Tag: 2011 Season Countdown

2011 Countdown: #74 Terry Talbott

Guess which one is the defensive tackle.

Name: Terry Talbott
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 248 lbs.
High school: Wayne High School in Huber Heights, OH
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #96
Last year: I ranked Terry Talbott #76 and said he would redshirt.  He redshirted.

That’s right, 248 pounds.  Guess how many Big Ten tackles are 248 lbs.?

Zero.

The bigger Talbott (his younger, smaller brother Terrence is a Michigan cornerback; #14 in the above photo) had some back issues in the offseason and ended up having surgery.  That may have prevented him from adding weight, but whether he has a good reason or not, there’s still a very tiny chance that a 248 lb. lineman is going to make an impact on the interior.  The coaches have flirted with moving walk-on defensive end Will Heininger inside to tackle in order to spell the Wolverines’ behemoths.  Talbott is likely headed for another year of watching on the sideline.

(Rumor alert: Terry Talbott’s name has been floated as a guy whose career might be unable to continue due to his back injury.)

Prediction: Another redshirt.  Not possible?  Fine.  Bench.

2011 Countdown: #75 Jordan Paskorz

Jordan Paskorz

Name: Jordan Paskorz
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 242 lbs.
High school: Hampton High School in Gibsonia, PA
Position: Linebacker
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #94
Last year: I said Paskorz would redshirt.  He redshirted.

Paskorz was an OLB/DE tweener coming out of high school, and he remains somewhat in positional limbo.  In the 2011 spring game, he still looked pretty skinny and was largely invisible at outside linebacker.  I still maintain that he’s probably too stiff to be a linebacker, so it’s hard to see where he fits.  Meanwhile, a couple guys seem to be ahead of him on the depth chart, including classmate Jake Ryan.

I don’t expect Paskorz to contribute much in 2011, either.  There has been virtually no practice buzz surrounding him, and he appears to lack the explosiveness required for linebacker.  His best opportunity for playing time probably comes on the punt unit or the kick return team.

Prediction: Special teams contributor

2011 Countdown: #76 Brendan Gibbons

Brendan Gibbons

Name: Brendan Gibbons
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 227 lbs.
High school: Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, FL
Position: Kicker
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #34
Last year: I ranked Gibbons #18 and said he would be the kickoff specialist.  He kicked off in several games, went 1-for-5 on field goal attempts, and finished 13-for-14 on extra point attempts.

Well, the reason I selected Gibbons as #18 last year was because he needed to step up for Michigan to be successful.  The other option at placekicker was walk-on Seth Broekhuizen.  It was a silly notion to pick Gibbons, who required a redshirt year in 2009 because he couldn’t beat out walk-ons that year, either.  I should have known better.

I’ve learned my lesson.  Here’s Gibbons all the way down at #76.  The Rodriguez regime recruited California kicker Matt Goudis to give Gibbons a challenge, and when Goudis de-committed in favor of Miami, the newly hired Hoke staff successfully recruited California kicker Matt Wile, who frankly can’t be any worse.  There have been rumors that Gibbons has been stubborn, won’t respond to coaching, and generally seems to be dead weight.  And aside from all that, he was third on the team in kickoff average behind punter Will Hagerup and the aforementioned Broekhuizen.  This job is wide open.

Prediction: Backup kicker

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2011 Countdown: #77 Teric Jones

Teric Jones (#14)

Name: Teric Jones
Height: 5’9″
Weight: 195 lbs.
High school: Cass Tech High School in Detroit, MI
Position: Running back
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #14
Last year: I said Jones would be a backup safety and special teams contributor.  He was buried on the depth chart at running back (3 carries, 7 yards) and played special teams.

Jones is aiming for the first annual James Rogers Award, given to a Michigan player who has no clue what position he’ll play from year to year.  He entered college in 2009 as a slot receiver, moved to cornerback shortly into his freshman season, switched to safety in spring 2010, then played running back once the season began.  He suffered a serious knee injury in the Illinois game and missed the rest of the 2010 campaign, as well as spring practice in April.

I presume that Jones will still be playing running back, although his availability is unclear.  Considering the fact that Vincent Smith returned from his own serious knee injury suffered in the 2009 Ohio State game by the following September, I can only assume that Jones will be ready to play again in 2011.  However, Jones hasn’t done anything particularly special at any position, and there’s no reason to expect that he’ll push for playing time if healthy.  Whether it’s as a running back, cornerback, or safety, Jones’ best bet for getting on the field would be on special teams.

Prediction: Special teams contributor and backup running back; 1 carry for 3 yards

2011 Countdown: #78 Desmond Morgan

Desmond Morgan

Name: Desmond Morgan
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 225 lbs.
High school: West Ottawa High School in Holland, MI
Position: Linebacker
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #44
Last year: Morgan was a high school senior (commitment post here)

TTB Rating: 76

Morgan was a battering ram of a high school quarterback, where he didn’t really throw much . . . and didn’t really juke people . . . he just kind of ran people over.  And over and over and over.  I like high school quarterbacks at virtually any position, because those kids understand the game and usually (except in the case of Terrelle Pryor) understand leadership.

Morgan is the rare freshman who doesn’t really need to bulk up to play at the next level.  He might not be as strong as he’ll need to be, but 225 lbs. is a pretty solid build for a freshman linebacker.  Michigan is somewhat short of inside linebackers for the upcoming season, and there’s a good chance that Morgan sees some mop-up duty on defense.  He also has the build to be a blocker on kick return units and might even be able to help on kickoff coverage.

P.S. There has been some talk that Morgan could turn into a fullback, but so far that notion comes entirely from fans and not from anyone important, such as the coaches or Morgan himself.

Prediction: Special teams contributor