Recruit Tracker: Sione Houma

Sione Houma

August 19, 2011: Houma's Highland team beat West by a score of 44-16.  Houma had 16 carries for 112 yards, in additiion to a 95-yard kickoff return TD

2011 Countdown: #10 Ryan Van Bergen

Ryan Van Bergen

Name: Ryan Van Bergen
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 288 lbs.
High school: Whitehall High School in Whitehall, MI
Position: Defensive end
Class: Redshirt senior
Jersey number: #53
Last year: I ranked Van Bergen #6 and said he would have 55 tackles and 7.5 sacks.  He had 37 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, and 1 pass breakup.

I'll be honest - I didn't expect Michigan to run quite so much of the 3-3-5 last season.  I thought it would be run only sometimes, and I assumed the Wolverines would blitz out of it.  Eh . . . not so much.  So for much of the season, Van Bergen was one of three rushers who made valiant but futile efforts to get to the quarterback.  Without another down lineman or blitzers to draw attention away from the starting three, Van Bergen and his cohorts were constantly double-teamed and chipped by running backs.  Production across the whole defensive line was down.  Consider that in 2009, the four defensive linemen averaged 48 tackles and 4.9 sacks.  In 2010 those averages dropped to 37.3 tackles and 3.2 sacks for the trio of Van Bergen, Mike Martin, and Greg Banks.  But hey, at least Michigan's strong safety had 116 tackles.

Van Bergen ought to see an uptick in his production as a senior this season.  Defensive coordinator Greg Mattison has pronounced that Michigan will blitz, and with four defensive linemen already on the field, we should see Michigan's sack totals leap significantly.  From 2006-2010, Michigan's sack totals dropped from 43 to 33 to 29 to 22 to 18.  Even if one discounts the 2006 team that had so many stars (LaMarr Woodley, David Harris, Alan Branch, Shawn Crable, etc.), those totals in 2007 and 2008 are still satisfactory.  But 18? Yikes.  Van Bergen should benefit from the change in defensive philosophy.  While he'll line up on the strong side and face double-teams from a tackle and tight end on run plays, pass plays ought to give him a little more freedom to get a rush than he had last year.  Combined with more pressure from the backside and some blitzing linebackers, I'm going to predict the exact same thing that I did last year.

Prediction: Starting strongside defensve end; 55 tackles, 7.5 sacks

Poll Results: Patrick Omameh got 43% of the votes for the #10 slot, while Van Bergen got 30%

Countdown to Kickoff: Day 14

2011 Countdown: #11 Roy Roundtree

Roy Roundtree

Name: Roy Roundtree
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 177 lbs.
High school: Trotwood-Madison High School in Trotwood, OH
Position: Slot receiver/wide receiver
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #12
Last year: I ranked Roundtree #9 and said he would start at slot receiver, catch 60 passes for 900 yards, and score 8 touchdowns.  He had 72 catches for 935 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Going into last season, I thought Roundtree was going to continue where he left off at the end of 2009, when he turned into Tate Forcier's favorite target.  And he did.  From his slot receiver position, Roundtree led the team in receptions, yardage, and touchdowns.  While he was wide open fairly often due to quarterback Denard Robinson's run fakes, the things that made him so effective were his route running and his sneaky quickness.  The kid has been less than 180 pounds for his entire career, but he knows how to get open and he makes people miss after the catch.  Roundtree isn't a typical Rich Rodriguez slot receiver because he's not 5'8" and doesn't have instantaneous acceleration, but while it looks like he'll be easy to take down, he now has four receptions of 70+ yards in his career.  For comparison's sake, consider that Braylon Edwards, Marquise Walker, David Terrell, Derrick Alexander, Desmond Howard, and Anthony Carter had three career receptions of 70+ yards . . . combined.

Now that it's 2011 and a new offense has come to Ann Arbor, I'm expecting a plateau for Roundtree. The year-long suspension of Darryl Stonum means that Michigan needs Roundtree on the outside, where the mismatches won't be quite so apparent.  He won't be able to get open quite so easily against cornerbacks as he was against linebackers and safeties.  Additionally, I don't think the new offense will be quite so friendly to Denard Robinson, who might struggle with a pro-style offense.  The team will run plenty of spread formations, but unless Roundtree moves into the slot when they go to the spread, the likely beneficiaries will be slot receivers like Martavious Odoms and Jeremy Gallon.

Prediction: Starting wide receiver; 65 receptions, 850 yards, 7 touchdowns

Countdown to Kickoff: Day 15

Poll Results: Who will be Michigan's top draft pick in 2012?

Mike Martin eats Vincent Smith a midget

DT Mike Martin: 79%
C David Molk: 7%
QB Denard Robinson: 2%
WR Junior Hemingway: 2%
TE Kevin Koger/WR Roy Roundtree (tie): 1%
OG Patrick Omameh: 1%
LB Kenny Demens: 0%
CB Troy Woolfolk: 0%
WR Darryl Stonum: 0%
DE Ryan Van Bergen: 0%
Other: 0%

In a landslide victory for exactly whom I expected to win this poll, senior Mike Martin pulled in nearly 4 out of 5 votes.  Martin is a 6'2", 304 lb. nose tackle with surprising quickness.  He might be undersized for playing nose tackle at the next level, which means he'll likely have to be drafted by a 4-3 team with a need for a 3-tech defensive tackle.  In fact, Martin should probably be playing 3-tech in college, except Michigan has no other viable options at the nose tackle position.  For his career he has 108 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, and 6.5 sacks.

Fifth year senior David Molk took second place comfortably.  Molk is a 6'2", 286 lb. center who will be entering his fourth season as a starter.  Despite being slightly undersized to be an extremely valuable commodity at the next level, he has consistently been mentioned as the strongest player on the team and was a first team All-Big Ten selection in 2010.  Molk has the quickness, leverage, and intelligence to do well at the college level, but he'll likely have to add bulk in order to have a chance in the NFL.

Junior quarterback Denard Robinson barely beat out wide receiver Junior Hemingway for the third spot.  Robinson is a 6'0", 195 lb. quarterback who set the NCAA record last year for the most rushing yards in a season by a QB.  He has struggled as a passer at times and with his lack of height, he could very well have to change positions to play at the next level.  I doubt he will leave early for the NFL when his future position is such a huge question mark.  Last season Robinson threw for 2,570 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 11 touchdowns.  He also had 1.702 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns on the ground.

Hemingway is a 6'1", 222 lb. fifth year senior wide receiver.  Due to injuries and illness, he has never played a full season of football.  However, last year was his best statistical season when he grabbed 32 passes for 593 yards (18.5 yards per catch) and 4 touchdowns.  Hemingway has demonstrated good hands and leaping ability, and with his strength, he can often outmuscle cornerbacks for the ball.  He has only mediocre speed, though, and his production thus far has been mediocre.

Senior tight end Kevin Koger and redshirt junior wide receiver Roy Roundtree tied for the fifth spot.  Koger is a 6'4", 258-pounder with excellent athleticism who has been underused for the past few seasons in Rich Rodriguez's offense.  He has dropped some passes at times, but he has the speed, leaping ability, and size to be a huge mismatch for anyone willing and able to get him the ball.  The new coaching staff will almost certainly use him as a receiver more often than the old one.  In three years as a starter, he has averaged 12 receptions, 170.7 yards, and 1.7 touchdowns per season.

Roundtree stands 6'0" and only 177 lbs.  Despite a lack of elite size and speed, he set a school record for receiving yards in one game with 246 against Illinois last season.  He also has four career receptions of 74+ yards.  No other player in Michigan history  has more than one reception of over 70 yards.  Still his lack of impressive measurables may cause him not to be a high draft pick, even if he plays out his eligibility and enters the 2013 NFL Draft.

Omameh is a 6'4", 299 lb. offensive guard.  He has started the last 16 games Michigan has played and projects as the starting right guard in 2011, as well.  He moves well and gets to the second level with regularity, which suits the zone running game perfectly.  He's also an above average pass blocker.  As just a redshirt junior, however, it would be somewhat of a surprise to see him enter the draft in 2012.  He's more likely to be a 2013 entrant.

Demens is a 6'1", 248 lb. middle linebacker who burst onto the scene in 2010.  Despite starting only seven games, he finished the season with 82 tackles and led the Wolverines in tackles per start.  Known as a thumping run stuffer, he needs to work on recognizing pass routes and getting to his pass drops.  He already has the size to play in the NFL and could play middle linebacker in a 4-3 or inside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme.  He might wait to enter the NFL Draft until 2013, since he has one year of eligibility remaining beyond 2011.

Woolfolk is 6'0" tall and 191 lbs.  He missed his true senior season in 2010 due to an ankle dislocation, but started all 12 games in 2009, half at safety and half at cornerback.  With a couple exceptions, he played well at safety and improved when he moved back to cornerback for the second half of the year.  He has not proven to be a huge playmaker in his career (61 tackles, 3 pass breakups in three years), but other teams all but completely avoided throwing in his direction when he started at corner opposite current Pittsburgh Steeler Donovan Warren.  Woolfolk ran indoor track during his first few seasons on campus and has blazing makeup speed to go along with good size for the position.  Teams usually don't spend high draft picks on guys who have zero career interceptions, so turning out big plays this fall will be important if Woolfolk wants a shot at the next level.

Stonum is a 6'2", 195 lb. wideout whose lack of impressive statistics and keen ability to break the law make him extremely unlikely to be selected in the 2012 NFL Draft.  For one thing, he was suspended for the 2011 season and will take a redshirt, hoping to return in 2012.  For another thing, his best statistical season came in 2010, when he had 49 receptions for 633 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Those aren't bad numbers, but his performance wasn't impressive enough to make a team ignore his person issues.  Stonum also brings some potential value as a kick returner, since he returned 39 kickoffs for 1,001 yards (25.7 yards/attempt), including a 94-yard TD against Notre Dame in 2009.

The player with the least amount of votes was defensive end Ryan Van Bergen, a 6'6", 288 lb. defensive end.  Van Bergen has played both defensive end and defensive tackle in his career, totaling 90 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 9 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, and 6 pass breakups in his career.  This season he's bigger than he has ever been before, but Van Bergen works hard and has squeezed out just about every ounce of effort he can with his limited physical skills.  Some players make it to the NFL with superior athleticism, and some make it with a combination of athleticism and talent.  Not many make it that far on sheer determination.  Van Bergen could play at the next level as a defensive end in a 3-4 scheme, but his chances are slim.

The "Other" category received just one vote, and I'd be interested to know which player that voter had in mind.

Practice Video: August 16, 2011