Michigan released its official depth chart today for the UConn game, and there are a few surprises on the two-deep for Saturday. The entire depth chart can be found at the Football Depth Chart page. Let’s start by breaking down the offense:
No surprise at quarterback, as Rich Rodriguez has said we won’t know who the starter is until kickoff; for the second straight season, we get three players all tied at the top. Devin Gardner, in Rodriguez’s words, will “probably not” redshirt this season — it looks like he has done enough in the coaches’ eyes to see the field this season and help the team. I still expect Denard Robinson to be the starter on Saturday, but we’ll probably see all three quarterbacks at some point.
Vincent Smith and Michael Shaw head up what should be a rotation of at least 3-4 running backs. Note that Teric Jones, who was recruited at running back but played in the secondary for the past year, is back at his natural position.
This is where things get a little interesting. Your starting wideouts are Darryl Stonum/Junior Hemingway and Martavious Odoms on the outside and Roy Roundtree/Kelvin Grady in the slot. This is probably a product of the depth and talent at slot receiver, especially with Grady having a breakout fall camp, and Rich Rodriguez’s subsequent attempt to get the best players on the field. The only true freshman on the depth chart, interestingly, is Jeremy Jackson — I suspect this is because he has by far the best hands out of the group, and he should be a reliable possession receiver if the team needs to use him.
The depth chart at tight ends looks exactly the same as it did last year. It will be very interesting to see how much this position factors into the offense with all the talent at receiver.
It appears that the veterans have held off the talented youngsters at tackle, as redshirt junior Mark Huyge and senior Perry Dorrestein get the nod at tackle over redshirt freshmen Taylor Lewan and Michael Schofield, at least for now. They will be joined by what should be a very good interior line in left guard Stephen Schilling, center David Molk, and right guard Patrick Omameh. The depth across the board is very strong, and this should be by far the best offensive line Rich Rodriguez has had at Michigan.
I’ll have a breakdown of the defense either later today or tomorrow afternoon, and my game previews for the season will begin on Wednesday as we rapidly approach game day in Ann Arbor.
Thanks to a generous friend with an extra ticket, I was able to attend Michigan’s scrimmage today. No pictures or video were allowed in the stadium, and I won’t comment on specific schemes or formations, but here are a few player-specific notes from my view in the box seats — please keep in mind that these are one person’s observations of one scrimmage from high up in the stadium:
Unless something crazy happens between now and September 4, Denard Robinson is your clear starter at quarterback. The quarterbacks weren’t live today, but Robinson still managed to carve up the second-team defense (running the first-team offense, of course) with his legs and his arm. His made good decisions with the ball and his passes were on the money, and he took a QB draw 40+ yards to the house — only Denard makes that play, and he made it look easy.
Devin Gardner, running mostly with the twos, looked at times like a seasoned veteran, but he had a couple throws — including an ugly interception to Marvin Robinson — that reminded everyone he is just a freshman. His natural ability could lead to him seeing the field this year, but I think it’s safe to say he’s probably a year away from really pushing for the starting job. Really like his poise in the pocked and running ability, however, and it would have been interesting to see what he could have done if the quarterbacks were live. Tate Forcier started with the threes but saw snaps with the ones and twos as well — he looked solid throwing the ball, but made a couple poor reads on zone running plays.
It was great to see Vincent Smith out there running with the first-team offense, and he looks 100% healthy — the coaching staff even put him back to return a kickoff, which has to be a good sign about both Smith’s and the coaching staff’s confidence in his knee being back to normal. He did fumble after getting cracked on a reception (didn’t see who made the hit, but it was a good one). The most impressive back, however, may have been Stephen Hopkins, who has dropped some weight since the spring and looked much quicker while still running through tackles. I didn’t think he’d be more than a situational back this fall, but after seeing him today I think he has a real shot at not only being in the rotation, but starting.
Kelvin Grady had a very impressive day, making some great catches on seam routes from the slot, getting a lot of yards after the catch on screen plays, and scoring a touchdown on an end-around. He should have an impact this fall from a number of positions on the field. On the flip side of that coin, Terrence Robinson struggled with drops all day — I’d be surprised if he sees much time at receiver or punt returner if those issues continue. Jerald Robinson showed the most promise of the freshmen wideouts, and Je’Ron Stokes had a couple nice catches as well.
On defense, I was most impressed with the play of Mark Moundros, who showed good instincts in the run game and had a couple really nice hits — he was playing alongside Obi Ezeh with the ones, with Jonas Mouton sitting out in a green jersey. Interestingly, it was Moundros playing in the middle with Ezeh at WLB. Still not sure how I feel about a converted fullback sliding into the starting lineup, but if Moundros beats out Ezeh at MLB, it’s because he earned it. Jibreel Black also made some nice plays — he could be a guy who contributes right away as a pass rusher. Also, his physical resemblance to Brandon Graham when he’s in a uniform and pads is eerie.
J.T. Floyd and James Rogers were the cornerbacks on the first-team defense. Floyd looked solid, but Rogers got picked on a couple times and got hit with a pass interference flag after getting beat deep by Jerald Robinson. The secondary in general looked very suspect — they were playing a lot of soft zones and gave up too much underneath and up the middle. The good news is they didn’t give up any bombs if you exclude the flag on Rogers, but the offense moved the ball pretty easily through the air.
From the few kicks we were able to see, Brendan Gibbons looked like the best kicker, but he still has to get more consistent from inside 40 yards — just can’t afford to miss those kicks. Will Hagerup had an up-and-down day punting the ball — had a couple that traveled around 50 yards in the air, but also had some 30-yard kicks. The kicking game could be an adventure this season.
One last note: Take this for what it’s worth, but I didn’t see Austin White out there in uniform today, and he definitely didn’t see any playing time. Not sure what his status is with the team, and I’ll have updates when there’s some news to report there.
For more, make sure to follow me on Twitter, where I posted my initial thoughts on the scrimmage, and make sure to check back to the blog for more season preview content as we get closer to kickoff. Your thoughts and questions, as always, are welcome in the comments.
As I write this, I can hear the Michigan Drumline practicing just a block away in front of Revelli Hall, another sign that football is just around the corner. Despite being less than three weeks away from kicking off against UConn, Michigan still has an unresolved quarterback situation, a phenomenon Wolverine fans have become accustomed to in the Rich Rodriguez era. Today, the focus is on the quarterbacks in the first of my position previews for the 2010 season:
Returning Player Stats:
The Projected Starter: There is still a long way to go before quarterback competition is resolved, but since his outstanding performance in the spring it has become clear that this job is now sophomore Denard Robinson’s to lose. Robinson’s rapid improvement as a passer after completing just 14 of 31 pass attempts in 2009 has allowed him to leapfrog incumbent starter Tate Forcier, but it’s his running ability that has really allowed him to separate himself from the pack. Robinson has the potential to be a Pat White-type weapon if he can prove he is a threat as a passer, and his game-breaking speed makes him the ideal player to run Rich Rodriguez’s zone read offense. He has the potential to be a truly special player, but Michigan fans won’t be completely at ease with “Shoelace” taking first-team snaps until he can show his practice improvements will translate to the big stage. With a full year at Michigan under his belt, I expect Robinson will be a completely different player — and a major contributor — in 2010.
The Competition: Tate Forcier started all 12 games as a true freshman last fall, and despite battling a shoulder injury for much of the season his final numbers compared favorably with other high-profile true freshmen starters. After an inconsistent spring and several missed summer workouts, however, Forcier will have to prove he is dedicated enough to earn the trust of his teammates and improve upon a rocky finish to 2009. Forcier is by far the most polished passer on the roster, but he must take care of the ball better or he will cede his starting job to a player with a higher athletic ceiling — Forcier may be nimble, but his athleticism isn’t in the same league as Robinson’s or freshman Devin Gardner’s. His leadership and mental makeup will be tested heavily this fall, especially if he can’t win the starting job in fall camp, and how he responds will play a big part in how his career plays out in Ann Arbor.
The Dark Horse: Devin Gardner, Rivals.com’s No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the class of 2010, enters his freshman season at Michigan with a boatload of hype after a stellar high school career at nearby Inkster. Although many hoped that Gardner would redshirt this fall to learn the offense and put an extra year of eligibility between himself and the two sophomores, it appears the early enrollee is very much in the mix to earn playing time this year. Gardner has earned praise for his hard work and dedication in the spring and summer, and while his mechanics may still need work, he is a very gifted athlete who also put up great passing numbers at the prep level — if Gardner sees the field this fall, it will be because he is a true dual-threat quarterback. The only thing holding Gardner back may be his age, as the coaching staff may be hesitant to start another freshman in a make-or-break year for the team. The focus has been on Forcier and Robinson, but Gardner may very well have the most talent of any Wolverine quarterback, and he could give the staff no choice but to play him if he can pick up the playbook quickly.
Outlook: With three very viable candidates to start this fall, the competition to see snaps at QB will be fierce, and that should only raise the level of play Michigan gets out of the position in 2010. With a talented and experienced offensive line and a bevy of weapons at the skill positions, whoever starts at quarterback should have no problem putting points on the board. If the team can limit the mental errors that led to an ugly -12 turnover margin in 2009, Michigan should be in very good shape at the position this year and in the future — the only question is who will be the man to lead the team come September. My guess is Robinson, but anything can happen over the next few weeks.
On a team that is heavy on youth on both sides of the ball, there’s ample opportunity for several true freshmen to have an immediate impact for Michigan in 2010. Two players, QB Devin Gardner and P Will Hagerup, have been discussed in great detail here — Gardner will hopefully redshirt, while Hagerup is all but assured to be the starting punter from day one. Today, I’ll look at five other freshmen who have the best chance at seeing the field this fall:
CB Cullen Christian: While Demar Dorsey attracted most of the attention this summer, Christian was a forgotten man despite being a top-100 prospect (and top-8 cornerback) to both Rivals and Scout — higher rankings than Dorsey received from either service. At 6-0, 187 pounds, Christian has the size to play a physical bump-and-run style, and while he doesn’t possess track-level speed, he has the athleticism to potentially be a shut-down corner. Christian is also supposed to be very strong in zone coverage, which should be a big help on a team expected to play a lot of Cover 3 on defense. With Justin Turner still struggling to pass J.T. Floyd on the depth chart, Christian has a golden opportunity to step right into a spot on the two-deep, and with a strong fall camp there’s a very good chance he could unseat Floyd for a starting spot opposite Troy Woolfolk. Besides Hagerup, Christian has the best chance of any true freshman to open the season as a starter, and at the very least he could have a Leon Hall-like impact as the third corner on a team desperate for help in the secondary.
S Marvin Robinson: The other consensus four-star secondary recruit, Robinson has the ability to play free or strong safety in Michigan’s defense. Cameron Gordon (free safety) and Jordan Kovacs (bandit) appear to have two of the three safety spots locked up, but the competition is wide open at spur, where Thomas Gordon, Mike Williams, and Brandin Hawthorne are all battling for one starting spot. Robinson should immediately shake up that competition, especially since the spur position seems tailor-made for a player like him — Robinson’s strengths are his size (6-2, 200), speed, and hitting ability, while he lacks refined coverage skills for the time being. None of the veterans at the spur position have separated themselves from the pack, so Robinson has a great chance to step in and compete for not just playing time, but a starting role. If he can show enough ability in pass coverage, his physical tools will be tough to ignore. Even if he doesn’t see the field immediately, I expect Robinson to get more and more playing time as the season wears on — if he doesn’t take the job from day one, of course.
DE Jibreel Black: With Greg Banks moving inside to defensive tackle, Will Heininger shelved for the foreseeable future with a torn ACL, and Anthony LaLota still learning the ropes at defensive end, there’s a good opportunity we’ll see some young blood backing up Ryan Van Bergen. Jibreel Black, Scout’s #174 overall prospect in the class of 2010, is the most likely DE in the class to see the field early, and he could have an immediate impact as a pass-rushing specialist. At 6-2, 258 pounds, Black isn’t the prototype defensive end, but he has enough size to hold his own at the college level, and he has shown he can get to the quarterback against tough competition — Black tallied three sacks and was named his team’s defensive MVP in the Ohio North-South All-Star Game despite playing out of position at defensive tackle. Many have compared him to Brandon Graham (albeit with lower recruiting ratings), and it doesn’t appear Black is shying away from the comparison — he will wear #55 in the fall. He certainly appears to have the same confidence as Graham, saying after his All-Star performance, “I’ll be doing the same thing [when he plays in Ohio Stadium again in 2010]. Pryor better watch out.” If Black can come close to backing up that talk, he should be a key player in the defensive rotation this fall.
RB Stephen Hopkins: With veterans Vincent Smith, Mike Cox, Fitzgerald Toussaint, and (if he qualifies) Michael Shaw all battling for the starting job, it’s unlikely Hopkins will get a chance to be Michigan’s every-down back. That doesn’t mean he won’t see the field, however, as the 6-0, 227 pound Texas product should make an immediate impact as a short-yardage back. Hopkins actually cut weight after showing up in the spring looking more like a fullback than a tailback (not to mention looking very much like a wide-eyed freshman in the spring game, as evidenced on the right), so hopefully he’ll also show a little quickness to go along with some serious North-South power. With Brandon Minor now at training camp with the Chicago Bears, Michigan could really use a physical presence on the goal line and in third-and-short situations, and Hopkins should easily slip into that role in the fall.
SR/PR Drew Dileo: What? Consensus low three-star Drew Dileo, you say? The lowest-rated receiver in a class boasting five of them? Yes, but not because of what Dileo brings to the table on offense, where I expect he’ll be behind Roundtree, Odoms, Robinson, Gallon, and Grady among the slot receivers. Where Dileo has a great chance of carving out a role on this team is returning punts — he excelled at both kickoff and punt returns in high school (just check out his highlight tape), and while Darryl Stonum will again be the team’s primary kick returner, the competition to return punts is wide open. Dileo is sure-handed, something which the coaching staff will certainly welcome, and he displays very good field vision and the ability to make people miss. He possesses good acceleration and isn’t afraid to pick a hole and go, but lacks the top-end speed that would be ideal in a returner. Still, having a punt returner who can consistently pick up yardage while not putting the ball on the ground would be more than okay for a team that has unsuccessfully searched for an answer at punt returner the past two seasons.
Honorable Mention: WR Jerald Robinson, WR Ricardo Miller, S Josh Furman, S Carvin Johnson
Well, this story is getting pretty old, but a third 2010 Michigan recruit has failed to qualify for the fall. Quarterback Conelius Jones will enroll at Fork Union Military Academy after failing to achieve a qualifying SAT score, according to the Detroit News (via a report from GoBlueWolverine.com):
Athlete/quarterback Conelius Jones, a member of Michigan’s 2010 recruiting class, will not enroll at the school this fall, according to a report.
Freddy Brown, Jones’ coach at Spartanburg (S.C.) High School, told GoBlueWolverine.com on Monday that Jones was denied admission due to his score on a standardized college entrance exam.
Brown said Jones will attend Fork Union Military Academy in the fall and will try to enroll at Michigan in the winter semester.
Jones (6-2, 197 pounds) was a three-star recruit who also received offers from Duke, Stanford, Syrause and Wake Forest, among other schools, according to Scout.com.
Although Michigan is certainly set at quarterback for this season with Denard Robinson, Tate Forcier, and Devin Gardner, Jones was expected to help provide depth down the road, especially if the team decided to use Robinson at another position (although that seems unlikely after Shoelace’s outstanding spring). Expect Michigan to make a strong push for 2011 quarterback Kevin Sousa, who has picked up an offer and appears to be the Wolverines’ most realistic option at QB in his class.
As mentioned above, Jones is the third 2010 recruit who has not been admitted to Michigan, along with defensive back Demar Dorsey and linebacker Antonio Kinard. Hopefully, he can make the most of his semester at Fork Union and join the team this winter.
Remember the Homeland Security Department’s biggest PR move, the terrorist threat level indicator? You know, this thing. Well, I decided — in a desperate attempt to figure out what type of content to post during the slow summer months — to apply these threat levels (minus the whole, you know, terrorist thing) to Michigan’s position groups. In other words, which groups are the Wolverines comfortably stocked at, and which ones have you buying mass quantities of bottled water and canned foods to prepare for the football apocalypse? Over the next week, I’ll be placing each of the position groups into one of the above categories. So far, I have covered the “Low” and “Guarded” threat categories, and Today, we move on to the positions that fall under the “Elevated” category:
Quarterback: One should expect the quarterback play to improve for Michigan regardless of who wins the starting job, if for no other reason than that the Wolverines won’t be rotating two true freshmen at the position in 2010. In the best case scenario, Michigan will have two much-improved options at the most important position on the field, two players who can complement each others skill sets and allow the team to show multiple looks and keep the defense guessing. That, or Tate Forcier becomes the next Drew Brees or Denard Robinson becomes Pat White with a better arm. But that’s dreaming. In the worst case, Forcier plays like he did over the latter half of his freshman season, Robinson still proves ineffective at reading defenses and making accurate throws, and Devin Gardner is forced into duty instead of spending a redshirt year learning the offense.
Right now, it’s anybody’s guess as to what end of the spectrum the quarterback play will be at come fall — I personally think Robinson will have a solid season as the starter, and provide a big-play threat on the ground while still posing enough of a threat to throw that teams can’t just stack eight men in the box. That’s just conjecture, however, and the uncertainty surrounding this position puts it squarely in the “Elevated” category.
Running Back: There are two ways to look at the running back position as we exit the spring season. On the one hand, fans should be worried that the running game looked generally unimpressive in the spring, and no back stepped up and took control of the job in the absence of the injured Vincent Smith. On the other hand, Michigan gets Smith back in the fall, and there are four talented runners also competing for major playing time in Michael Shaw, Mike Cox, Fitzgerald Toussaint, and Stephen Hopkins — out of those five guys, Michigan should be able to find at least one effective running back, right?
At this point, I’d say Smith is your likely opening-day starter, given his performance from last season and the lack of an outstanding spring from the other backs. There will be lots of other options, however. Shaw is the most experienced back in the group, and if he can stay healthy, he could be the type of home-run threat Carlos Brown was on his good (read: healthy) days at Michigan. Cox may be the best all-around athlete of the backs, and if he can get the mental part of the game down, his physical tools will make it hard to keep him off the field. Toussaint came in as a freshman last fall with a lot of hype after putting up ridiculous numbers in high school — at his best, he can be a powerful runner with breakaway speed. Finally, Hopkins will almost certainly see the field as a short-yardage and goal-line specialist, and if he can prove he can grind out four or five yards from anywhere on the field, that role could grow larger.
The tailback position is much like quarterback right now for Rich Rodriguez: he has options, and talented ones, but the team needs one guy (or two) to step up and prove he can be a game-changer. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until the fall to see if we have one.
Tight End: Early on last season, it looked like this position would be a very productive one. Then, Kevin Koger developed a case of the dropsies, as did backup Martell Webb, and the tight ends were marginalized in the offense. Both players return, as does former four-star recruit Brandon Moore, but the Wolverines have no other scholarship tight ends on the roster — not exactly a sign that the position will be deployed heavily in Rich Rodriguez’s offense, especially with the mass quantities of slot receivers fighting for playing time.
There is a lot of talent here, however, and if Koger gets a fair shot at ample playing time he could be a big factor in the passing game. Yes, he had a few bad drops last year, but he is also capable of doing things like this:
Early last season, Michigan utilized Koger on a lot of drag routes on zone read fakes, and those proved very effective when teams keyed on the run. I was a bit surprised to see Rodriguez and Co. move away from that strategy as the season went on, and would like to see the tight ends used more — I think Koger has the talent to be a real impact player and a reliable safety valve for whoever starts at quarterback. Two things must happen for that to come to fruition, however: Koger has to catch the easy passes, and the team has to commit to utilizing the tight ends. If those two things happen, this position could be a real strength for the Wolverines.
Punter: If you watched the special teams portion of the spring game, you witnessed one of the most horrific punting exhibitions in collegiate football history (OK, that may be slight hyperbole, but it was bad). Michigan will certainly miss the departed Zoltan Mesko, Space Emperor of Space, and clearly nobody on the spring roster is ready to hit the field in the fall — in fact, if Michigan had to choose a punter from the guys on campus now, Tate Forcier would likely be playing double-duty.
The good news is this: Rich Rodriguez secured a commitment from Will Hagerup (left), Rivals.com’s #3 kicker in the country, who punted in the Army All-American Bowl. There is little doubt that Hagerup will be the starting punter from the moment he arrives in Ann Arbor — the special teams performance at the spring game dictates that much. The question will be if Hagerup is ready to perform at the collegiate level. Fortunately, there isn’t any difference between punting a football in a high school game and punting in the Super Bowl — the changes are in the personnel around you, and how dangerous the guy is fielding the punt. Unless Hagerup forgot how to punt a football, he should be fine stepping in and becoming a serviceable freshman punter with good potential. If he gets hurt, however, all bets are off. Take care of that leg, Will — no Michigan fan wants to see Forcier left exposed as the opposition brings heavy heat to block a punt, but from what we have seen of the guys on the roster, he is the only viable option if Hagerup were to go down.
I haven’t had the chance to re-watch the entire spring game yet, so my thoughts here are somewhat incomplete, but here is what I took away from Saturday’s scrimmage, as well as more opinions from around the Michigan blogosphere:
I didn’t believe it before, but I will say it now, when it has lost all its profundity: Yes, we have a real quarterback competition on our hands. Denard Robinson is light-years ahead of where he was last season, and finally looks comfortable throwing the ball. He still isn’t the pure passer that Tate Forcier can be, but Denard’s ridiculous athleticism makes up for a lot of his deficiencies, and when he throws the ball like he did on Saturday he is very tough to stop. One play in particular swung my opinion of Denard: his second touchdown pass to Roy Roundtree, when he took advantage of having time in the pocket and, instead of taking off, stayed calm and found a seam between a couple defenders before hitting Roundtree with a laser. That’s simply a play Robinson didn’t have in his arsenal last season. I don’t want to put too much stock in one scrimmage, especially when Robinson was most running with the first-team against the second-string defense, and Forcier vice-versa, but when combined with the positive accounts from spring practice, it now looks like Robinson is the guy to beat (in a very close race, still) at quarterback.
In other quarterback news, we can all stop clamoring for Devin Gardner to see the field. Not only did Robinson look like a real quarterback out there, giving Michigan two very solid options at QB, but Gardner looked like a true freshman out there. That’s not a knock against (hey!) a true freshman, but I’ve just about had my fill of guys stepping on campus and starting immediately — the pick Gardner threw when backed up against his goal line screamed “I need a redshirt,” and Michigan is now in a position to give him one.
Michigan is pretty banged up at receiver right now, but for the most part I liked what I saw from the guys who should see the field in the fall. Roundtree was obviously the big standout, but Martavious Odoms looked good (besides one bad drop), and Jeremy Gallon appears to be a guy who could break a big play any time he touches the ball. I also like Gallon’s toughness — he was taking on tackles against much bigger defenders and falling forward.
The running back battle was tight going into the spring, and I don’t think we got a lot of answers after Saturday. Mike Cox, to me, was the back who showed the greatest potential, but he still mental breakdowns on the field that could keep him from being a reliable option — there was one play where Forcier was screaming at Cox and had to physically move him to the right position on the field, which isn’t a great sign for a redshirt sophomore at the end of spring practice. Michael Shaw and Fitzgerald Toussaint both had their moments, but nobody really stood out to me. In fact, the only role that we do know among the running backs is that of the short-yardage back: Stephen Hopkins is the guy there. Other than that, the position is wide open.
I’ll have more clarity on the offensive line and defense when I take a look at the game again, but there were a couple guys who stood out, for good or for bad. Ryan Van Bergen was getting very nice pressure on the defensive line, and Will Campbell looks like he could be a force of nature at nose tackle. The linebackers looked solid, which is a big step up from “disaster” — Ezeh and Mouton are both fighting hard to prove they belong out there. With Troy Woolfolk out, James Rogers played across from J.T. Floyd at corner for the ones — not a good sign for Justin Turner, who looked big and slow playing with the twos and could be ticketed for a switch to safety in the near future.
That’s all I’ve got for now — I’ll have more on the game after I get a chance to watch the tape again. Meanwhile, the rest of the Michigan blogosphere appears to have published their thoughts before I did, so here are some links if you haven’t had your fill of spring game coverage:
MGoBlog has you covered for RichRod’s post-game presser, both in normal form and in completely-bizarre Google caption form, which is totally useless for learning anything about Michigan football but may answer some questions you have about Iraq. Brian has also posted his initial thoughts, and Denard earns a lot of praise for his performance:
That said, holy crap. Robinson looks like a quarterback now. A running quarterback with rudimentary passing abilities, but a quarterback. There were zone reads and screens and rollout passes and a number of zippy seams that hit players between the numbers. When the offense broke down, Robinson made the concept of “pursuit angles” humorous. Putting him on the edge, as suggested by the coaches’ clinic tea leaves, puts the defense in a bind. His throws were all on a line but they were accurate aside from a couple mediocre bubble screens. There were multiple times where I was thinking “just run why don’t youuuu runnnnn” and he zipped a pass in for a first down or touchdown.
How close to Forcier’s passing does Robinson have to get if he’s going to start? If Forcier can’t set up in the pocket and throw on rhythm, how far apart are they now? It’ll be an interesting summer for both guys. Right now it looks like edge Denard.
Greg at MVictors checks in with his usual array of photos (alumni game, pre-game, and Denard), which includes this amazing picture that sums up Robinson’s day pretty well:
I have no idea how Greg managed to capture out sophomore quarterback defying physics and causing the earth to move while he ran in place, but I’m damn impressed.
Other blogs that have given their thoughts on the game: Maize n Brew, where Dave think Cox has positioned himself to split carries with Vincent Smith in the fall; Maize & Blue Nation, which has some nice video from the stands; The Fifth Quarter, where JC comes away impressed with the linebackers; and Burgeoning Wolverine Star, which has the most pessimistic take I’ve seen on the game. Touch the Banner has a full list of the recruiting visitors as well.
I had the privilege of attending Michigan’s first spring practice yesterday, along with Rich Rodriguez’s press conference. Before I get into my quick analysis of the presser and practice, I should make note of one thing: the media access to practice was limited to a 12-minute period when the team was split into position groups and doing drills. Between trying to get some decent photos and trying to decipher which drill I should be paying attention to (not to mention trying to figure out, with my complete lack of football-playing background, if players were actually doing the drills correctly), it was hard to glean much information of note from the actual practice. In fact, I really only took one thing away from the practice session itself, a point I’ll bring up later. I think I can speak for pretty much all the media in attendance when I say not to put a whole lot of stock into what you read about this spring practice — again, we saw 12 minutes of drills with the team split into position groups and spread across two football fields. Just making a note of that before I go into what I saw, and heard, yesterday.
With that out of the way, I’ll break down the one thing of note I saw and post some pictures, as well as give some highlights from the presser and new numbers/weights from the spankin’ new official spring roster.
THE THING OF NOTE
When I realized that I had no hope of seeing or understanding even 10% of what was happening in practice, I turned my focus to the quarterbacks and watched them go through a few drills. It didn’t take a Lombardian knowledge of football to see who will be the clear-cut starter for Michigan next season: Tate Forcier simply threw the best ball of any of the quarterbacks, and it wasn’t close. We all knew he would be the most accurate quarterback, but the zip he put on his throws also was very impressive — it’s safe to say his shoulder has healed up just fine.
Tell me something I don’t already know, you say. Well, for one, Devin Gardner’s mechanics have definitely improved since the end of his senior season at Inkster — he is releasing the ball at a much higher point than in any of his highlight videos from high school. Watching him throw, however, you can tell that he’s still really thinking about the mechanics of throwing, and his accuracy just isn’t at the level he’d need it to be to seriously challenge for playing time. Now, all of the drills we were able to see involved the quarterback throwing from the pocket, so we didn’t get to see Gardner show off his athleticism and ability to throw on the run, but after watching Gardner today I’d be very surprised if he got extended playing time unless Forcier goes down with an injury. It looks like he could really use a redshirt year to get his mechanics to the point where his throwing motion comes naturally to him, as well as to learn the offense.
As for Denard Robinson, he also had some struggles with accuracy, especially on deep passes. Rich Rodriguez was with the quarterbacks during the drills that we watched, and kept harping on the quarterbacks to “drop the ball in the bucket” — in other words, to put a lot of air under the ball so it “drops” into the receiver’s hands. Gardner and Robinson had their struggles with that concept, and both quarterbacks also missed a few intermediate throws that you’d hope they will hit once the spring game, and obviously the fall, comes around. The good news is that both quarterbacks, as well as Forcier, did well hitting tailbacks in stride when they practiced swing passes out of the backfield. That may seem trivial, but those passes are an important part of this offense, and hitting a running back in stride can be the difference between a big gain and a backwards lateral (think Notre Dame, 2008).
RICH ROD’S PRESSER
I’ll keep this rather brief, as Tim has already posted a very thorough rundown over at MGoBlog, but here are some of the highlights from Rodriguez’s pre-practice press conference:
Vincent Smith and David Molk are both out for the spring with knee injuries, but Rodriguez said they were progressing well in rehab and expected them to do “limited activities” by the end of spring ball.
Rodriguez said he expected to “do some different things with Denard,” since he thought a player with Robinson’s athletic and football abilities shouldn’t be spending too much time on the bench. He also clarified that Denard would likely be seeing those extra snaps at receiver, since the Wolverines already have a lot of bodies at running back.
Nick Sheridan will not be playing this season — he is finishing up school and preparing for a career in coaching. It sounds like he’ll be a graduate assistant at some point, but Sheridan can’t be a GA right now since he’s finishing up his undergraduate degree. He was hanging around practice in street clothes, however. Bryan Wright will also not be using his final season of eligibility, citing back problems as the reason to end his playing career.
There will be an emphasis on playing more people on defense this season, now that there is a healthy amount of competition at pretty much every position. Rodriguez said Greg Robinson will be working on keeping his schemes relatively simple so the plethora of freshmen competing for spots can contribute immediately.
Both Troy Woolfolk and Justin Turner are practicing at cornerback, but Rodriguez did say there was a possibility of either player also seeing time at safety.
When asked if any players stood out for their offseason condition, Rodriguez cited a trio of redshirt freshmen linemen: Quinton Washington, Taylor Lewan, and Michael Schofield. Washington dropped an impressive amount of weight, going from 325 down to 307, while Lewan (283, up from 268) and Schofield (281, also up from 268) each added some needed pounds. Washington slimming down should immediately put him in the running for a starting role, while Lewan and Schofield probably still need to add a couple pounds (certainly possible before the fall) before they’re in that same discussion.
There were gains pretty much across the board on both sides of the ball. Junior Hemingway is now a very robust 227 pounds — I’m not sure whether that’s a good thing or not until we see him running full speed. Forcier gained six pounds, up to 194, which hopefully will protect him a little bit more from injury. On defense, Will Campbell is now up to 324 pounds, and he certainly passed the eye test — the guy is a physical specimen now and is worlds away from how he looked when he enrolled as a freshman. Craig Roh also added weight, and at 249 pounds he is now in the discussion at defensive end, a spot he was far too light for last season (Rodriguez specifically stated that Roh could see snaps at DE in the presser).
Forcier still is wearing 5, even though I saw some rumors floating around that he would be switching to 4, his high school number. Instead, Cameron Gordon has taken that number, as he has switched officially over to safety. Teric Jones has also moved to safety, and Brandin Hawthorne is listed at the position as well — with Michigan slightly tweaking their defense, I’m pretty sure Stevie Brown’s position was reclassified from linebacker to safety, although I could be wrong there. If that is in fact true, it looks like that position battle will come down to Hawthorne, Mike Williams, and possibly Jordan Kovacs. Isaiah Bell is now up to 237 pounds and is listed at linebacker, as is Mike Jones, despite being only 207 right now.
FRESHMAN NUMBERS [end_columns]
PHOTOS
If you want to see more photos from today’s practice, I put up an album over on photobucket. They’re mostly of the quarterbacks, since that’s who I was watching for most of the time. If you want to see why Devin Gardner is such an intriguing prospect, check out the last photo: he just towers over everybody else.
That’s all I have for now. I’ll be updating the projected depth chart by the end of this weekend to reflect any changes in position or number. Enjoy your St. Patrick’s Day (in a safe but enjoyable fashion, I hope).
Spring practice starts this afternoon for Michigan football, and somehow the athletic department decided it’d be a good idea to let me in. Who knows what they were thinking, but I’ll be at this afternoon’s practice trying to absorb as much information as possible about next year’s team. Here are five players I’ll be keeping a close eye on throughout the spring:
Devin Gardner, QB: Okay, I’m not exactly going out on a limb here, but any Michigan fan who says they’re not interested in seeing what Gardner will bring to the table this year is lying to themselves. I still hope Gardner is afforded the luxury of a redshirt year, both for his sake (those mechanics need work) and Michigan’s (no more true freshman starters, please), but if Gardner can show the ability to contribute immediately it makes this team that much more stable: who knows how healthy Tate Forcier will be this season?
Justin Turner, DB: Turner, one of the top prospects in Michigan’s 2009 recruiting class, is a redshirt freshman who could hold the key to the secondary’s success this season. If he can show the type of ability that made him a can’t-miss prospect, and locks down one of the starting spots at either cornerback or safety, that’s one fewer question mark for Michigan’s struggling secondary in 2010. My hope is he’ll lock down one of the starting corner spots and allow Troy Woolfolk to play at safety come fall.
J.B. Fitzgerald, LB: If someone is going to unseat Obi Ezeh at middle linebacker, it’s Fitzgerald, who saw some playing time when Ezeh was benched in the latter half of the 2009 season. With a year of playing experience under his belt, Fitzgerald can now make a serious push for a starting role. Whether he gets one or not, the competition should help the inside linebackers improve after taking a big step back last season.
Fitzgerald Toussaint, RB: Another redshirt freshman, Toussaint was a standout on the scout team last year and could be in line for a lot of carries with Vincent Smith sitting out spring practice with a torn ACL. Toussaint put up ridiculous numbers in high school and has a ton of talent, and even when Smith returns he could be the guy getting the majority of the carries this fall. With the numbers of competing players at tailback, however, Toussaint could just as easily be sitting third- or fourth-string in 2010, so performing well in spring practice is as important to him as it is to anyone on this team. With Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown gone, the tailback position is there for the taking — someone just needs to step up and perform.
Taylor Lewan, OT: Yup, another redshirt freshman. Lewan has drawn comparisons to Jake Long since the four-star prospect signed with Michigan in 2009, and if he adds enough size and strength to his huge frame (he’s listed on the spring roster at 6-8, 283), he could follow in Long’s footsteps and have a starting tackle spot as a redshirt frosh. It may be a year or two too early for Lewan, who didn’t start playing on the offensive line until his senior year of high school, but the competition for both tackle spots will be wide open. If Lewan has the strength, he may be the most talented lineman on the roster, and he has “prototype left tackle” written all over him.
I’ll check back in after practice with my initial impressions, an update on the new spring roster, and hopefully some pictures from the first day of spring ball.
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. Today, I’ll break down my outlook on the offense, and tomorrow I’ll do the same for the defense.
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:
Quarterback: No surprises here — Tate Forcier should head into the fall as the team’s starting quarterback, and I expect Rich Rodriguez and his staff will do their best to keep true freshman Devin Gardner on track to redshirt. Denard Robinson will remain the backup quarterback, and true freshman Conelius Jones will only see the field if the quarterback apocalypse occurs (nothing against Jones, but I don’t think anyone wants to see our second-choice true freshman athlete get forced into action).
Running Backs: The most interesting position battle on offense will be for the starting tailback spot, but with sophomore Vincent Smith sidelined for spring practice with a torn ACL, Michigan fans will have to wait for the fall to see how that one turns out. Smith appeared to be the probable 2010 starter until tearing that ACL against Ohio State, but by no means was he a shoe-in for the spot — junior speedster Michael Shaw, 2009 scout team standout (and former Rivals four-star) Fitzgerald Toussaint and athletic redshirt sophomore Michael Cox will all compete for snaps with the first team in the spring. Freshman Austin White is a solid pass-catching threat who could see situational time in the fall as well.
[UPDATE: Thanks to JC for bringing to my attention that Kelvin Grady is moving over to running back for the spring. That change is now reflected in the depth chart, as well as Teric Jones moving back to offense. For now, I've put Jones in the slot, but he may also see snaps at running back as well.]
At fullback, Mark Moundros returns, although he saw his playing time diminish as Michigan further implemented Rich Rodriguez’s offense last season. A player to watch will be true freshman Stephen Hopkins, a 6-0, 235-pound bulldozer who could see time at both tailback and fullback — the coaching staff has expressed interest in using him like West Virginia used Owen “Runaway Beer Truck” Schmitt, who lined up both as a traditional fullback and as the only back in single-back sets. Hopkins could be called upon in short-yardage and goal-line situations.
Wide Receiver: This would be one of those instances where you can basically ignore my guesses at position — I didn’t make much differentiation between X and Y, so treat all these players as simply outside receivers if you want to make things more simple. Darryl Stonum and Junior Hemingway both started at times (read: when healthy) last season, and should reprise their roles in 2010. Sophomore Je’Ron Stokes saw intermittent playing time as a true freshman, and should have a much larger role with the departures of Greg Mathews and LaTerryal Savoy. Of the incoming crop of freshmen receivers, I think Ricardo Miller has the best chance of seeing early playing time — both Robinson and Williamson could use a redshirt year to develop physically, while Jeremy Jackson could have a difficult time earning a role over more athletic receivers on the roster. If Cameron Gordon stays on the offensive side of the ball, he could be a guy to watch next season — he has great physical tools for a receiver.
Slot Receiver: Michigan has an abundance of talent at the slot, including arguably the two best receivers on the roster in Roy Roundtree and Martavious Odoms. Both players will see the field plenty in 2010, and I expect to see Michigan go to more four-receiver sets in order to get their best players on the field as much as possible. Kelvin Grady should show improvement after spending last season struggling with the offense, but he will be pushed for time by promising redshirt freshman Jeremy Gallon, a player who many thought would contribute immediately after stepping on campus. That didn’t happen, but the talent is still there — the only question is whether there is enough playing time at the slot to go around. Terrence Robinson appears to be the odd man out at slot receiver at this point — unless he shows better hands and a great deal more comfort with the knee injury he suffered as a freshman, he’ll have a hard time cracking the lineup. Drew Dileo could contribute on special teams, but expect him to redshirt unless he wins a job as a returner.
Tight End: It will be interesting to see how much the tight end position gets utilized in 2010 — starter Kevin Koger’s role diminished as the season wore on last year, and Rich Rodriguez hasn’t taken a recruit at the position since he took over at Michigan. Still, Koger finished fifth on the team in receptions last year, and early in the season appeared to be Tate Forcier’s go-to guy in the red zone, so I’d be surprised if the tight end position was phased out completely. That’s good news for Koger, but Martell Webb and Brandon Moore may have a tough time seeing the field in the fall, as I’m guessing Rodriguez would prefer playing one of his talented slot receivers instead of a backup tight end. This position group could be one of the keys to Michigan’s offense in 2010 or completely gone from the depth chart by 2011.
Offensive Line: Please, please don’t take these position groupings too seriously — there are several players on the line who could start at multiple positions, especially Patrick Omameh and Mark Huyge, who both could start at either tackle or guard. The wild cards along the line are Ricky Barnum and Quinton Washington, who could easily challenge for a starting guard spot over Huyge/Omameh. I expect Omameh, who showed a lot of promise at guard last season, to start somewhere along the line, but more experienced linemen like Huyge and Perry Dorrestein could be bumped from the lineup in favor of younger (but more highly-touted) linemen. I don’t think the coaching staff would be very comfortable with a line full of freshmen, sophomores and Molk, but they’ve been steadfast in their assertions that the best players will see the field regardless of age. Other than Molk at center and Schilling at left guard, I wouldn’t be surprised to see any combination of players along the line in 2010.
Kicker: Redshirt freshman Brendan Gibbons has the inside track for the placekicker position, but he was supposed to win the position last fall before giving way to walk-on Jason Olesnavage. Olesnavage has graduated, but don’t rule out the possibility of walk-on Scott Schrimscher winning the job. Redshirt senior Bryan Wright has lost multiple battles for the placekicker position, and likely will be relegated to kickoff duties again in the fall.
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DE Jibreel Black: With Greg Banks moving inside to defensive tackle, Will Heininger shelved for the foreseeable future with a torn ACL, and Anthony LaLota still learning the ropes at defensive end, there’s a good opportunity we’ll see some young blood backing up Ryan Van Bergen. Jibreel Black, Scout’s #174 overall prospect in the class of 2010, is the most likely DE in the class to see the field early, and he could have an immediate impact as a pass-rushing specialist. At 6-2, 258 pounds, Black isn’t the prototype defensive end, but he has enough size to hold his own at the college level, and he has shown he can get to the quarterback against tough competition — Black tallied three sacks and was named his team’s defensive MVP in the 
SR/PR Drew Dileo: What? Consensus low three-star Drew Dileo, you say? The lowest-rated receiver in a class boasting five of them? Yes, but not because of what Dileo brings to the table on offense, where I expect he’ll be behind Roundtree, Odoms, Robinson, Gallon, and Grady among the slot receivers. Where Dileo has a great chance of carving out a role on this team is returning punts — he excelled at both kickoff and punt returns in high school (just check out his 
