Jourdan Lewis on offense?

Submitted by uofmchris on

http://michigan.247sports.com/Bolt/Jourdan-Lewis-wants-time-on-the-offe…

 

"I'm going to put this out there right now, I want to play offense!" Lewis said. "I haven't told Harbaugh, but me and John [O'Korn] have been working on some stuff."

 

"I think I'm a little Antonio Brown!" Lewis said laughing. "I could run some routes. I think I'm a pretty good route-runner. Quickness. You've got to catch the ball though. That's obvious on the defensive side. But it's kind of easier when you can locate the ball as a receiver, you're seeing the ball in flight the whole way. Honestly, whatever I can do to get my hands on that ball, I want to do it."

umbig11

July 26th, 2016 at 2:40 PM ^

FYI, fruedian slip?

 "I haven't told Harbaugh, but me and John [O'Korn] have been working on some stuff."

Does he think JO'K is the man at QB?

Update: Minutes ago...JH was just on SIRUS XM 84 College Football Playbook and stated publicly that after the Spring Game, Wilton Speight has the slight edge, very narrow margin. Is that coach speak for competition, who knows??

Wolfman

July 26th, 2016 at 3:37 PM ^

He was talking about how both qbs would ask their receivers to meet them to do some work and Wilton would say, "Don't tell John."  And John would say, "Don't tell Wilton."  He was laughing. He loved it. He said, that's exactly what I would do. He loves to know they're doing whatever they can to grab the job. 

Actually most relaxed I've seen coach. Really enjoyed him setting around talking football with the Gerry and Howard. They think we're a year or two away but it won't be due to team not thinking they are ready. And Harbaugh doesn't live by the "accepted expectations of coaching."  

A Fan In Fargo

July 26th, 2016 at 6:18 PM ^

Yeah Gerry and Howard playing it safe and not trying to give up the facts. If Michigan plays that Utah and Michigan State game this year in Harbaugh's second season there, they win. Michigan is easly a 1 loss team last year. The only thing standing in their way this year is the refs and possibly themselves. If they are prepared mentally every game and don't get big heads, better get your popcorn ready. Oh and Jourdan I think is like the 3rd or 4th fastest on the team? Definetly one of the quickest, has great hands and football awareness when the ball is in the air. He'd be good at slot or other wr position.

A Fan In Fargo

July 26th, 2016 at 6:28 PM ^

Whenever Pep was in the next level past the d-line he was breaking tackles and getting good gains pretty much all of the time. He would be so tough for defensive backs to tackle if he played slot more. Let's say he runs a curl route. Is that defender covering him going to get a high enough impact hit on him to knock him down? He better be one strong kid to be able to wrap up and hold on to drag him to the ground. Even then he still has to catch the quick little bugger! Mismatch all day with Pep catching passes pretty much anywhere on the field. Linebackers wont cover him worth a shit out of the backfield either. 

PopeLando

July 26th, 2016 at 2:39 PM ^

That explains all the PBUs last year: he just wanted to get his hands on the ball.

Harbaugh should say no. If Jourdan wants his hands on the ball or to score TDs, that should motivate him to intercept 6437864 passes!

/s

Steves_Wolverines

July 26th, 2016 at 2:40 PM ^

If we suffer any injuries, with our lack of depth at WR, I could see JL playing offense. He's got the speed and vision to be used like Peppers, just outside the tackle box please. I don't want him meeting a 300+lb DL face to face. 

Avon Barksdale

July 26th, 2016 at 2:55 PM ^

Lack of depth at receiver? We return three starters and two other guys who played important snaps last year. We also just signed five wide receivers. We literally have not one issue in regards to wide out depth. Darboh, Chesson, Perry, Harris, Ways, *insert one freshman*, and Peppers are one of the deepest position groups in the country.

Steves_Wolverines

July 26th, 2016 at 3:11 PM ^

I don't count true freshman or players with less than 15 career catches as impactful depth. We're very top heavy with our WR's, especially on the edge. 

If we lose either one of Darboh or Chesson, we're looking at replacing them with an extremely inexperienced, and less talented replacement. 

Perry is a perfect slot guy, but only has 14 career receptions. 

Harris is a huge questions mark. Can his body handle a full season? Is he 100% healthy?

Ways is decent, but only has 3 career receptions. 

Freshman are freshman, and are prone to freshman mistakes. 

Peppers had 26 offensive touches last season. Not sure if he'll see more or less, but with his need on defense, I would guess that number goes down. 

So yes, I do believe WR depth is an issue if Darboh or Chesson get hurt. TE depth, on the other hand, is something I'm not worried about at all. 

Steves_Wolverines

July 26th, 2016 at 3:28 PM ^

Which one is more of a big play threat?

I think Lewis can blow the top off of the defense, and can be dangerous in screens, flares, reverses, and other tickeries. 

I love Perry for his role, but I just see him as a guy who can settle in the holes of a zone, and move the sticks. Nothing wrong with that. Great route runner and excellent hands. 

Lanknows

July 26th, 2016 at 3:39 PM ^

when you use a lot of TEs and FBs.  This isn't a 4-wide offense.

The backup TEs are far less proven than Perry and Ways. Ways actually started 2 games last year.  Harris seems capable and there's a host of freshman options at a position where freshman can contribute right away.

 

Steves_Wolverines

July 26th, 2016 at 3:53 PM ^

Let's say Chesson doesn't recover 100%, and misses some of the season. Who replaces him on the edge? 

Would Ways and Harris split snaps until one outperforms the other? 

Who would you all go with to replace Chesson if his injury lingers? How many snaps? 

Ways looked good in the limited action we saw from him, and I'd lean towards him over Harris or a true freshman. I'd be willing to give Jourdan Lewis as many (or more) snaps as Peppers, Harris, Crawford, and McDoom. 

Also, it's not like Perry came in as a freshman and instantly clicked. It took until the bowl game to finally make an impact. 

Now I'm not saying it would take McDoom or Crawford that long to acclimate to the college game, but they are true freshman, and it would be surprising to see one step up and perform at a high level. 

Steves_Wolverines

July 26th, 2016 at 3:59 PM ^

Not necessarily true. 

With the haul in 2016 (McDoom, Crawford, Mitchell, Johnson, Hawkins) and the possibilites for 2017 (DPJ and Collins), we'd be looking at extremely talented depth, both on the edge and in the slot, come 2017 and 2018. 

DPJ and Nico Collins are the types of freshman WR that can make an immediate impact. 

Not sure if we have any from the 2016 haul (maybe Crawford). 

 

funkywolve

July 26th, 2016 at 4:12 PM ^

Up top you said you don't count true freshmen as wr depth, which means DPJ and Collins wouldn't count as depth in 2017.  You also said that anyone with less than 15 career catches doesn't count as depth either so until the wr's in the 2016 class pass the 15 career catch threshold, they wouldn't count as depth either.

Steves_Wolverines

July 26th, 2016 at 4:27 PM ^

By 2017, we could have:

Perry, Ways, Harris, (and Peppers) all with 15+ catches. Depending on how the season goes, maybe 1 or 2 of Crawford, McDoom with double digit catches.

That would be at least 4, and possibly 6 WR's with experience. Compared to this year, we're looking at 2 (Chesson and Darboh). 

I would say we're looking at having better WR depth in 2017 than we are right now. 

By 2018, we could have:

Perry, Ways, Harris, Crawford, McDoom, and whoever steps up b/w Mitchell, Johnson, Evans, and possibly DPJ and Nico Collins.

More depth in 2018 compared to 2016. 

So without including any 2016 WR's in the discussion, 2017 will have more depth. And without including DPJ or Collins, 2018 would have more depth. 

Steves_Wolverines

July 26th, 2016 at 5:12 PM ^

WR Recruiting

2012: Chesson, Darboh (2/2)

2013: Dukes, York, Jones (0/3)

2014: Ways, Canteen, Harris, (Peppers) (TBD but so far Canteen is a ??; possible 2/3 or 0/3)

2015: Cole, Perry (1/2)

2016: Crawford, Mitchell, McDoom, Johnson, (Hawkins), (Evans) (Insert future depth)

2017: DPJ?, Collins? (insert instant game changers)

So we're really confident about our current depth? When 5 of our 10 WR recruits between 2012 - 2015 are no longer on the depth chart/with the team/etc. 

Dukes medically retired

York dismissed

Jones grad transfer

Canteen injured, status uncertain

Cole transfer

The remaining 5 haven't avoided their share of adversity. Harris' injuries are well documented. Moe Ways had foot surgery in March. Perry struggled early as a freshman, but shined in the bowl game. 

So depth? Not my definition of solid WR depth. 

TrueBlue2003

July 26th, 2016 at 9:26 PM ^

true freshmen or players with less than 15 career catches, but you consider a position swtich guy that hasn't taken a snap at the position in probably four years a viable depth option?  There's no way we would use JL as anything more than a special package/decoy guy for a snap or two.

There's no way JL could be a viable replacement or even play a meaningful number of offensive snaps if a starter goes down when we need him playing every defensive snap.  

Steves_Wolverines

July 27th, 2016 at 9:38 AM ^

I don't think I ever said I'd want to see Lewis line up and take every offensive snap this year. 

I think that if we lose Chesson or Darboh, that would open up an opportunity to see Lewis get 10-20 snaps. He would come in a be the guy to run a fly route, run a reverse, catch a screen, etc. It would be foolish to play Lewis more snaps than a healthy Moe Ways. But I think there is definitely a role where Lewis would be able to help an offense lacking Chesson or Darboh.

Could Ways also play this role? Probably not. I don't think he has the speed or vision of Lewis.  

Could Harris also play this role? Yes, I suppose he could if he's healthy. 

Could Crawford also play this role? Possibly, but insert concerns about true freshman.

 

1VaBlue1

July 26th, 2016 at 2:40 PM ^

Don't see it happening.  Maybe he could bracket the field with Chesson - having those two fly downfield might cause some angst among the DB's.  But Lewis is sort'a important on the defensive side, with no clear replacement.  Losing Peppers could be capably hidden in Brown's defense.  Losing Lewis?  Nope...

Besides, Mo Ways and/or Drake Harris should be able to fill that role well enough...

markp

July 26th, 2016 at 2:52 PM ^

You've got to think like Harbaugh though.  If I'm not mistaken, we saw the best two defensive players and the #1 WR all taking returns last year.  Meritocracy rules seem to still apply even when you're already the starter in a different position. 

We've got a few unreasonably talented players that can make an impact in more than one phase - I say let 'em play to win and hope for the best rather than playing to not get injured.

reshp1

July 26th, 2016 at 6:05 PM ^

He does make decisions based on snap count though, which is why he took Peppers off KO return duties and gave them to Lewis. Lewis, as a corner, will play just about every snap on defense, unlike nickel which subs out depending on package. With the new KO duties, I have a hard time seeing Lewis take on even more.

allintime23

July 26th, 2016 at 2:43 PM ^

That would be really stupid to put your best defensive player on offense and risk any injury. I'm sure we'll see him return punts at times but to risk him being hurt when you already have experienced players on offense would be greedy and I don't see Harbaugh doing this. Jabril is Jabril and that's a whole other story. Jordan needs to lock down his corner and prepare for greatness in the league.