Tag: James Ross

2016 NFL Draft Preview: Michigan Wolverines

Jake Rudock

The 2016 NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. I’m not the world’s biggest draft junkie (you can only have so many obsessions in your life), but I am always enthralled by the first round of the NFL Draft. Other than the Super Bowl, it’s my favorite single NFL day of the year . . . depending on whether the Lions are in the playoffs or not, which is usually not. Tomorrow night I’ll be headed to a friend’s house where a half dozen of us will eat pizza, drink cold beverages, and make fun of each other’s favorite teams.

Several Michigan Wolverines will be on the board, but none will be taken on Thursday, barring a huge surprise. With their Combine and pro day numbers in mind (LINK), here’s a look at Michigan’s representatives in the Draft and some slightly educated guesses about where they’ll go:

Graham Glasgow, C
Glasgow is 6’6″, 307 lbs. and did 23 reps on the bench at the Combine. He ran a 5.13 forty and a 4.63 shuttle time. He also performed well playing both guard and center at the Senior Bowl. He will almost certainly get drafted, but probably not as the top center. It will be interesting to see whether his multiple off-the-field issues with alcohol will cause him to slide.
Best guess: Rd. 3, #87 overall to the Cincinnati Bengals

Willie Henry, DT
Henry stands 6’2″, 303 lbs. and did 28 reps on the bench at the Combine. He ran the forty in 5.0 seconds and a 4.53 shuttle. He also showed a 30.5″ vertical and a 9’2″ broad jump. Henry has good quickness off the ball and can be a playmaker, but he’s a little bit inconsistent. He struggled to hold up at times on the interior because of leverage issues, so he’s more of a 3-tech or an undersized end in a 3-4.
Best guess: Rd. 4, #106 overall to the Chicago Bears

Hit the jump for more on the expectations for Michigan’s outgoing seniors.

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Spring Football Preview: Linebackers

Ben Gedeon (#42) and Mike McCray II (#9)

Projected LB starters: SAM Jabrill Peppers (RS So.), MIKE Ben Gedeon (Sr.), WILL Mike McCray II (RS Jr.). It’s sad to say that this might be the last time we have a chance to see Jabrill Peppers in a Michigan uniform. A defensive back prospect coming out of high school, Don Brown seems to want him to play outside linebacker like Steve Brown did back in 2009. Gedeon is the only true, experienced linebacker returning from last year; he started one game last season and has 70 tackles, 5.5 TFLs, and 2 sacks in his career. McCray is more of a question mark. Listed at 6’4″ and 242 lbs. last year, he missed the whole season with a shoulder injury. In three years on campus – including a freshman season when he was injured and took a redshirt – he has 2 tackles and 1 blocked punt to his name. However, when the team took the field on Monday morning, he was reportedly the first WILL linebacker on the field.

Hit the jump for more on the linebacker position.

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Michigan vs. Minnesota Awards

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Drake Johnson. Much like last year, it seems like Drake Johnson (10 carries, 55 yards) is the only guy who can infuse life into the running game right now. For whatever reason, Ty Isaac and Karan Higdon did not participate in Saturday’s game, and Derrick Green (3 carries, 4 yards) is still just a guy. Meanwhile, starter De’Veon Smith (9 carries, 16 yards) is just limping along at this point. I’m unimpressed with Michigan’s options at the position, but there isn’t anyone new coming through the door just yet.

Hit the jump for the rest of the awards.

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Michigan vs. UNLV Awards

Jourdan Lewis

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Ty Isaac. This is not a new refrain for me, but it’s worth repeating. I think Isaac is the most talented back on the roster, and while his best career game did come against UNLV – which is not a quality opponent – it’s important to note that starter De’Veon Smith didn’t perform very well, either (13 carries, 33 yards). Meanwhile, Isaac had 8 carries for 114 yards and 1 score. Take away his 76-yard touchdown run, and he still ran 7 times for 38 yards (5.4 yards/carry). As things stand right now, Smith is averaging 3.9 yards/carry and Isaac is at 8.9, while Derrick Green sits at 3.5 and Drake Johnson has 5.2. Yards per carry is not the only measurement of a running back, but his primary job is to gain yards on the ground. Smith has 53 attempts this year, while Isaac has only 18. That’s too much of an imbalance.

Hit the jump for the rest of the awards for this week.
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Michigan vs. Utah Awards

Jake Butt

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Ty Isaac. It looks a little bit like De’Veon Smith might be the inside run guy, and Isaac might be the outside run guy. That is, at least until Drake Johnson returns from injury. Smith slammed it up inside 17 times for 47 yards, which is 2.76 yards/carry. Isaac wasn’t a great deal better on average (4 carries, 12 yards, 3.0 yards/carry) but he is quicker. Plus he can catch the ball, which Smith proved he could not do consistently when he embarrassingly dropped a wide open pass that hit him right in the hands. I don’t think Smith should be benched outright, but a 17-to-4 carry advantage is a little too lopsided.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . A.J. Williams. He doesn’t have to play less, necessarily, but I would prefer it if he never or rarely gets targeted. He had 1 catch for 2 yards on Thursday night, and he was targeted at least twice more. There needs to be an element of surprise at times, and maybe he’s the best blocker of the non-Jake Butt tight ends. But he is also arguably the least athletic of the tight ends, and his targets should either go to wideouts or players like Ian Bunting, Khalid Hill, etc. I know the moderators at Rivals were touting Williams as a potential breakout player this year, but I’ll believe it when I see it – and I don’t expect to see it.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . James Ross III. I have yet to be convinced that Michigan’s nickel safety and/or the other linebackers are better than Ross. Ross had 2 tackles and .5 tackles for loss in limited time on Thursday. I don’t think he’s a superstar, but I do think he’s pretty good at playing in space, and he’s perhaps the best hitter of the linebacker crew.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Channing Stribling. Stribling lost contain a couple times early in the game, and I don’t think his athleticism is anything special. He looks bigger and more physical this year, but I have yet to see him show the coverage ability to make a play on the ball. Through two seasons as a backup and one game as a starter, he has notched zero interceptions and zero pass breakups. I won’t declare him a total mess because he was not beaten over the top, but a guy who has been playing cornerback for two-plus seasons should have at least put a fingertip on a ball at some point in his career. Michigan has a transfer from Stanford in Wayne Lyons who has 3 interceptions and 6 pass breakups during his first three-plus years of playing time.

Play of the game . . . Jake Rudock to Jake Butt for a touchdown. Late in the third quarter, quarterback Jake Rudock was desperately looking for a score. He was so desperate that he launched a football into the midst of three red jerseys. Fortunately for him, the 6’6″, 248 lb. tight end Jake Butt rose up to reel in the pass, even though two Utes had chances to make a play on the ball with a third nearby. It turned into a 19-yard touchdown and one of Butt’s career highlights.

Player of the game . . . Jake Butt. Jim Harbaugh likes to use his tight ends, and Jake Rudock likes to use them as a security blanket, too. It’s fortunate that Michigan has a good one in Butt, who is a big target with soft hands who runs routes well. He ended the game with 8 catches for 93 yards (11.6 yards/catch) and the aforementioned touchdown. There were other players who played well for stretches (Jabrill Peppers, Chris Wormley, Amara Darboh), but nobody was as consistent as Butt from start to finish.