Big 10 Expansion: Four by Four?

DIVISION ONE:  Syracuse, Pittsburg, Rutgers & Penn State
DIVISION TWO:  Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Minnesota
DIVISION THREE:  Ohio State, Purdue, Indiana and Illinois or Northwestern
DIVISION FOUR: IOWA, Missouri, Nebraska and Illinois or Northwestern

Wow, a lot to digest and discuss, such as how would the scheduling line up?  You’d play the three teams in your division each year, then play either five or six more conference games.  The PAC-10 plays nine conference games, which means one year you get four home games an five roadies and the next year its 5 & 4, so I guess that is possible, but not perfect.  Which teams do you get to play from the other divisions?  There would have to be at least one protected rivalry game, because there is no way Ohio State and Michigan won’t play one another in the final regular season game.  Well, I guess there is a way, as Nebraska and Oklahoma interrupted their great and storied rivalry when they joined the Big 12 more than a decade ago.  The last thing those schools would want would be to play the last game of the regular season then have some sort of rematch for the league title game.

How the league would determine just who would play for the league title would be very complicated, and there is also no way that the league expands and does NOT have a league title game…or at least, I don’t think so.  Too much money on the table.  I’d be fine if they expanded and didn’t have a league title game, because they could schedule some amazing games the last two or three weeks of the college football regular season and play the day before the BCS bowl games are announced.  I think that is the most important thing in all of this; staying relevant all season long and not having that long layoff before the bowl game.

So I guess I should probably stop using the term ‘no way’ as it relates to the Big Ten and expansion, because this league is going to blaze its own trail and make its own rules.

Now, as for these division that Dienhart tweeted about (again, he is the national college football writer for Rivals/Yahoo, not some dude from the Grand Island Bee), Ohio State gets far too easy of a pass here.  I don’t think Michigan would stand for that.  Division One listed above makes sense, and gives Penn State regional and historical rivalries.  Division Two is solid and balanced geographically and with history in mind.  Which schools would be giving up the most history and tradition in this hypothetical?

Illinois or Northwestern, one of those two, along with Iowa.

While I would love to be in the same division as Missouri and Nebraska, because that means Iowa would play them each year and the rivalries that would grow out of those series could be epic and entertaining, Hawkeye fans would be losing traditional rivalry games with Wisconsin or Minnesota; I doubt they’d get to protect both of those rivalries.

Would it be worth it?  I am going to have to chew on this one a bit.  It’s likely all moot, because I cannot fathom Ohio State getting that much of a free ride to being 3-0 in their division each year.

As for the five new teams listed in general, that’s a pretty solid basketball league, too.  Missouri, Pitt and Syracuse would all be great additions on the hardcourt, with Nebraska and Rutgers throw ins.  Rutgers’ basketball program would get a boost from this, while Nebraska’s program would likely continue to languish in mediocrity.  Missouri and Nebraska would be solid wrestling additions as well, and Nebraska has a very good baseball program.

From a television standpoint, the Big Ten Network would pretty much own New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Missouri and Iowa (sorry Iowa State).  That’s a lot of real estate and that is a lot of subscription dollars and homes with television sets.  You are basically talking about one third of the population of the United States here and all of it running together contiguously.

This move would also destabilize the Big East and the Big 12, and it would really hurt Iowa State; they’d lose their two most natural rivals in the Big 12, two border states, where Iowa would gain those.  Figuring that Iowa and Iowa State would still meet in football, you are talking about three games each year against programs that are within a five hour drive of Iowa City.  Throw in a fourth with either Illinois or Northwestern in this example, and a fifth if one of Minnesota and Wisconsin can be kept as an annual rival.  Indiana and Purdue would fall into this category, or real close, whenever you had to play there.  Iowa’s road traveling legacy would be expanded upon, which is what the bowl scouts love.

I still think that items like this get leaked out there to put pressure on Notre Dame.  I’d be content if the Big Ten only added the Irish and moved to 12 teams and said ‘we’re good’.  To me, that’s the best case scenario; you keep your traditional league intact, get to play your traditional rivals and you add the history and tradition of Notre Dame that has some degree of history playing against most every team in the league, and they are located in Indiana.

But if that won’t happen, I’d much rather see Nebraska and Missouri join the league than any of the teams from Texas, because I think Iowa would wind up in their division…and that is not something I am remotely interested in.

Rich Rodriguez talks quarterbacks, running backs and more spring football

Big Ten Network's spring football wrap or just crap.

Notes from the pre-production meeting:
Wiscy- "This game looked like a bunch of dull cheeseheads. That should be enough to win 9 in the Big Ten this year. I guess that means they had a great spring."
UM- "Uh, gee: it's really trendy to trash RR right now, but they looked really good. I guess we'll just have to be quiet about it."
MSU- "Other than a LB with "low pad level," there really wasn't much to talk about. Let's go with the "low pad level" thing."
OSU- "Terelle Pryor looks more and more like someone who is more interested in "being a QB" than actually doing the work it takes to be a QB. Let's just talk about how great they are and forget about Pryor."

Big Ten Network's spring football wrap

Big Ten Network's spring football wrap

My MacBook is out of commission

My MacBook is out of commission for a few days. There's more than one way to skin a cat. Thank god for smart phones. I do have a desktop pc as well but I can't go back. I would like to thank my readers for your support. I have a few production problems as well. My t-shirt designs are slow to be released. I'm in the process of switching my production and manufacturer stay tuned.

Air Jordan 2010 Black/Dark Charcoal-Varsity Red

Air Jordan 2010 Black/Dark Charcoal-Varsity Red




The cleanest colorway in the 2010 lineup for this year, Jordan Brand highlights a Black/Dark Charcoal-Varsity Red release for June 2010.

Pryor struggles mightily in scrimmage

Terrelle Pryor still has much to prove as he enters his junior season at Ohio State. If yesterday's jersey scrimmage in Columbus is any precursor, Pryor won't prove much this season. The Buckeyes' starting quarterback completed just 5-of-15 passes for 45 yards in what coach Jim Tressel called "the most lopsided jersey scrimmage score," he's ever seen (the defense won 78-24). Pryor has a week to turn things around before he has to prove himself before tens of thousands of Buckeye faithful at the spring game.

Spring Game 2010

2010 Michigan Spring Game notes

D-ROB is the real deal. He has definitely benefitted from having a season and a full spring practice under his belt. He made several nice throws, he went thru his reads and progressions. D-ROB made a nice fake and run for the first T.D for the white team. Ricardo Miller is hugh its hard to believe that he should still be in high school. Roundtree had a good spring practice he had a 95 yard TD Strike thrown to him. JT Turner made some great plays on the second unit defense. specials teams has a long ways to go "Thank God its the spring" or supposed to be. It was very cold, I hope those Florida and warm weather kids are not scared off at the weather we had.

D Arnett was in the house i spotted him talking to Lamarr Woodley on the side line. Lamarr Woodley was giving him his best sales pitch to come to Michigan or so it may have seemed. D Hart was in the house in his michigan gear.

T Forcier did not look as sharp as i had hoped for a true soph, But he is nursing an injury so i am gonna take a wait an see attitude. He has alot of competition from DG and DROB let's see how he responds.

DG looked good he made a few freshman mistakes. He thru a Int from his own goaline Dg made some nice thows to the tightends to lead the white team to a FG. The First unit defense Looked much improved the tackling looked alot better.

Please stay tuned for more details

Eminem Scraps Relapse 2 announces "Recovery" Due out June 22

The new album from Eminem, Recovery, will be released June 22, 2010, it was announced today by Interscope Records. On Recovery, his seventh major label studio album, Eminem has reached out to an exciting list of first-time collaborators, including DJ Khalil, Just Blaze, Jim Jonsin and Boi-1da, among others.

Also according to Eminem.com Marshall will be touring Europe beginning in July.

"I had originally planned for Relapse 2 to come out last year," remarked Eminem. "But as I kept recording and working with new producers, the idea of a sequel to Relapse started to make less and less sense to me, and I wanted to make a completely new album. The music on Recovery came out very different from Relapse, and I think it deserves its own title."

More Great News: Zeigler to CMU

This is old news to die hard high school Basketball recruitnics.

The good news just keeps on coming for Michigan sports: four-star prospect Trey Zeigler will announce his decision to go to Central Michigan today, choosing the Chippewas over Michigan, MSU, UCLA, and Arizona State. Zeigler’s father, Ernie, just signed a four-year extension to remain the coach for Central, and the opportunity to not only play close to home but also to play for family appears to have swung Zeigler’s decision for the Chips.

To put it bluntly, this is a big hit for the Michigan basketball program. You never want to put too much stock in landing a recruit, but with Manny Harris departing early for the NBA, the Wolverines could really have used a wing player who can create his own shot, and Zeigler was the last guy on the board for Michigan who could have come in and contributed immediately. The Wolverines may still extend an offer to Detroit Denby guard Isaish Sykes, a three-star prospect, but it would be very surprising if he was able to have the same impact that Zeigler would offer.

With Zeigler off the board, fans can begin speculation about next year’s team. At this point, it looks like your starting five will be Darius Morris, Stu Douglass, Zack Novak, Evan Smotrycz or Blake McLimans, and Jordan Morgan, with Laval Lucas-Perry, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Matt Vogrich rounding out the rotation. Unless Morris has a tremendous breakthrough year and guys like Douglass, Novak and LLP find their shooting stroke in a big way, it’s tough to see that team contending for postseason play.

Article about U of M's first football opponent in 2010 Uconn.

STORRS, Conn.
This team, as expected, has a lot of depth and maybe more overall talent than it's ever had under Randy Edsall. On Saturday, the Huskies scrimmaged nearly the entire two hours, used three teams on each side and hardly had much dropoff from starters to subs. One obvious example of the depth is at quarterback. Zach Frazer is clearly the starter, but UConn has four guys behind him -- Cody Endres, Michael Box, Johnny McEntee and Leon Kinnard -- who can all play and who are all getting reps. No other Big East team can match the Huskies' depth at QB.
Kinnard, by the way, is fun to watch. He may be no taller than 5-foot-9, but he's got a good arm and can really fly when he scrambles. Edsall might have to find ways to incorporate him into the offense because he's such a playmaker. If nothing else, Kinnard will be a great asset on the scout team when UConn needs to get ready for players like B.J. Daniels.
Interestingly, Edsall has made his quarterbacks live during spring practice. Part of that is the depth, and part of it is he felt like the team wasn't getting the right intensity when the QBs couldn't get hit. He has the luxury of being able to turn to another guy if Frazer gets hurt. But an even bigger luxury is that tremendous offensive line. Frazer didn't get sacked and barely got hit the entire scrimmage behind the No. 1 line, and that's against a pretty good defensive front seven. Adam Masters and Kevin Friend are making a big move at tackle.
There's so much depth and good competition that Edsall can use it to motivate and/or punish his guys. Endres was down to third string on Saturday because of a transgression. Guard Erik Kuraczea overslept and was late, so Edsall told him to go back home and go to sleep. Star tailback Jordan Todman didn't practice Tuesday or Thursday because of an academic issue. Twyon Martin, who started most of the last two years at defensive tackle, has been knocked down to third string. When asked what Martin needed to do to get back in good graces, Edsall said, "Stop being so lazy."
The receiving corps is really coming on. Kashif Moore has emerged as probably the top guy after a strong end to 2009. He made several nice catches during practice and gets a lot of YAC. On Saturday, he caught a 60-plus yard TD from Frazer and later had another touchdown grab on a ball deflected by Jerome Junior. Michael Smith and Isiah Moore are also playing well. UConn's wideouts are small, but Malik Generett -- at 6-foot-4 -- is one to keep an eye on.
The concern going into the spring was the secondary, so it wasn't surprising to see that group struggle during my first practice viewing. The defensive backs got chewed up that day. During the scrimmage, the group played a little better. There are a lot of young players with ability back there, but they need to figure things out. The secondary should improve when corner Blidi Wreh-Wilson returns from his shoulder surgery this fall. But the Huskies still need to find a safety and add more depth. That remains the biggest problem spot on this team, one that the front seven may have to cover up at times, especially early in the season.
This was my first experience watching an Edsall practice, and it wasn't surprising to see the team focus heavily on fundamentals. Sure, a lot of teams do that in the spring, but the UConn staff really worked with the players on things like hand placement and footwork. Edsall's teams are always well coached, and he develops players as well as anybody in the country. That's not by accident.
I've always heard great things about UConn's facilities, and I had my first chance to tour the Shenkman Center and Burton Family Football Complex. The reviews I'd heard and photos I'd seen don't do the place justice. It's magnificent, and if UConn doesn't have the best football complex in the Big East, it's no worse than tied for first.

Michigan Football Spring Game / locker room pics 2009

College Football's 10 Best Looking Uniforms according to SI.

10. Auburn: Tigers Blue
9. Oregon: Ducks All Black Jersey Black Helmet
8. Michigan: Blue Jersey
7. Alabama: Crimson Tide Jersey
6. Texas: All White
5. USC: Cardinal Jersey
4. Texas: Burnt Orange Jersey
3. Oregon: All White, Green Helmet
2. UCLA: Dark, Powder Blue Jersey
1. Notre Dame: Blue Jersey

Come on now we got the best uniforms in the game, The number one Helmet in the Game. The Maize & Blue winged Helmet "Go Blue".

Flashback Friday: Watching Michigan V.S. OSU 1997 on BTN

Watching Michigan V.S. OSU 1997 on BTN one of the greatest rivalry games ever. two words Charles Woodson was MONEY. Woodson played college football at the University of Michigan. He became the starter after the second game of his freshman season and played in 34 straight games. In addition to playing cornerback, he returned punts and occasionally played as a wide receiver.
In 1995, Woodson was selected as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He was named to the All-Big Ten First Team by conference coaches, and Second Team All-Big Ten by the media. He led the team with five interceptions and eight takeaways.[6]
In 1996, Woodson set a Wolverine record for pass breakups with 15. For his efforts, he was named the Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Year and an AP First Team All-American. He was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award and named to All-Big Ten First Team by conference coaches and the media.[6]
In his junior season in 1997, Woodson became the third Michigan player to win the Heisman Trophy, joining Tom Harmon (1940) and Desmond Howard (1991). Woodson received 282 more voting points than runner-up Peyton Manning.[1] He was the first and is still the only primarily defensive player to win the prestigious award. [2] Woodson led the Michigan Wolverines to an undefeated season and a share of the national championship in the same year. He won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the best defensive college player.[2] He was named to the All-Big Ten First-Team for the third year and First-Team All-American for the second year. It was his second year winning the Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Year award and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Woodson won the Jim Thorpe Award, an award which he was nominated for the previous year.[6]
Throughout college, Woodson was known for big plays in big moments of a game. As a freshman he had two interceptions in a victory against the #2-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.[7] During his Heisman-winning junior year, he made an acrobatic one-handed sideline interception against the Michigan State Spartans. Woodson had two interceptions in the game.[8] In a game against Ohio State, he returned a punt for a touchdown, made an interception in the end-zone, and had a 37-yard reception that led to Michigan's only offensive touchdown of the game. The win lifted Michigan to the Rose Bowl.[9] Michigan played the Washington State Cougars in the Rose Bowl. Woodson recorded an interception in the game, helping Michigan defeat the Cougars and win a share of the 1997 national championship. Bottom line, there hasn't been a cornerback more responsible for a national championship, than Charles Woodson.[10] In 2007, Woodson was ranked #11 on ESPN's Top 25 Players In College Football History list.
Woodson was a part of an impressive defensive performance that beat Ohio State three straight years. A feat that Michigan hadn't done since 1991 when they beat Ohio State 4 straight years. The Wolverines defense held the top-5 ranked Ohio State teams from 1995, 1996, and 1997 to 23, 9, and 14 points.
[edit]

When does a dead horse stops being beaten?

Expect former Michigan QB Steven Threet to make an impact at Arizona State.
Third down
Who is your biggest impact transfer for 2010?
Hayes: QB Steven Threet, Arizona State. It's unfair to judge Threet from his time spent at Michigan.
He was a pro-style quarterback trying to fit into a spread-option system. That scenario had little hope for success. Now Threet—who Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez told me in January will have "a lot of success" in a pro-style offense—is in a one-back, passing offense that Dennis Erickson has used for years at previous stops. It's an offense where quarterbacks who make good decisions thrive.
Perfect example: Jonathan Smith, the diminutive quarterback who led Erickson's Oregon State team to the Fiesta Bowl in 2001. He was all of 5-10 (maybe) and made smart decisions and beautiful throws—and ranks second in Beavers history for career passing yards. ASU's three quarterbacks (Danny Sullivan, Samson Szakacsy, Brock Osweiler) last year ranked 102nd out of 120 Division I-A teams for passing efficiency.
Curtis: Phelon Jones, cornerback, Alabama. Both Tide starting corners are gone, and Jones, who started his career at LSU, continues to compete to replace them. He's got the talent and the athleticism to help Alabama, which faces strong passing attacks in Arkansas and Florida in the season's first five games. Jones might not make the top two by the end of spring, but bank on him seeing the field throughout the year, especially on third downs and in long-yardage situations

Scouting report on Deshawn Sims from Portsmouth

Michigan senior forward DeShawn Sims has been competing in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in Virginia over the past two days in preparation for the upcoming NBA Draft. The Tournament functions similarly to college football's Senior Bowl, and attracts a similar level of talent. The players Sims has been competing against this week are all trying to improve their draft stock.

According to Ryan Feldman, a reporter with The Trentonian, Sims has "put up solid numbers" despite having to play with "what was probably the worst team" in the tournament.

Sims's team has lost two games, but he tallied 16 points shooting 8-for-17 with nine rebounds in the first game and had 17 points on 8-of-16 shooting with seven rebounds in the second game, Feldman wrote in an e-mail to The Michigan Daily.

"Sims did have one noticeably poor effort guarding Rutgers 7-footer Hamady Ndiaye," he added. "As Ndiaye was backing him down, Sims laid off him and backed up towards the basket, allowing Ndiaye to get an easy dunk and also fouling him in the process for a three-point play.

"Sims looked smaller than most of the big men he went up against but he did show some decent range on his jumper. He even drained a 3-pointer in his second game

Clarett could move to secure facility

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Former Ohio State Buckeyes football player Maurice Clarett is in county jail and awaiting a judge's decision on Wednesday that would release him to a community-based correction facility after spending 3½ years in prison.

Clarett, 26, was convicted on charges of aggravated robbery and carrying a concealed weapon.

Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday that Clarett, who led the Buckeyes to the national championship in 2002, was moved from a Toledo prison to the county jail in Columbus on Monday and would meet on Wednesday afternoon with Judge David Fais, who handled his original case.

O'Brien said he expected the judge to allow the former tailback to be transferred to a secure facility in Columbus where he would be evaluated for possible release within six months. O'Brien described the facility as one which has barbed-wire and is residential, but is not a lock-down institution.

Clarett pleaded guilty in September 2006 to having a gun hidden in his SUV and holding up two people outside a Columbus bar in a separate case. He was sentenced to 7½ years in prison with possible release in 3½ years.

Messages seeking comment from Clarett's attorney, Michael Hoague, were not immediately returned after business hours Tuesday.

A star as a freshman at Ohio State, Clarett, a standout running back from Warren, Ohio, was declared ineligible after one season for receiving extra benefits that were brought to light after he filed a false theft report about a car break-in. He never played another college game after scoring the winning touchdown in Ohio State's 31-24 double-overtime win over Miami in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, the Buckeyes' first national title since 1968.

After he was ruled ineligible, Clarett sued the NFL in September 2003 to be permitted to enter the league's draft. At issue was the NFL's rule denying anyone to be drafted who has not been out of high school for three years. After an initial court victory, Clarett lost on appeal.

He eventually was drafted in the third round of the 2005 draft by the Denver Broncos, but was cut before the season started.

On Jan. 1, 2006, Clarett was charged with aggravated robbery after police said he flashed a gun at people outside a bar and robbed them of a cell phone. Then, on Aug. 9, Clarett was arrested after a chase when police said that they tried to stop him for a traffic violation.

O'Brien said he had no doubt that Judge Fais would release Clarett to the community-based facility because of the conditions of Clarett's guilty plea and his good behavior at Toledo Correctional Institution the past 3½ years. O'Brien also said he would not oppose Clarett's move.

A typical assessment at the facility takes a maximum of six months, and at that time if Clarett had met employment, housing and other requirements he would most likely be released into the general public, O'Brien said.

Clarett has been taking college-credit courses in the Toledo prison, where he was confined to a single cell but was not isolated from other inmates. He was able to exercise and eat with other inmates.

At the time of his plea, Hoague said of his client, "He was up here," raising his arm to eye level. "He got down here," he said, lowering his arm to his waist. "And he's going to be back up here again."


Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

Our First Ever Father and Son Fishing trip

Tigers win season opener with six-run seventh inning against Royals bullpen

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- As it turned out, neither Zack Greinke nor Justin Verlander were the story in Detroit's 8-4 opening day win Monday against the Kansas City Royals.

The Tigers' six-run seventh inning and brilliant relief pitching told the tale. The new and old pieces in the batting order came together quite well in the tide-turning inning.

Rookie center fielder Austin Jackson, who later cut down a runner at the plate with a throw, made his first hit an RBI-double off reliever Robinson Tejeda that scored rookie second baseman Scott Sizemore, who had walked and moved to second on a Ramon Santiago single.

Then, new left fielder Johnny Damon laced a two-run double to give Detroit the lead. Damon had two hits and scored twice.

Miguel Cabrera drove in Damon with a single, and Carlos Guillen kept it going with his second single of the game.

Brandon Inge brought them both home with a hit-and-run double off Juan Cruz.
Three Royals relievers had given up six runs, and the sellout crowd of 40,052 booed long and loud with every run-scoring hit.

Detroit’s bullpen assured that the big inning held up. Joel Zumaya and Ryan Perry were brilliant and Phil Coke got the job done despite allowing two singles.

New closer Jose Valverde entered with a four-run lead and no save opportunity, but pitched a scoreless ninth to secure the win.

Neither Greinke nor Verlander were at their dominating best.

The Royals simply did a better job of capitalizing on opportunities.

Verlander got ahead of shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt, 1-2, but Betancout battled to a full count before drilling a two-run homer in the second inning.

And first baseman Billy Butler, hitting .423 against Verlander entering the game, kept it up with a two-out, two-run single in the fifth.

Verlander left after five innings, having thrown 93 pitches and striking out six.

Tigers Hall of Famer Al Kaline, at the request of Detroit manager Jim Leyland, spoke with Tigers hitters near the end of training camp about the approach to take when facing pitchers such as Greinke.

“I had Kaline talk to them about the art of hitting against the best pitchers in the business,” Leyland said. “He made some real good points. You’ve got to grind. ... And sometimes it’s the little guys who gets the big pitchers, who are gearing up for the big boys.”

Detroit got two runs (one earned) on six hits against Greinke, who came out in the sixth with a 4-2 lead.

The Tigers caught a break in the first when third baseman Willie Bloomquist dropped a Guillen pop up, allowing Magglio Ordonez to score from second with two out. Ordonez had doubled off the wall for his 400th career two-bagger.

Greinke faced only one batter over the minimum in breezing through the next four innings. But Damon, Ordonez and Cabrera opened the sixth with successive singles for another run.

Detroit couldn’t make a big inning happen, however, as Greinke got the next three batters. Bloomquist, however, saved a couple runs by robbing Inge of a double down the line.

Caption this pic. leave comment in comments section.

Seayracuse University running backs coach Tyrone Wheatley. Nice Read.

Frank Ordoñez / The Post-StandardSyracuse University running backs coach Tyrone Wheatley brings a wealth of experience, including an all-star career at the University of Michigan and 10 seasons in the NFL, to his new job.
Syracuse, NY -- As an All-Big Ten running back at Michigan, Tyrone Wheatley had plenty of thrills in a college career that included two Rose Bowl appearances and a 2-1-1 record against archrival Ohio State.

But the 38-year-old, who went on to play 10 NFL seasons, still had to stop and look around in early February when he arrived for his new job coaching running backs at Syracuse University.

“Coming from the school I come from, you think about your tradition,” Wheatley said of his arrival at SU’s football complex, where reminders of running backs such as Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, Larry Csonka and Floyd Little are plentiful. “And all of a sudden you start walking down this hallway, and then you just say, ‘Wow.’ The tradition here is just unbelievable.”

Wheatley, about to begin a second year as running backs coach at Eastern Michigan University, was summoned to Syracuse after newly-hired Roger Harriott decided he didn’t want to leave Florida just 10 days after his Jan. 29 hiring by head coach Doug Marrone.

Tyrone Wheatley, by the numbers

• At Michigan – Three-time All-Big Ten selection at tailback who ran for 4,178 yards on 688 carries from 1991-94. He scored 47 rushing TDs (second all-time at UM) and his 7.34 yards per carry in 1992 is a school record.

• In the NFL – The 6-0, 235-pound back gained 4,962 yards on 1,270 carries and scored 40 rushing TDs in 10 seasons with the New York Giants and Oakland Raiders. Wheatley also caught 125 passes for another 900 yards and 7 TDs.

• Did you know – Wheatley is one of the most storied track and field athletes in Michigan high school history, winning state titles in the 100 and 200 meters, long jump and hurdles. In college, he was an All-American in the 110-meter hurdles and also ran sprints for the Wolverines.


Harriott said goodbye on Feb. 8, and Marrone announced the hiring of Wheatley the next evening.

Marrone had heard good things about Wheatley from two people he trusted – assistant head coach Bob Casullo and new quarterbacks coach Nathaniel Hackett. Both worked with Wheatley – Casullo as a special teams coach in Oakland during the running back’s NFL career, and Hackett when Wheatley did an internship with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“When I started to do my own research, I just didn’t hear anything negative, which is hard to do nowadays,” Marrone said.

While Wheatley has just one year working with running backs at Eastern Michigan, to go along with two years as a high school coach in Michigan, his college and pro experience made hiring him easy, Marrone said.

“There are a lot of good football coaches, meaning X’s and O’s,” he said. “I think what separates coaches is the way they handle players.”

Wheatley said he felt an immediate connection with Marrone.

“He’s just a real down-to-earth person you can talk to. He just opened up, which made me feel real comfortable,” Wheatley said.

“What he wanted taught, I was really able to see it and visualize it. He articulated what he wanted so well, to the point I could actually see it as he was speaking.”

Wheatley said he has played in systems very similar to what Marrone will run at SU. He added that his experience in the NFL, where players might have a different position coach every year, is helping him adapt.

“You get used to picking up new systems quickly, he said. “That’s part of your job. I’m not a player anymore. Now it’s teaching it.”

While he’s anxious to work with a veteran group of tailbacks, in Delone Carter, Antwon Bailey and Averin 
Collier, the new coach said he wants them to retain their individual styles.

“The reads and the technical aspect of the play, there’s only one way to do that,” he said. “But after that, customize the play and make it your own.”

Wheatley explained that while Bailey is “a quick-twitch, shifty type of guy” with great feet, he wouldn’t want Carter, a power back, to emulate that style. Should the chiseled Carter try something out of Bailey’s book, Wheatley will jump in.

“And I’ll say, no, no, no, no. Your strength is your strength. This guy is a strong man. He is a man,” he said of Carter.

Carter, a 1,000-yard rusher in 2009 and a team leader as a redshirt senior this year, said all of the Orange ball carriers will benefit from Wheatley’s presence.

“When you look at somebody of his caliber, and where he’s been, we just want to learn from him and gain that wisdom from him,” Carter said.

Lebron James Sweepstakes Begin This Summer. Will He Stay In Cleveland Or Bolt To The New York Knicks?

Lego Matrix Trinity Help!

Michigan recruit Demar Dorsey signs junior-college letter of intent as fallback

Demar Dorsey, one of the prizes of Michigan’s 2010 recruiting class, has signed a national letter of intent with junior-college football power Fort Scott Community College. But that doesn’t mean Dorsey won’t be attending Michigan.

Fort Scott coach Jeff Sims said Dorsey, a 6-foot, 175-pound cornerback from Lauderdale Lakes (Fla.) Boyd Anderson High, signed his letter of intent months ago as a fallback plan in case he does not get into Michigan.

There’s no timetable on his admissions process.

“He’s going to Michigan. He’s going to the University of Michigan,” Sims said Friday. “If something happens that he can’t, we’re an option. He’s going to Michigan, we’re just a backup plan if he doesn’t get his scores.”

Sims said he routinely recruits “Division 1 players that are at risk,” but never tries to sway them from their commitments. The ones forced to go the junior-college route enroll at Fort Scott.

He would not say if any other members of Fort Scott's recruiting class signed Division 1 letters of intent.

“Demar is going to Michigan, and he’s working very hard to do that," Sims said. "If he doesn’t get the scores that he needs, then he will end up here.

"We are his backup plan to cover his butt."

So does Sims think Dorsey will end up at Fort Scott?

"To be honest, Michigan would be able to tell you better about that," he said. "I don’t even really delve into that, I just kind of wait. Usually the way it works is I get a call in August and, ‘I didn’t make it, Coach.’ Fine, let’s get on a plane and get over here. That’s typically how it works."

Michigan cannot comment on a recruit's academic standing due to federal laws, though coach Rich Rodriguez said on signing he did not expect all of his recruits to qualify.

Dorsey did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Dave Birkett covers University of Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at 734-623-2552 or by e-mail at davidbirkett@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

A Chinese army recruit's first attempt at throwing a grenade almost ended in disaster.

A Chinese army recruit's first attempt at throwing a grenade almost ended in disaster.

He attempts to toss the grenade over his bunker wall, it hits the wall and bounces right back at him. Lucky for him his quick thinking instructor pulls him to safety just as the bomb explodes.

The recruit later says his mind went blank and he thought was was a goner.

Could Robinson Win The QB Job?

Could Robinson Win The QB Job?

Jonathan Chait

Last year, Denard Robinson appeared totally unprepared to play quarterback at the college level. This spring, he's fighting for the starting quarterback position. So how should Michigan fans react -- Is it time to freak out? Prepare for Pat White II?

Eric Bronson/BronsonPhoto.com

The reasons for freaking out are clear enough. Robinson didn't just struggle at quarterback last year, he basically could not play the position at all. Excluding Delaware State, Robinson completed less than 41% of his passes. Of the passes he threw that were caught by anybody, more than a quarter were caught by players not wearing a winged helmet. Worst of all, the coaches didn't trust Robinson to run the basic option running plays in the offense. His running was therefore mostly limited to "catch the snap and go," which defenses had little trouble stopping. The notion that a player even resembling the Denard Robinson of 2009 might take the helm at quarterback is, obviously, an unsettling prospect.

What's even more concerning is what this prospect seems to say about Tate Forcier. After a full season of starting, if he isn't comfortably ahead of Robinson, something must be wrong, right?

Not necessarily. I'd hazard that Robinson's bid to start is about 25% Forcier not improving as much as the coaches hoped, 25% the coaches trying to send a message to Forcier to work harder, and 50% Robinson making a huge leap from his freshman year.

Remember, Robinson is a player who, under normal conditions, would never have seen the field. He didn't enroll early, and he had no spread offense experience in high school. He was less prepared for the offense than the average freshman quarterback. And the average freshman quarterback redshirts. Remember how clueless even players like Tom Brady and John Navarre looked their first time under center? (Brady's first college pass looked like he was having a backyard catch with a UCLA linebacker.) Those guys were already in their second year on campus, and they weren't transitioning to a totally different offense than the one they ran in high school.

All this is to say that Robinson's freshman season, off-the-charts bad though it may have been, should be seen as a pure mulligan. It tells us nothing about his abilities as a quarterback, except insofar as it allowed him to display his considerable physical potential. In addition to a lively arm, he showed a rare combination of sprinter speed, elusiveness, and surprising power. He is a totally raw prospect with a very high ceiling.

If you want a hopeful comparison, consider Rick Leach as a freshman. Talk about a statistical train wreck! Leach completed 32% of his passes. 12% of his passes were intercepted. Revisiting these numbers, it's a miracle Bo Schembechler let him throw at all. Of course Leach developed into a great college quarterback, if not a great passer.

Obviously, none of this is to say that Robinson will develop into a star because he had such a terrible freshman year. I'd still bet on Forcier to hold onto the starting position. But Robinson might earn more snaps in 2010. The prospect of him winning the starting job is not out of the question, nor is it a prospect that should terrify Michigan fans.