Tag: James Ross

2015 Season Countdown: #20 James Ross III

James Ross (#15)

Name: James Ross III
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 232 lbs.
High school: Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s
Position: Linebacker
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #15
Last year: I ranked Ross #13 and said he would be the starting SAM with 90 tackles. He started seven games and made 32 tackles with 3 tackles for loss.

The deployment of Ross last year was one that left me scratching my head a little bit. Basically a full- or part-time starter since his freshman year in 2012, he still made seven starts last year but didn’t play much. Playing SAM linebacker in a 4-3 Over, he was pulled off the field pretty frequently in nickel situations. Because of that, he had the fewest tackles of his career and did not have even half a sack for the first time.

This year Ross has been practicing at two positions: SAM and WILL linebacker. The two inside linebacker positions seem to be pretty solidified with Joe Bolden and Desmond Morgan, but SAM is a position that has just one proven contributor in the form of Ross. On the one hand, that versatility should give him different chances to get on the field. On the other hand, the SAM linebacker will probably be pulled off the field when Michigan goes with three safeties for their nickel look. That will happen quite a bit again this season. I would like to rank Ross higher because of few options at SAM, but ultimately, there seem to be contingency plans that could include playing a safety down in the box.

Prediction: Starting SAM linebacker; 50 tackles, 2 sacks

Michigan vs. Northwestern Awards

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Dennis Norfleet. Norfleet injured his shoulder against Indiana, and he did not appear in this game. It was no surprise when Michigan couldn’t find a big-play threat even once during the Northwestern game. Offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier tried an end around to Devin Funchess – which was an utter failure – and the Wolverines have no speed on the outside. Add that to the gimpy Devin Gardner and a gimpy De’Veon Smith, and things look bleak for big plays. Norfleet hasn’t been able to make huge plays, but he does have the ability to make 10-20 yard gains on the occasional run or reception. Hopefully he can get healthy by the next game in two weeks.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . Devin Funchess as the go-to receiver. The more reliable target this year has been Amara Darboh. Darboh is pretty slow and runs poor routes at times, but he makes both the easy and the tough catches. Funchess hasn’t consistently made either. Michigan needs to spread the ball around, but when they need  a play to be made, I think Darboh has to be the guy.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . James Ross III. Ross has been playing better than the third corner. Against some packages, I guess it’s necessary to put a fifth defensive back in the game, but you have to put your best eleven guys out there on defense. That actually probably would involve removing the free safety, but we’ve been over that before. Anytime Delonte Hollowell is out there on defense, I’d rather have Ross in the game.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Delonte Hollowell. As I mentioned in the game recap, it seems like opposing coordinators and quarterbacks are aware of his presence. If they watch game tape from earlier in the season, he’s the guy they should realize they can pick on. He hasn’t played a great deal on defense, but he has allowed at least three touchdowns this season on out routes near the left sideline (against Notre Dame, Utah, and now Northwestern). The kid is a decent special teams contributor, but he’s a liability in coverage.

Play of the game . . . Matt Godin’s interception on Frank Clark’s tip. Late in the second quarter, Michigan ran a zone blitz that dropped defensive end Brennen Beyer into a short zone. On a three-man rush, defensive end Frank Clark bulled Northwestern offensive tackle Jason Konopka backward, getting a hand up to knock down a Trevor Siemian pass attempt. The ball was knocked up in the air, and defensive tackle Godin reeled it in as he was falling backward to the ground. There are several options – the thwarted two-point conversion, Jake Ryan’s interception, several of the 6 Michigan sacks, etc. – but I’ll give it to Godin (and Clark) because it involved multiple players.

MVP of the game . . . tie between Jake Ryan and Frank Clark. Both had stellar games, particularly in the first half. Ryan finished with 11 tackles, .5 tackles for loss, 1 interception (returned for 2 yards), and 1 other pass breakup. Clark had 8 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and 3 batted balls, one of which was intercepted; he also sniffed out a reverse and made a very nice tackle in the backfield. This game was won by the defense, and those two really stood out.

2014 Season Countdown: #13 James Ross III

James Ross III (#15)

Name: James Ross III
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 227 lbs.
High school: Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s
Position: Linebacker
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #15
Last year: I ranked Ross #6 and said he would be the starting will with 90 tackles and 2 sacks. He made 85 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery.

For a starter who nearly led the team in tackles, Ross was disappointing to some fans in 2013. The three-man rotation at the inside linebacker spots eventually grew to include four men, and Ross started just nine games. He had 8+ tackles in five games, including a career-high 13 against Northwestern. And yet. Listed at a generous 6’1″ and at roughly 220 lbs., it seemed at times that Ross was a little light and taking the hits rather than giving them. We know that he can hit hard – we just have to watch practice videos of him lighting up ball carriers and blockers. When Saturdays roll around, though, Ross just seems to play a tiny bit slower and a tiny bit less aggressively.

This year Ross faces a new challenge. He was moved to SAM linebacker in Michigan’s 4-3 Over defense, where he will regularly be lining up over the tight end. He will also be fighting something familiar: competition. Junior Royce Jenkins-Stone bounced to SAM from middle linebacker, and he has reportedly taken to his new role. Michigan’s current coaching staff has constantly rotated linebackers, so Jenkins-Stone will probably see plenty of playing time. But I have long been fond of Ross’s abilities to read and react. The key this season will be to see how he deals with big bodies being thrown at him on the strong side, such as an offensive tackle on zone runs or a fullback on a zone read or a tight end blocking down on a power. Hopefully Ross can be a little quicker and a little more aggressive in his third year, but the tools are there to be all-conference.

Prediction: Starting SAM linebacker; 90 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 3 sacks

Phil Steele’s 2014 All-Big Ten team released

Devin Funchess

Phil Steele released his 2014 All-Big Ten team, and there are several Michigan players on the list.

FIRST TEAM
WR Devin Funchess
LB Jake Ryan
CB Blake Countess

SECOND TEAM
DE Frank Clark
LB Desmond Morgan

THIRD TEAM
P Will Hagerup

FOURTH TEAM
QB Devin Gardner
LB James Ross III

Many of these are interesting picks for various reasons. First of all, Devin Funchess is going into his first year as a full-time wideout, and he will also be without a proven commodity taking attention away from him in the form of Jeremy Gallon. Ryan is switching positions from strongside outside linebacker to middle linebacker in a new base defense. Countess has been rumored to be relegated to a backup role behind sophomore Jourdan Lewis, though Countess will start at slot corner. Morgan is another guy who changes positions, albeit slightly (middle linebacker to weakside linebacker). Gardner might be the most physically talented quarterback in the conference, but he’s behind Braxton Miller (understandable due to winning and good talent), Connor Cook (who came out of nowhere last year), and Christian Hackenberg (who will be without his stud receiver, Allen Robinson). I think there’s a decent chance that Gardner is a First Team or Second Team all-conference quarterback by year’s end. Meanwhile, Ross is in a battle for his position with up-and-comer Royce Jenkins-Stone.

Michigan certainly has a lot of question marks going into 2014, but that’s what happens when you go 8-5 and 7-6 in consecutive years.

Jake Ryan will be a middle linebacker and other news

This is my favorite picture of Jake Ryan.

Jake Ryan continues to amaze. Now that he’s shown himself to be a pretty good outside linebacker, Ryan’s next trick will be to show the world that he can play MIKE. Brady Hoke announced on WTKA Friday morning that Ryan will be moving to the middle, and since Ryan isn’t a guy you move to shore up depth, I think we can assume that he will be installed as the new starter there. Back in January of 2010, here’s part of what I said in his commitment post:

Regardless, I think Ryan is best suited for middle linebacker. He seems to do a good job of diagnosing plays and taking good angles toward the ballcarrier. He has a solid frame and could easily play at 240 or 245.

There are a couple other things in that article that turned out to be inaccurate (for example, he has turned out to be a sure tackler, though his high school wrist injury may have been a reason for questioning that area), but I generally agree with this move. Ryan has the body of an excellent middle linebacker, and while taking on lead blocks from a fullback might be a question mark, he has shown an ability to evade blockers on the edge.

The biggest thing this does for Michigan’s defense is putting the Wolverines’ best front seven player (and perhaps best defender overall) in the middle of the field always and forever. Spread teams or even just a spread formation would put Ryan on the edge covering a slot receiver whenever the offense wanted him out there. That took away chances for him to blitz, and it took away chances for him to help in the run game unless the offense attacked his side. Now he can be utilized as an inside rusher – which he has done well on the rare occasion he lined up there at SAM – and he can play the run from sideline to sideline.

What does the depth chart look like now? A lot of this is speculation, of course, since the coaches aren’t going to release a depth chart right now or go through all 100+ players on the roster. There are two ways to look at this, in my opinion.

1. We like our philosophy, but Jake Ryan is a playmaker and needs to be in the middle.
2. Our philosophy needs to be tweaked, so we’ll put bigger guys in the middle and hybrid types at SAM.

Number one only makes sense if there’s a viable Ryan clone on the outside, who can both set the edge and still make plays in space against spread teams. For some reason, I find #1 unlikely because that would suggest that someone is ready to do what Ryan has been doing for the past few seasons. If that person exists on Michigan’s roster, he’s been hiding on the sideline or in redshirt land.

Number two is more likely, and Webb has said this move means former weakside linebacker James Ross will be playing SAM. This means more of a change in philosophy to *gulp* the ways of Greg Robinson. Robinson, of course, turned safety Stevie Brown into a pretty good outside linebacker in 2009. Ross’s frame can’t handle much more weight, so we appear to be looking at a guy who’s going to have to set the edge with his quickness and not brute strength. Operating under the assumption that #2 is what Michigan’s coaches are thinking, here’s a mix of what I’ve heard and what I surmise:

• SAM linebacker: James Ross, Allen Gant
• MIKE linebacker: Jake Ryan, Desmond Morgan
• WILL linebacker: Joe Bolden, Ben Gedeon