2011 Countdown: #60 Brandon Herron

Brandon Herron

Name: Brandon Herron
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 220 lbs.
High school: Dulles High School in Stafford, TX
Position: Linebacker
Class: Redshirt senior
Jersey number: #58
Last year: I ranked Herron #43 and said he would be a backup OLB.  He had 7 tackles and 1 pass breakup.

Let me start off by saying that when Herron was recruited, not many Michigan fans expected much.  He was a 3-star to the recruiting sites and generally viewed as an undersized project.  With that disclaimer out of the way, he was 199 lbs. as a freshman, 218 lbs. as a sophomore . . . and has been 220 lbs. for the past three years.  At some point it seems a coach would have pulled him aside and said, "You're a linebacker, not a strong safety!"  Herron was the backup OLB to Craig Roh back in 2009 when he played a defensive end-ish position, and last year he was a 3-3-5 OLB.  This spring he was the backup middle linebacker.  And he's still only 220.

Linebackers can be successful in college at 220 lbs. or so, but not very often.  And when you get trucked by Michael Cox (on Cox's 68-yard TD run in the spring game) without even seeming to think about trying to wrap him up and take him down, then maybe you're too small.  I don't think Herron is in any danger of playing much this year, although with his speed and strength, he should be a special teams demon.  We'll see whether the new coaching staff can find a way to use his skills, but the influx of freshman linebackers puts him in a precarious position.

Prediction: Special teams contributor; third string linebacker