2014 Season Countdown: #25 Shane Morris

Tag: 2014 season countdown

1Aug 2014
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2014 Season Countdown: #25 Shane Morris

Shane Morris

Name: Shane Morris
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 204 lbs.
High school: Warren (MI) De La Salle
Position: Quarterback
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #7
Last year: I ranked Morris #44 and said he would be the backup quarterback. He started one game, played in five games total, and was 29/47 (62%) for 261 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. He also ran 6 times for 40 yards.

Morris had the type of season one would expect from a freshman backup quarterback. He looked promising at times, and he looked embarrassingly unprepared at others. He saw his first action in week one against Central Michigan, going 4/6 for 59 yards and 1 pick after Michigan had a substantial lead. His next notable amount of play came against Michigan State, which went poorly for everyone; after starter Devin Gardner was beaten up sufficiently to exit the game, Morris went 1/3 for 6 yards and when a lane opened up for him to scramble, he slipped on the wet field and face-planted. He didn’t see notable time again until the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, which he started due to Gardner’s foot injury. Morris finished that game 24/38 for 196 yards and 1 interception, plus 4 carries for 43 yards (including a 40-yard quarterback draw).

Some people are insisting that there’s a quarterback controversy at Michigan between Gardner and Morris. I do not believe that for one second. I think Morris is good enough to push Gardner, but that doesn’t mean there are questions about which one is better right now. Gardner has been starting at Michigan for the better part of the last 1.5 years, he has set records as a passer, and he’s one of the top few athletes at the quarterback position in the country. Last year he was bogged down by poor decision-making in the first half of the year, but at no point has Morris looked superior. Morris has a cannon for an arm, better athleticism than many expect, and seems like a pretty solid decision-maker. He does, however, need to work on his accuracy and reading of defenses, both of which will probably be helped by new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier. Like most backup quarterbacks, I don’t think Morris will play much expect for in garbage time or if Gardner gets injured again, but he’s the best option and ahead of redshirt junior Russell Bellomy and freshman Wilton Speight.

Prediction: Backup quarterback

31Jul 2014
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2014 Season Countdown: #26 Jourdan Lewis

Jourdan Lewis

Name: Jourdan Lewis
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 175 lbs.
High school: Detroit (MI) Cass Tech
Position: Cornerback
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #26
Last year: I ranked Lewis #71 and said he would play on special teams. He played in all thirteen games and had 17 tackles and 2 pass breakups.

Coming out of high school, Lewis looked slight and physically unready to play college football. When fall camp rolled around, he was 170 lbs. and looked the part of a guy who could see a little bit of time on the field. It became apparent in the middle of the season that Lewis has the coverage chops to make it at this level. He stuck to receivers well, and even on completed balls, he was rarely more than a step away. At times it took a perfect throw to beat him. By the time spring arrived, rumors were persisting that Lewis had supplanted Blake Countess as one of the starting cornerbacks. Then Lewis proceeded to make two interceptions of Devin Gardner in the spring game.

I do not believe that Lewis will start at corner this year, unless someone gets injured. Countess is an All-Big Ten player, and fellow corner Raymon Taylor has been starting for a couple years. What Lewis offers is the ability to come off the bench and play like a starter. He has good speed and awareness, and he can break on the ball as well as anyone on the team. He could also play in nickel situations. Michigan has a glut of cornerback options with Countess, Taylor, Lewis, Channing Stribling, and incoming freshman Jabrill Peppers, who has been reportedly been calling himself a safety while head coach Brady Hoke publicly insists he’ll play nickel corner. I’m only half-joking when I say that Michigan’s best lineup against the spread might be a dime look with four (or three) defensive linemen, Jake Ryan at linebacker, two safeties, and a quartet of Countess, Taylor, Lewis, and Peppers. At the very least, Lewis will establish himself as the heir to a starting spot in 2015.

Prediction: Backup cornerback; 20 tackles, 1 interception

30Jul 2014
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2014 Season Countdown: #27 Ben Braden

Ben Braden (image via MWolverine.com)

Name: Ben Braden
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 322 lbs.
High school: Rockford (MI) Rockford
Position: Offensive tackle
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #71
Last year: I ranked Braden #23 and said he would start at left guard. He played in two games as a backup lineman.

Last year things were looking good for Braden coming out of the spring. He had every chance to play and spent the spring as the starting left guard. Then once the season started . . . nothing. I pegged him coming out of high school as too tall and stiff to be a guard, and maybe he was. That opened the door for Graham Glasgow (who eventually moved to center), Chris Bryant, Erik Magnuson, and Kyle Bosch to all start games at the left guard position. Even through that horrendous rotation, Braden remained on the sideline after the coaches appeared to realize that offensive guard just wasn’t the right fit.

Michigan lost two offensive tackles (Taylor Lewan, Michael Schofield) to graduation, and fellow redshirt sophomore Erik Magnuson looks poised to take Lewan’s spot at left tackle. That leaves a potential battle at right tackle, where Braden would seem to be the odds-on favorite. However, Glasgow spent some time at right tackle in the spring, and there’s a chance that he could supplant Braden at tackle if Jack Miller or Patrick Kugler can provide consistency at center. Recent comments from last year’s opponents and scuttlebutt from Schembechler Hall say that Glasgow is probably Michigan’s best lineman, so it will be a priority to get him on the field once he returns from a one-game suspension. If Miller or Kugler is the starter at center in week two, then Braden will probably find himself on the sideline yet again. Regardless, Braden should be a valuable player as the #2 or #3 tackle; not only could an injury at tackle put him into the lineup, but an injury on the interior could cause a reshuffling that sends Glasgow back to the middle and Braden onto the field.

Prediction: Starting right tackle

29Jul 2014
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2014 Season Countdown: #28 Ondre Pipkins

Ondre Pipkins

Name: Ondre Pipkins
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 306 lbs.
High school: Kansas City (MO) Park Hill
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #56
Last year: I ranked Pipkins #31 and said he would be the backup nose tackle. He made 7 tackles as a backup nose tackle before tearing his ACL.

Last year was a tough year for Pipkins, who was a 5-star to ESPN coming out of high school. In what perhaps should have been a breakout second year, he tore his ACL in early October against Minnesota. Even up to that point, he was not living up to that 5-star status and was playing behind fifth year senior Quinton Washington, who was also underperforming a bit. Between those two guys, the nose tackle position was somewhat underwhelming, and the coaching staff at times had to resort to walk-on Ryan Glasgow and the undersized Jibreel Black, a DE-turned-DT. Nose tackles typically don’t put up great numbers, but the difference between someone like Mike Martin – who graduated after the 2011 season – and last year’s rotation was stark.

Pipkins should be ready to go for the opener on August 30th, but ACL injuries are tricky, especially for big guys. Ideally, the centerpiece of the defense would be able to be ranked higher than #28 in this sort of thing, but the position is a huge question mark right now. Michigan had a lackluster run defense last season, often seeming soft in the middle. They have moved outside linebacker Jake Ryan to the middle, but both projected starting defensive tackles (Pipkins and Chris Wormley) have had ACL tears within the last two years, and nobody on the interior defensive line has proven himself as a legitimate starter in the Big Ten. The hope is that Pipkins can hold his ground in the middle, but I am not confident that his burst – which was perhaps his most impressive trait coming out of high school – can return ten months after that kind of knee injury. He will probably be the first one on the field, but there will be plenty of rotation with the likes of Glasgow, redshirt freshman Maurice Hurst, Jr., redshirt sophomore Willie Henry, Glasgow, and freshman Bryan Mone. The Wolverines have plenty of bodies, but production is lacking.

Prediction: Starting nose tackle; 20 tackles, 1 sack

27Jul 2014
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2014 Season Countdown: #29 Derrick Green

Derrick Green

Name: Derrick Green
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 227 lbs.
High school: Richmond (VA) Hermitage
Position: Running back
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #27
Last year: I ranked Green #16 and said he would be the #2 running back with 100 carries for 500 yards and 6 touchdowns. He started one game and had 83 carries for 270 yards and 2 touchdowns.

It’s tough to tell whether Green was overrated or rated accurately for last year. On the one hand, he showed up overweight (~240 lbs.) and out of shape, stumbling to just 3.3 yards/carry. On the other hand, Michigan’s failure to run the ball contribute heavily to the disappointing 7-6 record. It’s tough to blame that crappy running game on the backs, since they were attempting the impossible: success behind a porous offensive line. And yet Green seemed to take college success lightly by not being in shape. That’s a huge reason why freshmen are often untrustworthy, because they have to adjust their diets, workouts, technique, work ethic, intensity level, and mental preparation for college. Some kids get it immediately, and some kids don’t. Green didn’t.

This year Green seems to be starting to get it a little bit. He has pared himself down to 227 lbs., which is roughly where he was in peak high school condition. Of the available running backs on the roster (not counting transfer Ty Isaac), Green looks to me like the most physically talented back. He has light feet, good acceleration, and pretty good speed for a power back. The thing that has always concerned me about Green is his lack of balance and an inability to stay on his feet when 230-pounders should be able to do so. If Michigan can open holes like Michigan teams of yesteryear could, then Green is the best bet because he can get out in the open field and outrun people. If the line continues to struggle – which it probably will – then I think Green will probably be the #2 option. De’Veon Smith is the most physical back and the most capable of shaking off tackles in the hole, so he would be my choice to start until the line comes around.

Prediction: Backup running back; 120 carries, 500 yards, 5 touchdowns