Posts by: Thunder

2018 Season Countdown: #12 Quinn Nordin

Quinn Nordin (image via Detroit Free Press)

Name: Quinn Nordin
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 206 lbs.
High school: Rockford (MI) Rockford
Position: Kicker
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #3
Last year: I ranked Nordin #10 and said he would be the starting placekicker (LINK). He was 19/24 (79.2%) on field goals and 35/38 on extra points.
TTB Rating: 89

Nordin was expected to contribute in 2016, but an injury held him back. Last year he started off with a bang when he hit two 50+ yard field goals against Florida in the 2017 opener. He went 4/6 in that game and then hit 10 in a row. After that he hit a snag, missing 3 in a row, before hitting 5 in a row to end the season, including a 4-for-4 performance in the Outback Bowl. Nordin has a very strong leg, but he’s inconsistent at this point in his career.

I strongly considered ranking Nordin higher on this list. I had a very hard time ordering the players in the top 15 or so. I could probably make a case for Nordin to be as high as #3 on the list, and probably not lower than #15. I settled on him here because he’s not an every-down player, but he should still have a heavy impact on how the 2018 season goes. Michigan has some tough games on the docket this season, and not many of them should be blowouts either way. Having an effective field goal kicker could be the difference in several games. Nordin has the potential to be one of the top few guys at his position in the country, but he shouldn’t be missing 3 extra points and going several games between made field goals.

Prediction: Starting placekicker

2018 Season Countdown: #13 David Long

David Long (image via Twitter)

Name: David Long
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 198 lbs.
High school: Los Angeles (CA) Loyola
Position: Cornerback
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #22
Last year: I ranked Long #22 and said he would be a backup cornerback (LINK). He made 21 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 0.5 tackles for loss, 6 pass breakups, and 2 interceptions (returned for 105 yards).
TTB Rating: 92

Long seemed to be in a battle for the starting cornerback job going into his sophomore season last year, and I had Keith Washington pegged to be the starter over him. Washington ended up transferring (he’s now at WVU), which was a pretty good indicator he didn’t win the gig. The winner in that battle was Long, obviously, who started all thirteen games. With this cornerback crew, the starters have got to be studs, and Long was a lockdown guy. No matter what metric Pro Football Focus uses (completion percentage, passer rating against, etc.), Long pops up as one of the top few corners in the nation.

This year Long appears to be a shoo-in for the cornerback spot, where he can build upon his sophomore season. He was listed at 187 lbs. going into 2017, and now he’s listed at 198 lbs. after the arrival of new strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert. He was all-conference honorable mention, and a lot of times that portends a slide up the charts as long as he maintains – or improves – his performance. Of course, Michigan has an excellent defensive line and blitzes a lot, so that helps Long and the other defensive backs. It should be another excellent season for Long, and I expect him to get some more all-conference honors in 2018.

Prediction: Starting cornerback; 25 tackles, 2 interceptions

Traffic and Income Report: June 2018

Many of you visit regularly, click on ads, buy things on Amazon, contribute via Paypal, etc. Here’s how that turns up on my end. I haven’t done one of these in over a year, so I just thought I would throw it together for comparison’s sake.

The following data comes from June of 2018:

Page views: 255,335
This figure is up by 13,000 page views from the same time period in 2017.

Google AdSense revenue: $588.00
This figure is up by approximately $150 from June of 2017.

Amazon Affiliates revenue: $0.00
I actually earned a wee bit from Amazon during the month of June, but not enough to get paid. Amazon waits until you hit a certain threshold before doling out payments, so I’ll have to wait. It has actually been over three months since I’ve been paid by Amazon. The reason is that someone made a very large purchase but then returned the product, so the commission I made from that sale was subsequently taken out of my “paycheck” over the last couple months.

Sovrn revenue: $92.00
Sovrn is down for me by about $10 this month despite an uptick in traffic from last year.

Paypal donations: $183.29
A few people chipped in some donations during the month of June, so thanks very much to all you people who did (and have in the past)!

TOTAL INCOME: $863.29

2018 Season Countdown: #14 Zach Gentry

Zach Gentry (image via 247 Sports)

Name: Zach Gentry
Height: 6’8″
Weight: 262 lbs.
High school: Albuquerque (NM) Eldorado
Position: Tight end
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #83
Last year: I ranked Gentry #50 and said he would be a backup tight end (LINK). He caught 17 passes for 303 yards (17.8 yards/catch) and 2 touchdowns.
TTB Rating: 84

Based on the 2016 season, it looked like Ian Bunting would be the starting tight end after Jake Butt graduated. Somehow Bunting worked his way down the depth chart while Gentry and Sean McKeon moved up. Gentry had flashed in the spring game, and he picked up where he left off by averaging 17.8 yards per catch. Four of his 17 catches went for 30+ yards. He’s 6’8″ and can run very well for someone his size. He’s a complete mismatch for defenses, and in my opinion, he could be another Mackey Award winner in the making.

One thing standing in the way of his earning the Mackey Award is McKeon. McKeon had almost twice as many receptions, even though he was less productive with those catches. And although McKeon is thought to be the more well rounded of the two, Gentry is a playmaking threat that teams have to account for on every play. It’s not often you can find a tight end who can get you 18 yards per catch. Gentry can be a big-play guy and a red zone threat, and he also improved his blocking. I also believe he can be effective on RPOs if Michigan decides to go that direction with quarterback Shea Patterson. I think this could be a breakout year for Gentry, and maybe it will be good enough for him to leave early for the NFL.

Prediction: Part-time starting tight end; 25 catches for 375 yards and 4 touchdowns

Tyrece Woods, Wolverine

Belleville (MI) Belleville DE Tyrece Woods (image via Rivals)

Belleville (MI) Belleville defensive end Tyrece Woods committed to Michigan on Sunday night. He actually has yet to play a down at Belleville, but he transferred there from Detroit (MI) Martin Luther King, Jr. following his junior year. Woods picked the Wolverines over offers from Air Force, Cincinnati, Fresno State, and a bunch of MAC programs.

Woods is listed at 6’2″ and anywhere from 240 to 255 lbs. He claims a 4.78 forty, a 315 lb. bench press, a 365 lb. squat, and a 405 lb. deadlift.

RATINGS
ESPN: 3-star, 74 grade, #133 DE
Rivals: 3-star OLB
247 Sports:

Hit the jump for more on Woods’s commitment.

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