Yesterday I took some time to go over some of the spring practice happenings of the last two weeks. There has been a flurry of information fluff to come out of Fort Schembechler so far this spring, and it is always fun to speculate. I'm not the only one to recap spring practice rumors, as Magnus over at Touch the Banner took the time for a two part series dedicated to his views on the offense and defense so far.
On top of that, Michigan Rewind caught up with Brady Hoke for his thoughts on the spring:
"As great football coach once said, when he got an award, it was like a turtle on a fencepost. It didn't get there by itself." -Hoke in response to his coach of the year award.
The story seems to be the same all over. Denard Robinson is working on becoming a more fluid and cerebral quarterback in year two under coordinator Al Borges, the defensive line is in a state of flux that should yield positive results once players settle into new positions, and the offensive line is pretty much set with Taylor Lewan taking over the role of "the guy" from David Molk.
Time for some links:
Recruiting Roundup: Robinson and McGary All-Star Recaps, Monte Morris & Amedeo Della Valle
From a roster standpoint, there’s no argument that Michigan needs additional backcourt depth – with or without Trey Burke. Della Valle isn’t a point guard but he’s a shooter with size and skill that could – at the very least – add insurance to the Wolverine backcourt. Michigan loses about 38 minutes per game at the two position with the graduation of Zack Novak and Stu Douglass and only brings in one player with the natural ability to play that spot, Nik Stauskas.
Interested in Michigan's 2012 basketball recruiting class? UMHoops has a bevy of information for you.
Speaking of the future of Michigan basketball, Brian over at mgoblog has done a comprehensive rundown of both the presumed title contenders and the middle class next year in the Big Ten. Michigan makes a tentative stop in the contenders list, but is dependent on the decision of Trey Burke to stay or go. The unquestioned early favorite is Indiana, which could bring back Cody Zeller and add a strong recruiting class. Ohio State looks to fall the farthest from contention, unless you count a Purdue team that only sort of contended and is replacing a bunch of high value players with meh guys. Also, jump on the Iowa sleeper train early, before space fills up.
Joe Bolden, LB, Michigan: Our recruiting gurus loved Bolden when he signed with the Wolverines, and the early enrollee has already drawn praise from head coach Brady Hoke on the way he's practiced this spring. Don't be surprised to see him get major minutes at linebacker and possibly contribute on special teams.
Michigan's linebacker recruit and early enrollee gets a little hype of his own as a player that could contribute early. He has been pegged as a two-deep kind of freshman for a few months now --- even before a very good performance at the UU All-American game --- and with a lot of youth already at linebacker he should have as good an opportunity as anyone to step in and get some meaningful snaps.
Bill Connelly over at the Mothership and Football Study Hall has two interesting pieces this week.
First, an updated look at the 2012 F/+ projections. Michigan is the highest team in the Big Ten (but dropped four places from the last unoffcial F/+ projections), Alabama is comfortably in first place (for now, the draft should knock that number down a bit), and the trio of Ohio State, Michigan State, and Wisconsin is hanging around the high-teens, low-twenties.
Also, for fans of The Program, Connelly has some random observations from his most recent viewing.
My wife was not impressed with this movie, and for one very good reason: it isn't very good. But I was 15 when it was released, and I just cannot tell you how fun it was watching this in the theatre with a bunch of other 15-year old males. It was easily my favorite movie in the world for a while, at least until I watched Independence Day with the same crew a couple of years later.
Bonus after the jump: an Al Borges Film segment from BTN.