Video: 2011 Season Highlights

Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Tom Brady

"STOP HITTING ON GISELE!" - Tom Brady

Brady threw for 357 yards and three touchdowns with one interception as his Patriots defeated the Redskins, 34-27, on Sunday. After throwing the interception, Brady joined in a profanity-filled shouting match with offensive coordinator Bill O' Brien (watch it here). Maybe the two were merely venting their frustrations with New England's awful defense because the passing game appears to be the least of their worries. Brady has thrown for 4,273 yards through 13 games and is on pace to break Dan Marino's 1984 single-season passing record of 5,084 yards if Drew Brees doesn't beat him to it. This Sunday, Brady will go head-to-head with quarterback media darling Tim "he just wins games" Tebow.

Honorable Mention: Mario Manningham caught a 47-yard touchdown pass in the Giants 37-34 win over the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, but the reception was due to a blown coverage, and he later dropped what would have been the game-winning touchdown pass. So Honorable Mention goes to Charles Woodson this week, who recorded six tackles, two pass defenses and an interception, which puts him in a tie with Eric Weddle and Kyle Arrington for most INTs this season (7). His Super Bowl defending Packers remain undefeated (13-0) after a 46-13 rout of Woodson's former team, the Oakland Raiders.

Miscellaneous: Jake Long left the Miami-Philadelphia game with a lower back injury in the first quarter. The Dolphins gave up a franchise-tying nine sacks in his absence, and Coach Tony Sparano was fired after the game. Long's status for next week against the Bills is uncertain, which may end his 60 game start streak.

Martell Webb signed with the Tampa Bay practice squad late last week.

Quarterback Preview: Michigan vs. Virginia Tech

Logan Thomas

MICHIGAN
Starter: Junior Denard Robinson (6'0", 195 lbs.) is 133/237 (56.1%) passing for 2,056 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.  He has also rushed 208 times for 1,137 yards (5.6 yards per carry) and 16 touchdowns.
Backups: Sophomore Devin Gardner has played in 9 games, sometimes in a package with Robinson on the field.  Gardner is 11/23 (47.8%) passing for 176 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception.  He also rushed 25 times for 53 yards and 1 touchdown.  The next guy on the depth chart is true freshman Russell Bellomy, who has yet to play this season but has traveled to road games.

VIRGINIA TECH
Starter: Redshirt sophomore Logan Thomas (6'6", 254 lbs.) has started all 13 games this season, going 215/363 (59.2%) for 2,799 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions.  He has also rushed 137 times for 416 yards (3.0 yards per carry) and 10 touchdowns.
Backups: Redshirt freshman Mark Leal has played a backup role in 3 games this year.  He is 9/13 (69.2%) for 153 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions.  Redshirt junior Ju-Ju Clayton is the third quarterback but has yet to play this season.

THE TAKEAWAY
Thomas is capable of excellent play; against Miami he went 23/25 (92%) for 310 yards and 3 touchdowns through the air, plus 2 more rushing scores.  He played some great football throughout the year.  But he's coming off a game against Clemson in which he completed 50% of his passes, threw 2 interceptions, and rushed 12 times for only 2 yards.  Meanwhile, Robinson is one of the most dynamic players in the country, capable of taking over a game at any given time.  While he has been prone to interceptions and erratic passing, he's coming off a three-game winning streak in which he completed 60% or more of his passes, scored 11 total touchdowns (5 passing with only 2 interceptions), and played arguably the best game of his career against Ohio State (14/17 for 167 yards and 3 touchdowns, plus 170 yards on the ground and 2 more touchdowns).  Thomas is good, but Robinson has the ability to be unstoppable.
Advantage: Michigan

Video: Sugar Bowl Practice, Brady Hoke Press Conference

Mailbag: Roster Questions for Next Year

Michael Schofield (#75) celebrates with Devin Gardner

I was going through the could be depth chart for next year and I have a ton of questions for you.

Cox stays or goes?? I'm thinking he doesn't come back

TE is going to be a mess next year. Your thoughts??

Does Schofield move back to OT?

What side will Magnuson, Braden and Williams play?

Is Justice Hayes a WR or RB?

Reading the Jerry Montgomery article scares me about Brink. Can he put on 20 lbs or so and be half effective??

Thanks, love the blog.

Thanks for the e-mail, Randy.  I'll do my best to answer your questions.

My gut tells me that redshirt junior running back Michael Cox will not return in 2012.  He was limited to special teams this season and did not see a single snap on offense.  While I think he has the talent to play at Michigan, he obviously hasn't done what it takes to get on the field more consistently, whether it's in the classroom or on the practice field.  It's somewhat rare that a guy who plays that little as a redshirt junior gets a scholarship for a fifth year.  If Cox gets his degree, though, I would not be surprised to see him transfer to a MAC-level school and play somewhere next season.  The kid has talent, whether people see it or not.

I'm not too worried about Michigan's tight end situation.  An elite tight end can be a great weapon, but you can still have a decent team without a great tight end.  Kevin Koger is not as good as most Michigan fans think he is; he's above average but that's about it.  Michigan will almost surely take a step back at the position, but I don't think it will affect the team greatly.  As a blocker he'll be missed, but he's only caught 21 passes for 235 yards and 4 touchdowns.  That production is roughly par for the course ever since Bennie Joppru suited up in 2002.  With players like Tyler Ecker, Tim Massaquoi, and Carson Butler in between, the performance of Michigan's offense suffered little - and neither Massaquoi or Butler was a great blocker, either.  The combination of fifth year senior Brandon Moore, redshirt sophomore Ricardo Miller, freshman Devin Funchess, and freshman A.J. Williams should be fine.

I do think redshirt sophomore Michael Schofield will move back to offensive tackle in 2012.  Michigan has lots of options on the interior between Ricky Barnum, Rocko Khoury, Patrick Omameh, Jack Miller, Chris Bryant, and Elliott Mealer.  At the tackle positions, it's just Taylor Lewan, Schofield, and freshmen, unless the coaches want to shake things up and move Omameh to tackle.

Incoming freshman Erik Magnuson looks like a future right tackle to me, but based on the available talent, he will probably play on the left side at Michigan.  Ben Braden looks like a prototypical right tackle.  A.J. Williams is being recruited as a tight end, so he'll play on whichever side the formation requires.

Freshman Justice Hayes has been playing running back in practice.  Some insiders suggest that he will end up at slot receiver sometime in the future.  Personally, I have never been high on Hayes as a running back.  He's a slightly bigger version of Vincent Smith, someone who can catch passes and do okay when put in open space.

Can Nathan Brink put on 20 lbs.?  Sure.  That's not an unbelievable amount of weight to add in an off-season.  Craig Roh has put on about 20 pounds in each of the past two off-seasons.  Can Brink be effective once he puts on that weight?  I don't know.  He has been manhandled this year, and it's hard to predict good things when he's been pushed backward with consistency.  I hope he can turn into all the good things that Jerry Montgomery and Greg Mattison have predicted for him, but that's a prediction I'm not willing to make.

Jake Ryan, Freshman All-America

Jake Ryan (image via AnnArbor.com)

Congratulations to redshirt freshman linebacker Jake Ryan, who was named to Rivals' freshman All-America second team.  Ryan finished the regular season with 30 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, and 1 forced fumble.

The teams are littered with players Michigan recruited in the past couple classes, including . . .

• USC wide receiver Marqise Lee (73 receptions, 1,142 yards, and 11 touchdowns)
• Oregon running back/wide receiver De'Anthony Thomas (1,011 yards from scrimmage, 12 touchdowns)
• Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins (77 receptions, 1,153 yards, 11 touchdowns)
• South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (32 tackles, 6 sacks, 5 forced fumbles)
• Florida State defensive tackle Tim Jernigan (28 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks)
• USC linebacker Dion Bailey (81 tackles)
• Tennessee linebacker A.J. Johnson (80 tackles)
• South Carolina offensive guard A.J. Cann
• Michigan State defensive end Marcus Rush (50 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 4 sacks)
• Miami defensive end Anthony Chickillo (38 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 5 sacks)
• Virginia cornerback Demetrious Nicholson (56 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions)

Recruiting Update: December 11, 2011

Ellie Gonsalves wants to wish you a happy Sunday.

COMMITMENT
West Des Moines (IA) Dowling Catholic wide receiver Amara Darboh committed to Michigan on Monday.  You can read his commitment post here.

ADDED TO THE BOARD
Olney (MD) Good Counsel cornerback Kendall Fuller, a 2013 prospect, was offered by Michigan last week.  He's 6'0", 185 lbs. and has reported 4.5 speed in the forty.  Fuller already has offers from Cal, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, and several others.  Fuller is a speedy corner with excellent ball skills, but he lacks maturity on the field.  He doesn't run his feet when he tackles, he doesn't wrap up, and he's a little DeSean Jackson-ish with the way he jogs into the endzone on breakaways.  These issues are correctable, but they're a bit concerning.

Seffner (FL) Armwood safety Leon McQuay III, a 2013 prospect, was offered by Michigan this past week.  McQuay is a 6'1", 177-pounder with offers from Florida, Florida State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, among others.  Michigan has unsuccessfully recruited Armwood before and McQuay is likely to stay in state, so I won't be getting my hopes up.

Olney (MD) Good Counsel linebacker Dorian O'Daniel, a 2013 prospect, received a Michigan offer last week.  He's a 6'1", 205 lb. weakside linebacker prospect with excellent speed.  He holds offers from Cal, Florida, Iowa, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and several others.  O'Daniel attends the alma mater of freshman cornerback Blake Countess and is teammates with a couple of 2012 prospects Michigan has offered, wide receiver Stefon Diggs and running back Wes Brown, neither of whom is expected to commit to the Wolverines.

Warren (OH) Howland running back DeVeon Smith, a 2013 prospect, was offered by Michigan late last week.  The 5'11", 195 lb. Smith ran for approximately 2,200 yards and averaged around 13 yards per carry, according to him.  Michigan is Smith's first offer.  His older brother, Lance Smith, played running back for Wisconsin a few years ago but was kicked off the team for legal issues.

Crete (IL) Crete-Monee cornerback Anthony Standifer decommitted from Michigan late this week.  Rumors swirled that the departure was grade-related, although Standifer's mother has refuted that claim.  Standifer is the second prospect to exit Michigan's class in recent weeks, following Lyndhurst (OH) Brush tight end/defensive end Pharaoh Brown.


OFF THE BOARD
Lake Forest (IL) Lake Forest Academy defensive tackle Faith Ekakitie committed to Iowa on Wednesday.  Ekakitie is a 6'2", 255-pounder who was offered by the Wolverines several months ago but never showed significant interest.  He also held offers from Arizona, Illinois, Nebraska, Oregon, Stanford, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.  He joins Lombard (IL) Montini defensive tackle Jaleel Johnson, who was also offered by Michigan, as part of Iowa's recruiting haul.

Lakewood (CA) Lakewood wide receiver Darius Powe committed to Cal on Friday.  Powe is a 6'2", 186 lb. wideout who held offers from Arizona, Nebraska, Oregon, and Stanford, among others.  He ought to combine with quarterback Zach Kline and fellow wide receiver Bryce Treggs to create a very nice passing attack for the Golden Bears over the next few seasons.  Looking at Cal's recruiting class, they also have a linebacker named Hardy Nickerson, Jr., whose father played for several teams in the NFL, most notably the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.