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2010 Countdown: #20 Kevin Koger

Name: Kevin Koger
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 255 lbs.
High school: Whitmer High School in Toledo, OH
Position: Tight end
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #86
Last year: I ranked Koger #26 and said he wouldn’t get more than 15 receptions. He caught 16 passes for 220 yards and 2 touchdowns.

I can’t tell if Kevin Koger got to Michigan at the wrong time or the right time. On the one hand, if he played for Lloyd Carr, I think we’d be talking about an all-conference level player. Koger has speed and leaping ability, blocks well, and can make excellent catches. Carr would have used him well. On the other hand, Koger is a perfect fit for the spread offense run by Rich Rodriguez. He can get down the seam quickly, pull, block in space, and generally create problems for a defense. The only mitigating factor is that Rodriguez doesn’t use the tight end very much. Despite reports that Rodriguez and his staff had visited Oklahoma’s coaching staff to integrate the tight end more, Koger only caught 16 passes (1.3 receptions per game) and his backups only caught five passes for 63 yards, 47 of which came against Delaware State.

Consider this: the starting tight ends for Wisconsin (Garrett Graham, 51), Northwestern (Drake Dunsmore, 47), Iowa (Tony Moeaki, 41), Minnesota (Nick Tow-Arnett, 37), Penn State (Andrew Quarless, 30), Purdue (Kyle Adams, 29), Michigan State (Charlie Gantt, 22), and Indiana (Max Dedmond, 18) all caught more passes than Koger in 2009. Even Big Ten newcomer Nebraska’s starting tight end caught 28 passes. The only two teams in the Big Ten who used their tight end less were Illinois and Ohio State, but the average number of receptions for a non-Michigan starting tight end in the Big Ten was 29.7, nearly double Koger’s total.

Forgetting about all that, Koger has the ability to be a very good tight end. He averaged 13.8 yards on his receptions last season, and the catch pictured above is one of the most amazing I’ve seen anywhere, let alone from a Michigan player. He did struggle with a case of the dropsies in 2009, and I’m sure he knows that’s an area he must improve. He’s an important part of the team because of his versatility, whether he’s blocking, catching passes, or lining up in the slot and creating mismatches. But with two somewhat inexperienced quarterbacks who are approximately 6′ tall, Koger isn’t likely to see a huge jump in his numbers this year.

Prediction for 2010: Starting tight end; 18 receptions, 250 yards, 4 touchdowns

40% of poll respondents correctly picked Koger at #20.

2010 Countdown: #21 Jordan Kovacs

Name: Jordan Kovacs
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 195 lbs.
High school: Clay High School in Curtice, OH
Position: Bandit
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #32
Last year: Kovacs was unranked in my 2009 Countdown. I feel bad about that. He started 8 games at safety, making 75 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 interception.

Raise your hand if you knew Kovacs would contribute in 2009.

Put your hand down, Mrs. Kovacs.

Jordan Kovacs wasn’t even the most-hyped walk-on safety going into the 2009 season. That title went to Jared Van Slyke, a transfer from Southwest Missouri State and the son of former Pittsburgh Pirate Andy. When starting safety Michael Williams got hurt in the Notre Dame game, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one saying, “Who in God’s name is #32 and why is he on the football field in a close game?!?!” That nobody was one Jordan David Kovacs, a student body walk-on who was just recently recovered from a bum knee that prevented him from making the team when he tried out the year before. Kovacs took over a starting safety job in the Indiana game and never relinquished that role, although he bounced back and forth between free safety and strong safety. He ended the season as a Freshman All-American and finished second on the team in tackles, including 17 tackles against MSU.

This year Kovacs is all but guaranteed a starting job, most likely at Bandit, which is a strong safety-type position. Michigan will essentially be running a 4-2-5 defense in 2010, and that Bandit position will have deep third or deep half responsibilities at various times. This concerns me, as Kovacs has physical limitations. He’s somewhat small-ish at 195 lbs., but that isn’t the worst part; his lack of speed was obvious against teams like Indiana and Penn State, in which long touchdowns may have been prevented if he were more athletic. Still, Kovacs is a fearless and determined tackler and usually positions himself in the right place. I can’t picture someone with Kovacs’ physical limitations starting through the 2012 season, when he’ll run out of eligibility, but for now the youngsters behind him (potentially Vladimir Emilien, Carvin Johnson, Marvin Robinson, Ray Vinopal, and Josh Furman) will watch and learn from Michigan’s best rendition of Rudy in recent memory.

Prediction for 2010: Starting Bandit; 70 tackles

Tony Posada, Wolverine

Michigan received its tenth commitment of the Class of 2011 Wednesday, getting a pledge from Tampa offensive lineman Tony Posada. Posada is a 6’5″, 315 lb. offensive tackle from Plant High School, which is also the home of James Wilder, Jr., a highly touted running back (Michigan has offered Wilder, but the interest seems unrequited). He chose the Wolverines over offers from Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, South Florida, and Texas Tech, among others. Posada is unranked by Rivals and a 3-star to both Scout and ESPN.

I haven’t seen much of Posada, other than the few glimpses in the video below. He has no highlight videos anywhere on the internet that I have found, so I’m basing all of my opinions on that slice of video and what I’ve gathered from articles and pictures.

Although he’s ranked as an offensive tackle by all three recruiting services, I think Posada’s future is at offensive guard. I’m a rebel like that. One reason is that Posada is 6’5″ (or 6’6″, depending on whom you believe). If you subtract an inch because usually those recruiting sites lie, that means he’s actually 6’4″ or 6’5″. Looking at the heights and body types of Michigan’s current tackles and tackle recruits, they’re all taller and leaner. Taylor Lewan is 6’8″; Perry Dorrestein, Michael Schofield, and recruit Jake Fisher are 6’7″; the shortest of the bunch is Mark Huyge at 6’6″. If Posada is indeed 315 lbs., he’s already heavier than all but Dorrestein (321 lbs.), but his body type suggests a future at guard.

One of the things I have been most impressed with about Michigan has been the development of the offensive line. Guys who couldn’t cut it were quickly run out of the program (Kurt Wermers, Dann O’Neill), and the remaining members of the offensive line seem to be coming along nicely. So while Posada lacks an extremely impressive offer list, I’m beginning to trust more and more the offensive line offers that Rodriguez and offensive line coach Greg Frey extend.

As for the rest of the 2011 class, there are eight remaining spots with the departure of Justin Turner. Michigan will likely take at least one more offensive lineman, possibly two. I expect at least one wide receiver, one running back, one tight end, one defensive tackle, one linebacker, one cornerback, and one safety. It should be a matter of filling out the team right now, not necessarily taking as many stars as possible. With all of the scholarships devoted to running backs and defensive backs, Michigan is running short on scholarship linebackers and tight ends, in particular.

2010 Countdown: #22 Greg Banks

Name: Greg Banks
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 285 lbs.
High school: Montbello High School in Denver, CO
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Redshirt senior
Jersey number: #92
Last year: I ranked Banks #32 and said he’d see plenty of time in the defensive line rotation. He made 5 tackles from the 3-tech DT position.

This might be my most controversial choice for starter, and he also has the potential to be my “most overrated” player by the end of the season. Banks was a backup defensive lineman in 2009, seeing time at the 3-tech defensive tackle position that Ryan Van Bergen occupied most of the time. He only made 5 tackles in a solid but unspectacular campaign and couldn’t distance himself from Renaldo Sagesse, another backup DT. But Banks did earn praise from defensive line coach Bruce Tall in the spring; the coach called Banks’ pass rushing moves “textbook,” which might not be the best compliment, but it might be good enough.

There’s going to be a weak link along the defensive line, especially if Michigan fans are looking for a Brandon Graham-like superstar. Ryan Van Bergen will be solid at 5-tech defensive end. Mike Martin will be very good, whether he’s playing nose tackle or 3-tech DT. If William Campbell starts at nose tackle, his conditioning and technique will likely be a weakness. If Banks starts at DT, his strength and overall athleticism will make him the least heralded. He’s not a superstar in the making, but if he can hold his ground as well as Van Bergen did at DT in 2009 (40 tackles, 5 sacks), Michigan fans should be happy. Campbell will get more playing time this year than last, and that might cut into the minutes Greg Banks sees. We’ll see a slight drop-off at the DT position this year, but hopefully it will be muted by improved playing from the linebackers.

Prediction for 2010: Starting defensive tackle; 30 tackles, 2 sacks

Justin Turner, ex-Wolverine

Redshirt freshman cornerback Justin Turner has apparently decided to transfer. He has been granted his release by the University of Michigan, although Sam Webb of Scout/WTKA/Detroit News fame has stated that his parents are going to try to talk Turner out of leaving Ann Arbor. We’ll see how that goes.

If #2 does indeed follow through with his intentions to leave Michigan, he would be the first member of the 21-person Class of 2009 to leave. (Cornerback Adrian Witty never arrived at Michigan after Michigan’s Admissions office failed to grant him entry.) To Rivals he was a 4-star safety, the #35 recruit in the country, and the #3 player at his position; to Scout he was a 5-star cornerback, the #3 player in the country, and the #1 player at his position. To the University of Michigan’s football team, he was the #3 or perhaps #4 cornerback for the 2010 season.

The 2009 version of the Wolverines had horrible defenses and very little cornerback depth, especially after then-sophomore Boubacar Cissoko was booted off the team for skipping classes and generally being an idiot. But Turner still couldn’t get on the field and redshirted, giving way to fellow freshman Teric Jones, who entered college hoping and expecting to play running back or slot receiver. With Donovan Warren leaving school early to enter the 2010 NFL Draft, many Michigan fans assumed that Turner would assume the starting cornerback role. However, redshirt sophomore JT Floyd took the lead in the battle for the open cornerback position.

There were reports that Turner had ballooned to an unfathomable 197 pounds and got too big to play cornerback, a regular Violet Beauregarde. (Set your sarcasm detectors to ON.) The fall roster even listed him at 198 pounds. However, cornerbacks coach Tony Gibson has spoken highly of Turner in the past, and his disenchantment likely has more to do with playing second fiddle to JT Floyd than anything else. He was 186 lbs. coming out of high school, so adding 11 or 12 pounds in college really isn’t that big of a deal. He still could have played corner, although he would have been fighting incoming freshman Cullen Christian – a highly touted corner in his own right, and ranked higher than Turner in my 2010 Season Countdown – for playing time.

Turner was ranked as a safety by Rivals, and I think most Michigan fans were waiting for a time when cornerback depth would allow him to switch positions to free safety or Bandit. If his absence is felt at all, though, it will likely be a year or two down the road if Michigan’s 17 safeties can’t cobble together a decent starter or three. I’m not going to sit here and say that Michigan is better off without him. But the Wolverines are headed for 7 or 8 wins in 2010 whether Turner’s in Ann Arbor or not.