Tag: Keith Heitzman

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl Preview: Defensive Line

Defensive end Ryan Mueller had 18.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks during the regular season.

MICHIGAN
Starters: Junior weakside end Frank Clark (6’2″, 273 lbs.) is the headliner of the group. As a Second Team all-conference selection, he started the season a little slowly but ended with 12 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. The other defensive end will likely be junior Brennen Beyer (6’3″, 250 lbs.), who has bounced from SAM linebacker to weakside end to SAM linebacker and now to strongside end. Despite starting every game this season, he has just 25 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks, so his playmaking skills are somewhat lacking. Fifth year senior Quinton Washington (6’4″, 301 lbs.) is the nose tackle, and he holds the point of attack fairly well but has made just 19 tackles while being hampered by a nagging back injury. Senior Jibreel Black (6’2″, 278 lbs.) is the 3-tech tackle and can give interior linemen trouble with his quickness, but generally, he lacks the bulk to hold up in the power run game, which could very well be an issue against Kansas State.
Backups: Redshirt sophomore Keith Heitzman (6’3″, 280 lbs.) began the season as the strongside end but is more of a stopgap player with 8 tackles and .5 tackles for loss. Redshirt freshman Chris Wormley (6’4″, 289 lbs.) has played end and 3-tech tackle, and while not a dominant player, he has flashed potential with 17 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks. Redshirt freshman Ryan Glasgow (6’4″, 300 lbs.) has played a fair amount at defensive tackle but has just 2 total tackles to show for it, and redshirt junior Richard Ash (6’3″, 314 lbs.) has 3 tackles on the season. The backup weakside ends are sophomore Mario Ojemudia (6’3″, 250 lbs.) with 20 tackles and 1.5 sacks and freshman Taco Charlton (6’6″, 270 lbs.) with 2 tackles and .5 tackles for loss.

KANSAS STATE
Starters: Redshirt junior left end Ryan Mueller (6’2″, 245 lbs.) is the star of KSU’s defensive front, racking up 61 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, 3 quarterback hurries, and 4 forced fumbles this year. That performance earned him first team all-conference honors and mention on some All-America teams. On the other end is senior Alauna Finau (6’1″, 258 lbs.), who has 20 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and .5 sacks on the year. Sophomore left defensive tackle Travis Britz (6’4″, 293 lbs.) has 33 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and 3 sacks. Senior right defensive tackle Chaquil Reed (6’3″, 309 lbs.) has 33 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks, and he runs pretty well for a big guy.
Key backups: Redshirt sophomore defensive end Marquel Bryant (6’3″, 241 lbs.) has 13 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks, and junior defensive tackle Valentino Coleman (6’3″, 285 lbs.) has 4 tackles as Britz’s backup. The only other defensive lineman to play in even half of the Wildcats’ games is redshirt junior defensive end Laton Dowling (6’3″, 254 lbs.), who has just 3 tackles on the year, but that includes 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack.

THE TAKEAWAY
Michigan is #27 in the country in rush defense with 139 yards allowed/game, and Kansas State is #40 giving up 145 yards/game. Against the pass, Michigan is #68 with 23 sacks, and Kansas State is #48 with 27 quarterback takedowns. Statistically, there’s not a ton that separates these two teams. In watching Oklahoma’s 41-31 win over the Wildcats in game 11, I was not impressed with the defensive line. Granted, Oklahoma was the #11 team in the country, but Finau and Coleman looked particularly vulnerable in the running game. They don’t flip their defensive line much, so Mueller has been able to rack up a lot of his numbers against teams’ right tackles, who are generally inferior to the left tackles. Against Michigan, Mueller will face likely one of his best opponents this year in Michael Schofield. Britz and Reed might be able to get a little bit of penetration, but Michigan’s improved offensive line play in the last couple weeks of the season should be sufficient to have a decent day. The Wildcats have the better individual statistics and perhaps the best overall player in Mueller, but with the way Clark, Ojemudia, Beyer, Wormley, Henry, Washington, and Black work together to funnel things to the inside linebackers, I think the advantage right here goes to . . .

ADVANTAGE: Michigan

Michigan vs. Northwestern Awards

Jake Butt’s one-handed overtime touchdown (image via MGoBlog)

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Derrick Green. I thought Green (19 carries, 79 yards) looked pretty solid in his first career start. He will never be the fastest back around, nor will he make many people miss. But what he’s always done well is hit the hole hard. On Saturday night, he appeared to be less worried about finding the hole and less preoccupied with holding onto the football, and as long as he can do those things successfully without overthinking, he should be a good alternative to Fitzgerald Toussaint down the stretch. Those two should be splitting carries next week if Toussaint is healthy.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . nobody. I was happy with the wide receiver rotation, the tight end rotation, and the running backs. Even Graham Glasgow had an error-free day snapping the ball.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Jehu Chesson. Okay, okay, I’m not suggesting that he move to defense . . . but I have been very impressed with his physicality through ten games. Whether he’s blocking or on special teams coverage, the guy hits people and is a solid tackler. Brady Hoke mentioned at the beginning of the year that Chesson almost moved to cornerback at one point last year, and I would not mind having his clone in the defensive backfield.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Keith Heitzman. I was in support of Heitzman early in the year, but the more I’ve seen of all these guys, the rotation right now seems to be pretty good. With Jake Ryan back at SAM linebacker and Cam Gordon a very athletic backup there, Beyer looks to be a more natural fit at defensive end with Chris Wormley playing rotation snaps. Even when Heitzman’s broken hand is fully healed, I think he’s a third-stringer – but if he’s your third string defensive end, you’re in pretty good shape.

Play of the game . . . Brendan Gibbons’s game-tying 44-yard field goal to send the game to overtime. You know the story already, but here it is again: Jeremy Gallon was tackled with about 11 seconds remaining after a 16-yard reception. He promptly got up, got the ball to the official to place on the right hashmark, and the field goal unit ran onto the field. While the blockers got set, wide receiver Drew Dileo came sprinting in from the opposite side of the field after running his own route, tapped the ground, and took the snap from Jareth Glanda with barely 1 second left on the clock. Gibbons hurried through his steps to knock the ball through the uprights. Honorable mention goes to Jake Butt’s one-handed touchdown grab from Devin Gardner in the first overtime.

MVP of the game . . . James Ross III. I came really close to picking Gardner (24/43, 226 yards, 1 touchdown; 17 carries for 19 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 two-point conversion), but Gardner had an off day throwing the ball. He was undoubtedly a tough competitor after getting beaten up the previous two weeks and working through five sacks in this game alone, but Ross was a big reason Michigan was able to hold down Northwestern’s potent, multi-pronged rushing attack. Ross ended the game with 13 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 sack; his tackles were the most by a Wolverine in any game this season, and he now leads the team with 75 tackles

2013 Season Countdown: #26 Keith Heitzman

Keith Heitzman (image via MGoBlog.com)

Name: Keith Heitzman
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 277 lbs.
High school: Hilliard (OH) Davidson
Position: Defensive end
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #92
Last year: I ranked Heitzman #43 and said he would be the backup 5-tech defensive end. He was the backup 5-tech and finished with 7 tackles, .5 tackles for loss, and 1 fumble recovery.

Heitzman spent last season behind Craig Roh. Roh was one of those guys who didn’t make a lot of great plays but didn’t do much wrong, either. Heitzman seems like the same type of player, so he didn’t really stand out last year as a backup. He made a tackle here or there and grabbed a fumble against Nebraska, but otherwise, he wasn’t spotlighted much.

With Roh graduated and gone, there’s a void at strongside end. There are several players who could  fill the spot, but Heitzman seems like the front-runner. He was the top backup there last season, he started there in the spring game, and the other players are even less experienced. Redshirt freshmen Matt Godin and Chris Wormley could also get reps at the position, and Godin in particular looked pretty impressive in the spring. I would expect there to be more rotation at SDE this year, so the backup(s) should get plenty of playing time, but Heitzman should be the first man on the field.

Prediction: Starting strongside end; 25 tackles, 2 sacks

Spring Practice Preview: Defense

Jake Ryan led the team in tackles as a redshirt sophomore

DEFENSIVE END
The strongside end is perhaps the biggest question mark on the team this spring, at least from a fan’s perspective.  Craig Roh graduated, and there are backups, potential position-switchers, and redshirt freshmen all vying for the vacated spot.  Will it be last year’s primary backup, redshirt freshman Keith Heitzman (7 tackles, 1 tackle for loss)?  Will it be senior Jibreel Black (20 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks), who played 3-tech defensive tackle last year?  Will it be a junior position-switcher from weakside end, Brennen Beyer (19 tackles) or Frank Clark (25 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 2 sacks)?  Will it be one of the redshirt freshmen, Chris Wormley or Tom Strobel?  Heitzman seems like a good fit if Ryan Van Bergen and Roh are the prototypes, but we have yet to see Wormley or Strobel on the field.  The weakside end spot seems a little easier to sort out.  Clark is too much of a playmaker – and not disciplined enough – to be a candidate for SDE, making him likely to stick at weakside end.  Sophomore Mario Ojemudia should be bigger by now, and he made a few nice plays last season.
Others to watch: Redshirt freshman Matt Godin hasn’t created much buzz, but he’s a big body who has the size to play the SDE spot.  Freshman early enrollee Taco Charlton is tall, long, and pretty lean, but he’s also very raw.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE
One starter is almost certain, and that’s fifth year senior Quinton Washington (32 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack).  Other prognostications are murky.  The second-best defensive tackle might be sophomore Ondre Pipkins (7 tackles), but he was overweight last year and seems best suited for Washington’s nose tackle spot.  Black and redshirt freshman Willie Henry would both be capable of playing the 3-tech position, and Wormley could end up there, too, if he’s not playing strongside end.
Others to watch: Redshirt juniors Richard Ash and Ken Wilkins have been mired on the bench mostly and totally, respectively.  It’s tough to see either one garnering a ton of playing time this year, since both were surpassed by an out-of-shape Pipkins.  Heitzman and Godin could also see some reps at 3-tech.


LINEBACKER
The strongside linebacker position is locked down by redshirt junior Jake Ryan (88 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks), and his backup is pretty solid in the form of fifth year senior Cam Gordon (17 tackles, 3 tackles for loss).  The inside linebacker spots will be filled by two of three guys.  My guess is that junior Desmond Morgan (81 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss) will move from weakside linebacker to the middle, while sophomore James Ross (36 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss) steps in at WILL.  Sophomore Joe Bolden (30 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 1 sack) is the other viable candidate at MIKE, and he also has the skills to be a backup at SAM.
Others to watch: Fifth year senior Mike Jones has been a backup his entire career, and that probably won’t change. Redshirt sophomore Antonio Poole sat out last season with an upper body muscle injury.  Sophomore Royce Jenkins-Stone is behind a couple good ones at MIKE, and redshirt freshman Kaleb Ringer missed the season due to a knee injury.  When the spring roster is released, don’t be surprised if some defections from this group are made known.

CORNERBACK
The biggest question isn’t so much about the talent at the position, but about whether redshirt sophomore Blake Countess is healthy after tearing his ACL in the season opener against Alabama.  Countess was good as a freshman in 2011 – with an occasional lapse – and should reach that level again with modern medicinal practices, but it might be too early to go hard for spring practices.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see the coaches hold him out of contact drills.  The other outside spot appears to be junior Raymon Taylor’s (45 tackles, 2 interceptions) to lose, and the nickel corner position has belonged to senior Courtney Avery (19 tackles, 2 tackles for loss) for the past couple seasons.  All three are returning starters if you count Countess from prior to his injury.
Others to watch: Junior Delonte Hollowell and sophomore Terry Richardson both played sparingly in 2012; both are small-ish and seem destined for nickel corner, field corner, or maybe just special teams play. One of the freshman early enrollees, Ross Douglas, was recruited to play nickel corner, too, but all of these guys may bounce around and play multiple positions because of low numbers.

SAFETY
One of the starting safeties will be fifth year senior Thomas Gordon (81 tackles, 2 interceptions); the question is, Which one?  The departure of Jordan Kovacs leaves a void at strong safety, and Gordon’s tackling, size, and speed make him a better fit at that spot than free safety.  Meanwhile, the other safety to earn significant playing time last season was rising sophomore Jarrod Wilson (8 tackles), who had his share of troubles, as young safeties often do.  Wilson is a 6’2″ ball hawk and fits better at free safety.  It would seem to make sense that Gordon moves to SS and Wilson gets inserted at the FS spot.  Also in the mix are senior Marvin Robinson and true freshman early enrollee Dymonte Thomas, and I could see a scenario in which Gordon/Wilson are the free safeties and Robinson/Thomas are the strong safeties.
Others to watch: Redshirt junior Josh Furman (8 tackles) hasn’t shown much in spring practices past or in limited playing time.  Redshirt freshman Jeremy Clark has the size and speed to be a good one at free safety, and classmate Allen Gant is more of an in-the-box strong safety; both seem to be a little ways down the pecking order right now.

Defensive Line Preview: Michigan vs. South Carolina

South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney might be the nation’s best defensive lineman (image via ESPN)

MICHIGAN
Starters: The Wolverines run a 4-3 Under defense.  Senior strongside end Craig Roh (6’5″, 281 lbs.) is a four-year starter and has 36 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and 4 sacks on the season.  The nominal starter at weakside end is sophomore Brennen Beyer (6’3″, 252 lbs.), who has made 18 tackles and forced 1 fumble on the year.  Redshirt junior nose tackle Quinton Washington (6’4″, 300 lbs.) has improved throughout the year but has notched just 29 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 1 forced fumble on the season; he’s more of a space eater than a playmaker.  Senior defensive tackle William Campbell (6’5″, 308 lbs.) has made 44 tackles, but has just 1.5 tackles for loss and 1 sack.  They don’t make a ton of penetration, but these guys eat up blockers and allow the linebackers to flow to the ball.
Backups: Sophomore weakside end Frank Clark (6’2″, 262 lbs.) is the most prominent backup and the biggest playmaker of the entire unit; he has 25 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, and 3 pass breakups on the year.  Junior defensive tackle Jibreel Black (6’2″, 279 lbs.) has 18 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 2 pass breakups.  Redshirt freshman Keith Heitzman (6’3″, 270 lbs.) backs up Roh and has 7 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 fumble recovery on the year.  Freshman nose tackle Ondre Pipkins (6’3″, 340 lbs.) has just 6 tackles on the season.

SOUTH CAROLINA
Starters: The Gamecocks run a 4-2-5 defense, basically with two strong safeties.  Sophomore weakside end Jadeveon Clowney (6’6″, 256 lbs.) is the star of the team; he’s an All-American who made some Heisman ballots with 50 tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss, 13 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 2 pass breakups. The line is bookended by fifth year senior Devin Taylor (6’8″, 267 lbs.), who ended the regular season with 40 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 5 pass breakups, and 1 fumble recovery. In between are fifth year senior nose tackle Byron Jerideau (6’1″, 316 lbs.) and sophomore defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles (6’4″, 286 lbs.).  Jerideau gets a little bit of push with 39 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks on the year.  Quarles has 36 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks.
Backups: Senior strongside end Aldrick Fordham (6’4″, 269 lbs.) is Taylor’s pass rushing sub, making 21 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles.  Even Clowney’s backup, redshirt junior Chaz Sutton (6’5″, 248 lbs.), can get after the quarterback with 23 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 pass batted down.  Redshirt freshman Gerald Dixon, Jr. (6’3″, 304 lbs.) and redshirt sophomore J.T. Surratt (6’2″, 295 lbs.) are slightly less productive as the backup defensive tackles, with 22 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, .5 sacks, 1 interception, and 1 pass breakup among them.

THE TAKEAWAY
Okay, this isn’t really a question.  The Gamecocks have the better defensive line by far.  Both of their backup defensive ends have put up better numbers than Michigan’s most productive starter.  They’re #5 in sacks (3.33 per game) and #15 against the run (119 yards/game).  Even with an All-American in Taylor Lewan at left tackle, South Carolina will likely give Michigan’s offensive line fits.
Advantage: South Carolina