HEY TOMMY REES

CHECK IT OUT I'M ALL GONNA BLITZ YO

LOL LOOK HOW CLOSE I AM TO THE LINE

WHY IS EVERYONE LOOKING AT YOU?

HEY MAN… I'M NOT BLITZING BE COOL

LOL JK YES I AM. HEY… THAT GUY IS OPEN

IF I WAS NOT BLITZING I MAY HAVE BEEN IN THIS AREA

TOMMY REES IS A JERK

I HOPE HE THROWS A BALL BACKWARDS FOR NO REASON LATER

VIDEO

OBJECT LESSONS

This happened a lot. Michigan would line up, show something unsound, and Rees would check into something that would punish the defense. Blue Seoul highlighted another instance where Michigan tipped its blitz:

Result:

Also a result:

Michigan would line up in its okie package on plausible running downs like third and five, which caused Rees to check to runs up the middle. With no linebackers and Mike Martin dropping into coverage these went for about 20 yards.

Hell, even when good things happened this was going on. Look at this dude on Kovacs's interception:

That is a 65-yard touchdown waiting to happen if Rees's brain isn't going FLOYDFLOYDFLOYDFLOYDFLOYDFLOYD. The difference between a great call and an idiotic call is Rees not being a true sophomore in his fifth start with deep man love for Michael Floyd.

Seriously. Michigan's defensive RPS is going to have huge numbers because Mattison is doing all sorts of crazy stuff. This defense is the philosophical opposite of the bland 4-3 cover twos of Iowa, Michigan State, and Wisconsin.

They show a bunch of different fronts, blitz from everywhere, don't bother to cover guys in the seam when there are no safeties… it's a freak show out there. Sometimes it works. When it doesn't it's ugly. ND's last touchdown is especially galling because Michigan had to know ND would see this massive bust on the Kovacs INT and check into "free seam touchdown" when Michigan checked to cover zero. In this instance there was at least a guy vaguely in the area, but they've got a lot to work on.

Blitzing is not such a good idea when you wave your hand and say "sir: I am blitzing." In the first half Michigan tipped their blitzes a lot. Matters improved when Hawthorne came in—I watched him blitz without so much as taking those anxious shuffle steps, let alone going LOL I'M AT THE LINE—but it's disconcerting to watch the Michigan defense freak out on a QB handclap so consistently. They should know by now that the clap often leads to a check, because the offense did that a ton last year.

So… where is Michigan's check after ND checks? You can't check all the time because then ND's check will be "let's change their play without changing ours" but you have to check some of the time, particularly early.

Avery could have done better here. He's beaten to the inside too easily and can't tackle on the catch. He is not capable of dealing with Mike Floyd. Not many are, but predictions in this space of a bust-out year are not off to a good start. It's early yet.

Not that it would have mattered: Avery can run his slant for Floyd and Eifert is still hand-wavingly wide open. Dude could have gone for 150 against us if Tommy Rees's brain wasn't going FLOYDFLOYDFLOYDFLOYD.

Another reason for worry. This defense is unsound. Does Mattison want it to be unsound because it makes Kovacs pop up for turnovers or does he have little choice in the matter because he's starting a walk-on (Heininger—Kovacs has graduated), a couple freshmen, and only 2.5 non-walkon seniors (RVB, Martin—Woolfolk is the half)?

I don't know, but I'm betting it's the latter. I am glad they've got a week to practice not leaving guys wide open all day. They're busting coverages every other play.

This week on Weekday Warriors, Chris Wormley continues his assault on Canada, Ondre Pipkins dominates at nose tackle, Dymonte Thomas celebrates his impending Michigan commitment with a touchdown, and Shane Morris hurdles a guy.

2012 Commits

TN OL Blake Bars

Montgomery Bell fell to 1-3 on the year with a 23-16 loss to Baylor.

This week: The Big Red host the awesomely-named Battle Ground Academy on Friday at 7.

OH LB Joe Bolden

Colerain's incredible 61-game home winning streak was snapped by St. Xavier, 17-14, on a game-winning field goal with under four minutes remaining. No stats were available for Bolden, but you can see him making a nice tackle on the right.

This week: The Cardinals will look to start a new home winning streak on Friday at 7:30 against Mason.

MI OL Ben Braden

Braden returned after sitting out last week with a concussion and helped Rockford run for 290 yards in their 42-30 victory over Grand Haven.

This week: Rockford (2-1) plays at home against West Ottawa on Friday at 7.

OH DE Pharaoh Brown

No defensive stats are available, but Brown recorded an offensive touchdown in Brush's 31-27 loss to Kenston. Brush is now 0-3 on the season.

This week: The Arcs host Valley Forge on Friday at 7.

MI TE Devin Funchess

Funchess hauled in a 69-yard touchdown pass and finished with two catches for 77 yards in Harrison's 37-0 shutout of Stoney Creek. Harrison has been dominant in jumping out to a 3-0 record this season.

This week: The Hawks welcome Oxford to Farmington Hills on Friday at 7.

OH S Allen Gant

Despite a strong defensive effort from Gant, who recorded 12 tackles and forced a fumble, Southview fell to 2-1 with a 28-22 loss to Toledo Start.

This week: Southview hosts Napoleon on Friday at 7.

MI DT Matt Godin

Godin was the subject of this week's Creeper Van Original, recording (by my unofficial count) two tackles, three QB hurries, and a sack in Detroit Catholic Central's 48-0 evisceration of Inkster.

This week: The Shamrocks host Highland Park on Friday at 7.

UT FB Sione Houma

Houma's game was cut short early when he went down with an ankle injury after a 70-yard kickoff return in Highland's 56-41 loss to Lone Peak. He had one carry for three yards in the game.

This week: The Rams (3-1) take on Clearfield at home on Friday at 7.

MI LB Royce Jenkins-Stone

Cass Tech notched their second straight blowout victory, beating Detroit Southeastern 51-0. Still tracking down stats from the game.

This week: The Technicians host Cody on Friday at 4.

OH OL Kyle Kalis

After missing the first two games with a knee injury, Kalis returned to the field and helped St. Edward to 232 yards on the ground in their 34-17 win over Cardinal Mooney.

This week: The Eagles play on Saturday night at 7 at home against Elder.

CA OL Erik Magnuson

La Costa Canyon dropped to 1-1 with a 28-14 loss to Poway. Included in the game recap, however, is this fantastic picture of Magnuson leading his team onto the field:

Tremendous.

This week: The Mavericks travel to San Clemente on Friday at 7.

MI DE Mario Ojemudia

Ojemudia helped Harrison jump out to a 16-0 lead by blocking a punt in the end zone for a safety in the Hawks's 37-0 win over Stoney Creek. He also recorded five tackles and two sacks.

This week: The Hawks host Oxford on Friday at 7.

MO DT Ondre Pipkins

Pipkins recorded nine tackles in Park Hill's 13-7 defeat at the hands of Park Hill South. He was the subject of a Rivals AMP feature, which has several highlights from the game as well as post-game quotes from Ondre.

This week: The Trojans play Truman at home on Friday at 7.

MI CB Terry Richardson

No stats are available for Richardson from Cass Tech's 51-0 victory over Detroit Southeastern.

This week: The Technicians host Cody on Friday at 4.

OH LB Kaleb Ringer

Northmont dropped to 0-3 on the season with a 63-12 loss to Archbishop Moeller. No stats are available for Ringer.

This week: Northmont plays host to Sidney on Friday at 7:30.

MI LB James Ross

Orchard Lake St. Mary's crushed Highland Park 44-0, but no stats were made available for Ross.

This week: The Eaglets host U-D Jesuit on Friday at 7.

OH OL Caleb Stacey

Stacey helped Oak Hills improve to a 2-1 record and amass 221 rushing yards on just 13 carries in their 32-13 triumph over Loveland.

This week: The Highlanders play at home against Middletown at 7:30 on Friday.

IL CB Anthony Standifer

Standifer told me via Twitter that he recorded 15 tackles, a forced fumble, and a blocked punt in Crete-Monee's 37-13 win over Moline.

This week: Crete-Monee hosts Glenbard South on Friday at 7:30.

OH DE Tom Strobel

Strobel led Mentor's defense with 3 1/2 sacks in their 38-24 victory over St. Ignatius. Post-game video interview (via Touch the Banner):

This week: The Cardinals (3-0) play at Mayfield on Friday at 7.

OH TE A.J. Williams

Williams didn't record a catch in Sycamore's ground heavy attack, but he helped pave the way blocking for a rushing attack that recorded nearly 400 yards in the Aviators's 33-20 defeat of Springfield. Sycamore is now 3-0 on the season.

This week: The Aviators look to stay undefeated at Fairfield on Friday night at 7:30.

OH S Jarrod Wilson

No stats to report for Wilson as Akron Buchtel fell to Solon, 28-2, dropping to 0-3 in 2011.

This week: The Griffins look to record their first win on the road against Garfield on Friday at 7.

OH DE Chris Wormley:

I was emailed two differed eyewitness accounts of Whitmer's 63-0 win over Brantford (Ontario) Collegiate, the second consecutive blowout of a Canadian squad by the Panthers. First comes this video highlight from reader Matthew, who added, "Wormley played almost the whole first half and did nothing much of note except in the second clip on this video he appeared to have gotten at least a half sack and perhaps a forced fumble. Brantford realized quite early the folly of attempting to pass and basically ran the ball up the middle for the rest of the first half even on third and long.":

Also pitching in with a report was Mason Lowry, Whitmer's play-by-play man on WRSCSports.com:

If you'd still like a little Wormley write-up, I'll start with this week. Considering the opponent, I'm happy to report that there's very little to report. This was a Baby Seal U game in every respect (Baby Seal Prep, perhaps?); it was a 63-0 final with a running clock being employed for the entire second half, and Whitmer's final offensive possession of the game involved throwing a 115-tailback out there, having him run down the 20, and then kneeling for four downs. Chris looked fine for the couple of series that he did play. He did get to the quarterback a couple of times on the first couple of series, including one particularly comical occasion in which the entire defensive line/linebacking corps got into the backfield untouched. BCI's offensive line was physically massive, but they didn't carry, shall we say, "good weight," and their movement was, shall we say, "nonexistent."

Next week should be more interesting. Toledo St. Francis is always tough, and although they're 1-2 at this point, they've lost to Allen Gant's Sylvania Southview and Birmingham Brother Rice. They've got a pretty good running back, too, which is something Whitmer hasn't seen yet this season.

One other thing: I have seen some discrepancy over Chris' height. I'm a legit 6'3, and in bare feet and face-to-face, he's three or four inches taller than I am. The 6'7 he's listed at in the program is about right.

Thanks to Matthew and Mason for pitching in, and it will be nice to hear some reports of Wormley when he's playing against a real opponent.

This week: The Panthers go to St. Francis De Sales at 7 on Friday.

2013 Commits

KY S Jeremy Clark

No stats available for Clark as North Hopkins blew out Hopkinsville, 62-7.

This week: The Maroons (3-1) host Union County on Friday at 7.

MI QB Shane Morris

Morris completed 7-of-20 passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns to lead De La Salle to a 31-28 victory over Fordson. Some brief highlights are available from the game, including Morris icing the game by hurdling a defender to get a late first down:

I wonder if Brady Hoke considers that epically MANBALL or not? It certainly looked cool.

This week: The Pilots travel to Brother Rice for a rare Sunday afternoon game at 2:30.

OH RB/S Dymonte Thomas

Thomas scored on a four-yard touchdown run to help Marlington defeat Poland, 41-23. A first-hand report was provided by Jerry Beeson on the Duane Long Report, though it should be noted that he started off the article with some rather bitter comments about Thomas committing to Michigan, so grains of salt and all that:

Now to the newest north-bound talent in the state of Ohio; Dymonte Thomas. He is just a great looking athlete. He's long and lean and looks like a dream for a collegiate strength coach. He is so explosive out of his breaks with the ball in his hands. Most, however, like him best on defense as a safety. I was of that opinion going in and haven't changed having seen him in person. Getting in and out of breaks is huge for a safety and he has the tools. Playing outside linebacker right now, Marlington dropped him into coverage for the majority of the first half. He was taking good angles and being an athlete covering ground quickly. This shows me he has taken to his coaching well. He failed to get enough depth on several occasions with nothing in front of him and the ball went deep over his head. This shows me he's still a step back on natural understanding and instincts. In the run game he seemed a step behind on recognition and wasn't making an impact until they started bringing him off the edge in run blitzes later in the game. Before Friday I was arguing that Warren Harding's Jalyn Powell is closer to Thomas than the experts might think. After seeing them both in person, I feel that it is Thomas that is just behind Powell.

More on that in this week's Thursday Recruitin'.

This week: The Dukes play at Louisville on Thursday night at 7.

[Ed: Bump. I am not entirely sure I want to ride again. A nice, relaxing weekend against Eastern sounds pretty good right about now.]

I wanna ride again!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XQzQYFYfy8

Words can't describe it

So here's a graph:

This is a graph of what I thought our chances of winning were throughout the game. That really erratic part at the end is the reason why my neighbors knew I was watching a sporting event. 

I don't really know what to say that hasn't already been said, and I don't know where to start.  All I know is that it was amazing, and horrifying, and awesome, and I wish I had been there.  So I guess I'll just start at the beginning.

Buckle in kids, this is going to be a long ride (warning some NSFW language).

Pregame 51%

Maybe? I don't know.  Home field, under the lights, Brady Hoke's Magical Golden Poop. So what if they got higher rated recruits and have had an extra year of experience in that system. We got Denard and Mattison, so the defense CAN'T POSSIBLY be as bad as last year. With so many unknowns, it might as well be a coin toss, but vegas favored ND.  Vegas is almost always wrong in this series. 

1st Quarter

13:02 49%

Three and out on the opening drive, no reason to panic yet.

Desmond Morgan didn't look very good early.  He started the game with 2 missed tackles in 2 plays

Brady Hoke

News bullets and other important items:

• Eastern Michigan is 2-0 and is averaging 331 yards rushing, which is scary to Hoke. Fear level now up to 2.
• Fitz Toussaint (shoulder) will likely return this week.
• Brandon Herron (unknown), and Cam Gordon (back) are questionable. Will need good week in practice to return.
• Woolfolk had a bit of a nose injury, but re: his ankle -- "He's fine." Period.
• Marell Evans still working on eligibility. Currently operating as scout team linebacker.
• Jake Ryan playing with hand down primarily in nickel package.
• Need to see more from Will Campbell in practice for more playing time.
• Odoms working his way back into rotation.
• No student-body tryouts until January.
• No. 21 jersey will likely go to wide receivers in the future. Unknown whether Raymon Taylor is wearing the Desmond Howard patch.

Press Conference (filmed)

"Does that make sense? It does to me ..."

Opening remarks: “You guys ready? Thanks for coming.

“Saturday was obviously very exciting in a lot of ways. The crowd, the passion, how both teams played 60 minutes of football. It was a neat environment, fun, all those things. Obviously a record crowd to see a college football game, and it was good to have the outcome the way it did. It was hard fought, not a perfect game. When you look at it offensively and defensively, things that we need to get a lot better at before we’re going to be any kind of a football team -- we need to focus in on those things, and as a team, we’ve gotta do a good job of coaching, number one, and teaching, and then playing. Our expectations are high, and we won’t get that way if we don’t possess the ball offensively to help the defense, and if we don’t do a better job in third-down conversions from a defensive standpoint.”

What did you see from Brandin Hawthorne and Will Campbell? “I thought Brandin got in there and did a nice job and made some plays. I think it was good to see him be productive in that role. Part of it [was] he did a nice job reacting and seeing the ball and focusing in on keys and finishing plays. And that was good to see from him. He had been banged up about the last week of camp. He practiced, but he had an ankle problem and still does to some degree, but it was good to see him play full speed.”

Overcoming adversity, was it especially hard trying to overcome a 24-7 deficit or trying to score with 30 seconds left? “Probably both. Our team stayed together. At halftime, we went in, and we just talk about -- asked a pretty simple question, ‘Have we played our best football?’ … ‘Are we playing our best football?’ and ‘Are we coaching our best football?’ and it was a unanimous ‘No.’

“Al and the offensive staff did a good job in some adjusting that they did. You’ve got to get Notre Dame a lot of credit. They’re a pretty good football team. Their biggest Achilles heel is they’ve turned the ball over, and you can’t do that. I’m not coaching them, but I’m sure Brian is sick about that. I thought the guys complement each other as a team, and they stayed together.”

What did you say to the team yesterday to get them to move past Notre Dame? “We were going to spend Sunday talking about the things that we did [well] and didn’t do [well]. Eastern -- they’re 2-0. They’re a confident team. I think Ron’s done a nice job. They’re averaging 331 yards per game rushing the football. That’s pretty impressive -- I don’t care who you’re playing. I think you’ve got a staff over there of guys -- with Mike [Hart] and Kurt Anderson, Steve Morrison, who are all products of this program as players -- that understand about coaching hard and doing those things, and you know just from being around those guys that’s how they coach their kids. And you can tell, with Ron’s influence as a defensive coach and defensive minded guy and an aggressive personality guy -- that’s the way they’re playing football. They’re impressive. They’ve got 10 sacks in two games. They’re doing a lot of good things.”

Did Denard have a rough game, great game, or little of both? “Probably a little of both. Obviously he made some plays when we needed to have some plays made, which a guy of his capability and caliber can do, but we also needed to make better decisions at times. He was the first one to come off the field after one [bad play] and say, ‘My footwork was bad.’ So that’s good to see. The whole thing is a process to some degree, and we’re learning everyday.”

What is Fitz Toussaint’s status, and are there concerns about repeated injuries to him? “I don’t know much of his history. I think he’ll be okay. He just bumped up his shoulder a bit against Western. Didn’t see as much as we’d like to for him to be ready for the Notre Dame game.”

You’re blitzing a lot. Are you concerned that it’s taking the linebackers out of the running game? The middle of field did look pretty open. “Well … honestly it shouldn’t have been. It’s open for a second, and then we’ve got to execute a little better at closing it off. You can get hurt, no question. If they want to take that gamble depending on who they are, depending on down and distance, they can check into a run, and sometimes you want them to. But you got to execute the defense when you want them to.

“Does that make sense? It does to me …”

Do you need to blitz more based on pressure (or lack thereof) from the front four? “I think yes, we have had to be more aggressive. At the same time, you’ve got to look at your match-ups pretty hard, and what you want to do with your guys in the back end, and how you feel about that.”

What was postgame like for you? “I have a lot of family in the Midwest, believe me. We had 35 or 40 people at our house. Nephews, nieces, brothers, sisters, and in-laws -- the whole deal. Everybody found a place on the floor and went to bed, but it was late. 3:30 maybe by the time you say hello and talk to everybody and be as gracious as I can be.”

Other health updates? Anybody definitely out for Saturday? “We’re pretty healthy. We’ve got some nicks and those kind of things, but I’m trying to think if, uh … Cam is gonna see what it feels like tomorrow. He feels better. Brandon Herron felt better but we’ll see what he’s like. I think Fitz is going to be fine. I don’t think we’re in too bad of shape.”

When you were down 17 points, was the offensive play-calling based more on Borges’ offense or 2010-Denard’s offense? “One of the key plays in the game was McColgan’s catch. Coming off the play-action, and we didn’t run a whole lot of play-action with I-backs and all that. A lot of the stuff was just being basic third-down offensive stuff and being in the gun anyway on third downs. It was a good mix, I would say.”

How much of last couple drives was within framework of offense, and how much of it was Denard making rainbows? “The rush lanes kind of went like this. And he did what he’s coached to do. Step up, step up in there, and keep pushing the pocket up when you feel it on the perimeter. It was pretty open. They were spying at times – one of the linebackers – but in that situation, they were playing pretty far off, so it bought time for Gallon. It really bought time for the sail routes, the cross, to take and suck their secondary that way, and Gallon was there by himself.”

Are you still trying to identify playmakers on defense? “I think we still are. Practice is one thing. Game time stuff is a little different. I think who plays with the lights on … we’ll see. It was good to give Will [Campbell] some snaps against good competition. Like I said, they’re a good football team, they’ve got good personnel. Right now the difference for them probably is turnover margin.”

What’s going on with Brandon Herron? “He’s got a little bit of a leg problem.”

Linebacker rotation/competition … how many linebackers are you comfortable with? “I think J.B. [Fitzgerald], all those guys, we feel pretty comfortable. I think it’s who you identify as taking most of the snaps. You work through. Kenny is pretty solid in what he does. J.B. has an opportunity to get in there and rest Kenny a little bit, which is important in the fourth quarter. There will be a rotation, and it really depends some on what package we’re in, if we’re playing out of our base front, or if we’re in our dimes and nickels.”

How would you assess D-line play? Are there things you see in practice that aren’t translating onto the field? “We’re not near to the expectations that we have. I think the kids feel the same way at that position. I think there are things that Ryan Van Bergen has done at times that are really well. I don’t want to get specific, but I think we have to feel those guys. We need to get a little big more pressure with four guys rushing the quarterback, so you don’t put J.T. or Courtney Avery out there on an island. I think we’re a work in progress in a lot of degrees. Some of it is because it’s a little different schematically, and how you attack the line of scrimmage, take on blocks, and get off blocks. We would think we’d be further along.”

Talk about efficiency of red-zone offense (Michigan was 5/5). “I think we’ve got a pretty good package down there, and the kids are executing. I don’t think it’s anything more than that. Certain teams, defensively, always are going to have certain teams they like in the red zone, and I think the kids have been executing what the plan has been.”

(we're bringing back the jump. so ... more after the jump!)

We have successfully done this two straight weeks. This one comes in at just under an hour. Feed may not be working quite yet, unfortunately.

Topics!

That. We mumble for a bit about whatever that was and how much sleep we have not acquired.

Offense bitchin'! We complain about the general unsustainability of what worked on offense, praise Junior Hemingway, wonder why Denard can't throw straight no more.

Defense analyzin'! We had no expectations for the defense; we talk about it anyway.

Ace is flagged for inappropriate touching. We also talk about what it was like on the field at the end there and if I actually have to pay him to do this job. Survey says: probably not.

Big Ten Previewin'. There are a half-dozen interesting games in the league this weekend, if you count the vague upset possibility lurking in Temple-PSU, which we do. Jamiemac returns to preview the slate. Toledo-OSU is also batted about for fun, and some sighing about the Rocket QB not keeping the ball on that one zone read.

There is not one word about Eastern Michigan.

World's most bizarre Notre Dame alumn Ted Leo is the featured musical guest.

The usual links:

• Helpful iTunes subscribe link
• General podcast feed link
• Direct download link
• What's with the theme music?

Next week: more!

The Creeper Van travelled to Novi on Friday night to check out 2012 commit Matt Godin and 2013 athlete Wyatt Shallman suit up for Detroit Catholic Central as they destroyed Inkster, 48-0, to improve the Shamrocks to 3-0 on the season. The game was a strange one, as a thunderstorm delayed the proceedings after a little over a minute had passed in the game, but once the game resumed after an hour-and-a-half break both Godin and Shallman excelled against an undermanned Inkster squad. Unfortunately, there's no video this week, but this did allow me to get a very detailed scouting report on each player.

Matt Godin: Godin had a phenomenal performance, playing nearly every snap in the first half at either defensive tackle or offensive tackle. Since he's being recruited by Michigan for the defensive line, I focused on his play on that side of the ball, where he recorded (by my count) two tackles, three QB hurries, and a sack.

The senior had a relentless motor, pushing his way into the Viking backfield on almost every snap—even though he played both offense and defense, his effort never wavered, and I must say it was easy to contrast his performance in the regard with Chris Wormley, who seemingly took some snaps off when I saw him play against even more inferior competition. Godin simply didn't stop on a night when the circumstances could've easily allowed him to take it easy on a few plays.

Godin showed a nice variety of moves as he made a living in the opposing backfield. He was very quick off the snap and did a great job of staying low and getting his hands right into the chest of the offensive linemen tasked with blocking him—his bull-rush was his most effective move, as he was able to maintain leverage despite having a distinct height advantage over his Inkster counterparts.

Godin's power moves set him up perfectly for unleashing the rest of his arsenal, which included a few swim moves, one very nice spin around a befuddled guard, and a straight-up speed rush in which he simply ran right by linemen bracing for the bull-rush. When single-blocked, he overpowered his man every time, and when he commanded a double-team (which was often) he still managed to get a push that opened things up for his teammates—I counted at least three plays in which Godin collapsed the pocket and either fed the quarterback into a DCC sack or forced him to throw the ball away.

Against the run, Godin was strong as well, although he didn't get many opportunities with Inkster playing from behind the entire night. On one inside run he used his swim move to shed a block and stuff the back for no gain, and on another he just crushed an Inkster double-team into the backfield, blowing up the the play before it ever had a chance to develop.

Godin said after the game (more from him later in the post) that he thinks he fits best as a five-tech (strongside) defensive end, and after seeing him play I'd have to agree. He holds up well against multiple blockers, shows a well-developed variety of moves on the pass rush, and tracks running backs well. While the competition in this game was lacking, Godin did everything you could realistically ask of him.

Wyatt Shallman: Shallman really stood out on offense, amassing 72 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries, including a great 25-yard TD run in which he juked two defenders back-to-back, making cuts in two different directions and displaying nice agility for a back his size in the process. He lined up at fullback for DCC and mostly ran right up the gut while also serving as a decoy on run-fakes that opened up both the play-action passing game and outside pitches to the tailback.

Shallman is at his best running North-South, and while he doesn't have top-flight speed, he does get to the second level of defenders in a hurry. When he reaches the back seven, he has a tendency to put his head down and try to bowl defenders over, which often works but also limits his big plays—to his credit, however, there wasn't a single run in which Shallman didn't fall forward for at least an extra yard or two.

I was impressed, as I pointed out earlier, with Shallman's agility. He's not going to utilize a lot of fancy jukes or spin moves, but his go-to move—the quick jump-cut as he approaches an oncoming defender—worked really well for him. Shallman isn't going to make a lot of guys completely whiff at the next level, but he's shifty enough to get defenders off-balance, and with his power that's enough to shed tackles—Inkster defenders were bouncing off of him all night.

Though he only was asked to do this on a couple of plays, Shallman showed that he was a capable lead-blocker, getting to the second level and pushing his man several yards downfield on a couple of occasions. I didn't get to see him in blitz pickup, as Inkster couldn't generate a pass rush on the few occasions the Shamrocks attempted a pass, but his strength is definitely an asset in the blocking game.

I wasn't as impressed with Shallman on defense, where he lined up as a defensive tackle for a few possessions after spending most of the night at fullback. Unlike his teammate Godin, Shallman had a difficult time staying low, and he got stood up a few times when double-teamed at the line. He gets a quick jump off the snap, but he doesn't keep leverage and use his hands as well as Godin, which keeps him from getting a good push into the backfield.

Shallman does read plays well, even if initially stonewalled at the line—on one play, he sniffed out a QB draw and shed a block to make a tackle for no gain, his only one in limited defensive action. He also recorded a pass defended when he read a screen pass and quickly got out to the sideline, forcing the quarterback to sail the ball high. Shallman has the physical tools and football acumen to be a solid defensive lineman, but he needs to work on technique. I'm more impressed with his potential as a running back, and apparently the Michigan coaches are as well.

After the jump, you can read the transcripts of my post-game interviews with both Godin and Shallman.