The Wolverine Digest Pod

This episode covers the gamut. Eight former Wolverines heard their names called during the NFL Draft over the weekend and a few of them landed in terrific spots. During that same draft, a former NFL star took a shot at Ohio State, while a current U-M staffer jabbed Michigan State after no Spartans were selected for the first time ever. We also discuss some some of the excuses that are made for Michigan football and Jim Harbaugh and attempt to understand why they're made. Finally, Juwan Howard does it again as he lands a top transfer target who should bolster the roster in a big way next season. All that and more during Episode 14 of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.

Today's episode focuses mostly on why Juwan Howard has been so good as a recruiter and why he likely won't slow down anytime soon. We also broke down some of Jim Harbaugh's words after he recently joined Jon Jansen on the In The Trenches podcast. We also talked about the experience at Michigan Stadium, along with some of the other venues in the Big Ten, and finally sprinkled some recruiting info in there as well.

Offensive tackle Willie Allen is in the transfer portal and leaving Michigan, Xavier Worthy has been released from his national letter of intent and will enroll at Texas this summer and Joe Milton formally announces his transfer to Tennessee. All three of those developments change how U-M's roster will look during the 2021 season.

On the hardwood, Juwan Howard's squad continues to get more respect and more national attention as the Wolverines are now the third most likely team to win the national title in 2022.

All of that and more on this episode of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.

Mo Hurst is on the move and Tom Brady is sounding off. The viper position seems to be all but dead under Mike Macdonald, but why? Jim Harbaugh has fallen short of expectations, while Juwan Howard has exceeded them. We even manage to talk about Rich Rodriguez during this episode. All that and more on Episode 11 of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.

Michigan's spring game is in the rearview mirror now, which still resonates as a bummer. Michigan fans and media didn't get to see anything from the new coaching staff, any of the new touted true freshmen or the all blue uniforms. There's nothing concrete for fans to talk about since they didn't get to see anything firsthand, and now everyone in Maize and Blue apparel has to wait five long months before seeing their beloved Wolverines. We talk about how big of a deal that is and what it means for the program from various angles and also touch on how other programs are handling their spring games. On a positive note, Michigan secured a big commitment from touted 2022 wide receiver Tyler Morris yesterday, further proving that the Michigan brand is very powerful even when the chips are down a bit, and also broke down several positive and encouraging scenarios as we look ahead to the 2021 season.

Is the deck really stacked against Michigan football? Are admissions the biggest reason why Jim Harbaugh and U-M can't reach elite levels? Do Michigan graduates really care that much about how many players graduate and what kind of degree they get? These are just some of the questions that seemed to be asked on a pretty regular basis when it comes to the Michigan football program. Michael Spath is as qualified as anyone to answer them as someone who grew up as a Michigan legacy, covered the team for nearly two decades and now teaches at the university. His unique perspectives allow him to answer some of these questions in a way that most can't. His opinions and more drive this episode as we try to figure out what direction U-M football is traveling in.

Wednesday evening and Thursday were big news days for Michigan athletics so we used today's episode to catch up on everything that happened. Another player is in the transfer portal, Jim Harbaugh's recruiting staff is changing in a big way following the resignation of Matt Dudek and what the hell happened with Xavier Worthy? All that and more on this episode of The Wolverine Digest Podcast.

I had a chance to join Jamie Morris and Dennis Fithian today on The M Zone to discuss the Xavier Worthy situation, Matt Dudek's departure, Juwan Howard's roster management, which includes Eli Brooks returning, and more.

Depending on where you look and who you talk to, Michigan might finish anywhere between 4-8 and 11-1 this fall. Even the trust staff at Wolverine Digest sees this playing out in a pretty different way. Chris Breiler and I go game by game and talk about each Michigan opponent and make a prediction for the matchups.

Michigan held its annual spring game on Saturday and, even though it was closed to the public and the media, we were able to learn a little bit about what went down. The Cade McNamara-led Blue team defeated the JJ McCarthy-led Maize team by a score of 22-10. Both quarterbacks made some plays, but there are still a lot of of things to figure out by the time the season kicks off in September. We discuss that, the all blue uniforms, potential wins and losses on U-M's fall schedule and Jim Harbaugh's job security heading into the 2021 campaign. All that and a little more on the latest episode of The Wolverine Digest Pod.