13Apr 2014
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| Defensive end Ryan Mueller had 18.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks during the regular season. |
MICHIGAN
Starters: Junior weakside end Frank Clark (6’2″, 273 lbs.) is the headliner of the group. As a Second Team all-conference selection, he started the season a little slowly but ended with 12 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. The other defensive end will likely be junior Brennen Beyer (6’3″, 250 lbs.), who has bounced from SAM linebacker to weakside end to SAM linebacker and now to strongside end. Despite starting every game this season, he has just 25 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks, so his playmaking skills are somewhat lacking. Fifth year senior Quinton Washington (6’4″, 301 lbs.) is the nose tackle, and he holds the point of attack fairly well but has made just 19 tackles while being hampered by a nagging back injury. Senior Jibreel Black (6’2″, 278 lbs.) is the 3-tech tackle and can give interior linemen trouble with his quickness, but generally, he lacks the bulk to hold up in the power run game, which could very well be an issue against Kansas State.
Backups: Redshirt sophomore Keith Heitzman (6’3″, 280 lbs.) began the season as the strongside end but is more of a stopgap player with 8 tackles and .5 tackles for loss. Redshirt freshman Chris Wormley (6’4″, 289 lbs.) has played end and 3-tech tackle, and while not a dominant player, he has flashed potential with 17 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks. Redshirt freshman Ryan Glasgow (6’4″, 300 lbs.) has played a fair amount at defensive tackle but has just 2 total tackles to show for it, and redshirt junior Richard Ash (6’3″, 314 lbs.) has 3 tackles on the season. The backup weakside ends are sophomore Mario Ojemudia (6’3″, 250 lbs.) with 20 tackles and 1.5 sacks and freshman Taco Charlton (6’6″, 270 lbs.) with 2 tackles and .5 tackles for loss.
KANSAS STATE
Starters: Redshirt junior left end Ryan Mueller (6’2″, 245 lbs.) is the star of KSU’s defensive front, racking up 61 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, 3 quarterback hurries, and 4 forced fumbles this year. That performance earned him first team all-conference honors and mention on some All-America teams. On the other end is senior Alauna Finau (6’1″, 258 lbs.), who has 20 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and .5 sacks on the year. Sophomore left defensive tackle Travis Britz (6’4″, 293 lbs.) has 33 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and 3 sacks. Senior right defensive tackle Chaquil Reed (6’3″, 309 lbs.) has 33 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks, and he runs pretty well for a big guy.
Key backups: Redshirt sophomore defensive end Marquel Bryant (6’3″, 241 lbs.) has 13 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks, and junior defensive tackle Valentino Coleman (6’3″, 285 lbs.) has 4 tackles as Britz’s backup. The only other defensive lineman to play in even half of the Wildcats’ games is redshirt junior defensive end Laton Dowling (6’3″, 254 lbs.), who has just 3 tackles on the year, but that includes 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack.
THE TAKEAWAY
Michigan is #27 in the country in rush defense with 139 yards allowed/game, and Kansas State is #40 giving up 145 yards/game. Against the pass, Michigan is #68 with 23 sacks, and Kansas State is #48 with 27 quarterback takedowns. Statistically, there’s not a ton that separates these two teams. In watching Oklahoma’s 41-31 win over the Wildcats in game 11, I was not impressed with the defensive line. Granted, Oklahoma was the #11 team in the country, but Finau and Coleman looked particularly vulnerable in the running game. They don’t flip their defensive line much, so Mueller has been able to rack up a lot of his numbers against teams’ right tackles, who are generally inferior to the left tackles. Against Michigan, Mueller will face likely one of his best opponents this year in Michael Schofield. Britz and Reed might be able to get a little bit of penetration, but Michigan’s improved offensive line play in the last couple weeks of the season should be sufficient to have a decent day. The Wildcats have the better individual statistics and perhaps the best overall player in Mueller, but with the way Clark, Ojemudia, Beyer, Wormley, Henry, Washington, and Black work together to funnel things to the inside linebackers, I think the advantage right here goes to . . .
ADVANTAGE: Michigan
I just have a question about Beyer, is he any good or is he just serviceable? In my eyes yes he has been good and he has been doing a great job for Michigan this year.
The reason why I ask this is because my wife’s uncle does not think he is any good and believe that he should have gone and played at a MAC school playing tight end instead of going to Michigan to play DE or LB. He is basing this off of watching Beyer play at Plymouth and using his football knowledge of being a QB at Ferris St back in the early 80’s.
This is a conversation that he and I have been having since Beyer’s freshman year and it’s kind of getting annoying now and I wanted to get your thoughts since you watch the film of these kids and have a better grasp of things since you are a coach.
I have that same question about Beyer. I have not been shy about questioning Beyer’s talent since he arrived at Michigan as a defensive end . . . and immediately earned playing time as a backup SAM linebacker in 2011. Naturally, the first thing to look at would be his statistics:
2011 (Fr.): 11 tackles
2012 (So.): 19 tackles, .5 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble
2013 (Jr.): 22 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 pass breakup, 1 interception returned 7 yards for a TD
In the 2013 season countdown, I said “Beyer’s next big play will be his first.” He obviously took that personally because his first two games this year – against Central Michigan and Notre Dame – included 2 sacks and 1 forced fumble. Since those two games, he has notched 16 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 pass breakup while starting either at SAM or strongside defensive end. Let’s be honest – those numbers are pretty paltry for a season-long starter.
For comparison’s sake, let’s look at Craig Roh, who played at Michigan from 2009-2012. Roh was a starter from his freshman year at various positions, including outside linebacker, weakside end, and strongside end. He was not chosen in the NFL Draft and latched on to the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad. It’s tough to pick his worst year because his statistics were fairly static throughout his career, so we’ll take his average stat line: 37.5 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks.
In one year as a starter and two more years as a frequently used backup, Beyer has 52 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks. If Roh is the standard for being an average starter, then Beyer falls noticeably short of that level.
Beyer could almost surely have gone to the MAC and had some success there, either at defensive end or tight end. He probably wouldn’t be lighting the world on fire there, either, but he would have some decent statistics. Should he have done so? That really depends on what the kid wants out of football. I think Michigan needs players like Beyer to be backups, journeymen, special teamers, etc. You can even get away with guys like Beyer starting, and Michigan has done fairly well defensively with him in that role. But in his third year, I think we can fairly conclude that Beyer is a supporting cast member at best.
In summary, you’re both right. Beyer would have been able to rack up better stats and maybe gain more notoriety by going to the MAC. At the same time, he’s doing okay for himself at Michigan, and lots of people would rather be mediocre players at Michigan than standout players at, say, Eastern Michigan. There are plenty of guys who would have been better off at a MAC-level school by most standards (Mike Jones is, Richard Ash and Jordan Paskorz could be, etc.), but big programs all have guys like Beyer.
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| Brennen Beyer |
Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Dennis Norfleet. The kid is small but feisty and has big-play potential. Offensive coordinator Al Borges used him early in the year as a tip-off to the fact that Norfleet was about to get the ball. Once everyone figured that out, Borges just stopped using Norfleet altogether. So he’s exciting enough to put him on the field to get him the ball . . . but he’s not exciting enough to use as a decoy or even a situational player. But hey, Jeremy Jackson has averaged 11.4 yards/catch in four years and never scored a touchdown or had a play longer than 22 yards, so let’s keep him out there.
Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . Jeremy Jackson. He has no purpose. Bizarro Fred Jackson says “He’s like LaTerryal Savoy but slower.”
Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Jake Ryan. This is more just a way to say that I’m glad he’s back. I still don’t think he’s 100%, but the guy is a playmaker and a heavy hitter. He had 5 tackles, 1 pass breakup, and a hit on quarterback Jake Rudock that turned into a 7-yard interception touchdown for defensive end Brennen Beyer.
Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Courtney Avery. It’s rare that players regress throughout their careers, but Avery would be one of those examples. He was overmatched as a freshman, played really well as a sophomore, took a step back as a junior, and now seems like a weak link in the secondary. The coaches moved him from nickel corner to safety in order to push guys like sophomore Jarrod Wilson, and while Wilson has been far from perfect, I think he’s a clear step up from Avery. I liked the kid better when he was a slot corner and not one of the last lines of defense.
Play of the game . . . Brennen Beyer’s interception return for a touchdown. On Iowa’s first offensive play, Jake Ryan came on a blitz and hit Rudock as he was releasing the ball, resulting in a pick six for Beyer. It was the most exciting play of the day for the Wolverines, who couldn’t create much of anything on offense. Honorable mention goes to Devin Gardner’s scrambling 2-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Williams, where Gardner looked like he was going to take a gain of zero yards before stepping back and casually tossing the ball to Williams, who had been let go by defenders coming up to stop the run. It was Williams’s first career catch and first career touchdown, and I wouldn’t argue with somebody who said that was the play of the day.
MVP of the game . . . Raymon Taylor. Taylor had 8 solo tackles (9 total), 1 diving interception, and what was technically a fumble recovery on Iowa’s first half-ending botched field goal snap. Taylor should have picked up the ball and run for what could have been a touchdown, but he still had nice coverage the entire game, tackled quickly, and was just a hair late to notch a couple pass breakups.
