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Work's been busy since I got back from Dallas so I'm late to the boat on two of the latest commitments for Michigan, one for basketball and one for football. Also with NBA Draft and free agency almost finished and the World Cup now over it's time to get back towards what we wait for all year long and that's college football. Let's start with basketball commitment as Copperyale "Manny" Harris from Detroit Redford, same HS as Dion Harris, committed to the Wolverines this week. This is a big pickup as he is in the top 50 and rising after his play this summer at the camps. MGoBlog has much more in detail. With Alex Legion's decline in rankings and Manny's rise, it may not turn out to be a bad trade after all considering we no longer have to deal with Legion's shady AAU Coach/father figure Tim Green. The other thing I love about the pickup is every update I ever read about him from camps always mentions his defense which is something that no team can ever have enough of.
On the football side Steve Watson a TE from Colorado has committed to the Maize and Blue. Watson was completely under the radar as no one knew much about him and all of a sudden he became a commitment. Watson is the son of former Denver Bronco WR also named Steve Watson who is currently the Broncos WR coach. He is rated a 3/4 star by Rivals and Scout respectively and the #3 player in Colorado according to Rivals. He had offers from pretty much every single school on the West Coast and considering his pedigree it looks like a great pickup. With Watson and Martell Webb committed as TE's that should close that position for the year.
As the season approaches there's a lot of previews popping up and Dave over at Maize and Brew already has his up for Vanderbilt. One of my best friends went to Vanderbilt so I had been hearing the talk of Jay Cutler before last year and also learned of the greatness of Erik Davis and Earl Bennett, both returning. If Cutler was coming back I would be somewhat concerned about this game but we must remember this is the same Vanderbilt team that cannot beat Middle Tennessee State (0-3 in their last 3 meetings). I can't start thinking about this game too early or I'll get myself too excited too soon. Thanks to MGoBlue I've got seats on the 50 so I'm extra pumped for this game, it'll be my first game at Michigan not in the student section.
I can't wait to get back to AA.
The SEC East seems to have a reputation as the Beast of the SEC, as it is the home to the well-respected, well-publicized trio of Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. It's hard not to be the better known half of a conference with those three programs. Add Steve Spurrier into the mix at South Carolina and suddenly, you've got yourself an even more powerful division. Imagine if someone competent was at Kentucky! Or if Vandy had found permanent eligbility for Jay Cutler! The East should be highly competitive once again, and here's how I see it all going down..
1)Florida - Word on the street is that Year 2 is when things really click for Urban Meyer's teams. Witness Bowling Green. Witness Utah. However, this is the SEC and not the MAC or Mountain West. Who is to say if the spread option is gonna make it work like Tim Gunn or not? Despite a lack of a running back, I think The Swamp is going to be home of the Eastern Division champs. They'll take care of business at Tennessee and be 4-0 going into what should be a helluva payback game against Bama. LSU may be able to pull off the upset, but it's at the Swamp, and I don't think they are going down at the Swamp this year. So, 6-0 going into a road game at Auburn...and 6-1 leaving said road game. Like the Tennessee games of the late 90s, the UF/UGA game is the new division championship game. This year, I'm going Gators. I'll call victory over the Gamecocks during the OBC's dramatic return to The Swamp. And a win over the Noles as well. And that means a final record of: 11-1 (7-1)
2)Georgia - My only real concern with Georgia is their quarterback situation. If Joe T. can be a gatekeeper and simply not lose the games for the Bulldogs they may well be the Eastern champions. Think Trent Dilfer for the Ravens during their Super Bowl run. Just do enough to be efficient and all will be fine. Georgia and Florida are the class of the division right now and if Joe T. is getting it done by the time of the Cocktail Party, the division will likely be decided that day. Then again, it could all fall apart and Matthew Stafford may be at the helm by then. I'm sticking with Tereshinsky getting the job done and leading the Bulldogs to another 10 win season between the Hedges. Outside of the Florida game, the only matchup I don't see the Bulldogs as clear favorites in is their trip to Auburn. I've got the Gators and the Tigers claiming victory and Georgia's final record as: 10-2 (6-2)
3)South Carolina - Most folks seem to think the Gamecocks are going to take a slight fall this year. However, outside of a trip to Gainesville in which SC is likely to be very inspired, I don't see a road game that screams out defeat for the OBC. However, all four conference home games are quite tough. Georgia, Auburn, Tennessee, and Arkansas. It'll be a challenge just to split those 4. I think Spurrier's still got UT's number, but Georgia and Auburn will not be W's for Cocks. Arkansas/SC should be a great matchup and a true swing game for these two teams. With the exception of the year-end matchup with Clemson, the non-conference schedule is weak and is at worth at least 3 victories. Lets give Darth Visor a nice 2nd year result of: 7-5 (4-4)
3)Tennessee - Fat Phil really has his work cut out for him this year. David Cutcliffe returns to Knoxville to save the offense, but will still find Erik Ainge is the QB and not much can help you there. And where are the receivers? This hardly resembles the Vol offense of the 90s that Fulmer could coach to 10 wins without even breaking a sweat. Sure, its impossible for Phil not to be sweating, but you get the point. Last year's 5-6 seems less an aberration than an indictment of the decline of this program recently. Even the previous 10 win season seemed to come more out of good fortune than actually having a 10 win caliber squad. Things do not look overly promising in Knoxville, but it's hard to truly count out the Vols. A win over California would go a long ways towards establishing some confidence, but as much as it pains me to pick a Pac 10 squad, I have visions of the Bears beating the Vols and it not even looking that difficult for them. No other real roadblocks on the non-conference schedule however and free wins over Vandy and Kentucky should put the Vols in good shape for: 7-5 (4-4)
5) Vanderbilt - You were expecting Kentucky here, right? So was I. Then I thought about it. Vandy is bad, but Kentucky is quite possibly worse. You can at least expect a scrappy squad out of Vandy. Even without Jay Cutler. They do have an experienced transfer QB in Richard Kovalcheck. And outside of Michigan, they have a fighting chance at winning the rest of their non-conference games. Can they pull off an conference win? I've got them winning at Kentucky and who is to say they don't have it in them to knock off Ole Miss again? Perhaps they even have newfound confidence after beating Fat Phil last year. I'm not sure I see more than that one SEC victory in their future however and a final record of: 4-8 (1-7)
6) Kentucky - Rich Brooks. Need I say more? After Louisville likely blows them out to open the season, the other 3 non-conference games look to be winnable. And they should be. But why do I get the feeling my fightin' Chippewas may be able to knock off Kentucky? Outside of that, is there a conference game, with the exception of Vanderbilt, that you'd feel good about saying Kentucky can win? Maybe Mississippi State, but thats on the road. And I already said I was taking Vandy in the road win. I just have zero good feeling about this squad. I know they return a decent amount of players, but I'm not sure that offsets anything that everybody else is returning. While they are probably bound to win one somewhere, I'll go on and give them the big fat o-fer and call for a final record of: 3-9 (0-8)
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