Orange Bowl Preview: Michigan Defensive Line vs. Florida State Offensive Line

Tag: Chris Wormley


30Dec 2016
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Orange Bowl Preview: Michigan Defensive Line vs. Florida State Offensive Line

Roderick Johnson (image via 247 Sports)

MICHIGAN

Starters:

  • SDE: Fifth year senior Chris Wormley (6’6″, 302 lbs.)
  • DT: Fifth year senior Matt Godin (6’6″, 294 lbs.)
  • NT: Fifth year senior Ryan Glasgow (6’4″, 299 lbs.)
  • WDE: Senior Taco Charlton (6’6″, 272 lbs.)

Football Outsiders has Michigan’s defensive line at #4 in Adjusted Line Yards, and that reinforces the idea that Michigan has one of the top few defensive lines in the country. That’s good because they are huge (three guys who are 6’6″!) and experienced. The top NFL prospect is probably Charlton (37 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 9 sacks), who has been dominant at times. Next is Wormley (38 tackles, 8.5 TFLs, 5.5 sacks), who will play strongside end and defensive tackle at times. Glasgow (40 tackles, 9.5 TFLs, 4 sacks) has turned from being excellent at holding up to double-teams to now getting penetration throughout his career. Godin (26 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 1 sack) plays less than the other three and isn’t as effective, but he’s a solid-level starting player. The unit is #2 in Standard Down Line Yards and #1 in Adjusted Sack Rate. Of course, Michigan has other players who rotate in and play well, but there aren’t many weaknesses among these top four guys.

Key backups: Backups at all four spots are worth mentioning here. Number one overall recruit from 2016 Rashan Gary (6’5″, 287 lbs.) rotates in at strongside end and has 24 tackles, 5 TFLs, and 1 sack on the year. He hasn’t been a terror off the edge as a pass rusher, but he’s very consistent and does his job well. Redshirt junior Maurice Hurst, Jr. (6’2″, 282 lbs.) is a viable NFL prospect and is Michigan’s quickest interior defensive lineman. He’s made 30 tackles, 9.5 TFLs, and 3.5 sacks this season. Redshirt sophomore nose tackle Bryan Mone (6’4″, 310 lbs.) played the best game of his career against Ohio State in the regular season finale and has 9 tackles and 1 TFL. Redshirt sophomore Chase Winovich (6’3″, 245 lbs.) came out of nowhere to turn into an effective pass rusher, and he now has 33 tackles, 8 TFLs, and 5.5 sacks. A couple of these guys can rotate in at a time and Michigan won’t really skip a beat.

Hit the jump for a look at FSU’s offensive line.

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14Dec 2016
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2016 Michigan Team Awards

Michigan held its annual Football Bust on Tuesday night, during which team awards are handed out for the season. Here are the awards:

BO SCHEMBECHLER MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

  1. LB Jabrill Peppers
  2. WR Amara Darboh
  3. QB Wilton Speight
  4. RB De’Veon Smith
  5. CB Jourdan Lewis

HUGH R. RADER MEMORIAL AWARD (BEST OFFENSIVE LINEMAN): RT Erik Magnuson

RICHARD KATCHER AWARD (MOST VALUABLE DEFENSIVE LINEMAN): NT Ryan Glasgow, DT/DE Chris Wormley

ROGER ZATKOFF AWARD (MOST VALUABLE LINEBACKER): MLB Ben Gedeon

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER AWARD

  1. QB Wilton Speight
  2. WR Amara Darboh
  3. LB Mike McCray II
  4. CB Channing Stribling
  5. DE Chase Winovich

SCOUT TEAM PLAYER OF THE YEAR

  1. CB Anthony Dalimonte
  2. RB Joe Hewlett
  3. FB Joe Beneducci
  4. OL Ben Pliska
  5. DE/LB Reuben Jones

BOB UFER SPIRIT AWARD (MOST ENTHUSIASM AND LOVE FOR THE GAME): LT Grant Newsome

DR. ARTHUR D. ROBINSON SCHOLARSHIP AWARD (LEADING SENIOR-SCHOLAR):

  1. LT Grant Newsome
  2. CB Matt Mitchell
  3. TE Ian Bunting
  4. OL Greg Froelich
  5. WR Jack Wangler

I think these awards are pretty spot on, though some are impossible to tell. I thought the Ufer and Robinson awards were supposed to go to seniors and Newsome is only a sophomore, but oh well. Some people might think that Peppers was a more valuable linebacker than Gedeon, but I agree that Gedeon was the most important guy in that position group only. Peppers’s value comes from him playing some linebacker, yes, but also from his various other positions. The other thing about Gedeon is that he rarely came off the field, partly because there was almost literally nobody else capable of playing MIKE except the starting WILL (Mike McCray). The next guy was converted walk-on defensive end Michael Wroblewski. It was important for Gedeon to stay on the field, and he did so while playing pretty well.

Do you have any quibbles?

31Aug 2016
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2016 Season Countdown: #7 Chris Wormley




Chris Wormley (image via Michigan Daily)

Name: Chris Wormley
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 302 lbs.
High school: Toledo (OH) Whitmer
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #43
Last year: I ranked Wormley #16 and said he would be the starting strongside end with 40 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, and 6 sacks (LINK). He made ten starts either end or tackle, making 43 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 1 pass breakup.

Wormley was a part-time starter in 2014, and we knew he would play a lot in 2015. It wasn’t clear how big of a step he would take, and the depth chart was murky with a wide array of talent. He broke out immediately in the Utah game with 5 tackles and 3 tackles for loss. From that point forward, he established himself as a player who could be dominant at times. Against Oregon State the next week, he had 6 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and 1 sack. Of course, his pace of being headed for 36 tackles for loss couldn’t last, and it slowed down to where he just had 14.5 by the end of the year (8th in the Big Ten), along with 6.5 sacks (10th).

Going into the 2016 season, he’s an established player that opponents have to account for regularly. He can play strongside end or defensive tackle, and in fact, he has reportedly played every spot on the defensive line so Don Brown can employ him in many different ways in blitz packages. Despite being 300 lbs., he also regularly wins sprints for his position group. He’s an all-around terror. Scout’s Sam Webb said over the summer that Michigan’s staff planned to start Wormley at defensive tackle and Rashan Gary at strongside end, but I have heard other rumblings recently that perhaps Gary isn’t quite ready to start. Depending on Gary’s readiness, Wormley will either start at end or tackle, with Matt Godin and Maurice Hurst, Jr. being the other options at 3-tech. I don’t expect a huge leap for Wormley this year in terms of production, but the recently elected defensive captain should have another very solid year for the Wolverines.

Prediction: Starting defensive tackle; 50 tackles, 7 sacks

6Mar 2016
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Poll results: Who was Michigan’s 2015 MVP?

Gentry Morris Rudockx

Zach Gentry, Shane Morris, and Jake Rudock

Several weeks ago, I posted a poll asking, Who was the MVP of Michigan’s 2015 season? Here were the results of the poll:

QB Jake Rudock: 77%

WR Jehu Chesson: 9%

CB Jourdan Lewis: 9%

S Jabrill Peppers: 2%

TE Jake Butt: 1%

Other: 1%

DL Willie Henry: 1%

DL Chris Wormley: 1%

(Yes, I realize that because of rounding, the percentages add up to 101%.)

My vote went to Jake Rudock, who struggled early but played extremely well during the second half of the season. With any other quarterback on the roster leading the team, Michigan wouldn’t have approached 10 wins, in my opinion. I don’t know if the same can be said about any other individual player.

What’s your argument for your pick?

29Feb 2016
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Spring Football Preview: Defensive Tackles and Defensive Ends

Bryan Mone 735x

Bryan Mone (#90)

Projected DT starters: Fifth-year senior Ryan Glasgow was one of Michigan’s best starting defenders last season, and you could tell how much the defense missed him when he missed the end of the season with a pectoral injury. He finished the season with 25 tackles, 5 TFLs, and 1 sack in nine games at the nose tackle position. He is very strong, fairly quick off the ball, and uses excellent technique. Last year’s backup nose tackle Maurice Hurst, Jr. was pressed into a lot of playing time at the nose because of injuries, but his size makes him more of a 3-technique in an ideal world. Assuming Glasgow and Bryan Mone return healthy at NT, redshirt junior Hurst (35 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, 3 sacks) should slide over to 3-tech and use his quickness there.

Hit the jump for the rest of the defensive line preview.

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