A friend of mine, Chris Ballast does a wonderful job writing for The Wolverine keeping you up to speed on what's going on with the University of Michigan football. You can follo him on Twitter at ballast Underscore Wolverine and he joins us here on exus and Bros. Chris, hope you and your family are well. How are you, my friend?
And you great to hear your voice, brother, Yeah.
Thanks same to you. There's a lot of distractions from Michigan right now. How are they able to make sure they're focused on themselves and not hearing the outside noise.
Yeah, that's a great question. And we asked Eran Moore about that yesterday and you can tell that there's a sense of confidence with him that Hey, and he came out right away and he said, we can't talk about
the NCAA stuff. He did say, you know, with our report a couple of weeks ago that there were fifty two texts that he had deleted between him and counter stallions, the alleged leader of the whole sign gate thing, that hey, there's nothing there and it can't wait till those texts are made public so that people can understand that there's really nothing there, so people want to keep this in
the news. And it's like he said, when you're on top, the haters come out, man, And he said, everybody's gunning for you. And what they've done is what they did last years. They've kind of rallied around each other and said, hey, let's make this about us and about our season. We know we've got a talented team, he said, we have high expectations here. And every time somebody brought up the schedule ship and it's a big one. You know, you got Texas, you got Oregon, you got Ohio State USC
it's one of the toughest schedules in the country. He said, Hey, they've got to play us too. So you can tell that there's a sense of confidence there. These guys are together and rallying around it and blocking out the outside noise, and they expect to have a good year.
Shop how long will the counter stallion stuff hang around? Do you think?
Yeah, you know what, they're in negotiation right now. And we broke a story a couple of weeks ago where you know what, the this NA draft coming out that was made public, and it's tough when you've got that hanging over your head to recruit, to really to concentrate on other things. But I think it's going to be a while. It's a negotiation, and they came out guns blazing,
you know. Our sources told us, hey, we watch what they do to Jim harbaught here, and sure enough he gets this four year show cause and one year suspension, even though it's more symbolic than anything now that he's in the NFL. But you've got a Netflix documentary coming out on August twenty seventh where Connor Stallions is going to tell his side of the story. But to me, the best course of action here if you're Michigan is to get this thing out of the way as soon
as possible. We've heard all kinds of things, like they're going to come at them with a postseason ban. We reported that and people ran with it like it was fact, and that's just something that's been thrown out there. That is nothing that is going to be any part of Anna or anything. That's going to be years down the road if it happens, and nobody expects that to happen. What I think you're going to see Chef is within
the next year, hopefully sooner. You come to some kind of a settlement, maybe a big find, maybe some more probation and some scholarships lost. I think that's the most likely thing to happen, and I think the sooner the better for Michigan so that they can move on.
Chris Ballace of the Wolverine Joiners here on Ex's and Bros fam on Twitter at ballast Underscore Wolverine. Jim Harbaugh came out in a press conference in Los Angeles defiant in knowing anything about the Connor Stallion situation. Why do you believe him or don't?
Yeah, well, there's been no evidence right number one. And the NCAAA said that last year they said, we have no evidence linking Jim Harbaugh to this, and he said he said from the get go, even after the National Championship game, they had a press conference and he said, we are innocent. He came out guns blaze and said, you know, you know what, I knew nothing about it, all of us. In fact, he said, all of us are innocent. And I don't know if that applies to
Connor Stallions. There's a lot of evidence out there that he was buying tickets and so on and so forth. I think it's circumstantial, and there are some questions as to whether or not it even violates ncaaa's own bylaws. But I don't think they found anything other than circumstantial stuff with some interns, and they've said this, this was in the NA draft as well, that Connor Stallions maybe in some interns had this thing going on and that
the coaches didn't really know anything about it. So there's no evidence there. So I believe him. He's always been
a stray shooter. And it's funny. There was an article in The Athletic Chef that came out and they said a former disgruntled staffer said, well, the culture at Michigan was to always approach the line and sometimes cross it if necessary, And speaking to coaches at these at this program over the years that have come and gone, they said the exact opposite to me that Jim Harbaugh said, we aren't going to cheat, we aren't going to cross lines. And in fact, even when NIL came out, he said,
we're going to be transformational, not transactional. We're not going to pay football players. So he has always been one of those guys that follows his dad's lead in terms of being honest and forthright, so I believe them. Schef.
What have you noticed about Sharon Moore's camp that is different? I don't want to say better, but just different. Yet it's still keeping that Michigan focus compared to Jim Carbo's camps.
Yeah, a little more fun. In fact, he talked about the music yesterday. He said, we didn't have music when Jim was here. He didn't want to play the music. He said, I love it. He said, I wanted to get out there and the kids have fun. But first of all, he wanted to make sure it was all business, just like it was with Harbaugh. And speaking to the people around the program, they say, you know what, it's a little bit more lighthearted. Sharona is a little bit
more approachable than Jim. When Jim came in here, man, he came in and it was all business and it was tough to work for him. And I think a lot of people would agree with that. Most people would agree with that that it is not easy to work for Jim Harbaugh. Now he got he softened his stance a little bit as he went on. But Sharon Moore, I think is he wants to make it a little
bit more fun a little bit more lighthearted. But let these guys know that, Hey, as long as you get your business done and you're taking care of business and you're serious, then we're going to have some fun too. And he used a cornerback ji Air Hill, a sophomore, as an example. He said, you know, this kid is kind of a goofball Off the field he goes, but when he's between those lines, it's all business for him. As long as he's doing that, I don't care what
he does off the field. I love his personality and that kind of kid.
They are pre season nine and some people I think they already have it in for Michigan anyway. But some people, when you say, which team ranked in the top twenty five will not finish in the top twenty five, Give me a team. Some people have mentioned Michigan. What's the attitude from within the football program on I hate to use the word disrespect, but on perhaps overlooking them a little bit considering what they accomplished last year and what they have returning.
Yeah, and they're you know what, They're kind of used to it. But defense travels, and they think they've got the best defense in the country, and that's not embellishing anything. You look at what they've got, probably the best interior defensive line ship that they've had since I've been covering Michigan football, and that's a long time with Kenneth Grant, Mason Graham, Rayshawn Benny. Those guys are monsters in there.
And then you've got a secondary that's got an All American and Will Johnson and veterans on the back end in Quinton Johnson and McCary page, a couple of linebackers they think are going to be playing in the Pros, and Ernest Hausman and jay Sean Barram, a kid who came over from Maryland. And it's going to be hard
to move the ball on these guys. So what they've got to do is get some complimentary football from the offense, and it's going to come down to the quarterback play right, But there is a ton of talent on that side of the ball. People don't understand that. Everybody talks about the offensive lineman that they lost, but they've got four stars and guys that have been waiting their turn that are going to be just as good in some situations
as they were last year. If you look at a guy like Giovanni Ohatti, who could have been starting just about anywhere in the country. Last year at guard. Josh Preeb, who came over from Northwestern, was a third team All Big Ten guy. If he'd played at a school like Michigan last year, probably would have been an All American. He's that good. So it's really going to come down to quarterback play. Jack Tuttle's been slowed by a shoulder. He had a great summer, so that has been a disappointment.
But Davis Warren getting a lot of snaps, and then Alex Orgy is an outstanding athlete. They are going to play him. And Kirk Campbell, the offensive coordinator, has said as much. He said, you know what, even if he's not our starting quarterback, we've got to get him on the field. He's one of our best eleven eleven guys.
But elite running backs in Donovan Edwards, Khalel Mullings. They love this freshman Jordan Marshall, and a guy in Tyler Morris at receiver who's going to be more than adequate as a number one and an elite All American tight end. If you look at the roster, there aren't very many rosters in the Big Ten better maybe Ohio State, maybe Oregon. Michigan's going to be right there as long as they get good quarterback play.
Yeah, Chris, it's a hell of a schedule. I love what you tweeted out yesterday. You had a picture of Charon Moore and here was the saying, when you're at the bottom, they don't respect you. When you're in the middle, they ignore you. When you're at the top, they hate you for us. Were just going to keep on rolling.
Yeah, I think that.
Is That's just not football stuff. That's life stuff. I love that stuff. I eat that stuff up and I know you do too. But there's an influence coaches can have and a confidence they can project. Harbad did that he was a hell of a football coach even before he won a national championship. What kind of coach do you think Sharon Moore proved he was last year in filling in and how he can carry that over to create and continue that confidence with this team this year.
You know what, there was so much pressure on him in that Penn State game last year's ship and that's when the emotion came out and everybody. Some people criticized him for cussing on air, and that was his pure, raw emotion, and that's the kind of guy he is. This is one of the best people that I've ever met in this business in terms of a man as a family guy, a guy who relates to his players. I have never heard anybody say a bad word about him and his coaching style. Guys love to play for him.
You look at his offensive lineman and they just don't want to let him down. That's the kind of leader that he is, and he's learned from the best. He's kind of been groomed for this. You know. A couple of years ago, Jim Harbaugh in fact, was saying that, Hey, I want it in my contract that Sharon Moore is going to succeed me. And that's I think the ultimate compliment. Right, You've built this thing, and this is the guy that you want to continue your legacy here, to continue Michigan football.
And make no mistake, Jim Harbaugh loves Michigan football and he wants the best for them after he leaves. So I thought that spoke volumes. But the confidence that I'm seeing from him each time that we get to see him, whether it's at the Big Ten media day, whether it's in front of the media yesterday like we got him, you can just sense that, Okay, he understands that he's got a good football team. He knows he's a good football coach, and he surrounded himself with some great talented
coaches as well. You just get that sense that he's getting more and more confident that he's got what it takes in this job. Now, there are no guarantees here, right. Everybody's going to point to his lack of experience, and that's fair, but there have been guys that have been very experienced who have failed here, like Rich Rodriguez, who I thought was a bad fit from the get go.
A lot of it is about fit and timing, and I go back to Lloyd Carr succeeding coach Gary Moeller, after bost Schambeckler, and you look at people like that. You know that Tom Izzo succeeding jud Heathcote, right, And sometimes it's just the best bit and the right guy in the right situation. I think charoon War is that, yeah.
And I love Gary Mueller at Michigan. I loved him with the Lions as well. Just a good, good man. Chris Ballast or the Wolverine joining us. You can follow him on Twitter at ballast Underscore Wolverine. Let's talk about the schedule. I don't want how many games are they going to win because we don't know. We don't know what this team is going to look like. You don't even we're not even sure who the quarterback is going to be.
Injuries can take place at any time, so you could see a team like Texas, you know, get get nicked and bruised a little bit. That would cause some problems to their national championship hopes. We were talking about this the other day. Penn State has a relatively easy road. I don't know how they've they've gotten away with the schedule that they've got. Michigan schedules really challenging. Where is where in lies the challenge? The biggest challenge for this team?
Is it the stretch with at Champagne or Bana, at home against MSHU and then at home against Oregon? Is it early on with Texas? What's your overall read on the schedule and the biggest challenge that awaits.
Yeah, you know that's a great question too. And I've kind of pointed to that Washington game on the fifth of October, and everybody looks at them and said, looks at what they've lost. And I go back and Michigan on the coast. I think has won one true road game on the West Coast in my lifetime that I remember, and that was at UCLA in nineteen eighty nine, and they needed a non side kick late in that game to go their way to win that game. To pull that one out. It is hard to travel out to
the coast and win. I go back to Oregon in two thousand and three, Washington in the mid eighties. That's how old I am, chef. But it doesn't matter the level of talent. You know, Jeed Fish is a good football coach and there's going to be some talent on that team. That's the one game that I point to where I say, okay, they play them after USC and USC home is not going to be a capewalk. I think Michigan's a ten point favorite in the preseason there.
They've got a lot of talent, and they've got a new defensive coordinator who actually cares about defense now, so I think USC will be a better defensive football team, and they've got a lot of talent. So those are the two games right there that I'm looking at. Obviously Texas, you know they're coming in as a top five team, but Michigan is a tough to beat at home. And I think you see that on Sharon Moore's face when he was asked about the schedule yesterday's Jeff he said,
you know, these teams have to play us too. Everybody's talking about our schedule, and we have to play organ at home. We have to play Texas, have to go to Ohio State, they have to play us too. And we still got a lot of talent and a lot of pride playing at home. So but those are really that's kind of the stretch right there, going out to Washington. If you get by that Washington game, if you get by Texas somehow and you go out to Washington and
you beat them, then watch out. But it's interesting too, right because you're kind of playing for something different now. You know, you can lose a couple of games and you still make the playoffs. So and that's what they have in mind. And if you're playing good football at the end of the year, you still have a couple of losses still right there in the hunt for national championship.
Hey, I brought you down to talk Michigan and I respect it and it's been great, but I do want I respect your opinion on the overall thought of where college football is right now. Kyle Whittingham, Utah head coach said, another big changes coming. He could actually see super conferences where forty to sixty teams are just playing one another every single year in rotation, and what that does to mid major programs and how it hurts some of these
other kids who maybe not be on Michigan's radar. As a guy who's covered college football for as long as you have, how do you feel about that? Because it really disappoints and disturbs me.
Yeah, as a traditionalist, I hate at CHIP and to me, you know, your programs like Central Michigan and we all have family and friends right that have played that have had kids that play to some of these schools or followed them closely, and those are going to be theater programs for the big schools. What they need to do, number one is get rid of the one year transfer rule and protect some of these smaller programs as well. And I think we're headed that way. I think you're
going to see contracts sign. Hey, if you're with us, you're with us for at least two years, with us four years, so that they can protect themselves a little bit. Otherwise there's going to be no use to even have programs at these smaller schools. And it's a disappointment, but it's professional football now, is how it was explained to me.
I was talking to somebody with one of the collectives and they said, you know, the NCAA is going to be defunct in two or three years because they are one of those organizations that was set up to protect and serve amateur athletics. This is not amateur athletics anymore. This is professional football and that's where we're headed. Shep. And as a traditionalist, I hate it, but you know what, it's something that we're going to have to live with because it's definitely common.
Yeah, you're right about that. Really, respect the opinion, love the work as always, You and John are the best man. Really appreciate the time. Have a great season, my friend. Hope we can talk again soon. All the best to you and the family.
We will thanks, Shep. Take care