Tag: Darryl Stonum

Darryl Stonum, ex-Wolverine

Michigan’s class of 2008 participants in the Under Armour All-America Game: Darryl Stonum, Christian Wilson, Dann O’Neill, and Brandon Moore.

Wide receiver Darryl Stonum was booted off the team today.  I’m not going to go through his litany of legal issues, but he had some alcohol- and probation-related offenses in the past that caused him to be suspended for the entirety of the 2011 season.  Head coach Brady Hoke hoped that the suspension would give Stonum a chance to get his life in order, but that obviously wasn’t the case.

Stonum’s final season of eligibility would have been 2012, so he leaves with one year remaining.  He had 76 career receptions for 1,008 yards and 6 touchdowns in his three years of play, with a school single-season record of 1,001 kickoff return yards (94 of which came on a TD return against Notre Dame) in 2009.  It’s unclear whether he will try to enter the NFL Draft or whether he will transfer to a lower division and play college ball next season.  My guess is that he will end up at an FCS school and try to make it to the NFL in 2013.

Michigan is now even thinner at wide receiver, a position that couldn’t really afford further attrition.  Junior Hemingway, Martavious Odoms, and Kelvin Grady have played their final year at Michigan, leaving rising senior Roy Roundtree, rising junior Jeremy Gallon, rising junior Jeremy Jackson, rising junior Drew Dileo, and a bunch of young’ns who haven’t seen the field at all; class of 2012 receivers Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh will have an even better chance of play this fall than they previously had.  Gallon is tiny, Jackson is slow, and Dileo is a little of both, so there’s no clear-cut successor at the outside receiver position.

There are some more potential options in the class of 2012, with Cincinnati (OH) Moeller’s Monty Madaris and Westlake Village (CA) Oaks Christian’s Jordan Payton both flirting with Michigan.  Madaris had potentially eliminated Michigan from contention, but this opens the door to playing time a little quicker.  Meanwhile, Payton is “committed” to the California Golden Bears, but their lead recruiter Tosh Lupoi just left for the Washington Huskies and Payton is rethinking his pledge.  Of course, there’s also the potential for more receivers to grab offers from Michigan or for the coaches to bank the scholarship for 2013.  However – and I questioned this at the time – Brady Hoke chose to bank a scholarship for 2012 instead of taking class of 2011 receiver Devin Lucien, who chose UCLA instead.  Lucien redshirted this past season for the Bruins, but he would have been another option for Michigan in 2012.

(I just happened to find the above picture interesting for its irrelevance to Michigan now.  Stonum was a huge disappointment and got booted, Wilson de-committed for North Carolina and now is a mediocre Tarheel H-back, O’Neill transferred to Western Michigan, and Brandon Moore has been an ineffective backup TE who has 2 career receptions.)

Poll Results: Who will be Michigan’s top draft pick in 2012?

Mike Martin eats Vincent Smith a midget

DT Mike Martin: 79%
C David Molk: 7%
QB Denard Robinson: 2%
WR Junior Hemingway: 2%
TE Kevin Koger/WR Roy Roundtree (tie): 1%
OG Patrick Omameh: 1%
LB Kenny Demens: 0%
CB Troy Woolfolk: 0%
WR Darryl Stonum: 0%
DE Ryan Van Bergen: 0%
Other: 0%

In a landslide victory for exactly whom I expected to win this poll, senior Mike Martin pulled in nearly 4 out of 5 votes.  Martin is a 6’2″, 304 lb. nose tackle with surprising quickness.  He might be undersized for playing nose tackle at the next level, which means he’ll likely have to be drafted by a 4-3 team with a need for a 3-tech defensive tackle.  In fact, Martin should probably be playing 3-tech in college, except Michigan has no other viable options at the nose tackle position.  For his career he has 108 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, and 6.5 sacks.

Fifth year senior David Molk took second place comfortably.  Molk is a 6’2″, 286 lb. center who will be entering his fourth season as a starter.  Despite being slightly undersized to be an extremely valuable commodity at the next level, he has consistently been mentioned as the strongest player on the team and was a first team All-Big Ten selection in 2010.  Molk has the quickness, leverage, and intelligence to do well at the college level, but he’ll likely have to add bulk in order to have a chance in the NFL.

Junior quarterback Denard Robinson barely beat out wide receiver Junior Hemingway for the third spot.  Robinson is a 6’0″, 195 lb. quarterback who set the NCAA record last year for the most rushing yards in a season by a QB.  He has struggled as a passer at times and with his lack of height, he could very well have to change positions to play at the next level.  I doubt he will leave early for the NFL when his future position is such a huge question mark.  Last season Robinson threw for 2,570 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 11 touchdowns.  He also had 1.702 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns on the ground.

Hemingway is a 6’1″, 222 lb. fifth year senior wide receiver.  Due to injuries and illness, he has never played a full season of football.  However, last year was his best statistical season when he grabbed 32 passes for 593 yards (18.5 yards per catch) and 4 touchdowns.  Hemingway has demonstrated good hands and leaping ability, and with his strength, he can often outmuscle cornerbacks for the ball.  He has only mediocre speed, though, and his production thus far has been mediocre.

Senior tight end Kevin Koger and redshirt junior wide receiver Roy Roundtree tied for the fifth spot.  Koger is a 6’4″, 258-pounder with excellent athleticism who has been underused for the past few seasons in Rich Rodriguez’s offense.  He has dropped some passes at times, but he has the speed, leaping ability, and size to be a huge mismatch for anyone willing and able to get him the ball.  The new coaching staff will almost certainly use him as a receiver more often than the old one.  In three years as a starter, he has averaged 12 receptions, 170.7 yards, and 1.7 touchdowns per season.

Roundtree stands 6’0″ and only 177 lbs.  Despite a lack of elite size and speed, he set a school record for receiving yards in one game with 246 against Illinois last season.  He also has four career receptions of 74+ yards.  No other player in Michigan history  has more than one reception of over 70 yards.  Still his lack of impressive measurables may cause him not to be a high draft pick, even if he plays out his eligibility and enters the 2013 NFL Draft.

Omameh is a 6’4″, 299 lb. offensive guard.  He has started the last 16 games Michigan has played and projects as the starting right guard in 2011, as well.  He moves well and gets to the second level with regularity, which suits the zone running game perfectly.  He’s also an above average pass blocker.  As just a redshirt junior, however, it would be somewhat of a surprise to see him enter the draft in 2012.  He’s more likely to be a 2013 entrant.

Demens is a 6’1″, 248 lb. middle linebacker who burst onto the scene in 2010.  Despite starting only seven games, he finished the season with 82 tackles and led the Wolverines in tackles per start.  Known as a thumping run stuffer, he needs to work on recognizing pass routes and getting to his pass drops.  He already has the size to play in the NFL and could play middle linebacker in a 4-3 or inside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme.  He might wait to enter the NFL Draft until 2013, since he has one year of eligibility remaining beyond 2011.

Woolfolk is 6’0″ tall and 191 lbs.  He missed his true senior season in 2010 due to an ankle dislocation, but started all 12 games in 2009, half at safety and half at cornerback.  With a couple exceptions, he played well at safety and improved when he moved back to cornerback for the second half of the year.  He has not proven to be a huge playmaker in his career (61 tackles, 3 pass breakups in three years), but other teams all but completely avoided throwing in his direction when he started at corner opposite current Pittsburgh Steeler Donovan Warren.  Woolfolk ran indoor track during his first few seasons on campus and has blazing makeup speed to go along with good size for the position.  Teams usually don’t spend high draft picks on guys who have zero career interceptions, so turning out big plays this fall will be important if Woolfolk wants a shot at the next level.

Stonum is a 6’2″, 195 lb. wideout whose lack of impressive statistics and keen ability to break the law make him extremely unlikely to be selected in the 2012 NFL Draft.  For one thing, he was suspended for the 2011 season and will take a redshirt, hoping to return in 2012.  For another thing, his best statistical season came in 2010, when he had 49 receptions for 633 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Those aren’t bad numbers, but his performance wasn’t impressive enough to make a team ignore his person issues.  Stonum also brings some potential value as a kick returner, since he returned 39 kickoffs for 1,001 yards (25.7 yards/attempt), including a 94-yard TD against Notre Dame in 2009.

The player with the least amount of votes was defensive end Ryan Van Bergen, a 6’6″, 288 lb. defensive end.  Van Bergen has played both defensive end and defensive tackle in his career, totaling 90 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 9 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, and 6 pass breakups in his career.  This season he’s bigger than he has ever been before, but Van Bergen works hard and has squeezed out just about every ounce of effort he can with his limited physical skills.  Some players make it to the NFL with superior athleticism, and some make it with a combination of athleticism and talent.  Not many make it that far on sheer determination.  Van Bergen could play at the next level as a defensive end in a 3-4 scheme, but his chances are slim.

The “Other” category received just one vote, and I’d be interested to know which player that voter had in mind.

2011 Countdown: #35 Darryl Stonum

Here’s a picture of Darryl Stonum standing on the sidelines, because that’s all he might be doing this year.

Name: Darryl Stonum
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 195 lbs.
High school: Dulles High School in Stafford, TX
Position: Wide receiver/kick returner
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #22
Last year: I ranked Stonum #13, said he would start at wide receiver and kick returner, and predicted 35 catches for 525 yards and 3 touchdowns.  He had 49 catches for 633 yards and 4 touchdowns, while also returning 22 kickoffs for 513 yards.

Stonum would be higher on the list if it weren’t for his little problem with drinking and staying on the good side of the law.  Unfortunately for everyone involved, he’s got himself into a bit of a mess and earned an indefinite suspension.  Stonum has himself a decent, if unspectacular, career going so far.  He’s started 25 games in three seasons, set the all-time Michigan record for kickoff return yardage in a season back in 2009, and finally started catching a significant amount of passes in 2010.  Last season he averaged 23.3 yards per kickoff return and finished second on the team in receptions, receiving yardage, and receiving touchdowns.

Now it’s unclear whether Stonum will suit up for Michigan ever again.  His indefinite suspension leaves things up in the air, and even if he does return, there are three other senior wideouts returning, to go along with redshirt junior and leading receiver Roy Roundtree.  Stonum will almost certainly get back in the rotation for playing time if he returns, but how rusty will he be?  Will the other guys have stepped up in his absence and refuse to relinquish their spots?  Ultimately, I think Stonum would have been kicked off the team already if Brady Hoke had the intention of kicking him off, and there is an opportunity for the senior wideout to return if he pays his dues (a.k.a. if he runs lots and lots and lots).  But his senior year will likely pale in comparison to what Michigan fans – and Stonum himself – pictured three years ago.

Prediction: 2-game suspension; backup wide receiver; part-time kick returner

Poll Results: Who will be Michigan’s leading receiver in 2011?

Roy Roundtree

Roy Roundtree: 48%

Poll Results: Michigan’s Fastest Player?

Denard Robinson blazes out of the blocks with former Michigan offensive line coach Greg Frey watching from the background.

Denard Robinson: 87%
Troy Woolfolk: 6%
Josh Furman: 3%
Michael Shaw: 1%
Darryl Stonum: 0%

In a predictable landslide victory, Denard Robinson wins the race.  I wasn’t fully convinced that Robinson was the fastest dude on the team until the Notre Dame game last year.  His acceleration on that 87-yard touchdown run was incredible.

The only player that I thought might give him a run for his money was Troy Woolfolk, an indoor track runner himself.  Woolfolk’s nickname when he was playing free safety back in 2009 was “The Eraser” for the way he made up for everyone else’s mistakes.  I have yet to see him truly get burned in a footrace, so hopefully he can return from his ankle injury without lingering effects.

Furman and Shaw are both speedsters in their own right.  Furman reportedly ran a 4.37 forty yard dash in high school, and Shaw was a potential qualifier for the Junior Olympics in high school if he had decided to stick with track.

Stonum is a little too boozed up to run straight right now, so I guess that’s why he didn’t get any votes.