Tag: 2013 season countdown

2013 Season Countdown: #45 Graham Glasgow

Graham Glasgow

Name: Graham Glasgow
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 303 lbs.
High school: Aurora (IL) Marmion
Position: Center
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #61
Last year: I ranked Glasgow #80 and said he would be a bench player. He played in five games as a backup guard.

Glasgow came into college as a pretty well regarded walk-on player, but he didn’t have any scholarship offers. He did work his way onto the field last season, but he wasn’t a factor in critical situations. I can’t say that I noticed him out there much, but when he was in the game, I was not impressed. Then again, Michigan’s offensive line as a whole was not very good last year.

This year Glasgow has been mentioned repeatedly as a competitor for the center position, despite being 6’6″, which is tall for a center. Fellow redshirt sophomore Jack Miller looks like the front-runner for the job, but options are limited behind him. Miller, Glasgow, and Joey Burzynski are the top three options at center, and incoming freshman Pat Kugler could be an emergency fill-in. I expect that Glasgow will play at some point this fall, but hopefully it’s because Michigan is beating the pants off someone.

Prediction: Backup center

2013 Season Countdown: #46 Taco Charlton

Taco Charlton

Name: Taco Charlton
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 265 lbs.
High school: Pickerington (OH) Central
Position: Defensive end
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #33
Last year: Charlton was a senior in high school. He had 116 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, and 19 sacks.

Charlton committed to Michigan in February 2012. He was never offered by the home state Buckeyes, but we never saw him waver in his commitment to Michigan. Charlton impressed enough people to get invited to the inaugural The Opening last summer, where he impressed observers further. Analysts praised his athleticism and length while noting that he struggled when he couldn’t beat blockers with his initial speed rush. Then he went on to have a monster senior season with those 19 sacks. He enrolled early at Michigan in January and played fairly well in the spring game, albeit against backup offensive linemen.

While Charlton passes the eye test, his technique – especially against the run – will be a question. The starter at weakside end will likely be junior Frank Clark, and the other competitor for that starting spot moved to strongside linebacker. That means Charlton will be fighting for playing time with sophomore Mario Ojemudia, an undersized but athletic player. I would not be surprised if a couple of these weakside ends get on the field at the same time in obvious passing situations. Michigan will have to manufacture a pass rush with Jake Ryan injured and subpar pass rusher Brennen Beyer perhaps taking his place at SAM. I think Charlton will be third on the depth chart at weakside end, but defensive coordinator Greg Mattison likes to rotate defensive linemen, so he should see a fair amount of time.

Prediction: Backup weakside end

2013 Season Countdown: #47 Chris Wormley

Chris Wormley

Name: Chris Wormley
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 290 lbs.
High school: Toledo (OH) Whitmer
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #43
Last year: I ranked Wormley #65 and said he would redshirt if possible. He tore his ACL in the pre-season and redshirted.

When Wormley hit campus last summer, he had impressive size for a freshman . . . despite the fact that he turned out to be 6’4″ after his recruiting profiles listed him as tall as 6’7″. The coaches talked about him like a kid who was going to see time as a freshman. Then August came around, he tore his ACL in practice, and it was all moot. He missed the season but recovered enough to participate in spring drills.

Now up to 290 lbs., Wormley seems to have jumped straight past his apprenticeship as a strongside end and looks like a straight-up defensive tackle. In the video clips that came out of the spring, I was concerned about his slowness off the ball. He seemed to be a half-step behind the other guys in drills, whether that was because of an inherent deficiency in quickness or a lag from the injury and his rehab. My biggest concern with him coming out of high school was his drive and consistency, so I won’t believe he’s a viable candidate for significant playing time until I see some explosiveness out of him. Regardless of what I think, however, the coaches seem to want him on the field in some capacity. Senior Jibreel Black looks like the front-runner for the 3-tech defensive tackle position, and redshirt freshman Willie Henry should provide some competition there, too. I expect Wormley to be less productive than those two while still getting some time in the rotation.

Prediction: Backup defensive tackle

2013 Season Countdown: #48 Josh Furman

Josh Furman

Name: Josh Furman
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 197 lbs.
High school: Annapolis (MD) Old Mill
Position: Safety
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #14
Last year: I ranked Furman #50 and said he would be a special teamer and backup safety. He had 8 tackles as a special teamer and backup safety.

For the second consecutive season, Furman was valuable on special teams and mostly absent on actual defense. Thomas Gordon and Jordan Kovacs took the vast majority of the snaps at safety last year, and the third safety in the game was always then-freshman Jarrod Wilson. Meanwhile, Furman and the now departed Marvin Robinson – both two years older than Wilson – watched from the sideline. Furman is a pretty ideal special teams player because he has good size and speed, and he’s not afraid of contact. Unfortunately, his instincts as a safety are somewhat lacking.

With strong safety Kovacs now graduated, it looks like Gordon will move from free safety to strong; Wilson should earn the starting free safety job. The backup safeties are pretty darn questionable, though. Robinson is headed to Ferris State to play ball, and Furman has those questionable instincts. Redshirt freshman Allen Gant moved to outside linebacker. Outside of that top three, there’s literally nothing other than true freshmen. I imagine the coaches see something in Furman that makes them comfortable with that depth chart, but someone else to keep in mind is Dymonte Thomas. The freshman enrolled early and has reportedly won the starting nickel corner job, so if something happens to one of the starting safeties, we might see Thomas move over and keep Furman on the sideline. Much like the last couple seasons, I expect Furman to be a backup and help out on coverage units.

Prediction: Backup safety, special teamer

2013 Season Countdown: #49 Joe Reynolds

See? Joe Reynolds did play last year.

Name: Joe Reynolds
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 200 lbs.
High school: Rochester (MI) Adams
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Redshirt senior
Jersey number: #85
Last year: I did not rank Reynolds. He had 3 catches for 22 yards.

Reynolds has been on the team for a few years, but he never made a significant impact until last year. Late in the season he earned more and more playing time. He’s not particularly big or fast, but he showed some decent quickness on some short passes.

Michigan has just one proven starter returning in the form of fifth year senior Jeremy Gallon; the other guys are role-player veterans (Jeremy Jackson, Drew Dileo) or little used youngsters (Amara Darboh, Jehu Chesson, the three freshmen). Reynolds won’t start, but he’s a veteran with more athleticism than Jackson and more size than Dileo. He should figure into the rotation and catch a couple more balls than last season.

Prediction: Backup wide receiver

P.S. He was also named a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, one of 53 Michigan Wolverines athletes given that honor.