Things Discussed:

• Commitapalooza: Looks like an average Michigan class. Takes on the new guys:
  • Donovan Johnson: Hard to grade from tape when he was 14 years old. High ceiling/low floor. Michigan knows what he looks like post-ACL.
  • Kaden Strayhorn: Jason Strayhorn knows more about the state of Michigan State, which is a story you tell if things are Not Good. Kid was also set on making his own path, wanted to be in football since 8th grade. Like Gach: MSU parentage doesn't change who the kid is or how that aligns with what Michigan does.
  • Chase Taylor: Think he's ranked lower because in-state power wasn't offering, but BJM was all over him. Tell Michigan the guy's part safety/part edge and their eyes light up because that's what they need for their system.
  • Jacob Washington: Toldya in 1998 when they got Ron Bellamy that this will get us into Archbishop Shaw finally. Sam: Washington ran a laser 4.5 forty at a camp. Likes to block.
• Michigan's NIL: fixed? They're not involved in Players for Auction but they've really built up their institutions. Turned the former players tailgate into a support network. Using the recent grads as the ambassadors. Using donors to get donor level to understand what they're doing. Also coming from the top: Dusty May and Sherrone Moore are asking "What can I do?"
• NCAA gets rid of all the rules they hit Michigan for, because nobody was following them and the only thing they ever did was screw Michigan. Let's go get Dylan Roney back!
• Hoops: How's the defense gonna look? Your defense is what your players can do. Think they'll switch 1-3, up to 4 when they have a small 4 on the court.

Things Discussed:

• Storytime with Craig Ross: Transactional vs Transformational.
• Recruiting: Class of 2025 is like Class of 2023, which was a pair of three-stars and Raylen Wilson out the door at this point in the cycle.
• Brady Hart on Ohio State: "Not everyone's got the same culture as Michigan." Got the JJ to build a class around. Sam points out that's been their best classes (Henson, etc.)
• Sam: Michigan had four QBs they were heavy on, #1 was probably going to Oklahoma no matter what, and they got Hart on campus early in case he wanted to commit before the other two.
• Other guys. RB Jasper Parker has offers from everybody except LSU; do they think they can come back and get him? Has those great feet (like Karan) and is a good receiver.
• Jordon Davison: OSU/Michigan battle despite OSU having 2 backs already.
• Michigan really wants: S JaDon Blair, might be a ND lean (really likes Marcus Freeman, being next Kyle Hamilton but better, has known their staff longer than Morgan). But interesting thing from Blair re: Michigan: "They are lagging behind no-one on NIL."
• Their #1 overall target is probably CB Shamari Earls, who's a Will Johnson-caliber dude. Other schools did a great job negative recruiting against Steve Clinkscale. Gonna be a fight with Georgia though. Seth: If you want to prove to me that Michigan's NIL is lagging behind nobody, win a battle with Georgia. Noted: Will Johnson is probably one of the best-paid players in the country. But UGA is going to pay a lot up-front. At least we'll know before the season it seems. If Michigan wins it's because they need a CB immediately in 2025.
• Pac12 teams in the Big Ten: They're already Big Ten teams. They've got Jestin Jacobs at middle linebacker: that's a Big Ten team. A purple team with Michigan's former kick returner at slot receiver: that's a Big Ten team. USC's the weirdo, but as far as QB situations in the Big Ten go, a guy who played as much as Aidan Chiles did last year after being in Lincoln Riley's system for 4 years is pretty dang good.

Things Discussed:

• Pre-Show: Seth & Craig are on. Craig says punk rock and opera are the same thing.
• Preview of Texas: they thought they'd get DTs. Respect for Ethan Burke out there. Most concerned about our secondary making some mistakes because they're not Sainristil and Rod Moore anymore.
• Paul Finebaum: Ryan Day is the king of excuses. Talk about his reaction to Erin Dunstan leaving OSU for a better job at Michigan where she has more connections (he cussed her out and had her escorted from the premises). What's up with OSU? They still haven't come to terms with the problem about themselves, so all of those expensive pieces are going to be less than they would be elsewhere.
• Michigan slow recruiting? Had to replace the staff, Sherrone Moore has built an Alabama-level recruiting department but the proceeds of that are long-term, not going to prevent this from being a transition class.
• Craig: Why is pass defense more expensive than rush defense? Seth: Because NFL offenses spend on pass offense.
• Is Wink too aggressive? He talked about how he used more sim pressures on Mahomes, that it's a determination made on personnel and opponent, not philosophy.
• Sam: Aamir Hall looks like Josh Wallace But Fast. Ricky is more of a nickel corner (read: dime).