Offensive line and running backs
LT - Cole
LG - Bredeson
C - Kugler
RG - Onwenu
RT - Runyan
Freshamn OL who play - Ruiz and FIliaga
Evans
Higdon
Isaac
Walker
Usually something starting with "not to be a dick..." means "this is about to be awesome"
Yeah totally dude. Bet you're one of those guys that gets up every morning and gives himself a high five in the mirror.
*sigh*
With all due respect, Then go on to dispespect that person...Usually in the worst way because of your opening....
In an interview many years ago, John Cleese pointed out something that really gets to the heart of the typical intent of phrases such as that when he talked about how people who say something like "I don't wish to be a prude, but..." are essentially saying "I am a prude, AND...", relating how many times he'd heard this over the course of making the Flying Circus and the subsequent films.
We only need 14 more people to start this same thread. Then it will seem like just a couple weeks ago!
People are sleeping on Runyan as the RT. I hope he wins the job this year, would love to at least get a few players from the 2015 class moving in the right direction (so far just Kinnel and Wheatley seem to be in line for serious playing time).
What class is furbush from?. He is going to see a lot of playing time this year. He covers well and has elite size and speed. Another group people on the outside are sleeping on is our linebackers. Adding hudson to the mix I think we might have the best in the big ten. Everything on the internet has us taking a step back, but as I look at this team I just can't see it. I only worry about the secondary as that is the true unknown at this time. The o-line is also but I think they will be more than servicable and grow as the season progresses.
Furbush is a '14.
He still looks a little light to me. Very fast, though ...
furbush was part of 2014 LB class with winovich, ferns and wangler.
totally agree with that other poster - its obvious but this team looks much different with serious contributions from more than a couple 2015 kids. any of runyan, ulizio, gentry, washington, etc stepping up to contribute like kinnel, higdon, wheatley, etc would really help fortify depth and bridge the gap as 2016 & 2017 find their footing.
the incomplete 2014 class and weaker 2015 transition class likely have greatest impact this fall as upperclassmen so any additional contributions would be huge. and it looks like they may find some if runyan, washington, bushell-beatty, etc keep it up. gonna be fun to watch
I only worry about the secondary as that is the true unknown at this time.You don't worry about depth? What if any of the guys on the defensive line go down with a major injury? You do realize we are all counting on a true freshman who isn't even on campus (Solomon) to be the 2-deep nose tackle, not to mention that the guy ahead of him (Mone) has yet to make it through an entire season uninjured. Imagine if Mone gets injured and Solomon isn't ready, then who is playing NT? That situation could get scary. We are counting on Kemp, who hasn't played yet to be a backup to Gary, Solomon who isn't on campus yet to be a backup to Mone, Mone to start when he's been injured every year, Marshall/Hudson to backup Hurst (yikes), and Jones or a true freshman (Vilain?) to backup Winovich. Our first team d-line looks great if healthy, but our depth is scary.
DT - Hurst
NT - Mone
Solomon and Dwumfour backup Mone - could also back up Hurst - Gary can slide inside for Hurst
SDE - Gary, backed up by Kemp, maybe Marshall
WDE - Winovich, backed up by Kemp or Vilain
we also have Ron Johnson, D. Jeter and Hudson that can backup DT, SDE or WDE as needed
only CMH, Paye, DIB and Paea are players we should be red-shirting and not planning to use - we have a lot of depth, all very good players - especially with the new red-shirt rules allowing players to play 4 games and keep the red-shirt we should be rotating a lot of guys for experience in blowout games to prepare them for bigger roles in the future
personally, I worry about the right side of the OL and Cornerback
CB and RG/RT worry me
OL doesn't usually contribute much as freshman
CB - lost top 3 players there - however, until PSU we don't play any great passing QB's do might not be as much of a worry
OL doesn't usually contribute much as freshmanBut, defensive line does?
many highly rated DL players played well last year - they didn't for Michigan because of our depth
I expect Solomon, Vilain and Kemp to be good 2nd unit players behind the starters as they prep for bigger roles in 2018
I can imagine thinking a consus 5-star would play and contribute immediately ala Rashon Gary. You can look at his size coming out of HS at 6-4 280 and see he has the size and ability to play immediately. But, that's the exception and not the rule. Plenty of other highly ranked guys take a few years to develop like Charlton, Wormley, Mone, etc.
I think expecting either a lower ranked guy coming out of HS, a RS freshman who hasn't played yet, and/or an undersized guy would be unrealistic to expect a ton of production. Solomon probably fits the bill in terms of size and recruiting profile to expect a freshman contribution, but I'm not sure Vilain or Kemp do. The problem with Solomon is that we've never seen him and the guy in front of him (Mone) also has a questionable health status.
so he fits the bill - he and Solomon very highly rated - play some as the 2nd unit, along with a RS Freshman Kemp
there isn't any reason to think highly rated freshman or 2nd year players can't be 2nd string
Vilain also weighs 238 lbs. Can you think of anyone you've seen at that size who is not a 5-star that has done much as a true freshman?
Who is the last person you saw at Michigan not named Gary (consensum #1) to make an impact as a true freshman on the 2-deep DL?
He won 7/8 events including the powerball toss. Would you have bet he would toss a powerball farther than big Mike? That's showing both strength and footspeed to play in space.
I know I'm nitpicking here, but as an exercise science guy I get frustrated when people confuse strength with power. The power toss is an example of power, not of strength (as is the vertical jump and broad jump). The rest of the categories they tested were speed and agility. There was no true strength test measured at UM's combine such as a 1RM bench press.
Man I hope you are wrong. Have listened to a lot of interveiws and most seem to think the o-line is coming along quite well. Listening to Jon Jansen talk about the line and how it looked duruing the spring game couldn't have been more positive. I actually think everyone was somewhat pleased at what they saw. I really do not know, but the coaches seem more than confident. I think Kugler is going to have a nice year for Michigan. This is his last chance and I don't think Harbaugh would have given the fifth year if he didnt expect him to start. I actually think stueber is the only freshman who might start and I think was underrated because of being from conn.. When Harbaugh and Drevno drop an offer at basically a tryout, that to me is huge. We will see but this year is going to be fun to talk about because of the unknowns. I have no clue what we are getting with Filiaga, I hope all-american left tackle John Elliot style.
Man I hope you are wrong. Have listened to a lot of interveiws and most seem to think the o-line is coming along quite well. Listening to Jon Jansen talk about the line and how it looked duruing the spring game couldn't have been more positive. I actually think everyone was somewhat pleased at what they saw. I really do not know, but the coaches seem more than confident. I think Kugler is going to have a nice year for Michigan. This is his last chance and I don't think Harbaugh would have given the fifth year if he didnt expect him to start. I actually think stueber is the only freshman who might start and I think was underrated because of being from conn.. When Harbaugh and Drevno drop an offer at basically a tryout, that to me is huge. We will see but this year is going to be fun to talk about because of the unknowns. I have no clue what we are getting with Filiaga, I hope all-american left tackle John Elliot style.
Cole-Bredeson-Kugler-Onwenu is set barring an amazing push by Ruiz. Based on JBB's play last year and Runyan's in the spring game, I think Runyan will be the RT. He looks ok but not great while JBB looked like he wasn't ready last year. Maybe JBB has stepped up since then.
Cole and Bredeson should be good players. Beyond them, I think Kugler, Onwenu, Runyan, Ruiz and Vastardis all look like guys who can play and not be a detriment, JBB hopefully is also at that level by now as well. Because of this, I don't see any freshmen other than Ruiz playing unless they are amazing.
I'll go with:
Evans, Higdon, Omaury-Samuels, Isaac, Walker at RB. I think Evans and Higdon will get most of the carries and be explosive.
Also, I wouldn't sleep on Spanellis.
Pep & Frey additions. With Frey's zone blocking schemes and Pep opening up the play book, the offense should look very different this year.
I thought that Drevno's offense went into a shell at the end of the year and was much too predictable.
Don't get me wrong...our offense was good but when we really needed it last year, it kind of wilted under pressure. No pun intended.
I don't have much to add, except for one thing.
I think Samuels is going to be in the mix at RB. Not the lead RB, but good enough that he is in the top 3 - 4.