Review of 2007 Recruiting: Safeties

Jerimy Finch

THE ROSTER
Anton Campbell, RS Sr.
Brandent Englemon, RS Sr.
Jamar Adams, Sr.
Charles Stewart, RS So.
Steve Brown, So.

THE RECRUITS
Artis Chambers
High school: Fort Wayne (IN) Snyder
Ratings: Rivals 3-star, #41 S
College: Michigan
Other notable offers: Indiana, Purdue
Scoop: Chambers played a bit as a true freshman in 2007, making 7 total tackles, including a 5-tackle performance against Notre Dame. He made 2 more tackles in 2008 before leaving the team in the middle of the season for unknown reasons. He transferred to Ball State and had to sit out the 2009 season due to transfer rules, but he was gone by 2010. He reappeared at Delta State University in 2012 and made 7 tackles in six games. His career appears to be finished.

Michael Williams
High school: Ventura (CA) St. Bonaventure
Ratings: Rivals 4-star, #15 S
College: Michigan
Other notable offers: Arizona, Arizona State, Notre Dame
Scoop: Williams was a highly touted recruit out of California who redshirted as a freshman in 2007. The newly hired Rich Rodriguez used him as a box safety in 2008, when he made 18 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 1 sack. He became a nine-game starter as a redshirt sophomore in 2009 and made 56 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 pass breakup. He appeared in just two games in 2010 and made 2 tackles before the last in a long line of concussions caused his career to come to a close.

Hit the jump for the scoop on the other guys Michigan targeted, including Ohio State-bound Eugene Clifford and one-time Michigan commit Jerimy Finch.

Troy Woolfolk has an Ouchie

I hope this makes you feel better.

Reports and statements after practice today strongly suggest that senior cornerback Troy Woolfolk dislocated an ankle today. If that rumored prognosis is accurate, Woolfolk will most likely miss the entire 2010 season.

Who will take Woolfolk's spot at cornerback?
This practically cements the starting cornerbacks as redshirt sophomore J.T. Floyd and true freshman Cullen Christian. Floyd was probably set to be the #2 cornerback. Christian is the most talented of three incoming freshmen at the position, with more talent and potential than Terrence Talbott and Courtney Avery. Senior cornerback-turned-wideout-turned-cornerback James Rogers will also be in the mix.

Will any position changes occur to fill the void at cornerback?
Michigan doesn't have the talent or depth at other positions to move many guys. Sophomore Teric Jones played cornerback last year but moved to Bandit in the spring. When redshirt freshman J.T. Turner decided to transfer last week, head coach Rich Rodriguez stated that Jones would get practice reps at Bandit and cornerback. I imagine that Jones will make a full-scale move to cornerback now. Another option is true freshman D.J. Williamson, a 6'1", 170 lb. receiver who played a little defense in high school. Longshots to move include true freshman safety Ray Vinopal and redshirt junior safety Michael Williams, who has seemingly been squeezed out of the competition at Spur. None of these players should be considered as challengers for the starting cornerback job, however.

How did the depth at cornerback get so . . . shallow?
From the Class of 2007, wide receiver/cornerback Zion Babb ran off after Rodriguez arrived in Ann Arbor. Five-star cornerback recruit Donovan Warren entered the 2010 NFL Draft early, only to go undrafted. Cornerback/safety recruit Michael Williams suffered a knee injury and moved to safety full-time after Ron English was let go.

From the Class of 2008, Boubacar Cissoko took stupid pills once he arrived on campus and was booted from the team in mid-2009.

From the Class of 2009, athlete recruit Denard Robinson was pegged by some teams as a cornerback; he came to Michigan as a quarterback and has seemingly taken the lead in the race to be behind center in 2010. J.T. Turner arrived on campus out of shape and remained out of shape; he decided he'd had enough of Mike Barwis and his crazy "stay in shape" demands, so he received his transfer papers last week. Robinson's high school teammate Adrian Witty failed to qualify initially, and then once he qualified, Michigan's Admissions department failed to admit him for January 2010.

From the Class of 2010, prized defensive back recruit Demar Dorsey failed to meet Michigan's admissions standards (and apparently Louisville's, too). The late pursuit of Dorsey may have curtailed Michigan's chase for a couple potential mid-level cornerback recruits, particularly Rashad Knight and Tony Grimes. Athlete recruit Conelius Jones failed to qualify.

Overall, that's nine potential cornerbacks who are either playing other positions (Michael Williams, Denard Robinson) or no longer on the team. I can't blame Lloyd Carr or Rodriguez for most of those position changes and such. However, the handling of the cases of Adrian Witty, Demar Dorsey, and Conelius Jones should come into question now. Why were those three allowed to sign Letters of Intent if they weren't qualified? At such an important position - and one in such dire need - Rodriguez couldn't afford to hand out scholarships to kids who would never play a down for Michigan. He did anyway. I hope I'm wrong, but this could be a major failure of the Rodriguez regime at Michigan.

Are there any positives that could come of this?
Well . . . uhhh . . . since Woolfolk played as a true freshman in 2007 (a waste of a redshirt at the time), he's only a fourth year senior this season. He could possibly regain his health enough to play as a redshirt senior in 2011.

How much does this impair Michigan on the field in 2010?
Significantly. The likely starter at free safety is a true freshman who changed positions from wide receiver in the spring. One starting cornerback is a guy who many (including me) believed should be a safety . . . that is, if Michigan had enough depth at cornerback to move him. The other starting cornerback is either James Rogers, a senior who has barely seen the field in three years, or a true freshman. Michigan's defense was going to be bad in 2010, anyway. The loss of Woolfolk not only affects the passing game negatively, but also exchanges a solid tackler for an 18-year-old kid who admittedly needs to improve his tackling (Christian). This injury probably lowers Michigan's win total by one or two games.

2010 Countdown: #39 Mike Williams

Name: Mike Williams
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 190 lbs.
High school: St. Bonaventure High School in Santa Yuez, CA
Position: Spur
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #40
Last year: I ranked Williams #17 and said "Big hitter needs to solidify safety spot." He did not, although he recorded 56 tackles.

By the end of last year, a lot of people had given up on Mike Williams. He came in as a pretty big-time recruit after playing in the Army All American Game but redshirted as a freshman, partly due to injury. With the regime change that came prior to the 2008 season, Williams was kind of thrown under the bus - not on purpose, but by circumstance. Under Lloyd Carr and Ron English, Williams was being groomed to play the slot corner position that Brandon Harrison played so effectively. That position was essentially eliminated with the hiring of new defensive coordinator Scott Shafer, and Williams moved to safety.

That's where he remained in 2009 with the hiring of Greg Robinson, but Ron English had a bead on Williams (whom English recruited out of California) that the two subsequent coordinators have not. English could see that Williams wasn't great playing in space, which is why he intended to play Williams over the slot. Due to shoddy recruiting, injuries, and what MGoBlog has deemed "Angry Michigan Safety Hating God," Williams found himself covering deep zones in 2009. If you're wondering how that worked out, check out the 2009 Michigan-Iowa game. Yeah . . . not good. In addition, Williams was prevented from playing special teams in 2009, a unit on which Williams blocked a punt and made 11 special teams tackles in the previous year.

For spring 2010 Williams moved to Spur, which is essentially the position Steve Brown occupied in 2009; it's a linebacker/safety hybrid, one that won't have deep responsibilities very often (if at all) and will largely be supporting the run. This fits Williams's strengths well. He dropped to third on the depth chart in the spring (behind Thomas Gordon and Floyd Simmons), but the story's not over for Williams. He'll face stiff competition from incoming freshmen as well, but Williams has this year and 2011 to make his mark. If he can become more disciplined (Illinois quarterback Juice Williams embarrassed #40 several times last year), he has the speed and hitting ability to be a good player. If nothing else, he should be flying downfield on coverage units.

Prediction for 2010: Backup spur, special teams coverage

Scouting Report: Johnathan Aiken, DB - Hollywood, FL

Chaminade-Madonna defensive back Johnathan Aiken

Height: 5'11"
Weight: 185 lbs.
Class: 2011
Position: Safety/cornerback
School: Chaminade-Madonna High School in Hollywood, FL
40 Yard Dash: 4.49 (reported)
Vertical: 34"

Notes: Holds offers from Florida International, Marshall, Michigan, and South Florida . . . Brother, Kamar Aiken, plays wide receiver for Central Florida [Edit: Kamar is no relation to Johnathan]. . . Plays running back on offense . . . Wears jersey #21

Strengths: Great acceleration . . . Good mirroring instincts . . . High energy player . . . Seems to be one of team's emotional leaders . . . Solid tackler despite small stature . . . Squares up and wraps up ballcarrier . . . Great special teams player . . . Fearless in kick coverage . . . Has knack for blocking kicks and punts . . . Good running skills once ball is in his hands . . . Ability to change directions quickly . . . Excellent blitzer off the edge

Weaknesses: Does not run legs on contact . . . Leaves feet too often when making contact . . . Can be too aggressive at times without breaking down to tackle, leaving him open to missing tackles . . . Lacks ideal height . . . Good but not great speed, despite superb acceleration . . . Average ball skills when ball is in the air

Projection: Aiken has starter-level potential as a strong safety for a BCS contender

Reminds me of: current Michigan safety Michael Williams

What will Michigan's defense look like in 2010?

News this past week has percolated from insiders to Michigan fans that safety Mike Williams will be changing positions from "safety" (he played both strong and free safety last year) to "spur." This has caused some confusion for Michigan fans, some of whom are concerned that Michigan will employ the 3-3-5 stack look that Rich Rodriguez utilized in his time at West Virginia.

Let me assure you that this will not be the case, at least not in my opinion. I expect Michigan's base defensive package in 2010 to be a 4-2-5 defense, and hopefully the remainder of my post will explain what personnel we should see this coming season and why.

DEFENSIVE LINE

First of all, the defensive line will likely be Michigan's strength once again in 2010. Michigan's best player (Brandon Graham) departs, but there are capable components remaining. I expect Ryan Van Bergen to slide over to the strongside defensive end from his old defensive tackle position. Mike Martin should become the 3-tech defensive tackle, who lines up on the guard's outside shoulder; this will give him a chance to penetrate against slower guards and avoid the double-teams he faced at nose tackle. Either sophomore William Campbell or senior Renaldo Sagesse will play nose tackle, and sophomore Craig Roh will play weakside defensive end.

LINEBACKERS
With only two "capable" (and I use that term loosely) linebackers returning, it would behoove Michigan to employ as few linebackers as possible. Jonas Mouton and Obi Ezeh are both fifth-year seniors, and while they both underperformed last season, their backups (Kevin Leach and J.B. Fitzgerald) weren't much better, if at all. Last year's starting SAM Steve Brown has moved on, and his replacements were to be one of two second-year players (Brandin Hawthorne, Mike Jones) or incoming freshman Josh Furman, who won't arrive on campus until June. That's a lot of youth and inexperience. Further evidence that last year's SAM position will disappear lies in the fact that Mike Jones will be competing at the weakside linebacker position in the spring. I sincerely doubt the coaches would stock such an important position as the SAM with only Hawthorne and Furman.

CORNERBACK
Recent reports indicate that Troy Woolfolk, who played deep safety last year, will start spring ball at the cornerback position. While I don't think that Woolfolk will remain at corner through the season, this makes sense for spring ball. Why? Michigan's only returning scholarship cornerbacks are Justin Turner and J.T. Floyd, and Floyd would likely be a safety if the depth weren't so shallow. Reinforcements arrive in the summer in the forms of freshmen Cullen Christian, Demar Dorsey, Courtney Avery, and Terrence Talbott. Unfortunately, no cornerbacks (or defensive players, period) enrolled in January.

SAFETY
I'm going to break this down into three components, since terminology and positioning will likely change for this season. If you remember, last year's "free safety" was an in-the-box player, like Jordan Kovacs. The "strong safety" was the deep safety, which was manned by Troy Woolfolk before he moved to cornerback halfway through the season.

Spur
Spur is the name used to define a traditional strong safety-type player, someone who can play the role of a run-stopping outside linebacker but with better cover skills. However, the spur plays on the weak side of the defensive formation. Therefore, this year's spur will be much like 2009's free safety. As mentioned above, Mike Williams will play spur in the spring, and he could very well be our starter to begin the season. Other players who will likely play spur are redshirt freshmen Thomas Gordon and Brandin Hawthorne. He would usually have outside contain against the run. Both the spur and the boundary safety (see below) could have a deep zone against the pass, depending on the coverage called. In man coverage, he would have the #2 receiver (the second receiver from the sideline).

Deep safety
I hesitate to call this "free safety," but that's basically what it is. This is the safety who has the deep middle in a Cover 3, a deep half in Cover 2, etc. This spot will most likely be filled by Vladimir Emilien in the spring, but it's also where I expect to see Troy Woolfolk in September. I also think Cameron Gordon will get a tryout at deep safety, although eventually he'll likely play closer to the line. This is the safety who has the deep middle in a Cover 3, a deep half in Cover 2, etc. In straight-up man coverage, he could have the #3 receiver (the third receiver from the sideline) against a trips formation, but defensive coordinator Greg Robinson likely won't put him in that kind of call.

Boundary safety
I hesitate to call this "strong safety," but that's basically what it is. Jordan Kovacs, Teric Jones, and others will get a shot at the strong safety position. This player will likely have outside contain against the run and the strongside flat in zone coverage. In man coverage, he would have the #2 receiver (the second receiver from the sideline), whether it's a slot receiver or a tight end.

What does it all mean?
Well, what it all means is that the coaches are trying to get the best players on the field. They think that the team would be better off with someone like redshirt junior Mike Williams on the field than youngsters like Brandin Hawthorne and Josh Furman. And they also realize that there's no point in removing a player from the most talented and experienced unit (the defensive line) to put in an extra defensive back, which they would have to do in a 3-3-5.

If you're looking for further resources on the 4-2-5 defense, check out The Football-Defense Report, which is where I got the diagram above.

Position Switch: Cameron Gordon to Safety

Wide receiver Cameron Gordon has switched to safety

AnnArbor.com published an article yesterday about wide receiver Cameron Gordon making the switch to safety. A former 4-star wide receiver, he came to Michigan in part because the coaches told him he could compete at wideout. He spent his freshman season redshirting. Reports from practice indicated that he had good hands and, at 6'2" and 210 lbs., was willing to go over the middle. Unfortunately for him, Rodriguez's offense at Michigan hasn't shown a propensity for using wide receivers in the middle of the field. That would be practically the equivalent of having a rifle-armed defensive tackle. The offense predicates itself on getting athletes in space, and Gordon doesn't have the speed or quickness to shake free from cornerbacks.

The article doesn't identify which safety position Gordon will play, but one can assume that he'll play the weak safety position, where he'll likely compete with freshmen Marvin Robinson and Carvin Johnson, redshirt sophomore Jordan Kovacs, and redshirt junior Mike Williams. This position requires less speed and a more physically imposing presence than the strong safety position. As the article illustrates, Gordon displayed some good hitting ability during special teams practice, so much so that the defensive coaches hinted constantly that he should move to defense.

This switch is far from surprising. In last season's preview profile of Gordon, I suggested that he would be better off on defense. I still think he's best suited for linebacker, particularly the weak inside linebacker position held tenuously by Jonas Mouton. Perhaps this is the next step in a slow transition to WILL, because I don't foresee Gordon having the speed to play weak safety, either. There are times in this defense where the strong safety has to roll over to play man coverage on the strong side, meaning the weak safety has to back up to play the deep middle or a deep half. In my opinion, this would expose Gordon, as it did Jordan Kovacs at times last year.

A Letter to Michael Williams

Dear Michael Williams,

First of all, let me thank you for how hard you work and how hard you play for the Michigan Wolverines. You came back from a tough knee injury as a true freshman, but you run hard and you work hard. And you hit hard, too. It's disappointing that the internet is crawling with so many know-it-all Michigan fans who think you're washed up, that you're just a bad football player, end of story.

When you came out of high school in 2007, I thought you were going to be a good player. You reminded me of Brandon Harrison - short and fast but a hitter. It turned out that the Michigan staff thought the same thing. You were to be groomed as the heir to Harrison, a slot cornerback. You would learn to blitz off the edge, cover slot receivers, force sweeps back to the inside, stuff like that. You were perfect for that position. Then the knee injury happened and you redshirted as a freshman. There's no shame in that.

Then at the end of 2007, Lloyd Carr retired. Rich Rodriguez came in to be the head coach, and he hired a guy named Scott Shafer, a young guy who had success at lower-tier programs. Shafer had plans on using you a little bit differently for the 2008 season. He still used you like Harrison, but by then, Harrison had been switched to strong safety. You had 18 tackles and a sack as a backup strong safety. That's a pretty good year for a backup safety.

But the whole Shafer thing didn't work out. He was fired after an abysmal year, and Rich Rodriguez hired Greg Robinson for 2009. Now here's a coach with a track record. He coached the Denver Broncos defense to a couple Super Bowls, coordinated for the Kansas City Chiefs. This guy clearly knows what he's doing. He worked with you a little bit and figured you'd be perfect for free safety. In his defense, the free safety plays almost like a weakside outside linebacker. This was perfect for you, too - you would be free to make plays in the running game without having to take on too many lead blockers. But then you got dinged up against Notre Dame and Jordan Kovacs took your job for a little bit.

Then came the Iowa game on October 10, 2009. Your buddy Boubacar Cissoko got suspended for the game, which meant the coaches would have to switch the starting strong safety, Troy Woolfolk, to cornerback. But you were a trooper when the coaches said you would have to take Woolfolk's spot as the deep safety. (It was either you or Kovacs, and let's be honest, Kovacs is about as fast as Johnny Thompson.) Of course, Iowa has some pretty good coaches, and they noticed that you were a newbie back there at safety. I mean, when was the last time you played a deep third? In high school when you played free safety? Anyway, the Hawkeyes took advantage of you for one big play, in particular. And then the fan base jumped all over you.

In the Illinois game, you were back to playing close to the line of scrimmage. And I have to admit, you didn't play well. You might have made 17 tackles, but Juice Williams had his way with you. You didn't keep outside contain on the QB, and that gave the Illini some big chunks of yardage. But you know that, right? I mean, I'm sure the coaches didn't have to tell you that you screwed up for you to realize it.

Since the Iowa game, fans have been all over you. You've been yo-yoing back and forth between FS and SS, and the coaches have been trying to figure out which position suits you best. The truth is, you're probably not ready to play. At a lot of schools, you'd probably be sprinting down the field on special teams and standing on the sideline when the defense is on the field.

But these fans, they want perfection. See, when they were 18 and got a job at McDonald's running the cash register, they messed up an order one time. So they immediately got fired and put on the fryer. But on their second day with the fryer, they left the fries in for too long and got moved to sweeping the floors. And they did just fine with that. And that's how they learned that the only way to improve isn't by repetition - it's by being fired from job after job until they find one that they're actually smart enough to do.

I hope you caught on to my sarcasm, because I realize that it must be tough for you. You've played four different positions for three different defensive coordinators and two different position coaches in three years. I want you to perform well, and I get frustrated when you don't. But most of the people who attack you and say you're washed up, they don't understand. They figure that if Greg Robinson plugged you in at middle linebacker or punter, you could be good at those positions within a week. But the smart ones know better. Listen to the smart ones.

Sincerely,

Thunder

Illinois 38, Michigan 13

Carlos Brown taken down on first contact? Inconceivable!
Nope...wait a minute...yeah, that's conceivable.

This was a day that will go down in history as . . . a loss to Illinois.

What I learned from Saturday was that Rich Rodriguez is not the savior of the Michigan program. He is not a genius who can make lemonade out of . . . I don't know . . . used bicycle tires. He is a football coach who has huge flaws, especially when his team has huge flaws itself.

Illinois was a 1-win football team before Saturday, and that win didn't even come against an FBS school. They beat the winningest program in college football history, and it wasn't even close. Michigan's inexperienced and untalented defense gave up 500 yards total, 377 of which came on the ground. Illinois had not one 100-yard rusher, but two (running backs Micheal Leshoure and Jason Ford) . . . and that's not counting the 97 yards rushing from their nearly-benched starting quarterback, Juice Williams.

In last week's game against Penn State, the offense seemed to blame. They consistently failed to give Michigan's defense a chance. This week both sides of the ball seem to have regressed from earlier in the year. Michigan continues to turn the ball over on offense (3 fumbles) while failing to get turnovers on defense (uhhh . . . 0 fumbles, 0 interceptions). Prior to Saturday's game, Michigan was 105th in the country. I'm assuming they're even lower now, although I refuse to look up the stats.

I have to admit that I turned off the game with a few minutes left in the third quarter. I'm usually very calm when watching games on TV, but when free safety Mike Williams lost contain on Juice Williams for about the tenth time on the zone read option, I screamed "Stop doing that!" at the TV. I figured that meant I had had enough, so I shut it off. Mike Williams goes full speed all the time. Unfortunately, he's often aimed in the wrong direction, despite racking up 16 tackles. Other leading tacklers this year include walk-on safety Jordan Kovacs and walk-on linebacker Kevin Leach, so when safeties and/or slow, undersized quasi-linebackers are notching the majority of your takedowns, something is wrong.

Speaking of something horribly wrong . . . 38-13. Against a one-win team. A one-win team that led by a score of only 14-13 at halftime.

Offensive game ball goes to...Roy Roundtree? Sure. I guess. I don't know. The offense only mustered one touchdown and two field goals against a bad defense. Choices are slim.

Defensive game ball goes to...Brandon Graham. Seven tackles, one sack, one blocked punt.

Let's see less of this guy on offense...Carlos Brown. I can't believe Rich Rodriguez left Brown in on the goal line. That was the most ridiculous coaching decision from yesterday. Brown is fast, but he hasn't broken a tackle since that one time in his freshman year when he was playing Madden and hit the truck stick. If Minor is healthy enough to come in on fourth down, he's healthy enough to come in on first down. And if he's not? Put Moundros in at fullback and Kevin Grady at tailback. Hell, put John McColgan in at fullback with Grady at tailback. Put Vincent Smith or Michael Shaw at tailback. Brown pussy-footed his way into the hole on 3rd down (maybe 2nd down) and I let out a loud sigh. That whole set of downs was asinine.

Let's see less of this guy on defense...Michael Williams. I'm sorry for predicting that he would/should start at safety prior to the season. I thought he was better than this. He's not. He was single-handedly responsible for Juice Williams's rushing TD and about 50 more of Juice's yards. My high schoolers can defend the zone read option better than he did. Put Troy Woolfolk back at strong safety, move Kovacs to free safety, and plug J.T. Floyd back in at cornerback. I'd rather have a bad cornerback than a bad safety.

Penn State 35, Michigan 10

Alex Smith expresses the sentiment of the day.

My thoughts on this game are incomplete. When Carlos Brown fumbled with about five minutes left in the third quarter, I headed out. Brandon Graham had just blocked a punt in Penn State's territory, and even though I knew Michigan probably wouldn't win (it was already 32-10), I thought Michigan might at least make it respectable.

Instead, I went to a charity cash party and gambled away money. Unfortunately, I was surrounded by Penn State fans.

Yesterday was an offensive abomination. I had issues with the playcalling and substitutions. Previously dependable players weren't dependable. Starting center David Molk returned only to get injured and force somewhat incompetent backup center David Moosman into action as the snapper. Penalties. Poor quarterback reads. Fumbles. Interceptions. It seems like every team has an absolutely horrible game once per year, and hopefully this is Michigan's final one this year.

Everyone and his mother knew the game was over when Michigan produced perhaps the worst offensive series of the year. Starting deep in Michigan's own territory, the Wolverines ran the ball on first down and Mark Ortmann got called for holding. The ball was on Michigan's 4-yard-line. Then Ortmann false started on (er, prior to) the next snap. Prior threw an incomplete pass on second down. Then Tate Forcier took a delay of game penalty, putting the ball on the 1. On third down, while Forcier was calling an audible and stepped to the side, David Moosman inexplicably snapped the ball out of the back of the end zone. Safety. The end.

Even though Michigan gave up 396 yards to Penn State, I really didn't think Michigan played horribly on that side of the ball. For the most part, I thought the players did pretty well. Just like on offense, Michigan was outsmarted.

PSU was able to isolate subpar defensive players in pass coverage. Starting middle linebacker Obi Ezeh was twice exposed, once against running back Evan Royster and once against tight end Andrew Quarless. But he had no business being one-on-one with Royster, who was lined up all the way on the sideline. And in a Tampa Two scheme (in which the two safeties play halves while the MIKE covers the deep middle), both Jordan Kovacs and Mike Williams failed to react to Quarless running straight up the middle of the field; meanwhile, backup Quick Brandon Herron failed to chuck Quarless coming off the line of scrimmage.

Michigan's cornerbacks also did a poor job of covering the wide receivers early in the game. They seemed to be trying to protect Michigan's young, inexperienced safeties and bailing out a little too quickly. This left PSU's receivers wide open on outs and hitches.

I'm depressing myself, so let's finish up.

Offensive game ball goes to...uhhh...Brandon Minor? I don't know. He led the team in rushing, scored a TD, and didn't fumble. Sure. Let's give it to him.

Defensive game ball goes to...Brandon Graham. He had 7 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and half a sack. I wouldn't even want to shake hands with that guy, as I would probably incur the most pain I've ever felt. Remember in the movie Speed how there were those big barrels of water on the highway to prevent stray cars from running into concrete barriers? Opposing quarterbacks would be wise to make their pads out of big barrels of water.

Let's see less of this guy on offense...Denard Robinson. He's not being used effectively, and that's on Rodriguez. I hate to say it, but I really haven't seen a single reason to believe that this guy should remain at quarterback for the remainder of his Michigan career. He's a turnover waiting to happen, especially on passing downs. Disregarding the Delaware State game, six of Robinson's 13 drives this year have ended in a turnover. Yesterday he was 0-for-2 with an interception and a fumble. He doesn't make good reads in the passing or running game. And absent the threat of the pass, Robinson's running abilities are becoming less and less effective. Rodriguez should use Robinson on occasional plays in the middle of drives or on two-QB plays at random times, but what's happening right now isn't working. So it needs to be changed.

Let's see less of this guy on defense...Obi Ezeh. I'm not saying he should lose his job, but he's not a three-down linebacker. I'd like to see defensive coordinator Greg Robinson start to mix in some 4-2-5 nickel packages. I like Michigan's four-man front with Roh in there. On obvious passing downs, Coach Robinson should remove Ezeh in favor of a third cornerback. I think Boubacar Cissoko would be a good slot corner, so the back seven would consist of linebackers Mouton and Steve Brown; corners Donovan Warren, Troy Woolfolk, and Cissoko; and safeties Kovacs and Williams.

Picture via TheWolverine.com

Iowa 30, Michigan 28

Single wing QB Denard Robinson

Well, last night was frustrating. Not only because we lost, but because the loss was self-inflicted. Five turnovers, blown coverages, bad coaching decisions. Michigan clearly seemed to be the more talented team, but luckily for Iowa, talent doesn't always win.

I would be remiss if I started this post with anything but a discussion of Rich Rodriguez's decision to go with freshman Denard Robinson on the last drive in the fourth quarter. That was the biggest decision of the night - and the worst, in my opinion - and it might have cost Michigan the game.

Assuming Rodriguez benched starter Tate Forcier because of Forcier's performance (8/19 for 94 yards and an INT, 8 carries for 26 yards), it was an indefensible decision. Two of Michigan's victories this season (Notre Dame and Indiana) are the direct result of Forcier's late-game heroics. Last week's near-victory against Michigan State came after Michigan was down 20-6 halfway through the fourth quarter and Forcier directed two touchdown drives. Meanwhile, backup Denard Robinson has had a couple electrifying TD runs while failing to pass the ball efficiently in spot duty this season. Prior to last night, Robinson was 4/11 for 57 yards, zero touchdowns, and 2 interceptions.

When Robinson entered the game in the second-to-last series last night, Forcier wasn't performing well. Michigan needed a spark. I understand that. Robinson completed two short passes on that drive and ended the series with a short TD run. The offense needed a spark? Mission accomplished.

But with 1:30 left and Michigan needing to go 80 yards with no timeouts, Rodriguez shouldn't have played the running quarterback, no matter how poorly Forcier had played to that point. Robinson is clearly a subpar passer and showed it when he badly overthrew a bracketed Junior Hemingway that resulted in the game-ending interception. Robinson finished the game 3/4 for 30 yards and 1 interception, which raised his passer efficiency rating to 55.39 on the season. By comparison, Forcier's PER is 133.11. Furthermore, Nick Sheridan's PER in 2008 was 81.08. That's right - Robinson is a significantly worse passer than Nick Sheridan. So not only should Forcier have been in the game at the end, but one could make the argument that Sheridan should have been in there instead of Robinson, too.

Now, some theories suggest that Forcier got benched because he and Rodriguez had words on the sideline. I didn't see evidence of that during the telecast, but it's possible. If that's true and Rodriguez was using the benching to teach Forcier a lesson, that might be a good reason. But if it was just based on their play, Forcier should have been on the field.

Otherwise, Michigan turned the ball over too much. The Wolverines fumbled, threw interceptions, muffed punts, etc. They achieved just about every method of turning the ball over. In between playing solid run defense (Iowa averaged 2.4 yards per rush), running the ball well (4.3 yards per carry), and playing decent pass coverage most of the time, Michigan gave the ball away too many times. You will rarely see a team win the game when they've turned the ball over four or five times.

Defensively, former starting cornerback Boubacar Cissoko was suspended for the game due to a violation of team rules. In his place, starting strong safety Troy Woolfolk moved over to cornerback. The starting safeties were walk-on Jordan Kovacs and redshirt sophomore Mike Williams. Woolfolk played better than either Cissoko or J.T. Floyd had earlier in the year, but Williams especially blew some coverages at key times. I can't blame him too much, as he's been playing close to the line for the past two years as almost a glorified outside linebacker. Michigan fans shouldn't expect that he'll be a great center fielder in his first extended playing time at the position, but he does have good speed and he's a solid tackler. If Woolfolk can solidify the cornerback position, I think Williams and Kovacs might be sufficient at the safety spots.

Offensive game ball goes to...the offensive line. The offensive line got destroyed last week against Michigan State, but center David Moosman (replacing the injured David Molk) made good snaps for the entire game and Michigan got a solid push from their undersized line against a strong Iowa front seven.

Defensive game ball goes to...Donovan Warren. He opened the game with a pick six and played pretty well for the rest of the game. He did get beat on a 47-yard pass on a 3rd-and-24, but that was at least partly because Mike Williams was slow to help from his safety position.

Let's see less of this guy on offense...Denard Robinson. Please, God, do not allow Rodriguez to put him on the field to pass the ball in key situations. He has a lower PER than Nick Sheridan and he can't run the full offense. Not only is he unable to pass the ball or even run the famed read option, but he also hasn't taken a single snap from under center (if I recall correctly) in the I-formation, which is the best way to run Brandon Minor. A large portion of the playbook goes out the window with Robinson in the game, and it's just QB draw, QB sweep right, QB draw, QB sweep left, QB draw, QB sweep right, onward to infinity.

Let's see less of this guy on defense...Boubacar Cissoko and J.T. Floyd. The rest of the defense played well except for the safeties, but there's no help coming for them. Kovacs and Williams need to improve with more experience and more reps. Meanwhile, while Cissoko didn't play at all and Floyd played sparingly, Woolfolk held his own at the cornerback position. Hopefully Greg Robinson keeps Woolfolk at corner and is able to coaches up those other safeties.

Spring football notes

According to reports from spring practice, it looks like the roster will be shaken up some.

Rumors are swirling that junior wide receiver Toney Clemons will no longer be playing for the Wolverines. This has been a rumor for a while, but he has been absent from practices, so the writing appears to be on the wall.

Redshirt freshman Patrick Omameh is running with the first team offensive line, and it looks like the odd man out could be redshirt junior John Ferrara. Redshirt junior Steve Schilling has moved to left guard to take Ferrara's spot, and Omameh has been plugged in at right tackle. The rest of the offensive line will likely remain the same.

Sophomore Justin Feagin, redshirt freshman Terrence Robinson, and senior Carlos Brown have all been practicing throwing the ball. None of them is being looked at as a possible quarterback; they are simply in the mix for occasional direct snaps.

The competition at running back seems to be working wonders. Reports are that all the available running backs (Michael Shaw is injured) look good and are running the ball well, and that includes true freshman Vincent Smith.

Sophomore J.B. Fitzgerald is battling Kenny Demens for the open linebacker job, but it looks like Fitzgerald has a leg up in that fight. The other linebacker who earned a starting nod last year, Marell Evans, is playing the hybrid DE/OLB position, along with Brandon Herron, Steve Watson, and Anthony Lalota.

The coaches are giving redshirt freshman Brandon Smith every opportunity to win the starting strong safety job. It looks like redshirt sophomore Michael Williams will be the starter at free safety. It's yet to be determined what role senior Steve Brown will play, but it looks like his role will change. He'll be playing closer to the line of scrimmage if Smith can prove himself worthy of the starting job.

This quite possibly means nothing, but one picture I saw showed Kevin Grady as the long snapper.