2009 Michigan Wolverines football team

Preseason preview

In 2008 the Michigan Wolverines had possibly the worst season in the history of the program. The team finished with a 3–9 regular season record, failing to qualify for a postseason bowl game for the first time in 33 years. The Wolverines struggled to implement first-year head coach Rich Rodriguez's spread option offense; Michigan was last in the Big Ten in passing offense, scoring offense, total offense and turnover margin.

Going into 2009, there was optimism that Michigan, led by newly recruited mobile quarterback Tate Forcier, would be able to turn things around and have a winning season, or at the very least win their opening game for the first time since 2006. The team had 10 returning offensive starters and 5 returning defensive starters. Although to some Forcier was a foregone conclusion as the starting quarterback, the battle between him, incumbent Nick Sheridan, and Denard Robinson was anticipated to be the most competitive position battle in the Big Ten Conference according to College Football News. Although the 2008 defense had been a disappointment, Obi Ezeh and Brandon Graham were considered to be a solid nucleus to build around. The team also employed a new defensive coordinator, Greg Robinson, to help guide this defensive turnaround. The key losses for the team were S Brandon Harrison, DE Tim Jamison, DT Will Johnson, RB Sam McGuffie, DT Terrance Taylor, LB John Thompson, QB Steven Threet, CB Morgan Trent.

Recruiting

The Wolverines received several commitments from 4-star blue chip players. Among the recruits are Anthony LaLota of the Hun School in Princeton, New Jersey who is ranked as the fourth offensive tackle in the nation by Scout.com and sixth strong side defensive end by Rivals.com. LaLota appeared in the U.S. Army All-American game on January 3, 2009 in San Antonio, Texas. Other top recruits included a top-ten-rated dual-threat quarterback (Tate Forcier – Rivals #6) to run Rich Rodriguez's spread offense, and Justin Turner who was rated as the No. 3 safety.

Michigan's 2009 recruiting class was ranked 7th nationally by Rivals.com, and 10th by ESPN. Eight players initially committed to attend Michigan in 2009 but later decommitted and signed with a different college: Anthony Fera – K (PSU), Bryce McNeal – WR (Clemson), Kevin Newsome – QB (PSU), Dewayne Peace – WR (Arizona), Jordan Barnes – LB (Oklahoma State), Pearlie Graves – DT (Texas Tech), DeQuinta Jones – DT, and Shavodrick Beaver – QB (Tulsa)

Several recruits participated in the January 3 U.S. Army All-American game during which William Campbell announced his re-commitment to the program. Joining Campbell and LaLota in the All-America game were cornerback/safety Justin Turner, kicker Brendan Gibbons, and receivers Jeremy Gallon and Je'Ron Stokes. Several recruits began early enrollment at Michigan for the Spring 2009 semester, including quarterback Tate Forcier, five-star defensive tackle Will Campbell, running back Vincent Smith, defensive end Anthony LaLota, linebacker Brandin Hawthorne, defensive back Mike Jones and safety Vlad Emilien.

Practice time limit investigation

In an August 30, 2009 Detroit Free Press article, several current and former players on the 2008 and 2009 teams speaking anonymously said Michigan frequently violated the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) off-season 8-hour-per-week and in-season 20-hour-per-week practice limit. Rodriguez denied all of the allegations at a press conference the next day; The New York Times quoted him as saying "We know the rules, and we follow the rules." The University of Michigan Athletic Department's compliance office notified both the NCAA and the Big Ten Conference of its intentions to investigate itself. Unlike the University of Michigan basketball scandal where all of the participants had left the school by the time the investigation completed and punishment was handed down, many of the athletes involved in this scandal are still students at the University of Michigan; failure to cooperate with the investigation might result in the NCAA revoking the athletes eligibility to participate in athletic competitions. In November, the university revealed its finding that the team failed to file the proper paperwork to document the team's training schedule.

The NCAA had the right to either accept Michigan's findings once the athletic department's inquiry was completed or to conduct its own investigation. On October 23, 2009 the NCAA notified the school that it had decided to begin a formal investigation into the matter; they expected it to be completed by December 31, 2009. On February 22, 2010, the NCAA accused Michigan of failing to comply with practice time rules and "failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance within the football program" under coach Rich Rodriguez. The university had 90 days to respond and appeared at an NCAA hearing on infractions in August. Michigan issued self-sanctions on May 25, 2010, which included cutting practice time and placing itself on two years worth of probation. Michigan did, however, dispute the claim that Coach Rodriguez "failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance." The NCAA handed down their final verdict in the case on November 4, 2010, which accepted almost all of the self-sanctions that Michigan provided. Michigan was docked 130 practice hours, which was twice the number of excess hours that the university had exceeded, and placed on three years probation, which was one more than originally proposed; but the university and Rodriguez did, however, escape the most serious charge of "failing to promote an atmosphere of compliance," as the NCAA agreed with Michigan's statement that the cases were not deliberate and isolated. This ruling ended the NCAA's investigation of Michigan's football program.

Preseason award watch lists

Several players excelled individually. The season began with numerous Wolverines on national award preseason watchlists. Brandon Graham led the way with five such recognitions for the Bednarik Award, Hendricks Award, Lombardi Award, Lott Trophy and Bronko Nagurski Trophy. David Molk was on both the Lombardi and Rimington Trophy preseason lists, while Brandon Minor was on both the Maxwell Award and Doak Walker Award lists. Obi Ezeh, Zoltan Mesko, and Stephen Schilling were preseason Butkus Award, Ray Guy Award and Lombardi candidates, respectively. As the season started, Michigan burst out with a 4–0 start and saw several players recognized as Big Ten Conference player of the week early in the season: Tate Forcier, Carlos Brown and Mesko. Also, several players earned midseason or finalist watchlist recognitions: Ezeh (Butkus), Mesko (Guy) and Graham (Hendrick).

During week 2, Tate Forcier (Offense) and Darryl Stonum (Special teams) were honored by the Big Ten Conference as players of the week (POW). At the same time, Forcier was also named AT&T All-America Player of the Week, as well as the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback of the Week Award and Rivals.com National Freshmen of the Week and the Rivals.com Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honor. The following week, Carlos Brown earned co-offensive POW honors along with Northwestern's Mike Kafka. Zoltan Mesko was named the special teams player of the week on October 11. The only statistical leader for the team was Mesko who in eight conference games averaged 45.2 yards/punt, which was the first time a Michigan punter led the Big Ten in Conference game punting average since Paul Staroba in 1970. Brandon Graham and Mesko were first-team All-Big Ten selections by both the coaches and the media. Donovan Warren was first-team by the media and second-team by the coaches and Stephen Schilling was an honorable mention on both lists.

Ezeh was one of sixteen players and three from the Big Ten for the Butkus midseason watch list. Mesko was named one of 10 semifinalists for the Ray Guy Award and one of 12 finalists for the Wuerffel Trophy. Graham was one of seven finalists for the Hendricks Award.

Rankings

Radio

Radio coverage for all games was on The Michigan Wolverines Football Network, and on Sirius XM Satellite Radio, as well as online at The Michigan Sports Network Online Stream. The radio announcers were (WJR talk show host) Frank Beckmann with play-by-play, Jim Brandstatter with color commentary, and Doug Karsch with sideline reports.

Statistics

The offense rebounded from their 2008 performance to finish third in the Big Ten in scoring. However, Michigan ranked last in the Big Ten and 115th out of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision schools in turnover margin.

Graham was the national statistical champion in tackles for a loss (TFL) per game. Mesko led the Big Ten in punting average and Graham led the conference in total tackles for a loss. Graham posted 26 TFLs in 12 games, which led the nation with 2.17 average tackles for a loss per game (ahead of conference rival O'Brien Schofield who was second with 1.884). Graham also defended his Big Ten total TFLs championship over Schofield by a 26–24.5 margin. Mesko led the Big Ten in punting average and was eighth in the nation with a 44.46 average.

The per game team rankings below include 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams and 11 Big Ten Conference teams:

The per game rankings below include players who have played in 75% of team's games and are ranked in the top 100 national leaders and top 25 conference leaders:

Postseason recognition

At the conclusion of the season, Graham earned the Chicago Tribune Silver Football Big Ten co-MVP award. Graham and Mesko earned numerous 2009 College Football All-America Team recognitions. Several Michigan players earned 2009 All-Big Ten Conference recognition: Graham and Mesko were first-team (coaches and media). Donovan Warren (first-team media and second-team coaches) and Schilling (honorable mention coaches and media) were also recognized. Mesko was a first-team Academic All-American. Graham also earned the MVP award at the January 30, 2010 Senior Bowl.

Graham was co-winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten co-MVPs with Penn State's Daryll Clark, marking the first time the award has been shared. Three Michigan players, Warren (Junior cornerback), Brandon Graham (Senior defensive end), and Mesko (Senior punter) were named to the All Big Ten First Team, and Stephen Schilling (Senior left guard) received honorable mention. Offensive lineman David Moosman also received the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. Mesko was one of fifteen FBS athletes selected as a first-team Academic All-American. Michigan had 10 athletes recognized as fall term of the 2009–10 Academic All-Conference selections for being letterwinners who are in at least their second academic year at their institution and carry a cumulative grade point average: Matt Cavanaugh, Jon Conover, John Ferrara, J.B. Fitzgerald, Will Heininger, Zac Johnson, Zoltan Mesko, Tim North, Jason Olesnavage, and Mike Therman. Seniors Zoltan Mesko (2nd team WCFF, Scout, Rivals, AP; honorable mention SI, CFN, PFW) and Brandon Graham (1st team Scout, Rivals; 2nd team WCFF, AP, SI, CFN; honorable mention PFW) were named All-Americans by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, Associated Press, Sports Illustrated, Pro Football Weekly, Rivals.com & Scout.com. Graham was also a first team selection by ESPN and a second team selection by the Sporting News. Brandon Graham earned MVP honors at the January 30, 2010 Senior Bowl with five tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble.

In December 2009, Warren declared himself eligible for the 2010 NFL Draft. Other athletes to participate at the NFL Scouting Combine were Graham, Mesko and Minor. Graham, Mesko and Stevie Brown were drafted 13th, 150th and 251st overall, respectively. Warren went undrafted but signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent.

2010 NFL Draft

Co-captains Graham, Mesko and Brown were drafted in the 2010 NFL Draft, and immediately following the draft Donovan Warren was signed by the New York Jets. Other draft weekend free agent signees included Mathews and Brandon Minor with the Chicago Bears, Mark Ortmann with the Carolina Panthers, Moosman with the Arizona Cardinals and Carlos Brown with the New Orleans Saints.

Roster

On December 12, 2008 RB Sam McGuffie announced he was leaving Michigan for a school closer to home because of family issues. On February 16, 2009, starting quarterback Steven Threet told Michigan he would transfer before the start of the 2009 season. On October 27, 2009, starting cornerback Boubacar Cissoko was kicked off the team for missing class, workouts and study table according to his high school coach Thomas Wilcher. He also stated that he expected Cissoko to seek a transfer.