Tag: Blake Countess

2012 Season Countdown: #9 Blake Countess

Blake Countess

Name: Blake Countess
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 180 lbs.
High school: Olney (MD) Good Counsel
Position: Cornerback
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #18
Last year: I ranked Countess #59 and said he would be a backup cornerback.  He started six games and 44 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 6 pass breakups, and 1 forced fumble.

Countess parlayed a series of nagging Troy Woolfolk injuries into a starting cornerback job, and performed well enough to keep that job once Woolfolk was close to full strength again.  I thought that Countess would have to wait a little longer (until, say, 2012) to take over one of the cornerback spots, but it happened almost immediately.  For the most part, he performed well and turned into Michigan’s best bet for a shut-down corner in the last several years.  He did get torched against Ohio State and was beaten for a touchdown in the Sugar Bowl, but overall, he had a pretty good season for a true freshman.  ESPN and the Big Ten Network each named him to the league’s all-freshman team.

Michigan’s entire secondary returns in 2012, including the corner on the opposite side, J.T. Floyd.  Countess plays the field side, which is usually reserved for a guy with a little more speed . . . but the coaches have also mentioned that Countess is the more physical corner of the two.  At a pretty solid 180 lbs., Countess has the strength to play press man coverage and support the run with equal aplomb.  He didn’t have any interceptions last season, but he did steal a pass from Devin Gardner to Jeremy Jackson in the spring game.  The two corners might be the second-best duo in the Big Ten, and either one could earn all-conference honors of some sort.  There isn’t much depth at the cornerback spots now that Terrence Talbott and Tamani Carter (the latter of whom was a free safety but could have played corner in a pinch) have left the team.  If Countess goes down for a significant period of time, we might see Courtney Avery bump out from the slot corner position or see some snaps from 162 lb. true freshman Terry Richardson.  Avery could hack it out there, but after that, things get very shaky.  Recent injuries to Floyd and Woolfolk notwithstanding, it seems like cornerback is a less physically taxing position than some other spots, so hopefully Countess can stay healthy and take the next step toward becoming an All-Big Ten corner.

Prediction: Starting field corner; 55 tackles, 2 interceptions

Poll results: Countess won 81% of the vote for the #9 spot.

2012 Spring Game Review – Defense

Senior WILL Brandin Hawthorne was Saturday’s defensive MVP

DEFENSIVE ENDS
I thought Craig Roh looked pretty darn good at strongside end.  The starter at weakside end was Brennen Beyer, who looks significantly bigger this spring than he did in the fall.  He looked like a bona fide weakside end instead of a lanky outside linebacker.  Beyer got a good pass rush a couple times.  Meanwhile, backup weakside end Frank Clark performed solidly and made a nice hit on fullback Joey Kerridge, whom Clark chased down out of the backfield.  I also thought backup strongside end Keith Heitzman looked pretty solid.  Based on how Nathan Brink looked last year, I’m going to posit that Heitzman passes up Brink this fall.  (Brink sat out the spring game, still recovering from his broken leg.)

DEFENSIVE TACKLES
William Campbell looked alternately solid and inconsequential.  He had one or two good  plays but he just didn’t seem to be going hard all the time.  He should have destroyed walk-on guard Joey Burzynski (or so I would think) but instead got stalemated too often.  Maybe the coaches are teaching him differently than I would expect, but it all seemed to start with his stance, which needs work from my perspective.  Jibreel Black looks like a matchup nightmare for a lot of offensive guards, because he’s too quick to handle with any consistency.  He looks bigger than last year (although the neck roll might have had something to do with that).  It also seems that Richard Ash has taken a step forward, and I was surprised by how big backup 3-tech Chris Rock has become.  I saw glimmers of hope there for some competent rotation players.  Quinton Washington and Ken Wilkins still didn’t impress me.

LINEBACKERS
I didn’t pay much attention to Jake Ryan because we already know he’s a good player.  Kenny Demens looked solid but unspectacular at MIKE.  Desmond Morgan left the scrimmage early after getting chopped down on a blitz; he limped to the sideline and was later carted into the tunnel.  Hopefully it was nothing serious.  Cam Gordon was Ryan’s backup at SAM, and he’s definitely put on some weight since last year.  Now he looks like a linebacker rather than a strong safety.  I don’t think he’ll surpass Ryan, but he’s a very good backup.  It will be interesting to see what the coaches do with him in 2013 as a senior, because by that time, I don’t think they’ll be able to afford to keep him off the field.  Mike Jones and Joe Bolden played as backup middle linebackers, but neither one was particularly visible.  I saw a couple loafs out of Antonio Poole, which does not bode well for his immediate future.  Kaleb Ringer looked like he was in great shape and he made a nice tackle on Justice Hayes, but both of those guys seem to be a ways down on the depth chart.  The linebacker who impressed me most on the day was Brandin Hawthorne, who made a couple nice tackles for loss and grabbed a one-handed pick, albeit off walk-on Jack Kennedy, who floated the ball across the middle.  Hawthorne looked good at times last year, too, but he’s another guy who loafs once in a while, and that seemed to get him in the dighouse.  The linebackers now have depth, which we haven’t been able to say for several years.  I truly believe that Michigan has five starter-level linebackers: Ryan, Gordon, Demens, Morgan, and Hawthorne.

CORNERBACKS
J.T. Floyd started over Terrence Talbott, despite reports that Talbott had overtaken Floyd.  That was somewhat expected.  Floyd looked solid but was never tested deep.  Blake Countess made a nice pick on a late Devin Gardner throw and also made a couple nice tackles.  The backup cornerbacks did not impress me, although I don’t remember seeing much out of Talbott.  Maybe he’s the third guy and we’ll be fine, but I don’t think Raymon Taylor and Delonte Hollowell are ready.  We know Courtney Avery is pretty solid at the nickel corner, and although he pulled up on a tackle, it seemed like he was trying not to submarine the leaping receiver; if it were a game, I would be disappointed by that play, but I think he was just trying not to hurt his teammate.

SAFETIES
The starting safeties weren’t really tested in the running or the passing game.  Jordan Kovacs should be good and practice reports suggest that Thomas Gordon has improved once again, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see on him.  Backup free safety Jarrod Wilson needs to get stronger.  He did miss a tackle on Thomas Rawls that turned into a touchdown, but Wilson should be struggling through senioritis and ordering his prom tux right now.  Tackling 220 lb. running backs is a tough task for a safety so young.  Marvin Robinson looked solid as the backup strong safety and made a nice tackle for little or no gain in the run game.  As long as Robinson’s legal troubles are behind him, I expect him to improve and be a good in-the-box safety.  He should be a good replacement for Kovacs after the latter graduates.

Video: Blake Countess interview

Spring Practice Thoughts and Rumors – Defense

Cameron Gordon has impressed the coaches again this spring

If you missed yesterday’s discussion of the offense, here it is.  And now for the defense:

Defensive end: As we know by now, Craig Roh has switched to strongside end.  He has done fairly well at the position, but he’ll need to spend the next several months eating a ton and bulking up.  The coaches want him in the low 280s and right now he’s about 270.  Insiders say Frank Clark looks like the starter at weakside end for the upcoming season.  Brennen Beyer, who switched from SAM linebacker this offseason, also has reportedly fared well but looks to be a step behind Clark at the position.  Beyer’s a thicker, run-stopping sort and Clark will have to work on that aspect of his game.  Nathan Brink is the presumed backup at the 5-tech position but has been limited due to his late-season broken leg.  Keith Heitzman is also in the mix, which would be great for depth at the position.  I would not be surprised to see one or two of the freshman defensive ends get some action, such as Matt Godin at 5-tech and Mario Ojemudia on the weakside, although Heitzman’s emergence might preclude Godin from having to burn a redshirt.

Defensive tackle: The first team defensive tackles appear to be Will Campbell at nose tackle and Jibreel Black at the 3-tech.  Campbell looks fit and is being more consistent with his technique, but the coaches continue to work on that aspect.  Black needs to add weight, but he’s more athletic than most 3-techs (especially compared to Will Heininger), so he adds a different dimension.  Richard Ash appears to be the backup nose tackle.  Meanwhile, Ken Wilkins has supposedly taken a leap forward this spring.  He was mired on the bench last season and there were a lot of questions swirling about him, but it seems the light has gone on.  He could be the #2 defensive tackle going into the season.  Chris Rock has also earned a tiny bit of buzz and has put on a significant amount of weight to play the 3-tech.

Linebacker: I don’t mean to overstate things, but the competition between Jake Ryan and Cam Gordon appears to be neck-and-neck for the SAM position.  The coaches really like Gordon’s athleticism, and he’s done a good job in pass coverage, which makes sense because he’s a converted safety.  Ryan has continued to progress after having a solid redshirt freshman season.  There was a huge dropoff last season between Ryan and Beyer, but that won’t be the case this year (if Cam Gordon can stay healthy).  At the MIKE spot, Kenny Demens hasn’t necessarily taken the forward steps that the coaches want.  He has been hampered by a thumb injury, and the #1 middle linebacker in his absence has been freshman Joe Bolden.  Mike Jones is buried at the #3 spot.  The best linebacker this spring has been Desmond Morgan, according to several accounts.  He’s put on a decent amount of weight after playing at 225 last season, and insiders suggest he’s probably close to 240 now.  The backup to Morgan at WILL has been Antonio Poole, who redshirted last season.

Cornerback: Blake Countess has one cornerback position locked down.  At the boundary corner position, Terrence Talbott has stepped up to challenge J.T. Floyd.  Insiders say that Floyd’s “benching” is partly due to him underperforming and partly due to rewarding Talbott for hard work in the offseason.  It might be unlikely that Talbott takes a job from a fifth year senior, but the possibility exists.  He’s made his move not by being a great coverage guy but by supporting the run and turning into a very good tackler.  Those are the top three corners right there.  Raymon Taylor continues to earn buzz as perhaps the secondary’s best athlete, but he’s still not ready mentally and physically.  Courtney Avery is the nickel corner, where he did a great job last season and doesn’t seem to getting challenged this spring.

Safety: The starters here are pretty clear with Thomas Gordon at free safety and Jordan Kovacs at strong.  Freshman Jarrod Wilson has picked things up quickly, and he might be the #2 free safety.  Marvin Robinson has returned to the practice field this spring after disappearing last year with some legal issues.  Despite his absence, Robinson appears to have taken another step forward and should be the heir apparent to Kovacs. A couple backup safeties have been absent from practices so far this spring: Tamani Carter and Josh Furman.  I would have to assume that they will be buried a little bit if/when they return.  These coaches do not like guys who miss practice.

MGoBlog: Clinic Items – Greg Mattison

Greg Mattison is awesome.

Brian at MGoBlog attended a clinic at which Greg Mattison spoke.  First of all, I’m jealous.  Secondly, though, I loved every bit of Brian’s post.  You should go there (if you haven’t already) and read it in its entirety, but here I just want to a bit of a point-by-point analysis of what Brian shared.

“Occasionally it felt like it was a college class as Mattison asked the room what player X would be doing in a particular situation.”  In my experience, the best speakers are the ones who keep the audience involved.  This isn’t news to anyone who does frequent public speaking or is involved in education.  If you’re just speaking at people, they often lose interest fairly quickly.

“As I wrestled with how to handle this various coaches in the room told every-damn-body that Mattison said Brennen Beyer was moving to WDE and Craig Roh to SDE. This was explicitly stated.”  This is confirmation of my post from the other day.  Not that I’m a genius – the info was e-mailed to me – but there were some questions about the validity of my info.  I try not to post information I’m not confident in, so I like when my info is confirmed by multiple sources.

“Mattison took the opportunity to point out that this was an example of the corners not coming hard enough and gush over Floyd (“I love this kid”) in general and specifically as an exemplar of the Michigan philosophy.”  I think my criticisms of J.T. Floyd often get misconstrued as hating on a kid or holding a grudge.  I’ve never questioned Floyd’s hustle or attitude.  What I’ve questioned is his overall athletic ability, and I think Brian’s comment here somewhat confirms my criticisms.  Floyd hustles and indeed makes a nice play by chasing down Braxton Miller, but one of the issues here is that Floyd helped allow a giant run in the first place, which is acknowledged by Mattison.

“Here he also noted that everyone hits the sled every day and that this was not something the previous coaching staff did frequently, if ever. This is where the bit about “I’ve never seen such awful technique” came in. Pretty much the only thing negative Mattison said was about the state of the team he was handed.”  The sled is such a useful tool in coaching football.  I know we saw clips of Rodriguez’s teams hitting the sled, and I doubt they just did that for the camera.  I think Mattison might be underestimating how often Michigan hit the sled, but still it might be a significant improvement.  Whether it’s a blocking sled, a tackling sled, a five-man sled, a two-man sled, whatever, they’re the best simulation for live play.  And there’s only so much man-on-man hitting you can do before people start getting injured.

“Inside linebackers. The usual: the mike has to be a little bigger, a little stronger, and the will has to be able to adjust to coverage outside of the box. An important difference between the two is the WLB has to be able to run vertically down the seam whereas the MLB can pass his guy off; IIRC this year the guy running down the seam was Demens, not Morgan. Adjustment based on Demens’s surprising ability to stick with guys downfield?”  The MIKE and the WILL are interchangeable, especially with a guy like Desmond Morgan, who is essentially a MIKE (albeit young and small-ish) playing because of a void at the position.  I think Demens was often dropping into coverage because offenses flipped the formation’s strength.  The inside linebackers don’t flip with a change of strength, so then the MIKE becomes the WILL and vice versa.

“Corners. “Corners are corners” but the field corner (Countess) is not involved with “heavy work” and usually just has to clean up plays that have been strung out. The boundary corner (Floyd) has to be a bigger guy better in run support. It’s a seven man front; if you go eight you’d “better have a war daddy” at field corner because he’s got to cover an outside receiver with little additional help.”  This is where the loss of Anthony Standifer hurts.  I really think Standifer, who was committed to Michigan for several months, could have developed into a good run supporter and boundary corner.  Richardson is a lot like Blake Countess, so now Michigan has two young field corners (three if you include Courtney Avery) and one senior boundary corner (Floyd).  I think that’s why you’re seeing so many big corners getting offered in the class of 2013.  Michigan needs run supporting corners right NOW.  It might also be why incoming free safety Jarrod Wilson might get a shot to play cornerback.

“Brennen Beyer. Beyer was talked up like a future star. Reportedly up to 250 pounds and will be given an opportunity to win the WDE job in the spring.”  This sounds like a good plan to me, because Beyer seemed a little out of place at SAM.

“Departing DL. Heininger “really became a football player.” Seems like they think they’ll miss him. Van Bergen “really, really played” for M and Martin was of course the best player on the team.”  I agree that Martin was the best player on the team.  Yes, better than Denard Robinson.  Heininger is replaceable, and Van Bergen’s loss will be mitigated somewhat by the move of Craig Roh to strongside end.  This isn’t news, but the biggest loss here is Mike Martin.  As much as I like most of the defense, the loss of such a big-time nose tackle is going to hurt.  Even when Martin wasn’t making plays, he was causing the offense to scheme around him or he was making running backs redirect in the backfield.  Teams often improve in the second year of a system, but that might be difficult unless William Campbell and/or Ondre Pipkins has a breakout season.