The All-Rodriguez Team: Offense

Tag: Perry Dorrestein


7Jul 2019
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The All-Rodriguez Team: Offense

Denard Robinson makes fatties look fat.

In case you can’t tell, I like to make lists.  And depth charts.  And lineups.  This has nothing to do with football.  But when I was about thirteen years old, I laid down in my living room with a piece of paper and a pen.  I wrote down a batting order for my favorite team, the Detroit Tigers.  And the Atlanta Braves.  And the Chicago Cubs.  And, what the hell, the rest of Major League Baseball, too.

From memory.  If you wanted to know the emergency catcher for the Montreal Expos, I was your man (er, well, boy).

So here’s another list.  I’ve often thought about the best players to come through Michigan during the years of my fanaticism, and this one is narrowed down to the Rodriguez years.  Which players in the past few years turned out the best seasons for what amounted to be Michigan’s worst three consecutive years in program history?  Despite the 15-22 record over Rodriguez’s tenure, we had some pretty good individual players.  But as you might expect, the majority of them (nine out of eleven) were on the 2010 squad that had a winning record and played in a bowl game.

QB: Denard Robinson (2010)
182-for-291 passing, 2570 yards, 18 touchdowns, 11 interceptions
256 carries, 1799 yards, 14 touchdowns
This is a no-brainer.  For half the season, he was on pace to win the Heisman.

Hit the jump for the rest.

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12Jan 2012
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Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Mario Manningham

It’s been a rough year for Mario Manningham, especially when considering his lofty preseason expectations. Manningham appeared in only 12 games and battled through a concussion and a lingering knee injury while putting up his worst statistical performance since his 2008 rookie season. But that now seems like the distant past after the Giants’ 24-2 NFC Wild Card game victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Manningham caught four passes for 68 yards in the contest, including a game-clinching touchdown grab midway through the fourth quarter. Super Mario looked impressive on the play (watch it here), beating two defensive backs for the 27 yard catch up the middle.
“The fact that Mario made plays was big,” said coach Tom Coughlin. That was something that we needed to have happen and I am certainly glad it did. When you look at tape of some of these games and you look at previous games of the teams that we are playing, you see [number] 82 making catches and running behind guys, and that’s a good thing”

Honorable Mention: Steelers’ starting free safety Ryan Clark nearly died due to a blood condition the last time he played at Mile High Stadium, so being an upstanding guy, Ryan Mundy kindly stepped into his role. Mundy played 60 minutes of good football, recording five tackles and forcing two fumbles, one of which was recovered by LaMarr Woodley. But unfortunately for Mundy, the game lasted 60 minutes and 11 seconds, and he was caught out of position on the first play of overtime, resulting in an 80-yard touchdown and the quickest end to overtime in NFL history. To be fair, it seemed as if the defensive game plan called for Mundy to stay close to the line of scrimmage, essentially daring Tebow to throw the ball, and Tebow surprisingly rose to the challenge. But still . . .
Miscellaneous: Donovan Warren joins former teammate, Perry Dorrestein, and tight ends coach Mike DeBord in Chicago with the Bears. Travelin’ man Martell Webb signed with the Arizona Cardinals. Adrian Arrington caught his third pass of the season in the Saints’ victory over…well, you know.
23Aug 2011
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Review of 2006 Recruiting: The Offensive Linemen

Trent Williams was the #4 pick in the 2010 NFL Draft

THE RECRUITS
Justin Boren
High school: North High School in Pickerington, OH
Ratings: Rivals 4-star, #1 OC; Scout 5-star, #7 OL
Other notable offers: Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma
College: Michigan Ohio State
Scoop: Boren committed to Michigan and was just the fourth true freshman offensive lineman to start a game for Michigan in the modern era.  He started 1 game in 2006 and played in 4 others at offensive guard.  He replaced center Mark Bihl in 2007 and started all 13 games, 8 at center and another 5 at offensive guard.  After Rich Rodriguez was hired in December 2007, Boren and his family (which includes a father who played football at Michigan and a mother who ran track at Michigan) disliked the new regime and Justin transferred to hated Ohio State.  He sat out the 2008 season and redshirted.  Boren started 24 games at Ohio State at offensive guard from 2009-2010 and was named First Team All-Big Ten both seasons.  He went undrafted in the 2011 NFL Draft and is currently fighting for a spot on the Baltimore Ravens roster.

Perry Dorrestein
High school: Central High School in Plainfield, IL
Ratings: Rivals 3-star, #43 OT; Scout 3-star, #81 OL
Other notable offers: Illinois, Nebraska, Northwestern
College: Michigan
Scoop: Dorrestein had some middling offers coming out of high school, but chose the highest profile school on the list.  He redshirted as a freshman in 2006 and played sparingly as a redshirt freshman in 2007.  He started 4 games in 2008, 8 games in 2009, and 10 games in 2010.  He was a serviceable spot starter, but lacked the athleticism and strength to be a high performer.  Dorrestein went undrafted in the 2011 NFL Draft.

Stephen Schilling
High school: Bellevue High School in Bellevue, WA
Ratings: Rivals 5-star, #2 OT; Scout 5-star, #3 OL
Other notable offers: California, UCLA, USC, Washington
College: Michigan
Scoop: Schilling was an all-everything high schooler who took some time to adjust in college.  He redshirted as a freshman in 2006, a year in which he suffered not only a shoulder injury but also a bout of mononucleosis.  But by the beginning of 2007, he was on his way to becoming a four-year starter.  He was overmatched at right tackle as a redshirt freshman in 2007 and had a mediocre season under Rich Rodriguez in 2008.  For the 2009 campaign, Schilling moved to left guard and remained there through 2010.  Overall, he started 49 games in his career, missing only the 2008 Ohio State game due to injury.  He was named Michigan’s top offensive lineman from 2008 through 2010 and earned All-Big Ten Honorable Mention in both 2009 and 2010.  He was drafted in the 6th round (#201 overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft.

Justin Anderson
High school: Irwin County High School in Ocilla, GA
Ratings: Rivals 4-star, #7 OG, and #100 overall; Scout 4-star, #21 OG
Other notable offers: Georgia Tech, Nebraska
College: Georgia
Scoop: Anderson failed to qualify in 2006 and didn’t attend Georgia until January 2007.  He redshirted as a freshman but rebounded by starting 7 games at offensive tackle and getting some freshman awards as a redshirt freshman in 2008.  Anderson started only 5 games as a redshirt sophomore in 2009 and then switched to defensive line prior to the 2010 season.  He had 1 tackle from his DT position in 2010 before undergoing season-ending surgery for turfo toe.  For 2011 he’s listed at #1 on the depth chart to start at right offensive tackle.

Jim Barrie
High school: Berkeley Prep High School in Tampa, FL
Ratings: Rivals 4-star, #15 OT; Scout 3-star, #58 OL
Other notable offers: Florida State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee
College: Florida
Scoop: Barrie redshirted as a freshman in 2006.  He played in 1 game as a redshirt freshman in 2007, but suffered a knee injury in August 2008 that essentially ended his playing career.  He dressed out for a couple games at the end of the 2008 season, but received a medical scholarship after the year was over.

Marcus Gilbert
High school: St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Ratings: Rivals 4-star, #13 OT; Scout 4-star, #32 OL
Other notable offers: Auburn, Florida State, Miami
College: Florida
Scoop: Gilbert played sparingly in 2006 and thus received a redshirt.  He was a frequently used backup as a redshirt freshman in 2007, seeing action in 13 games and starting 1 game.  He was once again a backup in 2008, playing in 13/14 games.  Gilbert started the final 27 games of his career at Florida in 2009 and 2010 and he was a 2nd round pick (#63 overall) by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2011 NFL Draft. 

Daron Rose
High school: Jefferson High School in Tampa, FL
Ratings: Rivals 4-star, #2 OT; Scout 4-star, #32 OL
Other notable offers: Florida, Notre Dame, South Carolina
College: Florida State
Scoop: Rose began his college career at Florida State, where he played in two games as a freshman before receiving a redshirt.  As a redshirt freshman in 2008, he started 11 of 13 games at offensive tackle but did not play particularly well.  Due to undisclosed reasons, he did not return to FSU for the 2009 season and announced a transfer to South Florida.  However, he never joined USF’s program and instead attended North Alabama.  He started 6 games for North Alabama in 2010 and remains on their roster for the 2011 season.  He’s projected as the starter at right offensive tackle.

Conner Smith
High school: Colerain High School in Cincinnati, OH
Ratings: Rivals 4-star, #4 OG; Scout 5-star, #4 OL
Other notable offer: Oklahoma
College: Ohio State
Scoop: Smith redshirted in 2006 and remained a permanent backup throughout his career.  Prior to his redshirt senior season in 2010, Smith changed positions from offensive guard to defensive tackle.  However, he failed to accrue any statistics and went undrafted in the 2011 NFL Draft.

Alex Stadler
High school: Liberty High School in Bealeton, VA
Ratings: Rivals 4-star, #12 OT; Scout 4-star, #33 OL
Other notable offers: Boston College, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech
College: Alabama
Scoop: Stadler redshirted in 2006 and transferred to Liberty University prior to the 2007 season.  He started 16 games total in 2008 and 2009, earning Second Team All-Big South honors for his play in 2009.  Stadler was slated to be the starting left guard in 2010, but it’s unclear whether he played out his eligibility or not.  He went undrafted in the 2011 NFL Draft.

Joe Thomas
High school: St. Edward’s School in Lakewood, OH
Ratings: Rivals 3-star, #43 OG; Scout 4-star, #12 OL
Other notable offers: Michigan State, Ohio State, West Virginia, Wisconsin
College: Pittsburgh
Scoop: Thomas played as a true freshman in 2006, starting 7 games at offensive guard for injured starter John Simonitis.  Thomas started 7 games once again in 2007 before suffering his own injury.  As a junior in 2008, he started all 13 games.  It’s unclear whether he played out his eligibility in 2009, but he went undrafted in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Bartley Webb
High school: Springdale High School in Springdale, AR
Ratings: Rivals 3-star, #29 OT; Scout 4-star, #52 OL
Other notable offers: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas
College: Notre Dame
Scoop: Webb redshirted in 2006 and then played 1 game as a redshirt freshman in 2007.  He then suffered a career-ending shoulder injury and acted as a student coach until he graduated.  Most recently he was a video assistant at Middle Tennessee State University.

Sam Young
High school: St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Ratings: Rivals 5-star, #1 OT; Scout 5-star, #2 OL
Other notable offers: Florida, Miami, Penn State, Stanford, USC
College: Notre Dame
Scoop: Young was one of the best linemen in the country coming out of high school, and his college career started off with an immediate starting gig as a freshman, when he earned Freshman All-America honors.  He started all 50 games of his college career.  After his senior season, he was a 6th round pick (#179 overall) by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2010 NFL Draft and played in 2 games as a rookie.

CONCLUSIONS
It was not a stellar year for Michigan’s talent identification in 2006.  At a school that has regularly produced NFL linemen for decades, most of these guys went kaput quickly or are in the process of ending mediocre careers.  And obviously Justin Boren turned out to be more trouble than he was worth, even though he ended up having a decent career in Columbus.

Biggest miss: Marcus Gilbert.  He was the highest draft pick of the bunch, going in round #2.  Gilbert was probably going to be a backup LT for the Steelers, but he recently injured his left knee and it’s unclear how much time he will miss.  The Wolverines could have used some good offensive linemen on a team that started journeyman-type starters such as Mark Ortmann, Perry Dorrestein, and Mark Huyge in recent years.

Biggest bust: Conner Smith.  As much as I would like to say Boren was the biggest bust, Smith was a consensus, elite blue chipper who saw the field only rarely in college.

Best in class: Trent Williams.  It’s tough to pick this category for linemen, because stats are scarce and it takes a long time for even the good ones to develop.  Just going by draft status, though, the former Oklahoma Sooner was the highest NFL draft pick from the 2006 lineman class, having been picked #4 overall by the Washington Redskins in 2010.  Other notable players from the 2006 class are Oklahoma State’s Russell Okung (#6 to the Seahawks in 2010) and Wisconsin’s Gabe Carimi (#29 to the Bears in 2011).

7Jul 2011
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2006 Offer Board

QUARTERBACK (9)
David Cone – Statesboro, GA (Michigan)
Mitch Mustain – Sprindale, AR (Arkansas)
Neil Caudle – Hoover, AL (Auburn)
Tim Tebow – Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Florida)
Matthew Stafford – Dallas, TX (Georgia)
Pat Devlin – Exton, PA (Penn State)
Dexter Davidson – Coconut Creek, FL (Pittsburgh)
Nick Stephens – Flower Mound, TX (Tennessee)
Taylor Potts – Abilene, TX (Texas Tech)

RUNNING BACK (6)
Carlos Brown – Franklin, GA (Michigan)
Brandon Minor – Richmond, VA (Michigan)
Cameron Smith – Snellville, GA
Knowshon Moreno – Middletown, NJ (Georgia)
Aaron Gant – Orchard Lake, MI (Ohio State)
Chris Wells – Akron, OH (Ohio State)

WIDE RECEIVER (9)
Greg Mathews – Orlando, FL (Michigan)
Damian Williams – Springdale, AR (Arkansas)
Chris Slaughter – Fort Valley, GA (Auburn)
Percy Harvin – Virginia Beach, VA (Florida)
Tony Wilson – Daytona Beach, FL (Georgia)
Derrell Johnson – Youngstown, OH (Iowa)
Robby Parris – Cleveland, OH (Notre Dame)
Chris Bell – Norfolk, VA (Penn State)
David Ausberry – Lemoore, CA (USC)

TIGHT END (6)
Dedrick Epps – Richmond, VA (Miami)
Will Yeatman – San Diego, CA (Notre Dame)
Jake Ballard – Springboro, OH (Ohio State)
Andrew Quarless – Uniondale, NY (Penn State)
Nate Byham – Polk, PA (Pittsburgh)
Dorin Dickerson – Imperial, PA (Pittsburgh)

OFFENSIVE TACKLE (9)
Perry Dorrestein – Plainfield, IL (Michigan)
Stephen Schilling – Bellevue, WA (Michigan)
Alex Stadler – Bealeton, VA (Alabama)
Jim Barrie – Tampa, FL (Florida)
Marcus Gilbert – Fort Lauderdale, FL (Florida)
Daron Rose – Tampa, FL (Florida State)
Bartley Webb – Springdale, AR (Notre Dame)
Connor Smith – Cincinnati, OH (Ohio State)
Sam Young – Fort Lauderdale, FL (USC)

OFFENSIVE GUARD (3)
Justin Boren – Pickerington, OH (Michigan)
Justin Anderson – Ocilla, GA (Georgia)
Joe Thomas – Parma, OH (Pittsburgh)

CENTER (0)

DEFENSIVE END (8)
Greg Banks – Denver, CO (Michigan)
Brandon Graham – Detroit, MI (Michigan)
Adam Patterson – Columbia, SC (Michigan)
Quintin Woods – Flint, MI (Michigan)
John Paul – Immokalee, FL
Micah Johnson – Fort Campbell, KY (Kentucky)
McKenzie Matthews – Syracuse, NY (Pittsburgh)
Jason Adjepong – Carteret, NJ (Virginia Tech)

DEFENSIVE TACKLE (8)
John Ferrara – Staten Island, NY (Michigan)
Jason Kates – Harrisburg, PA (Michigan)
Marques Slocum – New Berlin, NY (Michigan)
Corey Peters – Louisville, KY (Kentucky)
Dexter Larimore – Merrillville, IN (Ohio State)
Jason Pinkston – Pittsburgh, PA (Pittsburgh)
Butch Lewis – Aurora, CO (USC)
Neil A’asa – Big Rapids, MI (Utah)

LINEBACKER (9)
Obi Ezeh – Grand Rapids, MI (Michigan)
Cobrani Mixon – Cincinnati, OH (Michigan)
Jonas Mouton – Venice, CA (Michigan)
Quintin Patilla – Flint, MI (Michigan)
Akeem Hebron – Gaithersburg, MD (Georgia)
Toryan Smith – Rome, GA (Notre Dame)
Thaddeus Gibson – Euclid, OH (Ohio State)
Michael Morgan – Dallas, TX (USC)
Joshua Tatum – Oakland, CA (USC)

CORNERBACK (3)
Jai Eugene – Destrehan, LA (LSU)
Ken Tinney – New Berlin, NY (Michigan State)
Darrin Walls – Pittsburgh, PA (Notre Dame)

SAFETY (8)
Steve Brown – Columbus, IN (Michigan)
Jamar Hornsby – Jacksonville, FL (Florida)
Myron Rolle – Princeton, NJ (Florida State)
Asher Allen – Tucker, GA (Georgia)
Reshad Jones – Atlanta, GA (Georgia)
Taylor Mays – Seattle, WA (USC)
Antwine Perez – Camden, NJ (USC)
Franchot Allen – New Berlin, NY (West Virginia)

KICKER (1)
Bryan Wright – Salem, OH (Michigan)

16May 2011
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Perry Dorrestein, #79

Perry Dorrestein

2010 Countdown: #25 Perry Dorrestein

HIGH SCHOOL
Dorrestein played high school ball at Plainfield Central High School in Illinois.  He was a 3-star prospect and the #43 offensive tackle to Rivals back in 2006.  Scout ranked him as the #81 offensive lineman and a 3-star prospect.  He committed to Michigan on December 4, 2005, over offers from Duke, Illinois, Iowa State, Nebraska, and Northwestern.

COLLEGE
Dorrestein redshirted during his first season on campus.  He played sparingly in four games as a redshirt freshman in 2007, backing up starting tackles Jake Long and Steve Schilling.  In the merry-go-round that was the 2008 offensive line, Dorrestein started 3 games at left tackle, 1 game at right tackle, and sat out 4 games completely with no explanation, mostly watching Mark Ortmann and Schilling.  By the 2009 season, Schilling had moved to left guard and the right tackle job was a battle between Dorrestein and Mark Huyge.  Huyge began the season as the starter, but was eventually replaced by Dorrestein, who started 8 of the last 9 games on the right side.  As a fifth year senior in 2010, Dorrestein had solidified his position as a starting tackle.  He started 9 games at right tackle and 1 on the left, missing 2 games mid-season with a knee injury.

CAREER STATS
31 games played, 22 starts at offensive tackle

SUMMARY
As you can tell from the 2010 Countdown linked above, I was never really a fan of Dorrestein’s ability.  He wasn’t athletic enough to be a left tackle, he was too tall and lacking the athleticism to play guard effectively, and he was just a so-so right tackle.  His 3-star ranking by both major recruiting services was pretty accurate.  However, I was pleasantly surprised with Dorrestein’s play in 2010.  He wasn’t an obvious weakness for a line that paved the way for one of the nation’s best rushing attacks, and the offensive line allowed very few sacks overall.  He still lacked the ability to get movement on opposing linemen consistently, but I thought Michigan’s offense tended to be a little left-handed in the running game, using the left side combo of Taylor Lewan and Steve Schilling to gain most of its rushing yardage.  That was probably a smart move on the part of Rich Rodriguez, but Dorrestein played solidly for a productive unit.

PROJECTION
Dorrestein was not selected in the 2011 NFL Draft, and frankly, I would be surprised if he latched on with an NFL team, even in a practice squad capacity.

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