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| Bryan Mone |
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 325 lbs.
High school: Salt Lake City (UT) Highland
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #90
Last year: I ranked Mone #52 and said he would be a backup nose tackle. He made one start and had 9 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and 1 fumble recovery.
Mone played a fair amount last season as a backup. Michigan had depth on the interior defensive line, so he was not needed as much as some teams might have needed a huge, freshman, 4-star defensive tackle. His one start came mid-season against Penn State, and he came away with a fumble recovery and a tackle for loss in the Indiana game. He was not outstanding, but he was not a liability, either. Worse things can be said about true freshman defensive tackles.
One guy standing in his way last year was Ondre Pipkins, who has since transferred to Texas Tech. Mone will now be competing mostly with incumbent starter Ryan Glasgow for snaps at the nose, perhaps with a little Willie Henry or Maurice Hurst, Jr. tossed in there. Glasgow has shown to be a solid space eater, but has not done much in the way of penetration or big plays. Mone is the second-heaviest player on the roster behind Ben Braden (331 lbs.), and with some work in the weight room this off-season, he should be even more ready to go for the upcoming year. While Glasgow is more consistent, I like Mone's explosiveness and have him ranked ahead of the incumbent. There is frequent rotation on the defensive line, so both will get plenty of snaps, and I think Mone will make his presence felt this year.
Prediction: Backup nose tackle; 20 tackles, 2.5 sacks
I believe that having above average interior line play on both sides of the ball is a huge factor for good football teams. Not worrying about that is why I'm so optimistic about this year. Mone, Glasgow, Henry, Hurst Jr are hopefully those above average players that make the linebackers and DEs look like stars. Hopefully its not just me drinking the Kool-Aid but I think Michigan will be elite in this area.
ReplyDeleteDid anybody else catch Harbaugh mentioning Strobel getting a look at Tight End yesterday? Not the worst idea I heard all day.
ReplyDeleteHe hasnt done a darn thing anywhere else. So why not.
DeleteThat said it is getting comical how many TEs we have if you assume Wheatley, Poggi, Winovich are joining last year's group. That's 7 by my count.
Yes. I thought that he made a mistake though because he never mentioned Poggi who's been rumored to have made the switch.
DeleteStrobel has a new number (#49), which makes him eligible. And it's not a rumor about Poggi - I believe he's listed as a TE on the roster now, but there was video of him playing TE in the spring, too.
Deleteive never really liked poggi as an impact defender (just seemed like wasting another decent athlete for few years on D given hokes affinity for stocking his roster with countless 5T or 6Tech type bodies on D). i thought hed be a TE or OG / OC at the next level.
Deletenot sure about poggis body composition, if hes a fairly natural 275 which means approx 300 would be realistic or if hes closer to natural 250-260 type which makes OL much more difficult.
given his strengths / weaknesses, style of play, build, etc, ive always seen poggi's greatest potential at OG or OC - i think he wouldve been a great addition to competition at OC or OG if he had bulked up to 300 lbs. but if hes already pushing his max weight and hes more of a natural 250 type body, im sure poggi can be a solid TE or HB. the kid still moves fairly well at his size so looking forward to seeing his progress - hopefully he passes aj williams (unless williams suddenly learns how to play TE) and the walkons to push for serious reps.
itll be interesting to check the TEs (and numerous others spots) and decisions / progress theyve made whenever harbaugh decides to surface his submarine
Nice write-up. I love our depth at DT and our rotation should be very strong.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of us are hoping that Mone and Henry develop into a dominating starting duo not unlike what the Detroit Lions had in 2014. An optimist can imagine Mone busts out and proves to be a top 5 player on this team, especially with Henry drawing defensive attention. Still, Mone's very promising freshman season doesn't guarantee anything and the many options we have at DT mean it'll probably be a team effort in 2015.
I certainly hope Mone and Henry do develop into a problem for opposing offenses.
DeleteI know we have some quality along the line and some decent depth, but I'm not certain we have that next gear in line play. Good, yes; dominating? We'll see.
yep, they have some talented DL depth, some proven, others unproven yet still fairly hyped. henry, mone, glasgow, hurst, wormley - theyre all decent players and most will likely earn a shot at the next level as middle to late round draft picks (if they finish strong) and undrafted free agents. but theyre definitely missing that next gear as you put it.
DeleteDL, both interior and edge players, significantly impact games at the college level (or any level for that matter) and stars can singlehandedly disrupt O's and win games more than any other D player.
thats why guys like rashan gary, etc and the elite edge rushers remain so vital. theres a huge difference bw a 2nd team all league type and an all american caliber DL - straight beasts who jump off the tape and just consistently dominate.
the group of wormley, mone, henry, etc should enjoy a solid season with further development under new staff leading to improved overall play and one of that group likely breaks out with consistent impact plays to become that 2nd team all league type this year.
unfortunately they obviously do not yet have the truly special 300 pounders with elite quickness, violent hands, etc who teams forced to game plan around - guys that look and consistently play like all americans and 1st round picks. osu, lsu, florida, usc, etc consistently recruit and develop all american type DL and its no coincidence those teams win rings with truly dominant DL playing a large part.
id love to be dead wrong though and watch mone or henry or anyone truly break out this season and become a star
Well you can move McCray way down your list - sounds like he will be missing most if not all year.
ReplyDeleteWhy??!!... what happened?
DeleteThe biggest jump for a college player is between their freshman and sophomore seasons. I expect Mone will be making an impact early and often, starting with Utah...putting the hurt on his homies!
DeleteYeah, that one is pretty big going forward.
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