It’s ridiculous that you can have the worst record in the league and pick 5th. The NBA goes way too far with this stuff. The worst team should get at least a top-three pick.
Yeah, I imagine they'd rule that he was scouting for Michigan at the CMU game, if only because it's easier to have a blanket ban on coaches attending future opponents' games than to get into the weeds about why they were there. But I would definitely doubt that Harbaugh (who seemed capable of reciting the rule book from memory) signed off on him going there.
But it's an asterisk in the sense that it's a side note, not that in the sense it explains Michigan's winning.
That's not generally what people mean by an asterisk. These OSU/MSU fanboys are sincerely hoping that the NCAA record book will have some note about Connor Stalions attached to the 2023 season.
I'm not certain if Stalions' actions violated the rule. It seems to be a matter of interpretation.
The rule as stated forbids a coaching staff from attending future opponents' games in person. It does not state whether it is a violation to receive footage of the game. The "vast network" could be argued to be in violation of the spirit of the rule, but Stalions was still dependent on other people filming for him. It's obviously not a violation to watch the TV broadcast of a game, so where do you draw the line? Is some footage "good" and others "bad"? The rule states nothing of this sort.
If that was him at the CMU-MSU game, that would seem to be a more straightforward violation of the rule - except that there is speculation that he went there at CMU's invitation. The fact that he was standing there casually amongst their coaches, with no one seemingly bothered, would seem to suggest this. If he was there on CMU's request, does that still constitute in-person scouting for Michigan?
I think the NCAA will ultimately decide that the rule was violated and slap Stalions with a show cause, because this story has gotten too much publicity for them not to get their pound of flesh. But the facts of the matter are ambiguous.
Saw them in Ann Arbor between about 10:30 and 11:00. With the naked eye you could see some light purple or green in the sky but then on camera, wow! It was spectacular. I’ve never seen them in a place where I live before. Absolutely worth it.
For those who missed out, you may get another chance tonight or tomorrow night.
Yeah, we’ve unfortunately been taught a heavily sanitized version of Owens’ story.
One of the most unbelievable things to me is that when a reception was held in his honor in New York after the Olympics, he was forced to take the freight elevator up - the lobby elevator was whites-only.
2017 had Higdon, Chris Evans, DPJ, Gentry, Eubanks, and Ty Isaac.
I note that you didn't name any offensive linemen...
That team was seriously short on upperclass depth/talent. The 2014 recruiting class happened to be small and then the next year, Hoke was fired and we had no coach for a month before we hired Harbaugh at the end of December - causing the 2015 class to also be small. In the pre-portal era, having two subpar classes in a row was a killer.
I don't hold anything from that season against the staff, especially given the injuries at QB. Getting eight wins out of that team was respectable, all things considered.
It’s worth remembering that Harbaugh was never linked to any NFL jobs his first six years here. He dismissed any rumors out of hand as coming from “jive turkeys” and there was no reason to doubt him.
Things changed after 2021. Suddenly he was keeping his options open each offseason. It seems in retrospect that his relationship with Manuel was irreparably damaged around that point. Maybe it was the pay cut, or other issues like NIL, but something definitely changed between them. By 2023 we had him announcing to Ono, not Manuel, that he was staying, while Manuel chose to skip the team banquet in December. And the NCAA/Big Ten joint witch hunt probably didn’t help any.
He's clearly talented enough and an elite athlete, he would have killed it as a soccer midfielder.
In what way is he clearly talented in soccer? It requires completely different skills. Controlling a ball with your feet is nothing at all like doing it with your hands.
And as it is the world's most popular sport, you've really got to beat the odds to be a world-class soccer player. There are a lot of young men his size around the world, and most of them play soccer.
Those two 10-day NBA contracts he got already put him comfortably over six figures in earnings, in addition to whatever he made in the G-League, so I'd say he probably chose the right sport.
Moreover, I don’t see how the courts would restrict NIL when it’s perfectly legal for pro athletes to make money off the field. Any direct compensation from the schools is going to be in addition to NIL - not a replacement for it.
There may not have been fewer smart people, but back then U-M didn’t use the Common Application. That’s what’s caused applications to skyrocket. You can apply to schools all over the country with that one application, so people do.
For the trivial benefit of not having to fill out separate applications per school, today’s high schoolers have to face massively more competition for spots at every elite school.
Regarding the Ivy League, we may note that the NCAA only legalized athletic scholarships in 1950. Michigan didn’t give them out for another several years, nor did OSU, iirc. (MSU did, though, which was likely a big reason why they were so successful that decade.)
It doesn't matter if we knew, or didn't know, what play they were running. That's not a violation.
The alleged violation is over scouting teams in person, which is banned mostly for cost-saving purposes and most likely isn't going to amount to much (a Baylor coach found in violation of this rule a few years ago got a half-game suspension).
How does that compare to previous years? Curious if the portal has already changed things. If you're a star at a G5 school, you'll hear from bigger schools.
I agree with you. The rule was passed to not unfairly punish any 2020-21 players in case 1) the season had to be cancelled or 2) they chose to opt out.
As it turned out, the season wasn't cancelled and nearly all players opted in. They all get a free fifth year while the classes that enrolled in the fall of 2021, and beyond, don't. That doesn't quite seem fair. The 2021-22 freshman class has to spend its entire college career coexisting with the 2020-21 class because of this rule.
IMO, the NCAA should have waited until the 2020-21 season played out before deciding whether it should count or not.
What eases my anxiety is the fact that we’re reigning national champs. Whatever happens in 2024 happens. The warm glow of last season will last a while.
We didn’t actually call 32 run plays in a row. We had at least pass plays in the second half. One drew a pass interference and on the other (on 4th down) JJ scrambled for the first down.
Speaking of Braylonfest, we might add that it was about 70 degrees at kickoff. The temperature plummeted after the sun went down. Part of the craziness of playing outdoors.
As I understand it, Jake Rudock was the good QB who emerged as the season went on and “Jake Rudd(dddd)ock” his evil doppelgänger who couldn’t complete the deep ball.
The one that always blew my mind was people not knowing how to spell Beilein. The man was here a dozen years.
Maybe it's a little easier for May to work through this since he was casting a wide net (We need everything) whereas Juwan was usually looking for a specific skill-set and had less options
Hmm, I'd say just the opposite - that May seems to have a clearer vision of what he wants from his team. In three weeks he's put together what looks like our most coherent roster in a few years.
The main thing that left me bummed about losing Sanderson was that it would probably cost us his son as a recruit. But seeing how May is working the portal, I’m not worried about that anymore.
As far as the actual S&C stuff goes, I suspect most of these coaches are interchangeable, really.
The narrative that admissions was making it impossible to succeed was always hard to swallow when our football program won a national title while facing the same standards.
In retrospect, hiring a coach who had no college experience at all (other than as a player) was a bad idea. Communicating with admissions is one of a number of things that simply don’t exist in the pros. I don’t think we’re going to run into too many more Shannon/Love-type situations.
The issue isn’t with all undergrad transfers. Freshmen and sophomores’ credits generally transfer without too much issue. The problem is mostly with upperclassmen. Credits in upper-level courses often don’t get accepted here. If they’re able to graduate, then we can take them as grad students.
The problem with Shannon and Love is that they were in that category of non-graduating upperclassmen. We were counting on them taking courses in the summer, for which their old schools didn’t have to pay (since they were in the portal). Meanwhile, other schools offered them admission on the spot. We shouldn’t have counted on them coming.
Year five is a little different than the others, though. A scholarship promise is normally for four years. May and Jace will probably have discussions about next year, if they haven’t already.
I think Meyer was forced out over the Zach Smith thing. As a courtesy (and to avoid the fanbase burning the school down), they called it a resignation.
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It’s ridiculous that you can have the worst record in the league and pick 5th. The NBA goes way too far with this stuff. The worst team should get at least a top-three pick.
Yeah, I imagine they'd rule that he was scouting for Michigan at the CMU game, if only because it's easier to have a blanket ban on coaches attending future opponents' games than to get into the weeds about why they were there. But I would definitely doubt that Harbaugh (who seemed capable of reciting the rule book from memory) signed off on him going there.
I thought you were kidding at first about this. Wow.
Auburn, yes. But I don't think Bama looks at UGa as a rival. Tennessee is their other historical rivalry.
That's not generally what people mean by an asterisk. These OSU/MSU fanboys are sincerely hoping that the NCAA record book will have some note about Connor Stalions attached to the 2023 season.
I'm not certain if Stalions' actions violated the rule. It seems to be a matter of interpretation.
The rule as stated forbids a coaching staff from attending future opponents' games in person. It does not state whether it is a violation to receive footage of the game. The "vast network" could be argued to be in violation of the spirit of the rule, but Stalions was still dependent on other people filming for him. It's obviously not a violation to watch the TV broadcast of a game, so where do you draw the line? Is some footage "good" and others "bad"? The rule states nothing of this sort.
If that was him at the CMU-MSU game, that would seem to be a more straightforward violation of the rule - except that there is speculation that he went there at CMU's invitation. The fact that he was standing there casually amongst their coaches, with no one seemingly bothered, would seem to suggest this. If he was there on CMU's request, does that still constitute in-person scouting for Michigan?
I think the NCAA will ultimately decide that the rule was violated and slap Stalions with a show cause, because this story has gotten too much publicity for them not to get their pound of flesh. But the facts of the matter are ambiguous.
Because we didn’t prove it by going 15-0 with the #1 defense in the country?
Saw them in Ann Arbor between about 10:30 and 11:00. With the naked eye you could see some light purple or green in the sky but then on camera, wow! It was spectacular. I’ve never seen them in a place where I live before. Absolutely worth it.
For those who missed out, you may get another chance tonight or tomorrow night.
Absolutely a legend. The Summer Olympics repeatedly served as a showcase for his program. He will be missed greatly.
Yeah, we’ve unfortunately been taught a heavily sanitized version of Owens’ story.
One of the most unbelievable things to me is that when a reception was held in his honor in New York after the Olympics, he was forced to take the freight elevator up - the lobby elevator was whites-only.
Please tell me I don’t have to break out the Rainier Wolfcastle meme.
YXX mean XhiX Xtate!
(I think it'X impXrtant to avXid all three letterX, jXXt in caXe.)
I note that you didn't name any offensive linemen...
That team was seriously short on upperclass depth/talent. The 2014 recruiting class happened to be small and then the next year, Hoke was fired and we had no coach for a month before we hired Harbaugh at the end of December - causing the 2015 class to also be small. In the pre-portal era, having two subpar classes in a row was a killer.
I don't hold anything from that season against the staff, especially given the injuries at QB. Getting eight wins out of that team was respectable, all things considered.
It’s worth remembering that Harbaugh was never linked to any NFL jobs his first six years here. He dismissed any rumors out of hand as coming from “jive turkeys” and there was no reason to doubt him.
Things changed after 2021. Suddenly he was keeping his options open each offseason. It seems in retrospect that his relationship with Manuel was irreparably damaged around that point. Maybe it was the pay cut, or other issues like NIL, but something definitely changed between them. By 2023 we had him announcing to Ono, not Manuel, that he was staying, while Manuel chose to skip the team banquet in December. And the NCAA/Big Ten joint witch hunt probably didn’t help any.
In what way is he clearly talented in soccer? It requires completely different skills. Controlling a ball with your feet is nothing at all like doing it with your hands.
And as it is the world's most popular sport, you've really got to beat the odds to be a world-class soccer player. There are a lot of young men his size around the world, and most of them play soccer.
Those two 10-day NBA contracts he got already put him comfortably over six figures in earnings, in addition to whatever he made in the G-League, so I'd say he probably chose the right sport.
Moreover, I don’t see how the courts would restrict NIL when it’s perfectly legal for pro athletes to make money off the field. Any direct compensation from the schools is going to be in addition to NIL - not a replacement for it.
Yeah, but it’s still significantly less work than 20 years ago when each school would have a totally separate application.
U-M was one of the holdouts for awhile, but finally threw in the towel and went with the Common Application crowd.
If you’re from out of state, that may well be true. In-state your odds are still better though.
There may not have been fewer smart people, but back then U-M didn’t use the Common Application. That’s what’s caused applications to skyrocket. You can apply to schools all over the country with that one application, so people do.
For the trivial benefit of not having to fill out separate applications per school, today’s high schoolers have to face massively more competition for spots at every elite school.
Regarding the Ivy League, we may note that the NCAA only legalized athletic scholarships in 1950. Michigan didn’t give them out for another several years, nor did OSU, iirc. (MSU did, though, which was likely a big reason why they were so successful that decade.)
It doesn't matter if we knew, or didn't know, what play they were running. That's not a violation.
The alleged violation is over scouting teams in person, which is banned mostly for cost-saving purposes and most likely isn't going to amount to much (a Baylor coach found in violation of this rule a few years ago got a half-game suspension).
It's a local Michigan company (from St. Clair Shores) that does this, btw.
I was watching it live. The first highlight they showed was him playing for Michigan, throwing a TD against Indiana.
Admittedly, it's probably easier to be gracious in defeat when you've won seven national titles previously.
Officially, he'll count as a Seminole, like how Erick All doesn't count as one of our draftees.
How does that compare to previous years? Curious if the portal has already changed things. If you're a star at a G5 school, you'll hear from bigger schools.
The record is 15. We need two more.
I don't know if it's due to budget cuts or what, but it feels like that site in general is not what it once was.
I agree with you. The rule was passed to not unfairly punish any 2020-21 players in case 1) the season had to be cancelled or 2) they chose to opt out.
As it turned out, the season wasn't cancelled and nearly all players opted in. They all get a free fifth year while the classes that enrolled in the fall of 2021, and beyond, don't. That doesn't quite seem fair. The 2021-22 freshman class has to spend its entire college career coexisting with the 2020-21 class because of this rule.
IMO, the NCAA should have waited until the 2020-21 season played out before deciding whether it should count or not.
Well yeah, if you ignored him going 12-1 at Stanford and 3-1 against Pete Carroll. Or taking the 49ers to the Super Bowl.
What eases my anxiety is the fact that we’re reigning national champs. Whatever happens in 2024 happens. The warm glow of last season will last a while.
We didn’t actually call 32 run plays in a row. We had at least pass plays in the second half. One drew a pass interference and on the other (on 4th down) JJ scrambled for the first down.
Speaking of Braylonfest, we might add that it was about 70 degrees at kickoff. The temperature plummeted after the sun went down. Part of the craziness of playing outdoors.
As I understand it, Jake Rudock was the good QB who emerged as the season went on and “Jake Rudd(dddd)ock” his evil doppelgänger who couldn’t complete the deep ball.
The one that always blew my mind was people not knowing how to spell Beilein. The man was here a dozen years.
To be fair, a few years later they wrote another story on him entitled “The Incredible Bust.”
Posting from the other side of the international date line?
No lies were told.
That team did have Manny Harris, DeShawn Sims and Epke Udoh. Problem was, they were basically the only scholarship-caliber players.
Hmm, I'd say just the opposite - that May seems to have a clearer vision of what he wants from his team. In three weeks he's put together what looks like our most coherent roster in a few years.
This shouldn't come up too often. Introductory courses generally will transfer over. It's upperclass credits that are more problematic.
There's a reason why Saban and Calipari went to those schools in the first place. They're bluebloods.
The main thing that left me bummed about losing Sanderson was that it would probably cost us his son as a recruit. But seeing how May is working the portal, I’m not worried about that anymore.
As far as the actual S&C stuff goes, I suspect most of these coaches are interchangeable, really.
Has he not graduated? He’s finishing up his fourth year right now.
The narrative that admissions was making it impossible to succeed was always hard to swallow when our football program won a national title while facing the same standards.
In retrospect, hiring a coach who had no college experience at all (other than as a player) was a bad idea. Communicating with admissions is one of a number of things that simply don’t exist in the pros. I don’t think we’re going to run into too many more Shannon/Love-type situations.
The issue isn’t with all undergrad transfers. Freshmen and sophomores’ credits generally transfer without too much issue. The problem is mostly with upperclassmen. Credits in upper-level courses often don’t get accepted here. If they’re able to graduate, then we can take them as grad students.
The problem with Shannon and Love is that they were in that category of non-graduating upperclassmen. We were counting on them taking courses in the summer, for which their old schools didn’t have to pay (since they were in the portal). Meanwhile, other schools offered them admission on the spot. We shouldn’t have counted on them coming.
Is this the first case of an Olympic athlete having (basically) the same name as the host city?
I suppose there might have been an athlete named London in 2012 or the other two times they hosted.
Year five is a little different than the others, though. A scholarship promise is normally for four years. May and Jace will probably have discussions about next year, if they haven’t already.
They could leave, but could also stay. May took FAU to the Final Four and then successfully convinced all of his starters to stay. At FAU!
If we land Goldin, I don’t think we’ll miss him that much.
But good for him.
I think Meyer was forced out over the Zach Smith thing. As a courtesy (and to avoid the fanbase burning the school down), they called it a resignation.