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| Mason Cole (image via Michigan Journal) |
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 275 lbs.
High school: Tarpon Springs (FL) East Lake
Position: Offensive line
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #52
Last year: Cole was a senior in high school. He was a 247 Composite 4-star, the #15 offensive guard, and #126 overall.
Final TTB Rating: 87
Cole committed to Michigan in February of 2013 and stuck with the Wolverines throughout their somewhat rough season. (At one time his teammate, wide receiver George Campbell, was committed to Michigan as a part of the 2015 class, but he has since decommitted.) On-field accomplishments are difficult to quantify for offensive linemen, but he was selected to play for the East in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, where he was chosen by Rivals as one of the top overall performers. Cole played guard and tackle throughout the week and in the game.
Immediately after the all-star game, he enrolled at Michigan for the winter semester and participated in spring practices. With injuries to various linemen - including projected starting left tackle Erik Magnuson - Cole earned the "start" at left tackle in the spring game. While I think he projects long-term to guard, he looked athletic enough at tackle but still looked a little thin. In a normal year, I would be expecting all true freshman linemen to redshirt, but Michigan's inexperience on the offensive line means anything could happen. Kyle Bosch played as a true freshman last season, and it's possible that Cole follows suit. Magnuson is expected to be healthy for the beginning of the season, and the Wolverines have some experience at the interior positions now, so I don't expect Cole to reprise his role as a starter at any point this fall unless injuries occur. However, he could provide depth at a number of positions and be a mid-season fill-in, much like Bosch did a year ago.
Prediction: Backup offensive lineman
87. I also agree that he can easily become All-Big Ten and an invaluable player for our line, but I hope as hell that he gets to redshirt.
ReplyDeleteDo you think he'll actually get his red-shirt burnt????
ReplyDeleteYes, I do. Michigan is very thin at tackle. If we stay completely healthy, there's a chance that he doesn't burn it. But from the way it looks, a rolled ankle for Magnuson or Braden could very well result in Cole coming on the field.
DeleteLast year's OL stunk and they cycled through every playable option, including walk-ons and true freshman. The fact that Braden wasn't in this group is telling. My take on Braden is almost exactly the same as my take on Miller last year, when everyone was writing his name in as the presumed starter. Don't count on it.
Delete...and don't tell me he was blocked by Schofield. Clearly Schofield had the ability to play guard if needed.
Although you are absolutely correct to be concerned that Braden didn't get a look at all, maybe the coaches felt that got better utility out of Schofield at T than they would at G, so, even if Braden was marginally better than the other options on the interior, we might have lost out on total. And Schofield might have not wanted to play G since his Pro position appears to T, although Denver did draft him on his versatility on the OLine. Obviously, very optimistic takes on the situation. We will definitely see what happens, and let's hope it's good or at least solid.
DeleteMaybe, but the moves last year smelled of desperation. They seemed to throw every remotely capable body they had into a starting role.
DeleteBarring a serious rash of injuries, it would be foolish to play him this year. We should have more than enough depth this year and not need Cole as a backup.
ReplyDeleteHe already looks better than Logan Tuley-Tillman. Playing a backup tackle means you play Tuley-Tillman, bump Glasgow out to tackle, bump Dawson over to tackle, or you burn a freshman's redshirt. Pick your poison.
DeleteI know this is a hard question, but do you think that this year's OL will be better than last years?
ReplyDeleteThe personnel is clearly downgraded, so the only reason to expect it to improve is coaching.
DeleteAlso, bump in experience and age/size with three of the starters and then the backups. Obviously the tackles will have less experience and developed talent. Plus, the TE blocking situation should be better if Williams develops, Butt comes back healthy, and/or Heitzman can play TE. The inability of the TE's to block well didn't do the OLine any favors last year.
DeleteThere is less experience on the OL this year than last. The starts/years lost at tackle vastly exceed the experience on the interior.
DeleteWe all thought the TE blocking would be better last year too, but it really wasn't. It's one of the biggest development issues on the team.
I think the 2014 offensive line will be marginally better overall, if only because you can't be much worse. That being said, there is lots of talent on the offensive line, and I believe Nussmeier will call games simply enough to make things work.
Delete"you can't be much worse" -- that's exactly what people said going into last year!
DeleteHope lies primarily in Nuss working magic. And there was that 'study' on MGoBlog a while back that said interior OL experience was more important than at OT. So we got that going for us, I guess...to vague hopes and amateur analytics!
I think Glasgow would move to tackle and Kugler start at center before Cole would play. Two long term OL injuries, and Cole might play.
ReplyDeleteProbably easier to start a young guy at tackle than at center.
DeleteTrue, but Kugler does have a year in the program (obviously under a different playbook so that makes it less of an advantage) whereas Cole is a true freshman. Plus, Kugler is more physically developed.
DeleteI think Kugler is a leading candidate to start this year at some point, but if he was ready I think they would have already moved Glasgow. I'm not even sure Kugler will start vs App St.
DeleteI could see a situation where Miller starts for App St, but Glasgow retains the spot going forward. Then, if Braden wins the RT spot and if he then struggles at the spot, the coaches could move Glasgow out to RT and move Kugler into starting C about halfway through the season, after hopefully having the opportunity to give him some significant garbage time playing. Although this would probably be bad, it could be less of an issue than inserting Boesch last season because it would be logical to give Kugler more time to learn the playbook and get a feel for the speed of the college game.
DeleteOf course these hypotheticals and speculation are fun during the offseason, especially before fall camp. We shall see what the season brings.
I could see that. But yeah, it's wild-guess season and OL is particularly uncertain.
DeleteWow - this seems really low for a guy being hyped as a potential starter. I'd guess he either starts or red-shirts, which makes him hard to rank, but at this point it seems like Braden is still too far away and the other options at RT have as much experience as Cole. That's before any injuries occur... I think he'll have a similar season to Bosch, if he isn't starting from day 1. I'd rank him in the late 30s.
ReplyDeleteYou'd guess he starts? Really? The starting lineup WILL BE Magnuson. Kalis. Glasgow (Miller for the first game). Bosch. Braden.
DeleteCole is not starting.
That's the consensus best-guess. One year ago the consensus best-guess was dead wrong.
DeleteI don't think we necessarily thought TE blocking was going to improve from 2011-2012 to 2012-2013. We lost the former walk-on TE (whose name I am blanking on now) who was very solid. We replaced his starting position with a sophomore Williams and Funchess and with a freshman Butt. If you are saying that we expected the position to not block terribly last year, you are most certainly right about that.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Williams did not improve, Funchess was clearly not a TE, and Butt was an underweight freshman. Although the additions are only Bunting (who will probably struggle with blocking), Hill (RS FR who lacks size), and Heitzman (hasn't practiced blocking in a while), it is reasonable to expect some progression from Williams and Butt. Williams might not improve much and Butt does have the ACL tear (will probably affect his speed and agility in the passing game more so) but there will be some progression. Factor in more 3 WR sets forcing LB's and S's from the box, I think we can reasonably expect some progression from the TE position (since less 2 TE sets). We also have more FB/H-back types to utilize.
I think you're right that we cannot expect excellence, but some progression is not unreasonable. This will help the OLine.
I believe Mike Kwiatkowski is the name you're looking for.
DeleteI liked what I saw out of Heitzman in the spring. I think he might surprise some people as a blocker. I would not be entirely surprised if he passes A.J. Williams on the depth chart at some point, if not to begin the year.
I think most people thought Kwiatkowski was replaceable since our blocking TE would no longer be a freshman. Williams didn't really improve though. Maybe he will this year, maybe not. Butt is fighting through a major injury so assuming he'll get better is fairly optimistic.
DeleteMaybe Heitzman will provide an upgrade, but most times you're counting on a guy changing positions it's good to keep hopes in check. Especially one moving from D to O.
The key to getting guys out of the box is proving you can beat them through the air. Without Gallon around, and with an unproven OL, that's not easy to do. Nussmeir has his work cut out for him, but does have some nice talent to work with, especially at QB.
The glimmer of hope in regards to Heitzman is that he played TE in high school and was also considered a possible TE recruit. Plus, being from D means he will probably relish hitting people. However, you're right about to be skeptical because technique will probably be lacking and he probably is going to be one dimensional, which makes it easier for defense to know what's coming when he is out there.
Delete