2016 Season Countdown: #56 Brandon Watson

2016 Season Countdown: #56 Brandon Watson


July 17, 2016

Brandon Watson (image via Maize and Blue News)

Name: Brandon Watson
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 191 lbs.
High school: Elkton (MD) Eastern Christian Academy
Position: Cornerback
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #28
Last year: I ranked Watson #34 and said he would be a backup cornerback (LINK). He played in twelve games and made 8 tackles.

In one of my more egregious overrankings last year, I put Watson at #34, thinking he would beat out Channing Stribling for the #3 corner spot. Stribling split starting duties with Jeremy Clark. The #3 cornerback is pretty important, but the #4 guy . . . he’s usually not so important. After a solid spring game, he did okay in 2015 but was pretty invisible on the field.

This season should be more of the same since Michigan has three senior corners (Clark, Stribling, and Jourdan Lewis). Watson will also have to contend with a couple blue-chip freshmen (Lavert Hill, David Long) and a redshirt freshman Keith Washington. There have been vague rumors floating around that Watson may end up elsewhere, especially now that high school teammate Freddy Canteen is no longer with the team, but Watson has stuck with the program so far. I don’t expect Watson to play a ton of defense, but I do think he has some value as a special teams player and he could potentially contribute at a thin safety position if there are injuries.

Prediction: Backup defensive back, special teamer

11 comments

  1. Comments: 1364
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    WindyCityBlue
    Jul 17, 2016 at 12:32 PM

    Obviously he won’t start, but I really do hope he gets some meaningful snaps and can experience some development over the course of the season. Our defensive backfield will be stripped clean after this year, and it’s hard to imagine that we won’t need him to contribute next year in some capacity, even if only as a backup.

  2. Comments: 6285
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    Lanknows
    Jul 17, 2016 at 2:21 PM

    Agree with the rank for Watson, given the uncertainty after the top 3. But I strongly disagree with the idea that the 4th CB isn’t important. these days most teams use their 3rd CB like a starter. Michigan was no different, using 4 guys heavily (including Peppers). Watson was the 5th CB and played in 12 games. With Peppers moving to LB duties (and seeming to increase offense/special teams role), Watson will be competing for a bigger role on D.

    I would argue the 4th CB is more important than the 4th WR.

    If there is an injury to a starter Watson could see meaningful downs if he is indeed the 4th guy. We’ll see if that’s the case. Since we don’t know – I think the rank is reasonable.

    I hope he gets some snaps this season and is in the mix for 2017, where the CB situation is a huge unknown. I was never real impressed by Watson’s recruiting profile or spring game performances, but the depth of talent at CB means it’s been hard to breakthrough. Even a guy like Wayne Lyons that started at CB for Stanford ended up getting shifted to safety – so there’s reason to hope Watson can be pretty good still.

    • Comments: 1364
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      WindyCityBlue
      Jul 17, 2016 at 3:16 PM

      You definitely can’t have too many good cover corners, but I will not be surprised if at least Long and possibly Hill too end up seeing the field more than Watson at CB this year. Watson may never be more than the 3rd or 4th guy, but as you say, even at that, we’ll likely need a contribution from him next year.

      • Comments: 262
        Joined: 8/12/2015
        Painter Smurf
        Jul 17, 2016 at 7:29 PM

        At least two of Washington, Hill, and Long see significant minutes this year. They need to prep multiple CB’s for ’17. And JH looks like he may nab three studs in the next recruiting class who can contribute early. Most of these new faces are better athletes than Watson, so he will only factor in if there are multiple busts or injuries.

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Jul 17, 2016 at 7:29 PM

      I don’t think games are won and lost by the fourth corner. It’s not often that Michigan has had lots of injuries at CB (except for that one season we all want to forget), and the slot corner position has often been played by a safety (Peppers), designated slot corner (Courtney Avery), or S/LB hybrid (Steve Brown). Michigan has three good corners (Lewis, Stribling, Clark) and that nickel corner spot is going to be played by Peppers, basically. If Stribling goes down, you’ve got Lewis and Clark with Peppers still in the slot.

      Now maybe that fourth corner steps in to give Clark or Lewis a breather, but a) the defense is probably going to protect him a little bit and b) the difference between corner #4 is probably not that significant from #5 or #6. We’re not talking about All-America-level players. The #4 corner on even the strongest of teams is usually not anyone special. If you suffer enough injuries to where #4 is forced into a huge role, then you’re probably in trouble at most programs.

      • Comments: 1364
        Joined: 8/11/2015
        WindyCityBlue
        Jul 17, 2016 at 9:09 PM

        Teams play dime packages all the time, and it may be the 4th corner that’s the last DB out there. If he’s the weak link, that’s what the defense may end up picking on, and it only takes one play to make the difference in a game.

      • Comments: 6285
        Joined: 8/11/2015
        Lanknows
        Jul 18, 2016 at 12:06 AM

        The 4th corner last year was either Stribling or Clark. Those guys absolutely won or lost games for Michigan. There were times where Clark struggled (e.g. Indiana) where Stribling saved the team. There were times where Stribling was hurt and Clark saved the day.

        It takes no injuries whatsoever for the 4th corner to be irrelevant. And that’s also assuming you have a 3rd safety who can fit in on dime situations. Those tend to be situations that swing game outcomes.

        • Comments: 3844
          Joined: 7/13/2015
          Jul 18, 2016 at 7:35 AM

          Well, maybe that’s where the disconnect is. Because I don’t view Peppers as a corner. He was listed as a safety last year, and he mostly played slot corner, which is a different position than CB at this point, IMO. If he made Clark or Stribling your #4 corner last year, then the #5 corner wasn’t that important. To me the top three corners last year were Lewis, Stribling, and Clark, even though Peppers played more on defense than Stribling/Clark.

          • Comments: 6285
            Joined: 8/11/2015
            Lanknows
            Jul 18, 2016 at 12:47 PM

            Last year Michigan used Peppers as an outside CB pretty regularly, in addition to his primary duties in the slot/nickel. Michigan has used Countess and Lewis in the slot/nickel over the last few years too, in addition to their primary duties on the outside.

            Calling Peppers a safety seems like splitting hairs to me. Most teams have a nickel corner and that guy is usually a backup CB. That’s not always the case – some teams put a starting CB there and bring an outside corner – some teams use a safety that can excel in coverage. But in general the ‘slot corner’ is a ‘nickel corner’ which is a ‘corner’ i.e., cornerback.

            If you assume that Peppers’ role will be the same – i.e., the move to LB is purely nominal – then I can sort of see where you are coming from. I think his role will be a bit different, but agree he’ll still be in the primary nickel/dime package. Still – Watson played in 12 games (regardless if you want to call him the 4th or 5th CB) last year and was in on some meaningful downs. I can’t say if he won or lost games for Michigan but I know he had 3 tackles against Penn State, which was a one score game in the 4th quarter.

            2014 is an instructive example. Michigan’s top 5 corners were Countess, Taylor, Lewis, Stribling, and Hollowell — all of them played meaningful snaps. 4 of them started.

            Your 5th CB is going to play (or 4th if you want to assume that nickel is covered by a linebacker or safety).. because at some point one of your top CBs will twist an ankle or get the wind knocked out of them, or get deployed to another position that needs help. Or you’ll face a team that uses 4 WR and/or tempo that will dictate heavier substitutions in the secondary.

  3. Comments: 2
    Joined: 7/9/2016
    UMAlum06
    Jul 17, 2016 at 4:06 PM

    Was it ever announced that Canteen has left the team? The last I heard he was recovering from an injury and was in wait and see mode.

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Jul 17, 2016 at 7:17 PM

      I don’t think there have been any official announcements, but he has not been on the roster since the spring.

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