Crazy 4 Maize and Blue

It's been a good summer on the recruiting trail for the Wolverines' football team. With five big commitments occurring since early April, both the 2015 and 2016 classes are growing. QB Alex Malzone, LB Darrin Kirkland, OT Grant Newsome, and TE Chris Clark are all collectively adding a lot of talent to the 2015 class, while QB Messiah DeWeaver adds his rising stock to the 2016 class. Some other big names should be announcing their commitments soon as well, and Michigan could land one or two key names. Look for some more additions as the school year gets underway. RB Johnny Frasier (Princeton, NC) One of the fastest rising prospects in the last few months, RB Johnny Frasier (Princeton, NC), apparently wants to visit Ann Arbor and thinks  Michigan could be a good fit for him . This could turn out to be one of the more interesting stories of this recruiting cycle, especially if he commits to the Wolverines. He has literally come out of obscurity in the state of North Carolina...

The Committed: OT Erik Swenson (6'7" 290 lbs) Grade: 83 - Swenson is a nice get to start off the 2016 recruiting cycle. His size alone warrants a look from every big-time program in the country. He already had offers from Notre Dame, Ohio State, Illinois, and Northwestern as well. QB Messiah DeWeaver (6'3" 200 lbs) Grade: 81 - Thus far an underrated recruit that is proving himself in the summer camp circuit this year. Had lots of interest from other teams already and probably will still receive more offers in the next year, but it sounds like this is a dream come true for him. Seems to have all the tools the coaches are looking for in a passer. He was recruited by Offensive Coordinator Doug Nussmeier.  Interested Prospects with Offers:  OL Richard Merritt (6'5" 345 lbs) Grade: 89 TE Isaac Nauta (6'5" 240 lbs) Grade: 88 WR Dylan Crawford (6'1" 175 lbs) Grade: 88 S Brandon Jones (5'11" 185 lbs) Grade: 88 OL Ben Bredeson (...

Point Guard:  1. Derrick Walton Jr. 2. Spike Albrecht Analysis:  The Wolverines are set at the point with two experienced guys returning. Walton Jr. could be an All-Big Ten player and Albrecht could start for a lot of other good teams. Two Guard:  2. Caris LaVert 2. Aubrey Dawkins 3. Andrew Dakich Analysis:  Nobody works harder than LaVert as he has trasformed himself into an All-American candidate from being a skinny two-star recruit just two years ago. He and Walton should form a solid backcourt. Dawkins and Dakich are unknowns at this point, but both come with some potential. Three Guard:  1. Zach Irvin 2. Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman / Sean Lonergan Analysis:  Irvin played a lot in the tournament as a freshman and delivered some big threes when called upon. He should have no problem shifting into a more prominent role. Abdur-Rahkman is an intriguing prospect and could find himself some playing time early on in his first year. Small Forward:...

Any real fan knows that every good football team has had good senior leadership. Without any veteran leaders with a team-first attitude on the field and in the locker room, a squad of young men can and will appear disoriented and out of place, and the entire infrastructure of a team could collapse as soon as things get tough. In other words, it can get real messy when trying to compete for a conference championship if you don't have one or two battle-tested guys that can instill confidence in other players and focus the team's energy on closing out games. Throughout the last seven seasons, since the retirement of former head coach Lloyd Carr, the Michigan football team has struggled mightily in providing sound leadership from it's senior players. In fact, there is only one group of Wolverines within that time-span that had any real accountability on the team, and the results were undeniably good. The 2011 team finished the year 11-2 with a Sugar Bowl Championship, and sen...