Ex-Wolverine Updates: The Class of 2009

Shavodrick Beaver (pictured here in his days at Tulsa) is now at Midwestern State, which is a real place.

Former Michigan quarterback commit Shavodrick Beaver sat out the 2011 season after transferring from Tulsa to Midwestern State, which is in Beaver's hometown of Wichita Falls, Texas.  Midwestern State's starting quarterback, Brandon Kelsey, had 1,951 yards passing and 967 yards rushing.  Beaver will be a redshirt junior at MSU in fall 2012.

Former Michigan safety Vladimir Emilien sat out the 2011 after transferring from Michigan to Toledo.  He does not appear on the Rockets' roster, but has confirmed that he's at Toledo and will be a redshirt junior in fall 2012.

Former Michigan kicker commit Anthony Fera was 14/17 on field goals for Penn State this season with a long of 46 yards.  He also punted 64 times, averaging 42 yards, and handled the kickoff duties.

Former Michigan quarterback Tate Forcier transferred to San Jose State this past season and seemed to be in line for the starting quarterback job next fall.  However, he left SJSU in recent weeks due to "personal and financial reasons" and his career might be over.

Former Michigan defensive tackle commit Pearlie Graves left Texas Tech in late September.  He was reportedly transferring, but has not reappeared elsewhere, as far as I know.

Former Michigan running back and cornerback Teric Jones left the program last offseason due to a knee injury.  He remains a student at the University of Michigan.

Former Michigan defensive tackle commit DeQuinta Jones finished his junior year at Arkansas.  He played in all 13 games, making 19 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 1 sack.

Former Michigan defensive end Anthony Lalota transferred to Rutgers, but has since quit football altogether.  He practiced at tight end with the Scarlet Knights.

Former Michigan wide receiver commit Bryce McNeal caught 1 pass for 8 yards at Clemson in 2011 before transferring.  He is now at UConn and will be eligible in fall 2012 because he already had his bachelor's degree.

Former Michigan quarterback commit Kevin Newsome left Penn State after being buried on the depth chart behind Matt McGloin and Rob Bolden.  He has not yet announced a transfer destination.

Former Michigan wide receiver commit Dewayne Peace is now at Houston after leaving Arizona because of legal troubles.  He spent 2010 at Blinn Community College (made famous by Cam Newton).  Peace started one game for the Cougars in 2011 and played in 11 total games, making 13 catches for 105 yards (8.1 yards per catch) and 0 touchdowns.

Former Michigan wide receiver Je'Ron Stokes left Michigan this past season and transferred to Bowling Green State University, where his brother Malik will be a redshirt freshman quarterback in 2012.  Je'Ron will be a redshirt junior and eligible to play for the Falcons this coming season.

Former Michigan cornerback Justin Turner left Michigan in 2010 and transferred to Scottsdale (AZ) Community College to play football in 2011.  He played 11 games there and made 47 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 3 interceptions, 17 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries.  Here are his highlights from Scottsdale Community College.  He is committed to play for Hawaii in 2012, where he will be a redshirt junior.

Former Michigan cornerback signee Adrian Witty played in 12 games for Cincinnati in 2011 as a backup cornerback and special teamer.  He made 15 tackles, broke up 1 pass, and forced 1 fumble.  He will be a redshirt sophomore this coming fall.

Ex-Wolverine Update: Justin Turner to Hawaii

The prize defensive recruits of 2009: Justin Turner (#2) and William Campbell (#73)

Massillon, Ohio 2009 five-star recruit Justin (J.T.) Turner committed to Michigan over OSU very early in the recruiting cycle. He stayed firm in his commitment all through the process and, as I recall, was one of the first players in the 2009 class to fax in his LOI on NSD. So it was surprising when Turner showed up to fall camp late and out of shape after taking awhile to pass his Ohio Graduation Test. These minor concerns turned into red flags when Turner failed to see action during the disastrous defensive back situation his freshman season and redshirted. Before long, J.T. was in worse shape than Rich Rodriguez, left the program and transferred to West Virginia.

Turner’s stint at WVU didn’t last long, either, and he became interested in attending Notre Dame College at Ohio. I spoke with an assistant coach at the college who said, “We thought for sure he was going to enroll, but then he dropped off the map.” After that, Turner showed interest in UCLA, eventually enrolled at Scottsdale (Ariz.) Junior College, and now is verbally committed to the University of Hawaii.

If past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior—which it is—then Turner’s shot at living up to his recruiting hype appears to be slim. How conflicting must it feel to have an extraordinary talent at something yet not have a passion for it? Here’s to hoping that Turner finds a good football/life balance while getting an education and avoiding trouble. Who knows, maybe Turner's change in environment will ignite an excitement for football and necessary football-related activities.

Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia Update

The Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia is really interesting to me. I'm not sure why that is because ex-wolverines don't impact Michigan Football whatsoever, and in many cases, the players have spurned Michigan in one way or the other. On the other hand, I find the case study aspect interesting, and I like to know whether or not the players would have made an impact at Michigan if they had stayed.

Here's an update on a few players. For a complete ex-wolverine list, go here. As always, please email/comment with any info/updates.

Justin Turner

Turner reportedly enrolled at Notre Dame College of Ohio after leaving West Virginia during the 2010 season, which Justin was scheduled to sit out due to transfer rules. But an assistant coach at the junior college said enrollment never happened: "we thought for sure he was going to enroll, but then he dropped off the map." The coach also heard that Turner may attend "a college in California" but wasn't sure about the credibility of what he had heard.

Demar Dorsey

After being denied admission to Michigan, Dorsey enrolled in Grand Rapids Community College. Coach Andrews, the school's defensive coordinator, said that Dorsey chose GRCC because he knew several of the players on the team who are from Florida and, as a child, Demar even played little league football with a couple of his GRCC teammates. Despite a rocky start, Coach Andrews said that Dorsey has attended all of the team's voluntary workouts this summer and is slotted to see action as a defensive back and kick returner this fall, but he doesn't expect Dorsey to see any action on the offensive side of the ball.

Also of note, Coach Andrews recently spoke with Chris Singletary, who indicated that Michigan would still be interested in Dorsey if he continues to demonstrate positive behavior and invest in academics. For reasons unknown to Coach Andrews, Oregon is Dorsey's current "leader" although Dorsey hasn't had any recent contact with the University. "Maybe it's because they were just in National Championship game; maybe it's because he likes their uniforms," Coach Andrews speculated half-jokingly.

Conelius Jones

After failing to academically qualify at Michigan, Cornelius enrolled at Marshall University, a former member of the MAC and a current member of Conference USA. A Marshall blog posted an article that says Jones had more academic problems at the University, but the writer then added an emboldened "Edit" bit at the end of the page that says Conelius just wanted to be closer to home. Either way, it doesn't look like Jones will be continuing with his football career.

Justin Boren

Perhaps my least liked ex-wolverine, Boren signed on to play for the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent immediately following the NFL lockout.

Tate Forcier

Although most people seem to be disinterested with the Forcier saga, I find it fascinating for a couple reasons. Firstly, had he kept his academic house in order, I would have enjoyed seeing the role he might have played in the Borges offense. Secondly -- the first half of 2010.

So if you don't already know the story, Forcier reportedly committed to play for Miami (FL) but backed out because the school was too far from home. He then showed interest in Hawaii--which is a similar distance away from his San Diego home--but was denied enrollment due to issues with his Michigan transcript. Here's to hoping he lands on his feet.

2009 Offer Board Update

Stephon Gilmore

Yep, this is a 2009 Offer Board update.

2009?

2009.

I went back and gathered the information I could about 2009 offerees to go along with the offer boards for 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.

The 2009 kids who went elsewhere include Stephon Gilmore (pictured above), who was an All-SEC performer at cornerback in 2010 with South Carolina.  He had 79 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 3 interceptions, and 1 fumble recovery while starting all 14 games.

Compare that to Michigan's 2009 defensive back haul:

• Vladimir Emilien: 1 tackle in two seasons; transferred to Toledo
• Thomas Gordon: 23 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2 sacks in 2010 after redshirting
• Justin Turner: never played a down for Michigan; transferred in 2010
• Adrian Witty: did not qualify academically for Michigan and posted 1 tackle for Cincinnati in 2010

Justin Turner, ex-Wolverine

Redshirt freshman cornerback Justin Turner has apparently decided to transfer. He has been granted his release by the University of Michigan, although Sam Webb of Scout/WTKA/Detroit News fame has stated that his parents are going to try to talk Turner out of leaving Ann Arbor. We'll see how that goes.

If #2 does indeed follow through with his intentions to leave Michigan, he would be the first member of the 21-person Class of 2009 to leave. (Cornerback Adrian Witty never arrived at Michigan after Michigan's Admissions office failed to grant him entry.) To Rivals he was a 4-star safety, the #35 recruit in the country, and the #3 player at his position; to Scout he was a 5-star cornerback, the #3 player in the country, and the #1 player at his position. To the University of Michigan's football team, he was the #3 or perhaps #4 cornerback for the 2010 season.

The 2009 version of the Wolverines had horrible defenses and very little cornerback depth, especially after then-sophomore Boubacar Cissoko was booted off the team for skipping classes and generally being an idiot. But Turner still couldn't get on the field and redshirted, giving way to fellow freshman Teric Jones, who entered college hoping and expecting to play running back or slot receiver. With Donovan Warren leaving school early to enter the 2010 NFL Draft, many Michigan fans assumed that Turner would assume the starting cornerback role. However, redshirt sophomore JT Floyd took the lead in the battle for the open cornerback position.

There were reports that Turner had ballooned to an unfathomable 197 pounds and got too big to play cornerback, a regular Violet Beauregarde. (Set your sarcasm detectors to ON.) The fall roster even listed him at 198 pounds. However, cornerbacks coach Tony Gibson has spoken highly of Turner in the past, and his disenchantment likely has more to do with playing second fiddle to JT Floyd than anything else. He was 186 lbs. coming out of high school, so adding 11 or 12 pounds in college really isn't that big of a deal. He still could have played corner, although he would have been fighting incoming freshman Cullen Christian - a highly touted corner in his own right, and ranked higher than Turner in my 2010 Season Countdown - for playing time.

Turner was ranked as a safety by Rivals, and I think most Michigan fans were waiting for a time when cornerback depth would allow him to switch positions to free safety or Bandit. If his absence is felt at all, though, it will likely be a year or two down the road if Michigan's 17 safeties can't cobble together a decent starter or three. I'm not going to sit here and say that Michigan is better off without him. But the Wolverines are headed for 7 or 8 wins in 2010 whether Turner's in Ann Arbor or not.

2010 Countdown: #34 J.T. Turner

Name: J.T. Turner
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 197 lbs.
High school: Washington High School in Massillon, OH
Position: Cornerback
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #2
Last year: I ranked Turner #28 and said he'd be a top backup cornerback. He redshirted.

I was wrong about Turner last year. With Michigan's stunning lack of cornerback talent and depth, I assumed that their second highest rated recruit would be able to step in and at least get backup-level snaps. Unfortunately, Turner had problems passing his Ohio Graduation Test, showed up to fall camp late and out of shape, and couldn't grasp the defense quickly enough to play. Meanwhile, Michigan's #2 cornerback Boubacar Cissoko was booted from the team and a 5'9" freshman who showed up on campus to play slot receiver (Teric Jones) ended the season as a second-string corner. Yikes.

The word from this spring's practices was that Turner had outgrown the cornerback position, although this time it's muscle and not chub. He's apparently a big hitter and could be a solid corner in a Cover 2 defense where he sits in the flat and breaks on underneath routes, but playing man-to-man or covering a deep third isn't his cup of tea. A position switch to free safety or Bandit seems inevitable, but cornerback depth is still thin and the team might not be able to afford moving him just yet. It's going to be another wait-and-see season for Turner. Don't be surprised if incoming freshman Cullen Christian passes him up on the depth chart. If Christian can contribute this season, perhaps Turner can challenge Cameron Gordon, Jordan Kovacs, and Vladimir Emilien for playing time at one of the safety positions.

Prediction for 2010: Backup cornerback, special teams coverage

Demar Dorsey, Wolverine

I will unleash my 175 lbs. of fury upon you!

This is a few days old, but that's what happens when 25 inches of snow pour down and you have to retreat to safer shelter.

On National Signing Day, Demar Dorsey from Lauderdale Lakes, FL, committed to Michigan. In the overall rankings, Dorsey is #12 to ESPN, #162 to Rivals, and #203 to Scout; many would latch onto that #12 ranking, but ESPN proves over and over again that they know nothing about recruiting, so take that with a grain of salt. Anyway, Dorsey's commitment was somewhat of a surprise, since he wasn't on Michigan fans' radar until about a month before NSD. Dorsey had been committed to Florida for over a year and seemingly visited just to have a good time with his cousin, Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson.

According to Dorsey, though, he knew during his official visit (that coincided with Michigan's basketball victory over Connecticut) that Michigan was The Place. It's unclear whether Florida dropped Dorsey or vice versa, but either way, he also visited Florida State and USC late in the process, so he had the experts confused; most seemed to think he'd ultimately sign with FSU.

I would be remiss not to mention Dorsey's issues as a minor. He had some trouble with the law, but was never found guilty of any wrongdoing and participated in a diversionary program. I will not go into details, as they have been discussed ad nauseam elsewhere. I'll let it suffice to say that Rodriguez is taking a bit of a public relations risk with Dorsey, on the heels of the Justin Feagin situation last year; however, most football coaches taken chances on talented kids with checkered pasts. Hopefully, the diversionary program worked for Dorsey and he can move on to be a productive student and citizen at Michigan.

Back to football, though, Dorsey's position is a bit up in the air. The coaches told him he could play some wide receiver, and he could probably help in the return game, but but he's a defensive back of some sort. Some project him as a strong safety at Michigan; others predict he'll be a cornerback. I feel fairly confident in predicting that Dorsey will battle for playing time at the cornerback position as a freshman in 2010. Michigan has zero experienced cornerbacks returning in 2010 with the departure of Donovan Warren to the NFL. Besides redshirt sophomore J.T. Floyd, every other cornerback on the roster will have freshman eligibility - Justin Turner, Cullen Christian, Courtney Avery, and Terrence Talbott. Michigan needs to throw every available body at the cornerback spot and whichever one performs best should get the job.

Michigan's most experienced cornerback isn't really a cornerback, but a strong safety - Troy Woolfolk. Some have suggested that Woolfolk should move to cornerback and Michigan should play a freshman at strong safety, but that would be disastrous. The only time Woolfolk got burned at the strong safety position was in the 2009 opener when he and the aforementioned Floyd got burned against Western Michigan. In practice, Woolfolk earned the nickname "The Eraser" for his ability to cover up for everyone else's mistakes. Experience is necessary on the back end of your defensive backfield, because young guys get out of position and get fooled by double moves, play action, etc. It's no coincidence that Michigan's defense went south once Woolfolk moved to corner in mid-2009.

With Woolfolk at strong safety and presumably Justin Turner at one cornerback position, the trio of Floyd, Christian, and Dorsey should fight it out for the other corner. Michigan's coaches did everything they could to keep Floyd off the field in 2009 (they'd rather have Jordan Kovacs playing strong safety than have Floyd play corner), so I sincerely doubt he'll start. Dorsey is a better athlete than Christian, but the latter's coverage skills are more refined, so that's kind of a toss-up.

Dorsey is a burner. As a junior, he finished second to Denard Robinson in the state 100 meter finals with a time of 10.60 seconds (compared to Robinson's 10.44). He later ran a 10.55 and has even claimed to have run a 10.3, although I can find no recorded evidence of that time. This athleticism should allow him to run with just about every receiver he faces. It also would allow him to cover a lot of ground from the strong safety position.

However, we can see some of his rawness in the video below. First of all, he's only 175 lbs. In the second still shot (the one from the Under Armour All American game), we can see his scrawny little leg; he has a decided lack of bulk. In the first highlight from the UA game, he causes a fumble on kick coverage. He does a good job of mirroring the returner, but then he reaches and grabs the jersey, flinging the ball carrier to the ground and causing the fumble; this is the tackling technique of a raw cornerback, not the strong safety who is supposed to be a team's last line of defense. Later in the highlights, he plays a ball from the deep middle safety position. Unfortunately, he takes a bad angle to the football; instead of meeting the ball at its highest point or at least aiming to punish the receiver, he takes the path of least resistance and gets a hand on the ball after it gets past the receiver.

All of these factors lead me to believe that Dorsey will be better off starting his career at cornerback. Further evidence exists in that Rich Rodriguez said as much in his signing day press conference. This does not mean that Dorsey couldn't move to strong safety eventually. He could probably be a pretty good strong safety with some technique and experience under his belt. But that won't happen until at least 2011.

My projection for 2010:
CB: Justin Turner
CB: Cullen Christian
FS: Jordan Kovacs
SS: Troy Woolfolk

Michigan 36, Indiana 33

I've been busy this week. Between losing power on Thursday evening, not getting home until after midnight last night, and Saturday morning practice, I didn't have a chance to write a preview for the Indiana game. But these are the games that always scare me the most. Not the Toledo or Eastern Michigan or Appalachian State games, because we win most of those and if we don't, well, that's just how the cookie crumbles.

No, what scare me are the games against second-rate Big Ten teams like Indiana, Northwestern, Michigan State, etc. Those games are ones that shouldn't be huge impediments on the way to playing for a Big Ten title but too often rise up to bite you in the ass or at least make you nervous.

Today's game was no exception. Indiana made it tough on Michigan before the Wolverines eked one out in the last couple minutes.

Offensively, Michigan frustrated me more today than at any other time this year. They seemed completely out of sync for the majority of the game. Luckily, Carlos Brown scored two early touchdowns and Tate Forcier led two late TD drives in the fourth quarter. Between those points, though, Michigan looked discombobulated.

Replacement center David Moosman had troubles snapping the ball, and both Denard Robinson and Forcier had troubles handling it. Michigan has resurrected the freeze play, where the center snaps the ball when he sees someone jump offsides. It's supposed to earn Michigan five yards, which it did . . . once. But the freshman quarterbacks clearly aren't prepared to run it, and neither is Moosman, since he snapped the ball one time when Indiana defensive end Greg Middleton had already got back onside. In total, it lost yards for Michigan and could end up being a turnover if, for example, the snap on the Middleton play had bounced off Forcier's knee or facemask and ended up in the hands of a Hoosier.

The game always looks like it's going too fast for Denard Robinson. It's like I looked when I was little and watching my brother play Frogger; then my mom would call him to take the garbage out, I'd grab the joystick, adrenaline myself across the road, and then drown in the river. Robinson runs the ball well and has a limit of one good throw per game. He led one good drive today and made a nice throw on a seam route to Kevin Koger. After that play the coaches should have patted him on the dreadlocked head, said "Nice job," and handed him a baseball cap (until, of course, he was needed again once Forcier got hurt).

Offensive coordinator Calvin Magee went away from the running game for a while. I have no explanation for this. Carlos Brown started the game with a 61-yard TD on a screen pass, scored a 41-yard rushing TD on the next drive, and then became a bystander for a couple quarters. We can run the ball. Our co-starters at running back, Brown and Brandon Minor, had 23 carries for 123 yards. That's 5.3 yards per carry. But 23 carries is what ONE of those guys should have, not the combination of the two, especially when Forcier and Robinson combined for 21 rushes. The guys who earned scholarships for running the ball should run it, not the guys who earned scholarships for their throwing arms.

This is partly on Forcier as well. In my opinion, Forcier is horrible at running the read option. Even when the backside defensive end stays home to contain the quarterback, Forcier tries to make things happen on his own. He's simply not athletic enough to make it work. Hopefully his reads will improve as he gets more and more experience. I guess the coaches have to keep calling the play to keep the defense honest, but Forcier needs to realize that the best thing about that play is the element of surprise when he keeps the ball. If I were an opposing defensive coordinator, I would tell my defensive ends, "If you stay home, this chump is going to keep the ball a couple times when he shouldn't, and you better make him regret it."

Defensively, it really hurts to have so little depth and experience in the defensive backfield. I thought the linebackers played better than they did last week and the defensive line did an okay job, but our defensive backfield is in shambles. Donovan Warren made one poor tackle attempt, but the Indiana didn't want to test him much. Boubacar Cissoko was replaced early by J.T. Floyd, and neither played well. Meanwhile, strong safety Troy Woolfolk is a position-changer from cornerback who missed some tackles, and former walk-on Jordan Kovacs started at free safety and missed several assignments. Indiana took advantage of the inexperience on the back end, and you can bet that other Big Ten teams will, too. I think Michigan State will have an excellent day throwing the ball next week.

Offensive game ball goes to . . . Carlos Brown (2). He had 144 yards from scrimmage (83 rushing, 61 receiving) and two touchdowns. He ran the ball well most of the day, and what he lacks in toughness, he makes up for in home run ability.

Defensive game ball goes to . . . Jonas Mouton (1). Mouton led the team in tackles with 11 and had half a tackle for loss. He reacted slowly a couple times but he stepped up to fill a hole a couple times and made some nice hits. He didn't have a great game, but nobody really did.

Let's see less of this guy on offense . . . David Moosman (1). He can play guard. That's fine. He's a pretty good guard. In fact, with his main competition at center coming from redshirt freshman Rocko Khoury, he might well be our best center with starter David Molk out (broken foot). But I hope Molk is a quick healer. Moosman had a few bad snaps, and his quarterbacks didn't do a great job of bailing him out.

Let's see less of this guy on defense . . . J.T. Floyd (2). I think Cissoko re-injured his shoulder injury, but I have a hard time believing that freshmen Justin Turner and Teric Jones are significantly worse than Floyd. At this point, I have to believe the coaches are trying their best to preserve Turner's redshirt. Jones's has already been burned. But Floyd was responsible for at least three big plays today: 1) the missed pass break-up that ended in a big gain, 2) the 85-yard rush TD by Darius Willis in which Floyd made a poor attempt to tackle, and 3) the pass interference on the right sideline - the ball was uncatchable, but Floyd still had a hand full of jersey.

Army All-American Game analysis

The East team beat the West in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl this afternoon, 30-17. I predicted a West victory, but Tajh Boyd must have been angered by my prediction and threw three touchdowns to prove me wrong.

(I hope you know the meaning of sarcasm.)

Most Impressive Offensive Player
Tie: Tajh Boyd, QB, and Bryce Brown, RB (East team)
Boyd didn't start the game, but he was the best quarterback for either team. He completed 7-of-9 passes for 187 yards and 3 TD's. That's an average of 20+ yards per attempt. One throw was a questionable decision where Boyd threw into double coverage to Corey Brown. Luckily, Corey Brown was wearing his Superman underpants and outleaped both defenders to make an excellent catch in the end zone. Running back Bryce Brown was named co-MVP of the game with Boyd after catching a 60-yard and 41-yard TD passes. Bryce Brown looked like the fastest player on the field and he outran linebackers on both TD catches to get open. He also looked elusive and powerful when running the ball.

Most Impressive Defensive Player
Willie Downs, SS
Downs is an athlete committed to Florida State. He hadn't played defense for his entire senior year before practice this week, but the shortage of defensive backs on the East team necessitated a move from receiver to safety. Downs turned out to be the best defensive player on either team. He intercepted a first quarter pass by AJ McCarron and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown. He also had at least one pass deflection and forced a fumble, along with making several tackles.

Analysis of Michigan Commits

William Campbell, DT
I was thoroughly disappointed in Campbell's performance. He's a better player than what he showed in this game. He started at defensive tackle and played sparingly subbing for Xavier Nixon at left offensive tackle. He consistently stood straight up at defensive tackle and played pattycake with the offensive guard before trying to chase down the play. Campbell might have been able to knock around the average high school lineman with a forearm shiver or two, but you can't do that with elite players. His effort was subpar. It was a meaningless game in the sense that nobody really cares who wins these all-star games; nonetheless, it showed that he didn't take the game seriously, which brings his discipline and competitive drive into question. He seems like a good teammate and a good kid, so I think he'll do fine at Michigan. But it does scare me a little bit because former highly touted, mammoth defensive linemen at Michigan (Alan Branch, Gabe Watson) have been guilty of taking too many plays off.

Jeremy Gallon, WR
Gallon received rave reviews early in the week for his ability to get open and create plays for himself. Unfortunately, he sustained a bit of a groin pull in the middle of the week that hampered him for the remainder of the week's practices. That injury might have prevented him from seeing significant playing time in the game, because Jake Golic and Orson Charles both saw extended time in the slot, and neither of them is a typical slot receiver. Still, Gallon caught a 34-yard pass through a tight window from Tajh Boyd and made an excellent special teams tackle. He will likely be a contributor as a freshman in 2009, returning kicks, working from the slot, or both.

Anthony Lalota, DE
I am not very impressed by Lalota's skills. He's a recent convert to football, having not played until his junior year of high school. So significant improvement may still be forthcoming. However, he is very raw as a defensive end and usually tries to beat offensive tackles by bull rushing with 100% effort. I love the effort and that hard work could turn him into a very good player, but at 6'6" and 260 lbs., he reminds me of former Michigan player Pat Massey, which is generally not considered to be a good thing by Michigan fans. As far as I saw, he didn't make any plays in the game, and I wouldn't expect him to play significantly at Michigan for at least a couple years.

Justin Turner, CB
Turner already has a college body and college skills. I'm encouraged by what I saw today. He did get beaten for a touchdown by Patrick Patterson, but he had excellent coverage on that play and Patterson made a highlight reel, leaping, one-handed catch. Turner later had an acrobatic interception to go along with a half dozen tackles or so. He'll be ready to contribute in the fall, most likely as a slot corner or a safety.

Brendan Gibbons, K
Gibbons had a mercurial performance today. His first kickoff was short; his second kickoff was excellent. His first extra point squeezed just inside the post; his first field goal attempt split the uprights. A 46-yard field goal attempt was about as wide right as you can get. He also had an extra point attempt blocked. One thing I noticed on the blocked field goal was that he was shuffling his feet when he was waiting for the snap. I'm not sure if that was out of nervousness, a bad habit he has, or something he was coached to do. But it didn't seem like he was ready to be moving when the ball was snapped, which slowed down his approach by a split second. The kick might have still been blocked, but either way, Gibbons has some things to work on. He does have a strong leg, though, which is a great building block.