Random Saturday Thoughts

Tag: Mason Cole


20Feb 2016
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Random Saturday Thoughts

Gentry Morris Rudockx

Zach Gentry, Shane Morris, and Jake Rudock

Jim Harbaugh did a signing at The M Den yesterday, and some news bits came out of it. Because this time of year is slow, I’ll recap some of the bits and share my thoughts:

  • Harbaugh said that QB Zach Gentry is now TE Zach Gentry. It was always thought that Gentry could play tight end, but he was a highly ranked quarterback, too. I think a move from quarterback to tight end for Gentry – who was getting decent practice reviews – indicates that Harbaugh is pretty comfortable with John O’Korn, Brandon Peters, and others in the quarterback pipeline. If the prevailing thought holds, it has O’Korn starting in 2016 and 2017, and then perhaps Peters taking over as a redshirt sophomore in 2018. If Gentry were to stay at QB and succeed O’Korn, that would possibly have Peters waiting until his fifth year senior year to take the job. Things rarely work that cleanly, and not many highly touted guys want to wait five years to play. It’s a good idea to spread out the talent and get your best athletes on the field.
  • TE Khalid Hill is getting a chance to be FB Khalid Hill. The redshirt junior is not a great fit for fullback at 6’2″, 270 lbs. and with little experience carrying the ball, but he does provide a body at the fullback position that is severely depleted with seniors Joe Kerridge and Sione Houma graduating. I am more fond of the idea of playing tailback De’Veon Smith in the role that Houma held (part-time FB, part-time TB), but Hill is a talented pass-catcher and this would give Michigan a chance to get another starter-quality player on the field. There is a logjam at the tight end position, so it’s not a bad idea to spread those players out.
  • LT Mason Cole is going to be working at center this spring. Cole played some center last spring, but snapping the ball was an issue. He will presumably be a little further along this spring. Someone needs to step up at center, and it seems that the coaching staff isn’t pinning their hopes on redshirt junior Patrick Kugler. As of right now, the line looks like it will probably be: LT Grant Newsome, LG Ben Braden, C Mason Cole, RG Kyle Kalis, RT Erik Magnuson. However, there are rumors that a further shakeup could take place before the season.
  • Michigan will hold its spring game on the evening of April 1, 2016, which is a Friday. It will begin at 6:00 p.m. There is some grumbling that out-of-towners will not be able to make it to town, that it will be cold as the sun goes down, etc. Compared to other schools’ spring games, Michigan’s has not been anything special for a while. Maybe there isn’t even a need to make a glorified spring practice “special.” Regardless, it’s not the worst idea in the world to try something different. If out-of-towners are so dedicated that they’re grumbling about the time, then they probably won’t mind taking a day/half-day off of work to see the “game.”
  • The first spring practice will be held on February 29th.
23Aug 2015
Blog, homepage 7 comments

2015 Season Countdown: #8 Mason Cole

Mason Cole (#52)


Name:
Mason Cole
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 287 lbs.
High school: Tarpon Springs (FL) East Lake
Position: Offensive tackle
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #52
Last year: I ranked Cole #58 and said he would be a backup offensive lineman. He started all twelve games at left tackle.

Cole surprised a lot of people – including me – when he rolled out there as the starting left tackle on opening day in 2014. A highly touted offensive lineman who performed well against elite players in the 2014 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, he was expected to be an offensive guard who would need some time to bulk up and learn the nuances of the game at the next level. Instead, his spring game start at left tackle turned into a very unique situation where the Wolverines started a true freshman, blind-side tackle for every game of the year. Perhaps most amazing was the fact that Cole didn’t look too much out of place, and he was part of a line that improved significantly in many categories. A tip of the cap should go to Cole and his high school coach, because while many other Michigan linemen looked confused over the past few years under Brady Hoke and offensive line coach Darrell Funk, Cole was pretty adept at putting together all the moving parts into a puzzle he could understand.

Now he’s a grizzled veteran as a true sophomore. Even with a new coaching staff, Cole has been pretty steadily involved as the left tackle. This spring the coaches flirted with moving him inside to center, but snaps were reportedly an issue and the experiment did not last long. Erik Magnuson, who I thought would be the left tackle last year, is now at right tackle after spending half the season playing guard last year. There are no other contenders for the left tackle position, and an injury to Cole would likely mean a flip of Magnuson to the left side with someone like Logan Tuley-Tillman moving in on the right. Left tackle is a tough position to replace, but Cole does not seem to be the difference-maker just yet to warrant placing him higher on the list. I expect a solid performance out of him once again.

Prediction: Starting left tackle

20Mar 2015
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Spring Practice Rumblings

Mason Cole might not be blocking many edge rushers this season

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Based on recent developments and leaks, I’ll toss out some of the recent rumblings from practice, which you can feel free to dissect/discuss.

Quarterback: Different sources will say different things. I don’t really have much to add to that, except it seems like Shane Morris is mentioned most often as looking the best.

Running back: Ty Isaac had questions about his toughness coming out of high school, but he has played through some things this spring; however, he has been suffering from hand and hamstring injuries, so he is limited. Derrick Green has also been injured, and Drake Johnson is coming off that ACL tear. The one constant has been De’Veon Smith, who has been earning praise for his vision and attitude. It’s not really a secret that Smith can have a sullen disposition at times.

Fullback: With Sione Houma out due to injury, it’s still Joe Kerridge, Brady Pallante, and Chase Winovich getting reps at this spot.

Hit the jump for the rest of the positions.


Wide receiver: The hype about Drake Harris persists. He’s listed at 6’4″, 174 lbs. but there are reports that say he’s actually 185 now. That’s still not very big, but either way, I think the only thing that will keep him off the field this fall is the nagging injuries. He might not start, but I think he will play. Otherwise, there has not been much buzz about the receivers.

Tight end: Jake Butt has been looking pretty darn good, and Ian Bunting has shown promise as a pass receiving tight end. Henry Poggi has flipped from defensive end to tight end in an attempt to boost the numbers. I have not heard many positive things about A.J. Williams, who is a senior and still struggles to block people. Khalid Hill is still out recovering from his own ACL injury.

Offensive line: The lineup at a recent practice was (left to right) Logan Tuley-Tillman, Erik Magnuson, Mason Cole, Kyle Kalis, and Ben Braden. Cole – who was the starting left tackle last year – projected to the interior offensive line coming out of high school, so while I expected him to be a guard in college, center still fits him, in my opinion. That is if he can handle snapping, the calls, etc. It hurt that fifth year senior Jack Miller called it quits, and it hurt even more when Graham Glasgow prolonged his idiocy streak and disobeyed his probation. I have not heard good things about Patrick Kugler or Blake Bars, who were #3 and #4 at center, respectively, coming into the spring.

Defensive line: It sounds as if Michigan is going to be running more of a 3-4 look this year. I have heard positive things about Chris Wormley at strongside end, and Greg Mattison says the nose tackles have stood out. With Poggi playing offense for now, that makes Michigan pretty thin on the defensive line. They have a lot of tackle types and not much in the way of ends, at least until a couple freshmen arrive this summer.

Linebacker: The four starting linebackers in the 3-4 look have reportedly been Mario Ojemudia (who has an undisclosed injury), Desmond Morgan, Joe Bolden, and James Ross. Royce Jenkins-Stone has been filling in for Ojemudia, and Lawrence Marshall has also made a positive impression. The backups on the inside are Ben Gedeon and Mike McCray. McCray and Allen Gant were both shown in video from yesterday wearing yellow non-contact jerseys, so their status is questionable.

Cornerback: The cornerback jobs are Jourdan Lewis’s and Blake Countess’s to lose. Nobody’s challenging them, and the depth is thin, anyway. Channing Stribling is the next option, but I haven’t heard any buzz about him really pushing for playing time.

Safety: Michigan is running a bunch of guys out there at safety. The buzz about Jabrill Peppers is non-stop; he’s playing free safety and moving down into the slot in nickel situations. Jarrod Wilson is bound to start at strong safety. Dymonte Thomas has also been dealing with an injury, but he seemed to have been doing better and rotating in for nickel packages. Delano Hill also may have turned a corner, and he looks pretty good athletically in the limited film I’ve seen; that has always been the book on him, that he’s a very good athlete who struggled to put it all together.

17Dec 2014
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2014 ESPN Big Ten All-Freshman Team

The Big Ten Blog put out an all-freshman team (LINK). The team includes Michigan left tackle Mason Cole. There are several players that Michigan pursued coming out of high school, plus a couple that I wanted Michigan to recruit.

Player that held Michigan offers:

Mason Cole – OT – Michigan
Billy Price – OG – Ohio State
Malik McDowell – DE – Michigan State
Eli Apple – CB – Ohio State
Montae Nicholson – S – Michigan State
Marcus Allen – S – Penn State

Players I wanted Michigan to recruit:

Justin Jackson – RB – Northwestern
Curtis Samuel – RB – Ohio State

Michigan has some bruisers on the roster, but it would be nice to have some skills guys who are dangerous with the ball in their hands. Unfortunately, Michigan doesn’t have many guys who are quick enough to take it the distance at any given time. We’re left waiting for Dennis Norfleet to finally bust a big one or hoping that teams are shoddy enough tacklers to allow Derrick Green to plow through a few guys for a big score. Otherwise, all Michigan can do is gain chunks of yardage.

15Dec 2014
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2014 ESPN True Freshman All-America Team

Mason Cole

ESPN put together a freshman All-America team (LINK) that includes several names that will be familiar to Michigan fans, not only from watching college football, but also following recruiting. All four members of the secondary were recruited by Michigan. The team also includes Michigan left tackle Mason Cole, who started every game this season.

Other notable players:

Artavis Scott – WR – Clemson*
Cam Robinson – OL – Alabama*
Myles Garrett – DE – Texas A&M*
Raekwon McMillan – LB – Ohio State
Lorenzo Carter – LB – Georgia*
Dravon Henry – DB – West Virginia*
Jamal Adams – DB – LSU*
Quin Blanding – DB – Virginia*
Adoree’ Jackson – DB – USC*

*Recruited by Michigan