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| Thomas Rawls (#38) looked pretty solid in today's spring game |
Denard Robinson didn't play much. We know what we have in Denard, and we're not going to know whether he can cut down on his interceptions until the fall. Devin Gardner looked very athletic. He seems to be faster and in better shape this year than last, but he struggled throwing the ball. He tried to force some throws, but the receivers really struggled to get separation from the defensive backs. That's probably why Gardner scrambled repeatedly, and he made the defense look silly at times. Third stringer Russell Bellomy looked like what we've been expecting - a game manager type who can scramble a little and make check-down throws, but he seems to lack the requisite arm strength for pushing the ball downfield.
RUNNING BACKS
Fitzgerald Toussaint continues to look like a star on offense. Backup Thomas Rawls looks faster and stronger to me than he did in the fall. He seems like a viable #2 back and he runs angry. You could tell when he got the ball that the defense stepped up its intensity a little bit, because those guys knew they were going to have a fight on their hands to get him down. He did make a nice touchdown run early, but keep in mind that he ran through the tackle of backup free safety Jarrod Wilson, who should still be two or three months away from graduating high school. Vincent Smith continues to be subpar running inside, but he caught the ball well. To me it's a wasted rep when he's handed the ball to run up the middle. Justice Hayes is in the same boat. He doesn't have any mass or strength behind him. If there's an injury to Toussaint or Rawls in the fall, the coaches are going to have to look at freshman Drake Johnson or maybe moving Hopkins back to tailback.
FULLBACKS
Hopkins and Kerridge looked pretty solid. Michigan should be set at this position, especially with reinforcements coming in the form of Sione Houma.
WIDE RECEIVERS
As I mentioned above, the receivers really struggled to separate from the defensive backs. We didn't see a whole lot of Roy Roundtree, but he and Jeremy Gallon looked decent. I would not be surprised to see Gallon lead the team in receptions this season. He's going to be a tough matchup. After that nobody looked particularly impressive. Jerald Robinson had an embarrassing drop, Jeremy Jackson is who he is, etc. Games this season will continue to be won on the ground.
TIGHT ENDS
This continues to be a weak spot. Brandon Moore didn't get any separation, and both Moore and Ricardo Miller struggled at the point of attack. They were playing against some pretty good defenders - Craig Roh, Jake Ryan, Cam Gordon - but tight end will be a liability this season, in both the running and passing games. I don't think we'll see as many two- and three-tight end formations as we did last season.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
Taylor Lewan is a very good left tackle. The starter at left guard was Joey Burzynski. All spring we've heard that Elliott Mealer was the front-runner for the left guard position, and I think that might still be the case. I have no inside information on this, but I have a feeling that Burzynski's start was kind of a practical matter. The coaches didn't want Lewan on the field much; with Michael Schofield as the primary backup at left tackle, they seemed to want Mealer to rotate in at right tackle when Schofield flipped. Burzynski doesn't have the ability to play tackle. Burzynski looked fair against the pass and somewhat ineffective in the running game. Barnum blocked well, but he had two bad snaps because he failed to get the ball up to Denard before getting out of his stance. That will be something to watch heading into the season. Barnum also needs to speed up his shotgun snaps, which are noticeably slower than David Molk's. He's also got to work on calling protections. Omameh looked mostly solid but got blasted by William Campbell. Schofield struggled some in pass protection, but picked it up as the day went on. As far as backups go, the walk-ons played like walk-ons do, outside of Burzynski. Graham Glasgow doesn't know how to pull. Kristian Mateus looks downright skinny. Erik Gunderson might be able to play in a pinch. Chris Bryant looked solid in the running game. Jack Miller still lacks size. Barnum must stay healthy this season.
With the WRs, you said, "[Gallon's] going to be a tough matchup." Just curious, how so?
ReplyDeleteHe's a good player and very tough, absolutely. Do you mean he'll be a tough matchup just in that he'll be good? Or do you mean some kind of specific mismatch advantage for him?
Why did we move Ricardo Miller to TE again? We need a possession WR and he has the size to play WR. We have a weakness at WR that he could fill but instead we'd rather have him play out of position at TE where he's too small to block. That makes no sense. Also, had Michigan listed him as purely a WR they might have recruited another TE last year.
ReplyDeleteCould you maybe do a post on the 5 or 10 freshman you think will make a difference this fall?
Miller is now almost 240 pounds and he's 6'4". He's not too small to block (especially at U-back); he just needs to work on technique and strength. He's a matchup nightmare at TE, but he doesn't have the speed for receiver.
DeleteIf 5 or 10 freshmen make a difference this fall, we're either in trouble or pulled in the best recruiting class in history.
I'll include freshmen on my countdown to the season, so we'll see where they rank. I doubt 10 freshmen are going to make a difference this fall, though.
Delete@David,
DeleteMiller may have the size, but it doesn't sound like he has whatever else it takes. The best blocker among the RBs is supposedly Smith, and Odoms was one of the best among the WR in the last few years. Size isn't everything.
Miller doesn't have the speed to be a 'nightmare' for anyone, even though he used to be a WR. They put him at TE because LBs are the only people he has a prayer of getting separation against. We have plenty of other 'possession' WRs - like, most of our WRs.
I think Miller's just not a very good football player at this level. Happens to people all the time (like J.B. Fitzgerald). Not sure it's anyones fault.
Just for fun - my guess at 6 freshman who will make a significant contribution
Delete1. Pipkins - should play in the DL rotation by October
2. Kalis - key backup on OL, can't afford to red-shirt him
3. Williams - big void at TE. Just has to beat the walk-ons to play
4. Darboh - coaches obviously not happy with current group as a whole
5. Bolden - only if Demens is hurt, but could make special teams noise too.
6. Norfleet - bet he returns kicks, and does it well
Which of the freshman do you think will be most likely to contribute on offense?
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing Magnuson/Braden (backup at either tackle) and Kalis (backup at either guard) are on the 2-deep by September 1.
I also think that if AJ Williams shows up as a solid blocker at the point of attack and Funchess can show some pass-catching/playmaking ability they could both contribute early.
I'd also guess that if either Darboh or Chesson show some ability to seperate from corners and catch balls either one of them could make an impact.
What are your thoughts?
I think one of the receivers will play; whether it's Darboh or Chesson (or both), I don't know. The coaches are going to start out Kalis at right tackle, and I'd put him ahead of Magnuson/Braden. We don't really need a freshman backup at guard unless someone gets hurt. I also think both tight ends have a chance to play. Andrew has an interview with Devin Funchess scheduled to be posted on Tuesday, but he's expecting to see the field this fall.
DeleteSome are saying Funchess could play WR as a freshman. Hard for me to believe that, but stranger things have happened.
DeleteWhich of the freshman do you think will be most likely to contribute on offense?
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing Magnuson/Braden (backup at either tackle) and Kalis (backup at either guard) are on the 2-deep by September 1.
I also think that if AJ Williams shows up as a solid blocker at the point of attack and Funchess can show some pass-catching/playmaking ability they could both contribute early.
I'd also guess that if either Darboh or Chesson show some ability to seperate from corners and catch balls either one of them could make an impact.
What are your thoughts?
@ gobluintx
ReplyDeleteI just think Gallon is going to fight for balls and fight to get open. He reminds me a lot of Martavious Odoms. I don't think he's going to be a superstar but he makes some key plays for us.
@ KB
ReplyDeleteRicardo Miller is/was too slow to play wideout. You could see in his senior year at Pioneer that he didn't have what it would take.
Enjoyed both these spring write-ups. Nice work.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Delete