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.

Wolverines Capitalize on Nebraska's Mistakes in 45-17 Win

Did anyone see this win coming? Well, I certainly didn't.

Speculation in college football is often a cruel mistress. We often try to make bold predictions and at other times still be skeptical. We look at games on the schedule and where we are as a team and think, "There's no way we can win that one." Well, after Michigan defeated Nebraska in a 45-17 rout, I looked pretty silly for saying before the season that the Wolverines only a 17% chance of winning. I also said that Michigan wasn't a dominating team. Both appear to be wrong.

Well, sort of: I still won't say that Michigan is a dominating team, but I will say that they are significantly improved. Significantly. It almost looks like a completely different squad out there. That's what's so baffling: these are by and large the same players that Rich Rodriguez had during the 2010 season, where Michigan went 7-5 and lost those seven games (as well as a sixth in the Gator Bowl) in the most embarrassing way possible. Last year, Michigan was ranked 112th in yards allowed. Now they're ranked 14th in total defense. There is no question you can ask except: What the hell happened?!

A lot of it is Brady Hoke, and the rest of it is Greg Mattison. (Also, side props to defensive backs coach Curt Mallory.) To change a defense so dramatically in the span of one year is beyond remarkable. I'm still blown away by it. During the game against Nebraska, former Florida head coach and current ESPN color commenter Urban Meyer said that Michigan had "the most improved defense in America." He is certainly right.

The reason why the Wolverines beat Nebraska so convincingly is largely because of three words: time of possession. Michigan had the ball for roughly 42-43 minutes of the entire game, while Nebraska had it for 17-18 minutes. That's the defense keeping Nebraska off the field—the Cornhuskers didn't convert a third down until the fourth quarter—and the Michigan offense maintaining control of the ball and wearing the Nebraska defense down. Fans saw what happens when Michigan is able to establish a running game: Fitzgerald Toussaint powered his way over Nebraska, and quarterback Denard Robinson had a good game on the ground too. That threat, combined with Denard's good passing game (he had a beautiful touchdown pass to wide receiver Martavious Odoms at the fifty to the endzone), was too much for Nebraska to handle.

Michigan still faced its share of challenges. The power had gone out in Michigan Stadium and players were unable to see the play clock. The officials used hand signals to show when it was counting down. At least one time Denard Robinson suffered a delay of game penalty because he had watched the umpire instead of the official hand-signaling the countdown. Brady Hoke, however, took the blame for the mistake. "The first one, the penalty we had, that's on me," he said. "I should have called a timeout. For me not to do that, that's bad coaching." (The Michigan fan base later helped Denard out by vocally counting down the play clock. The power was eventually restored to Michigan Stadium.)

Detroit News writer Bob Wojnowski, who had called for the firing of Rich Rodriguez last November after the loss to Ohio State, says that Brady Hoke has brought Michigan back to prominence. "They pounded with power and attacked with animosity," Wojnowski wrote of the Michigan-Nebraska game in his weekly column. "On a chilly November afternoon, you could see it again, and you finally can say it again. Michigan's football identity is back, quicker than expected. And also just in time. This wasn't the final piece of evidence, but it certainly was the most compelling. What happened Saturday in Michigan Stadium is what used to happen. A big, physical foe rolled into town and ran smack into a wall of pads. The Wolverines' 45-17 rout of the Cornhuskers was their best game of the year, by far, and the loudest statement of the Brady Hoke era, by far."

Was this game a statement? Yes, it was. Michigan showed a full Big House against Nebraska exactly what they would have been if they had capitalized on the mistakes of Iowa and Michigan State. They would have easily won. They established a running game and stopped Nebraska from running the ball. It seems like an old, tired adage, but right now it feels like nothing could be closer to the truth. The tougher team usually wins.

Make no mistake: Nebraska had a tough team against Michigan. Quarterback Taylor Martinez ran effectively several times, showing the speed that put him in Heisman talks early in the season, and when he saw a receiver run past Michigan's safeties, he threw a touchdown. However, Nebraska lost because it committed too many errors on special teams and could not offset Michigan's seemingly magical ability to force turnovers. (The Cornhuskers had five turnovers, while the Wolverines had one.) It was a welcome game between two teams who argue over who was the true National Champion in 1997. If this game was the decider, Michigan won.

During the entire game, Chris Spielman and Urban Meyer talked about how much of a threat Denard Robinson is when he is allowed to run. "He is a runner first and a passer second," Meyer said. They were also critical of the games when Hoke and offensive coordinator Al Borges decided to limit Robinson's carries, despite the reasoning that the coaches didn't want him to get injured. "If I'm the opposing coach," Spielman said, "I'm happy to see Devin Gardner come out."

Denard was mainly allowed to cut loose because it is that time of the season. Granted, he didn't carry the entire offense on his back as he did under Rich Rodriguez—and he'll be thanking Fitzgerald Toussiant for bearing the majority of the load—but Denard did get a lot of carries in this game largely because Michigan doesn't really have anything to lose. They won't be playing in the Big Ten championship, and the only regular-season game following this one is Ohio State, so why hold back? The trepidation that Denard Robinson will get injured before the game against the Buckeyes is now gone, and that means look out.

As much as this game was a satisfying victory, I think the main reason why it feels so good is because it's a sign of things to come. Spielman and Meyer also talked at length about the freshmen that are on the field on defense (Brennan Beyer, Blake Countess, Desmond Morgan, in particular) and how they're making impact plays. 

"When you have three true freshmen that are big time players and contributors on your defense, that kind of shows where a little bit of their talent might have been depleted on the defensive side over the years, and that shows what Brady Hoke is doing as far as recruiting," Spielman said. "And once they get the talent that they need at Michigan—they're a Michigan defense now—they'll really be a Michigan defense when that talent starts rolling in."

It's certainly an encouraging thought. It was an even better win—and, for these players, after everything they've been through, it was even more deserved. Michigan now stands at 9-2.

Michigan Defense Makes Tough Stand against Illinois, Will Face Stiff Test against Nebraska

Michigan defeated Illinois last Saturday, 31-14, largely because of what looked like an overpowering defense. Last week, the Wolverines had dropped 9 ranks in the polls after their loss to Iowa, going from No. 15 to No. 24 for the Illinois game. Michigan apparently fixed a lot of its mistakes—though there are still many—as it was able to score a touchdown on its first drive and shut out Illinois for the entire first half. We have really seen the difference between last year's coaches and the one led by Greg Mattison and Brady Hoke.

Despite giving up two touchdowns and a couple of big plays, the defense overall had an outstanding game. It is perhaps more outstanding because, with mostly the same players, the team gave up 65 points in a triple overtime win only a year earlier. 2010's defense couldn't stop anybody. In this game the defense racked up four sacks, limiting Illinois to 37 net rushing yards. The defense was hardly flawless, however. At least three times the defenders bit on the zone-read option play when Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhasse kept the ball himself, and one of those resulted in one of Illinois's two touchdowns.

Aside from Michigan's sacks, the defense was impressive in its third down stance. Illinois only converted 5 of 17 third downs, many of which were on third and one. Michigan cornerback J.T. Floyd also played well: he not only did a good job containing Illinois primary receiver A.J. Jenkins, but Floyd also picked off one of Scheelhasse's passes and returned it for 43 yards. Again, this might not sound like much, but it is impressive given how much Scheelhasse and the Illinois offense was able to completely pick apart the Michigan defense last year. This squad has really improved.

Most of Michigan's struggles, however, came on offense. Denard Robinson scored Michigan's first two touchdowns rushing, but his total rushing yards were limited. He was also injured in the second half, which prompted Devin Gardner to play from under center. Gardner himself has been questionable all year, despite our encouraging profile piece on him a while back. Gardner did show a bit of improvement as quarterback, most notably with a pass to Martavious Odoms that went for a touchdown. Our estimation is that Gardner will improve with more experience. Running back Fitzgerald Toussaint also had a really good game, racking up a career-high 192 yards rushing. Illinois never even sniffed that.

As is often the case following a win, there's a lot of optimism around the Michigan blogs and a lot of praise surrounding the defense. In both their posts and weekly podcast, MGoBlog gives rightful props to the defense and is quite impressed with J.T. Floyd:

A.J. Jenkins may have gotten his requisite eight catches for 100 yards but Scheelhaase had to work for it. At one point they showed some Jenkins stats and noted that he had five catches… and fourteen targets. According to Adam Jacobi he ended with eight on 20. That's 5 [yards per attempt] throwing to a guy who may be the best [wide receiver] in the Big Ten.

Even that undersells Floyd's day. The deep ball that took Jenkins's stats from mediocre to decent was zone coverage in the middle of the field Floyd was not directly responsible for (and it came after Scheelhaase was given all day). When involved Floyd was all over double moves and jumped a third and short pass for the interception that sealed the game with a little help from Gardner and Odoms.

Dave at Maize n Brew has let out a much-needed sigh of relief that Michigan was finally able to get to eight wins, something it hasn't achieved since 2007. "The transformation of this defense has been astounding," he wrote. "Through 10 games Michigan has 21 sacks. This compared to a paltry 18 sacks through 13 games last season. Over the past three years Michigan's defense has allowed Juice Williams, Justin Siller, and Matt McGloin to torch it. Read that again and try not to cry. But today... man... it's just amazing. This is now a defense that corralled a mobile, talented quarterback to the tune of four sacks and a pick. Even more impressive, they held Illinois to just 37 yards rushing. 37 yards. That's almost a 10th of the 315 rushing yards they gave up a year ago. The difference is night and day. And the difference is shown in the win column. Eight."

This was a good win. Michigan still isn't a world-beater on both sides of the ball, but it was nice to see the Wolverines get down in the grit and stuff Illinois when they absolutely had to. That's why defense is so important: when the other team isn't scoring, even if your own offense isn't as productive as you'd like them to be, it still takes a lot of the pressure off.

"We are really proud of our kids," defensive-minded Brady Hoke said in a recent press conference, "and how they played on Saturday, how they went out there as a team. I think we really complemented each other as a football team, in a lot of ways. Offensively, taking the ball down in the first possession and scoring always helps you, from a mindset and your enthusiasm when you play the game. Defensively, I thought our defense played awfully well, and played together."

Michigan last two games of the regular season will be played at home, the first of which is against Nebraska. This will arguably be the toughest test Michigan, and certainly their defense, will face before a bowl game. (Ohio State, having lost to Purdue but having beaten Wisconsin, is difficult to analyze.) Nebraska has played well all year, with its only two losses of the season so far coming to Wisconsin, which was expected, and Northwestern, in an upset. MGoBlog isn't too worried about Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez, however: "…if you've ever watched Martinez throw…eesh. Imagine Denard passing, but instead of an arm he has a chicken wing. Expect to see Jordan Kovacs nuzzling the line of scrimmage frequently."

Meanwhile, Nebraska's defense may prove to be the difference. It is a lot better than Michigan State's. Recently Michigan's offensive coordinator Al Borges has said that the Nebraska defense is "good. Well coached. I had an opportunity to coach against coach Pelini when I was at Auburn. They do a great job with their four match zone, where they take your guys away. They cover you. They're one of those defenses like a couple we're played this year that really want to take it all away. They don't want the ball checked down. They don't want the ball thrown down field. They want to take away the run. There's no bend but don't break in their style. They know what they're doing, and they know how to coach."

Before the season started, Nebraska was the game I was most worried about, giving Michigan's chance to win a measly 17%. The season has evolved and changed a lot since then: I also expected Michigan to lose to what I thought was going to be a very prepared Notre Dame.

Can Michigan afford to lose to Nebraska? Well, yes and no. As a true fanatic, I can't say that Michigan is ever allowed to lose any game, but like Iowa, a loss to Nebraska won't be soul-crushing. They are a good team who have come into the Big Ten and have made a statement. 

Like most of the Big Ten teams, however, they've also been upset in surprising defeats. I almost want to say that Michigan should use this game as preparation for Ohio State, because that's essentially all it is. Michigan will not be going to the inaugural Big Ten Championship game, which we never really expected since all we wanted was an 8-4 season with OSU and MSU being among those eight.

Illinois had a good rushing defense, but Michigan dominated it. Nebraska, of course, is better, but since Michigan wasn't completely routed or stalled by the Illini, there is the thought that they can muster the same performance. Hopefully it would carry over, because Ohio State has a good defense, too.

It will be an adequate test, before the ultimate one.

Gameplay Against Iowa Exposes Michigan's Weaknesses

Well, we're at that point in the season, the point where we can start to see exactly what kind of team we have.

In the first half of the season, we tried as hard as we could to remain objective. Michigan seemed like a team that wasn't a world-beater but was a team that still found a way to win. Now, well into the meat of the Big Ten, we know the sober truth: Michigan certainly isn't a world-beater, and it has weaknesses. Despite Brady Hoke's high hopes for his first season, the Wolverines will not contend for the Big Ten title.

To some degree, this was to be expected. It was Hoke's first year, he and Borges are trying to gradually incorporate the pro-style offense while still retaining elements of Rich Rodriguez's spread, and the defense is steadily improving. As much as Hoke loves Michigan and wants to win championships, we knew there was a difference between being realistic and being unrealistic. A Big Ten title in Hoke's first year seemed out of the question at first, then Michigan's first six games gave us a little too much optimism, and now we're back.

This isn't to say that Hoke hasn't done a phenomenal job for a first year Michigan head coach. He did a great job uniting the fanbase, locking down the state's top recruits, and starting his coaching era with a bang. 

His team played their hearts out against a Notre Dame team that they probably should have lost to and instead won. The Wolverines faced the team that Hoke built in San Diego and, despite a capable Ryan Lindley and dangerous Ronnie Hillman, stalled them. Northwestern made us believe that Hoke's team could overcome virtually any obstacles.

However, the fact remains: Michigan has a long way to go. Iowa showed us what happens when Michigan cannot establish a solid running game, and it reminded us that, while Michigan may have talent, it is not dominating. Michigan has gone from being especially bad to being mediocre—which is why the defense looks so good. Mediocre teams beat bad ones every day of the week, but it can't stand up to the solid, really good ones. Don't get me wrong: this is a necessary stage in Michigan's improvement. It is unreasonable to expect greatness overnight.

Michigan mounted a last-ditch effort to take Iowa into overtime, driving all the way to the goal line, but it wasn't meant to be. Michigan fans everywhere will gripe about the fourth-and-goal pass interference on Roy Roundtree that wasn't called. They will say that Michigan could have won, and they'd be right. Michigan could have won this game, but their slow start finally came back to haunt them. After the Wolverines failed to produce points on their opening drive, they spent the entire game trying to play catch up. The defense kept the game close (although Jake Ryan was mysteriously absent), but Michigan's greater weaknesses have been exposed on offense. Iowa did exactly what Michigan State did: prevent Michigan from establishing the run, force Denard Robinson to pass, and get him out of rhythm. The only difference between this game and the Notre Dame one was that Iowa prevented Robinson from getting into a rhythm for the entire game.

As I walked out of the bar where I had watched the Michigan game, someone saw my Michigan gear and asked, "How did Michigan do today?"

"We lost," I said. "To Iowa."

"Iowa???"

Exactly.

It was a sobering reminder of what Michigan used to be: a dominating team. Iowa may have recently gotten good, basing their offensive and defensive models off of old-school Michigan and Ohio State because that's what you needed in the Big Ten, but Michigan was always better—until the radical departure brought by Rich Rodriguez.

Now, I'm not going to harp on Rodriguez about this. He genuinely believed that his spread and 3-3-5 could work in the Big Ten, and even today there are proponents who continue to argue this. Then there's too much evidence to the contrary, and that evidence being Big Ten teams who roll over us: despite the Michigan's defense's effort, Iowa's Marcus Coker's power running was their primary reason for yardage and, ultimately, scores. It would have been uglier if Michigan didn't have Greg Mattison.

Of course, a lot of Michigan fans are griping about the offense. MGoBlog, a continued advocate for Rich Rodriguez, has taken an obligatory turn to the negative and the unhopeful: "Michigan's played three games against BCS teams with winning records. In each they've fallen behind by multiple scores. Yardage in those games before entering desperation chuck mode: 130 (Notre Dame), 226 (MSU), and 166 (Iowa). Whatever the plan is, it doesn't seem to be working against teams better than Minnesota." The article's writer, Brian Cook, believes that the primary reason for Michigan's recent struggle is the possibility that Denard Robinson isn't being used effectively:

"Denard has limitations. They are severe. He has assets that offset those. They are not being used effectively. He was an All-American last year and is being derided as plain 'not very good' on blogs; he won't sniff a Heisman vote. He's gone backwards. The question is why. Candidate answers: a) Losing Martell Webb, Darryl Stonum, and Steve Schilling, b) Losing Rich Rodriguez, c) Aging backwards like Benjamin Button. I'll take door B."

To clarify, Denard Robinson was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year in 2010, but he was not an All-American. Michigan also struggled against the tougher Big Ten teams (including Iowa) last year, under the leadership of Rich Rodriguez. So I'm less inclined to believe that Rodriguez is the component missing in order to make Michigan beat every team it faces.

What we can say along those lines, however, is that Rodriguez's effect is still being felt: more than half of the players on Michigan's team were identified and recruited by Rodriguez. He notably preferred speed over size. With him gone, the players have done their best to work with the new coaches, they have worked extremely hard, and a lot of that has paid off. But it's not a dominating team, or Michigan would have put Iowa away in the first half.

This leaves us looking towards the future, again. Michigan has three opportunities left to prove that they are a different team from 2010. Nebraska will likely be the toughest bout, despite being played in Michigan Stadium, and Ohio State is getting back to its old self. The pressure to beat the Buckeyes rises with each loss, and I'm not excited about the bowl Michigan will play in. (I'm hoping for the Texas Bowl, but even that won't be pretty.)

Michigan will have to use every game as an opportunity for improvement. They need to get better. I'm confident that Brady Hoke can do that, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm also very nervous about the rest of the season.

Michigan's Record Improves to 4-0 as Team Prepares for Big Ten Conference Play

Well, that was interesting. For a game that I expected to be decided in the fourth quarter, it really wasn't. San Diego State's running or passing attack could not get past Michigan's visibly improved defense. Despite currently being ranked No. 1 in getting turnovers, the Wolverines' defense is neither spectacular nor atrocious. They surprised a lot of people, however, by completely shutting down San Diego State's offense (which was supposed to be threatening) in the first half.

Defensive coordinator Greg Mattison's "bend but don't break" philosophy appears to be exactly what Michigan needed, and it's worked in transitioning them from a defense that was awful last year to a defense that is not bad. I had said back in July that one of the expectations for Hoke's first year was that there must be remarkable improvement on defense. Well, if the defense continues to play as they have, against teams that make me nervous, then they have improved remarkably. We still have yet to hit the meat of the Big Ten, but Michigan has finished its non-conference schedule undefeated. Michigan escaped two of those games (Western Michigan and Notre Dame), and dominated the rest (Eastern Michigan and San Diego State). Given that trend, all the signs indicate that this is a team that is improving week to week.

Before the season, I had thought it would be satisfactory for Hoke to finish his first season at 8-4. When Michigan defeated Notre Dame (a game I expected us to lose), I thought Michigan was suddenly in a position to go 9-3. Now that they defeated San Diego State, a team I expected to narrowly upset Michigan, it's possible the Wolverines may even go 10-2 in the regular season. I'm still worried about Nebraska, and the games against Michigan State and Ohio State have gone from difficult to definite toss-ups. The Spartans face continued question marks on their offensive line and, predictably, the Buckeyes aren't happy with either their rookie quarterbacks or their rookie head coach.

Meanwhile, Brady Hoke couldn't have asked for a better start to his head coaching career at Michigan. The start of the Big Ten schedule is not daunting for the Wolverines as they face a beleaguered Minnesota, whose head coach will likely not be on the sidelines because he has checked himself into a hospital to resolve his recurring seizure situation. After Minnesota, Michigan faces Northwestern as their first road test, which could prove difficult if the Wildcats show a significant difference in the passing attack with the return of quarterback Dan Persa. The real test, however, will come against Michigan State in East Lansing, as the Wolverines look to snap a three-game losing streak which the Spartans have been clinging to ever since the days of Rich Rodriguez.

Despite Michigan's 4-0 start, it's becoming increasingly difficult to analyze this team. Denard Robinson is still the effective and explosive runner—he put up a net of 200 rushing yards against the Aztecs—but his passing game still needs work. Denard only completed 8 of 17 passes and threw two interceptions. You can credit that somewhat to San Diego State's defense, but some of it came from Denard making poor decisions. His receivers, specifically tight end Kevin Koger, did not catch even the easy passes that Denard made, which further hurts his completion percentage but admittedly isn't all on him. It did force Michigan to rely on more of a running attack, but fortunately the combination of Vincent Smith and Fitzgerald Toussaint was able to take some of the load off Denard's legs—which, of course, is always a good thing.

Perhaps the biggest and most observable difference to Michigan's play on both sides of the ball was the "fast start." Michigan finally broke the stigma of not scoring a touchdown in the first quarter of a given game, and by halftime the Wolverines were up 21-0. The third quarter, however, was sloppy. Michigan turned the ball over four times, losing the turnover battle 4-3 for the first time this season. Nevertheless, Michigan maintained its lead and finished the game 28-7, allowing San Diego State only one touchdown.

It's easy to say that Michigan's defense was the reason San Diego State failed to capitalize on many of its drives, but had Aztec quarterback Ryan Lindley been more accurate in his throws, it would have been a much closer game. Michigan was able to stop the run and Heisman candidate Ronnie Hillman by winning the battle in the trenches. The Wolverines' front seven was able to get enough pressure on Lindley that forced bad throws. I said before that San Diego State would be a good test for Michigan's defense. Unless San Diego State simply had an off-day with emotions running high because of the Brady Hoke factor, then I'd say the Wolverines passed the test ably. With the exception of the third quarter, this is how Michigan will have to play to stop Michigan State, who rely on a similar establish-run offense and then destroy you with the passing attack. If Michigan can get penetration with their defensive line, Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins will find himself in a lot of tough situations, and Michigan can make a game out of it. It's only when Michigan State is able to establish the run that they've been able to give Cousins liberty in the passing game.

Understandably, a lot of Michigan fans may be asking themselves if 2011 is going to be a repeat of the past two years. Michigan started out 4-0 in non-conference games both times and also won their Big Ten opener. Then, of course, by the time the real part of the Big Ten schedule hit, the Wolverines buckled and "the wheels fell off the bus." This year, I had thought that losses to either Notre Dame or San Diego State would propel the Wolverines to approach the Big Ten with something to prove, and hopefully that would mean better play. Obviously, however, since Michigan didn't lose the non-conference games I expected them to, they will head into the conference undefeated, and any losses they suffer this season will come presumably at the hands of the Big Ten. That is, unless Brady Hoke can turn Michigan around in one year.

The differences between this year and 2009/2010 appear to be palpable. Michigan won its first games in 2009 and 2010 by escaping them narrowly, or because the offense bailed out Michigan's inept defense in the fourth quarter. We had seen the warning signs when Michigan faced UMass but refused to accept what we saw and what it meant. When we eventually faced Michigan State that year, we couldn't hide from the truth anymore. We couldn't hide from the simple fact that our defense was bad and wasn't going to stop anybody.

Fast forward a year and we have a new coach, but we also still have those old feelings, the dread that we'll see the wheels fall off the bus again. As such, both those who support Brady Hoke or were skeptical of him approached the non-conference schedule with caution, and sometimes we're looking for excuses of why we won. That's because we were burned so bad the past three years. Is it really unrealistic to see improvement? I want to say no, to say that the improvement is there, but I had let my optimism get the better of me in 2010. It was Rodriguez's third year, and we should have seen a difference. Now it's Brady Hoke's first year, and a lot of us secretly expected Michigan to go back to square one, but amazingly that hasn't happened. Hoke's first year will at least be as good as Rodriguez's third, and that's saying a lot. I said I'd settle for an 8-4 season with a victory over Michigan State or Ohio State, but Brady Hoke never said that. He wants to go all the way.

After an offseason that made us giddy with the pouring in of elite recruits, Michigan fans may have started to think that it was too good to be true. The season was going to be sobering. We weren't going to win against Notre Dame, and we'd have to sit through watching another incompetent defense. Then we apparently forgot that Brady Hoke is Brady Hoke, and this is Michigan for God sakes.

Have we become so accustomed to disappointment from the past three years that we can't even consider the possibility that we might actually be a contender for the Big Ten title? Michigan will eventually face challenges against Nebraska, Michigan State, Iowa, and Ohio State, but we can go into those games with the knowledge that we at least have a chance. More than a chance, maybe. It's not like when we faced Indiana last year: Michigan didn't desperately escape a team they were expected to beat, they dominated them. They dominated a San Diego State team that quite frankly made me nervous. And say what you will about Notre Dame, but they'll turn out to be a good team this year, and we'll look back and be satisfied that Michigan did what they had to do to win the game.

Michigan's fifth home game in a row is played against Minnesota, a team that almost staged a comeback against USC but later got destroyed by North Dakota State. Jerry Kill has his work cut out for him, and the Gophers will struggle to even make it to a bowl game this year. What's even worse is that Minnesota probably won't have their head coach on the sidelines for the Michigan game. Kill has decided that his seizure disorder, a side-effect of him having cancer, has become an obstacle and has checked himself into Minnesota's Mayo Clinic until it is resolved. The Gophers also have painful question marks at quarterback. Minnesota fans insist that true freshman Max Shortell is the best option and that the coaches should put Marquis Gray back at wide receiver, but even with Shortell under center the Gophers hardly have a dangerous offense. Their defense simply gave up against North Dakota State, and penalties will continue to be a nightmare for the team this year. Jerry Kill, who when he was first hired reminded people that he can't work miracles, has said that Minnesota is about as good as a high school football team. This is strange considering how well they seemed to fare against USC, but the prognosis is that the Gophers have gotten worse as the season goes on. If this continues, Minnesota may struggle to win four games. Kill's only had spring and fall camps to work with.

The Wolverines should have no trouble beating the Golden Gophers in the Big House, but overconfidence has led to upsets more than once in college football. Denard Robinson will have to settle down in how he throws the ball, and Al Borges would be wise to script easy passes in the beginning to build his confidence. Borges will also likely run Denard all over the field, which Minnesota will struggle to defend. 

It's not exactly an exciting way to begin Michigan's trek through the Big Ten conference, but Brady Hoke will take wins where he can get them. The start to his first year could not have been smoother. Michigan's schedule will become increasingly difficult as the season goes on, but as we all know, it's always easier to stomach mistakes and steadily make improvements when you're winning.

Michigan's 2012 Recruiting Class is Stacked on Defense

Okay, okay, I know I said I don't normally cover recruiting, but there have been a few developments that I feel merit the attention of any Maize and Blue fans who wonder where Michigan is going defensively in the next few years. Suffice it to say that Michigan's incoming recruits for 2012 are given impressive ratings across the board, and that might be reason for Wolverine fans to get excited, but let's keep things in perspective as best we can.

For those of you who do follow recruiting, you already know what's been happening. For those just tuning in, it's been a pretty good (if not great) summer as Michigan and Brady Hoke's staff racked up commitment after commitment of the Midwest's best high school prospects. This comes after Hoke and his staff salvaged a respectable 2011 class before Signing Day on February 2. 

Now, Hoke has raised eyebrows, especially those of skeptical Michigan fans, by hitting the ground running and landing commitments for 2012 almost a year before. That's impressive.

It isn't just great players that Hoke has been recruiting: rather, it's been great players on defense. Anyone who followed Rich Rodriguez at Michigan may have some idea of how important this is. People watching the 2010 season were frustratingly trying to figure out why the defense was so bad. (It was the worst in Michigan history.) There were speculations that perhaps it was the scheme of 3-3-5, a scheme which defensive coordinator Greg Robinson had never before coached. There were also opinions, largely from Rodriguez supporters, that it Greg Robinson himself who was incompetent, despite the fact that Rodriguez stubbornly made him run the 3-3-5 because that's what worked for Rodriguez at West Virginia. Finally, and this was the hardest to swallow, there was the very possible notion that it was the players, that they were as talented defensively as Michigan had become accustomed. 

Rodriguez himself often went the third route, blaming the players, saying that they were young and inexperienced, and that's why Michigan's defense was so bad. However, Rodriguez might have had something to do with it, since several of these players had been recruited under his tenure. Was it that Rodriguez, an offensive-minded coach, simply put most of his recruiting base in offense? Since some would argue that Rodriguez was hired to do just that—innovate the offense—this line of thinking is certainly bears some weight. The question then became if Rodriguez, the head coach, neglected the defense too much as a result, and you know the rest.

In any case, Brady Hoke has taken steps to remedy every possible scenario for Michigan's defensive struggles. If it was the fault of the scheme or the defensive coordinator, Hoke has brought in the 4-3 defensive scheme and Greg Mattison, former defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens, who has loads of experience coaching the 4-3 and coaching it well. There might be more to this than simply a new scheme (or technically an old one) because Hoke has said that the 4-3 is essential in the Big Ten. 

"You're playing in the Big Ten and to have four down linemen physically in the football game, I think when you look at who you play and our schedule and the types of offenses you're going to play against, I think it's more conducive," he said in an Alumni Association interview. "We'll be Multiple in a 4-3 at times because, when you do get in those third down situations, you're going to play a little bit more blitzing, more aggressive attitude, and play a little bit more coverage when you can."

If the problem with Michigan's defense was coaching, as several anti-Rodriguez proponents suggest, then Hoke is certainly the right hire, because he is a stoutly defensive-minded coach, which was exactly what athletic director Dave Brandon was looking for. Hoke has said that he is going back to basics with the players and will re-teach fundamentals—that means tackling, which Michigan's defensive backs could hardly do individually and in open space. He told the defensive coaches to "assume the players know nothing" and start at square one.

Interestingly, Hoke says that this isn't because of Michigan's defensive predicament. It's something you have to do every year. He learned that after Michigan went undefeated in 1997 and won the National Championship. "In `98, I had three starters back out of four on the defensive line, assuming those guys knew the expectations, technique and fundamentals, so I got a little more involved in scheme, and we lost our first two ballgames," he told reporters. "I blame myself for that to this day. You can't assume. In fall and spring, we will never assume. I don't care if they've played 35 straight games."

Thirdly, if Michigan struggled defensively because the overall talent on defense seemed lacking, then Hoke has remedied that as well. More than half of Michigan's incoming recruits for 2012 are defensive players. (Scout.com has a very good run-down of these recruits and rates them pretty high.) Mario Ojemudia is a four-star defensive end from Farmington Hills Harrison, typically considered a Michigan State stronghold. His recruitment, along with four-star tight-end Devin Funchess, also from Farmington Hills Harrison, drove the Spartans crazy. 

Michigan State were further sent into panic mode when the Wolverines landed commitments from Royce Jenkins-Stone and Terry Richardson out of Cass Tech High School, both four-star linebackers, as well as Matt Godin, a three-star defensive tackle from Detroit Catholic Central, Ben Braden, a three-star offensive tackle out of Novi, and most impressively James Ross, the #2 linebacker in the country and #1 in the state of Michigan—all of whom held scholarship offers from Michigan State but chose Michigan instead.

Ross and Royce Jenkins-Stone are the two best players in the state of Michigan, #1 and #2 respectively. Their commitments, along with all of those listed above, were a crushing blow to Spartan fans because Mark Dantonio had dominated in-state recruiting for the past three years. Furthermore, Ojemudia was considered a lock for Michigan State until he received a scholarship offer from the Wolverines. I would say that his and Funchess's commitments broke Farmington Hills Harrison as a Michigan State pipeline, and perhaps it has, but the Spartans nailed down a commitment from wide receiver Aaron Burbridge, who reportedly had not received an offer from Michigan because his academic grades were low. 

To be fair, as much as Farmington Hills Harrison is a Spartan stronghold, Cass Tech is practically a Michigan fortress, and it's possible that the Spartans thought they had a legitimate shot at those recruits because of what Dantonio has done and because Rodriguez's recruiting had drifted away. As it turned out, they didn't. The commitments from these fantastic in-state players only served to remind the Spartan fanbase that they do not dominate the state of Michigan.

It's not just the in-state battle that Michigan is winning. Ever since Jim Tressel was exposed, Michigan has set its sights on Ohio, which the Wolverines and the Buckeyes have battled over for decades. (Jim Tressel practically put a wall around Ohio and Rich Rodriguez decided to primarily look elsewhere.) Brady Hoke has re-established "the lifeblood of Michigan's recruiting" in the states of Ohio and Michigan. The Wolverines have landed a host of impressive recruits from Ohio, including Caleb Stacey, A.J. Williams, Joe Bolden, Pharaoh Brown, Allen Gant, Kaleb Ringer, Jarrod Wilson, among others, all of which were three-star or better. 

However, the Ohio recruits who have created the most buzz are defensive end Tom Strobel, offensive tackle Kyle Kalis, and defensive end Chris Wormley, because they were considered heavy Ohio State leans. Yet those players have committed to Michigan, much to the Buckeyes' chagrin. (I had held off on writing this article until Wormley in particular committed.)

Strobel, a four-star recruit who held a scholarship offer from Ohio State, claims he grew up a Buckeye but committed to Michigan instead because he felt Michigan "will provide [Strobel] with both the best academic and athletic college experience possible." (Michigan fans around the country collectively went "Booyah!") Kyle Kalis, a five-star offensive tackle who is presumed to be the best player in Ohio, had originally committed to Ohio State but de-committed when Tressel resigned and Ohio State paced the possibility of NCAA sanctions. Kalis committed to the Wolverines on July 10 and said that "the Michigan-Ohio border is now open." To the Buckeye fans' surprise and fury, Kalis claimed that more players from Ohio were likely to go to Michigan. Finally, Chris Wormley, another defensive-end who garnered a four-star rating, was a high value target for the Buckeyes and even received a scholarship offer from them, but he decided to go to Michigan. The Wolverine Blog has an extensive look at Wormley's eventual commitment.

Not only is 2012 shaping up to be one of Michigan's best classes in recent history, but Brady Hoke and his staff have managed to secure such impressive commitments before having coached a single game and an entire season before next year's Signing Day. Michigan fans find it increasingly difficult not to be amazed by Hoke's actions. And for those worrying that the pendulum might swing the other way—that Michigan is focusing so much on defense that in a few years we might have nothing productive on offense—Hoke's 2012 class includes several offensive linesmen, two tight ends, and a fullback. He has also secured a very early commitment for 2013 from De La Salle's Shane Morris, currently a sophomore but who could be the best quarterback in the state of Michigan.

Now before we all go giddy with excitement, let's keep things firmly in perspective. While we can conclude that Hoke has a vast majority of recruits coming in on defense, there were plenty of highly touted recruits from Rodriguez's classes (yes, even on defense) that generated excitement but became nothing. Either they produced little on the field, transferred elsewhere, or did not gain admission into Michigan because they didn't meet the academic standards. These incoming players could be same or they could be what we're all expecting. Furthermore, depending on Brady Hoke's first season, and if the Wolverines perform horribly, several of these recruits could de-commit and decide to go elsewhere. Many of Michigan's rivals are anticipating this.

However, even this must be looked at objectively. While recruits are certainly free to de-commit any time they wish—because the actual deadline for committing to a program is not until Signing Day, where it becomes rock solid—typically when recruits commit to someplace, they do not de-commit. There are always exceptions, as was the case with Kyle Kalis, who de-committed from Ohio State because of the turmoil and instability surrounding its program, but as a general rule commitments are secure.

Regardless of what caused Michigan's defensive problems in past years, the Wolverines will have solid defensive players coming in either way, and the defense will be better. The only real question is when. If the defense was bad because of coaching, then Hoke and Mattison's teaching fundamentals will have an immediate impact and 2011 will show a visible improvement. If the defense struggled because it simply did not have the horses, then you will see a difference in 2012 when these stellar recruits come in and compete for early playing time.

The Michigan fanbase is waiting with baited breath for the 2011 season to start. We're only thirty days away. In any event, what Michigan fans can know is that Brady Hoke is making sure that the defense is secure for the future. Bo Schembechler would be proud.

Will 2011 Be Michigan's Comeback Year?

There's plenty of reason for optimism regarding Michigan football this upcoming season, but some Michigan fans are still skeptical. The Wolverines look to snap the losing streaks against their two most hated rivals: one, against the Ohio State Buckeyes, for seven years which has been far too long, and the second, against the Michigan State Spartans, for three years which is unacceptable. However, fans tend to attribute the losses against MSU more to Rich Rodriguez than anything else, since he slipped up in-state recruiting and it is highly doubtful Lloyd Carr's Wolverines would have suffered the same set of losses.

Rodriguez's frequent losses in "red-letter games," as athletic director Dave Brandon called them, ultimately resulted in his firing, as he posted a 15-22 record, and failing to defeat anyone worthwhile in the Big Ten. (The victory in 2008 against Wisconsin, when the Wolverines finished 3-9, is a notable exception.) Brandon went out and found a "Michigan Man," someone who understood the traditions vastly better than Rodriguez seemingly ever could. That Michigan Man is Brady Hoke who, despite plenty of jokes, jabs, and skepticism from certain Michigan blogs, might actually be a good football coach.

Even for the most skeptical Michigan fan, however, it is difficult to say that Hoke is doing a bad job. On his first day, Hoke showed his passion for Michigan with his first press conference. "We're going to have a pride in who we are," he said. "Everyone who's going to touch this program and deal with these kids is going to have a fanatical love for the University of Michigan or they won't work in the football office, I can tell you that."

What's interesting is that Hoke's speech seems both improvised and rehearsed. Whether he knew exactly what to say can be debated. It is possible that Hoke's passion for Michigan was so intense that he had been preparing for that day (when he would give his first speech) for the greater part of his life. It is also possible that Hoke simply said what he felt and said it honestly, without having to rehearse. It could be fun for him, perhaps, to just talk about Michigan. This is in large part why Hoke has convinced so many Michigan fans that he is the right man for the job, because he has connected with them, because he showed them why he loves Michigan, when Rodriguez could not and did not. That's what you get when you hire a Michigan Man.

Then he went to work. Despite the uncertainty that comes with a coaching tradition, he managed to salvage Michigan's 2011 recruiting class and lined up Matt Wile, an incoming kicker, who is most certainly needed as Michigan's kicking game in 2010 was atrocious. Probably Hoke's biggest and best move as Michigan's new head coach was hiring Greg Mattison as the defensive coordinator. Mattison had previously coached Michigan's defense from 1995-1996 and was defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens when Hoke called. Michigan's defense was perhaps its worst ever during Rodriguez's tenure, and Hoke's hiring of Mattison seemed to put a lot of uneasy fans at ease, and some are starting to give him a little credit.

Hoke continued to do well in recruiting and brought back the focus to the Midwestern states of Michigan and Ohio, each ripe with talent and considered pipeline states for U-M. In bringing back that focus, Hoke and his recruiting staff have landed several big-time commitments for the classes of 2012 and 2013, and has even managed to steal some recruits away from Michigan State's Mark Dantonio (who dominated the state of Michigan during the Rodriguez years) and Ohio State (whose coach, Jim Tressel, recently resigned because of NCAA rule violations). Among those noteworthy commits from the state of Michigan were defensive end Mario Ojemudia and tight end Devin Funchess, both from Farmington Hills Harrison, which is believed to be a "Spartan stronghold." Hoke's staff also landed James Ross from Orchard Lake St. Mary's Preparatory, another target of Dantonio's recruiting staff and, with his commitment to U-M, was another disappointment for Michigan State fans.

On the field, Michigan's 2011 spring game left plenty to be desired. The offense wasn't nearly as explosive as it had been a year previously, and perhaps that's a good thing. Perhaps the offense had been destroying the defense last year not because the offense was good but because the defense was just that bad. Many suspect that Rodriguez focused exclusively on offense and left the defense to be merely the offense's "sparring partner." However, in spring 2011, Hoke and Mattison were hard at work bringing the defense back to Michigan's standards (i.e. tough as a brick wall), and for the most part the defense dominated. It only gave up one really big play, when running back Mike Cox burst past the D-line and ran for a touchdown. These are all players from Rodriguez's time, and the difference in terms of success will likely be how well Hoke and his staff are able to coach the players, since he did not recruit them. We can never really know if the defense has substantially improved until the Wolverines begin their season in the fall.

Michigan certainly looks poised to do well. Its chief rival, Ohio State, will have to deal with the burden of NCAA sanctions for the mistakes of Jim Tressel, Terrelle Pryor, and a host of other Buckeyes. At least for 2012, Michigan State's recruiting has fallen behind Michigan's. All the signs are there for a Michigan football revival, which is exactly what the program needs. The years of losses under Rodriguez may have been well received by Michigan's rivals, but to the Wolverine faithful such a breakdown was unbearable. However, with Michigan going back to its roots, things are starting to look, sound, and feel like Michigan again, and that could mean great success in the making. Brian Christopherson, a writer for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, believes that Michigan's difficulties reflect in many ways those had by Nebraska in 2007, and since Nebraska pulled out of it, Michigan will too. "Such pitfalls are normally short-lived for the elite programs, especially if you find the right guy with the right vision," said Chistopherson. "Nebraska has cleaned off the muck of 2007 since Bo Pelini's arrival. And don't expect the Wolverines to be stuck in the middling pack long, either."

Because Rich Rodriguez ran the spread offense so extensively, there might be a fear in the Michigan fanbase that Denard Robinson, recruited by Rodriguez out of Florida and seemingly molded to fit the spread, might not fit with the pro-style offense that Hoke's offensive coordinator, Al Borges, is planning to coach. Robinson excited the Michigan fanbase because of his amazing abilities to run, as evidenced by the 2010 games against Connecticut and Notre Dame, where his speed was seemingly impossible to defend. (By the time Michigan reached the Big Ten conference part of their schedule, Robinson's running became less and less effective.) Such a use of his talent (i.e. a quarterback who runs) fits well in the spread because he is considered a dual-threat quarterback, and with so many options available the opposing defense cannot possibly cover all of it. However, Michigan's pro-style offense was effective with Anthony Thomas, Tom Brady, Chad Henne, and Mike Hart during their days on the team, and it stands to reason that it could be effective here too. After all, Robinson is not completely foreign to this type of offense; he did run some of it in high school.

Borges has said that Robinson's place in the offense will not be a square peg in a round hole. Despite saying that Robinson will move to under center (he spent most of his time in the shotgun for the spread), Borges also said that the offense will be fitted to Robinson's ability, under center or in the shotgun, and his running ability will still be utilized. "We're still going to have that stuff," Borges told reporters after the spring game. "I've been saying that all along. I think everybody when I came here was under the impression that we were going to line up under center for every play, but I haven't done that in years. And we will continue to keep and do some of the things that [Robinson] is good at, just adding our power game to it."

The main focus on Robinson: adding structure. The pro-style offense should bring enough of that, and should Robinson develop substantially as a passer, he will have more to rely on than his running, which also should mean that he'll be at less risk for injury. For right now, Borges and his offensive staff are assessing and re-assessing. They understand that they have to do it right in this first year, but they're still confident that Robinson is a talented enough quarterback to be successful and effective. All he needs to do is develop that ability. "Once he gets it down where he's comfortable, I think you'll see a pretty good quarterback," Borges added. "And we'll make it work for him. It's not going to be the stuff we like; it's going to be the stuff he can do."

Robinson himself isn't opposed to less injury or a heavier passing game. "I like throwing touchdowns, I'm not going to lie to you," he said. "I think I like throwing touchdowns more than me scoring." Of all the Michigan players, Robinson has been the most electrifying factor in the offense. He was a front-runner for the Heisman early on in 2010 and put up 329.9 yards per game of total offense. Now his focus will be shifted to passing more than running, but running will still be used, which could make for an interesting (if not exciting) season.

2010 was supposed to be the year that everything turned around. It was supposed to be the year that Rodriguez's system, with the players he recruited, was fully in place and the Big Ten would suffer the consequences of tangling with an explosive offense. Instead, Rodriguez and Michigan went a measly 7-5 that year, with humiliating losses to both rivals, and an utter blowout by Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl, after the Wolverines took a month to prepare. Rodriguez supporters argued and continue to argue that the man was never given enough of a chance, but to the rest of the Michigan faithful, three years was enough. No improvement before the bowl game alone was unacceptable.

There's a lot of the same skepticism and dread when it comes to Hoke, who does not have the same successful pedigree that Rodriguez did. Hoke's actions, however, have been the difference and may continue to be the difference. All he has to do now is prove himself on the field. He has won over several Michigan fans, called the alumni back home, and convinced high school kids to go to Michigan. It's practically impossible to say that Brady Hoke has not met the expectations that any Michigan fan could have. Rodriguez did not meet those expectations, and those who supported him often found themselves alone and against the masses, with little to use as ammunition other than "wait, it'll get better." The effect of Brady Hoke is already so much more tangible.

The comeback that Michigan should have had in 2010 may very well come this year. It's starting to look that way. At the very least, Hoke should have a decent year, and 2012 will be the one (since his recruits on defense will be coming in) that sees a huge, legitimate effect. He turned around San Diego State in two years. He already has the talent at Michigan, and throes of defensive players coming in next year, so perhaps it's time to get excited now.

Hoke has clocks in the locker room counting down to the games against Michigan State and Ohio State. The players will be watching them every day. Maybe we should too.

So James Ross is Basically Boba Fett

Okay, I don't normally cover recruiting. Even for a Michigan fan, the whole process is so laborious and intricate that it's practically its own world. There are plenty of recruiting sites out there who make it their business to follow everything about high school prospects, and some sites are even devoted to entire states. Most Michigan blogs address recruiting as the findings come in, and some have their own staff writers who focus solely on it as a subject. It seems kind of odd to devote so much energy to people who haven't even donned the winged helmet yet—but hey, it's the offseason, and we have to talk about something.

Since the hiring of Brady Hoke as head football coach, Michigan has made noticeable strides in re-establishing its foothold for recruiting within the state of Michigan. Hoke's predecessor, Rich Rodriguez, was frequently criticized for not giving enough attention to the high school prospects in the states of Michigan or Ohio. Most Michigan fans maintain that he did not do enough to secure the top Michigan prospects from being recruited by Michigan State.

True, Rodriguez admitted that he preferred to recruit nationally. However, it would be wrong to suggest that he did not recruit in-state at all. He recruited quarterback Devin Gardner from Inkster, Michigan, for instance. Yet it is widely believed that Rodriguez did not make recruiting in the states of Michigan and Ohio a priority. Both states, especially Ohio, are renowned for producing stellar football talent. Since the days of Bo Schembechler, the Wolverine staff has had to battle Ohio State for many of the recruits out of Ohio—and recently, they have battled Michigan State for the recruits who are within of the state of Michigan.

Rodriguez's efforts in recruiting have largely been followed and documented, and he seemed to pursue players particularly from California and Florida, where he found Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson, respectively. However, Ohio and Michigan are considered pipeline states for U-M, and for Rodriguez to not primarily focus on those put him in dangerous waters with the alumni and the fan base.

Brady Hoke, by contrast, said in his first press conference that "the lifeblood of [Michigan's] recruiting has to be in the Midwest and has to be and the state of Michigan." He is definitely intent on making that a priority. It's certainly shown for the class of 2012: among the top ten high school recruits in the state of Michigan, at least eight of them have committed to U-M.

One of the most notable of these recruits is James Ross, who is considered the number two high school middle-linebacker in the country. He may be the best high school prospect in the state of Michigan. His highlights are impressive. Scout.com has a pretty good profile on Ross: he's 6'1", 215 lbs, and has garnered as many as 83 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and four forced fumbles as a sophomore at Orchard Lake St. Mary's (OLSM).

Ross committed early to Michigan on May 2, 2011 as a junior. He'll join the class of 2012, after finishing up his senior year at OLSM.

This is a solid get for Brady Hoke's staff. Ross also held offers from USC, Penn State, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Michigan State, and Ohio State. He was pursued relentlessly by MSU's Mark Dantonio, who made him an offer when Ross was a sophomore. Rodriguez's staff made Ross an offer shortly thereafter. This might come as a surprise to those who thought that Rodriguez did not recruit in-state. However, it is possible that Ross was so highly touted that Rodriguez could not afford to overlook him.

It is no secret that Rodriguez's decision to shift focus away from the state of Michigan allowed for Dantonio and Michigan State to dominate in-state recruiting for the past three years. When or if Rodriguez learned of his mistake can never really be known. There are plenty of examples to suggest that Rodriguez did eventually recruit in-state, but did he recruit heavily? After the second or third straight loss to Michigan State, it is possible that Rodriguez realized how important in-state recruiting was. There is also Fred Jackson, who has been Michigan's running backs coach for nineteen years and has very strong ties to the state's high schools: it's likely he kept those connections strong. Jackson was the only assistant of Lloyd Carr's that Rodriguez retained during the transition. He has also been retained by Brady Hoke's staff.

OLSM is a fertile ground for recruiting. It has produced players like Morgan Trent and Dionte Allen. Trent ended up going to Michigan, where he played under Lloyd Carr, and Allen went to Florida State. (He has since transferred to the Buckeyes.) While St. Mary's has long held strong ties to U-M, those ties supposedly fizzled during the Rodriguez years. The school's head football coach, George Porritt, reportedly expressed disappointment at the lack of scouts Michigan sent to observe his players, which allowed Michigan State to capitalize on recruiting OLSM's talent. Since then, Brady Hoke has worked to re-establish those ties. While Rodriguez may have shown interest in Ross because it was hard not to, it was apparently Hoke and his staff who closed the deal.

The deciding factor for Ross was likely Hoke's new defensive coordinator, Greg Mattison, who previously held the position for the Baltimore Ravens. Long before Mattison rejoined the Wolverines, Ross had said back in 2010 that the player he modeled himself after was Ray Lewis, who played for the Baltimore Ravens under Greg Mattison. "I emulate Ray Lewis on the field," Ross told the Detroit News. "I like how he plays, and I try to imitate everything that he does. It really fits me how he plays."

It may have been a coincidence that Michigan's new defensive coordinator happened to coach the player that Ross idolized, but it does at least draw a clear line of distinction between Hoke's staff and Rodriguez's—namely, how likely (or unlikely) Rodriguez may have been to recruit Ross if he still had the job. Hoke's hire of Mattison seems to be the difference, and it speaks to his skills as a head coach. Just as Denard Robinson arguably would not have come to Michigan if not for Rich Rodriguez, James Ross arguably would not have committed to Michigan if Brady Hoke had not hired Greg Mattison.

In a video interview with mgoblue.com, Mattison famously said that he would not have returned to Michigan for anyone except Brady Hoke. "It's like coming home," he said. "I would not have left professional football to go to college again, I don't think—I definitely wouldn't have done if it wasn't for Brady Hoke. I was at a great situation, but when it became Michigan and it became Brady Hoke, it was too hard to pass up."

During Rich Rodriguez's tenure, Michigan's defense became the worst in its history. Now, Brady Hoke and Greg Mattison are working to bring the defense back, and that means recruiting really good defensive players. Ross certainly fits the bill.

Spartan fans who desperately wanted Ross have now written off his commitment to Michigan, according to Genuinely Sarcastic, a Michigan blog. Despite Ross being only a junior in high school, Spartan fans consider his height to be unfitting of what they should be looking for anyway. This is pitiful logic. If Dantonio didn't see any value in Ross, he wouldn't have made Ross an offer. Furthermore, Michigan State fans argue that Ross was always going to commit to Michigan because he was supposedly a lifelong Michigan fan. This is also untrue. If anything, Ross was leaning towards Ohio State early in his decision process. Buckeye Planet, a discussion board obsessed with potential OSU recruits, followed Ross's recruitment extensively, going back as early as 2009 when Ross only started to appear on scouting sites. In the same Detroit News interview in which he said he emulated Ray Lewis, Ross also admitted that he grew up rooting for Ohio State.

"I was always an Ohio State guy," he said. "I kept it to myself. It wasn't really that big of a deal. My family always gets mad when I bring up Ohio State. They just say that I do not understand the success that Michigan has had."

Ross's father, himself a die-hard Michigan fan, said that despite his attachment to Michigan he did not pressure his son. He said that he did not see his son rooting for Ohio State during the Michigan-Ohio State game, but that Ross would root for Ohio State whenever the Buckeyes played in a bowl game. Ross even said he was excited when he finally received an offer from Ohio State.

Hearing that, Ohio State fans on Buckeye Planet were confident that Ross would commit to the Buckeyes. "Love it," one Buckeye fan said. "Ross will likely be the top prospect in that state up north next year and it sounds like the Bucks are the team to beat."

As it turned out, they were wrong. 

Whether or not Ross's decision to commit had been influenced by Jim Tressel resigning from Ohio State is unknown, but I prefer to think that it was Ross's interest in playing for Greg Mattison that pushed him toward committing to the Wolverines.

An inside source at OLSM said that Ross's final decision "came down to either Michigan or Penn State." In the end, Ross picked Michigan.