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Thursday, June 16, 2011

2011 Countdown: #76 Brendan Gibbons

Brendan Gibbons
Name: Brendan Gibbons
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 227 lbs.
High school: Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, FL
Position: Kicker
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #34
Last year: I ranked Gibbons #18 and said he would be the kickoff specialist.  He kicked off in several games, went 1-for-5 on field goal attempts, and finished 13-for-14 on extra point attempts.

Well, the reason I selected Gibbons as #18 last year was because he needed to step up for Michigan to be successful.  The other option at placekicker was walk-on Seth Broekhuizen.  It was a silly notion to pick Gibbons, who required a redshirt year in 2009 because he couldn't beat out walk-ons that year, either.  I should have known better.

I've learned my lesson.  Here's Gibbons all the way down at #76.  The Rodriguez regime recruited California kicker Matt Goudis to give Gibbons a challenge, and when Goudis de-committed in favor of Miami, the newly hired Hoke staff successfully recruited California kicker Matt Wile, who frankly can't be any worse.  There have been rumors that Gibbons has been stubborn, won't respond to coaching, and generally seems to be dead weight.  And aside from all that, he was third on the team in kickoff average behind punter Will Hagerup and the aforementioned Broekhuizen.  This job is wide open.

Prediction: Backup kicker

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15 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 16, 2011 at 8:43 AM

    Maybe Gibbons could pack on another 10-15 lbs. and play fullback for UM in the future.

    /s

    Probably the only way we will get any value out of his scholarship.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ThunderJune 16, 2011 at 8:44 AM

    @ Anonymous 8:43 a.m.

    He did play linebacker in high school, and there is one pretty awesome hit on one of his highlight films. I don't think I've ever seen a position switch from kicker to fullback, but there's a first time for everything...

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  3. uniqenamJune 16, 2011 at 9:33 AM

    Where's the prospect rating? I was really looking forward to a "34" or something...

    ReplyDelete
  4. ThunderJune 16, 2011 at 9:38 AM

    @ uniquenman 9:33 a.m.

    lol I'm not doing ratings for 2009 guys, at least not yet. I've got to finish up the 2011 guys before I start going backward.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJune 16, 2011 at 11:24 AM

    So what exactly are the countdown ratings based on? The impact they will have on the team this season

    ReplyDelete
  6. ThunderJune 16, 2011 at 11:25 AM

    @ Anonymous 11:24 a.m.

    Yep.

    ReplyDelete
  7. GregGoBlueJune 16, 2011 at 11:40 AM

    Brendan Gibbons is like Garrett Rivas without talent.

    ReplyDelete
  8. KBJune 16, 2011 at 7:36 PM

    Any chance Hagerup wins the FG job?

    ReplyDelete
  9. LankowniaJune 16, 2011 at 7:37 PM

    Not that I disagree with the ranking, but this has to be one of the lowest possible rankings for someone who could potentially be the deciding factor (and make the deciding play) in multiple games this season. Of course, we all hope that's not the case...

    ReplyDelete
  10. BISBJune 16, 2011 at 8:04 PM

    @Greg:

    No, Gibbons is like Garrett Rivas with a side of OH MY GOD KICK IT BETWEEN THE YELLOW THINGS WTF HOW HARD IS THAT.

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousJune 17, 2011 at 11:10 PM

    Wile has never played a game yet, have you seen him play in person

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousJune 18, 2011 at 2:40 AM

    Matt Wile hasn't even played a game yet. Unless you have seen him in person, maybe you should give him a chance

    ReplyDelete
  13. ThunderJune 18, 2011 at 11:14 AM

    @ KB 7:36 p.m.

    I don't know that Hagerup has even been practicing field goals. AFAIK, he's limited to punts and kickoffs.

    ReplyDelete
  14. ThunderJune 18, 2011 at 11:16 AM

    @ Lankownia 7:37 p.m.

    You're right that he "could" be the deciding factor, but what's the difference between him, Broekhuizen, and Wile? Gibbons has only made one field goal in his career and already turned people off with his attitude. He's going in the wrong direction.

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  15. Marc ShepherdJune 18, 2011 at 1:23 PM

    The key point is that with 2 years of unfavorable evidence against him, it’s highly unlikely that Gibbons will beat his competition. SOMEBODY will be attempting FGs in game-deciding situations. It’s just unlikely to be Gibbons.

    Regarding recruiting rankings: the services don’t usually give a lot of stars to kickers. But as kickers go, his high school stats were good. Going in, there was no reason to doubt that he could succeed at Michigan. Kicking success in high school usually carries over to college. (I realize they use a tee in high school; that’s about the only difference.)

    Wile has reportedly been working his tail off over the summer, with a pretty good make percentage at non-trivial distances. That is very encouraging news.

    I know that Michigan doesn’t cut kids on scholarship, just for being bad at football. They have to violate a team rule, or something like that. If there is ever going to be an exception, Gibbons might be a candidate. I wonder how many college football teams have two scholarship placekickers? There can’t be many.

    ReplyDelete