U.S. Army All-American Bowl Participants: Michigan

2012 U.S. Army Bowl participants: Ondre Pipkins, Royce Jenkins-Stone, James Ross, Kyle Kalis, Erik Magnuson
(left to right; image via TheWolverine.com)

For your viewing pleasure, here's a comprehensive list of Michigan's past commitments who were selected for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

2016
Michael Onwenu - Detroit, MI

2015
None

2014
Mason Cole, OG - Tarpon Springs, FL

2013
Jake Butt, TE - Pickerington, OH
Chris Fox, OT - Parker, CO#
Derrick Green, RB - Richmond, VA
Jourdan Lewis, CB - Detroit, MI
Dymonte Thomas, S - Alliance, OH

2012
Kyle Kalis, OL - Lakewood, OH
Royce Jenkins-Stone, LB - Detroit, MI
Erik Magnuson, OL - Carlsbad, CA
Ondre Pipkins, DT - Kansas City, MO
James Ross, LB - Orchard Lake, MI

2011
Blake Countess, CB - Olney, MD
Wayne Lyons, CB - Fort Lauderdale, FL*
Matt Wile, K - San Diego, CA

2010
Cullen Christian, CB - Pittsburgh, PA
Will Hagerup, P - Whitefish Bay, WI

2009
William Campbell, DT - Detroit, MI
Jeremy Gallon, WR - Apopka, FL
Brendan Gibbons, K - West Palm Beach, FL
Anthony Lalota, DE - Princeton, NJ
Je'Ron Stokes, WR - Pittsburgh, PA
Justin Turner, CB - Massillon, OH

2008
Boubacar Cissoko, CB - Detroit, MI
Sam McGuffie, RB - Houston, TX
Brandon Smith, S - New Brunswick, NJ

2007
Donovan Warren, CB - Long Beach, CA
Michael Williams, S - St. Bonaventure, CA

2006
Justin Boren, OG - Pickerington, OH
Steve Brown, S - Columbus, IN
Brandon Graham, DE - Detroit, MI
Jonas Mouton, LB - Venice, CA
Steve Schilling, OT - Bellevue, WA

2005
James McKinney, DT - Louisville, KY
Zoltan Mesko, P - Twinsburg, OH
Marques Slocum, DT - Philadelphia, PA

2004
Adrian Arrington, WR - Cedar Rapids, IA
Alan Branch, DT - Albuquerque, NM
Jeremy Ciulla, OG - Kennesaw, GA
Doug Dutch, WR/CB - Washington, DC
Chad Henne, QB - West Lawn, PA
Tim Jamison, DE - Harvey, IL
Max Martin, RB - Madison, AL

2003
Prescott Burgess, LB - Warren, OH
Anton Campbell, S - O'Fallon, MO
Shawn Crable, LB - Massillon, OH
Leon Hall, CB - Vista, CA
Ryan Mundy, S - Pittsburgh, PA
Will Paul, FB - St. Louis, MO
Clayton Richard, QB - Lafayette, IN
Garrett Rivas, K - Tampa, FL

2002
Jason Avant, WR - Chicago, IL
Mike Kolodziej, OT - Joliet, IL

2001
Marlin Jackson, CB - Sharon, PA
Pierre Woods, DE - Cleveland, OH

*Transferred to Michigan
#Will not/did not play due to injury

2015 NFL Draft Preview: Michigan

Devin Funchess will likely be the first Michigan player selected in this year's NFL Draft

As the NFL Draft approaches on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, we are bound to see a couple Michigan players' names called. From 2009-2014, Michigan has been going back and forth between having two and three players drafted (LINK). If that trend continues, just two of these players will be selected. Linked to each player's name is their senior profile, in which I detail some of their workout numbers and a projection.

Devin Funchess, WR: Funchess is the one guy who might sniff the first round, but it would take a leap of faith by a daring team. A wide receiver with a tight end body, he has never been a plus blocker despite being much taller and heavier than the corners and safeties he has faced. When Michigan actually played him at tight end during his freshman and sophomore seasons, he was downright terrible as a blocker. However, he is large and fairly fast and has a 38.5" vertical. I would not advise a team to take him as a tight end because he doesn't have the blocking chops, but he's a guy who can be a mismatch problem for a team that likes to be creative and use multiple tight ends.
My wild guess: 2nd round (#44 overall) to the New Orleans Saints.
Other good fits: Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, New England Patriots

Hit the jump for a rundown of Michigan's other draft-eligible players.

Matt Wile, #45

Matt Wile (#45, image via BCSN)

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HIGH SCHOOL
Coming out of San Diego (CA) Francis Parker, Wile was a Rivals 2-star kicker. The hometown Aztecs went hard after him under Brady Hoke, and Wile was also pursued by Air Force, Nebraska, and Washington, among others. When Hoke was hired at Michigan, he extended an offer for Wile to play for the Wolverines. After playing in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, he committed to Michigan in late January.

COLLEGE
Immediately upon arriving in Ann Arbor, Wile was counted on to be the kickoff specialist. He averaged 64.0 yards/kickoff and also averaged 41.6 yards/punt on 17 attempts. ESPN and the Big Ten Network named him to their freshman all-conference teams. As a sophomore in 2012, he averaged 60.5 yards/kickoff, averaged 35.9 yards/punt, and went 2/3 on field goals with a long of 52 while handling the long field goal attempts. During his junior year in 2013, he averaged 59.8 yards/kickoff and went 3/5 on long field goals; he also became the full-time punter while Will Hagerup served a year-long suspension, and Wile averaged 40.6 yards, landing 16 inside the 20-yard line and booming 10 of them 50+ yards. Then as a senior, he became the full-time kicker and went 15/21 on field goals, made 28/28 extra points, and averaged 63.0 yards/kickoff; with Hagerup's return, Wile punted just once.

CAREER STATISTICS
- 284 kickoff, 17531 yards, 61.7 yard average, 108 touchbacks
- 20/29 field goals (69.0%), long of 52 yards, 33/33 extra points (100%)
- 91 punts, 3658 yards, 40.2 yard average, 4 touchbacks, 22 fair catches, 29 inside the 20, 15 of 50+ yards, long of 69, 0 attempts blocked

AWARDS
All-Freshman Big Ten (2011), Academic All-Big Ten (2013-2014)

SUMMARY
This past season it was hard to believe that Wile was a senior. When he was recruited in 2011, he was the beginning of the trend that Brady Hoke was looking for solid, upstanding citizens who you would want to marry your daughter. As a U.S. Army All-American coming out of high school, there was a feeling that he would have a breakout season or become a weapon at some point in his career. Instead, he was mostly a steady, all-around kicker who always kept himself available. He played in every single game Michigan played for four years, 51 straight. He did not have any extremely memorable moments like his predecessor Brendan Gibbons (who had all-time great kicks against Virginia Tech and Northwestern), but his career didn't have many memorable low points, either.

I WILL REMEMBER HIM FOR . . .
. . . being there when the other renegade kickers on the team were unavailable. Gibbons allegedly raped a girl and was eventually booted out of the university, leaving Wile to pick up his duties. Meanwhile, Hagerup was suspended for at least one game from 2010-2013, including the entire 2013 season. The guy who stepped in every time to pick up the slack was Wile.

PROJECTION
The best part of Wile's game was his kickoff. He was very consistent in either getting touchbacks or pinning the ball near the left pylon, leaving returners with limited space to work. Unfortunately, NFL teams want kickers to be able to do more than kick off. Wile's punting and placekicking are not up to snuff for the next level, so his professional career has probably come to a close.

2014 Season Countdown: #16 Matt Wile

Matt Wile (#45)

Name: Matt Wile
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 219 lbs.
High school: San Diego (CA) Francis Parker
Position: Kicker
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #46
Last year: I ranked Wile #15 and said he would be the kickoff specialist, punter, and backup placekicker. He kicked off 76 times for 4,545 yards (59.8 yards/kick) and 37 touchbacks. He punted 61 times for 2,476 yards (40.6 yards/punt). He was 3/5 on field goals and 5/5 on extra points.

Wile was put in an interesting position a few years ago when Brady Hoke got him to commit to Michigan out of the San Diego area. Michigan had been dealing with some atrocious placekicking, which apparently warranted giving a third specialist a scholarship (in addition to punter Will Hagerup and placekicker Brendan Gibbons, both of whom were young players then). The foresight by Hoke was impressive. As a placekicker, Wile made three field goal attempts in 2012 and five in 2013; he replaced Gibbons at the end of the 2013 season when Gibbons was kicked off the team for some bad behavior. Meanwhile, Wile has been a frequent contributor as a punter, what with "starter" Hagerup constantly getting into trouble of his own. Hagerup faced a year-long suspension in 2013, which allowed Wile to be the full-time punter last year.

This year Wile's duties have been whittled down to placekicking. Hagerup is back for a fifth year to punt (provided he stays out of trouble) and walk-on Kenny Allen will be handling kickoffs. Meanwhile, Gibbons is gone, and nobody but Wile has attempted a field goal in college. Overall, Wile is 5/8 (62.5%) on field goals with longs of 52, 49, and 48 yards to his credit, and he's 5/5 on extra points. Even when Gibbons wasn't in trouble, Wile served as the long field goal kicker, which makes that mediocre percentage a little more palatable. Michigan figures to be a strong defensive team this year with some tough games, so a lot may ride on the ability of Wile to get the pigskin over the crossbar.

Prediction: Starting placekicker

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl Preview: Special Teams

Kansas State returner Tramaine Thompson is dangerous with the ball in his hands.

MICHIGAN
Starters: The Wolverines are in pretty bad shape when it comes to special teams, but it could be worse. Fifth year senior placekicker Brendan Gibbons has been ruled out of the bowl game with a groin injury, and senior punter Will Hagerup has been suspended for the entire season, so all the kicking duties will be up to junior Matt Wile (6'2", 216 lbs.). Wile is pretty experienced for being a backup punter and kicker, but when it comes to kicking field goals, he hasn't been in many pressure situations. Wile is 1/3 on field goals this year, 5/5 on extra points, and averages 40.6 yards/punt. He's been the kickoff guy all year and gets a 49.3% touchback rate. Sophomore Dennis Norfleet (5'7", 169 lbs.) has 36 kickoff returns for 850 yards and a 23.6-yard average. Fifth year senior Jeremy Gallon (5'8", 184 lbs.) and senior Drew Dileo (5'10", 180 lbs.) have combined for 12 punt returns and 76 yards, so they're not much of a threat.
Backups: Redshirt freshman Kenny Allen (6'3", 226 lbs.) will be the backup kicker and punter, and he has 1 punt this year for 51 yards. Dileo has averaged 19.2 yards on 5 returns, and redshirt freshman Jehu Chesson (6'3", 196 lbs.) has averaged 18 yards on 2 returns.

KANSAS STATE
Starters: The Wildcats have two excellent returners. One is fifth year senior punt returner Tramaine Thompson (5'8", 167 lbs.), who has averaged 20.2 yards/return this year with a long of 79 yards; teams respect him so much that they've only given him a chance to return 9 punts. Junior Tyler Lockett (5'11", 175 lbs.) is the kick returner with a 25.5-yard average, and while he hasn't yet returned a kickoff for a touchdown in 2013, he had 2 scores in each of the past two seasons. Redshirt junior Mark Krause (5'11", 218 lbs.) averages 41.3 yards/punt and has landed 17 inside the 20-yard line. Redshirt sophomore Jack Cantele (6'0", 193 lbs.) is 11/13 on field goals and 40/41 on extra points, but he was injured prior to KSU's final regular season game and may not be back for the bowl game.
Backups: Thompson has returned 2 kickoffs this year, but one was for a 96-yard touchdown. Backup kicker Ian Patterson (5'11", 233 lbs.), a redshirt freshman, is 2/3 on field goals and 8/8 on extra points; he has also taken over kickoff duties, where he has a touchback rate almost twice as high as Cantele's.

THE TAKEAWAY
The Wolverines haven't been particularly strong on special teams under Brady Hoke, but they haven't been terrible, either. They did block a punt and return it for a touchdown against Central Michigan, and the game-tying end-of-regulation field goal against Northwestern was the #4 play in the Big Ten this year, according to BTN Live. Unfortunately, battle-tested Brendan Gibbons is out, and Wile has been erratic as a kicker and as a punter. Michigan's return games have been exciting but fruitless with Norfleet, Gallon, and Dileo. Meanwhile, Kansas State has a couple all-conference-caliber returners in Lockett and Thompson, and Cantele is a solid kicker if healthy. The Wolverines did allow a punt return touchdown to South Carolina's Ace Sanders in last year's bowl game, so they've been susceptible to special teams breakdowns at times. Wile might be able to negate Lockett's return abilities because he's pretty good at kicking touchbacks, and Michigan has some aggressive players on punt coverage, but overall, this is looking like an advantage for . . .

ADVANTAGE: Kansas State

Michigan 28, Akron 24

Devin Gardner

A win is a win. A hundred years from now, nobody will remember this day. So there's that. Otherwise, this was ugly. Good teams struggle sometimes. Is Michigan a good team? I think they're pretty good. There's still hope that this season will end magically, but let's be honest - with a questionable interior line and wide receivers, an injury to the best defensive player, and no real stars on defense, perhaps Michigan fans should re-calibrate. That's not say that things like this are okay, but poop happens.

The list of people who need to step up is long. I feel like this post could turn into a long list of complaining, but I'm going to try to make it brief:

• Devin Gardner. Gardner (16/30, 248 yards, 2 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 1 fumble lost; 10 carries, 103 yards, 1 touchdown) was forcing throws all day long. Even some of his early completions were hotly contested. He ran the ball well, but he seems overconfident in the abilities of himself and his receivers, as if every one of his throws should be completed just because their helmets have wings.
• Graham Glasgow, Jack Miller, Kyle Kalis, and Michael Schofield. Glasgow and Miller are getting physically overpowered by guys who aren't 5-star Notre Dame recruits, and Glasgow is making some poor blocking reads in the run game. Glasgow and Kalis look lost out there against twist stunts, and even the redshirt senior Schofield had some whiffs.
• Joe Bolden. I used to be on the Joe Bolden bandwagon by suggesting he's a starter-quality inside linebacker, but I'm not sure if that's true. I don't think it's an indictment of his entire career, because it's still early in his true sophomore year. However, I think it's clear that James Ross III and Desmond Morgan are significantly ahead of Bolden, who struggles in pass coverage and is inconsistent stopping the run.
• Raymon Taylor. Taylor gets picked on quite a bit, and I don't see him responding in terms of his coverage. He's a feisty player and a decent tackler, but teams throw on him short and deep.
• Matt Wile. The punter should be Will Hagerup, of course, but Hagerup likes to get himself suspended. Instead, Wile is out there, and he's been inconsistent. Yesterday included 21- and 22-yard shanks. On four punts, he averaged just 33 yards/attempt.
• Dennis Norfleet. Norfleet still overestimates his strength. Sometimes he cuts upfield into traffic when he could run laterally for another step or two and outrun the defender. Normally, I wouldn't promote running laterally. However, Norfleet is a space player, and he's put in space on special teams and by Al Borges's play calls; he has room to run, but he thinks he's still in high school where he could run through some tackles. Plus Norfleet still takes too many chances on punt returns.

Good for Akron. Amidst all this, I feel like I've neglected to mention Akron's hard play and their game plan. If I'm a MAC opponent, I'm going to beat pressure and the soft defense by throwing quick slants, hitches, etc. and hope I can keep the chains moving. They also capitalized on some deep throws, which you have to take once in a while. Defensively, I thought Akron did a good job of causing trouble for Michigan's interior line with stunts and disguising some coverages.

By the way, Akron maybe should have won. Thomas Gordon was beaten on the final play of the game. Akron receiver Zach D'Orazio tried to pull a version of the Drew Dileo touchdown against Notre Dame. Fortunately, Michigan put pressure on quarterback Kyle Pohl, who overthrew the ball by a foot or two. D'Orazio was begging for pass interference, but that seemed desperate. Hell, Gordon probably should  have grabbed D'Orazio to potentially save the game, but there was barely any contact. If Pohl had a fraction of a second longer to wait, we all would have been very sad.

On the plus side. I like that Al Borges and Devin Gardner decided to involve Jehu Chesson, who looks like he might have game-changing speed at some point. In the open field, that kid is going to be tough to catch. He burned some people on punt coverage, caught 1 pass and broke some tackles for a 33-yard touchdown, had an end-around for 2 yards, and returned 1 kickoff for 19 yards and showed a nice burst. I also liked what I saw from defensive tackle Willie Henry, who got some penetration and Jarrod Wilson, who seems to be moving in the right direction toward being a solid safety. Those are some up-and-comers. Fitzgerald Toussaint had 19 carries for 71 yards and 1 touchdown, but a couple nice runs were called back for holding; he also has improved his pass protection.

What it means for UConn. The Huskies are 0-2 after losing 33-18 to Towson and then 32-21 to Maryland. Despite the record, Michigan should have learned from the Akron game that they can't take anyone lightly. The game will be at 8:00 p.m. next Saturday. If Michigan comes out with another lackluster performance, then I'll be greatly concerned. If the Wolverines win by 25 points, then maybe this was just a blip on the radar.

2013 Season Countdown: #15 Matt Wile

Matt Wile

Name: Matt Wile
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 216 lbs.
High school: San Diego (CA) Francis Parker
Position: Kicker/punter
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #45
Last year: I ranked Wile #52 and said he would be the kickoff specialist and a backup punter. He averaged 35.9 yards/punt on 12 punts, with 9 landing inside the 20-yard line. He also was 2/3 on field goals. And he averaged 60.5 yards/kickoff on 77 attempts with 28 touchbacks.

Starting punter Will Hagerup has a yearly tradition of getting himself suspended (including for the entire 2013 season), so Wile has become a jack of all trades. He punts, kicks off, and kicks long field goals. While his punting average looks bad, that's because he was the pooch punter. And as the long-range field goal specialist, he hit a career-long 52-yarder against South Carolina in the Outback Bowl. Yes, it was a pretty good year for the backup punter. (How often does that previous sentence get uttered throughout history?)

Now Wile looks to be the starting punter with Hagerup out of the picture. And in a very weird situation, he might never be the  starting punter at Michigan, because Hagerup could return in 2014 when both guys would run out of eligibility. Fifth year senior Brendan Gibbons has locked down the short kicking job and did okay on some longer kicks, so perhaps Wile will kick some more field goals this year . . . and perhaps he won't. I hesitated to place Wile this high on the list, but what if he got hurt? Gibbons would likely take on the longer field goal duties as well, Michigan would have to use essentially a third-string punter (perhaps redshirt freshman walk-on Kenny Allen), and they would need to find a new kickoff guy. That's a lot of tinkering and potentially quite a few lost yards in the process. Wile isn't spectacular, but he's a very solid all-around kicker.

Prediction: Starting punter and kickoff specialist; backup placekicker

Michigan 12, Michigan State 10

Drew Dileo (image via AnnArbor.com)

Well, that was terrifying.  That was way too much of a heart attack game for my liking.  I mean, I still liked the end result and everything, but that game was frustrating.  Neither team could do anything consistently on offense, and I'm not convinced that it's because both defenses are great.  Both defenses are very good, but the offenses are just so-so.

That being said, yay!  Good golly, I hate Mark Dantonio.  I hate William Gholston, too, but Dantonio is the biggest tool of a coach in the Big Ten, even more so than Bret Bielema.  It would have felt great to see Dantonio lose, even if Michigan wasn't the opponent.  It just makes the win that much sweeter that seniors Denard Robinson, Elliott Mealer, Patrick Omameh, Jordan Kovacs, Craig Roh, etc. succeed in their last chance to beat the Spartans.  Congratulations to those guys.

Thank you, Drew Dileo.  Wide receiver Drew Dileo played a great game.  He's never going to be the fastest player in the field, and he certainly isn't the biggest.  But he's the type of do-it-all player and possession receiver that finds all kinds of ways to win a football game.  He came up huge in the Sugar Bowl against Virginia Tech, and he had another standout performance on Saturday with 4 catches for 92 yards . . . and as the holder on all four of Michigan's scoring plays.

Brendan Gibbons and Matt Wile were great.  I was extremely impressed with the solid kicking from these two guys.  Gibbons was 3/3 kicking, including the 38-yard game-winner.  Wile was 1/1 in his first career chance to kick a field goal, and that one was a long attempt from 48 yards.  Obviously, each of the four kicks was huge.

Jeremy Jackson is slow.  At a couple points in the game, I couldn't help harking back to the days when wide receiver Jeremy Jackson was recruited.  I said then that he didn't have the athleticism to be an impact player at Michigan, and I still question why he's on the field so much.  Denard Robinson targeted him a couple times deep, and while the throws could have been more accurate, Jackson looked like he was running in quicksand.  If the play call is for someone to go deep, then Jackson should be replaced by someone with a little giddyup.

The defense was pretty darn good.  There wasn't much of a pass rush, and the coverage on the outside was mediocre.  But the Wolverines only allowed 68 yards to Le'Veon Bell (on 26 carries) and 86 total rushing yards to the offense (punter Mike Sadler ran 26 yards on a fake punt, which I won't pin on the defense).  Desmond Morgan (11 tackles) is playing very well, and Jake Ryan (10 tackles, 1 sack) was all over the place once again, and Bell's longest run was 8 yards.

Cornerbacks are a concern.  J.T. Floyd made a couple nice plays on short passes and supporting the run, which is an improvement for him; however, he was beaten deep a couple times by receivers who were unable to hook up with MSU quarterback Andrew Maxwell.  Meanwhile, Raymon Taylor left with an elbow injury, leaving the opposite side to slot corner Courtney Avery.  I'm hoping that Taylor can return soon, because the Wolverines are running out of healthy corners.  The only other guys left on the roster are backup slot corner Delonte Hollowell and tiny freshman Terry Richardson.

Michigan has 900 wins.  That's more wins than any other football program in the history of the whole wide universe.  By comparison, Michigan State has 643 all-time victories.  The Wolverines are now 68-32-5 against the Spartans.

Alabama 41, Michigan 14

Alabama's Dee Milliner returns an interception after a pass interference penalty clean play

That was somewhat expected.

Alabama is good.  They're not the national champs for nothing.  Nobody in his right right mind thought Michigan would win this game (although 63% of this site's voters picked Alabama to lose), but I did expect a little better showing than that.  The Wolverines aren't as bad as that game made them look, but it certainly wasn't the kind of showing Michigan wanted to put forth in the nationally televised opener.

Al Borges deserves some blame, but not much.  Michigan wasn't going to be able to run the ball in this game.  I predicted that Michigan would rush for fewer than 100 yards; the final tally was 69, despite having one of the most electrifying players in the country at quarterback.  Yes, Denard Robinson probably could have run the ball more, especially before he got dinged up.  Would it have made much of a difference?  Probably not.  Where Robinson really could  have made a difference was in the passing game.  He had lots of open receivers early in the game, but he's just as erratic as ever in the passing game.  He kept throwing deep (inaccurately), and completed just 11/26 passes.  The offensive line did a decent job of pass blocking, but if Michigan has to rely on Robinson to win the game with his arm, they're going to struggle.

I hope Fitzgerald Toussaint and Frank Clark enjoyed watching that on TV.  Toussaint erased any chance Michigan had of putting together a decent running game by drunk driving.  Vincent Smith is what he has been for several years, and that means he shouldn't be a featured running back; he ended the game with 13 carries for 33 yards, and 22 of those yards came on one play late in the game.  Thomas Rawls rushed 6 times for 9 yards and looked very slow in the process.  Meanwhile, Clark probably would have struggled just like the rest of the defensive line, but he would have given Michigan another guy to rotate in there and get a bit of a pass rush.  SAM linebacker Jake Ryan had to play a little too much defensive line, and he got manhandled in the process.

Injuries were terrifying.  Blake Countess left the game after one series on defense because he got hurt on punt coverage.  Taylor Lewan left the game late with a knee injury. And Denard Robinson inexplicably tried to tackle Dee Milliner with his throwing shoulder, which caused him to leave the game looking like he would miss a chunk of time.  Including Toussaint, that meant that Michigan was missing its #1, #3, #4, and #9 most important players at various points, according to my preseason countdown.  Michigan should be able to weather the storm if these are short-term injuries, but maybe not if any of them last long.

Eddie Lacy who?  Everyone was talking about Alabama running back Eddie Lacy before the game, but he didn't impress me at all.  He's big, and that's about it.  The most physically impressive running backs on the roster were true freshman T.J. Yeldon (11 carries, 111 yards, 1 touchdown) and junior Jalston Fowler (8 carries, 67 yards).  I don't think Lacy will be holding onto that starting job for long.  Of course, all three made Michigan's defense look silly when combined with the Crimson Tide offensive line.  All of Michigan's defensive backs struggled to tackle, even stout safeties Thomas Gordon and Jordan Kovacs, who are normally sure tacklers.

Special teams yay.  Matt Wile boomed every kickoff deep into the endzone, allowing zero returns.  Will Hagerup averaged 51.3 yards per punt, including a 62-yarder.  Dennis Norfleet returned 8 kickoffs for 177 yards (22.1 yards per return) and looked like a potential star as a returner.

Burned redshirts. I'm not in a tizzy about any of these guys playing, but so far LB Joe Bolden, WR Amara Darboh, TE Devin Funchess, FB Sione Houma, LB Royce Jenkins-Stone, RB Dennis Norfleet, DE Mario Ojemudia, DT Ondre Pipkins, CB Terry Richardson, LB James Ross, TE A.J. Williams, and FS Jarrod Wilson have burned their redshirts.  That's 12 members of the 25-man class of 2012.  At least a couple more will probably play before the end of the year.

Referees were bad, but it doesn't matter.  Michigan didn't lose the game because of the refs, but there were some obvious holds, hands to the face, personal foul-quality hits, etc. that weren't called against Alabama.  I'm not sure how Dee Milliner didn't get called for illegal contact/pass interference when he shoved Roy Roundtree out of bounds and then picked off Robinson.  Meanwhile, Taylor Lewan alone cost Michigan 30 yards in penalties with a personal foul, a holding call, and a false start.  He might as well be a redshirt freshman again.

Michigan is going to be fine.  As long as none of those injuries last long, the expectations remain the same.  Alabama didn't expose anything that we didn't already know to be true.  The defensive line is going to be a question mark against good offensive lines; Denard Robinson isn't a consistent passer; the offensive line lacks depth.  If you're surprised, you haven't been paying attention.

2012 Season Countdown: #52 Matt Wile

Matt Wile

Name: Matt Wile
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 208 lbs.
High school: San Diego (CA) Francis Parker
Position: Kicker, punter
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #45
Last year: I ranked Wile #28 and said he would be the starting placekicker and backup kickoff specialist.  He kicked off 79 times for 5,054 yards (64 yards per kick).  He also punted 17 times for 707 yards (41.6 yards per punt) and landed 4 of them inside the 20-yard line.

My prediction for Wile was essentially backward, because Wile was the starting kickoff guy, a backup punter, and wasn't used as a placekicker.  So goes the life of a kicker.  Brendan Gibbons took a monumental leap forward from 2010 and held onto the placekicking job all season, so Wile was not needed there.  He did, however, do a good job with kickoffs and was named to the Freshman All-Big Ten unit. It's a little strange that Wile didn't hold onto the punting job, because his average punt was 5.6 yards longer than starter Will Hagerup.  And while Hagerup seemed to have uncharacteristic struggles for some reason (perhaps his off-the-field activities, for which he was suspended, had something to do with it), it seemed somewhat apparent to me that Wile should have been giving more opportunities to punt.  Hagerup's 36.0 yards per attempt was pretty paltry. 

As I admitted last year, I know very little about the mechanics of kicking.  And kickers are often prone to being streaky.  Hagerup could go back to booming punts like he did as a freshman and Gibbons could go back to missing the majority of his field goals.  But one thing that seems to remain pretty consistent is kickoffs.  Wile is the best kickoff guy of the bunch, so at the very least, he should hold onto that spot for 2012.  If Hagerup doesn't step up his game, Wile ought to take over that position, too.  As for field goals, let's hope Gibbons continues to be solid.

Prediction: Starting kickoff specialist, backup punter

Michigan 36, Purdue 14

Fitzgerald Toussaint had a career best game with 170 yards and 2 touchdowns

Fitzgerald Toussaint is hitting his stride.  Finally healthy after two years of long-term injury issues, Toussaint is showing what he can do.  He had 20 carries for 170 yards, including a spectacular 59-yard touchdown run (Michigan's longest run of the year).  He's averaging 6.1 yards per carry on the season.  Perhaps the best part of Toussaint's game is the way he finishes runs.  Despite not being particularly big, he always seems to churn his legs for an extra couple yards after contact.  His yardage total was the best by a Michigan running back since Michael Hart had 215 against Eastern Michigan back in 2007.

Where have you gone, Michael Shaw?  In this, his senior season, Shaw is on pace for his fewest career carries.  His career low is 42 (in both 2008 and 2009), and despite being mostly injury free this season, he has only 22 carries through eight games.  Shaw has been a big play guy this year and is averaging 6.4 yards per carry, but for some reason, the coaches haven't put their faith in him.  Even freshman Thomas Rawls (13 carries) is getting almost  as many carries as Shaw, and Rawls probably should have redshirted with so many guys ahead of him.

Mike Martin finally showed up.  Martin had 7 tackles and 2 sacks on the day, one of them for a safety (which probably should have been negated due to grabbing Purdue quarterback Caleb TerBush's facemask).  He's been a little bit of a disappointment so far this year with his lack of production, but maybe this is a sign of things to come for him.  Eight games into the season, Martin only has 28 tackles and 2.5 sacks, so 25% of his tackles and 80% of his sacks came in this one game.

Not a fan of the Denard/Devin combo this time.  At some point Devin Gardner needs to run the base offense, whether Denard Robinson is in the game or not.  It seems like Robinson is usually used as the decoy rather than the ballcarrier in the two-QB formations, but defenses are ready for it at this point.  They know that when Denard is in the game, something funky is going to happen.  So instead of committing fully to the distracting part of the play, everyone stays home, watches for the double pass, etc.  To catch a defense truly off balance, offensive coordinator Al Borges needs to line Robinson up at running back or wide receiver and actually run a base play out of that formation.  Hand the ball off to him in the I-formation, throw a slant or a hitch to him, etc.  The halfback pass from Vincent Smith might have worked if not for the fact that Robinson was in the game and the defense was being extra careful.

Maybe Matt Wile should still punt.  On 12 punts this season, Will Hagerup is averaging 34.8 yards per punt and has put four of them inside the 20.  On 14 punts this season, Matt Wile is averaging 41.1 yards per punt and has put four of them inside the 20.  Hagerup had a good season last year and looked like a potential All-Big Ten punter, but he's been disappointing so far this year.  Michigan is averaging just over three punts per game, so the difference between the two is around 21 yards of field position per game.

Desmond Morgan looks good.  He seems to be steadily improving after looking lost early in the season.  Morgan earned the start over Brandin Hawthorne (whose tackling efforts in the MSU game were disappointing) and responded with 9 tackles to lead the team.  I thought it would take Morgan a little more time to adjust to playing linebacker in college, but here he is starting as a true freshman.  High school quarterbacks just seem to catch on a little quicker.

Courtney Avery's game of firsts.  Speaking of high school quarterbacks, Avery got his first career interception when he caught a deflected pass, and Avery got his first sack (well, half of a sack, shared with Craig Roh) when he helped chase down a scrambling Robert Marve.  That interception gives Avery a share of the team lead in picks, since nobody else has made more than one.

I've had about enough of J.T. Floyd.  He seems to talk a fair amount of smack for not being very good, and he could very well be Michigan's fourth best corner.  I would take Blake Countess, Courtney Avery, and a healthy Troy Woolfolk over Floyd.  Floyd's poor tackling effort late in the game cost Michigan seven points when he stood and danced with O.J. Ross while Ross waited for some help from a Boilermaker blocker.  After the two danced for what seemed like an hour, Floyd got blocked and Ross slipped into the end zone for a touchdown.

I'll take 7-1 at this point.  Michigan has already matched last year's win total with four games to go.  It's a pretty tough four-game stretch as far as the Big Ten goes, but all four games are winnable.  The two most dangerous remaining foes, Ohio State and Nebraska, have had their own issues.  Regardless, this team is on the right path and seems headed for some good November games.  I like the direction Michigan is headed.

Getting to Know -- Matt Wile

Interestingly, Matt Wile is the lowest rated member of the 2011 class, yet he is the most likely of the 19 freshman to make an immediate impact this season. This paradox centers around Wile's position as a kicker: recruiting services tend to view the position as having less value.

But don't tell that to Michigan fans, who have recently been reminded--the hard way--of the value provided by a competent kicker. Now, after two years of woeful performance at the position, all of Wolverine nation crosses its collective fingers, holds its collective breath and prays to the heavens that Matt Wile can come in as a true freshman and produce points*.

That's a lot of pressure.

But by all indications, Matt is a confident young man with an even temperament. He is also doing everything in his power to prepare for his pressure packed moments at the Big House.

"I’m trying to get myself in some sorts of pressure situations. It’s really hard to do when it’s just myself, but one of the things I’ll do is I'll set up balls in a certain location and I’ll give myself 10 seconds to run from the sideline to kick a field goal."

To further prepare, Matt utilized the assistance of a kicking coach, Lance Ortega of the San Diego School of Football, to get himself in optimal form for the 2011 season. The duo worked exceptionally hard just prior to Wile's move to Ann Arbor, spending hours addressing kicking mechanics, drills and habits. Matt is kind enough to spare us the intricate details of his kicking procedures, but he gives us a short overview of his game time routine.

“I go out on the field and get set-up; I take three steps back, two steps over. And before I give my head-nod to the holder to let him know that I’m ready, I always take one really deep breath [to] calm my nerves. And when the ball’s snapped, it usually ends up happening where I don’t hear anything anymore and all I focus on is the ball. And it usually goes through."

My favorite part of the quote is where Matt says that the ball usually goes through the uprights--yeah, that part was awesome. And it's also true. In fact, Matt's field goal average over his junior and senior seasons was a cool 76%. So Matt is accustomed to success and sees no reason why things should change once he starts kicking at Michigan Stadium. Actually, Wile's ahead of the game since he's already made a field goal at the Big House.

"From [the ages of] 6 -12, I used to travel with my dad and go to football games. And I was 10 or 12 and San Diego State was playing Michigan. It was a couple hours before the game; there weren't too many people on the field, so I asked my dad if I could go kick a field goal, and he said 'sure'…and I ended up kicking a 30 yard field goal in my tennis shoes…right down the middle."

Despite relocating to a school over two thousand miles away, Matt should feel right at home at Michigan. Not only is he a 5th generation Michigan student, but his father--who attended medical school at Michigan and works as an M.D. for the San Diego State University football team--plans to fly in to see all of his games(!). If that weren't enough, Wile's relationship with Coach Hoke dates back several years.

"They [the Hoke coaching staff] knew about me at San Diego State, and they offered me. The first year that Hoke was with San Diego State, they offered me. So over two or three years, I was actually able to develop a relationship with the coaches, and that played a major factor in me choosing Michigan."

Academics were another primary reason that Matt chose Michigan, and although many recruits say that, it appears to be especially true for Matt, who is a 4.0 student with plans to enroll in the College of Engineering. It sure doesn't sound like Wile is adverse to pressure, whether it's on the football field or in the classroom.

*...and effectively step in as punter during the first four games

2011 Countdown: #28 Matt Wile

Matt Wile

Name: Matt Wile
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 210 lbs.
High school: Francis Parker High School in San Diego, CA
Position: Kicker
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #45
Last year: Wile was a high school senior (commitment profile)

Wile was an Army All-American Bowl participant in January, which might be good (Will Hagerup) or bad (Brendan Gibbons).  He hit 10/13 field goals as a senior with a long of 49 and sent 91/101 kickoffs into the endzone for touchbacks.  He hit 9/12 field goals as a junior with a long of 48, so he's been pretty consistent the past two seasons.

As we all know, Michigan's combination of Seth Broekhuizen and Gibbons was atrocious in 2010.  Those two combined for 4/14 on field goals.  Since college kickers can't use blocks, Wile has been practicing kicking off the ground ever since his senior season ended.  If he can make the adjustment well, Wile might be a huge upgrade on special teams and give the team a better chance to win close games.  He might be the starting placekicker right off the bat, but he'll have to battle Will Hagerup for kickoff duties.  I admittedly know very little about kicking, but Wile sits this high on the list (and might be underrated) because of how much of a train wreck this team will be if its offense takes a step back and the kicker still can't get the ball through the uprights.  Cross your fingers.

Prediction: Starting placekicker; backup kickoff specialist

Freshman Numbers Revealed

A poster over at Rivals posted the following jersey numbers for the incoming freshmen.  I'm not sure how accurate they are, but here's what he gave:

3 Russell Bellomy
5 Justice Hayes
18 Blake Countess
20 Tamani Carter
21 Raymon Taylor
24 Delonte Holowell
35 Greg Brown
38 Thomas Rawls
40 Antonio Poole
44 Desmond Morgan
45 Matt Wile
52 Kellen Jones
57 Frank Clark
58 Chris Bryant
79 Tony Posada
82 Chris Barnett
92 Keith Heitzman
95 Chris Rock
97 Brennen Beyer

Sorry, I did not get Russell Bellomy (EDIT: Bellomy is #3.  Thanks, readers!) or Jack Miller.

2011 Recruiting Awards

Offensive guard Chris Bryant

This is something I do every year, and it's a fun exercise for me:
2009 Recruiting Awards
2010 Recruiting Awards

Best overall recruit:  OG Chris Bryant
Bryant has the size, strength, footwork, and athleticism to be a great offensive lineman at Michigan.  As long as he can get rid of some of his bad weight and stay well conditioned throughout his career, I think he'll be an All-Big Ten player by the end of his career.

Best offensive recruit: Bryant
See above.

Best defensive recruit: CB Blake Countess
Countess isn't the biggest or fastest kid out there, but he's got a good quality for a cornerback - sticky.  Receivers just don't seem to get away from him.  He probably needs to bulk up before playing (we all saw what happened to Courtney Avery and Terrence Talbott last year), but he could be a slot corner early in his career before taking over on the outside after a year or two.

Recruit most likely to make an early impact: K Matt Wile
If former walk-on Seth Broekhuizen or redshirt sophomore Brendan Gibbons steps up his game, then Wile might not be needed as a freshman.  But those first two combined for 4-for-14 on field goals last season.  It's also entirely possible that Wile will redshirt as a freshman, but Michigan returns the vast majority of its two-deep from last season, so a lot of these 2011 recruits will probably be redshirted.  Wile seems like the best candidate.

Fastest recruit: CB/S Raymon Taylor
Taylor reminds me of departing cornerback James Rogers in many ways.  While Taylor is probably more physical, he has good straight-line speed and a smooth stride. 

Strongest recruit: Bryant
Bryant reports a bench press of 395 pounds and a squat of 420.  Even if he couldn't bench press Charlie Weis, all Bryant had to do with most high schoolers was get a hand on them and they fell to the ground, begging for mercy.

Best under-the-radar recruit: LB Desmond Morgan
Michigan has a good history with linebackers from western Michigan, and I like the fact that Morgan was a bulldozing quarterback in high school.  Quarterbacks just seem to understand the game better.  I think there will be a good battle for the middle linebacker job between Morgan and classmate Kellen Jones once redshirt junior Kenny Demens graduates.

Most overrated recruit: LB Frank Clark
The problem with this "award" is that nobody's rated very highly.  And while my choice if Rich Rodriguez were here would be Justice Hayes, I actually think Hayes will fit better in Hoke's system than that of Rodriguez.  I don't think Hayes is a threat to start anytime soon, but he could be a very good change-of-pace back.  So I'm going to go with Clark, who is only a 3-star.  But I haven't seen anything from Clark that shows me he's going to be a successful college football player, especially as a linebacker.  If he were rated as a 2-star recruit, I probably wouldn't bat an eyelash.  He has some potential with his size and speed, but he needs a lot of coaching.

Personal favorite recruit: LB Antonio Poole
This kid looks like the future at weakside linebacker.  He can run, he can hit, and best of all, he plays downhill.  He might have to bide his time for a couple years, but he might be the second coming of Larry Foote.

Matt Wile, Wolverine

San Diego kicker Matt Wile

Matt Wile, a 6'2", 210 lb. kicker from San Diego, CA, committed to Michigan on Saturday.  Wile is a 2-star recruit to Rivals and ESPN but unranked to Scout.  He also holds offers from Air Force, Nebraska, San Diego State, and Washington.

Originally recruited by Brady Hoke's staff when they were at San Diego State, Hoke honored the scholarship offer when he got the job at Michigan.  Wile is the fifth kicker in the history of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl to choose Michigan, making Michigan the most frequent destination for USAAB kickers.  The other four have been Garrett Rivas, Zoltan Mesko, Brendan Gibbons, and Will Hagerup.  And when Wile enrolls later this year, he will be a fifth-generation Michigan Wolverine.

As a junior, Wile went 9-for-12 on field goals with a long of 48.  He also kicked the ball into the endzone 89% of the time.  In his senior season, he finished 10-for-13 with a long of 49 and a touchback percentage of 91%.  He also played linebacker for his high school team, and you can see some of his tackling/blocking talents in the video below.

Michigan kickers (the aforementioned Brendan Gibbons, who is on scholarship; and walk-on Seth Broekhuizen) combined for a 4-for-14 season in 2010.  Rich Rodriguez successfully recruited a kicker in the 2011 class, convincing Matt Goudis to flip from Boise State; however, Goudis obviously makes a habit of indecision, since he changed his commitment to Miami a couple weeks later.  New coach Brady Hoke obviously still saw a need for another kicker, which is why he's also committing a third scholarship to a specialist.  All three scholarship kickers on Michigan's roster are USAAB alumni, but it's somewhat rare that a school has to commit three free rides to specialists.

I know very little about kicking, so I won't pretend to have much criticism here.  What I do know is that Michigan's field goal accuracy in 2010 (29%) paled in comparison to Wile's over the past couple seasons (76%).  If giving out a third scholarship to a kicker means that Michigan can attempt more field goals - and make a higher percentage of them - then I'm okay with it.  You can't just throw a crappy kicker out there, cross your fingers, close your eyes, and hope.  Wile's presence will either spur Brendan Gibbons (whose work ethic has been questioned) to fight for his job or give Wile a shot to kick as a true freshman.

Punter Will Hagerup took over the kickoff duties late in the season, and he did a better job than either Gibbons or Broekhuizen.  Even though Wile averaged over 41 yards per punt as a high schooler, Hagerup's job as punter probably won't be challenged. 

What should Michigan fans expect?  Wile has been practicing kicking off the ground for a couple seasons, so the transition to college shouldn't be extremely difficult for him.  I wouldn't be surprised to see Wile kicking field goals in 2011.  Gibbons couldn't beat out some mediocre kickers as a true freshman in 2009 and redshirted.  In 2010 he sat most of the time and watched another walk-on beat him out.  It's not a stretch to imagine that Gibbons will once again be watching from the sideline this coming season.