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| Keith Heitzman |
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 271 lbs.
High school: Hilliard (OH) Davidson
Position: Tight end
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #92
Last year: I ranked Heitzman #26 and said he would start at SDE with 25 tackles and 2 sacks. He started seven games and made 8 tackles and .5 tackles for loss.
I overestimated Heitzman's contributions last year. I thought his defensive tackle-ness would make him a solid 5-tech starter, and his high-effort attitude would make him a poor man's Ryan Van Bergen. Unfortunately, Heitzman isn't quite as bulky or athletic as Van Bergen. He began the year as the starter, but by the end of the season, weakside end Brennen Beyer had taken over the gig.
Heitzman moved to tight end in the off-season, partly because Jake Butt tore his ACL and Jordan Paskorz left with a year of eligibility remaining. He lacks some natural athleticism, so it would be a mistake to expect him to turn into a receiving threat. However, I think he's more aggressive and stronger than the other tight ends, including A.J. Williams. Williams has more experience, but by the end of the year, I believe Heitzman will be the more effective blocker of the two. Even if he's not, the challenge to Williams may spur both their efforts in a competition for playing time.
Prediction: Starting "blocking tight end" by end of season; 1 catch for 8 yards
This may sound like an empty statement, but I think Heitzman is a good _football_ player. Slightly more specifically, I just think he has a good feel for the game. Despite his obvious limitations in the size and athleticism categories (both obviously important), I wouldn't be surprised to see him become an effective blocker.
ReplyDeleteMostly agree, but his size isn't a problem at either TE or DE
DeleteHis size was definitely a problem at DE. After spring of '12, GMatt was quoted along the lines of "good player, just wish he were bigger". SDE in the old defense needed to be in the 280 lbs range. He just does not have a huge frame. Heitzman got up to where he was pushing 270, but I don't think it was easy for him (he complained about it in an interview) and believe he lost a step. He'll be much more nimble as a 250 lbs TE.
DeleteThe guy who replaced him weighs 256 - so it's probably not about weight as much as ability.
DeleteBeyer is a different kind of player. Strength is his strength and he plays bigger than his size against the run. Heitzman does not have the strength to play where he is undersized.
DeleteAlso, the new system puts more emphasis on being able to pass rush from the SDE, something Beyer does a much better job of than Heitzman.
DeleteSo, like I said - it's not size that is the problem for Heitzman, it's ability.
DeleteI've never been impressed with Beyer's pass rushing skills. I'd like to think it'll be better at SDE but I hoped for the same for Roh and he never showed it. I'm hoping he is pulled in obvious passing downs in favor of Ojemudia, Marshall, or Charlton...or maybe more Jake Ryan/LB-with-a-hand-down.
Actually been to practices and watched Kieth specifically. You are and will be very wrong regarding his receiving capabilities. The guy has pretty damn good hands. I would be surprised if he is a prolific deep seem threat but he used to play TE and should be a huge asset at this position.
ReplyDeleteI guess it's not clear in the post, but I'm not questioning his ability to catch passes - he looked good in the spring. What I do question, though, is whether he has the speed or agility for Doug Nussmeier to call plays on which Heitzman would be a primary read. I think he's more of a dump-off or bootleg type of guy.
DeleteHe did play TE in high school and his commitment post from MGoBlog states that he was initially being brought in as a TE, so there is some hope he will be able to pick up the intricacies of the position switch more easily than most players switching positions would. Probably won't light the world on fire, but should be a solid contributor.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe he was brought in as a TE. He was recruited by two defensive coaches (Mark Smith, Greg Mattison), and he was a DE from his true freshman year.
DeleteWould make sense, especially given we had an immediate need at TE as much as we did at DE his freshman season. Although it was posted at MGoBlog, the info about being recruited at TE came from one of the guys at Maize and Brew. If anything maybe the coaches mentioned that he could play either side but they were looking at him as a DE and that information got mistranslated to the blogging realm.
DeleteThis reminds me of that time you were wrong about pickles.
ReplyDeleteI doubt Heitzman passes Williams. It wouldn't be a shock given Williams hasn't looked good, but these need-based position switches are rarely immediately successfully. I'm hoping Williams figures things out under Nuss, as Heitzman has a lower ceiling.
But Heitzman has proven to be a serviceable football player - it's a shame he didn't start out at TE. Since he didn't, and he has at least two guys ahead of him in terms of experience and talent, AND given that TE is likely to be deemphasized this year -- this seems a bit high for a bit player.
@Lanknows: your comment re Heitzman starting as a TE made me look back at the state of the DL and TEs when he came in. We were hurting in both areas and the transition made it difficult to address those needs in Keith's 2011 class. The OL depth issue is something we discuss all the time for obvious reasons, but it's easy for people like me to forget how thin we were elsewhere as well. Unhappily, the coaches guessed wrong about which area would best be served by Heitzman.
ReplyDeletePhil
@Phil,
DeleteI agree with you BUT...the need for TE was there right away and could have been filled the second Barnett didn't pan out. Fast forward one year and if Funchess had been correctly pegged as a hopeless blocker and WR, the need at TE would have been even more acute. Furthermore, if Beyer had been at DE exclusively, developing for a Roh like evolution to SDE, Gant at SLB, etc., the need for DL would have been mitigated. One bad decision/player misevaluation can have a domino effect when you have a depth problem.
It's true the coaches don't have the benefit of hindsight, but there have been more position-switches than one would typically like to see, and some of them were openly called by fans and pundits outside of the staff. Furthermore, the staff has stockpiled depth at certain positions that leaves their judgement in question. Namely: H-back/FB -- a position that may or may not be utilized much has been invested in heavily, and we're now looking at potentially using guys like Hill and Shallman in some funky roles. Linebacker -- we have abundant depth here, for a position that is somewhat marginalized as spread offenses push defenses to more nickel packages. The coaching staff don't seem to currr, as we continue to recruit as though we need to field a veteran 3-deep at all 3 linebacker positions. It seems to me that we only need around 4 quality options at one time, but we already have Ryan, Ross, Morgan, Bolden, Gedeon with tons of reinforcements on the way (RJS, Ferns, Winovich, Gant, McCray, Wangler, and maybe some of the bigger Safety candidates should be in here too.) It's bordering on ridiculous, IMHO.
If there were more depth at DE/OLB, I believe both Heitzman and Beyer would have moved to TE earlier in their careers. In hindsight, moving one of them prior to the '12 season would have been a wise move, as TE blocking has been a huge negative the last two years. But it is tough to fault the coaches because the defense was so thin as well. Frank Clark was a nice win, but otherwise, not attracting pure DE's in the '10 and '11 classes was a problem that UM is only now starting to recover from.
Delete@Painter Smurf and @Lanknows--I agree w/Painter Smurf's assessment 100%. Lanknows is right that there was some whiffing going on in identifying positioning early but I think that reflects the depth issue more than poor coaching. You can tinker with moving a QB to TE (Jay Riemersma) or DT to OG (Steve Hutchinson) and look like a genius when they go to the NFL when you aren't saddled with a zero percent margin of error due to no back-ups.
DeletePhil
Heitzman's position is more of a quibble than a complaint. It wasn't the right move, but it was a reasonable one. Yeah - DE and to an extent the entire DL depth was a problem in 2012 and Heitzman proved to be competent. It's a shame Wormley got hurt and Godin/Strobel weren't ready to help as true freshman but you can't count on that anyway. It would have been nice if Black (who seemed like a natural SDE) and Beyer could have manned the position, but that only worked if Clark and Ojemudia locked down WDE and somebody like Ash stepped up to fill a role on the interior behind Campbell/Washington. Just too many questions at that time...
DeleteIn addition to the names you mentioned, whiffing on Paskorz, Wilkins, and Kinard in the 2010 class was a major problem. All of those guys were slated for WDE or SDE long term. I think Black and Rock were perceived as interior guys by the coaches long term - they were just banking on them bulking up.
DeleteThat "banking on them bulking up" thing seems to be a not-so-successful theme. But yeah, Wilkins and the others set the situation up. I don't entirely blame Rodriguez for not making guys work for Hoke's system, but those guys didn't look like quality players for any system. I had high hope for Wilkins...
DeleteI'm pretty sure you have mentioned his athleticism as a strength during his career here.
ReplyDelete