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| Josh Furman blocked this punt against Nebraska in 2011 |
Furman committed to Michigan in December 2009 over teams like Oklahoma and Virginia Tech. I did not write a commitment post for him at the time, as the blog was still in its infancy stages. However, I did write a scouting report on him the previous month. At the time, I assumed he would bulk up and turn into a linebacker, and once he signed with the Wolverines, I thought he would play on the weakside. You may notice that I questioned his coverage abilities and said he would be too stiff to play defensive back in college. Players who move back in a defense (from DE to LB, or from LB to S) tend to struggle more, and Furman is no exception. He had the potential to be a quality linebacker for the Wolverines, but he turned into a below average safety.
Furman never added the weight to become a linebacker and finished his Michigan career as a 6'2", 202 lb. safety. With starting safety Thomas Gordon suspended to begin the year, Furman made his first career start in the opener and went on to start three games this past season. Altogether, he finished with 11 tackles and 1 pass breakup on the season. In 30 games played over his career, he totaled 29 tackles and the 1 pass breakup. Most of those tackles came on special teams coverage, which was perhaps the best trait he provided to Michigan during his career.
It is unclear where Furman will end up, but most players end up transferring closer to home. Perhaps he'll end up at Maryland or Temple, or he might even move down a level to play in the FCS. He's the 19th member of the 27-man 2010 class to depart before running out of eligibility.
Michigan is left rather thin at safety with Furman's departure and the graduations of Thomas Gordon and Courtney Avery. The Wolverines return one starter in the form of junior Jarrod Wilson, but other contributions will have to come from untested players like redshirt sophomore Jeremy Clark, sophomore Dymonte Thomas, sophomore Delano Hill, position switchers, or freshmen. My initial expectation is that Wilson and Thomas will be the starters at safety next season.
Furman is an athlete. He has amazing straight line speed. Wasn't too impressed with him coming out of a backpedal though. I always wanted them to try him out at receiver solely because our talent there has been a bit lacking. Hemmingway was solid, not spectacular. Gallon was pretty darn good. Maybe lump roundtree into an "above average" receiver. I have problems believing Furman wouldn't be able to beat out Jackson, and I only base that off of his high school running back highlights.
ReplyDeleteLuckily, we don't have to worry about Jackson seeing the field anymore. I think just about every receiver on the roster is/was more talented than him.
DeleteYou evaluated Furman well, I think. Perhaps under a different staff, or with more secondary depth, Furman may have been pointed towards LB. It's a shame because it seemed like the had the physical talent to be a more than a special teams player.
ReplyDeleteRegarding next year - what makes you think Thomas will pass Clark? It seemed like the staff used Clark at safety more often, and Thomas was kept mostly at nickel. Plus Clark is bigger, which these coaches favor. I'm skeptical Thomas will be ready to step into a starting role at (almost) a new position.
My guess is that they may want to keep Thomas nickelback. If Clark isn't ready they'll Thomas at safety but also consider moving Raymon Taylor back, like they did with Avery, in order to get Stribling, Lewis, and maybe Peppers more opportunity.
I think Thomas already has passed Clark. Clark only played in one game on defense.
DeletePersonally, I think it's easier to work someone in at nickel back, even someone who's somewhat inexperienced. So I'd rather put Thomas at safety and one of the corners (Peppers?) at nickel. I would also be okay with trying Taylor back there, but I don't really trust his tackling ability.
My opinion is that experience is at a premium at safety. e.g., Wilson looked so much better as a soph than a freshman.
DeleteEveryone says nickel is easier to break in at (simpler), which I can believe, but I'm not sure how much it helps you with playing safety. Seems like Clark played more at an actual safety position than Thomas (though he still didn't play a lot.)
That said - you'd think having 3 years of playing time would help Taylor even though it was at CB. At least he knows the pace of the game and has been through his share of mistakes.
I think ideally Wilson and Thomas would start leaving Peppers, Countess, and Taylor(at nickel) to play corner. But what happens if Thomas isnt ready. I think Peppers may get bumped to safety in that case. Especially given we have 2 experienced corners and Lewis/Stribling who played a lot last year. Any thoughts?
ReplyDeleteI don't like putting true freshmen at safety, even if they're as talented as Peppers. It leads to big plays.
DeleteReally hope guys like as D Thomas and Jarrod Wilson live up to their potentials and break out as 2~3rd year players.
ReplyDeleteThis one somewhat surprised me. I mean, he was no Kovacs and he got absolutely smoked by Braxton Miller in the OSU game, but the guy actually played a little. I figured ahead of time that Paskorz would be the one to leave while Furman and Ash stayed, but it turned out Paskorz is the only one staying (for now). Hopefully this means Thomas/Clark/Hill are ready to play this year.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how much of it is coaches choice ("we'll take Paskorz over Ash") as much as the kids choice. Some probably would rather move on than grind through another semester of practices just to be a backup. They either seek playing time elsewhere or start their professional careers.
DeleteOthers probably say F-it, this is my last season of organized football... the real world can wait a semester and going to Ferris State or whatever is a waste of my time.
I was always utterly unimpressed with Furman, and don't think he'll be missed any more than Ash. No real contribution in all the time he was here. Not sure what it is with this program, but we get plenty of high level recruits at safety, but can't seem to turn a single one of them into even a better-than-average player, let alone a star.
ReplyDeleteTime for this coaching staff to do a job, and show that they can make this position into what it needs to be. Frankly, as long as we are weak at safety, it's going to be very tough to have a championship-level defense. Time for Thomas to be a quality starter. Time for Hill to make an impact too. Clark, I frankly have little hope for. I'd be more optimistic about Dawson or Douglas sliding over to safety, since we'll have Countess, Taylor, Lewis, Stribling and possibly Peppers in the mix at CB.
Yup. So tired of seeing big plays in the backfield. I know we won't have highly-recruited upperclassmen-veteran backfield until 2015, but I really really hope guys start producing. I know our defensive secondary (Curt Mallory) coach might be leaving -- in that case, I really hope Brandon opens up the checkbook to get a top-notch coach.
DeleteWe are one injury away from starting a true freshman at Safety which once again is a scary thought!
ReplyDeleteIt isn't that grim. Depth isn't what it will be in the forceable future, but it is improved beyond that scenario.
DeleteWere I to bet, I'd go with Delano Hill, mostly because i get told about every other week that he's the real thing, but one of the tall corners should be a serviceable Safety as well. Jehu Chesson looks like he might want to hit a little, with all the Wide Receivers coming in, I'd absolutely love to hear about the 6'3" 195 lbs. Chesson getting a look at Safety.
Besides, while I was/am a decided fan of Furman's wheels, I can't dispute that his speed was regularly negated by his struggle to read the football game that was going on right in front of him.
Truth is, he's probably gone mostly because he had fallen a couple names down the depth chart. I kept hoping that the light would go on and he would turn into James Ross lite, but the thing James Ross has is to my way of thinking exactly as coachable as is size and speed. Which is to say only kind of.
I mostly hope the kid graduates and thrives.
Wilson, Thomas, Clark, Hill, maybe Taylor, Dawson, Stribling. If a true freshman plays at safety he will have earned the position, I would guess.
DeleteSorry man, but I couldn't take you seriously after the "chesson. . . Safety" line.
ReplyDeleteDo you seriously expect that our coaching staff would move the #2 returning receiver to defense?
I'm with you. We're not moving our top returning WR to safety anymore than we're moving Funchess to DE.
DeleteThunder, do you think Furman could have had success as a LB? I know it is pure speculation.
ReplyDelete