a bucket.

So I think that's where, like, Dusty – and Dusty had a timeout at the end too. I think Dusty sometimes lets his guys play, which I like it. You know, times it's a good thing to have trust in your guys, but also to your point, like you got to call the timeout and say, Hey, we're getting the ball to Danny Wolf here. Right? Like that is you have to have the, you have to be adamant about that and make sure that you know exactly what's

going on and so i i'm hoping that dusty is is learning that or down this you know we're still really early it's december 19th you haven't even gotten into you know the real conference play yet um and uh i so i just i i think that they'll be fine down the stretch. I mean, Vlad has been playing unbelievable. He's that dog, man. Like, he is – it feels like the game has slowed down for him, which I'm pretty pumped about because early on it was like he'd get the ball and just throw it at the rim and was missing all those puppies. Now it feels like he's very under control.

And then Danny's being danny um you know i wished yesterday danny would have taken over a little bit more uh but people are gonna figure out danny right i think and so he's gonna have to you know keep being dynamic and and so i i still think that we're in a really good spot i think if if you told me like, hey, you're 10 and three or sorry, what are we? Eight and three with three losses by five points. If you told me that at the beginning of the year, like I'd be pretty pumped. Yeah, I just think it's the way that these losses have occurred where Michigan has a large lead and then starts to collapse. Unfortunate. Also, I don't know if I agreed with the and one on the three-point shot.

I think he kind of just flailed his body. Is that Jeremy Fier's brother? Yeah. Jeez. Okay. How did he end up at Oklahoma? I have no idea. I'm glad that he's not at Michigan State. Yeah, that kid's a stud, but he was an and-one merchant.

I mean, dude, some of these foul calls, he never got touched. It was absurd. I also saw Steve Lorenzo on Twitter last night talking about the people who were like, well, he should have played better if you didn't want it to come down to a call. So stupid, man. Nobody played perfect. Oklahoma didn't play perfect.

Oklahoma didn't deserve to win it any more than Michigan did. So to call that and then man on that last tray shot uh vlad gets assaulted what are we doing we're just not gonna call we're just swallow our whistle but we're gonna call it like that's not a call that's not a foul that you should ever call with under 10 seconds left on that three-pointer in my opinion yeah and so we're just gonna swallow the whistle unless it's like super egregious which i didn't think you know upon the replay bear he might have hit his arm a little bit but in real time there's no way that you're seeing the best i thought the uh i thought the the push

on vlad was much more of a flagrant one than will cheddars was also the one where ruben jones got swiped across his face that's not a basketball play we're not going to review that i just thought it was awful last night with the officiating could michigan play better absolutely every team can play better i hate that that that conversation of like well if you didn't want it to come down to the refs shut up dude it's a terrible take like i agree with you i mean i think college basketball officiating is is the like we're at least consistent officiating across the sports right like you get it you get a crew and they call it differently every single night um that's the that's the problem though it's the same crew in the same game and we're

gonna call that on will yet the dude from oklahoma like you can clearly tell he meant to swipe his arm up across Reuben Jones' face. What are we doing? We're not going to review that? That's such a swinging point in a game that's so close at that point. So, yeah, I just hated to see it come down to that. Regardless of that, though, Michigan should be 11-1. Regardless of that, Michigan should be 11-1. 11-0, excuse me.

Honestly, 11-0, yes, they should be. All three are winnable games, and you should have won them. I think ultimately last night, though, you are not going to go four for 28 from three and win many games at all. No, the fact that the three wasn't falling and they were able to get into the paint I thought was a good sign. Would have been a lot better to get a win and say that good sign though like to your point it's a good sign because that means like even if we have an off shooting night we're not just dead in the water absolutely they can find different ways to be in games i wish they

would have won it so we could say they find different ways to win but yeah to your point you know 428 i mean dude dude we just gotta you gotta have better guard play man right like i mean i i think trey you know trey played bet probably his best game i think you're close to it so far uh last night so that was encouraging um but the reality is that you know trey donaldson's one for six from three roddy gill's oh for five from three uh cheddar was over one sam walters one for six you know i think that like if sam walters if you're not hitting your threes like what are you doing for us right now unfortunately you know i like him i think he can be good but without him without him hitting his threes it's like he's not great

on defense and he doesn't go inside the three-point line yeah um and then uh i mean namari oh for five from three like i we just gotta have better better shooting you know yeah i think what michigan's really missing right now, like there's one thing missing from making this team like a complete Final Four team is a dominant guard. You don't have anybody right now from the guard position that can go down and take over at the end of a game. Hey, man, you know, it's frustrating too. it just seems like a lot of times that michigan will

you know they want to push the tempo they want to be fast and i get that but they'll be you know one and done on on 26 seconds left on the shot clock it's like it was a point yeah you just gave it away a possession like i hate that kind of stuff also turnovers were not as big of an issue last that they were big and critical I was going to say they were great for the first 30 minutes, honestly. That's the theme. They're great for the first 30 minutes, and then they collapse, and it doesn't make any sense. I don't understand.

I just have a question. When will the turnovers be addressed? Because I have no problem with, hey, Denny Wolf's trying to thread the needle, make a crazy pass on a backdoor cut, and it gets tipped out. Hey, man, so be it. But this shit where they're at the top of the the half court in the corner making a lazy pass is bullshit it's it's it's especially down the stretch man like you like if that happens i guess in like the first little bit of a game and you're like just getting into rhythm but like if you can't take care of the ball down the stretch

when it's in a critical possession i think that's where like i imagine dusty may is like come on you know so man yeah i i think it is it's frustrating it's like a frustrating and encouraging game at the same time right because it is you're encouraged that even when you don't shoot well you can still play hard against a now 11 and 0 team like almost really good um right they're one of the last four remaining uh undefeated teams um but at the same time it's like at some point you got to win these close games right so um i mean they according to espn's win probability uh analytics they had an 84 chance to win when they got that offensive rebound with like 38 seconds left up three so it's just the other thing i mean talking about the three point like literally you can't

foul like that is there's one thing you cannot do there and it's foul on a three-point play if you're gonna foul foul before make them shoot free throws extend the game that other thing too is why like if you're up three there why not foul it's a good question man um i don't know uh there's you know some things that need to be sorted out with with this team so uh yeah it's just really unfortunate this should be a team that's at the very worst 10 and 1 uh it's not 11 and 0 um but again you know against uh iowa they had the same issue where michigan's out to a big lead and then they you know are letting letting teams back into games even though they won that one so i just they gotta nip this in the butt man they gotta find a way to step on team's throw

like you tweeted the other night. Yeah, that was my big thing is they let teams hang around, right? So they get a lead. They get a 10-point lead or whatever. They go on a run, and then they let off the gas instead of just – like they need to step on a team's throat. And so I don't know. I think that, to be honest like i love danny

and and blad and i think that they're they have a killer attitude and killer mentality you need a guard that had like the guy who's bringing the ball up needs to be able to have that killer mentality i don't know that we have that yeah so i'm hoping that you know I'm hoping that somebody grows into that role you know I honestly I know LJ Kaysan didn't play last night I believe he's he's banged up but he's a guy I think as a as a true freshman and Pippen as a true freshman like at some point you might have to say let's see what these guys have with some extended minutes, and maybe they can grow into that role. So it's something to think about. Yeah.

So, by the way, let's see. I just – This is a great podcast. This is a great podcast. What the heck? We're still going. Well, shout-out to Sun Cru sun cruiser truly and there you go north peak brewing hail ipa get your hail ipa sold locally i don't know all the stores that sold out i know it i've seen it at total one i've seen it at kroger i think i've seen it at

meyer i believe i hope i'm not saying the wrong stores here justin but no you are you're saying you know sometimes an ipa something hoppy in the winter, you know, pairs beautifully with the crappy weather we've been having lately. So, you know, just go out there, get you some of those. Well, P. Nacos just put out a thing of predicting where Justice Haynes is going to go. So I was hoping that he said Michigan and then we could be really happy about it. He said South Carolina. See, I saw that that last night he hasn't even visited michigan so unless he cancels the michigan visit i i don't think it's he does say confidence level low on on that prediction so i think dude i i mean we could get into this i it's great bro my my thing so my thing

and just knowing some folks that know some folks um you know that are in this kind of this this part of the media um like it seems like these guys just get confirmation on from one source who is the agent who has the ability to go and get his client more money through getting news and rumors out there through official outlets, like on three, right? Yes.

I look, when it comes to journalism, what you were supposed to do, what is taught. And I didn't go to school for journalism, but we're not big J journalists. So no, but I've,

you know, I've, I've done some, some journalistic type things in my life, uh, with, with us, with BlueBinID, with other outlets and different sectors of sports. You're supposed to get two separate sources on different sides of the house.

So that way you're not getting echo chamber confirmation from, let's just say if there was news and you talked to two people within the Michigan Athletic Department, they're hearing the same thing. So you're just confirming the same thing twice through people that have got it from somewhere within the athletic department, right? You're supposed to go and get it from two separate sources. Yes. That are completely not.

I think my guess is that the portal moves so quickly right now that these guys are just going with their one source and putting it out um because they don't have time to like really do the digging uh and that's what's causing you know that i i don't know what the damon payne situation was it sounds like that was actually not on three's fault it was i know i don't think it was on three or two four seven's fault and two four seven is not you know uh free of this either they do probably similar things but i think damon payne's thing was um you know it goes to the portal database and people have access to it and they saw damon payne's side of michigan so we reported it and he didn't want it out yet yeah i think that's what it was so i think that um just in general though i think you you're seeing more insiders be wrong about things because everything moves so quickly.

Kids change their minds like last second. You know, teams come in with a with a bag drop offer at the last second and it changes everybody's minds. So that's the I mean, that's the Billy Edwards thing, right? Like he's Michiganigan's michigan's michigan's until i don't know what happens but you know wisconsin comes in and grabs him at the last second and now the insiders crystal balls are wrong right so well they're not wrong because they flip them at the last second um sorry but that's not my that's not necessarily my problem because i know kids change their mind all the time but i just yeah like there's a lot of folks

in this industry that will jump the gun to be first doesn't always pay to be first it pays to be accurate um so right now though unfortunately the way that like a lot of things go it does pay to be first because you get the clicks and then people and people don't even know that it was wrong or that it changed or that there was a correction made and they just assume that whatever this yeah that's a whole another conversation that we could probably have about just the state of journalism and media in today's world where there's a lot of folks out there that don't give a shit and do a bad job and don't care and mislead people so um you know it is what it is man the lamestream media justin now we really are old men just no i don't think that i don't i don't think that. I just think there are some people out there that will do a great job

and don't really give a shit. So it is what it is. But, hey, man, it's almost Christmas. Happy holidays. Can I say that? Can we say Christmas? What? Can I say Christmas?

You can say Christmas. Happy holidays. Happy holidays. Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah. Yep. Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa.

All of it. Whatever you celebrate, man. Enjoy it with your family, with your friends. Have some hell IPAs at Christmas. Deal with your family members you don't like or in-laws or whatever. I think next week, maybe early next week, we do a Christmas-themed type pod. What do you think? Let's get the OG boys on.

Let's make them get on. When's the last time these guys have been on, the way it's been it's been a long time yeah and let's all crack a drink we'll crack a hail ipa or truly or some eggnog let's do it in the moose cup yeah from from christmas vacation by the way go to pretzel bell check out the christmas vacation downstairs it's super cool um you can get one of those souvenir moose uh cups like from cousin eddie in christmas vacation uh and very fun to have the movie on on like seven different tvs great time go check out pretzel bell and but yeah dude i'm super down get into getting the holidays i'll be gone this weekend but we'll link up and do it. Get in the Christmas spirit.

Absolutely. Let's get some Elby sweaters. Don't be a curmudgeon. Yeah. Don't be a Grinch. Yeah. We were watching Scrooge McDuck this morning with Emery. It was awesome.

I love him. It was just, you know, puts you in the Christmas spirit. Just reminds you what's important out there. 15 basketball, by the way, does play at home this summer. Yeah, I'm going, we're going, it's Emory's first Michigan sporting event.

Very excited. So we'll be going to see the Dons. IPFW, shout out the Macedons, maybe, but we got to get this done. Got to get over eight wins.

We were at eight wins last year. Got to get over it. Just PFW, correct? Yeah, I know. I just,

old habits die hard. You're sticking with it. All right, for us, you can follow us at Blue by 90 on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, at Blue by 90 Podcast on YouTube and blueby90.com. We appreciate you. Go Blue. Go Blue.