In the picture you see above, Sam McGuffie is preparing to leap over Steve Brown a Seattle Seahawk Rice Owl football player. Okay, not really.Instead, he’s in the process of gaining 30 yards in Rice’s spring game that was held this past Saturday. Since he just transferred there this semester and he’ll be ineligible to play in 2009, the coaching staff apparently wanted to torture themselves by showing off a player they can’t use for another year and a half.I guess it’s kind of like me looking at pictures of Sofia Vergara. I mean, she’s away on a photo shoot right now. But when she comes back, I have big plans for us.
Cory McCartney lists his top ten players primed for breakout seasons in 2009.
One of those players is Brandon Minor. I’ve been saying since the spring of 2008 that Minor has all the makings of an excellent running back. Minor was rated as the #1 fullback in the country coming out of high school and had a torn ACL, so I think it’s taken him a while to find his groove as a primary ballcarrier. But at this point, he seems to have hit his stride.
Minor had a wrist injury at the beginning of the 2008 season and thus suffered horrendous fumbling issues that reduced his playing time last season. But as the article points out, he had 447 yards and 7 TD’s in the last five games. As the offensive line continues to adjust to Rodriguez’s zone blocking schemes – and if Michigan’s starting quarterback in 2009 can pose more of a running threat than Threet and Sheridan last year – I think Minor’s production will continue to soar.
If Minor can stay mostly healthy for his senior season (every player suffers bumps and bruises), I think he’s in line for 1,200+ yards and 12 TD’s or so.
Meanwhile, McCartney’s article lists Ryan Mallett as a breakout player for 2009 as well. Mallett transferred to Arkansas after Rodriguez got hired in December 2007. I don’t like it when players transfer away from Michigan, but I usually don’t hold a grudge against them. I hope Toney Clemons, Avery Horn, Zion Babb, Steve Threet, etc. find stardom elsewhere in college football. I do have a problem with Justin Boren transferring to OSU, but that situation was ridiculous.
This has nothing to do with Michigan’s football team – I hope Ryan Mallett fails at football. I have never liked his cocky attitude, and I don’t want to see players like that get publicity. He transferred for good reasons. There’s not a lot of proof that shows Rodriguez knows exactly what to do with statuesque quarterbacks, so I’m fine with him leaving. I just hope that he gets a taste of humble pie and starts a career as an insurance salesman at 24 or 25 years old.
Height: 5’9″
Weight: 175 lbs.
Position: Wingback/wide receiver
Jersey number: #3
School: Parkview Baptist in Greenwell Springs, LA
40 Yard Dash: 4.5 seconds (reported)
Notes: Holds a single offer, which is from Michigan . . . Rushed 87 times for 540 yards and 4 TD’s as a sophomore in 2007 . . . Caught 17 passes for 305 yards and 3 TD’s as a sophomore . . . Rushed 102 times for 760 yards and 9 TD’s as a junior in 2008 . . . Caught 21 passes for 315 yards and 4 TD’s as a junior . . . Accumulated 1077 kickoff return yards (35 yard average) and 391 punt return yards over two years . . . Plays RB, WR, CB, KR, and PR . . . #19 player in Louisiana, according to Tigerrag.com
Scouting report: Good acceleration . . . Runs hard and does not look to avoid contact . . . Keeps feet moving in traffic . . . Good vision . . . Natural looking athlete . . . Excellent kick returner who looks to get upfield in a hurry . . . Good pass receiver who doesn’t mind going across the middle . . . Above average change of direction skills, although more of a slasher than an east-west runner . . . Attends a school with about 600 high school age students, so competition is questionable . . . Needs to add size and strength to power through a few more tackles . . . Running form could use some tweaking, as there’s too much wasted movement in his sprinting strides
Projection: Dileo looks to be a low to mid 3-star player. He’s a standout at a small school against weaker competition, but I question his ability to be fast enough or elusive enough to be a major contributor at the next level. Michigan is recruiting him as a slot receiver, but he could play running back; however, he will probably make his biggest impact in the return game.
