Sam Webb LB Tweet
Change alert! Gut NOW as of this morning says the number of LBs #Michigan takes has a strong chance of being > 2. Recruiting = #ForeverFluid
Looks like things are looking good for Gedeon and McCray. Also, it looks like the questions of will we turn away Levenberry or O'Daniel have been answered as well. The coaches must be telling kids we are taking 3-4 LB's again this year.
you say crowded...I say competitive!!
LB is a very fluid position. It isn't uncommon, especially at the college level, to rotate LBs a lot during the course of a game or for particular game situations. If you watched Alabama play at all, they do this a ton. They also get injured a bit more often as they are always in plays and, as you can imagine, get twisted up and hit a lot more than some other positions. Also, LBs have some movability in that they can grow and play with a hand down; if they are behind athletically but have the right mentality, they can be good fullbacks as they have that same type of personality a lot of time; they are typically pretty good special teams players.
So I wouldn't worry about that part of it.
... are starting to sound more and more likely that O'Daniel will be a much tougher pull that expected, he just had a good visit to Clemson who he is also very high on,.
Also hearing the staffs' interest is not nearly as high as the other 3 linebackers. O'Daniel is basically the same linebacker as Ross from 2012 and we were interested in O'Daniel and Fuller duo (and pulling Fuller from Va Tech is as likely as getting stealing the third plumlee brother from Duke)
If we land land McCray and Gedeon we will hold a spot for Levenburry (5* talent) and we should be very happy about that. All three of those LB's offer something slightly different, and they have the impressive size at the position that we didn't have in 2012.
My guess is we land all three, I hope we do it quick and move on to the next positions. The current guess is that this class will be around 23 ish, sure "rankings" don't matter but you have to be excited that how "the team" is shaping up.
Holy Moley
i think Gadeon will commit today
I would be surprised if he did, but this probably does mean that we are in very good shape with >2 LBs.
Also, it's Gedeon.
but talent is talent. And based on past history, attrition at the LB position has been high. When you factor in how depleted we've been in the last 4 years or so, I'd say this is very good.
Gadeon and Lavenberry? Do you have an aversion to typing E's as the real second letter of a person's last name?
ED: Thanks for correcting them.
Brain dead on a Monday. Figured Sam's update was the more important info in the post anyways. Thanks for the catch. It's been fixed.
i think we take 3, but if they all want to come we need to take them. it will give us a lot of flexiblity in the future
That depends on if we can afford to leave another position group a little thin. Where can we skimp on recruiting if all 4 want to come?
First off, the team doesn't have that many linebackers on the roster, and it loses 2 for sure this year (Demens and Hawthorne), with Mike Jones and Isaiah Bell also redshirt juniors. If you look at that list of LBs on the team in 2013, it's heavily reliant on 2012 kids to make their mark.
If you want to look at a crowded position on the roster, look at the safety positions.
Also, the team really doesn't need another kicker until 2015.
I expect Michigan to lose 4 LBs next year. They need to replace bodies with LBs. The main positions people seem to be fretting about are WR and DT.
WR will be recruited.
As for DT, don't forget that people tend to move down and inside, meaning that DEs can become DTs, DTs can become NT, etc. Also, with the numbers at O-line, if players start to get stuck in the depth chart don't be surprised if they flip them to the other side. Those players will probably continue to be depth players, but it just points out that depth shouldn't be an issue at any position on this team after the next couple years. Attrition and uneven classes really messes with the depth charts at the end of RRs tenure and Michigan is now just trying to build it back up to where it needs to be.
So...are we taking 2 or 4?
Are we taking 2 or 3? Also, if they all want to come, will we take 4?
Purely speculation - I think this means a lesser chance on an extra DB or DE - not sure which one. Fine by me as we have a billionty DBs now and one will likely be starting for the next 2-3 years (Countess) and our coaches are high on some of the young guys that didn't play much.
Or maybe (hopefully) we just added a number to our estimated total class size.
Uhoh, did I unbuckle from this weekend prematurely?
This is Michigan fergodsakes! Stay buckled at all times!
treat this like airline safety. "Please remaind buckled at all times for you safety and the safety of the MGo Users around you."
DEFENSE BABY! DEFENSE! Last thing I ever want is visions of Troy Smith from watching Braxton Miller scramble. We need the LBs to face plant him when he tries.
I could have sworn half his recruiting roundup this morning was him saying how they were only taking two, and then a big explanation on how taking more than you say you're going to take makes recruits want to open up their recruiting. He flip-flopped fast. He's not even off the air yet.
Edit: Maybe I'm not getting this twitter thing, but your link doesn't have that tweet..his last tweet there was an hour ago.
I'm not sure what is going on with the link to Sam's twitter feed either. I am looking at my twitter home screen with all of the posters I follow and it is still there, however when I look at Sam's page or the Michigan Insider page who RT'd it, it isn't showing up. Maybe he removed it already.
And not just
"Out helmets have wings on 'em"
Taking four LBs seems a bit of a stretch unless the coaches anticipate any of them to potentially move to DE or safety. Four linebackers would bring us to 17 commits for this class and we still need 1 RB, 1-2 WR, 1 DT, 1 CB, maybe 1 more TE, and maybe 1 more S.
Here's the linebacker corps in 2013:
Morgan - Ryan - the 2012 freshmen, Mike Jones, Isaiah Bell.
That leaves you with confidence? They need 3 or 4 linebackers.
Point taken but I feel better about that group than the 2013 WRs or TEs. I'd rather see an extra receiver in this class than 4 LBs.
Also Cam Gordon, no?
I'll believe Cam Gordon can play linebacker when it happens. I don't doubt he has the potential to do it, but it's yet to happen.
He's the fastest linebacker and one of the biggest hitters on the team.
But...
A season in the 3-3-5 as a frosh (1 of the few bright spots that year) and a season with a back injury is reason enough to write him off completely. I can't argue with that logic.
Well . . . believe it. Because it happened for the second half of the 2010 season.
But how in the world will it happen again without Greg Robinson coaching him?
Yes, and also Poole
But I think we're less not deep at LB than we are at some other positions, and 8 LBs is a LOT for two classes for a team that runs a 4-3 Under.
But yeah, that corp wouldn't freak me out. You've got two guys who have shown a lot of potential for three spots, and a great class that will be sophomores to fill one spot and depth, backed up by at least 2 more stud freshmen. That's a decent rotation in a 4-3.
But I wouldn't mind having more.
Dont forget about Antonio Poole he has bigtime potential
You forgot Poole who can develop into a solid WIL and in 2013 will be a red shirt Sophomore.
Morgan, Ryan, RJS, Bolden, Ringer, Ross, Jones, Bell, Antonio Poole, Cam Gordon, and the 2013 freshmen. That's 10 already on the roster. If we pull in 4 more this recruiting class, that's 14 on the roster for 2013. That seems a little on the high side for me for 3 positions. If we had 4.66 deep at every position, we'd need a scholarship limit of over 100, and that's not including kickers, punters, or longsnappers.
In 2013, the 2012 freshmen will be 2013 sophomores. I feel very comfortable with Ryan/Gordon, Bolden/RJS, Morgon/Ross as the two deep.
I don't think O'Daniel would play SS for Michigan. He's been a linebacker, and usually guys don't move back in the defense. He seems like a WIILL or maybe a MIKE if he hits a growth spurt.
Kovacs was not used in the way that Mattison would like to use his safeties. He was used almost exclusively as an in-the-box safety because of his limitations in coverage. Mattison would like to have a SS he can use interchangeably with the FS, but that just wasn't the case. Michigan in 2011 was not the prototype for where Hoke/Mattison want the defense to be.
HS players tend to gain weight when they enter college, not lose it, and he's already at 205-210.
McCray's future definitely seems more promising at DE.