Name: Jalen Perry
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 185 lbs.
High school: Dacula (GA) Dacula
Position: Safety
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #16
Last year: I ranked Perry #51 and said he would be a backup cornerback (LINK). He played in three games and made 1 tackle.
TTB Rating: 88
Perry had a rough introduction to college football in 2020. When Michigan's corners were completely ineffective and getting abused against Michigan State, he was one of the items thrown against the wall to see what sticks - and he was promptly called for pass interference on the first play of his career:
Unfortunately, it got worse from there.
With no personal insight into the psyche of Jalen Perry, I have no idea how much that series of events in his college debut has affected him going forward. I thought he would be a pretty good college player, but he has yet to show that will be the case. He was never an athlete that had wow-level physical skills, so the weight room and his technique are going to be important.
Word out of spring camp was that Perry had moved to safety, which I think he can also play. He could be a serious option to play there in 2022, but right now the Wolverines have two players who are probably in their final year of college (Brad Hawkins, Daxton Hill). Perry would be fighting for backup reps with the likes of Makari Paige, R.J. Moten, and others to potentially replace Hawkins and Hill next year.
Prediction: Backup safety, special teamer
Quite a run here on the countdown for backup DBs. Good news is M has a lot of options and many came in with solid recruiting profiles. Coaching staff turnover adds both uncertainty and opportunity to the equation. All these kids will get exposure to new coaching for skill development and a clean slate opportunity to earn playing time, either this year or next.
ReplyDeleteBad news is that beyond the proven starters (Hill, Hawkins, Green) not many have popped yet and some that have (Gray) have faltered. The other issue is that while these are pretty good recruits all things considered, many have been called out for not having elite speed - which tends to get exposed against OSU and sometimes others.
I think this kind of clustering makes a ton of sense until we see what the defense looks like in games. Fall camp buzz might give us some useful hints but if we go back to last year we were hearing pretty good things about Gray and that didn't work out too well.
Expect Gray to get better this year but others must see the opportunity in front of them.
-LANK
Being thrown in the shark tank like that and falling flat has to be hard on a young person. The problem was compounded by what I'm sure was a defensive staff that had a sense the handwriting was on the wall, and was probably half checked-out mentally. One can hope Clinksdale can get the kid back on his feet and have him be productive.
ReplyDeleteI hope the coaches can get something out of the backup secondary ... we are dangerously thin
ReplyDeleteMichigan is thin on experience, but there are a ton of a bodies.
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