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| Jadeveon Clowney is the pre-season favorite for the Bednarik Award |
Deion Barnes - DE - Penn State
C.J. Barnett - S - Ohio State
Chris Borland - LB - Wisconsin
Jonathan Brown - LB - Illinois
Max Bullough - LB - Michigan State
Ha-ha Clinton-Dix - S - Alabama
Jadeveon Clowney - DE - South Carolina
Darqueze Dennard - CB - Michigan State
Ra'Shede Hageman - DT - Minnesota
Bennett Jackson - CB - Notre Dame
Jamal Merrell - LB - Rutgers
James Morris - LB - Iowa
Louis Nix III - DT - Notre Dame
Bradley Roby - CB - Ohio State
Ryan Shazier - LB - Ohio State
Prince Shembo - LB - Notre Dame
Yawin Smallwood - LB - Connecticut
Stephon Tuitt - DE - Notre Dame
Let's just cut the pretense of suspense and give the trophy to Clowney.
ReplyDeleteWould Jake Ryan be on here if he hadn't gotten injured?
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ReplyDeleteHate to say it, but this is a big reason why this team is probably not likely to win more than 8-9 games this year. Multiple teams we play have multiple guys on this list, and we have none. Without big-time, impact players, wins come a lot harder and upsets are a lot more likely. The difference in a close game is the difference between a Jadeveon Clowney and a Jabreel Black, as we saw all too clearly.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, we have guys who MAY develop into defensive stars this year, but what you have to remember is, so do ND, OSU, MSU, etc., in addition to the players they have that are already stars. Hopefully we will keep getting the pieces in place, though, and be ready for a big season next year.
Ohio State and Notre Dame are both probable losses if I'm being objective, but the only other team with multiple players on this list is Michigan State...and that is a very winnable game.
DeleteWell, it's not just playing against those teams directly where we're handicapped. It's us having a tougher time playing teams like Nebraska, Northwestern or Penn State without the advantage of any star-caliber players. And of course, the goal is to have OSU and ND be probable wins, and to think of MSU as a walk, and not "winnable", at least if we want to be taken seriously as a NC contender.
DeleteWell, we're probably not a national championship contender. Let's get that out of the way right now. Not with a young interior offensive line, our best defensive player hurt, and no obvious stars in the defensive backfield. That doesn't mean Michigan can't win 10 or 11 games. Defensively, the whole has been better than its parts for the past couple years. How else would Michigan have put together the crews it had with its best player being Mike Martin in 2011? The best defensive products in that time - outside of Jake Ryan - have been Martin, a DT who was drafted as an OG (Will Campbell), and a bunch of undrafted free agents (Kovacs, Roh, Van Bergen, etc.).
DeleteMichigan State has had some underachieving players the past couple years (Will Gholston, the linebacker whose name slips my mind at the moment, etc.). Just because they have two guys on this list doesn't mean they'll play up to that level.
Well, no...we're definitely not a NC contender this year....that's the point. We have no elite players on defense, and only one on offense. We really don't have any position where we're among the best in the country. And while our defense has been solid the last couple years, it hasn't been the kind that will carry the team and really dominate people. 19 wins in two seasons isn't bad, but at least 3-4 of those wins could easily have gone the other way. Without proven talent and strong play on both lines (which we can't really project), winning 10-11 games will depend on a fair amount of luck again. With our talent on paper, 9 wins is more realistic.
DeleteHistorically, you could argue that UM has never really won with big names on defense, so not having a bunch of guys on watch-lists is typical. 2013 should be UM's best defense in years because they have depth at every level and the top 2012 recruits will start to assert themselves.
DeleteYou're telling me the 97 national championship defense didn't have some big names on it? You're telling me the 2006 defense didn't have some big names on it?
Delete...Because there were a lot of big names on both of those teams.
The only elite "player" UM has is Coach Mattison. And that's a pretty important one, to me. This will be the last year that UM doesn't have multiple players on this list. I'm ready for CMU now. This year should be fun.
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