Brandon Moore, #87

Brandon Moore

HIGH SCHOOL
Moore attended Trotwood (OH) Trotwood-Madison and committed as a classmate of Roy Roundtree and Michael Shaw, but Moore committed in May 2007, several months before Lloyd Carr retired; the other two chose Michigan at the last minute in February.  Moore was the #8 tight end and #187 overall player to Rivals, but he was a 3-star and the #43 tight end to Scout.  He chose Michigan over offers from Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, and LSU, among others.  He had 20 receptions for 350 yards and 5 touchdowns as a junior, then added 518 yards and 4 touchdowns as a senior.

COLLEGE
Moore redshirted as a freshman in 2008.  During his redshirt freshman season in 2009, he played sparingly as a backup, gathering in 1 reception for 19 yards against Delaware State.  Still buried behind Kevin Koger and Martell Webb in 2010, Moore played in just two games.  With a dearth of tight ends on the roster in 2011, Moore played mostly as a blocker and special teamer, catching 1 pass for 9 yards against Purdue.  Most people presumed he would be the starter in 2012, and he indeed earned the job in the off-season, gaining the nod against Alabama in the season opener; unfortunately for him, he injured his knee and missed several weeks, giving way to walk-on Mike Kwiatkowski and freshman A.J. Williams.  He did not catch a pass during his senior year.

CAREER STATISTICS
2 receptions, 28 yards

AWARDS
#87 Legends jersey in honor of Ron Kramer

SUMMARY
Moore's high school highlights seem to have disappeared from the internet, but he was a guy that Trotwood-Madison split out wide to use him for his athleticism.  The transition from that to being an interior blocker never seemed to work for Moore.  His speed diminished as he added weight, and he was no longer a mismatch; therefore, he was an H-back in a Y-receiver's body.  I remember watching spring practice video from 2011 and being somewhat dismayed at the poor footwork of Moore, who was entering his redshirt junior year at the time.  It's somewhat difficult to put a finger on why someone like Moore wouldn't pan out in college - a kid with a reported 4.2 high school grade point average, who majors in Brain, Behavior, and Cognitive Science, who was an athletic, big receiver as a high schooler - but that's the way recruiting goes.  Some guys just don't have "it" when it comes to competing against other high-level FBS athletes.

I WILL REMEMBER HIM FOR . . . 
. . . his 19-yard reception against Delaware State.  For some reason, that image has always stuck in my mind, probably because it was the biggest play of Moore's career.

PROJECTION
Moore is a 6'5", 268 lb. tight end who produced very little as a collegiate athlete.  He lacks the athleticism and pedigree to make an impact at the next level.  I would even be mildly surprised if he gets signed as an undrafted free agent, and his football career is probably finished.

Video: Countdown to Kickoff 2012 - Day 13: Brandon Moore

2012 Season Countdown: #27 Brandon Moore

Brandon Moore

Name: Brandon Moore
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 261 lbs.
High school: Trotwood (OH) Trotwood-Madison
Position: Tight end
Class: Redshirt senior
Jersey number: #89
Last year: I ranked Moore #44 and said he would be the backup tight end.  He played in twelve games and caught 1 pass for 9 yards.

The time is now for Brandon Moore to turn his high school promise into college success.  Moore played very little during his first three seasons, playing mostly against overmatched opponents like Delaware State, against whom he caught his first career pass.  Between that 2009 game and Purdue in 2011, Moore didn't catch a single ball.  Expected to be pass catching tight end, Moore was mostly used as a blocker last season, and even that task proved to be onerous as Moore missed a key block against Michigan State in 2011 that got Denard Robinson blindsided.

I have no delusions that Moore will turn into a star tight end overnight.  What we've seen is likely what we'll get, for better or worse.  Departed starter Kevin Koger was versatile enough to play on the line or in the slot, and even played some fullback in the Senior Bowl, but Moore will mostly be used as an in-line blocker this season.  He added six pounds in the offseason, likely in an attempt to nail down the starting tight end job.  I expect that we'll see fewer tight ends this season, and the news that incoming freshman A.J. Williams showed up at 282 lbs. bodes unwell for challenging Moore's starting job.  It's Moore's job by default, which means I expect to see a lot of spread formations, single tight end formations, and quite a bit of Devin Funchess being used as an H-back type.  Not only does a spread offense suit Denard Robinson better, but it also helps Michigan avoid putting Williams and Jordan Paskorz on the field, neither of whom seem to be ready.  The tight end position won't be pretty this season, but hopefully Al Borges can work around it.

Prediction: Starting tight end; 12 receptions, 120 yards, 2 touchdowns

2012 Spring Game Review - Offense

Thomas Rawls (#38) looked pretty solid in today's spring game

QUARTERBACKS
Denard Robinson didn't play much.  We know what we have in Denard, and we're not going to know whether he can cut down on his interceptions until the fall.  Devin Gardner looked very athletic.  He seems to be faster and in better shape this year than last, but he struggled throwing the ball.  He tried to force some throws, but the receivers really struggled to get separation from the defensive backs.  That's probably why Gardner scrambled repeatedly, and he made the defense look silly at times.  Third stringer Russell Bellomy looked like what we've been expecting - a game manager type who can scramble a little and make check-down throws, but he seems to lack the requisite arm strength for pushing the ball downfield.

RUNNING BACKS
Fitzgerald Toussaint continues to look like a star on offense.  Backup Thomas Rawls looks faster and stronger to me than he did in the fall.  He seems like a viable #2 back and he runs angry.  You could tell when he got the ball that the defense stepped up its intensity a little bit, because those guys knew they were going to have a fight on their hands to get him down.  He did make a nice touchdown run early, but keep in mind that he ran through the tackle of backup free safety Jarrod Wilson, who should still be two or three months away from graduating high school.  Vincent Smith continues to be subpar running inside, but he caught the ball well.  To me it's a wasted rep when he's handed the ball to run up the middle.  Justice Hayes is in the same boat.  He doesn't have any mass or strength behind him.  If there's an injury to Toussaint or Rawls in the fall, the coaches are going to have to look at freshman Drake Johnson or maybe moving Hopkins back to tailback.

FULLBACKS
Hopkins and Kerridge looked pretty solid.  Michigan should be set at this position, especially with reinforcements coming in the form of Sione Houma.

WIDE RECEIVERS
As I mentioned above, the receivers really struggled to separate from the defensive backs.  We didn't see a whole lot of Roy Roundtree, but he and Jeremy Gallon looked decent.  I would not be surprised to see Gallon lead the team in receptions this season.  He's going to be a tough matchup.  After that nobody looked particularly impressive.  Jerald Robinson had an embarrassing drop, Jeremy Jackson is who he is, etc.  Games this season will continue to be won on the ground.

TIGHT ENDS
This continues to be a weak spot.  Brandon Moore didn't get any separation, and both Moore and Ricardo Miller struggled at the point of attack.  They were playing against some pretty good defenders - Craig Roh, Jake Ryan, Cam Gordon - but tight end will be a liability this season, in both the running and passing games. I don't think we'll see as many two- and three-tight end formations as we did last season.

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
Taylor Lewan is a very good left tackle.  The starter at left guard was Joey Burzynski.  All spring we've heard that Elliott Mealer was the front-runner for the left guard position, and I think that might still be the case.  I have no inside information on this, but I have a feeling that Burzynski's start was kind of a practical matter.  The coaches didn't want Lewan on the field much; with Michael Schofield as the primary backup at left tackle, they seemed to want Mealer to rotate in at right tackle when Schofield flipped.  Burzynski doesn't have the ability to play tackle.  Burzynski looked fair against the pass and somewhat ineffective in the running game.  Barnum blocked well, but he had two bad snaps because he failed to get the ball up to Denard before getting out of his stance.  That will be something to watch heading into the season.  Barnum also needs to speed up his shotgun snaps, which are noticeably slower than David Molk's.  He's also got to work on calling protections.  Omameh looked mostly solid but got blasted by William Campbell.  Schofield struggled some in pass protection, but picked it up as the day went on.  As far as backups go, the walk-ons played like walk-ons do, outside of Burzynski.  Graham Glasgow doesn't know how to pull.  Kristian Mateus looks downright skinny.  Erik Gunderson might be able to play in a pinch.  Chris Bryant looked solid in the running game.  Jack Miller still lacks size.  Barnum must  stay healthy this season.

Video: Brandon Moore interview

Spring Practice Thoughts and Rumors - Offense

Denard Robinson will need to be great again in 2012

A couple weeks into spring practices, here are some thoughts on the videos we've seen (here and here) and the buzz from practices:

Quarterback: Denard Robinson's athleticism is a given asset.  Some people say he looks faster this spring, and that might make sense, because I thought he looked a little slower in 2011 than he had in 2009 and 2010.  I'm not sure if it was conditioning, an injury, or a figment of my imagination, but he didn't seem to have the same acceleration.  His mechanics don't seem to have improved, but after three years of playing quarterback in college, I'm resolved to the fact that he will be throwing off his back foot until he's no longer playing the position.  Meanwhile, Devin Gardner has looked excellent in his limited highlight exposure.  He's in no danger of beating out Robinson, of course, but rumors suggest that he looks like a pretty good successor.  Practice rumors about Bellomy have suggested that he looks like a solid quarterback who lacks a little bit of arm strength, but the general buzz on him is that Michigan did a good job grabbing him as a sleeper.

Running back and fullback: Fitzgerald Toussaint seems to have the starting job locked down, and he has reportedly been getting a lot of time off during practices to a) rest, b) avoid injury, and c) let the backups develop.  That hasn't stopped MGoBlue.com from showing several nice runs of his.  The "every down backup" appears to be Thomas Rawls, which seems like a default, since Vincent Smith is a third-down back and Hayes probably is, too, at least for now.  Smith has looked good catching the ball out of the backfield, as always.  Meanwhile, Hayes has received a bit of practice buzz for his speed to the outside, but we have yet to see him on film.  There's not much depth for the spring, but keep in mind that two tailbacks and a fullback will be arriving on campus this summer.  Speaking of the fullback position, Stephen Hopkins is fitting in pretty nicely.  Coach Hoke said that he might have put on some bad weight in the off-season, but it doesn't seem to be too egregious.  "Insiders" have suggested that the fullback position will be used more frequently in the passing game this year.  Walk-on Joey Kerridge has also received some praise from the coaches, so he might be a backup option while incoming freshman Sione Houma redshirts/develops.

Wide receiver: We've known since the end of the 2011 season that this position group would be a question mark, and that has been corroborated by several people who have seen practices.  There's not one go-to guy, just a couple #2 or #3 guys.  Roy Roundtree has moved to flanker from split end, which puts him in a position to get the ball a little more.  At the flanker position, there are more route combinations to get him open and he is more likely to be the primary target.  (For those who don't know the difference, the split end is on the line of scrimmage and usually the single receiver to a side.  The flanker, on the other hand, is usually paired with a tight end, a slot guy, or some combination of those players in a trips formation.)  Jeremy Gallon has made some nice plays on film and is the odds-on favorite to start at split end, despite being only 5'8".  He doesn't have great speed, but he is shifty enough to make people miss if Denard Robinson can get him the ball in open space.  Jerald Robinson has continued to earn practice buzz and was picked by several outgoing seniors to be a breakout player this season, but he's a redshirt sophomore who has yet to make a catch; he's more of a jump ball guy than Roundtree or Gallon and could be a valuable asset to replace leaper extraordinaire Junior Hemingway.  Jeremy Jackson is what he is - slow but reliable.  Drew Dileo hasn't received any practice fanfare, really, but he's another kid who's probably going to be solid but unspectacular.  He proved to be valuable last year, kind of a glue guy who comes up with some important plays but won't knock your socks off.  There's definitely going to be a chance for the two freshmen to contribute this fall.  I still wish Michigan would have taken Devin Lucien, who is expected to be the #2 at UCLA, when they had a chance in the class of 2011.

Tight end: Brandon Moore seems to be "the guy" as much as an unspectacular fifth year senior who hasn't played/contributed much can be "the guy," but as I've warned before, keep an eye on walk-on Mike Kwiatkowski.  He might be the #2 guy when the season starts and might even steal some snaps from Moore.  We've also seen some clips of former linebacker Jordan Paskorz and former defensive end Chris Eddins, another walk-on, catching the ball.  None of the tight ends has been shown doing anything but catching the ball and getting tackled immediately.  Ricardo Miller, who will mostly play the H-back role, seems to be the "starter" at his position and has received some praise for being able to beat linebackers and the occasional safety.

Offensive line: This is a very solid starting group . . . and after that, we need to cross our fingers.  The starters seem to be Taylor Lewan, Elliott Mealer, Ricky Barnum, Patrick Omameh, and Michael Schofield (from left to right).  Jack Miller is the backup center, Chris Bryant is the backup guard, and Schofield is the backup at left tackle, in case anything happens to Lewan.  Bryant is a mauler in the running game who struggles a little bit against the pass, and Miller also has done fairly well, but neither one appears to be ready at this point.  The other backups are walk-ons, and the #2 offensive line has not been impressive as a unit, as one might expect.  A freshman or two will probably have a chance to nab a backup role in the fall.

Darryl Stonum, ex-Wolverine

Michigan's class of 2008 participants in the Under Armour All-America Game:
Darryl Stonum, Christian Wilson, Dann O'Neill, and Brandon Moore.

Wide receiver Darryl Stonum was booted off the team today.  I'm not going to go through his litany of legal issues, but he had some alcohol- and probation-related offenses in the past that caused him to be suspended for the entirety of the 2011 season.  Head coach Brady Hoke hoped that the suspension would give Stonum a chance to get his life in order, but that obviously wasn't the case.

Stonum's final season of eligibility would have been 2012, so he leaves with one year remaining.  He had 76 career receptions for 1,008 yards and 6 touchdowns in his three years of play, with a school single-season record of 1,001 kickoff return yards (94 of which came on a TD return against Notre Dame) in 2009.  It's unclear whether he will try to enter the NFL Draft or whether he will transfer to a lower division and play college ball next season.  My guess is that he will end up at an FCS school and try to make it to the NFL in 2013.

Michigan is now even thinner at wide receiver, a position that couldn't really afford further attrition.  Junior Hemingway, Martavious Odoms, and Kelvin Grady have played their final year at Michigan, leaving rising senior Roy Roundtree, rising junior Jeremy Gallon, rising junior Jeremy Jackson, rising junior Drew Dileo, and a bunch of young'ns who haven't seen the field at all; class of 2012 receivers Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh will have an even better chance of play this fall than they previously had.  Gallon is tiny, Jackson is slow, and Dileo is a little of both, so there's no clear-cut successor at the outside receiver position.

There are some more potential options in the class of 2012, with Cincinnati (OH) Moeller's Monty Madaris and Westlake Village (CA) Oaks Christian's Jordan Payton both flirting with Michigan.  Madaris had potentially eliminated Michigan from contention, but this opens the door to playing time a little quicker.  Meanwhile, Payton is "committed" to the California Golden Bears, but their lead recruiter Tosh Lupoi just left for the Washington Huskies and Payton is rethinking his pledge.  Of course, there's also the potential for more receivers to grab offers from Michigan or for the coaches to bank the scholarship for 2013.  However - and I questioned this at the time - Brady Hoke chose to bank a scholarship for 2012 instead of taking class of 2011 receiver Devin Lucien, who chose UCLA instead.  Lucien redshirted this past season for the Bruins, but he would have been another option for Michigan in 2012.

(I just happened to find the above picture interesting for its irrelevance to Michigan now.  Stonum was a huge disappointment and got booted, Wilson de-committed for North Carolina and now is a mediocre Tarheel H-back, O'Neill transferred to Western Michigan, and Brandon Moore has been an ineffective backup TE who has 2 career receptions.)

Tight Ends Preview: Michigan vs. Virginia Tech

Kevin Koger looks dapper in a suit that he stole from my closet.  He can keep the tie, though.
(image via Michigan Daily)

MICHIGAN
Starter: Senior Kevin Koger finished the season with 21 receptions for 235 yards (11.2 yards per catch) and 4 touchdowns.  Koger has had an up-and-down career after earning the starting TE job as a true freshman in 2008.  He has alternated amazing catches (see the 2009 Western Michigan game) with a frustrating number of drops.  However, he's a solid and willing blocker who can be effective in the running game as an in-line blocker or in open space.
Backups: Fifth year senior Steve Watson has been the second tight end for most of the season.  Watson has previously played outside linebacker and defensive end, too, before switching back to TE prior to the 2011 season; Watson's only career reception was a 9-yard touchdown against Northwestern.  Redshirt junior Brandon Moore also caught 1 pass for 9 yards this season, but not for a touchdown.  Moore is used mostly in short yardage and goal line situations.

VIRGINIA TECH
Starter: Fifth year senior Chris Drager is a 6'4", 264 lb. former defensive end.  He started 11 games at defensive end in 2010 (stats: 34 tackles, 2 sacks) before switching to offense during the offseason.  As one might expect from a former defensive player, he's a solid blocker, although his 14 total receptions for 186 yards (13.3 yards per catch) and 2 touchdowns aren't too imposing.
Backups: Redshirt sophomore Eric Martin is a 6'2", 269 lb. blocking tight end with 2 catches for 17 yards (8.5 yards per catch) and 1 touchdown.  Randall Dunn and George George (no, that's not a typo) have combined for 3 receptions, 47 yards, and 1 touchdown.

THE TAKEAWAY
The edge in athleticism goes to Kevin Koger, who not only has better stats but fits Michigan's spread-ish offense well and can get in the way downfield.  Koger also has the ability to stretch the field with his above average speed.  The Hokies' tight ends have a size advantage (all three Michigan tight ends are between 255-258 lbs.) and are effective blockers for running back David Wilson.  Since it's tough to gauge blocking ability compared to receiving skills, I think a slight edge goes to . . .
Advantage: Michigan

Michigan at Michigan State Awards

Devin Gardner (#7) scrambles, but to no avail.
(image via MGoBlue.com)

Let's see more of this guy on offense . . . Devin Gardner.  I'm not saying more as in he should be the starter, but I do like what Al Borges is doing with Gardner.  I don't typically like two-quarterback platoons, but Gardner is a more skilled passer than Denard Robinson.  He made some gaffes on Saturday (getting sacked on fourth down, making an illegal forward pass, etc.), but he also threw some nice balls and made some plays with his legs.  People keep saying that Robinson is a threat to go all the way on every play, but if opponents put eight or nine decently talented guys in the box, Robinson won't have any running room.  And until he proves that he can beat a team with his arm, Michigan needs to work in a passing threat.  Personally, I'm enjoying the plays when Gardner is at quarterback and Robinson lines up in the backfield or at wide receiver.

Let's see less of this guy on offense . . . the second tight end, whether it's Steve Watson or Brandon Moore.  If the offensive line isn't going to get a push and if Michigan can't run it out of the I-formation, then I think the Wolverines need to get their best eleven on the field.  Junior Hemingway, Roy Roundtree, and Jeremy Gallon are all playmakers, and Kevin Koger is valuable in a lot of ways with his speed, athleticism, blocking, and leadership.  Those four players plus some combination of Denard Robinson, Devin Gardner, Fitzgerald Toussaint, Vincent Smith, and Michael Shaw need to be on the field the vast majority of the time.

Let's see more of this guy on defense . . . Cam Gordon.  Gordon returned to action this week after a nagging back injury caused him to miss the first six games of the season.  In his stead Jake Ryan has made a name for himself as a playmaker at SAM linebacker, but Ryan does have his flaws; he's prone to both making and allowing big plays.  Ryan has to get quicker at reading offensive plays, maintaining the edge, and using his hands to disengage from blockers.  Gordon might not be an immediate upgrade, but perhaps he can help.  It was clear against MSU that Ryan's other backups aren't legitimate options in big-time games.

Let's see less of this guy on defense . . . Brandin Hawthorne and J.T. Floyd (tie).  On one Keshawn Martin touchdown, Hawthorne made a half-assed attempt to tackle him at the pylon and tried to shoulder Martin out of bounds rather than wrap him up.  A good, fundamental tackle would almost certainly have stopped Martin at the 1-yard line, although a touchdown almost certainly would have been delayed rather than prevented altogether.  On the other Martin touchdown, J.T. Floyd made a half-assed attempt to stick with him and jogged behind the play, even though he clearly had Martin in man coverage.  Those weren't cases of being beaten physically - they were examples of players not playing hard and giving 100% effort.

MVP of the game . . . Will Hagerup.  Nobody had a great game offensively or defensively for Michigan, but Hagerup did a solid job of punting on a very windy day.  He only averaged 31.9 yards on seven punts, but four of those pinned the Spartans inside their 20-yard line, and three of them put the green and white bronze at or inside their own 10.  Despite being unable to get any kind of offensive flow or defensive momentum, the Wolverines hung with MSU in the first half largely due to the field position battle.

Play of the game . . . Denard Robinson's touchdown run.  After dropping back to pass, Robinson was almost sacked.  But he yanked himself away, tucked the ball, and scrambled to the left, picking up a nice block by Kevin Koger before squeezing inside the pylon.

2011 Countdown: #44 Brandon Moore

Brandon Moore (#88)

Name: Brandon Moore
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 250 lbs.
High school: Trotwood-Madison High School in Trotwood, OH
Position: Tight end
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #89
Last year: I ranked Moore #66 and said he would see limited time on special teams and at tight end.  In a disappointingly accurate prediction, he played in only two games . . . one on special teams and one at tight end.

Moore has got his chance for a breakout season in 2011.  He hasn't played much in the past couple years, but he was blocked for playing time by three-year starter Kevin Koger and a pretty good upperclassman in Martell Webb, who has since graduated.  Now Moore presumably moves up to the #2 tight end spot behind Koger.  The 250-pounder has dropped ten pounds since last season, and he did appear a little bit quicker in the spring.  So far in his career, he has been limited to 1 catch for 19 yards, which came against Delaware State back in 2009.  But Webb didn't make his first career catch until his junior season, so there's still hope.

Even though Moore's production has been next to nothing so far, I'm counting on him to be a serviceable backup to Koger this season.  The options at tight end are limited with position-switcher Steve Watson and the undersized Ricardo Miller the only choices, unless you want to dig into the freshman reserves with Chris Barnett.  And while Barnett has a good future, he won't physically be ready to play in crunch time in 2011.  That leaves Moore with every opportunity to get on the field.  I'm slightly concerned with what I saw from him during the spring, especially one particular play where he caught the ball on a crossing pattern, turned upfield . . . and not only held the ball in his inside hand, but held it loosely away from his body like an oversized Deion Sanders.  Redshirt junior tight ends ought to have better fundamentals than that, especially when they're fighting to see the field.  Logic tells me that Moore just isn't going to reach the promise that his high school ratings suggested, but I'm hoping and wishing that logic is wrong.

Prediction: Backup tight end

2010 Countdown: #63 Steve Watson

Name: Steve Watson
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 257 lbs.
High school: Mullen High School in Cherry Hills Village, CO
Position: Defensive end
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #81
Last year: I ranked Watson #64 and said he'd contribute on special teams and see spot duty on defense. He was mainly a special teams player and made 5 tackles.

Having been buried on the depth chart behind Kevin Koger, Martell Webb, and Brandon Moore, Watson switched to defense during the spring of 2009. Greg Robinson was a new defensive coordinator then and needed a few players to play the defensive end/outside linebacker hybrid role that was eventually locked down by freshman Craig Roh. Brandon Herron was Roh's primary backup, and Watson settled for mop-up duty against teams like Delaware State and Illinois. He finished the season with 5 total tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 pass breakup as the third-string OLB. He was also a part-time contributor on special teams, but only against the B-list teams on Michigan's roster.

For spring of 2010, Watson switched roles again to 5-tech defensive end. Assuming no further position changes, he'll be playing exclusively with his hand on the ground. Despite the position change, Watson will probably still be no higher than third on the depth chart. The starter will likely be Ryan Van Bergen with Anthony Lalota as the primary backup. A freshman like Jibreel Black could also work himself into the mix. Buried on the depth chart at yet another position, I expect 2010 to be Watson's final campaign as a Wolverine. He probably won't be offered a fifth year of eligibility by the coaching staff.

Prediction for 2010: Special teams contributor, spot duty on defense

2010 Countdown: #66 Brandon Moore

Name: Brandon Moore
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 260 lbs.
High school: Trotwood-Madison High School in Trotwood, OH
Position: Tight end
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #88
Last year: I ranked him #62 and said he'd see some special teams action. Moore caught 1 pass for 19 yards.

Moore was a pretty big deal coming out of high school. He was a big, very athletic tight end. He mostly split out wide as a high schooler, so in-line blocking has been an adjustment for him. But he's packed on 17 lbs. since last year and might have improved in that area. At 260 lbs., he's currently the biggest tight end on the roster. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.

Despite Moore's newfound weight and excellent athleticism, I still expect him to be the third tight end on a team that doesn't use the tight end very much. Both Kevin Koger and Martell Webb have played ahead of Moore for the past two seasons, and I don't know why that would change now. He's actually ranked lower this year, but that's largely because last year's team only had about 70 scholarship players (as opposed to the 80+ on the roster this year) and there are a handful of freshmen in line for playing time on defense.

Prediction for 2010: Limited action on special teams; tight end in non-critical moments

Spring Roster Tidbits

Ryan Van Bergen: Breakout year coming?

MGoBlog and The Wolverine have done a good job of breaking down the spring roster, so I won't waste your time or mine in parsing the roster much further.

There are a few noteworthy bits from today's press conference and the roster that I would like to highlight, however.

- Regarding the quarterback position, Rodriguez admitted that Denard Robinson is going to start seeing reps at wide receiver. While he stressed that Robinson is still going to compete at the quarterback position, this seems to be the beginning of the transition from the quarterback position to receiver that many of us have been expecting. I expect Robinson to be a full-time receiver by 2011.

- The popular number of pounds to gain this offseason was 17. Linebacker Isaiah Bell (237), offensive tackle Mark Huyge (305), tight end Brandon Moore (260), and offensive guard Patrick Omameh (293) all gained this amount.

- It seems apparent that the rumor we heard about the offensive and defensive lines is true: Rodriguez wants them to be bigger than they have been for the past two seasons. There's really no other way to explain the fact that there are now five (5!) offensive linemen over 300 lbs. when last year's only 300 pounder was freshman Quinton Washington. With almost six months left until the season, a couple other guys might get there before September, too.

- Tight ends Kevin Koger (251), Martell Webb (257), and Brandon Moore (260) are all getting in the "hefty" range for tight ends. There were a lot of people who thought Rodriguez was moving toward using tight ends heavily. This is significant evidence to the contrary. These guys seem to be blocking tight ends in the making.

- Ryan Van Bergen and Steve Watson are both listed as defensive ends. Van Bergen was a DT last year, and Watson was the third-string Quick end behind Craig Roh and Brandon Herron. Watson is likely to ride the bench once again, but as I expected, Van Bergen seems to be Brandon Graham's replacement at DE.

- Junior Hemingway is 227 lbs. That's too heavy for a receiver who wasn't that fast to begin with. If he continues to play at 220+ pounds, he won't be any kind of deep threat. This bodes unwell for Michigan's downfield passing game.

Recruiting Roundup: Tight Ends

Alex Smith wrinkles his nose as he watches Mike Barwis eat an opposing band member whole.

Michigan's coaches aren't particularly intent on getting a tight end in this class. Only three have been offered, and Michigan hasn't put up much of a fight with any of them except Alex Smith. Alex Smith is a bit wishy-washy. He committed to Cincinnati then sorta decommitted but not really and then really decommitted and, inexplicably, when it became clear that Cincinnati was turning into a powerhouse, he committed to North Carolina.

In 2009, many fans had a crazy notion that it would be the "Year of the Tight End" for Michigan. I had a spirited discussion with several Michigan fanatics that insisted Kevin Koger would approximate Missouri's Chase Coffman or Oklahoma's Jemaine Gresham. Instead, Koger ended the year with 16 catches for 220 yards and 2 touchdowns. Those numbers aren't chump change, but they're certainly not indicative of Rich Rodriguez becoming enthralled with the tight end position.

Koger will be a junior in 2010 and his backup, Martell Webb, will be a senior. The only other tight end on the roster will be redshirt sophomore Brandon Moore, so I think the coaching staff will recruit tight ends more heavily in 2011.

2009 Countdown: #62 Brandon Moore

Name: Brandon Moore
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 243 lbs.
High School: Trotwood-Madison High School in Trotwood, OH
Position: Tight end
Class: RS freshman
Jersey Number: #88
Prediction for 2009: Special teams duty

It was rumored that Moore would bulk up to play offensive tackle. However, in pictures from this spring, he looks thin even at 243 lbs. I think he'll remain at tight end, but Moore is currently third on the depth chart and doesn't seem to have much of a shot at passing the guys ahead of him anytime soon. He reportedly had difficulty catching the ball during practices but has been working hard in the weight room for a chance to contribute whenever he can.