Thursday Morning Brews: Working for the Weekend

Happy Thursday, folks. Welcome to Thursday morning Brews. There’s just one more day until you can spend your evening singing to the jukebox (jukeboxes are still a thing, right?) in your favorite after-work establishment. The content this morning is more varied than the steady diet of recruiting we had on Tuesday. We start off with what is becoming a (bad) trend in the world of FBS satellite camps, before moving on to the general athletic department news, baseball, and a football recruiting tidbit.

As I’ve done for the past few weeks, there is a musical theme to the Brews this morning. There at least four clues included this morning. They can be photos, words, or phrases, and they combine to reference a song and a band. Fire away with your guesses down in the comments.

Let’s hit the links:

Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Satellite Camp Silliness Continues, Certain Coaches Scared of Competition

File this one under “P” for petty. LSU Football coach Ed Orgeron continues to throw weight around in the Bayou State by forcing another local college to withdraw its invitation for a P5 program to appear at their football camp. This time, it’s Texas. But if this sounds familiar, it’s because Orgeron pulled the same thing last month; forcing Tulane to withdraw its invitation for Jim Harbaugh and staff to appear at their June 16 camp. This sort of move suggests weakness and it’s a tactical blunder. Orgeron is telling the world (and recruits) that he would prefer to threaten his way into winning rather than compete with the likes of Michigan and Texas for recruits.

Of course, it should be said that this only harms the kids. Instead of attending a camp and being instructed by multiple FBS coaching staffs, they’re stuck with only one. Rather than being exposed to a reasonable cross-section of the college football landscape (B1G, SEC, Big-XII), camp attendees are left with fewer coaches - or no coaches at all. Orgeron didn’t just force DIII school Belhaven to withdraw its invitation to Texas, he didn’t force the replacement of Texas with LSU as he did during the Michigan incident, he forced the cancellation of the entire camp. And, when it rains it pours. This is the THIRD TIME that Orgeron has forced a camp to be canceled in Louisiana simply because Texas coaches were scheduled to attend. High school kids won’t have the opportunity to learn and get better because Ed Orgeron can’t handle another P5 program in the state of Louisiana, and that’s a shame.

With the Spring seasons coming to a close, the athletic department handed out its annual awards celebrating all that Michigan student athletes have achieved this year. Earning the honors of Male Student Athlete of the Year and Female Student Athlete of the Year are two individuals who shouldn’t be strangers to readers of MnB and the Brews. Taking home the women’s award was Brienne Minor, a member of the Women’s Tennis team. Minor recently completed a stunning run through the NCAA Championships and took home the first singles title in program history. On the men’s side is an athlete we’re all well acquainted with, Heisman finalist, All-American, and first round NFL Draft pick Jabrill Peppers. Leaders and Best, indeed.

In addition to handing out individual awards, the athletic department also ranked the top ten plays of the year in Michigan sports. The top five consisted of an OT winner for field hockey over Iowa, a B1G Championship winning throw for Grant Cartwright - a member of Michigan’s Indoor Track and Field team, Nicole Artz’s perfect score on floor exercises for Women’s Gymnastics, Kyle Mueller’s hole out from the fairway for Men’s Golf, and Jourdan Lewis’ one-handed interception to put away Wisconsin. Plays six through ten may be seen here.

The MLB Draft was held this week and Michigan had three players selected. Leading the way was pitcher Oliver Jaskie, who was selected in the sixth round by the Seattle Mariners. Also selected were utility player Drew Lugbauer in the 11th round by the Atlanta Braves, and pitcher Ryan Nutof in the 16th round by the Cincinnati Reds. The MLB Draft differs significantly from the NFL and NBA drafts in that players selected need not sign with teams or leave school. Being selected in the draft only means that a team has claimed the right to negotiate a contract with a particular player. Players may be selected during the summer after high school, following their third year of college, or upon turning 21.

Two weeks ago Michigan offered 2018 CB Noah Boykin, and the 3* prospect recently spoke with Scout ($) to update his recruitment. Regarding the Wolverines, Boykin told Josh Newkirk, “My interest in Michigan, I mean, to be part of Michigan’s program as a football player, that’s big.” Speaking of big, the 6’2” 170lbs prospect has an impressive offer list. Boykin currently holds 29 offers and the P5 conferences are well represented. Boykin told Scout that he hopes to visit Michigan’s campus and release a list of top schools later this summer. He also mentioned that he expected to utilize of of his official visits, so don’t expect his recruitment to wind down any time soon.