Tag: Gemon Green

2021 Season Predictions

Look below for my bold, sure-to-be-100%-correct predictions for 2021.

LEADING RUSHER
It doesn’t get any bolder than picking the guy who has finished #1 or #2 in rushing the past two seasons (and the #1 guy from 2019 is playing for UCLA now). Yes, you guessed it. I’m picking Hassan Haskins. Haskins was a ho-hum recruit who has become a very dependable runner, if lacking great breakaway speed. Last season he took a stranglehold on the job, running 61 times for 375 yards (6.2 yards/carry) and 6 touchdowns. Sophomore Blake Corum should also get a good chunk of carries, but in crunch time, I expect Haskins to be the primary back.
Prediction: Hassan Haskins, 900 yards

Hit the jump for the rest of the prognostications.

2021 Season Countdown: #9 Gemon Green

Name: Gemon Green
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 181 lbs.
High school: DeSoto (TX) DeSoto
Position: Cornerback
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #22
Last year: I ranked Green #46 and said he would be a backup cornerback (LINK). He started six games and made 22 tackles with 9 pass breakups.
TTB Rating: 82

It was easy to watch Michigan’s secondary in 2020 and reach the conclusion that every player did bad and is bad. I think every Michigan fan probably felt that way at one point or another a year ago. But I thought Green had his fair share of positive moments. After getting embarrassed in week two against Michigan State, Michigan’s two starting cornerbacks went in divergent directions. Green seemed to take umbrage at getting picked on and improved. Opposite corner Vincent Gray seemed shell-shocked and the staff had to completely change how he played defense.

Going into the 2021 season, those career arcs seem destined to continue. Green was reportedly the first corner to lock up his starting job, while Gray’s spot seems to have been usurped by D.J. Turner II. Michigan continues to prioritize tall, lanky, athletic corners who are similar in body type to Green, and I think the coaching staff likes what they have in him. Green doesn’t have blazing speed, but he’s physical and has some length to make up for some of that lack of burst. I think the new defensive philosophy will help Green continue to ascend, making Green a possibility for the lower end of all-conference status (third team or honorable mention).

Prediction: Starting cornerback; 32 tackles, 1 interception

Penn State 27, Michigan 17

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Michigan’s lineup compared to where it should be:

• QB: Joe Milton Dylan McCaffrey Cade McNamara Joe Milton
• RB: Hassan Haskins
• WR: Nico Collins Cornelius Johnson
• WR: Ronnie Bell
• WR: Giles Jackson A.J. Henning
• TE: Nick Eubanks
• LT: Ryan Hayes Karsen Barnhart
• LG: Chuck Filiaga Trevor Keegan
• C: Andrew Vastardis Zach Carpenter
• RG: Andrew Stueber Zak Zinter Chuck Filiaga
• RT: Jalen Mayfield Andrew Stueber

• DE: Aidan Hutchinson Carlo Kemp
• DT: Carlo Kemp Chris Hinton, Jr.
• NT: Donovan Jeter
• DE: Kwity Paye
• Viper: Michael Barrett
• MIKE: Cam McGrone Adam Shibley
• WILL: Josh Ross
• CB: Gemon Green
• CB: Ambry Thomas Vincent Gray
• S: Brad Hawkins Hunter Reynolds
• S: Dax Hill

Going back six weeks to opening day, Michigan has 8 backups playing. And if you count the opt-outs, there are 12 positions affected. This is a MASH unit unlike anything I can remember at Michigan.

Hit the jump for more.

Michigan State 27, Michigan 24

This was bad. I want to get this out of the way first. I don’t like it when people say “This is inexcusable!” I will totally forgive Jim Harbaugh and Don Brown if they beat Ohio State. But you can’t just lay an egg against a rival – a terrible rival with a first-year coach who just lost to Rutgers – and walk away largely unscathed. This is probably the worst loss of Jim Harbaugh’s career, even though perhaps the 2015 loss was more heartbreaking, considering it took place with :00 seconds left on the clock. At least you could see this one coming.

Hit the jump for more.

2020 Season Countdown: #46 Gemon Green

Name: Gemon Green
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 180 lbs.
High school: DeSoto (TX) DeSoto
Position: Cornerback
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #22
Last year: I ranked Green #43 and said he would be a backup cornerback. (LINK). He made 5 tackles.
TTB Rating: 82

Green had a momentary uptick in expectations during the pre-season leading up to 2019 when it came out that Ambry Thomas was suffering from an illness. That left Thomas’s availability for the season up in the air, and maybe backup corners like Green were licking their chops at the chance to play. Luckily for Michigan, Thomas made a pretty miraculous recovery to be ready for game one and he stayed healthy throughout the year. Green was limited to special teams as Thomas, Lavert Hill, and Vincent Gray took the vast majority of snaps at corner.

This year Green is in the hot seat. With Hill having graduated, Michigan needs to find a third corner. Green is in his third year on campus and has the most experience of any of the backups, but he hasn’t separated himself from the pack. In fact, word on the street is that D.J. Turner II has been the most impressive of the backup corners. Green needs to stake his claim to playing time here in 2020 or else Gray, Turner, Darion Green-Warren, and/or others might make him irrelevant going into 2021.

Prediction: Backup cornerback