31Mar 2014
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| 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
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| Mario Ojemudia (#53) |
Name: Mario Ojemudia
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 244 lbs.
High school: Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison
Position: Defensive end
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number:#53
Last year: I ranked Ojemudia #61 and said he would be a backup weakside end. He had 11 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery.
Ojemudia played immediately against Alabama in last season’s opener, making 3 tackles and .5 tackles for loss. Not a bad start to a career. He showed some flashes of being a playmaker with a diving interception off a deflection against Nebraska and when he forced a fumble against South Carolina by spiking inside and surprising the Gamecocks running back. Despite making plays in limited time, he still found himself way behind starter Brennen Beyer, whose next big play will be his first, and a little behind Frank Clark.
This year Ojemudia has added about 20 lbs. and should be more physically ready to take on a bigger role. While neither Beyer or Clark graduated, the former has been bumped to SAM linebacker while Jake Ryan recovers form his torn ACL. That should move Ojemudia up to the backup role behind Clark, although freshman Taco Charlton will also press for playing time. Michigan is clearly stockpiling some talent at the weakside end spot, because they have three long and athletic guys to throw out there even though the starter switched to another position. Michigan should finally get some consistent, quality production and explosiveness from the WDE spot.
Prediction: Backup weakside end
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| No. 16 isn’t allowed to get hurt anymore. (image via AnnArbor.com) |
Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Devin Gardner at quarterback. He might not have done any better than Russell Bellomy (3/16, 38 yards, 3 interceptions), but he couldn’t have done much worse. In Gardner’s career, he’s 11/23 for 176 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception.
Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . Russell Bellomy, obviously. I still believe he’ll eventually be a competent quarterback, but if there was any question about whether he’s ready or not, that was answered on Saturday night. The coaches insisted in the off-season that Gardner was the #2 quarterback; well, now it’s time to make sure that happens.
Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . nobody.
Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Jake Ryan at defensive end. Ryan is much more effective as a SAM linebacker, and Cameron Gordon is a downgrade at the position. Ryan played a fair amount of defensive end because Frank Clark missed the game due to an ankle injury, so hopefully that injury heals quickly and #47 can go back to his regular position.
Play of the game . . . linebacker Desmond Morgan broke up a pass headed for the left flat, and freshman defensive end Mario Ojemudia – who was playing defensive tackle on the play – hustled after the play to make a diving interception.
MVP of the game . . . Craig Roh. Nobody did well offensively, but Roh made several nice plays from his defensive end position. Last year defensive linemen Ryan Van Bergen and Mike Martin dominated up front, and Roh carried on that tradition this year. He had 5 tackles, 2 tackles for loss (for 15 yards), and 1 sack (for 10 yards).
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| Desmond Morgan (image via AnnArbor.com) |
Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Jeremy Gallon. Gallon had a couple decent runs and a few good catch-and-runs. Good things tend to happen when Michigan gets the ball in his hands. Three catches and 2 rushing attempts are too few touches.
Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . good defenses. Because most of the time, they make Denard Robinson look lost.
Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Brennen Beyer. I know Beyer has been injured, but I’m looking forward to his return. That will allow Jake Ryan to play SAM linebacker and move around occasionally without having to play defensive end on running downs.
Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Mario Ojemudia. He’s just not ready right now. I know he’s in there because of necessity, but he’s not strong enough or big enough to make any plays right now. It would be nice if Michigan could get enough depth where they don’t have to play guys like this every year.
Play of the game . . . Thomas Gordon’s interception. Gordon made a leaping catch of an Everett Golson pass in the endzone, preventing a scoring opportunity for the Fighting Irish.
MVP of the game . . . there aren’t a whole lot of options, because nobody really had an exceptional night. I’m going to go with sophomore linebacker Desmond Morgan, who I thought had a very good game. I haven’t rewatched the game, but in watching on Saturday night, I thought he was very solid in run support. I also thought Quinton Washington got off the ball really well; this was the best performance I’ve seen out of him.
