2013 Season Countdown: #5 Michael Schofield

Tag: 2013 season countdown


24Aug 2013
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2013 Season Countdown: #5 Michael Schofield

Michael Schofield

Name: Michael Schofield
Height: 6’7″
Weight: 304 lbs.
High school: Orland Park (IL) Carl Sandburg
Position: Offensive tackle
Class: Redshirt senior
Jersey number: #75
Last year: I ranked Schofield #11 and said he would be the starting right tackle. He started all thirteen games at right tackle.

Schofield played left guard for most of the 2011 season, so last year he was somewhat of a position switcher and playing right tackle for the first time. Things went okay for him at right tackle, where he was a solid blocker but not a standout. Overshadowed by all-everything left tackle Taylor Lewan, Schofield managed to start every game on the right side and not earn a single conference or team accolade. He did turn out to be the team’s second-best lineman, but the trio of interior guys last year left a lot to be desired.

This off-season he’s getting quite a bit of hype, although he’s still in the shadow of Lewan. There have been various articles about this being the best tackle tandem in the Big Ten and perhaps the entire nation. Schofield has good length and is a plus pass blocker, but he’s not the overpowering drive blocker you might want in an ideal right tackle. For Michigan I think he’s the fifth-most indispensable player, because the backup options are potentially very questionable. The third tackle into the game would probably be redshirt freshman Erik Magnuson, who has not earned much practice buzz and is hovering around 285 lbs. Otherwise, there’s fifth year senior walk-on Erik Gunderson and part-time guard Ben Braden, who no longer seems to be in the mix for the left guard job but hasn’t been practicing a ton at tackle as a result of his battle for the LG job. Schofield is also the backup left tackle, so any injury to Lewan would force a reshuffling in at least two offensive line spots. He’s the unquestioned starter at right tackle and could be All-Big Ten by the end of the year.

Prediction: Starting right tackle; All-Big Ten Second Team

23Aug 2013
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2013 Season Countdown: #6 James Ross III

James Ross III

Name: James Ross III
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 220 lbs.
High school: Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s
Position: Linebacker
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #15
Last year: I ranked Ross #62 and said he would be a backup linebacker and special teams contributor. He started two games and played in all thirteen, making 36 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and .5 sacks.

Ross was one of my favorite and highest rated players coming into 2012, and he didn’t disappoint. Early practice buzz suggested he was going to be hard to keep off the field, and that held true once the season began. When starting WILL linebacker Desmond Morgan missed the Iowa game due to injury, Ross stepped in and made a career-high 12 tackles. This spring when Desmond Morgan moved from WILL to MIKE to replace the graduated Kenny Demens, Ross was inserted into the starting lineup.

I expect good things from Ross this year. He’s excellent at diagnosing plays and he can cover a lot of ground. He struggled a little bit with pass drops last season, but that’s a problem for many young linebackers. Ross’s primary backup on the depth chart is sophomore Royce Jenkins-Stone, whom I don’t really trust yet as a football player. I suspect that if Ross were to miss any length of time, Morgan might slide back over to WILL to make room for sophomore Joe Bolden, who’s a superior player to Jenkins-Stone. Morgan, Bolden, and Ross are three starter-quality inside linebackers, but then there’s a drop-off to Jenkins-Stone and a freshman like Ben Gedeon. If Michigan’s defensive line can keep offensive linemen off of the linebackers, I think Ross could be in the discussion for all-conference honors by the end of the year.

Prediction: Starting weakside linebacker; 90 tackles, 2 sacks

22Aug 2013
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2013 Season Countdown: #7 Frank Clark

Frank Clark (#57)

Name: Frank Clark
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 273 lbs.
High school: Cleveland (OH) Glenville
Position: Defensive end
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #57
Last year: I ranked Clark #32, but I wasn’t confident since he was facing charges at the time. He started four games at weakside end and made 25 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 3 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery.

Going into the 2012 season, I thought Clark was the most talented option at weakside end, but he was also the most troubled, since he was being charged with stealing a laptop. Michigan suspended him for the season opener against Alabama, but he turned into a part-time starter. His main competition came from Brennen Beyer, who is supposedly solid against the run but doesn’t provide much in the way of big plays. For a backup end, Clark’s 9 tackles for loss were pretty good. His season highlight was a free run to destroy Braxton Miller like Charlie Weis destroys a Golden Corral. In the off-season, Clark added some weight and was supposedly up to 277 lbs. this spring; he claims to be 268 now, but the roster lists him at 273.

Regardless of his actual weight, Clark is very powerfully built at only 6’2″. Taylor Lewan has talked about the epic battles between himself and Clark, and other players have talked about Clark’s speed to track down ball carriers from the opposite side of the field. He has shown flashes of explosiveness and playmaking, but this is the year to show it full-time with Beyer playing SAM linebacker. Clark might end up as one of the top three or four best players on the team, but sophomore Mario Ojemudia was occasionally impressive last year, and true freshman Taco Charlton has wowed observers with his frame and athleticism; there’s also a chance that Beyer could move back to weakside end late in the season once Jake Ryan returns from injury. It seems to be quite a deep position when there are people to rotate, but losing Clark for any length of time would be quite a blow to the pass rush. If Clark’s as good as people say – and I think he might be – he could be all-conference by the end of the year.

Prediction: Starting weakside end; 50 tackles, 8 sacks

21Aug 2013
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2013 Season Countdown: #8 Fitzgerald Toussaint

Fitzgerald Toussaint

Name: Fitzgerald Toussaint
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 210 lbs.
High school: Youngstown (OH) Liberty
Position: Running back
Class: Redshirt senior
Jersey number: #28
Last year: I ranked Toussaint #4 and said he would be the starting running back with 1,020 yards and 10 touchdowns. He had 130 carries for 514 yards and 5 touchdowns, plus 6 catches for 62 yards and 1 touchdown.

Last year was supposed to be a dominant year for Michigan’s running game with Denard Robinson, Toussaint, three redshirt senior interior linemen, and two solid bookend tackles. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way. Robinson ran the ball well, as always, but injured his elbow against Nebraska; Toussaint struggled mightily and then suffered a gruesome broken ankle against Iowa; and that interior offensive line was less than stellar. That last item, along with what looked like a loss of a little quickness on Toussaint’s part, dropped him from 5.6 yards/carry in 2011 to just 4.0 in 2012. Between being suspended for the season opener against Alabama, struggling on the field, and then the nasty injury, it was a pretty forgettable season for him. Then he missed spring practices while recovering.

This August, practice reports are saying that Toussaint looks like the 2011 version. Reports from practice are often lies, but he has looked good in the limited number of practice clips posted on the internet. The interior of the offensive line will probably struggle once again, since it’s bound to be some combination of redshirt sophomores and redshirt freshmen who haven’t played much before. I don’t know what to expect from Toussaint this year, coming off the injury and running behind a mostly inexperienced line. He’s been injured for large chunks of every season except 2011, and he has a number of backups vying for playing time. I think Toussaint is the best of the bunch right now, but with last year’s primary backups combined with a couple touted true freshmen, Michigan should be able to roll out a decent alternative or two.

Prediction: Starting running back; 200 carries, 900 yards, 10 touchdowns

20Aug 2013
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2013 Season Countdown: #9 Blake Countess

Blake Countess

Name: Blake Countess
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 182 lbs.
High school: Olney (MD) Good Counsel
Position: Cornerback
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #18
Last year: I ranked Countess #9 and said he would be the starting field corner with 55 tackles and 2 interceptions. He tore his ACL in the first quarter of the season opener and missed the rest of the year.

I was pretty hyped about Countess coming into the 2012 season, and I thought he would be one of the Big Ten’s best corners. But on punt coverage in the season opener against Alabama, he came limping off the field, and things didn’t look good. A torn ACL kept him out for the year, and he was replaced by Raymon Taylor (who coincidentally had very similar numbers – 45 tackles, 2 picks – to what I predicted for Countess). He was running by the spring, but the coaching staff held him out of all game-like activities to prevent re-injury.

Countess is full go now and has been practicing with the team this August. Observers say that he looks like the old Blake Countess, and the old Blake Countess was a 4-star recruit who picked off Devin Gardner in the 2012 spring game. Talent-wise, he might deserve to be higher on the list, but Michigan returns Taylor and Courtney Avery; additionally, junior Delonte Hollowell has received some practice buzz, and there are some other talented young guys. Countess is the best of the bunch right now, but corner is a position where young guys can contribute (as Countess did in 2011). If he stays healthy, I think the baseline for Countess will be honorable mention all-conference. There are a few other good corners to compete with for those all-conference honors (Purdue’s Ricardo Allen, Michigan State’s Darqueze Dennard, etc.), but Countess should give it a run.

Prediction: Starting cornerback; 55 tackles, 2 interceptions