Bryan Mone (#90, image via MLive)
Name: Bryan Mone
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 330 lbs.
High school: Salt Lake City (UT) Highland
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #90
Last year: I ranked Mone #15 and said he would be a backup nose tackle with 25 tackles and 3 sacks. He made 11 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 pass breakup.
TTB Rating: 88
Just prior to the 2015 season, Michigan’s coaching staff did a ranking of their own players, and Mone was considered to be the #3 guy on the whole team. That was a team that included two All-Americans in Jabrill Peppers and Jourdan Lewis, not to mention a whole host of other NFL talent. Then Mone broke his leg, and Michigan took a big hit to its defensive line depth.
In the summer of 2016, word came that Mone was in the best physical condition of his life, and there were videos posted of him on social media running around like a 330 lb. guy shouldn’t be able to do. He responded with a ho-hum football season. Maybe the injury was still bothering him during the year.
Now it’s the summer of 2017, and the past two seasons of hype have dimmed my hopes for him. I would love to be wrong, but I no longer have hopes or expectations that Mone can be a Dude for Don Brown. I’m simply hoping for a year of health and competence. Much of the nose tackle depth has dissipated from the past two years, and now Mone is expected to start. If injuries or fatigue get to him, the Wolverines will have to play unproven freshman Aubrey Solomon or unproven sophomore Michael Dwumfour; or they will have to move Maurice Hurst, Jr. back over from the 3-tech position, hurting depth there. It is imperative that Mone stays healthy this season, because while there is a lot of talent on the defensive line, there aren’t many guys who can replicate the stellar play of Ryan Glasgow. Hopefully Mone can at least command some double-teams while incrementally increasing his playmaking production.
Prediction: Starting nose tackle; 20 tackles, 1 sack
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The write-up is a little more pessimistic than I feel but agree that he’s a critical player who hasn’t quite lived up to fan and insider hype yet.
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Here is why I wouldn’t rank him #5 and definitely wouldn’t have him higher than McCray. First, he isn’t in particulary great shape so he will be sharing many snaps and any prolonged drive he is going to be on the sideline. Mattison is going to have to utilize his ability wisely which means saving him over the course of the game. Dwumfour and Solomon will be playing plenty. Second, why is a guy with a history of injuries this valuable?
Third, the DL can overcome his loss. I don’t see him as that dominate to compensate for the fact that he will not play more than 70% of the defensive plays. Now, if he gets injured then his loss impacts the depth so that to me is a big selling point of his value. I would have him around #10-15.
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We saw what injuries can do to a DL in 2015.
Mone’s value is dependent on health — just like everyone else in the top 10.
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History of injuries only really applies to Mone. There is a scale.
Speight to Peppers/Glasgow to Mone. Possible to Probable to Likely.
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Point is injury reliability doesn’t really help (or hurt) you when the evaluation is based on answering the question “how much are you missed if you are gone”.
If anything, the fact that we’ve seen what happens when Mone is hurt speaks to his value. Saw that with Peppers and Speight too.
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As Lanknows pointed out a day or two ago on the Winovich post, the question isn’t about whether someone can replace Mone. I mean, I think there are capable guys, but it’s a little iffy counting on Solomon and Dwumfour, who haven’t played much or at all. The guy who CAN replace Mone quite fine is Hurst.
The question is this: Who takes the snaps that Solomon and/or Dwumfour would be getting? The defensive line rotates a lot of guys, with virtually two starting units. Put Solomon and Hurst in as the two starters, and then Dwumfour as your backup…and who else can play? Jeter is hurt, Marshall hasn’t shown anything, Hudson is playing offensive line, etc.
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Wait, Jeter is hurt? I don’t remember hearing this and I can’t seem to find anything. Just a boo boo, or is he out for an extended period?
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It sounds like a meniscus issue.
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Coming up with a top 10 is obviously hard. Don’t mean to be harsh on Thunder. Just a matter of opinion.
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Pretty good spot for Mone. He’s crucial to keep blockers off Bush.
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Great point. Bush needs protection especially against the better power running teams like PSU.
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Mone will be the difference between having a very good Dline and a great one. If he can play at a Glaswegian level, even just as a run stopper, It will be very tough for offenses to find a weak spot.
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Or the QB can throw the ball at our CBS.
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I’m not sure on Mone. He broke a leg in ’15, and was hobbled early in ’16. He’s too big to be effective with a lower body injury, but I think he held up well late last year. If he’s in decent shape, he’ll be good. If he’s great, my bet is he’s gone after the season
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I don’t think he’s going to be great. He should be a stud against our OL and with his experience, but there’s very little buzz around him.
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