Tag: 2011 Season Countdown

2011 Countdown: #43 Vincent Smith

Vincent Smith (#2)

Height: 5’6″
Weight: 180 lbs.
High school: Pahokee High School in Pahokee, FL
Position: Running back
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #2
Last year: I ranked Smith #36 and said he’d be a backup running back.  He started 10 games, rushed for 601 yards on 136 carries with 5 touchdowns, and caught 15 passes for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns.

I have no choice but to admit that I was wrong about Smith’s role in 2010.  He received a plurality of the carries given to running backs (quarterback Denard Robinson ran the ball most often), and finished with 4.4 yards per carry.  My frustration with the way running backs were deployed by Rich Rodriguez has been well documented, not least because from a purely mathematical standpoint, Smith was Michigan’s fourth-most explosive runner (behind Fitzgerald Toussaint, Michael Cox, and Michael Shaw).  Of the 21 players with over 100 carries in the Big Ten last season, Smith had the 17th-best yards per carry; he was #12 of the 16 Big Ten running backs.

Brady Hoke’s offense will likely put more of an emphasis on running the ball with power, and finally someone seems to agree with me in regard to Smith’s talents.  Hoke doesn’t seem to think that Smith is a feature back, either, which was evidenced by the seeming use of Smith as a third down-type back in the spring.  And for the record, I have no problem with that.  Smith is a third down back in almost every stereotypical fashion (good hands, willing blocker, quick and elusive in open space, etc.).  He could be very integral to the offense this season, and I wouldn’t mind seeing if he could help with punt returns.  Though he’s not extremely fast, his size and talents lend themselves to perhaps being solid but unspectacular in the return game.

Prediction: Backup running back; third down specialist

2011 Countdown: #44 Brandon Moore

Brandon Moore (#88)

Name: Brandon Moore
Height: 6’5″
Weight:

250 lbs.
High school:

Trotwood-Madison High School in Trotwood, OH
Position: Tight end
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number:

#89

Last year: I ranked Moore #66 and said he would see limited time on special teams and at tight end.  In a disappointingly accurate prediction, he played in only two games . . . one on special teams and one at tight end.

Moore has got his chance for a breakout season in 2011.  He hasn’t played much in the past couple years, but he was blocked for playing time by three-year starter Kevin Koger and a pretty good upperclassman in Martell Webb, who has since graduated.  Now Moore presumably moves up to the #2 tight end spot behind Koger.  The 250-pounder has dropped ten pounds since last season, and he did appear a little bit quicker in the spring.  So far in his career, he has been limited to 1 catch for 19 yards, which came against Delaware State back in 2009.  But Webb didn’t make his first career catch until his junior season, so there’s still hope.

Even though Moore’s production has been next to nothing so far, I’m counting on him to be a serviceable backup to Koger this season.  The options at tight end are limited with position-switcher Steve Watson and the undersized Ricardo Miller the only choices, unless you want to dig into the freshman reserves with Chris Barnett.  And while Barnett has a good future, he won’t physically be ready to play in crunch time in 2011.  That leaves Moore with every opportunity to get on the field.  I’m slightly concerned with what I saw from him during the spring, especially one particular play where he caught the ball on a crossing pattern, turned upfield . . . and not only held the ball in his inside hand, but held it loosely away from his body like an oversized Deion Sanders.  Redshirt junior tight ends ought to have better fundamentals than that, especially when they’re fighting to see the field.  Logic tells me that Moore just isn’t going to reach the promise that his high school ratings suggested, but I’m hoping and wishing that logic is wrong.

Prediction: Backup tight end

2011 Countdown: #45 Kelvin Grady

Kelvin Grady

Name: Kelvin Grady

Height: 5’10”
Weight: 176 lbs.
High school: East Grand Rapids High School in Grand Rapids, MI
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Redshirt senior
Jersey number: #19
Last year: I ranked Grady #62 and said his production would fall off from 2009.  He caught 17 passes for 211 yards and rushed 4 times for 17 yards, which means his production bumped up from 2009 to 2010.

Grady surprised me a little bit in 2010.  With Roy Roundtree, Martavious Odoms, Jeremy Gallon, and Terrence Robinson playing slot receiver, I assumed Grady’s touches would decrease a little bit.  Instead he jumped from 10 catches for 102 yards to 17 catches for 211.  That’s not bad production for a #3 slot receiver.  After playing basketball for Coach John Beilein for a couple seasons, Grady has turned into a reliable but unspectacular target for Michigan’s quarterbacks.

It’s unclear how much slot receiver types will impact in 2011.  Considering a renewed emphasis on tight ends, I can only assume that overall production from the slot will decrease.  However, Darryl Stonum’s status remains up in the air, and if his suspension leads to a long-term absence, that opens the door for another contributor at the receiver position.  Junior Hemingway, Roundtree, and Odoms have to be the front-runners for playing time, and Grady will be battling junior Je’Ron Stokes, sophomore Jeremy Jackson, and redshirt freshman Jerald Robinson for snaps in the rotation.  Grady should still provide an elusive option from the slot when Michigan goes to three- and four-receiver sets.

Prediction: Backup wide receiver/slot receiver; 12 catches, 150 yards

2011 Countdown: #46 J.B. Fitzgerald

J.B. Fitzgerald (#42)

Name: J.B. Fitzgerald
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 244 lbs.
High school: West Windsor Plainsboro High School in Princeton, NJ
Position: Linebacker
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #42
Last year: I ranked Fitzgerald #33 and said he’d make 20 tackles as a backup linebacker.  He started 3 games at OLB and made 22 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and 1 sack on the season.

Fitzgerald was the utility linebacker last season, playing a key backup role at all three linebacker positions and finishing 15th on the team in tackles.  When it became obvious to the coaches (though it was obvious much earlier to fans) that Craig Roh was not cut out to be a 3-3-5 outside linebacker late in the season, Fitzgerald stepped into the starting OLB position.  He had an up-and-down tenure as a starter in that time, recording half his tackles in those three starts and finishing the season with 6 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and his 1 sack in the bowl game against Mississippi State.

In the spring Fitzgerald played SAM linebacker but was #3 on the depth chart behind Cam Gordon and Jake Ryan; he also played MIKE linebacker but was #2 on the depth chart behind Marell Evans…who was only playing MIKE because Kenny Demens was out due to shoulder surgery.  Essentially, Fitzgerald is buried in lots of places.  That doesn’t bode well for his future.  Fitzgerald seems to play well in spurts, but he can’t ever seem to put together a string of good play.  “Clunky” is a good way to describe the way he moves on the field.  He’s not a bad backup to have on the roster, but at this point, it looks like he’ll finish his career with a John Thompson-like whimper rather than a David Harris-like bang.

Prediction: Backup linebacker; 15 tackles

2011 Countdown: #47 Richard Ash

Richard Ash

Name:

Richard Ash
Height:

6’3″
Weight: 320 lbs.
High school: Pahokee High School in Pahokee, FL
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #54
Last year: I ranked Ash #71 and said he would redshirt.  He redshirted.

Ash was listed at 263 lbs. as a recruit, which means he’s put on a ton of weight since his senior season of high school.  That’s almost a 60-pound difference.  His conditioning was reportedly an issue as a true freshman and one of the factors that prevented him from playing last year.  Ash backed up both defensive tackle positions (1-tech and 3-tech) this spring, and contrary to what some people report from message boards, I haven’t heard much in the way of rave reviews.  I haven’t heard bad things necessarily, but he just hasn’t been talked about much.

This fall it would be great if Ash could be a viable backup to Mike Martin at the nose tackle position.  With William Campbell looking like the starter at 3-tech and Quinton Washington pushing for playing time at both positions, Ash could give the team a nice four-player rotation at the defensive tackle positions.  Will Heininger is also a possibility inside, but he’s awfully light for a tackle at 267-ish pounds.  All Ash needs to do is not get crushed backwards for a couple plays in a row, just to allow Martin to get a blow.

Prediction: Backup defensive tackle