The Michigan Insider

In this episode, we react to the surprising commitment of Purdue guard Nojel Eastern, and also tackle a few more basketball questions we received from listeners.

We begin by contextualizing the rarity of a commitment happening so quickly, particularly from the transfer portal. We also break down what we think of Michigan adding Eastern, of Eastern's tenure at Purdue, what went wrong and what kind of impact we think he will have in Ann Arbor.

Answering questions from listeners, we tackle comparing Eastern to former Kentucky transfer and Michigan captain Charles Matthews — and caution why that comparison may be unfair — while assessing the fit Eastern provides.

We also discuss Juwan Howard's AAU recruiting prowess, Michigan's point guard future, Isaiah Livers' NBA Draft decision, what can be gleaned from such a hurried transfer process and if Michigan will continue to pursue other transfer options.

In this episode, we tackle a few listener questions, then discuss a story series Shaw has been doing looking at past recruiting.

First, we answer a question predicting who we think will be a surprise player on offense and defense in the 2020 season. We look beneath the typical breakout candidates and new starters, and call our shot on four players who could surprise fans with their impact in the fall.

Then, we break down whom we both believe to be the most underrated player on the team, and offer a brief update on the financial importance of Michigan football to other sports at the University.

Finally, we look at Shaw's story series on recruiting risers, where he breaks down past Michigan recruits whose stock rose the most in the process. We look at why that matters, what it says about the Wolverines' recruiting approach and what it means for Michigan moving forward.

In this episode, we break down where things stand with the Michigan basketball team after more attrition, and what's next for the Wolverines.

We begin by unpacking the transfer departure of rising sophomore wing player Cole Bajema. We look at his brief career with the Wolverines, the potential reasons behind his transfer and what's next for him. We also look at if it's possible that the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic played a role in his decision to depart this far into the offseason.

From there, we turn our discussion to where the Wolverines could look next to fill now two scholarship openings. Shaw outlines why Michigan should not simply want to bank the scholarship for the 2021 class, while the two break down several transfer options that are available to the Wolverines.

Listeners are encouraged to share, rate and subscribe to The Wolverine247 Podcast, in addition to sending questions to Zach Shaw and Steve Lorenz for future discussion topics.

In this episode, we take a look at Jim Harbaugh's open letter to the football community, in which he proposes several significant rule changes for college football.

We open by looking at the optics of Harbaugh releasing the letter — one that made news nationally — and how it's very hard to call it anything but a win for the head coach and Michigan. We break down the reaction among fans and media members to the letter, and what it means moving forward.

We then break down the proposals, looking at the logic and feasibility of players potentially declaring for the NFL Draft early, being able to play in college for five years, being able to return to college if they aren't drafted (or are drafted low) and being able to return to college on the school's dime to finish their degree after their playing career is over.

Other proposals, such as reducing scholarship limits, allowing players and families to meet with agents and further discussion on the one-time transfer rule are also mentioned.

Listeners are encouraged to share, rate and subscribe to The Wolverine247 Podcast, in addition to sending questions to Zach Shaw and Steve Lorenz for future discussion topics.

In this recruiting-heavy episode, Steve Lorenz is joined by 247Sports Midwest recruiting expert Allen Trieu as the two break down a number of key angles in the Wolverines’ 2021 recruiting cycle.

Among the biggest key areas discussed are Michigan’s in-state recruiting efforts, including the pursuits of running back Donovan Edwards, offensive guard Rocco Spindler, offensive tackle Garrett Dellinger and others. The two discuss what can make in-state recruiting tricky, what the Wolverines are doing right and wrong on the recruiting trail and more nuance of it all.

To see more of the Wolverines’ 2021 recruiting class — ranked No. 10 in the country with 11 commitments, including one five-star and four four-star recruits — check out our commitment page here.

To see more of Michigan’s top targets — including a relatively strong in-state recruiting crop and top targets from all over the country — be sure to visit our top targets page here.

To view the Wolverines’ 292 outstanding scholarship offers in the 2021 class, visit our offer page here.

Tim McCormick and Sam Webb assess season one of the Juwan Howard era, reflect upon the careers of Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske, discuss the transfers of Colin Castleton and Dave DeJulius, and the pro outlooks for Isaiah Livers and Franz Wagner, The duo also projects the impact of each member of the 2020 recruiting class and discusses how the new G-League option being utilized by former commitment Isaiah Todd will change college basketball and NBA moving forward.

In this episode, we break down the significance of two key decisions pertaining to the Michigan men’s basketball team: Colin Castleton’s decision to transfer and Jace Howard’s decision to walk on with the Wolverines in lieu of a scholarship.

We open by discussing Castleton’s decision to depart, and why the move makes a lot of sense for the same reasons David DeJulius’ departure did. We look into Castleton’s career with the Wolverines, why the coaching change did him no favors and why he still has professional potential with the right fit.

We then look into what we can glean from the two decisions. We discuss Michigan suddenly having two scholarship openings, the latest with Josh Christopher and graduate transfer targets and more on potential attrition or lack thereof.

In this episode, we unpack the most significant transfer loss the Michigan men's basketball team has suffered in recent memory, as David DeJulius entered the transfer portal Monday afternoon. We break down the series of events that might have played a role in his departure, and we discuss why the decision might make more sense to DeJulius than it does to a number of fans.

We also spend some time reading between the lines, and deciphering how this might impact other decisions — or how other decisions might have impacted this one. We look at what a transfer means in today's college sports market, why DeJulius and Michigan should both be fine and how this transfer differs slightly from typical transfers.

We close with a brief look at ongoing situations with Isaiah Todd and Josh Christopher, what to make of social media and the theatrics that come in big-time basketball recruiting and what expectations to have in the coming weeks.

In this episode, we break down what to know about Michigan football recruiting during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

First, we break down how things change now that spring visits are postponed until at least the summer. We discuss how teams are getting creative with their recruiting pitch, what the keys to succeeding in contact periods are, how Michigan specifically has altered or remodeled its approach so far and what the Wolverines can do differently.

We also discuss how a nationwide quarantine might impact recruits’ approaches to the process, including whether the quarantine might speed up commitments, entice players to stay close to home for college or want different levels of communication from prospective schools.

In this episode, we look at how the mass cancellation of all sports activities, including the Michigan football team’s spring practices, most hurts the Wolverines.

Breaking the impact into four parts, we first begin by looking at Michigan’s quarterback battle. We discuss why the battle hurts one competitor more than the other, how the Wolverines approach the contest now that there are 15 fewer practices and what each competitor must do now.

Then, we break down how the lack of spring practices hurts Michigan’s early enrollees. We discuss the three incoming freshmen it hurts the most, and where the freshmen go from here. We also discuss position battles that will be delayed a few months, and how Michigan must make up for that lost time.

We close with a discussion about the Wolverines’ new defensive coaches — and potentially major tweaks to Michigan’s defense — and why losing the opportunity to experiment and work on things in the spring is costly.