Nightly Roundup: March 8, 2019

Tag: Zach Gentry


8Mar 2019
Blog, homepage 1 comment

Nightly Roundup: March 8, 2019

Dion Caputi, a guy I’ve never heard of but who attended the Combine, shared his thoughts on Karan Higdon and Zach Gentry as we get closer to draft time (LINK).

This is the interesting case of Baylor’s Blake Lynch, who has played five positions at for the Golden Bears (LINK).

Hit the jump for more.

read more
10Jan 2019
Blog, homepage 36 comments

Review of 2018 Season Predictions

Nico Collins (image via MGoBlue)

I always like to look back at my predictions for the previous season to see how well I judged the year beforehand. Here’s the link to my 2018 Season Predictions (and the comments): LINK.

LEADING RUSHER
Prediction: Karan Higdon, 1100 yards
Actual: Higdon, 1178 yards
Thoughts: Higdon was about as effective as I thought he would be, although he would have ended up with more yardage if he didn’t miss one regular season game (due to injury) and then the bowl game (due to selfishness). I was surprised he was named First Team All-Big Ten, but there were some other backs in the conference who were not as effective as I thought they would be.

LEADING RECEIVER
Prediction: Donovan Peoples-Jones, 750 yards
Actual: Nico Collins, 632 yards
Thoughts: Collins had a breakout season, going from 3 catches for 27 yards in 2017 to leading the team in receiving yardage (and being #2 in receptions) in 2018. Peoples-Jones was just behind Collins by a mere 20 yards and led the team in receptions (47), but Collins was the big downfield target.

LEADING TACKLER
Prediction: Devin Bush, Jr., 95 tackles
Actual: Bush, 79 tackles
Thoughts: As the middle linebacker, Bush was an obvious choice, but his instincts and sideline-to-sideline speed ensured that he would make plays all over the field. Safety Tyree Kinnel was not far behind with 74 tackles in one more game, since Bush missed the bowl game.

Hit the jump for the rest of the review.

read more

2Jan 2019
Blog, homepage 5 comments

Zach Gentry and David Long, Jr. are headed to the NFL

Zach Gentry

Michigan took a couple big hits in personnel on Wednesday when redshirt junior tight end Zach Gentry and junior cornerback David Long, Jr. said they would be skipping their final year of eligibility to go to the NFL.

New Mexico native Gentry was a 4-star recruit in the 2015 class, the #8 pro-style quarterback, and #174 overall. A one-time Texas commit, the then newly hired Jim Harbaugh got Gentry to pick Michigan late in the recruiting cycle. After a season spent attempting to learn the quarterback position, Gentry started catching passes during bowl practices of his freshman year. He didn’t catch his first pass until 2017. In total, he hauled in 49 passes for 817 yards (16.7 YPC) and 4 touchdowns over his career, and he was named Third Team All-Big Ten in 2018.

David Long, Jr.

Long, from Los Angeles, was a 4-star cornerback in 2016 and ranked as the #7 player at his position and #65 overall. Michigan hauled him in late in the 2016 class, and one of the big recruiting stories down the stretch was the story of Jim Harbaugh climbing a tree at Long’s house while on a home visit. Long played sparingly in 2016 but then became a lockdown corner for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. He allowed only one touchdown in 2018 and was named First Team All-Big Ten. He made 38 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, 3 interceptions, and 17 pass breakups during his career.

Gentry said he was not disappointed with his draft grade, and he should be highly valued at 6’8″ and 262 lbs. with good speed. He’s also a position-switcher who still has room to improve and develop. He won’t be a first round pick, but I would expect him to go somewhere in the middle rounds of the draft.

Long has decent size for a corner at 5’11” and 187 lbs. He tackles well, has good speed, and knows how to be physical. There’s no buzz about him being a first round pick, but he could go late on day two.

28Nov 2018
Blog, homepage no comments

2018 All-Big Ten Offense

Karan Higdon

The Big Ten released the all-conference defense and special teams yesterday (LINK), and today it was time for the offense. Michigan players include:

COACHES

First Team
Running Back: Karan Higdon
Offensive Tackle: Jon Runyan, Jr.

Second Team
Offensive Guard: Ben Bredeson

Third Team
Quarterback: Shea Patterson
Wide Receiver: Donovan Peoples-Jones
Tight End: Zach Gentry
Center: Cesar Ruiz
Offensive Guard: Michael Onwenu

Honorable Mention
Wide Receiver: Nico Collins
Offensive Tackle: Juwann Bushell-Beatty

MEDIA

First Team
Running Back: Karan Higdon

Second Team
Offensive Guard: Ben Bredeson
Offensive Tackle: Jon Runyan, Jr.

Honorable Mention
Quarterback: Shea Patterson
Wide Reciever: Donovan Peoples-Jones
Tight End: Zach Gentry
Tight End: Sean McKeon
Offensive Tackle: Juwann Bushell-Beatty
Offensive Guard: Michael Onwenu