Tag: Ty Isaac

Michigan 28, UNLV 7

Ty Isaac on his way to a 76-yard touchdown

Hello, Ty Isaac! It was nice to see running back Ty Isaac have some success on the ground yesterday. He ended the game with 8 carries for 114 yards and 1 touchdown, which came on a 76-yarder. (That stat line is oddly similar to De’Veon Smith’s 8 carries, 115 yards, 2 touchdowns against last year’s patsy, Appalachian State.) Isaac is not a burner and won’t make a ton of guys miss, but he can be a physical runner when he keeps his shoulders square, and obviously he has enough speed to run away from a lot of defenders. When teams start to pack the box against Michigan, there are going to be times where nobody’s left once you get past the second level. That’s what happened on Isaac’s long run. The 76-yarder was the longest run at Michigan since Denard Robinson’s 79-yard touchdown against Air Force in 2012, and it was the longest by a Michigan running back since Carlos Browns 90-yard score against Eastern Michigan in 2009. I predicted that Isaac and starter De’Veon Smith would go over 100 yards, but Smith only ended up with 33 yards on 13 carries (2.5 yards/carry).

Hit the jump for the rest of my post-game thoughts.
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Michigan vs. Utah Awards

Jake Butt

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Ty Isaac. It looks a little bit like De’Veon Smith might be the inside run guy, and Isaac might be the outside run guy. That is, at least until Drake Johnson returns from injury. Smith slammed it up inside 17 times for 47 yards, which is 2.76 yards/carry. Isaac wasn’t a great deal better on average (4 carries, 12 yards, 3.0 yards/carry) but he is quicker. Plus he can catch the ball, which Smith proved he could not do consistently when he embarrassingly dropped a wide open pass that hit him right in the hands. I don’t think Smith should be benched outright, but a 17-to-4 carry advantage is a little too lopsided.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . A.J. Williams. He doesn’t have to play less, necessarily, but I would prefer it if he never or rarely gets targeted. He had 1 catch for 2 yards on Thursday night, and he was targeted at least twice more. There needs to be an element of surprise at times, and maybe he’s the best blocker of the non-Jake Butt tight ends. But he is also arguably the least athletic of the tight ends, and his targets should either go to wideouts or players like Ian Bunting, Khalid Hill, etc. I know the moderators at Rivals were touting Williams as a potential breakout player this year, but I’ll believe it when I see it – and I don’t expect to see it.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . James Ross III. I have yet to be convinced that Michigan’s nickel safety and/or the other linebackers are better than Ross. Ross had 2 tackles and .5 tackles for loss in limited time on Thursday. I don’t think he’s a superstar, but I do think he’s pretty good at playing in space, and he’s perhaps the best hitter of the linebacker crew.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Channing Stribling. Stribling lost contain a couple times early in the game, and I don’t think his athleticism is anything special. He looks bigger and more physical this year, but I have yet to see him show the coverage ability to make a play on the ball. Through two seasons as a backup and one game as a starter, he has notched zero interceptions and zero pass breakups. I won’t declare him a total mess because he was not beaten over the top, but a guy who has been playing cornerback for two-plus seasons should have at least put a fingertip on a ball at some point in his career. Michigan has a transfer from Stanford in Wayne Lyons who has 3 interceptions and 6 pass breakups during his first three-plus years of playing time.

Play of the game . . . Jake Rudock to Jake Butt for a touchdown. Late in the third quarter, quarterback Jake Rudock was desperately looking for a score. He was so desperate that he launched a football into the midst of three red jerseys. Fortunately for him, the 6’6″, 248 lb. tight end Jake Butt rose up to reel in the pass, even though two Utes had chances to make a play on the ball with a third nearby. It turned into a 19-yard touchdown and one of Butt’s career highlights.

Player of the game . . . Jake Butt. Jim Harbaugh likes to use his tight ends, and Jake Rudock likes to use them as a security blanket, too. It’s fortunate that Michigan has a good one in Butt, who is a big target with soft hands who runs routes well. He ended the game with 8 catches for 93 yards (11.6 yards/catch) and the aforementioned touchdown. There were other players who played well for stretches (Jabrill Peppers, Chris Wormley, Amara Darboh), but nobody was as consistent as Butt from start to finish.

Utah 24, Michigan 17

Jake Butt

Not bad for a debut. Michigan was on its way to a very uninspiring debut with just 3 points at the half, but things picked up a little bit from there. This was a 5-7 team last year that had some things to clean up and some areas to improve. I think several of those areas have taken steps forward, but obviously not enough. Last year the Wolverines lost 26-10 without a lot of fight (Michigan’s only touchdown in 2014 was a Willie Henry interception return.) This year they scored a couple offensive touchdowns after halftime and had a chance to win/tie the game with their final drive. I’m disappointed in the loss, but things are looking up.

Hit the jump for the remainder of the post.
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2015 Season Predictions

Here are my predictions for the upcoming year:

Leading Rusher
I think Michigan will run the ball pretty well this year, but no running back is likely to run away with the yardage lead. There are three or four backs who could emerge as the leader, but my guess is that the week one starter, De’veon Smith, edges out the others.
Prediction: De’Veon Smith, 700 yards

Leading Receiver
The receiving corps is underwhelming, and the only big-play threats are guys who are totally unproven at this point. I’ll go with the consistent guy who lacks flash in redshirt junior Amara Darboh.
Prediction: Amara Darboh, 650 yards

Leading Tackler
Senior Joe Bolden finished his junior year second on the team with 102 tackles. The leading tackler (Jake Ryan) left, and the other inside linebacker (Desmond Morgan) isn’t quite as athletic as Bolden. I’ll give Bolden the edge here, and I think these two are really the only realistic candidates unless injuries occur.
Prediction: Joe Bolden, 100 tackles

Hit the jump for the rest.
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Spring Practice Rumblings

Mason Cole might not be blocking many edge rushers this season

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Based on recent developments and leaks, I’ll toss out some of the recent rumblings from practice, which you can feel free to dissect/discuss.

Quarterback: Different sources will say different things. I don’t really have much to add to that, except it seems like Shane Morris is mentioned most often as looking the best.

Running back: Ty Isaac had questions about his toughness coming out of high school, but he has played through some things this spring; however, he has been suffering from hand and hamstring injuries, so he is limited. Derrick Green has also been injured, and Drake Johnson is coming off that ACL tear. The one constant has been De’Veon Smith, who has been earning praise for his vision and attitude. It’s not really a secret that Smith can have a sullen disposition at times.

Fullback: With Sione Houma out due to injury, it’s still Joe Kerridge, Brady Pallante, and Chase Winovich getting reps at this spot.

Hit the jump for the rest of the positions.

Wide receiver: The hype about Drake Harris persists. He’s listed at 6’4″, 174 lbs. but there are reports that say he’s actually 185 now. That’s still not very big, but either way, I think the only thing that will keep him off the field this fall is the nagging injuries. He might not start, but I think he will play. Otherwise, there has not been much buzz about the receivers.

Tight end: Jake Butt has been looking pretty darn good, and Ian Bunting has shown promise as a pass receiving tight end. Henry Poggi has flipped from defensive end to tight end in an attempt to boost the numbers. I have not heard many positive things about A.J. Williams, who is a senior and still struggles to block people. Khalid Hill is still out recovering from his own ACL injury.

Offensive line: The lineup at a recent practice was (left to right) Logan Tuley-Tillman, Erik Magnuson, Mason Cole, Kyle Kalis, and Ben Braden. Cole – who was the starting left tackle last year – projected to the interior offensive line coming out of high school, so while I expected him to be a guard in college, center still fits him, in my opinion. That is if he can handle snapping, the calls, etc. It hurt that fifth year senior Jack Miller called it quits, and it hurt even more when Graham Glasgow prolonged his idiocy streak and disobeyed his probation. I have not heard good things about Patrick Kugler or Blake Bars, who were #3 and #4 at center, respectively, coming into the spring.

Defensive line: It sounds as if Michigan is going to be running more of a 3-4 look this year. I have heard positive things about Chris Wormley at strongside end, and Greg Mattison says the nose tackles have stood out. With Poggi playing offense for now, that makes Michigan pretty thin on the defensive line. They have a lot of tackle types and not much in the way of ends, at least until a couple freshmen arrive this summer.

Linebacker: The four starting linebackers in the 3-4 look have reportedly been Mario Ojemudia (who has an undisclosed injury), Desmond Morgan, Joe Bolden, and James Ross. Royce Jenkins-Stone has been filling in for Ojemudia, and Lawrence Marshall has also made a positive impression. The backups on the inside are Ben Gedeon and Mike McCray. McCray and Allen Gant were both shown in video from yesterday wearing yellow non-contact jerseys, so their status is questionable.

Cornerback: The cornerback jobs are Jourdan Lewis’s and Blake Countess’s to lose. Nobody’s challenging them, and the depth is thin, anyway. Channing Stribling is the next option, but I haven’t heard any buzz about him really pushing for playing time.

Safety: Michigan is running a bunch of guys out there at safety. The buzz about Jabrill Peppers is non-stop; he’s playing free safety and moving down into the slot in nickel situations. Jarrod Wilson is bound to start at strong safety. Dymonte Thomas has also been dealing with an injury, but he seemed to have been doing better and rotating in for nickel packages. Delano Hill also may have turned a corner, and he looks pretty good athletically in the limited film I’ve seen; that has always been the book on him, that he’s a very good athlete who struggled to put it all together.