Tag: Purdue

Michigan 36, Purdue 14

Fitzgerald Toussaint had a career best game with 170 yards and 2 touchdowns

Fitzgerald Toussaint is hitting his stride.  Finally healthy after two years of long-term injury issues, Toussaint is showing what he can do.  He had 20 carries for 170 yards, including a spectacular 59-yard touchdown run (Michigan’s longest run of the year).  He’s averaging 6.1 yards per carry on the season.  Perhaps the best part of Toussaint’s game is the way he finishes runs.  Despite not being particularly big, he always seems to churn his legs for an extra couple yards after contact.  His yardage total was the best by a Michigan running back since Michael Hart had 215 against Eastern Michigan back in 2007.

Where have you gone, Michael Shaw?  In this, his senior season, Shaw is on pace for his fewest career carries.  His career low is 42 (in both 2008 and 2009), and despite being mostly injury free this season, he has only 22 carries through eight games.  Shaw has been a big play guy this year and is averaging 6.4 yards per carry, but for some reason, the coaches haven’t put their faith in him.  Even freshman Thomas Rawls (13 carries) is getting almost

  as many carries as Shaw, and Rawls probably should have redshirted with so many guys ahead of him.

Mike Martin finally showed up.  Martin had 7 tackles and 2 sacks on the day, one of them for a safety (which probably should have been negated due to grabbing Purdue quarterback Caleb TerBush’s facemask).  He’s been a little bit of a disappointment so far this year with his lack of production, but maybe this is a sign of things to come for him.  Eight games into the season, Martin only has 28 tackles and 2.5 sacks, so 25% of his tackles and 80% of his sacks came in this one game.

Not a fan of the Denard/Devin combo this time.  At some point Devin Gardner needs to run the base offense, whether Denard Robinson is in the game or not.  It seems like Robinson is usually used as the decoy rather than the ballcarrier in the two-QB formations, but defenses are ready for it at this point.  They know that when Denard is in the game, something funky is going to happen.  So instead of committing fully to the distracting part of the play, everyone stays home, watches for the double pass, etc.  To catch a defense truly off balance, offensive coordinator Al Borges needs to line Robinson up at running back or wide receiver and actually run a base play out of that formation.  Hand the ball off to him in the I-formation, throw a slant or a hitch to him, etc.  The halfback pass from Vincent Smith might have worked if not for the fact that Robinson was in the game and the defense was being extra careful.

Maybe Matt Wile should still punt.  On 12 punts this season, Will Hagerup is averaging 34.8 yards per punt and has put four of them inside the 20.  On 14 punts this season, Matt Wile is averaging 41.1 yards per punt and has put four of them inside the 20.  Hagerup had a good season last year and looked like a potential All-Big Ten punter, but he’s been disappointing so far this year.  Michigan is averaging just over three punts per game, so the difference between the two is around 21 yards of field position per game.

Desmond Morgan looks good.  He seems to be steadily improving after looking lost early in the season.  Morgan earned the start over Brandin Hawthorne (whose tackling efforts in the MSU game were disappointing) and responded with 9 tackles to lead the team.  I thought it would take Morgan a little more time to adjust to playing linebacker in college, but here he is starting as a true freshman.  High school quarterbacks just seem to catch on a little quicker.

Courtney Avery’s game of firsts.  Speaking of high school quarterbacks, Avery got his first career interception when he caught a deflected pass, and Avery got his first sack (well, half of a sack, shared with Craig Roh) when he helped chase down a scrambling Robert Marve.  That interception gives Avery a share of the team lead in picks, since nobody else has made more than one.

I’ve had about enough of J.T. Floyd.  He seems to talk a fair amount of smack for not being very good, and he could very well be Michigan’s fourth best corner.  I would take Blake Countess, Courtney Avery, and a healthy Troy Woolfolk over Floyd.  Floyd’s poor tackling effort late in the game cost Michigan seven points when he stood and danced with O.J. Ross while Ross waited for some help from a Boilermaker blocker.  After the two danced for what seemed like an hour, Floyd got blocked and Ross slipped into the end zone for a touchdown.

I’ll take 7-1 at this point.  Michigan has already matched last year’s win total with four games to go.  It’s a pretty tough four-game stretch as far as the Big Ten goes, but all four games are winnable.  The two most dangerous remaining foes, Ohio State and Nebraska, have had their own issues.  Regardless, this team is on the right path and seems headed for some good November games.  I like the direction Michigan is headed.

Recruiting Update: October 30, 2011

Lemont (IL) Lemont OT Ethan Pocic (#77) would be a welcome replacement on the offensive line if he plays like Michigan’s other Lemont alumnus

ADDED TO THE BOARD

Lemont (IL) Lemont OT Ethan Pocic, a 2013 prospect, was offered by Michigan.  Pocic is 6’7″, 285 lbs. and has offers from Nebraska, Notre Dame, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, among others.  Lemont is the same high school that David Molk attended, and much like Molk, Pocic doesn’t seem to like opposing defensive linemen or reporters.  His film shows him destroying various high schoolers, and he’s not very open about the recruiting process.  He’s not a bad athlete, but he’s a little less athletic than some of the other offensive tackle prospects Michigan has recruited recently.  I would slot Pocic in as a right tackle prospect.

Austintown (OH) Fitch OL/DL Billy Price, a class of 2013 player, received an offer from Michigan this past week.  Price is a 6’4″, 280 lb. strongside end prospect with offers from Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Tennessee, among others.  He looks like an absolute physical specimen with good musculature and very little bad body weight.  While some of the recruiting sites list him as a defensive end, most schools are recruiting him to play offensive line.  Fitch attends the same high school as 2012 Notre Dame commit Will Mahone, a running back that was on Michigan’s radar but whom Michigan never offered.

PURDUE VISITORS

Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison TE Devin Funchess (2012).  Committed to Michigan.  Funchess has 18 receptions for 412 yards and 4 touchdowns this season.

Sylvania (OH) Southview SS Allen Gant (2012).  Committed to Michigan.  He has 67 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 1 interception, 3 pass breakups, and 2 forced fumbles.

Birmingham (MI) Seaholm OT Dan Gibbs (2012).  Gibbs is a 6’7″, 320 lb. mammoth with offers from Ball State and Eastern Michigan.  He’s not athletic enough to be a contender for a scholarship offer from the Wolverines, but he could be a preferred walk-on type if he chooses.  I don’t imagine he’ll choose to pay for school instead of taking a scholarship, and he doesn’t look like someone who would be in danger of cracking the lineup at any point, anyway.  Gibbs is too stiff to be a high-level prospect.

Joliet (IL) Catholic RB Ty Isaac (2013).  Isaac already holds an offer from Michigan, in addition to Illinois, Iowa, Notre Dame, and several other schools.  Through six games this season, Isaac had 92 carries for 983 yards (10.7 yards per carry) and 13 touchdowns.  Current rumblings suggest that Michigan and Notre Dame are his two early leaders, and he has made unofficial visits to both schools already.

Muskegon (MI) Muskegon RB Juwan Lewis (2012).  Nothing much has changed with Lewis, a 5’11”, 208 lb. runner with offers from Buffalo, Toledo, and Western Michigan.  He keeps hoping that Canton (OH) Glenoak RB Bri’onte Dunn sticks with his Buckeye commitment, because Lewis might be in line for an offer if the Wolverines can’t reel in another running back.

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech LB Royce Jenkins-Stone (2012).  Committed to Michigan.

Grand Blanc (MI) Grand Blanc DE Luke MacLean (2013).  MacLean hasn’t been offered by anyone other than Buffalo, but more offers are surely on the way.  I’m not sure that Michigan will go after him, but he has visited Michigan a couple times and also been to East Lansing.

Baltimore (MD) Gilman DT Henry Poggi (2013).  Every team up and down the east coast has offered Poggi already, in addition to Michigan.  He’s the son of Gilman’s head coach and already has two brothers playing FBS football, one at Duke and one at Iowa.  The 6’3″, 250 lb. Henry has been offered to play several positions, including tight end and defensive tackle.  Michigan is recruiting him as a defensive tackle.

Toledo (OH) Central Catholic FS Jayme Thompson (2013).  Thompson is a 6’2″, 182 lb. free safety prospect with a single offer, that from Bowling Green.  While the offers haven’t started flowing yet, they undoubtedly will for a kid his size and with his speed.  I would not be surprised to see Thompson earn a Michigan offer at some point, although the current roster might preclude very many offers to safeties for the 2013 class.

Springboro (OH) Springboro OG Sean Welsh (2013).  Welsh is 6’3″, 275 lbs. and has offers from Bowling Green, Ohio, and Toledo.  From the looks of his film, I think offers from Big Ten schools are bound to be coming soon.  He moves very well for a guy his size and looks like he already has pretty good strength for such a young player.

Nike Coach of the Year Clinic: Day 1

Danny Hope looks like this 100% of the time.

This past weekend I attended the Nike Coach of the Year Clinic in Allentown, Pennsylvania.  Several coaches at my school visited, and we all headed up on Thursday afternoon.  Due to some commitments after work, I left later than most of my colleagues.  I missed some talks from a Kutztown coach about the 4-2-5 and a Villanova coach about the Wildcat, but I was going to arrive in time to see Danny Hope, the head Boilermaker.

Since the clinic was held at the Holiday Inn, we checked in and headed down to the room.  While we were waiting for the elevator, I glanced back and a familiar face was walking through the door.  Danny Hope himself came around the corner and said, “How you guys doin’?”  I said, “Good, Coach.  How are you?”  He said, “Good to see you guys” as he sauntered down the hallway, presumably toward his room.

Let me tell you something about Danny Hope – he walks like a cowboy.  I assume he has old joint injuries, because he walks all bowlegged and stuff.  He was an offensive guard at Eastern Kentucky in the ’70’s and ’80’s, and offensive linemen often end up with bad knees from bending down all the time and lifting so much weight.

Shortly afterward Hope was the main speaker on Thursday night, and as I entered the banquet room, I noticed a familiar face sitting about two rows back.  He was wearing a baseball cap and a heavy coat, but I tapped my friend on the shoulder and said, “That’s Matt Millen sitting a couple rows behind us.”  Yep, the guy who drove the Detroit Lions even further into the ground was there, too.

Hope talked mostly about pass blocking fundamentals for offensive linemen.  We watched a lot of film of drills, but here were a few key points.

• Offensive linemen should keep their nose on the defender’s inside number and have a “tit in each hand.”
• Defensive players shouldn’t threaten the depth of the pocket.  In other words, he doesn’t want interior blockers (mostly centers and guards) to give ground when creating the pocket.  This refers mostly to defensive tackles and blitzing linebackers.
• Defensive players also shouldn’t threaten the width of the pocket.  That means offensive tackles who hinge back shouldn’t allow defensive ends or outside linebackers to squeeze the pocket from the outside.  The tackle should keep his inside toe pointing toward the line of scrimmage to prevent from getting turned.
• Tackles should only hinge backward immediately if the first player outside him on the line of scrimmage is “loose.”  In other words, if the man is close enough and fast enough to beat the OT to the inside, then he’s “tight” and the OT should protect the depth of the pocket by not hinging backward.

In the middle of Hope’s speech, a tall, well dressed guy walked in the door and sat somewhere behind us.  He looked familiar but I couldn’t quite place the face.  Then it dawned on me: Neil O’Donnell.  He didn’t have a beard anymore, but it was Neil O’Donnell nonetheless.

Neil O’Donnell tries to avoid Sean Jones

Michigan vs. Purdue Awards

Obi Ezeh led the team with eight tackles on Saturday.

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . good Vincent Smith.  It’s been about 11.5 months since Smith’s ACL tear, and it looks like he’s finally getting healthy.  Perhaps it’s partially due to the fact that it was Purdue’s defense, but Smith looked quicker and faster than he has all season.  I still don’t like the fact that he was put on the field about nine months after tearing that ACL, but he finally seems to be rounding into form.  Hopefully he maintains his level of play.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . bad quarterbacks.  Denard Robinson seems to have regressed in recent weeks, both throwing and running the ball.  I think it’s fair to say at this point that the number of carries Denard has averaged so far this season are catching up to Robinson and Coach Rodriguez.  Robinson was 13-for-21 for 176 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 bad interceptions.  The big plays are going to be there because of the quality of Michigan’s receivers and the threat of Denard running the ball, but Robinson needs to become a more consistent passer – and soon – if he wants to beat Wisconsin and Ohio State.  Tate Forcier wasn’t any better, hitting only 1/4 passes and averaging only .8 yards per carry.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Obi Ezeh seemed to make a nice transition from middle linebacker to outside linebacker.  Since prior to 2008, I’ve thought that Ezeh was more of an OLB than a MLB.  In that season I really wanted John Thompson to play MLB and have Ezeh moved outside.  That obviously didn’t happen, and Ezeh spent his entire career at MLB until recently.  He ended the game with 8 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 1 sack.  Ezeh’s biggest problem at middle linebacker was that he read plays too slowly, but the reads at OLB are slightly simpler and one misstep won’t necessarily get him out of position.  With Craig Roh now playing defensive end (which is also a good move), Ezeh is a good option at OLB.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Mark Moundros.  He was voted defensive captain for a reason . . . and I think the biggest reason was that he was clearly willing to change positions (and sides of the ball!) as a senior just to try to help the team and get on the field.  However, I don’t think he’s fast enough, instinctive enough, or experienced enough to make an impact on defense.  Hopefully the guy he replaced (Jonas Mouton) returns soon from his chest injury.  If Mouton is still unavailable next week, I’d prefer to see J.B. Fitzgerald start at weakside linebacker, Demens in the middle, and Ezeh at OLB.

MVP of the Purdue game . . . Vincent Smith.  This was a tough choice, because nobody really took over the game this week.  There were several guys who had one or two big plays (Craig Roh, Cameron Gordon, Roy Roundtree, James Rogers), but Smith had a solid day and finished with just under 100 yards, including a stellar 19-yard run.  Good for him.