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| Joey Burzynski (image via Bardwell Lab) |
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 288 lbs.
High school: Carlsbad (CA) Carlsbad
Position: Offensive guard
Class: Redshirt senior
Jersey number: #56
Last year: I ranked Burzynski #53 and said he would be a backup offensive guard. He started one game at left guard and played in a total of four games.
Burzynski went into the 2013 season as a backup, and the walk-on finally got his chance to shine on October 19th against Indiana. In his first career start, he played a few series before an unfortunate thing happened: he tore his ACL. That knocked him out for the rest of the year, and it precipitated the burning of freshman Kyle Bosch's redshirt.
Burzynski is still 6'1" and hovering around 290 lbs., and as one might expect from an undersized walk-on, he frequently seems unable to move guys off the line. But the coaching staff likes him, so he gets continual shots to contribute on the field - four games in 2011, eight games in 2012, and four more in 2013 (including the lone start). Michigan appears to have a little more depth on the interior than in past seasons, so maybe Burzynski won't get as many opportunities to play. Even so, the past three seasons suggest that if a game gets out of hand or if an injury or two occur, we will see #56 trotting out at one of the guard positions. He also offers some flexibility to play center, but that position should be in hand this season.
Prediction: Backup offensive guard
He would struggle starting for a MAC team..lets hope Joey doesn't see the field unless we're 5 TD's ahead.. which may never happen this year.
ReplyDeleteWell, he started for a Big Ten team, beating out a handful of 4-star recruits, and did pretty well (albeit in limited action)...
DeleteI don't think you know what you're talking about; just about every offensive lineman on Michigan would have absolutely no problem starting on a MAC team. There's a reason these kids play division one football.
DeleteI know that he had been tried at C in the past, so I was disappointed that he was not considered for that spot in '13 when Jack Miller fell apart. It's a tough position obviously, but it's not uncommon to see walk-on's or undersized guys hold their own at the C position in CFB. If Burzynski could have played C, then they could have left Glasgow at LG. Again in '14, I think the key from the OL-personnel standpoint is to find an acceptable C who is not Glasgow.
ReplyDeleteWith all of this beef in the OL group now and Nuss' reported love of huge OL, Burzynski's window of opportunity may have come and gone.
Agreed, his position should have been center. Molk was actually not too much bigger and his quickness helped him a bunch.
DeleteI thought so too, but maybe he's just not good at snapping the ball.
DeleteMiller didn't "fall apart", he was just never good.
I can't believe he went out in public wearing that shirt.
ReplyDeleteBurzynski should be ahead of Miller. He played ahead of Miller in 2012 and then in 2013 again, by mid-season JB was starting while Miller was relegated to the bench. They are both undersized upperclassman, but JB is more experienced and more stout.
ReplyDeleteMiller might play or even start against undersized App State - it's worth keeping him engaged as a valuable insurance policy - but if a starter is hurt anywhere along the OL, I think JB gets time before Miller does.
It's fair to drop Burzynski back from last year, when he became a starter, but I think he's still underrated here. There's a decent chance he starts again when someone gets hurt or fails to play up to the coach's hopes (like Miller last year.)
The uncertainty at center (Glasgow's suspension, Glasgow's potential move to RT if anything happens, etc.) makes Miller more valuable to me. There are several guys who can get plugged in at guard. And while Burzynski has some practice experience as a center, he's never done it in a game, and I think Miller is more likely to replace Glasgow. Even if Burzynski plays more due to injury, underperformance, etc., there are still other guys on the roster who can play guard approximately as well as he can (Dawson, Bars, etc.).
DeleteMakes sense. I do think in general, center is harder to fill than guard. I just think Kugler is more likely to be able to play approximately as well as Miller against Big 10 teams than Dawson or Bars or someone else is as ready as Burzynski. Plus, Burzynski's versatility has value too.
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