29Nov 2017
2017 All-Big Ten Offense
Mason Cole
The Big Ten released its all-conference offensive teams on Wednesday (LINK).
Mason Cole
The Big Ten released its all-conference offensive teams on Wednesday (LINK).
Patrick Kugler (#57, image via Land of 10)
Name: Patrick Kugler
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 303 lbs.
High school: Wexford (PA) North Allegheny
Position: Center
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #57
Last year: I ranked Kugler #33 and said he would be the backup center. He started one game and played in five total.
TTB Rating: 83
Kugler came in with a lot of promise as a highly rated player and All-American. He was also the son of an NFL offensive line coach, who is now an FBS head coach at UTSA. It was thought that he would be ready to play center for Michigan by year two, maybe three. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case, and Michigan has had to rejigger its line several times to figure out the center spot, moving both Graham Glasgow and Mason Cole to center at times. Meanwhile, Kugler barely saw the field early in his career, and he started one game at left guard last season before ultimately being outplayed by freshman Ben Bredeson.
This year Kugler has finally appeared to seize the center position that we thought he would grab three years ago. Cole, who started at center in 2016 after playing left tackle the previous two years, is back at left tackle. Freshman Cesar Ruiz is battling at center and left guard, and he would probably be inserted if something were to happen to Kugler. One would think that Kugler would be ready to make the line calls as a fifth year senior, and the hope is that he can avoid mental mistakes while being able to hold up physically. In the spring, Ruiz looked the part physically, but he was a split second slow on recognizing blitzes. I would be very nervous if Michigan entrusted the center spot to a true freshman, even though Ruiz might be one of the best centers to come out of high school in a while.
Prediction: Starting center
Brandon Peters (#18) with Michael Onwenu (#50) and Ty Isaac (#32)
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The Maize team won Saturday’s spring game by a score of 31-29 with a last-second field goal by Kyle Seychel. You can find videos and highlights here (LINK).
Hit the jump for some position-by-position thoughts on what we all saw. (Note: not every player will be mentioned.)
Khaleke Hudson (image via Pinterest)
HOW DOES BRANDON PETERS LOOK?
The Maize Team will be quarterbacked by Wilton Speight and presumed #2 guy John O’Korn, which leaves redshirt freshman Brandon Peters as the signal caller for the Blue team. Did the Maize team draft two quarterbacks to prevent the Blue team from having a competent quarterback? Or did the Blue team truly rank Peters above O’Korn? O’Korn and Peters have reportedly gone back and forth at times during spring practices, but it would be a significant step forward for Peters if the coaches think he’s the #2 option. After all, O’Korn has started numerous games in his career at Houston and then against Indiana last season.
Hit the jump for four more burning questions.
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| Cesar Ruiz |
In past years, I have done examinations of the various positions at which Michigan has pulled in the #1 recruit. So you can find pieces on the #1 running back (LINK), the #1 cornerback (LINK), and the #1 overall recruits (LINK). Below you’ll find a bevy of household names for the sexiest position in football: offensive center.
2000: Jason Respert – C – Warner Robins (GA) Northside
Respert was a backup guard at Tennessee as a freshman and then earned the starting center job in 2001, only to have a season-ending ankle injury after three games. He would go on to start seven games at guard during the 2002-2003 seasons before being named a captain in 2004. I can’t find any evidence of him playing in the NFL, and the latest news I can find is that he was coaching high school football in his home state.
2001: Ben Wilkerson – C – Hemphill (TX) Hemphill
Wilkerson started immediately as a freshman at LSU in 2001. He was First Team All-SEC in 2003 and 2004, and he was the co-recipient of the Rimington Trophy (along with Michigan’s David Baas) in 2004. He went undrafted in 2005 and then played in 32 total games with the Cincinnati Bengals and Atlanta Falcons from 2005-2008. Since then he has been coaching, most recently as an assistant offensive line coach with the Chicago Bears.
2002: Bobby Morton – C – McKinney (TX) McKinney
Morton redshirted for Notre Dame in 2002 and then became the full-time starting center in 2003. He moved to left guard and started in 2004 and then started four games at center in 2005, playing a backup role the rest of his redshirt junior season. He bounced back and forth between center and guard as a fifth year senior in 2006. He was not picked in the 2007 NFL Draft and I can’t find any record of him playing in the NFL.
Hit the jump for more.