Justin Meram didn't just score
Hello: Brendan Gibbons
Rivals is reporting that Michigan has picked up a commitment from this guy:
Who is that? Let's check the filename:
BRENDANGIBBONS5JD08100.JPG
Sleuthing complete. Michigan has replaced decommit Anthony Fera with FL K Brendan Gibbons. Informative update coming, but only slightly informative since he's a kicker.
Update!
GURU RATINGS
| Scout | Rivals | ESPN |
|---|---|---|
| 3*, #11 K | 2*, #7 K | 77, #18 K |
Guru ratings for specialist are near meaningless, but they all say "this is a D-I kicker who will probably get a scholarship offer." FWIW. ESPN doesn't have much to say, as you might expect, but eh:
Gibbons is a very consistent place kicker. He gets into his field goals quickly and has smooth tempo. Powerful leg and has kicked several field goals over 40 yards including a 52 yarder. Kickoffs average about 5 yards deep with good hang of about 4.0 seconds.
His coach is naturally enthusiastic:
One of the Crusaders' top weapons in the game was senior kicker Brendan Gibbons, who put three of four kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks and kicked a 40-yard field goal that essentially put the game out of reach late in the third quarter.
Just four of Forest Hill's nine drives began with better field position than its own 20-yard line.
"He's the best in the state of Florida. I'll put him up against anybody," Dicus said of Gibbons. "Special teams are a third of the game. We spend a significant amount of time on special teams because that's a huge part of what we do in field position and offense, and we've got to take advantage of our (kicker) because he's outstanding."
Gibbons was rated the #4 kicker of 2009 by Chris Sailer sometime last year, FWIW; Michigan alum kicking coach guy Brandon Kornblue rated him the top guy at Michigan's summer kicking camp (Fera couldn't attend and came in earlier).
OFFERS
Kickers don't really get offers except for the one offer they do get and then they commit.
STATS
Helmholdt had a Free Press article on Gibbons with some encouraging numbers:
Michigan now can look at several options to address the kicker position. Gibbons is 8-for-8 on field goals this fall, with a long of 51.
Keep in mind that high school uprights are really wide. Kornblue's site also lists an impressive touchback percentage on kickoffs: 84%.
FAKE 40 TIME
Kickers, being kickers, are not provided fake 40 times.
VIDEO
Ha, video on a kicker, not likely—
What, seriously? Well, I'll be damned.
PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE
He'll obviously be the placekicker for the next few years unless something drastic goes wrong. Predicting the success of kickers is a rubes' game.
UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS
Michigan is obviously done handing out scholarship offers to specialists, but they may pursue a walk-on or two just in case Gibbons doesn't work out. (Where would Michigan be without Kicking Competency Lopata?) Troy's Kevin Muma is the name most commonly provided as a candidate.
November 13th, 2008 at 3:15 PM | 
Informative Update
Informative Update
November 13th, 2008 at 3:15 PM |
we are the kickers, we kick
we are the kickers, we kick
we are the kickers, we kick the ball we play with ball.
No question, Jim.
November 13th, 2008 at 3:18 PM |
Are we replacing "fat
Are we replacing "fat
Are we replacing "fat kickers" with "'Bama bangs kickers"?
November 13th, 2008 at 3:46 PM |
Good kickers rock. We
Good kickers rock. We
Good kickers rock. We learned the importance of a good kicker during the Brabbs era, but it was reinforced to me a few weeks ago when I watched a high school team decline to try a game-winning field goal from the one yard line because they simply didn't have a kicker (they never tried an extra point, and their kickoffs weren't deep or pretty). They went for it on fourth and goal from the one with a couple seconds left, and they didn't make it; they ended up losing in overtime.
Anyway, all that to say WOOOOO KICKER!
Sportscenter.com raves: Sgt. Wolverine, "Michigan's biggest fan"!
November 13th, 2008 at 3:51 PM |
at the very very least
at the very very least
i hope we found someone who kicks the ball further than say...the 10 yard line where it can then be returned to the 35 or 40. Hooray if he turns into a touchback machine
Follow me on Twitter @gfraley05
November 13th, 2008 at 5:15 PM |
Grammar police!
Grammar police!
You meant to say "farther."
November 13th, 2008 at 3:59 PM |
Ah, Snake Oil!
Ah, Snake Oil!
Here's what I love about this:
Fera decommits to play for the Zombie Coach?
F him. We'll find someone else.
Well played.
No radio. Nothing of value.
November 13th, 2008 at 4:01 PM |
i was hoping we'd get a
i was hoping we'd get a
i was hoping we'd get a kicker
i only respect other superfans
November 13th, 2008 at 4:12 PM |
Give him a year or 2.......
Give him a year or 2.......
of EEEEE Barwis, and he'll be the second coming of Janikowski (without the baggage, of course)!
November 13th, 2008 at 4:38 PM |
Are you kidding? After two
Are you kidding? After two
Are you kidding? After two years of Barwis, he'll be kicking 70-yard field goals!
Sportscenter.com raves: Sgt. Wolverine, "Michigan's biggest fan"!
November 13th, 2008 at 4:35 PM |
did someone say
did someone say
did someone say MACHINE?!!!!!!
Also, does the fact he looks like he belongs on HS Musical bode well for his kicking prowess? He is a kicker, after all.
WE ARE GOING TO BE A MACHINE.
(Just a few years later than I'd hoped)
November 13th, 2008 at 9:44 PM |
HS Musical
HS Musical
I read this comment, and despaired at seeing that HS Musical may even infiltrate college football. It was then I realized that if this is what’s cool now, then I was done. I no longer had any connection to this world. I said goodbye to my friends, left for home and tried to end it all. Went to sleep in the car in the garage with the engine turned on. Didn’t work. Freakin’ hybrids, man. They just don’t do the trick anymore.
Recent recipient of the First Annual Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence
November 13th, 2008 at 4:36 PM |
Hmm
Hmm
Even though it is hard to get excited about a kicker, I for one am. With so many games coming down to a matter of field goals, it is very valuable to have a good kicker. But my one question is how good is this guy? Anyone know how he compares to our previous commit? Same or less range? More or less accurate?
As we saw in the Utah game earlier in this season, a good kicker can really pay off. I for one welcome Mr. Gibbons and hope nothing but the best for him when he gets to Ann Arbor.
November 13th, 2008 at 4:52 PM |
we have lost more games due
we have lost more games due
we have lost more games due to FG kicking as of late than we have kicked game winners. we can be excited.
November 13th, 2008 at 4:40 PM |
Nice get but,
Nice get but,
didn't all the recruiting analysts repeatedly say "well you don't want to just offer a scholarship because another kicker decomitted" when this kid's name surfaced after Fera left?
I am not saying thats what I think about this kid, it just seems weird that a move that seemed pretty logical a few weeks ago was sniped at pretty heavily by the recruiting gurus only to now be welcomed with open arms.
November 13th, 2008 at 4:48 PM |
Can we....
Can we....
retroactively start him against Toledo?
Also....per The Diag:
"The 6'0, 205-lbs, Gibbons sports a powerful leg, having boomed 85% of his kickoffs into the endzone last season. He finished that year 1st team All-Conference after hitting 26/28 PATs and 6/10 field goals with a long of 52 yards."
November 13th, 2008 at 4:54 PM |
Gibbons did not just surface
Gibbons did not just surface
didn't all the recruiting analysts repeatedly say "well you don't want to just offer a scholarship because another kicker decomitted" when this kid's name surfaced after Fera left?
Right after Kornblue's kicking camp, this guy was option 1a. It came down to him and Fera with Fera getting a slight nod. This is more like picking up Forcier after Newsome decommit than Feagin because no one else committed.
They would not have wasted a scholarship on a just because.
our package is our package, and it’s pretty big. - Greg Mattison, Bowl Practice Presser Tr. 12-13-11.
November 13th, 2008 at 4:57 PM |
I know, and I agree
I know, and I agree
but that is what was being said whenever his name came up after Fera's decommitment, until today. I just don't know why.
November 13th, 2008 at 5:13 PM |
Couple points
Couple points
Brian already noted that the goal posts are wider.
In high school teams kick off from the 40, not the 35 or 30 (higher tee too IIRC). Also, any kick that crosses the goal line is an automatic touchback. Both those factors have to be taken into account.
Those who saw Gingell kick for Detroit Catholic Central probably can recall him booting a kickoff through the goal posts at the Silverdome. I figured he'd be the kickoff guy from 2004-2007, but he redshirted then took time to build up to that role.
November 13th, 2008 at 5:39 PM |
Does anyone else find it
Does anyone else find it
Does anyone else find it disturbing that, what I am assuming is his cell phone number, is listed in the video?
November 13th, 2008 at 5:47 PM |
No way that's cool. I texted
No way that's cool. I texted
No way that's cool. I texted him to invite him to our bar crawl this weekend. Should be a good time.
November 13th, 2008 at 6:11 PM |
I hope that Gibbons' Coach
I hope that Gibbons' Coach
I hope that Gibbons' Coach Dicus pronounces his name "dice-us."
Awesome.
November 13th, 2008 at 10:00 PM |
Either that, or his first
Either that, or his first
Either that, or his first name is Biggus
November 13th, 2008 at 10:46 PM |
I have a friend with that
I have a friend with that
I have a friend with that last name. He pronounces it "DIKE-us".
November 13th, 2008 at 6:43 PM |
wow i'm really excited about
wow i'm really excited about
wow i'm really excited about this kicker after seeing his highlights. and now i'm going to go play checkers with my pretend friend Oscar.
i only respect other superfans
November 13th, 2008 at 11:06 PM |
Willingham
Willingham
I just read this on ESPN - check the whole article
"SEATTLE -- Tyrone Willingham and Lorenzo Romar enjoyed a quiet, 10-minute talk in the first row of courtside seats inside the University of Washington's otherwise empty basketball arena.
Their chat on Thursday was symbolic yet unnoticed at this school, simply routine.
Willingham, the Huskies' football coach who has been fired effective at the end of the season, Romar, the men's basketball coach, and women's basketball coach Tia Jackson last year made Washington the nation's only major college to have African-Americans coaching the three biggest sports programs.
Moments after Willingham wished Romar a happy 50th birthday, he made it clear he was anything but happy with the progress of the nation's universities in hiring minority football coaches.
A report released last week by the Black Coaches and Administrators said Willingham's dismissal last month and the firing of Ron Prince at Kansas State -- also effective at season's end -- left the NCAA's top Bowl Subdivision with only four black head coaches, plus one Latino and one Pacific Islander. That's down from a peak of eight."
Now, I know what the gripe is, but seriously, who the hell really takes the word of Ty Willingham seriously? Hey, Tyrone - you've run two former football superpowers into the effing ground. YOU SUCK - YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE A JOB. Go be an CEO for GM - then you can suck and still get paid for screwing shit up!
And to ESPN for highlighting a guy who just lost his job because he sucks at it. HIS OPINION IS SHIT! At least get a quote from Sly Croom (a guy that still has a job). What a joke. Although this is no surprise...
"Some schools ignored minorities last year. That's why Mississippi, West Virginia and Dayton got "F" grades in the BCA's report." LOL
GO BLUE
Hail!
November 13th, 2008 at 11:45 PM |
?
?
What on earth does this have to do with the kicker commit?
November 13th, 2008 at 11:49 PM |
Clearly, Brendan Gibbons is
Clearly, Brendan Gibbons is
Clearly, Brendan Gibbons is black.
November 14th, 2008 at 2:45 AM |
Also Ty willingham is to
Also Ty willingham is to
Also Ty willingham is to blame for our 3-7 record...wait, something seems off...
Excellence is Good
November 14th, 2008 at 4:03 AM |
I guess kicking a game winner
I guess kicking a game winner
I guess kicking a game winner in OT vs. the Pats last night is Jay Feely's way of showing his approval.
He's a lefty.
/informative update
MIIIIIIIIICH