2012 Season Countdown: #7 William Campbell

Tag: William Campbell


23Aug 2012
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2012 Season Countdown: #7 William Campbell

I like this high school picture of William Campbell too much not to post it.

Name: William Campbell
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 308 lbs.
High school: Detroit (MI) Cass Tech
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #73
Last year: I ranked Campbell #15 and said he would start at 3-tech DT with 40 tackles and 3 sacks.  He had 14 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 pass breakup, and 1 fumble recovery.

Okay, I was a little bit off with my prediction that Campbell would start, that he would be a 3-tech, and that he would make 40 tackles.  In fact, he didn’t start, played mostly 1-tech, and made just 14 tackles.  My hopes were dashed.  He was the primary backup to the now departed Mike Martin, and those aren’t bad statistics for a backup nose tackle; when Martin was a backup, he made 20 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks.  But Martin was a freshman, and Campbell was a junior.  I expected more.  I still don’t really agree with the deployment of Campbell, who would be tough to block for just about any offensive guard one-on-one.  As a nose tackle who struggles to stay low, he’s typically playing against centers (who are shorter and almost always use good leverage) and guards (who are sometimes shorter and often use good leverage).  There were plays last season when Campbell destroyed single blocks, and there were plays where he got washed out of the action by double-teams.  I guess the coaches thought they would rather start Will Heininger than have Quinton Washington or Richard Ash be rotation players, so that’s what happened.

Now three-fourths of last year’s starting defensive line has graduated (Martin, Heininger, and Ryan Van Bergen), and Campbell has to start at nose tackle.  There’s really no other option.  He has reportedly taken to his newfound leadership role and slimmed down to 308 lbs. after playing earlier in his career at 340 or 350.  It’s now or never for the former 5-star recruit.  The conditioning seems to be in place, but it remains to be seen whether he has the desire and focus to stay low every single play.  One of Martin’s best traits was his ability to go hard on almost every play, and he was consistently a disruptive force in the middle of the line because of it.  Ondre Pipkins was expected to be one of Campbell’s backups – if not the primary one – but a recent injury might temporarily keep Pipkins from playing.  That leaves Richard Ash, Quinton Washington, and Kenny Wilkins to vie for playing time on the nose, with Ash the likely winner of that battling trio.  Campbell should see a sizable jump in his production, but I think the defense overall is going to dip a little bit because of the loss of Martin and, to a lesser extent, Van Bergen.

Prediction: Starting nose tackle; 35 tackles, 3.5 sacks

Poll results: Campbell won 57% of the vote for the #7 spot.

15Apr 2012
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2012 Spring Game Review – Defense

Senior WILL Brandin Hawthorne was Saturday’s defensive MVP

DEFENSIVE ENDS
I thought Craig Roh looked pretty darn good at strongside end.  The starter at weakside end was Brennen Beyer, who looks significantly bigger this spring than he did in the fall.  He looked like a bona fide weakside end instead of a lanky outside linebacker.  Beyer got a good pass rush a couple times.  Meanwhile, backup weakside end Frank Clark performed solidly and made a nice hit on fullback Joey Kerridge, whom Clark chased down out of the backfield.  I also thought backup strongside end Keith Heitzman looked pretty solid.  Based on how Nathan Brink looked last year, I’m going to posit that Heitzman passes up Brink this fall.  (Brink sat out the spring game, still recovering from his broken leg.)

DEFENSIVE TACKLES
William Campbell looked alternately solid and inconsequential.  He had one or two good  plays but he just didn’t seem to be going hard all the time.  He should have destroyed walk-on guard Joey Burzynski (or so I would think) but instead got stalemated too often.  Maybe the coaches are teaching him differently than I would expect, but it all seemed to start with his stance, which needs work from my perspective.  Jibreel Black looks like a matchup nightmare for a lot of offensive guards, because he’s too quick to handle with any consistency.  He looks bigger than last year (although the neck roll might have had something to do with that).  It also seems that Richard Ash has taken a step forward, and I was surprised by how big backup 3-tech Chris Rock has become.  I saw glimmers of hope there for some competent rotation players.  Quinton Washington and Ken Wilkins still didn’t impress me.

LINEBACKERS
I didn’t pay much attention to Jake Ryan because we already know he’s a good player.  Kenny Demens looked solid but unspectacular at MIKE.  Desmond Morgan left the scrimmage early after getting chopped down on a blitz; he limped to the sideline and was later carted into the tunnel.  Hopefully it was nothing serious.  Cam Gordon was Ryan’s backup at SAM, and he’s definitely put on some weight since last year.  Now he looks like a linebacker rather than a strong safety.  I don’t think he’ll surpass Ryan, but he’s a very good backup.  It will be interesting to see what the coaches do with him in 2013 as a senior, because by that time, I don’t think they’ll be able to afford to keep him off the field.  Mike Jones and Joe Bolden played as backup middle linebackers, but neither one was particularly visible.  I saw a couple loafs out of Antonio Poole, which does not bode well for his immediate future.  Kaleb Ringer looked like he was in great shape and he made a nice tackle on Justice Hayes, but both of those guys seem to be a ways down on the depth chart.  The linebacker who impressed me most on the day was Brandin Hawthorne, who made a couple nice tackles for loss and grabbed a one-handed pick, albeit off walk-on Jack Kennedy, who floated the ball across the middle.  Hawthorne looked good at times last year, too, but he’s another guy who loafs once in a while, and that seemed to get him in the dighouse.  The linebackers now have depth, which we haven’t been able to say for several years.  I truly believe that Michigan has five starter-level linebackers: Ryan, Gordon, Demens, Morgan, and Hawthorne.

CORNERBACKS
J.T. Floyd started over Terrence Talbott, despite reports that Talbott had overtaken Floyd.  That was somewhat expected.  Floyd looked solid but was never tested deep.  Blake Countess made a nice pick on a late Devin Gardner throw and also made a couple nice tackles.  The backup cornerbacks did not impress me, although I don’t remember seeing much out of Talbott.  Maybe he’s the third guy and we’ll be fine, but I don’t think Raymon Taylor and Delonte Hollowell are ready.  We know Courtney Avery is pretty solid at the nickel corner, and although he pulled up on a tackle, it seemed like he was trying not to submarine the leaping receiver; if it were a game, I would be disappointed by that play, but I think he was just trying not to hurt his teammate.

SAFETIES
The starting safeties weren’t really tested in the running or the passing game.  Jordan Kovacs should be good and practice reports suggest that Thomas Gordon has improved once again, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see on him.  Backup free safety Jarrod Wilson needs to get stronger.  He did miss a tackle on Thomas Rawls that turned into a touchdown, but Wilson should be struggling through senioritis and ordering his prom tux right now.  Tackling 220 lb. running backs is a tough task for a safety so young.  Marvin Robinson looked solid as the backup strong safety and made a nice tackle for little or no gain in the run game.  As long as Robinson’s legal troubles are behind him, I expect him to improve and be a good in-the-box safety.  He should be a good replacement for Kovacs after the latter graduates.

4Apr 2012
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Spring Practice Thoughts and Rumors – Defense

Cameron Gordon has impressed the coaches again this spring

If you missed yesterday’s discussion of the offense, here it is.  And now for the defense:

Defensive end: As we know by now, Craig Roh has switched to strongside end.  He has done fairly well at the position, but he’ll need to spend the next several months eating a ton and bulking up.  The coaches want him in the low 280s and right now he’s about 270.  Insiders say Frank Clark looks like the starter at weakside end for the upcoming season.  Brennen Beyer, who switched from SAM linebacker this offseason, also has reportedly fared well but looks to be a step behind Clark at the position.  Beyer’s a thicker, run-stopping sort and Clark will have to work on that aspect of his game.  Nathan Brink is the presumed backup at the 5-tech position but has been limited due to his late-season broken leg.  Keith Heitzman is also in the mix, which would be great for depth at the position.  I would not be surprised to see one or two of the freshman defensive ends get some action, such as Matt Godin at 5-tech and Mario Ojemudia on the weakside, although Heitzman’s emergence might preclude Godin from having to burn a redshirt.

Defensive tackle: The first team defensive tackles appear to be Will Campbell at nose tackle and Jibreel Black at the 3-tech.  Campbell looks fit and is being more consistent with his technique, but the coaches continue to work on that aspect.  Black needs to add weight, but he’s more athletic than most 3-techs (especially compared to Will Heininger), so he adds a different dimension.  Richard Ash appears to be the backup nose tackle.  Meanwhile, Ken Wilkins has supposedly taken a leap forward this spring.  He was mired on the bench last season and there were a lot of questions swirling about him, but it seems the light has gone on.  He could be the #2 defensive tackle going into the season.  Chris Rock has also earned a tiny bit of buzz and has put on a significant amount of weight to play the 3-tech.

Linebacker: I don’t mean to overstate things, but the competition between Jake Ryan and Cam Gordon appears to be neck-and-neck for the SAM position.  The coaches really like Gordon’s athleticism, and he’s done a good job in pass coverage, which makes sense because he’s a converted safety.  Ryan has continued to progress after having a solid redshirt freshman season.  There was a huge dropoff last season between Ryan and Beyer, but that won’t be the case this year (if Cam Gordon can stay healthy).  At the MIKE spot, Kenny Demens hasn’t necessarily taken the forward steps that the coaches want.  He has been hampered by a thumb injury, and the #1 middle linebacker in his absence has been freshman Joe Bolden.  Mike Jones is buried at the #3 spot.  The best linebacker this spring has been Desmond Morgan, according to several accounts.  He’s put on a decent amount of weight after playing at 225 last season, and insiders suggest he’s probably close to 240 now.  The backup to Morgan at WILL has been Antonio Poole, who redshirted last season.

Cornerback: Blake Countess has one cornerback position locked down.  At the boundary corner position, Terrence Talbott has stepped up to challenge J.T. Floyd.  Insiders say that Floyd’s “benching” is partly due to him underperforming and partly due to rewarding Talbott for hard work in the offseason.  It might be unlikely that Talbott takes a job from a fifth year senior, but the possibility exists.  He’s made his move not by being a great coverage guy but by supporting the run and turning into a very good tackler.  Those are the top three corners right there.  Raymon Taylor continues to earn buzz as perhaps the secondary’s best athlete, but he’s still not ready mentally and physically.  Courtney Avery is the nickel corner, where he did a great job last season and doesn’t seem to getting challenged this spring.

Safety: The starters here are pretty clear with Thomas Gordon at free safety and Jordan Kovacs at strong.  Freshman Jarrod Wilson has picked things up quickly, and he might be the #2 free safety.  Marvin Robinson has returned to the practice field this spring after disappearing last year with some legal issues.  Despite his absence, Robinson appears to have taken another step forward and should be the heir apparent to Kovacs. A couple backup safeties have been absent from practices so far this spring: Tamani Carter and Josh Furman.  I would have to assume that they will be buried a little bit if/when they return.  These coaches do not like guys who miss practice.

27Mar 2012
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Poll Results: Who will be Michigan’s starting nose tackle against Alabama?

William Campbell (#73) is the frontrunner for the nose tackle position in 2012

William Campbell: 73%
Believe it or not, Campbell is now a senior.  The former 5-star recruit has spent the last three seasons as a backup defensive tackle and offensive guard.  He should have redshirted in 2009 and, in an ideal world, would have two seasons of eligibility left.  Unfortunately, this will be his last hurrah.  Campbell is 6’5″ and around 320 lbs., and when he fires off low, not many offensive linemen stand a chance; however, that’s about a 50/50 proposition.  Last season he made 14 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and 1 fumble recovery as Mike Martin’s primary backup.  He’ll probably get the first crack at taking Martin’s starting spot

Ondre Pipkins: 17%
Pipkins is a 6’3″, 330 lb. incoming freshman who won’t hit campus until June.  It’s notoriously difficult for true freshmen to play on either side of the line, so he would normally be a huge long shot . . . but the lack of productive depth at the position suggests Pipkins will be in the running for playing time.

Quinton Washington: 5%
The 6’4″, 302 lb. made a bit of a sacrifice a couple seasons ago when he switched positions from offensive guard to defensive tackle.  When I watch him play defense, I see an offensive guard playing defense.  He’s a very strong, stout player, but he’s not athletic enough to be a real playmaker.  I think he lacks the qualities that the coaches are looking for in a starter, but he’s a decent sub and goal line player.

Richard Ash: 2%
Ash will be a redshirt sophomore this fall and has yet to see significant playing time in college.  He did play in three games in 2011, but did not accrue any statistics.  As the voting indicates, I think Ash is the biggest long shot to start at the position.

Other: 0% (3 votes)
I’m not sure who was earning votes here.