Blue By Ninety - On3’s Clayton Sayfie joins | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Commit, Bryce Underwood, and more

Episode Date: August 21, 2025

Justin and Tanner are joined by On3 and The Wolverine’s Clayton Sayfie to talk Savion Hiter, Bryce Underwood’s fall camp, and more.

All right. Welcome back to Blueby 90. I'm Justin, joined by Tanner today. And we've got a special guest from on three. Clayton Safety, Clayton, good friend of the podcast. I mean, this is what multiple times on the pod now might have to start putting you on payroll. But I appreciate you coming on. Shout out to Feldman Chevrolet as we get this thing going. You know, we talk about Bryce Underwood all the time. Feldman hooked up Bryce Underwood. I don't know if you. you've seen there they do have a little commercial spot they're going to be out at our tailgate too so i want to give them a quick shout out for being great partners for us and for a bunch of these guys the athletes taking care of them but uh clayton appreciate you coming on man um we are 10 days till kickoff seek berry days till kickoff here um so excited i think this is like we got through the hammer stuff we got through now we you know we'll talk about Sabian Hudders commitment. I think we're just ready to get to football right now.

Yeah, we're also Tom Brady days to kick off. Tom Brady at Michigan. And yeah, probably a good amount of other good players. But thanks for having me. We just chopped it up for 30 minutes off, off recording. I think there were a lot of interesting topics covered that people would be interested in. It's too bad that, you know. They'd want to be a fly on the wall for that conversation.

Yeah. For sure. for sure no it's great it's great to be here you guys are the best and yeah the feldman um we were just talking about it too the the feldman event with bryce underwood and a bunch of guys and you guys did your show from there that was awesome so uh feldman is a great place i can vouch for them for sure there you go yeah you were there you saw the guys why don't we start there actually um that was you know a month ago now or whatever um but you were there for our signing event at Feldman Chevrolet of Highland.

And what is your take? I mean, this is something that, like, obviously you go, you know, to the press conferences, you see some of these guys. Just, I want you to give your idea, because I try to tell people, when you see these guys up close, when you're looking at a Marlon Klein and a Donovan McCulley and a Bryce Underwood and some of these guys, and you're like, okay, they're football players. give us your take on just like when you see up and close these guys you know even without their their pads on you know what are your thoughts they got aura especially

Bryce Underwood we were just talking about that too and I think um yeah Marlon Klein's huge Donovan McCulley Marlon Klein they're similar height yeah as well but Donovan McCulley obviously looks like a great athlete you can tell he was a great basketball player and in high school and that obviously helps him out. But yeah, and Bryce Underwood, it's funny. He did his official visit photos back in November of last year, I think at the Northwestern game or that week or maybe early the next week or whatever it was.

He looks completely different, like in a good way from those photos when you see him now, having been around him a couple times, including at that event. And then at the Champion Circle golf outing. And it's not what Ohio State fans are. we're hoping right that he's fat um he laughed about that when we had him on our show he said that the craziest thing he's seen about himself online is that he's fat but um he's jacked he's massive he could play other positions other than quarterback if you really wanted him to but he's got a hell of an arm he's really fast he's really athletic and he's a hell of a quarterback so let me ask you

real quick on that um i've made this comparison a couple times which i i think it's natural i i kind of hate myself even for doing a bit, but comparing Bryce to JJ, right? Like he's, you know, JJ's the last great quarterback, obviously, you know, for Michigan won the national title. So Davis beat Ohio State, so. Yeah, true. Davis did beat Ohio State. So he's four and oh, he's four and oh, hasn't lost and doesn't plan to.

But, you know, I talk about how JJ, when he came in as basically the same age as Bryce did, right he was young you know didn't you know was coming in it he was a baby j j j didn't have a single whisker of facial hair like noodle arm noodle body like zero muscle on him bryce is very different than that bryce is like it it is weird yeah and j j j i think the hair is similar but that's about it he's gotten a lot bigger his face he looks like more like an adult he's about to get married he's about to have a kid so he's much more of an adult than me um but yeah you look at bryce who has bulked up since he's gotten here already but was already big and physically developed physically mature for a guy who just turned 18 yesterday as we record right now um so it is just

kind of a different world i mean i guess it's a difference between the weird thing is too so jj was what the number 30 or 40 recruit in the country something like that and you could argue he played his way into being if you look back higher than that ends up being the number 10 pick in the draft bryce at number one then you're comparing him with other number ones across other classes and if he's Trevor Lawrence or something like that um then you know you're talking about potentially a really good season a really good team right away um so that's kind of exciting so him coming in and it's like it's hard to know what to expect because you have not been in this spot before um i think people talk about drew henson when he came in at similar excitement probably

more for bryce given that they needed him like think of what this would be if they didn't get bryce underwood last november which they easily couldn't have right i mean he was committed to ls u for 10 11 months but um i'm just excited to see what he looks like game one maybe especially game two um i mean he's just I think he's really good. I saw him as a freshman. He threw seven touchdown passes. I saw him at a camp in eighth grade. He looked bigger, faster, stronger than everyone else out there.

This is a special talent. So it's going to be a fun three years, but you hope it's fun from day one, I think. Yeah, I mean, freshman quarterbacks. You mentioned Trevor Lawrence, probably the best example of a guy coming in and didn't start immediately. That was when I believe Kelly Bryant started the first few games for them. And then Trevor Lawrence took over and just, I think, had really good stats. And obviously they blew Alabama in the national championship.

So real quick on that, Tanner. I just, this is a total tangent. But I remember one of the more insane things ever in college football is people after that freshman year telling, saying that Trevor Lawrence should sit out for two years until the draft. You know we're going to get that with Jeremiah Smith next year. Oh, for sure. People love to have that take that don't love. college football, right?

Yeah, and we've seen, I mean, we've seen an Ohio state player challenge the eligibility rules for the NFL and being able to go after your sophomore year. We've seen it from, I believe, Mike Williams at USC wanted to do that in Sadd out of his junior years. So it feels like something that there are rarely guys like Jeremiah Smith who could have played the NFL last year as a true freshman. That doesn't happen very often. So I think the three-year rule makes a lot of sense.

Can I get ahead of something real quick? Sorry, we keep on you off. Bryce should sit out. Bryce Underwood should sit out as sophomore and junior year. Hey, he goes undefeated and wins a national championship with him as a freshman night, you know? I think actually, let's go one step further. He should just sit out now.

He should just not play just. Right. He's proven enough in fall camp. Well, and honestly, as we see with Anthony Richardson in the NFL, throwing a lot of, you know, having a lot of snaps in college doesn't mean that much, you know. Yeah. You know, you just go in there with 200 for your snaps. you get beat up by Danny Jones.

Danny Dyes. I think, yeah, save yourself. Don't get hurt. You know, you, yeah, you've proven it all to go number one in, what is that, 2028, right? And you're good to go. Yeah, you don't need to play football. I like that, Clayton.

But I think we talked about this pre-show, Clayton. These guys, especially at quarterback, come into college, and they've had personal trainers, quarterback coaches. they've been, you know, going to camps and seven-on-sevons all summer and they've been playing year-round since they were at middle school. So, and I think the other thing that we've heard too, and we continue to hear this, but, you know, a few months ago earlier this spring, we had Derek Moore on the show who I think is going to have a phenomenal year for Michigan. I think he's going to be an all-American type player. But one thing he mentioned was Bryce was in

his lifting group this winter and earned their respect immediately. So I think, when you talk about the talent, obviously the kid just oozes confidence. You just kind of see it. I guess that's what aura means, according to the kids nowadays, but that quiet confidence. And, you know, Derek kind of,

some of the guys mentioned that we've talked to that he doesn't really talk trash on the field. He just kind of lets his play do the talking. So I just think with all of that, like just the total package in terms of he works hard. He earns it. He's earned the team's respect. He gave him some beats yesterday on Tuesday.

and, you know, I think it's just, he's done all the right things since arriving on campus. This could have gone a lot of different ways with a different type of kid, but the way he was raised, the way he is, I think it's gone about as perfectly as you could hope, you know, off the field coming into the season, and now it's just, hey, can it be put together pretty quickly? Because we know, sophomore junior, we have an idea of what to maybe expect in terms of, you know, the lights click for JJ as well. And a question for you there, Clayton, to Tanner's point, is like, how important or how big of a deal is it that Bryce Underwood has already earned that respect from his teammates as, you know, a very young guy who's only been, you know, in Shembeckler Hall for nine months, eight months at this point, right? And are you surprised at that at all?

Is that something like, because I do think that that's something that you can. have all the talent in the world but you know if you don't have that you know it doesn't all work yeah it just feels like every step of the way he's like to tanner's point he's made the right move and it it's probably somewhat calculated it's also probably just the way he's wired like he does you know for a guy who could really do anything i mean i don't know how much money's actually in his bank account right now but um and then obviously more coming and he could kind of show up and go through the motions and go to practice and then do whatever after that and drive around and whatever car and i mean the things you hear about him is that he's at glick field

house at 10 p.m he's there at 11 p.m i think sharon more has mentioned he's had he's been home and had to call bryce and say go home and you know those always seem like the cliche or maybe even like made up stories when you hear around college football but i think it's the truth with brys underwood from everything that we've heard and the receivers talking about how eager he is to throw with them all summer. I mean, he hasn't been named the starter yet. He'll be named the starter on Monday, I predict, unless, you know, something crazy happens. But the players have known. I think the players know that he's that guy. They've known since summer, maybe spring, whatever it was. I think Davis Warren last December before the bowl game, you know, Bryce had come in for bowl practices,

said you can already tell why he was the number one recruit that was talent-wise but the guys have talked about how his voice has grown and grown and grown throughout the offseason and it felt like like the offense last year when they broke camp and they came into the year and they were playing fresno and they were playing texas it didn't feel like that was an offense and there wasn't a lot of talent other than loveland but it just felt like they were an offense that didn't really have any sort of edge or any sort of leader or any sort of identity mullings carried them on their back for a few games, luckily, you know, a couple weeks later. But this year, I just feel like they at least know a few things they can hang their hat on. One of them is that

they have a quarterback with that type of swagger, that type of confidence. He's a leader already. So I think it's huge. You know, I think it's massive. And it gives you a shot because you have a great defense and a great kicker to win a big game in week two. And then then you start picking up steam and this thing could get really fun. Well, and I think, you know, you You talk about last year, how much of a difference do you think it makes when I think it probably makes a pretty big difference. But, you know, all fall camp last year, what was the word, Alex Orgy? Literally, it was like two days before the first game.

Yeah. Davis Warren. Now you know, reading into it that it's going to be brought. Like, how much of a difference does that make on just the team psyche, just the confidence to know, like, hey, there wasn't some last minute switch up here. This has been the guy the moment he stepped on campus. Well, but. Watch out for a boy Davis.

Don't let me get healthy. I'd be shocked. I'd be shocked. Yeah. I mean, I think it's huge. Like, I've talked about this at the time. I think it was after Texas or Fresno State kind of the point I was just making. I felt like that was a team that had just finished their first week or two of fall camp.

Like, they were not ready for the season. And it was mostly the offense's fall. The defense against Texas got exploited, but they were. were gas because they didn't get a first down until I think like the second quarter or whatever it was. It just wasn't an offense that was ready to play the season yet. And then and also there, sorry to cut you off a left finish, but just a point there was like that was Sharon's first fall camp too, right? He was thrown into the mix. I think a lot of people forget like because Sharon's been a part of the program for so long, like he didn't even know he was the head coach until like, I don't know,

January, right? Like February? Yeah. When you look back at, and I know it takes forever for them to get through the system, but I was Googling this a couple weeks ago to figure out write in an article about how big it is that Wink Martindale's back. And he was officially hired on like March 1 or 2. That's great.

He didn't, I mean, he was there for a couple weeks before that because you got to go through the official process and all this stuff and you can still kind of get to work. I remember he was at a basketball game. in February, but, like, he didn't probably know anyone's names at that point. This year, to your point about all of the entire staff pretty much being back, except for a new offensive coordinator who got here in December, three months, four months earlier than some of those other assistant coaches. Lou Esposito got there in the middle of Springball.

He didn't know who any of those guys were. He'd watch them on TV. And apparently he just started yelling at him right away. Use your hands and all this stuff. And that's how Lou is. And he's done a great job. but they're all back they don't have to learn anyone's names anymore they know what works wink martindale is more comfortable in college football i think the players are more comfortable with him the offensive side of the ball you have more talent better quarterback probably a better coordinator hopefully an improved offensive line better receiving course so you feel better about that so i think year too and charon more kind of understands you know he figured out at the end of last year how to win games with one arm tied behind their back basically no offense you're kind of running out the clock for 120 minutes against Ohio State and Alabama and you still won now that they can

have a confident of that's that's a hilarious way to put it of like you score one time and you're like all right how long can we milk this thing like it's it's those like high school basketball games with no shot clock and they just sit at the half court line like that was yeah no I've I've been to some of those games. Hudsonville, Muskegon, were you at that game several years ago in overtime? They just stood at half court. Yeah, it was terrible.

And was that, yeah, I forget the kid that went to Michigan State was there, but you're totally right. They get Ohio State, right? They get a short field. They start on like the four after Amir Hall's interception. It takes some four downs, barely score, the only touchdown

of the game. And then they just had to play defense the rest of the way and control the clock. offense control the clock. They were able to figure out a formula last year. And now I think the offense will at least be solid, okay, with higher upside than that. And that could go a long way. Now, the defense has to be really good as well, but probably not as good because you're going to have a good offense.

So we're going to, you know, last year was a test in, okay, how good can you actually be if you don't have an offense or a quarterback that's very good? Like we always talk about it when you have a good quarterback. It's like, oh, what a difference this is. and look at JJ, and it's like, you don't really see it on the other end of that very often. So in that sense, it was a nice scientific study that I think we're all glad is over with. And now we can see, you know, complimentary football and all those buzzwords that actually do make a difference. Turns out it does help.

Well, real quick, Clayton, we talked about, you know, running out the clock. I mean, fourth quarter against the Ohio State of Buckeyes and Michigan held the ball for 13 minutes and three seconds. out of the 15 minutes in the fourth quarter 101 yards to 10 yards advantage so it worked yeah well it did and and you have to credit the offense for that absolutely they know like i'm not ragging on as yeah as much as like obviously we all know and i think they would admit that they struggled last year right like that was like the most superman performance by colal mollings and you've got to give that offensive line a ton of credit for who struggled all year right like let's be honest they

were not that 2023 or 22 or 21 offensive line. They had new guys in there. You know, Evan Lank struggled, and so they, but they put on literally like, all right, let's go play one quarter of unbelievable football when it matters the most and they did it. And, okay, speaking of the offensive line, I think that, you know, we have all talked about Bryce Underwood. We've talked about the defense being unbelievable.

We've talked about Donovan McCulley and Fred. and Marlon Klein and how those guys are so important and we're excited to see them. The biggest X factor, in my opinion, to this season of it being an 8 and 4 team versus a 10 and 2 versus 11 and 1 is this offensive line. And I think that you look at what they brought back from last year in GEO and Evan Link and Crippen and then what they added.

What are your thoughts on the O line? How good do you expect them to be? how good, like, what's the floor ceiling situation for the O-line? Yeah, I think, I don't think the floor is that high, but I do think it's going to be better. Like, I could see a situation where it's not very good again. I'm kind of in believe it when I see it or not, not believe it when I see it mode, but wait and see mode at least. Because it's just tough to say, right?

It sounds like they're more optimistic about the offensive line this year. I mean, then, but they were optimistic last year. that it didn't really work out. So I want to see it. But I think it'll be better. I think that the interior of the line could be pretty darn good, especially if Greg Crippen, you know, kind of plays at a higher level and uses the year of experience. And Giovanni Al-Hadi last year, he didn't play very well. He's bulked up. I think that helps. I feel like they were kind of small last year, some of those guys. And, you know, for as much as we said going into last year, oh, well, he started a couple games in 2022 and whatever.

He didn't really have full-time experience. So having that under his belt is big. Andrew Sprague at right tackle, I think in time is going to be really, really good. Evan Link is more comfortable at left tackle. He played there in high school. He played there in the bowl game, seemed to perform better than he did in the regular season at right tackle. At the same time, it's still a concerning spot. Like, I've talked about this before, but, you know, JJ did not get great tackle play in

23 but the best thing was that the right tackle who was giving up a lot of the pressures but he could see that he would almost expect it and then he would kind of step up or he'd get around the guy who gets free and those were some of their more explosive plays him and roman wilson on those scramble drills were incredible sometimes it was colston loveland or canelius johnson who just standing like inches away from you know being out of bounds and would would make a huge catch so um the blind side is different, but at the same time, Bryce is a hell of an athlete. He's more athletic than JJ wasn't. JJ's a great athlete. So he's going to be able to erase some mistakes. I just hope that there aren't so many of those where all he's doing is running around, dodging guys and taking a

big sack or making a big play and they kind of negate each other. And you're like, okay, there's not a ton of rhythm. So it's not all on him. It's not all on the past protection. They got to get themselves in good positions by, you know, being able to run the ball on early downs and things like that. But yeah, I'm, it's a number one question mark on this team, you know, because if you can have a good run game, lean on those guys, wear teams down, protect good enough for Bryce Underwood. I mean, then, then the offense should be good, really good. There's no reason why they wouldn't be. Yeah, I mean, I think you go back to last year and it, it, it, I like to remind people, I think we all saw it with our eyes and felt it,

but like the passing game was literally the worst in the NCAA, right? It wasn't like, hey, this is, you know, you go from one of the best, most efficient offenses, you know, it's not the most explosive offense in 23, but one of the most efficient to literally the worst. It wasn't like, hey, we regress back to average. And so. Right. You usually, yeah, to see that big of a regression.

is incredible. Unheard of. Yeah. Well, and here's the thing, too. That's a great, like, it's a great thing to bring up because I think that the fact that they do have a threat to use all parts of the field, like deep ball, you know, even the easy passes that they just didn't find or, you know,

somebody was open in the flat and they never got to that read or whatever it was. Last year that would have made things just so much easier on themselves. Yes. The fact that, I mean, there was a game. game or two and I remember charting it after one of the games last year they ran on like they know they might have like 19 first down plays they ran on 18 of them I mean they were just so predictable because they couldn't do much right that teams were just they would know what they're doing and run blitz at them and make life miserable for colal mullings he kind of had that

lull in the middle of the year because they just had no juice no explosiveness having you He was beat up because he ran it a thousand times. Yeah, he had to be beat up. And so all those things, like the fact that you're going to have a threat of, you know, doing a bunch of different things is going to open things up for everybody and help the offensive line out because, you know, when you're the old line and the other team kind of configure that, hey, we can sell out here to stop the run because there's no threat of anything else.

I mean, that's a lot on the offensive line's plate. So that should help those guys out, too. Well, surely with, you know, Cole Mollings kind of taking a beating last year Like in a third and six situation late in the game When you can't throw the football, you know, maybe you get to stop You would think, you know, defensively a team would be able to get a stop When he's, you know, hit the backfield, I don't know,

just a hypothetical that I'm throwing out there. He was in the, yeah, let's hypothetically he was in the injury tent earlier in the game and got hurt on that play. And still. Yeah, I don't know. Hypothetically, you know, Captain Owen IV was just bitched on the ground by Max reticent again i'm just talking here i don't know hypothetically it's like the most important game ever to them and you know not anymore not anymore hypothetically that game devalued yeah doesn't matter anymore

um you know now it's uh you know i still i still saw our guy mr ohio on twitter who i actually respect and like he's a he seems like a good dude and not a psychopath um but he was even saying like He'll take this year losing to Michigan for another natty. And I'm just like, you know, sure, we don't have to think about those things, you know, because we don't lose to Ohio State. So when we win our natties, we beat them. I mean, it was like the last time they lost to Ohio State, it wasn't it like black and white picture on the TV or whatever yet?

Well, I might have still had 4K, but I want to get my facts get the way of a good story. No, honestly, like, obviously one in the national championships. That was pretty sick. I just know myself, I know that that stings for them. Oh. That they didn't meet Michigan, that they didn't win the Big Ten, that they didn't go and defeat it. I know that because that would bother me.

Like, yeah, it's a national championship, cool. But, like, the reason college football is great, like, when I was a kid, yeah, you had the BCS, but, like, BCS bowls were still important. Like, when Michigan beat Virginia attack when I was in high school, like, that was a big moment for Brady Hoke and for Michigan. And so, like, college football wasn't just built on winning or national championship or not. It was built on the rivalries, winning your conference.

It's more of a regional thing. Now obviously we've expanded and now the big Tony Petiti wants to do 24, 28 teams. What are we doing? What's happened to the game out? We're going to have fringe top 25 teams in the playoff. It's, I mean, this is. We made the playoff last year. It's as bad as like, I mean, college basketball, which I love, you know, is getting to

that point where we've had losing records. make the tournament right like you know that is that is not okay that's not how sports should go right um and so i agree with you um all right real quick also uh so transitioning um i threw out yesterday the um the dave fortnoy middle finger picture um to the crowd that's not that um and i think that This is something that I just want to touch on a little bit of, you know, everybody from our rivals to just, you know, a lot of people that were against Michigan over the past 24 months at this point, right, almost, you know, thought that the hammer was coming, talked about the hammer coming, talked about how we were going to vacate the

wins, talked about how recruiting and every recruit was going to bolt and every guy was going to hit the portal as soon as all this stuff came down, you know, Bryce in particular was going to all this stuff. Well, we have a 48-hour stretch in the, you know, the past couple days here where you don't get the hammer and then Savion-Hider, or I guess it's more than 48 hours, but Michigan doesn't get the hammer like they talked about the hammer coming. Sabian-Hider, five-star, number one running back in the nation commits. and the haters are more furious than ever. Clayton, want to get your take on just like where,

like that all coming to fruition now and we're, we haven't even played football yet, right? We're 10 days out from football. So the momentum that Michigan has, despite all of these rumblings and rumors and people trying to, you know, drag their name through the mud, where is Michigan at in terms of recruiting momentum, football momentum, all that right now.

I think those people on social media that their lives have been consumed by the hammer potentially coming down. Kind of figured out, at least, you know, partly the Savion-Hider commitment that it's just like they're in their own world and the people who are making their life choices, you know, based on what Michigan's program is

and comparing it to other programs and, you know, whatever, don't really care about that, aren't really affected by it um you know obviously the two have nothing to do with each other but yeah it just shows that like michigan's just going to continue that momentum they've had an incredible stretch of recruiting in the summer their class is almost wrapped up i'm sure there'll be some late you know last minute flips each way or whatever and you know the way it worked last year michigan benefited from those so that you know there's still some more to come but um yeah i think you got an unbelievable talent at running back and i saw

Steve Wilfong from rivals said yesterday that Michigan may have gotten the best recruit in the country in this class. He's ranked number eight. He's the number one running back, but you can't, you know, apparently they don't rank running backs number one based on positional value, whatever. They kind of go off the draft. So you may have gotten the best player in the class two years in a row. That backfield for years to come. And I don't want to forget either about Jordan Marshall is already there. I mean, Jasper Parker is there. I guess he's showing out in fall camp. Justice Haynes could be here next year. I know Tony Elford has told those guys, I want to get you in and out in three, keep some tread on

the tires. You go to the NFL, we'll develop you. But hider back there, too. You're talking about, you know, Haskins, Corum, Donovan Edwards, but maybe better. I don't want to say that because those guys are legends. But, I mean, just a huge, huge commitment to have that firepower to, you know, you want to rebuild this offense. They haven't had maybe as many weapons in the past. I mean, it's a hell of a way to do it. And to do it at the running back position where they have had great players, but just continue that is going to be great. I mean, I was watching his highlights yesterday and just be like, wow, this guy is just different than any running back I've seen. I think people are talking about he's the best since Bajon Robinson or

Trayvion Henderson coming out of high school. So it's huge. And it's very exciting. And they got a top 10 class again. And, you know, obviously champion circle has a lot to do with that. But Sharon Moore is recruiting well too the assistant coaches so they got things rolling they they got things figured out um and now you know it's as you said justin like now we're 10 days away we're tom brady zeke berry days away and we can focus on football and you put a lot of this other stuff behind you and know that you got great recruits coming in it's i think it's a good feeling for a lot of michigan fans well i look at the yon three uh rivals now i got to get used to this merger yeah yeah I feel like Jackie Moon just shouting merger in the room.

But Michigan 10th, Ohio State, 9th, Clayton, I know you're more of a team guy, more on the beat, you know, than some of the folks that are over on three and rivals that are covering more of the high school recruiting aspect. But, you know, last year we saw, obviously we talked about Bryce flipping from LSU to Michigan, but Shemari Earls, Jordan Young flipped from Clemson to Michigan. There's a couple other guys I'm probably forgetting. I know I am. but they just flipped so many guys last year. You've got to think that there's some guys out there this year. Is there anybody that maybe you're, again, I know you're not recruiting about anybody you're maybe thinking about.

I'm thinking about Devon Benjamin, Carrie Adams, you know, a couple elite defensive backs that are committed elsewhere. But, you know, you got to think, you know, get the Oracle Money Cannon. Let's go find some flips. Yeah, I think so. Yeah, I don't have, I guess those names seem to be ones that come up. So I think you're on the right track. I would imagine those pursuits are out there and you keep things like that quiet.

Kind of like, you know, some of the ones last year that pop up. And it's like, oh, they flipped Nate Marshall back from Auburn. Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, he was another one, the high four star edge who was committed to Michigan, probably got the bag from Auburn. And it's like, Michigan's like, wait, we have money now. Do you mind just coming back to us? And he's like, yeah, sure, we'll do that. So it's a great thing because it's a place he wanted to be.

be anyway if all things were equal. And it sounds like they were at the end. So, yeah, I think we're going to get some of those fireworks probably again. But the class is very large and nearly full now. I think I saw Ethan McDowell, who covers recruiting force at the Wolverine, said the overrunners about two and a half more non-specialists commits. So, yeah, there's still some big fish out there that they're probably picking their spots with. But you look at it from positional standpoint i mean they've got a heck of a defensive line class coming in they have a good quarterback a great running back a great tight end some good receivers like they you know they have it's a good class already like if it yes right i think that that is what you're getting at of like

i i think if you ended it today we'd be pretty freaking pumped right like you'd be like okay shron you did your job uh you know in the recruiting staff and so um the other thing that i wanted to touch on there is, you know, I think right now it feels like with Sabian Heider, you know, committing, that's like, it's like, okay, having Bryce Underwood is kind of a cheat code in that aspect. It's like, hey, man, would you like to be the running back for the number one quarterback in the nation who has a cannon for an arm can run and like has aura, as the kids say? You know, like I do feel like that is already happening. And he still hasn't stepped onto the field. So to your guys point about the flips and just like 2027 recruiting two, you know, my thought process is, okay, as he plays this out and, you know, if all things go as well as we think that they're going to go, it's going to just be like guys are going to see, you know, especially at the wide receiver position, right?

Like, you know, it's going to be, you know, does Calvin Russell take a second look when all of a sudden it's like he sees Bryce Underwood to Fred Moore? not have been McCulley bomb and it's like oh they are going to throw the ball really well and so i i do expect some of that stuff to happen and to unfold here during this season to be like all right you know we've talked about having this really good quarterback and you want to come play with them now here's the actual film this could be you catching this 70 yard bomb no i totally agree and i think that the transfer portal is going to be a big part of that too in December for sure where there are going to be some good proven productive wide receivers out there that have a year or two left want to prove themselves and go to the NFL and are going to look

at Michigan's offense believe it or not Michigan's offense as somewhere where they can do that and where you don't have to sacrifice as much as I know Roman Wilson used to talk about it and he would talk about it in a way that he was willing to do it right he was willing to block he was willing to have a great offense through mostly the running game but you know he had a great year and I think he had like 789 yards in 15 games and, you know, 12 touchdowns or 14, whatever it was, in some huge ones. And I thought it was a monster year for, you know, in relation to Michigan, really not having their starters in in the fourth quarter, or running the ball a lot, those things. But now I think you're going to get back to or not get back to because the all-time records and passing and all this are so low compared to Ohio State and in these other schools.

You're going to at least be at more of a normal level. And then I can't wait to see fans on Twitter of other teams be like, Savion Hyder flip to us, Michigan throws too much. Michigan's more of a passing team. That's what they're trying to do for the receivers and quarterbacks. But yeah, I think that's a great point. And I think that in the portal, too, we're going to see them get a better core, a little bit more firepower for the

2027 season, which if you look at the roster, especially on offense, that that in or sorry 2026 that and 27 are shaping up to be when you look down the road which you can't do too much in the portal era but when you look down the road a little bit there's going to be some talented players that are sophomores juniors seniors and you can have a good offense and you know a really good team yeah i'm excited for it because i think that obviously you know michigan and chirona have proven that they are aggressive in nil they're aggressive in the portals they're aggressive in the portals they're aggressive in just recruiting in general. And so they've done that off of, you know, a very poor season, right? And so, you know, once you, if you can add some success to that, that's when you really start snowballing with a lot of these recruits. And you saw that, you know, under Harbaugh as well, especially in the portal, right? To your point, I think you see, like, you don't get a Josiah Stewart, right,

if Michigan doesn't have a 20-21 year. right um and some of those different guys that that were you know key pieces to the puzzle for national championship run and so um so wanted to ask you look into this season you know again we're we're 10 days away um what are some like you know outliers things that maybe people aren't talking about or aren't thinking about that we should be looking for in um one just the opener against New Mexico, right? Like, what are we, you know, is there something that you think that we're going to see? And then two, when you go down to Oklahoma in week two, is it like, all right, how big of a

game is that for a billion different reasons? One, I think that we're going to see a 40 plus yard completion. What is that? Exactly. The only team in the country to not have one last year. including the Service Academies. It's like a stat that I know it gets said over and over. It's an adult stat.

But yeah, it's like it's so crazy that I don't even feel that bad about like repeating it 70 times this off season because it's so insane. But I think it'd be great to see that week one, get the monkey off the back there. And, you know, I think, you know, it's going to be interesting. you do learn a decent amount from those games against a quote unquote Cupcake sorry New Mexico fans that are watching but Michigan is favored by what like 34 and a half or whatever it is um so you do learn a decent amount it's a good sign if you control that game from start to finish um weird things can happen

bowling green a couple years ago you kind of just throw it out like I mean JJ did he just threw the ball around and got it picked a few times and whatever it was you know some luck involved and um but it's also a small sample size so if they struggle a little bit or if they don't get their footing or if someone fumbles and it kind of flips the the way the first half goes and it takes you while to pull away and then we're all going to be panicked going into oklahoma yet it may not mean anything so i'm just fascinated by that and i know i was watching the big 10 training camp tour recently and luke fickle was talking about how they've struggled in those those buy games so to speak recently and then they'll go get hammered in you know

the first game that they play against a quality opponent, and he feels like they need to build some momentum earlier on. So those are important to coaches. They can learn a lot from seeing their team against another colored jersey. And then, I mean, I think the Oklahoma game is so big for a few reasons. One, it proves that Michigan's pretty good. It proves that Michigan's got some grit and resolve and can go down into a hostile environment and win. You have six road games this year.

Two of them, I think you'll have more fans than the other team, Maryland and Northwestern, Still, you do have to, you know, deal with and manage the grind of a road schedule. One of them's on the West Coast. Then you come home and play a home game seven days later. Like, it's going to be a good test to get that out of the way early. Two, it gives you a cushion for the college football playoff. You have a loss to work with or two. And, you know, the third thing is Sharon Moore is not going to be there for the Nebraska game in week four.

Maybe, you know, that makes the Oklahoma game bigger because you got to, you got to get that one knowing that that's going to be another tough test two weeks later you lose those two and two you're only two wins are against new mexico and central michigan you're kind of wondering where this season is going you could still win out from there like kate macnamar i would say and you know beat ohio state and get in um but it's dicey you just don't have that cushion so i mean i just think it the oklahoma game is is everything not everything but it's everything early in the year uh in terms of what this team could be and if you win that you're going to have some confidence going into the rest of the early season.

And I really like how the schedule lightens up kind of after mid-October. You know, Michigan State won't be a cakewalk. But, you know, when you have that Purdue Maryland stretch, Northwestern, yeah. They fit right in with those teams. Yeah. No, they can, I mean, it's on the road. We'll see. You know, Michigan State.

You guys were at the 49-0 game. I mean, I don't know, Purdue football went to the Big Ten championship a couple years ago. That's right. That's right. Now they got like 100 new players. but yeah so i just think that it lightens up a little bit at the end so if you can make some hey early you got some time there at the end to kind of pick up some steam get healthy and go into the ohio state game trying to get your fifth straight since 1922 to 27 wow um would

be insane yeah that would be crazy um and um i would just say too like i think the the oklahoma game it's not a do or die, but it is a, like, changes the trajectory of the season type game, right? It makes some other games later on potentially do or die. Yes, for sure. And I think, honestly, for me, it's more so a, like, mentality type game of like, all right, are we for real? Do we believe in ourselves? You know, I think that these guys do believe in themselves, but there's still those

question marks. And until you actually do it on the field, don't fully know, right? And so I think that both, honestly, to your point, Clayton, about the New Mexico game, like, they need to go and I, we need that game not to be seven nothing at half time. You know what I mean? Right. Like, I would love for it to just be like, all right, they go, you know, New Mexico goes three and out almost every time, right? Barely does anything. And then Bryce is cooking, you know, I think if we can do that, then, well, first of all, our fan base is going to be absurd and it's going to be Heisman talk from you know from minute one of that which i almost

want it not to happen because of that like i don't want those expectations to go sky high so quickly but i want them to have the confidence to be able to go down to oklahoma and be like hey we're the real deal let's go do this blue by 90 in week one then then we're talking heisman we're talking daddy all these things but no you're totally right I think it's huge. And, you know, then the CM, then you win that. And the CMU game gives you that opportunity again to kind of build on it. And in the season can kind of just feed on itself.

You know, it's a younger team, young quarterback. They might need that confidence early in the year. And then if you do drop a clunker, let's say you lose to Washington a week after you made the trip out to L.A., then it's not detrimental, not something you can't recover from. Yeah, for sure. And I also think, too, I want to temper expectations on a lot of different things, right? One would just be like, which is hard for even me to do, right? Like, I'm excited and want, you know, want to do it, but like talking to our fan base, it's always

tough. I want to say this. It's very hard to go 11 and 1 and 12 and 0. And it doesn't, you know, I know that we did it a couple of times, but it is like nearly impossible to do. Right. Yeah, undefeated two years in a row. Yeah, right. Like 11 and 1 the year before that. That is insane. Some teams, some teams, lose two games. Some teams do. Right. But I think it's okay, you know, I, it's not okay, but like it's not the end of the world to lose a couple games. And if, you know, I want to call it, like, if you go 10 and 2 this year, that's a pretty big success with a freshman quarterback that after, you know, an 8 and 5 season with, you know, the offense being as it is. So just in general,

want to temper expectations also one attempt i feel like i'm screaming this from the mountain tops about bryce himself of like he's going to make some mistakes he is freshly 18 has not seen the field yet for as a college football player and naturally like has a big arm and that's that usually translates to you know possibly trying to force things and so you know i think that i just i'm trying to say this as much as possible before we get into the season of like if he does throw an interception i promise you it's not the the world is not going to end right there it'll be on twitter all over twitter um but yeah no and but let's say he's tate forci a september freshman year oh my god oh my god then he then he's i mean that's good enough

to win this games i think like for sure and then i think he's much more talented and mature and all these things to actually like keep that going and you know and he's more built for games get cold and he's not on a rich ride team like you know that those things just fell off the rails at the end of those years but I mean he did that as a freshman uh Chad Henney was good as a freshman year though I think those are the four um Bryce will join those three uh this year as a freshman starter if all goes according to plan can I ask you okay you said had a good freshman year what does that mean Let's define that a little bit because I think to what we're talking about,

some people out there in the Michigan universe are going to be like, if you're not JJ McCarthy in 20, 23, then that's not good, you know what I mean? Which was like the best, you know, most efficient quarterback season of possibly in Michigan history, in NCAA history, right? And so what is it like a good freshman season? What can we give a broad statement of what that looks like? Yeah, I don't know either. Like I said earlier, I just think that it's so hard to predict what he's going to be because it's such rare air.

He's a number one overall recruit. Michigan's never really had that at that position. They've only had those three previous freshmen who have started at quarterback. We've seen it at other teams around the country. I think his stats could be more prolific, so to speak, in terms of touchdowns or yards than even JJ was a couple years ago. But that may not mean that your offense or your team. is the best, right? I mean, there are teams out there that have great stats and quarterbacks that have great stats, and they're a little more empty. JJ, every yard mattered, every touchdown mattered,

right? And then the team was up so big, they'd pull him in the third quarter. And I mean, the third downs, like all his yards were very, very meaningful. I mean, his stats on third down, his stats on third and long, the red zone stuff, his rushing yards weren't, you know, bountiful, but they were all meaningful because it was always in a big moment. So it's hard to, you know, however many stats. I think J.D. Pekyll from On 3, who does a good job covering college football more broad, he said if he totals 30

touchdowns, he thinks Michigan is going to have a really good season, whether that's rushing, passing, some sort of combination. He thinks that that's a good year for Bryce and a good year for Michigan. I could see that, but it's just hard to play that

game, but I do have high expectations. Like you said, I mean, there are going to be some moments where things aren't that great, And in this playoff now, which may go to 28 teams in a couple of years, like you can lose games, like you said, you don't have to be the best team in the country right away. If you get in the dance and you stay healthy and your Notre Dame and you play Georgia's backup quarterback or your Penn State and you get a good draw or Ohio State, you get a home game against a team that thinks that they can play in the cold, but they can't. And not even like those are all, I mean, good for them for all winning those games. if you get in, anything's possible. Notre Dame made the national championship game last year.

Penn State was a semifinalist, although they had two easier games. Texas gets to, I believe, the semifinals, right? But they easily could have lost in their first game to Arizona State. So, or I guess they beat Clemson before that, but their second game. So Arizona State was almost there in the quarters or semis or whatever it was. It's hard to keep track of. But my point is, get in.

It doesn't have to be the best season ever. You could go out west and lose like Ohio State did that. last year or lose on your home field. So, yeah, the expectations are just different now than they were before. It's more like college basketball. It's more like the NFL. So it's interesting to see fan base just try to adjust to that. And I haven't either yet.

So it's tough. But yeah, at the same time, you know, you could play a tough schedule, have some bumps and bruises. And then at the end of the year, if you're playing well, if you didn't do too bad, you know, and lose three games or whatever it is, then you still have a chance at the end. For sure. So last thing here before we talk about our tailgate is I wanted to ask you, how good is this Oklahoma team?

Because we've talked about that a little bit too, where it's really hard to say. But like I think one thing is they're a big name, obviously. You're going down to an SEC opponent, which Michigan doesn't do, you know, very often ever, right, for a non-conference game. Now, so they're that big name. They've, you know, but they've struggled.

they were what six and six last year right um six and seven at the end six and seven at you know after the bowl game and so i i think i want to make this point while also asking the question of like yes they're a big program they're the cc i don't think it's like if we're to go down and play a georgia or an alabama or a texas week one you know like ohio state is so it's not that you know it's still a huge game but it's not like, okay, we're really, you know, going down there with, you know, a tough time. But obviously they bring in John Mateer who's having his own issues or off-field things going on. I don't even know, like speaking of Venmo payments from, you know, it's just like insanity. But I guess that was a long-winded way to ask the question of how good do you think Oklahoma will be this year and when we see them in week two?

I'm so conflicted about it because one of the reasons why a lot of people nationally or, you know, just out there in the college football world believe that Oklahoma is going to beat Michigan or they're going to be good this year. I know that like Phil Steele's got him as their number one surprise, his number one surprise team. And he didn't use this reasoning. So this isn't on him. But those are just some examples of people kind of hyping them up. It's like, well, Brent Venable's back is against the wall. You know, they're going to have to win that game. It's like, well, why is his back against the wall?

It's because they haven't been very good. Two out of three years that he's been the head coach, they've gone under 500. Prior to his tenure, they didn't go under 500. The previous time was 1998, I believe. So, you know, and they did join the SEC last year. It was much tougher. But they went under 500 his first year there when they were in the Big 12, which a conference that they dominated under Lincoln Riley.

They dominated Texas, right? So they're not the same Oklahoma as what we saw when they made three straight playoffs and almost beat Georgia in the, you know, whatever that Rose Bowl was, 2017 or 18 with Baker. So at the same time, their quarterback apparently is a little like Baker, a little like Mansell, a little bit of like, he could have a terrible game against Michigan or he could have a great game against Michigan. The defense looks good from, you know, on paper. The offensive lines of question mark, they're very similar to Michigan in a way. New offensive coordinator, new quarterback, great defense back.

So whatever team kind of has things figured out on the offensive side of the ball earlier, maybe wins the game. I've predicted a close win for Michigan, low-scoring game, but we'll see. But I'm just fascinated by Oklahoma and the narrative around Oklahoma. And then you say the AP poll come out there, what, 17 or 18? They weren't ranked in the coaches poll. So like some people are buying, some people are not. I'm interested.

But it's, I think it's going to be tough. at the very least, and Michigan's got some young players. So they've got to be ready to go on the road. They didn't win a road game last year until they beat Ohio State. But at the same time, that should give some guys that are back a little bit of confidence. Well, I think both teams are similar, right? Like really strong defenses, you know, some questions on the offensive side, new players coming in. I mean, obviously they've got, you know, more proven guys at the college level with

Mateer and Jade Knott is the running back coming in who was, I thought, a stud at Cal. But similar because Justice Haynes coming in for band. for Michigan and Jordan Marshall. So, yeah, I think it's going to be really interesting. Both teams, I think probably best unit is the defensive line. Michigan probably argued the secondary as well, and I guess the linebacker court. The defense is just ridiculous as I'm talking through it. We had conversations last year about that defense potentially being better.

And I don't, it wasn't until later in the year, Wink started to really figure it out and play more of a college style. But this defense this year, man, like, yeah, you lose your best, do a defensive tackle and program history you lose will johnson you didn't have them for a lot of last year though so it's like you're kind of used to it but as i think about this defense man that's going to be an awesome game awesome environment i mean i selfishly i hope it's like an earlier game but you know if it's a night game that's just going to be an incredible environment and uh can't wait to watch it man it's going to be a fun one yeah and to that point like the defense probably doesn't get talked about enough and i'm guilty of it too and sharon more had his press conference last week and there were hardly any questions about the defense Like, it should be really good. And if you're John Meteer, one, he didn't fare too well against, I think his completion percentage was under 50% against power for teams last season because Washington State was in the pack two or the two-top.

And so he still has a lot to prove. The offense coordinator is 29 years old. You know, obviously one of these prodigy genius types. Sometimes it takes a year or half a year for that to click into gear. It helps that they work together at Washington State, Ben Arbuckle and John Mateer. But, you know, they still have a lot to prove. And Wink Martindale has proved he can make life health for opposing quarterbacks.

He did it to Will Howard. He did it even more so to Jalen Milrow. No, Meteer is probably a better thrower than Milro. But, man, if you're Millrow, you're thinking, I hate Jesse Minter. I hate Wink Martindale. You know, and now that Wink's more comfortable, I think there are going to be some other quarterbacks out there that look back and be like, God, my one bad game was that game against that Michigan team.

So it might be, you know, God, I'm thinking like 17, 14, something like that, really low scoring and kind of a grind out. Kind of an ugly game. People are going to be like, this is the game of the night. This is the prime time game. It's like, as long as your team wins that one, you don't care at all. We buy one. I don't care. And also, I think that, you know, we're probably going to have some of those games this year where the defense is going to carry.

And Bryce is going to not, you know, he's going to maybe struggle or the offense just isn't clicking. Like, you know, I think, again, you know, I look back at what JJ was as a freshman. He wasn't even the starter, obviously, but, like, he made plenty of mistakes and was not really ready to be the guy, you know? And so, you know, things are going to happen for sure. And I think having that defense to really lean on is going to be huge for them. So, all right, our tailgate 10 days away. We're so excited. We're going to be at 1,06 South Main Street this year.

We've got a full lot to ourselves. So excited. It's just on the other side of the stadium. And so you're going to be able to drive by it right there, see all of our stuff. We're pumped. Speaking of Clayton, we are going to have Clayton Anderson, who's a country singer, do a pregame concert for us, game one.

So we'll be doing that. it'll be it'll be awesome we'll have woods and whiskey out there north peak brewing the hail IPA or blue by 90 beer camp vodka water will be out there as well and then felvin chivalet of course we'll be out there too so um i'll be there intoxicated yeah yeah i will i will be indulging for sure clayton i know you're working but you can you know you're welcome to stop by hang out for a little bit. But wanted to give that little plug for our tailgate. But plug for you, Clayton, tell the people, you know, what's going on over at On3 slash rivals, the merger with the, you know, the site as a whole and you specifically where they can find you at. Yeah, I'd say just it's an

exciting time. Obviously, recruiting is kind of cooking right now. Just head to the Wolverine.com. We got a bunch of content. And if you want to become a subscription, for two months, which takes you well into these games here, well into the season. I think that'd be up till Michigan State Week. You can use the promo code UM in the numeral one, UM1 for two months of access for a dollar. So a good deal. But yeah, recruiting scoop, team scoop, fall camp, intel, all that stuff over at the Wolverine.com. All right.

Clayton, appreciate you joining us today. This is a long one going on an hour. it's it's about that time where we talk for a half hour pre-show we talk for an hour we just are ready for football to be back so appreciate you joining us today man yeah thanks for having me guys you guys are the best yeah appreciate it um we we are the best we i hey foxwell guys that's what we that's what we bring to no that was davis davis actually you're not a foxhole guy you remember i feel like brettie told us that too but uh maybe Brady's a foxhole guy.

That's the guy I won't beside me in a battle. That's another guy, too. I mean, we just went an hour and didn't even mention his name, right? Who's like just a, I mean, he's a literal captain. He is, speaking of the leader, he's the guy who rallies the troops in every single practice and every single lift and all that stuff. So it's sad that we didn't even mention his name. He's going to be vibrating.

Someone on the team that does their job better than Max Bredeson does his job. that's a fact actually that's a that's a great way to put it um zavada maybe yeah zavada could be one and two right there one a one b situation all right for us you can follow us at blue by 90 on twitter instagram facebook at blue by 90 podcast on youtube and blue by 90.com we appreciate you go blue