Tag: Frank Clark

Michigan vs. Penn State Awards

Devin Funchess had 4 catches for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Dennis Norfleet. If Norfleet’s going to be a slot receiver, he needs to be on the field. And not just in special packages where it’s a near certainty that he’ll get the ball. I somewhat understand not putting him out there a ton if he’s your full-time returner, but now that Drew Dileo has taken over the punt return duties, Norfleet’s duties have essentially been cut in half. Michigan needs to spend more time in the spread and less time with two or three tight ends and a fullback. And if that happens, Michigan will have to spell some guys with the likes of Norfleet.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . a fullback. Whether it’s Joe Kerridge or Sione Houma, I don’t really care about whether this team employs a fullback anymore. The offensive line is too porous to make a fullback relevant, and Kerridge isn’t a threat to run or catch the ball. His role is to lead block on run plays that result in zero yards. There’s just no point. Spread teams out horizontally and hope that Toussaint can find some alleys.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Delonte Hollowell. The junior cornerback has lost playing time this year to freshmen Channing Stribling and Jourdan Lewis, but Hollowell is the feistiest of the bunch. I’ve never been impressed with his athleticism or ball skills, but he is physical and seems to be in position most of the time. At the end of regulation, I would have preferred to have seen Hollowell in there instead of Stribling.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Channing Stribling. Stribling’s a freshmen, and I’m fairly on him. But the bottom line is that the game moves very quickly for true freshmen, especially in clutch situations. In my opinion, he’s not the guy you want in there during crunch time. He mistimed a couple jumps and flat-out whiffed on a couple passes completed to Brandon Felder and Allen Robinson, allowing the Nittany Lions to march down the field and tie the game. Stribling has to take some responsibility for that, but so do the coaches who chose to put him out there.

Play of the game . . . Frank Clark’s fumble return for a touchdown. It wasn’t just the return, either. Defensive end Keith Heitzman got some great penetration to slow up Penn State running back Zach Zwinak, who cut back only to be tackled by linebacker James Ross III. Ross reached across with his right hand to punch out the ball, Clark scooped it up, dodged PSU quarterback Christian Hackenberg, and raced 24 yards for the score. Prior to that play, Michigan was down 21-10 and looking for a spark, and Clark helped to provide it.

MVP of the game . . . Devin Funchess. I was very close to picking Devin Gardner for this award, but Gardner’s two interceptions gave Penn State short fields that resulted in 14 points. Instead, I’m picking the tight end who had 4 catches for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns, from 59 and 37 yards, respectively. Gardner has had a hard time hitting anyone over the top except Funchess, who has proven to be more of a deep threat than wide receivers Jeremy Gallon or Jehu Chesson.

Penn State 43, Michigan 40 in four overtimes

(image via Penn Live)

Michigan deserved to lose. You win when you deserve to win, and Michigan didn’t deserve to win. From the offensive play calling to the offensive line’s incompetence to the quarterback’s decision making to the defense’s inability to get pressure and cover short passes to the special teams’ inconsistency, Michigan didn’t deserve a victory. Penn State didn’t play their best football, either, but they looked less incompetent.

The coaches have lost confidence in Devin Gardner as a passer. There was a time when Brady Hoke and Al Borges would have let quarterback Devin Gardner air it out in a game like this, but instead, they chose to curl up into the fetal position – almost literally – and try to luck their way into a victory. Despite averaging just 2.8 yards/carry on fifty-four  rushing attempts, Michigan turned overtime into mostly an unproductive rushing effort. Michigan ran for 1, 1, 0, 3, -3, 8, 0, 0, and 7 yards in overtime, with that last 7-yarder coming on a Gardner scramble. The biggest offense came in the first overtime, when the play call/execution resulted in Gardner running from the 23-yard line on the left hash to the 23-yard line on the right hash on 3rd-and-8, presumably in an effort to “center” the ball for kicker Brendan Gibbons. Gibbons’s subsequent 40-yard field goal was blocked by defensive tackle Kyle Baublitz.

The offensive line is/was a mess. All-American left tackle Taylor Lewan left the game in the second quarter with what looked like an injury to his left side, perhaps a hip or a rib. He was replaced by right tackle Michael Schofield. Left guard Chris Bryant was presumably replaced for poor performance after some poor blocking; in came walk-on guard Joey Burzynski. Redshirt sophomore Graham Glasgow was playing left guard two weeks ago and has had several mental mistakes in his two games at center. Right guard Kyle Kalis took a senseless 15-yard penalty and was replaced for a short time by Burzynski before returning. The right tackle for the second half was redshirt freshman Erik Magnuson. Another walk-on, Erik Gunderson, also saw significant playing time in certain packages. Overall, by the end of the game, the only guy in the same spot as two weeks ago was Kalis. Meanwhile, running backs Fitzgerald Toussaint and Derrick Green were swarmed in the backfield the entire game, totaling 30 carries for 28 yards.

Offensively, the lone bright spot was Devin Funchess. Tight end Devin Funchess had his second consecutive 100-yard game with 4 catches for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also had a couple key drops, but a tight end with 263 yards and 3 touchdowns in two games is pretty impressive.

Damn freshmen. Maybe I’m being a bit harsh, but a huge chunk of this loss falls on the shoulders of freshman cornerback Channing Stribling and whichever defensive coach was responsible for putting him in there. At the end of regulation, Stribling entered the game and was beaten on two long passes by the average Brandon Felder and Penn State standout receiver Allen Robinson. On both occasions, Stribling had chances to knock down or intercept the passes, but he mistimed his jumps and/or misjudged the ball, failing to get even a finger on either pass. The game was just moving too fast for him, which is why I hate having to play so many young players. In a year or two, those will be picks or knockdowns for Stribling. The same thing goes for Jake Butt’s failure to catch a back shoulder fade from Gardner in overtime; Butt showed his hands too early and failed to plant and go up for the ball. Instead, he settled for trying to catch it with his momentum going away from the ball and into the sideline. Both of things contributed to linebacker Mike Hull being able to bat the pass away at the last second despite not turning around for the ball.

Michigan can’t run the ball, and that’s not going to change. At this point in the season, I feel pretty confident in saying that nobody but Gardner will be able to run the ball effectively. Gardner even carried the ball 24 times, and he’s not going to hold up with that type of responsibility on his shoulders. I hate to say this, but Michigan needs to ditch the runs from under center and become a team that throws the ball 40-45 times a game. They need to get creative with their screen game, including bubbles and slip screens; they also need to find a way to get Dennis Norfleet on the field in regular packages and incorporate him into the offense, both as a scatback third-down replacement for Toussaint and as a slot receiver.

Despite the 43 points, I thought the defense played pretty well overall. Nine of those 43 points came in overtime. Additionally, two of Penn State’s touchdowns came after Gardner interceptions, which gave the Nittany Lions the ball on the 14- and 20-yard lines, respectively. They ran the ball 44 times for 85 yards (1.9 yards/carry) and 2 touchdowns, from the 1- and 2-yard lines, respectively. Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg completed 23/44 passes for 305 yards and 3 touchdowns, but he was also sacked 4 times and intercepted twice, while a large chunk of that yardage (79) came on the final drive in regulation when they beat Stribling.

Frank Clark is coming on. Clark had 3 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 pass breakup, and 2 fumble recoveries, one of which he picked up and ran 24 yards for a touchdown. He’s had a little bit of a fire lit under him after the first couple games of the season, and hopefully that fire stays lit. After barely showing up on the stat sheet early, he’s now sitting at 15 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 1 pass breakup, 5 quarterback hurries, 2 fumble recoveries, and the aforementioned touchdown return.

What does this all mean? Well, I don’t think Michigan has a shot at winning the Big Ten this year. They’ve been playing with fire all year in close games with Akron and UConn, not to mention Notre Dame or the closer-than-it-should-have-been game against Minnesota last week. It finally bit them in the butt. The closest thing remaining to a team Michigan should  beat easily is Iowa, but they always seem to play Michigan tough, especially in Iowa City. Michigan also has Indiana’s number over the years, but the Hoosiers can put some points up on the board (41.7 points/game). Michigan State is going to feast on Michigan’s running game, Nebraska’s tough, Northwestern is good when healthy, and Ohio State is probably going to crush us. This is probably going to be ugly down the stretch.

Michigan 24, UConn 21

Fitzgerald Toussaint had 127 total yards and 2 touchdowns

Okay, now it’s getting ridiculous. Last week I thought Michigan’s performance against Akron was a little bit of a fluke. It was the week after a big win over Notre Dame, Akron was supposed to be a patsy, etc. Now I’m concerned. Michigan should have been champing at the bit to get on the field and destroy a mediocre UConn team, and they were just as lackadaisical. During the half, I thought “This seems like a game where Michigan might reverse the momentum with a defensive or special teams touchdown.” Instead, after getting ball on the kickoff, Devin Gardner fumbled on a quarterback sneak when he ran into his own lineman, which was only slightly less embarrassing than Mark Sanchez’s butt fumble.

Bench Devin Gardner? No, don’t bench Devin Gardner (11/23 passing, 97 yards, 0 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 3 sacks; 19 carries, 64 yards, 1 touchdown). Last night broadcaster Sean McCullough suggested considering a quarterback change, but that’s just a total lack of awareness of Michigan’s situation. Gardner has to get things sorted out, and that’s the bottom line. He needs to take better care of the football and refine his mechanics. Freshman Shane Morris isn’t going to be any better, and the only other options are walk-ons, since presumed backup Russell Bellomy is out for the year with a torn ACL. Gardner’s driving the bus . . . on the edge of a cliff.

The blocking up front is terrible. I’ve seen a lot of criticism of running back Fitzgerald Toussaint lately on blogs, Twitter, etc. lately. I’m really not sure what people expect him to do when he’s supposed to run a zone stretch and the combination of sophomore tight ends A.J. Williams and Devin Funchess (1 catch, 14 yards) are allowing three or four yards of penetration. Or when center Jack Miller chooses not to block the right guy, allowing nose tackles to knife through. Or when Michigan’s offensive line can’t get push on an iso. That’s not to mention the numerous times Connecticut got pressure on Gardner with a three-man rush where guards Graham Glasgow and Kyle Kalis were blocking air. Oh, and left tackle Taylor Lewan had a terrible holding penalty, and Glasgow had his third false start of the year.

Desmond Morgan has been watching Charles Woodson highlight tapes. That one-handed interception by middle linebacker Desmond Morgan (4 tackles, 1 interception) was extremely impressive for a guy whose athleticism has been questioned at times. He had a good drop, leaped into the air, pulled it down, and made a very nice return. Michigan proceeded to score the game-tying touchdown.

Michigan got out-coached. I haven’t said this often, at least not in the Brady Hoke era, but the Huskies’ coaching staff did a better job than the Wolverines’. I don’t even know where to begin. Did defensive coordinator Greg Mattison really expect defensive end/defensive tackle Chris Wormley (1 tackle, .5 tackles for loss, .5 sacks, 1 pass breakup) to cover running back Lyle McCombs on a wheel route? Touchdown. Michigan brings in two extra offensive linemen for a quarterback sneak, and instead of putting All-American left tackle Taylor Lewan on the interior to blow a Husky off the ball, they put redshirt freshman backup Erik Magnuson? Fumble, touchdown for UConn. Freshmen killed Michigan on special teams, too:

• Linebacker Ben Gedeon ran into the kicker on an early punt.
• Wide receiver Da’Mario Jones lost track of a punt, allowing it to bounce off his foot and be recovered by the Huskies.
• Cornerback Jourdan Lewis had an unnecessary roughness call on Drew Dileo’s punt return, bringing the ball back from about the 12-yard line to the 40.

2013 Season Predictions

Here are my 2012 predictions, in case you’re interested.

Leading Rusher
Michigan no longer has a quarterback who’s much of a threat to lead the team in rushing, although he’s a pretty good runner. Fitzgerald Toussaint is the best running back currently on the roster, but he struggles to stay healthy. I make this choice with very little confidence.
Prediction: Toussaint, 900 yards

Leading Receiver
The top receiver returns from last year, and that player has great chemistry with quarterback Devin Gardner. Jeremy Gallon had 829 receiving yards last season, despite having Denard Robinson as the primary passer for the first half of the season. Gallon should see an uptick in receptions and yardage this season, but without another proven threat, he might be bracketed a little more often.
Prediction: Gallon, 1100 yards

Leading Tackler
Strongside linebacker Jake Ryan led the team in tackles with 88 last year, but he’s out with a torn ACL until at least October. The choice comes down to middle linebacker Desmond Morgan or weakside linebacker James Ross III, and I think I’ll go with sophomore Ross, whose instincts are unmatched by anyone else on the team.
Prediction: Ross, 90 tackles

Leading Sacker
Ryan also led the team in sacks with 5.5 last season, but he probably won’t have time to get to the quarterback that much since he’ll miss half the season or so. There’s been a lot of buzz about weakside end Frank Clark’s improvement this offseason, and I think he’ll gather a few sacks in some early season games against the likes of Central Michigan and Akron.
Prediction: Clark, 8 sacks

Leading Interceptor
The safeties aren’t huge playmakers, and the best cornerback (Blake Countess) is coming off a torn ACL. Countess has good cover skills but has never been known as a true ball hawk. I think three players end up tied for this honor.
Prediction: Countess, Thomas Gordon, Raymon Taylor, 2 interceptions each

All-Big Ten First Team
Prediction: Jeremy Gallon, Taylor Lewan

Leading Scorer (non-QB, non-kicker)
I’m calling 10 touchdowns for Toussaint and Gallon rushing and receiving, respectively, but add a couple touchdowns through the air for Toussaint.
Prediction: Toussaint

Breakout Offensive Player
There are a few options for breakout players. I’m not going to count Devin Funchess, who already showed what he can do last season, even if he didn’t get targeted much toward the end of the year. This leaves some backup running backs and whoever shows up across from Gallon. I think I’ll go with Jehu Chesson, who should be targeted plenty.
Prediction: Chesson

Breakout Defensive Player
This is a really tough choice, because I foresee a few guys stepping up this year to make some plays: Frank Clark, James Ross, and Cam Gordon. I’m most confident in Ross, but I think the other two will take large steps forward as well.
Prediction: Ross

Most Disappointing Offensive Player
I think the interior of the offensive line is going to struggle, and that starts with redshirt sophomore Jack Miller. Miller will be a new starter and he’s not the biggest or strongest of guys, so there will be both mental and physical issues there.
Prediction: Miller

Most Disappointing Defensive Player
I think the issues at free safety will carry over from last season, when Jarrod Wilson really struggled as a backup. This year senior Courtney Avery is competing with sophomore Wilson for the job, but Avery’s out for a couple weeks after arthroscopic knee surgery. Wilson has good physical abilities, but gets himself out of position too much.
Prediction: Wilson

The Big Finish
August 31 vs. Central Michigan: WIN. The Chippewas are a mediocre MAC team.

September 7 vs. Notre Dame: WIN. Notre Dame got lucky a lot last season, and while their defensive front seven will still be good, the offense will sputter too much.

September 14 vs. Akron: WIN. Another mediocre MAC team.

September 21 at Connecticut: WIN. If for no other reason than the fact that I saw Paul Pasqualoni at a clinic this offseason and didn’t care for his attitude, I’m picking the Wolverines.

October 5 vs. Minnesota: WIN. Jerry Kill has a good history of improving teams, so I don’t think it will be a cake walk, but Michigan is more talented.

October 12 at Penn State: WIN. I have a feeling Penn State will drop off a little bit after the emotion of last season carrying them a little bit. It won’t be easy, but I think Michigan wins.

October 19 vs. Indiana: WIN. Indiana isn’t very good at the football, but the offense will be entertaining.

November 2 at Michigan State: WIN. The Spartans will have a good defense, but they’ll struggle this year on offense. Michigan is more balanced.

November 9 vs. Nebraska: LOSS. After the emotion of beating MSU and facing a pretty good team in the Cornhuskers, Michigan loses a squeaker.

November 16 at Northwestern: WIN. Michigan is getting more athletic on defense, and Jake Ryan should be back by this point to help out defensively. It might be a shootout again, but I pick the Wolverines.

November 23 at Iowa: WIN. Iowa will probably be bad.

November 30 vs. Ohio State: LOSS. Michigan just won’t have the running game to keep Ohio State honest because of the mediocre interior line.

Final record: 10-2

2013 Season Countdown: #7 Frank Clark

Frank Clark (#57)

Name: Frank Clark
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 273 lbs.
High school: Cleveland (OH) Glenville
Position: Defensive end
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #57
Last year: I ranked Clark #32, but I wasn’t confident since he was facing charges at the time. He started four games at weakside end and made 25 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 3 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery.

Going into the 2012 season, I thought Clark was the most talented option at weakside end, but he was also the most troubled, since he was being charged with stealing a laptop. Michigan suspended him for the season opener against Alabama, but he turned into a part-time starter. His main competition came from Brennen Beyer, who is supposedly solid against the run but doesn’t provide much in the way of big plays. For a backup end, Clark’s 9 tackles for loss were pretty good. His season highlight was a free run to destroy Braxton Miller like Charlie Weis destroys a Golden Corral. In the off-season, Clark added some weight and was supposedly up to 277 lbs. this spring; he claims to be 268 now, but the roster lists him at 273.

Regardless of his actual weight, Clark is very powerfully built at only 6’2″. Taylor Lewan has talked about the epic battles between himself and Clark, and other players have talked about Clark’s speed to track down ball carriers from the opposite side of the field. He has shown flashes of explosiveness and playmaking, but this is the year to show it full-time with Beyer playing SAM linebacker. Clark might end up as one of the top three or four best players on the team, but sophomore Mario Ojemudia was occasionally impressive last year, and true freshman Taco Charlton has wowed observers with his frame and athleticism; there’s also a chance that Beyer could move back to weakside end late in the season once Jake Ryan returns from injury. It seems to be quite a deep position when there are people to rotate, but losing Clark for any length of time would be quite a blow to the pass rush. If Clark’s as good as people say – and I think he might be – he could be all-conference by the end of the year.

Prediction: Starting weakside end; 50 tackles, 8 sacks