The All-Rodriguez Team: Offense

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7Jul 2019
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The All-Rodriguez Team: Offense

Denard Robinson makes fatties look fat.

In case you can’t tell, I like to make lists.  And depth charts.  And lineups.  This has nothing to do with football.  But when I was about thirteen years old, I laid down in my living room with a piece of paper and a pen.  I wrote down a batting order for my favorite team, the Detroit Tigers.  And the Atlanta Braves.  And the Chicago Cubs.  And, what the hell, the rest of Major League Baseball, too.

From memory.  If you wanted to know the emergency catcher for the Montreal Expos, I was your man (er, well, boy).

So here’s another list.  I’ve often thought about the best players to come through Michigan during the years of my fanaticism, and this one is narrowed down to the Rodriguez years.  Which players in the past few years turned out the best seasons for what amounted to be Michigan’s worst three consecutive years in program history?  Despite the 15-22 record over Rodriguez’s tenure, we had some pretty good individual players.  But as you might expect, the majority of them (nine out of eleven) were on the 2010 squad that had a winning record and played in a bowl game.

QB: Denard Robinson (2010)
182-for-291 passing, 2570 yards, 18 touchdowns, 11 interceptions
256 carries, 1799 yards, 14 touchdowns
This is a no-brainer.  For half the season, he was on pace to win the Heisman.

Hit the jump for the rest.

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6Jul 2019
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2019 Season Countdown: #57 Sammy Faustin

Sammy Faustin (image via Wolverines Wire)

Name: Sammy Faustin
Height:
6’2″
Weight:
187 lbs.
High school:
Naples (FL) Naples
Position:
Safety
Class:
Redshirt freshman
Jersey number:
#17
Last year:
I ranked Faustin #93 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He redshirted.
TTB Rating:
76

Faustin was raw coming into 2018. He had some injury issues in high school and played cornerback, when he was almost certainly bound for safety. That made him a virtual lock to redshirt.

Now Faustin is in a bit of an odd spot. The coaches reportedly think highly of him, but there are already players entrenched or expected to contribute ahead of him. Josh Metellus, Brad Hawkins, and J’Marick Woods are established players ahead of him, while Jaylen Kelly-Powell has a little playing time under his belt and 5-star Daxton Hill is expected to jump ahead as soon as the practice pads go on. Some of those players will start to filter away after 2019 (Metellus to the NFL, Hawkins/Hill/Woods perhaps to Viper), but right now Faustin will have to bide his time as a little used backup.

Prediction: Backup safety, special teamer

5Jul 2019
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Nightly Roundup: July 5, 2019

Karsen Barnhart (image via MGoBlue)

Aaron McMann talks about Michigan’s running back situation (LINK).

Nick Baumgardner has a fluff piece on incoming freshman offensive lineman Karsen Barnhart (LINK).

5Jul 2019
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2019 Season Countdown: #58 Tyler Cochran

Tyler Cochran

I just finished reading Brad Thor’s Foreign Agent (LINK):

Name: Tyler Cochran
Height:
6’1″
Weight:
201 lbs.
High school:
Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s
Position:
Safety
Class:
Redshirt junior
Jersey number:
#30
Last year:
I ranked Cochran #112 and said he would be a backup safety and special teamer (LINK). He played in all thirteen games and made 1 tackle.
TTB Rating:
N/A

At first glance it may seem like I have this walk-on safety ranked too high – and maybe I do. But I’ll start off my justification with this: his thirteen games played in 2018 is more than the guys above and below him in the countdown.

Cochran won the Most Improved Special Teams Player of the Year in 2018, and that includes winning over some other guys who had solid years on special teams (Will Hart, Jake McCurry, Ambry Thomas, etc.).

Cochran, the son of Brad Cochran (who played at Michigan from 1981-1985), should see plenty of time on special teams again in 2019.

Prediction: Backup safety, special teamer