Detailed Spring Practice #7 Report
I haven't seen this linked to the board yet so please delete if it's already been posted, but here's a great report from the latest spring practice. It's very bullish on Shane being the starter at this point, apparently he had a great outing. OL looking good outside of center right now. Almost exclusively base 3-4 defense. Definitely worth a read.
Please oh please let 5'4 Antonio Whitfield get some PT this year.
3. Antonio Whitfield, Jr
Suprisingly, Whitfield got a number of carries behind the 1st Oline, and not all of them were out of shotgun. I’d be surprised if he saw the ball much during the regular season, but today showed the coaches trust him.
Serious question for the more seasoned MGoplayers/coaches- Is there any advantage for a really short running back being able to "hide" under his tall OLineman?
I imagine a really short but shifty running back could be difficult to visualize for the backers and, at times, would only be able to be seen when he hits the hole....and then boom! he's gone.
Mike Hart was a great back. My favorite M player. Size definitely helped at the college lvl.
Yes, it is an advantage in being a shorter ballcarrier when running between the tackles. For linebackers and DL, it makes it more difficult to spot the RB in an instant if he is smaller and more capable of being shielded from vision by other players. It's not a massive advantage, but it is helpful for sure, even moreso if the short ballcarrier is coupled with an abnormally tall OL.
I would say not. If an LB or a DL is "looking" for a RB then it's too late. Read the key or get to your assignment.....if he shows up make the tackle. Doesn't matter if he is 6'5 or 5'5 if you are not where you are supposed to be, then you probably won't be making the tackle.
Barry Sanders!
Little fucker hid behind his mammoth O-line, went crazy in the second half and ran for 200-some yards. I think he was the only one of Iowa's backs to escape the notice of AIRBHG, probably because he was so small.
Fred Russell as a Senior in HS wearing 95. He bulked up 5 more pounds at Iowa with their strength and conditioning program.
but smaller.
Hey! Where'd the ball go?
There is still a lot of time left before the opener. I'm sure much will change before then. Thanks for this update. Disappointing to hear about Wilton Speight, I really thought his game would be well suited for Harbaugh's style of offense. Glasgow needs to do whatever it takes to get back with the team, the center position is counting on it!!!
Give it some time man. He's a redshirt freshman in week three of spring practice. Way, way too early to be disappointed in anyone.
You're right bro. I just have high expectations for him, especially after Marcus rays report about his ball placement and arm strength. So many differing reports idk who to believe.
If anything, we should all be pretty encouraged that he is getting positive reviews this early in his and Harbaugh's career. These QBs should all be pretty solid in a year or two.
And then Michigan and Ohio State can finally unleash their all-QB offenses on each other.
Marcus said good things about all of them. And if you like arm strength, I really doubt Speight has more of it than Morris anyway.
If Speight or Malzone starts, they might be fine, but it also means we're going to have a lot of mistakes at QB. But if Morris starts, it might be because he got it all together. The best high upside scenario is Morris starting, so I'd like to see that happen despite seemingly so many people here dying to see Speight or Malzone start.
I want the best QB through summer practices starting, and I'm sure Harbaugh will pick the one who performs the best. You really cannot judge who will be QB after spring practice. I have a hunch that Morris will separate himself from the rest of the pack this summer. But who knows? Harbaugh will not be afraid to start Malzone if he performs the best this summer! I think out of one of these QBs we will have a very serviceable QB who can run Harbaugh's offense. I'm more optimistic this year that we will see at least average QB play.
For those who are criticizing or writing Morris off: what the fuck do you expect out of him? He got almost no experience in 2013 but had to play a bowl game due to Devin's injury. Then, in 2014, he had to play in the Nuss via Brandon Clusterfuck Offense. And, of course, there was the "invisible concussion" that could only be seen by those who weren't on the sideline.
Through it all, Morris has represented the University of Michigan well. He hasn't been in trouble. He hasn't complained about anything. He has worked his ass off. He even tried to take the blame for being left in with his concussion and tried to help the staff make excuses afterwards.
Remember, too, that his senior HS season was derailed by mono.
If Morris starts, it is going to be because he earned it. I hope everyone remembers that in September.
Well said Tater, I love your posts.
The report said Pallante moved to TE. Isn't he at FB?
It has Pallante listed as the #2 FB.
Thanks for the link . . . good to hear more about how practice is going. Glad to hear Morris is doing well. Although, I'll believe he is the starter when they take the field for the first game, and not before. Also am very intrigued by what will happen with Graham Glasgow. Hope that LTT rounds into form. Would love to see Pipkins up to to speed as well.
A couple things:
-Good lord, what the hell happened to Drake Harris now?
-I know it was just a typo, but "Time Drevno" is going to be stuck in my head for a long time.
He just might be one of those guys who can never stay healthy.
If he can't stay healthy playing football, what about playing basketball? He was one of the top talents in the state right?
He was a major prospect that Beilein AND Izzo went hard to land. He (obviously) only decided to play football at the college level. He definitely could have made a roster and probably would have received some serious minutes on Michigan this season.
His major problem has been hamstrings. That doesn't sound like something caused by football. I doubt basketball would make his hamstring problems go away.
March 23rd, 2015 at 10:11 PM ^
But he is not a very good b-ball player. Football is his huge upside sport. He has the skill set to play on Sunday. I can't figure out why he wouldn't pack on 20 pounds of muscle with his time away from the field. Maybe his body is not ready for it.
Too skinny. Drake is just way too skinny for college ball. Needs to add a lot of weight and muscle to hold up.
Roy Roundtree is 180 lbs. Did you like him as a player?
Harris is still short of 180 while having about 4 inches on Roundtree. I'm not sure that's a great comparison. And even Roundtree had to redshirt.
March 23rd, 2015 at 11:26 PM ^
Along the lines of Tai Streets, 6'4", 185. Or Adrian Arrington 6'3" 185, David Terrell 6'3" 205, Marquis Walker 6'3" 196, Braylon Edwards 6'3" 192.
This dude was also listed at 180 lbs at Michigan. He was pretty good I recall.
Harris- 6'4" 176 lbs
Roundtree- 6'0" 180
Breaston- 6'0" 180
You really need a better comparison. Both players you mentioned are 4 inches shorter and ~5 pounds heavier. Not an argument in your favor in the slightest bit. In case you aren't aware of how these things work, shorter and heavier tends to mean you have a stockier build, at least by comparison.
The problem isn't simply the fact that he is 175 pounds. The problem is that he is 6'4" and only 175. That is an incredibly poor ratio. At 6'4", he needs to be at least 190 pounds before I stop being concerned about him not being snapped like a twig.
March 23rd, 2015 at 10:05 PM ^
Desmond Howard was 5'11, 170 lbs and won the Heisman.
I think your argument is lazy. That's all. Drake's injuries haven't had anything to do with his size.
March 23rd, 2015 at 10:34 PM ^
uh... 5'11" is even shorter then the aforementioned WRs at 6'.
March 23rd, 2015 at 10:35 PM ^
Again. Now you're going 5 inches shorter and ~5 pounds lighter. You're not making a solid comparison whatsoever. You're comparing the weights of these players, but not taking into account the height difference of 4-5 inches. 6'0" and 6'4" at the same weight are NOT comparable. Who REALLY has the lazy argument here?
Now nobody is saying Harris' previous injuries are related to his playing weight right now. Although that is debatable, as if he had proper weight he could be less vulnerable to pulled muscles. But that playing weight is still an important part of the game. But yes, it also makes him a more durable player.
That extra 15-20 pounds would be extremely beneficial when it comes to taking hits from linebackers and safeties. For not getting pushed around. For blocking. Strength and even speed. Break a few tackles even.
You want to make comparisons, then compare the same heights to the same weights. The comparisons you're attempting to make are HUGE differences. You don't seem to grasp that concept.
Do you really think I don't know the height/weight ratio difference? There's a reason I included heights in my above posts.
The overall point is that some of Michigans best WRs have had slight frames. Yes, it would be ideal if he was 15-20 lbs heavier but for people to write him off as a RS Freshman is crazy to me.
I know you're not writing him off but there is a segment of people here that are - I think it's the same crowd that's dismissing Shane after two games of playing time. As I've said before, JT Barrett was considered a bum after his first two games last year. Then, what happened?
How about we have some patience with our RS Frosh who was the #7 WR (247 Composite) in the country coming out of High School?
March 24th, 2015 at 10:16 AM ^
But again, the problem with your argument is that the players you're comparing him to DONT exactly have slight frames. 6'0" 180 lbs isn't nearly as bad as 6'4" 175. Not even close.
Looking purely at a lbs per inch ratio, Harris is 2.3 lbs per inch. Those 6' tall guys are 2.5 lbs per inch. With the same lbs per inch as the 6' guys, Harris would be 190 lbs. He has a much slighter frame than the guys you've mentioned. The guys you compared him to were also on the small side, but still at a decent size. But Harris is much skinnier. That's my point. You're not making a solid comparison in terms of size. Harris needs an additional 15 lbs to be comparable to those guys.
I'm not writing him off, nor Morris as Im hoping he pulls this thing out, but Harris DOES need to put on a good chunk of weight. It is unlikely that he will last an entire season playing that skinny. He's already missed two years of development due to injuries. He has a lot of potential and raw talent. But for him to put it all together in the B1G ten, he needs to put on some weight. He doesn't have the build to play physical on the outside.
March 24th, 2015 at 12:17 AM ^
Why are we still doing this? His first explanation was pretty clear.
March 24th, 2015 at 10:18 AM ^
Desmond Howard wasn't 5'11", and Desmond Howard wasn't 170lbs when he won the Heisman.
Desmond Howard first season with meaningful playing time he was 5'9", 176lbs.
Desmond Howard measured 5'9", 188 lbs at the NFL combine.
March 23rd, 2015 at 10:43 PM ^
Just like our OL all used to weigh either 298 or 299. The listed weights and heights have been (and probably still are) so unreliable that it's hard to put much stock in any analysis involving them.
I somehow forgot how fast Steve Breaston was. He actually had some great cuts as well.
At 6'4" 176 lbs, odds are he snapped in half...
March 30th, 2015 at 10:05 PM ^
I'm sure he will put on some weight before the start of the season. I'm sure the staff is working to bulk him up too.
March 23rd, 2015 at 10:18 PM ^
Desean Jackson has a Drake Harris build ... he's ok.
March 23rd, 2015 at 10:33 PM ^
No he doesn't. Desean Jackson is listed as 5'10"
March 23rd, 2015 at 10:37 PM ^
You're comparing weight by itself. Drake Harris is a full 6 inches taller than DeSean. Not a good comparison by any stretch.
March 23rd, 2015 at 10:59 PM ^
Pretty much no one playing football has a Drake Harris build. I always remeber Plaxico being a super skinny WR in college -- a Drake Harris build if you will. At 6'5", he's about the same height as Drake, but he weighed in at 231 at the NFL draft combine.
In another comparison, remember when the Pistons drafted Austin Daye? He was crazy skinny coming out of college. He measured in at 6'10" 192 at the NBA Draft combine. That's Drake Harris level skinny.
And again, nothing at all against the kid. Wish him the best of luck. But 6'4", 176 is too skinny for college football. You'll get abused by DBs.
March 23rd, 2015 at 11:30 PM ^
the closest Michigan approximation to Drake Harris is Tai Streets, and Streets had at least 10 pounds on Harris.
March 24th, 2015 at 11:39 AM ^
Would be Braylon Edwards. 6'3 212 pounds at the combine. Drake Harris is 6'4, 176 pounds. Drake Harris needs to be 6'4, 220 pounds to truly be in an NFL frame. The closest thing to Harris in the 2014 NFL draft was L'Damian Washington from Mizzou (6'4 195 pounds, went undrafted after a 50 catch, 900 yard, 10 TD season in 2013).
He's now on the Cleveland Browns practice squad. Harris truly needs to put on 30+ pounds to be elite and a top flight draft prospect.