Name: Mark Huyge Height: 6’6″ Weight: 306 lbs. High school: Catholic Central High School in Wyoming, MI Positon: Offensive tackle Class: Redshirt senior Jersey number: #72 Last year: I ranked Huyge #24 and said he would be the starting right tackle. He started 3 games at left tackle and 4 games at right tackle.
Huyge has bounced around the offensive line in his career, starting games at both tackle positions as well as right guard. Coming out of high school, he wasn’t expected to be a huge contributor, and he has probably exceeded expectations by starting 16 games in his career before his senior season even begins. However, he has probably been the least effective member of the front line. Sometimes I even forget that he’s out there . . . which probably isn’t a bad thing. To be blunt he wasn’t a Rich Rodriguez type of lineman. Huyge was recruited by Lloyd Carr the year before Carr left, and I doubt that Rodriguez would have pursued him, since he’s not very athletic and he’s not from Florida. But the kid has played well enough to be forgettable, so hooray for him.
Going into the 2011 season, Huyge is once again in an offense where his movement skills will not be as big of a liability. The 2010 team seemed to lean on the left side of the line, probably because future star Taylor Lewan was at left tackle and NFL draft pick Steve Schilling was at left guard. The team got solid production by running away from the combination of Huyge/Dorrestein at right tackle, and the offense obviously did well. But now that Huyge’s most important assignment will be to down block a defensive tackle rather than reach block a defensive end, his size and strength ought to once again become an asset. Michigan ought to be able to run the power (and the bootleg off of it) without having to avoid the right side of the line, which will be huge for the right-handed Denard Robinson. Huyge won’t be a first day pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, but he should once again be a forgettable starter in the shadows of Lewan and center David Molk.
The California Golden Bears use a zone blocking system
Hey Thunder, I’m curious as to how you think the Michigan offensive line will perform in 2011. What are the main differences in zone blocking vs. man blocking schemes, and do you think Michigan’s current group is up to the task? I’ve never coached offensive line (or defensive line) in my brief career, so I’m curious. Thanks!
To first get some terminology out of the way, no team out there runs a true “man blocking scheme”, at least not the way many people interpret those words That phrase can be disingenuous.
When one talks about zone blocking, it usually refers to a play in which a running play is intended to go in a general direction, not necessarily to one particular hole. The offensive linemen do follow some rules about who to engage, but generally, a linemen tries to lock on to a defender, take him in whichever direction he wants to go, and then let the running back find a lane to follow. A good explanation from a blog I like comes from Smart Football’s post on the matter.
When one talks about man blocking, it often refers to rule blocking. There are some plays within man blocking schemes in which the offensive linemen choose who to block based on counting the number of defenders to their side of the ball. For example, on a running play to the right, the center might block the #1 guy to the right of the ball (whether it’s a defensive lineman or linebacker), the guard takes #2, the tackle takes #3, and the tight end walls off #4. In that type of situation, it doesn’t matter how the defense aligns – the linemen just count at the line of scrimmage and then try to drive defenders off the ball. A post from footballcoaching.com provides a list of pros and cons for each type of scheme. Man blocking schemes do have the ability to run complicated plays, such as the counter trey, on which the backside guard and backside tackle pull and lead through a hole. Unlike zone plays, these plays typically are intended to go to one particular hole.
As for how Michigan’s linemen will fare in what we can only assume will be a more man blocking-oriented scheme, I think they’ll be just fine. Rich Rodriguez and Mike Barwis realized last year that 290-pound linemen can’t get the job done at Michigan, so several of them bulked up to 300 pounds for the 2010 season. I don’t expect that Michigan will return to having oodles of 320-330 lb. behemoths, but some of these guys should be able to hit 310-315. New strength and conditioning coach Aaron Wellman has talked about keeping down his players’ body fat percentage, so I don’t expect Michigan to turn into a bunch of Wisconsin Badger-like fatties.
Individually . . .
LT Taylor Lewan. He was somewhat light this past season due to his youth, but I think he can be successful in any scheme. He’s strong, nasty, and athletic. I’ve said since he was recruited that he plays like Jake Long. He’ll continue to add some weight and continue to be a mauler.
LG Ricky Barnum (?). I’m operating under the assumption that Barnum will replace the departed Steve Schilling. Barnum has flirted with playing offensive tackle in the past, but he doesn’t have the length to play tackle. To me he’s a prototypical bowling ball of a guard.
C David Molk. Molk might be the lightest guy on the offensive line, but he’s also the strongest. Centers are typically the smallest offensive linemen, so I’m not concerned about his lack of size.
RG Patrick Omameh. I still think that Omameh would be a good fit at offensive tackle, although I’m not sure he’ll switch positions at this point. He doesn’t have the prototypical body type for a guard in a man blocking scheme; he might be heavy enough, but he’s more the athletic guard type than a straight ahead mauler. He’s excellent on the move, like former UCLA Bruin and Baltimore Raven Johnathan Ogden (although obviously not as big and probably not as good), so I expect offensive coordinator Al Borges to run counters, waggles, and traps to utilize Omameh’s athleticism.
RT Mark Huyge. I’ve never been impressed with Huyge, but maybe he’ll take a leap as a senior. He’s got the size, but I’ve just never thought of him as a great athlete. If another guard steps up (Rocko Khoury, maybe), I wouldn’t mind seeing Omameh bump out to RT and having Khoury step in at right guard. We’ll see what happens.
These guys probably won’t be the equivalent of the mean, nasty, road grading offensive linemen that populated Michigan in decades past, but they should be able to hold their ground. If Borges and Brady Hoke hold to their promise of making changes to the offense based on personnel, then they should be able to take advantage of this line’s strengths. I don’t want to see Borges forced into zone blocking if that’s not his specialty, but he needs to get these guys on the move.
Name: Mark Huyge Height: 6’6″ Weight: 306 lbs. High school: Catholic Central High School in Wyoming, MI Positon: Offensive tackle Class: Redshirt junior Jersey number: #72 Last year: I ranked Huyge #22 and said he’d be the starting right tackle. He began the season as the starter at right tackle, but moved inside to guard once David Moosman bumped to center. He started 4 games at tackle and 5 games at guard.
Huyge battled Perry Dorrestein for the right tackle job in 2009, finally winning the job in fall camp. He started the season there, but with the injury to center David Molk and the subsequent David Moosman move from guard to center, Huyge was deemed a decent fit at right guard. However, his starting role was eventually eliminated, as then-redshirt freshman Patrick Omameh beat him out at guard and Dorrestein had entrenched himself at right tackle. Huyge watched the last couple games from the bench, aside from some special teams duty.
With the graduation of two senior offensive linemen (Moosman and left tackle Mark Ortmann), the opportunity for Huyge to become a starter is there for the taking once again. Omameh will almost surely start at guard once again, but it’s a four-way battle for the tackle positions between Huyge, Dorrestein, Taylor Lewan, and Michael Schofield. Huyge’s most significant challenge will most likely come from Schofield, but the chances Schofield beats out the redshirt junior are very slim. Until or unless an injury occurs, Huyge is your starting right tackle in 2010. He’s not a great blocker in either phase of the game, but Rodriguez is probably in a make-or-break year, and he probably can’t entrust the tackle positions to redshirt freshmen.
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.
