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2010 Countdown: #63 Steve Watson

Name: Steve Watson
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 257 lbs.
High school: Mullen High School in Cherry Hills Village, CO
Position: Defensive end
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #81
Last year: I ranked Watson #64 and said he’d contribute on special teams and see spot duty on defense. He was mainly a special teams player and made 5 tackles.

Having been buried on the depth chart behind Kevin Koger, Martell Webb, and Brandon Moore, Watson switched to defense during the spring of 2009. Greg Robinson was a new defensive coordinator then and needed a few players to play the defensive end/outside linebacker hybrid role that was eventually locked down by freshman Craig Roh. Brandon Herron was Roh’s primary backup, and Watson settled for mop-up duty against teams like Delaware State and Illinois. He finished the season with 5 total tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 pass breakup as the third-string OLB. He was also a part-time contributor on special teams, but only against the B-list teams on Michigan’s roster.

For spring of 2010, Watson switched roles again to 5-tech defensive end. Assuming no further position changes, he’ll be playing exclusively with his hand on the ground. Despite the position change, Watson will probably still be no higher than third on the depth chart. The starter will likely be Ryan Van Bergen with Anthony Lalota as the primary backup. A freshman like Jibreel Black could also work himself into the mix. Buried on the depth chart at yet another position, I expect 2010 to be Watson’s final campaign as a Wolverine. He probably won’t be offered a fifth year of eligibility by the coaching staff.

Prediction for 2010: Special teams contributor, spot duty on defense

2010 Countdown: #64 Marvin Robinson

Name: Marvin Robinson
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 190 lbs.
School: Lake Region High School in Eagle Lake, FL
Position: Spur
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Prediction for 2010: Increasing role as backup spur

Robinson was a highly touted recruited all through high school, earning raves and hype from Michigan fans at least as far back as his sophomore year. As you can see above, he’s well put together. Despite the fact that Rivals changed his position from safety to outside linebacker in its ratings, all indications from Robinson himself have pointed toward him playing strong safety in college. He’s a big safety and will likely be 200+ lbs. by the time the season rolls around. He doesn’t have the speed and quickness to play deep safety at the Big Ten level, in my opinion, but he is a very good athlete and a hard hitter.

I expect Robinson to earn more and more playing time as the season goes along. He tried to enroll early, but there was a snafu with his graduation/enrollment and that didn’t happen. That will slow his development somewhat. But with the lack of experience in the defensive backfield, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Robinson beat out some of the less heralded recruits or former walk-ons who currently litter the depth chart. He’ll still only be a freshman, though, so a starting role is probably at least a year away.

2010 Countdown: #65 Isaiah Bell

Name: Isaiah Bell
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 237 lbs.
High school: Liberty High School in Youngstown, OH
Position: Middle linebacker
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #26
Last year: I ranked him #75 and said he would redshirt. Bell redshirted.

Bell is in his second year of the program and making an adjustment from playing high school safety to playing college inside linebacker. Up to this point, he hasn’t really made his mark on the team. Obi Ezeh and Jonas Mouton are the presumed starters at the inside linebacker positions, and J.B. Fitzgerald, Kenny Demens, and Mike Jones are scheduled to be the first ones off the bench.

I’m a little surprised that Bell was bumped to inside linebacker rather than Steve Brown’s hybrid role, but at 237 lbs., Bell has put on enough weight that the hybrid position would no longer be an option. In the pictures I have seen, Bell still looks a little bit soft, so I think he’s still got some work to do with his conditioning and nutrition habits. But I stand by my assessment from last year that Bell will be a good player in college – it just won’t be this year. Bell could be a contributor on special teams this year, and we might also see him at linebacker against teams like UMass or Bowling Green. Otherwise, I don’t expect to see #26 on the field much this year.

Prediction for 2010: Special teams action; limited linebacker reps

2010 Countdown: #66 Brandon Moore

2010 Countdown: #67 Carvin Johnson

Carvin Johnson (#1) makes a tackle

Name: Carvin Johnson
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 185 lbs.
High school: Rummel High School in Metairie, LA
Position: Strong safety
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Prediction for 2010: Redshirt

As a high schooler, Johnson led his team to a second place finish in the state playoffs. He played free safety and wide receiver, although he was mainly a decoy on offense. Johnson is a prototypical strong safety in my mind, although Cameron Gordon seems like a strong safety to me, too, so what do I know? For now I’ll stick with that assessment, although it looks like Greg Robinson is tweaking this defense in ways we can’t fully grasp yet. We went from having a former cornerback and Big Ten sprinter (Troy Woolfolk) playing center field to a slow-ish wide receiver who many projected as a college linebacker (Cameron Gordon) playing free safety.

I think there’s a fair chance that we’ll see Carvin Johnson playing defense this year. The depth in the defensive backfield is thin, and walk-ons litter the depth chart (Floyd Simmons, Jared Van Slyke, Jordan Kovacs). I don’t expect Johnson to earn a starting job this year, and he’ll most likely redshirt. But I don’t think Rich Rodriguez can afford to throw too many former walk-ons out there this fall and expect to win a bunch of games. Either Johnson or Marvin Robinson will play this fall, and I give Robinson the edge due to superior athleticism.