Spring Roster Overanalysis 2013 Comment Count

Brian

I can't believe no entry in this series has previously embedded this youtube video. I endeavor to correct this oversight now:

In this spirit, we proceed.

THING: Boy, is it depressing to delete Denard Robinson from your spreadsheet here. On the other hand, not deleting Taylor Lewan.

QUARTERBACK
Player 2009 2010 2011 2012 Spring 2013 09 to 10 10 to 11 11 to 12 12 to 13
Devin Gardner -- 210 205 206 210 -- -5 1 4
Russell Bellomy -- -- 189 201 213 -- -- 12 12
Running Back
Player 2009 2010 2011 2012 Spring 2013 09 to 10 10 to 11 11 to 12 12 to 13
Fitzgerald Toussaint 185 200 195 203 200 15 -5 8 -3
Thomas Rawls -- -- 219 217 217 -- -- -2 0
Justice Hayes -- -- 176 183 190 -- -- 7 7
Dennis Norfleet -- -- -- 170 168 -- -- -- -2
Drake Johnson -- -- -- 203 212 -- -- -- 9
Sione Houma -- -- -- 221 229 -- -- -- 8
WIDE RECEIVER
Player 2009 2010 2011 2012 Spring 2013 09 to 10 10 to 11 11 to 12 12 to 13
Jeremy Gallon 165 180 185 186 187 15 5 1 1
Drew Dileo -- 172 172 180 177 -- 0 8 -3
Amarah Darboh -- -- -- 218 213 -- -- -- -5
Jehu Chesson -- -- -- 183 193 -- -- -- 10
TIGHT END
Player 2009 2010 2011 2012 Spring 2013 09 to 10 10 to 11 11 to 12 12 to 13
Jordan Paskortz -- -- 246 ? 251 -- -- ? 5
AJ Williams -- -- -- 282 265 -- -- -- -17
Devin Funchess -- -- -- 225 228 -- -- -- 3
Jake Butt -- -- -- -- 231 -- -- -- 0
OFFENSIVE LINE
Player 2009 2010 2011 2012 Spring 2013 09 to 10 10 to 11 11 to 12 12 to 13
Michael Schofield 268 293 299 302 303 25 6 3 1
Taylor Lewan 268 294 302 308 308 26 8 6 0
Chris Bryant -- -- 341 320 325 -- -- -21 5
Jack Miller -- -- 263 287 291 -- -- 24 4
Blake Bars -- -- -- 282 284 -- -- -- 2
Ben Braden -- -- -- 299 314 -- -- -- 15
Kyle Kalis -- -- -- 292 297 -- -- -- 5
Erik Magnuson -- -- -- 290 286 -- -- -- -4
Kyle Bosch -- -- -- -- 307 -- -- -- --
Logan Tuley-Tillman -- -- -- -- 285 -- -- -- --
DEFENSIVE LINE
Player 2009 2010 2011 2012 Spring 2013 09 to 10 10 to 11 11 to 12 12 to 13
Quinton Washington 325 315 302 299 305 -10 -13 -3 6
Jibreel Black -- 265 260 276 276 N/A -5 16 0
Richard Ash -- 320 301 301 316 N/A -19 0 15
Frank Clark -- -- 228 260 277 -- -- 32 17
Keith Heitzman -- -- 251 ? 277 -- -- ? 26
Brennen Beyer -- -- 225 252 254 -- -- 27 2
Matt Godin -- -- -- 270 277 -- -- -- 7
Willie Henry -- -- -- 302 306 -- -- -- 4
Ondre Pipkins -- -- -- 337 308 -- -- -- -29
Tom Strobel -- -- -- 250 262 -- -- -- 12
Chris Wormley -- -- -- 268 290 -- -- -- 22
Mario Ojemudia -- -- -- 223 244 -- -- -- 21
Taco Charlton -- -- -- -- 265 -- -- -- N/A
LINEBACKER
Player 2009 2010 2011 2012 Spring 2013 09 to 10 10 to 11 11 to 12 12 to 13
Cameron Gordon 208 207 222 235 233 -1 15 13 -2
Mike Jones 203 208 224 ? 223 5 16 ? -1
Jake Ryan -- 225 230 242 241 N/A 5 12 -1
Antonio Poole -- -- 212 ? 218 -- -- ? 6
Desmond Morgan -- -- 220 230 227 -- -- 10 -3
Royce Jenkins-Stone -- -- -- 206 215 -- -- -- 9
James Ross -- -- -- 225 223 -- -- -- -2
Kaleb Ringer -- -- -- 225 236 -- -- -- 11
Joe Bolden -- -- -- 230 222 -- -- -- -8
CORNERBACK
Player 2009 2010 2011 2012 Spring 2013 09 to 10 10 to 11 11 to 12 12 to 13
Courtney Avery -- 174 173 173 174 -- -1 0 1
Raymon Taylor -- -- 169 183 186 -- -- 14 3
Delonte Hollowell -- -- 164 177 175 -- -- 13 -2
Blake Countess -- -- 176 182 181 -- -- 6 -1
Terry Richardson -- -- -- 154 162 -- -- -- 8
Ross Douglas -- -- -- -- 176 -- -- -- 0
SAFETY
Player 2009 2010 2011 2012 Spring 2013 09 to 10 10 to 11 11 to 12 12 to 13
Josh Furman -- 208 208 204 197 -- 0 -4 -7
Marvin Robinson -- 203 200 201 202 -- -3 1 1
Thomas Gordon 205 205 208 209 208 0 3 1 -1
Jarrod Wilson -- -- -- 190 196 -- -- -- 6
Jeremy Clark -- -- -- 191 201 -- -- -- 10
Allen Gant -- -- -- 196 203 -- -- -- 7
Dymonte Thomas -- -- -- -- 187 -- -- -- 0

ITEMS OF INTEREST

    Remember, all weight gain or loss is good.
  • Ondre Pipkins dumped 29 pounds over the course of a few months, which should bode well for his playing time. Competing at the three-tech? Yeah, possible.
  • Elsewhere on the defensive line it's mostly BEEFCAKE, with Chris Wormley up to a hello-three-tech 290, Frank Clark up to 277, Mario Ojemudia up to 244, and Keith Heitzman scaling up to 277 after not having a spring weight last year.
  • Guys who did not move significantly are Quinton Washington (after three years of dropping, a few added pounds at 300 are probably good), Jibreel Black (probably not so good if he is a 276-pound DT), and Brennen Beyer (possibly good or bad or something). Surely there will be better options than a 276-pound three tech; I bet Black moves to SDE to compete with Heitzman. Meanwhile, Clark is now listed at exactly the same weight as those guys, blowing past classmate and WDE competitor Beyer. Most have pegged that as a platoon in which Beyer executes the run defense and Clark gets to the QB; could Clark take over the role full-time? He'll have to be a lot more responsible.
  • If Beyer can't continue adding weight a move back to SAM might make sense. This has been your Brian Wonders About Moving Someone To SAM moment.
  • Taco Charlton entering at 265 means he has a shot to blow past everyone at WDE as well. Likely? No, but despite the apparent depth at that position don't put him in the autoredshirt category.
  • The tight ends are not exactly hulking up. It makes sense that AJ Williams would shed some weight as he transitions back from offensive line to TE, and 265 is a reasonable weight for an in-line blocking TE. Devin Funchess adding three pounds is not ideal unless he's really just a wide receiver with a little blocking to do. Jake Butt showing up at 231 isn't a huge surprise—he weighed in at exactly that number for the Army game—but may indicate he, too, is not going to be much use as a blocker in year one. Redshirt? Probably not since there are no other scholarship TEs on the roster and Kwiatkowski graduated.
  • Jehu Chesson and Amarah Darboh are meeting in the middle. For non-lineman bodies ten pounds is a relatively big change. See also beanpole safety Jeremy Clark.
  • Dennis Norfleet losing two pounds isn't a huge surprise since guys that size usually stay exactly that size.
  • Relatively flat OL numbers are generally good news since they indicate radical overhauls are not necessary for player X to see the field. See Lewan and Schofield above. Chris Bryant is a clear exception since 325 is tough to play at and his injury makes it difficult for him to do a lot of the things Michigan would like him to. Meanwhile, size concerns about Jack Miller are probably minor. 291 is well within plausible.
  • I'd be surprised if Blake Bars can overtake Ben Braden, who is 30 pounds heavier. Magnuson and Bars going nowhere in year one is a slight concern.
  • Chattering about Kyle Bosch being ready to play this fall is reinforced by his 307 pounds. Logan Tuley-Tillman at 285 brings this whole exercise into question since that almost has to be fiction. The other option is that LTT is going to be a rich man when he shares his diet secrets. If he really is 285, that would be very good news since his star rose and fell based on his weight when he was a recruit. He seemed like a boom or bust type because of that. I'll ask Ace, who saw him in person with some frequency, to evaluate the plausibility of that weight after the spring game.
  • James Ross, man, you're supposed to get bigger. Also you, Joe Bolden. All linebackers not named Ringer have been on a diet.

We will do this again in fall, because we are strange.

Comments

Gobgoblue

March 18th, 2013 at 4:50 PM ^

Chris Wormley goes to the dining hall pretty regularly.  I have no idea how the dude bulks up so fast.  He usually has a salad on one plate, and on the other it is filled with healthy protein like chicken breast, eggs, and fish.  He drinks water (I think).

The LTT weight loss is definitely true.  He looks a lot better. 

Kyle Bosch looks like he plays in the NFL.  He also hangs out with Taylor Lewan quite frequently, which is cool.

DENNIS NORFLEET is hilarious to see on his way to class.  

gwkrlghl

March 18th, 2013 at 6:30 PM ^

"March 18th..2013. Kyle Bosch has selected a ham sandwich from the south quad dining hall today. Veerrrry interesting. Ham is definitely good for Guards...On the other hand, Chris Wormley has selected Cocoa Puffs, not what I would expect from a 3-Tech, but I've seen stranger. End transmission"

StephenRKass

March 18th, 2013 at 5:13 PM ^

Magnus noted earlier today that the group working together in the OL first group did not include Kalis. (IIRC, Lewan, Braden, Miller, Burzynski, & Schofield.) Is this just because Braden and Burzynski are so much better than Kalis? Or is there something else I'm missing?

Blue in Seattle

March 18th, 2013 at 7:20 PM ^

Hoke always emphasizes experience, technique and seniority.  He puts Leadership on all Seniors, and stresses that a senior's last season is special, and they take priority.  So having the upper classman get a chance first fits in.  Of course Hoke also demonstrates that when a starter isn't getting the job done, it's time to send in the next guy.

It also seems like the spring practices have a lot more equal time assessment, and an emphasis of capturing things on film.  From there it's on each player to review their film and work on things through the summer until fall camp begins.  So Spring is a time for learning and setting benchmarks, not for final starting lineup decisions.

Overall I'm more interested to hear about the players recovering from injuries and gauging their recovery progress than who's practicing with the ones and twos.

 

YoOoBoMoLloRoHo

March 18th, 2013 at 5:25 PM ^

Interview with Wellman?

He has obvious successes on gains (Wormley, Chesson, Clar, Mario) and losses (PeeWee, AJ, LTT) and question marks (LBs, Mags, Funchess).

Great to see trends and curious about his philosophy/method between winter and summer sessions.

MGoStrength

March 18th, 2013 at 6:06 PM ^

I have a love/hate relationship with all these weights.  Without a supplemental note of the body fat percentages that accompany these weights, both last year and this year, and the goals for the player, it makes this an exercise in only bringing up more questions than answers.  For example if a DT is 340 at 28% body fat and gets down to 310 at 22% body fat because the coahces want him faster and to improve his endurance that makes sense.   If we just seem him losing it only makes me wonder why, is he losing muscle, are we too small at this position now?   And, if a linebacker was 230 last year at 14% BF and is now 223 at 12% BF because the coaches want him faster that makes sense too.  But, at the same time some may say whoa our MIKE is too small!  So, although I'm very interested in these numbers they only bring me more questions like why is this linebacker getting smaller when I want to be more like 245 pounds.  I appreciate the information, but hate the questions it brings about.

Mr. Yost

March 18th, 2013 at 6:48 PM ^

#1 It's Paskorz not Paskortz...I didn't see any mention of that.

#2a I like the Clark weight gain...I think you put him at SDE and allow him to get some pass rush from that position. Move Black to SDE and let him be the run stopper along with Heitzman. That's a nice 3-headed monster.

#2b THHHHEEEEEEENNNN....You have Ojemudia at WDE as your pass rusher and Beyer as your run stopping WDE. No need to move him to SAM, he's not quick enough. Toss in  Charlton to get Mario's freshman minutes and now you have a 3-headed monster at WDE as well!

#3 LTT was a SLOPPY 330+ ...I doubt he's 285, but it wouldn't shock me (assuming he working and running hard) that he lost significant weight. He's the kind of kid that I'd put on the Barwis Method and break down and build back up...a sure redshirt type. He could be 100x better this time next year than he is now and never play a down next season. And that's not saying he's bad now, it's just saying he'll have the body to go along with the potential.

J.Madrox

March 18th, 2013 at 9:36 PM ^

Any news on his health or performance? I know he was one of the lesser ranked linebackers coming in, but he seems to be decently sized and might have a good shot at cracking the two deep at LB.

WolvinLA2

March 19th, 2013 at 1:31 PM ^

Kerridge is the returning starter at his position, so I think most expect him to start. And Burzinski is running with the ones right now, and although I would bet he won't be a starter, it would be less than shocking for sure. He's certainly an injury away from starting at this point.

Fightthedv

March 19th, 2013 at 8:36 AM ^

I posted twice in this thread - once to suggest that we'd likely try other combinations at offense line that actually included Kalis, another to suggest that it would be useful to include weights of waljons who are actually in the discussion for playing time. Neither of those seem to be flames to me.

Is there something in either the content or style of those posts that doesn't meet general board guidelines? If those are considered flamebait, it seems that just about anything I would post (and frankly much of the stuff others post - is flamebait).

MGoStrength

March 19th, 2013 at 10:24 AM ^

I don't know the posts you're referecning.  But, in general if you go by the definition of flaimbait it's that your message had an intent to anger or offend.  I think many posts get listed as flaimbait simply because members don't like the opinion even if that opinion had no intention to offend or anger.  If your post goes against the general accepted opinion on a topic it is in danger of being labeled flaimbait by some.  I don't think that's the right thing to do, but negging is basically a way of disagreeing with you and flaimbait is one option to neg a post...that's all.  Don't take it personally.  Like any other board some idealogies are more accepted than others.  It doesn't mean people still won't read your post and like it even if the majority doesn't.  Post away my friend, post away (as long as it's constructive or at least funny).

Fightthedv

March 19th, 2013 at 2:04 PM ^

Actually downvoting a response purely because you disagree seems incredibly lazy (particularly on a board that prides itself on good analytics). Seems like it would be much more constructive (and in the spirit of the board) to explain why you disagree.

justingoblue

March 19th, 2013 at 3:07 PM ^

But it's not really a big deal; if someone is going to downvote you they have to pick an adjective off the list and it seems that's usually the favorite. I can't imagine someone having even the most elementary grasp on board rules accidentally posting flamebait, so if you don't intend it I would assume it isn't flamebait (neither of your above posts were, far from it).