What Happened To The Linebackers?

Where does Fitzgerald project to play?  I actually feel fairly comfortable w/ Fitzgerald/Ezeh/Mouton for the next 2 years.  Mouton and Ezeh will have 1 and 2 years experience, respectively and Fitzgerald was touted similarly to Mouton coming out of high school, except he actually played LB so he is not learning a new position.  By '10, that unit *could* rival the '06 version.

We all knew this was a huge need and we go out and get 4 pretty high profile guys, in the last class.  We lose two guys for being homesick and high school grades.  It seems we could have saved one or both of these guys if we really needed them. 

I'm hoping the Michigan staff knows something we don't about a LB recruit from Maryland in the 09 class.

Losing Witherspoon just sucks. But why the hell did Taylor Hill leave? RR said he wanted to be closer to home, but isn't he from Youngstown, OH?  That's like a 3 hour drive. How much closer does he need to be?  And what other decent school is closer than UM.  He can't get a scholarship at OSU, or any other BigTen school.  Maybe Pitt?

I too am hopeful for Ezeh/Fitz/Mouton in the next 1-2 years.

Also, it seems that Artis Chambers might be a future LB although the need at safety is pretty dire as well.  Chambers is listed on mgoblue at 6'0" 207lbs which sorta almost compares with Mouton who's 6'2" at 214 lbs...  

...is that Lloyd's recruiting the last few years was approaching Willingham level at certain positions.  The OL, LBs and Safeties are killing the team.

 I don't want to pile on Lloyd, but this season is more his fault than anyone else's.  Playing with a MAC level OL, LB, and S will produce the results we've seen on the field this season.  The players at those positions just aren't talented.

Say what you want about Threet being the problem but he's better at his position than any of the OL, LBs and Safeties are at theirs, with the exception of Schilling and Harrison (who's really a nickle back)

Let's not forget that Obi was recruited as a RB.

I'd be curious about the impact former LB coach steve Szabo had. I
was a big fan and was dissapointed he was let go. He only had two years
at Michigan and his first full time Linebacking class was supposed to
be the Hill/Weathspoon/Fitz/demons class. He had pretty good NFL
connections from what I recall, so I'm somewhat sceptical that he
wasn't too good a recruiter at that position.

Linebacker
recruiting took a dive up till 2007, but the 2008 class for linebackers
prior to transfers and clearinghouse issues was pretty good. Also
wasn't Mixon a 4*?

I'm curious how the constant shift in
coaches has affected recruiting that position as well. What is it three
new linebacker coaches in four to five years? That can't help.

Anyone got any thoughts on Szabo and shuffle since Herrrrrrrrrmannnnnnn left?

We actually lost THREE LBs from the 2006 Class: 4-star Mixon, plus 3-stars Patilla, and Q. Woods.  The 5-star LB from that class is Graham, our resident monster DE.

If anyone is going to switch positions, it's maybe not the smaller, 3-star Chambers, but rather 6'-3", 210-lb 4-star Brandon Smith. That 6'-3" frame might fill-out into 220-230 pound OLB quite easily. The other possibility is to start either 4-star JB Fitz or 4-star Demens.

That's three 4-star studs, all with at least 1 year in the program, fighting to fill 1 open spot. Okay, not the ideal situation, but there might be something hopeful in there?

I never heard why he quit.  I remember he was injured last year, was it a bad injury?  Did he graduate and decide to forgo his final year?  Or was he just not that into football anymore like Mitchell?

People can checkout the link on the left to Mike DeSimone's website. It's a very thorough catalogue of Michigan's recruting classes going back several years.

speaking of some past LB'ers we had... Lamarr Woodley is about to be on Rome is Burning

Send this post to Jelani Jenkins?  Hopefully "depth chart availability" is one of the items on his father's mega-matrix.  And hopefully he and his family can read a depth chart better than Nick Perry.

I dont know about looking TOO closely at stars...

There are two more important factors IMO:

1) Depth- There is simply not good depth. Even if Hill and Witherspoon had stayed, they were NOT gonna be serious contributors at LB this year (Hill was still way underdeveloped and Spoon was more of a pass rushing one trick pony out of HS who looked more like a Weakside DE). The combo of getting only three total LB's between 2004-2005 (with no super talented ones) hurt us badly but then losing Mixon and Patilla from '06 killed us.

2) Lack of talent (not necessarily as defined by stars) at OLB-  Ezeh and Thompson are decent to potential to be quite good and serviceable at MLB respectively.  Fitzgerald is widely considered to be a potential starter at MLB. That's not bad, lets look at OLB. Mixon, Patilla, and Logan all projected as OLB - all of them are busts. Mouton does have potential at OLB but is still a year away from being solid (I also have SOME doubts about his having a true mean streak but that's another story). Panter (JUCO) is an OLB (SLB actually), Herron (by all accounts a bust in waiting) is an OLB, and Evans who is athletic enough but only a RS Freshman is an OLB. We dont have any seniors/RS juniors at OLB, instead we have projects, journeymen, and a guy (Thompson) playing out of position. Next year our "experienced" OLB's will be Mouton, Evans, and Herron. That's weak and scary. 

Wat are we doing about it? Improving OLB depth by recruiting them like crazy. So far, we have 3 OLB recruits in this class (Hawthorne, Bell, and Jones), and one more MAYBE coming (Jenkins although nobody really knows). What do these four guys have that our past OLB's didn't?

- Speed and Athleticism: Bell plays safety, Jones played safety until this year, and Hawthorne IS pretty darn fast despite the "OMG he's a cow because he runs 4.7" listed 40 yard time. These guys have to be able to run to the sidelines and cover is space. The one's we've recruited can do this.  

-Mean streak and physicality: To me this, not "speed" or "size" or anything is what David Harris had that set him apart. This is something that IMHO out current starting LB's lack. Remember Harris in 2006 meeting PJ Hill in the hole and driving through him, putting him down for a loss or no gain? Now think of Ezeh or Thomspon meeting PJ Hill and tackling him but having HIM drive through THEM and fall foward for 2-3 yards more. That little difference says a lot. You need tough guys who give hits more than they take them. It takes guts to decide that you are gonna hit a 240 lb man running full speed at you harder than he is gonna hit you. That cant be taught. Juice is running the option? Rip his f'ing head off everytime he tries it whether he keeps it or not! Its legal, it just takes a little more effort and meanness. We need and I trust the staff is recruiting mean nasty guys who have the I dont give an F and want to hit people mindset and who can move. This is the most important thing for LB's and it is NOT reflected in star rankings.

After we solve this we can talk about the lack of penetration from the DT's but that's another story.

End of rant.

nice post

I think that "meanness" is absolutely reflected in star rankings.  I often read scouting reports saying something along the lines of "this kid has a serious mean streak." 

I actually agree about the qualities we're describing for good LBs (toughness, agression, w/e).  I would probably call it decisiveness, quick response, will, controlled recklessness, but we're talking about the same thing.  In terms of measurables, David Harris had no business being as good as he is/was.  It's that swagger, that I'm tackling you and knocking you the fuck out that Michigan has lacked often at LB and S.  Crable was close, but as just reckless, not controlled recklessness.  Shazor was the same way, until he disappeared in some games.

David Harris, Charles Woodson, Mike Hart, Taylor and Graham this year, the great Miami LBs (Ray Lewis) and Safeties (Ed Reed), all these players HAVE to be accounted for at all times.  You didn't lead a WR into the air if Ray Lewis or Ed Reed was around, and if you did the WR sure as hell wasn't making that catch without being blasted.

This is what RR is talking about being tougher and playing faster.  There are some plays where you see Ezeh (occasionally) or Harrison (a lot) read and react so fast they destroy whoever is in their path.  I have yet to see this out of Stevie Brown in the sense he tackles hesitantly, not authoritatively.

This video is what I'm talking about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRMJuG_McoU

MJD had NO BUSINESS wrecking Merriman's shit like that.  He gave up like 6 inches and 40 pounds.  This isn't Massey or Butler waving at blocks, hesitant tackles on defense, this is straight up domination.  This is what wins championships in my mind.

This level of play has little to do with star rating sometimes.  Give me a safety/LB that is decisive (and decides correctly the majority of the time) and plays with that attitude any day.

Schiano thinks the LBs need some coaching up. Schiano is available. Just call.

- Coach S.

He's a good example of a kid who was quite effective, especially for his measurables, because he was smart, decisive and liked to wallop people.

Englemon plays the whole game and The Horror doesn't happen. Period.

All this talk about being mean and tough is completely unnecessary because Michgan’s LBers haven’t gotten to that point yet. Virtually every analysis of the deficiencies of today’s LBers relative to David St. Harris revolves around recognition, technique, and confidence. Today’s LBers are slow to recognize the play, lack confidence in their recognition, and use bad technique when they arrive. Analysis of Harris’ great plays usually demonstrate him recognizing the play immediately, moving with confidence to the point of impact, and delivering a blow before the offense can neutralize him. That is what ‘playing fast’ means.

Back in the day, well, not that far back, but 20 years ago back, Michigan seemed to always have great inside linebacking. For the past few years, not so much.