Ryan Van Bergenran a 4.9 forty just two weeks after he “started running full strength;” he posted 31 reps on the bench. “I think I upped my status,” he said.
Kevin Koger put up 21 repetitions but didn’t run the forty due to a “tweaked hamstring.” He still participated in a few drills and caught passes from Cincinnati Bengal Bruce Gradkowski.
Steve Watson ran a 4.6 second forty, which “shocked” even him. “Things are looking up,” he said, presumably talking about his chances of making an NFL roster.
Mark Huyge put on 16 pounds of reportedly good weight and now tips the scales at 311 lbs.
Martin, Hemingway and Molk didn’t participate in very many drills because of their impressive Combine performances and, in Molk’s case, because of a nagging injury.
Update: According to Devin Gardner’s Twitter, Kelvin Grady ran a 4.41 forty, registered a 38 inch vertical and a “4 nothin” shuttle.
The NFL Combine begins tomorrow and continues through the 28th. Michigan is represented by Molk, Martin, and Hemingway as they attempt to impress scouts and coaches for the upcoming NFL Draft, which will take place April 26-28. But before we start hearing about Wonderlic scores, forty times, interview impressions, and bench press reps, here’s a look at where Michigan’s participants currently project: Junior Hemingway: Expected to be a late round pick or an undrafted free agent, Hemingway is the 36th rated wide receiver according to ESPN, the 39th to Todd McShay and the 46th to CBS. Hemingway, of course, isn’t very explosive, fast or agile, but his big body and jump ball skills have caught the eye of NFL scouts. Hopefully Junior is able to stick around the NFL for a few years and earn some money since his family home was recently burglarized and many of his personal items were stolen while he was in Atlanta training for the combine (watch news coverage here).
David Molk: Molk and Martin share the same goal: break the combine’s bench press record. While Molk remains ambitious in the weight room, he won’t be running or participating in agility drills at the combine due to his foot injury. “It kind of kills me, because that was what I was always really good at,” Molk said. “I could kill all of those drills.” Agility drills or not, Molk’s athleticism/mobility is not lost on NFL scouts, who have him pegged as a good fit with a zone blocking team. Still, at 6’2” 286 lbs., Molk’s ability to compete against the behemoth defensive tackles of the NFL remains a point of concern for scouts, and most projections have Molk as a later round draft selection. Molk is currently the fifth ranked center to ESPN and the sixth to CBS. He also will likely face questions about his health during interviews after suffering four injuries to his right leg since 2009. Watch Molk rehab that leg and train with Mike Barwis in this video.
Mike Martin: After drawing rave reviews while in Mobile, Alabama practicing for the Senior Bowl, Martin is considered an early round selection by some and a mid-round selection by others. Scouts cite strength, intelligence, toughness, technique and quickness among his strengths while noting size and reach as weaknesses. Thanks to his video editing abilities, Martin gives us a three minute peek into his daily grind via his Twitter:
Kevin Koger – who was outspoken about his combine snub – and Steve Watson are scheduled to participate in the “regional NFL combine” on March 3. Meanwhile, RVB will focus on rehabbing his injured foot while preparing for Michigan’s Pro Day on March 15.
I’m sure this comes as no surprise, but Jordan Kovacs will be Michigan’s top returning defender, according to my grades
(image via Maize and Blue Nation)
Over the last three games of Michigan’s season, I took the time to grade the defense. For individual games, you can look at the grades for Nebraska, Ohio State, and Virginia Tech. The following shows each player’s cumulative grade:
I don’t think it’s any coincidence that defensive linemen seem to rocket to the top of the grading scale, while defensive backs linger toward the bottom. By the nature of the sport of football (and the angles that television uses), defensive linemen and linebackers are more involved in the game. And when the ball is in the air, roughly 60% of the time it’s going to result in a completion and an angry defensive back.
Obviously, this three-game sample is not indicative of the entire season. For example, J.T. Floyd’s best game was probably against Illinois, which isn’t a game I graded. On the flip side, Frank Clark ended up with a +11 largely because he was outstanding in the Virginia Tech game.
This interception was Frank Clark’s best play of the day, but not his only good one.
Just like post-Nebraska and post-Ohio State, I reviewed the film of the Sugar Bowl and graded out the defense for good/bad reads, filling/missing assignments, and physical superiority/inferiority. Each time a player had a significant impact on a play, he was given a grade ranging from +3 to -3. GRADES FClark: +10 . . . Too quick for offensive line to handle; made a great interception JRyan: +10 . . . Pursuit and hustle were stellar; took great angles MMartin: +9 . . . Seemed to get tired in second half, but too fast off the snap most of the time RVanBergen: +9 . . . No spectacular plays but just disruptive enough to force Wilson to hesitate JKovacs: +7 . . . Good tackler but also wades through trash well CRoh: +3 . . . Got reach blocked a couple times, but mostly filled his assignments BBeyer: +1 . . . Limited playing time KDemens: +1 . . . Missed several tackles, but made a nice PBU and filled his gap QWashington: +1 . . . Limited playing time JBlack: 0 . . . Looks too slow for weakside end CAvery: -1 . . . Had trouble fighting off blocks early, but supported run well after first quarter WCampbell: -2 . . . Got reach blocked too easily; too passive mostly, but had a couple “wow” moments TGordon: -2 . . . Had a rough first half but got better as the game went along BCountess: -3 . . . Picked on especially in zone coverage, but fared better in man DMorgan: -4 . . . Not bad for a freshman linebacker but looked like a freshman linebacker JFloyd: -5 . . . Okay in pass coverage, poor against the run
CONCLUSIONS
The usual suspects were stellar for the most part, but sitting atop the list is a bit of a surprise: freshman defensive end Frank Clark. Aside from the highlight-reel interception, Clark consistently beat Virginia Tech’s left tackle with slants and speed rushes. Of course, part of the credit for Clark’s +10 goes to Greg Mattison, who used Clark to stunt more often than he did with Roh. Hooray for using players’ strengths!
Redshirt freshman SAM linebacker Jake Ryan was also outstanding, receiving only one negative mark (for being a little slow in getting to the flat in pass coverage). Mike Martin was great in the first half, mediocre in the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth, and outstanding in the last few minutes of the game. Ryan Van Bergen was solid throughout, but you could tell by the fourth quarter that his foot was bothering him. Jordan Kovacs also made some nice plays throughout the game, although he did make some uncharacteristic misses in run support.
Going to the bottom of the list, redshirt junior J.T. Floyd wasn’t picked on much in coverage, but he received most of his negatives in run support. He just wasn’t physical at all when coming up to support the run and at times he looked to be running away from contact. On the opposite side of the field, freshman cornerback Blake Countess was targeted throughout the game. And while he was more effective than Floyd in supporting the run, the more experienced and bigger Hokie receivers took advantage of him a little bit.
Freshman linebacker Desmond Morgan alternated a couple bad plays with one very good play. Virginia Tech frequently motioned tight ends across the formation to change the strength, putting Morgan on the strong side and running at him. He reads the backfield pretty quickly, but when a tight end or slot receiver would come crashing down on him, he would be a split second late in reacting to the block; at least one time, his slowness caused middle linebacker Kenny Demens to get caught up in the trash.
Meanwhile, defensive tackle William Campbell continued his inconsistency by literally knocking an offensive guard on his ass . . . and then playing pattycake on other plays (not so literally). He is virtually unblockable when he fires off the ball, but if he stands straight up, he’s very easy to block. The problem with playing Campbell is that he oscillates between performing like Mike Martin and performing like Adam Patterson. His ceiling is great, but his floor is terrible.
