A week and change on from the national title, attention now turns to the basketball program what Team 145 is going to look like. This may be an exercise in futility since there's a distinct chance that Jim Harbaugh takes an NFL job this offseason, throwing everything into a mild state of higgeldy-piggeldy. But they'd probably just plug in Sherrone Moore, avoid significant portal departures, and be more or less the same minus a predilection for weird press conferences. So. QUARTERBACK Obviously the biggest question mark on the team in the aftermath of JJ McCarthy's draft entry. The options on campus do not feel like plugging in JJ McCarthy, to say the least. They are: Jayden Denegal, a 6'4" pocket passer who was a high three star on the composite and got a reasonable amount of garbage time last year. He'll be a redshirt sophomore next year. Davis Warren, a former walk-on who's looked solid in a couple of spring games but was hurt (probably) much of the
Lost in the shuffle of the pre-Rose Bowl noise was the commitment of Northwestern offensive lineman Josh Priebe to Michigan out of the transfer portal: Excited for the next chapter! Go Blue!! pic.twitter.com/ZRDm6ZJ6o2 Josh Priebe (@PriebeJosh) December 28, 2023 Priebe figures to play a big role on the Michigan offensive line in 2024 given that the positional group will need to reload after major attrition, so today let's give him a proper introduction. AS A RECRUIT: PORTAL 247 On3 Rivals ESPN 3 , 89, #209 Ovr #7 IOL 3 , 86, #780 ovr #64 IOL 3 , 5.5, #835 Ovr #83 OL n/a 3.78 3.05 3.00 HIGH SCHOOL 3 , 89, NR Ovr #15 OG, #12 MI didn't exist 3 , 5.7, NR Ovr #18 OG, #13 MI 3 , 79, #42 MW #55 OT, #16 MI 3.86 3.78 3.73 Priebe was a reasonably ho-hum guard prospect coming out of high school. The Edwardsburg, MI, (Cass County down on the Indiana border, about 15 miles from South Bend) native was a 3 ranked in the 600-700 range at the time of his commitment, though he
Late last week I put out a post on the message board asking for questions for a mailbag, as I haven't done one since the summer and now seems like a good time to fit one in. To no one's surprise, nearly all of the questions were football related. I picked the best 14 questions and if yours wasn't chosen, better luck next time. I did my best to pick as many good ones as possible, but there is never enough space for them all. Two quick notes on question topics: 1.) there were a lot of questions that are Rose Bowl gameplan-ish and I decided I will answer them in FFFF rather than here and 2.) several Donovan Edwards questions that I chose not to answer because you can read Seth's piece from last week. Assuming Coach stays and JJ leaves, what does the offense look like next year? (-Ray) I answered a version of this question in the summer that was focused on 2024 generally but now is a good time to check back in on the picture. The question assumes JJ is leaving, s
FIRST OFF: DUNNO. Give or take Matt Hibner, who stopped playing in order to maintain a redshirt and transfer somewhere next year, Michigan is the last P5 team without someone in the transfer portal. This obviously isn't going to last, but I mention it because that fact combined with the peak COVID-shirt year means just about anyone could come back, or leave, for 2024. Michigan only definitively loses six contributors: Cornelius Johnson, Cam Goode, Mike Barrett, Mike Sainristil, Josh Wallace, and James Turner. I'm going to wave a wand and assert that the following players will not be back next year because their eligibility has expired or they head to the draft: QB: Jack TuttleRB: Blake Corum, Donovan EdwardsWR: Cornelius Johnson, Roman WilsonTE:OL: LaDarius Henderson, Trevor Keegan, Zak Zinter DE: Jaylen HarrellDT: Kris Jenkins, Cam GoodeLB: Mike BarrettCB: Mike Sainristil, Josh WallaceS: Rod Moore The following players are in the maybe category: QB: JJ McCarthyRB:WR:TE: AJ B
There was little fanfare in this year's edition of the Battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy. No heart-stopping endings, nor brutality in the catacombs of the stadium afterwards, just a total beatdown by one team of the other. Michigan State did reasonably well against the run but got eviscerated by Michigan's passing offense no matter who the QB was. In the process, Michigan defeated Michigan State 49-0 in a margin that was exceptional for the history of the rivalry and the game itself was arguably even less competitive than the margin suggested. Once again, the opposition did not belong on the same field as the mighty Wolverines but this time, it was the in-state rival. Michigan got the ball to start the game, a dubious Semaj Morgan decision to return the kick setting them back at their own 16 to start. MSU got an early opportunity to get off the field with the Wolverine offense facing a 3rd & 14 from the 29, but couldn't get the stop when JJ McCarthy rolled and co