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| Richard Ash |
Name: Richard Ash
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 320 lbs.
High school: Pahokee High School in Pahokee, FL
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #54
Last year: I ranked Ash #71 and said he would redshirt. He redshirted.
Ash was listed at 263 lbs. as a recruit, which means he’s put on a ton of weight since his senior season of high school. That’s almost a 60-pound difference. His conditioning was reportedly an issue as a true freshman and one of the factors that prevented him from playing last year. Ash backed up both defensive tackle positions (1-tech and 3-tech) this spring, and contrary to what some people report from message boards, I haven’t heard much in the way of rave reviews. I haven’t heard bad things necessarily, but he just hasn’t been talked about much.
This fall it would be great if Ash could be a viable backup to Mike Martin at the nose tackle position. With William Campbell looking like the starter at 3-tech and Quinton Washington pushing for playing time at both positions, Ash could give the team a nice four-player rotation at the defensive tackle positions. Will Heininger is also a possibility inside, but he’s awfully light for a tackle at 267-ish pounds. All Ash needs to do is not get crushed backwards for a couple plays in a row, just to allow Martin to get a blow.
Prediction: Backup defensive tackle
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Absence from practice hype is probably not a bad thing for Ash. The only way nose tackles stand out on the field is if they eat souls (Martin) or get wiped the F out consistently (younger Campbell). If his job is simply to not die from double teams and he does just that, I feel it makes sense that he's not getting talked about despite doing his job.
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I've been working out consistently about 4 times a week since the start of college. Over the last year (my first year of law school) I put on about 5-10 lbs of excess weight, but since the beginning of summer I've already managed to take it all off. I personally don't have any true motivation to be in shape (beyond wanting to look sexy for beach season.) So why is it that D1 scholarship athletes who claim to have dreams of the NFL (I don't know that this is specifically true of Ash) can't find the motivation to stay in shape? Putting on 60 lbs over the course of a year seems impossible to me. What the heck is this kid eating? And how long could it possibly take to get back into shape and lose the weight amassed in a single year?
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@anonymous
I think the answer is mostly in your comment. Motivation is not necessarily what got Ash(or other D1 athletes)where he is. The simple fact is, and I'm sure you know this, many people say one thing ( I want to go to the NFL) and do another (I'm going to eat the hell out of this buffet).
You are in law school. I'm sure there are a ton of people who swear up and down that all they want to do is land that 160k a year job, and then go out every night and party instead of steadily working up to finals. Instead of working gradually and efficiently, like adding to and working on outlines week by week (or for a football player working out and adding good weight week by week), they end up cramming right before finals (adding a lot of bad weight in a short amount of time). Who knows why people do these sort of things?
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@Anonymous:
If they wanted Ash to play 1-tech, it's a pretty safe bet they wanted him up at at LEAST 300 pounds. And you can't gain that much weight in muscle in a year without some serious help (cough cough Barry Bonds), so the guy was gonna add some fat. So I guess I'm saying that it isn't terribly surprising that a guy on the Charlie Weis diet has trouble with wind sprints.
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I really hope that this guy pans out. Thanks to all of our DT whiffs over the past few years, a lot is riding on this guy after Mike Martin leaves.
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Look forward to seeing Ash this Fall. UM needs him to be at least serviceable. By default, he will at minimum be a key back-up the next two seasons. These 2011 DT's will give UM their beefiest rotation ever, with all four well over 300 lbs (I've heard Martin has put on 15 lbs). In terms of size, the defense will look much bigger than last year if nothing else.
From the brief training camp coverage the BTN did last year in Ann Arbor, I thought Ash at least looked the part. He seems to be a true DL. I am still wondering whether Washington is more of a natural OL playing out of position due to DL depth. Of course, the poor guy just got switched over. DT is the position group I am most eager to observe this fall.
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– Chandler and Lemonier were the top defensive linemen along with a very strong performance out of Pahokee (Fla.) High School's Richard Ash. Ash has the body to carry a lot of weight and maintain his athleticism and his aggressiveness and explosiveness was evident on Sunday. –
This was a quote about Ash from Rivals. Seems like a guy who could be dominant if he puts it all together.
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Between my senior year of high school and my second year of college I put on 40 lbs while exercising and I'm only 5'10. A NT who's 5" taller than me putting on 60 in under 2 years isn't so bad I guess. I love that line "contrary to what some people report from message boards." Ash needs to be serviceable this year, even with the load on Martin being lightened, I think he will be because he has to.
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Any truth to the rumor that Ash has sickle cell trait and that may play a factor in determining how much the UM medical staff will allow him to play down the road?
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From his recruiting profile it was fairly clear that it might take Ash a few years to put it together. I'm glad he red-shirted and hope that he can, with the help of a good set of DL coaches, become a rotational player over the next 4 years.
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