BREAKING DOWN SIGNING DAY

Our thoughts on Dick Rod's second recruiting class, and other musings:

• Tate, please take this site down. You look like a douche.

• Obviously the first thing that jumps out about our 2009 recruiting class is that only 4 recruits are from the state of Michigan. Meanwhile, Mark Dantonio (12 Michigan recruits) also put together a solid recruiting class by scooping up the players Dick Rod ignored. This is EXACTLY what we brought Rodriguez in to do: Stripmine the South for talent in order to compete for national titles, which we (or anyone in the Big Ten) haven't been able to do in recent years due to a lack of speed.

But there's no doubt this is a huge roll of the dice. If MSU keeps beating us, Rodriguez will undoubtedly be portrayed as a guy that forgot what made Michigan football great and doesn't understand the pride with which in-state recruits play for UM (Exhibit A: Bill Callahan). Again, what you and I think is a necessary step for the program could ultimately be part of Dick Rod's demise. He's got two years and the clock is ticking.

• We can't emphasize the last-minute signing of QB Denard Robinson. Hey, we're all aboard the Tate Forcier bandwagon, but counting on one guy to be your program's savior is a death wish. Look at Ohio State. In 2004, Justin Zwick was supposed to be Tressel's big first stamp on the program, while no one had ever heard of redshirt frosh Troy Smith. Well, you know the rest.

• Everyone needs to take a deep breath of DeQuinta Jones' defection to Arkansas. We got three absolute studs on the defensive line (William Campbell, Anthony LaLota and Craig Roh) and Campbell is the equivalent of two people (320 pounds in high school? Absolutely absurd). If Dick Rod fails at Michigan, it won't be due to lack of a front four.

• One area I haven't heard people talk much about is running back. I'm concerned, to say the least, that we went for another batch of Smurfs (Teric Jones is 5-8, Vincent Smith is 5-6, and Fitz Toussaint is 5-10) especially in the wake of the Sam McGuffie debacle. Yes, Mike Hart was also a little guy. But with Dick Rod, I was expecting at least one uber-recruit at RB.

• As a native of Columbus, you have no idea how happy it makes me to see Ohio's finest like safety Justin Turner defect from the Suckeye state. Here's hoping this kid is the next Charles Woodson.

• With the late addition of Je'Ron Stokes, there are absolutely no excuses for our wideouts to suck this year. If we can actually stay healthy and catch the damn ball (we're looking at you here, Martavious), this could be the most improved position on the team.

• We have no idea if DB Adrian Witty can play ball, but we like this guy already.

• Zach Boren has now officially just his brother Benedict at tOSU. Good, now we can step on both their faces in November.

• The way Ohio State is able to reload talent is sick and twisted. Beanie Wells bolts for the NFL? No problem! They bring in burner Jaamal Berry, who will be a perfect fit for the spread offense under Terrelle Pryor. I don't picture Stevie Brown taking either down anytime soon.

• Look no further than Champaign, Illinois to see the effects of the recession, where Ron Zook 's recruiting budget ran out of money for his traditional coke and stripper orgies. The Zooker still landed a respectable class (32nd), but it will be interesting to see how he does from here on out without D.C. recruiting wiz Mike Lockley - now the New Mexico head coach. After hauling in players like Arrelious Benn and Vontae Davis, Zook got just one 2-star from the D.C. area.