#2

Distraction, distraction, distraction.

Does Stephen A. Smith really make $12 million?  Anyone who calls it a career or, worse yet, devotes their life to it is going to run out of things to say.  And a blowhard like that never has anything to say.

So let's get to it:  recruiting, recruiting, recruiting.  Used to be that news about the 5-stars was exciting but now we are relegated to who is wearing what gloves.  The star from Grosse Pointe South has remained solid and is becoming a leader, so that is good news.

Recruiting has been excellent the last few years under Harbaugh--generally hanging around the Top 10, a star or two, and a solid group of 4-stars.  I usually count top three hundred recruits and serious and NFL potential, and if they stick around a program like Michigan for four or more years in most cases they are pretty good.  Some, and if you look back they (e.g., Peppers, DPJ) are usually promising recruits if not top fifty.

Attrition has been average.  It is older than a cliche:  usually they are buried on the depth chart.

It is anyone's guess why it hasn't worked out better.  We are getting to the point where even undrafted free agent will be unattainable.

The other day I happened to see that Mike Sainristil and JJ McCarthy were ranked around 25th as most important players going into the season.  Sainristil has a total of 15 receptions in two years and has probably dropped the same number.  McCarthy has never played and no one has even seen him practice.

Brandon Brown, that pundit of Michigan forecasting who somehow arranged a gig with Sports Illustrated announced recently that Michigan is 'not supposed to be very good' this year.  

Who the hell knows?  They're doing it in reverse.  New coaches and a hoard of new players.  All these returning players but none stand out.  The 4-stars didn't work, let's try 3-stars...  Wow, that new coach from Kentucky can really recruit.  It takes "potential" to a new level and meaning.

As I look at the roster there are three players with experience and who stand out.  They are Aiden Hutchinson, Hassan Haskins, and Daxton Hill.

Oh, something else I read recently is that Jim Harbaugh is on the hot seat.