Tag: Fitzgerald Toussaint

2011 Spring Game Statistics

I haven’t seen these posted anywhere and struggled to find them through a Google search, so here are the statistics from Michigan’s spring game on April 16, as tallied by The Wolverine:

PASSING
Denard Robinson: 5/14, 71 yards
Devin Gardner: 5/10, 99 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Steve Wilson: 0/2
Jack Kennedy: 1/2, 10 yards

RUSHING
Michael Cox: 4 carries, 82 yards, 1 TD
Denard Robinson: 6 carries, 48 yards
Michael Shaw: 3 carries, 39 yards
Stephen Hopkins: 6 carries, 17 yards
Fitzgerald Toussaint: 7 carries, 14 yards
Jihad Rasheed: 3 carries, 10 yards
O’Neil Swanson: 3 carries, 5 yards
Steve Wilson: 1 carry, 1 yard
Vincent Smith: 1 carry, 0 yards
Jack Kennedy: 1 carry, -3 yards
Devin Gardner: 4 carries, -9 yards

RECEIVING
Jordan Barpal: 1 catch, 50 yards
Je’ron Stokes: 2 catches, 34 yards, 1 TD
Vincent Smith: 1 catch, 33 yards
Kelvin Grady: 1 catch, 10 yards
O’Neil Swanson: 1 catch, 10 yards
Kevin Koger: 1 catch, 7 yards

SACKS
Jake Ryan: 2
Carvin Johnson: 1
Craig Roh: 1

INTERCEPTIONS
Carvin Johnson: 2
Marell Evans: 1
Jake Ryan: 1 (returned for a TD)

FIELD GOALS
Seth Broekhuizen: 0/1 (missed from 30 yards)
Brendan Gibbons: 0/1 (missed from 48 yards)

PUNTING
Will Hagerup: 2 punts, 79 yards

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Preview: Michigan at Ohio State

I hate Ohio State’s uniforms, so here’s a picture of Terrelle Pryor from high school.

Earlier in the year, I had designs on going to Columbus for this game.  I never really had the thought that this game would have an impact on the Big Ten Championship from Michigan’s side, but I thought it might be competitive for the first time in a few years.  I decided not to get tickets even prior to the Wisconsin game, and after watching Michigan get manhandled by the Badgers, I’m glad I didn’t make the purchase.  There will be better years to foray into the heart of Buckeye country.

Rush Offense vs. Ohio State Rush Defense
This will be a battle Michigan must win to have any chance at a victory.  The Wolverines are the #10 rushing offense in the country (257 yards per game), and the Buckeyes are the #3 rush defense (86 yards per game).  Something has to give, and honestly, it will probably be the Ohio State defense.  The best rushing team Ohio State has faced was Wisconsin, who put up 188 yards at 4.37 yards a pop.  Earlier in the year, I railed against Rich Rodriguez’s heavy use of Denard Robinson in the running game to keep him fresh for late in the season.  Well, if ever there was a time to use Denard 30, 35, 40 times a game, this is it.  This is the game that matters, maybe for Rodriguez’s job, maybe for the perception of the program.  This game right here is why I didn’t want Robinson rushing the ball 29 times in a 20-point victory over UConn, but now it’s pedal to the medal.  Michigan’s running backs have largely been ineffective this season, although Vincent Smith has started to improve in the past couple weeks.  Michigan might also get a boost from the return of Fitzgerald Toussaint, a highly talented running back who has missed most of the season due to various injuries.
Advantage: Michigan

Pass Offense vs. Ohio State Pass Defense
The reason the rushing game will be so important is because the passing game scares me.  Michigan has the #30 pass offense and the #16 pass efficiency, but Ohio State is #5 in pass defense and #7 in pass efficiency D.  Denard Robinson still struggles to read defenses and go through his progressions.  And while Ohio State doesn’t make a ton of sacks (only 18 on the year), they have picked off 17 passes; meanwhile, Denard Robinson has thrown 10 picks, with 9 of them coming in Michigan’s last six games.  His accuracy and confidence have waned throughout the year.  Michigan might be missing a deep threat in Darryl Stonum, who injured his ankle returning a kick against Wisconsin.  That would leave the Wolverines down its two starting outside receivers from the beginning of the year, including Martavious Odoms, who has missed most of the year.  There will be open receivers because Ohio State is going to commit to stopping the run, but whether Robinson can hit those receivers downfield is a bit of a crapshoot.
Advantage: Ohio State

Rush Defense vs. Ohio State Rush Offense
Ummm . . . yeah.  So.  Michigan is bad at stopping the run.  This is well known.  While Wisconsin’s offensive line and running backs are more physical than Ohio State’s, Michigan’s defense effectively refused to stop the run against the Badgers, giving up 6.32 yards a carry.  And when you keep the ball on the ground 56 times in one game, it’s not like those yards came on surprise draws or reverses.  Nope, Wisconsin lined it up and simply dominated the line of scrimmage.  Ohio State would be wise to follow Wisconsin’s blueprint.  Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor has thrown 10 interceptions himself; so while Michigan’s pass rush isn’t fearsome and Michigan’s secondary is well below average, why take the chance at putting the ball in the air?
Advantage: Ohio State

Pass Defense vs. Ohio State Pass Defense
The Buckeyes are the #17 rushing offense, so they don’t need to pass the ball a ton; they average 230 passing yards a game, which is a middling 55th in the country.  But as much as Michigan fans like to make fun of the way Pryor throws the football, he ranks 14th in the country in passing efficiency.  It might be ugly, but it’s effective.  Ohio State has two solid receivers in Dane Sanzenbacher and DeVier Posey, and Pryor has the arm strength and touch to deliver deep balls consistently.  On the other hand, Michigan’s secondary is a work in progress.  Lacking its top two cornerbacks from the pre-season (Troy Woolfolk, J.T. Floyd) due to injury, it’s been mix-and-match since then.  But a strange thing seems to have happened since then – the secondary seems to be improving.  James Rogers has three interceptions in the last two games; true freshman Courtney Avery might already be a better cover corner than the guy he replaced (Floyd); and freshman free safety Ray Vinopal lacks the unfortunate quality of being a linebacker.  None of this is to say that Michigan will be great against the pass, but they should perform better than what we thought several weeks ago.
Advantage: Ohio State

Final Predictions

• Based on the lack of success against Wisconsin, Michigan runs a good deal of 4-man fronts
• Denard Robinson throws a pair of interceptions
• Fitzgerald Toussaint gets a couple carries and then gets injured
• Kelvin Grady leads the team in receiving
• Ohio State 45, Michigan 27

Michigan vs. Bowling Green Awards

Denard Robinson’s bruised knee ended his exciting day.

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Fitzgerald Toussaint.  Toussaint only carried the ball twice on Saturday.  One carry was a 61-yard gallop.  The other was a 5-yard touchdown.  He was caught from behind on the 61-yarder, but that can probably be attributed to the knee brace that was holding his sprained left knee in place.  I’m not going to hold that against him.  And if the biggest knock on a guy is that he got run down after gaining 61 yards, then I’m not too worried.  Unfortunately, he reportedly injured his shoulder, which is why he only got two carries.  Hopefully he can get healthy and stay healthy so we can see him on the field more in the coming weeks.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Kenny Demens.  He played pretty well on Saturday (5 tackles, 1 tackle for loss), and I think he’s a more viable backup than Mark Moundros.  And if all other things are equal, it’s better to get the younger guy reps.  Demens is only a redshirt sophomore, whereas Moundros is a fifth year senior and will be gone after 2010.  I know Moundros is a captain, but that shouldn’t necessarily figure into playing time.  (I also wish Moundros was still playing fullback, but that’s a separate discussion.)

MVP of the Bowling Green game . . . Denard Robinson.  Again.  He had 5 carries for 129 yards and 2 touchdowns, on top of going 4/4 passing for 60 yards.  He left with a bruise knee halfway through the first quarter, but he was on pace for approximately 800 total yards in the game.  He surely would have been pulled for a backup before he reached that level, but he could have easily hit 300 yards rushing by halftime.

You might notice that I didn’t give out any “Let’s see less of this guy . . . ” Awards.  That’s because all three units played fairly well on Saturday, and there weren’t any glaring weaknesses.  Plus I’ve already made clear my feelings on a few guys who get too much playing time, so there’s no need to revisit those quite yet.

2010 Countdown: #46 Fitzgerald Toussaint

Name: Fitzgerald Toussaint
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 199 lbs.
High school: Liberty High School in Youngstown, OH
Position: Running back
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #28
Last year: I ranked Toussaint #74 and said he’d redshirt. He broke his collarbone prior to the season and redshirted.

Toussaint entered college as a highly touted running back. I even stated that he would be the best offensive recruit in the 2009 class once all is said and done. Unfortunately for him, the hype fizzled due to an injury (I’ve read conflicting reports, but it was either his clavicle or his scapula). But with the graduation of Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown, the running back position is wide open and Toussaint got a fair amount of reps in the spring.

Reports are that Toussaint would have seen playing time in 2009 if not for the injury, but spring practice reports mentioned that he was a bit hesitant when running the ball. That injury might have had something to do with it, but regardless, he wasn’t extremely impressive in the spring game and he seems to be looking up at Mike Shaw, Vincent Smith, and Michael Cox. Physically, Toussaint has the best combination of size, speed, shiftiness, and hands to be the best back on the team. But that doesn’t mean he’ll be the starter right now.

Prediction for 2010: Backup running back, 45 carries, 225 yards, 2 TDs

2010 Recruiting Grades: Running Backs

Brooklyn Decker

Okay, so I realize the above photo isn’t Stephen Hopkins or Austin White. However, Hopkins’ high school uniforms looked like Ohio State’s, and White’s high school mascot was the Spartans. So I’m not putting pictures of them up here.

Hopkins is a 6′, 235 lb. running back from Flower Mound, Texas. With both Brandon Minor and Kevin Grady graduating after this past season, Michigan was in need of another big back. According to Fred Jackson, Hopkins can play both fullback and superback. As an early enrollee, he might work himself into good enough shape to contribute as a freshman. But his ceiling seems to be somewhat limited due to his lack of speed. He may not be a “fullback” in the truest sense of the word, but I don’t think he’s headed for feature back territory.

White, on the other hand, is a 6′, 186 lb. running back from Sterling Heights, MI. He’s probably not the type of running back who will earn Heisman hype like Noel Devine and Steve Slaton did at West Virginia, but he has solid skills. His best asset might be his ability to catch the ball, but Michigan doesn’t use its running backs as pass receivers very much. White might be the first running back under Rodriguez to consistently earn playing time both at running back and slot receiver, flip-flopping back and forth between plays. While his skills won’t wow anybody, he could be a solid option in a variety of ways.

Predictions: Hopkins will not start, but will earn playing time as a short yardage back or a fullback in the fall. If Vincent Smith can return to decent playing form in 2010 after tearing his ACL against Ohio State, I expect Austin White to redshirt. Hopkins plays a position where there is more immediate need, whereas White would presumably be behind Michael Shaw, Fitzgerald Toussaint, Michael Cox, and potentially Vincent Smith. Teric Jones and Kelvin Grady could also figure into the mix at running back, so there’s no need to play both freshmen in 2010.

Grade: B. I’m not extremely impressed with either running back, and I don’t think either one has all-conference potential. This is somewhat disappointing, because none of the backs on the current roster have established themselves as big-time players, either. But I think both will be serviceable as spot starters or as role players throughout their careers.