Hoke - Jake Ryan to MIKE and other WTKA tidbits
- Chris Bryant to take medical
- Jake Ryan moving to MIKE
- Magnuson will miss "most" of spring, will do some individual stuff, surgery went well
- Tuley-Tillman had hand surgery
- Drake Johnson and Darboh are limited and working their way back
- Some other odds and ends related to the D coaching moves
I'm sure someone who was listening can elaborate on/clarify some of the above. These are from Michigan Insider tweets as he was interviewed.
February 21st, 2014 at 10:20 AM ^
February 21st, 2014 at 12:22 PM ^
Out of those lists, I'd say Carvin Johnson, Demar Dorsey, Tony Posada and Barnett would be the ones that we'd miss most. Safety is unproven, OL is a well documented train wreck, and we have not one TE that has proven to be a consistent blocker/adequate receiver combined.
February 21st, 2014 at 10:05 AM ^
For what it's worth:
Will: Gedeon, Bolden
Mike: Ryan, Morgan
Sam: Ross Gant
February 21st, 2014 at 10:34 AM ^
Thats the most atheltic group and most capable of "making plays". Ryan is one of the few with size and speed on our D. Gedeon showed flashes and Ross is an instinctive blur (albiet still small)
February 21st, 2014 at 11:20 AM ^
February 21st, 2014 at 12:02 PM ^
and we got a deal. Thats how msu runs their 4-3.
February 21st, 2014 at 10:16 AM ^
Why would we move our best defender from a position that he is dominant at? I don't get that, especially since the only other guys on the roster that fit his dimensions are McCray who hasn't played a snap, Shallman who is still apparently a RB and also hasn't played a snap, Ojemudia who is a DE, Gedeon who looked great as a true freshman at MIKE but I don't know why you move a guy who hasn't yet learned one position, and a bunch of smaller/shorter LBs. Bolden, Ross, Morgan, RJS, and Gant do not have the height, weight, and/or strength to play that position. The only other guy would be Ferns, but I can't see them moving guys to make room for a true freshman. I don't get it.
February 21st, 2014 at 10:21 AM ^
Are forgetting that 1) Beyer actually played SAM last year for us when Ryan was out, and 2) Ryan is 6'3" 240 and Beyer is 6'3" 250? Beyer goes back to SAM, where he's played well but not outstanding. He's a smart player, hold the edge, tough, had some level of pass rush last year. Yeah we need a back-up there, but this college football - guys graduate and new guys have to step up. Overall , LB is extremely deep.
Shallman is a FB/TE.
February 21st, 2014 at 5:52 PM ^
Beyer is a backup IMO. So, if Beyer is the first unit SAM who is the second? I guess I'd prefer Beyer back up Ryan (with competition from McCray), and Ross, Morgan, Gedeon, and Bolden (with competition from RJS and Ferns) be our primary guys getting 1st and 2nd group snaps at the WILL and MIKE. Then allow Clark, Wormely, Charlton, and Ojemudia to be in our first two groups at DE. I think that puts the better players on the field the majority of the time.
February 21st, 2014 at 10:16 AM ^
Morgan and Ross are good, tough players, but they were overmatched too often. Desparately need size in the MLB spots. My guess is Ryan/Bolden (though he needs to fill much harder) at MLB, Morgan/Ross at WLB, and Beyer back to SLB. I like that a lot. Gedeon in there somewhere too. I'd also like to see RJS get himself some playing time, SLB seems like a good spot if he can keep contain.
February 21st, 2014 at 6:01 PM ^
Not that 11 pounds is a huge difference, and who knows how accurate our roster listing heights and weights are, but if we want size inside I think Gedeon is the way to go. He's already bigger than Bolden (236 vs 225, both are 6'3") and he's younger so he's likely to add more weight than Bolden is, epseically given his nickname "The Freak". My hunch is Gedeon is closer to 245 by spring ball.
Also, I get the impression getting "overmatched" is often the case of being slow to react or read plays or just not comfortalbe and/or confident yet. Some of that is probably making an adjustment to college ball, learning the system, learning technique, etc. I see Bolden chasing and getting blocked more than anyone else. Ross seems much more instinctual and IMO he's a better LB and will make a good jump this year. I'd love to see our 1st group of LBs be Ryan, Gedeon, and Ross.
February 21st, 2014 at 7:58 PM ^
I've been thinking the same all day. I don't think anyone has said this but Gedeon should be first string SAM or WILL. Ross and Ryan have to be first string. These three will be our strongest group when all is said and done. Morgan and Bolden just don't have the speed or the gonads!
February 21st, 2014 at 10:29 AM ^
Don't really understand the Ryan move. He is a jack-of-all-trades JMFR whirlwind which I would think be limited at MLB.
February 21st, 2014 at 7:44 PM ^
Anything to put someone ahead of Desmond Morgan. Doesn't anyone else see how many plays this guy (doesn't) make?
February 21st, 2014 at 10:32 AM ^
Morgan is just not atheltic enough to make plays against teams with speed IMO. He was good when the action came right at him (unlike Bolden) but when it came to the "make plays" meme outside of a couple big sticks (when the action came to him) and that Uconn pick I felt like he was just a guy out there.
I like the idea of JMFR out there being able to make plays on every down 1-3; instead of just using him on 3rd down off the edge (which we could still do as a change-up). Plus if anyone can go sideline to sideline, bust through blocks or go around them its JMFR. He's the only guy on the D with that skill set (until we see it from the younger guys).
February 21st, 2014 at 10:33 AM ^
Don't like all the talk of getting bigger at LB, we need more speed at LB IMO. But, to that end, Ryan is faster than Morgan, Ross is very fast, and Gedeon is big and fast, so maybe this makes us faster as well as bigger. I am warming up to this. The negative is that we're moving our best defensive player to a new and totally different position. That's an unknown. The positive is that this might make us both bigger and faster at LB overall.
Beyer belongs at DE IMO, not athletic enough to play LB.
Hey, this is a make or break year for a lot of players and coaches, no excuses in 2014. These guys need to perform or wholesale changes are needed.
February 21st, 2014 at 10:37 AM ^
like Hoke said, against teams like Ohio, Jake was often in spots where he couldn't make plays. Jake will be fine here and this will get younger guys into fold to where they can be more effective.
February 21st, 2014 at 12:03 PM ^
this explains Burzynski and Bosch coming in when they did and Bryant's play in general.
I also wonder if JMFR might have lost a lateral step post injury. He came back so early I wouldn't judge him from last year... but he was a step away from some big plays that he made pre injury. This move to Mike is more downhill and maybe a medical as well as a scheme move.
February 21st, 2014 at 12:10 PM ^
I love the move to Middle LB, put your best players in a position to make big plays!
February 21st, 2014 at 12:24 PM ^
I'm not saying this particular Ryan move is bad, but these changes are starting to feel a little like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
February 21st, 2014 at 1:02 PM ^
2014 will be worse than 2013?
February 21st, 2014 at 1:11 PM ^
and make adjustments that they see as being beneficial? I think Borges is still available.
February 21st, 2014 at 1:15 PM ^
February 21st, 2014 at 2:49 PM ^
February 21st, 2014 at 12:25 PM ^
Is what this says to me (besides the obvious get bigger against the run). We've watched MSU tear us and others apart with it for years.
A lot of teams ran quick 3-step drops. Not enough time to get around the edge on the quarterback. But send JMFR up the A-gap with Ross up the other. If that's what we're moving to, then we can also breathe easier because we'll be in more press coverage instead of being off 10 yards.
February 21st, 2014 at 12:44 PM ^
Bolden and Ross both need to add some size, I think that both were overpowered and then a bit lost at times last year (IIRC both actually lost weight from FR to SO years). Ryan to the middle is fine if he is able to help direct the traffic, which is usually another characteristic of the MIKE where I think a lot of times he has made plays based on athletic ability on the outside that was not consistent with the technique he was supposed to be playing in to be more disciplined.
Gedeon I would expect a big jump from and it should be interesting to see where McCray ends up as he was also appeared to be more athletic than Beyer and has good size coming in if they stick with the SAM in a more heavy form LB/DE.
Overall Michigan needs to find some players that can return to some "smashmouth' attitude and not play back on their heels, does not mean everyone needs to be 6'3 240+, but I think in a lot of cases, it felt like a lot more thinking was being done than attacking on defense last year, and it led to tentative decision making which further increased the bend-dont-break style being used a majority of the time. They need to exert their will more often than playing a style that expects the offense to make mistakes over longer drives.
February 21st, 2014 at 3:02 PM ^
I think Morgan has been solid and has improved since being the starter in 2011 12 and 13. So does he slide over to Will exclusively? Then Bolden and Gedeon get snaps behind them? i just feel like a void will be at the Sam spot now
February 21st, 2014 at 7:49 PM ^
Gedeon will be better than Morgan by mid-season and playing in front of him.
February 21st, 2014 at 3:11 PM ^
One brother coaches at the Jaguars, other one coaches defense at Indiana. Curt coaches our db's. Somebody please tell me why this family still coaches? Riding dad's coat tails a bit?
I am not going as far as others to say our cornerbacks were terrible. They were not. But, overall our secondary got burned when it mattered.
It's easy to pick off uconn, central etc. But when it really matters, K State burned us badly.