2014 Season Countdown: #36 Sione Houma

Tag: 2014 season countdown

20Jul 2014
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2014 Season Countdown: #36 Sione Houma

Sione Houma

Name: Sione Houma
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 240 lbs.
High school: Salt Lake City (UT) Highland
Position: Fullback
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #39
Last year: I ranked Houma #52 and said he would be the backup fullback and special teams player. He had 2 catches for 14 yards, 1 kickoff return for 19 yards, plus 8 tackles.

Houma was a part-time starter (two games) last season, as he was locked in a battle with Joe Kerridge. Both played decently well, but neither stood out. It’s tough to be a standout fullback, though. Houma looked pretty quick on a 9-yard catch against Akron, returned a short kickoff 19 yards against Iowa, and caught a 5-yard pass against Kansas State. He has always looked like the best athlete of the fullbacks, but Kerridge has supposedly been the better blocker.

This is the year I’m expecting the tide to turn at the position. When Houma was a freshman in 2012, you could see the inexperience and tell that he wasn’t really ready for college football. Things were moving too fast for him, and Kerridge was the best option. Last year Houma seemed to catch up mentally. This year the edge Houma has on Kerridge physically should help him win the job, relegating Kerridge to a backup role. Based mostly on my gut, I think new offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier will prefer a more athletic fullback on the field (whenever the position itself is deemed necessary). Nussmeier likes to spread the field a little more than the departed Al Borges, and Houma has running skills that Kerridge lacks. I wouldn’t expect either to touch the ball very much, but I think Houma is a guy you can play as an H-back type and hit in the flat occasionally with positive results.

Prediction: Starting fullback; 3 catches, 20 yards, 1 touchdown

19Jul 2014
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2014 Season Countdown: #37 Ben Gedeon

Ben Gedeon (image via Toledo Blade)

Name: Ben Gedeon
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 236 lbs.
High school: Hudson (OH) Hudson
Position: Linebacker
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #42
Last year: I ranked Gedeon #68 and said he would be a backup linebacker and special teamer. He played in all thirteen games and made 19 tackles with 1 sack.

If there was any question about whether Gedeon would burn his redshirt or not, it was answered in the first game of the season when he made 4 tackles. From the beginning, he looked physically developed and prepared to play linebacker in the Big Ten. He proceeded to make 6 tackles (5 solo) against Ohio State and another 5 in the bowl game against Kansas State. He looked quick and sharp and aggressive despite being the third-string middle linebacker behind Desmond Morgan and Joe Bolden.

Unfortunately for Gedeon, his path to playing time is now blocked by Butkus Award candidate Jake Ryan. With Morgan and Bolden off to the WILL position in the new 4-3 Over, Ryan moves over from SAM and Gedeon is still on the outside looking in. Michigan’s coaching staff likes to keep defensive guys fresh, though, so he should find plenty of snaps; additionally, Ryan is a guy who can play outside linebacker or defensive end in certain packages, so defensive coordinator Greg Mattison may be able to find ways to get them on the field at the same time. Either way, Gedeon looks the part of a future Michigan starter, and possibly even a star.

Prediction: Backup middle linebacker; 30 tackles, 1 sack

18Jul 2014
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2014 Season Countdown: #38 Taco Charlton

Taco Charlton and Mario Ojemudia

Name: Taco Charlton
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 275 lbs.
High school: Pickerington (OH) Central
Position: Defensive end
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #33
Last year: I ranked Charlton #46 and said he would be a backup weakside end. He played in ten games and made 2 tackles with .5 tackles for loss.

Charlton was a bit player last season when Michigan had pretty solid depth at weakside end. He found himself behind Frank Clark – a second team all-conference player – and an experienced backup in Mario Ojemudia. The big question mark about Charlton has always been his technical refinement, but his athleticism is enough to make up for some of his deficiencies. This spring he moved to strongside end, which is more fitting of a guy who’s 6’6″ and 275 lbs.

Unfortunately for Charlton, he’s still behind senior Brennen Beyer, who moved from the weak side to the strong side late last year. Michigan’s move to the 4-3 Over means the strongside end is more of an edge guy than an end/tackle hybrid, and that fits Michigan’s defensive end personnel, which consists of a bunch of semi-proven weakside ends and a handful of (unproven) end/tackle hybrids. Consequently, the Wolverines’ top four defensive ends are all current or former weakside guys. Charlton should get plenty of run as a second-stringer this year; he has a higher upside than Beyer, but the coaching staff is partial to seniors, so the younger man’s superiority must be blatantly obvious before he can supplant Beyer.

Prediction: Backup strongside end; 20 tackles, 2 sacks

17Jul 2014
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2014 Season Countdown: #39 Jehu Chesson

Jehu Chesson goes bowling (image via Gregg Henson)

Name: Jehu Chesson
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 195 lbs.
High school: St. Louis (MO) Ladue Horton Watkins
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #86
Last year: I ranked Chesson #35 and said he would be a backup wide receiver with 12 catches for 150 yards and 1 touchdown. He started two games and finished with 15 catches for 221 yards and 1 touchdown; 2 carries for 1 yard; 2 kickoff returns for 36 yards; and 9 tackles.

Chesson’s 2013 season seemed to represent a steady uphill climb, in my opinion. Early in the season, he had trouble adjusting to the ball in the air, but he made his presence felt as a devastating blocker (see the above gif). As the season wore on, he improved his route running and ball skills, but by that point, quarterback Devin Gardner had two very effective favorite targets in wideouts Jeremy Gallon and Devin Funchess. He had a nice 33-yard catch-and-run against Akron where he bounced off a tackle attempt before sprinting down the left sideline, and he also had a standout 58-yard catch against Michigan State. On top of blocking and receiving, he made 9 tackles on special teams coverage. He appears to be a pretty well rounded football player going into his redshirt sophomore season.

Chesson does not appear to be a potential breakout star this fall, but he should be a quality third or fourth option for the Wolverines. Funchess returns and is a Biletnikoff Award candidate, but the other possibilities are unproven in redshirt sophomore Amara Darboh (sidelined last year with a broken foot) and freshman Freddy Canteen (a freshman, I say!), plus a whole host of redshirt freshmen (freshmen!) and true freshmen (when I was young, I knew everything). Darboh was a Gardner favorite until his injury, and Canteen was the darling of spring practice. I hesitate to call for Chesson to break out, because Gardner – for better or worse – seems to really trust his synergy with certain guys, and Chesson does not appear to be one of those guys. But slow and steady wins the race, so I expect to see the Missourian catching, blocking, and tackling like the solid football player he is.

Prediction: 18 catches, 220 yards, 2 touchdowns

16Jul 2014
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2014 Season Countdown: #40 Keith Heitzman

Keith Heitzman

Name: Keith Heitzman
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 271 lbs.
High school: Hilliard (OH) Davidson
Position: Tight end
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #92
Last year: I ranked Heitzman #26 and said he would start at SDE with 25 tackles and 2 sacks. He started seven games and made 8 tackles and .5 tackles for loss.

I overestimated Heitzman’s contributions last year. I thought his defensive tackle-ness would make him a solid 5-tech starter, and his high-effort attitude would make him a poor man’s Ryan Van Bergen. Unfortunately, Heitzman isn’t quite as bulky or athletic as Van Bergen. He began the year as the starter, but by the end of the season, weakside end Brennen Beyer had taken over the gig.

Heitzman moved to tight end in the off-season, partly because Jake Butt tore his ACL and Jordan Paskorz left with a year of eligibility remaining. He lacks some natural athleticism, so it would be a mistake to expect him to turn into a receiving threat. However, I think he’s more aggressive and stronger than the other tight ends, including A.J. Williams. Williams has more experience, but by the end of the year, I believe Heitzman will be the more effective blocker of the two. Even if he’s not, the challenge to Williams may spur both their efforts in a competition for playing time.

Prediction: Starting “blocking tight end” by end of season; 1 catch for 8 yards