Jake Ryan, Wolverine

Everyone smiles when they leave Ohio

Jake Ryan, from St. Ignatius High School in Westlake, OH, committed to the University of Michigan on Sunday. Ryan is a 6'3", 225 lb. linebacker and Michigan's ninth defensive commitment of the last ten. He's rated as a 3-star recruit by both Scout and Rivals.

Ryan's teammate, Scott McVey, was the more heavily recruited player at St. Ignatius, but Ryan outplayed him during their 2009 season. McVey had an offer from Michigan but chose Ohio State and, thus jinxed by God, suffered nagging injuries as a senior. While McVey played middle linebacker in St. Ignatius's 3-3-5 stack defense, Ryan mostly played right outside linebacker.

Other schools to offer Ryan included Bowling Green, Toledo, Ohio, and Eastern Michigan. But when he officially visited this past weekend, Rich Rodriguez extended an offer that got accepted almost immediately.

In interviews with Ryan and his high school coach, they have said that Michigan recruited him as outside/rush linebacker. That seems to be in line with the Quick end position, currently manned by rising sophomore Craig Roh. However, that seems odd, considering that no less than four other players in the class of 2010 have been recruited to play Quick at various times: Jordan Paskorz, Ken Wilkins, Antonio Kinard, and Davion Rogers. A recent Rivals article quotes Kinard as saying he'll play WILL, so that makes a little more sense. And personally, I think Paskorz is better off as a defensive end. But still, I have questions.

Regardless, I think Ryan is best suited for middle linebacker. He seems to do a good job of diagnosing plays and taking good angles toward the ballcarrier. He has a solid frame and could easily play at 240 or 245. He's reported to run a 4.6 forty yard dash, but I question that time.

Ryan is stiff in the hips. He moves well for a high school linebacker, but he looks like a defensive end who's playing out of position at outside backer. He does not have great lateral speed, and I do question his tackling ability. Despite a couple highlight films I've seen, I haven't seen a single de-cleater. All of his tackles seem to be him falling on a player who's already going down or grabbing a runner and letting his 220-225 lbs. drag down the ball carrier. He doesn't have the aggressiveness I would like to see in a kid that size at the linebacker position, but he was suffering from a wrist injury, so that might have made him a bit tentative.

Ultimately, Ryan is either a Quick linebacker or a MIKE. I'm leaning toward the MIKE position because of the shortage of inside linebackers on the roster, but it won't surprise me either way. No other player who was recruited for the Quick position has the ability to play middle linebacker, so either Ryan plays there or Michigan better go after some good inside linebackers in 2011.

Image via the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

2010 Recruiting Class Positions

Judging from the best of my knowledge, interviews I've seen and read, and the current depth chart, I've placed Michigan's 2010 recruits at the positions they are most likely to play. Things can and will change, but as of this point, the Wolverines' class of 2014 looks like this:

QB: Devin Gardner, Conelius Jones
RB: Austin White, Stephen Hopkins
FB: N/A
OT: N/A
OG: N/A
OC: Christian Pace
WR: Jeremy Jackson, Ricardo Miller, Jerald Robinson
SR: Drew Dileo, D.J. Williamson
TE: N/A

DE: Terry Talbott*, Jordan Paskorz**
DT: Richard Ash*
NT: N/A
OLB: Davion Rogers, Ken Wilkins**
WILL: Antonio Kinard
MIKE: Jake Ryan***
SAM: Josh Furman
CB: Cullen Christian, Courtney Avery, Terrence Talbott
FS: Marvin Robinson, Carvin Johnson
SS: Ray Vinopal

P: Will Hagerup
K: N/A

*Could play DE or DT
**Could play DE or OLB
***Could play OLB or MIKE

Davion Rogers, Wolverine

Davion Rogers shares a story about a fishing trip

Davion Rogers, a linebacker from Harding High School in Warren, OH, committed to Michigan yesterday after an official visit. He just recently procured an offer from the Wolverines after having been committed to West Virginia. Rogers' teammate is D.J. Williamson, a Michigan wide receiver commit.

Rogers is a 3-star linebacker to both Rivals and Scout, ranked as the #26 outside linebacker to Rivals and the #96 player at his position on Scout. Along with being a former Mountaineer commit, Rogers had also been reported to have interest in his Michigan State offer.

Michigan's coaches recruited Rogers for the Quick end position, currently manned by Craig Roh. When Roh arrived in the summer of 2009, he was 238 lbs. Rogers is currently 6'6", 210 lbs. and needs to bulk up before he can expect to contribute. Physically, he's very reminiscent of former Michigan outside linebacker Shawn Crable; Crable was listed at 6'6", 230 lbs. coming out of high school, but he ended up around 245.

Watching film of him, Rogers has incredible physical talent. The most impressive thing about him is his speed. He's able to catch up to skill players from behind. His wingspan also helps him latch onto and wrap up players who might be out of a shorter player's reach. Once he gains strength, that wingspan should also afford him the ability to keep offensive tackles out of his chest.

Unfortunately, one of the reasons that Rogers gets to show off his speed so much is that he tends to take poor pursuit angles. That's typical for many talented athletes, but it's something that will have to be corrected. Hopefully, his speed will result in a similar awesome play to Crable running down Michigan State's A.J. Jimmerson from the opposite side of the field a few years ago. Rogers also tends to reach when tackling. He leaves his feet or stops his feet in order to reach out and tackle, which will be a problem against stronger, faster players.

Rogers is a few years away from contributing. Craig Roh has a similar skill set and his backup, Brandon Herron, offers a different type of skills. It should take a year or two for Rogers to gain enough strength to contribute, and his techniques will have to develop and mature as his strength does. Considering Brandon Herron will be a redshirt junior in 2010, I expect Rogers to redshirt as a freshman and then compete for playing time in 2012 when Roh is a senior and the whole world is wiped off the planet except John Cusack.

Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Steve Breaston

Steve Breaston

In the Arizona Cardinals' overtime victory against the Green Bay Packers, Breaston caught 7 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown, to go along with one carry for 28 yards.

Honorable mention: On the opposite side of the ball, Packers cornerback Charles Woodson made 6 tackles, broke up one pass, and forced a fumble. Unfortunately, his team fell to the Cardinals, 51-45.

What Could Have Been . . . Marquis Maze

Marquis Maze

Wide receiver Marquis Maze was committed to be a member of the 2007 recruiting class. Recruited as a wideout for Michigan, he always seemed to be a bit undersized; he was 5'8" and 160 lbs. during a time when Michigan was annually churning out 6'3"-ish wide receivers like David Terrell, Marquis Walker, Braylon Edwards, and Adrian Arrington, among others.

Before signing day arrived, though, Maze decommitted from the Wolverines and decided to attend Alabama. He redshirted as a freshman in 2007 and has earned more and more prominent roles the past two seasons.

Unbeknownst to him, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr would be replaced by Rich Rodriguez in December 2007, who would bring an offense in which Maze could have thrived. Rodriguez was reduced to playing a true freshman (Martavious Odoms) and a bigger receiver who was a misfit (Toney Clemons) at the slot receiver position in 2008. Odoms did well, but Clemons floundered and transferred to Colorado prior to the 2009 season.

This past season as a redshirt sophomore and now listed at 5'10" and 180 lbs., Maze started at wide receiver and recorded 31 receptions for 523 yards (a 16.9 yard average) and 2 touchdowns, including an 80-yarder. Oh by the way, he also won a national championship.

Meanwhile, the majority of Michigan's snaps at slot receiver went to the trio of Kelvin Grady, Martavious Odoms, and Roy Roundtree. Those players combined for 64 catches, 808 yards (12.6 yard average), and 5 touchdowns. Redshirt freshman Roundtree turned out to be the most explosive of the three, leading the entire team in each category and besting Maze in receptions (32 to 31) and touchdowns (3 to 2).

Maze is a big-play threat for the Crimson Tide, but his presence on the Michigan team in 2009 probably wouldn't have made a huge difference. He would have been more valuable in 2008, when he likely would have started for then-freshman Odoms. Still, Maze has a good thing going at Alabama, and Michigan has some promising athletes going forward into the 2010 season. This is a departure that most Michigan fans shouldn't - and probably don't - regret.

Image via nydailynews.com

What Could Have Been . . . Ryan Mallett

Ryan Mallett

Quarterback Ryan Mallett was an early commitment in Michigan's 2007 recruiting class. Always considered to be headed to Arkansas, he instead chose to become a Wolverine because he didn't want to sit behind Mitch Mustain at quarterback for three years. He thought it was a better idea to sit behind senior Chad Henne for one season and take over Lloyd Carr's quarterback factory of an offense in 2008.

Unfortunately for Michigan, Mallett didn't like the cold and wasn't a model citizen. He considered transferring practically when he arrived at Michigan in Winter 2007, and he followed through with those plans as soon as Rich Rodriguez was hired in December 2007. As a freshman in Carr's final year at the helm, Mallett played for Henne when the latter injured his knee and shoulder. Mallett even started a couple games and finished the year 892 yards, 7 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, a 43.3% completion percentage, and a 105.69 passer efficiency rating. But his taste of playing time wasn't enough to convince him to stick around for Rodriguez's read option offense.

Arkansas quarterback Mitch Mustain had transferred to USC, and Mallett transferred to Arkansas to fill his position. He appealed to the NCAA in an attempt to allow him to play for Arkansas in 2008, but lost and had to redshirt last season.

In 2009, Mallett started for Arkansas and finished the season 225/403 (55.8%), 3627 yards, 30 touchdowns, 7 interceptions, and a 152.52 passer efficiency rating. He had -29 yards rushing with 2 touchdowns on the ground. He's explored the possibility of jumping to the NFL early, and he's been talked about as an early Heisman candidate for the 2010 season.

By comparison, Michigan's quarterbacks - mainly Tate Forcier, with bits of Denard Robinson, Nick Sheridan, and David Cone - finished the 2009 season 189/329 (57.4%), 2380 yards, 15 touchdowns, 15 interceptions, and a 124.14 passer efficiency rating. They also rushed for 608 yards and 8 touchdowns.

The offense would not have been the same with Mallett, who's about 6'7" and 235 lbs. He would have been less of a threat to run than Forcier or Robinson, but the passing game likely would have been upgraded if Mallett were still in Ann Arbor. Michigan's lack of a downfield passing game was evident in 2009, and that's one thing Mallett would have improved.

Image via life.com

Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Charles Woodson

Charles Woodson, frequent flyer

Charles Woodson had 1 pass interception and 2 pass breakups in the Packers' 33-7 win over the Arizona Cardinals. The interception was returned for a 45-yard touchdown.

Honorable mention: The stats may not seem like much, but the Denver Broncos' Ty Law is a 35-year-old cornerback, which is a rarity in the NFL. He broke up a pass and returned an interception for 37 yards as the Broncos lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, 44-24.

Image via TheWolverineBlog.com