Tag: Frank Clark

Review of 2013 Season Predictions

Jeremy Gallon set several records this season.

Here’s a link to my 2013 Season Predictions, which were posted at the end of August. This might be more fun for me than for you, but it’s interesting to me to see how things played out this year.

LEADING RUSHER
Prediction: Fitzgerald Toussaint, 900 yards
Actual: Fitzgerald Toussaint, 658 yards
Thoughts: The offensive line was worse than anyone expected it to be, and Toussaint struggled to average 3.5 yards/carry. The next highest total was Devin Gardner’s 483 yards.

LEADING RECEIVER
Prediction: Jeremy Gallon, 1100 yards
Actual: Jeremy Gallon, 1373 yards
Thoughts: Gallon had an outstanding season and goes down in the record books with the top yardage output by any receiver in Michigan history, surpassing Braylon Edwards’s 1,330 yards in 2004. I expected him to have a very good season due to the Gardner-Gallon chemistry, but this was more explosive than anyone probably envisioned.

LEADING TACKLER
Prediction: James Ross III, 90 tackles
Actual: Raymon Taylor, 86 tackles
Thoughts: It’s bad news when a cornerback leads the team in tackles, especially when that tackle total is so high. Opposing quarterbacks completed a lot of passes in front Taylor. Ross missed the second half of the Iowa game and the entire Ohio State game, so I’m pretty confident that he would have led the team in tackles if he had remained healthy.

LEADING SACKER
Prediction: Frank Clark, 8 sacks
Actual: Frank Clark and Cameron Gordon, 5 sacks (tie)
Thoughts: Clark started off slowly before turning on the jets a little bit in the middle of the season, but his season was somewhat of a disappointment considering all the offseason hype. Gordon started off quickly but lost some playing time once Jake Ryan returned midseason.

ALL-BIG TEN FIRST TEAM
Prediction: Taylor Lewan and Jeremy Gallon
Actual: Taylor Lewan was chosen by the Coaches and the Media. Devin Funchess and Blake Countess were chosen by the Media only.
Thoughts: Lewan was an obvious choice, and Gallon was robbed after conference finishes of #2 in receptions, #2 in yards, and #3 in touchdowns. Funchess earned his accolades as a tight end despite playing mostly at wide receiver, and Countess might be the Comeback Player of the Year in the conference after tearing his ACL in 2012. Nobody else on the team really had an argument to earn First Team honors.

LEADING SCORER (NON-QB, NON-KICKER)
Prediction: Fitzgerald Toussaint, 12 touchdowns
Actual: Fitzgerald Toussaint, 13 touchdowns
Thoughts: Toussaint ended up scoring 78 points on 13 rushing touchdowns, while I thought he would score 10 rushing and 2 receiving touchdowns, leaving him with 72 points. Gallon was next with 54 total points.

BREAKOUT OFFENSIVE PLAYER
Prediction: Jehu Chesson
Actual: Jake Butt
Thoughts: Chesson had an okay year with several devastating blocks, some nice plays on special teams coverage, and 15 catches for 221 yards and 1 touchdown. But I think Butt deserves this award as he improved as a blocker and became a reliable receiving target with 20 catches for 235 yards and 2 touchdowns.

BREAKOUT DEFENSIVE PLAYER
Prediction: James Ross
Actual: I don’t even know who to pick here. Perhaps the answer here is Blake Countess, but I don’t believe I even thought of him as being in the running since he was a starter as a true freshman in 2011. You could probably make an argument for Ross, Cam Gordon, or Frank Clark, who are the three guys I mentioned considering back in August.
Thoughts: Ross nearly led the team in tackles and might have surpassed 100 if he had been healthy. Gordon and Clark tied for the team lead in sacks. I don’t really see any other legitimate options here, although we saw glimpses of what Chris Wormley, Willie Henry, Ben Gedeon, and Jarrod Wilson can do.

MOST DISAPPOINTING OFFENSIVE PLAYER
Prediction: Jack Miller
Actual: Jack Miller?
Thoughts: Again, I’m not sure whom to pick here. Miller started the first several games at center before being benched, never to see the field again. There was lots of disappointment to go around due to the underachieving offense (Devin Gardner, Fitzgerald Toussaint, Taylor Lewan, Kyle Kalis, even Devin Funchess). I guess Miller wins because he was really the only starter to get permanently benched, but I’m open to arguments.

MOST DISAPPOINTING DEFENSIVE PLAYER
Prediction: Jarrod Wilson
Actual: Courtney Avery
Thoughts: This is another tough choice, but Wilson made some nice plays early in the season. Avery proved to be kind of a lost cause at cornerback and safety, where he didn’t really make one significant play all season except half of a sack against Michigan State. Otherwise, he was invisible except when guys were running past him. He went from a good nickel corner in 2011 to an okay one in 2012 to a liability at two different positions in 2013.

FINAL RECORD
Central Michigan: Win
Notre Dame: Win
Akron: Win
UConn: Win
Minnesota: Win
Penn State: Win Loss
Indiana: Win
Michigan State: Win Loss
Nebraska: Loss
Northwestern: Win
Iowa: Win Loss
Ohio State: Loss
—————————–
Prediction: 10-2
Actual: 7-5 (7-6 after bowl game) 

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl Preview: Defensive Line

Defensive end Ryan Mueller had 18.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks during the regular season.

MICHIGAN
Starters: Junior weakside end Frank Clark (6’2″, 273 lbs.) is the headliner of the group. As a Second Team all-conference selection, he started the season a little slowly but ended with 12 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. The other defensive end will likely be junior Brennen Beyer (6’3″, 250 lbs.), who has bounced from SAM linebacker to weakside end to SAM linebacker and now to strongside end. Despite starting every game this season, he has just 25 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks, so his playmaking skills are somewhat lacking. Fifth year senior Quinton Washington (6’4″, 301 lbs.) is the nose tackle, and he holds the point of attack fairly well but has made just 19 tackles while being hampered by a nagging back injury. Senior Jibreel Black (6’2″, 278 lbs.) is the 3-tech tackle and can give interior linemen trouble with his quickness, but generally, he lacks the bulk to hold up in the power run game, which could very well be an issue against Kansas State.
Backups: Redshirt sophomore Keith Heitzman (6’3″, 280 lbs.) began the season as the strongside end but is more of a stopgap player with 8 tackles and .5 tackles for loss. Redshirt freshman Chris Wormley (6’4″, 289 lbs.) has played end and 3-tech tackle, and while not a dominant player, he has flashed potential with 17 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks. Redshirt freshman Ryan Glasgow (6’4″, 300 lbs.) has played a fair amount at defensive tackle but has just 2 total tackles to show for it, and redshirt junior Richard Ash (6’3″, 314 lbs.) has 3 tackles on the season. The backup weakside ends are sophomore Mario Ojemudia (6’3″, 250 lbs.) with 20 tackles and 1.5 sacks and freshman Taco Charlton (6’6″, 270 lbs.) with 2 tackles and .5 tackles for loss.

KANSAS STATE
Starters: Redshirt junior left end Ryan Mueller (6’2″, 245 lbs.) is the star of KSU’s defensive front, racking up 61 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, 3 quarterback hurries, and 4 forced fumbles this year. That performance earned him first team all-conference honors and mention on some All-America teams. On the other end is senior Alauna Finau (6’1″, 258 lbs.), who has 20 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and .5 sacks on the year. Sophomore left defensive tackle Travis Britz (6’4″, 293 lbs.) has 33 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and 3 sacks. Senior right defensive tackle Chaquil Reed (6’3″, 309 lbs.) has 33 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks, and he runs pretty well for a big guy.
Key backups: Redshirt sophomore defensive end Marquel Bryant (6’3″, 241 lbs.) has 13 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks, and junior defensive tackle Valentino Coleman (6’3″, 285 lbs.) has 4 tackles as Britz’s backup. The only other defensive lineman to play in even half of the Wildcats’ games is redshirt junior defensive end Laton Dowling (6’3″, 254 lbs.), who has just 3 tackles on the year, but that includes 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack.

THE TAKEAWAY
Michigan is #27 in the country in rush defense with 139 yards allowed/game, and Kansas State is #40 giving up 145 yards/game. Against the pass, Michigan is #68 with 23 sacks, and Kansas State is #48 with 27 quarterback takedowns. Statistically, there’s not a ton that separates these two teams. In watching Oklahoma’s 41-31 win over the Wildcats in game 11, I was not impressed with the defensive line. Granted, Oklahoma was the #11 team in the country, but Finau and Coleman looked particularly vulnerable in the running game. They don’t flip their defensive line much, so Mueller has been able to rack up a lot of his numbers against teams’ right tackles, who are generally inferior to the left tackles. Against Michigan, Mueller will face likely one of his best opponents this year in Michael Schofield. Britz and Reed might be able to get a little bit of penetration, but Michigan’s improved offensive line play in the last couple weeks of the season should be sufficient to have a decent day. The Wildcats have the better individual statistics and perhaps the best overall player in Mueller, but with the way Clark, Ojemudia, Beyer, Wormley, Henry, Washington, and Black work together to funnel things to the inside linebackers, I think the advantage right here goes to . . .

ADVANTAGE: Michigan

2013 All-Big Ten Awards announced

Taylor Lewan

The Big Ten released its all-conference players and award winners on Monday. The Michigan representatives are as follows:

Kwalick-Clark Tight End of the Year: Devin Funchess
Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year: Taylor Lewan

COACHES
First Team: OT Taylor Lewan
Second Team: WR Jeremy Gallon, TE Devin Funchess, DE Frank Clark, CB Blake Countess
Honorable Mention: OT Michael Schofield, DT Jibreel Black
Sportsmanship: CB Courtney Avery

MEDIA
First Team: OT Taylor Lewan, TE Devin Funchess, CB Blake Countess
Second Team: WR Jeremy Gallon
Honorable Mention: QB Devin Gardner, DE Frank Clark, DT Jibreel Black, CB Raymon Taylor, K Brendan Gibbons

First Annual All-Big Ten Teams

Michigan vs. Michigan State Awards

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Drew Dileo. Dileo is/was recovering from an injury, which is why he didn’t play much on Saturday, but I think he makes Michigan’s offense very difficult to defend. With Jeremy Gallon and Devin Funchess on the outside, a healthy Dileo working the middle is a tough third option. Most teams have a quick and/or fast slot receiver to use, but Michigan’s slot option at this point is the lumbering Jeremy Jackson. Hopefully Dileo can come back fully healthy for the remainder of the year.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . Jeremy Jackson. I really don’t care who enters the game in his place, but Jackson needs to have his feet glued to the sideline. I sincerely have not seen a slower, less athletic wide receiver get significant playing time for Michigan in my entire life. He can’t get separation and can’t jump, and he’s not a good enough blocker to justify putting him on the field. Whether it’s Dennis Norfleet, Joe Reynolds, or Da’Mario Jones, somebody should be taking Jackson’s snaps.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Blake Countess at left cornerback. I keep seeing teams pick on Jourdan Lewis and Channing Stribling on the outside, and I can’t help but think that maybe Countess would be best used on the outside. Stribling is a good sized, fairly physical kid, and Dymonte Thomas has been practicing at nickel corner; one of those two guys might be worth a look instead of putting Stribling/Lewis out there, both of whom have been beaten regularly.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . the freshman corners. For the reasons stated above. I think they’ll both be good down the road, but they’re not right now.

Play of the game . . . Devin Gardner’s 58-yard pass to Jehu Chesson. There really aren’t many options for play of the game, but this was a solid one, regardless. Gardner launched a deep ball down the left hash, and the youngster Chesson – who has had a hard time adjusting to balls in the air – leaped up to grab it in double coverage. Not only was it Michigan’s longest play of the day, but it showed that Michigan might have another developing deep threat for other teams to respect. Michigan currently has three guys who can get vertical – Chesson, Gallon, and Funchess – and even with Gallon graduating after this year, there could be more guys to stretch the field with Da’Mario Jones, Drake Harris, Freddy Canteen, and/or Maurice Ways potentially earning time.

MVP of the game . . . Frank Clark. In what was essentially a blowout loss with very little scoring, it’s tough to pick a real MVP. The most productive guy on offense was Jehu Chesson (3 catches, 82 yards), and usual stalwarts Devin Gardner (14/27 passing, 210 yards, 1 pick; 18 carries for -46 yards), Jeremy Gallon (5 catches, 67 yards), and Devin Funchess (6 catches, 65 yards) were mostly held in check. Clark, though, had a career-high 9 tackles, a career-high 2.5 tackles for loss, and 1 quarterback hurry. Michigan State had a very difficult time handling him up front.