Wolverine0056

January 7th, 2013 at 4:30 PM ^

I'm still a little confused on why he wasn't targeted more toward the end of the season. He brings such a matchup problem for defenses. I am looking at it as more of an experience thing as to why he was targeted less, but I am probably wrong. I hope this next season he is looked at more down the seam and in the red zone though. 

Joined: 08/02/2010

MGoPoints: 7773

gbdub

January 7th, 2013 at 4:58 PM ^

Well, if you split him out he's a big but not very fast wideout being covered by fast corners. He won't be open very often - I think what you saw late in the season was teams recognizing him as just a wideout and covering him as such, neutralizing a lot of his upside. He has good hands but as a pure wideout I think he'd be limited to short yardage situations - fades, catches in traffic, and the like.

He's a "matchup problem" as a TE because he's a real receiving threat being covered by LBs and other big generally slower guys with generally inferior ball skills. This is where he'll be a great asset for us. But until he can block well, he's limited in what he can do as a TE.

Joined: 02/16/2010

MGoPoints: 26776

wesq

January 7th, 2013 at 5:19 PM ^

Even if he stays at his listed height/weight 6-5 230, with his size and athletism he should be able to abuse small corners or safeties in single coverage.   I fully expect a large leap in production from him regardless of position.

Joined: 08/21/2009

MGoPoints: 3437

MGoStrength

January 7th, 2013 at 6:03 PM ^

You may be right.  He doesn't seem to be fast, or at least doesn't seem to have great acceleration.  I guess we don't really know without looking at film of him being covered by DBs versus LBs.  But, based on this scouting report I read from recruiting it appears that at 6'5" with good hands and good ability to go up and get balls that going over the middle against sub 6-foot DBs would be a good matchup.  I'm sure the coaches know best and we'll see more of him next year, it just seems a shame to have underutilize what seems like a a good weapon.  The scouting report...

 

He has very good hands and consistently uses those long arms to extend and pluck the ball out of the air. He displays very good body control and concentration to be able to adjust to the ball and make the catch in traffic. His height makes him a nice sized target, but he will also go up and high-point the ball which can make him a tough match-up for smaller defenders and potentially a nice target in the red-zone. He is not a kid that displays elite top end speed to run away from defenders and is a kid who seems to need to build speed, but he does have long strides and can cover some ground when runs and can help stretch the middle of the field. He does a good job of tracking the ball and being able to make the over-the-shoulder grab. His strength is as a receiver, but will give effort as a blocker.

Joined: 07/29/2010

MGoPoints: 20002

Michiganfootball13

January 7th, 2013 at 4:39 PM ^

Good for him, but I am still not sure why he was so underutilized towards the end of the season.

Joined: 04/12/2012

MGoPoints: 1865

lhglrkwg

January 7th, 2013 at 5:12 PM ^

we need to figure out how to get him the ball more. You probably didn't hear his name called more than once or twice a game in the back half of the season, even when our passing attack took a step up (with Devin)

Joined: 07/03/2008

MGoPoints: 87985

Tater

January 7th, 2013 at 6:39 PM ^

Congrats to Devin Funchess.  I think he's going to be an All-American and high pick by the time he's finished in Ann Arbor.  I won't make the obvious comparisons, but suffice to say that the NFL likes fast TE's with good hands right now.

Joined: 08/13/2008

MGoPoints: 30584

Cobalt2970

January 7th, 2013 at 10:11 PM ^

Look at Rockford, MI churning out some good OL.

Parker Ehinger made the Freshman All-American team for Cincy...Love to have that kid on our team with the depth chart the way it is. (Hindsight 20/20 caveat).

Hopefully we will have our own sleeper in Ben Braden.

Joined: 03/05/2011

MGoPoints: 396