The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN FOOTBALL TAKE A BOW • After guiding Michigan to an 11-2 FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK • Rivals.com named U-M defensive record and a Sugar Bowl victory, Brady Hoke was named the Max- well Football Club Collegiate Coach of the Year. "Coach Hoke has engi- coordinator Greg Mattison one of the nation's top 25 recruiters for 2012. "It did not take Mattison neered a tremendous turn- around in the Michigan foot- ball program in just one year, and it was obvious that his team improved each week," Maxwell Football Club execu- tive director Mark Wolpert said. "It is quite an accomplishment to compile an 11-2 record playing a rigor- ous Big Ten schedule in his first year at the helm. Coach Hoke has set the tone for a high degree of future success for the Michigan program." Chosen by both his fellow coaches and the media as the Big Ten Coach of the Year, Hoke is just the third boss in BCS-era history to lead his team to a BCS bowl victory in his first season. He joins Lloyd Carr (1997) and Bo HOKE fire, landing commitments from eight prospects (one five-star, five four-stars and two three-stars) before the end of July. "The crown jewel in that group was long to shake off the recruit- ing rust after spending three years in the NFL," the site wrote. "The former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordina- tor stepped in and immedi- ately made an impact in the final month of the 2011 re- cruiting class, then came out and started the 2012 class on the lead or secondary recruiter in nine of the Wolverine's 25 signees in the 2012 class. " ticket to the Cowboys Classic next fall against Alabama will have to visit the secondary market on StubHub, Craigslist or other websites because the Wolverines have sold out their allotment already, U-M announced. Michigan had received just less than 25,000 tickets. "We have received unprecedented ALL SOLD OUT • Michigan fans hoping to buy a Schembechler (1989) as Michigan coaches to earn the Maxwell Award. five-star offensive tackle Kyle Kalis, whom Mattison was able to flip from Big Ten rival Ohio State, then hold onto after Urban Meyer came to Colum- bus and tried to re-recruit Kalis back to the Buckeyes. With the addition of Cleveland (Ohio) Glenville three-star defensive tackle Willie Henry in the fi- nal week of the process, Mattison was dium in Arlington, Texas, will feature the reigning Sugar Bowl winner and the defending national champion. The Crimson Tide are opening as a 10-point favorite over the Maize and Blue. interest in tickets for the Cowboys Classic game with Alabama," chief marketing officer Hunter Lochmann said. "The demand is on par or greater than our athletic department has ever seen." The Sept. 1 kickoff at Cowboys Sta- Early Look At 2012 Opponents: Alabama 2012 BCS National Championship Game, can set their sights on a repeat title, they have to get past Michigan in an open- ing-weekend clash at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. Any Wolverine fan that watched Alabama's suffocating over his head. At this point, it seems almost like an inevita- bility that Alabama's head football coach will lead his team to the ultimate reward. But before the Crimson Tide, who beat LSU 21-0 in the Death, taxes and Nick Saban holding a crystal football Chase Goodbread said. "He's got an immense amount of talent. People haven't quite seen him yet. And he averaged over seven yards a carry last year, which is just outstanding. He can really play. performance against Tigers will be nervous come kickoff, especially with Michigan's depth concerns along the offen- sive and defensive lines. Upon closer inspection, though, the Crimson Tide may not be so unbeatable, after all. The Alabama defense garnered all the headlines last sea- redefined the term "elite defense" in 2011. The Crimson Tide led the country in total defense (183.6 yards per game), scoring defense (8.2 points per game), rushing defense (72.2 yards per game), passing defense (111.5 yards per game), pass efficiency defense (83.6 rating) and third-down defense (24.0 percent). Fortunately for Michigan, Alabama will have many holes In an age of ever-increasing offensive firepower, Alabama " son, and rightfully so, but the offense was quietly deadly. The Tide finished No. 20 nationally in scoring offense, put- ting up 34.85 points per game. The biggest question mark will be in the passing game. Quarterback A.J. McCarron is back, but his top four targets (wide receivers Marquis Maze and Darius Hanks, tight end Brad Smelley and running back Trent Richardson) have all either graduated or declared early for the NFL Draft. Those four accounted for 1,649 of Alabama's 2,797 receiving yards and nine of 16 receiving touchdowns. Richardson — the bruising Heisman Trophy finalist — and his 1,679 rushing yards will be missed, but his backup is just as lethal. "Eddie Lacy will be just fine, " TideSports.com beat writer to fill next year. The top two nose guards (Josh Chapman and Nick Gentry), a quarterback-terrorizing linebacker (Courtney Upshaw), an All-American middle linebacker (Don't'a Hightower) and, arguably, the best cornerback tandem in the country (Dre Kirkpatrick and DeQuan Men- zie) are gone. "Testing those cornerbacks is probably the way to go," Goodbread said. "The book on how to beat Alabama early in the year is going to be: 'Try to throw on them. back. I don't think they will be as good a team this year, particularly on defense. That doesn't necessarily mean they won't have a chance at a national championship, though. They'll be competitive in the SEC, and if you've won that in the last six or so years, you're going to the big dance. "On the whole, there's no question there will be a step ' — Andy Reid " MARCH 2012 THE WOLVERINE 85