devin gardner
big ten network
frank clark
amara darboh
derrick green

Annual Big Ten Network Practice Tweet Roundup Comment Count

Brian

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Derrick Green is a large man.

As per the title. This year's batch of impressions is pretty interesting. As always, organized by topic and translated from the twitterese. Standard disclaimer: this is one practice that's not even in pads, so a lot of position groups are basically impossible to evaluate. In particular I'd take the OL stuff with a grain of salt.

Dienhart has a full article on the experience; it doesn't appear that Howard Griffith was there this year, and he gave an interesting glimpse into the depth chart:

Here is who was running with the “ones” on defense today: Line, Tom Strobel; Chris Wormley (who is a specimen); Quinton Washington; Frank Clark. Linebackers, Joe Bolden; James Ross; Secondary, Blake Countess; Thomas Gordon; Jarrod Wilson; Courtney Avery; Raymon Taylor.

So 1), that's a nickel package, 2) Dymonte Thomas wasn't at the top of the depth chart, 3) Strobel and Wormley were your Day X starters at SDE and three-tech, respectively, and 4) Bolden was ahead of Morgan. That's so many changes from expectation that I'm betting that rotation is more experiment than depth chart indicator.

Even so you do get an indicator of who is not being challenged for a starting spot at present: Clark, Washington, Ross, the safeties, and Countess. Anyway, more things:

Quarterback

Devin Gardner looked great - in total command of the offense. He needs to stay healthy more than any player in B1G - Morris struggled a bit. Morris has a live arm and runs well too - just seemed a step behind - late on a number of throws. Will be very, very good in time.  –Dave Revsine [part 2]

As mentioned in Morris's recruiting profile, early struggles are expected.

Al Borges told me Devin Gardner loves to study film more than Denard Robinson did. Borges says Gardner is more athletic than Jason Campbell. –Dienhart

Was Denard a noted film guy? I don't recall that being part of the things people said about him except when he was being compared to Tate. The Campbell thing is obvious. Campbell could move around a little bit but was almost strictly a pocket passer. Rushing yards by year at Auburn: 72, 206, 1, 30.

Tailbacks

Derrick Green was dressed but not taking reps, FWIW.

Borges also said he needs a "war daddy" at RB, given that the run game now features the TB rather than QB. Not clear he has one yet. –Revsine

Fitz Toussaint showed no effects from his injury. Great burst through the line. –Revsine

Wyatt Shallman also got a lot of carries as a TB. Unclear if that's because Green wasn't involved in the reps. –Revsine

#Michigan true freshman Derrick Green has a body like Ironhead Heyward. –Dienhart

Heyward got huge in the NFL—like, may have pushed 300 pounds—but in college he was 240-260 and quite good at running: 1800 yards and a Heisman finalists from Pitt as a junior and a departure to the first round of the NFL draft.

Receivers

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Darboh impressed in a major way.

Da'Mario Jones had a nice one-handed catch as well. Lots of good young WR talent. Darboh has taken a particularly large leap. –Revsine

WR Amara Darboh looks primed for a breakout. Big, fast and physical –Dienhart

At #Michigan practice, WR Amara Darboh looked good. Al Borges marvels about how strong his hands are. He was running 1st team today. –Dienhart

Funchess is fantastic - serious match-up issue. They will use him well. –Revsine

Q: Who do you think will be the number one receiver for Gardner?

A: Gallon - but Darboh & Funchess right there. –Revsine

Offensive Line

As mentioned, a grain of salt here. There were no warning flags from this visit last year.

Little bit of a battle going on at C. Always give the caveat of it was just 1 practice on 1 day - but Glasgow delivered first snap. –Revsine

I asked Brady Hoke about interior of o-line; he told me all spots are still open. Lots of bodies. I have to think Kalis will get one spot. –Dienhart

Lewan is a very clear leader. Most of his leadership 2day was keeping young guys focused and loose. I observed a good exhange with DeVeon Smith –Revsine

Q: Does the interior of the OL look more athletic? Will the Gs be able to pull efficiently? [ed: almost certainly an mgoreader, right?]

A: Yes - OL looked good. –Revsine

Defensive Line

Taylor Lewan is really fun to be around - one of my favorite B1G interviews. He said Frank Clark reminds him of Clowney. As in Jadeveon. –Revsine

Fun to see Brady interact with DL (for me - not necessarily for DL) - really worked Ondre Pipkins hard. Clear they are counting on him. –Revsine

Q: Frank Clark warrant the off season hype?

A: Hard to say - they weren't in full pads. Teammates were raving, though. –Revsine

If there is a more impressive true freshman DE in the nation than Taco Charlton, I want to see him. Can't wait to see him in a year. –Dienhart

Chris Kiffin, the brother of Lane and Ole Miss defensive line coach/booster payment organizer, upheld the family honor by responding to this tweet with "Lol."

Linebacker

Nothing of note. Linebacker is another spot where no-pads means evaluation is hard, if not impossible. Bolden nominally running with the ones is interesting, but unless he's made a lot of progress at hitting people I don't think he's going to displace Morgan. Spell him for a few drives a game, sure. Start, no.

Safety

Mattison mentioned that Thomas Gordon has really emerged as a leader in the absence of Kovacs. –Revsine

Miscellaneous

This is really starting to look like a #Michigan football team - they are big, they're physical and they can really run. –Revsine

Defensive team can really run. I would say the validity of recruiting rankings was alive and well in AA today. –DiNardo

One of the most interesting things about the Chicago panel with myself, Sam Webb, and DiNardo was how DiNardo dismissed the usual coachspeak muttering about recruiting rankings. Instead he emphasized their importance and how the Big Ten's lag in that department was reflected on the field.

I love this coaching staff. There is a ton of teaching that goes on at their practices - giving constructive feedback after nearly ever rep. –Revsine

Assistant coaches do as good a job as anyone teaching technique. No music constantly playing helps staff teach. –DiNardo

The usual.

Once again got to watch one the the best D Line drills in college football. –DiNardo

I don't think he's referring to this one, but he might be?

Greg Mattison is really pleased with his defensive depth. Said there are several positions where he feels good going three deep. –Revsine

Um… WDE, SDE, CB(ish), maybe if you look at ILBs jointly.

Much like Ohio State, many of Michigan's freshmen look physically ready to play right now. Taco Charlton would be Exhibit A. Other true freshmen that stood out - De'Veon Smith, Dymonte Thomas, and Jourdan Lewis. Thomas had a nice diving pick, Lewis good PBU in the endzone. –Revsine. [Part 2]

I asked Hoke after practice which true freshmen who weren’t here in the spring who could impact. He mentioned Delano Hill and Jourdan Lewis in the secondary; Patrick Kugler on the o-line; Maurice Hurst on the d-line; Mike McCray at linebacker, among others. –Dienhart.

A little surprised it wasn't all-lifting, all-running Ben Gedeon that got a mention there instead of McCray. Also, Hurst is a bit of a surprise given how his weight has fluctuated (at least on paper): if he's really 270 instead of 302 I find it hard to believe he's going to push through to see playing time.

Q: The way UM/OSU have recruited, are you seeing a separation in talent?

A: Need to see everyone - but trending that way. –Revsine

I came away impressed with #Michigan. But most of best talent is young, so the Wolverines may be a year away. This is a well-coached team. –Dienhart

Yup.

Comments

alum96

August 12th, 2013 at 2:31 PM ^

I know this blog has Michigan bias but Devin Gardner's career as a starting QB is all of 5 games - 2 of which you can say showed mixed results.  Did I miss the part where he is a guaranteed 1st rounder with a solid season next year?  There are guys like Teddy Bridgewater, Tajh Boyd who are 'locks' at that level.  There are a host of other players (probably 6-8) who are more or less in Gardner's position - some potential, need at least another year to assess.  Gardner has less experience at QB at the CFB then all of them.  I get we are homers but there is a whole landscape of college QBs, many of which have a similar or potentially better fit for a pro style offense.  To wit:


Miami's QB: 58% completion, 3300 yds, 21 TDs, 7 INT
Georgia's QB: 65% completion, 3900 yds, 36 TDs,10 INT (ran for 3 TDs)
Oregon QB (very similar physical skill set to DG): 68% completion, 2700 yds, 32 TDs, 6 INTs, ran for over 700 yards
Fresno St QB (brother of David Carr): 63% completion, 3500 yds, 26 TDs, 9 INTs (ran for 3 TDs)
Alabama QB: 67%, 2900 yds, 30 TDs (3!! INT)
UCLA QB: 66%, 3700 yds, 29 TDs, 11 INT (can run too)

DG projected to 60%, 2700-2800 yds, 22 TDs, 10 INT and can run but less yds than some of the guys above. I am not saying if he played the whole season (including some creampuffs) his stats would not be inflated but there is not much differential between him and the group above. I hope DG is a championship QB and wins the Heisman next year. He will improve - so will all (most) of the kids above. But be realistic - there a lot of DG type QBs out there who would be drafted at or near his level - aside from the top 2 kids the rest are all 2-4 rounders most likely unless they just turn on another gear altogether. Lets not put cart before the horse over this fear of losing him and same if he beats ND and beats MSU and beats whomever. I am sure the NFL, getting burnt on so many QBs would like to see him put in a 2 full years to show what he really is.  Last, he has waited a long time for this opportunity - doesnt strike me as a kid who is going to say 'well I can go be a 3rd rounder based on 1 year and physical tools' rather than be the face of the program for another year.

Joined: 04/28/2012

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charblue.

August 12th, 2013 at 2:50 PM ^

are. Why wouldn't he stay, other than the fact that he has already graduated, a minor issue, and finish out that social work or possibly business school master's program. No one knows at this point. And it's sort of irrelevant. 

If you watch Gardner on film, there is a lot to like about him just as a talent. And I think that his personality plays into how he is perceived by a lot of pundits. Whether he is merely run of the  mill or becomes an outstanding quarterback remains to be seen, but I know this, Michgigan will face different defenses this year than last season. And he will have running back threats in the backfield which he didn't have last year when he was the starting quarterback and Denard's shadow and entry in the game changed the way Michgan was defended. 

This is going to be a whole new kind of offense, and one that fits Gardner's style. He is a more accurate passer than Denard, has a bigger arm and can scramble better. Now those are his strengths. And whethe he plays to them remains to be seen. 

But right now, I would say that Gardner ranks among the best quarterbacks in the league, having only played five games at quarterback. And I say that not because of his numbers but his physical raw ability, which is why Braxton Miller whose numbers and passing skills are not that impressive, is still regarded a Heisman candidate. He gets the job done more than effectively for Ohio. And I expect Gardner to do the same and possible excel in the process. 

Whether he does or not is certainly not guaranteed. But I like Michigan a lot better with him at quarterback than somebody else. And I don't think I'm alone in believing that.  

Joined: 05/25/2010

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alum96

August 12th, 2013 at 5:05 PM ^

I didnt list a single Big 10 QB in my analysis of "pro ready" QBs.  It is a sucky league right now for QBs - Miller is a nice college player but I thought Troy Smith was a better prospect even being short.  In fact I wonder if Smith had come a decade later and gone up to Seattle if he could have done what the Wisconsin kid did.  Who is Devin's competition in the Big 10 for draft status? Taylor Martinez? Nope. Miller? I think he is a borderline prospect at that position due to lack of accuracy.   I think some of the hype is DG might end up being the best Big10 QB but its a low bar right now esp relative to what can translate to the NFL - he probably has the best chance to translate but in the Midwest here we focus on the Big 10 and dont look at the broader landscape - there are plenty of similar "stats" out there.  p.s. I agree with you that DG will be facing diff defenses and hopefully a semblence of a running game but those defenses will also be catered to face him rather than him OR Denard.  So catch 22.  I expect him to succeed this year, but bluntly I dont expect him to be at a level the NFL is kicking down the door.  He will need to improve on accuracy - much better passer than Denard but again the comparison is a low bar.

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UMaD

August 12th, 2013 at 5:12 PM ^

Your skepticism about Gardner's NFL stock relative to others has some merit, but it's almost completely beside the point.  The NFL drafts on potential, not production, so having 2 full seasons of high-level production is of marginal benefit copared to just one. 

More relevant to his decision may be team success and the fact that he's already graduated (last year).  If he has an impressive year personally and the team, say, wins a Big 10 title or a BCS bowl game, there will be very little reason for Gardner to risk what he has going as an NFL prospect and UofM graduate.  Returning would mean he truly loves college life and his family can afford to wait (like Lewan.)

Fans obviously like players to return to their college team, but if the kid has an opportunity to earn a living and fulfill his dreams, the rewards outweigh the risks for going pro-early.  There are no-brainers like Trey Burke but then there are kids like Jamal Crawford who have more unrefined talent and develop it at the professional level instead of college, get paid while they do it, reach free agency faster, etc.

 

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charblue.

August 12th, 2013 at 2:32 PM ^

suffice it to say that Michigan is in much better shape depth wise than it has been since at least 2006. And the tweets while somewhat self-serving only confirm what the coaches have actually been indicating about this team without a lot of overheated hype, that they have good material and kids who are willing to learn and want to succeed. 

From a production standpoint, we will see what they are capable of and whether we need to buckle up or concern ourselves before the real grind begins. And, of course, as always the ND game will be the big early test. 

I have to say that judging from the sentiment of the fan base entering the new campaign, I don't hear a lot of anxious thoughts about whether this team can get it done. I think this confidence is based on both Gardner's late season emergence and work in the bowl game and the defense ability to keep the game in front of them. And the likelihood that they will be faster and more efficient in all areas of the game. 

I think all you are looking for from the outside observers is the kind of commentary that generally supports what the coaches have been hinting about. And for the most part, I think that is what we got from the BTN guys. 

 

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