Phil Steele

The 2011 Phil Steele College Football Preview is on newsstands right now.  In it he breaks down the Wolverines and the rest of the NCAA to an absurd degree that we believe is the best value of all the previews out there.

This year Phil Steele ranks Michigan as the 41st best team in the country and has them playing Toledo in the Little Caesars Bowl. He also pegged them to finished 4th in the Legends Division, tied with Northwestern.

Several Wolverines graced the All-Big Ten team in his predictions: Mike Martin DT (1st Team) …. David Molk C Will Hagerup P (2nd Team) …. Denard Robinson QB Roy Roundtree WR Patrick Omameh G Kenny Demens MLB (3rd Team) …. Ryan Van Bergen DE (4th Team)

Steele along with other national prognosticators is down on Denard this year with the transition of offensive philosophies. I can’t blame them for having doubts as I do believe Denard’s effectiveness this season will have a major impact on how well the fans perceive Brady Hoke & Al Borges are as coaches.  They are being given the defending Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and must utilize him effectively.

Big Ten Unit Rankings:

QB – 1st … RB – 6th … REC – 1st … OL – 3rd … DL – 6th … LB – 10th … DB – 5th … ST – 8th … COACH – 10th

Alright, the ranking of the coaching staff 10th in the Big Ten tied with Minnesota is a joke right?  I can see the logic before the Mattison hire and I sincerely hope that Steele had this done then due to the massive amount of time it takes to turn around the magazines and how much coverage he does nationally.

Steele always goes a step higher than others and also ranks NFL Draft eligible players by position, here is the breakdown of Michigan’s players (we included predicted rounds on our own):

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post