How will the recent departures affect Michigan in 2012?

Darryl Stonum is Michigan's biggest off-season loss

Several football players have left Michigan's program this offseason, including four announced departures during Friday's spring practice press conference.  Here I'll rank the departures from most important to least:

WR Darryl Stonum: Stonum was booted out of the program for yet another run-in with the law.  He had several alcohol-related offenses throughout his college career and was suspended for the entirety of the 2011 season, which would have been his senior year.  Instead, he took a "redshirt year" and everyone hoped he would mature and jump back into a starting role for 2012.  In 2010 he had 49 receptions for 633 yards and 4 touchdowns.  He probably could have approximated those numbers again in 2012 because he would have been the most proven and most physically talented wide receiver on the roster.  The Wolverines lost Junior Hemingway, Martavious Odoms, and Kelvin Grady to graduation, who combined for 46 receptions, 908 yards, and 7 touchdowns.  Now the top two wideouts going into 2012 seem to be the 5'8" Jeremy Gallon (31 receptions, 453 yards, 3 touchdowns) and Roy Roundtree (19 receptions, 355 yards, 2 touchdowns).  The loss of Stonum will hurt Michigan significantly.

C Rocko Khoury: Khoury was considered to be in the mix for the starting center job in 2012.  He had been the top backup at the position for the past two seasons, and with David Molk's graduation, there was an opening.  Most of the buzz this offseason indicated that Ricky Barnum was the front-runner for the position, and perhaps that was because the coaches knew for a while that Khoury would not return.  I would be interested to know why Khoury is done at Michigan.  Did he burn out?  Did he assume he would lose the battle with Khoury?  Will he continue his career elsewhere?  The answers to those questions are unclear.  It is clear, however, that the Wolverines are dangerously thin at center now.  Barnum - who has a history of getting injured -  is practically guaranteed to start at center, and the backup is redshirt freshman Jack Miller, who was listed at 263 lbs. last season.  Other options are Elliott Mealer, who has played guard and tackle in his career and taken some practice; walk-on Joey Burzynski; or one of the true freshmen, although none of them was expected to play center when recruited.  Considering Barnum's injury history, one or more backups are practically guaranteed to play at some point.

WR Terrence Robinson: Robinson was a virtual non-factor as a wide receiver (1 reception for 43 yards in 2010), but he turned into a bit of a special teams coverage demon in 2011.  He made a total of 6 tackles, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery on punt and kickoff coverage teams.  Some insiders believed that he even had a good shot at contributing on offense, based on comments that some of the coaches had made.  Robinson's role can likely be filled on special teams, however, and history suggests that any offensive output would probably have been minimal.

RB Michael Cox: Cox contributed very little in Michigan's 11-2 season last fall; the most he did was return a couple short kickoffs.  He had 19 career carries for 169 yards and 2 touchdowns, most of which came in 2009.  While Cox gave flashes that he might have been the most physically talented running back on the roster, rumors persisted that he struggled to learn the playbook and had some attitude issues.  He did play very well whenever he got a chance to show his skills, but all indications seemed to be that he would be see only limited duty again in 2012.  Of the six players listed here, Cox is the only one who has announced plans to continue his career elsewhere; he will transfer to UMass and play football for the upcoming season.

LB Isaiah Bell: Bell had been moored to the bench for the last three seasons.  He was likely destined to continue that role as a benchwarmer, and his departure should have virtually no effect on the team.

LS George Morales: Much like Bell, Morales hadn't seen the field yet in his career.  The Wolverines have a couple long snappers already on the roster, one of whom (Jareth Glanda) won the starting short snapper job last season for field goals and extra points; there are also a couple kids entering school as part of the 2012 class who might be able to help if needed.

Four redshirt juniors won't return in 2012

According to head coach Brady Hoke, running back Michael Cox, center Rocko Khoury, long snapper George Morales, and wide receiver Terrence Robinson will not return for their redshirt senior seasons in 2012.

I guess this means Khoury won't be winning that center position.  This makes Michigan painfully thin at center, with only fifth year senior Ricky Barnum and redshirt freshman Jack Miller the only scholarship centers on the roster.  Fifth year senior Elliott Mealer has some experience snapping the ball, but only in practice. 

Michigan vs. Nebraska Awards

Jeremy Gallon hauls in a touchdown pass
(image via Rivals)

Let's see more of this guy on offense . . . Jeremy Gallon/Martavious Odoms.  Gallon isn't exactly DeSean Jackson with the football in his hands, but he sure does have a way of gaining extra yards in the open field.  Whenever he catches the ball, I expect at least a couple people to miss tackles.  Odoms, on the other hand, just plays with a reckless energy that I'm going to miss next year.  He's finally getting some more time, and it's nice to see him playing more as he finishes out his career.  His 38-yard touchdown reception was a dagger.

Let's see less of this guy on offense . . . Michael Shaw.  Shaw has the speed to get outside, but Michigan has had a hard time sealing the edge this season.  Shaw is more of a straight-ahead runner, and I don't think he's being used properly right now, because he doesn't have great vision.  I was in support of playing him more early in the season, but as Al Borges seems to go away from the I-formation as the season wears on, Shaw's talents are a bit superfluous.

Let's see more of this guy on defense . . . nobody.  The defense is operating at a high level right now.  There's no need to mess with success.

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

Play of the game . . . Terrence Robinson's forced fumble on the opening kick of the second half, which was recovered by Courtney Avery.  Robinson has barely played on offense this season, but he has made his presence his known on special teams.  With Michigan clinging to a 17-10 lead coming out of halftime, this particular play must have made Nebraska thing that it just wasn't their day.  The offense scored a touchdown to make it 24-10 and the game was essentially over.

MVP of the game . . . Fitzgerald Toussaint.  Toussaint had 29 carries for 138 yards and 2 touchdowns.  On a day when the offensive line struggled to create holes in the running game, Toussaint made positive plays on snaps that looked to be doomed.  I often talk about explosive plays in the running game, and Toussaint now has at least one 20+ yard rush in 6 out of 13 career games, including his 31-yard touchdown against the Cornhuskers.  Toussaint now has 891 yards and 9 touchdowns on the season.

2011 Countdown: #63 Terrence Robinson

Terrence Robinson

Name: Terrence Robinson
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 175 lbs.
High school: Oak High School in Klein, TX
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #8
Last year: I ranked Robinson #57 and said he would be a backup returner and slot receiver.  He was both of those things and had 1 catch for 43 yards to go with 1 kick return for 23 yards.

Robinson is a former 4-star athlete from Texas who got a lot of Michigan fans buzzing early, based largely on one high school move that started off great but ended with him stumbling to the ground untouched.  Beyond that he has 2 career catches for 56 yards, 1 kick return for 23, and 1 punt return for 11.  And once the Brady Hoke regime took over, it seemed to make Robinson even more of an afterthought.

Three- and four-receiver sets will still be a large part of Michigan's offense in 2011, but that doesn't mean the new coaching staff favors 5'9", 175 lb. receivers to play in the slot.  If Robinson wants to make an impact on the team, it will probably be in the same way that he's kinda sorta had a chance to play in the past few seasons - on kick and punt returns.  Especially with a quarterback who's only 6' tall, the team needs taller receivers running routes over the middle of the field.  Robinson looks like he might be a bit player for the rest of his career.

Prediction: Backup kick and punt returner

2010 Countdown: #57 Terrence Robinson

Name: Terrence Robinson
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 173
High school: Oak High School in Klein, TX
Position: Slot receiver
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #8
Last year: I rated Robinson #30 and figured he would get an opportunity as a punt returner or kick returner. He finished the season with 1 catch for 13 yards and 1 punt return for 11 yards.

Robinson is a tantalizing athlete out of Texas, someone whose skill has outpaced his production so far. He suffered a knee injury in 2008, which forced him to redshirt. Then he reportedly had problems catching the ball in 2009, which prevented him from contributing as much as many (including me) expected. But he was a high school quarterback and running back, so I should have expected the adjustment to take a little bit longer.

But reports from this spring indicate that his hands have been better, so Terrence could contribute a little bit more at receiver or returner. His talent probably deserves a ranking above #57, but the depth at slot receiver means that a good season from him isn't necessary for the team to succeed. Any positive contributions from Terrence will hopefully be icing on the cake, because these slot receivers are going to be dynamite in 2010.

Prediction for 2010: Backup slot receiver, backup punt returner; 6 catches for 60 yards

2010 Countdown: #62 Kelvin Grady

Name: Kelvin Grady
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 167 lbs.
High school: East Grand Rapids High School in Grand Rapids, MI
Position: Slot receiver/running back
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #19
Last year: Not ranked.

The brother of former Michigan running back Kevin Grady, the younger Grady came to Michigan to play basketball. But he didn't quite fit in Coach Beilein's system and left the basketball team. Grady then decided to walk on to the football program in 2009 after having been a star high school running back. Grady was impressive enough that he earned starter-level playing time early in the season. He caught 10 passes for 102 yards and 1 touchdown, but was surpassed late in the season by Roy Roundtree; Grady started dropping passes and then didn't even play in the final three games of the year.

The word from insiders is that Grady will be given a shot to earn playing time at either slot receiver or running back in the fall. Without a returning starter at the running back position - and underwhelming performances during the spring game - Grady might offer some depth. I'm not expecting much from him this fall. He's too slight to play running back in the Big Ten, and there are better options there; and the combination of Roundtree and Martavious Odoms at slot receiver is potentially deadly, not to mention up-and-comers Terrence Robinson and Jeremy Gallon. It's a good thing for Michigan that someone with Grady's talent might be its fifth best player at the position; it's a bad thing for Grady himself.

Prediction for 2010: Scarce duty as backup slot receiver. He won't match the stat totals from 2009.

2010 Countdown: #78 Drew Dileo

Name: Drew Dileo
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 175 lbs.
High school: Parkview Baptist Christian School in Greenwell Springs, LA
Position: Slot receiver
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Prediction for 2010: Redshirt

Another controversial Michigan commitment, Dileo will play slot receiver and potentially return kicks at Michigan. He played for a successful high school program and was a jack-of-all-trades type who played running back, receiver, cornerback, and kick returner. But he's small-ish and 175 lbs. might be on the generous side, as he has a pretty slight build.

Dileo's most likely contribution for the Wolverines will be as a return man, but that probably won't happen this year. He needs to put on some weight, and there are plenty of guys ahead of him. Martavious Odoms, Darryl Stonum, Jeremy Gallon, and Terrence Robinson appear to be the front-runners for the return jobs for now.

2010 Recruiting Grades: Slot Receiver

Two slot receivers joined the class of 2010, both of whom committed early in the process.

New England Patriot receiver Drew Dileo

The first is Drew Dileo, a 5'10", 175 lb. player from Greenwell Springs, LA. Despite not having overwhelmingly impressive offers, Dileo can fill a role at Michigan - punt returner. Since Steve Breaston left after the 2006 season, Michigan has suffered from poor to mediocre punt returning. The role was assumed by guys like Donovan Warren (who took a lot of chances), Greg Mathews (sure-handed but slow), Martavious Odoms (whose butterfingers only show on punt/kick returns), and Junior Hemingway (again, slow). Dileo can play slot receiver, but his earliest chance to contribute will probably be on special teams.

It's a good thing this photographer had a high-speed shutter.

The second commitment at slot receiver comes from D.J. Williamson, from Warren, OH. Williamson is listed at 6'1" and 172 lbs., meaning he's thin and willowy. He has state championship track speed, but unfortunately, that speed hasn't necessarily shown itself on the football field. Since his commitment, he struggled through a senior season in which he was injured and his quarterback play was subpar. He could play out wide or in the slot, but said on National Signing Day that he'll start off inside.

Predictions: Dileo reminds me of New England Patriots receiver . . . Troy Brown. He'll probably redshirt in 2010, as guys like Odoms and Jeremy Gallon could handle the punt returning duties. But at some point in his career, we'll likely see Dileo deployed as a sure-handed, occasionally exciting returner. Williamson as a slot receiver intrigues me. When he appeared to be an outside receiver in the making, I thought he would get outmuscled and I'm not impressed with his route running. He has reportedly suffered from the dropsies at times, but if he can get that problem worked out, Williamson could be a speedy Roy Roundtree in the slot working against slower linebackers and safeties. As it is, I don't see him contributing for a couple years.

Grade: B. Neither player is an immediate-impact sort, but they don't need to be with guys like Martavious Odoms, Jeremy Gallon, Terrence Robinson, and Roy Roundtree ahead of them (in addition to Teric Jones and Kelvin Grady, who could play slot). Dileo fills a hole, and Williamson has the speed to make a few big plays before all is said and done. Ultimately, this is a position/class where Rodriguez could afford to "miss" with a player or two and not suffer greatly in the future.