Tag: Noah Furbush

Class of 2014: By the Numbers

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I recently did a summary of the 2015 class that was an interesting look back at their five years on campus (LINK). The class of 2014 was Brady Hoke’s final complete class before he was fired, so here’s a look at how that group fared over five years. Michigan landed 17 players in the pack, which ranked 20th in the country according to the 247 Composite.

Hit the jump for the rundown.

Michigan vs. Western Michigan Awards

Shea Patterson (image via WRAL)

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Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Ambry Thomas. Thomas had just 1 catch for 5 yards and had only a couple snaps on offense, but it would be nice if Michigan could put together some packages for him. He’s the #4 corner on defense right now and Michigan lacks playmakers on the offensive side of the ball, so they might as well use him on offense. Get your best athletes on the field.

Hit the jump for the rest of the awards.

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2018 Season Countdown: #35 Noah Furbush

Noah Furbush (#59, image via MGoBlue)

Name: Noah Furbush
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 238 lbs.
High school: Kenton (OH) Kenton
Position: Linebacker
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #59
Last year: I ranked Furbush #37 and said he would be a backup SAM/WDE and special teamer (LINK). He made 30 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 pass breakup, 2 fumble recoveries, and 1 interception returned for 27 yards.
TTB Rating: 64

In the year 2018, Furbush seems like a very odd player. Why? Because he’s still at Michigan. He’s a part-time starter, but due to Michigan’s defensive personnel choices, he’s limited in how many snaps he sees per game. It seems to me that a lot of fifth year seniors around the country would grad transfer if they were in his situation and try to go somewhere to be a full-time starter. Defensive coordinator Don Brown figured out last season that he could move Furbush around to a bunch of different places and use him as a weakside end on passing downs, stand him up to use him as a blitzer, or even drop him back into coverage. Realistically, Furbush might be Michigan’s most versatile player, but he rarely gets discussed because of the star power of Rashan Gary, Chase Winovich, Devin Bush, Jr., Khaleke Hudson, Lavert Hill, David Long, and others.

This year I expect more of the same from Furbush. He has developed into a very effective player and a key guy for Don Brown. Michigan lost weakside linebacker Mike McCray II to graduation, but Furbush has not been mentioned as potentially sliding over to WILL. He’s still a utility guy who will be deployed all over the field. It’s crazy that Michigan has three quasi-starter, fifth-year-seniors in Furbush, Brandon Watson, and Bryan Mone who will be coming off the bench but could start at Michigan, not to mention a bunch of other schools. There’s a glut of talent on the defensive side of the ball in Ann Arbor, and I expect Furbush to take another step forward this year. I could see him earning an NFL opportunity after this season, even though he’s not a full-time player for the Wolverines.

Prediction: Backup SAM, weakside end, special teamer

Michigan vs. Indiana Awards

Karan Higdon

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Ty Isaac, Chris Evans, and Lavert Hill. WTF? Yeah, I listed two running backs and a cornerback. Michigan needs to think outside the box as they game plan moving forward. Hill was a productive receiver and special teams player in high school, and Michigan should try to get the ball in his hands in limited ways. Put together a package with him as a slot receiver, which would offer a different dimension than running out three or four tight ends. As for Isaac and Evans, they’re better players than guys like Maurice Ways and Tyrone Wheatley, Jr. A couple years ago against Maryland, Michigan trotted out a full house backfield for a stretch. Maybe having Isaac, Evans, and Karan Higdon in the game at the same time isn’t a perfect trio, but two of those guys with Khalid Hill and/or Ben Mason might make for an interesting combination.

Hit the jump for more awards from Saturday’s game.

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Michigan 33, Florida 17

(image via MGoBlue)

The elephant in the room. Wilton Speight doesn’t look any better than he did in the spring. He was 11/25 for 181 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions. He threw more touchdowns to Florida (2) than he did to his own guys. I don’t believe this is a Jim Harbaugh thing. Harbaugh has shown elsewhere that he’s capable of coaching the quarterback position. Speight is the lone guy in Harbaugh’s history who has regressed. I hope Florida was just really good defensively – despite having 10 players suspended and a starting safety out with a torn Achilles – but I have no faith in that being the case. Speight consistently overthrows balls, a frustrating thing when guys are wide open, and a dangerous thing when guys are in traffic. I’ve seen people insisting that the first pick-six was on Kekoa Crawford, whose hands it bounced off of, but that throw was high and a tough catch. The second pick-six in the general vicinity of Grant Perry was wildly overthrown.

The hippo in the room. John O’Korn looked about the same as he did last year, too. I don’t understand yanking Speight in order to have O’Korn hand off the ball three times before punting, either. You don’t need a backup QB to hand off the ball. Speight is better with the ball handling, anyway, so that first O’Korn series was a waste, and the draw play on third down was awkward.

The armadillo in the room. I sure hope Brandon Peters gets some playing time this year.

Hit the jump for more on the game.

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