2011 UofM Wolverines Football

[vetalalumni]

What are your predictions for the Wolverines?

We can discuss the changes in:

• athletes
• coaching staff
• conference
• fan expectations.

Coach Brady Hoke has player and fan hopes upon his shoulders.

Go Blue in 2011!

mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/hoke.html

[vetalalumni]

We have to improve our defense.

Greg Mattison to Run Wolverines Defense --> http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-foot...011811aab.html

Jan. 18, 2011


ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan football coach Brady Hoke hired one of the NFL's top defensive coordinators to run the Wolverines defense, naming Greg Mattison to the same position that he previously held in Ann Arbor during the 1995 and 1996 seasons. Mattison served as the defensive line coach for the Wolverines from 1992-96.

"Greg loves Michigan, loves recruiting and is excited about coming back to Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan," said Hoke. "Greg is one of the top defensive coordinators in football, and his defensive units have always prided themselves on stopping the run. He will be a great asset to our program and an excellent addition to our staff."

An experienced, proven defensive coach, Mattison brings to Ann Arbor 12 years of defensive coordinator experience at the collegiate level and two seasons in the NFL. During his time at the collegiate level, he coached 18 future NFL players, including seven student-athletes drafted in the first three rounds and two first-round picks.

Mattison completed his third season with the Baltimore Ravens in 2010. He was the team's defensive coordinator for two seasons [[2009-10) after joining the staff as the linebackers coach in 2008. The Ravens finished as the No. 3 overall unit during his first season as coordinator and followed up with a No. 10 ranking this season.

Prior to his first foray into the NFL ranks, Mattison spent more than 30 years at the collegiate level, most recently as the co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach for the University of Florida for three seasons [[2005-07). His defenses ranked among the top 10 nationally in rushing defense each of his three seasons. Mattison helped the Gators win the 2006 national championship and SEC championship. His defense held Ohio State to 82 yards of total offense in a 41-14 victory in the BCS National Championship game.

Mattison spent eight seasons [[1997-2004) at Notre Dame before making the jump to Gainesville. He was hired as the team's defensive coordinator and alternated between coaching the linebackers and defensive line during his first five seasons. Mattison served as the Irish's recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach his final three seasons with the program [[2002-04).

During his previous stint in Ann Arbor, Mattison coached the defensive line [[1992-96) and was the team's defensive coordinator in his final two seasons [[1995-96). The Wolverines defense ranked among the top 20 nationally in many statistical categories during his two seasons as coordinator.

Mattison has gained a wealth of experience during his coaching career. He also held coaching stints at Texas A&M [[1989-91), Navy [[1987-88), Western Michigan [[1982-86), Northwestern [[1978-80), Cornell [[1977) and Illinois [[1976). Mattison was head coach at Logan High School in La Crosse, Wis., for two seasons [[1974-75). He began his coaching career as head coach at Riverdale High School in Muscoda, Wis. [[1971-73).

He earned a bachelor's degree in physical education from Wisconsin-La Crosse in 1971. He was team captain for the football and wrestling teams as a junior and senior. Mattison earned All-America honors in wrestling and was named the Offensive MVP for the football team as a senior.

Mattision and his wife, Ann, have two adult children: Lisa and Bryan. Lisa was a three-time All-Big East selection as a member of the Notre Dame softball team. Bryan was a two-time captain and three-year starter at defensive end for the University of Iowa football team.

[vetalalumni]

First practice of the spring 2011.

http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-foot...game-2011.html

[kenp]

Hopefully Hoke brings toughness and defense back to UM. I also hope he adapts to what he has on offense and dosent dissmantle the whole team like RR did.
On paper our offense is very good and our defense cant get worse only better. If we can improve on defense and get a kicking game we might suprise some people this year.
It used to be 8 wins was a major letdown, but I think thats what our win total will be this year. Then get to a bowl game and hopefully win that as well.

[vetalalumni]

Tressel has resigned at OSU
.



With Tressel resigning we might beat OSU this year. Optimism abounds under the new Hoke era.

Michigan's 2011 homecoming game against Purdue on Oct. 29 will kick off at noon at Michigan Stadium.

[1KielsonDrive]

Hopefully Hoke brings toughness and defense back to UM. I also hope he adapts to what he has on offense and dosent dissmantle the whole team like RR did.
On paper our offense is very good and our defense cant get worse only better. If we can improve on defense and get a kicking game we might suprise some people this year.
It used to be 8 wins was a major letdown, but I think thats what our win total will be this year. Then get to a bowl game and hopefully win that as well.

Yes. Good post. Not overly optimistic but cautious. I think 8 wins would be a good outcome after all is said and done. A couple more years, recruits, better defense and we should be looking like champs again. The key is not to fall back to three yards and a cloud of dust. There was a reason Michigan fans wanted change and Rod was brought in - the Spread.

[1KielsonDrive]

Oh yeah, we MUST beat OSU and MSU.

[vetalalumni]

2 wins so far.

8 to 10 wins regular season will be an accomplishment.

[EL Jimbo]

2 wins so far.

8 to 10 wins regular season will be an accomplishment.

8 wins maybe. 10 wins? You are dreaming.

[gnome]

Better watch out Vetal, he might just burn a couch on your lawn. Either that or make his girlfriend pee on your mums, either way it could be really bad.

[vetalalumni]

8 wins maybe. 10 wins? You are dreaming.

Wolverines are about to break into the top 25 in the polls.

Hoping for 8 wins with losses to Minn, MSU, Neb, and OSU.

Further hoping for unexpected wins against 1 or 2 of these 4.

Hoping and dreaming = semantics

[vetalalumni]

Better watch out Vetal, he might just burn a couch on your lawn. Either that or make his girlfriend pee on your mums, either way it could be really bad.

8 wins - the lawn treatment.
9 or 10 wins - there is still the shady Fruitless Mullberry and the stately Italian Cypress.

[vetalalumni]

Halfway to 8 wins!

[kenp]

I snuck down behind the bench to watch the game, I mingle in with parents and recruits, nobody ever checks or seems to notice. Its a great perspective.
Our defense is improving and actually seems to be looking like a real defense. We are using more younger players and trying to find and expose some quality players.
Wasnt sure how much of the game was SDS being bad or us being good. SDS sure seemed over rated to me.
The Spring perdiction of 8 wins is gonna be close, games like Northwestern and Illinois will be what decides the season. I will tell you this, we will be in every game with a chance to win a big one or two.
And VETALALUMNI, you didnt mean a lose to Minnesota did you?

[vetalalumni]

I snuck down behind the bench to watch the game, I mingle in with parents and recruits, nobody ever checks or seems to notice. Its a great perspective.
Our defense is improving and actually seems to be looking like a real defense. We are using more younger players and trying to find and expose some quality players.
Wasnt sure how much of the game was SDS being bad or us being good. SDS sure seemed over rated to me.
The Spring perdiction of 8 wins is gonna be close, games like Northwestern and Illinois will be what decides the season. I will tell you this, we will be in every game with a chance to win a big one or two.
And VETALALUMNI, you didnt mean a lose to Minnesota did you?

Ah, memories...

As a young kid, my friends and I would "sneak" into the games at half-time when the security guards would begin to stop actively watching the gates. We were like little rug-rats running around underfoot - lol. And we'd cheer our favorite players during the walk-offs outside. The players sure had some pretty girls waiting for them. Even the kicker

The defense has gained momentum after a slow start. 4/3 turnover ratio in our favor. We kept the 3rd leading rusher Ronnie Hillman [[D Rob is 4th) out of the end zone. Coach Hoke used his background knowledge of SDSU to our advantage.

Robinson must improve his passing efficiency to round out his skill set.

Oooops kenp. I meant WI, not MINN - lol.

Illinois is surprising this season.

[kenp]

We dont play Wisc this year
Oct. 1Minnesota12:00pm Oct. 8at Northwestern7:00pm Oct. 15at Michigan StateTBA Oct. 29Purdue12:00pm Nov. 5at IowaTBA Nov. 12at IllinoisTBA Nov. 19NebraskaTBA Nov. 26Ohio StateTBA

[vetalalumni]

We dont play Wisc this year
Oct. 1Minnesota12:00pm Oct. 8at Northwestern7:00pm Oct. 15at Michigan StateTBA Oct. 29Purdue12:00pm Nov. 5at IowaTBA Nov. 12at IllinoisTBA Nov. 19NebraskaTBA Nov. 26Ohio StateTBA

Ooops, I confused WI and MINN.

With the "real" season now underway and the games outstanding, I remain hopeful for 8 to 10 wins.

[vetalalumni]

Whew, that was a close game today!

5 - 0 is a great start. 8 wins regular seems feasible. IL almost lost today.

[vetalalumni]

Looking good. Can we get a single digit national ranking soon? Our recruiting results should begin an upward trend. Can't wait for MSU.

[kenp]

Our recruiting is already on a upward trend, we have been in the top 2 or 3 in recruiting since early summer.
Saturday we played a great 2nd half. Hoke challeneged them at half time and it really worked. Denard needs to play like he did in the 2nd half, he made to many bad decisions in the first half.
I still think we are over ranked but the way we are playing now there isnt a game on the scheduled that is a clear lose. We go 3-3 and that would be 9-3.
State has two weeks to prepare, Ugh, they always seem to get the favorable schedule.
Its gonna be a good game.

[EL Jimbo]

Our recruiting is already on a upward trend, we have been in the top 2 or 3 in recruiting since early summer.
Saturday we played a great 2nd half. Hoke challeneged them at half time and it really worked. Denard needs to play like he did in the 2nd half, he made to many bad decisions in the first half.
I still think we are over ranked but the way we are playing now there isnt a game on the scheduled that is a clear lose. We go 3-3 and that would be 9-3.
State has two weeks to prepare, Ugh, they always seem to get the favorable schedule.
Its gonna be a good game.

Is recruiting really on an upward trend? Michigan was pulling down top ten recruiting classes the entire time under RR. It's impossible to have an upward trend in recruiting when you were already at the top?

The bigger question long-term will be limiting attrition. Michigan is riding a very favorable schedule and a relatively clean injury list so far this year. However, due to unbelievably high amounts of attrition during the RR regime, the depth chart is woefully thin. Michigan is just a few key injuries away from severe matchup problems. Not to mention it doesn't appear as if Michigan can successfully run their offense without DR so if he goes down there goes the season.

This is an issue that is most acute on the offensive and defensive lines. RR put very little focus on these areas of the roster during his tenure. Couple that with high attrition and you are looking at a span of years after the current seniors graduate where there are really very few reliable upperclassmen ready to step up and fill their shoes. In some instances positions will have redshirt freshmen starters and true freshmen backups.

That is not a recipe for consistent, winning football. This is essentially the same situation that Mark Dantonio inherited at MSU in 2007. A decent crew of skill position players but a woefully inadequate depth chart in the trenches. Which is why you've seen MSU over the past 4 seasons struggle against some of the better programs because they didn't have the talented upperclassmen to control the line of scrimmage against the elite.

Speaking of MSU, I don't know how you can say they have a favorable schedule this year. So far they've already had to travel to South Bend to play Notre Dame. They've played at the Horseshoe against Ohio State, they had a week off then they host Michigan and Wisconsin, then travel to Lincoln to take on Nebraska. When 5 of your opponents in a 7 week span are the Fighting Irish, the Buckeyes, the Wolverines, the Badgers, and the Cornhuskers, there is nobody of sound mind and body who would describe that schedule as favorable.

[kenp]

The bye week before us is favorable and your schedule has been favorable the last 2 years when you won the Co Championship without ever playing OSU. I never said your schedule was easy this year though the OSU game this year was against a depleted team and what ever happened to your big land grant classic with PSU. Now your rival is IU wow
Our recruiting is up because of the type of players we are getting not the ranking. And by the way your two tops recruits would be wearing blue next year if it wasnt for academic issues that you guys dont seem to worry about over there.
I will agree that Dantonio has been focusing on lineman and toughness which we got away from. Thats why we sucked for the RR years. If will take us a few years to make up for that but we are fighting and improving. Depth is gonna be a problem for us as your said.
We are going to have our hands full Saturday, State is just a better, deeper team and playing at home.

[jiminnm]

Is recruiting really on an upward trend? Michigan was pulling down top ten recruiting classes the entire time under RR. It's impossible to have an upward trend in recruiting when you were already at the top?

Rivals.com [[Yahoo) rates the UM 2012 recruit class 3rd highest in the nation. I don't think RR ever had one that high.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...k/2012/all/all

[EL Jimbo]

The bye week before us is favorable and your schedule has been favorable the last 2 years when you won the Co Championship without ever playing OSU. I never said your schedule was easy this year though the OSU game this year was against a depleted team and what ever happened to your big land grant classic with PSU. Now your rival is IU wow
Our recruiting is up because of the type of players we are getting not the ranking. And by the way your two tops recruits would be wearing blue next year if it wasnt for academic issues that you guys dont seem to worry about over there.
I will agree that Dantonio has been focusing on lineman and toughness which we got away from. Thats why we sucked for the RR years. If will take us a few years to make up for that but we are fighting and improving. Depth is gonna be a problem for us as your said.
We are going to have our hands full Saturday, State is just a better, deeper team and playing at home.

Big Ten teams lose more often than they win following a bye week. They have a tendency to come out flat.

The academic issues you bring up is a huge falsehood. Michigan doesn't hold it's players to a higher academic standard than any other Div-I school in the country. So long as they pass the NCAA academic clearinghouse, Michigan takes them. And then throws them in that joke major known as General Studies where they take classes on balancing checkbooks. You know, the one that something like 65% of the scholarship football and basketball are in but less than 1% of your entire student body is majoring in. So get off your high, mighty, and utterly imaginary pedestal regarding academics for your athletes.

Michigan is a fine academic institution as a whole, but they take the same barely functional college students that other schools take so long as their bench press is big enough and their 40 time is fast enough. Se'von Pittman and Aaron Burbridge picked MSU because they want to be Spartans, NOT because UM wouldn't take them. But if you want to live your little fantasy go ahead.

[EL Jimbo]

Rivals.com [[Yahoo) rates the UM 2012 recruit class 3rd highest in the nation. I don't think RR ever had one that high.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...k/2012/all/all

Michigan had #8 and 10 ranked classes in RR's firs two years. Also, Michigan is not likely to stay at #3 by the time of national signing day in february. Michigan has 23 commits and is all but done. They are plenty of schools around them with far more available scholarship slots left to fill that will likely leapfrog them by the time they have filled their recruiting classes.