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.
Leading up to the start of the 2010 season, I’ll be taking a look at Michigan’s team position-by-position and looking at each player with a chance to compete for playing time. Yesterday I kicked off the series with the quarterbacks; today, it’s time to examine the Wolverine running backs:
Returning Player Stats:
The Projected Starter: Sophomore Vincent Smith is back practicing with the team after tearing his ACL against Ohio State last year, and many have penciled him in as the likely starter in 2010. Smith appeared in eight games as a freshman and saw more consistent action as the season wore on, rushing for 166 yards and a touchdown against Delaware State and tallying a combined 10 catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns in the last two games against Wisconsin and OSU. At 5-6, 180 pounds, Smith is undersized for a feature back, but he is an elusive runner who is also a threat in the passing game — even if he doesn’t start, I’d expect to see Smith get a lot of playing time in third-down situations. Smith will have to prove he is fully healthy and has the running ability to hold off the bigger and more athletic guys competing behind him, but he showed flashes as a freshman that he could be a solid and versatile option at tailback for Michigan.
The Competition: Three backs — redshirt sophomore Michael Cox, junior Michael Shaw, and redshirt freshman Fitzgerald Toussaint — all have a solid shot at earning the starting job if they come through with a good fall camp, meaning Smith’s perch at the top of the depth chart is a tenuous one at best.
Michael Cox was a relative unknown out of high school, but he has shown he may be Michigan’s most athletically gifted running back in practice and during mop-up appearances against Eastern Michigan and Delaware State last season. The biggest obstacle standing between the 6-0, 210-pound back and the starting job may be between his ears — he has had some difficulties picking up the playbook, and a mental error led to a fumbled exchange with Devin Gardner in the spring game. If Cox can eliminate those issues, he could easily earn the starting job with his combination of speed and power — his downhill running style would be a great complement to Denard Robinson in the zone read.
The biggest question mark surrounding Michael Shaw has nothing to do with the football field — rumors have surfaced this summer that Shaw is very close to being ineligible, and while he is currently practicing with the team, the summer classes that could determine his eligibility have not yet ended. If he can sort out his academic issues, Shaw is Michigan’s most experienced and fastest back, but after battling through injuries in his first two seasons he will have to show he can handle the pounding of Division I football if he wants to see an expanded role. At his best, Shaw is a game-breaking talent who is liable to score from anywhere on the field. We will need to see that side of him on a much more consistent basis if he is going to live up to his recruiting hype.
Fitzgerald Toussaint may be the most complete back on the roster, and he is just two years removed from a 2,239-yard, 28 touchdown season as a high school senior at Youngstown (OH) Liberty. Toussaint did suffer a shoulder injury last year that kept him from seeing game action, but he impressed when healthy on the scout team and has seen some practice time with the first team this year in the early days of fall camp. If Toussaint can translate his practice exploits to the real games, he should see the field as a redshirt freshman and could possibly become Michigan’s next four-year starter at running back — he certainly has the talent to do so.
Others: True freshman Stephen Hopkins is probably not in the mix to start, but the 6-0, 227-pound Texas prospect should carve out a role as the team’s goal-line and short-yardage back. Hopkins clearly has a nose for the end zone after amassing 5,010 yards and 61 touchdowns in his final three high school seasons, and he could very well lead the team in rushing touchdowns despite seeing limited playing time.
Michigan’s other three-star freshman, Livonia native Austin White, is almost certainly ticketed for a redshirt year. If he does find his way onto the field, it will likely be because of his ability in the passing game — he has great hands and lined up almost everywhere on the field for Livonia Stevenson.
Slot receivers Terrence Robinson and Kelvin Grady — both of whom played in the backfield in high school — have also practiced in at running back, but this is likely a situational strategy that will come into play on obvious passing downs. Both players have the shiftiness and speed to be very dangerous in open space, so we could see Rich Rodriguez try to utilize them with screens and swing passes to take advantage of their strengths.
Redshirt junior walk-on John McColgan will see the field when Michigan needs a fullback after senior Mark Moundros moved to middle linebacker in the spring, although Moundros could potentially play both ways in the fall. Either way, the Wolverines seldom utilize the fullback position, and the 6-1, 238-pound McColgan will likely only be called upon as a blocking back.
Outlook: Michigan has a lot of bodies competing at running back but no clear starter as of yet. With so little experience at the position (Shaw’s 400 career rushing yards are the most by any player on the roster), it’s very tough to project what type of production the team will get. I’m guessing we will see a running-back-by-committee approach early on until a clear leader emerges. As for who that leader will be, your guess is as good as mine, although I’m very intrigued by the potential of Toussaint and Cox. This is probably the toughest position to predict on the whole roster, and we might have to wait until several weeks into the season to see a true number one back if one gets established at all.
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.
Over the next couple weeks, I’ll be examining the foundation for the 2010 Michigan Wolverines: the five recruiting classes, from 2006 to 2010, that comprise the team. So far, I’ve examined the class of 2006 and the class of 2007. Today, I move on to this year’s juniors and redshirt sophomores from the class of 2008:
Class of 2008 (Sorted by Rivals.com Ranking):
Who’s Left?
16 of the 25 prospects from the 2008 class still remain in Ann Arbor, and while many of the blue-chip players from the class are gone, there are several solid contributors remaining: Darryl Stonum, Michael Shaw, Kevin Koger, Mike Martin, Roy Roundtree, Martavious Odoms, J.T. Floyd, and Patrick Omameh have all seen starts for the Wolverines, and players like J.B. Fitzgerald, Ricky Barnum, Elliott Mealer, Kenny Demens, and Mike Cox are either pushing for playing time or in line to compete for a starting spot down the road.
Martin, Odoms, and Roundtree have all shown all-conference potential so far in their careers, and Omameh could soon join them on that list after locking down a starting guard spot as a redshirt freshman last season. Given the sheer depth of talent in this class, however, it’s hard not to be somewhat disappointed in the production they have given so far. A lot of the reason for that has to do with…
Who’s Gone?
While the class of 2008, at least percentage-wise, hasn’t seen the sheer attrition of the previous class (2007 has just 11 of the 20 recruits remaining), the losses here have been both high-profile and critical to the performance of the team. Marcus Witherspoon and Taylor Hill, two four-star linebacker recruits, never qualified and moved on to other schools before their freshman year, leaving Michigan very thin at a critical position, something from which they’re still feeling the effects. Sam McGuffie and Boubacar Cissoko were both extremely talented players who, for different reasons, were not able to play out their careers at Michigan despite earning starting roles early in their careers. Dann O’Neill, Kurt Wermers, and Justin Feagin were all potential contributors who transferred (O’Neill and Wermers) or were booted for major legal issues (Feagin). And does anybody else think that Brandon Smith would have been perfect for one of the box safety positions in the 3-3-5? Unfortunately, we won’t find out, as he transferred as well.
The Upshot:
This is the third consecutive class that didn’t come close to living up to its lofty ranking, at least so far. Obviously, with 2-3 years of eligibility remaining, there is still a lot of time for this class to change that perception, especially with talents like Martin, Roundtree, Odoms, and Omameh (just to name a few) still on the roster. Regardless of future potential, however, this class has still played a large role in the disappointment of the last couple seasons — it’s tough to blame a group of true freshmen for 2008′s 3-9 season, but a class this deep should have had more guys ready to make major contributions as sophomores last season, when the team was very short on upperclassmen. The next couple seasons will be what truly cements the legacy of this class, but they will have to make great strides as a team to be thought of as anything but a disappointment, especially if they get lumped in with the previous two classes.
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.
With Michigan’s annual spring game happening tomorrow, the talk is once again centered around the quarterback position. That topic, however, has been somewhat talked to death in recent weeks, so today I’ll be talking about the five players I’ll be watching tomorrow who won’t be taking the snaps for the Wolverines:
Taylor Lewan (RS Fr. OT) – The spring buzz around Lewan has been very positive, and some think the left tackle position is his to lose at that point. That would be great news for Michigan, as Lewan was expected to take a couple years to develop before he would see the field — instead, the 6-8 redshirt freshman could be the man to protect Tate Forcier’s (or Robinson’s, or Gardner’s…) backside this fall. Big #77 has already drawn the obvious comparisons to Jake Long, and it will be very interesting to see how he performs on the field tomorrow.
J.T. Floyd (RS So. CB) – Floyd struggled mightily when he saw the field last season, but so far this spring he has held off highly-touted redshirt freshman Justin Turner for the second cornerback spot across from Troy Woolfolk. So far in his career, Floyd’s lasting impression on Michigan fans has been him hopelessly trying to catch a Western Michigan receiver from behind, so anything positive he can do on the field this weekend will show at least some progress. Hopefully, he can do more than that, and show he has the athleticism to play corner and the ability to stick with Big Ten receivers — having Floyd as a viable option would go a long way towards relieving some of the anxiety surrounding the secondary.
Kenny Demens (RS So. LB) – Demens is another guy who has gotten some positive spring buzz this year after spending last season behind walk-on Kevin Leach on the depth chart. The 6-1, 244 redshirt sophomore is as physically talented as they come, but has yet to earn his way onto the field to show off his physical abilities. The former four-star prospect could compete with Obi Ezeh for the starting middle linebacker spot if he impresses tomorrow and in fall camp, and having some young blood to push the senior incumbents could be just what the Wolverines need at linebacker.
Cameron Gordon (RS Fr. S) – Gordon probably gets this year’s “Most Spring Buzz” award, switching to free safety from wide receiver and — through both his strong performance and a timely injury to Vlad Emilien — has played the majority of the snaps with the top defensive unit. With Emilien back (and also impressing, according to recent reports), there will be a lot of pressure on Gordon to impress tomorrow or risk losing his hold on the starting role. How he responds to that pressure could tell us a lot about what kind of player he is.
Whoever lines up at running back – Ha! I cheated, but it’s my blog, so I’ll take some liberties. The running back battle may be the most open on the team, with junior Michael Shaw, redshirt sophomore Mike Cox, redshirt freshman Fitzgerald Toussaint, and early enrollee Stephen Hopkins all competing for snaps. Each player brings a different skill set to the table, but it would be nice to see one or two guys really separate themselves and give Michigan a true feature back or two.
There are a lot of unanswered questions heading into this year’s spring game, and I’m excited to see what kind of team we’ll be fielding tomorrow. Of course, this is still the spring, and it’s just a scrimmage, but at this point I think we’re all starving for football of any kind. With a lot of position battles yet to be decided, tomorrow should be a very interesting day for the team and the fans alike, especially for the guys listed above.
Back in February, I took an early stab at projecting the offensive and defensive depth charts for the fall. Now that spring practice is underway and the new roster has been released, there’s a lot more information available about how Michigan will line up and who will be lining up where. So, I’ve taken another opportunity to make myself look really foolish in the fall, and updated my projected depth chart to reflect these changes. Here are a few notes on the changes:
OFFENSE
One player who has a lot of buzz surrounding him so far in spring is running back Mike Cox, whose running skills seem to be catching up to his outstanding athleticism and frame. For now, I’ve moved Cox up to second on the depth chart with Michael Shaw, behind the injured Vincent Smith. With all the talented players the Wolverines have at running back, I expect to see a fair amount of running back by committee come fall, and Cox should be one of the backs in the mix for carries.
At receiver, Roy Roundtree has been practicing at outside receiver, but I expect him to move back into the slot when Junior Hemingway returns healthy in the fall. Word from practice is that Roundtree and Martavious Odoms have become a dangerous combination when both see the field at the same time, so it would not be a surprise to see Michigan start two slot receivers next season. We’ll have to wait and see if that has any effect on the tight end position, but for now I’m keeping Roundtree as the top slot in my depth chart along with Odoms — down the road, I may split the slots into two positions.
On the line, it sounds like Mark Huyge, Perry Dorrestein, Taylor Lewan, and Michael Schofield are the players battling for the two tackle positions, so I’ve changed the depth chart to reflect that competition. Patrick Omameh, who some (including myself) originally thought would move out to tackle this season, has been playing (and impressing) at guard. I have him projected as the starter at right guard, with the experienced Huyge and Dorrestein at tackle — I wouldn’t be surprised if Lewan grabs one of the tackle spots, but he’s a redshirt freshman who is still filling out his massive frame, so for now I have him backing up Huyge.
DEFENSE
The big change here is the alignment — I recommend checking out this helpful post from Touch the Banner to get more familiar with the slight move to more of a 4-2-5 look:
From left to right along the line should be Ryan Van Bergen, Will Campbell, Mike Martin (injured for spring practice, so Greg Banks is playing there right now), and Craig Roh. The two interior linebackers are Obi Ezeh and Jonas Mouton, if they hold on to their positions. The weak side safety in the above graph is what Michigan is calling the “spur” position — right now, Mike Williams and Brandin Hawthorne appear to be the most likely players to start there, with Mike Jones, Thomas Gordon and probably Josh Furman (when he arrives in the fall) also competing at the position. The strong safety — Touch the Banner calls it the “boundary” safety, but I’ll use the more common term to save confusion — appears to be Jordan Kovacs’ position to lose, although Marvin Robinson could compete for time there when he enrolls in the fall. Vlad Emilien has received the first-team reps so far at free — deep — safety, although Cameron Gordon impressed when Emilien sat out with a minor injury this week. If Troy Woolfolk were to move back to safety, this would likely be his spot.
At cornerback, Woolfolk is obviously holding down one spot, and I’ll place him there in the depth chart until he moves (if he moves) to safety. J.T. Floyd has been getting the first-team reps at the other corner spot, and has impressed so far, although J.T. Turner will make a strong push for that starting role. Of course, the competition at corner will not be fully settled until the fall, when Demar Dorsey, Cullen Christian, Terrence Talbott, and Courtney Avery arrive on campus.
For the full, updated depth chart, hit the “Football Depth Chart” tab at the top of the screen, or simply click here.
With spring practice kicking off this week, I went over the players with the most to gain from a good spring performance yesterday. Today, I take a look at the flip side of that coin: the players who, for one reason or another, will be fighting to hold on their role with this team. Here are the players who are at risk of seeing a diminished role if they don’t come through with a big spring performance:
Obi Ezeh, RS Sr. LB: Ezeh is listed first for a reason — no other established starter has come under as much fire as Ezeh because of a lack of performance, and the criticism that has followed Ezeh for the past couple years hasn’t been entirely undeserved. Simply put, this team expected a lot more from Ezeh in 2009, when he was entering his third year starting in the middle, and his disappointing season has opened the door for somebody like J.B. Fitzgerald to ascend to a starting role. By all accounts, Ezeh is a great person and tremendous leader on and off the field, but he will have to bring his on-field performance up to a higher standard if he doesn’t want to be unseated by the fall.
Kelvin Grady, RS Jr. Slot: Ironically enough, it was a big-time spring performance that earned Grady a big role to start out the 2009 season, but issues with route-running, knowledge of the offense, and the emergence of Roy Roundtree combined to decrease Grady’s playing time by the end of the season. Now Grady is fighting for playing time with a host of talented youngsters — including Jeremy Gallon, Terrence Robinson, and incoming freshmen Drew Dileo and D.J. Williamson — while Roundtree and Martavious Odoms eat up the lion’s share of the playing time in the slot. If Grady doesn’t make big strides with his football IQ (which is very possible — we forget he was playing basketball a little over a year ago), he could be caught in a logjam and surpassed by younger players.
Kevin Koger, Jr. TE: Koger was another player who saw his role diminish as the 2009 season progressed, and now he may be fighting for not only his survival in the starting lineup, but the survival of the tight end position under Rich Rodriguez. Unlike the other players listed here, Koger isn’t facing a ton of competition from his own position group — Martell Webb and Brandon Moore are the only other tight ends on the roster, and neither has shown enough to make me think they’ll unseat Koger — but instead he has to convince the coaches that it’s worth keeping a tight end on the field instead of moving to more four- and five-receiver sets. For Koger, the issue is simple: catch the ball, and it will be hard to keep such a big (6-4, 251 lbs.), skilled talent off the field. If he can’t cure his issues with dropping the ball, however, we could see Roundtree and Odoms both lining up as starters in the fall.
Michael Shaw, Jr. RB: It doesn’t seem like that long ago that Shaw was the “next big thing” at running back, but now he finds himself entering his junior season surrounded by questions about his durability and without much of a track record to show that he’s a better option than the plethora of younger backs on the roster. Shaw has to show that he can stay healthy this spring, or the coaching staff may never be willing to trust him as a back who can handle more than 10-15 touches a game. With Vincent Smith slated to return healthy in the fall, Michael Cox and Fitzgerald Toussaint both looking to grab starter’s touches, and two true freshmen already enrolled (Austin White and Stephen Hopkins), Shaw will have to prove that he can be the explosive, home-run threat that everyone expected him to be when he came to Ann Arbor as a freshman. Otherwise, he could find himself fighting an uphill battle against a host of younger players.
Darryl Stonum, Jr. WR: Michigan has received very disappointing production from its outside receivers under Rich Rodriguez, and part of the blame could certainly fall on Stonum, who hasn’t lived up to his blue-chip billing in his first two seasons despite getting ample opportunity to show off his talent. Even though Stonum will get the first crack to retain his starting spot, he will have to fend off competition from sophomore Je’Ron Stokes and early enrollees Ricardo Miller, Jeremy Jackson, and Jerald Robinson in the spring and fall. It’s time for Stonum to start producing like a top-100 high school prospect, and if he can’t do that, Michigan has several players waiting in the wings to prove that they can.
That’s all for this week. Enjoy the (already incredible) opening weekend of the NCAA tournament.
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.
There’s not much left to say about the 2009 season, so I’m going to go ahead and take a look at what the 2010 team will look like. First up is the offense, which should see little turnover from a very young unit. Just a note: I’ll be referring to players by what class they will be in for 2010 (for instance, I’ll be calling Tate Forcier a sophomore).
Quarterback: There will be a lot of speculation about the quarterback position, especially with the way Tate Forcier finished his freshman campaign. Forcier obviously has the inside track at the starting position in 2010, with a full season as the starter in Rich Rodriguez’s system under his belt. Denard Robinson has shown value as a situational quarterback, but hasn’t shown the passing ability to be a full-time solution at the position. The wild card will be the presence of incoming freshman Devin Gardner, Rivals.com’s #1 quarterback in the Class of 2010 and a threat to start from the moment he steps on campus. Unfortunately, Gardner will not be able to enroll early, and will have a tough time learning the offense quickly enough to unseat Forcier. In all likelihood, we’ll see the same quarterback rotation that we saw in 2009 — I doubt Rich Rodriguez wants to put his job on the line with another true freshman starting at the most important position on the field. Forcier should be an improved player when we see him next fall, and hopefully the rookie mistakes that marred the Ohio State game will be largely absent from his game a year from now.
Running Back: Michigan loses two talented (but oft-injured) tailbacks in Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown, but there is still a lot of talent returning at the position. Junior Michael Shaw and sophomore Vincent Smith should provide a solid one-two punch similar to how Michigan rotated Minor and Brown when they were healthy. They could be pushed for playing time by redshirt freshman Fitzgerald Toussaint (a highly-regarded four-star who put up very impressive numbers in high school) and redshirt sophomore Mike Cox, who at the very least will provide some depth at the position. Smith showed flashes of real promise in the second half of the season, and scored Michigan’s only touchdown against Ohio State on a nice 18-yard reception — he has showed an ability to run between the tackles despite his small stature, and could turn into a workhorse-type back. Shaw is more in the Carlos Brown mold (right down to the consistent nagging injuries), a guy with track-star speed who is a threat to take any run the distance. The Wolverines will also add Livonia Stevenson running back Austin White, a three-star tailback who is a very good receiver out of the backfield, and the large (6-0, 235 lbs.) Stephen Hopkins in the freshman class, although both will have an uphill climb for playing time. Despite losing two senior backs, Michigan looks to be in good shape at running back in 2010.
Outside Receiver: Michigan only loses two players, Greg Mathews and LaTerryal Savoy, from a unit that couldn’t consistently produce in 2009. Juniors Darryl Stonum and Junior Hemingway are your likely starters for 2010, and have the potential to provide Forcier with two solid deep threats if they continue to develop as players. Michigan will also return sophomore Je’Ron Stokes and redshirt freshman Cameron Gordon, a couple of four-star players from the Class of 2009, and will add some young talent in incoming freshmen Ricardo Miller, Jerald Robinson, D.J. Williamson, and Jeremy Jackson. Miller, an early commit who moved to Ann Arbor after playing his first three high school seasons at Dr. Phillips (FL), has the best chance to see the field early, although Jerald Robinson is the highest-rated player (Rivals.com four-star, #45 wide receiver) of the true freshmen and could also have an impact early on. The issue with the outside receivers isn’t talent — Stonum, Stokes, and Gordon were all four-star recruits, and Hemingway has been impressive when healthy — but consistency. Expect to see a lot of rotation at receiver until somebody steps up and establishes themselves as a consistent threat.
Slot Receivers: An injury to Martavious Odoms gave Roy Roundtree an opportunity to show his ability at slot receiver, and Roundtree may have edged out Odoms as the starter with his performance over the latter half of 2009. Both players should see ample playing time in 2010, and Roundtree’s emergence as Forcier’s go-to guy could mean Michigan shows more four-receiver sets next fall. Before his injury, Odoms had established himself as Michigan’s most consistent receiver under Rich Rodriguez, and also garnered praise for his downfield blocking and knowledge of the offense. Each player brings a different set of skills to the table, and Michigan will likely utilize both with regularity in 2010. There is a lot of depth at this position, with junior Kelvin Grady, sophomore Terrence Robinson, and redshirt freshman Jeremy Gallon all returning, to be joined by incoming freshmen Drew Dileo and Tony Drake. Grady, who saw his playing time decrease as Roundtree’s role expanded, could see more playing time as his transition from basketball to football continues. Many thought Gallon would contribute this season, but a late start because of academic clearinghouse issues forced him to redshirt — he’s a dark horse guy who could have a breakout season if he gets the opportunity. Overall, there’s a lot of talent in the slot, and Michigan should once again see the majority of their receiving production come from the position.
Tight Ends: Big things were expected from the tight end position, especially junior Kevin Koger, in 2009, but a strong start from Koger was followed by a disappointing string of drops as the position became more of a non-factor as the season wore on. However, there is still a lot of talent at tight end, with Koger joined by senior Martell Webb and redshirt sophomore Brandon Moore. The position will be one to watch in 2010 — Rich Rodriguez rarely utilized tight ends at West Virginia, but Koger has shown the potential to be a huge weapon in the spread. Along with Webb, who also struggled with drops this season, Koger may just be playing for the survival of the tight end position at Michigan next season. If he can catch the ball, Koger could be an All-Big Ten player next year, and a great safety valve for Forcier.
Offensive Line: The unit with the most turnover is the offensive line, which loses starters Mark Ortmann and David Moosman, as well as backup Tim McAvoy. However, Michigan returns five players who earned starts in 2009 in Steve Schilling, David Molk, Mark Huyge, Perry Dorrestein, and Patrick Omameh. Schilling (right guard) and Molk (center) will likely hold down their current positions, but the other three spots on the line are up for grabs, with a bevy of talented linemen all competing for playing time. Omameh performed well at right guard in the last few games of the season, and will likely earn a starting spot somewhere on the line. Huyge is another player that can play multiple positions, and should compete with Dorrestein and redshirt freshmen Taylor Lewan and Michael Schofield for a shot at one of the tackle positions. On the interior of the line, redshirt sophomores Ricky Barnum, Rocko Khoury, and Elliott Mealer, as well as redshirt freshman Quinton Washington, will provide depth and push for playing time. Regardless of who earns starting spots on the line, the experience and talent at every position should mean an improved unit for 2010.
2010 Outlook: The 2009 offense improved drastically from a disastrous unit in Rich Rodriguez’s first year at Michigan. With Tate Forcier having a full year at Michigan under his belt — and hopefully with a greater appreciation for holding on to the football — the Wolverines should once again have an improved offense in 2010. Forcier will be the key — the offensive line should be better with experience, and there is a lot of talent and depth at all the skill positions. If Michigan can get more efficiency from the quarterback position — and they should — we could be seeing one of the nation’s most potent offenses next season.
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