The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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running game, a quarterback who has taken more hits than Whack-AMole figurines at the county fair, you name it. Brandon would like to see the Wolverines' record better than it is, at this point. He also knows that they're a couple of plays away from sitting at 9-1, rather than 7-3 and out of the Big Ten race. He's fully cognizant of the fact that Brady Hoke and his coaches are in charge of caretaking the golden goose, the driving force behind Michigan's $150-million athletics budget and the host of varsity sports it feeds. He knows, from experience, patience can pay off in a big way. "I feel very confident," Brandon stressed prior to the Northwestern game, speaking on the tailgate show for the Michigan Radio Network. "Brady is the right guy to lead this Michigan football program. There is no question in my mind about that. The recruiting pipeline is filled with a lot of talent … "The reality is, we're 6-3, we're behind where we want to be, and we've all got to hang together. Brady Hoke was named Coach of the Year his first year here. We've got good things going on with the program. "The last time I had a coach in his third year, and I was getting all kinds of advice from self-proclaimed experts about their ability to coach, it was a guy named Beilein." Brandon wouldn't go to the Beilein well in this instance blithely, or un- advisedly. Brandon understands that Michigan basketball has more than gotten up to speed, winning a Big Ten championship and putting itself in position to win a national title over the seasons that succeeded that disappointing third year. He went there anyway. "He had a disappointing year in his third year," Brandon noted. "We underperformed, compared to what expectations were. We didn't make as much progress during the year as we'd hoped to make, and there were a lot of people that were telling me that he couldn't coach at this level, he couldn't recruit the kind of players [needed], he couldn't recruit NBA players. "There were all kinds of people out there taking shots at Coach Beilein. I'm kind of glad that Coach Beilein is here. I have the same confidence in Brady Hoke." That doesn't mean Brandon is one iota less results oriented, when it comes to the man he handpicked to lead the Wolverines on the football field. Brandon's bottom line is competing for championships, and with three weeks remaining in the Big Ten season, Michigan wasn't doing so. At the same time, he sees the shelves getting restocked. He watches film every weekend in Schembechler Hall, keeping touch with the nerve center. And he has more than enough nerve to tell folks, tough as it is, to have patience and watch what happens. ❏ Editor John Borton has been with The Wolverine since 1991. Contact him at jborton@thewolverine.com and follow him on Twitter @JB_Wolverine.