The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2016 THE WOLVERINE 5 FROM OUR READERS The Texas schools would do just fine, however, there are 10 of them splitting the talent. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State would plummet without those Texas lads, as would several other schools in nearby states. And then there is California. Most folks don't view my adopted state as a football power, but consider two things: Californians are fanatically competitive at all sports and there are nearly 40 million of them. USC re- cruits most of its annual class from an area within 60 miles of LA. And there are only seven schools that will share all this talent. You could easily envi- sion Fresno State in the Rose Bowl. Western schools in Oregon, Wash- ington, Arizona, Utah and Colorado would all suffer greatly without the California lads in their lineup. And now for the coupe de grace: what would you give to be the pro- verbial fly on the wall when the Notre Dame coach and AD are informed that they are limited to the "bounty" of talent in Indiana which they must, of course, share with IU and Purdue? Harvey Dasho Walnut Creek, Calif. As you noted, Harvey, be careful about the wishes. Michigan remains one of the football programs with the largest national reach, and taught a little football interna- tionally over the summer. And nobody except your neighbors would have wanted Tom Brady to remain in San Mateo. NOT HAPPY OVER ND Dear The Wolverine: After Notre Dame decided to opt out of the long-term series with Mich- igan, I was happy. I wrote in a letter to The Wolverine that the series ben- efited Notre Dame and that Michigan should not be locked into a yearly series with any non-conference foe. I felt that they should engage in two-year home-and-home deals with major conference powers for one of their non-conference games. I felt that Michigan should only play Notre Dame again to get the home game that they owe Michigan! Now it turns out that Michigan is cancelling an attractive two-game se- ries with an SEC school and being forced to pay a $2 million buyout to accommodate the Irish! On top of that, the first game will be played at Notre Dame in 2018, a year that Michigan must also travel to East Lansing and Columbus. It seems that Michigan re- ally bent over backwards in this deal. In my opinion, after the 2019 game in Ann Arbor, Warde Manuel should only schedule one more game with ND (in Ann Arbor) to get the home game they owe. In the future, I would not be op- posed to playing Notre Dame once a decade in a two-game home-and- home situation. The very most Michi- gan should consider is two years on, four years off with ND. With the Big Ten going to a nine- game schedule, it makes no sense to play another team in the Big Ten footprint. Michigan has tremendous exposure in the Midwest and the East and Atlantic Coast with the ex- panded Big Ten. Playing an attractive conference opponent every year from the South, Southwest and West Coast would be beneficial to a national uni- versity like Michigan! Conversely, Notre Dame (now in the ACC with USC and Stanford on the schedule) desperately needs a game in the Midwest to help recruiting. The Irish, especially under Brian Kelly, recruit in Michigan and would love to tell prospects that they can play in Michigan at least once in their careers. I hope that Manuel and the AD staff will think about this hard and not get tangled up into any long-term deal with that team in South Bend. To quote Manuel's former coach, "To hell with Notre Dame." Kevin G. Smith Orange, Calif. Opposition noted, Kevin. The problem is, the man with the whistle around his neck disagrees. He's probably not worried about a lack of exposure, either. • I think Jim Harbaugh is genuinely taken back by the ef- fort and impact of this freshman class so far (in the best pos- sible way of course). It was almost like you could see the wheels turning and that he knows he is going to have a lot more difficult choices to make than originally thought and that pleases him immensely. Tabularasa • I remember thinking Brady Hoke's 2013 class was one for the ages. I remember other incoming classes as well where I couldn't contain my excitement levels. But this last class is really exciting — Khaleke Hudson, Lavert Hill, David Long, Josh Me- tellus, Josh Uche, Michael Onwenu, Bran- don Peters — the list goes on and on, and you still have Rashan Gary. Harbaugh is something else. We are lucky, and these kids are lucky too — they will play intense and meaningful games for championships. Kalyan • We're losing a ton of talent after this year. I want as many freshmen getting game experience as possible this year. They'll be counted on next year in a lot of cases. jm2117 • So where does The Fort think Onwenu will end up playing, and where do you prefer? I think a 350-pound, road-grading guard would be more needed in the future than at nose tackle. We seem to have more options on the defensive side of the ball. A2maizeandblue • I think the offensive line can be ad- dressed with guys we already have and a six- or seven-player haul this year. At nose guard we could be very limited in options next year if Bryan Mone is as good as ad- vertised, because he may well declare for the draft. Losing Mone and Ryan Glasgow would leave a huge void and he could slide right in. bigleague256 From Our Website Quarterback Brandon Peters is one of 15 freshmen that were ranked as a four- or five-star recruit by Rivals.com and have the U-M fan base excited for now and the future. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL