Amara Darboh
Fourteen Michigan players participated in the 2017 NFL Draft Combine. Without being in the interview room, here’s my take on who gained ground, who’s treading water, and who had a less than stellar performance:
The 2017 East-West Shrine Game will be played on Saturday, January 21, 2017 at 3:00 p.m. EST. The broadcast will be on NFL Network.
Here are some players to watch for Michigan fans:
EAST
De’Veon Smith – RB – Michigan
Erik Magnuson – OT – Michigan
Dan Skipper – OT – Arkansas
Kyle Kalis – OG – Michigan
Alex Kozan – OG – Auburn
Matt Godin – DT – Michigan
James Onwualu – LB – Notre Dame
Jalen Myrick – CB – Minnesota
Channing Stribling – CB – Michigan
Delano Hill – S – Michigan
Dymonte Thomas – S – Michigan
Damarious Travis – S – Minnesota
WEST
Gunner Kiel – QB – Cincinnati
Wes Lunt – QB – Illinois
Dare Ogunbowale – RB – Wisconsin
Austin Carr – WR – Northwestern
Hardy Nickerson, Jr. – LB – Illinois
Leon McQuay III – S – USC
Travis Rudolph (image via Chop Chat)
I’ve been posting highlights of commits, top whatever lists, etc. on the Message Board (LINK), so check it out if you get a chance.
MICHIGAN
Starters: Michigan features a two-time First Team All-American in senior cornerback Jourdan Lewis (5’10”, 186 lbs.), who missed the first 25% of the season with a hamstring injury. He still ended up with 23 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, and 12 passes defended (tied for #8 in the conference). He owns the school record for pass breakups and generally shuts down his receiver. On the other side is 6’2″, 175 lb. senior Channing Stribling (27 tackles, 3 TFLs, 1 sack, 4 INTs, 12 PBUs), a lanky corner who has struggled in the run game but has had good coverage most of the year. Senior free safety Dymonte Thomas (6’2″, 199 lbs.) has improved from some early-season struggles and ended the regular season fourth on the team in tackles with 61, along with 1 INT and 7 PBUs. Senior Delano Hill (6’1″, 215 lbs.) has 47 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, 3 INTs, and 3 PBUs. This is one of the top few secondaries in the country.
Key backups: Sophomore safety Tyree Kinnel (5’11”, 206 lbs.) is one of just a couple guys worth mentioning after a regular season that included 15 tackles and 1 TFL. He’ll spell either of the other safeties. The other guy is redshirt sophomore nickel corner Brandon Watson (5’11”, 203 lbs.), who was addressed with the linebackers and plays some on the outside. Watson is physical but not a great athlete.
Hit the jump for a look at FSU’s receiving targets.
De’Veon Smith (image via The Comeback)
Phew! Michigan is a better team than Indiana, but the combination of wind, snow, and the backup quarterback made this one questionable. My game preview failed to take into account the weather, but if I had realized the weather was going to be that nasty, I would have throttled down my 31-17 prediction. Backup quarterback John O’Korn grew up in Pennsylvania, but he played his high school football in Florida, played most of his college football in Houston, practices indoors at Michigan sometimes, and played most of this season in balmy weather. This would have been tough weather for starter Wilton Speight to excel in, so O’Korn did about as well as should have been expected.
Hit the jump for more on the win over Indiana.
Wilton Speight (image via Lexington Herald Leader)
Maryland just doesn’t have the horses. I actually liked what Maryland was doing offensively and defensively, but they just can’t match up physically. They have some speed offensively, but they’re not very good up front and they’re lacking talent on the defensive side of the ball. They knew they couldn’t push Michigan around at the line of scrimmage, so they consistently tried to get to the edge. That worked for a while, but once Michigan figured out that’s all they were going to do, the safeties and linebackers just started booking it for the edge. Lorenzo Harrison III is a pretty darn good running back to have for the future. If the Terps can keep some of that Maryland/D.C. home, then they have a chance to be dangerous in a year or two.
Hit the jump for more.