Oregon State graduate transfer defensive tackle Jordan Whittley has selected the Michigan Wolverines as his destination for 2021.
Whittley is a 6'1", 358 lb. nose tackle. He missed 2020 with a tumor near his heart, but the last time he played (when he was listed at 6'1", 324), he made 14 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1 pass breakup, and 1 quarterback hurry. Before Oregon State he was at Laney College, a JUCO in Oakland, California, that was profiled in season four of Last Chance U. Out of high school in the class of 2014, he was a 247 Sports 2-star and the #287 athlete, signing with San Jose State but never attending.
Whittley was listed as a 6'2", 225 lb. running back coming out of high school. He tore his ACL and put on 100 lbs. or so while he was laid up recovering.
Michigan needs help on the interior of the defensive line. Former defensive coordinator Don Brown did not stockpile nose tackle types, leaving the Wolverines thin on pluggers and heavy on tackle/end tweeners. Michigan addressed the dearth of defensive tackles in the 2021 recruiting class, but nobody is ready to play as a true nose tackle right away. Whittley - if healthy - should be able to hold up to double teams. He won't be Maurice Hurst, Jr. and living in the offensive backfield, but he should be able to let the linebackers flow to do their job.
I love this get. While I doubt he'll be all-conference, we are desperate for big bodies in the middle ... Rotate with Maxi and I'll consider this a score. I just hope he'll be football ready by B1G play
ReplyDelete"Former defensive coordinator Don Brown did not stockpile nose tackle types ... " this is an understatement, one many of us pointed out many times, only to be told 'trust the coaches' Now, here we desperate & digging ... hopeful
Frankly, I'm surprised it's so hard to find guys like this. I think there are a lot of backup (or starting) offensive guards who could do just fine as gap-pluggers at nose tackle. We have a pretty good nose tackle in my high school program (yes, I know it's high school) who doesn't make any plays whatsoever because he's not a good athlete...but teams have to double-team him because he's 310 lbs. and decently strong.
DeleteI'm not saying that kid could play DI - he can't - but there are lots of 300+ pounders across the country or guys who can get there.
YES, this! This will be a huge get if he can plug into rotation and NOT be run over
DeleteKeep our LBs clean and flowing to the ball!
Thunder I think the majority of evidence is against you on this one. We have tried moving OL to DL and it doesn't usually pan out. Obviously size is a "big" part of success but skill and technique really matter too.
DeleteBut it's beside the point because if we're talking about 350 pound guys we don't have a lot of them on OL either. The one recent guy we had was Onwenu and the idea that moving him to DL was a good idea has been pretty soundly disproven with his tremendous career at Michigan and rookie success in the NFL.
The fact is that there are not that many 350 pound humans who are 17 or 18 years old. Most that big are anything but athletes. The ones that are that big AND fast enough to get to a QB and/or strong enough to shove aside 300 pound OL consistently are generally 4 or 5 star recruits getting offers from everyone.
I mean, we have a 320 pound guy who doesn't really make an impact and that really won't change if he eats 30 more body-pounds worth of cheeseburgers and pizza.
The idea that we can just easily get large humans to throw in there seems to fly in the face of evidence.
Funny too thinking back to Bryan Mone who most fans didn't consider to be much of a loss when he graduated only then to complain when Don Brown didn't recruit more guys like him (as if that is easy.) Same people who LOVE undersized Mo Hurst, Mike Martin, and other NTs who come in way under 300 pounds. But now that recruiting strategy is garbage and we should have been bringing in behemoths. OK. Some people just want to complain I think.
-Lank
PS. The Portal is a good way to fill this need because it's the lower tier schools who have less to lose by taking a flier on big bodies who are not likely to pan out as players.
PPS Some called it a "missed opportunity" when these scholarships weren't snapped up in early January. Here we are in almost June and --look amazing who could have seen it -- the opportunity is still there and still being taken advantage of.
We're almost in June, and I believe this is our 3d or 4th DT transfer we've chased after. Obviously the urgency is there - and should be - and timeliness is always a concern when urgency is great
DeleteFair to say the DT position was neglected far too long, the new staff recognizes this, and is reaching. Not sure how that's even debatable any more
Not saying Whittley is the answer - or even a starter - but we simply cannot get bulldozed by inside runs in the B1G anymore ... it made us too vulnerable elsewhere else
We have moved OL to DL, but I'm not sure how much you can say it hasn't panned out. It hasn't happened THAT often, and sometimes it's not the right type of guy. It has worked for someone like Quinton Washington, who was a pretty solid nose tackle at Michigan.
DeleteThere's really no evidence that moving Mike Onwenu to NT wouldn't have worked. Yes, he's done pretty well on offense...but that doesn't mean he would be bad on defense.
It's highly debatable. It wasn't Brown's job to recruit for the new staff's system anymore than it was Lloyd Carr's job to recruit a QB who can run Rich Rod's system. Brown was tremendously successful doing what he did.
Delete-Lank
Washington was a decade ago and several have been tried since unsuccessfully.
DeleteThere's zero evidence moving Onwenu would have worked and tremendous evidence that doing the exact opposite did.
-Lank
Brown got fired because his D was RR bad. It started in the middle, and spread like cancer
DeleteThree DTs signed, plus a Grad Transfer ... didn't matter who took over as DC, or what scheme. The position had been neglected, and now the program is in desparation mode
I remember in your way too early depth chart you had Nolan Rumler low in the O Line depth. Is he the kind of player that could be switched to D Line? I just looked him up. He weighs 328 now.
Delete@joseph dreamed dreams 1:08 am
DeleteI have heard that Rumler has moved up the depth chart for Sherrone Moore. Apparently he did not see eye to eye with Warinner, but Moore likes him a little more. I don't think he's going to start, but he could be a rotational backup, preventing him from moving to nose tackle.
I don't think Rumler could be a GOOD nose tackle because he's generally slow-footed, but I do think with his strength and size, he could step in and be serviceable. I would be pretty surprised if opponents found themselves driving him 3-5 yards downfield.
Thanks.
DeleteIm hoping, Jordan Whittley will stay healthy. Maybe he Mazi Smith and Donovan Jeter will be enough.
I hope this all works out but I remain skeptical that putting 3 jumbo DTs, 90s-style OLBs, and only 4 DBs out on the field is a good strategy in modern football. It seems like the speed disadvantage vs OSU is only going to get exacerbated by the emphasis on size. Most teams, justifiably, are moving in the other direction.
ReplyDeleteThat's not specific to Whittley - I hope he has a tremendous year of course - just a comment on the overall strategy to focus on big bodies.
-Lank
I get where you're coming from, but this D is supposed to be "multiple"
DeleteWe won't have the same guys/formation all game, every game, for the season. Whittley could see as little as 5 snaps in one game, and 3-4x that much in others. And he won't be expected to make many plays. QBs are going to get rid of the ball quick; his job is take away an inside run option, delay that decision just enough for a DE/LB/S to make things less comfortable, and someone else to make a play/turnover. Against Wisconsin/Iowa,if we're no longer getting plowed, the back 7 can become difference makers - they have the talent to do so
That's my hope & understanding of what's intended. With JH though, nothing can be predicted or bet on
I'm not really sure I agree with the premise. There are ways in a 3-4 base defense to move into more of a 4-2 look or insert a defensive back. Lots of successful teams run a 3-4 defense (Alabama, Georgia, Wisconsin, LSU, etc.) and use those big nose tackles, so I don't know why Michigan moving to more of a 3-4 would hurt that concept.
DeleteI was just listening to a podcast a couple days ago where the coach (I forget his name but he was a MAC defensive coordinator) said "We basically run 2 fronts. We run an Over front and slant to a 3-4, or we run a 3-4 and slant to an Over."
I'm not arguing against all 3-4s. I'm arguing against a starting DL that features Hinton/Smith/Jeter because they're big. Wisconsin's DEs are often LB-sized.
DeleteI appreciate being multiple but a system that has no room for viper-type LBs doesn't sound like the kind of flexibility that is beneficial.
Happy to have my skepticism disproven.
-Lank
@ Lank 11:05 p.m.
DeleteAlabama's projected starting DE's this year are 295 and 312 (average: 303.5).
Hinton and Jeter are 318 and 305 (average: 311.5)
Personally, I'm skeptical that your suggested defensive line will be the starting group in the fall. I think it's a mistake to move Hutchinson to a stand-up outside linebacker when there are other guys who can play there, IMO. I would move/keep Hutchinson closer to the ball, because he can abuse offensive linemen and teams can't run away from him as easily.
I agree about Hutchinson but doesn't sound like this coaching staff does.
DeleteThe comparison to Alabama is a waste of time because Michigan doesn't recruit players of that caliber consistently. Go get Rashan Gary if you can but more likely you'll be made that somebody like Jeter can't get to the QB.
-Lank
I keep hearing on Mgoblog that we can't get any transfers in because of credits and now we're getting a Last Chance U kid?? Makes you wonder...
ReplyDeleteI know M is persnickety about this (I went through the credit transfer process there myself many years ago now) but I think the issue is being blown out of proportion by those mgoguys.
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I obviously didn't go to UM, but I've read the issue is with undergrad credit transfer. Since Whittley is a grad transfer, he only needs to find a graduate program at UM to take him in for the year
DeleteJe93 is correct. The issue is with getting regular transfers (such as Lance Dixon), not with getting grad transfers. A degree is a degree. It's a whole different thing to apply to a grad program than it is to transfer during undergrad with only 56 credits under your belt when you need 128 to graduate (or whatever the number might be).
DeleteGotcha. Thanks for the clarification.
Delete-Lank
I don't think it's fair to compare this kid to any last chance U kid.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all Oregon State is a well thought of research university in the Sun, Sea and Space niche ... thing, and resides in some associations in those fields with Penn State ... I think and it may even be Penn.
Secondly this is a 7 year kid who has battled both serious injury and serious medical conditions. I would think if only because of longevity, he has piled up some serious credits.
Last, this kid is no kid anymore ... except in the sense that I have reached that age where everybody is a kid ... he's a man with an established track record of showing up and working through.
Probably a poorly written opening sentence. Him being one and all, I'm out of practice. Still, Whittley is a proven commodity in my eyes as both a man and a football player. Clearly he shows up for both class and practice, and then performs.
DeleteI agree Roanman, wasn't intended as a slight on him. I like his resilience and will be cheering for him.
DeleteAlso not intended as a slight on OSU. I've worked with a lot of Beavs - it's a solid school. I was just assuming some of the JUCO credits were moving over. Perhaps not.
-Lank
We're not going to see the likes of Mo Hurst around here anytime soon, but Whittley shows some ability to split a double team which is beyond what is being projected. That being a guy that can stand up to a double and eat space.
ReplyDeleteIf his heart is good, I think he'll get more of Mazi's snaps than most people think he will, maybe allow Mazi to step out and to get some of Hinton's.