Scout 300 Released

Dorial Green-Beckham is the #2
prospect in the country,
according to Scout.com

Scout.com released its top 300 players for the Class of 2012, and it shows an interesting recruiting trend, if you're into that sort of thing.

Brady Hoke and his staff were receiving some flak for offering so many prospects early in the recruiting cycle.  By my count the Wolverines have offered scholarships to 139 players at this juncture.  You will find 108 of them on this list, which means 77.7% of Michigan's offers are to players considered to be in the top 300 prospects nationwide.

Compare that to Rich Rodriguez.  By the end of the 2011 recruiting cycle, he (and Brady Hoke, who tossed out a handful of offers between his hiring and National Signing Day) had offered 190 players.  On the final Scout 300 list, there were only 94 Rodriguez/Hoke offerees.  So only 49.5% of Rodriguez offers went to the top 300 players in the country [Thanks to commenter Anonymous for catching my math error.].

Of course, this isn't the final Scout 300.  Prospects could move up or down on this list, they could fall out of the top 300, etc.  But if you were unsure about the quality of recruits Michigan is pursuing, it seems that our new staff has taken a different - and dare I say better - approach to the recruiting process.

Here are the players Michigan has offered, with any current pledges noted in parentheses:

1. Arik Armstead - DT - California (USC)
2. Dorial Green-Beckham - WR - Missouri
3. Andrus Peat - OT - Arizona
4. John Theus - OT - Florida
5. Keith Marshall - RB - North Carolina
6. Noah Spence - DE - Pennsylvania
8. Mario Edwards - DE - Texas (Florida State)
12. Jarron Jones - DT - New York
13. Avery Young - OT - Florida
14. Eddie Goldman - DT - Washington, DC
15. Kwon Alexander - LB - Alabama
16. Stefon Diggs - S - Maryland
17. Gunner Kiel - QB - Indiana
20. Malcolm Brown - RB - Texas (Texas)
21. Adolphus Washington - DE - Ohio
22. Kyle Kalis - OT - Ohio (Ohio State)
24. Josh Garnett - OG - Washington
25. Zeke Pike - QB - Kentucky
26. Darius Hamilton - DE - New Jersey
27. D.J. Humphries - OT - North Carolina
28. Brionte Dunn - RB - Ohio (Ohio State)
30. Jordan Simmons - OG - California
31. Leonte Carroo - WR - New Jersey
34. Kyle Murphy - OT - California
38. Ellis McCarthy - DT - California
40. Jordan Diamond - OT - Illinois
41. Brian Poole - CB - Florida
43. Jordan Jenkins - DE - Georgia
44. Wes Brown - RB - Maryland
45. Zach Banner - OT - Washington
46. Tommy Schutt - DT - Illinois
47. Ronald Darby - CB - Maryland
49. Tee Shepard - CB - California (Notre Dame)
50. Aziz Shittu - DT - California
52. LaDarrell McNeil - S - Texas
56. Matt Jones - RB - Florida (Florida)
58. Ifeadi Odenigbo - DE - Ohio
60. Jordan Payton - WR - California (USC)
63. Brock Stadnik - OT - North Carolina
64. Sheldon Day - DT - Indiana
65. Greg Garmon - RB - Pennsylvania
69. Michael Starts - OG - Texas
71. Troy Hinds - DE - Utah
72. James Ross - LB - Michigan
73. Jonathan Taylor - DT - Georgia
76. Avery Johnson - WR - Florida (LSU)
78. Se'von Pittman - DE - Ohio
84. Aaron Burbridge - WR - Michigan
86. Bryce Treggs - WR - California
90. Taylor Decker - OT - Ohio (Notre Dame)
91. Elijah Shumate - S - New Jersey
95. Peter Jinkens - LB - Texas (Texas)
96. Erik Magnuson - OT - California
98. Vincent Valentine - DT - Illinois
99. Dan Voltz - OT - Illinois (Wisconsin)
100. Evan Boehm - C - Missouri
101. Deaysean Rippy - LB - Pennsylvania
102. Jabari Ruffin - LB - California (USC)
104. Martin Aiken - DE - South Carolina
105. Royce Jenkins-Stone - LB - Michigan
106. Dwayne Stanford - WR - Ohio
107. Kendall Sanders - CB - Texas (Oklahoma State)
110. J.J. Denman - OT - Pennsylvania
111. Paul Thurston - OT - Colorado
112. Chris Wormley - DE - Ohio
116. Maty Mauk - QB - Ohio
119. Reginald Davis - WR - Texas (Texas Tech)
125. Jaquay Williams - WR - Georgia
127. Connor Brewer - QB - Arizona (Texas)
131. Danny O'Brien - DT - Michigan
137. Ron Thompson - TE - Michigan
139. Terry Richardson - CB - Michigan
143. Camren Williams - LB - Maryland (Penn State)
146. Devin Funchess - TE - Michigan
150. Devonte Fields - DE - Texas
151. Jarrod Wilson - S - Ohio
153. Ryan Watson - OG - Maryland
159. Greg McMullen - DE - Ohio
163. Devin Fuller - QB - New Jersey
164. Amara Darboh - WR - Iowa
165. Taylor McNamara - TE - California
166. Dalton Santos - LB - Texas (Oklahoma State)
170. Mike Madaras - OT - Maryland (Maryland)
171. John Michael McGee- C - Texas
174. Shane Callahan - OT - Colorado
176. Derrick Woods - WR - California
177. Armani Reeves - CB - Maryland
180. Mario Ojemudia - DE - Michigan
185. Zach Kline - QB - California (Cal)
188. Ondre Pipkins - DT - Missouri
191. Kyle Dodson - OG - Ohio
200. Tom Strobel - DE - Ohio
202. Ty Darlington - C - Florida
206. Kaleb Ringer - LB - Ohio
218. Vince Biegel - LB - Wisconsin
222. Deon Bush - CB - Florida
224. Evan Baylis - TE - Colorado
226. Jeremiah Tshimanga - LB - Texas (Oklahoma State)
237. Drew Harris - RB - Pennsylvania
238. Joe Bolden - LB - Ohio
246. D.J. Singleton - S - New Jersey
255. Sean Price - TE - Florida
259. Malik Gilmore - WR - California
260. Raphael Kirby - LB - Georgia
263. Wayne Morgan - CB - New York
264. Vonte Jackson - RB - Wisconsin (Wisconsin)
271. Brent Wilkerson - DE - Maryland (Penn State)
281. Latroy Pittman - WR - Florida (Florida)

Obi Ezeh, #45

Middle linebacker Obi Ezeh

2010 Countdown: #14 Obi Ezeh

HIGH SCHOOL
Ezeh was offered scholarships by Eastern Michigan, Indiana, Michigan, and Western Michigan, but chose the Wolverines in December 2005.  He signed with Michigan in February 2006.  Contrary to the popular belief held by Michigan fans, he was projected as a linebacker in college, not a fullback.  He did play running back at Grand Rapids Catholic Central (Grand Rapids, MI) and was the school's leading rusher, but not many schools are interested in 6'2", 219 lb. running backs who don't have blazing speed.

COLLEGE
Ezeh redshirted as a true freshman in 2006, but leaped onto the scene as a redshirt freshman in 2007.  He started ten games at middle linebacker, was a Freshman All-America, and made the Freshman All-Big Ten squad due to his 10 starts, 68 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 interception, 3 pass breakups, and 1 forced fumble.  He followed that season with perhaps his most productive year - 98 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception, 3 pass breakups, and 1 fumble recovery.  After that his career seemed to progressively deteriorate.  He held onto the starting middle linebacker job for most of his redshirt junior year in 2009, making 69 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 2 pass breakups, and 1 fumble recovery; however, he played sparingly late in the season while losing time to Kevin Leach, a 210 lb. former walk-on.  Those struggles continued into 2010, when Ezeh was displaced by redshirt sophomore Kenny Demens halfway through the season.  Statistically, his fifth-year senior campaign was his worst, as he finished with 58 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and 1 fumble recovery.

CAREER STATS
293 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 2 interceptions, 8 pass breakups, 3 fumble recoveries.  He is #10 on Michigan's all-time career tackles list.

AWARDS
Freshman All-American in 2007 . . . Freshman All-Big Ten in 2007 . . . Roger Zatkoff Award (U of M's best linebacker) in 2008 . . . Honorable Mention All-Big Ten in 2007

SUMMARY
Ezeh had one of the more curious careers of any Michigan player in the last decade.  Prior to the Rich Rodriguez years, it took a rare talent - or injury problems -  for a freshman to start.  It seemed that Ezeh's career was off to a fast start in 2007, and many Michigan fans were looking forward to the years to come.  Lots of people thought he would follow in the footsteps of David Harris, another lightly regarded recruit who developed into a very good middle linebacker at Michigan, a player good enough to be starting at inside linebacker for the New York Jets.  I can't help but feel that Ezeh was one of the casualties of Rich Rodriguez and his staff.  The linebacker play was so atrocious in Rodriguez's first two seasons on the job that his linebackers coach, Jay Hopson, was the only staffer to get axed after 2009 was completed.  By all accounts Ezeh was a very high quality individual.  He never got into trouble off the field, was well spoken in interviews, and was just a good representative of the university.  I wasn't in practice every day, but it seems like a kid with his qualities would have nowhere to go but up.  Instead, his play got so bad that he was an afterthought by the end of his career.  He was slow to read plays, let blockers get into his chest, and just seemed to lack aggression.  Those were things that didn't seem to be issues earlier in his career.  One of the lasting images of his career was in 2010, when after a long run, a shot of Rich Rodriguez seemingly had him tearing into defensive coordinator Greg Robinson for not having inserted Kenny Demens.  And despite the fact that Demens started less than half the games, he finished with 24 more tackles on the year (82 to 58) than Ezeh.

PROJECTION
While I have no reason to believe he lacks intelligence, the general downward spiral of Ezeh's career makes me think he struggled to adjust to new concepts and defensive schemes.  His solid redshirt freshman season was his second year in defensive coordinator Ron English's system; there were inklings of trouble under Scott Shafer in 2008; things got worse in Greg Robinson's 4-3 in 2009; and the switch to the 3-3-5 in 2010 really seemed to befuddle him.  NFL players need to adapt quickly to new schemes, and Ezeh hasn't shown the ability to do so.  He also doesn't have great athleticism, which can sometimes make up for a lack of mental adjustments.  Ezeh was not invited to the NFL Combine, and I do not expect to see him playing at the next level.

The All-Rodriguez Team: Defense and Special Teams

Brandon Graham probably just killed a man

This is the second installment of the All-Rodriguez Team (offense here), the brightest and best of the players coached by Rich Rodriguez and his bumbling henchmen defensive colleagues.

And I'm choosing players for a 4-3, not that moronic 3-3-5* they tried to shoehorn in there.

DE: Brandon Graham (2009)
64 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery
Graham was the single most dominant defensive player during Rodriguez's tenure.  He put up ridiculous numbers for a bad defense, even though he was double-teamed frequently.  And the best thing about Graham was the way his motor improved throughout his career.  He ate his way into playing defensive tackle as a freshman, but by his senior year in 2009, he never stopped going 100%.  That year turned him into a first round pick by the Philadelphia Eagles.

DT: Mike Martin (2009)
51 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble
Martin seemed like a better player at the beginning of 2010 than in his sophomore year, but a couple sprained ankles slowed him down as a junior.  Even as a crippled junior, though, he would have deserved to be on this team.  Undersized for a nose tackle at 299 lbs., he still defeated double-teams on the regular.

DT: Ryan Van Bergen (2009)
38 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 1 touchdown
Van Bergen's production in 2010 was virtually the same as 2009, but technically, all thirteen games he started in 2010 were at the defensive end position.  I need a tackle, and he's my man.  He's another high-motor guy who played well at DT despite having the body of a strongside end.  I was tempted to choose Terrance Taylor here based on overall talent, but Taylor really didn't produce much in his only season under Rodriguez (2008: 35 tackles, 1.5 sacks).

DE: Tim Jamison (2008)
50 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles
Jamison didn't really stand out in 2008, but I think Michigan fans were shell-shocked by how bad the team was overall.  And while Jamison wasn't a huge difference maker, he would have fit in just as well on a good defense, too.

LB: Steve Brown (2009)
80 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 3 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble
I don't know if Brown was miscast as a safety or if he was just coached poorly in his first three years, but he took a quantum leap as a senior when he was moved to the SAM linebacker position.  Brown never came off the field, playing linebacker on a first and second downs and then becoming the nickel back on third downs.  Brown's position change was perhaps the best personnel move of Rodriguez's tenure, and Brown parlayed it into being a late draft pick by the Oakland Raiders.

LB: Kenny Demens (2010)
82 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 pass breakup
I will be the first to admit that I was not enamored with Demens during his first couple years, but he made me a believer in the second half of the season.  He only started seven games after backing up Obi Ezeh for the first half of the year, but he still ended up third on the team in tackles.  I still think Demens makes some poor decisions due to being overaggressive in attacking the line of scrimmage, but that's probably better than whatever Ezeh did from 2008-10.

LB: Jonas Mouton (2010)
117 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries
Based on statistics alone, Mouton was borderline First Team All-Big Ten.  He averaged 9.8 tackles a game (which was .9 more than teammate Jordan Kovacs and 1.1 more than the next best Big Ten player, Indiana's Tyler Replogle) and led the conference in tackles, despite playing in only twelve of Michigan's thirteen contests.  But players on bad defenses don't get much respect, especially when they make some inexplicably bad plays (see the long TD run by Illinois's Jason Ford).  With a solid supporting cast, I think Mouton's play would have stood out more.

CB: Donovan Warren (2009)
66 tackles, 4 interceptions, 7 pass breakups, 1 touchdown
Warren thought his junior season would propel him to NFL stardom, but just like Ernest Shazor, he left early and didn't even get drafted.  Four interceptions isn't too shabby, and it helps that one (vs. Iowa) went for a touchdown and another (vs. Indiana) was a fantastic diving interception that preserved a victory for the Wolverines.

CB: Morgan Trent (2008)
41 tackles, 3 interceptions, 2.5 tackles for loss, 2 pass breakups
Michigan fans will hate me for this, but Trent beats out James Rogers.  This just shows how poor Michigan's defense was over the past three years, because everybody's whipping boy was the second-best cornerback.  The thing that bugged me about criticism of Trent was that he took a lot of heat on message boards for playing 10 yards off the line of scrimmage, but that was clearly a coaching decision.  I think Michigan fans realized this by 2010, and if Trent had played for Michigan a year or two later, he might not have drawn as much ire.  Trent wasn't the most agile corner, but he did have good speed and was a better tackler than many gave him credit for.  All that being said, I would actually like to put Troy Woolfolk here, but I need a free safety.

FS: Troy Woolfolk (2009)
46 tackles, 1 pass breakup
Woolfolk could fit on this team at cornerback or safety, but Michigan's horrible defense was horribler once Woolfolk moved to corner for the second half of the year.  The Wolverines gave up 23 points per game with him at safety, an average that ballooned to 37 points per game (not counting FCS soup can Delaware State) once he switched to cornerback.  His statistics aren't great, but stats don't tell the whole story.  He was a consistent presence, a solid tackler, and had the speed to prevent some big plays.

SS: Jordan Kovacs (2010)
116 tackles, 2 interceptions, 8.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 pass breakup, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery
For two years, I've been hoping that someone more athletic would take Kovacs's job.  But I've got to give credit where credit is due - Kovacs has been the best guy so far.  He rarely gets out of position, and I didn't see a more dependable open field tackler on the team.  His 116 tackles (second only to Jonas Mouton in the Big Ten) speak for themselves, but he fills up the stat sheet in other ways, too.  You can't help but love the guy.


P: Will Hagerup (2010)
33 punts, 1440 yards, 43.6 yards per punt, 11 punts inside the twenty
This was the most difficult choice of the entire All-Rodriguez team, a head-to-head matchup between Hagerup and Zoltan Mesko 2009.  Mesko averaged 44.5 yards per punt in 2009, but fully one-third of Hagerup's punts were downed inside the twenty yard line (only 28% of Mesko's were downed inside the twenty).  If you have a good offense (which this squad does), then you want a guy who can pin the opposing team deep.  It doesn't matter if you can boom a punt when your offense moves the ball down the field before having to give it up.  But if you do need a long punt, Hagerup has a 72-yarder to his credit.  Both players would be good choices, though.

K: Jason Olesnavage (2009)
11-for-15 on field goals (73.3%), 42-for-43 on extra points (97.7%)
Special teams weren't a strength under Rodriguez, but Olesnavage was pretty solid.  Along with being nearly perfect on extra points, he was 9-for-10 on field goals longer than 30 yards (only 2-for-5 from 29 yards in).

PR: Martavious Odoms (2008)
10 returns, 126 yards, 12.6 yards per return, 1 touchdown
Do I have to choose?  Seriously, this is painful.  Punt returns have been atrocious since 2008.  Odoms is really the only choice, even though he seemed to muff a punt every other game.  That's not an exaggeration, either.  I wish it was.  I can either choose Odoms (who did have an exciting 73-yard touchdown against Purdue), or a handful of guys who averaged somewhere around two or four yards a return (Donovan Warren, Greg Mathews, Jeremy Gallon).  I would like to choose Drew Dileo, who looks like the best returner for the near future, but he only had 2 returns for 13 yards in 2010.

KR: Darryl Stonum (2009)
39 returns, 1001 yards, 25.7 yards per return, 1 touchdown
Partially due to the defense giving up a ton of points, Stonum had the most kickoff return yards in any season in Michigan history.  He beat Steve Breaston (2004: 28 returns for 689 yards) by 312 yards.  His 94-yard touchdown return against Notre Dame was one of the most exciting plays of the year.


*For clarification purposes, the 3-3-5 itself is not a moronic concept.  It can work, just not when your personnel is more suited for a 4-man front and your defensive coordinator is clueless about how to run it.

Inside Michigan Football: April 2, 2011

I'm not sure how long these will be left up, so enjoy them while you can:

Maize 'n' Brew: Recruiting Visitors - March 29 to April 2, 2011

There's something about girls who lift weights.  Especially ones as attractive
as Christina Halkiopoulos, whoever she is.

I put up a post over at Maize 'n' Brew about this week's recruiting visitors.  Check it out if you're interested.

2012 Offer Board Update

California wide receiver Darius Powe

The 2012 Offer Board has been updated and now shows 138 offers:

Added Texas FB E.J. Fatu.

Added Texas WR Reginald Davis, who committed to Texas Tech.

Added California WR Darius Powe.

Added Texas LB Derek David.

Added California DT Ellis McCarthy.

Added New York CB Wayne Morgan.

Ohio OG Caleb Stacey committed to Michigan.

Maryland DE Brent Wilkerson committed to Penn State.

Wisconsin RB Vonte Jackson committed to Wisconsin.

The All-Rodriguez Team: Offense

Denard Robinson makes fatties look fat.

In case you can't tell, I like to make lists.  And depth charts.  And lineups.  This has nothing to do with football.  But when I was about thirteen years old, I laid down in my living room with a piece of paper and a pen.  I wrote down a batting order for my favorite team, the Detroit Tigers.  And the Atlanta Braves.  And the Chicago Cubs.  And, what the hell, the rest of Major League Baseball, too.

From memory.  If you wanted to know the emergency catcher for the Montreal Expos, I was your man (er, well, boy).

So here's another list.  I've often thought about the best players to come through Michigan during the years of my fanaticism, and this one is narrowed down to the Rodriguez years.  Which players in the past few years turned out the best seasons for what amounted to be Michigan's worst three consecutive years in program history?  Despite the 15-22 record over Rodriguez's tenure, we had some pretty good individual players.  But as you might expect, the majority of them (nine out of eleven) were on the 2010 squad that had a winning record and played in a bowl game.

QB: Denard Robinson (2010)
182-for-291 passing, 2570 yards, 18 touchdowns, 11 interceptions
256 carries, 1799 yards, 14 touchdowns
This is a no-brainer.  For half the season, he was on pace to win the Heisman.

RB: Brandon Minor (2008)
103 carries, 563 yards, 5.2 yards per carry, 9 touchdowns
Minor made an entire season out of one career.  He had 331 carries for 1,658 yards and 20 touchdowns over his four years.  Unfortunately, he couldn't stay healthy for any length of time, and 2008 was his best season, despite only starting four games that year.

WR: Junior Hemingway (2010)
32 catches, 593 yards, 4 touchdowns
Hemingway made some spectacular plays in 2010, catching some deep balls, running after the catch, and channeling Houdini on a 45-yard catch and run against Illinois.  He didn't put up spectacular overall numbers, but averaging 18.5 yards per reception is pretty nice.

WR: Darryl Stonum (2010)
49 catches, 633 yards, 4 touchdowns
Stonum became somewhat dependable as a junior in 2010, finishing second on the team with 49 receptions.  He only averaged 12.9 yards per catch, but that was largely a function of the routes he was asked to run and - I'll say it - some inaccuracy on Denard Robinson's part.  His numbers could have been better, but there were several occasions where Stonum had to contort his body or dive for a ball thrown by Robinson.  His 66-yard catch and run on a slip screen against UMass was a thing of beauty, though.

SR: Roy Roundtree (2010)
72 catches, 935 yards, 7 touchdowns
I feel bad that I couldn't include Martavious Odoms on this squad, but Roundtree's numbers are unimpeachable.  Sure, they could have been better (he suffered from the dropsies late in the year), but Roundtree turned in the single best receiving performance of the Rodriguez era this past season.  He made some clutch receptions and showed some nifty running ability with two 74+ yard receptions on the year.

TE: Kevin Koger (2010)
14 catches, 199 yards, 2 touchdowns
Koger put up better numbers in 2009 than 2010, but I thought he improved overall as a player from his sophomore to his junior year.  Koger had some maddening drops in 2009, which fell off somewhat in the next year.  I also think Koger's blocking improved, which led him to be used as a sort of H-back to lead the way for Denard Robinson and the running backs.

LT: Mark Ortmann (2009)
This won't be the popular pick because everyone loves Taylor Lewan.  And I love Taylor Lewan, too.  The problem was that he had too many drive-killing penalties (false starts, personal fouls, etc.).  Lewan certainly has more talent, but Ortmann was a solid player who didn't make the same kinds of mental mistakes.

LG: Steve Schilling (2010)
Schilling spent his first couple seasons playing right tackle, which was a bad fit.  He moved to guard in 2009 and then, in my opinion, improved significantly from his junior year to his senior year.  His understanding of the guard position improved, and his work with the strength and conditioning program seemed to bolster his athleticism as time went on.

C: David Molk (2010)
I almost picked the 2008 version of Molk, simply because he was such a revelation for Michigan football fans that season.  His ability to reach block defensive tackles gave us an idea of what the offensive line would look like in the years to come.  But Molk was even better in 2010, paving the way for Denard Robinson's 1,700 rushing yards.  The best thing about Molk, though?  Unlike the other centers who filled in when Molk was injured in 2009, his snaps were quick, accurate, and dependable.

RG: Patrick Omameh (2010)
Omameh still has room to improve.  He's a little bit of an odd fit at guard, standing 6'5" and only weighing about 300 lbs.  He has the body of a tackle, but fit well at guard for Rodriguez.  He still got overpowered at times, but his athleticism was key in getting to the second level.  Witness Denard's 87-yard run against Notre Dame, on which Omameh latched onto linebacker Manti Te'o four yards downfield, drove him another six, and then pancaked him into the ground.

RT: Perry Dorrestein (2010)
Right tackle was the weakest offensive line position over the three years, going from Steve Schilling in 2008 to Dorrestein and Mark Huyge in 2009 and 2010.  While not a star, Dorrestein was the best of the three.  He didn't make a lot of outstanding plays, but linemen are a little like officials - if you don't notice them, they're probably doing an okay job.