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Thursday Happy Hour throws a hammer. An actual hammer.

By Zach Travis
You know how I know the Will Campbell hype train is rolling at full speed? I've used the same four (only four) pictures of him about a dozen times each this off season. Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE
You know how I know the Will Campbell hype train is rolling at full speed? I've used the same four (only four) pictures of him about a dozen times each this off season. Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

Michigan's Will Campbell has been praised before, but Brady Hoke explains why this year is different - Kyle Meinke takes a look at all the different kinds of hype Will Campbell is receiving this summer. I'm trying hard not to get too caught up in visions of Will Campbell as an offensive line wrecking machine, but Brady and Co. aren't making it very easy.

2012 Season Countdown: #29 Ondre Pipkins - Speaking of hyped defensive tackles, Magnus on Pipkins:

As far as his freshman season goes, he will almost surely be pressed into action. Michigan's depth on the interior of the defensive line is rather non-existent, with only a handful of defensive tackles returning. The presumed starters are William Campbell at nose tackle and Jibreel Black at 3-tech, while backups Quinton Washington, Richard Ash, and Ken Wilkins return. None of those backups has produced much thus far, so the door is wide open for Pipkins to step in. He probably doesn't have a chance to start this season, but he could be Campbell's primary backup or a short yardage contributor. I have a feeling that he might start off the season third on the depth chart, but will probably move his way up as the season goes along. My expectations are high for his career overall, but offensive line and defensive line (especially defensive tackle) are notoriously difficult transitions for freshmen.

I think a lot of people have even more unrealistic expectations for Pipkins to step in right away and hold down a major role. DT is one of the harder positions to contribute in early (there was a great mgodiary a couple years back on this very subject) and even though I think Pipkins will find a role, counting on him for major production will most likely leave you disappointed. I agree with Magnus that Pipkins will spend most of his freshman year in a reserve role or a situational player.

In a surprise move, Chance Stewart committed to Wisconsin this morning. Stewart was widely thought to be one of Michigan's top targets at QB in the 2014 class, and he committed to Wisconsin without receiving an offer from the Wolverines. This is a huge get for the Badgers and a disappointment for Michigan.

Ex-coach Lloyd Carr discusses Michigan's early success, rising expectations under Brady Hoke - Lloyd on Brady. Read it. Love it.

Halfway to Signing Day: Big Ten edition - Can anyone guess what the top clas---

Best class: Michigan The Wolverines have been in the top three in the class rankings for pretty much an entire year at this point and held on to the top spot for several months. They've got impact players who should play early like five-star quarterback Shane Morris, right, and players who will add depth like a number of their committed offensive linemen. There are some high upside guys amongst the group as well like Csont'e York, Taco Charlton and Khalid Hill too. All-in-all, this might be the deepest class in the nation and there's still a few spots for some elite guys to join as well.

Yeah, thought so.

Ten wide receiver recruits to watch for 2014 - Matt Pargoff runs down a solid list of receiver recruits to watch in the 2014 cycle. Even with the commitment of LaQuon Treadwell -- keep your fingers crossed -- Michigan is still going to need to pick up a couple receivers in the 2014 class.

DC Greg Mattison to finish his career at Michigan, OC Al Borges could do same - I don't think this comes as a big surprise to many after hearing the way Mattison talks about Michigan, combined with his age and his career path thus far, but in an age where coaching turnover is the rule rather than the exception, it is nice to know he will be sticking around for a few more years.

More interesting is Al Borges admitting that his dream of a head coaching job is at this point pretty much an afterthought. Borges is nearly 50, and most likely any head coaching job that would become available would be either at a smaller school or at a rebuilding major school. Neither job is easy.

In the long term this should only help Michigan's recruiting, as one of the biggest advantages is continuity. Having these two coordinators around for the next few years will help keep the program stable and draw more recruits.

2016 Olympic Team: Major changes likely with coach, personnel - Adrian Wojnarowski talked with CBS' Jeff Goodman earlier this week and outlined what could be some substantial changes to Olympic Basketball, i.e., a shift to an under-23 format. While I agree with Andrew Sharp that this could be a whole lot of fun to watch, the relevant portion here is who Woj thinks will be running the point in 2016. That would be the pride of Columbus, Trey Burke.

THE SEC SUMMER OLYMPIAD - A final word from EDSBS:

Hammer throw: An actual hammer, thrown at Todd because he's a dick and INCOMING, TODD! YEAH? WHAT?