Welcome to our new weekly column, Arbitrary Michellanea. It’s arbitrary because it won’t be all-encompassing; what is covered will be subject to what I choose to be most newsworthy or compelling based on what happens each week. It’s Michellanea because, well, it’s a varied collection of material with a Michigan twist. It will be similar to The Rear View Mirror column from football season, but this will become a permanent feature in and out of season. Essentially, it will serve as a roundup of the events from the past week that didn’t fit into some sort of game column, but aren’t necessarily worthy of a full post on their own. These will typically be midweek and will always focus on Michigan football, basketball, or other sports as deemed important (see: Lion Kim, Masters), as well as rivals and opponents as they apply to Michigan.

So you’re telling me there’s a chance…

Michigan’s loss to Purdue on Saturday narrowed the Wolverines’ Big Ten title hopes to very slim. But the first of four remaining hurdles to that goal was cleared last night when Indiana beat Michigan State 70-55 in Bloomington. Michigan State could have wrapped up the outright Big Ten title with a win and could still do so with a win on Sunday against 11th-ranked Ohio State, but for now, Michigan still has a chance to capture a share of its first title since 1986.

Remaining Schedule
	Thursday at Illinois – 7pm Sunday at PSU – 1pm
	Sunday v. #11 Ohio State – 4pm
	Wednesday at Northwestern – 8:30pm Sunday at #5 Michigan State – 4pm

To do so, Michigan has to beat Illinois on the road on Thursday and Penn State on the road on Sunday. If both of those happen, Michigan will then be forced to root for Ohio State to beat Michigan State in East Lansing on Sunday afternoon. In that scenario, the three teams would all share the Big Ten title. If Michigan loses a game, it is out of the running. The timing is such that Michigan will be able to win it’s final two games (Sunday’s game is at 1pm) and then sit back and watch OSU-MSU battle it out beginning at 4pm.

Spartan fans are already throwing out the line about Michigan “backing into” a Big Ten title just like it did a BCS bowl game, but let’s be very clear: in a tough and rugged Big Ten, Michigan held its own and if it ends up with a share of the title, it was earned. Yes, Michigan stumbled against Iowa and Purdue, but Michigan State lost to Northwestern, who Michigan swept, and Illinois, who Michigan has a chance to sweep on Thursday. Michigan also split the series against MSU, Ohio State, and Indiana (who MSU just lost to). Of course, this will all be for naught if Michigan falters on Thursday or Sunday, so the goal this week is to take care of business and then find it inside you somewhere to root for Ohio.

Stocking up for war

Over the weekend, despite the basketball loss to Purdue, Michigan did get some good news. Wexford, Penn. offensive lineman Patrick Kugler gave Brady Hoke his commitment on Saturday, adding to the long list of four-star recruits who have already pledged to Michigan for the 2013 class. Kugler is the 54th-ranked player in the Rivals 100 and the fifth four-star offensive lineman in the class. Add that haul (assuming they all hold their commitment until next February) the four that will be suiting up this August and Hoke has the foundation to carry the Michigan offense for years to come.

Urban Meyer has been stocking his own barracks with highly rated recruits ever since he took over, leading some to suggest the rivalry is headed back to the good old days. With Hoke’s insistence on referring to them simply as “Ohio” and Meyer continuing the name game by calling Michigan “That school up north,” not to mention his silly academic comparison last week, the rivalry certainly appears to be ramping back up to the days of old. Another ten year war could be in the making.

Stock is rising

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Junior Hemingway stood out among receivers at the NFL Combine (photo by Dave Martin, AP)

The NFL Combine wrapped up yesterday and each of the three Michigan players in attendance helped his Draft stock with a solid performance. While Mike Martin fell short of his goal of breaking the all-time Combine bench press record, he still finished in the top four in every category among defensive tackles. His 36 reps were tied for second, his 4.88 40-yard dash ranked third, his 7.19 three-cone drill ranked third, his 4.25 20-yard shuttle ranked second, his 33.5 inch vertical ranked fourth, and his 113 inch broad jump ranked first.

Center David Molk beat Martin on the bench, completing 41 reps, which was seven better than the next closest offensive lineman, Stanford’s David DeCastro. Receiver Junior Hemingway also impressed, running a 4.5 40-yard dash, which was faster than most expected he was. He also tied for third among receivers with with 21 bench press reps, behind only Missouri’s Jerrell Jackson and California’s Marvin Jones, led all receivers in the three-cone drill and 20-yard shuttle, ranked second in the 60-yard shuttle, and ranked eighth in broad jump. It’s safe to say Hemingway turned some heads and his stock will rise thanks to his performance. He’s still a late round pick, but some team will take a chance on him in April.

30 years is a long time

Last week, senior guard Zack Novak was selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America to the 2012 Capital One All America third team, becoming the first Michigan basketball player to do so since 1982. In order to be eligible for the honor, one has to be either a starter or a key reserve, achieve at least a 3.3 grade point average, participate in at least 50 percent of the team’s games, and reached at least sophomore status. He was one of just three Big Ten players to receive the honor, along with Northwestern’s Drew Crawford (second team) and Ohio State’s Aaron Craft (first team). Novak was among John Beilein’s first recruits at Michigan and helped restore Michigan basketball to a regular NCAA Tournament contender and this year, a Big Ten title contender.

Michigan had a great recruiting weekend by picking up eight commitments on Saturday and Sunday, but we’re still not done talking about this year’s recruiting class. You know, the players who will be suiting up for the Wolverines this fall, some of which will see the field come September. We’ve already profiled the offensive line, the running backs, the receivers and tight ends, the defensive line, and the linebackers. Today, we culminate our recruiting profiles with the final position group – the secondary. Two of them are consensus four-stars and the other two consensus three-stars. They have an average position rating of 38. Let’s take a look.

In the last couple of weeks, we have profiled the offensive line, the running backs, the receivers and tight ends, and the defensive line. Today, we continue looking at the defensive recruits with the linebackers. Michigan hauled in a very impressive linebacker class with four talented playmakers, any of which could potentially see the field as true a freshman. Two enrolled early and will partake in spring practice, giving them a leg up on the others come fall. The group has an average star ranking of 3.75 – three of which are consensus four-stars and Ringer is a three-star. They also have an average position ranking of 12. Let’s take a closer look.

Stay tuned by the end of the week for our final recruiting profile, the secondary.

On Monday, we rounded out the offensive profiles with the receivers and tight ends, and last week we looked at the offensive line and the running backs. Today, it’s time to turn our focus towards the defensive side of the ball – the guys who will help Michigan’s defensive resurgence under the guidance of Greg Mattison.

This year’s defensive line haul contains three ends and three tackles, led by five-star tackle Ondre Pipkins. This is a very important position group to watch heading into fall camp as it will need to replace starters Mike Martin and Ryan Van Bergen. There will be plenty of opportunity to step in and grab some playing time as Hoke and Mattison look for suitable replacements. Let’s take a look at the guys who may do so.

Stay tuned in the next day or two for the profile of Michigan’s linebacker class.

On Friday, we profiled the offensive line and on Saturday the running backs. Today, we round out the offensive side of the ball with the receivers and tight ends. The coaching staff did a nice job of balancing the commitments with a freakishly athletic receiving tight end and a big blocking tight end, as well as a playmaking wide receiver and a tall, lanky possession type receiver. All of which will get a chance to play right away due to the departures of Junior Hemingway, Kevin Koger, and Steve Watson and the loss of Darryl Stonum, and all fit well into Al Borges’ pro-style system. As a group, the four average 3.4 stars and a position rating of 37.

Come back tomorrow for a look at the defensive line commitments.

Tom Brady looks for his fourth Super Bowl ring, starting in his fifth Super Bowl in 10 years as an NFL starting quarterback. He would tie Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw for most Super Bowl rings by a quarterback in NFL history and he would break Montana’s career playoff victory record.

Mario Manningham enters his first Super Bowl Sunday with a touchdown in all three playoff games to this point, including the game-winner in the NFC Championship game in San Francisco. Manningham has a chance to be the standout player, taking advantage of a weak Patriots secondary that will be focusing on Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks.

Zoltan Mesko (Patriots punter) and David Baas (Giants center) also make their first Super Bowl appearances.

The halftime show also features a Michigan connection. Madonna briefly attended Michigan before dropping out in 1977 to move to New York to pursue a singing/dancing career.

Yesterday we profiled Michigan’s impressive offensive line haul and today we’re taking a look at the guys they’ll be paving the running lanes for. While none of these backs are highly coveted backs, it’s a nice diverse group that fills needs. Norfleet was a late target but picked up the Michigan offer he had always wanted and surprised most Michigan fans with a commitment on National Signing Day. Houma fills a big need at fullback as Brady Hoke intends to get Michigan back to the pro style offense of old. Johnson is an under the radar guy from Michigan’s backyard who will have his work cut out for him the next four or five years. Collectively, the group has an average star rating of 3.1 and position rating of 42nd.

Come back on Monday to learn more about the receivers and tight ends in this year’s class.

[Ed: We decided to break up the recruiting profiles by position group, so today is the offensive line (we will add Diamond tonight if he goes Blue). Tomorrow will be the backfield and we'll pick things up again on Monday as we work through the rest of the position groups]

Michigan hauled in a great offensive line class, perhaps second nationally behind Stanford. And not to beat a dead horse, but if Jordan Diamond chooses Michigan over Auburn and Arkansas this evening, it will get even better. For now, we’re not counting him. The four players signed hail from four different states and carry an average ranking of 3.7 and all four are among the top 52 offensive tackles nationally. They’re all nearly the same size – Kalis is about 20 pounds heavier – and should form the backbone of Michigan’s line for years to come.

National Signing Day came and went on Wednesday and when all was said and done, Head Coach Brady Hoke announced a 25-member recruiting class. The day started off well with a surprise commitment from four-star running back Dennis Norfleet from Martin Luther King High School in Detroit. The rest of the day went as expected with all 22 signed Letters of Intent arriving (three are already enrolled for spring semester).

There still remains a shot at Chicago Simeon offensive lineman Jordan Diamond, who makes his announcement on Friday, and Colorado offensive lineman Alex Kozan who verbally committed to Iowa on Sunday but didn’t fax in his LOI on Wednesday.

Below is a position-by-position breakdown as well as a location-based look at this year’s class. Stay tuned tomorrow for in-depth bios of each offensive recruit and then Saturday morning for the defensive side.

As you can see above, Michigan didn’t sign a quarterback in this year’s class, but has Shane Morris committed for next year’s class. He’ll enter as Denard Robinson graduates and battle for the starting spot with Devin Gardner. The four offensive linemen are all listed as tackles but in tomorrow’s individual breakdown, we’ll discuss where they project on the line. The same can be said for the four defensive backs. Terry Richardson is the only one listed as a cornerback; the other three as safeties. 
Michigan’s class is very Midwest-focused this year, as opposed to the classes we saw under Rich Rodriguez which pulled a bit more from the south, most notably Florida. Hoke didn’t get anyone south of Tennessee, and only ventured out west for two – Erik Magnuson from Carlsbad, Calif. and Sione Houma from Salt Lake City, Utah. If Kozan switches his commitment to Michigan, that will add another player from the west, as he hails from Colorado, but we won’t bet on that happening. If Diamond commits to Michigan on Friday, he will add yet another player from the Midwest.

National Signing Day has arrived and high school seniors around the country will sign and send their letters of intent to the colleges of their choice. Coaches and fans alike will sweat out each LOI and by the end of the day a new class of Michigan Men will be announced.

Brady Hoke’s staff did a great job of locking in a solid class early on, creating a somewhat boring NSD for those who crave the “will he or won’t he” last-minute announcements. But that shouldn’t take away from the class Hoke is pulling in.

With a pair of five-stars (offensive lineman Kyle Kalis and defensive tackle Ondre Pipkins) and a host of four-stars, Hoke and Co. have set the foundation for the future of Michigan football. Three are already enrolled – four-star linebacker Joe Bolden, three-star linebacker Kaleb Ringer, and four-star defensive back Jarrod Wilson, so no need to fret about them. The other 21 are expected to fax their LOIs today and Hoke will announce the class in a 2pm press conference which can be viewed on MGoBlue.com.

Michigan has the opportunity to sign 28 players in this year’s class, and yesterday, Michigan picked up commitment number 24 when Cleveland Glenville defensive tackle Willie Henry chose the Wolverines. That means four more could potentially fill the class today, though the number of recruits Michigan still has a shot at is fairly low. With offensive linemen Joshua Garnett and Alex Kozan off the board, Michigan hopes to pull in Jordan Diamond, but he won’t make his announcement until Friday. Diamond has narrowed his list down to four: Michigan, Wisconsin, Arkansas and Auburn.

One possible signing day surprise was foreshadowed last night by Sam Webb, who tweeted “There is indeed ANOTHER potential signing day surprise for Michigan. Definitely caught me by surprise. You never KNOW with recruiting.” In addition, Scout’s Allen Trieu hinted at expecting 25 letters of intent.

So perhaps the National Signing Day Santa will bring us another present, but don’t be crushed if it doesn’t. Hoke is bringing in the building blocks for a fantastic future. Check back in the following days for profiles on each new Wolverine.