Hoke presser, 8/22/2013: Shane will backup Devin, etc.

Submitted by dnak438 on

Hoke: Referenced the 3 J's (Jeremy + Joe + Jehu) as rotational replacements at WR for Darboh. Has no problem with rotating. #Team134Camp

— Michigan Football (@umichfootball) August 22, 2013

 

Hoke: Starting center still not determined #Team134Camp

— Michigan Football (@umichfootball) August 22, 2013

 

Hoke: Shane Morris participated in scrimmage today with 1's and 2's. He will backup Devin Gardner. #Team134

— Michigan Football (@umichfootball) August 22, 2013

UPDATE:

Also from today, Brady Hoke says Dennis Norfleet will be Michigan's primary kick and punt returner.

— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) August 22, 2013

And MGoBlog rejoiced.

CLord

August 22nd, 2013 at 6:22 PM ^

Good news re Shane.  Would be a major disappointment if he didn't start to slowly track toward his perceived potential.

Bad news re center position. At this point I'll put the over/under on Fitz rush yards vs ND at 50.  Neither team will run the ball well, and if Rees performs as he should given his seniority and experience, he'll cancel out Devin at which point the game will come down entirely to turn overs.

mikeelikesit

August 22nd, 2013 at 7:01 PM ^

Good Lord CLORD are you kidding me. Earth to CLORD Devin Gardner is for real. Tommy Rees......................huh? who? That guy that has cement blocks for feet and does not know what color his teams jerseys are? No comparison to BIG SMOOTH #12!

gbdub

August 22nd, 2013 at 10:33 PM ^

I mean it either means Miller and Glasgow are both really good and the coaches just don't know what to do with their riches, or they are both pretty bad and they just keep playing both in the hopes that someone's light comes on. Which do you think is more likely?



If they were both equally meh, you'd think the coaches would just pick one with the higher ceiling and roll them with the ones in the hope that focused coaching and chemistry would get them beyond mediocre.

gbdub

August 23rd, 2013 at 12:00 AM ^

I agree that it's worrisome. Neither of these guys made an impact on a below average interior line last year - I find it unlikely that both have gotten so good that the coaches can't pick one. This seems like a case where one guy clearly separating himself would be preferred - at least that would be something of a guarantee that at least one of them got significantly better over the offseason.

Blue since birth

August 23rd, 2013 at 2:55 AM ^

I think the only thing it means is that they're neck and neck and it says nothing about how they're performing one way or the other. It's probably the biggest area of concern on the team based on several factors... But I don't see this as one of them.

If they were doing an equally poor job wouldn't they just pick one to get as many reps as possible at this point? It seems to me the only logical conclusion to draw is that they're neck and neck.

Blue in Yarmouth

August 23rd, 2013 at 7:51 AM ^

brings about some hope. If the two battling for the spot were still battling because they were both terrible, I think someone else would have entered the mix (whether that be Kugler or switching someone else), but since it is still the same guys I think it is just that no one has seperated themselves more than both of them being terrible. That's what I am choosing to go with anyway...It helps me sleep better at night.

Mr. Yost

August 23rd, 2013 at 8:15 AM ^

It could be like last year where Barnum was the better center, but Mealer was far and away the better snapper. Mealer won because we were in the shotgun so much.

We really won't know until the coaches tell us what is going on.

But I think it's telling that when Bryant and Braden were out, Glasgow switched to LG and not Miller.

Also people forget about Joey Burzynski. If Glasgow was the C, why wouldn't we put Burzynski at LG during that first scrimmage and keep Glasgow at C?

DingoBlue

August 22nd, 2013 at 6:27 PM ^

A strong running threat from the RBs this year would be rather huge.  I on the one hand hope Smith gets his RS so that there's effectively a 2014 class RB, but on the other hand it's good that he's getting noticed.

Here2CWoodson

August 22nd, 2013 at 6:31 PM ^

When he says Green looked sharper I'm assuming he meant Green looks out of shape and overweight. There is no way he could have bounced back that quick after that one bad scrimmage highlight from Saturday.

PhillipFulmersPants

August 22nd, 2013 at 6:28 PM ^

toying with the fan base. Grumble, grumble.  I assume this bodes well for a Kugler run at the spot in 2014. Anyway, back to thinking positive thoughts. Positive thoughts. Positive thoughts. 

615Wolverine

August 22nd, 2013 at 6:43 PM ^

I think we should give Morris the second string job this season. Then, next year if Gardner comes back and doesn't enter the draft, we should red shirt Shane and let Bellomy be the backup. Therefore Shane will have three years of eligibility left when Gardner leaves.

jblaze

August 22nd, 2013 at 7:42 PM ^

Next year, you have

Rs Sr: Devin

Rs Jr: Bellomy

Rs So: Cleary

So: Shane

Fr: Speight

Devin, with Bellomy and Cleary as backups means that Shane and Speight can RS. That's good depth next year at QB, assuming Bellomy is a good QB (that is the key assumption) and that Cleary is a good 3rd string QB (likely true).

 

FGB

August 22nd, 2013 at 9:10 PM ^

But while Shane is an elite recruit, I'm not sure it's so crazy that he only starts two years here, his junior and senior years. Devin was a comparable recruit and that's what he's getting.

That used to be the norm, Collins, Brady, etc. The Henne situation was unique but if Gutierrez doesn't get injured he may have started for two years while Henne learned for two years. (Injury conspiracy theories aside)

My point is that if Michigan keeps recruiting at the pace they are, it's not really a problem if Shane "only" starts his junior and senior years

Blue in Yarmouth

August 23rd, 2013 at 7:58 AM ^

but your proposal could easily be done. People seem to forget (or just ignore the fact) that anyone can redshirt at anytime during the season provided they don't play. 

This year Morris will get some run in games that are blowouts so he will have some game experience (hopefully that is the only time he gets and not injury related). He will have that under his belt so next year they could plan to redshirt him and as long as Devin remains healthy they could stick to that plan. If he goes down...there's nothing stopping the staff from saying, "Well...it was a nice idea but Shane...get your ass in there."

TakeTheField

August 22nd, 2013 at 6:54 PM ^

"if Gardner doesn't enter the draft" talk.  He's only started a few games in his career, and people are thinking he might enter the draft EARLY? We've had Henne, Brady, Griese, Collins and Grbac all end up as starters in the NFL, and none of them left early or were even serious threats to, and they all started for a lot longer than Gardner has.  On top of that, Gardner does not have the kind of supporting cast that will let him put up eye-popping numbers this year.  He's playing behind a shaky Oline, with only one go-to guy at receiver.

Gardner is not leaving early...trust me.  Very, very few of even the best QBs do, even after starting and starring for 2 or 3 full seasons.  After two years as the full-time starter, Gardner may well be an attractive draft pick, but not before.

SanDiegoWolverine

August 22nd, 2013 at 7:28 PM ^

The NFL has scouts, they are smart enough to know who has the potential to have a great career in the NFL. Plenty of QB's go high after just playing one year. If Devin has a great year he will have a choice to make. Let's not act like nobody has or ever will leave Michigan early. 

OmarDontScare

August 22nd, 2013 at 10:15 PM ^

Mark Sanchez, who is horrible but he was the 5th pick in Staffords draft. Cam Newton, Tannehill, JP Losman. Matt Cassell never started one game in college and was drafted. Our very own Matt Gutierrez played one year at Iowa St and had a 6 yr NFL career. There are plenty of others as well.

funkywolve

August 23rd, 2013 at 10:13 AM ^

my reply was because the other poster said there are plenty of QB's who only play one year and are taken HIGH in the nfl draft.  Neither Cassell nor Gutierrez were early selections.  Cassell was a 7th round pick and Gutierrez was an undrafted free agent .  So far we've got a whopping total of 3 QB's who played one year and were drafted high.

Gutierrez didn't play for Iowa St.  It was Idaho St.

funkywolve

August 23rd, 2013 at 10:26 AM ^

It's a bit of a stretch to say Gutz had a 6 yr NFL career.

2007 and 2008 he was with the Pats.

2009 he was with the chiefs.  After that he hasn't really been in the nfl.

The bears signed him August 18, 2010 and then released him August 30, 2010.  He was signed to a UFL team 9/28/10.

The bears signed him in 2011 but waived him August 8, 2011

The Redskins claimed him off waivers on August 10, 2011 but cut him September 3, 2011.

On December 7, 2011 the Rams signed him to the practice squad and then cut him December 9, 2011.

go16blue

August 22nd, 2013 at 7:00 PM ^

It's certainly not unexpected, but the fact that the coaches are comfortable naming him the backup (where previously he was "battling" with Cleary) does point to some progress. Especially with the news coming after his first scrimmage, while it's not unexpected news it's certainly good news.

gwkrlghl

August 22nd, 2013 at 7:01 PM ^

There had been plenty of talk about who was the back-up between Cleary and Shane. Cleary obviously had the leg up on the playbook while Shane is presumably still rusty from his mono-bout. While Shane is a 4/5 star guy, he's still a true freshman. I still wouldn't be surprised to see Cleary be the first QB off the bench (at least to start)