Channing Stribling
Name: Channing Stribling
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 175 lbs.
High school: Matthews (NC) Butler
Position: Cornerback
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #8
Last year: I ranked Stribling #35 and said he would be a backup cornerback (LINK). He made 17 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, and 3 pass breakups.
I pegged Stribling as a backup last season with the idea that Brandon Watson would beat him out, and Jeremy Clark would be playing safety. Watson turned out to be the #4 cornerback after Jeremy Clark moved over from his strong safety spot; meanwhile, Stribling started four games until Clark started seven later in the year. It was an up-and-down year for both of those guys. Stribling made his first career interception early in the year against UNLV, weaving for a 30-yard return after undercutting the throw. That was perhaps the high point of his season. He suffered an injury and had a couple biffed coverages, including against Michigan State and Minnesota. His “interception” against Florida came on a fake field goal attempt where the ball was flipped forward when he burst through the line, and he happened to grab it. It was a good play, of course, but doesn’t really speak to his pass coverage abilities.
This spring there were insider rumblings that Stribling looked like the best defensive player on the field. Reports had Stribling running with the ones almost exclusively, while Clark was back to a complementary role. I don’t know how much practice hype to believe, although I do buy the thought that Stribling is the #1 boundary corner. I’m reticent to crown Stribling as the best defensive player on the team, because that would involve him surpassing a number of high-quality players (Jourdan Lewis, Jabrill Peppers, Ryan Glasgow, Chris Wormley, etc.). But we have also not seen Stribling make a lot of game-changing plays in his career. It was his junior year before he recorded a pass breakup or interception, and last year’s early-season success faded away down the stretch. We’re into the starters or quasi-starters in the countdown, and I’m placing him on the low end due to his solid but unspectacular past performances, as well as the fact that Clark has more starting experience, Watson played some last year, and Michigan recruited a couple solid corners in the 2016 class. Defensive backs coach Mike Zordich also recently said that Stribling is the least physical of the top three corners when it comes to run support. If Stribling gets hurt again, it might reshuffle the defense a little bit but shouldn’t be hugely detrimental.
Prediction: Starting cornerback; 30 tackles, 2 interceptions
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