Tag: 2009 Season Countdown

2009 Countdown: #39 Kevin Grady

Name: Kevin Grady
Height: 5’9″
Weight: 230 lbs.
High School: East Grand Rapids High School in Grand Rapids, MI
Position: Running back/fullback
Class: 5th year senior
Jersey Number: #24
2008 statistics: 14 carries, 33 yards, 1 TD
Prediction for 2009: Backup fullback, goal-line and short yardage tailback

Grady has had a somewhat disappointing career so far at Michigan. He came in as a 5-star recruit following Mike Hart’s freshman season and people expected him to be Michigan’s next great back. But he hasn’t produced much and has since been passed up by less-ballyhooed (but still talented) players like Brandon Minor, Michael Cox, Carlos Brown, and Sam McGuffie.

The word from Coach Rodriguez is that Kevin Grady is playing some fullback, and it looks as though he might be a short yardage tailback. Mark Moundros is ahead of Kevin at fullback, but Kevin has a little more speed than Moundros. There are several tailbacks ahead of Kevin, but he’s the largest tailback on the roster; he won’t run past anyone, but he will run through them.

2009 Countdown: #40 Martell Webb

Name: Martell Webb
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 245 lbs.
High School: Northern High School in Pontiac, MI
Position: Tight end
Class: Junior
Jersey Number: #80
2008 statistics: N/A
Prediction for 2009: Backup tight end

Webb burned his redshirt in 2007 by playing sparingly and now finds himself a true junior, although he’s never caught a pass at Michigan. Practice viewers rave about his athleticism, but the word is that he’s had trouble catching the ball. I haven’t heard that criticism as much recently, so perhaps he has improved in that area.

A contingent of Michigan coaches has visited both Missouri and Oklahoma over the past two offseasons to do some research on how those two schools have used their tight ends (Chase Coffman and Jermaine Greshman, respectively) so effectively in recent years. Webb figures to be a beneficiary of some of those lessons, although he’ll most likely be the second TE on the field. Expect to see Webb in the slot or even perhaps in the backfield on occasion, but don’t expect a ton of production. Not only does Webb lack a track record of catching the football, but tight ends in Rodriguez’s offense haven’t fared well in recent years, either. I think you’ll see a slight uptick in the production from the tight ends, but not much – if Webb catches more than five passes all year, I’ll be surprised.

2009 Countdown: #41 The Long Snappers

George Morales

2009 Countdown: #42 Marell Evans

Originally, Marell Evans was my 42nd-most-important player for the 2009 season. Considering he’s decided to transfer, he might be a little lower than that. That’s just a guess, though.

2009 Countdown: #43 Zac Johnson

Name: Zac Johnson
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 199 lbs.
High School: Morenci High School in Morenci, MI
Position: Safety
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey Number: #19
2008 statistics: 8 special teams tackles
Prediction for 2009: Special teams standout

Johnson might seem like an odd pick to be so high on this list, but for one thing, he’ll almost surely start (on special teams, at least), whereas a lot of guys lower than this will purely be backups. Johnson made eight special teams tackles last year, and even when he wasn’t necessarily making the tackle, he always seemed to be wreaking havoc on returners. His skills make me think he could be a decent safety, as well. He was a state finalist in the 100 meters and 4 x 400 in high school, so he’s got a bit of speed. I think he’ll continue to be a terror on special teams, and even though I don’t think he’ll get much of a chance to play on defense, I think he’s a valuable asset for the program.