Tuesday, September 21, 2021

2021 Michigan vs. Northern Illinois Awards

 

Michigan wide receiver Cornelius Johnson (6) celebrates his 87-yard touchdown reception with Joel Honigford (84) in the first half of a NCAA college football game against Northern Illinois in Ann Arbor, Mich., Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Let's see more of this guy on offense . . . A.J. Henning. Henning is averaging 50.0 yards per carry and 12.0 yards per reception. Those are pretty good numbers, but he only has 5 offensive touches so far this season (2 rushes, 3 receptions). As the season goes along, I would like to see him get the ball more, particularly in the passing game.

Let's see less of this guy on offense . . . nobody.

Let's see more of this guy on defense . . . Jordan Whittley. This has nothing to do with the play on the field, but as long as it doesn't put the game at risk, I would like to see Whittley get more playing time so he can work himself into shape. Listed at 348 pounds, he could be a key component at nose tackle down the stretch, but his snaps are limited right now due to conditioning.

Let's see less of this guy on defense . . . nobody.

Play of the game . . . Cade McNamara's 87-yard touchdown pass to Cornelius Johnson. Not only did the pass go into the record books as Michigan's third-longest pass in school history, but it was just exciting to see Michigan take a deep shot and hit it. It was one of those plays where you could hear and feel the excitement in the stadium as Johnson ran a stop-and-go on the right sideline, got himself about five yards of separation, and then pulled away from an overmatched NIU cornerback.

Player of the game . . . Andrew Vastardis. It's not often that I go with a lineman for player of the game, but I thought Vastardis played very well. Granted, the opposition wasn't stellar, but that could be said at pretty much every position for Michigan. Playing center, Vastardis and the offensive line didn't get confused by much of anything Northern Illinois threw at them, and he made some very nice blocks in the running game. Michigan ran 48 times for 373 yards (7.8 yards per carry) and 8 touchdowns, the second-most rushing touchdowns in school history.

12 comments:

  1. I also thought McNamara's pass to Cornelius Jones was the play of the game, although for a slightly different reason. somebody got up in McNamara's grill pretty good on a really, really delayed blitz and made legal contact after the throw.

    It looked like a tougher play in real time than it did from the replay angle, but still ... that was a very nice job on the part of McNamara delivering a big ball under duress.

    I'm gonna take a victory lap on Vastardis, although I did incorrectly predict that he would see the field ahead of Stueber. I liked him coming in, when everybody else was yawning. You gotta admit, we've had just some outstanding luck with walk-on centers.

    Safeties too.

    Originally, I wasn't impressed with the "Speed in Space" thing. thinking that it was just another empty slogan. It's big fun to actually see some.

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    1. I've liked Vastardis for a walk-on all along. He stood out to me as a guy who might play just because he was so stout and hard-nosed. I think his athleticism is a little better than I thought, but I believe he played some OT in high school and I was like, "Well, that can't continue."

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    2. @Roaaman, cade says he missed the catch & run by CJ because he got hit & didn't get up right away. That's pretty tough to make that connection in the face of a blow (another thing that doesn't show up in the stat sheet)

      @Thunder, boy was I wrong about Vastardis. I thought he'd be Jack Miller, but he's looking just a notch below Cesar. He's been great

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  2. We have a QB who can hit the deepball as better than anyone since late 2015. Even the deep incompletions were put in a place for Receivers to make a play for their team, and add to their draft highlight reel

    It's refreshing

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  3. I'd like to see more of Henning too, but wonder how consistent his hands are. Why else doesn't he get slants, crossing routes, or even GJackson wheel routes out of the backfield? Has to be a reason. Dude is speed in space!

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    1. On the MGoBlog podcast, Seth said he was told by insiders that the reason Henning's role at punt returner was held off until the NIU game was so it would be a lower-profile game. Putting Henning on the spot for the UTL game with Washington was a step too far at that point, or so goes what Seth reported.

      I wonder if it's possible Henning's other roles are going to be introduced as Henning gets more and more comfortable with things.

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    2. Right, but that was regarding punts. I'm talking about him in the slot

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    3. My point is if the coaching staff is concerned about readiness for one role, it's very possible they're concerned about readiness for others.

      It could also be because his blocking needs improvement.

      Or, as you note, his hands may not be that reliable. He's also not that big, and may be prone to coughing up the ball after getting hit on crossing routes and slants.

      For the first time in a few years the cliche "trust the coaches" applies.

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  4. Vastardis!

    Is Whitley a guy Michigan can play on passing downs?

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    1. Big Whitley destroyed a UW OL 3-4yds into the backfield on a bull rush last week. Other plays, he was way too high. This may be tied to condition

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    2. I think Whittley can play on passing downs, as long as he's fresh. He's strong enough to walk a center back into the QB's lap pretty regularly.

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