Bryan Mone (image via Michigan Journal)
Name: Bryan Mone
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 325 lbs.
High school: Salt Lake City (UT) Highland
Position: Nose tackle
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #90
Last year: I ranked Mone #5A and said he would be the starting nose tackle with 20 tackles and 1 sack (LINK). He started six games and made 10 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 pass breakup.
TTB Rating: 88
This sounds harsh, but based on Mone’s recruiting profile and the coaching available to him, he has been a bit of a disappointment at Michigan. He lost a season to a broken leg, but between the 2014, 2016, and 2017 seasons, he has made just 30 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and 0 sacks during his Michigan career. I have long maintained that he bulked up too much, and he’s listed at 325 lbs. (last year he was 330). Mone is massive and holds up well at the point of attack, but he lost some quickness when he added weight, and now he’s strictly a space eater. He probably played his best game against Ohio State at the end of the 2017 season, so maybe that shows he’s rounding into form.
It’s hard to know what to expect in 2018. The starting nose tackle spot has been vacated by Maurice Hurst, Jr., and a bunch of insiders keep insisting that Michael Dwumfour is a reincarnation of Hurst. The word coming from those people is that Dwumfour and Auburey Solomon will be the starters, while Mone looks like a backup. Mone is a starter-quality player, somewhat like Quinton Washington several years ago, but he’s never going to be Hurst. Michigan probably has one of the top five defensive lines in the country with the talent at all four spots and then the depth on the interior. I’m not expecting a leap from Mone in his fifth year, but I think he should get some more snaps this season with Mone, Dwumfour, and Solomon making a nice trio on the interior.
Prediction: Backup nose tackle
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Mone is just not explosive or adept at getting off of blocks by my eyes. A pure first down nose. Although I’d argue that he is not a particularly impressive space eater either – opposing OL are often able to wall him off with single blocks. He would have made more of an impact in the late Carr or RR years when UM struggled to reel in DT’s. Too many well-rounded DT’s on the roster now to compete with. I’ll make the bold prediction that even Jeter is getting more snaps than Mone by year end, let alone Solomon.
BTW, whatever happened to the poster/commenter who used to blow up everyone of these countdown posts by overanalyzing the pecking order? Did he burn out?
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You missed that, huh? He was just constantly being negative, and we had a couple good go-rounds. I told him that if he was just going to be negative all the time, I didn’t want him commenting here anymore. I e-mailed him privately in an attempt to work things out, but he never responded and hasn’t commented since. Things are a lot more pleasant around here since then, IMO.
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He was entertaining though!
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No way! I guess he drove a lot of back and forth comments. But he had a couple stupid principles like “dont pass a negative judgment on a player until his 5th year”, which is antithetical to this site’s focus on player eval. Also obsessed over this sites countdown rankings, and always had to have the last word too, no matter how many posts it took. Getting tired just thinking about him.
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I liked that he put a lot of time and thought into his posts. The thing that bugged me was his insistence that he was right. It’s like, “I said my piece in the OP, you responded that you disagree, and we might fortify/clarify our positions once or twice. After that…let it go.” He would carry on arguments for weeks, months, or even years.
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I feel the strange urge to keep this thread going to honor his memory. My favorite debate with him was over Shane Morris. He kept Shane’s flame going even into the Harbaugh era, solely due to Shanes bloated star rating. I maintained that Shane’s rating was based predominantly on his arm strength and HS soph year. And that he would not be the guy after weak play late in HS and his first couple years in college. So I was mocked for casting judgment on such a “young” player. I feel like he would have called me out relentlessly on this Mone post too. It’s all coming back now.
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I miss Lanky. My problem with him was the not letting it go thing. He gets so invested in being right. Takes the fun out of the whole thing.
I bet we could get him back if we all clicked our heals together and said, Ty Isaac is better than De’Veon Smith” three times.
It’s always worked before.
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“Mone is just not explosive or adept at getting off of blocks”.
Agree, he is kind of a plodder in the middle of a defense with most assignments designed for burst and aggression. He is quite capable of filling a hole and the more athletic big men rack up the stats.
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That’s a biiig boy. I wonder if it was all hype, the talk of him being the team’s #1 guy in 2015 fall camp. If so, that broken leg cost him a ton of cash. Here’s to hoping his limited snaps are productive ones
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This thread is turning into a Lanknows memorial? I didn’t care for his or her opinion.
Onto the post! Last year I was incredibly worried about interior DL depth, and regarded Mone as #2, 3, or 4. This year I think you’re spot on. ~#30, and a bit of a disappointment. Spring game draft going #2 or 3 (or whatever it was) until now, is a bit if a disappointment. Maybe the broken leg did something lasting, maybe the coaching never really stuck, who knows. Maybe this is the year it all comes together!
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I think 30 is way to high. Mone is 32 on my list. There are at least two more guys on the team more vital that Thunder I missed.
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Way too high, at 2 spots higher? You’re calling the difference between #30 and #32 way too big of a difference?
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Yes, at least in this thread. I will drop the Lanknows persona in other posts.
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Lol! That went right over my head, my bad.
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Yes, Mone really has been a bit of a disappointment. I don’t quite agree that he is a starting-quality player at the level we want to be at. He’s a decent backup to have as a rotation guy, but you’re probably not going to win championships or have an elite defense with him as your #1 NT.
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I think your assessment is very fair. Solomon will be a beast and is that guy that helps you win championships.
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I think mine is gonna be good this year.
Contract year!!!
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