Senior Troy Woolfolk could start at either cornerback or safety.

With the recruiting class of 2010 signed, Michigan football fans can officially turn their attention to spring practice, and ultimately how the team will look come fall. With some assistance from MGoBlog’s depth chart by class and the resources available at The Wolverine (including Michael Spath’s very early look at the 2011 depth chart and Matt Pargoff’s in-depth look at this year’s recruiting class), I’ve done my best to project how the depth chart will look like this fall. Yesterday, I took a look at the offense. Today, it’s the defense’s turn.

I’ve tried to include every notable scholarship player, including all the true freshmen. Because of this, and the uncertainty of many player’s positions heading into spring practice, I recommend taking the positions listed below with a grain of salt, especially along the offensive line and defensive secondary — at this point, it’s far too early to know who will be playing where. Instead, I wanted to do this to get a feel for the talent and depth of the team, and also be able to use this as a reference for player eligibility. For player eligibility, I’m using what MGoBlog has listed, and for player heights and weights I’m referring to last year’s official roster or Rivals’ recruiting data — I’ll do my best to note if a player has made reported weight gains or losses where applicable. Without further ado, let’s check out the depth chart:

Defensive Line: Despite the loss of Brandon Graham, the defensive line should be the best unit for the Michigan defense in 2010. The key will be the development of sophomore Will Campbell, who has the size and talent to be a very good nose tackle. With Campbell eating space in the middle, junior Mike Martin can slide over the DT position played by Ryan Van Bergen last season, which is more suitable for a player of his size and skill set. Van Bergen, a natural end, should have no problem moving to Graham’s vacated DE spot. Throw in a full offseason of weight training for sophomore Craig Roh, who started at the Quick position last season despite not enrolling early, and a unit that was noticeably undersized in 2009 should be athletic and big in 2010. As for the backups, redshirt freshman Anthony LaLota will be a player to watch at defensive end, while senior Renaldo Sagesse will likely be the primary backup at both tackle positions. There is a lot of talent among the incoming freshmen, but the rotation could be tough to crack for players who are a little undersized (Wilkins, Black, Talbott) or out of shape (Ash, who is rumored to currently weigh over 300 pounds). Seniors Adam Patterson and Greg Banks will provide depth, but given their careers to date, I wouldn’t expect much more than that from them.

Linebacker: Michigan has a lot of experience at linebacker, but you could say the same about last year’s disappointing unit. Seniors Obi Ezeh and Jonas Mouton are your prohibitive favorites to start in the middle and on the weak side, respectively, but their underwhelming performances last season have opened up an opportunity for younger players to earn a starting role. Junior J.B. Fitzgerald saw playing time last season when Ezeh was benched, and with another season of experience he probably has the best shot at unseating one of the senior linebackers, although athletic redshirt sophomore Kenny Demens and former walk-on Kevin Leach will also compete for snaps. The position battle to watch may be over at spinner, where the graduation of Stevie Brown has opened a starting spot. Second-year players Isaiah Bell, Brandin Hawthorne, and Mike Jones all practiced at spinner last year, and all three should get an opportunity to see a lot of playing time in 2010 (although Bell might have grown into the WLB spot — he’s got 15-20 pounds on Hawthorne and Jones). I haven’t seen any of the three since last spring, but I like Hawthorne — the only one of the three to play linebacker in high school, and a great athlete — as the favorite for the spinner position. Of the true freshmen, Josh Furman probably has the best shot of earning playing time, also at the spinner position, while we can expect Antonio Kinard and Jake Ryan to redshirt in 2010.

Secondary: This is where things get crazy. The only guarantee for Michigan’s 2010 secondary is that Troy Woolfolk will start — only we don’t know whether he’ll be starting at cornerback or safety. I think Woolfolk will end up at safety for a couple reasons: (1) the safeties have to make pre-snap checks, something that I trust a senior to do much more than a freshman and (2) cornerback is a much easier position to come in and play immediately as a freshman. I expect Woolfolk to start at strong safety (the deep safety in Michigan’s defense) alongside redshirt freshman Vlad Emilien — a player some thought should have seen the field in 2009 — at free safety. True freshmen Marvin Robinson and Carvin Johnson, redshirt freshman Thomas Gordon, redshirt sophomore Jordan Kovacs and junior Mike Williams will also compete for a spot at safety, but I think Emilien will ultimately win the job (in this case, it might be an advantage to have not played last year).

At corner, I expect redshirt freshman J.T. Turner — one of the highest-rated prospects Michigan brought in last year and a standout on the scout team — to start, and true freshman Demar Dorsey is too talented to keep off the field next season. True freshmen Cullen Christian and Terrence Talbott, as well as redshirt sophomore J.T. Floyd, will also compete for playing time, but I think the pure talent of Turner and Dorsey will be a lot to overcome. If you’re keeping score, that means I think Michigan will start a senior, two redshirt freshmen, and a true freshman in their secondary next year. The talent level and the experience are both scary, but in very different senses of the word.

Punter: True freshman and Army All-American Will Hagerup will have the first shot at the vacated punter position, and I expect he’ll be the guy to take over from the immortal Zoltan Mesko. Kickoff specialist Bryan Wright has a big leg and could be called upon to handle punting duties if, for some reason, Hagerup doesn’t win the job.

Similar Posts:

• Knight to Rutgers & Your Signing Day Primer
• An Early Stab at the 2010 Depth Chart: Offense
• Recruiting Update: Part II (Rounding Out the Class)
• Wild Recruiting Weekend Recap
• Wolverines on the Web is All Manny, All the Time

Demar Dorsey's commitment has sparked controversey at U-M.

The fallout from Demar Dorsey’s commitment — especially the signing day press conference grillings by The Detroit Free Press’ Drew Sharp and AnnArbor.com’s Dave Birkett and the subsequent articles on Dorsey’s legal history — has sparked controversy in Ann Arbor and a considerable backlash against either (a) Rich Rodriguez or (b) the media themselves. I’ve already said my piece, but many Michigan bloggers and mainstream writers have written compelling pieces on the situation since last week. Here’s the best of what I could find:

Starting with the mainstream media, Jon Chait pens a very thought-provoking piece over at The Wolverine that brings up some very interesting questions. Instead of asking if Michigan should or should not have taken Dorsey (he actually gives merit to both sides), he asks if Michigan should be held to a different standard than other college programs (saying that is the only way to make the argument that Michigan shouldn’t have recruited Dorsey), and then takes the Free Press to task for their coverage of Michigan football:

Now, when evaluating a newspaper, it’s important to distinguish between straight news reporting and opinion columns. The latter shouldn’t normally be held up to taint the objectivity of the former. In this case, however, the distinction is impossible. The opinions of the columnists are driving the coverage of the straight reporters. In some cases, the opinion columnists are being allowed to break news about the same subjects they’re opining on.

From reading the Free Press, you wouldn’t suspect that Rich Rodriguez has had few disciplinary issues at Michigan, and those that have arisen (Justin Feagin, Boubacar Cissoko) have been dealt with swiftly and severely. One can legitimately debate whether and to what degree Michigan should have higher than normal standards of behavior and academics for its recruits. But that debate is very difficult in an atmosphere where the local media seems determined to impugn the coach’s integrity.

ESPN Big Ten blogger Adam Rittenberg takes a similar approach to the Dorsey issue as Chait, also looking at whether it is appropriate to hold players to a higher standard at Michigan:

Rodriguez and Michigan are assuming a risk with Dorsey, a larger risk than with most players because of his history. If he gets in trouble in Ann Arbor, the head coach and the university will take heat for it. Heat they’ll deserve.

But is that risk large enough to push the Wolverines away when other programs wouldn’t think twice about adding Dorsey to their roster? Does Michigan have to hold itself to a perceived higher standard, a standard that might not even exist in college football, much less at U-M? Some will say yes, but these folks need to open their eyes and realize this is big-time college football.

Lloyd Carr gave players second chances, too. He assumed the risk of them messing up again. Every college football coach does. Like it or not, it’s part of this sport.

The Detroit News’ Bob Wojnowski looks at the Dorsey signing from a different perspective, asking “With all the shrieking for [Rich Rodriguez's] job, the real question might be: How could he not [sign Dorsey]?” and attacking fan hypocrisy:

Every fan wants to win, and the most vocal ones demand to win. No problem. Just don’t be a hypocrite and hope to reap the benefits without any risk.

I’m not a win-at-all-costs guy, but I’m also not an idealistic dreamer. I recognize Dorsey is a bigger risk than your average recruit, and the situation warrants scrutiny. If the kid blows it, he’ll damage more than himself, including Rodriguez.

Every time you give a chance, you take a chance. That’s the way it works in college football, like it or not.

Similar Posts:

• An Early Stab at the 2010 Depth Chart: Defense
• Knight to Rutgers & Your Signing Day Primer
• Wolverines on the Web Talks About Practice
• Signing Day Update: Parker to Washington, 26 LOIs In
• Michigan Lands Demar Dorsey

Do a little dance! Dorsey to Michigan.

Andy Staples reported it first over at SI, and after an excessively long wait for his press conference, the official announcement has been made: Demar Dorsey has committed to Michigan.

Dorsey is Rivals.com’s #13 safety and the #162 overall prospect. ESPN is very high on Dorsey, rating him as a five-star prospect and the #12 overall player in the country.

Here are some highlights of Dorsey from the Under Armour All-American Game (EDIT: Original video was removed by the uploader, who is a Florida State fan. Sore loser. Here’s another highlight tape from the same game — again, I’m in class, so be warned if you’re at work that the sound may not be appropriate):

Watching that video, you learn three things about Dorsey:

1. He’s fast. Very fast. [Note: His cousin is Denard Robinson. I hope there are more cousins. We could field a whole team.]
2. He has good instincts around the football.
3. He likes to dance. A lot.

In my opinion, we need all those things from a safety (okay, the dancing is just an added bonus). This is a huge pickup for Michigan, and another signing day feather in Rich Rodriguez’s cap.

Similar Posts:

• Wolverines on the Web Watches People Run
• Knight to Rutgers & Your Signing Day Primer
• Signing Day Update: Parker to Washington, 26 LOIs In
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Sean Parker surprisingly chose Washington over UM and USC.

We’re in the thick of signing day now, and one of Michigan’s two remaining targets has made his decision: four-star safety Sean Parker announced this morning that he would attend Washington, a surprise late entry in what was seen as a two-horse race between Michigan and Southern Cal.

In better news, Michigan fans bracing themselves for a surprising decommit (after last year, I don’t blame you) will be happy to hear that all 19 commits who had not enrolled early have sent in their Letters of Intent, including DT Terry Talbott, who had been struggling with a decision between Michigan and North Carolina.

Also, there have been some positive message board rumblings about four-star Florida safety Demar Dorsey, who will announce his college choice at 1 pm. Dorsey, once a Florida commit, is down to Michigan, USC, and Florida State, who until today appeared to be the clear leader, with rumors of a possible silent commitment even being thrown around. I’ll have an update as soon as Dorsey makes his decision.

Programming note: Between signing day and a busy Wednesday class schedule, I’m going to pretend last night’s hoops debacle at Northwestern didn’t happen. If you want postgame coverage, check out UMHoops.

Similar Posts:

• Knight to Rutgers & Your Signing Day Primer
• Michigan Lands Demar Dorsey
• Wolverines on the Web Sounds the Cannons
• Wolverines on the Web Discusses Demar Dorsey
• Recruiting Update: Part II (Rounding Out the Class)

Sean Parker is one of two four-star safeties that could commit to Michigan during tomorrow's National Signing Day.

College football’s National Signing Day is tomorrow, and although it signifies the first day that recruits can sign a letter of intent, it usually marks the last day in a prospect’s recruitment. With 26 prospects already committed, Michigan should have a relatively quiet NSD, but they are still in on a couple of big-time safety prospects. Unfortunately, one player Michigan was looking to have come in at defensive back came off the board today, as four-star safety Rashad Knight told SI he had chosen Rutgers over Michigan. That leaves three players for Michigan fans to keep an eye on over the next day or so, barring any unforeseen circumstances:

Demar Dorsey (Rivals 4*, #13 safety, #162 overall): Dorsey, a former Florida commit who had his offer pulled when he continued taking visits, will announce his decision at 1 pm tomorrow. He is expected to sign with Florida State, and USC has also become a major factor is his recruitment, but Michigan has an outside shot after an impressive in-home visit from several coaches last week. The odds are strong that Dorsey will be a Seminole, but stranger things have happened on signing day.

Sean Parker (Rivals 4*, #21 safety): Parker must be a morning person, as the California prospect has set his announcement for 7 am PST (10 am EST) tomorrow morning. His decision will come down to USC and Michigan, and this is a call that could go either way — insiders from both sides each seem to think their school has the inside track. With Knight going to Rutgers, Parker is Michigan’s best chance at adding a four-star safety to this year’s class — I like Michigan’s chances with him, but you always have to be wary when the opponent is USC (see: Johnson, Ronald and Perry, Nick).

Terry Talbott (Rivals 3*, #61 DT): Terry, along with his brother Terrence (3* CB), has been committed to Michigan since August, but he took a late January visit to North Carolina that caused him to take another look at his decision. His brother, who did not accompany Terry on his UNC visit, is still firmly committed to Michigan, and still expects that the brothers will attend the same school. According to The Wolverine’s Josh Helmholdt, Terry should have his final decision made by tonight. I’d be surprised if he didn’t end up at Michigan, simply because that would be spurning his own brother, but, again, you never know with football recruiting.

Updates will be posted as soon as information gets out. Hopefully Rich Rodriguez can one again work some signing-day magic.

Similar Posts:

• Signing Day Update: Parker to Washington, 26 LOIs In
• Michigan Lands Demar Dorsey
• Wolverines on the Web Sounds the Cannons
• Recruiting Update: Part II (Rounding Out the Class)
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