Tag: Isaiah Bell

Ex-Wolverine Updates

S/LB Isaiah Bell: Bell is a 6’2″, 252 lb. linebacker at Lake Erie College, which opens its season this coming Saturday against Gannon. Last year he had 7 tackles as a backup linebacker and special teamer.

CB Cullen Christian: Christian, who transferred to Pitt after his 2010 freshman season, had 1 tackle as a backup free safety in the Panthers’ 41-13 loss to Florida State.

CB Dallas Crawford: Crawford, now a running back for the Miami Hurricanes, had 2 carries for 6 yards and 1 touchdown in a 34-6 victory over Florida Atlantic.

S Vladimir Emilien: Emilien had 2 tackles in Toledo’s 24-6 loss to Florida.

WR/TE Ricardo Miller: Miller graduated from Michigan and transferred to UMass, where he started Saturday’s game against Wisconsin after the player ahead of him got injured prior to the season. Miller has 2 catches for 22 yards in the 45-0 loss.

QB Kevin Newsome: Newsome, who de-committed in favor of Penn State during his recruitment, ended up as a wide receiver, then H-back, then running back at Temple. He chose to quit football after graduating this summer and is no longer on the Owls’ roster.

WR Dewayne Peace: Peace was declared academically ineligible at Houston for the 2013 season and entered the NFL’s supplemental draft, where he went undrafted (along with every other prospect who was available). Now he will presumably attempt to continue his professional football career in some fashion.

WR Je’Ron Stokes: Stokes, now at Norfolk State, had 2 catches for 24 yards in a 23-6 loss to Maine. In kind of a neat story, the second pass he caught was from his younger brother Malik.

S Ray Vinopal: Now Pitt’s starting free safety, Vinopal had 9 tackles in the loss to FSU.

CB Adrian Witty: Witty, who starts at free safety for Cincinnati, had 2 tackles and 1 interception returned 41 yards for a touchdown in a 42-7 win over Purdue. You can see that pick and return starting at about 2:59 in the video at the top.

How will the recent departures affect Michigan in 2012?

Darryl Stonum is Michigan’s biggest off-season loss

Several football players have left Michigan’s program this offseason, including four announced departures during Friday’s spring practice press conference.  Here I’ll rank the departures from most important to least:

WR Darryl Stonum: Stonum was booted out of the program for yet another run-in with the law.  He had several alcohol-related offenses throughout his college career and was suspended for the entirety of the 2011 season, which would have been his senior year.  Instead, he took a “redshirt year” and everyone hoped he would mature and jump back into a starting role for 2012.  In 2010 he had 49 receptions for 633 yards and 4 touchdowns.  He probably could have approximated those numbers again in 2012 because he would have been the most proven and most physically talented wide receiver on the roster.  The Wolverines lost Junior Hemingway, Martavious Odoms, and Kelvin Grady to graduation, who combined for 46 receptions, 908 yards, and 7 touchdowns.  Now the top two wideouts going into 2012 seem to be the 5’8″ Jeremy Gallon (31 receptions, 453 yards, 3 touchdowns) and Roy Roundtree (19 receptions, 355 yards, 2 touchdowns).  The loss of Stonum will hurt Michigan significantly.

C Rocko Khoury: Khoury was considered to be in the mix for the starting center job in 2012.  He had been the top backup at the position for the past two seasons, and with David Molk’s graduation, there was an opening.  Most of the buzz this offseason indicated that Ricky Barnum was the front-runner for the position, and perhaps that was because the coaches knew for a while that Khoury would not return.  I would be interested to know why Khoury is done at Michigan.  Did he burn out?  Did he assume he would lose the battle with Khoury?  Will he continue his career elsewhere?  The answers to those questions are unclear.  It is clear, however, that the Wolverines are dangerously thin at center now.  Barnum – who has a history of getting injured –  is practically guaranteed to start at center, and the backup is redshirt freshman Jack Miller, who was listed at 263 lbs. last season.  Other options are Elliott Mealer, who has played guard and tackle in his career and taken some practice; walk-on Joey Burzynski; or one of the true freshmen, although none of them was expected to play center when recruited.  Considering Barnum’s injury history, one or more backups are practically guaranteed to play at some point.

WR Terrence Robinson: Robinson was a virtual non-factor as a wide receiver (1 reception for 43 yards in 2010), but he turned into a bit of a special teams coverage demon in 2011.  He made a total of 6 tackles, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery on punt and kickoff coverage teams.  Some insiders believed that he even had a good shot at contributing on offense, based on comments that some of the coaches had made.  Robinson’s role can likely be filled on special teams, however, and history suggests that any offensive output would probably have been minimal.

RB Michael Cox: Cox contributed very little in Michigan’s 11-2 season last fall; the most he did was return a couple short kickoffs.  He had 19 career carries for 169 yards and 2 touchdowns, most of which came in 2009.  While Cox gave flashes that he might have been the most physically talented running back on the roster, rumors persisted that he struggled to learn the playbook and had some attitude issues.  He did play very well whenever he got a chance to show his skills, but all indications seemed to be that he would be see only limited duty again in 2012.  Of the six players listed here, Cox is the only one who has announced plans to continue his career elsewhere; he will transfer to UMass and play football for the upcoming season.

LB Isaiah Bell: Bell had been moored to the bench for the last three seasons.  He was likely destined to continue that role as a benchwarmer, and his departure should have virtually no effect on the team.

LS George Morales: Much like Bell, Morales hadn’t seen the field yet in his career.  The Wolverines have a couple long snappers already on the roster, one of whom (Jareth Glanda) won the starting short snapper job last season for field goals and extra points; there are also a couple kids entering school as part of the 2012 class who might be able to help if needed.

Isaiah Bell, ex-Wolverine

Isaiah Bell (#4) was an Under Armour All-American in 2009

Linebacker Isaiah Bell, who would have been a redshirt junior this coming fall, has left the football program.  He was a class of 2009 recruit out of Youngstown (OH) Liberty, a high school classmate of running back Fitzgerald Toussaint and 2010 signee Antonio Kinard, the latter of whom never made it to Michigan.  It’s unclear whether Bell plans to transfer to another school.

I was always a fan of Bell’s abilities from the time he came out of high school.  He was a large, fairly fast free safety as a high schooler.  The rumors surrounding him since he arrived at college were that he was misinformed about his college position.  When he arrived on campus in 2009, he was expecting to play free safety.  Perhaps because he had become a little too large, Rich Rodriguez and his staff stuck him at linebacker.  Bell was reportedly frustrated with that role, struggled to buy into the strength and conditioning program, and floundered on the bench for his entire career.  Bell’s problems seemed to be more mental than physical.  The only real glimpse we had of Bell was during the spring game in April 2011, when he played a bit as a weakside end, much like Jake Ryan did in nickel situations this past season.  As MGoBlog mentioned, he was left off the fall camp roster last season because the coaches can only have 105 players in camp.

Bell is the eighth class of 2009 signee to depart prior to exhausting eligibility.  For recaps of other former Wolverines, check out the Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia.

2011 Countdown: #72 Isaiah Bell

Isaiah Bell

Name: Isaiah Bell
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 245 lbs.
High school: Liberty High School in Youngstown, OH
Position: Middle linebacker
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #26
Last year: I ranked him #65 and said he would contribute on special teams. Bell did not play at all.

I was an unabashed fan of Bell when he was coming out of high school, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t have my doubts about him at this point.  He didn’t even play special teams as a redshirt freshman, and there have been persistent rumors about his work ethic, conditioning, attitude, etc.  He was largely non-existent in the spring game, too.

This coming season ought to be a barometer of what path Bell will take for the remainder of his career.  If he still can’t get on the field on special teams, that’s bad news and probably speaks more to his attitude than physical talent.  Walk-ons litter special teams units (Floyd Simmons, Zac Johnson, Tom Pomarico, Mark Moundros, Tony Anderson, etc.), and Bell obviously possesses more athleticism than most walk-ons.  But if Bell starts to see the field a little bit on specials and gets sprinkled in there on defense, then he might be a late-blooming type who can help the team as an upperclassman.

Prediction: Special teams contributor . . . ?

Welcome Back, 4-3 Under: The Linebackers

Shawn Crable would be ideal for the new regime

Last week I put up a post explaining how Michigan’s defense will look in the coming years under new defensive coordinator Greg Mattison.  Today we’ll take a look at the linebackers.

STRONGSIDE LINEBACKER (SAM)
Alignment:  9-technique, which is on the outside shoulder of the tight end
Gap responsibility:  D gap, which is outside the tight end
What should he look like?  If you’re building a team, this guy should be your best overall athlete with the best combination of size, strength, and speed.  He resides on the strong side of the formation and holds the point of attack on most run plays.  He will be blocked on every running play and take on blocks from fullbacks, tight ends, and pulling guards.  He also needs to cover running backs out of the backfield, drop into flat or hook zones, or occasionally slide inside and blitz the interior line.  These varied responsibilities require unique overall athleticism.  Shawn Crable, who was about 6’5″ and 245 lbs. and could run like a deer, would be the prototype.The physical freak you create in NCAA Football who’s 6’6″, 260 lbs., and runs a 4.3 forty . . . he’s a SAM.
Best physical fit:  Jake Ryan (6’3″, 224 lbs.).  Keep in mind that Ryan is just a freshman and probably weighs more than 224 at this point, but all these players are coming from a defense that didn’t recruit players for the SAM position.

MIDDLE LINEBACKER (MIKE)
Alignment: 3-off, which is on the outside shoulder of the strongside guard and off the line of scrimmage
Gap responsibility:  B gap, which is between the strongside tackle and guard
What should he look like?  Your middle linebacker should be the tackling machine.  As opposed to the middle linebacker in the 3-3-5 (who lines up directly over the center), the MIKE in a 4-3 Under aligns himself on the strong side of the formation.  The formation of the defense funnels most running plays to the MIKE’s vicinity.  He often has to defeat blocks from fullbacks, which means he has to have a sturdy frame.  He also needs to have a nose for the ball and roam sideline to sideline.  Unlike the 4-3 Tampa Cover Two defense, though, the MIKE in the 4-3 Under is somewhat protected in the passing game.  He needs to be able to cover crossing routes and hook zones, but the deep middle of the field will be covered by one of the safeties. Obviously, everyone would like to have a great athlete at every position, but the MIKE can afford to be a little stiffer in pass coverage.  The ideal size for a middle linebacker would be about 6’2″ and 245 lbs.
Best physical fit:  Isaiah Bell (6’1″, 245 lbs.)

WEAKSIDE LINEBACKER (WILL)
Alignment:  1-off, which is on the inside shoulder of the weakside guard and off the line of scrimmage
Gap responsibility:  Flow to the ball
What should he look like?  Michigan had a great deal of success with smaller weakside linebackers when Hoke and Mattison were in Ann Arbor earlier in their careers, and I see no reason why that philosophy would change in the near future.  Guys like Larry Foote and Ian Gold were both very effective while being a shade over 6′ tall and 205-225 lbs.  The WILL rarely needs to take on a fullback because of the defense’s alignment; with a NT over the center and a DT over the weakside guard, it’s difficult to create enough space in that A gap to send a big fullback leading up through the hole.  That means the WILL often gets a chance to flow to the ball and make things happen.  He will blitz often and pick up running backs or slot receivers on rare occasions, so he needs to be somewhat more agile than the MIKE.  So despite technically being an inside linebacker (aligned between the tackles), he can get away with being smaller.
Best physical fit: Antonio Poole (6’1″, 210 lbs.)