Hello, fan of an NFL team. MGoBlog excruciatingly scouts every Michigan play, and scores them to inform our coverage. Since mi atleta es su atleta now, here we share what we're sharing.

Previously: NT Mazi Smith (1st round, Dallas), TE Luke Schoonmaker (2nd round, Dallas), CB DJ Turner II (2nd round, Cincinnati), K Jake Moody (3rd, San Francisco), DE Mike Morris (5th, Seattle), C Olu Oluwatimi (5th Seattle), OT Ryan Hayes (7th, Miami)

QUICKLY: Outside cornerback with ideal height, good speed and athleticism, terrible ball skills

DRAFT RESULT: Signed as an undrafted free agent by NY Giants. Projected to the 7th round or undrafted free agent.

NFL COMP: Jeff Okudah. They're hardly the same prospect coming out of college, so this is a comp to the Okudah who just got dispensed with for a late pick, and a projection that the version of Green that sticks in the NFL will resemble (there's no point in making comps to guys who don't play in the NFL). Like Okudah, Green's potential is in his great athleticism for his size, and in how you can go a string of games where you think he's putting it all together just for it to unravel again. Despite plenty of experience, the technique and ball skills to translate just haven't sunk in.

WHAT'S HIS STORY? Struggling to compete for the elite cornerbacks, Michigan in 2017-'18 changed their strategy, targeting raw, skinny, tall prospects, and trusting their superior nutrition, s&c, coaching and development, plus a deep focus on man coverage, could recreate a five-star's production. It worked well enough with Channing Stribling, and 2017's Benjamin St-Juste was showing promise. The 4-star version of this guy was St-Juste, or Green's 6'3"/173 classmate in 2018, Myles Sims. The low 3-star version of that guy was 6'2"/180 Vincent Gray, who signed a reserve deal last year with the Saints. The guy who most embodied the 2018 tall-and-skinny turn however was borderline 3*/4* Gemon Green. Texas had shown interest, but Michigan came in hard, and included Green's 2-star twin brother German, whose athleticism had been sapped by a high school injury.

As of the second game of 2020, the Green strategy looked like a total bust. While Gray got on the field first (Sims was quickly gone) as Michigan's third corner in 2019, Green was forced into the starting lineup when star CB Ambry Thomas, at risk because of previous health issues, opted out of the COVID season. Gray was victimized more, but Green was also present for Ricky White Day, when MSU's half-sacked QB could just loft no-look fades downfield and Ricky White would either come down with it or draw a penalty. Except when we totaled it up, Gemon was actually in the positive. There were times when he would run a guy's route for him. There were also times when he'd commit a boggling PI. And times when he'd run a guy's route for him, look back for an interception, then mistime his jump and give up most of a touchdown. A move to Cover 3 midseason, necessitated by injuries and depth issues at safety, undid a lot of the good. He was still, by far, Michigan's best cornerback, and we predicted good things for 2021.

It wasn't hard to root for the twins either, especially for fans who interacted with the lady with the "GREENS MOM" jersey, a self-appointed ambassador for all things Michigan, and the recipient of a pair of giant, sweaty hugs just outside the players' tunnel immediately after every home game.

Green also presented a problem for our scoring, because he was actually in position to break these up, then just didn't make the play. Grading by likelihood of a PBU instead of actual results had served us well in the past—it predicted Gray's problems when PFF had him one of the top-performing corners in 2019, for example. That should have presaged a Green breakout, but into 2021 the disparity between should be/was continued. He also struggled with the move to Cover 3/Pattern-matching—remember his attributes were all supposed to make him a superior man coverage guy for a defense that ran 80% Cover 1. The infuriatingly constant trickle of first yards down the field on 8-yard hitches was mostly on Green playing off coverage with a constant fear of getting Ricky White'd again. When DJ Turner II emerged, Green was relegated to 3rd corner, then was rumored to be injured.

Returning for a 5th season, now with Gray moved on, Green again drew into the starting lineup. He wiped out Hawa'ii and UConn, and was so thoroughly prepared for Maryland's (very good) receiver I suggested Gemon might have a career as a WR coach after this. He was mostly avoided until MSU managed to Moss him twice, opening the door for freshman Will Johnson. After the game Green was assaulted by Michigan State's players while trying to get through the tunnel to administer the weekly hug, thrown up against a wall and attacked with a helmet. The resulting concussion kept Green out of the next game, and Johnson used the opportunity to once again relegate Gemon to second string. He still played plenty, and performed well down the stretch. Michigan tried to convince him to come back for a 6th year (as German plans to), but when you're an athlete peddling upside, sticking around in college into your mid-20s isn't going to help your case.

POSITIVES: Height and length are ideal. Solid tackler, physical at the line of scrimmage. Fluid hips and good speed for his size. Experienced in every type of coverage. Great attitude—"football guy"—and family who try to make themselves assets to their organization. When comfortable can absolutely dominate routes.

NEGATIVES: Ball skills. Overly conservative. Often loses his feel for the game. Doesn't get off receiver blocks.

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WHAT OTHERS SAY:

Damian Parson of the Draft Network noted Green is a great teammate, communicating well and getting his job done in all kinds of coverages, and noticed the same thing about getting stuck on blocks. He also found details in Green's man coverage that explain some of the results on the field.

His transitions from press alignment without jamming and capping routes are segmented. I noticed some high tightness leading to him prematurely opening the gate. He will throw a punch with the incorrect hand based on the receiver’s release, forcing his hip to lock. Green has minimal ball production with only one interception and seven passes defensed in four seasons. His hips and feet are susceptible to quick-moving, twitchy receivers. He does not possess the speed to carry explosive receivers vertically without safety help.

Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network called him an "underrated corner" until the moment of truth.

Strengths: Underrated corner with a solid game. Tracks the pass in the air, stays on the receiver’s hip out of breaks, and has a burst to the ball. Mixes it up with opponents throughout the route, effectively diagnoses plays, and runs downfield with opponents. Quick closing to the action, fires up the field, and gives effort against the run. Wraps up tackling.

Weaknesses: A bit late flipping his hips in transition. Must do a better job consistently getting his head back around to locate the pass rather than faceguarding opponents. Struggles in battles.

247's Zach Shaw covered the internal numbers on his athleticism from Michigan's pro day.

Though not invited to the NFL Combine, Green put up some impressive numbers at Michigan's Pro Day. A 4.51-second shuttle run and 7.19-second 3-cone drill were well below-average for NFL cornerbacks, but a 37.5-inch vertical leap, 10-foot-6 broad jump and 1.5-second 10-yard split on a 4.53-second 40-yard dash all slotted above the historical NFL Combine average. He possesses good length and wingspan (6-foot-3.25) for that mobility, allowing him to stay in on plays and prevent completions. He is experienced on special teams, and has played 1,573 total snaps for a high-caliber college team full of future NFL players.

…though Shaw was also up front about the "issue making plays on the ball."

Maizenbrew has been doing these profiles too, including video breakdowns by Dan Plocher, and noted something Harbaugh said about Green's mutant healing factor.

Durable. Head coach Jim Harbaugh has joked that Green has supernatural healing abilities and no serious injury ever seems to phase him. He heals quickly.

OUR SCHEME/BEST SCHEME: Green was recruited to be the boundary cornerback in an 80% man coverage scheme, but wound up doing everything. In 2020 Michigan had to switch to a Cover 2 that had heretofore been their changeup coverage, and then threw out a Cover 3 with one week of practice. That was it for Don Brown, and Mike Macdonald instituted varied coverages with Cover 3 and Pattern Match as the base, but they also used a lot of Quarters, which was developed for Ohio State over the course of the season. Last year Jesse Minter put more on the secondary, having them run more split coverages (IE Cover 6), adding all the advanced switching rules, and tightening up the Quarters system by adding a Dantonio-style press, which helped Green immensely.

His feel for zones has always leaned extremely conservative. He's doing his job out there—Gemon runs his switches like a seasoned NBA defender, leaving no room to throw between zones and banjoing back quickly. But he also needs a moment to process things, and in that moment he's vulnerable to anything underneath. Since learning how to play the ball in the air is a prereq for staying in the league, let's assume that part of his game comes around, and accessing the promising man-to-man corner Don Brown wanted when they made him a priority recruit in 2018.

GRADING

Our grading for cornerbacks generally awards a +1 for good coverage that still left a chance for the receiver to make a great catch, a +2 for coverage that left him no chance, and a +3 for a truly awesome play (like baiting an interception or going off-script to PBU). Similarly a –1 is for a pass that wasn't well contested, a –2 is for one that wasn't contested but he was at least in position to tackle, and a –3 or worse is giving up a touchdown. This is adjusted for distance and there are half-points sometimes as well; for example if you throw a 4-yard hitch under Cover 3 on 1st and 10, that's a coverage push. We also have a team-wide "Coverage" metric that takes into account when defensive backs are put into disadvantageous positions by the play-call.

By Play Type:

Vs Play Type	Plays	+	-	Total	Comment
Passes Downfield	44	+43.0	-20.0	+23.0	Can't shake him but trouble playing the ball.
Passes Under Cvg	63	+39.5	-40.5	-1.0	A lot of playing off in Cov3.
Runs	24	+13.0	-8.0	+5.0	Solid tackler, most negatives in 2020 and early '21.
Screens	11	+9.0	-5.5	+3.5	Got stuck on blocks sometimes.
Total	142	+104.5	-74.0	+30.5	Results may not match.

By Game:

2020 (CORNERBACK)
Opponent	Snaps	+	-	T	Notes
Minnesota	82	9	0	+9	Won vs Bateman.
Michigan State	81	7	5	+2	Had his issues, won his share.
Indiana	100	5.5	6	-0.5	Ran a couple routes for WR, boggling PI
Wisconsin	71	1	9	-8	Vacated zones, out of contact in man.
Rutgers	94	6.5	5	+1.5	Ran a couple routes for WR, boggling PI
2021 (CORNERBACK)
Opponent	Snaps	+	-	T	Notes
Western Michigan	51	4	4	-	Good in man, still lost in zone.
Washington	63	10		+10	Grading +s for being there. Might need to finish better?
Northern Illinois	29	2	1	+1	Not tried in coverage. One RPS was making him the safety.
Rutgers	58	4	6	-2	Why are YOU playing off against Rutgers?
Wisconsin	28	3	3	-	Didn't crack/replace on the one screen. Rarely tried.
Nebraska	62	5	8	-3	Not minused for the missed INT. 4th and 6 conversion on him.
Northwestern	29	1	3	-2	Still an issue on switches. Jam or Switch.
Michigan State	16	1	3.5	-2.5	I don't care if it's 4th and a nanometer that's your dude, dude.
Indiana	4			-	Get well soon.
Penn State	0			-	DNP
Maryland	0			-	DNP. Could he have?
Ohio State	2	0	0	-	DNC
Iowa	11	0	0	-	DNC
Georgia	24	2	4	-2	Stayed with 5-stars, so many coachable problems.
2022 (CORNERBACK)
Opponent	Snaps	+	-	T	Notes
Colorado State	37	0	1	-1	Untested, unsalted.
Hawai'i	27	6	0	+6	Gonna start all year if he keeps this up.
Connecticut	33	5	0	+5	Is keeping it up.
Maryland	51	10.5	4.5	+6	UMD should hire him as a WRs coach when NFL is over.
Iowa	44	3	1	+2	Also avoided most of the day.
Indiana	64	2	1	+1	Ignored on the boundary.
Penn State	31	5	1	+4	They did throw at him some actually.
Michigan State	30	1	2	-1	Mossed twice, which led to more time for WJ.
Rutgers	0	0	0	-	DNP
Nebraska	19	1	0	+1	Let the kid play.
Illinois	28	0.5	2	-1.5	Also with the soft coverage.
Ohio State	13	1	2	-1	Passed by Will Johnson.
Purdue	38	6.5	1	+5.5	Still good. Things he got hit with weren't his fault.
TCU	48	4	2	+2	Only negative might've been him getting tackled.

You'll note there were some games in there where we really thought he was turning into an All-B10 caliber player. In fact he was an honorable mention in 2022, and not undeservedly. You can also see him losing his starting job both years, again, not undeservedly.

VIDEO OF ALL VARIETIES: (Collection)

"You're running your route all wrong; let me show you how." –Gemon Green.

He's there, just doesn't play the ball well.

All the free yards under soft coverage.

Surprisingly good speed and just grabby enough not to get caught—good receivers can't shake him:

Unless they're literally Marvin Harrison.

Good strength, physical in press:

Experienced, communicative, can be a shortside safety when needed.

Plays with high awareness, usually.

But there are games with cascading mental breakdowns when he gets caught looking instead of playing.

And he does get stuck on blocks instead of making plays.

SUMMARY AND PROJECTION

I can't remember a guy who made the hard parts of cornerbacking look so easy while making the easy part of cornerbacking look so hard. Being there makes him very effective; you'll note the Maryland clips above where he's defending fades that Gemon never actually turns around. You'll also note the many catches that probably should have been interceptions.

The NFL gets a few of these guys every year, and there's always an NFL team that's going to risk a cheap development contract to see if they can't teach the teachable stuff to unlock the evident unteachable stuff. Gemon is as physically developed as he's going to be, and has had plenty of training in all sorts of coverages. He's an unqualified "Good Risk" at the bottom of the draft, and it wasn't surprising to see him one of the first UDFAs signed at its conclusion. Hopefully having a franchise focused on ironing out his flaws can do more than a college football program that has to split time with the educational side, and follow strict limitations on time spent on coaching interactions. The school that still brags about Tom Brady isn't going to begrudge that franchise getting more out of our guy than we could. And your fans are gonna love sitting next to GREENS MOM.