Name: J.T. Floyd
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 183 lbs.
High school: J.L. Mann High School in Greenville, SC
Position: Cornerback
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #12
Last year: I ranked Floyd #51 and said he wouldn't contribute much as a backup cornerback. He started two games at cornerback after Boubacar Cissoko was suspended from the team and ended the season with 17 tackles and 1 pass breakup.
Floyd was a safety in high school and came to Michigan as a safety/cornerback combo player. I really thought Floyd would/should end up at safety and that his spot as a backup cornerback was simply a result of the lack of depth at the position. I'm still not entirely convinced that I was wrong. Floyd was forced into action last season when Boubacar Cissoko went a little haywire. It's very telling to me that the coaches moved Troy Woolfolk from strong safety to cornerback and took Floyd off the field. Why? Because moving Woolfolk to cornerback meant that the coaches would rather have Jordan Kovacs and/or Mike Williams - both of whom were severely overmatched - playing deep safety than have Floyd on the field at cornerback. That's scary to me.
Here it is 2010, and Floyd has made the jump all the way to the #7 most important player on the team. Why? Well, due to the Great Migration of cornerbacks, Michigan has lost four of its top cornerbacks over the last ten months. Freshman Demar Dorsey didn't qualify, redshirt freshman J.T. Turner decided to transfer, senior Troy Woolfolk broke his ankle, and would-be junior Boubacar Cissoko is sitting in a jail cell for various ridiculous crimes. It is essential that Floyd has a good season in 2010. Other options at cornerback are a solid true freshman (Cullen Christian); a senior cornerback-turned-receiver-turned-cornerback benchwarmer (James Rogers); a sophomore running back-turned-cornerback-turned-safety-turned-cornerback (Teric Jones); and two true freshman midgets (Courtney Avery, Terrence Talbott). I am not expecting a huge turnaround from J.T. Floyd. I think he's limited physically, but if he can play fundamentally sound football, tackle consistently, and not allow receivers to race past him on the regular, then he'll have done a decent job.
Prediction for 2010: 55 tackles, 2 interceptions
Ryan Van Bergen was the leading vote earner with 40%. Floyd was second with 33%.
Magnus, I'm always wondering why UM plays so far off of the WRs while not utilizing the jam, especially with their zone. Having been a receiver, I know how much more difficult it is to beat a well-performed jam. I would also think that it's in the corner's best interest to jam the WR all the way down the field without the 5-yard rule that the NFL has. Is it because the staff doesn't trust the corners on a jam which could lead to a big gain? I'd like to hear your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
@ Mike
ReplyDeleteI think you're exactly right about not trusting the corner, but I have an addition to make - they don't trust the safeties, either. The secondary for Michigan hasn't been "great" or even "good" in a long time. To play press coverage, the corners have to be good enough athletes to recover if they whiff. Furthermore, the coaches have to trust the safeties to be able to clean up the mess if the corner whiffs.
Michigan has had a good corner here or there over the past few years, but the safety play has been unremarkable. If 2009 Donovan Warren whiffed on a jam, would you have trusted Michael Williams to clean up Warren's mess? And if 2010 J.T. Floyd whiffs, will you trust redshirt freshman position changer Cameron Gordon to pick him up?
That's why I think frequent press coverage has disappeared, and I think it will remain absent with our base Cover 3 defense this year.
"If 2009 Donovan Warren whiffed on a jam, would you have trusted Michael Williams to clean up Warren's mess?"
ReplyDeleteNo I would not have. Thanks for the response.
@ Mike
ReplyDeletelol Yeah...I wouldn't, either.
I really hope Floyd is going to be one of those guys that gets an interception in the first quarter of the first game that just boosts his confidence for the rest of the year. At this level most of the guys have the talent, it's just between the ears is where they are missing it but that's why they call it coaching eh Magnus? Good luck on your upcoming season, starts tonight right?
ReplyDelete@ Anonymous
ReplyDeleteI think Floyd is missing a tiny bit of physical talent (in particular, great speed), but like you said, coaching can make up for a lot of it.
Thanks for the well wishes. Our season actually starts next week (tonight's a scrimmage), but hopefully we do well tonight, too.
JT Floyd at #7...makes me shake my head and want to talk about the offense.
ReplyDeleteTroy Woolfolk somewhere in the top-6...makes me shake my head and want to talk about the offense.
ReplyDelete