2011 Countdown: #51 Jeremy Gallon

Tag: Jeremy Gallon


11Jul 2011
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2011 Countdown: #51 Jeremy Gallon

This was all too common a sight in 2010 – Jeremy Gallon fumbling
the football.

Name: Jeremy Gallon
Height: 5’8″
Weight: 180 lbs.
High school: Apopka High School in Apopka, FL
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #10
Last year: I ranked Gallon #59 and said he would be a part-time returner.  He caught 4 passes for 49 yards and 1 touchdown; returned 10 punts for 43 yards; and returned 27 kickoffs for 589 yards.

Gallon was one of 2010’s most frustrating players, eliciting countless groans from Michigan fans who got tired of muffed punts and fumbled returns back in, oh, 2008.  I’m not even exaggerating when I say my high school team has had more sure-handed punt returners in recent years than Michigan’s squads; our varsity’s last muffed punt return was in 2008.  Unfortunately, special teams were a consistent problem for Michigan, and Gallon was no exception.  The muffs contributed to his paltry 4.3 average on punt returns, although his 21.8 yards per kick return isn’t embarrassing.

Moving into 2011 Gallon’s chances to contribute on the offensive side of the ball are somewhat diminished with the new offense being implemented.  Gallon is elusively and pretty powerfully built for being so short, but he doesn’t make for much of a target from the pocket for a 6’0″ quarterback.  He’ll have to try to get on the field by shoring up his fumbling problems, and he’ll have to battle with various young players for return duties, including the sure-handed Drew Dileo, who seems like Michigan’s punt returner of the future.

Prediction: Backup wide receiver; backup returner

4Oct 2010
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Michigan vs. Indiana Awards

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Darryl Stonum as a good kick returner.  Seriously, what happened?  Stonum set a Michigan record for kick return yardage last year.  He has improved as a receiver this year, but the team is #102 in the country in kick returns this season.  It’s not all Stonum’s fault – the blocking hasn’t been there.  But yeesh . . . as I said in yesterday’s post, every unit on the team has been bad except the offense.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson as punters.  It’s not that Tate and Denard have done a bad job of punting.  But the punter position was created for a reason.  If you’re allotting a scholarship for a punter, then use him.  Saturday’s “surprise” punt came from Tate when Michigan was sitting in its own territory on a 4th-and-1.  Just send Hagerup out there and let him kick it.  These “surprise” punts aren’t surprising when the QB lines up 8 yards behind the ball for the shotgun snap and when you run it almost every week.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Jibreel Black.  He seemed to be getting a decent pass rush throughout the game, which is impressive for a freshman defensive end.  I don’t think he should be the starter because I think he’s a liability against the run right now, but Indiana was a good matchup for him with their 64 pass attempts.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Jeremy Gallon as punt returner.  Another game, another muffed punt.  Luckily he recovered this one, but man, these punt return experiments just need to end.  I don’t understand why Michigan, with all its athleticism, can’t find a good punt returner.  Gallon has the running skills to be a good returner, but he doesn’t judge punts or catch them well.  Drew Dileo’s redshirt has already been burned, and returning punts is his forte.  Put Dileo back there, or someone else who can at least catch the ball consistently.

MVP of the Indiana game . . . Denard Robinson.  Yet again.  These really are video game numbers.  He finished 10-for-16 for 277 yards and 3 touchdowns.  He also carried the ball 19 times for 217 yards and 2 touchdowns.  And just like the Notre Dame game, he led the game-winning touchdown drive and scored the go-ahead TD.  How ridiculous is 27.7 yards per completion and 11.4 yards per carry?  Pretty ridiculous.

6Jul 2010
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2010 Countdown: #59 Jeremy Gallon


Name: Jeremy Gallon
Height: 5’8″
Weight: 171 lbs.
High school: Apopka High School in Apopka, FL
Position: Slot receiver
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #10
Last Year: I ranked Gallon #52 and suggested he’d help out on returns. He redshirted.

Gallon, a high school single-wing quarterback, came to Michigan with a lot of hype but was reportedly out of shape as a freshman. He’s an excellent athlete and a strong, slippery runner. But he’s also somewhat new to the job of running routes and catching the ball, having been almost exclusively a ballcarrier in high school.

Gallon is now a member of perhaps the strongest, deepest position on the team – slot receiver. Starters Martavious Odoms and Roy Roundtree return, and Kelvin Grady contributed 10 receptions; Terrence Robinson will also be vying for playing time after playing sparingly as a redshirt freshman. With all of that depth, one backup is almost indistinguishable from another. While I think Gallon will be a very good player before all is said and done, he doesn’t figure to earn a ton of playing time in 2010. Once again, his best opportunity to see the field will be returning kicks and punts. But it remains to be seen how big of a need that will be, since Darryl Stonum set a record for kick return yardage in 2009. Gallon will likely play some role in returning punts and kickoffs, but that contribution may be minimal.

Prediction for 2010: Part-time returner, spot duty at slot receiver

4Jul 2010
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2010 Countdown: #62 Kelvin Grady


Name: Kelvin Grady
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 167 lbs.
High school: East Grand Rapids High School in Grand Rapids, MI
Position: Slot receiver/running back
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #19
Last year: Not ranked.

The brother of former Michigan running back Kevin Grady, the younger Grady came to Michigan to play basketball. But he didn’t quite fit in Coach Beilein’s system and left the basketball team. Grady then decided to walk on to the football program in 2009 after having been a star high school running back. Grady was impressive enough that he earned starter-level playing time early in the season. He caught 10 passes for 102 yards and 1 touchdown, but was surpassed late in the season by Roy Roundtree; Grady started dropping passes and then didn’t even play in the final three games of the year.

The word from insiders is that Grady will be given a shot to earn playing time at either slot receiver or running back in the fall. Without a returning starter at the running back position – and underwhelming performances during the spring game – Grady might offer some depth. I’m not expecting much from him this fall. He’s too slight to play running back in the Big Ten, and there are better options there; and the combination of Roundtree and Martavious Odoms at slot receiver is potentially deadly, not to mention up-and-comers Terrence Robinson and Jeremy Gallon. It’s a good thing for Michigan that someone with Grady’s talent might be its fifth best player at the position; it’s a bad thing for Grady himself.

Prediction for 2010: Scarce duty as backup slot receiver. He won’t match the stat totals from 2009.

24Jun 2010
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2010 Countdown: #78 Drew Dileo


Name: Drew Dileo
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 175 lbs.
High school: Parkview Baptist Christian School in Greenwell Springs, LA
Position: Slot receiver
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Prediction for 2010: Redshirt

Another controversial Michigan commitment, Dileo will play slot receiver and potentially return kicks at Michigan. He played for a successful high school program and was a jack-of-all-trades type who played running back, receiver, cornerback, and kick returner. But he’s small-ish and 175 lbs. might be on the generous side, as he has a pretty slight build.

Dileo’s most likely contribution for the Wolverines will be as a return man, but that probably won’t happen this year. He needs to put on some weight, and there are plenty of guys ahead of him. Martavious Odoms, Darryl Stonum, Jeremy Gallon, and Terrence Robinson appear to be the front-runners for the return jobs for now.