Michigan players that progressed under Hoke
I'm sick of the myopic negativity on this board this offseason in regards to player progression under Hoke. I've been lurking here for years but only recently joined to counter to abysmal attitude that permeates what had been constructive dialogue. Many are focusing on the small sample size of one year. They fail to acknowledge his player development at Ball State and SDSU. I don't remember any of these complaints after the 2011 season.
Instead of blindly repeating sound bites from your local radio station, consider the actual development of players at Michigan under Hoke's reign. Please realize that a historically young team took the field last year. And it was young in the areas that talent can't make up for experience. You have only one senior on offense this year. While this causes hesitation for the coming year, it conversely bodes well for the future when dozens of upperclassmen will fill the depth charts.
So after a long introduction, for my first post, I will list players that have shown progression under Hoke. I'm sure if he had long sleeves and a headset, they would all have been All-Americans.
- Mike Martin
- Craig Roh
- Will Heininger
- Ryan Van Bergen
- Blake Countess
- Raymon Taylor
- Jordan Kovacs
- Quinton Washington
- Will Cambell
- Jibreel Black
- Frank Clark
- Junior Hemingway
- Jeremy Gallon
- Brendan Gibbons
- Devin Gardner
- Patrick Omameh
- Cam Gordon
- Brendan Beyer
- Kenny Demens
- Taylor Lewan
- David Molk
- Michael Schofield
- Devin Funchess
- James Ross
- Jake Butt
- Joe Bolden
- Jourdan Lewis
- Jehu Chesson
- Willie Henry
- Graham Glasgow
I'm sure there are more. But you will notice, most of them are upperclassmen. That is no coincidence. It is also something this current team lacks. It is also something that the 2015 and 2016 team will be full of. This isn't hope or wishes or dreams. Just a clear reading of the depth chart.
So in the future, if you want to talk about how this staff can't develop players, please refer to this list and explain how they regressed. I also apologize for my ironic negativity toward the negativity on this board. I'm just tired of it and hopefully two negatives somehow make a positive.
would come in here and tell us that we may think we know whats going on behind the scenes but outside of the obvious player development no fan will know. When I say player development I mean physically you can tell each and everyone of these players are getting stronger from the weight room workouts.
When we say, well these guys are not getting better it is usually scoreboard driven. We are losing x amount of games so we must not be getting better. When so much goes into wins and losses nobody can be sure why team a lost to team b. There are nagging little injuries, that we are not privey to, as well as discipline that may be handed out or a player knowing he will be dealt with when the team bus pulls in. Knowing your grades are going down. So many factors go into winning and losing, team chemistry cannot be underestimated which is another thing none of us know anything about. Like most people have said more wins and all this goes away. I can't agree more but with the same ole 8-5 9-4 records to hold up people will doubt the coaches. Human nature I guess. Just like the fans can't get too excited about wins and losses at the beginning of a new coaches tenure, the players need to understand fans are going to be there to speculate especially when things get rough.
Players like RVB, Mike Martin, Molk, Junior etc. were all the last of the Carr recruits...who really blossomed under Hoke in 11 (though Molk and Martin progressed fairly well under RR).
That 11 team had a significant amount of talent, combined with an easy schedule and a lucky bowl game win... lead to 11-2. However it was a bit of a mirage. It was not a super strong 11-2. The team got out muscled by Sparty and narrowly beat the worst Ohio team in many years.
The problem is that Hoke has not built on that good start, for whatever reason. Some of this had to do with the horrible 2010 recruiting class... other reasons are not so clear.
IMO Mattison has not been effective the past 2 seasons, particularly the last year (though the poor offense certainly has put the defense in some bad spots).
The past two seasons, we have seen Mattisons guys constantly be out of position...have trouble stopping the run and not getting to the passer.
Players like QWASH should have been out there more. That guy is big, strong and talented and it would not surprise me if he lands with an NFL team and does well. He is a plugger.
Mattison's DL rotation was mindless and out of control. Really taking your best pass rusher off the field on third down, just to keep the rotation going...is idiotic.
I hope he scales that back in 14. A DL needs to get in the groove and get a feel for the game. Sometimes Mattison thinks too much. He needs to let the guys play more. They dont get that tired, and situationally things dont change very often vs. most B10 teams where you need to be running new guys in there all the time. Hell, spread teams wont allow that if they keep it uptempo. Better to play the best 4 and move other guys in there from time to time for a blow.