Tag: Blake Countess

Michigan 58, Minnesota 0

bludg·eon/ˈbləjən/ Verb: Beat (someone) repeatedly with a bludgeon or other heavy object

I bet Minnesota fans are yearning for Glen Mason.  I know Minnesota wasn’t exactly a juggernaut under their former coach, but at least a winning season was within reach.  Today was downright embarrassing for the Gophers.  They managed only 177 yards to Michigan’s 580, of which 363 came on the ground.  It’s not just that they were overmatched physically – it’s that they didn’t look like they wanted to play.

Vincent Smith yay.  Smith had a day that would make LaDainian Tomlinson jealous.  Smith carried the ball 5 times for 27 yards and 1 touchdown, caught 1 pass for 28 yards and a touchdown, and threw a halfback pass to Drew Dileo for a 17-yard touchdown.  The touchdown reception looked like the exact same play on which Smith scored against Notre Dame a few weeks ago.

Trick plays galore.  I think Al Borges ate a box of sparklers for breakfast this morning, because he was farting out fireworks.  Backup quarterback Devin Gardner took some snaps early in an effort to confuse the defense, which worked in a way, because he turned what looked like a triple pass into a gain of about five yards.  In the first quarter, with Gardner at quarterback and Denard Robinson at a wing position, Gardner pitched to Robinson who ran right, then threw back to Gardner on the left, and Gardner wanted to hit a wide receiver (Junior Hemingway?) streaking downfield.  But the receiver was well covered and Gardner just tucked it and ran.  Eat your heart out, Eastern Michigan.  Meanwhile, the halfback pass and other option plays with both Gardner and Robinson in the game made me think Brady Hoke has been sneaking into Chris Petersen’s bedroom and reading his diary.

Blake Countess is the next Leon Hall.  Yep, I said it.  Minnesota doesn’t have the greatest talent in the world, but Countess has looked pretty darn good for two weeks in a row.  Courtney Avery had a nice 83-yard fumble return for a touchdown, but Avery has been getting beaten more regularly than any of Michigan’s other corners this year.  He’s still not bad, but it looks like Countess will grab a starting spot sooner rather than later.

Fitzgerald Toussaint, please stay healthy.  Toussaint seems to have gained some confidence since the 2011 opener.  He’s running more decisively and doing a better job of running with a purpose.  He had 11 carries for 108 yards, including his customary single-back dive over the top for a goal line touchdown.  What’s the over/under on how many times he scores on that play this year?

FIRE JERRY KILL.  He grabbed a kid’s facemask.  This madman must be stopped!

Shoelace, Jr.  Devin Gardner made some very Denard-esque plays, topped off by losing his shoe on one scramble.  Only two of his five throws were completed, but one was a downright drop by Roy Roundtree and another was a catchable ball that Jeremy Gallon probably should have had; the fifth should have been an interception, but Minnesota’s defensive back wanted his belly button to get its first career pick.  I found it hilarious that the BTN’s color analyst said he made “a great play on the ball”; if making a great play on the ball means jumping for a pass that hits you in the chest, then I used to coach some superstar middle schoolers.

William Campbell killed a guy with a trident.  Campbell literally ran over the center on one play and also crushed quarterback Max Shortell into the ground.  The switch is getting closer and closer to being flipped . . .

Biggest blowout in series history.  Michigan won this game with the biggest margin of victory in series history, beating the 1993 episode that saw the Wolverines beat the Gophers by a score of 58-7.

Michigan vs. San Diego State Awards

Ryan Van Bergen had a  solid day for Michigan with a tackle for loss and a forced fumble

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Jeremy Gallon.  Michigan needs to find a way to get Gallon the ball.  He’s good at running after the catch, and if Denard Robinson can’t find success throwing the ball down the field, then the coaches ought to find a way to get Gallon the ball on short passes and let him gain yards on his own.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . Stephen Hopkins.  Hopkins is a fumble machine (3 career fumbles in 43 rushing attempts) and he’s not very good on top of that.  The seat of his maize pants ought to be planted firmly on the bench unless it’s garbage time.  The first two backs (Fitzgerald Toussaint and Vincent Smith) are doing just fine, and if a third back needs to carry the ball, then it ought to be Michael Shaw or Michael Cox.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Blake Countess.  Countess played pretty well as Troy Woolfolk’s injury replacement, notching 7 tackles and 1 pass breakup.  Woolfolk needs to take a week off and rest his sprained ankle, which he has aggravated each week since he hurt it against Western Michigan.  The coaches keep playing him sparingly, and he keeps limping off for large portions of each game.  Woolfolk ought to get this week off and let Countess, J.T. Floyd, Courtney Avery, and Raymon Taylor handle the cornerback duties.  I think Michigan can still beat Minnesota without Woolfolk.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . nobody.  It’s not that everyone on defense is playing great.  It’s just that the guys who are mediocre don’t seem to have quality backups to spell them.  Michigan needs the young defensive linemen on the roster to grow up soon.

Play of the game . . . Ryan Van Bergen forcing Ronnie Hillman to fumble.  With about twelve minutes remaining in the third quarter and Michigan leading 21-0, San Diego State ran to the defense’s right and Hillman broke a decent gain.  Van Bergen, who was the left defensive end, took a perfect pursuit angle and punched the ball out after about an 18-yard gain.  To top off the play, outside linebacker Jake Ryan hustled to follow the ball and jumped on the fumble 30 yards downfield.

MVP of the game . . . Denard Robinson.  He once again had a horrible day throwing the ball (8-for-17, 93 yards, 2 interceptions), but that didn’t stop him from running for 200 yards and 3 touchdowns on 21 carries.  He’s now averaging 138 yards rushing per game and 7.8 yards per carry.

Michigan 28, San Diego State 7

Denard Robinson had 200 yards rushing in Saturday’s 28-21 victory (image via LA Times)

What is this “defense” thing everyone keeps talking about?  Aside from the Notre Dame game, Michigan has allowed only 6.7 points per game.  Admittedly, those other three opponents have been mediocre – two MAC teams and a decent squad from the MWC – but this is still a somewhat impressive turnaround from last year.  The Wolverines held San Diego State’s rushing attack to only 4.2 yards per carry and forced quarterback Ryan Lindley into completing fewer than 50% of his passes.

Weekly Denard Robinson blurb.  I’m not sure how I feel about Denard Robinson’s play right now.  I love the kid for his heart and attitude – and considerable running skills – but something just isn’t clicking.  He finished the game 8-for-17 passing with 93 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions.  Those numbers are horrible, and that’s the third week in a row that his completion percentage has been lower than 50%.  And while it would have been great for Kevin Koger to grab that pass that hit him right in the stomach, the bottom line is that Robinson is extremely inaccurate and making bad decisions.  He threw one pass into double coverage that had no business being thrown, and the other he threw the other pick to a blanketed receiver.  If Michigan keeps winning, then it doesn’t really matter what his completion percentage is.  But if his inaccuracy bites the Wolverines in the butt at any point – and it probably will – then you can bet that some members of the Michigan fan base and the media will start wondering if Devin Gardner should get a shot at quarterback and if Robinson should move to running back.  On top of the scattershot arm, it seems to me that Robinson looks a bit slower this year than he did last season.  Perhaps he’s worn down or defenses are faster this year; I know he had a 53-yard touchdown run and 200 yards rushing overall, but something seems different.

Craig Roh reads Touch the Banner.  Having been spurred on by my call for him to be relegated to a backup role a couple weeks ago, Roh has since responded with two solid games.  This week he had 2 tackles; one was a short yardage stuff of running back Ronnie Hillman, and the other was a sack of Lindley on which Roh forced a fumble.  It’s slightly disappointing that Michigan could only manage one sack on 48 attempts, but it seemed like San Diego State started taking shorter drops and getting the ball out quicker as the game wore on.

Running back argh.  First, I would like to say that I thought Vincent Smith (9 carries, 49 yards, 1 TD) had his best day running the ball at Michigan – except for the fumble.  I know he’s had better games statistically (118 yards vs. Eastern Michigan last week, 166 yards against Delaware State in 2009), but those were into gaping holes.  Smith actually took short gains and turned them into long gains or a touchdown this week.  Hooray for him.  Fitzgerald Toussaint had a solid day, too (13 carries, 67 yards).  But dammit, I’m going to start beating the Michael Cox drum again.  Stephen Hopkins is my new whipping boy.  Hopkins needs to sit his butt on the bench and not see the light of day unless he’s a lead blocker or running down the field on special teams or something.  Not only is he slow, but he fumbles.  In six carries this season, he has fumbled twice; in 43 career carries, he has fumbled three times.  If you’re going to be a fumbler, you should at least offer a little bit of reward for the risk; he’s averaging 3.9 yards a carry in his career.  Fine, Toussaint and Smith are the top two backs, whatever.  But if you’re going to give a third guy a carry, for God’s sake let it be Cox (8.9 yards a carry) or Michael Shaw (5.2).

Jake Ryan is a dreamboat.  That dude is just a playmaker.  He’s always around the ball and always making things happen.  Going back to the spring when he had a sack and an interception returned for a touchdown, Ryan has been a stud.  In four games this season, he has 13 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 fumble recoveries, and forced the interception that Brandon Herron returned 94 yards for a touchdown against Western Michigan; he almost had a third fumble recovery on Saturday, but Thomas Gordon beat him to it by a fraction of a second.  Ryan still does some fundamental things wrong, but this kid looks like a future star.  Also, he has pretty hair that the ladies surely love.

Speaking of future stars.  Blake Countess got a lot of run on Saturday, and he looked more than capable.  San Diego State started picking on him, and Countess responded with 7 tackles and a pass breakup.  The true freshman cornerback was in good position most of the time, and when he was beaten, it was on pinpoint throws by a fifth year senior quarterback.  While I hope that starter Troy Woolfolk can return soon after aggravating his sprained ankle, it looks like Michigan has a capable backup if Woolfolk needs to sit out next week.

On SDSU’s list of things to review this week: option responsibilities.  Seriously, three dudes jump the pitch man, and nobody accounts for the quarterback?

Congratulations to Brady Hoke.  I know it must be tough to coach against the kids he coached last year and the coaches he worked with last season, but it was classy all around – except for the words of former SDSU lineman Kyle Turley, who is a certified douche.  San Diego State’s head coach Rocky Long had nothing but good things to say about Hoke.  I don’t have any statistics to back this up, but I imagine it’s pretty rare for a college head coach to take another head coaching job . . . and then play his old team the following year.

When I get old, I want to look like Greg Mattison.  He’s still all barrel chested and stuff.  He must eat his spinach.  That dude still looks like he could wrestle a bear.  And my money’s not on the bear.

2011 Countdown: #59 Blake Countess

Blake Countess

Name: Blake Countess
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 174 lbs.
High school: Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney, MD
Position: Cornerback
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #18
Last year: Countess was a high school senior (commitment post here)

TTB Rating: 84

In case you can’t tell from the commitment post, I really like Countess.  He played for a good high school program, seems like a high-character individual, and can do lots of different things – stop the run, defend the pass, and help out in the return game if needed.  There’s nothing that he seems to lack, although there’s nothing that screams future superstar, either.  He’s just a good, solid player.

I believe Countess has the ability to come in and make an immediate impact at the college level, but his pathway to the field is blocked by three cornerbacks with starting experience – fifth year senior Troy Woolfolk, redshirt junior J.T. Floyd, and sophomore Courtney Avery.  That might allow Countess to redshirt, but I also think Countess might end up #3 on the depth chart by the end of the year.  I doubt he’ll be a starter at any point this year, but all bets are off when he’s a sophomore.

Prediction: Backup cornerback

Freshman Numbers Revealed

A poster over at Rivals posted the following jersey numbers for the incoming freshmen.  I’m not sure how accurate they are, but here’s what he gave:

3 Russell Bellomy
5 Justice Hayes
18 Blake Countess
20 Tamani Carter
21 Raymon Taylor
24 Delonte Holowell
35 Greg Brown
38 Thomas Rawls
40 Antonio Poole
44 Desmond Morgan
45 Matt Wile
52 Kellen Jones
57 Frank Clark
58 Chris Bryant
79 Tony Posada
82 Chris Barnett
92 Keith Heitzman
95 Chris Rock
97 Brennen Beyer

Sorry, I did not get Russell Bellomy (EDIT: Bellomy is #3.  Thanks, readers!) or Jack Miller.