Tag: 2010 Season Countdown

2010 Countdown: #69 Terrence Talbott

Name: Terrence Talbott
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 172 lbs.
High school: Wayne High School in Huber Heights, OH
Position: Cornerback
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Prediction for 2010: Scarce playing time

The younger brother of defensive tackle recruit Terry Talbott, Terrence is a small-ish corner. Despite graduating in the same class, the brothers aren’t twins – their birthdays are separated by about nine months. Terrence is an excellent athlete, with good speed and great leaping ability. I’m afraid that his athletic skills don’t quite translate into being a great football player, though. There’s just a little something missing.

But this team needs help in the defensive backfield, and Terrence might be a little further along than Courtney Avery at this point. There’s been some indication from insiders that Terrence’s upside is questionable, and his ceiling might be limited to special teams coverage. I have a feeling that his situation might be similar to that of sophomore defensive back Teric Jones, who played scarce minutes in 2009 because the coaches didn’t want to burn Justin Turner’s redshirt. In other words, the coaches would rather have the player with less upside (Jones, possibly Terrence Talbott) use up his eligibility in four years rather than devoting a scholarship to him for a fifth year.

We’ll see what happens, but I’m guessing we’ll see Terrence on the field against Massachusetts and/or against other teams against whom the score gets out of hand.

2010 Countdown: #70 Courtney Avery

Name: Courtney Avery
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 165 lbs.
High school: Lexington High School in Lexington, OH
Position: Cornerback
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Prediction: Redshirt

Avery is a 3-star cornerback out of Ohio, who was also Lexington’s starting quarterback. And a very good quarterback, at that. There has been some talk from opposing coaches that if Avery were a few inches taller, he’d probably be playing quarterback in college. Avery is just a good overall athlete, and has a chance to be a very serviceable corner for the Wolverines.

But that probably won’t happen this year. The word is that the coaches really like his potential, but he’s probably not physically (165 lbs.) or mentally (he was the starting QB) ready to play just yet. I imagine he’ll have at least a year of sitting on the bench before earning some playing time. It’s important for him to get to a decent playing weight of 180-185 lbs., but with Troy Woolfolk graduating after this season, Avery could battle for a starting job as a redshirt freshman.

2010 Countdown: #71 Richard Ash

Name: Richard Ash
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 263 lbs.
School: Pahokee High School in Pahokee, FL
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Prediction for 2010: Redshirt

Ash is a big kid from south Florida pipeline Pahokee, the same school that provided Michigan with Martavious Odoms, Brandin Hawthorne, and Vincent Smith. That 263 pounds thing up there might be a lie. A State of Florida insider said around signing day that Ash was up around 300 lbs. at the time. If Ash maintains that weight, he’ll likely be a nose tackle. If he can work himself closer to that 263, then he could have more flexibility to play 3-tech defensive tackle as well.

Ash’s conditioning will be sorted out by Mike Barwis and Co., and I imagine that Ash’s playing weight will be below 300. Observers from Florida also indicated that Ash played better when he was around 240 lbs., so I get the feeling that he’s not someone who wears weight well. Regardless, Ash is probably headed for a redshirt this year to get his conditioning sorted out. I placed him somewhat higher on this list than I wanted to, but that’s largely because depth on the interior defensive line is somewhat thin. The Wolverines have a solid four interior linemen (Mike Martin, Greg Banks, Renaldo Sagesse, William Campbell), but any injuries might disrupt that depth and force a freshman to play. Furthermore, both Banks and Sagesse won’t be returning in 2011, so there may be a need to get a young guy some garbage time reps this season.

2010 Countdown: #72 Devin Gardner

Name: Devin Gardner
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 195 lbs.
High school: Inkster High School in Detroit, MI
Position: Quarterback
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #7
Prediction for 2010: Redshirt

Gardner was arguably Michigan’s top recruit in the class of 2010 and ended the recruiting cycle ranked as the #1 dual-threat quarterback in the country, according to Rivals. Actually, the argument is probably null and void now that Demar Dorsey wasn’t accepted to U of M and will be attending Louisville instead. But anyway, Gardner is good. Everybody thinks so. He has great size, very good speed, a strong arm, and excellent leadership qualities. He has a few mechanical issues, but plenty of time to fix them . . .

. . . because Gardner is going to redshirt this year . . . I think. He should, anyway, unless Forcier and/or Denard Robinson gets hurt. There’s no reason to have three extremely talented quarterbacks over two classes. Redshirting Gardner would give him potentially two years to start once Forcier and Robinson graduate after 2012 – perhaps more, if he beats them out. The young man you see above could be our starting quarterback through 2014. But in the meantime, he should stand on the sideline and learn how to make complicated hand signals.

2010 Countdown: #73 Ken Wilkins

Name: Ken Wilkins
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 244 lbs.
High school: Trinity High School in Washington, PA
Position: Defensive end
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Prediction for 2010: Redshirt

Wilkins is a big-time defensive end recruit out of Pennsylvania. He probably would have been more hyped by Michigan fans, but he committed last June, so the excitement wore off. I can’t find the article now, but I remember reading comments from Wilkins’s high school coach about the youngster’s work ethic – his strength, his lack of body fat, etc. It sounds like Michigan got a kid who will fit in well with the strength and conditioning staff.

Since he’s already 244 lbs., I assume Wilkins will bulk up to play the strongside defensive end position. He needs to add about 20 lbs. to be a viable option on the defensive line, which might take him a couple years to put on. Normally I would rank his likelihood of playing early lower than a heavier guy like Jibreel Black, but Wilkins has some position flexibility. There’s a small possibility that he could play Craig Roh’s Quick position, whereas Black is strictly an end. I still think Wilkins will redshirt, but he has some versatility and could earn some early playing time if there’s an injury.