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
With a couple exceptions, the spring game was largely devoid of big plays for the offense. This was the longest play from the line of scrimmage. It’s the second team offense vs. the second team defense, but it gives us a good look at what the defense will be trying to do in 2011.
ABOVE: Prior to the snap, the defense is in a standard 4-3 under look. FS Marvin Robinson is shifted over to cover the slot receiver, while SS Josh Furman is about 12 yards directly off the ball. CB Terrence Talbott is walked off the line of scrimmage with only TE Mike Kwiatkowski on his side. Meanwhile, H-back Ricardo Miller has motioned across the offensive formation and is now offset between the strongside OG and OT.
ABOVE: Initial action suggests it’s a power run. LG Rocko Khoury is pulling across the formation; Kwiatkowski and RT Erik Gunderson are double-teaming LDE Ken Wilkins, who has stood straight up. Meanwhile, MLB Brandon Herron reads run and immediately steps up to fill the hole. NT Will Heininger gets outmuscled and collapsed away from the play.
ABOVE: As RB Michael Cox gets the handoff, LT Kristian Mateus whiffs on DE Jibreel Black, who’s totally and completely screwed if this is a rollout pass. HB Ricardo Miller impacts SAM Jake Ryan with LG Rocko Khoury coming to help, while DE Ken Wilkins gets driven off the ball. MIKE Brandon Herron steps up into the developing hole and WILL Brandin Hawthorne (?) flows to the ball. CB Terrence Talbott has started to come up and support while FS Marvin Robinson follows his receiver across the field.
ABOVE: SAM Jake Ryan completely stones both blockers and stands his ground, while MIKE Brandon Herron meets RB Michael Cox about a half yard beyond the line of scrimmage; this should be stopped for a gain of a yard or two. DE Jibreel Black missed Cox in the backfield and has run himself out of the play. CB Terrence Talbott has stepped up in run support, and FS Marvin Robinson appears to see the ballcarrier and can presumably fight through a block to help make the tackle.
ABOVE: Oops. MIKE Brandon Herron tackles like a middle schooler. WILL Brandin Hawthorne (?) lies prone on the ground from just being in the general vicinity of football player-sized football players. Meanwhile, FS Marvin Robinson has completely overrun the play and lost his leverage on the ballcarrier. And because of his careless positioning, he flummoxes SS Josh Furman, who has finally stepped up to support only to be thwarted by a teammate. RB Michael Cox sees the cutback and engages afterburners.
ABOVE: WR Martavious Odoms (?) has good position on CB Greg Brown (?) and walls him off. As RB Michael Cox hits the 45-yard line, he’s a half step in front of FS Marvin Robinson and a half step behind SS Josh Furman. Speed has always been a question for Robinson, but Furman is a supposed burner who ran a supposed 4.37 in high school.
ABOVE: As RB Michael Cox crosses the goal line with a 68-yard touchdown run, FS Marvin Robinson has gone from half a yard behind Cox to about 9 yards. SS Josh Furman has lost about 4 yards on Cox. Of course, both were chasing Cox at an angle as he veered toward the left sideline, but neither ever seemed in danger of catching Cox once he turned on the jets.
WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
Well, if nothing else, we know what Michigan’s defensive alignment looks like and how the “power play” works.
Ken Wilkins, who just got outmuscled by a duo of walk-ons, will probably not be ready to play this year. There’s a reason that Jibreel Black was playing some 5-tech DT, and the above type of play might be it.
I like Michael Cox, but Giant Mistake #1 was Brandon Herron’s complete and utter failure to even slow down the running back. If you’re a fifth year senior and can’t slow down a guy who runs smack into your chest, hope is all but lost. I guess I ought to cut Herron some slack because he did get bumped by Khoury, but still.
Angles and positioning are of utmost importance. It’s one thing if Wilkins lines up in the right spot and gets double-teamed out of the hole. But Giant Mistake #2 on this play was Marvin Robinson thinking he was in a race with Je’ron Stokes to get to the sideline. By the time Stokes said, “Aw, I was just foolin’, man, I ain’t gonna race you,” Robinson was the Tie Bomber to Cox’s Millennium Falcon. Robinson must maintain leverage on the runner, because he doesn’t have the speed to get caught flat-footed and then make up for it. There aren’t many Big Ten running backs who will be chased down by Robinson if he doesn’t take good angles.
Good linebacker play makes this a 1- or 2-yard gain. Good safety play makes this an 8-yard gain. Bad linebacker play combined with bad safety play makes this a 68-yard touchdown run.
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.)
Many Michigan fans seem worried that the new coaching staff has thrown out offers with what fans deem to be reckless abandon over the last couple months. At last count Michigan has verbally offered 130 prospects from the class of 2012.
The key word there is “verbally.” Due to a new rule for this recruiting cycle, high schoolers cannot receive official, written offers until August 1 of their senior year. That means someone like Stefon Diggs (pictured above) won’t be 100% sure of who’s recruiting him until a little over four months from now. In the olden days, kids could receive written offers on September 1 of their junior years, meaning Diggs would have been offered several months ago.
One thing to watch is how many kids actually accept offers this early in the process. Since they can’t have official offers in hand for another several months, kids may be feeling out the process a little longer. It seems that there have been fewer early commitments in the class of 2012 overall. Only 19 of the 130 offered have already committed to a particular program.
While offers are coming at a much faster rate this year, they seem to be going to higher level athletes. Of the 130 offers, 84 of them (56%) are on the Rivals 250 to Watch list, which means they are likely to be 4-stars or higher. In my opinion, many of the other 46 players have a very good chance of being 4-stars, as well.
By about this time in the past few recruiting classes, Michigan not only had offers out to some lower level guys, but actual commitments from guys like Teric Jones (buried on the bench at RB), Antonio Kinard (a non-qualifier who ended up at Miami), Isaiah Bell (buried on the bench at LB), and Delonte Hollowell (who ended up as a middling 3-star prospect). This is not to say that those guys won’t end up being solid players at some point, but early offers and commitments should be elite kids. You can find the Teric Joneses and Antonio Kinards of the world late in the recruiting game, like Michigan has with Ray Vinopal, Jake Ryan, and Russell Bellomy.
Additionally, Michigan’s midwest recruiting base is pretty talented this season, which means the coaches – and recruits – don’t have to travel far. Forty-four of the 130 offers (34%) are to kids from Big Ten states.
I was not a huge fan of the Brady Hoke hire, so this is not coming from the we-need-a-Michigan-Man-to-right-the-ship perspective: I am legitimately not concerned with the number of offers the Wolverines have put out there. This coaching staff seems to have a better grasp on the type of talent Michigan can and should recruit. I will voice my concern if and when Hoke starts tossing out offers like candy to MAC-level and Big East-level talent, but so far that’s not the case.
Best overall recruit: Devin Gardner Gardner will likely redshirt, but largely because there are two good sophomore quarterbacks on the team. He’s got the size, speed, arm strength, and leadership – the sky is the limit.
Best offensive recruit: Devin Gardner Duh.
Best defensive recruit: Marvin Robinson Robinson will go through an adjustment period, but he’s going to be a star at some point. He should be a 215 lb. heat-seeking missile within a couple years.
Recruit most likely to make an early impact: Will Hagerup He’s virtually guaranteed to be the starting punter as a true freshman.
Fastest recruit: Josh Furman Furman has run electronic times in the high 4.3-second range.
Strongest recruit: Ken Wilkins A supposed workout warrior, Wilkins reportedly bench presses 365 lbs. and squats 375 – as a 244 lb. linebacker/defensive end.
Best under-the-radar recruit: Jake Ryan Even Michigan’s middling recruits got a lot of hype, so not many qualify for this category. But Ryan has the potential to be a solid linebacker in a couple years. I’m hoping he plays middle linebacker rather than Craig Roh’s rush linebacker position.
Most overrated recruit: Jeremy Jackson Jackson’s recruiting rankings fell slowly as the recruiting cycle wore on, but he reportedly had offers from Texas and Florida. In my opinion, his lack of speed will make college ball a very difficult transition for him.
Recruit most likely to redshirt: Christian Pace He enrolled early, but weighed only 259 lbs. for spring ball. With two capable centers on the roster (David Molk, Rocko Khoury) and a couple other guys who have been getting snaps for two years now (Elliott Mealer, Ricky Barnum), Pace won’t be needed in 2010.
