Tag: John Ferrara

2010 Countdown: #61 Quinton Washington

Name: Quinton Washington
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 307 lbs.
High school: Timberland High School in St. Stephen, SC
Position: Offensive guard
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #76
Last year: I ranked him #80 and said he’d redshirt. He redshirted.

Washington is a mammoth offensive guard, weighing more than all but two of his teammates – nose tackle Will Campbell (324 lbs.) and fellow guard Elliott Mealer (310). As evidence that Rich Rodriguez is embracing larger offensive linemen, there are now five 300-pounders; there were only two in 2009. With several guards ahead of him on the depth chart last season, Washington’s services weren’t needed . . .

. . . and they probably won’t be needed again this year. David Moosman was the only guard to graduate in 2009. Steve Schilling returns at left guard, and last year’s part-time starters at right guard (Patrick Omameh and Mark Huyge) also return. Mealer, Ricky Barnum, and part-time 2008 starter John Ferrara also return. There have also been reports from practice that Washington has been developing slowly. That’s not a concern at this point, considering that he’s only one year removed from high school. But Michigan fans shouldn’t be expecting to see Washington on the field much this season. Perhaps he can push for the guard position that Schilling will be vacating after this season.

2009 Countdown: #50 John Ferrara

Name: John Ferrara
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 279 lbs.
High School: Monsignor Farrell School on State Island, NJ
Position: Offensive guard
Class: RS junior
Jersey Number: #74
2008 statistics: 5 starts at left guard
Prediction for 2009: Backup guard

Due to many factors – the Great Migration of 2008, low recruiting numbers during the Carr era, injury to Mark Huyge, etc. – Ferrara moved from defensive tackle to offensive guard on the fly during fall camp last year. Despite garnering a fair amount of playing time as a redshirt freshman defensive tackle (12 games, 2 tackles, 1 TFL) in 2007, Ferrara agreed to the switch and pretty quickly beat out Tim McAvoy for the starting left guard position. He started five games there last year, but Steve Schilling has moved inside to guard, rendering Ferrara an afterthought as of now. He has starting experience and played pretty well in the second half of last year, but he probably won’t play much this year, and he’ll have to battle Ricky Barnum and Rocko Khoury for playing time in 2010.