DeVeon Smith Slightly Ahead of Green Coming Out of Spring
Hoke said today that De"Veon Smith had a bit of an edge over Derrick Green coming out of spring. Reminds that Drake Johnson back
— angelique (@chengelis) July 29, 2014
Also, here is says it is mostly because of pass pro.
EDIT:
Per GoBlueinMN below (so give him a +1 for this info below; put in OP to allow discussion) and Nick Baumgardner on twitter, who also explains that others beside Norfleet will get a look at returns because the team must get better, and says Kenny Allen will now do kickoffs:
Hoke says Glasgow is going to play center. Sounded like his shuffling to other spots is going to slow down.
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) July 29, 2014
I still think Hayes has a role in this offense, he is a one cut guy with great hands out of the backfield and can flex out in situations as well.
My feeling for this is that:
1. Smith is purely a better pass protector right now. Is a bit better at moving his feet to mirror defenders and leverage underneath them.
2. Smith likely also has a better feel for the pass protections Nussmeier is asking him to do. Nussmeier has a lot of 6/7 man protections which see the RB leak into the flat to create a high/low or into the middle of the field to create a check down options. Smith is currently the better receiver of the two.
3. I'm thinking Drake Johnson was a better pass protector last year, and that is why he is mentioned here and why he was the 2nd team RB last year. He's also more of a one-cut back that is a bit bigger and can run between the tackles a bit. Also, nice motivation for a kid that is only a So as well.
This is about pass protection, not running ability. Also, it was noted that Green didn't have good receiving hands even before he got to Michigan.
I recall ESPN had as an area for improvement:
BK Double Cheese Burger Hands
Is a "one-cut" type of back the kind of RB that Nussmeier is looking for?
Also if you are not a one-cut type back what kind of RB are you?
Nuss is a single-back dude, mostly.
There are dancers like Barry Sanders and no-cut bruisers who just ram straight ahead.
I don't know if you're saying that there is nobody who ran like Barry Sander. If thats the case go watch a higlight video of Gale Sayers. If thats not what you're saying... nothing to see here lol
Did not dodge 7th and 8th tackler. Only gained 10 yards with no line. Rumored to have flabby pits.
It's a tragedy that an animated .gif cannot play sound, because Matt Millen's color call on that play was priceless.
Compare Gale Sayers career stats to Billy Sims. Very similar. Sayers had an edge rusing...Sims catching passes and was more versatile.
Sayers is in the HOF...Sims mostly forgotten. The HOF is merely a popularity contest.
Didn't happen.
Scat backs, patient backs, straight ahead backs, etc. For instance, I don't actually believe Smith is an optimal one-cut type back. He, IMO, is more of a man blocking, patient type RB, that picks his way behind a lead blocker and churns his legs that way. Barry Sanders obviously wasn't one cut, etc, etc.
Nussmeier wants a RB who can find the crease in the zone blocking, usually in one of two holes, or use the cut-back lane, then take off. That's what a one-cut back is. One-cut backs tend to be more powerful with good acceleration but perhaps not the shiftiness of a scat-back.
Other RBs are open field runners who look to follow a man blocking play and then beat a defender with power, speed, or agility. Outside runners or shifty types like Denard Robinson would not be described as "one-cut" backs, since they make their living by running into space or creating it with multiple cuts. One-cut backs make a quick decision and then stick with it, and don't look like they are improvising.
For one-cut back examples, see any Mike Shanahan offense. For a non-one-cut example, see Barry Sanders.
Utilized the Barry Sanders example.
...so great was that he could be a one-cut back if the situation arose, or a multi-cut back if things broke down. As with Sinatra, there will never be another Barry.
before or after Green slimmed down to 220?
He was about 225 in the spring.
IMO, it's really not news except Smith will get the first first-team rep in the fall. Meh. There will be so much camp that everyone is still in it.
Johnson, IMO, was on pace to become the starter by mid-season (not sure if he would've held on to it, but I think he would've gotten a legitmate shot to win that job last year). In his few carries he got, he had everyone on this board talking about Mike Hart, then he blew out his knee.
Who knows how he recovers from his injury. Hayes is also going to play a huge role.
It'll be a 4 horse race for sure. I'm excited to see who steps to the front, it's there for the taking.
Does it mean Smith has kept the edge?
Does it mean that Derrick Green caught him?
Has a third back come into the picture?
The coaches don't see the players in terms of actual play throughout the summer (they can do some other work with them over the summer now, but not drills, etc). So coming out of spring is likely the same as coming into fall.
In the no-contact offseason, the players still practice in Glick. Hoke's office looks out over the field there (as I imagine most other CFB teams do)... he certainly can watch things like player-organized 7-on-7's, correct? Based on that, would he not know certain players are progressing, even since the last spring practice?
So yeah, they can look on from above, but they won't be running a bunch of drills and things like others have said. They do talk to captains, S&C coaches, as well as "random run-ins", etc (I'm not perfectly clear on the changes this offseason, I know they can watch some film and stuff now, but this is at least how it used to work), and hear about people's work effort and progress over the summer.
See Tate Forcier.
He also said that Glasgow is strictly a center.
Hoke says Glasgow is going to play center. Sounded like his shuffling to other spots is going to slow down.
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) July 29, 2014
That is interesting news. If true that means 1) RT job is Braden's, period, and 2) he may be signaling some confidence to the back-up tackles. Bars/LTT/Fox/JBB are the back-up options at RT, assuming Cole stays over at LT (which I believe he will).
Very interesting, given Glasgow looked very good at RT in the spring game. Surprised he's not the automatic back-up there. Of course everything could change in fall camp.
While this may be a good sign for the Tackles and Guards, what does it potentially say about Center? Kugler seemed like the most sure fire, can't miss guy in that 2013 OL class. Maybe he'll be playing Guard?
He is still only a RS Fr, so even if he never beats out Glasgow, he could still be the starter for 2 years.
Hopefully it says more about how well Glasgow has been, rather than any poor performance by Miller and Kugler.
Much of the issues last year were communication related. Michigan must be solid in that regard, and Glasgow is by far the most experienced there. It would be one thing if Miller could step in and play at a decently high level, but I don't think that's the case. Glasgow looked alright at RT in spring, but he is not a natural edge player and is a much better fit inside. I think the gap between him and his backups at RT was smaller (and Michigan will likely rotate some of their OGs, Dawson, LTT, etc to RT if they aren't happy with Braden) than his experience edge is on Kugler and his strength advantage over Miller.
The move to RT is spring was not just because Glasgow appeared to be a legit option there, it was also to:
1. Give compitition to the OTs with an experienced player (without Mags, there was essentially no experience at OT)
2. Give experience to the backup OCs
3. See if there was a better complete OL unit by giving guys reps at the other interior positions and slotting Glasgow into the weakest link spot (likely still Center with the experience at OG returning).
He never played on the inside; he was a LT. He may need more than just the one RS season during which he missed time with a shoulder injury (labrum IIRC).
Just because he's not starting at Center as 2nd year player doesn't mean he'll move to Guard. He may still move if the coaches think he's a better option than other guards, but I doubt that at this point.
It's hard to really say what any of it means for the offensive considering that inside zone blocking is part of the package that comes with inside zone running, or I believe the two come as a set. To that end, it probably doesn't say anything about Kugler and might say that, in the experimentation that they've undoubtedly done to date, they like Glasgow's size and footwork better at center (Kugler might still be #2 for all we know). It will be interesting to see what the "depth chart" for the offensive line (which may or may not be the depth chart for the offensive line) looks like going into the week of Appalachian State, that's for sure.
It says a RS FR is lagging behind a RS JR. Which is pretty damn normal - damn the friggin stars. Glasgow played an entire year, by all accounts was the best of the 3 interior disasters, is a few years older, and in every universe but the one created by Rivals and Scout should be ahead of a 19 year old who has never seen the field, whatever his genetics.
Not attacking you personally but just sick of these "entitlement" position rosters because of STARZ. It is like asking why is the 4 star RS SO safety not starting ahead of senior Kovacs? I mean Kovacs was a walk on and this guy has STARZ all over him. WHY?!
To be fair, Kugler is a natural center, a coach's son, and all we heard about during his recruitment was how ready for the field he was.
But, yes, certainly no room to panic when he is beaten out by a guy two years older, who has seen the field, and played well.
He was ready from a knowledge standpoint and from a footwork standpoint.
He played his senior year of HS at under 280. He wasn't big enough or strong enough. And then he lost valuable time in the weight room last year b/c of the injury.
Maybe I misread it but it doesn't even appear to say that Kugler is behind Glasgow at this point. Just that Glasgow is going to stick there for good. We've got our three-man rotation set there and now it's just a matter of figuring out who is 1, 2, and 3.
Many times when someone gets hurt or goes out, another guys kicks out or moves in to sub for that player and a player comes off the bench to replace the "replacer" who was already in the game.
you usually don't want to be flip flopping centers do you? I understand guards and tackles sometimes shifting when an injury occurs but wouldn't you usually only move your center to tackle and someone new to center as a last resort?
It's defintiely not likely...
But if the backup C is clearly your next best OL...it's what you roll with. There are just so many factors and we don't know anyones progression. It's not like NCAA Football series on EA Sports where you see +4, +3, +6 next to everyone.
You can kind of assume at other positions, but with OL you have no idea.
If I had to bet, I'd say there's no way you ever move your center. But last year we couldn't get 5 good OL on the field playing well together. If I told you that we'd only have 6 this year and one would be Glasgow who can play 4 positions...it really wouldn't be THAT surprising. It's be disappointing, but shit, I would've taken that last year.
If that was the case, I'd much prefer that Glasgow be the 6th OL and be plug and play, but if he's clearly your best OL, you can't do that.
Again, it's not likely, but if we say Mags, Bosch, Glasgow, Kalis, Braden, Cole and Kugler are your only 7 guys ready to play. Say Mags is dinged and Cole is in, and that just leaves Kugler. If Braden goes down, you're likely bringing Kugler in at C and kicking Glasgow out if Kugler is truly THAT much better than any other backup RT option.
Again, you can bang hypotehticals around til you're blue in the face, truth is...no one knows until after fall camp. Even then, only the coaches and people extremely close to the program know. Unlike almost every other position on the team.
This is why I didn't even list names in my position battles post below.
I'm guessing that the same player will be the primary back up for both starters.
probably good news there, glasgow seemed to do well last year. Miller seemed to struggle when he was there and kugler is still a youngin', best to give him the time to develop.
as it means the staff trusts Braden at RT and it allows for some continuity from last year with Glasgow at C (App St game notwithstanding). All reports touted Braden's freak like abilities so lets start to see that on the field. An OL of Magnusson, Bosch, Glasgow, Kalis and Braden gives us the best combination of experience (albeit minnimal) Size and skill.
aka Jabrill Peppers. Thankfully Hoke and co have realized that lots of 26 yard returns that look like they could go big are still just 26 yard returns.