Tag: 2010 Season Countdown

Explanation of the Countdown

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Brandon Graham was Michigan’s MVP last year.

As I started the 2010 Season Countdown, I assumed (wrongly) that people would remember the series from last year. But after fielding several questions on the topic, I realized that . . . well . . . nobody really read my blog last year. This still isn’t an extremely popular destination, but hey, 1,700+ hits for a full-time teacher and coach isn’t bad.

On to the explanation . . .

The countdown is designed to highlight each player and offer some opinions and analysis on each one. They are listed in order of “Least Important” to “Most Important” for the 2010 season. In other words, Christian Pace is at the bottom of the list because he’s the most likely to redshirt. Therefore, his impact on Michigan’s 2010 performance will be almost nil.

Last year’s 2009 Season Countdown had the following players in the top five:

1. Brandon Graham
2. Tate Forcier
3. Donovan Warren
4. Obi Ezeh
5. Brandon Minor

Now imagine if Brandon Graham had been lost to injury – Michigan would have lost 10.5 sacks and its defensive leader, and perhaps former walk-on Will Heininger would have drawn into the lineup. More likely, Ryan Van Bergen would have moved to defensive end full-time and Renaldo Sagesse, Greg Banks, or Will Campbell would have played 3-tech defensive tackle. Yeah . . . trading in Brandon Graham for Renaldo Sagesse – albeit a serviceable player – scares me, too.

Think about this: if Tate Forcier had been lost to injury and Denard Robinson had made the same number of passing attempts (281), Robinson’s 12% interception rate would have translated to approximately thirty-three (33!) interceptions. Michigan fans would have been clamoring for Nick Sheridan.

Without Warren (and Boubacar Cissoko, who got booted off the team), imagine potentially having J.T. Floyd and Teric Jones as your starting corners. Yikes!

It turns out, Obi Ezeh was injured in 2009, which partly caused him to have his worst season as a starter. In his stead, Michigan played redshirt sophomore, 206 lb. Kevin Leach.

I probably overestimated Brandon Minor’s importance to the team, since there were other running backs to pick up the slack. I still maintain that Minor was Michigan’s best back for the past two seasons, but the drop-off between Minor and Carlos Brown isn’t nearly as significant as, say, Brandon Graham to Will Heininger or from Forcier’s 13 interceptions to Robinson’s estimated 33 picks.

So I’m presenting the 2010 Season Countdown. On average, one player will be revealed each day until the beginning of the season, and the #1 guy is – in my estimation – the most important player for Michigan’s success this coming season.

2010 Countdown: #49 Kevin Leach

Name: Kevin Leach
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 200 lbs.
High school: Grand Rapids Catholic Central in Grand Rapids, MI
Position: Spur/inside linebacker
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #52
Last year: I ranked Leach #60 and said he’d be a special teamer. He started 4 games at linebacker, making 46 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 interception.

As many people probably did, I underestimated Leach’s role on Michigan’s defense last year. He had earned some hype as a redshirt freshman and finally got a chance to show off his skills as a redshirt sophomore. Due to some poor linebacker play from the starters – and a then-undisclosed back injury to Obi Ezeh – Leach beat out guys like J.B. Fitzgerald and Kenny Demens for playing time, despite the fact that Leach was about 206 lbs. and a former walk-on. He finished the season with 46 tackles, which is an impressive number for such an undersized kid.

By this past spring, Leach’s weight had been whittled to 200 lbs. and he was a backup Spur, which is like a strong safety. I question why the coaches didn’t try to bulk him up and keep him at weakside linebacker. He doesn’t have a frame to carry 240 lbs., but he could have probably added enough meat to get up in the 220 lb. range. Leach doesn’t seem to have the speed or athleticism to cover too many guys in open space. He earned his playing time in 2009 by being fundamentally sound, not by being a superior athlete. Regardless of whether he plays Spur, weakside linebacker, or middle linebacker, 2009 was probably the zenith of his football career. He could be a solid backup in 2010, but unless there are significant injuries, I don’t think he’ll be making 46 tackles again.

Prediction for 2010: Backup spur, special teams coverage

2010 Countdown: #51 Elliott Mealer

Name: Elliott Mealer
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 310 lbs.
High school: Wauseon High School in Wauseon, OH
Position: Offensive guard
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #57
Last year: I ranked Mealer #69 and said he’d see mop-up duty. Mealer played a couple games as a backup left guard and was a consistent contributor on special teams.

Now Michigan’s heaviest offensive lineman, Mealer spent 2009 working his way back into shape after injuring his shoulder in an automobile accident. In the meantime, he beat out more highly touted linemen like Ricky Barnum and Quinton Washington for a role as a second-string offensive guard. In addition, he was an anchor of the field goal protection unit.

Mealer’s role in 2010 will be reminiscent of his 2009 contributions. He heads into fall camp as the top backup behind starting left guard Steve Schilling. He’s an athletic kid who played some tight end as a high schooler, so he’s able to release to the second level and get blocks downfield. And with that 310 lb. frame, he can excel as a blocker on the field goal unit. This won’t be his year to shine, but that day isn’t far away.

Prediction for 2010: Backup left guard, special teams duty

2010 Countdown: #52 Brandin Hawthorne

Name: Brandin Hawthorne
Height: 6′
Weight: 202 lbs.
High school: Pahokee High School in Pahokee, FL
Position: Safety
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #7
Last year: I ranked him #53 and said he’d redshirt. Hawthorne played special teams in four games but didn’t accrue any statistics.

Hawthorne, a sophomore safety, should have redshirted in 2009. He didn’t see any game action after September, having only participated on special teams coverage units in the first four games. Perhaps Hawthorne suffered an undisclosed injury, but it seems odd to burn a kid’s redshirt only to run down the field a dozen times.

Hawthorne was a practice time backup SAM last year, but has since been converted to safety. When Vladimir Emilien tweaked his knee in the spring, Hawthorne moved from strong safety to free safety and backed up Cameron Gordon playing center field. I doubt that #7 will be playing free safety at any point this season, as I don’t think he has the speed to cover a deep portion of the field. He’s also a backup at strong safety and seems to be in no danger of winning a starting job this season. But I do expect him to run down the field maybe two dozen times this year. Maybe he’ll even make a tackle or two.

Prediction for 2010: Special teams coverage duty

2010 Countdown: #53 John Ferrara

Name: John Ferrara
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 283 lbs.
High school: Monsignor Farrell High School in Staten Island, NY
Position: Offensive guard
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #74
Last year: I said Ferrara would be a backup offensive guard and wouldn’t play much. He started 1 game at offensive guard but was a regular contributor on special teams.

Ferrara is one of those character guys whose versatility will be missed. In his first two years on campus, he played defensive tackle. Despite having earned playing time at DT as a redshirt freshman, he volunteered to play offensive guard when numbers on the offensive side started to dwindle. He started five games in 2008, but was relegated to backup duty by Steve Schilling’s move from right tackle to left guard. Last season he started against Eastern Michigan, but most of his value was derived from his blocking on special teams.

Unfortunately for Ferrara, he’ll be standing next to Greg Frey on the sideline again this year. Schilling and Patrick Omameh have locked down the guard positions, and last year the coaches seemed interested in getting playing time for developing youngsters like Elliott Mealer and Ricky Barnum. Ferrara will likely be helping out on special teams again this year and might get a cameo or two if scores get out of hand. But he’s a very solid backup in case any injuries occur.

Prediction for 2010: Third string offensive guard, special teams contributor