Tag: 2011 Season Countdown

2011 Countdown: #19 Cameron Gordon

Cameron Gordon (#4)

Name: Cameron Gordon
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 222 lbs.
High school: Inkster High School in Detroit, MI
Position: Strongside linebacker
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #4
Last year: I ranked Gordon #11 and said he would start at free safety.  He started 7 games at free safety and 6 at outside linebacker; he had 77 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 3 interceptions, 4 pass breakups, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 fumble return for a touchdown, and 1 blocked kick.

It was pretty obvious from the beginning of last year that Gordon wasn’t a free safety.  To many people, that was obvious when he was recruited . . . just not obvious enough to Rich Rodriguez’ coaching staff.  Gordon made some nice tackles and even a couple interceptions on passes where he didn’t have to run very far, but anytime he had to play sideline-to-sideline, it was a track meet he was bound to lose.  Why opposing teams didn’t run four verts against him on every play last year is beyond me.  But by the Penn State, it was obvious that Gordon needed to be somewhere else.  And just like Purdue in 2008 (Remember that? When we all learned what the 3-3-5 looked like for the first time?), Penn State was an abomination.  With offensive guards playing defensive tackle, safeties playing linebacker, and backup safeties playing starting safety, Michigan allowed 41 points to a walk-on quarterback and gave Evan Royster 150 yards rushing when he had been averaging 64 yards per game previously.

After the position switch, Gordon’s tackles per game dropped off (7.3 to 4.3), but he had 2 fumble recoveries, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, and 2.5 tackles for loss from his outside linebacker position.  He looked more comfortable playing closer to the line, and his speed went from being a weakness to a strength.  By the end of the season, he wasn’t a great player, but observers could certainly see that Gordon had developed into a Player to Watch over the next three years.

This year Gordon looks as if he’ll start at SAM linebacker.  He added 15 pounds in the offseason, which should allow him to shed blocks easier.  He’ll have hold off another viable option at SAM in redshirt freshman Jake Ryan (who’s 8 lbs. heavier at 230), but Gordon has a leg up on Ryan in the athleticism department and will also slide over to inside linebacker in obvious passing situations.  It would probably suit the defense well to sub Ryan for Gordon against power running teams or in short yardage situations, but Gordon’s forward momentum should carry over from the end of 2010 into 2011.

Prediction: Starting SAM; 60 tackles, 2 sacks

2011 Countdown: #20 Mark Huyge

Mark Huyge (#72)

Name: Mark Huyge
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 306 lbs.
High school: Catholic Central High School in Wyoming, MI
Positon: Offensive tackle
Class: Redshirt senior
Jersey number: #72
Last year: I ranked Huyge #24 and said he would be the starting right tackle.  He started 3 games at left tackle and 4 games at right tackle.

Huyge has bounced around the offensive line in his career, starting games at both tackle positions as well as right guard.  Coming out of high school, he wasn’t expected to be a huge contributor, and he has probably exceeded expectations by starting 16 games in his career before his senior season even begins.  However, he has probably been the least effective member of the front line.  Sometimes I even forget that he’s out there . . . which probably isn’t a bad thing.  To be blunt he wasn’t a Rich Rodriguez type of lineman.  Huyge was recruited by Lloyd Carr the year before Carr left, and I doubt that Rodriguez would have pursued him, since he’s not very athletic and he’s not from Florida.  But the kid has played well enough to be forgettable, so hooray for him.

Going into the 2011 season, Huyge is once again in an offense where his movement skills will not be as big of a liability.  The 2010 team seemed to lean on the left side of the line, probably because future star Taylor Lewan was at left tackle and NFL draft pick Steve Schilling was at left guard.  The team got solid production by running away from the combination of Huyge/Dorrestein at right tackle, and the offense obviously did well. But now that Huyge’s most important assignment will be to down block a defensive tackle rather than reach block a defensive end, his size and strength ought to once again become an asset.  Michigan ought to be able to run the power (and the bootleg off of it) without having to avoid the right side of the line, which will be huge for the right-handed Denard Robinson.  Huyge won’t be a first day pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, but he should once again be a forgettable starter in the shadows of Lewan and center David Molk.

Prediction: Starting right tackle

2011 Countdown: #21 Drew Dileo

Drew Dileo (image via VarsityBlue.com)

Name: Drew Dileo
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 171 lbs.
High school: Parkview Baptist Christian School in Greenwell Springs, LA
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #26
Last year: I ranked Dileo #78 and said he would redshirt.  He played in 7 games, caught 1 pass for 3 yards, returned 2 punts for 13 yards (6.5 yards/return), and returned 8 kickoffs for 173 yards (21.6 yards/return).

Dileo was a bit of a surprise contributor last season.  With plenty of slot receiver/running back types vying to be returners, it seemed he was destined to redshirt.  Coming out of high school, he looked like a good returner, but there was a skill we didn’t know he had: holding for extra points and field goals.  When backup safety and starting holder Jared Van Slyke broke his clavicle prior to the season, Dileo stepped in to hold for extra points and field goals.  At various times throughout the rest of the year, Dileo played holder, slot receiver, punt returner, and kickoff returner.

The new coaching staff reportedly likes what Dileo brings to the table as a wide receiver, and although he was held without a catch in the spring game, Dileo will likely see some time in the slot when Michigan goes three- and four-wide this fall.  He doesn’t have great speed, but he’s a kid who can do a little bit of everything and seems reliable; unlike just about every other returner during the Rich Rodriguez era, Dileo didn’t fumble or muff a single kick.  He might not be the second coming of Desmond Howard, but if Dileo can consistently catch punts and kicks, hold onto the ball, and create some occasional first downs on offense, he has a good chance to exceed many Michigan fans’ and recruiting analysts’ expectations as a sophomore.

Prediction: Punt and kickoff returner; 15 receptions, 180 yards, 1 touchdown

2011 Countdown: #22 Courtney Avery

Courtney Avery (#5)

Name: Courtney Avery
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 167 lbs.
High school: Lexington High School in Lexington, OH
Position: Cornerback
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #5
Last year: I ranked Avery #70 and said he would redshirt.  He started the last 5 games of 2010 and made 36 tackles, 1/2 a tackle for loss, 1 forced fumble, and 4 pass breakups.

Avery began fall camp with an outside chance at being a contributor.  By the end of the year, he was starting. That tends to happen when cornerbacks #1 and #2 get ankle injuries and a highly touted recruit transfers (Troy Woolfolk, J.T. Floyd, and Justin Turner, respectively).  Avery probably would have been better served by redshirting, learning the ropes, and adding some bulk, but he didn’t have that opportunity.  Lack of readiness aside, Avery looked like he had the hips and speed to stay with Big Ten receivers, and he was a willing tackler – unlike, say, Cullen Christian – despite being 165 pounds soaking wet after Thanksgiving dinner.  In those five starts, he tallied 26 tackles, 1/2 a TFL, 1 the forced fumble, and 2 pass breakups.  Project those starting statistics and you come up with 68 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 3 forced fumbles, and 5 pass breakups.  Those wouldn’t be bad numbers for a freshman corner.

This year Avery is in a battle for the starting cornerback job.  Unbelievably, he was the most experienced cornerback participating in spring practices, what with Woolfolk and Floyd still out due to their injuries and last year’s other starter, James Rogers, having graduated.  But Woolfolk and Floyd will be fighting to win their jobs back, and true freshman Blake Countess has been making some noise in summer 7-on-7s.  Floyd, however, has always been a little overmatched physically, and Countess is in almost the exact same spot Avery was last year – athletic but small, inexperienced, and probably better off seeing time only in certain situations.  I think Avery will win the job opposite Woolfolk, and while he won’t be an all-conference-level player this season, he should look pretty good if the front seven can generate the pass rush that didn’t exist in 2010.

Prediction: Starting cornerback; 40 tackles, 2 interceptions

2011 Countdown: #23 Jibreel Black

Jibreel Black combines with Jonas Mouton to tackle a Mississippi State Bulldog

Name: Jibreel Black
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 258 lbs.
High school: Wyoming High School in Cincinnati, OH
Position: Defensive end
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #55
Last year: I ranked Black #75 and said he would redshirt.  He was a backup DE all season and made 7 tackles.

Black had an up-and-down year in 2010.  He played in the opener and appeared in every contest afterward, but made very few plays throughout the season.  Even at defensive end, 7 tackles for a frequent contributor isn’t anything stellar.  Then again, his doppelganger (you might have heard of him, a guy named Brandon Graham) only had 2 tackles and 1/2 a sack as a true freshman in 2006.  If Black is truly 3.5 times as good as Graham, who had 8.5 sacks as a sophomore, then expect 29.75 sacks from Black this season.

I really like Black.  I think he’s going to develop into a very good player.  The only problem is that he plays the same position as Craig Roh, another kid whose maturity I’m awaiting with baited breath.  The two may split time in 2011 at the weakside end position, but Black also saw some time in the spring at the strongside (5-tech) end position.  The team is pretty thin at the end positions this year, going only two-deep before you get to true freshmen.  Michigan fans and opposing quarterbacks will probably see a heavy dose of Black on both ends of the line, supporting both Roh and starting 5-tech Ryan Van Bergen.  I think we’ll start to see the light switch go on, especially in the second half of the season.

Prediction: Backup weakside and strongside end; 20 tackles, 4 sacks