Tag: 2012 season countdown

2012 Season Countdown: #60 Antonio Poole

Antonio Poole

Name: Antonio Poole
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 212 lbs.
High school: Cincinnati (OH) Wintin Woods
Position: Weakside linebacker
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #40
Last year: I ranked Poole #73 and said he would be a backup linebacker.  He redshirted.

As you can see from last year’s post and from his high school recruitment, I like Poole as a player.  He’s more of a downhill, blitzing linebacker than a read-and-react type of guy.  He was very light as a true freshman at only 212 lbs. or so, and that was one of the things that kept him off the field.  The other factors were guys named Brandon Herron, Brandin Hawthorne, and Desmond Morgan, each of whom earned starts at WILL before Morgan locked down the job.

Recently, it was noted by a reader that Poole suffered a torn biceps while doing off-season weightlifting.  Poole had been running as the #2 weakside linebacker in the spring and even got some snaps at the MIKE position, but a torn biceps typically knocks a guy out for a full season.  It looks like we’ll have to wait yet another year to see Poole on the field.  With Kenny Demens graduating after 2012 and the possibility that Morgan will be sliding over to MIKE, Poole should have a chance to compete for the starting WILL spot in 2013.

Prediction: Bench player while recovering from injury

2012 Season Countdown: #61 Mario Ojemudia

Mario Ojemudia

Name: Mario Ojemudia
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 225 lbs.
High school: Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison
Position: Defensive end
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Ojemudia was in high school.  He had 80 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 blocked punt.

Final TTB Rating: 78

When Ojemudia originally was offered and committed to Michigan, I was a little bit leery of him.  People claimed that he was unblockable, but what I saw on film was that nobody really tried.  For a powerhouse team like Harrison that has good players at just about every position, sometimes it’s easy for decent players to play great.  The biggest saving grace for Ojemudia, to me, was that Michigan’s three defensive line coaches – especially Greg Mattison – thought he was a player.  I don’t trust the coaches on everyone, but defensive line recruiting shouldn’t be an issue while he’s at Michigan.

Ojemudia played a lot of defensive tackle in high school, so working at defensive end is going to take an adjustment.  When he played as a stand-up defensive end in the Semper Fidelis All-American Game, he struggled to get off the ball quickly.  It’s a completely different technique from what he played for the past couple seasons.  But Michigan’s coaches have shown a willingness to rotate defensive linemen liberally, which is why three guys played meaningful snaps at weakside end last season (Craig Roh, Jibreel Black, and Frank Clark).  With Roh and Black changing positions to strongside end and 3-tech defensive tackle, respectively, that leaves Clark and SAM-turned-WDE Brennen Beyer to fight for snaps.  Ojemudia’s size at this point might prevent him from being useful on running downs, but his motor and pass rushing ability could make him a valuable third-and-long commodity.

Prediction: Situational pass rusher, backup WDE

2012 Season Countdown: #62 James Ross

James Ross

Name: James Ross
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 225 lbs.
High school: Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s
Position: Linebacker
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #15
Last year: Ross was in high school.  He had 138 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery.

Final TTB Rating: 94

If you can’t tell by the commitment post above – and the TTB Rating – I really like Ross as a prospect.  He was a steady contributor throughout his high school career, seems to have a good head on his shoulders both on and off the field, and seems to be one of the more college ready prospects.  Ross committed last May and never wavered at all, despite being offered by some heavy hitters from around the country.

I might rank Ross higher on the list if not for the depth at weakside linebacker, his future position.  Sophomore Desmond Morgan returns as the starter, redshirt freshman Antonio Poole earned praise throughout the spring (EDIT: Poole is likely out for most/all of the season due to a biceps tear), and senior Brandin Hawthorne has some starting experience, too.  Despite being college ready, there’s a chance that Ross will redshirt because of the depth ahead of him.  It’s been a few years since Michigan could redshirt elite talent, but the depth appears to be getting back to traditional levels. My guess is that Ross will see the field as a backup or special teamer, because we could quite possibly see Morgan move to MIKE in 2013, and the coaches may want to groom Ross as the starter at WILL.  But with fellow freshman Joe Bolden earning praise at MIKE, too, it will be interesting to see how the depth sorts itself.  Regardless of who starts, some talented kids will be biding their time on the bench.

Prediction: Backup linebacker and special teams contributor

2012 Season Countdown: #63 Ricardo Miller

Ricardo Miller

Name: Ricardo Miller
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 234 lbs.
High school: Ann Arbor (MI) Pioneer
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #80
Last year: I ranked Miller #48 and said he would be a backup tight end.  He played in eight games as a special teamer and backup tight end but did not accrue any statistics.

Miller has led a bit of a wandering path to this point in his career.  He started off as a highly touted wide receiver recruit, but when he arrived in Ann Arbor for his senior year of high school, it looked to me like he wouldn’t be able to hack it at wide receiver.  He tried to play at wideout as a freshman, moved to tight end as a sophomore, and now finds himself back at the wide receiver position after the spring didn’t go so well.

Now headed into his junior year, Miller doesn’t look much closer to seeing the field with any consistency.  He’s too slow to stretch the field, not sudden enough to get open on short routes, too small to be an in-line blocker at tight end, and was never considered a “jump ball” type of receiver in high school.  He seems to be a man without a true position.  However, the need for contributors at wide receiver (and tight end) is pretty dire.  The starters are average, and the backups are very young and unproven.  It remains to be seen how Al Borges will use him in the offense, if at all.

Prediction: Backup wide receiver or tight end

2012 Season Countdown: #64 Mike Kwiatkowski

Mike Kwiatkowski

Name: Mike Kwiatkowski
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 257 lbs.
High school: Macomb (MI) Dakota
Position: Tight end
Class: Redshirt senior
Jersey number: #81
Last year: I did not rank Kwiatkowski.  He played in two games but did not accrue any stats.

Kwiatkowski didn’t play much last season and didn’t start playing football in college until last year.  However, from what I have seen in practice and film, I think Kwiatkowski could be a surprise contributor this season.  He’s big enough to be a blocking tight end when the offense uses multiple tight end sets, and he’s even athletic enough to catch a pass here or there.  I don’t expect him to start or turn into a star, but he could be the offense’s equivalent of Nathan Brink.

Prediction: Backup tight end