Jethro's UM Football Thread

[Zip Goshboots]

It is official: Terence Taylor is....STAYING.

[Zip Goshboots]

Another Pryor article, and SURPRISE! Another school enters the mix.
I think it may be time to move on.

The nation's No. 1 player, Jeannette, Pa., quarterback Terrelle Pryor, has had quite a busy week since the U.S. Army All American Bowl. He's added a recruiting mentor, he's shuffled a few of his official visit dates and he's now interested in a new team. Here's the latest on Pryor.

"I'm taking my official visit to Michigan on Jan. 18, that's this upcoming weekend," he said. "I was supposed to go to Penn State but that's changed. I'm not really sure where I'm going on Jan. 25 and if I'll even take a visit in February. Right now it's Michigan as the only one scheduled."
Pryor has been allowing his new mentor, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch, to help with the process now that it is getting more hectic.

"I've had to get a second cell phone because things have been so crazy," said Pryor. "It's really getting busy now."

Pryor has already visited Ohio State and is considering Florida, Oregon and now LSU for an official visit on Jan. 25 -- and that could be his last visit.

"LSU is new," he said. "Charlie spoke to them and then I spoke to coach Gary Crowton and I liked a lot of what he was saying. I wouldn't say they're as high up as the others because I am just learning about them, but I like what they're talking about in changing the offense for me."

Crowton was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Oregon while Dennis Dixon was emerging, so he has utilized the spread offense. Pryor also likes what he's hearing from Oregon.

"They've been saying some good things as well," he said. "Oregon has had me interested for a little while now. Florida is in there as well, and they obviously run a quarterback-friendly offense."

As for Penn State, the school Pryor has been to the most, he's still not sure where the Nittany Lions stand.

[Jethro34]

Excellent news about Taylor. Shafer is used to working with strong lines, and I think a returning group with Taylor and Jamison will help. Graham is a beast, but that report that he might be shedding weight to return to LB has me wondering exactly where he'll play - though I expect him to be a beast regardless.
Outside of that I think Will Johnson might have another year (not sure) and Slocum is there as well inside. If Graham moves to LB, will it be Adam Patterson starting at the other end?
We figure to have a decent line either way with Taylor as the anchor. If Mike Martin sticks around he could potentially see some time early.

Anyone know if Slocum would possibly move to OL?


As far as Pryor, I still don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing that he's coming early. The whole 5 days before signing day visit had me excited, but the whole only visit scheduled thing isn't bad either.
I hope the right people are communicating and they can pack Chrisler for this game to greet him.

Any chance he doesn't take a visit on the 1st because it's Super Bowl weekend?
I would bet on Florida getting the visit next week, just because who wouldn't want to go to Florida the last week in Jan? But I'm not sure why he would go there knowing he would never be the starter this year. He could certainly see time, but not sure how much. He knows he can be a 3-year starter here.

[Artermis]

Slocum stays on D. He will be a beast.

Graham is losing weight to play DE. He played a lot of DT this season. Losing 20 pounds make him a DE not a LB in the 4-3.

Pryor is not going to LSU. It is between UM and OSU.

Unless LSU throws more money at him than OSU.

Rumors out there LSU could be looking at sanctions. Think no further than Jai Eugene. Someone's daddy got out of jail early and got a 20 dollar an hour job and the family got a new house after the son signed with the Tigers. This is straight poop....the Jai Eugene thing is straight poop. Sanctions from the NCAA are not what they used to be.

Nowadays if Webber and the Fab5 came, getting money would have been the norm and nothing would have happened.

[Jethro34]

Jai Eugene just reminds me not to be thrilled about a guy coming just because he says it on national TV during the Army game.
Hopefully that's not the case with Brandon Smith!

Seriously though, There's a reason why (I think Art, maybe Filly) had the sig anything can happen until the LOI is signed.

[Timone]

it was Art with that sig.

[Jethro34]

In hoops, specifically with Alex Legion, even a signed LOI is somewhat meaningless.

[Zip Goshboots]

In hoops, specifically with Alex Legion, even a signed LOI is somewhat meaningless.

Let's not get the thread off track. You know how I hate that. It's UM Football, not basketball, which I hate and therefore ban from this thread. Look, in the time it took me to type this post, some basketball ref on the take just called four fouls somewhere.

[Zip Goshboots]

Nice little write up by the Associated Press. Looks like another ESPN schlock fest, probably something the Detroit Free Press will blow out of proportion as well:

Some of you might want to back off the ledge:


WVU investigating missing football documents

By Vicki Smith
ASSOCIATED PRESS
6:01 p.m. January 15, 2008
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia is investigating the disappearance of records associated with the school's football program, a topic the agent for former coach Rich Rodriguez says will be addressed in court documents when the time is right.
Citing anonymous sources, The Charleston Gazette reported Tuesday that files kept in Rodriguez's private office disappeared between Dec. 16 and Jan. 3, along with strength and conditioning records from the weight room.

Assistant athletic director Mike Fragale told The Associated Press some files are missing but that he does not know what was in them. The athletic department won't have any further comment until its investigation is finished, he said.

The newspaper report claimed the missing documents included players' personal contact information, scholarship payments and class attendance records, as well as strength and conditioning records and photographs that tracked players' physical progress.

WVU is suing Rodriguez, who accepted the head coaching job at Michigan last month, to collect on a $4 million buyout clause in his contract. A response is due in about a week, and agent Mike Brown told The Associated Press late Tuesday that's when his client will respond to most of the accusations in the newspaper report.

The report has “a lot of misinformation and untruthful statements,” Brown said.

Brown denied Rodriguez kept a personal file on each player and that a strength coordinator took photos of them. Every time players were tested, he added, “those records were given to the head coach and every assistant coach.”

That means current head coach Bill Stewart should have copies.

“Regarding the class attendance records, I sure hope that West Virginia's compliance and academic office keeps those records because if they don't, they have serious institutional control problems,” he said. These sentiments have been echoed by WTF Detroit's own Zip Goshboots.

Brown said the university also should have any records involving the finances of the summer camps it ran.
He declined to answer questions about whether Rodriguez removed or destroyed documents.

“There's a process that's now in place that has to be followed” because of the litigation, Brown said. “There is an appropriate time we can make comments and statements in regard to the allegations in the lawsuit and the allegations and statements that have been made by individuals in West Virginia.”

Those individuals, he noted, include both Gov. Joe Manchin and WVU president Mike Garrison.

After Rodriguez resigned, Manchin blamed “high-priced agents” for the departure of a West Virginia native who had said his lifelong goal was to coach at his alma mater.

Since his departure, relatives of Rodriguez say they've been harassed and threatened. His mother, Arleen, said the coach's home was also vandalized, and dozens of groups devoted to her son's downfall have appeared on the Facebook social networking site.

Feeding fan fury is that after seven seasons in Morgantown, Rodriguez raided the Mountaineers' program, taking assistant coaches and perhaps recruits with him, as well as the six-member strength and conditioning staff.

Several wealthy football boosters claim there was behind-the-scenes tension between Rodriguez and the WVU administration, but the coach has yet to publicly discuss the matter.

Is there any wonder as to why Rich Rod got the fuck out of that hellhole?

signonsandiego.printthis.click...p;partnerID=628

[Zip Goshboots]

If RR intends to keep the class Lloyd left him with, he has some work to do. First and foremost is Witherspoon:

JB and Witherspoon both talked to Sam:

JB Fitzgerald
JB told Sam (more to come) he had his in-home last night, with R-Rod/Hopson. The visit went great visit, they coachesmade a great impression ... JB felt they were real outgoing .. he feels a lot better, he sees how he'll fit ... they didn't get deep into PT, it was just a feeling-out, and he got a great feeling...

JB'd talked previously about visiting Rutgers on Jan. 25 ... "anything else" is not definite, not. Sam talked to him ... more to come ... but things look pretty good there.

++++++++++++++++

Witherspoon
He told Sam (more to come)he is now completely up in the air, 50-50, U-M and Tennessee ... He had a great Tenn visit, he doesn't know what to do, there are no negatives to either school ... the Tenn visit was eye-opener. His dad wants him to stick with U-M, but once he visited and met the Tenn. coaches ... doesn't know what determining factor will be ... it'll be a Signing Day thing ... Coach Rod did come to see his yesterday. Hopson- and other asst coming back next week ... *TJB: You'd have to consider Witherspoon no longer a comit IMO*. END

I think UM can get the kid, but right now, especially with the whiny bitch that is West Virginia out there, there is ALOT of negative recruiting going on. Also, with Martin going to Notre Dame, and Charlie getting more desperate by the minute, Martin will get an earful of shit from the Irish. Martin is a kid UM kind of needs to keep, IMO. Gotta work on him.

I went down to the West Virginia boards and gave those hicks some shit, and now I'm banned. I'd encourage ALL members of this great forum to go to their free board on Scout and urge them to get over their hissy fit and move on. Sometimes this shit can backfire. Pretty soon the whole country is going to start telling them to shut the fuck up. They need to.