Insider Practice Business
Joe Bolden hype comes in both unapproved and approved forms.
We had the fortune to get a practice report from a deeply anonymous person who wormed their way Inside The Fort, and here is what he or she or it reported, in my words:
Jabrill Peppers is mostly a nickel back but they are giving him a few experimental snaps at safety. While it seems like they are going to start him out there, as the season develops he may get more playing time when Michigan has four DBs on the field by taking that SS spot. Delano Hill's absence complicates things. He was leading at SS before he injured his jaw.
The alarming O-Line lineup tweeted out was at least temporarily a real thing. FWIW, that was Cole-Magnuson-Miller-Dawson/Glasgow-Braden. Kalis was not repping much with the first team. The slash-Dawson in that line above should be taken with a grain of salt—he looked another year or two away in one-on-ones.
That unit was not looking great even by early fall practice standards, so maybe they switch it up. Hoke told the assembled horde at Media Day that they hoped to settle on a top five by next week. They're still in experiment mode.
Jeremy Clark is your leader at SS with Hill sidelined. Brandon Watson is apparently #3 there until Hill gets back. Thomas did not get a mention.
Sigh… Joe Bolden seems to be for real. This is not bad for Michigan in general. It is bad for me because if Bolden starts the opener over a healthy Desmond Morgan I eat a lemon on the internet. But he's continued to get more time than Morgan. Jenkins-Stone is also getting a lot of time, but for whatever reason Ross was held out of this practice so that may be more about his absence than anything else.
Jourdan Lewis may be your best corner. He will push Taylor heavily; they're already splitting reps down the middle and Lewis is outperforming not only him but Countess.
Norfleet looked "f---ing great" and is the #1 slot. No, the insider is not me. I swear. Canteen is practicing both inside and out as they try to figure out their best configuration.
DeVeon Smith is the #1 back. Green and Hayes seemed running neck and neck for #2, with Drake Johnson the last serious competitor behind them. Hoke announced at media day that Johnson was 1b to Smith's 1a, so maybe they're seeing subtler things. Or Green is still on the motivation train.
While Ty Isaac looked pretty good, they're mostly running him with/against scrubs. That seems like an indicator they don't expect to get a waiver for him.
There is some zone read. FWIW. They ran zone read drills under Borges, too.
The defense is "crazy aggressive." They are serious about it, deploying a ton of press—just like the spring game—and using Peppers as a freelance sower of destruction on blitzes. Linemen are shifting frequently, giving the offensive line issues with pickups.
The defensive line should have good depth. Hurst and Wormley were both mentioned as seeming like starter-quality players, and the just-returned Pipkins was praised for his agility. He dominated one-on-one sessions and made some spin moves that seemed "impossible" for a guy his size. OL caveats apply.
Expect a lot of screens. Screens are the way you deal with a wobbly OL.
August 11th, 2014 at 12:25 PM ^
Goddamn it, I wish Kalis, Dymonte and Green were showing more at this point.
August 11th, 2014 at 12:27 PM ^
I'd say it's quite concerning at this point that Kalis is struggling to be a starter. He's got the 'bust' label looming over him
August 11th, 2014 at 12:28 PM ^
Agreed. Redshirt sophomore, most heavily hyped recruit on the OL.
I'm concerned with the entire OL really. We have recruited well enough for players to step up. But Kalis is making me stress.
August 11th, 2014 at 12:37 PM ^
I wouldn't worry too much about one particular player. You recruit a bunch of good guys knowing some of them won't pan out. Ultimately, we want Michigan to move the ball, right? It doesn't matter if it's Green and Kalis or Smith and Glasgow doing it.
Whether they'll move the ball is of course another story.
August 11th, 2014 at 12:49 PM ^
... I will say, however, that the Kalis situation is especially vexing, not simply because of his high recruiting ranking but because, from what I recall, the "already college-ready" tag was being attached to him when he was in high school. Obviously, the OL position has a steep learning curve, but given more general worries about player development on the OL, Kalis is a bit more of a potential red flag; as has been stated, his problem could be more of a mental/learning issue, which could be reconcilable with him consistently pancaking opposing high school players and showing solid technique in more limited schemes. Moreover, to state the obvious, we really need him, in particular, to live up to his initial billing--at least for the present season. It's a little easier to shrug off, say, Dymonte's apparently slower-than-expected progress, since other (sometimes less touted) players are picking up the slack. I suspect your "whether they move the ball" is pointing in this direction.
August 11th, 2014 at 1:05 PM ^
At this point, we should not consider it a surprise if Kalis does in fact get beat out at RG. UM has played a lot of young OL over the years. But his performance in 2013 could be the worst we have ever seen. He comes from a top HS program with good coaching, works out in the off season with an NFL vet/trainer, he is one of the stronger OL on the team, and had a redshirt training year at UM. So he was set up to at least be serviceable last year, but did not even come close. Just looked very stiff moving laterally in run or pass blocking situations.
One guy (possibly) busting does not tell a story because it happens all of the time with linemen. But I am starting to wonder about UM's OL recruiting over the last few years. Was hoping we would be hearing more hype about the young players. But other than Cole, we have not heard squat. That's not a great sign. Of the returnees, only Glasgow looked good (primarily at LG) and Mags looked like someone who will hold down a starting spot as he physically matures. But there's not much else to be optimistic about. UM needs a couple young guys beyond Cole to jump out of the woodwork and assert themselves.
August 11th, 2014 at 1:06 PM ^
It's a surprise to me. He was easily our best lineman in the Spring Game. Got some push most plays and didn't bust in run or pass except maybe once or twice. I wonder if we'll find out way down the line that he's dealing with injury again like we did after the season last year.
August 11th, 2014 at 1:18 PM ^
At this point with the Oline not panning out as much as hoped, maybe they should work on converting Williams to the Oline
August 11th, 2014 at 1:21 PM ^
I guess I'm less bothered by these turn of events than others. We are talking mostly about RS sophomores and freshmen; they will get better. And for all the complaints about player development on the line, it seems like the guys you kind of expect to be starters (save for Kalis) are getting there, it is just taking some time. What kills this team is that RR recruited 1 offensive linemen who stuck with the team for 2 years, meaning there is no bridge between the Lewan and Schofield year and the first big Hoke class. With a bit more depth, you'd see thes eyounger guys repping as backups and growing into the position, not struggle as default starters.
August 11th, 2014 at 1:36 PM ^
i undertand the 1 OL in 2 classes with rich rod...so why do more people not seem concerned that hoke seems content to bring in just 2 OL in consecutive classes? not to mention one of those is a project like beatty who might be ready in 3-4 years (joining tilman and magnuson as only true OTs recruited, aside from newsome, and those true OT's either need several years to gain weight like magnuson or totally transform their weeble wobble bodies) and a kid like runyan who has very obvious ceiling. projection/development seems way off in many cases, really hope it does not cost hoke his job
August 11th, 2014 at 2:34 PM ^
you can't have 20 scholarship linemen on the team at a time. I think Hoke has said the target is about 15, and we're over that. He over signed 2 years in a row to build rapid depth that was lacking and now can take it easier this year and still have I think about 16 scholarship offensive linemen with Glasgow getting his.
With careful redshirts, there's no harm in having projects like JBB who might need 3 years or so to get ready for playing time. As long as the overall depth is good it doesn't matter a ton that he've only signed 2 this year (and still recruiting a couple others).
August 11th, 2014 at 4:06 PM ^
Is Cole going to be a worse OT because he could also play guard? What is Braden if not an OT?
August 11th, 2014 at 1:25 PM ^
maybe has something to do with Kalis buying his books earlier than everyone else.
August 11th, 2014 at 1:30 PM ^
*clap* *clap* **clap** **CLAP**
August 11th, 2014 at 1:46 PM ^
Kalis was "college ready" in terms of physical ability and size. But the next guy that is college ready at any position, let alone OL, will be the first guy that is college ready. There is just a ton of new concepts, technique, defensive looks, etc, that not only need to be done, but need to be done consistently in order to perform. Sometimes guys pick it up faster than others, sometimes guys that didn't have to focus so much on that coming into college (such as Kalis, because he just destroyed HS kids) struggle to change how their mind works and approaches the game.
On a side not, and this isn't really based on anything but what I've seen/heard from Kalis, but I think he's a guy that needs to mature in his mood swings. That's not a knock on him, he's a young man. But he's always been a guy that has come across as being great when he believes he's great, when he's confident; but also a guy that will over-think, try to hard, etc, when the going gets tough. I think he's a guy that cares, and gets frustrated when he's not better at it. I think that can take away from his learning and improving.
I also think people get way, way, way too caught up in recruiting rankings around here. If Kalis (5-star) isn't improving as he should, but some 3-star (lets say Miller) is starting to see things click and is really improving, their recruiting rating doesn't mean a whole lot other than possibly their potential. Certainly, Kalis seems to have more potential than Miller, but if Miller is performing better now, at college, where it matters for Michigan, than so be it. Some pan out, some don't, some improve early, some later, etc, etc. Obviously it's frustrating, but it happens, especially on the OL.
I understand how last year's performance hurts and perception of the OL, and how this doesn't necessarily bode well, but IMO the case of a 5-star suddenly looking great or someone else taking command and the 5-star struggling shouldn't really change the perception of how things were going to work out along the OL. The best players will play, regardless of the stars that they came in with.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:39 PM ^
August 11th, 2014 at 1:15 PM ^
Yeah, that's my feeling as well. If a guy gets passed over, he gets passed over. Especially with offensive linemen, it's so hard to forecast how they'll mature as players coming out of HS that I'm not sure anyone can get too bent out of shape. Most of the higher-recruited kids are seeing the field, so if a couple falter I'm not sure anyone should be surprised. Look no further than Dee Hart at Alabama, who couldn't get on the field or stay healthy. I know Kallis is a different situation, but the fact a guy looks good in one context doesn't mean he's going to be an immediate star in the next.
August 11th, 2014 at 12:39 PM ^
he had some starts last year. where is he? neither he or kalis are improving? they can't beat out miller to move glasgow to center. very disturbing.
August 11th, 2014 at 3:22 PM ^
August 11th, 2014 at 1:19 PM ^
August 11th, 2014 at 1:42 PM ^
At this point the most likely to bust among them seems to be:
1. Dymonte
2. Green
3. Kalis.
Kalis is in every configuration except the one tweeted out, and he still started much of last year. Green is in the mix but before he breaks out he has to differentiate himself from Hayes/Drake Johnson.
Dymonte Thomas just can't cover for whatever reason. I pray they get a sophomore redshirt on him and see if they can salvage something.
August 11th, 2014 at 1:50 PM ^
I think Dymonte will be good eventually, his athletic ability and mentality warrent that, but things just need to click for him. He may take another year or two, and that sucks, but I think you'll continue to see flashes with him, a few lights turn on, and then something will just click and he'll be a really good player.
Green was always a boom or bust kind of recruit. It's good to hear he's working hard, still think he needs more help from the OL to meet his potential though.
Kalis I think is a mental game. I explained elsewhere in this thread, but I get the perception he gets frustrated with himself and starts playing worse because of it. Sometimes that can linger and ruin a guy, hopefully something clicks with him and mentally it becomes better for him. Right now, it doesn't yet seem like he truly believes he's got it yet though.
August 11th, 2014 at 1:52 PM ^
If they can get a RS for Thomas this year, that would be just huge. He has all the upside athletically and physically. If he can just put it together he could be amazing. But if they don't...damn man, you're looking at getting one good year out of him if he puts it together instead of two and possible one elite year if he can get that RS.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:04 PM ^
August 11th, 2014 at 2:24 PM ^
What are your thoughts on bulking Dymonte up and bringing him down to LB? I know he's a long way off weight wise, but maybe he could work as a hybrid LB/Safety kind of player in certain situations at ~210lb.
August 12th, 2014 at 2:22 AM ^
My thoughs as well, he is tall enough to put on weight at 6'2. He is listed at 193 lbs. Wouldnt be a stretch to try to get him up to be a passing down LB who takes on TEs at 210 in a year. The fact Hill and now Clark both have passed him - guys his age - tells me this may just not be the position for him.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:40 PM ^
but I think Dymonte seems like he came in very athletically gifted but didn't have enough of a true fit anywhere. He can't cover well enough yet to be a good safety or nickel, and he's too small to regularly play linebacker it seems, probably also not strong enough or practiced enough to try anything like RB where he did a lot in HS, so he's maybe been kind of lost between positions.
Mostly just a guess, though.
August 11th, 2014 at 12:52 PM ^
I'm actually pleased to see that De'Veon Smith has been declared ahead of Derrick Green. It suggests the coaches care only for performance, not starzz.
Honestly, De'Veon has always appeared to be a step ahead. In games it looked like De'Veon could bounce off a little contact at times, whereas Derrick always seemed to go down at first contact. In games it looked like De'Veon was more decisive (an important trait when the OL is porous), and Derrick would often wait it out and get tackled behind the LOS. In games it looked like Derrick really struggled with blocking. Even when they were merely recruits, I thought De'Veon's film appeared a step ahead of Derrick's.
I wish the best for all our RBs; but more than that I wish the best for our team. To see that De'Veon is ahead at running back suggests that the coaches want the same thing. For me, that De'Veon is ahead of Derrick is a reason for optimism.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:27 PM ^
I agree. De'Veon's highschool tape was considerable more impressive to me than Green's. I never understood why Green was as highly touted as he was. I mean, he was an incredible highschool player, and he was a solid all-round back, but I didn't see anything that made my jaw drop. De'Veon's tape, on the other hand, showed run after run where he was touched by nearly every player on the defense and still trucked through to the endzone. He looked like a special player to me.
August 11th, 2014 at 3:14 PM ^
I think Green was recruited by coaches not so much for his high ceiling but for his high floor. I.E., it was clear to everyone he'd be able to compete at the D-1 level given his size and athleticism. That doesn't mean everyone exepcted him to lead the nation in rushing. It's more about the fact that nothing hurts recruting more than wasting schollies on a guy who ends up leaving the team within a year or two. That's always a big concern for coaches and if you can find a guy that's guaranteed not to end up like that, there's tremendous value in that.
August 12th, 2014 at 5:24 AM ^
August 11th, 2014 at 1:29 PM ^
August 11th, 2014 at 12:25 PM ^
That unit was not looking great even by early fall practice standards, so maybe they switch it up. Hoke told the assembled horde at Media Day that they hoped to settle on a top five by next week. They're still in experiment mode.
my hand is hovering over the button again
August 11th, 2014 at 12:34 PM ^
I was hoping the OL would exceed my expections by 1-2 standard deviations. Looks like I'll have to lower my expectations.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:01 PM ^
I've set my OL expectations at complete shitshow and dumpster fire. Hopefully they can exceed them and just be meerly terrible or godwilling, sublimely mediocre.
August 11th, 2014 at 4:04 PM ^
I had been holding on to optimism that simplification of the blocking assignments and a year of maturation would help the interior of the OL, and it would make a huge difference. Now I'm starting to lower my expectations. My last glimmer of hope is that Hoke and Nuss are playing around with the OL, finding the best 5, and that once the line starts playing together, and getting in the rep's, they'll gel. If not by the start of the season, at least by the meat of it.
Realistically, I'm starting to think that a below-average OL by the end of the year could be our ceiling.
August 11th, 2014 at 12:57 PM ^
Both the composition of the OL (i.e., MILLER) and the performance of the OL ("not looking great even by early fall practice standards") have my hand over the button as well.
For me, the panic is not a result of Kalis failing to make the grade. (Some recruits pan out, others don't.) What terrifies me is that MILLER is in the mix at C. I've watched him play. I've rewound the film many times. He hikes the ball well, but after hiking it-- well, it's hard to watch. Physically he seems not to be up to the challenge presented by Big 10 play.
We've run this experiment before . . . .
August 11th, 2014 at 3:18 PM ^
Miller is listed at 299 on the roster this year, so he's playing heavier. Last year he was 290, making him the lightest component of our O-line. Maybe a few extra pounds will do him good.
August 11th, 2014 at 8:29 PM ^
August 11th, 2014 at 3:30 PM ^
August 11th, 2014 at 1:22 PM ^
to slam it down--that was a chilling sentence
August 11th, 2014 at 2:08 PM ^
I purchased the all new 2014 "Panic and run around screaming" button from Amazon a few days ago.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:32 PM ^
I AM FULL-ON PANICKING AND RUNNING AROUND IN CIRCLES!!!! AHHHH!!!!!!!
August 11th, 2014 at 1:08 PM ^
Citrus Limetta
August 12th, 2014 at 4:02 PM ^
I gave my 1 year old a lemon a couple weeks ago anticipating a face like this but oddly enough he loved it.
August 11th, 2014 at 12:27 PM ^
Brian, you're missing the most critical info - who's getting the reps with the 1s at QB??? There's all this chatter about Morris!
/trollface.jpg
August 11th, 2014 at 12:31 PM ^
coach 'em up. now cole is on the first team? isn't he the youngest of that bunch? how can a young guy like that beat out older more experienced guys?
August 11th, 2014 at 12:35 PM ^
Comments