Tag: Cameron Gordon

2010 Countdown: #11 Cameron Gordon

Name: Cameron Gordon
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 207 lbs.
High school: Inkster High School in Detroit, MI
Position: Free safety
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #4 (changed from #84 last season)
Last year: I ranked Gordon #82 and said he’d almost definitely redshirt. He redshirted.

Gordon was an interesting prospect coming out of high school a year ago. He played wide receiver and wanted a shot to remain at that position, but I thought he would fit best at linebacker in college. In my opinion, he was too slow to really be a factor at wideout. After his true freshman season, he asked to move to the defensive side of the ball in an effort to help out the team. By the time spring practices came and went, Gordon was a hit amongst the coaching staff and seemed to be the leading candidate to play free safety in Michigan’s revamped 4-2-5/3-3-5 defense (I think it’s more of a 4-2-5). Spring practice reports were abuzz in regards to Gordon’s instincts, athletic ability, and ferocity. And at 6’3″, 207 lbs., he has plenty of size to bring the hammer.

While he’s literally taken zero snaps in a game situation at the college level, Gordon ranks highly because of the weaknesses we have seen at the safety position over the last couple seasons and because of the terrifying inexperience at the cornerback positions now that Troy Woolfolk will miss the season. His main competition for the starting role will likely come from sophomore Vladimir Emilien, but Emilien has lacked the speed and durability to impress practice observers in his 1.5 years on campus. Other competition at free safety will be from true freshman Carvin Johnson, sophomore Brandin Hawthorne (unlikely to ever see a snap at free safety), and true freshman Ray Vinopal (likely a redshirt candidate).

Gordon lacks the elite athleticism to play free safety in a base Cover 2 defense or even in Man Free coverages, and his presence at the position (as opposed to Spur or Bandit) indicates to me that Michigan will be mainly a Cover 3 defense this season, in which Gordon is asked to cover only the area between the hashes; however, there will surely be occasional wrinkles in the defense that will expand Gordon’s responsibilities. The free safety position should improve over the next few years with the development of Gordon, Emilien, and Johnson, but it’s imperative that Gordon stays healthy and learns quickly. Otherwise, the defense could begin to cave quickly.

Prediction for 2010: Starting free safety; 60 tackles, 2 interceptions

Voters got this one correct: 32% chose Cameron Gordon, while the second-place finisher was Ryan Van Bergen with 22%.

2010 Countdown: #67 Carvin Johnson

Carvin Johnson (#1) makes a tackle

Name: Carvin Johnson
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 185 lbs.
High school: Rummel High School in Metairie, LA
Position: Strong safety
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Prediction for 2010: Redshirt

As a high schooler, Johnson led his team to a second place finish in the state playoffs. He played free safety and wide receiver, although he was mainly a decoy on offense. Johnson is a prototypical strong safety in my mind, although Cameron Gordon seems like a strong safety to me, too, so what do I know? For now I’ll stick with that assessment, although it looks like Greg Robinson is tweaking this defense in ways we can’t fully grasp yet. We went from having a former cornerback and Big Ten sprinter (Troy Woolfolk) playing center field to a slow-ish wide receiver who many projected as a college linebacker (Cameron Gordon) playing free safety.

I think there’s a fair chance that we’ll see Carvin Johnson playing defense this year. The depth in the defensive backfield is thin, and walk-ons litter the depth chart (Floyd Simmons, Jared Van Slyke, Jordan Kovacs). I don’t expect Johnson to earn a starting job this year, and he’ll most likely redshirt. But I don’t think Rich Rodriguez can afford to throw too many former walk-ons out there this fall and expect to win a bunch of games. Either Johnson or Marvin Robinson will play this fall, and I give Robinson the edge due to superior athleticism.

2010 Countdown: #79 Ray Vinopal

Name: Ray Vinopal
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 178 lbs.
High school: Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown, OH
Position: Safety
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Prediction for 2010: Redshirt

Vinopal was a somewhat controversial addition to Michigan’s 2010 recruiting class. Fans weren’t too excited about a small-ish safety that reminded many of current Michigan safety Jordan Kovacs, who made the team as a walk-on. And I don’t mean to pass the buck, because I was one of those who lacked excitement. But he’s a Wolverine now, so hopefully all Michigan fans are rooting for him to be successful.

That being said, Vinopal is probably going to watch from the sidelines in 2010. He’s likely headed for the free safety position, which is currently a battle between Cameron Gordon, a buzz-worthy redshirt freshman, and Vladimir Emilien, a sophomore who’s still recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in high school. Unless injuries and/or horrid play plague those two, there hopefully won’t be a need for a third free safety. Then Vinopal can spend his time working on getting taller.

Position Switch: Cameron Gordon to Safety

Wide receiver Cameron Gordon has switched to safety

2009 Countdown: #82 Cameron Gordon