Tag: 2016 season countdown

2016 Season Countdown: #49 David Long, Jr.

David Long, Jr. (image via College Spun)

Check out the forum for recent threads on Ezekiel Elliott (LINK), a very well done hype video (LINK), and others.

Name: David Long, Jr.
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 187 lbs.
High school: Los Angeles (CA) Loyola
Position: Cornerback
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #22
Last year: Long was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 19 tackles, 5 pass breakups, and 1 interception on defense; he also caught 25 passes for 525 yards and 7 touchdowns on offense.
Final TTB Rating: 92

Long was offered by Michigan’s new staff shortly after they were hired, and while he seemed interested in Michigan, he ended up committing to Stanford. Despite being accepted by such an elite school, he ended up decommitting in December and considering either Michigan or Washington. That led to kind of a hilarious time when Washington mods at 247 Sports were extremely insistent about him committing to the Huskies and dismissive of Michigan’s chances. Obviously, Michigan came out on top in his recruitment.

I was pulling for Long to become a Wolverine, because I think he’s a very solid overall prospect. At a listed 6’0″, 187 lbs., I think he’s more physically ready to play than a lot of freshman cornerbacks. He can be physical, he has good speed, he’s smart, and he’s dangerous with the ball in his hands (as evidenced by averaging 21 yards/catch as a senior). Michigan needs to get some guys ready to play corner in 2017, because three seniors are graduating after this season. Due to his size and relative polish, I think Long might be the top non-senior cornerback and jump ahead of Keith Washington, Brandon Watson, and fellow freshman Lavert Hill.

Prediction: Backup cornerback

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2016 Season Countdown: #50 Maurice Ways

Maurice Ways

Just for some perspective, I counted approximately 50-55 players in the 2015 Season Countdown who ended up having a noteworthy impact on the team. That gives you roughly a two-deep on both sides of the ball, plus some special teamers and other rotation guys. So as we hit #50 with Maurice Ways, this is entering the territory where we should be talking about guys who will see significant snaps, not just in garbage time or an occasional special teams snap.

Name: Maurice Ways
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 210 lbs.
High school: Detroit (MI) Country Day
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #85
Last year: I ranked Ways #40 and said he would be a backup receiver (LINK). He started two games, making 3 catches for 40 yards.

I thought Ways would take a step forward as a redshirt freshman last season, and he did to an extent. Michigan used the starting wide receivers and a bevy of tight ends in the passing game, so there weren’t a lot of receptions to go around for backup receivers. In fact, only 12 receptions were recorded by wide receivers not named Jehu Chesson, Amara Darboh, and Grant Perry. Drake Harris had 6, Ways had 3, and the other 3 went to guys who are no longer on the roster (Da’Mario Jones, Freddy Canteen, and Brian Cole). The thing that got Ways on the field was his ability to block, as he was considered to be the most effective blocker of the backup crew.

Michigan should have even more talent at the tight end spots this year, and the top three wideouts return. There’s no real reason to expect Ways’s role to increase, especially considering the fact that he broke his foot during the spring and wound up having surgery. He is expected to be healthy by the beginning of the season, but whether he’s back to full strength or not is a slightly different subject. I think he can carve out a role once again as a blocking receiver, because he has the best size of any receiver on the team at 6’3″, 210 lbs. But if he’s going to make an impact in the passing game, it probably won’t be until 2017, once Darboh and Chesson have moved on to the NFL.

Prediction: Backup wide receiver

2016 Season Countdown: #51 Quinn Nordin

Quinn Nordin

Name: Quinn Nordin
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 200 lbs.
High school: Rockford (MI) Rockford
Position: Kicker/punter
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #15
Last year: Nordin was a senior in high school (LINK). He averaged 52.9 yards/punt, went 2/3 on field goals, and had touchbacks on 19/23 kickoffs.
Final TTB Rating: 89

A locally grown talent, Nordin irked some by committing to Penn State. Not because he picked the Nittany Lions, necessarily, but because he did so by posting a video of him “coming home” to Penn State, a somewhat audacious move for a high school football player. A kicker.

But then a curious thing happened. He started visiting Michigan. And kept visiting Michigan. And retweeted a lot of Michigan stuff. And made friends with other Michigan commits. The story goes that he committed to PSU because Michigan wasn’t sure if they could fit a kicker into their class (they took kicker Andrew David in 2015, too), but as the Wolverines amped up the pressure to squeeze him in, he became more amenable to being a Wolverine. There were more big waves with Nordin when Jim Harbaugh made an in-home visit that saw him spending the night at Nordin’s house. That was two times that a high school kicker ended up being talked about by national pundits on ESPN and the like.

Entering the fall season, Nordin has a chance to contribute as a punter or a kicker. Fifth year senior Kenny Allen did a good job with the placekicking last year, so he should hold down that spot. But Michigan has no real heir apparent for the punting job unless Allen pulls double duty. I assume Allen will start off the year doing both jobs, but Nordin may be called upon if there’s an injury or if he’s a more consistent punter than Allen. Nordin is a tough guy to place in the countdown, because he could redshirt, but he could also be the starting punter and kicker if Allen tweaks a knee or ankle.

Prediction: Backup punter/kicker

2016 Season Countdown: #52 Jon Runyan, Jr.

Jon Runyan, Jr. (image via Maize and Blue News)

Name: Jon Runyan, Jr.
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 304 lbs.
High school: Philadelphia (PA) St. Joseph’s
Position: Offensive guard
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #75
Last year: I ranked Runyan #89 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He redshirted.

Runyan was a little bit undersized when he entered college last year at 276 lbs., and he redshirted as expected. Michigan didn’t need a lot of help at offensive guard because Ben Braden and Kyle Kalis stayed healthy, and David Dawson was the first guy in at guard when someone was needed. That extra time was needed, but Runyan added weight pretty quickly. According to the spring roster, he added 28 lbs. since last year. When we saw him in the spring, he was winning sprints in the lineman group, and he held his own during the scrimmages against some pretty good defensive linemen. Runyan might end up playing some center by the time his career is finished, but for now, he appears to be the #4 guard behind Braden, Kalis, and Dawson. If that’s the case, he probably won’t be called upon for a heavy workload this year, but the coaches could get him some playing time to groom him for 2017 when there will be two open jobs at guard.

Prediction: Backup offensive guard

2016 Season Countdown: #53 Reuben Jones

Reuben Jones (#4, image via Today’s U)

Name: Reuben Jones
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 222 lbs.
High school: Lakeland (FL) Lake Gibson
Position: Defensive end/linebacker
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #4
Last year: I ranked Jones #78 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He redshirted.

Jones came in last season as an undersized defensive end without amazing quickness, so he was all but guaranteed to redshirt. And he did. This spring Michigan tried him at linebacker, which may be a trend under Don Brown. Several defensive end-type players have been given a shot at either MIKE or SAM linebacker, including Jones and Carlo Kemp, respectively. I don’t see Jones as a linebacker in the long-term, but anything can happen. Michigan is thin at MIKE if they want to keep him there behind Ben Gedeon, because walk-on Michael Wroblewski played a lot in the spring game (and doesn’t seem like a legitimate option). Michigan is deep on the defensive line, but weakside end is the thinnest spot. There is a path to playing time at either position, but it’s questionable whether Jones is ready to take that next step yet.

Prediction: Backup defensive end/linebacker