Toney Clemons, ex-Wolverine

Posts by: touchbann_adminuser

22Mar 2009
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Spring football notes

According to reports from spring practice, it looks like the roster will be shaken up some.

Rumors are swirling that junior wide receiver Toney Clemons will no longer be playing for the Wolverines. This has been a rumor for a while, but he has been absent from practices, so the writing appears to be on the wall.

Redshirt freshman Patrick Omameh is running with the first team offensive line, and it looks like the odd man out could be redshirt junior John Ferrara. Redshirt junior Steve Schilling has moved to left guard to take Ferrara’s spot, and Omameh has been plugged in at right tackle. The rest of the offensive line will likely remain the same.

Sophomore Justin Feagin, redshirt freshman Terrence Robinson, and senior Carlos Brown have all been practicing throwing the ball. None of them is being looked at as a possible quarterback; they are simply in the mix for occasional direct snaps.

The competition at running back seems to be working wonders. Reports are that all the available running backs (Michael Shaw is injured) look good and are running the ball well, and that includes true freshman Vincent Smith.

Sophomore J.B. Fitzgerald is battling Kenny Demens for the open linebacker job, but it looks like Fitzgerald has a leg up in that fight. The other linebacker who earned a starting nod last year, Marell Evans, is playing the hybrid DE/OLB position, along with Brandon Herron, Steve Watson, and Anthony Lalota.

The coaches are giving redshirt freshman Brandon Smith every opportunity to win the starting strong safety job. It looks like redshirt sophomore Michael Williams will be the starter at free safety. It’s yet to be determined what role senior Steve Brown will play, but it looks like his role will change. He’ll be playing closer to the line of scrimmage if Smith can prove himself worthy of the starting job.

This quite possibly means nothing, but one picture I saw showed Kevin Grady as the long snapper.
21Mar 2009
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Congratulations, Michigan basketball!

I know very little about basketball, so this blog centers mostly around my favorite sport instead. But congratulations to the Michigan basketball team for making the NCAA Tourney and beating Clemson last night. I’ve never been more excited – or less able – to watch a basketball game. I was stuck at work for the first 30 minutes of play, and CBS wasn’t airing the game in my area when I got home. So I was stuck watching the ticker as Clemson pecked away at Michigan’s lead.
They play Oklahoma tomorrow at 5:50 p.m. I picked the Wolverines to lose to the Sooners in the second round, but I’ll be happier if I’m wrong.
Go blue!
18Mar 2009
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Scouting Report: Devin Gardner, QB – Inkster, MI

Curiously, Devin Gardner told everyone that he was committing to Michigan but thinks he hasn’t. He has stated that he wants to wait until his basketball playoffs are done before he holds any interviews. But he’s committed to Michigan. Except not really. It doesn’t count until he says it to a camera. I guess. Really, I have no idea. But he’s good at playing football, so yay.

Height: 6’4″
Weight: 195 lbs.
Position: Quarterback
School: Inkster High School in Inkster, MI
40 Yard Dash: 4.6 seconds (reported)
Vertical:

Notes: Holds offers from LSU, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oregon, Purdue, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and others . . . Rushed 115 times for 1,401 yards and 22 TD’s as a junior in 2008 . . . Completed 98/170 passes (58%) for 1,886 yards, 26 TD’s, and 7 INT’s as a junior . . . Attended U of D Jesuit as a sophomore and threw for 1,000 yards while rushing for 475 . . . Former Inkster teammate Cameron Gordon was part of Michigan’s 2009 recruiting class . . . . . . #1 player in Michigan, according to Scout.com . . . #177 player nationally, according to Rivals.com . . . Wears #7

Scouting report: Strong runner . . . Difficult to bring down on first contact . . . Shows good leg drive in traffic . . . Excellent pocket presence and ability to feel pressure . . . Superb ability to change direction quickly when scrambling in the pocket . . . Can throw accurately running to either side . . . Good mechanics when working from under center . . . Above average arm strength . . . Puts plenty of air under deep balls . . . Very good passer when he squares his shoulders (see play at 9:15 in video below for best example) . . . Inconsistent passing mechanics from the shotgun . . . Often fails to square his shoulders to passing target (see play at approximately 4:32 below for best example) . . . Poor mechanics lead to reduced velocity and short throws that tend to sail high and to the right . . . Throws with accuracy – but poor velocity – when moving to the left

Projection: Gardner will be a very good BCS-level player in any offensive system. If his college coaches choose to do so, his poor mechanics are fixable.

Reminds me of: Vince Young (it’s cliched, but the throwing motion and his ability to shake off tacklers make the comparison pretty accurate)