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| This is my favorite picture of Jake Ryan. |
Regardless, I think Ryan is best suited for middle linebacker. He seems to do a good job of diagnosing plays and taking good angles toward the ballcarrier. He has a solid frame and could easily play at 240 or 245.There are a couple other things in that article that turned out to be inaccurate (for example, he has turned out to be a sure tackler, though his high school wrist injury may have been a reason for questioning that area), but I generally agree with this move. Ryan has the body of an excellent middle linebacker, and while taking on lead blocks from a fullback might be a question mark, he has shown an ability to evade blockers on the edge.
The biggest thing this does for Michigan's defense is putting the Wolverines' best front seven player (and perhaps best defender overall) in the middle of the field always and forever. Spread teams or even just a spread formation would put Ryan on the edge covering a slot receiver whenever the offense wanted him out there. That took away chances for him to blitz, and it took away chances for him to help in the run game unless the offense attacked his side. Now he can be utilized as an inside rusher - which he has done well on the rare occasion he lined up there at SAM - and he can play the run from sideline to sideline.
What does the depth chart look like now? A lot of this is speculation, of course, since the coaches aren't going to release a depth chart right now or go through all 100+ players on the roster. There are two ways to look at this, in my opinion.
- We like our philosophy, but Jake Ryan is a playmaker and needs to be in the middle.
- Our philosophy needs to be tweaked, so we'll put bigger guys in the middle and hybrid types at SAM.
Number two is more likely, and Webb has said this move means former weakside linebacker James Ross will be playing SAM. This means more of a change in philosophy to *gulp* the ways of Greg Robinson. Robinson, of course, turned safety Stevie Brown into a pretty good outside linebacker in 2009. Ross's frame can't handle much more weight, so we appear to be looking at a guy who's going to have to set the edge with his quickness and not brute strength. Operating under the assumption that #2 is what Michigan's coaches are thinking, here's a mix of what I've heard and what I surmise:
- SAM linebacker: James Ross, Allen Gant
- MIKE linebacker: Jake Ryan, Desmond Morgan
- WILL linebacker: Joe Bolden, Ben Gedeon
I'm not going to bother with officially predicting what happens with the true freshmen, because for all we know, these position changes won't stick beyond the spring. And once Jake Ryan graduates, maybe the coaches will return to the old ways.
I do not expect this move to affect Brennen Beyer, who is expected to be a defensive end; he's more effective at setting the edge rather than playing in space.
Here's a Premature Two-Deep Depth Chart In Progress:
Here's a Premature Two-Deep Depth Chart In Progress:
WDE: Frank Clark, Mario Ojemudia
DT: Willie Henry, Chris Wormley
NT: Ondre Pipkins, Maurice Hurst
SDE: Brennen Beyer, Taco Charlton
DT: Willie Henry, Chris Wormley
NT: Ondre Pipkins, Maurice Hurst
SDE: Brennen Beyer, Taco Charlton
SAM: James Ross, Allen Gant
MIKE: Jake Ryan, Desmond Morgan
WILL: Joe Bolden, Ben Gedeon
CB: Blake Countess, Jabrill Peppers
CB: Raymon Taylor, Channing Stribling
FS: Jarrod Wilson, Jeremy Clark
SS: Dymonte Thomas, Delano Hill
MIKE: Jake Ryan, Desmond Morgan
WILL: Joe Bolden, Ben Gedeon
CB: Blake Countess, Jabrill Peppers
CB: Raymon Taylor, Channing Stribling
FS: Jarrod Wilson, Jeremy Clark
SS: Dymonte Thomas, Delano Hill
I like it ..... a lot.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm betting that Desmond Morgan moves to Will or Sam before this is settled and that our starters remain the same, they just go out there and line up at different spots. Morgan is far too productive to be standing over there next to Mattison on the sidelines.
Mike - Ryan, Gedeon
Will - Morgan, Bolden
Sam - Ross, Gant who will be pushed aside by Gedeon, Morgan or Bolden if Ross goes down.
I agree with your statement on Morgan. Maybe he gest 70% of the snaps to 30% for Bolden.
DeleteThen, I hate to bring it up, the injury bug has to always be considered, as we have seen oh so much lately.
I don't see Morgan bumping out to SAM, but maybe I'm wrong. I could see him potentially playing WILL, since he's been there before.
DeleteYeah, I agree that Morgan hasn't the wheels to play Sam.
DeleteOn the other hand, I happened upon my barely credible and extremely tenuous acquaintance at Schembechler last night who offered that Gareon Conley is, and I'm quoting here, "Big and fast".
Good.
Still I don't see anyone on this roster moving a heady (former QB) and proven three year starter to the sidelines, quickness issues or not.
Did you mean to say that Ben Gedeon is "big and fast"?
DeleteYes, my bad.
DeleteAgain, I should never multi task as I'm not that solid doing just one thing at a time.
Is thinking along the lines of a Sean Lee from a speed/size combo... would that be a good comparison for what we're going for with this move? Because that's what I'm thinking could be a fantastic result of this move... Sean when healthy always seemed like he was around the ball for PSU and then the Cowboys.
ReplyDeleteHe may become more of a factor for opposing coaches if they can't move out of the middle with formations... quick stuff to the outside and I bet he's still getting to the play quickly.
I can see Sean Lee as a pretty good comparison for what Jake Ryan brings to the table athletically, although as far as technique and such, I can't really say since I haven't watched Lee closely.
DeleteA two deep full of scholarship players with some experience. I didn't think that was allowed at Michigan?
ReplyDeleteWe actually had quite a bit of experience on the Defense side last year and they regressed if you look at the complete body of work.
DeleteIf we have another down year, I say its time to look for some young/ new blood and let Mattison retire gracefully.
I don't think we did have a lot of experience on defense last year. The starters were experienced, but the guys who were second on the depth chart were often very green (Lewis, Stribling, Gedeon, Wormley, Charlton, Henry, etc.).
DeleteCorrect me if I'm mistaken, but isn't SAM the position that gets swapped out by the nickle CB in a spread formation if possible? If so, maybe the idea is that you don't want Jake Ryan and Jabrill Peppers competing for playing time. In fact, I'd imagine you want to be able to dial up blitz packages that send Ryan up a gap and Peppers off the slot Woodson style.
ReplyDeleteI don't really think Ryan/Peppers competing for playing time is a concern at all. The coaches usually found a way for Ryan to stay on the field, typically by moving him to WDE in nickel situations. Yes, the "position" disappears in the nickel, but the player doesn't have to leave the field.
DeleteWhy would they not keep Ross at WILL, and instead move Bolden to SAM? I feel like this wouldn't put Ross, who has been a great playmaker from his WILL spot, at a size disadvantage at SAM while also putting Bolden in a position to be a full time starter next year. Also Bolden is currently listed at 6-3 225-230 depending on where you look, is pretty similar to Ryan 6-3 240 in build and would be better fit to set the edge. Plus, taking Bolden out for Peppers(assuming) on Nickle packages is a great 1 for 1 swap. which keeps Ross(Great Diagnostics), Ryan(Best Playmaker), and Peppers(X-factor, supposedly good coverage and blitz ability but I want to wait and see) on the field. Morgan splits time with Ross or bumps down inside if Ryan needs a play off.
ReplyDeleteIf there is indeed a change of philosophy where you want a quicker guy out there against spread formations, then it wouldn't make a ton of sense to put Bolden out there on the edge. It might make sense against power running teams (MSU, Wisconsin, etc.), but not against the Ohio States and Purdues of the world.
DeleteWhy would they not keep Ross at WILL, and instead move Bolden to SAM? I feel like this wouldn't put Ross, who has been a great playmaker from his WILL spot, at a size disadvantage at SAM while also putting Bolden in a position to be a full time starter next year. Also Bolden is currently listed at 6-3 225-230 depending on where you look, is pretty similar to Ryan 6-3 240 in build and would be better fit to set the edge. Plus, taking Bolden out for Peppers(assuming) on Nickle packages is a great 1 for 1 swap. which keeps Ross(Great Diagnostics), Ryan(Best Playmaker), and Peppers(X-factor, supposedly good coverage and blitz ability but I want to wait and see) on the field. Morgan splits time with Ross or bumps down inside if Ryan needs a play off.
ReplyDeleteWhy would they not keep Ross at WILL, and instead move Bolden to SAM? I feel like this wouldn't put Ross, who has been a great playmaker from his WILL spot, at a size disadvantage at SAM while also putting Bolden in a position to be a full time starter next year. Also Bolden is currently listed at 6-3 225-230 depending on where you look, is pretty similar to Ryan 6-3 240 in build and would be better fit to set the edge. Plus, taking Bolden out for Peppers(assuming) on Nickle packages is a great 1 for 1 swap. which keeps Ross(Great Diagnostics), Ryan(Best Playmaker), and Peppers(X-factor, supposedly good coverage and blitz ability but I want to wait and see) on the field. Morgan splits time with Ross or bumps down inside if Ryan needs a play off.
ReplyDelete4 offensive linemen in 2 years is nowhere near good enough. A college football team should recruit one player per position every year. Michigan should have brought in, at minimum, 8-10 offensive linemen in that period.
ReplyDeleteThere is a potential crater waiting in 2013 unless Hoke fixes it. The line, as it stands now, will be: Lewan - ?? - Pace - Bryant - Schofield, with Miller, Posada, Braden, Stacey and Gunderson as backups. That's. It.
If you want to declare that "good recruiting," go right ahead. That's terrifying recruiting, in my book.
@Thunder - I dug up this old post from mgoblog and you were spot on!
Thanks!
DeleteI'm hoping Poggi is in the mix this year.
ReplyDeleteThe next time someone pegs a recruit for a specific LB position or gets bent out of same because we have too many WILs and not enough SAMs (or vice versa), they should be reminded of these moves.
ReplyDeleteGordon, Beyer, Ryan, Ross, Gant, Morgan, Bolden - all these guys have moved around.
Most people are recruited for position groups, the coaches will figure out the details later.