Channing Stribling
Name: Channing Stribling
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 175 lbs.
High school: Matthews (NC) Butler
Position: Cornerback
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #8
Last year: I ranked Stribling #35 and said he would be a backup cornerback (LINK). He made 17 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, and 3 pass breakups.
I pegged Stribling as a backup last season with the idea that Brandon Watson would beat him out, and Jeremy Clark would be playing safety. Watson turned out to be the #4 cornerback after Jeremy Clark moved over from his strong safety spot; meanwhile, Stribling started four games until Clark started seven later in the year. It was an up-and-down year for both of those guys. Stribling made his first career interception early in the year against UNLV, weaving for a 30-yard return after undercutting the throw. That was perhaps the high point of his season. He suffered an injury and had a couple biffed coverages, including against Michigan State and Minnesota. His “interception” against Florida came on a fake field goal attempt where the ball was flipped forward when he burst through the line, and he happened to grab it. It was a good play, of course, but doesn’t really speak to his pass coverage abilities.
This spring there were insider rumblings that Stribling looked like the best defensive player on the field. Reports had Stribling running with the ones almost exclusively, while Clark was back to a complementary role. I don’t know how much practice hype to believe, although I do buy the thought that Stribling is the #1 boundary corner. I’m reticent to crown Stribling as the best defensive player on the team, because that would involve him surpassing a number of high-quality players (Jourdan Lewis, Jabrill Peppers, Ryan Glasgow, Chris Wormley, etc.). But we have also not seen Stribling make a lot of game-changing plays in his career. It was his junior year before he recorded a pass breakup or interception, and last year’s early-season success faded away down the stretch. We’re into the starters or quasi-starters in the countdown, and I’m placing him on the low end due to his solid but unspectacular past performances, as well as the fact that Clark has more starting experience, Watson played some last year, and Michigan recruited a couple solid corners in the 2016 class. Defensive backs coach Mike Zordich also recently said that Stribling is the least physical of the top three corners when it comes to run support. If Stribling gets hurt again, it might reshuffle the defense a little bit but shouldn’t be hugely detrimental.
Prediction: Starting cornerback; 30 tackles, 2 interceptions
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So, with only the top 25 left, we’re in agreement on 24 of them — I put together my top 25 a month or so ago and had Isaac in and Allen just outside.
Again, Thunder, I have a lot of fun following the Countdown. Don’t ever change it!
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Disagree.
Last year was a make-or-break year for Stribling and he… made it. He beat out Lyons for a starting gig. That he got hurt and Clark took over starting doesn’t change that because, fortunately for Michigan, both were good. If they weren’t, opposing teams would have stayed away from Jourdan Lewis.
Michigan’s coverage was excellent all year and Stribling was a big part of that. They used 4 CBs extensively (counting Peppers). When Peppers got hurt they replaced him with Lewis – who is a CB. They all played more snaps than a some of nominal starters on the DL, LB, FB, etc. You need at least 3 CBs probably 4. This year Stribling is #2 or 3 if you take the Peppers to LB move as legit.
Laid out much of my argument in last year’s post but it boils down to this: reliable coverage is more important than number of INTs. INTs are low frequency/high variability events that have very imited correlation to overall coverage skills. Again, if he wasn’t doing his job well, he’d get targeted again and again. He wasn’t, because he did.
Neither he nor Clark were dominant or perfect (each got beat here and there and made some costly mistakes), but they were both good overall – and reliable enough to push a proven starter like Lyons to bench role at another position.
Agree the spring hype has to be taken with a grain of salt, but even if you ignore it completely the review of Stribling is once again overly negative. It feels like perceptions haven’t moved on from the Allen Robinson game 3 years ago. I think they should. We have a 6’2 cornerback pushing for the “lock-down” label. He would be getting a ton more praise if he wasn’t outshined by the excellence on the other side of him. Stribling is Andre Weathers 2.0
IMO, the worst case scenario for Stribling is a guy who ranks around 20-25. There is no disputing that the CB depth is strong, but your 3rd CB is really important. Even if Clark ends up passing him he’s a critical player, because quality CBs matter a ton in Brown’s system. They are also critical in high-leverage situations that end up being season-defining. (For example, Stribling’s biggest f-up this year almost cost Michigan the Minnesota game last year. We’re talking about a guy who was the #4 CB that game.)
The best-case scenario for Stribling is much higher – if he’s near the “Dude” he was reported to be in the spring he belongs in the 10-15 range. Add play-making to his resume and we can start talking about all-conference honors and what NFL draft round he’ll end up in.
Indeed, I predict Stribling gets drafted. 6’2 CBs are in high demand. Elite length, good athleticism, and strong coverage. He’s probably a couple INTs away from getting a lot more attention and praise. Like Deveon Smith, I think he will “surprise” a lot of people in 2016 – at least those who tend to take the analysis-by-highlight approach over the coaches decisions and consistent “boring” play on the field.
I think both should be ranked higher but I agree with placing Stribling and Clark so closely in the rankings because they split snaps all year. Stribling deserves to be ahead by a bit because he started the season last year and the spring hype. But also – he was hindered for a while by the injury but by late in the season (even though Clark still started) it was he who was in late in close games like Minnesota and MSU and generally seemed to play better, in passing situations if nothing else.
But the big picture here is that Michigan is very very lucky to have 3 senior CBs who are all very good. They will be hard to replace next year.
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You start off by saying “disagree,” but then I don’t really know what you’re disagreeing about. You’re going out on a limb – not that there’s anything wrong with that – by saying that you think he’s such a good prospect, you think he’ll get drafted, etc. NFL Draft Scout has him as the #45 cornerback prospect, and CBS Sports has him at #57. There were 32 cornerbacks drafted in 2016. I’m not saying he won’t be selected, but…it’s highly questionable.
“Coaches decisions” and “boring play” are fine as criticisms – seemingly aimed at me – except I can also give you examples where coaches made poor decisions, or where “boring” players don’t pan out. There’s no way to quantify it, really, but the NFL doesn’t stock up on boring college players. The NFL is mostly filled with guys who were capable of making highlights plays in college. Maybe Stribling can be that guy. I admitted as much in the piece above. But he’s not a highlight player yet, and I’d be really curious to see if you have any examples of Michigan players who were as “boring” or “more boring” than Stribling who have found success at the next level. Leon Hall, Ty Law, Charles Woodson, Marlin Jackson, etc., the guys who have been drafted out of Michigan in the last 20 years, were NOT this “boring.”
Let me put it this way: In the past 40(!) years, EVERY Michigan cornerback to get drafted has made more interceptions than Stribling through three years. That includes Hall, Woodson, Jackson, Morgan Trent, Andre Weathers, Jeremy LeSueur, and Dwight Hicks. I stopped even looking once I hit 1976. If Stribling were to get drafted, it would be almost unprecedented.
As for his value to the team…meh. I mean, not meh. It’s 26th-best. But there are other guys. Sure, Stribling is probably a starter (but we can probably agree he’s behind Jourdan Lewis), but there’s a good #3 guy in Clark. Peppers can play some quasi-corner just like he has in the past. Michigan has a couple hyped guys coming in. Brandon Watson played some last year. They could even play three safeties at times (Hill, Thomas, Kinnel). If Stribling almost cost us the Minnesota game last year, then I think there are other guys who can also “almost cost us a game” or “barely cost us a game.”
If Stribling is the #10 guy on the team, his loss would be very detrimental. For reference’s sake (and allowing for a little give or take), the #8-12 guys last year were Mason Cole, Jarrod Wilson, Kyle Kalis, Erik Magnuson, and Desmond Morgan. I think any of those guys getting hurt in 2015 would have been more damaging to the team than Stribling. Cole, Kalis, and Magnuson didn’t have viable backups, Dymonte Thomas didn’t really come on as a player until the second half of the season, and Desmond Morgan (IMO) was the best linebacker on the team with Ross/Gedeon as backups, neither of whom became as solid/consistent as Clark. Additionally, this is a more talented team in 2016, so I think it takes a little more to be #10 this year than it did last season.
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Disagreed with the rank and overall negativity. Made my arguments for why I felt it was overly negative to, for example, harp on the INTs and gloss over the injury. But yes, the NFL selection is definitely optimistic speculation on my part. Maybe it’s statistically unprecedented at Michigan, but so is having a 6’2 CB.
I tried to hit on this from both sides. Worst case and best case. The worst case scenario (Stribling as #4 CB) is still a guy who decides games. That was the point of bringing up the Minnesota game. When he doesn’t do his job it stands out. Usually he did it.
There isn’t much depth here. I know you like Watson and Kinnel but those guys are a huge step down from having Stribling at CB. And Peppers is a great player, but as pure CB he may not be as good as Stribling yet, nevermind that using him that way hurts the UM defense significantly and requires using somebody like Furbush or a freshman at LB.
You make a good point about INTs and draft selection of boring players. It happens, but I agree most draft picks are going to be standouts at the college level. Like I said, to get to THAT level, Stribling probably does need to get more INTs. I wasn’t trying to argue Stribling should be #10, I was saying he COULD be that high. The DUDE version of Stribling is a #2 CB who gets INTs and gets drafted. The top 25 in the countdown is a lot of guys who aren’t going to be NFL draft picks in ’17.
I think you dismissed the best case scenario and assumed the worst. It’s the reverse of some of the previous year’s Ty Isaac ranks where you dismissed the worst and assumed the best.
Thanks for taking the time to discuss the point.
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I don’t think I’m assuming the worst if I say Stribling is a starting corner and #26 on the team. I think assuming the worst would be having him drop below Clark and maybe Watson. And I don’t think I’ve assumed the best about Ty Isaac. I said he would be a backup last year and gain 600 yards; and in the first third of the season, he had about 170 yards. He obviously didn’t play much after that, but if I were assuming the best, I would probably be saying he would be the #1 back above De’Veon Smith, lead the team in rushing, and probably surpass 1,000 yards.
“Depth” is a relative term. I think a lot of teams would really, really like having Lewis, Stribling, and Clark with a couple high 4-star freshmen and some other decent guys (Washington, Watson) backing them up. Maybe that’s not Alabama-level depth, but it’s not shallow.
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Putting a starting (#2) corner at #26 is the issue. CB is one of the most important positions on the team. Especially with Brown.
I realize having a 2a and 2b knocks down the value/rank, but, again, you really need 3 guys. If one of Clark or Stribling goes down the defense will be compromised. Maybe the freshman will be good – but even Lewis and Woodson got beat a bunch as a freshman.
For a team that would like to contend for a national title they absolutely need Stribling’s coverage ability to win the toughest games on it’s schedule.
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Feeling less good about this point:
“If one of Clark or Stribling goes down the defense will be compromised”
Hasn’t been the case today, though Peppers is a special player who is covering for the lack of a reliable pure CB at nickel.
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Since you brought up relative rank to last year –
To me, Stribling is more talented and more valuable to this team than Morgan was to last year’s. Not only did Michigan already have a Clark equivalent there (Gedeon) it had several other senior replacements (Bolden, Ross, RJS) at a position that can get by with 2 guys. Michigan needs more CBs than ILBs and it isn’t nearly as deep there as it was with ILBs in ’15.
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Feeling pretty good about these comments at the moment.
“We have a 6’2 cornerback pushing for the “lock-down” label. He would be getting a ton more praise if he wasn’t outshined by the excellence on the other side of him. Stribling is Andre Weathers 2.0″
” Add play-making to his resume and we can start talking about all-conference honors and what NFL draft round he’ll end up in.”
“He’s probably a couple INTs away from getting a lot more attention and praise. Like Deveon Smith, I think he will “surprise” a lot of people in 2016”
— It’s happening! With Lewis or Clark missing almost every game, Stribling has been the constant at CB on the best defense in the country*
*or at least in the conversation along with Alabama and Clemson
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You have two veteran corners competing for the boundary position. That’s a good thing in and of itself. Stribling stands 6’2″ and weighs 175 lbs, Clark is listed at 6’4″ 206 lbs. Last week our DC, when interviewed, went into some detail regarding our DB’s responsibilities against the run which included the phrase “run fits”. I take that to mean that our corners are responsible for a seam/gap somewhere probably all the way outside, but not necessarily. In light of all of that, and taking into consideration Zordich’s comment about Stribling against the run, if forced to bet and barring injury, I’m taking the 6’4″ 206 lbs of Clark as the guy who gets the most snaps at boundary corner during the 2016 season. Particularly since Clark has shown he can cover and has made more plays than Stribling. I’d reverse these two were it my list.
I think that Watson shows up at Safety before this thing is over.
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I agree that we will see some movement in the secondary. We have serious holes to fill at both safety and corner in 2017.
I’m not sure Watson makes total sense at Safety given his experience thusfar, but it may benefit him to work on his skills there during the season.
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Lanknows now has a Gravatar! I hope that wasn’t too painful.
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More annoying than it should have been just because I had to setup an account with Gravatar. But was fine after that. I didn’t like my new blob icon so I finally did it.
The Imagine is Roundtree’s catch in UTL1 – my favorite MFB moment in since the ’98 Rose Bowl. I was very fortunate to be a few feet away when Roundtree made that catch.
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