Tag: Jeremy Gallon

Review of 2009 Recruiting: Wide Receiver

The 2009 recruiting class was Rich Rodriguez’s first full recruiting class in Ann Arbor. Ultimately, not one of Michigan’s targets turned into a standout receiver on a national level, and the most productive player was Michigan’s own diminutive Jeremy Gallon.

THE ROSTER

• LaTerryal Savoy (RS Sr.)
• Greg Mathews (Sr.)
• James Rogers (Jr.)
• Junior Hemingway (RS So.)
• Darryl Stonum (So.)

THE RECRUITS

Jeremy Gallon
Ratings: 4-star, #12 ATH, #244 overall
High school: Apopka (FL) Apopka
College: Michigan
Other notable offers: Auburn, Iowa
Scoop: Gallon’s usage steadily increased throughout his career, starting with a redshirt in 2009, 4 catches in 2010, then 31, 41, and 89. Though he made some great players in 2012 with the combination of Denard Robinson and Devin Gardner behind center, his career really took off in 2013, when he and Gardner developed a special chemistry that resulted in 1,379 yards and 9 touchdowns. Gallon also averaged 7.1 yards/return on 47 punt returns and 20.6 yards/return on 32 kickoff returns. He was taken by the Patriots in the 7th round (#244 overall) in 2014 but never played in the NFL.

Cameron Gordon
Ratings: 4-star, #43 WR, #317 overall
High school: Inkster (MI) Inkster
College: Michigan
Other notable offers: Iowa, Minnesota
Scoop: Gordon was brought in with the promise to get a chance at wide receiver, so he redshirted in 2009 while figuring out that he wasn’t a receiver. The crack defensive staff at Michigan thought he should then be a safety, so they put him there in 2010, where he made 77 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 3 interceptions, and 1 fumble recovery for a touchdown. When Brady Hoke was hired in 2011, Gordon moved to a better spot at outside linebacker. By 2013 he made 40 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and 5 sacks. Altogether, his college career saw him make 138 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 fumble return TD. Gordon went undrafted in 2014 but spent parts of two seasons with the Patriots and Chiefs, including winning a Super Bowl with New England while on injured reserve.

Je’Ron Stokes
Ratings: 4-star, #11 WR, #94 overall
High school: Philadelphia (PA) Northeast
College: Michigan Bowling Green Norfolk State
Other notable offers: Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Penn State
Scoop: Stokes made just 3 catches for 27 yards over two seasons at Michigan before transferring to Bowling Green. After sitting out a season due to transfer rules, he made 15 catches for 114 yards and 1 touchdown for the Falcons. For his final year of eligibility in 2013, he transferred to Norfolk State to play with his brother, quarterback Malik Stokes, and ended up making 15 catches for 158 yards and 1 touchdown.

Hit the jump for a look at the rest of Michigan’s quarterback recruiting efforts in 2009.

Ranking Michigan’s Wide Receivers

Previously, I ranked the Michigan quarterbacks (LINK) and running backs (LINK) from the beginning of the Lloyd Carr era onward. That corresponds with the time that I have paid close attention to Michigan football.

Now we will take a look at the receivers. Because I don’t have an endless amount of time, I have to trim this down to guys who started at least twelve games in a Michigan uniform, which represents roughly one full season as a starter. The lone exception here is Devin Gardner, who started a bunch of games, but mostly at quarterback.

Hit the jump for the list.

Michigan’s All-Decade Team: 2010-2019

There are probably some controversial choices here – starting with the quarterback choice – but if I were putting together an all-star squad from the 2010-2019 seasons, here’s who I would want on my team.

QUARTERBACK: Jake Rudock
RUNNING BACK: Fitzgerald Toussaint
FULLBACK/H-BACK: Khalid Hill
WIDE RECEIVER: Jeremy Gallon
WIDE RECEIVER: Junior Hemingway
TIGHT END: Jake Butt
OFFENSIVE TACKLE: Taylor Lewan
OFFENSIVE GUARD: Ben Bredeson
CENTER: David Molk
OFFENSIVE GUARD: Patrick Omameh
OFFENSIVE TACKLE: Mason Cole
OFFENSIVE ALL-PURPOSE: Denard Robinson

DEFENSIVE END: Chase Winovich
DEFENSIVE END: Taco Charlton
DEFENSIVE TACKLE: Maurice Hurst, Jr.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE: Mike Martin
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER: Jake Ryan
INSIDE LINEBACKER: Devin Bush, Jr.
INSIDE LINEBACKER: Ben Gedeon
CORNERBACK: Jourdan Lewis
CORNERBACK: David Long
SAFETY: Jarrod Wilson
SAFETY: Dymonte Thomas
NICKEL: Jabrill Peppers
DEFENSIVE ALL-PURPOSE: Jordan Kovacs

PUNTER: Will Hart
KICKER: Kenny Allen
PUNT RETURNER: Donovan Peoples-Jones
KICKOFF RETURNER: Giles Jackson

The All-Hoke Team: Offense

Denard Robinson

You may or may not remember when I put together an all-star team for Rich Rodriguez’s tenure (OFFENSE, DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS). Well, here’s the Brady Hoke version. I patched together a pretty good team from the four seasons that Hoke was the head man in Ann Arbor.

QB: Devin Gardner (2013)
208-for-345 passing, 60.3%, 2960 yards, 21 touchdowns, 11 interceptions

165 carries for 483 yards, 2.9 yards/carry, 11 touchdowns
This may be an unpopular choice, but Gardner had some brilliant games (Notre Dame, Indiana, Ohio State) during the 2013 campaign. He ended the year as Michigan’s second-leading rusher and showed some great potential. The Notre Dame victory was exhilarating, he threw for 503 yards (a Michigan record) against Indiana, and played great against Ohio State despite a broken foot for part of the game.

RB: Denard Robinson (2012)
177 carries, 1266 yards, 7.2 yards/carry, 7 touchdowns

I’m cheating a bit here by putting Robinson at running back, but he did start a few games at the position after he returned from the elbow injury suffered against Nebraska. He broke 100 yards twice in his three games at running back. Even so, he showed enough running skills at the quarterback position to make this essentially a no-brainer. Imagine the running ability of a team with Gardner at QB and Robinson lined up behind him or next to him.

FB: Joe Kerridge (2014)
3 carries, 56 yards, 18.7 yards/carry
6 catches, 53 yards, 8.8 yards/catch
Hoke employed a fullback quite a bit, but his fullbacks didn’t touch the ball a lot. Kerridge set a record for the Hoke era by getting 9 touches, including some critical first downs and a 52-yard run on a fake punt against Maryland.

WR: Jeremy Gallon (2013)
89 catches, 1373 yards, 15.4 yards/catch, 9 touchdowns
Gallon and Gardner had a symbiotic relationship. Gallon didn’t produce a ton before Gardner became the quarterback, and Gardner was unproductive once Gallon graduated. Regardless, Gallon was a record-setter at Michigan with 1,373 yards that season and had 369 yards in a game against Indiana, the highest Big Ten total in history.

WR: Junior Hemingway (2011)
34 catches, 699 yards, 20.6 yards/catch, 4 touchdowns
Hemingway may not have had higher catch or yardage totals than other candidates for this spot, but he made lots of clutch plays and was Denard Robinson’s go-to guy like Gallon was Gardner’s. Hemingway had some huge catches in wins against Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Virginia Tech

TE: Kevin Koger (2011)
23 catches, 244 yards, 10.6 yards/catch, 4 touchdowns
Jake Butt might have more upside, but Koger had better production in 2011 and had the best combination of skills that Hoke had available at the tight end position. Koger could block, catch, and run a little bit. Plus he was named a captain and liked well enough to be asked to be a graduate assistant on the staff.

LT: Taylor Lewan (2012)
13 starts, 1 touchdown
Lewan peaked in 2012 when he was a First Team All-American and dominant all year, including a great showing against eventual #1 pick Jadeveon Clowney of South Carolina in the Outback Bowl. He also fell on a fumble in the endzone, notching a touchdown against UMass.

LG: Michael Schofield (2011)
10 starts
Schofield, a tackle by trade, earned the starting left guard job when Ricky Barnum was injured. Somewhat surprisingly, he performed very well for a young guy playing an unfamiliar position. He would eventually turn into a 3rd round pick by the Denver Broncos.

C: David Molk (2011)
12 starts
Molk started the first twelve games of the year and sat out the first series of the Sugar Bowl against Virginia Tech with an injury he suffered in pre-game warmups. When backup Rocko Khoury struggled with two bad snaps on three plays, Molk entered the game and helped lead the team to a victory. Molk was a First Team All-American and won the Rimington Trophy, given to the nation’s best center.

RG: Patrick Omameh (2011)
13 starts
Omameh seemed to have a better season in 2011 than 2012, even though he was named First Team All-Big Ten by the coaches in the latter season and not the former. The offensive line protected quarterback Denard Robinson pretty well in 2011 (#34 in sacks allowed), and Omameh helped pave the way for two 1,000-yard rushers (Robinson, running back Fitzgerald Toussaint).

RT: Mark Huyge (2011)
13 starts
With Schofield slotted at left guard, Huyge is really the only choice here. He wasn’t spectacular, but he was solid and never stood out as being a weakness. He, too, was part of the unit that protected the quarterback and helped Toussaint and Robinson run for 1,000 yards each.

2014 NFL Draft results and undrafted free agent news

1st round: Offensive tackle Taylor Lewan to Tennessee Titans (#11 overall)

3rd round:

 Offensive tackle Michael Schofield to Denver Broncos (#95 overall)

7th round: Wide receiver Jeremy Gallon to New England Patriots (#244 overall)

Undrafted free agents:
Jibreel Black – DT – Pittsburgh Steelers
Cameron Gordon – LB – New England Patriots
Thomas Gordon – S – New York Giants
Marvin Robinson – S – Dallas Cowboys*
Fitzgerald Toussaint – RB – Baltimore Ravens

*Robinson spent the 2013 season at Ferris State after transferring away from Michigan