brandon smith

Previously: Offense, Last Year. Resources: My charting, PSU game notes, PSU roster, CFBstats

The Penn State defensive staff has been recruiting as well as any school in the country on defense. The blue-chip talent is evident everywhere, including and especially the spot that had a darkhorse Heisman candidate opt out of the season. That one's because Brent Pry didn't really change the defense's structure when Micah Parsons decided not to play. When the poor guy asked to take Parson's place isn't yelling "Oh COME ON!" at being asked to be on both sides of a blocker, the structure works pretty well. Nebraska has a clever offensive coach and managed to find the pressure points early in the game, but Penn State has a few clever defenders of their own. It would be a good defense if it wasn't put in such crummy situations by its offense. And if they didn't have the kind of record that makes blue chips' thoughts turn to the next thing in their lives. One sympathizes.

The film: Sticking with Scott Frost Day. Penn State gave up two TD drives of 75 and 65 yards, field goal drives of 63, 35, and 10 yards, two 3-and-outs, a 4-and-out, a 7-play drive that petered out after 28 yards, and a late interception, for a total of just 323 yards and 17 first downs on 62 offensive plays (the official 298 counts a bunch of special teams penalties). That's 5.21 YPP; not a bad mark but the Huskers were at 8 YPP while jumping to a 27-6 lead, and steadily fell off as they salted away the game.

Personnel: My diagram:

PDF Version, full-size version (or click on the image). McNamara at QB because I have eyes and was conscious last week. Calling Haskins RB1 doesn't mean the rotation's over.

[After THE JUMP: A cult.]

Previously: Quarterback, Running Back, Wide Receiver & Tight End, Offensive Line, Defensive Line

I'm bringing back this preview feature from before my time off; the exercise is to rank Michigan's opponents, as well as the Wolverines themselves, in each position group. This is particularly useful to do in a year when roster turnover and late-offseason changes (laaaaaaaaaaaaaate-offseason changes) are so prevalent; I'll do my best in these posts to highlight significant opt-outs, opt-ins, and the like.

Our long regional nightmare is over.

Tier I: You're Damn Right I'm Putting Another Michigan Picture Here

Josh Ross is back on the weak side, where he excelled in 2018 [Barron]

1. Michigan. Technically, Michigan replaces two of their three linebacker starters this year, but that's a bit misleading: Josh Ross returns from a year marred by injury, a move to middle linebacker that didn't take, and the emergence of Jordan Glasgow as a draftable weakside linebacker. He'll replace Glasgow at the WILL, where he started in 2018, tallying 61 tackles (five for loss) despite playing in a somewhat inexplicable platoon with Devin Gil—Ross was clearly the superior player. Back at his natural position, he could be an all-conference player.

The main attraction, of course, is MIKE Cam McGrone, who exploded onto the scene in his second year with impact and style reminiscent of Devin Bush. While McGrone can tighten up a few things, he was essentially a redshirt freshman last year, and he's already proven capable of swinging games by finishing plays in the backfield. If the defensive tackles can stand up to more double-teams—a big if, though one I'm cautiously optimistic about with Carlo Kemp moving to three-tech—then McGrone will be freed up even more, and he's got All-American potential if that happens.

There are a couple intriguing up-and-comers at VIPER, led by Michael Barrett, a former high school quarterback who's got the look of a versatile thumper; he may also be the primary long-term backup at either inside linebacker spot. If the defense needs more of a third safety, Anthony Solomon was praised as one of the best cover linebackers in his class, with the lack of a traditional positional projection holding back his rating—not a problem at Don Brown's hybrid spot. Ben VanSumeren is another former multi-position athlete who's received some offseason hype for his work at SAM, a position that could be of greater importance if DT is a worst-case scenario.

While there's not a ton of depth, I stress that less at linebacker than along the defensive line; there's far less rotation necessary at LB.

2. Ohio State. This wasn't a good unit in 2018. Freed of Greg Schiano's coaching in 2019, however, they were much better, and while WILL Malik Harrison is a major loss to the NFL, most everyone else is back. From my HTTV preview:

The linebacker level is the relative weakness on this defense. You already know the catch: they’re still plenty good and extremely talented. Redshirt senior Tuf Borland is being pushed by former top-50 recruit Teradja Mitchell in the middle; five-star senior Baron Browning gets to play the majority of snaps at his natural WILL position; senior Pete Werner displayed an impressive all-around game at their hybrid SAM position last year.

Browning*, a dangerous pass-rusher when playing on the edge instead of inside, and Mitchell are the two players who could take this unit from good to great. There's a healthy amount of depth. Michigan edges the Buckeyes out because McGrone looked like the best of the bench even though he got less help from his tackles.

*also the subject of one of the funnier high school highlights in recent memory

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the rankings.]

The Ballad of Boubacar is brief and unfortunate

This is the second part of an in-depth look at the 2008 recruiting class, and more specifically Brian's recruiting profiles for that class. You can find part one, covering the offense, here. If you'd like to peruse the recruiting profiles yourself—a highly recommended time-waster—you can find links to each position group here. Without further ado, let's look back at the eight-member defensive class of 2008. This one's not for the squeamish.

Mike Martin Wrestles Not Mike Martin, Which Goes As Expected

Let's start with the good, yes? Mike Martin not only stands as the clear-cut best player in the class, but outside of two-star Patrick Omameh may very well be the only player to surpass expectations from when he hit campus. Those expectations, at least from Brian, were pretty high:

Guru Reliability: High.
General Excitement Level: High. The highlight reel is totally impressive, there are zero questions about work ethic or how in shape he is, and he's got pretty good guru rankings.
Projection: Will play in the DT rotation immediately, and will probably leap past Ferrara, Kates (if Kates remains on the team), et al to claim a starting spot once Taylor and Johnson graduate.

The remarkable strength that helped Martin excel for four years at Michigan was also on full display during his high school wrestling career, and fortunately there is video evidence of a young Martin perfecting his Hulk Smash. A Simmons-style running diary follows:

0:00 — Martin and his opponent—"Mo" is his name, judging by the cheers from people around the cameraman—jog onto the mat.
0:07 — Mo removes what appears to be an ankle tether, so maybe this is just an elaborate criminal punishment that almost certainly violates the 8th Amendment.
0:14 — Martin shakes Mo's hand. Martin releases his grip and Mo's hand goes limp, never again to function properly.
0:16 — The match begins. Martin begins stalking his prey, who ignores his coach's cries to "circle, circle!" and instead backpedals furiously to avoid Martin's grasp. Within seconds, Mo finds himself out of bounds.
0:36 — At the restart, Mo goes for an ill-timed high-five. Martin ignores this desperate plea for peace and immediately dives for a single-leg takedown.
0:44 — Mo manages to ward off the takedown, but once again backs himself out of the ring. When facing Mike Martin, this is not cowardice, but simply a display of proper survival instincts.
0:56 — On the second restart, Mo lightly pats Martin on the head. If you consult page 56 of your Worst Case Scenario handbook, you know this is the last thing you want to do when encountering a Mike Martin in the wild.
1:12 — Martin gets his hands on the back of Mo's head then explodes for a takedown, knocking Mo to the very edge of the mat. Mo sees an opportunity for escape and frantically crawls for the exits. Mike Martin is having none of that:

1:20 — As Mo's compatriots cackle at his misfortune, Martin assumes control and pins his convulsing opponent, ending this match with relative humanity.
1:50 — The two shake hands as Martin is declared the winner. Martin goes on to star at Michigan. Mo reattaches his ankle tether, vows to straighten his life out, and hastily seeks both physical and emotional therapy.

This Did Not Go As Planned, Part I

The first, and highest-ranked, of the Cass Tech Lollipop Guild line of cornerbacks was Boubacar Cissoko, a top-50 overall recruit to every site save ESPN, where he was outrageously(!) pegged as the nation's #28 corner. Regrettable statement goes here:

Guru Reliability: Maximal. The unified chorus: this is a perfect cornerback except he's 5'8".
General Excitement Level: High. Obvious physical limitation aside, the perfect corner.
Projection: Plays as a freshman and is starting next to Warren by his sophomore year.

Cissoko flashed promise as a freshman in 2008, even starting two contests. Then Michael Floyd and Golden Tate lit him up again and again in 2009 before Cissoko went on a crime spree that quickly found him off the team and then incarcerated. While Cissoko obviously never reached anything close to the potential that had Brian so excited, his recruiting profile did feature one bit of eerie foreshadowing [emphasis mine]:

A couple years ago, I watched [current Detroit Lions CB Chris] Houston and Arkansas play South Carolina. Redshirt sophomore Sidney Rice was the Gamecock's big star and Houston lined up nose-to-nose with Rice in eff-you press man on every single play. Spurrier went after him again and again; sometimes he won and sometimes he lost, but usually because Rice reeled in a perfectly-thrown fade. It was a fantastic individual battle and I came away impressed with both players. So did the NFL: Houston went with the eighth pick in the second round; Rice went just four picks later.

Maybe this isn't the most reassuring comparison, as Rice did end up with 7 catches for 128 yards and Arkansas lost, but... hey... free second round pick!

Michael Floyd vs. Michigan, 2009: 7 catches, 131 yards, and a touchdown. Somehow, the Wolverines won anyway.

Instead of 3-4 years of Cissoko stardom, this was the guy who ended up as a multi-year starter at cornerback:

Guru Reliability: High. No reason he'd be under the radar; offers about commensurate with ranking.
General Excitement Level: Meh.
Projection: Though he's being brought in as a corner a move to safety is likely given the above, where he'll probably end up buried behind Stevie Brown, Artis Chambers, Stewart, and maybe Brandon Smith until his junior year, at which point he might develop into a contributor.

If you read that and went "sounds like J.T. Floyd," give yourself a cookie. At least, "meh" was most everyone's general impression of Floyd until last year's Illinois game; his emergence as a reliable starting corner means he's surpassed most reasonable expectations for his career.

The final secondary recruit was safety Brandon Smith, whose guru ratings took a Marvin Robinson-like dive for very similar reasons:

Smith looks like a prototypical collegian at a strapping 6'2", 210, but the lack of big time offers is telling. It's easy to believe Smith could lure the gurus in with his impressive frame at various combines and inflate his ranking while leaving college coaches relatively unmoved.

Excitement level was only "moderate" and a move to outside linebacker predicted. Smith moved to linebacker, then announced his intention to transfer before the end of the 2009 season. He landed at Temple and is not listed on the 2012 spring roster.

This Did Not Go As Planned, Part II

Michigan's recruiting haul included four linebackers rated as four-stars by Rivals, providing promise of much-needed depth and versatility for the position group going forward. The class included New Jersey's Marcus Witherspoon (Spoon!)...

An explosive edge rusher who's probably too small to be a fulltime defensive end in college? Add four inches and some chicken legs and that sounds like Shawn Crable, who actually spent quite a bit of time as a defensive end anyway.

...as well as Youngstown product Taylor Hill:

What does Michigan have in Hill? The comparison above, Larry Foote, is a strong one. Like Foote, Hill is an undersized WLB who played his high school ball as a defensive end and specialized in getting into the backfield.

As you know, the Wolverines did not end up with new versions of Crable and Foote. Instead, Witherspoon hit a snag with the NCAA Clearinghouse and eventually signed with Rutgers, while Hill was on the team for all of one game before transferring to Youngstown State.

Fellow linebacker recruit J.B. Fitzgerald—"a good bet to be a multi-year starter"—also joined the ranks of the disappointing. Kenny Demens is the only class of 2008 linebacker to make a significant impact despite being pegged as a "low upside sort" and getting a less-than-complimentary player comparison:

Chris Graham may not be the most appealing comparison, but the elements are all there: a little undersized (I am of the belief the 6'1" frequently thrown around as his height is overstated), has difficulting getting through traffic, praised for his short range burst and thumping tackling. Graham never figured out how to play in control or get to the right place at the right time and was thus a disappointing starter; if Demens can play smarter he could be anything from a decent starter to a borderline all Big Ten pick.

Admittedly, that's a pretty accurate assessment. Now let's try to forget about the carnage of this class, which featured the legal adventures of Justin Feagin and Cissoko, not nearly enough Sam McGuffie YouTube magic, transfers from several critical commits, the hope that Witherspoon could mitigate the loss of Nick Perry to USC, and no Terrelle Pryor. Though, on second thought, that last bit turned out just fine.