Tag: Chris Wormley

2015 All-Big Ten Defensive Team

The Big Ten Network released the All-Big Ten Defensive team on Monday night (LINK). Several Michigan players were honored, including Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year Jabrill Peppers. As exciting as Peppers was, I probably would have voted for Penn State freshman running back Saquon Barkley (1,007 rushing yards, 6.1 yards/carry, 7 touchdowns), who was running behind a patchwork offensive line with an ineffective passing game. But you can’t go too wrong with a guy like Peppers, who played well in all three phases of the game (72 yards and 2 TDs rushing, 8 catches for 79 yards, 27.9 yards/kick return, 45 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 10 pass breakups).

Hit the jump for the coaches and media teams.

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Michigan 35, Oregon State 7

De’Veon Smith

Oregon State is bad. This was the first thing that stuck out to me after watching the full game. I hate to burst the bubble of anyone hoping that Michigan improved greatly from week one to week two, but I’m not sure that this game is evidence of a ton of Michigan improvement. Oregon State had two bad snaps on punts, dropped a kickoff, consistently allowed Michigan’s defensive line to get penetration, and couldn’t bring down De’Veon Smith, who other teams haven’t struggled that much with in his first two-plus seasons. The Beavers also didn’t have a dangerous passing game, even after top cornerback Jourdan Lewis left the game early with what looked like a possible concussion. I like Gary Andersen as a coach, but he has a young team with lots of holes right now.

Hit the jump for some more thoughts on Michigan’s win over Oregon State.

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Utah 24, Michigan 17

Jake Butt

Not bad for a debut. Michigan was on its way to a very uninspiring debut with just 3 points at the half, but things picked up a little bit from there. This was a 5-7 team last year that had some things to clean up and some areas to improve. I think several of those areas have taken steps forward, but obviously not enough. Last year the Wolverines lost 26-10 without a lot of fight (Michigan’s only touchdown in 2014 was a Willie Henry interception return.) This year they scored a couple offensive touchdowns after halftime and had a chance to win/tie the game with their final drive. I’m disappointed in the loss, but things are looking up.

Hit the jump for the remainder of the post.
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2015 Season Countdown: #16 Chris Wormley

Chris Wormley

Name: Chris Wormley
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 300 lbs.
High school: Toledo (OH) Whitmer
Position: Defensive end
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #43
Last year: I ranked Wormley #17 and said he would be a starting defensive tackle with 35 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, and 3 sacks. He started six games and made 21 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, and 3 sacks.

Wormley has continued to take incremental steps forward each year. When he was in high school, there were questions about his motor. When he got to college, he was probably going to play as a freshman before he tore his ACL in the summer. When he was a redshirt freshman, he showed a couple flashes of having the athletic ability dominate. Last year he started to put it all together for longer stretches. He split time at the 3-tech defensive tackle position, and he was fairly productive (7th on the team in tackles for loss, tied for 5th in sacks). He has yet to have a breakout game of dominance, but he seems to make one or two plays per game.

The new coaching staff has worked wonders with Wormley, because most guys stop growing upward in college. Now listed at 6’5″ and 300 lbs. (previously 6’4″, 295), Wormley has been playing strongside end in the new regime. He has the chops to move inside to defensive tackle, but despite the injury to Bryan Mone, Michigan has more depth on the interior. At the strongside end spot, it’s basically up to Wormley, Taco Charlton, and then questions (mainly, are Henry Poggi and Tom Strobel tight ends or defensive ends?). Wormley and Charlton are both known for inconsistency, but now that Brennen Beyer has graduated, those two might push each other to new heights in their attempts to become full-time starters. For his own part, Wormley started earning lots of hype in the spring, and D.J. Durkin has said some really positive things about him recently. My guess is that he beats out Charlton, although there will be lots of rotation on the defensive line.

Prediction: 40 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 6 sacks

Spring Practice Rumblings

Mason Cole might not be blocking many edge rushers this season

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Based on recent developments and leaks, I’ll toss out some of the recent rumblings from practice, which you can feel free to dissect/discuss.

Quarterback: Different sources will say different things. I don’t really have much to add to that, except it seems like Shane Morris is mentioned most often as looking the best.

Running back: Ty Isaac had questions about his toughness coming out of high school, but he has played through some things this spring; however, he has been suffering from hand and hamstring injuries, so he is limited. Derrick Green has also been injured, and Drake Johnson is coming off that ACL tear. The one constant has been De’Veon Smith, who has been earning praise for his vision and attitude. It’s not really a secret that Smith can have a sullen disposition at times.

Fullback: With Sione Houma out due to injury, it’s still Joe Kerridge, Brady Pallante, and Chase Winovich getting reps at this spot.

Hit the jump for the rest of the positions.

Wide receiver: The hype about Drake Harris persists. He’s listed at 6’4″, 174 lbs. but there are reports that say he’s actually 185 now. That’s still not very big, but either way, I think the only thing that will keep him off the field this fall is the nagging injuries. He might not start, but I think he will play. Otherwise, there has not been much buzz about the receivers.

Tight end: Jake Butt has been looking pretty darn good, and Ian Bunting has shown promise as a pass receiving tight end. Henry Poggi has flipped from defensive end to tight end in an attempt to boost the numbers. I have not heard many positive things about A.J. Williams, who is a senior and still struggles to block people. Khalid Hill is still out recovering from his own ACL injury.

Offensive line: The lineup at a recent practice was (left to right) Logan Tuley-Tillman, Erik Magnuson, Mason Cole, Kyle Kalis, and Ben Braden. Cole – who was the starting left tackle last year – projected to the interior offensive line coming out of high school, so while I expected him to be a guard in college, center still fits him, in my opinion. That is if he can handle snapping, the calls, etc. It hurt that fifth year senior Jack Miller called it quits, and it hurt even more when Graham Glasgow prolonged his idiocy streak and disobeyed his probation. I have not heard good things about Patrick Kugler or Blake Bars, who were #3 and #4 at center, respectively, coming into the spring.

Defensive line: It sounds as if Michigan is going to be running more of a 3-4 look this year. I have heard positive things about Chris Wormley at strongside end, and Greg Mattison says the nose tackles have stood out. With Poggi playing offense for now, that makes Michigan pretty thin on the defensive line. They have a lot of tackle types and not much in the way of ends, at least until a couple freshmen arrive this summer.

Linebacker: The four starting linebackers in the 3-4 look have reportedly been Mario Ojemudia (who has an undisclosed injury), Desmond Morgan, Joe Bolden, and James Ross. Royce Jenkins-Stone has been filling in for Ojemudia, and Lawrence Marshall has also made a positive impression. The backups on the inside are Ben Gedeon and Mike McCray. McCray and Allen Gant were both shown in video from yesterday wearing yellow non-contact jerseys, so their status is questionable.

Cornerback: The cornerback jobs are Jourdan Lewis’s and Blake Countess’s to lose. Nobody’s challenging them, and the depth is thin, anyway. Channing Stribling is the next option, but I haven’t heard any buzz about him really pushing for playing time.

Safety: Michigan is running a bunch of guys out there at safety. The buzz about Jabrill Peppers is non-stop; he’s playing free safety and moving down into the slot in nickel situations. Jarrod Wilson is bound to start at strong safety. Dymonte Thomas has also been dealing with an injury, but he seemed to have been doing better and rotating in for nickel packages. Delano Hill also may have turned a corner, and he looks pretty good athletically in the limited film I’ve seen; that has always been the book on him, that he’s a very good athlete who struggled to put it all together.