Tag: Joe Bolden

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl Preview: Linebackers

Blake Slaughter (#53) helped seal a win against TCU with an interception and 39-yard return

MICHIGAN
Starters: Sophomore weakside linebacker James Ross III (6’1″, 220 lbs.) leads the unit in tackles and is tied for the team lead despite missing the last 1.5 games with an injury; he has 81 stops, 5 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks. Quick and decisive, Ross makes plays by beating blockers to the point of attack, but he’s listed as “questionable” for the bowl game. Junior middle linebacker Desmond Morgan (6’1″, 227 lbs.) is a thumper despite not being particularly big, and he has 73 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 1 highlight-reel interception this season. Morgan isn’t the fastest linebacker around, but he can hold his ground in the run game. The “star” of the group is actually redshirt junior outside linebacker Jake Ryan (6’3″, 240 lbs.), who has just 26 tackles and 4 tackles for loss; he tore his ACL in the spring and returned halfway through the season, so he has flashed his old athleticism but hasn’t performed up to the standard he set in 2012.
Backups: Sophomore Joe Bolden (6’3″, 225 lbs.) is fourth on the team with 50 tackles, along with 3 tackles for loss and 1 sack. He will likely be Ross’s replacement if the starter can’t go. Bolden has been the top sub at both inside linebacker positions all year in what was mostly a three-man rotation, thus the high tackle total. Freshman Ben Gedeon (6’3″, 236 lbs.) took over Bolden’s substitute role with Ross out, so he might see a significant amount of playing time; he made 14 tackles and 1 sack in limited duty. The other notable player is fifth year senior Cam Gordon (6’3″, 237 lbs.), a fast and strong athlete who’s been pushed to the side by Ryan’s return despite having 38 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and 4 sacks on the season.

KANSAS STATE
Starters: Fifth year senior Blake Slaughter (5’10”, 227 lbs.) is the team leader in tackles with 103 and was honorable mention all-conference; he also had 6 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, and 1 interception. Despite being a little stouter than fellow inside linebacker Jonathan Truman (5’11”, 219 lbs.), Slaughter’s the one who bounces outside the box against trips formations and slot receivers. Slaughter was a little used linebacker in 2009-2011 and then redshirted in 2012 in order to help the team in 2013, which was part of the reason he was voted team captain this year. Truman has 85 tackles and 4 tackles for loss to his credit. He’s a redshirt sophomore former walk-on.
Backups: Senior Tre Walker (6’3″, 225 lbs.) is the outside linebacker when Kansas State is in a 4-3 look, and he has 26 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss this season. Redshirt freshman Will Davis (6’0″, 223 lbs.) has 16 tackles this season but doesn’t see a lot of playing time.

THE TAKEAWAY
Michigan has had solid play from its linebackers for most of the year, and they generally tend to be technically sound. The Wolverines basically have five guys capable of starting (Ross, Morgan, Ryan, Bolden, and Gordon) with Gedeon as a pretty good fourth inside linebacker. The inside guys won’t blitz often, but Ryan and Gordon can threaten the quarterback off the edge. In an admittedly limited study of Kansas State, I think Slaughter, Truman, and Walker are exploitable. Kansas State runs a lot of a 4-2-5 look, meaning their opponents are running at a six-man core that includes two linebackers who are the same weight as Michigan’s linebackers but don’t play quite as stout, in my opinion. They try to run around blocks and they have trouble disengaging. They are fairly quick, which might suit them well against some of the wide-open offenses in the Big 12 (Oregon State, Oklahoma, Baylor, etc.), but they might struggle against a straight-ahead running team that has power running backs in 240 lb. Derrick Green and 224 lb. De’Veon Smith.

ADVANTAGE: Michigan

Poll results: Who will be Michigan’s leading tackler in 2013?

Desmond Morgan (#48) and James Ross III (#15) are the top two tacklers so far.

Prior to the season, I asked which player would lead Michigan in tackles. So far the voting has been pretty accurate for the leader, although cornerback Raymon Taylor – whom I didn’t even put on the list – is close to the lead with 44 total takedowns.

James Ross III: 56%
After seven games, Ross has 50 total tackles.


Desmond Morgan: 27%
Morgan has 47 tackles at this point.


Joe Bolden: 6%
Bolden has 23 tackles as the main backup inside linebacker.


Thomas Gordon: 3%
T. Gordon sits at 25 tackles.


Cameron Gordon: 2%
C. Gordon has just 13 tackles right now.


Brennen Beyer: 1%
Beyer has made 18 tackles through seven contests.


Other: 1%
The “other 1%” have made 257 tackles altogether.


Blake Countess: 0%
Countess is the third-leading tackler among defensive backs with 27.

Michigan 28, Akron 24

Devin Gardner

A win is a win. A hundred years from now, nobody will remember this day. So there’s that. Otherwise, this was ugly. Good teams struggle sometimes. Is Michigan a good team? I think they’re pretty good. There’s still hope that this season will end magically, but let’s be honest – with a questionable interior line and wide receivers, an injury to the best defensive player, and no real stars on defense, perhaps Michigan fans should re-calibrate. That’s not say that things like this are okay, but poop happens.

The list of people who need to step up is long. I feel like this post could turn into a long list of complaining, but I’m going to try to make it brief:

• Devin Gardner. Gardner (16/30, 248 yards, 2 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 1 fumble lost; 10 carries, 103 yards, 1 touchdown) was forcing throws all day long. Even some of his early completions were hotly contested. He ran the ball well, but he seems overconfident in the abilities of himself and his receivers, as if every one of his throws should be completed just because their helmets have wings.
• Graham Glasgow, Jack Miller, Kyle Kalis, and Michael Schofield. Glasgow and Miller are getting physically overpowered by guys who aren’t 5-star Notre Dame recruits, and Glasgow is making some poor blocking reads in the run game. Glasgow and Kalis look lost out there against twist stunts, and even the redshirt senior Schofield had some whiffs.
• Joe Bolden. I used to be on the Joe Bolden bandwagon by suggesting he’s a starter-quality inside linebacker, but I’m not sure if that’s true. I don’t think it’s an indictment of his entire career, because it’s still early in his true sophomore year. However, I think it’s clear that James Ross III and Desmond Morgan are significantly ahead of Bolden, who struggles in pass coverage and is inconsistent stopping the run.
• Raymon Taylor. Taylor gets picked on quite a bit, and I don’t see him responding in terms of his coverage. He’s a feisty player and a decent tackler, but teams throw on him short and deep.
• Matt Wile. The punter should be Will Hagerup, of course, but Hagerup likes to get himself suspended. Instead, Wile is out there, and he’s been inconsistent. Yesterday included 21- and 22-yard shanks. On four punts, he averaged just 33 yards/attempt.
• Dennis Norfleet. Norfleet still overestimates his strength. Sometimes he cuts upfield into traffic when he could run laterally for another step or two and outrun the defender. Normally, I wouldn’t promote running laterally. However, Norfleet is a space player, and he’s put in space on special teams and by Al Borges’s play calls; he has room to run, but he thinks he’s still in high school where he could run through some tackles. Plus Norfleet still takes too many chances on punt returns.

2013 Season Countdown: #30 Joe Bolden

Joe Bolden

Name: Joe Bolden
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 222 lbs.
High school: Cincinnati (OH) Colerain
Position: Linebacker
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #35
Last year: I ranked Bolden #46 and said he would be a backup middle linebacker. He had 31 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 1 fumble recovery.

Bolden was indeed the backup to the now departed Kenny Demens last season, and Bolden even appeared to steal some snaps from Demens against teams like option-oriented Air Force. Bolden did a good job, especially for a true freshman linebacker. That’s not normally a spot where a freshman can be successful, and he did have a few struggles, but mostly he showed that he has a pretty solid future.

While Bolden looks like a future high-quality starter at MIKE, he seems to be planted behind junior Desmond Morgan for the upcoming season. Morgan was the starter at WILL last season, but is a more natural fit in the middle now that Demens graduated. Bolden’s presence does allow for some flexibility; sophomore WILL linebacker James Ross will start there, but Morgan could bump back over to the weakside if there’s an injury and Bolden could step in to start at MIKE. I also think Bolden could fit at SAM linebacker if needed. He’s in a slightly unfortunate spot of being the classmate of a future star (Ross) and a class behind some established starters (Morgan, Jake Ryan). When he does get a chance to start full-time at some point, I think Michigan fans will be pleased.

Prediction: Backup middle linebacker

Linebackers Preview: Michigan vs. South Carolina

Jake Ryan is Michigan’s best defensive player

MICHIGAN
Starters: Redshirt sophomore SAM linebacker Jake Ryan (6’3″, 242 lbs.) is the best defensive player on the squad with 84 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, and 3 pass breakups; he also plays some defensive end in passing situations.  Senior MIKE Kenny Demens (6’1″, 242 lbs.) struggled early in the season, but has played well down the stretch to notch 81 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, and 1 interception.  Sophomore WILL Desmond Morgan (6’1″, 227 lbs.) has 78 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, and 2 pass breakups on the year.  Whereas South Carolina’s defensive linemen make a lot of plays, Michigan’s defensive linemen eat up space and have allowed these linebackers to all make 80-ish tackles this season.
Backups: Freshman WILL James Ross (6’1″, 225 lbs.) was named to the conference’s All-Freshman team and made 34 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and .5 sacks during the regular season; despite his youth and lack of size, he has been the most consistent backup.  Fellow freshman linebacker Joe Bolden (6’3″, 223 lbs.) backs up Demens at the MIKE and has 28 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 1 fumble recovery on the year.  Redshirt junior Cam Gordon (6’3″, 236 lbs.) hasn’t made as many plays as I expected from him this year, but he has made 17 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and 1 pass breakup while spelling Ryan.

SOUTH CAROLINA
Starters: The Gamecocks basically run a 4-2-5 defensive, but safety-ish player DeVonte Holloman mostly plays like a linebacker, so I’ll include him in this portion.  Senior Holloman (6’2″, 241 lbs.) plays the Spur position, a strongside outside linebacker position much like former Wolverine Steve Brown played in 2009; Holloman has 54 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 4 pass breakups, and 3 interceptions.  Fifth year senior middle linebacker Reginald Bowens (6’3″, 254 lbs.) has put up mostly modest numbers with 55 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 1 pass breakup, but has created several turnover opportunities with 3 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries.  Senior weakside linebacker Shaq Wilson (5’11”, 224 lbs.) leads the team with 77 tackles and has 4.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions, 1 pass breakup, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery.