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| Devin Funchess |
247 Sports released their Pre-season All-Big Ten Team
on Wednesday morning. There are a few Michigan players on the list:
WR Devin Funchess
LB Jake Ryan
CB Blake Countess
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| Blake Countess |
The 2014 Jim Thorpe Award watch list was released this morning, and there are a number of notable players on the list for Michigan fans. The award is given to the nation’s top defensive back. Charles Woodson (1997) is the only Wolverine who has won the award.
Ibraheim Campbell – S – Northwestern
Blake Countess – CB – Michigan*
Su’a Cravens – S – USC*
Kurtis Drummond – S – Michigan State*
Kendall Fuller – CB – Virginia Tech*
Vernon Hargreaves III – CB – Florida*
Jordan Lucas – CB – Penn State
Trae Waynes – CB – Michigan State
*Offered by Michigan
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| Frank Clark |
The 2014 Bronko Nagurski Award watch list has been released, and there are a few Michigan players on the list, plus some other notable players from the Big Ten, other opponents, and Michigan’s recruiting. Charles Woodson (1997) is the only Michigan player to have won the award, which is given to the nation’s best defensive player.
Michael Bennett – DT – Ohio State*
Joey Bosa – DE – Ohio State*
Shilique Calhoun – DE – Michigan State
Frank Clark – DE – Michigan
Blake Countess – CB – Michigan
Su’a Cravens – S – USC*
Carl Davis – DT – Iowa
Kurtis Drummond – S – Michigan State*
Devonte Fields – DE – TCU*
Kendall Fuller – CB – Virginia Tech*
Randy Gregory – DE – Nebraska
Vernon Hargreaves III – CB – Florida*
Ryan Mueller – DE – Kansas State
KeiVarae Russell – CB – Notre Dame
Jake Ryan – LB – Michigan
Jaylon Smith – LB – Notre Dame*
Trae Waynes – CB – Michigan State
*Offered by Michigan
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| 1 + 8 = 2 |
Some news came out yesterday about freshman jersey numbers, plus a couple number changes for the fall. There will surely be others (who will get Legends jerseys #11 and #21?), but these are the stories for now.
#2 Blake Countess: Redshirt junior Countess will switch from #18. This is Charles Woodson’s old jersey number, so some people will be upset because Countess doesn’t “deserve it.” The kid was All-Big Ten and had 6 interceptions last year, including 1 returned for a touchdown. He’s now #3 on the single-season interception list behind Tom Curtis and Woodson himself. You can’t be much better without being Charles Woodson himself.
#5 Jabrill Peppers: Last worn by CB Courtney Avery. Will share the number with RB Justice Hayes. Peppers also wore #5 in high school.
#14 Drake Harris: Known since the spring. Last worn by S Josh Furman. Harris wore #1 in high school.
#17 Freddy Canteen: Known since the spring. Last worn by WR Jeremy Jackson. Canteen wore #19 in high school.
#19 Wilton Speight: Known since the spring. Last worn by TE Devin Funchess. Speight also wore #19 in high school.
#19 Jared Wangler: Will share the number with Speight. Father, John, wore #5 in college. Brother, Jack, is #16. Jared wore #5 in high school.
#28 Brandon Watson: Was #20 in the spring. Last worn by RB Fitzgerald Toussaint. Watson wore #20 in high school.
#32 Ty Isaac: Last worn at Michigan by S Jordan Kovacs. The incoming transfer, Isaac wore #29 at USC last year. Isaac wore #32 in high school.
#51 Michael Ferns: Known since the spring. The last scholarship guy to wear it was LB Eric Brackins in the early 2000’s. Ferns wore #10 in high school.
#52 Mason Cole: Known since the spring. LB Royce Jenkins-Stone also wears this number. Last worn on offense by OL Stephen Schilling. Cole also wore #52 in high school.
#54 Brady Pallante: Last worn by DT Richard Ash. Pallante wore #52 in high school.
#58 Chase Winovich: Last worn by OG Chris Bryant. Winovich wore #15 in high school.
#59 Noah Furbush: Worn by a bunch of walk-on types recently (Jack Doyle, Mark Lawson), but also by long snapper Sean Griffin and linebacker Joey Sarantos. Furbush wore #5 in high school.
#76 Juwann Bushell-Beatty: Last worn by DT Quinton Washington. Bushell-Beatty wore #73 in high school.
#85 Maurice Ways: Last worn by WR Joe Reynolds. Ways wore #9 in high school.
#90 Bryan Mone: Known since the spring. Last worn by LB Jake Ryan when he was a redshirt freshman. Mone wore #52 in high school.
#93 Lawrence Marshall: Not a popular number at Michigan. Worn by a couple defensive linemen, walk-on placekickers, etc. Last notable person to wear it was LB Sam Sword in late 1990’s. Marshall wore #12 in high school.
#94 Ian Bunting: Yes, this is still an eligibile number for a tight end. Last worn by tight end Jordan Paskorz. Bunting wore #1 in high school.
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| Devin Funchess |
Phil Steele released his 2014 All-Big Ten team, and there are several Michigan players on the list.
FIRST TEAM
WR Devin Funchess
LB Jake Ryan
CB Blake Countess
SECOND TEAM
DE Frank Clark
LB Desmond Morgan
THIRD TEAM
P Will Hagerup
FOURTH TEAM
QB Devin Gardner
LB James Ross III
Many of these are interesting picks for various reasons. First of all, Devin Funchess is going into his first year as a full-time wideout, and he will also be without a proven commodity taking attention away from him in the form of Jeremy Gallon. Ryan is switching positions from strongside outside linebacker to middle linebacker in a new base defense. Countess has been rumored to be relegated to a backup role behind sophomore Jourdan Lewis, though Countess will start at slot corner. Morgan is another guy who changes positions, albeit slightly (middle linebacker to weakside linebacker). Gardner might be the most physically talented quarterback in the conference, but he’s behind Braxton Miller (understandable due to winning and good talent), Connor Cook (who came out of nowhere last year), and Christian Hackenberg (who will be without his stud receiver, Allen Robinson). I think there’s a decent chance that Gardner is a First Team or Second Team all-conference quarterback by year’s end. Meanwhile, Ross is in a battle for his position with up-and-comer Royce Jenkins-Stone.
Michigan certainly has a lot of question marks going into 2014, but that’s what happens when you go 8-5 and 7-6 in consecutive years.
