Ricardo Miller, Ex-Wolverine

Tag: Ricardo Miller


7Nov 2012
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Ricardo Miller, Ex-Wolverine

Junior tight end Ricardo Miller has left the football program.  He played in 14 games as a special teams guy, but just two as a tight end.

As you can tell from my first real post about Ricardo Miller in July of 2010, I was never a huge fan of Miller’s abilities.  He peaked early at Orlando (FL) Dr. Phillips and earned some rave reviews as an underclassman, but it was painfully obvious once he transferred to Ann Arbor (MI) Pioneer for his senior year that he lacked any kind of deep speed or smooth athletic ability.  You can see in this video that he just lacks explosiveness and athleticism.  He seemed like a pure blocking wide receiver for Rich Rodriguez, and he even temporarily moved to tight end for Brady Hoke when he got up to around 234 lbs.  Unfortunately, he was always destined to be a “tweener” – too slow to play wide receiver, too slightly built to be a tight end.  Perhaps Rodriguez would have found a way to use him, but he doesn’t have a role for Hoke.

Regarding the future of the football team, this won’t really affect Michigan other than freeing up a scholarship.  I didn’t expect to see Miller in any meaningful role for the remainder of his career, and Michigan’s coaches were already recruiting tight ends as if they didn’t expect Miller to step up, either.  However, it’s somewhat sad to see a kid’s career end so early, especially when that player was so devoted to Michigan that he moved from Florida a year early and was heading up the recruiting for that 2010 class much like quarterback Shane Morris is doing for the class of 2013.  By all accounts, Miller is a likable guy who just doesn’t have the athleticism to get on the field in the Big Ten.  And he’s on pace to graduate from Michigan this spring, so he’s getting the job done in the classroom well enough to graduate after just three years.

Miller’s departure leaves just 14 players on the roster from the 27-man class of 2010.  For information on other ex-Wolverines, check out the Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia.

28Jun 2012
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2012 Season Countdown: #63 Ricardo Miller

Ricardo Miller

Name: Ricardo Miller
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 234 lbs.
High school: Ann Arbor (MI) Pioneer
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #80
Last year: I ranked Miller #48 and said he would be a backup tight end.  He played in eight games as a special teamer and backup tight end but did not accrue any statistics.

Miller has led a bit of a wandering path to this point in his career.  He started off as a highly touted wide receiver recruit, but when he arrived in Ann Arbor for his senior year of high school, it looked to me like he wouldn’t be able to hack it at wide receiver.  He tried to play at wideout as a freshman, moved to tight end as a sophomore, and now finds himself back at the wide receiver position after the spring didn’t go so well.

Now headed into his junior year, Miller doesn’t look much closer to seeing the field with any consistency.  He’s too slow to stretch the field, not sudden enough to get open on short routes, too small to be an in-line blocker at tight end, and was never considered a “jump ball” type of receiver in high school.  He seems to be a man without a true position.  However, the need for contributors at wide receiver (and tight end) is pretty dire.  The starters are average, and the backups are very young and unproven.  It remains to be seen how Al Borges will use him in the offense, if at all.

Prediction: Backup wide receiver or tight end

14Jul 2011
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2011 Countdown: #48 Ricardo Miller

Ricardo Miller

Name: Ricardo Miller
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 215 lbs.
High school: Pioneer High Schoo in Ann Arbor, MI (via Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, FL)
Position: U-back
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #80
Last year: I ranked Miller #60 and said he would get minimal offensive reps.  He redshirted.

Miller looked like the freshman receiver who was most physically ready to play in 2010, but the lone freshman wideout to play in 2010 was Jeremy Jackson.  Miller did technically play special teams against UMass, but never saw action again for the rest of the season and therefore redshirted.  I wasn’t terribly excited about his potential as a wide receiver, so I’m glad he’s switched positions to U-back, which is Al Borges’ version of a fullback/tight end hybrid (known elsewhere as an H-back).

Miller is a willing blocker and I expect him to be bigger than 215 lbs. when fall practice comes around, maybe in the range of 225.  He still probably won’t be big enough (or technically sound enough) to be an in-line blocker, but he’s likely the best suited of the “tight ends” to play the old Aaron Shea hybrid position.  That ought to get him on the field with some regularity, especially since fullback John McColgan isn’t particularly skilled.

Prediction: Backup tight end

25Apr 2011
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Snapshots: How to Give Up 68-yard Touchdown Runs

With a couple exceptions, the spring game was largely devoid of big plays for the offense.  This was the longest play from the line of scrimmage.  It’s the second team offense vs. the second team defense, but it gives us a good look at what the defense will be trying to do in 2011.

ABOVE: Prior to the snap, the defense is in a standard 4-3 under look.  FS Marvin Robinson is shifted over to cover the slot receiver, while SS Josh Furman is about 12 yards directly off the ball.  CB Terrence Talbott is walked off the line of scrimmage with only TE Mike Kwiatkowski on his side.  Meanwhile, H-back Ricardo Miller has motioned across the offensive formation and is now offset between the strongside OG and OT.

ABOVE: Initial action suggests it’s a power run.  LG Rocko Khoury is pulling across the formation; Kwiatkowski and RT Erik Gunderson are double-teaming LDE Ken Wilkins, who has stood straight up.  Meanwhile, MLB Brandon Herron reads run and immediately steps up to fill the hole.  NT Will Heininger gets outmuscled and collapsed away from the play.

ABOVE: As RB Michael Cox gets the handoff, LT Kristian Mateus whiffs on DE Jibreel Black, who’s totally and completely screwed if this is a rollout pass.  HB Ricardo Miller impacts SAM Jake Ryan with LG Rocko Khoury coming to help, while DE Ken Wilkins gets driven off the ball.  MIKE Brandon Herron steps up into the developing hole and WILL Brandin Hawthorne (?) flows to the ball.  CB Terrence Talbott has started to come up and support while FS Marvin Robinson follows his receiver across the field.

ABOVE: SAM Jake Ryan completely stones both blockers and stands his ground, while MIKE Brandon Herron meets RB Michael Cox about a half yard beyond the line of scrimmage; this should be stopped for a gain of a yard or two.  DE Jibreel Black missed Cox in the backfield and has run himself out of the play.  CB Terrence Talbott has stepped up in run support, and FS Marvin Robinson appears to see the ballcarrier and can presumably fight through a block to help make the tackle.

ABOVE: Oops.  MIKE Brandon Herron tackles like a middle schooler.  WILL Brandin Hawthorne (?) lies prone on the ground from just being in the general vicinity of football player-sized football players.  Meanwhile, FS Marvin Robinson has completely overrun the play and lost his leverage on the ballcarrier.  And because of his careless positioning, he flummoxes SS Josh Furman, who has finally stepped up to support only to be thwarted by a teammate.  RB Michael Cox sees the cutback and engages afterburners.

ABOVE: WR Martavious Odoms (?) has good position on CB Greg Brown (?) and walls him off.  As RB Michael Cox hits the 45-yard line, he’s a half step in front of FS Marvin Robinson and a half step behind SS Josh Furman.  Speed has always been a question for Robinson, but Furman is a supposed burner who ran a supposed 4.37 in high school.

ABOVE: As RB Michael Cox crosses the goal line with a 68-yard touchdown run, FS Marvin Robinson has gone from half a yard behind Cox to about 9 yards.  SS Josh Furman has lost about 4 yards on Cox.  Of course, both were chasing Cox at an angle as he veered toward the left sideline, but neither ever seemed in danger of catching Cox once he turned on the jets.

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?

  • Well, if nothing else, we know what Michigan’s defensive alignment looks like and how the “power play” works.
  • Ken Wilkins, who just got outmuscled by a duo of walk-ons, will probably not be ready to play this year.  There’s a reason that Jibreel Black was playing some 5-tech DT, and the above type of play might be it.
  • I like Michael Cox, but Giant Mistake #1 was Brandon Herron’s complete and utter failure to even slow down the running back.  If you’re a fifth year senior and can’t slow down a guy who runs smack into your chest, hope is all but lost.  I guess I ought to cut Herron some slack because he did get bumped by Khoury, but still.
  • Angles and positioning are of utmost importance.  It’s one thing if Wilkins lines up in the right spot and gets double-teamed out of the hole.  But Giant Mistake #2 on this play was Marvin Robinson thinking he was in a race with Je’ron Stokes to get to the sideline.  By the time Stokes said, “Aw, I was just foolin’, man, I ain’t gonna race you,” Robinson was the Tie Bomber to Cox’s Millennium Falcon.  Robinson must maintain leverage on the runner, because he doesn’t have the speed to get caught flat-footed and then make up for it.  There aren’t many Big Ten running backs who will be chased down by Robinson if he doesn’t take good angles.
  • Good linebacker play makes this a 1- or 2-yard gain.  Good safety play makes this an 8-yard gain.  Bad linebacker play combined with bad safety play makes this a 68-yard touchdown run.
Fast forward to :56 to see the above play:

10Aug 2010
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2010 Football Roster Tidbits

This guy is 320 lbs.

The 2010 football roster was released on Monday, and there are several interesting notes. Going down the list numerically . . .

Freshman safety Marvin Robinson is #3 and listed at 6’2″, 200 lbs. Not only was Troy Woolfolk impressed with his play at safety during summer 7-on-7s, but for all those people who thought he would bulk up to play linebacker . . . 200 lbs. hardly screams for a position change.

Freshman safety Josh Furman is #6 and listed at 6’2″, 207 lbs.

Senior linebacker Jonas Mouton is 240 lbs. now. Last year he was listed at 228. He’s not the only linebacker who bulked up, so that’s clearly a directive from the coaches and training staff.

Freshman cornerback Courtney Avery is #9 and listed at 5’11”, 167 lbs. He has apparently been working hard this summer, but that’s not much weight to be spread out across a 5’11” frame.

Freshman safety Carvin Johnson is #13 and listed at 6’0″, 195 lbs.

Junior running back Michael Shaw packed on 6 lbs. and is up to 187.

Freshman safety Ray Vinopal is #20 and listed at 5’10”, 193 lbs.

Freshman cornerback Terrence Talbott is #22 and listed at 5’11”, 171 lbs.

Freshman cornerback Cullen Christian is #24 and listed at 6’0″, 187 lbs. That seems like a perfect size to get some playing time this year.

Redshirt sophomore middle linebacker Kenny Demens is 250 lbs. now. And if you’ve seen any new pictures of him, he’s jacked.

Freshman slot receiver Drew Dileo is #26 and listed at 5’10”, 171 lbs.

Redshirt freshman middle linebacker Isaiah Bell is 245 lbs. now, up from 237 in the spring. He was a free safety and about 205-210 coming out of high school, so that’s some impressive weight gain. Hooray for chocolate milk.

Redshirt freshman kicker Brendan Gibbons is 227 lbs. There were reports that he had been up to about 245.

Freshman linebacker Jake Ryan is #37 and listed at 6’3″, 224 lbs.

Freshman linebacker Davion Rogers is #38 and listed at 6’6″, 200 lbs. Maybe he can play small forward for our basketball team, too.

Freshman Kenny Wilkins is #41 and listed at 6’3″, 262 lbs. Hopefully that’s good weight, and I’m assuming it is because he has a reputation for being a gym rat. He’s also listed as a defensive end, despite some people’s thoughts that he would play Craig Roh’s linebacker position.

Freshman punter Will Hagerup is #43 and listed at 6’4″, 210 lbs.

Senior Mark Moundros (a permanent captain for this season) is listed as a “FB/LB,” the only player on the team with two positions listed.

Senior middle linebacker Obi Ezeh is up to 250 lbs.

Redshirt junior center David Molk is listed at 285 lbs., up fifteen from the 2009 season.

Freshman defensive tackle Richard Ash is #54 and listed at 6’3″, 320 lbs. That’s a significant weight gain for someone who was 240 lbs. as a junior and listed at 263 lbs. on his recruiting profiles. That much weight gain can’t be good weight.

Freshman defensive end Jibreel Black is #55 and listed at 6’2″, 258 lbs. Expect to see him on the field this fall.

Redshirt junior defensive tackle Dominique Ware is still short (5’7″).

Sophomore defensive tackle William Campbell has gone through quite a transition. He came in at a reported 330 lbs., got all the way down to 318, and is now listed at 333 lbs. It sounds like the training staff had to melt off some of the flab and turn it into muscle . . . hopefully.

The redshirt freshmen offensve linemen have all put on significant weight. Taylor Lewan is 294, Michael Schofield is 293, and Quinton Washington is now 315. That should make them viable options to play this fall.

Senior tight end Martell Webb is up to 255 lbs.

Freshman wide receiver Ricardo Miller is now 6’4″, 215 lbs.

Freshman wide receiver D.J. Williamson is #84 and listed at 6’1″, 170 lbs.

Junior tight end Kevin Koger is up to 255 lbs.

Redshirt sophomore tight end Brandon Moore is up to 250 lbs.

Freshman Jordan Paskorz is #94 and listed at 6’3″, 242 lbs. He’s also listed as a defensive end, which is where someone with his hip stiffness belongs.

Freshman Terry Talbott is #96 and listed at 6’3″, 248 lbs. He’s destined for a redshirt, especially because he’s listed at defensive tackle, not defensive end.

Senior Adam Patterson is still listed as a defensive end, despite the fact that he got snaps at nose tackle in the spring.