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2014 Season Countdown: #22 Desmond Morgan

Desmond Morgan (#48) returns an interception against UConn

Name: Desmond Morgan
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 232 lbs.
High school: Holland (MI) West Ottawa
Position: Linebacker
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #48
Last year: I ranked Morgan #13 and said he would be the starting middle linebacker with 85 tackles, 2 sacks, and 1 interception. He started at middle linebacker and finished the year with 79 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, and 3 pass breakups.

I expected a little more consistent play out of Morgan in 2013, who has been starting since his true freshman year. While he essentially reached the statistical level that I predicted, he did not seem to take a big step forward in play diagnosis. I thought he would really settle in at MIKE linebacker after playing out of position as a WILL for the previous couple years; however, Michigan struggled to stop the run consistently, and some small and/or underperforming defensive tackles didn’t help the linebackers much. Regardless, Morgan did have a solid year, and his leaping, one-handed interception against UConn was a game-changer.

Even though he’s one of only a few seniors in 2014, I’m dropping Morgan nine spots to #22 on this list. The new 4-3 Over defense has bumped Morgan back to WILL, and he’s now receiving a challenge from junior up-and-comer Joe Bolden, who impressed people in the spring after a 54-tackle, 2-sack sophomore year. Coaches need to balance team chemistry, leadership, and talent, so it would be difficult to bench a senior, three-year starter with a Gerald Ford Legends jersey. At the same time, Brady Hoke and company need to win games. Aside from the battle for strong safety, the weakside linebacker position battle looks like the most interesting job competition going into the fall. Whichever player wins the gig should do fairly well, and the backup will get plenty of time in the linebacker rotation, anyway. My guess is that Morgan wins out by a nose for the starting job.

Prediction: Starting weakside linebacker; 80 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 2 sacks

Video: Countdown to Kickoff 2014 – Day 28

2014 Season Countdown: #23 Jabrill Peppers

Jabrill Peppers

Name: Jabrill Peppers
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 202 lbs.
High school: Paramus (NJ) Catholic
Position: Defensive back
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #5
Last year: Peppers was a senior in high school. He had 57 tackles and 4 interceptions.
Final TTB Rating: 100

With the vast amounts of recruiting coverage these days – four major websites, nationally televised all-star games, nationally televised workouts and touch football, and numerous blogs including this one – it’s only natural that recruiting hype surpasses that of which occurred five or more years ago. Inflation even taken into account, Peppers might be the most hyped recruit in Michigan history. His high school games were nationally televised, his announcement was nationally televised, and I even had a defensive back the other day say he wanted to be like Jabrill Peppers. Just for a refresher course on his ratings as a prospect, let’s take a look:

ESPN: 5-star, #1 cornerback, #2 overall
Rivals: 5-star, #1 cornerback, #3 overall
Scout: 5-star, #1 cornerback, #3 overall
247 Sports: 5-star, #1 athlete, #4 overall

During the Rivals era (since 2002), Peppers is Michigan’s highest-ranked commit. Next is quarterback Ryan Mallett (#4 in 2007) and then linebacker Prescott Burgess (#6 in 2003).

As for his accomplishments on the field, Peppers and his Don Bosco team won state championships when he was a freshman and sophomore. Then he transferred to Paramus Catholic prior to his junior year, where he and his team won state championships when he was a junior and senior. As one might expect, he was a do-it-all player at Paramus Catholic, where he played quarterback, running back, receiver, cornerback, safety, and returner. He did them all well. He was an Under Armour All-American. And by the way, he won the state championship in the 100 meters with a time of 10.52 seconds and holds the state record in the 200 meters with a time of 20.79 seconds.

What should we expect from him on the field in 2014? Nobody really has a clue. Head coach Brady Hoke insists they’ll start him off as a nickel corner. Jabrill Peppers has reportedly told people he’ll play safety. Hoke doesn’t want to give him too much responsibility right off the bat. Peppers has said that he’ll do whatever the coaches ask, but that he’s looking forward to being used on both sides of the ball at some point. It’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that he will be given a chance to return kickoffs and punts, but will he beat out incumbent Dennis Norfleet for the kick return job? Can he nab the punt return job from the guys jostling to replace Jeremy Gallon?

The best way for me to go about predicting his season is to break it down position-by-position:

Kickoff return: Peppers will be out there alongside Dennis Norfleet from week one.
Punt return: The coaches will play it safe with a more experienced player (Norfleet, Jourdan Lewis, Blake Countess) to start the year. Peppers might get a chance depending on how sure-handed those guys are.
Wide receiver: Peppers will start seeing some offensive snaps midway through the season.
Slot corner: Peppers will get his feet wet as the fourth cornerback behind Countess, Lewis, and Raymon Taylor. By the end of the season, he will be starting at . . .
Strong safety: Peppers’s playmaking ability is too difficult to keep off the field, and Delano Hill/Dymonte Thomas aren’t exactly established veterans themselves.

Let’s once again enjoy his senior highlights:

2014 Season Countdown: #24 Dennis Norfleet

Dennis Norfleet

Name: Dennis Norfleet
Height: 5’7″
Weight: 169 lbs.
High school: Detroit (MI) King
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #23
Last year: I ranked Norfleet #21 and said he would be the starting kickoff and punt returner with 25- and 11-yard return averages, respectively. He returned 40 kickoffs for 938 yards (23.4 yards/return), 3 punts for -1 yard (-0.3 yards/return), caught 6 passes for 46 yards (7.7 yards/catch), and ran the ball 4 times for 53 yards (13.3 yards/carry).

I had high hopes for Norfleet coming into 2013 that he could become more disciplined about following his blocks, more disciplined about catching punts, more disciplined about running routes and catching the ball, more . . . okay, this is turning into a broken record. If Norfleet were a prospect coming out of high school, I would be calling him raw. He often seems to be moving a tad too fast for his own good, until he sees a gap of daylight that could send him to the endzone; at that point, he’s either a tad too slow to beat the defenders or not quite strong enough to step through a tackle. Watching Norfleet is both an exercise in excitement and a test of how one handles frustration.

I will continue to insist that Norfleet is one of Michigan’s most exciting players with the ball in his hands, right up there with Devin Gardner and Devin Funchess. Some newcomers might reach or surpass that level this season, but Norfleet can shimmy and shake, and he can accelerate like nobody else on the squad. The problem comes in getting him the ball. He had a shot at the punt return job last season, but he lost it early to Jeremy Gallon after looking shaky against Central Michigan and Notre Dame. Now the door is wide open for people like Jabrill Peppers and Jourdan Lewis. The same can perhaps be said for the kick return job, where Peppers will probably also get a shot to supplant Norfleet. Former offensive coordinator Al Borges got Norfleet the ball in a variety of ways, so it will be interesting to see whether new O.C. Doug Nussmeier also uses those quick pitches, jet sweeps, etc. As far as I know, Nussmeier has never utilized a scatback/receiver like Norfleet before, but he may never have had someone like him at his disposal. Regardless, I think Norfleet will continue to see time on returns and get an occasional touch on offense.

Prediction: Starting kickoff returner, backup punt returner, backup wide receiver

2014 Season Countdown: #25 Shane Morris

Shane Morris

Name: Shane Morris
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 204 lbs.
High school: Warren (MI) De La Salle
Position: Quarterback
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #7
Last year: I ranked Morris #44 and said he would be the backup quarterback. He started one game, played in five games total, and was 29/47 (62%) for 261 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. He also ran 6 times for 40 yards.

Morris had the type of season one would expect from a freshman backup quarterback. He looked promising at times, and he looked embarrassingly unprepared at others. He saw his first action in week one against Central Michigan, going 4/6 for 59 yards and 1 pick after Michigan had a substantial lead. His next notable amount of play came against Michigan State, which went poorly for everyone; after starter Devin Gardner was beaten up sufficiently to exit the game, Morris went 1/3 for 6 yards and when a lane opened up for him to scramble, he slipped on the wet field and face-planted. He didn’t see notable time again until the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, which he started due to Gardner’s foot injury. Morris finished that game 24/38 for 196 yards and 1 interception, plus 4 carries for 43 yards (including a 40-yard quarterback draw).

Some people are insisting that there’s a quarterback controversy at Michigan between Gardner and Morris. I do not believe that for one second. I think Morris is good enough to push Gardner, but that doesn’t mean there are questions about which one is better right now. Gardner has been starting at Michigan for the better part of the last 1.5 years, he has set records as a passer, and he’s one of the top few athletes at the quarterback position in the country. Last year he was bogged down by poor decision-making in the first half of the year, but at no point has Morris looked superior. Morris has a cannon for an arm, better athleticism than many expect, and seems like a pretty solid decision-maker. He does, however, need to work on his accuracy and reading of defenses, both of which will probably be helped by new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier. Like most backup quarterbacks, I don’t think Morris will play much expect for in garbage time or if Gardner gets injured again, but he’s the best option and ahead of redshirt junior Russell Bellomy and freshman Wilton Speight.

Prediction: Backup quarterback