SB Nation - Morgan Trent

SmartFootball on TRE, Part 2: Purdue Fumbles, Ralph Bolden, Changing the Spread

grahamfiller10 — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:00:41 -0000

Chris from SmartFootball answered some pressing Big Ten questions yesterday. He returns today with a focus on his boys, the Purdue Boilermakers. Again, a huge thanks to this excellent football mind for coming on TRE.

on TRE...

TRE: How has the Purdue offense, which has gained more yards and created more big plays than we at TRE expected, varied from the past Joe Tiller teams?

SF: Well many Purdue fans would refuse to answer this question on principle, as it's tough to point to positives when you're 1-4, though I'll try. The most obvious difference from the Joe Tiller offense (really, in later years, the Ed Zaunbrecher offense) and what Danny Hope and coordinator Gary Nord are doing is the increased use of traditional sets, primarily the I-formation with a true tight-end and fullback. Joe Tiller's original offense that he installed with Jim Chaney, now offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee, was a "one-back" offense in the most literal sense: they had no two-back sets. This made sense for the time as the offense derived from Dennis Erickson's one-back attack that he had used in the pros and at Miami, and that Tiller learned at another of Erickson's stops, Washington State. The offense evolved a bit in Tiller's later years under coordinator Ed Zaunbrecher, formerly of Marshall, Florida, and Illinois, but it retained the same core structure.

It did not feature much if any of the "power" stuff that Nord has installed. Specifically, Purdue's offense previously was centered on the following: the run game was almost exclusively zone running based, including the inside zone and the outside zone, and the passing game was almost all straight-dropback passes. By contrast the current Purdue offense uses a ton of the "power" play - where the line "down-blocks," the fullback blocks the defensive end from inside to out, and the backside guard pulls and leads -- along with the toss-sweep and other base runs of the like. And the passing game has focused less on the true three-step and five-step dropback passing game that Purdue made famous, and more on passes outside of the pocket, like waggles (drop straight back then roll out), sprint outs (immediately roll-out), and bootlegs.

Extra halfbacks are for sissies...

On the whole I think these changes are positive because the offense needed diversity in both areas. The run game had become predictable, and the downfield passing game, which so often would shred inferior competition, would become completely stymied against good teams because (a) they could man up on all of Purdue's receivers, and (b) via the four down linemen and various blitz schemes, they could take target practice on Purdue's quarterback. The more diverse run game and the wider variety of dropback actions put the defense a little bit more on their heals. If I had an analogy for Purdue's current offense, I would actually pick maybe the Southern Cal offense of the last few years. Obviously Purdue lacks the kind of big play potential that unit has had over the years.

TRE: What was your biggest issue with Purdue's play calling Saturday?

SF: When your team turns it over six times, you're going to lose, whether you're running the wishbone or the spread, or your playcaller is Gary Nord or Bill Walsh. I personally didn't mind the aggressiveness at the end of the half (many of the turnovers occurred within the last two minutes of the half, and Purdue went from leading 21-3 to 21-16), but I suppose sometimes there is merit in just going to halftime with a lead.

The question then is whether turnovers are coachable? This is a more difficult question than initially appears. Purdue has been near the bottom of the country (rank in the bottom 10-15 teams) in turnover margin all season, and that was before the disastrous Northwestern game. But a lot of studies have shown that fumbling at least is a fairly random occurrence. As current Lions head coach Jim Schwartz (who has an econ degree from Georgetown) explained:

"Fumbles are a random occurrence," Schwartz said he told Belichick. "Being able to get interceptions or not throw interceptions has a high correlation with good teams. But over the course of a year, good teams don't fumble any more or less than bad teams. Bill didn't agree. He said, ‘No, good teams don't fumble the ball.' But actually, they fumble just as often as bad teams."

Similarly Phil Steele bases a lot of his bounce-back picks based on whose record seemed unduly bad because of turnovers - and he has a very good track record. More recently, Bill Connelly of Rock M Nation and Football Outsiders took a good look at the whole turnover phenomenon. He was able to assign a point value to turnovers - i.e. where on the field did they occur - based on the idea that not only are turnovers (fairly) arbitrary, but where they happen is even more arbitrary and can have a huge effect on the game. (Indeed, many Purdue fans have noted how it seems all the turnovers this year have come at particularly backbreaking.)

The upshot is that these numbers tend to make princes of frogs in some years and frogs out of princes, but over time they even out. As a guy who hopes Purdue has brighter days ahead than its 1-4 record indicates, this is appealing to me, and both Steele and Connelly have shown pretty demonstrably that this stuff does even out over time.

But if you look at the list of turnover margin you do tend to see a lot of teams that are sort of supposed to be there: Virginia Tech and Southern Cal near the top (and USC's yearly random upset loss almost always comes in a game where they are -2 or -3 in turnover margin), while teams like SMU and North Texas populate the bottom. So coaching can't be irrelevant, can it?

My sense is that interceptions are more coachable than fumbles, both for offenses and defenses. A Mike Martz sling-it team will throw more interceptions, and zone defense-based teams tend to intercept more passes because they have eleven defenders watching the ball, which is not the case with man-to-man. But what of Purdue, turnover machine? All I can say is that they are dead last in the Big 10 in turnover margin, and their number is more than double the next to last team. (Incidentally, that team is Michigan State, which last year had a great year by having a positive turnover margin, whereas this year has been disappointing, in many ways directly attributable to their now negative turnover margin.) And if Purdue wants to win any games - and if the new coaching staff wants to stick around while - they will have to get better in this area, either by coaching it better or getting luckier.

As with most fanbases, Purdue fans look at results. Like elected officials, coaches are not evaluated based on stochastic possibilities or counterfactuals. [ed note: Stochastic means random and non-determinative behavior...duh]

TRE: Is there a player on Purdue that you love watching for whatever reasons, someone who gives you hope for the following couple season?

SF: I think it's pretty obvious that the only player right now that can inspire any serious fear among other Big 10 teams is running back Ralph Bolden, who is currently ranked second in the Big 10 in rushing yards per game. He is only a sophomore, and has clearly been the highlight of the year for Purdue. That said, his production has trailed off recently, partially because he looks a bit dinged up due to the wear and tear and also because other teams are keying on him quite heavily. Charlie Weis basically announced that if Notre Dame stopped him they would win, and if they didn't they could very well lose. It was a bit more complicated than that but he was proven right.

SmartFootball On TRE, Part 1: Spreads, Bubble Screens, Juice Williams

grahamfiller10 — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:30:15 -0000

Chris from SmartFootball helps us all fulfill our deep yearning to understand what the hell just happened while we're watching college football. He also contributes to Yahoo!/Rivals and The New York Times' The Fifth Down. Although a fan of Purdue, he is doing his best here to be neutral, for what it's worth. A huge thanks to Chris for his excellent analysis and his willingness to pay attention to a 1-4 Boilermaker team.

on TRE...

TRE: Pulling a "Juice Williams" will, for the next 5 years, mean underperforming contrary to everyone's (including Phil Steele's) expectations. What has been the key to Ron Zook not unlocking Juice's potential? And what is the challenge of taking an outstanding athlete and attempting to turn them into a quarterback who needs to make reads and be a field leader? (Ed Note: And how ironic is this - on the day Rashard Menhall blows up for 170 yards and two TD's against the Chargers, Juice is demoted for Eddie McGee)

SF: To use Orson Swindle's moniker, how [COACH REDACTED] could push (transform? Keep? Stagnate? Manipulate?] Juice Williams into a [QUARTERBACK REDACTED] is a bit beyond me. Based on last year's stats, I too thought Williams would at least keep improving in the sense that he could put up some numbers, though he still might turn it over too much. Indeed, it looked like he had more weapons than he had the year before with the addition of the highly touted Florida transfer Jarred Fayson. Instead Arrelious Benn averages 13.8 yards receiving per game (Georgia's A.J. Green averages 17.57 yards per catch), and the offense has taken an enormous step backward.

JUICE NOOOOOOO

So while it is obviously challenging to turn an athlete into a quarterback and a leader, it seemed like Juice had already started to do that by being far and away the Big 10's yardage leader last year. But in general the problems are like you'd expect: working on the details of quarterbacking. Working with a great athlete presents unique problems because you don't necessarily name the guy your starter because he shows an aptitude for the traditional quarterback metrics, and sometimes you find out that a guy can't develop them. There's nothing inherently wrong with choosing a guy for that reason - remember, Juice was the Illini's leading rusher last year, and is second on the team this season. Yet when a guy without those athletic skills makes a mistake with basic quarterbacking he just makes a mistake; a guy who is also a great athlete may build bad habits by relying on that athleticism. Or simply his athleticism might hide his bad habits; consider Vince Young's transition to the pros. Developing a quarterback is always a crap shoot, but the Juice Williams saga has been a particularly strange one. In any event, this year for Illinois looks very bleak, and next year both [COACH] and [QUARTERBACK REDACTED] will be gone.

TRE: When Michigan played Michigan State the other day, Michigan State ran the following wide receiver screen three times from this formation:

Trips Right, Quick pass to Y, Z blocks down on the hybrid defender, X blocks the Michigan cornerback, Y easily picks up 8-12 yards before finally being tackled or pushed out of bounds by the LB.

Here are my questions: After the first time MSU ran this, shouldn't Michigan have altered their defense? What's the proper way to defend this screen?

SF: I'll begin with a quote from Brian Cook of MGo:

"[Michigan defensive coordinator Greg] Robinson's madden[ing] inability to adjust to the bubble screens was, uh, maddening. I'm at a loss to see how Michigan can't even throw it anymore but Michigan State can just line up in a twins set and have it open time after time. What happened to the defense we saw against Minnesota last year when Morgan Trent actually arrived before the ball on one?"

I'm not really sure why they couldn't defend it. And the biggest answer for defending the bubble screen is to have bodies to defend it. This is the fundamental chess match of the spread: they have enough constraint plays like the bubbles to force the defense to spread with the offense, thus simplifying the numbers game for them. If you don't adjust, you are basically giving up free plays. The fact that Michigan seemed unable to defend this considering their own offense is a spread team is, to use Brian's phrase, "maddening." There can be a bit more to it but on a very basic level is it math: three receivers and two defenders equals two blockers and a guy with a lot of running room, while three receivers and three defenders equals an unblocked defender who can make the tackle. Without video I can't give too much more insight there.

TRE: Northwestern has a bunch of two and three star players at its skill positions, but every year they manage to complete passes at an unusually high percentage. This year is no different, as Mike Kafka completed 63% against Purdue and 70% on the season. Did you see anything during the Purdue game that gives clues to this success?

SmartFootball: Well Northwestern is a true spread team and has traditionally done a nice job with all the typical short spread passes that can be completed at a high clip. Despite being having a lineage of being spread, they have had a lot of turnover at their offensive coordinator spot, as current OC Mick McCall has only been there two years. He was a veteran of Bowling Green where he coached under Gregg Brandon, who took over for Urban Meyer when he left. They put up impressive numbers there, especially with QBs Josh Harris and Omar Jacobs. I know a lot of Northwestern fans haven't been too pleased with the team's early struggles, but Kafka's passing efficiency has to be encouraging. He is averaging over a full yard more per attempt this year than C.J. Bacher did last year (7.2 compared to 6.0).

The biggest problem for Northwestern - and certainly so against Purdue - has been their red zone conversion percentage. They have only turned 54.55% of their red zone appearances into touchdowns, which puts them ninth in the Big 10 and 80th in the country in that stat.

Stay tuned tomorrow for Part 2 with SmartFootball, where Chris shows why Purdue should be 5-0. Just kidding, he'll discuss the changing offense in West Lafayette and why there is hope for the future.

Things We Know: 10 Points Before Michigan Football's First Day of Practice

Maize n Brew Dave — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:24:23 -0000

With Football Practice starting up, there are going to be all kinds of questions about Michigan in the papers and on the 'net. Both the Free Press and the Detroit News are running "Questions AAbound" pieces on the 2009 edition of Michigan football before the first fall practice whistle is blown. The questions are obvious. So much so that we may very well forget that there are also a lot of critical positions and facts that are easily ignored amongst the angst of the pending season.

So, to kick off Fall Pratice on the right foot, here are:

10 Things We Already Know About the 2009 Michigan Football Team

via www.mikedesimone.com

1. The Offensive Line is Deep - Last year Michigan had one returning starter with any starting experience. This year the Wolverines return seven players with starting experience on the offensive line. It's no longer unproven sophomores, juniors and freshmen. Guys that'd never seen the field and weren't supposed to in 2008. No, now the line is veteran, experienced, and (frankly) huge. David Molk (12 straight starts at center) anchors this years line with third year starter Steve Schilling and David Moosman (19 career starts) on either side of him. On the edges, Mark Ortmann and Mark Huyge line up at left and right tackle, respectively. After them are Tim MacAvoy (ten career starts at Guard), Perry Dorrestein (four career starts at Tackle), and a horde of talented players that will challenge even the established starters for their jobs. Look for Patrick Omameh to challenge for a guard or tackle slot, same with Rocky Khoury. Other than tailback, this is the deepest position on the team.

2. Brandon Minor is the No. 1. Option at Tailback - At this time last year, Brandon Minor had a wrist injury to his right hand that non one knew about. It was so bad he was having trouble writing his name, let alone grasping a football with it. Even so, Minor was Michigan's most dangerous offensive weapon in 2008. Accoutning for 11 touchdowns and the bulk of Michigan's late season offense, Minor is one of college football's highest rated returning starters according to Football Outsiders POE ratings. He got there on one arm. This year, Minor is completely healthy heading into spring camp and the unquestioned leader in the Michigan backfield. With the health of Carlos Brown, Michael Shaw, and stable of freshman head turners and burners behind him, Minor will finally have the support necessary to have a break out year. Most importantly, he's got the support of his coach and teammates. It's going to be a big year for Brandon.

3. Michigan is loaded at Wide Receiver - Good lord. Look at the slot: Odoms, Robinson, Roundtree, Jones, Gallon. Look at the wings: Matthews, Stonum, Hemingway, Stokes. Throw in Kevin Kroger and, damn son, you've got some hands to throw to.

4. There will be two quarterbacks in camp who actually fit Rodriguez' system - A lot has been made of Tate Forcier's arrival on campus and his stellar performance in the Spring Game. But Tate's not alone under center. The forgotten man in the quarterback equation remains Denard Robinson. Sure Tate's early arrival gave him a leg up, but Denard's got a little sumpin sumpin that Tate doesn't have. Speed. Robinson in a Saturn V to Tate's F-22. Both bring the ability to change a game with their feet and their vision. Both are "spread" quarterbacks. Tate is the better passer. Robinson the better runner. But they are both better fits for Rodriguez system from the first whistle of 2009 fall practice than either Threet or Sheridan were at the final whistle of the Ohio State game.

5. Everyone is actually healthy - When was the last time Michigan could say that? Answer? 1997.

(more after the jump....)

via www.mikedesimone.com

6. 3-4, 4-3, Nickle, whatever... Brandon Graham is going to get to the quarterback - You don't rack up 20 TFL on one of the nation's worst defenses without being a special player. Graham racked up these numbers despite opposing tackles having oddles of help from Tight Ends and Running Backs. This season Graham may actually benefit from the switch to the 3-4, because opposing defenses won't just be able to scheme solely against him. They'll have to account for the hybird/deathbacker in Stevie Brown, as well as Unicron, Jr. (Mike Martin, consumer of worlds). Add in another year of Barwis' system and a better position coach in Greg Robinson, and Graham is poised for a monster year. Odds are 3:1 he breaks someone in half by midseason.

7. The Secondary will be stronger - Addition by substraction. Last year's secondard was an absolute mess despite two veterans at safety in Brown and Harrison. It was by far the worst secondary Michigan's seen in half a century. Morgan Trent, despite being a nice kid, wasn't a great or even a good cornerback. Brown and Harrison, even with their strengths, were lousy safeties. Donovan Warren was gimpy the entire year with a bad ankle. This season, Michigan plugs in Mike Williams and Vlad Emilien at safety (both natural safeties), and a healthy Donovan Warren and 5* sophomore corner Boubacar Cissoko. Two five star corners with starting experience. Two four star safeties who know what they're doing. Sure there are going to be mistakes, but based on everything I've heard and read, no where near as much as 2008.

8. Three of Michigan's four top tacklers from 2008 return, and they're all linebackers - For the first time in a long, long time, Linebacker seems to be a position of strength for Michigan. Obi Ezeh, Jonas Mouton and Stevie Brown were 1, 2, and 4 last year in tackles. All three will man the middle of the field for the Wolverine defense. Their speed and experience will pay dividends for Michigan this year.

9. A lot more of the playbook will be used this year - As much as we'd like to blame the limited playbook Michigan used last year on Threet/Sheridan's shortcomings, the reality is the entire offense was learning it's first real offensive system last year. Even if Threet or Sheridan had the play book down pat, those plays coould only be used if the entire offense could execute those plays as well. The result was an offense limited by 11 players, rather than just one. This year, with 10 starters back, the Michigan offense is light years ahead of where it was at this point in 2008. I think it's a fair assumption to state that Michigan offense, minus the quarterbacks, can successfully and routinely execute 60% of Rodriguez' play book. Additionally, rodriguez and staff don't have to waste time this fall teaching the basics to the nuts and bolts personnel, they can actually focus on execution and addition. As Forcier and Robinson start to grasp the offense, you're going to see a whole other side to the system's capabilities.

10. A lot of weird news is going to surface over the next two weeks - Well. It's already started. Whether it's an alleged team meeting that never happened or the WTF news of Feagin's dismissal, you're going to get some surprising things in the paper. You're also going to get a lot of rumor mongering on the boards because everyone is back in school. You'll see Facebook posts of players hanging out. Hear about parties gone bad. Injuries that never happened. Player fights that may or may not have occurred. It's just what happens. So when this stuff pops up on your RSS or in your inbox, take a deep breath and wait a day for confirmation or debunkment before going insane.

2009 Michigan Football, Position by Position: Cornerback and Cornerback Recruiting

Maize n Brew Dave — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:28:28 -0000

Going into the 2009 season there are three positions on the Michigan Defense that are causing a great amount of concern among the Michigan faithful. Cornerback. Safety. Defensive tackle. All three of these positions have highly touted players starting for the Wolverines. All three of these positions are also an injury away from becoming an aneurism inducing mess. In an effort to assuage those fears (or stoke them like coals in a furnace) we'll be taking a look at Michigan Football's positions of need, the quality in place, the replacements on the way, and recruits that hopefully will carry the load for Michigan going forward.

Cornerback

With the possible exceptions of quarterback and receiver, it's hard to imagine a position on the football field over the past twenty years that's been as quintessentially "Michigan" as the cornerback position. Ernest Shazor. Marlin Jackson. Leon Hall. Charles Woodson. When you thought about big names on the Michigan Defense, you naturally turned to the backfield to find them. One of the main reasons those Michigan defenses piled up so many sack was the fact that opposing quarterbacks (usually) had no place to throw the ball.

Unfortunately for Michigan, the last two years have seen that reputation diminish substantially. In 2007, Wolverine fans watched in horror as short slant after short slant turned into 50 yard plus touchdowns. Teams had no problems going deep on the Wolverines where only a few years before they wouldn't have dared. Part of the problem was recruiting. Michigan normally stockpiled highly rated DB recruits and threw them out when they were ready. But Michigan no longer had that luxury. Defensive backs and safeties were being recruited to become linebackers. Of the pure corners that were recruited, it was a 50/50 chance that they'd be boom or bust. In fact, Michigan took to taking players out of position and installing them at cornerback.

The result of this was talented athletes, like Morgan Trent, being forced to learn the position on the fly because the guys previously recruited for that position couldn't hack it or were being moved elsewhere. Certainly Michigan hit a homerun at corner recruiting, taking in both starting corners Donovan Warren (Jr.) and Boubacar Cissoko (So.) (both were consensus five star recruits), but depth is a huge issue for the Wolverines heading into 2009 and 2010. Looking at Michigan's depth chart, there are no junior backups. No sophomore backups (however JT Floyd is a red-shirt frosh who came in with Cissoko). The second line of defense is comprised entirely of freshmen.

Like it or not, the Wolverines are an injury away from a crisis at corner. Though Warren and Cissoko legitimately have the talent and ability to be 1^st Team All Big Ten, Michigan's primary corner backup is a kid that's not even on campus yet (though he may have arrived by now - ed.), Justin Turner.

Turner was one of the highest regarded defensive back recruits in the 2009 class. Originally thought of as a safety because of his size, the recruiting sites took note of Turner's speed and quickness and realized the kid could not only play corner, but was one of the best high school players in the country at it. He's a 6'2" cover corner with wheels. You may squeal now. Turner was one of the Army All American game standouts and comes into his freshman season almost assured of playing at nickel back or at starting corner should Warren or Cissoko go down. If as quick as advertised, Turner's size will be a considerable benefit to the Wolverines as their schedule is jam packed with tall, speedy receivers. It may be hard to project how he'll fare until he steps on the field for the first time, but the recruiting services, coaches and recruitniks are say this kid could be special.

Also backing up the starters will be JT Floyd and Adrian Witty. Both are eligible as freshmen, though Floyd's redshirt year gives him a significant experience advantage over Witty in the depth chart battle. Floyd came is as a mid level recruit, garnering 3 stars from the primary recruiting sites. Rated as No. 20 on South Carolina's top 25 recruits, he originally committed to Tennessee. Floyd had a slate of offers from high mid-tier BCS schools, and no end of suitors when it was perceived his commitment to Tennessee was less than firm. Floyd has some natural ability, pulling double duty as a wide receiver and corner (9 TDs as WR/55 tkls as DB). At 6 feet, Floyd has the size you want at corner, but he's light, apparently not that fast (even his fake forty time is a 4.7 which roughly translates to a 5.2-5.6), and needed a lot of time in the weight room to survive a season. Hence, the redshirt. He may see some time, but he's no projected as an impact player and realistically would fall into the "contributor" category at best.

Adrian Witty is a total unknown. Sidelined by a knee injury his junior year he never had the chance to make anyone take notice of what he could do. Then, during his senior year, he was still rehabbing and trying to play through the pain. When you see the words "Total ACL Repair" on a lightly regarded sophomore, you don't automatically think "star." Witty was reputed to have sickening straight line speed, prior to his injury. We like that. However, since his injury everyone's kind of holding their breath to see how well he runs in pads, at the college level. If you're not familiar with his recruitment, he's BFFs with incoming QB recruit Denard Robinson and also ran on his high school team's 4 X 100 relay team as a senior, so you get the impression his wheels are returning. But whether that means he's going to contribute now, or ever, is anyone's guess. My guess, personally, is no. I'm pulling for the kid, but I don't see him hitting the field until his junior year at the earliest, and then only in a fill-in role.

That's our corner depth going into the season. Scared yet? My reservations about the Michigan defensive backfield are primarily concentrated on the safety position rather than corner, but with wafer thin depth at a critical position it's hard to go into the season uber-confident that covering wide receivers won't be a problem against teams with more than two receivers on the field.

The coaching staff, to their credit, seems aware of this issue and has been chucking out offers at corners like Frisbees at a Phish concert. Unfortunately, to date, Michigan has just one corner commit in Courtney Avery (who was theifed away from Stanford's clutches). Avery is listed as a middling corner recruit (3*/NR), but came to Michigan's camp and earned an offer fairly quickly. Further, Avery's recruitment was hindered by an early commitment to Stanford, being short (5'6-5'8), and playing QB until throwing in corner last year. So there's definitely room for improvement and the kid may well be a diamond in the rough based on his performance and Harbaugh's interest. Avery is #23 on Scout and unranked by Rivals.

Outside of Avery, there are a lot of highly rated CB recruits either favoring or listing Michigan as a final destination. So here's who we're looking at based on Rivals'/Scouts' databases:

Cullen Christian 3*/4* - 6-0/180 - Pittsburgh, PA - (#3 CB According to Scout)

Rashad Knight 4*/3* - 5-10/181 - Jacksonville, FL - (#69 CB According to Scout)

Dior Mathis 4*/3* - 5-8/166 - Detroit, MI - (#21 CB According to Scout)

Tony Grimes 3*/4* - 5-11/166 - Hollywood, FL (#5 CB According to Scout)

Spencer Boyd 3*/3* - 5-10/178 - Cape Coral, FL (#28 CB According to Scout)

Lo Wood 3*/3* - 5-10/160 - Apopka, FL (#42 CB According to Scout) - Committed to ND over the weekend.

Travis Williams 3*/NR - 5-10/170/- Cooper City, FL

As of the time of this posting, I understand Michigan to be in the lead for both Christian and Knight. The disparity between the rankings for these two is kind of hard to explain, but both appear capable of stepping in a playing from day one in some capacity. Christian's been to Ann Arbor several times and it appears he will eventually commit. Knight has been listing Michigan for a long time, but his list of offers is growing on a daily basis and Michigan may end up in serious competition with some southern schools to land his services. One of these guys will commit, and my hope is that both do based on their interest so far. Both of them commit, and Michigan is done recruiting at this position until the 2011 class.

Assuming one commit out of the above, that leave Cass Tech's Dior Mathis and Tony Grimes as the top rated CB's on Michigan's radar. Mathis is a wild card in my opinion. I see him ending up in Miami, even though I hope he chooses Michigan. He's got the tools, but it seems MSU commit Mylan Hicks is in the process of usurping Mathis' long held title of Michigan 2010 best cornerback. At this point, your guess is as good as mine. Grimes is a mystery to me as well. Obviously talented, the Florida corner has drawn all kinds of interest from the SEC, including Alabama. He's another kid that would be a great fit at Michigan, and seemed to enjoy himself at the BBQ at the Big House. Even so, my gut tells me based on his offer list, camps elsewhere, and upcoming Ohio State visit, he looks to be ticketed elsewhere.

Of Boyd and Williams, my guess is that one of them will end up at Michigan. Williams is the lower rated of the pair but apparently committed after his visit to Ann Arbor. Based on the recent trend of players saying "Woo! Commit!" and Michigan saying "NSFMF," I'm not 100% certain how the (non)commitment played out. With Lo Wood out of the picture and Boyd a heavy Notre Dame lean, I think Williams will probably end up on board but more as a depth commit than a potential starter.

So that's where Michigan stands at corner until 2011. Two potential All Big Ten corners. One in-coming hot recruit who has the potential to start right way. One redshirt that looks like filler for the time being. One freshman who is a total unknown. On the recruiting end, Michigan has one good corner in the fold. There are two good to outstanding corners with Michigan leans in Christian and Knight. There are two good to outstanding corners that are listing Michigan, but are 50/50 on signing. Finally, there are two good corners out of which Michigan will take one if the need arises.

What it comes down to is injuries. If Michigan can make it through the season with BooBoo and Warren healthy, the Wolverines are secure at corner. Justin Turner should compete for playing time and see plenty of action at nickel corner. However, life is usually unkind to Michigan's secondary, so if either starter goes down Michigan's lack of depth could really become evident.

On the plus side, help appears on its way. The 2010 class should include two highly rated corners and at least one well regarded corner. Add that up for 2010, and Michigan is looking at turning a position of need into a position of strength next year.

Monday Happy Hour Gets You Caught Up on All Your Michigan Football and Basketball News

Maize n Brew Dave — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:49:42 -0000

Maize n Brew gives you your daily (or semi-daily) rundown of all the Michigan Football, Michigan Basketball, College Football, and College Basketball news you need to get through the tedium at your boring ass desk job. For good measure we'll throw in a little irreverent information and commentary to help you salt away the time. Want it in 140 words or less, follow us on Twitter! Here's what's ON TAP:

Things you need to read Right Now

When Carcajous Attack takes a fairly in depth look at the 2009 Michigan Wolverine and what we should expect. He's bullish on the offense, and rightflly terrified of the defense. This is one of the best summations of our secondary anyone's put together:

Michigan’s pass defense last year can only be described as abysmal. Michigan’s secondary was frequently torched for big gains and scores throughout the season, despite a veteran crew that included CBs Brandon Harrison and Morgan Trent, Charles Stewart, Donovan Warren and Stevie Brown. There will be a new crew of defensive backs in 2009. Stevie Brown moves to the LB position. Donovan Warren and Boubacar Cissoko will likely man the cornerback spots this fall, while the safety positions may be filled by Troy Woolfolk and Michael Williams. Like the defensive line and linebacking corps, Michigan’s secondary is "wafer thin". One injury could mean big trouble for this unit. It’s a little bit scary when one considers the possibility that Michigan’s 2009 freshmen defensive backs may be the best in the unit. Providing Michigan some measure of nail-biting depth are inexperienced RS freshman Brandon Smith, and true freshmen Vlad Emilien, Adrian Witty and Justin Turner.

Michigan Football

New Commit! Wheee! Hello: Courtney Avery - Yay! A new cornerback! Smart too!

"Optimism by subtraction," man, if that doesn't sum up Michigan's feelings at quarterback and the defensive secondary perfectly. The Good Doctor on being happy about depatures at QB.

Pennsylvania falls to Ohio in Big 33 Classic - In one of the bigger, albeit not as big as it used to be, intrastate high school football matchhups, Ohio edged out a close win over neightboring Pennsylvania. It was the 21st time the neighboring states have met in the Big 33 Classic, and Pennsylvania is holding an 11-10 edge. Why is this important? Because it was loaded with recruits, targets, former targets, and future opponents. The only Michigan Commit to play in the game was future uber-back Fitzgerald Toussaint, who had a 54-yard touchdown reception and a 6-yard touchdown run for the Ohio squad.

Eleven Warrios cam away thinking it was Ohio’s Night at the Big 33 - This game was a big deal to OSU.

Seven Buckeyes were featured in the game, including both starting offensive tackles, four defensive linemen and wide receiver Chris Fields. Sam Longo, the starter for Ohio at left tackle, appeared to best his counterpart on the right side, Marcus Hall according to some reports, while Melvin Fellows and Jonathon Newsome manned the defensive end spots with Corey Linsley and Adam Bellamy put in the heavy work on the interior of the defensive front.

Heisman Pundit ranks Brandaon Graham at the country's No. 8 Defensive end.

TheWolverine's continuing position previews focus on Michigan's Linebackers.

If you've got access to the pay site, Big Ass Recruit and Lineman Torian Wilson talks camping in Ann Arbor.

Tarpley Puts On A Kicking Show in A2 - Kick. Kick it real good.

The Rivalry, Esq., continues counting down the Top 10 SEC-Big Ten Games of the Last Decade. Now up, #2 - Michigan v Alabama, 2000 Orange Bowl.

Michigan Basketball

UM Hoops.com notes that Smotrycz continues to smoke fools. ESPN's non-so-complimentary-begrudging-white-guy-compliment:

The Michigan commit is not that athletic and his game isn’t necessarily aesthetically pleasing. Smotrycz, however, produces. He can score at all three levels and has to the tune of 13 points per game. He can also find the open man and has a penchant for coming up with 50/50 balls. He is not a prospect who everyone is going to love, but it is evident why coach John Beilein thinks highly of him.

All your coaches are belong to us. Michigan ~~steals~~ hires Clemson's assistant basketball strength and conditioning coach, Jon Sanderson, to lead the men's and women's basketball programs and Olympic sports at U-M.

Welcome Jon Sanderson - UM Hoops has more on the new S&C coach for the basketball program. Why do all S&C guys, except Barwis, have goatees?

Other Michigan Sports

Your Hockey update from Michigan Hockey Net.

College Football

Ed Orgeron dares you to move, wins - The Orgeron fires up the Tennessee ladies camp. All I can say is, yes. Yes. A Thousand Times YES!

Iowa Legends: A tribute to JR Koch, The Roost. - Hayden Fry's Moustache Ride returns to drop knowledge on you fools.

Nick Saban does not like the recruiting sites.

The Quad Countdown: No. 72 Texas A&M - A&M is in free fall. Gonna be a rough year. But I still say Sherman will get this turned around and have the Aggies battling for the Big XII crown in the next couple of years.

The Rivalry didn't learn from my mistake. They're counting down 80 Reasons to Love the Big Ten. No. 77? Gerald Ford, Center, President, Diplomat, Wolverine, all around badass.

Saban says bring on Notre Dame - Nick Saban will take you on right now. Bare knuckles. Who wants to go? You? You, fat man? Rudy was a pussy. Yeah. You heard me. Bring it to Tuscaloosa, bitches.

Iowa offensive lineman Kyle Calloway was arrested early Saturday morning and charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated. That "vehicle" was a moped. Calloway blew a 0.106, which barely flew over the legal limit in Iowa of 0.08. For some reason, Calloway acknowledged to the cops that he drank seven or eight beers. Dude. The DWI is bad enough. But the moped?

College Basketball

The Kevin O'Neill era starts today... and Conquest Chronicles really doesn't know what to say. Well they kinda have an idea, as CC thinks that in Mike Garrett's eyes Kevin O'Neill was the only viable option. This is not a good sign, and will only add to the Trojans' hoops related problems. This is a Brian Elerbee type hire.

Misc...

Congrats to Texas on their dramatic CWS victory. Tie game. Bottom of the ninth... write your own story, baby. Here's the entire bottom of the 9th, of the CWS championship round game.

$19 million in the hole, karmic victim Kosar could use some slings and arrows of his own for a change.

Bernie Kosar on Bernie Kosar: 'I'm 45 and realize I'm an idiot' - we knew this years ago Bernie.

Where Does Michigan Cornerback Morgan Trent Fit in the Cincinnati Bengals secondary?

Kirkendall — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:14:30 -0000

My first reaction when the Bengals selected University of Michigan cornerback Morgan Trent was, "what?" Admittedly my Wolverines exposure was limited to when the Buckeyes or Bearcats weren't playing. Even then, it was secondary when the SEC game of the week was on, plus the exciting Big 12 match-ups. Ohio bias aside, it wasn't very rewarding to watch a 3-9 Michigan squad.

From a Bengals perspective, they were looking to upgrade their secondary depth with possibly a nickel back, or a third safety to cover deep. "Trent always had good speed," Dave from Maize N Brew said, "but he never really turned into the lock down corner we hoped he'd be." However, Dave also admits that "it's really hard to judge how good he was last year because of the defensive nightmare at DC and just how bad Michigan's deep safety play was."

Speed was likely the determining factor for Cincinnati, hoping to find a guy that plays center field, making sure that there's always someone positioned in front of opposing receivers. Plus you have to ask, can he cover third-string receivers? "He'll have no problem keeping up with straight line WRs," said Dave. The biggest concern for Trent could be the level of talent by the league's receivers, not their speed. "Where he struggles is on double moves," said the Michigan blogger. "He has a tendency to commit early, drop the hips out of the back pedal to soon, and then tangle himself up when he figures out what's going on."

Even though there's questions about Trent, it would seem that he fits the mold of what Mike Zimmer was looking for. Earlier in the off-season Zimmer was quoted as saying:

"Everybody in the NFL is looking for cover safeties," Zimmer said. "You're playing three and four receivers, and tight ends that can run. So what's wrong with playing three corners and a safety? We're not really a Cover 2 team, but a Cover 2 corner might fit for us as a free safety."

The key here is that the Bengals want to improve against big plays on the passing defense -- even though they only allowed seven 40-yard plus receptions (t-13th) and 33 20-yard receptions (t-2nd). This will only be assisted with a quality pass rush. With Michael Johnson drafted in the third round, the acquisition of Tank Johnson along with a healthy Antwan Odom and Robert Geathers, Zimmer appears to be getting more aggressive in 2009.

Also consider this. Even with 17 quarterback sacks, the Bengals finished 2008 with the league's 15th best passing defense. A staggering thought when you think about it. It means that the Bengals secondary, not helped by a quarterback that sat in the pocket unmolested, allowed only 205.4 yards passing a game. Some teams don't show that same result. For instance, the New York Jets' 41 quarterback sacks ranked seventh in the league. Their 234.5 passing yards allowed per game ranked 29th. This suggests that their secondary is vulnerable, whereas the Bengals secondary is quietly becoming a hellva unit. So if you improve the league's 31st best quarterback rushing defense with the 15th best passing defense, you can only imagine how far the Bengals will grow on defense.

With all that said, where does Trent fit into the defense? Obviously he's not going to compete with Leon Hall or Johnathan Joseph for starting time. However, is he an improvement over David Jones, Geoffrey Pope, Simeon Castille? That's the question to be answered in training camp. And if he is, then it's a good selection.

Here's more quotes by the very detailed Dave from Maize N Brew.

"Tackling this year for Trent was kinda a mixed bag. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt because Michigan as a Team really struggled wrapping people up and I'm betting at least 40-50% of that was coaching. A year prior this team could wrap people up. Last year, they couldn't wrap ANYONE up. I've seen Trent blow people up, make solid tackles, and whiff on a few. I think he's plenty strong and will be a solid tackler once his technique gets sorted out.

"You'll hear some criticism of Trent's run support, but I'm not sure how much of that was Michigan's inability to implement then-DC Scot Schafer's system and how much of it was taking the wrong angle. Trent was usually pretty good at shedding blocks to get to the tailback. I saw a couple of plays this year where it looked like he was just completely out of position for long runs, but in hindsight, if he was responsible for the area the RB sprinted through that he would've been soooo out of position during those plays that there's no way he would've seen the field again. Like I said, things were so bad at safety I really can't tell you whether Trent missed something or not.

"Take any criticism with a grain of salt. Trent's a really good kid. A hard worker. And he's really, really fast. There was never a whiff of trouble from him, and I got the impression his teammates liked the guy. I think his raw athleticism makes him a great chance to take at the 6th round level. Going in to last year he was a fairly highly rated DB based on his junior year. A bad year shouldn't erase the fact he showed a lot of promise prior to a coaching change and the implementation of a really, really awful defensive system."

Resetting the weekend; draft picks and undrafted free agents

Kirkendall — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 05:34:05 -0000

I know there's a lot of new stuff that's happened this weekend that will take some time to process -- and I'll do my best to present it easily rather than a bunch of posts detailing the acquisitions. For the time being, here's a run down of players that the Bengals selected in the draft and reportedly after the draft.

In the NFL Draft

Round	Overall	Selection
1	6	OT Andre Smith, Alabama
2	38	LB Rey Maualuga, USC
3	70	DE Michael Johnson, Georgia Tech
3	98	TE Chase Coffman, Missouri
4	106	C Jonathan Luigs, Arkansas
5	142	Punter Kevin Huber, UC
6	179	CB Morgan Trent, Michigan
6	209	RB Bernard Scott, Abilene Christian
7	215	RB Fui Vakapuna, BYU
7	249	DT Clinton McDonald, Memphis
7	252	WR Freddie Brown, Utah

After the Draft, undrafted free agents (reported by Joe Reedy)

Player	Position	School
Quan Cosby	WR	Texas
Marlon Lucky	RB	Nebraska
Billy Farris	QB	Colorado State
Ty Steinkuhler	DE	Nebraska
Colin Dow	C	Montana

H/T to "the1austin" for finding another list that included all of the above, save for quarterback Billy Farris.

Player	Position	School
Dan Skuta	DL	Grand Valley St
Chris Pressley	FB	Wisconsin
Tom Nelson	S	Illinois State
Greg Orton	TE	Purdue

That's reportedly nine undrafted free agents, 11 drafted players, giving you a total of 20 new prospects on the team.

With the 179th pick of the 2009 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select CB Morgan Trent, Michigan

Kirkendall — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 20:21:18 -0000

With the 179th pick of the 2009 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select cornerback Morgan Trent, University of Michigan. The Bengals were secure with two first-round picks in 2006 and 2007 who have become the team's starters. After that the depth falls. Earlier in the off-season, Mike Zimmer had spoken about drafting a cornerback with speed that also play as a safety or nickel and cover the deep pass. The question now is asked, is Morgan Trent that guy?

From Draft Countdown:

Strengths:
Very athletic...Above average height and adequate bulk...Good speed with a burst to close...Great strength...Tough and physical...Reliable tackler...Excellent leaper...Durable...Has a lot of big-time experience.

Weaknesses:
Lacks great instincts and awareness...Hips aren't fluid...Struggles to turn and run...Just average hands and ball skills...Can't recover when beat...Lackluster footwork...Isn't a big hitter...Extremely inconsistent.

Notes:
Was basically a four-year starter for the Wolverines...Father, Phillip, played football at Nebraska...Actually began his college career as a wide receiver...Was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten as a junior in 2007...Looks the part and has the physical tools to play at the next level but for one reason or another that doesn't always translate over to the field...Should be able to make a roster as a backup but unless the light all of the sudden comes on his pro upside might always be limited.

From Toolbox:

Morgan Trent is often overlooked in the Big Ten, with fellow corners Vontae Davis and Malcolm Jenkins getting all the hype. The Michigan senior had a very productive career, and continued to show improvement every week. Trent has good size for the position, standing 6'1", but only weighs 188 pounds. Trent will need to add a little bulk so he isn't manhandled by bigger NFL receivers. In 48 career games he has registered 149 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 7 interceptions, and 12 passes broken up in coverage. He has excellent instincts, and makes good breaks on the ball when it's in the air. Trent's major weakness at this point is playing bump and run coverage. He doesn't always get a good jam on his receiver at the line of scrimmage, which allows receivers to get between him and the safety for big gains. Trent has good speed, but lacks that extra gear that the elite corner back prospects tend to have.

From Sports Illustrated:

BIOGRAPHY: Full-time starter the past three years after seeing action in five games with the first team as a freshman. Senior totals included 41/3/5 after 41/2/10 as a junior when he won all-Conference mention.

POSITIVES: Forceful, hard-working defensive back best facing the action. Aggressive, jams opponents at the line, and will mix it up throughout routes. Forceful up the field defending screen passes or running plays, and stays with the action. Displays solid awareness, and effectively reads the action when it is in front of him.

NEGATIVES: Struggles making plays with his back to the ball, and usually a half step behind receivers. Lacks deep speed and does not play to his 40 time. Tends to lose a sense of where he is on the field. Struggles staying with receivers out of their breaks.

ANALYSIS: Trent has been a consistent player for Michigan, and he is a well spoken young man with good size for the next level. His game has some limitations, although Trent could thrive in a zone system, and he may even get consideration inside at safety.

Poll

Do you like the selection of Morgan Trent?

Yes

120 votes

No

116 votes

236 votes | Poll has closed

The Cincinnati Bengals 2009 NFL Draft

Kirkendall — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 16:57:34 -0000

Here's your Cincinnati Bengals, 2009 Draft Class.

Round	Overall	Selection
1	6	OT Andre Smith, Alabama
2	38	LB Rey Maualuga, USC
3	70	DE Michael Johnson, Georgia Tech
3	98	TE Chase Coffman, Missouri
4	106	C Jonathan Luigs, Arkansas
5	142	Punter Kevin Huber, UC
6	179	CB Morgan Trent, Michigan
6	209	RB Bernard Scott, Abilene Christian
7	215	RB Fui Vakapuna, BYU
7	249	DT Clinton McDonald, Memphis
7	252	WR Freddie Brown, Utah

East-West Shrine Game Live Blog

Fooch — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 19:48:52 -0000

Today represents the kickoff to the draft season. The East-West Shrine Game kicks off at 1pm with some quality senior talent. The primary purpose of the game is to raise money for the Shriners Hospitals for Children. Of course, over the past few days that doesn't stop the scouts from checking out the week long practices.

These All-Star Games can be considered good and bad for scouting talent. On the one hand, you get to see these guys in pro-style offenses and working with an assortment of talented players. Of course, then you get the inevitable "Player X raises his draft stock" storyline (Rice WR Jarett Dillard in thie case). However, the chance to see this talent on one field makes it hard to resist checking it out.

On 49ers game days I'll open up a game thread and the discussion in the thread is usually good enough for keeping track of plays for the most part. For today's Shrine Game I'm going to do a bit of live-blogging. It won't be play by play, but I'll definitely do what I can to get in the high and low points of the game in terms of player scouting.

Due to the length of the game, I'll be doing the first quarter or so on this front page, and then the remaining three quarters of the game will be after the jump. If you're not watching the game but want me to keep an eye out for somebody in particular, drop a note in the comments. For now, here are the rosters in pdf form:

East Roster (pdf)

West Roster (pdf)

And so begins the hype....

1:02pm - ESPN Draft mini guru Todd McShay in the house. That should make for some very interesting information.

1:05pm - Penn State's career reception leader Deon Butler will be in action. He's not getting love in the wide receiver projections right now. Also, they're talking about Bobby Ross. I forgot he coached the Georgia Tech national title team from 1990 before taking the Chargers to the Super Bowl. One of the few college to pro success stories (we'll forget his time with the Lions).

Game Rules
Offense: No motion or shifting, 2 feet in for wide receivers, only 2 running backs
Defense: Only 4-3, no blitz, only man-to-man

1:11 - Tom Brandstater threw a nice little slant for the first down. ESPN projects him as the #17 QB. That throw and his next throw show some quality arm strength. We'll see what kind of accuracy he has.

1:13 - Gartrell Johnson, CSU running back, with a big rush into East territory. He rushed for 285 yards in the New Mexico Bowl. McShay says he's one of the fastest rising performers. He's 5'10, 227. Definitely a baby bull type of player it looks like.

1:17 - How's about a 285 pound fullback (5'11). Yes I'm talking about Jorvorskie Lane of Texas A&M. The announcers (McShay and Andre Ware) are ripping into him for being overweight. On that drive he got the ball on 3rd and goal form the 2 and 4th and goal from the 1 and couldn't get it in.

1:22 - Wow. HORRIBLE call on a pass interference. The defender hit the receiver square just before the ball got to him. I really don't see how that wasn't pass interference. Anybody??? Hopefully Bobby Ross (the East coach) is unhappy with that call

1:30 - Well, the Brandstater question above has been answered. He can hit the short slants, but anything beyond 10 yards has been overthrown.

1:33 - Chase Daniel is 0/3 so far with some under throws and over throws. One downside to All-Star games is the lack of chemistry between quarterbacks and receivers.

1:35 - Gartrell Johnson is really impressive so far. They've said over and over that he lacks speed (4.7 40 they actually said), but he just seems to break through for the solid runs. McShay: "I think elite speed is the most overrated aspect of evaluating running backs. As long as you're quick enough to get through the line of scrimmage you can play at the next level."

1:40 - Apparently Brian Hoyer, Michigan State QB, looked awesome in practice this week. For the season he had a 51% completion percentage. Apparently the MSU receivers had a lot of drops and scouts might use that as a discount on his completion percentage. Making excuses or will he be solid? McShay says he's a great fit for a West Coast offense as a 4th or 5th round pick. Might be worth doing some more research.

1:43 - Penn State receiver Deon Butler (mentioned above) finished his PSU career #1 in receptions, #3 in receiving yards and #3 in receiving touchdowns. McShay sees him as a potentially solid slot receiver and a mid to late round pick.

We've reached the end of the first quarter, so i'm going to pick this up after the jump. No scoring so far, but some solid performances thus far.

1:47 - McShay says the 5 players who improved their stock the most are: Gartrell Johnson (RB), Sebastian Vollmer (OT), Brian Hoyer (QB), Stephen McGee (QB) and Jarron Gilbert (DT). Apparently Gilbert is turning into a YouTube sensation in part because of this video.

1:50 - Marlon Lucky with the 7-yard rushing touchdown and the East goes up 7-0. Lucky is a Nebraska running back and is ranked 23rd among running backs. I'm curious how often they adjust the Scouts Inc rankings.

1:55 - McShay says the All-Star games are a bigger bonus for players than the Combine. I definitely think the games are important, but it seems like a lot of players get big bumps from Combine performances. Maybe really they're equal?

1:58 - The East defensive line has impressed at times. They stopped the West on a goal line stand and have done well against Ian Johnson and Aaron Brown. Of course, Gartrell Johnson chewed them up with ease.

1:58 - David Buehler, USC's kicker, just drilled a 49 yarder with ease. 7-3 East.

2:04 - Hunter Cantwell, Louisville QB, just completed a pass to a wide open Deon Butler. Butler solid so far.

2:04 - Marlon Lucky with a 47 yard rush to the West 3, followed by Javarris Williams running it in for the TD. 14-3 East.

2:08 - Michigan DB Morgan Trent just picked Central Washington QB Mike Reilly. NFL contact rules are in play so after falling to the ground with the pick, he hopped up and returned it to the West 17. The East looking to blow this open.

2:12 - Marlon Lucky with a big 11-yard gain on a draw to the West 6. Lucky isn't huge but is showing some solid burst, leading both teams in rushing yards.

2:15 - The West stiffens up and holds the East to a field goal. 17-3 East.

2:17 - 2 minute warning. I do like the idea of using more NFL rules for these games....Any idea why they don't use more NFL rules in other college games (2 minute warning, no stopping the clock on first downs, 2 feet in bounds for receptions)?

2:22 - Gartrell Johnson apparently came out of nowhere this season, as he wasn't expected to be the starter. His yards per carry is exactly the same as last season with 97 more carries. It's hard to make an exact assessment yet, but that has to be a good sign.

2:26 - Fresno St QB Tom Brandstater brought back in for the final minute to run the quick drill for the West. He just made a nice throw across the middle to get a first down. Due to NFL rules, they had to use a timeout with 34 seconds left. Brandstater follows the timeout with a beautiful toss to Boise St RB Ian Johnson on a corner route and out of bounds. First and goal.

2:30 - The West ran the ball and then threw a quick incomplete fade leaving 6 seconds left. The 3rd down play was a slant that bounced off the defender. The West finished off the first half with a David Buehler field goal.

After one half, the running backs have looked the best, which isn't surprising given the short week of practice and the fact that everybody is playing with people they've never played with. Thus, QB-WR combos haven't looked all that great. That also makes it hard to assess cornerbacks and safeties since a lot of passes have been bad overthrows and underthrows. We'll be back soon for the second half...

2:53 - McShay and Ware have been pointing to the East's defensive pressure on the QBs. They've gotten in the QBs' faces, but they have had problems at times stopping the run. Of course they've held the West to two field goals, so I suppose they're doing just fine.

2:55 - McShay ranks Sanchez the #1 QB, followed by Matthew Stafford, Nate Davis (Ball State), Josh Freeman (Kansas State) and Graham Harrell.

2:57 - Andre Ware thinks Mark Sanchez is #1 and it's not even close to Stafford as #2. He thinks he's the "complete package." Interesting.

3:00 - Brandstater hit his fellow Bulldog, TE Bear Tascoe, who made a phenomenal catch in traffic. The 49ers don't need a TE but Tascoe brings some solid size to the position.

3:05 - I have to say, I really like Tom Brandstater. He's 6'4, 215 pounds and has a real live arm. His biggest problem seems to be accuracy. He completed 59.6% of passes, down from 62.6% last season. And just like that Brandstater completes a 22 yard touchdown pass to Mike Thomas. On that drive he was 5/7 for 74 yards and the touchdown. 17-13 East.

3:15 - A&M QB Stephen McGee apparently had a solid week of practice, but hasn't had much of anything happening so far. He's 3/6 but his drives have involved big runs from Marlon Lucky, so not much to show so far.

3:17 - They're discussing how McGee looks solid as an under the center QB. Apparently Mike Sherman brought some of that in when he took over at A&M. Contrast that with Chase Daniels. Daniels played a lot of shot gun and McShay pointed out that he's struggled under the center this week. Sounds a little like Colt Brennan's All-Star game issues last season.

3:25 - MSU QB Brian Hoyer scrambles 13 yards for a first down. McShay said he thought he was the worst of the 6 QBs in today's game coming into the week's practice. He quickly changed his tune.

3:30 - Deon Butler just made a really nice 20-yard catch inside the West 10 yard line. He's not a big guy (5'9, 173 - not a whole lot bigger than me), but he's shown some really solid hands. That was followed by Northwestern RB Tyrell Sutton rushing in for a 2-yard touchdown. Sutton is 5'7 206 pounds. Now, THAT is a bowling ball with legs.

3:34 - Best line so far: Nothing says the 84th East-West Shrine Game like a giant dancing fez.

3:37 - Stephen McGee with a beautiful toss to Jarett Dillard to cut the lead to 24-19 (failed 2-pt conversion). Dillard ran a go route and McGee dropped it right in there.

3:48 - West gets the ball back after a punt and can take their first lead of the game. They opened with a nice 10+ yard run to get things rolling. Central Washington QB Mike Reilly is in for the West. He has struggled so far today (and that's why you come here for amazing insight!).

3:53 - West got a roughing the passer penalty that has really helped the drive. They're inside the East 40.

3:54 - And the West benefits frm NFL pass interference rules as Dillard gets knocked around on an incompletion. West down inside the 10.

3:56 - Dillard went up on a fade route and almost had the ball but the defender did a great job knocking the ball away. We're down to the 2-minute warning and this is coming down to the wire.

4:00 - And the West turns the ball over on downs after a jump ball in the end zone. The receiver jumped just a second too early I think. East gets the ball back and is looking to run out the clock.

4:02 - Javarris Williams with a 16 yard rush for the first down. The West is out of timeouts and the East can run things out. The East just called a timeout for some reason with 46 seconds left. Maybe make sure they get the victory formation right?

4:05 - And that'll do it. Bobby Ross's East squad pulls out the victory 24-19.

All in all a pretty solid game. The running backs dominated early, but the quarterbacks stepped up late. I suppose the in-game QB/WR chemistry took a little time to develop. Once it did, there were some solid plays on both sides.

There will be plenty to assess about the draft possibilities in the coming months, but this game at least gave me a few more guys to look at at a variety of positions.