14Apr 2017
Pre-Spring Game Update from umbig11
Jordan Glasgow
I’m posting this for umbig11, who is on the move and couldn’t post from mobile. – Thunder
Hit the jump for several nuggets, mostly on the defense.
Jordan Glasgow
I’m posting this for umbig11, who is on the move and couldn’t post from mobile. – Thunder
Hit the jump for several nuggets, mostly on the defense.
Khaleke Hudson (image via Pinterest)
HOW DOES BRANDON PETERS LOOK?
The Maize Team will be quarterbacked by Wilton Speight and presumed #2 guy John O’Korn, which leaves redshirt freshman Brandon Peters as the signal caller for the Blue team. Did the Maize team draft two quarterbacks to prevent the Blue team from having a competent quarterback? Or did the Blue team truly rank Peters above O’Korn? O’Korn and Peters have reportedly gone back and forth at times during spring practices, but it would be a significant step forward for Peters if the coaches think he’s the #2 option. After all, O’Korn has started numerous games in his career at Houston and then against Indiana last season.
Hit the jump for four more burning questions.
(image via MLive)
(image via Zimbio)
If you’re anything like me, you watched with glee this year as Michigan lined up for repeated 3rd and short situations, bunched up the offensive linemen, and ran a quick hand-off to Khalid Hill who almost invariably picked up the yards Michigan needed. There was a welcome predictability in this routine. It surprised me just how difficult the play proved to stop, even when everyone in the stadium saw it coming. We’ve seen plenty of Coach Harbaugh’s offensive sets attempt to trick the opposition, but when the team needed a yard (or sometimes less), Hill would get the rock.
When thinking about which Michigan player to take a look back at this week, I decided to go with someone who I would have loved to see perform in Jim Harbaugh’s version of Michigan’s offense. Now there are lots of players, especially some of the recent quarterbacks, who it is difficult to imagine their careers under Harbaugh. What heights would a player like Devin Gardner have reached under the tutelage of our QB-whisperer of a coach? It is difficult to tell. It is easier to predict, however, the success that former fullback BJ Askew would enjoy as a member of the 2017 Wolverines.
Channing Stribling (image via MGoBlue)
SITE NEWS: I’ve been asking you to upload avatars, and many of you have. Yesterday I promised to pick a name out of first 25 users who made an avatar, and the winner was BigSouthFork. But he’s such a nice guy that he donated the $25 back to the site. That makes this a bit easier, then: When we get to 50 avatars, there will be a $50 gift card up for grabs.
HIGH SCHOOL
Stribling attended Matthews (NC) Butler and was part of the 2013 recruiting class. I gave him a TTB Rating of 77 (LINK). Here’s an excerpt from what I wrote about him back in 2012:
Stribling is a pretty physical player, especially for playing his junior season at 160 lbs. or so. He’s a willing tackler who wants to come up and hit, but he gets overpowered a little bit at times. That should change as his body matures and he starts to add weight. Where he currently lacks the confidence to wrap up ball carriers and instead chooses to go low and dive at legs, he should eventually be a solid run supporter. Stribling has decent hips and ability to change direction, but his mental discipline helps him there. He seems to read plays well and recognize developing route combinations. When the ball is in the air, he shows an ability to go after it, timing his leaps well and using his length to disrupt receivers and bat the ball.
COLLEGE
Despite thoughts that Stribling might redshirt, he played a fair amount as a freshman. He made 16 tackles and 1 forced fumble as a freshman, though probably the most memorable play was when Penn State wide receiver Allen Robinson outjumped him for a key reception in the loss to the Nittany Lions. As a sophomore in 2014, Stribling made 7 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss in a pretty forgettable season. In 2015 he became a part-time starter (4 games) and made 17 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, and 3 pass breakups while splitting time with Jeremy Clark. With alternating injuries to Jourdan Lewis and then Clark, it’s not clear whether Stribling would have been a starter on the outside in 2016, but he ended up starting every game, anyway. He was named Second Team All-Big Ten for making 28 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 4 interceptions, and 13 pass breakups.
CAREER STATS
68 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 6 interceptions (91 yards), 16 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble
AWARDS
Second Team All-Big Ten (2016)
SUMMARY
You can see by reading Stribling’s commitment post that I generally had a fond opinion of him from the beginning. He was a camp offer in the summer before his senior year, and people were worried that he didn’t have much of a recruiting profile, but he’s yet another example of a camp offer working out in Michigan’s favor. I was critical of Stribling early in his career, because he didn’t make some plays that he probably should have – he was an “almost” guy, as evidenced by him not making any pass breakups until his junior season. He even tweeted about me at one point during the 2015 season. Then as an upperclassman, issues with tackling became apparent. He made a particularly feeble attempt to tackle against Michigan State in 2016, and it almost seemed like he was trying to preserve himself. Overall, though, Michigan had some very good cornerback play over the past couple seasons, and the combination of Stribling, Jourdan Lewis, and Jeremy Clark was probably one of Michigan’s top few trios they’ve ever fielded at one time. Stribling graded out as the #2 coverage corner in 2016 (LINK), and he was a key component of Michigan’s win over a good Wisconsin team. This was a pretty darn good career for a scrawny, little-known kid who just happened to camp in Ann Arbor back in 2012.
I WILL REMEMBER HIM FOR . . .
. . . the play that got tattooed on Allen Robinson’s side. Not because it was a terrible play – a true freshman Stribling was bested by a talented, bigger, older player – but because it’s a really lame-ass tattoo:
PROJECTION
Stribling had a fine college career, but where he has always been lacking – even going back to high school – is strength, athleticism, etc., the physical aspects of playing cornerback. Despite having decent height at 6’1″, he was below 180 lbs. for most of his college career, only did 5 reps on the bench press at the NFL Combine, and ran a reported 4.68. Donovan Warren put up some arguably more impressive numbers on a bum leg several years ago, and he didn’t get drafted. On the plus side for him, Stribling was coached by Jim Harbaugh, Don Brown, D.J. Durkin, and Greg Mattison, a crew that has more pull than the guys who coached Warren his final couple seasons. I think Stribling will get picked in the latter half of the draft.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson
NOTE: You can now upload an avatar directly to your profile, so pick your favorite Michigan (or non-Michigan) related pic and plug it in. It’s a very simple process. We currently have 28 users with uploaded avatars, and we’ll have a drawing for a $50 Amazon gift card when we hit 50.
Michigan’s spring game will be on April 15, 2017. There are numerous prospects scheduled to be in attendance for the game.
Jordan Anthony, Nico Collins, Brad Hawkins, Joel Honigford, James Hudson, Deron Irving-Bey, Oliver Martin, Phillip Paea, Brad Robbins, Joshua Ross, O’Maury Samuels, Drew Singleton, Aubrey Solomon, Kurt Taylor
Ben Bresnahan – TE – Cumming (GA) West Forsyth:
Dyami Brown – WR – Charlotte (NC) West Mecklenburg: Brown is a 6’2″, 180 lb. wide receiver with offers from Alabama, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, and Ohio State, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #11 athlete, and #211 overall. Brown has publicly named Michigan to his top five (LINK).
Dallas Craddieth – WR – Florissant (MO) Hazelwood Central: Craddieth is a 6’1″, 180 lb. prospect with offers from Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, and Missouri, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #93 wide receiver, and #538 overall.
Dimitri Douglas – OG – Saline (MI) Saline: Douglas is a 6’4″, 282 lb. prospect with offers from East Carolina and a bunch of MAC programs. He’s a 247 Sports 2-star, the #101 offensive tackle, and #1317 overall.
Emil Ekiyor – OG – Indianapolis (IN) Cathedral: Ekiyor is a Michigan commit (LINK).
Dallas Gant – LB – Toledo (OH) St. John’s: Gant is a 6’3″, 225 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Penn State, among others. He’s a 4-star, the #5 outside linebacker, and #117 overall. He visited Michigan on April 2 and immediately put Michigan in his top five. Right now the only Crystal Ball picks are in for Ohio State. UPDATE: Gant will headed to Ohio State for their spring game instead.
*James Graham – WR – Fitzgerald (GA) Fitzgerald: Graham is a 6’1″, 180 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Miami, Michigan, Oklahoma State, and others. He’s a 3-star, the #21 dual-threat quarterback, and #640 overall. I talked about him at more length in the 2018 quarterback scouting report post (LINK). He’ll be in town on Thursday and Friday.
Hit the jump for several more visitors from the 2018 and 2019 classes.