The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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������ michigan football the times. There are things people are doing now with mobile quarterbacks that we intend to keep. We���re not going to get rid of that. ���But to say we���re going to be an 80-percent spread team, which we were early last season with Denard, isn���t true, but we���re not going to completely eliminate all the quarterback run parts of our offense as long as we have a kid under center that poses a threat.��� Brady Hoke Maintains His Emphasis On The Midwest Michigan���s home base for recruiting is always going to be the Midwest. Brady Hoke has made that abundantly clear, pulling in 80.8 percent of U���M���s signees in his first two full classes from the 12 states surrounding Michigan. This year, 21 of 27 came from the Midwest, and, for the first time since 1989, the Wolverines did not add anyone from the talent-rich states of Florida, Texas and California. Michigan has already made great inroads into Florida for the 2014 class, and the California connections of Hoke and his staff are well known. There���s no question, U-M will get back to tapping into those warmweather venues for future Wolverines. Hoke still likes what he has on hand. ���It���s a little bit of an anomaly, but we���re going to start here,��� Hoke insisted, regarding the local talent. ���Number one, that 400-mile, 350mile radius is always going to be very important to us. This state is always going to be very important to us. The state of Ohio, Chicago ��� those are go- ing to be very important areas for us. ���When you saw the year the different states have ��� those are going to change year to year. We are always going to be a national recruiting school, because we are a national brand. But we took nine guys out of the state of Ohio ��� Ohio was pretty good this year, when you look at the top-tier talent that was there.��� Regardless of where they were discovered, Hoke indicated, he���s more than pleased with the 27 who form the class. ���As a class, they���ve grown together from afar, which is really neat, when you���re in the homes and you talk to them, talk about the parents knowing each other, and the kids and how much they���ve had conversation,��� Hoke said. ���The staff, they���ve really worked their tails off. One thing we���re very proud of is how we recruit and the integrity and the character of the guys that we want to represent Michigan.��� Coach Likes How Tight Ends Shape Up Michigan tight ends coach Dan Ferrigno appeared more than pleased on National Signing Day, given the fact that newcomers Jake Butt from Ohio and Khalid Hill out of Detroit were officially in the fold. Ferrigno enjoyed even more reason to smile, though. The veteran coach won���t go into this season like he did last, with zero starting experience at the position. Not only did the Wolverines feature a Freshman All-American in Devin Funchess last fall, they also put a second frosh, A.J. Williams, on the field consistently.