fred hansard

Previously: The Offense

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

I remember a game I FFFF'd one year for Michigan State against PSU, and I got furious at one point because the usual suspects were taking cheap shots at the PSU NT's knees, and finally knocked the guy out of the game. Part of that was this occurred right after Robert Windsor had a string of great pass rushes on a series of all long downs. I don't remember the exact series but it went something like false start-sack-throwaway-defensive penalty-sack-sack-give up and punt, and Windsor had gone OFF. The next series the cheap shots started, and Windsor left the game, and from there he developed a reputation as a guy who screams upfield every play, damn the consequences, and is utter hell on bad OLs. State's certainly was.

Maybe he's still that guy? I dunno. But I have a theory that defensive tackle play in this day and age is to defense what quarterback play is to offense, i.e. of outsized importance. If you want a good example of this, pull up any Clemson, Bama, or Ohio State game in the last five years. Or Mo Hurst highlights. Or for a more recent demonstration, the last quarter of Penn State, when I couldn't tell if anyone else was any good because the poor quarterback had only half a second to fling the ball out of the backfield before #54 was in his chest.

The film: Penn State at Iowa last week.

Personnel: My diagram:

PDF Version, full-size version (or click on the image)

Hope you print this one out because hooo boy are there a lot of guys to remember. A lot of them have site tags if you want to torture yourself with when Michigan tried to recruit them (or didn't).

The front seven are all returning starters or heavy rotation players replacing nominal ones. NT Robert Windsor (+27/-0) we'll discuss later, and I'm sure you're familiar with WDE Yetur Gross-Matos (+13/-3 against Alaric Jackson) by now. SDE Shaka Toney (+9/-6) is a pass rush sort who split time last year with the more stalwart Shareef Miller. Toney avoided a pretty clear targeting penalty late in the Iowa game that should had him pulled for the first half of ours—thanks John O'Neill. DT Antonio Shelton (+7/-3) is the guy I liked better than Windsor last year because he's more responsible. He's ceding a lot of snaps to the backups, mostly Fred Hansard (+3/-3), a very large top-250 type, and 2018 top-100 DT PJ Mustipher (did not chart).

The rotating cast of pass rushing backup ends starts with Toney's new platoonmate, Jayson Oweh (+3/-4), the #76 composite recruit last year, who did some work inside on Tristan Wirfs, and an equal amount of freshman errors in edge protection. Shane Simmons (+3/-0) was a fringe five-star back in 2016, and is only just now starting to pay that off. Daniel Joseph (+1/-0) was in the same class, just outside the top 250. They can also throw the linebacker depth chart on the edge. I mention them all because Gross-Matos limped off at the end of this game.

Linebacker recruiting clearly benefitted from going through the early part of 2016 without any. They still have some familiar faces. SAM Cam Brown (+4/-0 run, +2/-3 coverage) is the same weird, tall, anti-tight end specialist. WILL Micah Parsons (+6/-2 run, +3/-7 coverage) was last year's #5 overall player to the 24/7 composite, and the #2 prospect at weakside end. His athleticism is still well above that of a typical linebacker, but his coverage remains very much "this guy is an elite defensive end prospect"-ish, mostly because he tends to get mesmerized by the backfield and doesn't get enough depth. His slow reads don't matter as much in the run game because he accelerates like a running back. Between Brown and Parsons starts the same walk-on they put out there against us in '16, MLB Jan Johnson (+2/-0 run, DNC in coverage), who's fine, but now just technically the starter. Most of his minutes have gone to Ellis Brooks (+3/-0 run, +0/-1 coverage), a 4-star in 2017, and Jesse Luketa (+1/-1 run, +2/-2 coverage), a top-250 guy last year. Brown comes off the field often for a nickel safety, and Parsons doesn't leave it, but they'll find a few snaps here and there for #18 overall true freshman Brandon Smith (+0/-3 run, DNC coverage), who's not quite ready.

[After THE JUMP: And they all have stars]

Spring Game Fallout, Part I

In addition to landing four Spring Game weekend commits—Hello: Chase Lasater, Leonard Taylor, Phil Paea, and O'Maury Samuels—Michigan made significant impressions on several other visitors.

The nation's top-ranked center, IMG-by-way-of-NJ four-star Cesar Ruiz, released an ordered top 12 following his visit that features Michigan in a tie at the top with Alabama and UNC. He gave his thoughts on M to TomVH:

“They have done a great job making me feel welcome every time I visit. Every time I’m there I feel home and they make me feel like a part of the family. I have a lot of old friends and old teammates that are going there and I would have an opportunity to play with them. Brad Hawkins and Ron Johnson were teammates and old friends like Rashan Gary, Ahmir Mitchell and Kareem Walker.”

A trip to Alabama is next on the docket. While Ruiz won't be an easy pull with his impressive offer sheet, Michigan has a lot of connections in their favor.

When we were put on commit watch notice over the weekend, many thought that three-star NJ ATH Markquese Bell would be one to drop. While that didn't come to fruition, it sounds like Michigan is ahead of the pack; Bell raved about his visit to Scout's Brian Dohn:

"Everything was great," said Bell, who plays at south Jersey's Bridgeton (N.J.) High. "It was my first time there. I just liked everything about the school. The spring game was awesome. The fans are electric. I wanted to put pads on and go play."

Michigan made a similarly strong first impression on four-star CA C Brett Neilon, who told TMI's Brice Marich he's looking to make a return trip:

Said Neilon, “it’s a place I could see myself at and will be a place I research and look at hard. Yeah, I will try to visit again.”

It'll be tough to pull Neilon out of California, but if a school manages to do it, Michigan looks like the one.

They may be in similar position with four-star NV CB Alex Perry, who told Marich his visit went "great," and Michigan will make his top list whenever he releases one. He plans to return for an official.

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

As One Does

Apparently Jim Harbaugh is driving a Corvette indoors (via @Jackson_Carman) pic.twitter.com/wdsxDBwC7B

— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) April 1, 2016

It appears Jim Harbaugh is excited about the Spring Game. Or perhaps this weekend's slate of visitors. Or maybe he's just happy to be living the dream. Regardless, this is now my Twitter header photo. I called dibs. It's mine now.

2017 Spring Game Visitors

Steve Lorenz posted a full, free list of weekend visitors. Pretty much the entire 2016 class and several 2017 commits will be there, assuredly pitching Michigan to the uncommitted recruits.

Michigan will host a pair of running backs in top-50 USC commit Stephen Carr and New Mexico three-star O'Maury Samuels. Even with Kurt Taylor (who'll also be there) and AJ Dillon in the class, the coaches don't appears to be done recruiting the position. Carr might be a longshot; M looks to have a much better chance at Samuels.

New Jersey, as is now the norm, will be well-represented. Two Paramus Catholic four-stars, OLB Drew Singleton and DT Corey Bolds, have Michigan and Clemson out in front with the Wolverines presumed to hold the edge for both; while weekend commitments appear unlikely, M could solidify their standing atop their respective lists. Michigan will make their final push for four-star Princeton (NJ) Hun School DT Fred Hansard, who once looked like he was off the board but now is a distinct possibility to join the class when he announces his choice on May 14th. Three-star Bridgeton (NJ) ATH Markquese Bell included Michigan in his recent top ten and is also a decent bet to end up in the class.

The top center in the class, IMG-by-way-of-NJ four-star Cesar Ruiz, set off a potential commitment watch when he tweeted that "big news" is coming today at 5:30. He told Lorenz it wasn't recruiting-related, but Lorenz also noted that could be misdirection; I won't even try to venture a guess on April Fool's Day.

Other 2017 notables include top-100 AL WR Nico Collins, four-star IMG OLB Jordan Anthony, four-star IMG OT Robert Hainsey, three-star TX TE Major Tennison (Texas commit), and a trio of uncommitted in-state prospects: four-star DE Corey Malone-Hatcher, three-star DT Phillip Paea, and three-star ATH Allen Stritzinger.

One recruit has already wrapped up his visit this week. Three-star FL RB Mike Epstein, an Illinois commit, told MnB's Brandon Justice that Michigan made "a big jump" after he met the whole coaching staff and two of his high school's former quarterbacks, Jake Rudock and John O'Korn.

[Hit THE JUMP for 2018 visitors, new 2018 rankings on 247, an in-depth breakdown on AJ Dillon, and more.]