Tag: Roy Roundtree

Wide Receiver Preview: Michigan vs. Virginia Tech

Jarrett Boykin (#81)

MICHIGAN
Starters: The leading receiver is fifth year senior Junior Hemingway, who has caught 32 passes for 636 yards (19.9 yards per catch) and 2 touchdowns.  Redshirt junior Roy Roundtree started all 12 games but finished fourth on the team in receptions, with just 18 for 342 yards (19.2 yards per catch) and 2 scores. 
Backups: Redshirt sophomore Jeremy Gallon popped out of nowhere to grab 30 passes for 450 yards (15.0 yards per catch) and 3 touchdowns; many of his receptions came on tunnel screens, although he made a few big catches downfield.  Sophomore Drew Dileo made 9 receptions for 121 yards (13.2 yards per catch) and 2 touchdowns; he’s a dependable receiver but rarely targeted.  Senior Martavious Odoms’ production dwindled once again to 7 receptions for 131 yards (18.7 yards per catch) and 3 touchdowns; he missed some time early in the year recovering from a broken wrist, but has still made some humongous catches for the Wolverines.  Fifth year senior Kelvin Grady and sophomore Jeremy Jackson have combined for 7 catches, 100 yards, and 0 touchdowns.

VIRGINIA TECH
Starters: Senior Jarrett Boykin caught 57 passes for 731 yards (12.8 yards per catch) and 5 touchdowns.  Boykin is 6’2″, 218 lbs. and is Virginia Tech’s career leader in receptions and receiving yards.  Fellow receiver and fifth year senior Danny Coale grabbed 52 receptions for 787 yards (15.2 yards per catch) and 3 scores.  Redshirt junior Marcus Davis started 7 games on the year and finished with 29 receptions for 499 yards (17.2 yards per catch) and 2 touchdowns.
Backups: Junior D.J. Coles was the third leading receiver despite starting only 2 games; he caught 34 passes for 449 yards (13.2 yards per catch) and 3 touchdowns.  Senior Dyrell Roberts, redshirt junior Corey Fuller, and redshirt freshman Willie Byrn combined for 6 receptions, 79 yards, and 0 touchdowns.

THE TAKEAWAY
Boykin and Coale offer a less explosive but more consistent pairing than do Hemingway and Roundtree.  Michigan’s early struggles in the passing game meant that the receivers didn’t get much of a chance to catch the ball, because it was either horribly thrown or Robinson was running the ball.  Hemingway, Roundtree, and even the 5’8″ Jeremy Gallon were thrown plenty of jump balls and came down with their fair share, leading to the former two’s averages of 19+ yards per catch.  All three have shown the ability to run after the catch, but they don’t get many chances to do so.  Meanwhile, Virginia Tech quarterback Logan Thomas has been more consistent this season and has thrown the ball 389 times (compared to Denard Robinson’s 237 attempts).  That’s why Boykin and Coale have caught more passes (109 total) than Michigan’s entire wide receiver group (103).
Advantage: Virginia Tech

Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan Awards

This became a familiar sight: Denard Robinson leaves someone in his dust.

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Junior Hemingway.  Due to Denard Robinson’s complete inability to hit open receivers, Michigan’s big play receiver has 4 receptions in 3 games and was held without a catch in Saturday’s victory.  There’s no excuse for Michigan’s failure to get the ball to Hemingway, not to mention Roy Roundtree (3 catches, 29 yards, 1 touchdown this season).  I know they don’t mind blocking for Denard Robinson in the running game, but the reason the running game is struggling is because teams are loading the box,  barely covering the receivers, and still having moderate success stopping the run.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . Denard Robinson.  He has 42 carries in the past two games.  Yes, all 16 of those carries were necessary against Notre Dame, which came down to the wire.  But the 26 carries against Eastern Michigan?  Not so much.  Not only did Robinson take a beating, but he could have been working on passing instead, and the coaches could have maybe developed chemistry and timing for the running backs and receivers.  Instead, they honed the running skills of a guy who ran for 1,702 yards last season.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . William Campbell.  For two weeks in a row now, Campbell has played well at defensive tackle coming off the bench.  Will Heininger did a decent job against Eastern Michigan, but he doesn’t seem to hold up against better talent.  As long as Campbell is putting in the work during the week, I think it’s about time he gets the nod and starts at defensive tackle.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Jake Ryan.  I know, I know, he’s done pretty well.  But I had to pick someone, and sometimes he makes mistakes.  And if Ryan is this good, I’d really like to see what the starting SAM linebacker – Cam Gordon – can do if he’s recovered from his back injury.  That would also give the coaches an opportunity to move Ryan around and play him more at weakside end.

Play of the game . . . Thomas Gordon’s one-handed interception.  Not only was the catch itself a thing of beauty, but the failure of the double pass gives an indication that Michigan’s players were wary of the diamond formation on the left sideline that led to such a play.  Tyler Benz didn’t have a prayer of completing that pass, and the best he could have hoped for while the ball was in the air was a stone-handed defensive back who would let the ball drop the ground.  No such luck.

MVP of the Eastern Michigan game . . . Denard Robinson.  He didn’t have a particularly great game (7-for-18 passing, 95 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception; 26 carries, 198 yards, 1 touchdown) and the horrible passing took some of the luster off of his nearly 200 yards rushing, but he still led the team to a 28-point victory and made some ridiculous moves in the open field.  Vincent Smith had a nice game, too, but he ran through gaping holes and didn’t score any touchdowns.

Michigan vs. Notre Dame Awards

Junior Hemingway is a man who discovered the wheel and built the Eiffel Tower out of metal and brawn.

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Fitzgerald Toussaint.  I know last week’s production (11 carries, 80 yards, 2 touchdowns) probably wouldn’t have been replicated due to the fact that Michigan’s offensive line struggled to get a push.  However, Stephen Hopkins got the majority of the carries in Toussaint’s absence, and Hopkins averaged 2.0 yards a carry and fumbled once (his second fumble in 42 career carries).  Toussaint was injured and didn’t play at all, but I’m hoping he can return as soon as safely possible.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . Bad Denard Robinson.  Robinson looked awful throwing the ball in the first three quarters.  He was only 2/9 in the first half and 4/14 by the end of the third quarter.  He had some nice drives toward the end of the game and obviously pulled off a huge comeback, but the reason Michigan needed  such a huge comeback was his atrocious play in the first half.  He missed open receiver after open receiver after open receiver despite minimal pressure.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Brandin Hawthorne.  I’m not sure what happened to Brandon Herron, who was injured and didn’t play after being last week’s MVP.  Freshman Desmond Morgan earned the start at weakside linebacker, but didn’t last long.  In came Hawthorne, who looks bigger than his listed 214 lbs., and he picked up 6 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 pass breakup.  It’s partly the scheme that allows these WILLs to have good games, but credit goes to Hawthorne and Herron for stepping up when given the opportunity.  Unlike some of the other linebackers, Hawthorne had some nicely timed blitzes without giving away his intentions.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Craig Roh.  Yep, I said it.  I really like(d) Roh, but I’m not sure what’s going on with him.  He hasn’t registered a single tackle yet this year and hasn’t generated any pressure. Jibreel Black (3 tackles) has outplayed him even though Black gets destroyed when teams run right at him.  I’ll be rooting for Black to get the start next week against Eastern Michigan.  Roh was apparently sick during fall camp and he added almost 20 lbs. in the offseason, so whether it’s illness or an inability to move with the added weight, it’s just not working.

MVP of the Notre Dame game . . . Denard Robinson, with a close second being Junior Hemingway.  I really, really, really wanted to pick Hemingway here, but the overall stats for Robinson (338 yards passing, 108 yards rushing, 5 total touchdowns) make it just too overwhelming.  He had 4 touchdown passes and picked up the Hopkins fumble before running it in for a score.  When it got down to crunch time, Robinson was electric.  Now that we’ve got that out of the way, Hemingway turned out several big plays and two of them were on bad throws by Robinson.  He’s a jump ball specialist and ended the game with 165 yards and 1 touchdown on 3 receptions.

Play of the game . . . Denard Robinson’s recovery of the Stephen Hopkins fumble.  It was the least spectacular of Michigan’s five touchdowns, but with Michigan down 24-7 to begin the fourth quarter, things were looking grim.  If Notre Dame had recovered that fumble after Michigan had driven 82 yards, I don’t know if the Wolverines would have recovered mentally.  Luckily, Robinson was paying attention and had the quickness and dexterity to pick up the ball on the move.  That was the play that set the rally in motion.  There were so many big plays that it’s hard to pick just one (Hemingway’s 43-yard TD, Hemingway’s 77-yard catch-and-run on Denard’s excellent throw, Vincent Smith’s 21-yard TD catch-and-run, Jeremy Gallon’s 64-yard catch-and-run, Gallon’s 14-yard TD reception, Roy Roundtree’s 16-yard TD reception, J.T. Floyd’s touchdown-saving interception, etc.), but that was the biggest in my mind.

2011 Season Predictions

Hooray for middle linebackers who play like middle linebackers!

Well, it’s always fun to take a look back and see how my predictions panned out, so here’s a link to my 2010 Season Predictions.

And now for this year’s picks:


Leading Rusher
I’m going to rescind my earlier faith in Michael Cox and guess that Michael Shaw will be the Wolverines’ leading running back rusher in 2011.  Denard Robinson would be the obvious pick if Rich Rodriguez were still coaching, but Brady Hoke wants Robinson to run less.  It’s basically a crapshoot with Thomas Rawls, Michael Cox, Fitzgerald Toussaint, and Shaw all vying for the starting RB role.  Between injuries Shaw will run for 700 yards and a couple other guys will have a few hundred apiece . . . but Denard should take the lead by a fairly small margin.
Prediction: Denard Robinson, 900 yards

Leading Receiver
The change in offense throws a wrench into my guess here, too.  I think Roy Roundtree is a very good receiver, but I also think he’s going to struggle more now that he’s been moved from the slot to the outside.  The only other serious threat to lead the team is Junior Hemingway, who might be derailed by injury like usual.  I guess I’ll go with Hemingway and pray he stays healthy.
Prediction: Junior Hemingway, 1000 yards

Leading Tackler
I’m pretty confident that middle linebacker Kenny Demens will lead the team in tackles, provided his shoulder injury doesn’t flare up again.  He had 82 last season and finished third on the team, despite only starting for half the year.  Safety Jordan Kovacs was second last year with 116 total tackles, but I think – and hope – that those numbers will drop significantly.
Prediction: Kenny Demens, 100 tackles

Leading Sacker
Considering that Michigan’s sack totals have dropped to 41% of what they were in 2006, I have to think that the new defensive scheme will cause at least a small jump.  Of the defensive linemen and linebackers who graduated last year (Greg Banks, Renaldo Sagesse, Adam Patterson, Jonas Mouton, Obi Ezeh), none were great pass rushers.  The best rushers return (Ryan Van Bergen with 9 career sacks, Mike Martin with 6.5, and Craig Roh with 2.5) with some youthful potential in the forms of redshirt freshman Jake Ryan, sophomore Jibreel Black, and true freshman Frank Clark.  With all those blitzers and rushers potentially getting to the quarterback, weakside end Craig Roh should lead the team in sacks. 
Prediction: Craig Roh, 7 sacks

Leading Interceptor
Last year’s interception leaders were cornerback James Rogers (since graduated) and free safety-turned-linebacker Cameron Gordon.  So those two are out, since linebackers rarely lead teams in interceptions.  That leaves us with a crew of defensive backs who have a combined four interceptions (Jordan Kovacs has 3, J.T. Floyd has 1).  Cornerbacks Troy Woolfolk and Courtney Avery have shown an ability to cover but not make big plays, and Floyd . . . well . . . just doesn’t look like a very good cornerback.  It looks like Thomas Gordon will start at strong safety and he hasn’t had a chance to show his pass coverage abilities yet since he played linebacker last year.  So it looks like Jordan Kovacs is my man.
Prediction: Jordan Kovacs, 3 interceptions

All-Big Ten First Team
Prediction: Denard Robinson, Mike Martin

Leading Scorer (non-QB, non-kicker)
Prediction: Michael Shaw

Breakout Offensive Player
This is a tough choice because almost every offensive starter returns.  Kevin Koger should see a significant leap in production, but he’ll be a four-year starter.  I have a hard time picking a four-year starter as a breakout player.  So I’m going to go with Jeremy Gallon.  Gallon is #2 on the depth chart at wide receiver and should see some time in the slot in three- and four-wide sets.  He’s quick, fast, and thickly built, and he could be an X-factor if he can hold onto the ball (which he couldn’t do last year as a kick/punt returner).
Prediction: Jeremy Gallon

Breakout Defensive Player
I don’t foresee anyone on Michigan’s defense going from an unknown to an All-American, so “breakout” here has to be looked at from a small-scale perspective.  A few days ago, I picked freshman linebacker Desmond Morgan as a potential breakout player, since he’s a frosh and will play at some point this season.  Anybody who starts at weakside linebacker will be a breakout player, really, since all the options are young and inexperienced.  Mike Jones is #1 on the depth chart, although I don’t really think he’s a playmaker.  I think I’ll go with cornerback Courtney Avery.  Avery had a bad year last season, not because he’s a bad athlete but because he wasn’t ready to play.  He should have redshirted and taken a year to add some size.  Now he’s a sophomore with playing experience and he might be the best cover corner on the roster, although true freshman Blake Countess is going to be a good one, too.
Prediction: Courtney Avery

Most Disappointing Offensive Player
Keep in mind that this is my  most disappointing offensive player, as in the one that I think will fall short of my previous expectations.  There was a time when I thought Roy Roundtree was headed toward wearing the #1 jersey.  On top of being a very good slot receiver, he was a good blocker and a playmaker after the catch.  He started to fall off toward the end of last season when he began dropping too many passes, particularly against Wisconsin and Ohio State.  And while he did have over 900 yards receiving last year, many of those receptions came in the middle of the field, an area that he won’t roam as often from his new outside receiver position.  He should start this fall and put up decent numbers, but I don’t know if the #1 jersey is in his future anymore.
Prediction: Roy Roundtree

Most Disappointing Defensive Player
Just like last year, it’s tough to pick someone who’s going to be disappointing, because not much is expected from most of the guys on this unit.  The bar has been lowered so much that it’s almost impossible for anyone to limbo underneath it.  With that caveat aside, I think Troy Woolfolk is going to disappoint some people a little bit.  Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and many Michigan fans hope that Woolfolk will be Michigan’s Savior in the Secondary this season.  He was a solid free safety and cornerback in 2009 before dislocating his ankle prior to the 2010 season, which might have been fortuitous since he preserved his last year of eligibility to play under a coach who actually knows what he’s doing.  But Woolfolk has zero interceptions in his career, and while he’s a solid tackler with excellent speed, I doubt he’ll suddenly be causing turnover after turnover.  I expect continued solid play in the coming months, but nothing spectacular.
Prediction: Troy Woolfolk

The Big Finish

Sept. 3 vs. Western Michigan: WIN.  Michigan’s offense ought to be too good for Western Michigan to handle.  Denard Robinson torched them in 2009 for one of his best career highlights, and he’ll probably make some more highlights.  MAC teams just can’t handle his speed.

Sept. 10 vs. Notre Dame: LOSS.  Notre Dame should have beaten Michigan in 2010, if not for quarterback Dayne Crist getting injured.  This year the Fighting Irish should be better.

Sept. 17 vs. Eastern Michigan: WIN.  The Screaming Eagles are horrible at football.

Sept. 24 vs. San Diego State: WIN.  I think this will be a pretty easy win.  SDSU lost a couple of their top receivers for the year due to injury.  Otherwise, I thought it was going to be a close win.

Oct. 1 vs. Minnesota: WIN.  The Golden Gophers are just a steap ahead of Eastern Michigan.

Oct. 8 at Northwestern: WIN.  The Wildcats have a solid offense that will put up some points, but I have confidence that defensive coordinator Greg Mattison will have some better ideas on how to stop the spread than his predecessors.

Oct. 15 at Michigan State: WIN.  It’s about time that Michigan gets another victory against the Spartans, who got lucky repeatedly in the 2010 season.  I can’t see Hoke and Mattison losing to MSU in year one.

Oct. 29 vs. Purdue: WIN.  Purdue is bad, and their starting quarterback from last year is out due to an ACL tear.

Nov. 5 at Iowa: LOSS.  Iowa is going to be good this year, unfortunately.  They always seem to play Michigan tough, and their defense is solid.  If this game were in Ann Arbor, I’d pick the Wolverines . . . but it’s an away game.

Nov. 12 at Illinois: WIN. Illinois lost a couple good players in their defensive front seven, and the couple good players left shouldn’t be enough to beat the Wolverines.

Nov. 19 vs. Nebraska: LOSS.  Nebraska’s too good on both sides of the ball for Michigan to handle.  They might win the Big Ten in their first season.

Nov. 26 vs. Ohio State: LOSS.  I wish I could predict a Michigan victory here, but Ohio State has been so dominant in recent years that I can’t see the Wolverines pulling out a victory.  All of OSU’s suspended players will be back and warmed up for several weeks before coming to Ann Arbor.

Final Record: 8-4

2011 Countdown: #11 Roy Roundtree

Roy Roundtree

Name: Roy Roundtree
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 177 lbs.
High school: Trotwood-Madison High School in Trotwood, OH
Position: Slot receiver/wide receiver
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #12
Last year: I ranked Roundtree #9 and said he would start at slot receiver, catch 60 passes for 900 yards, and score 8 touchdowns.  He had 72 catches for 935 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Going into last season, I thought Roundtree was going to continue where he left off at the end of 2009, when he turned into Tate Forcier’s favorite target.  And he did.  From his slot receiver position, Roundtree led the team in receptions, yardage, and touchdowns.  While he was wide open fairly often due to quarterback Denard Robinson’s run fakes, the things that made him so effective were his route running and his sneaky quickness.  The kid has been less than 180 pounds for his entire career, but he knows how to get open and he makes people miss after the catch.  Roundtree isn’t a typical Rich Rodriguez slot receiver because he’s not 5’8″ and doesn’t have instantaneous acceleration, but while it looks like he’ll be easy to take down, he now has four receptions of 70+ yards in his career.  For comparison’s sake, consider that Braylon Edwards, Marquise Walker, David Terrell, Derrick Alexander, Desmond Howard, and Anthony Carter had three career receptions of 70+ yards . . . combined.

Now that it’s 2011 and a new offense has come to Ann Arbor, I’m expecting a plateau for Roundtree. The year-long suspension of Darryl Stonum means that Michigan needs Roundtree on the outside, where the mismatches won’t be quite so apparent.  He won’t be able to get open quite so easily against cornerbacks as he was against linebackers and safeties.  Additionally, I don’t think the new offense will be quite so friendly to Denard Robinson, who might struggle with a pro-style offense.  The team will run plenty of spread formations, but unless Roundtree moves into the slot when they go to the spread, the likely beneficiaries will be slot receivers like Martavious Odoms and Jeremy Gallon.

Prediction: Starting wide receiver; 65 receptions, 850 yards, 7 touchdowns