2011 Countdown: #70 Jared Van Slyke

Jared Van Slyke

Name: Jared Van Slyke
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 196 lbs.
High school: John Burroughs High School in St. Louis, MO
Position: Safety
Class: Redshirt senior
Jersey number: #31
Last year: I did not rank Van Slyke.  He missed the season due to a broken clavicle.

I overlooked Van Slyke in the 2010 Countdown mainly because he was a walk-on, but once August practice rolled around, he looked like he might earn some playing time at free safety.  Then he broke his clavicle and missed the entire year.  But way back in 2009, he played in nine games and made 2 tackles as a safety and special teamer.

Michigan has enough depth and experience at the safety positions that he's probably out of the running to play much defense, but Van Slyke returns for his final year of eligibility with a shot to make an impact once again on special teams.  And if injury/attrition rates for defensive backs continue at the same rate they have in recent years, who knows?  Maybe he'll get a shot to start.

(Yes, he's the son of former St. Louis Cardinal and Pittsburgh Pirate Andy Van Slyke.)

Prediction: Special teams contributor

2010 Countdown: #67 Carvin Johnson

Carvin Johnson (#1) makes a tackle

Name: Carvin Johnson
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 185 lbs.
High school: Rummel High School in Metairie, LA
Position: Strong safety
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Prediction for 2010: Redshirt

As a high schooler, Johnson led his team to a second place finish in the state playoffs. He played free safety and wide receiver, although he was mainly a decoy on offense. Johnson is a prototypical strong safety in my mind, although Cameron Gordon seems like a strong safety to me, too, so what do I know? For now I'll stick with that assessment, although it looks like Greg Robinson is tweaking this defense in ways we can't fully grasp yet. We went from having a former cornerback and Big Ten sprinter (Troy Woolfolk) playing center field to a slow-ish wide receiver who many projected as a college linebacker (Cameron Gordon) playing free safety.

I think there's a fair chance that we'll see Carvin Johnson playing defense this year. The depth in the defensive backfield is thin, and walk-ons litter the depth chart (Floyd Simmons, Jared Van Slyke, Jordan Kovacs). I don't expect Johnson to earn a starting job this year, and he'll most likely redshirt. But I don't think Rich Rodriguez can afford to throw too many former walk-ons out there this fall and expect to win a bunch of games. Either Johnson or Marvin Robinson will play this fall, and I give Robinson the edge due to superior athleticism.