Tag: Lawrence Marshall

Ford Field Open Practice: Defense, Special Teams

Noah Furbush

Yesterday, I posted my thoughts on Saturday’s practice regarding injuries, offense, and a few walk-ons to watch (LINK). Today I’ll address what I saw from the defense.

DEFENSIVE END
Depth: Chris Wormley, Taco Charlton, Chase Winovich, Lawrence Marshall, Reuben Jones, Carlo Kemp
Scoop: Wormley spent some time both outside and inside, and we already know what to expect from him. In fact, a lot of the starters seemed to be going about 90%, because going 100% would just be unfair. The defensive line was handling the offensive front pretty well. Charlton is a physical freak, and it looked like he spent some time at both Anchor (strongside end) and weakside end. Winovich was my surprise of the day, because he definitely looked like he belonged on the field. In fact, he was working so hard coming off the edge that a bit of a brawl started when Kyle Kalis chucked him to the ground after a play. Winovich uses good leverage and can bend well, and I think he’s going to see some time. Marshall didn’t do anything special, and I think he needs to add weight and become a strongside end; he just doesn’t have the quickness or instincts to be an edge rusher, in my opinion. Jones looked decent and competitive, but I think he’s probably another year or two away. Kemp has moved from linebacker – where he was a poor fit, in my opinion – to defensive end. In fact, both Jones and Kemp were working at linebacker in Florida, but neither one worked with the linebackers on Saturday. Shelton Johnson is nursing an injury and did not practice. Maurice Hurst, Jr. had an ankle injury that was making him gimpy, and he was playing some Anchor at times but was ineffective (more due to injury than a lack of ability).

Hit the jump for the rest of the defense.

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Spring Football Preview: Defensive Tackles and Defensive Ends

Bryan Mone (#90)

Projected DT starters: Fifth-year senior Ryan Glasgow was one of Michigan’s best starting defenders last season, and you could tell how much the defense missed him when he missed the end of the season with a pectoral injury. He finished the season with 25 tackles, 5 TFLs, and 1 sack in nine games at the nose tackle position. He is very strong, fairly quick off the ball, and uses excellent technique. Last year’s backup nose tackle Maurice Hurst, Jr. was pressed into a lot of playing time at the nose because of injuries, but his size makes him more of a 3-technique in an ideal world. Assuming Glasgow and Bryan Mone return healthy at NT, redshirt junior Hurst (35 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, 3 sacks) should slide over to 3-tech and use his quickness there.

Hit the jump for the rest of the defensive line preview.

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2014 Season Countdown: #50 Lawrence Marshall

Lawrence Marshall (image via Scout)

Name: Lawrence Marshall
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 245 lbs.
High school: Southfield (MI) Southfield
Position: Defensive end
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #93
Last year: Marshall was a senior in high school. He made 68 tackles, 8 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles. He finished as a 247 Composite 4-star, the #10 weakside end, and #176 overall.
Final TTB Rating: 72

Marshall originally committed to Ohio State after visiting Columbus in the spring of 2013, only to reconsider and decommit shortly thereafter. Then in early May, he committed to the Wolverines. It wasn’t a Kyle Kalis-level event from rival to rival, nor did it have the buildup of Gareon Conley flipping to Ohio State. Still, there are worse things than stealing a recruit from the Buckeyes. Marshall was expected to give Michigan a boost in the recruitment of defensive lineman Malik McDowell (who transferred from Detroit Loyola prior to the 2013 season), but that was not to be. McDowell eventually chose Michigan State, and Marshall ended up as the only defensive end in Michigan’s 2014 class. He had a solid senior season and was chosen for the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl.

Marshall has reached a good size for a freshman defensive end and comes in larger than any weakside end prospect in recent memory (most of them have been 215-230 lbs.). That may be fortunate, because Michigan is a little short on weakside ends and may need Marshall to play a role this season. Established starter Frank Clark has an experienced junior backup in Mario Ojemudia, but that’s where the depth chart stops. Michigan could rearrange some things and put strongside guys Taco Charlton or Brennen Beyer at weakside end if necessary, because there’s more depth behind them. Regardless, this coaching staff has gone three deep at weakside end for the past few years, so my expectation is that they will play Marshall. One other strategy in the past has been to play a SAM linebacker at weakside end in nickel situations, which might save someone like Marshall from burning his redshirt; however, Cameron Gordon graduated and Jake Ryan moved to middle linebacker, so putting Ryan down at WDE would necessitate bringing in a backup middle linebacker, which is a questionable move. The coaching staff will probably try to get Marshall’s feet wet early in the season so he can contribute more as the year goes along.

Prediction: Backup weakside end

2014 Michigan vs. Ohio Border Classic

Noah Furbush

The State of Michigan used to have an all-star football game. Ohio used to have the “Big 33” game that pitted Ohio all-stars against those from Pennsylvania. Now Pennsylvania has been booted out, and Michigan will play Ohio today in the inaugural Michigan vs. Ohio Border Classic. The game will be played at the University of Findlay in Ohio at 1:00 p.m. Some notable players on the rosters are:

MICHIGAN
Jason Alessi – S – Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice: Yale
Byron Bullough – LB – Traverse City (MI) St. Francis: Michigan State
Jalen Embry – CB – Detroit (MI) King: Iowa
Kenny Finley – DT – Muskegon (MI) Muskegon: Western Michigan
Corey Lacanaria – WR – Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice: Ball State
Avonte Maddox – CB – Detroit (MI) King: Pitt
Lawrence Marshall – DE – Southfield (MI) Southfield: Michigan
Chukwuma Okorafor – OT – Southfield (MI) Southfield: Western Michigan
Kyle Rachwal – LB – Lapeer (MI) East: Eastern Michigan
Giovanni Rescigno – QB – Warren (MI) De La Salle: Rutgers
Dylan Roney – LB – Novi (MI) Catholic Central: Navy
Travis Smith – QB – Ithaca (MI) Ithaca: Wake Forest
Jared Wangler – LB – Warren (MI) De La Salle: Michigan
Jalen Watts-Jackson – CB – Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s: Michigan State

OHIO
Michael Barwick – DT – Cincinnati (OH) Country Day: Indiana
Noah Furbush – LB – Kenton (OH) Kenton: Michigan
Marshon Lattimore – WR – Cleveland (OH) Glenville: Ohio State
Erick Smith – S – Cleveland (OH) Glenville: Ohio State

National Signing Day schedule for Michigan commits

Paramus (NJ) Catholic cornerback Jabrill Peppers

Here’s a list of approximate signing/faxing times for Michigan’s commits. When the National Letters of Intent are confirmed to have been sent/received, I will update the post.

Brady Pallante – DT – Naples (FL) Barron Collier: Signed at 7:39 a.m.

Maurice Ways – WR – Detroit (MI) Country Day: Signed at 8:07 a.m.

Ian Bunting – TE – Hinsdale (IL) Central: Signed at 9:40 a.m.

Noah Furbush – LB – Kenton (OH) Kenton: Signed at 8:01 a.m.

Lawrence Marshall – DE – Southfield (MI) Southfield: Signed at 10:53 a.m.

Jared Wangler – LB – Warren (MI) De La Salle: Signed at 9:00 a.m.

Jabrill Peppers – CB – Paramus (NJ) Catholic: Signed at 8:00 a.m.

Chase Winovich – LB – Clairton (PA) Thomas Jefferson: Signed at 7:03 a.m.

Juwann Bushell-Beatty – OT – Paramus (NJ) Catholic: Signed at 8:27 a.m.

Unless Michigan pulls any surprises late in the day (or after today, which is rare), that wraps it up for the 2014 recruiting class.