Tag: 2014 season countdown

19Aug 2014

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2014 Season Countdown: #10 Brennen Beyer

Brennen Beyer

Name: Brennen Beyer
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 256 lbs.
High school: Plymouth (MI) Plymouth
Position: Defensive end
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #97
Last year: I ranked Beyer #38 and said he would be a part-time starting SAM linebacker. He started five games at SAM, seven games at defensive end, and finished with 27 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 interception (returned for a touchdown), and 1 forced fumble.

Beyer likely would have been a backup in 2013 but for an ACL injury to starting strongside linebacker Jake Ryan. Beyer – who had played SAM earlier in his career – immediately moved back from weakside end to linebacker and rotated with Cameron Gordon. Once Ryan returned mid-season, Beyer moved back to the defensive line. He had his best season yet and finished with 4 tackles for loss and 2 sacks, plus an interception returned for a touchdown against Iowa. I have long held the belief that Beyer plays more because of his ability to carry out his assignment rather than his athletic skills or playmaking ability. For a twelve-game starter at linebacker and defensive end to finish with just 27 tackles and so few tackles for loss, that pretty much has to be the case. After week four of last season, Beyer made zero tackles for loss or sacks.

This season Beyer appears to be a starter by default. The coaches have been throwing him in there since freshman year with mediocre results, and I see no reason for that to change now. Not only that, but Michigan is thin at defensive end and only has nine seniors on the roster. Two of those seniors are defensive ends (Frank Clark is the other), and the rest of the Wolverines need their leadership. The challengers at strongside end are sophomore Taco Charlton (2 tackles, .5 tackles for loss) and redshirt freshman Henry Poggi; they have talent, but barely a lick of experience. Beyer will still be mostly an edge player in the 4-3 Over, but I still think he’s a little undersized. He will probably raise his production level a little bit just by being on the strong side and playing a lot, but I will not get my hopes up for an outstanding season. By this point in his career, we seem to know that Beyer will give a steady performance. Luckily, there are several other potential stars on the defense that can be the playmakers.

Prediction: Starting strongside end; 35 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 3 sacks

18Aug 2014

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2014 Season Countdown: #11 Jake Butt

Jake Butt

Name: Jake Butt
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 249 lbs.
High school: Pickerington (OH) North
Position: Tight end
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #88
Last year: I ranked Butt #40 and said he would be the backup tight end with 3 catches for 35 yards. He made 20 catches for 235 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Butt was a pleasant surprise in 2013. He enrolled early in January, but he looked physically unready during spring ball. When fall came around, he had added some weight and strength. Meanwhile, Michigan’s tight end duo of A.J. Williams and Devin Funchess struggled mightily to block anyone. Butt stepped in to start eight games, and Funchess stepped out . . . to wide receiver. Now that change has seemingly been made permanently, and Butt looked the part of a future star while catching 5 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown against Ohio State.

Frustratingly, that leads us to his torn ACL suffered in the spring. Michigan appeared to have its receiving group sorted out pretty well up to that point, and Butt’s injury severely weakened the group. The Wolverines are back to A.J. Williams as an option to start, and they have also moved Keith Heitzman from defensive end to tight end in order to shore up the blocking. Williams – who has 1 career catch – has reportedly improved his receiving skills this offseason, but he’s unlikely to match Butt’s abilities or production. Head coach Brady Hoke has been saying during the offseason that Butt should return by the Big Ten season, so hopefully they can make do for the first few weeks of the year. Even when he returns, Butt will probably not be back to where he was last year, but he offers the blocking, receiving, and running combination that no other tight end on the roster currently possesses.

Prediction: Starting tight end once he returns from injury; 20 catches, 200 yards, 3 touchdowns

17Aug 2014

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2014 Season Countdown: #12 Raymon Taylor

Raymon Taylor

Name: Raymon Taylor
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 184 lbs.
High school: Detroit (MI) Highland Park
Position: Cornerback
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #6
Last year: I ranked Taylor #14 and said he would be a backup cornerback. He made 86 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 4 interceptions, 9 pass breakups, and 1 fumble recovery.

It was tough to read the defensive backfield going into 2013. It was clear that Thomas Gordon was going to start at safety, and it was clear that Blake Countess was going to start at corner. It also looked like Courtney Avery, previously a nickel corner, would start at the other safety or the other corner. Taylor was reportedly looking up at Avery until the injury, but then Taylor took over the starting corner job and didn’t look back. (Meanwhile, Avery played both safety and corner but struggled in both spots.) Taylor played solidly all season and was perhaps Michigan’s most consistent corner, while Countess had more of a knack for the big play. Taylor’s season included 12 tackles against Michigan State, an interception against three solid Big Ten opponents (MSU, Iowa, Northwestern), and 4 pass breakups against Indiana. It’s rare that a cornerback leads the team in tackles, but he edged out linebacker James Ross (86 to 85).

The 2014 season sees Michigan with a glut of cornerbacks, and it’s almost frustrating to watch. There are so many good players that it’s impossible for all of them to get a fair share of the playing time. The two most experienced guys – Taylor and Countess – have been running behind sophomore Jourdan Lewis and freshman Jabrill Peppers at times this fall. Lewis seems penciled in to start already, and the nickel corner position seems perfectly designed for Peppers. That might leave fourth-year players Taylor and Countess vying for the one open cornerback position, and that’s not to mention sophomore Channing Stribling and senior Delonte Hollowell, both of whom have played quite a bit. If I had to guess right this moment, I would have to say that Countess would be that other starter with Taylor supporting both outside corners. How can an All-Big Ten player who was awarded Charles Woodson’s #2 jersey suddenly become Michigan’s fourth corner? With the way things appear to be shaking out, this is too high for Taylor, and if I’m being honest, I have no idea how the playing time at corner will shake out. It would be disappointing for Taylor to be a backup during his final season, but the best players have to play.

Prediction: Backup corner

16Aug 2014

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2014 Season Countdown: #13 James Ross III

James Ross III (#15)

Name: James Ross III
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 227 lbs.
High school: Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s
Position: Linebacker
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #15
Last year: I ranked Ross #6 and said he would be the starting will with 90 tackles and 2 sacks. He made 85 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery.

For a starter who nearly led the team in tackles, Ross was disappointing to some fans in 2013. The three-man rotation at the inside linebacker spots eventually grew to include four men, and Ross started just nine games. He had 8+ tackles in five games, including a career-high 13 against Northwestern. And yet. Listed at a generous 6’1″ and at roughly 220 lbs., it seemed at times that Ross was a little light and taking the hits rather than giving them. We know that he can hit hard – we just have to watch practice videos of him lighting up ball carriers and blockers. When Saturdays roll around, though, Ross just seems to play a tiny bit slower and a tiny bit less aggressively.

This year Ross faces a new challenge. He was moved to SAM linebacker in Michigan’s 4-3 Over defense, where he will regularly be lining up over the tight end. He will also be fighting something familiar: competition. Junior Royce Jenkins-Stone bounced to SAM from middle linebacker, and he has reportedly taken to his new role. Michigan’s current coaching staff has constantly rotated linebackers, so Jenkins-Stone will probably see plenty of playing time. But I have long been fond of Ross’s abilities to read and react. The key this season will be to see how he deals with big bodies being thrown at him on the strong side, such as an offensive tackle on zone runs or a fullback on a zone read or a tight end blocking down on a power. Hopefully Ross can be a little quicker and a little more aggressive in his third year, but the tools are there to be all-conference.

Prediction: Starting SAM linebacker; 90 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 3 sacks

14Aug 2014

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2014 Season Countdown: #14 Kyle Bosch

Kyle Bosch (#65), an Illinois native, celebrates the win over Northwestern

Name: Kyle Bosch
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 303 lbs.
High school: Wheaton (IL) St. Francis
Position: Offensive guard
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #65
Last year: I ranked Bosch #78 and said he would redshirt if possible. He played in five games and started three at left guard.

In last year’s Bosch profile, I wrote “He probably won’t be one of the five best linemen right off the bat, but he has a chance to be a Justin Boren-type injury replacement at some point in the season.” That’s exactly what happened. The coaches held him out until the Indiana game, when an injury to backup guard Joe Burzynski – who was making his first career start – forced Bosch onto the field. I felt that Bosch was Michigan’s most college-ready freshman lineman in 2013, and he held his own. But he played like a freshman, struggled with combo blocks, and eventually returned to the bench in favor of the Erik Magnuson/Kyle Kalis guard combination.

The most recent information coming out of practice says that Bosch and Kalis are the odd men out with Magnuson playing left guard and Graham Glasgow on the right. Sometimes that information has to do with injuries, motivational ploys, or attempts by the coaching staff to mix things up and see what works. When I put this list together, I assumed that Magnuson would be required at left tackle, not true freshman Mason Cole. I will stick to my guns and say that Bosch should be the starter at left guard, because having a freshman playing blind side tackle terrifies me just a wee bit. However, there are obviously still some moving parts. It will be interesting to see who trots out there on August 30th.

Prediction: Starting left guard