Amara Darboh
Fourteen Michigan players participated in the 2017 NFL Draft Combine. Without being in the interview room, here’s my take on who gained ground, who’s treading water, and who had a less than stellar performance:
Jehu Chesson (image via Twitter)
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Michigan has 14 players participating in the 2017 NFL Draft Combine. Take a look at a roundup of the results:
Roderick Johnson (image via 247 Sports)
MICHIGAN
Starters:
Football Outsiders has Michigan’s defensive line at #4 in Adjusted Line Yards, and that reinforces the idea that Michigan has one of the top few defensive lines in the country. That’s good because they are huge (three guys who are 6’6″!) and experienced. The top NFL prospect is probably Charlton (37 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 9 sacks), who has been dominant at times. Next is Wormley (38 tackles, 8.5 TFLs, 5.5 sacks), who will play strongside end and defensive tackle at times. Glasgow (40 tackles, 9.5 TFLs, 4 sacks) has turned from being excellent at holding up to double-teams to now getting penetration throughout his career. Godin (26 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 1 sack) plays less than the other three and isn’t as effective, but he’s a solid-level starting player. The unit is #2 in Standard Down Line Yards and #1 in Adjusted Sack Rate. Of course, Michigan has other players who rotate in and play well, but there aren’t many weaknesses among these top four guys.
Key backups: Backups at all four spots are worth mentioning here. Number one overall recruit from 2016 Rashan Gary (6’5″, 287 lbs.) rotates in at strongside end and has 24 tackles, 5 TFLs, and 1 sack on the year. He hasn’t been a terror off the edge as a pass rusher, but he’s very consistent and does his job well. Redshirt junior Maurice Hurst, Jr. (6’2″, 282 lbs.) is a viable NFL prospect and is Michigan’s quickest interior defensive lineman. He’s made 30 tackles, 9.5 TFLs, and 3.5 sacks this season. Redshirt sophomore nose tackle Bryan Mone (6’4″, 310 lbs.) played the best game of his career against Ohio State in the regular season finale and has 9 tackles and 1 TFL. Redshirt sophomore Chase Winovich (6’3″, 245 lbs.) came out of nowhere to turn into an effective pass rusher, and he now has 33 tackles, 8 TFLs, and 5.5 sacks. A couple of these guys can rotate in at a time and Michigan won’t really skip a beat.
Hit the jump for a look at FSU’s offensive line.
Michigan held its annual Football Bust on Tuesday night, during which team awards are handed out for the season. Here are the awards:
BO SCHEMBECHLER MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
HUGH R. RADER MEMORIAL AWARD (BEST OFFENSIVE LINEMAN): RT Erik Magnuson
RICHARD KATCHER AWARD (MOST VALUABLE DEFENSIVE LINEMAN): NT Ryan Glasgow, DT/DE Chris Wormley
ROGER ZATKOFF AWARD (MOST VALUABLE LINEBACKER): MLB Ben Gedeon
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER AWARD
SCOUT TEAM PLAYER OF THE YEAR
BOB UFER SPIRIT AWARD (MOST ENTHUSIASM AND LOVE FOR THE GAME): LT Grant Newsome
DR. ARTHUR D. ROBINSON SCHOLARSHIP AWARD (LEADING SENIOR-SCHOLAR):
I think these awards are pretty spot on, though some are impossible to tell. I thought the Ufer and Robinson awards were supposed to go to seniors and Newsome is only a sophomore, but oh well. Some people might think that Peppers was a more valuable linebacker than Gedeon, but I agree that Gedeon was the most important guy in that position group only. Peppers’s value comes from him playing some linebacker, yes, but also from his various other positions. The other thing about Gedeon is that he rarely came off the field, partly because there was almost literally nobody else capable of playing MIKE except the starting WILL (Mike McCray). The next guy was converted walk-on defensive end Michael Wroblewski. It was important for Gedeon to stay on the field, and he did so while playing pretty well.
Do you have any quibbles?
Ryan Glasgow (#96, image via Oakland Press)
Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Jabrill Peppers. Peppers played some Wildcat quarterback and flipped the ball to Jehu Chesson on a reverse, but he didn’t register in the offensive stat book. Michigan struggled to score points and averaged a mediocre 4.0 yards/carry, taking a 7-7 lead into the fourth quarter before scoring the game-winning touchdown with fewer than eight minutes left. So far this year, Peppers has 2 carries for 24 yards. Maybe Michigan doesn’t need him much against Rutgers next week, but they will need his contributions down the road.
Hit the jump for more on the Wisconsin game.