Even More Uniforms?

About four days ago, the Michigan athletic department released images of the commemorative uniforms that will be worn in the upcoming 2012 season opener against Alabama.

The design features most notably a maize coloring along the shoulder-line. The football gloves, which are also part of the ensemble, display the entire chorus text of "The Victors," Michigan's famous fight song. You can see a closer image of the gloves here. There is also a short hype video featuring the uniform.

We apparently live in a world where Michigan will without a doubt produce these kind of uniforms on a regular basis. I'd like to offer another 1,000-word rant on why Michigan has no business changing uniforms that looked perfect and stunning during the Charles Woodson era, but there's really nothing more to say.

I had a general reaction to the sea of uniform change when Michigan released "special uniforms" months before the Notre Dame night game, although that was based on the assumption that the special uniforms would be a one-time thing, and then I had a more visceral reaction, though not in so many words, to the downright ugly uniforms the Michigan athletic department thought would be a nice surprise for the Michigan State game. And then of course Michigan had special uniforms for the Sugar Bowl.

The rationale here from the Michigan athletic department, at least according to the press release, appears to be that Michigan players and staff like to change things up once in a while. "From time to time, whether it's a regular-season or bowl game, our coaches and players enjoy an opportunity to choose an alternate jersey to wear," athletic director David Brandon said in the released statement.

It sounds innocent enough, and most people are on the sides of the players--whatever can help them win, do it. The hardcore Michigan fan in me immediately thinks all this means is "Tradition be damned," but I suppose I wouldn't have such a colossal problem with the new uniforms if they weren't always such an eyesore. Not to mention how much of a departure it is for Michigan suddenly wanting to become Oregon, at least in a visual sense, though that's probably an extreme position.

There have been a couple of reactions to these uniforms. As expected, the reaction on Michigan football's Facebook page has been mixed. I am continuously amazed that there are always people who love everything the athletic department does, no matter what it is. On the other side, most of the dissenters are hardcore traditionalists like myself.

Meanwhile, at mgoblog.com, Brian Cook (the website's administrator and lead blogger), who has long been a protester of uniform changes, said in a recent blog post that he is "filled with moderate distaste, so these are probably good as far as alternate uniforms go."

He also pointed out an important caveat: the season opener against Alabama in Dallas, Texas, will be the final time that the Michigan winged helmets feature numbers. As it says in the previously linked press release, the practice of numbers on the helmets "will be suspended after the season opener." Michigan will also use its traditional home and away uniforms for the remainder of the regular season, so that's good. Nothing was said, however, about the uniforms that could be worn if Michigan played in a bowl game.

Brad at Maize n' Blue Nation said that these commemorative uniforms are "not bad" and sees a "steady march towards the more subtle and toned down maize." He's also relieved that the pants aren't white, and unlike myself, he rather likes the gloves. "The 2011 helmet numbers will make a single game cameo for this game only, then discontinued," he added, "which I think is for the best."

The irony is not lost on me that most of what Michigan fans complain about these days are the decisions with the uniforms rather than the decisions in coaching. Dave Brandon bought himself a lot of slack by hiring Brady Hoke and delivering the smash hit that was the "Under the Lights" event against Notre Dame that kicked-off Michigan's 11-2 run. This is probably even the most traditional fan like myself doesn't call for Brandon to be fired all based on these uniforms. It's just a little depressing that there doesn't seem to be an end to it.

As Michigan fans we're so used to the uniforms changing only extremely rarely, and under Brandon's tenure, the uniforms changed more times in one year than they did in the past decade. So, forgive me if whenever I see a new uniform design, I get a little queasy about it. I'd also have less of a problem if, at least once, we just stuck with something consistent.

Like I said, there doesn't appear to be any type of end to Michigan making "special" uniforms. This is a bold new era in Michigan football, and I don't think I'll ever get used to it. Hopefully there will be more victories on the field to make the new uniforms a little easier to handle.

Michigan’s 2013 Recruiting Class is Filling Up Quickly

There’s not a whole lot going on in the world of Michigan football these days. All’s generally quiet in Ann Arbor with the exception of the looming season opener with Alabama only three months away, and of course the stellar effort Brady Hoke and his staff have put together on the recruiting trail.

Probably the biggest reason why I don’t post about recruiting is very simply because I don’t want to get my hopes up until these players put pen to paper. A million things could happen before or even after signing day.

They could switch commitments, they could get in trouble with the law and lose their scholarship offer, they could not qualify academically, or even if they do commit and show up on campus, they decide for whatever reason to leave the team. Every team in college football faces this, and frankly it’s not worth devoting all kinds of energy to recruits who might not even pan out. People mainly talk about recruiting during the off-season because there’s nothing else to talk about.

I especially hate the notion that “you’re always going to have some attrition.” Brady Hoke is not the first coach to say this, but that doesn’t make it any better. Yes, I’m well aware that in an ideal world every recruit who commits stays in the program until he graduates, and in the real world this simply doesn’t always happen. I guess it’s because it happened more often than usual during the Rodriguez years that puts me a little on edge. You know the old saying about “once burned” and all that.

However, as should be obvious by now, there are a certain number of stories in Michigan’s recruiting world that have piqued my interest and have forced my hand. By “forced my hand,” I mean that I feel somewhat compelled to weigh in. This isn’t something that I’ll do frequently. I’m better off saying that I may do it once in a while than never at all. The point is you shouldn’t expect it.

For anyone who thought that Michigan’s amazing 2012 recruiting class was just a flash in the pan and that Brady Hoke was simply benefitting from the honeymoon period of a first-year head coach, you might be surprised to learn that Michigan’s 2013 class is shaping up to be just as impressive, if not more so.

After the initial commitment from Shane Morris (pictured above), Michigan landed nine commitments from February 18 to February 22, all of whom were four-stars. This clearly took the Michigan recruitniks by surprise and became one of the most intense recruiting weekends in recent memory. What now appears to be happening in recruiting circles is the debate about to whom the remaining offers should go to and from whom the remaining commits will come. In other words, “Who’s left?”

Michigan is currently up to 21 commitments (colloquially called “commits”) and has filled all of their positions of need: Shane Morris (Warren, MI) at quarterback, Jaron Dukes (Columbus, OH) and C’sonte York (Harper Woods, MI) at wide receiver, Deveon Smith (Warren, OH) at running back, Patrick Kugler (Wexford, PA) and Logan Tulley-Tillman (Peoria, IL) on offensive line, and defensive tackles Maurice Hurst Jr. (Westwood, MA) and Henry Poggi (Baltimore, MD). The assumption going forward was that Michigan was going to potentially use their remaining time (the rest of the year) and offers to pursue elite athletes.

This is called “star chasing.” The term emerged as a concern of USC coach Lane Kiffin’s recruiting tactics of pursuing the highest-rated skill players in the country instead of filling position needs, and especially in the wake of scholarship reductions. While most schools go “star chasing” when their needs are already met, Kiffin goes “star chasing” from day one. The results speak for themselves: Kiffin and USC have landed the No. 1 players at quarterback (Max Browne), running back (Ty Isaac), and most recently safety (Su’a Cravens), but virtually no guards or offensive tackles.

Ironically, Brady Hoke’s staff filled their needs with highly rated players in a recruiting effort that some believe is on par with Alabama. Patrick Kugler, the Michigan commitment to offensive guard, is the No. 1 rated offensive guard in the country. Recruit Wyatt Shallman is the No. 2 fullback. Kyle Bosch, Chris Fox, and David Dawson are the No. 4, No. 5, and No. 7 offensive linesmen in the country, respectively. Shane Morris is the No. 3 quarterback. Dymonte Thomas (Alliance, OH) is the No. 4 safety. Some might say this is ironic, but others would say it is to be expected.

It’s almost amusing to see how far Michigan has come from the days of constant attrition, lack of qualifying academically, and surprise injuries under Rich Rodriguez. The concern is now what Michigan will do now that all of its needs are met. Who will be the last remaining commitments? Michigan is reportedly holding a spot for Laquon Treadwell, a four-star wide receiver from Crete, Illinois. Treadwell has said that he doesn’t plan to choose a school until signing day (nearly eight months from now), but by that time it may be too late. Personally, I’m not going to hold my breath on Treadwell. The fact that he hasn’t committed yet only means that he isn’t as interested in Michigan as everyone thinks. If he was, there’s nothing to stop him from committing.

Michigan’s most recent commitment from a long-snapper Scott Synpiewski (Ottawa, IL) is an interesting story in and of itself. Synpiewski is not rated and not ranked. This is not because he isn’t good; it’s probably because he’s a long snapper. That position is typically filled by a walk-on rather than a scholarship player, not just at Michigan, but practically everywhere. Most long-snappers are the anonymous, unsung heroes of field goal teams. Even place kickers get more recognition. So why did Michigan offer him a scholarship at all? Well, the purveying rumor is that Hoke’s staff wanted to lock down someone after Michigan State poached their last walk-on long snapper.

The greater concern is that this significantly limits the remaining spots available, assuming one is still open for Laquon Treadwell. In a class that is supposed to finish at 22 to 23 signees, Michigan currently has 21 commitments. That means that there are only one or two spots left.

This all must be frustrating news for Berkley Edwards, who has been hoping for an offer from the Wolverines but has yet to receive one. Berkley is the younger brother of Braylon Edwards, who wore #1 at Michigan as a wide receiver and famously caught the touchdown that won an overtime thriller against Michigan State. Braylon took to Twitter a while ago and publicly complained that his brother was getting overlooked and that Michigan should offer Berkley a scholarship. Berkley plays running back at Chelsea High School in Chelsea, MI. He supposedly can also play wide receiver, but running back is reportedly where his heart is. This is a problem because most of the Big Ten powers (Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Nebraska, etc.) are all set at running back, and while he may be underrated, it’s just as possible that he’s suffering a case of bad timing.

Braylon Edwards claims that his brother has elite speed, and indeed he does (4.4 is nothing to sneeze at), but Michigan already got a running back with Berkley Edwards’ size and speed when Dennis Norfleet of Martin Luther King High School in Detroit signed with the class of 2012. Berkley Edwards’ two best offers are currently from Cal and Minnesota. More offers could be on the way, and it will be interesting to see where he ends up. If Michigan does offer him it will be as a wide receiver, not as a running back. Berkley would then have to decide which is more important to him: the position, or the school.

Michigan has largely taken the recruiting world by storm by landing so many commitments in such a short amount of time. Their class is practically full, and it’s only June. This has intimidated some of the fans of Michigan’s rivals, while both placating and worrying Michigan’s fans. Even Hoke’s staunchest supporters don’t entirely know what to make of this. Before he arrived at Michigan, the general truism with regards to recruiting was “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” Hoke has apparently changed the game on that.

He’s also looking more and more like the real deal.

The Year of the Hoke: Reviewing the 2011 Season

As we approach the 2012 season, it’s important (or, at least, it should be) to glance over what went down last year, and where the program is going forward.

Of course, there’s more to 2011 than simply Michigan getting to 11 wins that included a BCS bowl victory. There was substantial improvement on defense, defeating an old rival, meeting expectations, and even exceeding them. But was Michigan’s 2011 season an unmitigated success? Let’s take a look.

Biggest Hits

Beating Ohio State

If there was one accomplishment, one development, that absolutely cannot be overlooked, it is Brady Hoke’s first win over Ohio State as Michigan’s head coach. He had seen victories over the Buckeyes during his tenure as a Michigan assistant under Lloyd Carr—as the defensive line coach from 1995-2002, until he was offered a head coaching gig at his alma mater, Ball State—but a win as the head coach of the Wolverines in his inaugural season must have been infinitely more satisfying.

“It would be the ultimate validation of his stewardship and confirmation of his methods,” wrote Ohio State blogger Ramzy Nasrallah the week before the Michigan-Ohio State game. Michigan would enter the contest with the reminder that they had not beaten the Buckeyes in nearly 3,000 days. Through the efforts of Brady Hoke, his staff, the team captains, and all the players who pulled together, the losing streak was snapped. For once, the Michigan faithful could finally breathe easy as they neared the end of the year.

Beginning with the fateful victory over Ohio State in 1969, when the new era of Michigan football was ushered in under Bo Schembechler, every Michigan coach since then (Schembechler, Gary Moeller, Lloyd Carr) had won their initial game against Ohio State—save one: Rich Rodriguez. Ever the “Michigan Man,” Brady Hoke restored that tradition to its rightful place.

Starting Strong

On September 1, 2008, Rich Rodriguez received the first piece of evidence that his spread offense probably wasn’t the best fit for Michigan when the Utah Utes stuffed any attempt the Wolverines made to get yards. The once-proud Wolverines lost the game 25-23, ensuring that the first game of the Rich Rodriguez Era was a disappointment—the first of many to come. “Don’t leave the Rodriguez bandwagon early,” wrote Dan Feldman of the Michigan Daily after the game. Rodriguez’s Wolverines would go on to win only three games in what became the absolute worst season in Michigan football history.

Brady Hoke’s first game against Western Michigan on September 3, 2011 was the first, necessary step into restoring Michigan’s reputation. The Wolverines defeated the Broncos 34-10, although the game was cut short in the third quarter because of thunderstorms. Nevertheless, Michigan’s ability to take control of a game they had every right to win proved that Hoke and his staff knew their stuff and knew how to coach it. For the first time since Lloyd Carr, it finally seemed like Michigan was going to meet some expectations.

The next game against Notre Dame was another huge test, and the Wolverines pulled out that one in a last-second thriller, forcing the Irish to start their season at 0-2. Though I personally didn’t expect Hoke to walk away from that contest victorious, it was definitely a pleasant surprise and another reminder that Hoke was serious about big, important games.

With the Wolverines coached competently on defense (finally!), Michigan was able to start 6-0 against several opponents that, with less competent teaching, they may have easily lost to, such as Hoke’s old team in San Diego State or Pat Fitzgerald’s ever-unpredictable Wildcats of Northwestern. Michigan also made a statement in the Big Ten by winning its conference opener against Minnesota 58-0. Rather than having to escape every game—which was how Rodriguez’s teams were able to start undefeated in 2009 and 2010, only to be crushed and humiliated by legitimate teams in the later part of the schedule—the Wolverines under Hoke were actually able to force some three and outs, resulting in decisive wins.

Finishing Strong

One of the biggest reasons why Rich Rodriguez’s seasons became “disappointments” was because the way they ended. In 2009 and 2010, the Wolverines won a combined four games in October and November for both years. This put added pressure on the players (and the seniors) to beat Ohio State, and they were never able to do it. When January came around, the winters were a lot colder, and Rodriguez’s seat was a lot hotter.

While in 2011 Michigan put up three signature victories in October (dropping only Michigan State), it was their run in November that truly allowed the Wolverines to make a visible difference. A strong defensive stand against Illinois, a 45-17 beatdown of a favored Nebraska, and finally snapping the losing skid against Ohio State was a November Rodriguez’s players never saw.

It quickly became clear that Hoke and Mattison got fundamental on defense, while Al Borges focused more and more on how to make a spread/pro-style hybrid offense. The competency of the coaches carried over to the players and showed a clear distinction against Rodriguez’s staff, where losing in November was not only dreaded, it eventually became expected. Hoke’s ability to break the tradition of losing during November stretches that had gripped Michigan’s football program for the past three years helped solidify him as Michigan’s man.

Vast Improvement on Defense

There was perhaps no question more asked of the Michigan football program going into the 2011 season than “What about that defense?”

Throughout all of 2009 and 2010, in the waning months as the Rodriguez era slowly and steadily reached its end, there seemed to rage an eternal debate about the nature of Michigan’s increasingly porous defense and what could be done to fix it.

The initial reaction was that it was the players: lack of talent because of heavy attrition, injuries, and the inability of a few recruits to gain admission to the university. (The best example of the third is Demar Dorsey, a highly-rated cornerback whom Rodriguez and company banked a great deal of their hope on, only to discover that his poor grades made the admission department deny him admission. Yet another reason why Rodriguez’s philosophy clashed with Michigan’s standards.)

When season after season passed, the debate eventually shifted to the coaches, although some still held firm to the notion that Rodriguez was doing everything he could. The defense was so bad in 2010 that, finally, fans started to question the direction Rodriguez was taking the program, after the questionable hire of Greg Robinson. (Most of Rodriguez’s most ardent supporters, to this day, believe that Greg Robinson is chiefly, if not solely, to blame for the defensive struggles.)

The hiring of Brady Hoke not only brought a defensive-minded head coach, but also a surprisingly elite hire in Greg Mattison, former defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens. Together they taught and re-taught the same Michigan players fundamentals, technique, and preached toughness, and the defense went from being 110th in the country to 14th. That ended the debate. It was always coaching.

Going to the Sugar Bowl

This one was really unexpected. It was a fitting end to a great regular season. I don’t think there was a single Michigan fan out there who anticipated that the Wolverines would get to 10 wins and a BCS bowl. Maybe eventually, but in year one?

Mike Martin said in a video that one of the reasons why he committed to Michigan was because he expected to go to BCS bowls every year. Obviously, the last time Michigan played in a BCS bowl was against USC in the Rose Bowl in January 2007. After Lloyd Carr retired, Michigan endured something of a bowl drought for two years under Rich Rodriguez. In 2010 they were finally bowl eligible but got humiliated 52-14 by Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl.

Coming from that drought makes the BCS bowl berth after the 2011 season all the more surprising and all the more impressive. For seniors like Mike Martin, who when they committed to Michigan had hoped to be there every year, it was good of them to finally get there. Their effort brought Michigan back to national relevance.

Biggest Misses

Losing to Michigan State

The most notable and palpable blemish on Hoke’s record so far has been the loss to in-state rival, Michigan State. Michigan—which previously dominated the rivalry for six straight years, winning every contest from 2002 to 2007, and before that was victorious for 14 games over 20 years—has now been on the losing side of the rivalry, falling to the Spartans four straight years in a row.

Granted, it’s nowhere nears as bad as the Spartans’ record in the rivalry, but this is something that Michigan is not used to. Lloyd Carr was known for almost never losing a game to the Spartans, even when he was at his most complacent. It wasn’t until Rodriguez arrived that the rivalry quickly turned and got worse every year. When Brady Hoke arrived, that was supposed to change. It didn’t.

This isn’t to say that Hoke hasn’t made necessary steps in the rivalry. Locking down nine of the top ten players in the state of Michigan for 2012 certainly helped, as well as landing five-star quarterback Shane Morris for the class of 2013, a development which sent Spartan fans into a harried frenzy.

But domination needed to happen on the field.

Michigan’s game against Michigan State in Spartan was an embarrassment on all levels. Not only did both teams look ridiculous with hideous uniforms, but Michigan State somehow won despite giving up over 100 yards in penalties. It was surprising to see Michigan lose after all the strides they’d made in discipline, and they were clearly more disciplined than the Spartans, but they just couldn’t produce.

Performance in the Sugar Bowl

Though some of this can be chalked up to pre-game injuries, Michigan’s offense in the Sugar Bowl didn’t exactly play their best game. It’s hard to say anything bad or good about Michigan in the Sugar Bowl because, well, they won. They won ugly. So does how they won matter?

In terms of this review, yes. With the high of winning the Sugar Bowl now gone because enough time has passed, it’s fair to say that Michigan’s performance in the game was somewhat of an embarrassment. After all the talk that Michigan and Virginia Tech didn’t deserve to be in the game in the first place, for Michigan to come in and have such inept offensive performance (the defense, while keeping Michigan in the game, although simultaneously gave up huge yards on third down, keeping VT in the game) that eeked out a close win in overtime was more of a negative than a positive. While Michigan fans and players were happy that they had fought hard to get the win, it also gave Michigan’s detractors more fuel because, let’s face it, that game was not fun to watch.

You won’t find too many Michigan bloggers or fans saying anything about the Sugar Bowl other than “a win is a win,” but if Hoke’s Wolverines had a moment when things could have and should have gone better, this was arguably it.

The Way Forward in 2012

To cite any expectations for the coming season with the phrase “Obviously this needs to happen” would be both pedantic and premature. There are numerous reasons why the Wolverines will be able to replicate a lot of their success from 2011 into 2012: the fact that they return playmakers like Denard Robinson, Fitzgerald Toussaint, Roy Roundtree, Jeremy Gallon, behind a stout offensive line that features seasoned veterans like Taylor Lewan and Patrick Omameh, as well as defensive standouts like Jordan Kovacs, Kenny Demens, Craig Roh, Jake Ryan, and Blake Countess is all very encouraging.

The primary concerns are on the lines themselves. This is understandable, since huge question marks were left when David Molk, Mike Martin, Ryan Van Bergen, and Kevin Koger (a tight end) all graduated. The question apparently is if the 2012 seniors can fill those shoes. (I’d personally be more worried about the lines if Hoke himself wasn’t a defensive-line coach at heart.)

The schedule is considerably less forgiving. Still, Brady Hoke must have the game against Michigan State circled in red. It is played at home, and with the Spartans losing almost all of their offensive weapons (quarterback Kirk Cousins, receiver B.J. Cunningham, running back Edwin Baker, receiver Keshawn Martin, and receiver/tight end Keith Nichol are all gone), the Wolverines should have a distinct advantage. (I should note that Michigan State’s defense returns almost all of its starters and will arguably be the best in the Big Ten.)

I won’t get too much into previewing the 2012 season just yet, but suffice it to say that several teams will be gunning for Michigan (Alabama, Notre Dame, Nebraska, and Urban Meyer-led Ohio State). The Wolverines will certainly have their hands full.

You’d think that with such daunting expectations Brady Hoke would be worried, but he isn’t. If anything, he feels the 2011 was a failure because they didn’t win the Big Ten championship.

Imagine that, all the success Michigan had, and somehow they still failed. That driving hunger, that eternal desire of always wanting more is something Michigan has lacked for a long time, and it shows that Hoke is the perfect guy for the job. He can handle it. Michigan will be just fine.