Darrius Clemons given number 0, and other notes from Spring practice
Some news from Spring practice:
Will Johnson's number changed from 4 to 2.
True Freshman WR Darrius Clemons was given the jersey number 0. Jim Harbaugh is also raving about about what he already sees from Clemons. Clemons did quite a bit in preparing for college football:
“(The lockdown) has been a blessing in disguise to be honest,” Clemons said. “It’s allowed lots of time for me to be in the weight room to get bigger and perfect parts of my game that needed work. I’ve gained 20 pounds over quarantine. I’ve really been working on improving after the catch and short-area quickness.”
The 20 pound gain can definitely be seen:
It can already be seen that new center, Victor Oluwatimi, from the transfer portal, is a clear upgrade on the O Line. Sounds like very good news, especially with Andrew Stuber now gone. I think most people don't know that Stuber only allowed one sack all last season. But I think everyone knows he was a mauler in the run game. What a great, great player! Some pro team is going to be happy they got him in the draft.
Eamon Dennis has been moved from DB back to WR, where he was at when he signed his letter of intent. In the plays he gets in his 4.38 forty speed, and great hands, might help a little in getting safeties to ease back a little out of the box where they would be keying on Blake Corum. Or, if he goes unnoticed when he's in, he may be able to get beyond safeties who are playing up close in the box. But he is new to the WR room. He may not see much action. The WR room is loaded now.
Eamon Dennis high school highlights. His blazing speed can be seen quite easily:
Some other notes form Spring practice can be seen in the following:
February 27th, 2022 at 12:27 AM ^
The Clemons stuff is from 2020! Welcome to 2022! But it is nice to rehash old news.
February 27th, 2022 at 12:51 AM ^
Pffft. I gained way more than 20 pounds during the lock down.
February 27th, 2022 at 1:44 AM ^
To Darrius Clemons, the first Agent Zero for Michigan football. I’m excited for the progress of our QBs!
February 27th, 2022 at 2:11 AM ^
Sidebar: the jersey Devin has on in the thumbnail would be a perfect alternative minus the piping.
Somebody tell GOJ to let JH know ;)
February 27th, 2022 at 2:33 AM ^
Eamon the speed demon...
February 27th, 2022 at 2:38 AM ^
Has anyone besides Giles Jackson wore the 0 jersey before? I couldn’t be much higher on Clemons. I think he has Nico written all over him and I’d like to envision an offense and QB that takes full advantage of that. The WR room will be tough to crack this year, but I think he’ll force himself onto the field in a small role.
On defense, I was wondering - especially after losing Hinton - if Jeter was going on to return for a 6th year. He could have provided some veteran depth.
February 27th, 2022 at 2:50 AM ^
@Ronswanson13 The other guy wearing 0 was Andre Seldon who saw little to no action and also transferred out. Prior to that, Michigan hadn't allowed anyone else to wear 0. Clemons has a real shot to establish the number for himself, especially if he's as good as everyone is currently saying.
Interesting that Dennis and Sainristil basically flipflopped. They actually have shockingly similar profiles coming in, both WR/DB flex jitterbugs out of under-scouted Massachusetts as a part of the Don Brown brigade, though Sainristil was played basically from the jump. Based on his previous profile, it looks like Dennis had very little defense experience coming in, so now that they've seen him for a few years they just figured he was better suited on offense? The WR room is more crowded than the DB room regardless, but we'll see I suppose.
February 27th, 2022 at 6:49 AM ^
February 27th, 2022 at 6:55 AM ^
Single digits are becoming a little too basic. They've lost some of their excitement. Bring back receivers who wear 80s numbers.
February 27th, 2022 at 7:15 AM ^
20 lbs of muscle is a LOT. I know from personal experience.
I never gained muscle but i watched lots of YouTube videos of guys talking about it.
February 27th, 2022 at 7:24 AM ^
Let me know when they start hitting and then how the freshman are doing
February 27th, 2022 at 8:11 AM ^
The WR corps just got even better, if it wasn't very good already if Eamon can play at this level all season. The question becomes, will either JJ or Cade be able to complete passes to these guys and if so, the Michigan offense can be as explosive as OH State.
This could be really fun to watch come this fall. Let's make sure that the O-Line can play at least as well as last year.
February 27th, 2022 at 8:14 AM ^
Why isn't he oiled up to show off those prison abs?
Kidding aside, I truly don't care what his body type looks like. I want him to catch passes, juke defenders for many YAC, climb the ladder to pull in the football in the endzone for TDs, and pretty much be one of a few WR on Michigan that makes the team the best WR unit in college football in the near future. Is that too much to ask?
February 27th, 2022 at 8:33 AM ^
OMG SHIRTLESS pics!!!
Eamon Dennis, you say? Have to admit I had forgotten about him. Not sure we'll see him on the field too much this year at WR. His speed is just another guy with speed in the WR room. It's going to come down to who can run routes and block. Pulling in contested catches will be a thing, too.
Speaking of WRs, Darius Clemmons is a freshman, right? Unless he pulls a Xavier Worthy we'll see him next year (his breakout, he'll get some PT this season). (Notes: Texas' WR room last year wasn't nearly as good as Michigan's is this year...)
I would be happy with a WR wearing #80. He doesn't even need speed - just run perfect routes and out-work everyone else on the field. Steve Largent would be proud...
The lack of 'Reply' button really kills snarky commentary. EYB's comment about watching muscle-bound men on YouTube just gets lost. Such a golden moment to waste...
February 27th, 2022 at 9:18 AM ^
I love the time honored tradition of MgoBlog marveling the shirtless workout gains of 19 year olds
February 27th, 2022 at 9:28 AM ^
I always feel like shirtless player pics are cringy but especially when going back that far.
The Dennis move feels strange in context of moving Sainristril to CB.
February 27th, 2022 at 10:00 AM ^
Adding 0 to available numbers is the best decision the NCAA has made in decades tbh lol.
February 27th, 2022 at 10:06 AM ^
So Darrius Clemons put in all that hard work for naught?
(I'll show myself out now)
February 27th, 2022 at 10:12 AM ^
0 should be banned at Michigan because it looks like the block O.
With that said, Clemons is from Oregon, so unban it for him or anyone from Oklahoma only. 😈
February 27th, 2022 at 10:14 AM ^
Is it the lighting in the photo or have the blue pants always been that far off from the blue in the numbers and helmet?
February 27th, 2022 at 10:20 AM ^
There is an early practice rumor of Henning getting reps at RB...so that could be a reason Dennis is at WR.
Or maybe to back up Henning in an expanded RB/WR type of role. Who knows. Maybe he just has a better chance of contributing in the SLOT.
I personally like the idea of pulling a TE for that Henning role from time to time (our TE room is loaded so not all the time, but as a change of pace).
I still can't get over that playcall to Henning against OSU...that was a stroke of genius. The best use of a self-scout that I've ever seen.
Those guys are weapons with the ball in their hands. Maybe Dennis can help in the return game.
February 27th, 2022 at 11:04 AM ^
Can't wait for them to start using negative numbers - "-1" or "-7"!
February 27th, 2022 at 11:30 AM ^
There is an early practice rumor of Henning getting reps at RB...so that could be a reason Dennis is at WR.
Or maybe to back up Henning in an expanded RB/WR type of role. Who knows. Maybe he just has a better chance of contributing in the SLOT.
I personally like the idea of pulling a TE for that Henning role from time to time (our TE room is loaded so not all the time, but as a change of pace).
I still can't get over that playcall to Henning against OSU...that was a stroke of genius. The best use of a self-scout that I've ever seen.
Those guys are weapons with the ball in their hands. Maybe Dennis can help in the return game.
Seems like a good idea. If we're going to have a hybrid role for Edwards like we started seeing at the end of the year, it makes sense to have another guy play that role in case of injury. It also allows us to go 5 wide and motion him into the backfield. The guy is dynamic with the ball in his hands. Let's make that happen.
February 27th, 2022 at 11:35 AM ^
These are some good bits. Wow ! Clemons putting in work, already jacked. Good for him and the team.
Thanks for sharing.
February 27th, 2022 at 2:31 PM ^
@Don Excellent tackling by Curly and Larry! Larry went high and avoided targeting the zebra.
February 27th, 2022 at 3:13 PM ^
Every time I watch that Eamon Dennis video, man, I am just astounded by his speed.
Hope he can turn the corner on reverses a little ahead of what Giles Jackson could. Jackson ran a 4.43.
February 27th, 2022 at 3:41 PM ^
No one should where zero in the current font. Looks too much like "their" O.
Let a fast guy wear "i" instead....."he's so fast, he seems.....imaginary"
February 27th, 2022 at 8:15 PM ^
There are not enough abbreviations here for my liking
February 27th, 2022 at 9:27 PM ^
Everything I've read and heard about Clemsons from those that scouted him closely suggest he has all the potential to be an absolute star. HIs high school film from my admittedly amateur eye aligns with that assessment as well. Awesome to hear that he has impressed early in camp. Have a feeling he could be special.
Noticed in the MnB article that Amarion Walker will wear #4. He has the athletic profile that could be reminiscent of another Walker that wore the same number (Marquise Walker, for those that aren't old enough to remember. He was very good).
Good to hear about Victor Oluwatimi. Like many of us that follow camp chatter, I always assume most positive updates exist on a spectrum of hyperbole. The verbiage "clear upgrade" to me is somewhat significant. I think most would agree Vastardis was outstanding at center last year, so I don't think insiders would throw around the term "upgrade" unless he's been very impressive. Anything less than that and the commentary you hear is something to the effect of "[player x] is right where you would expect him to be, and is doing a good job downloading the offense".
Henning at RB would be pretty intriguing. He fits the mold very well of this emerging trend around shifty space players that play off the line of scrimmage and take hand offs or run routes out of the slot a la Debo Samuel. Would love to see some creative ways to get him a few more touches per game this season.
If Weiss/Moore prove to be good in-game play callers, this offense could be potent. We've seen some really talented offenses in the past not reach their full potential, so I'll wait until we see them on the field before gulping the kool-aid. But we could be in for a really fun (and sometimes maddening) season as we break in a few new players on defense.
Thanks for the update, Zeke!