Offensive Line Finally a Strength
It has been a longtime since the offensive line has been considered the best in the BigTen. Lloyd Carr fielded pretty good offensive lines, but we really haven't had a truly strong line since perhaps then. Maybe I am being pessimistic, but the offensive line seemed like it was more often than not a liability of the team under RichRod and Hoke.
We now have what appears to be the best offensive line in the BigTen. Phile Steele has the offensive line ranked 4th in the nation. The rest of the BigTen is taking notice. Husker Online ranked the top 5 BigTen players by position group and here are their rankings:
Cesar Ruiz 2nd Best Center in the BigTen.
Ben Bredeson Best Guard in the BigTen.
Michael Onwenu 3rd Best Guard in the BigTen.
Jon Runyan 2nd Best Tackle in the BigTen.
I am more excited about seeing the offensive line than any other position group on this team. If they live up to expectations and can stay healthy, it will help the RB situation out immensely and give the talented WRs time to get open.
Ed Warinner deserves a lot of credit.
Reading through HTTV also made me realize just how tough this line could potentially be. Damn, I wish we could have last year's D-line back (with Bush obviously). That would be a thing of beauty.
I think whoever you talked to is probably going to be mistaken. Winovich was absolutely incredible last year and when Gary was on the field he drew double and triple teams regularly and did an awesome job of setting the edge as an anchor every play. He was a 1st round pick for a reason. I think Paye and Hutchinson will be fine as replacements but neither are as good as the players they are replacing. As for DT I think it's a weak spot in the defense. Dwumfour cannot stop the run at all and Kemp can't rush the passer. Interested to see what Danna can do on the edge. I expect Chris Hinton to get in the rotation at DT. We'll see about Jeter, he didn't do much last year with a glaring opportunity. Never a good sign when you're moving fullbacks to DL.
Who are you to rain on our parade? Debbie, is that you?
its maizen/franklin/1201. again.
Wasn't Jeter hurt last year?
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What about this post is inaccurate? I’m concerned about the DL (entire defense really) as well. Kemp and Dwumfour are undersized and we lost Winovich and Gary. Paye is gonna be good I think, but who knows with Hutch. Jeter is another unknown. The LB’s were abused in the FL game and we lost our best lb,corner and might be starting a true freshman at safety. The defense is a very big question mark heading into the season IMO.
There is always gonna be one unit better than last year and other that are worse. We are asking these kids to go from power run and pass pro blocking to now blocking RPO and speed in space. That doesn’t happen overnight and there ARE going to be bumps in the road.
Bpone or not it’s time to see it on the field. We laugh at the Cooper years because he went 2-10-1 against us. That better than our last 3 coaches combined. We did the right thing by bringing in a new OC but slow the roll a little bit, it’s gonna take 2ish year’s to get to full speed.
Im not trying to be negative but while we are on a solid upward trajectory the job of the OLine is gonna be different that what we’ve ever asked them to do. They are amazing athletes but don’t start criticizing them if they struggle with the new scheme at times.
We'll be a top 10 offense and a top 25 defense.
Top 25 defense? lol
Don Brown has had a top 3 defense every year here, and he had had worse personnel.
Going out on a limb, arent you?
I understand that rashan is a freak of an athlete and he would get double teams but to quite honest I never thought he was that great and never lived up to the hype just with the eye test. I’m not sure if it was his shoulder or whatever it just looked like he would take plays off. Most top big ten teams have a guy that gets double teamed on the defense. I think winovich was a guy who was the exact opposite of rashan and completely maxed out his potential and played with tenacity and heart. I think if winovich goes to any other team but the pats he is nothing but a special teamer backup. Just going off my eye test and I am not a coach by any means but I saw what I saw. I felt the same way about peppers and maybe it has something to do with the amount of stars and hype surrounding those two but I don’t think either lived up to it.
Peppers was an amazing punt returner. He lived up to the hype in that alone. He also played out of position on Defense and did whatever was asked of him. I hear you on Gary, but Peppers was a different situation.
But that is exactly what I’m talking about. You just said peppers was a great punt returner which he was, but he was supposed to be much more than that. I don’t believe he was playing out of position, they still can’t find him a position in the pros. Anyway I’m excited about the oline this year and this years team too I got off topic with the comment
Mazi is gonna be a beast.
*In a year or two... most likely.
Even if Winovich was all about himself I don't understand how that hurt the team considering the numbers he put up. The film doesn't lie either, he was a consistent presence in the opponent's backfield.
Gary? I can believe that one. He did get double teamed some but not enough to make him the non-factor he ended up being.
If Winovich was all about himself, we could use a bunch more guys who are all about themselves on defense. He was awesome.
Obviously it would be great to have awesome playmakers along the DL, to get pass rush from the DTs and to generate a lot of havoc up front. But if the DL can do the high-floor things like controlling gaps and standing up to double teams on a consistent basis, the defense is likely to be a top 25 unit. That's good enough for an excellent season, and guys like Danna and Paye seem like high-floor guys. Hutchinson is a sophomore and thus might occasionally give up some UFR -2s, but he is probably the most likely to rack up +2s, as well.
FWIW, I agree with the above poster about Gary being a fantastic edge-setter. He was superb at the high-floor stuff. It's the fact that he didn't reach the limitless ceiling that led to fan frustration, especially since Winovich appeared to reach his ceiling. I would also state that, of the two, Winovich was a lower-floor player, mainly because his playing style meant that he was more likely to overrun a play. $10 says they are both multi-year starters.
Funny how being for himself is confused with getting lots of press for being a beast. Name 1 statement he made that was ever about him?? He was the epitome of a team first player.
Winovich loved the attention he got. So I can see why a Player would be jealous or put off. But he played great on the field, it’s a weird critique.
Top Billin is not high on Runyan or Stueber. The guys on the interior are great - as I would expect three former top 50 recruits to be.
You just can't help yourself Maizen. You're a top 50 dickhead.
dude might as well make another account named "lightning rod"'
Or an account named Concern Troll:
I like Stueber. Getting stronger. No worries about him. Solid RT.
Could be Mayfield instead of Stueber at RT. If Mayfield wins that job I'd be happier because he is the more athletically gifted of the two and can subsequently move his feet faster, pushing DEs to the outside and making it more difficult for them to turn the corner.
Yeah, let's misrepresent the video we've all seen stupid?
Seeing Alaric Jackson as the #1 Tackle is ... frustrating.
I think Runyan being the #2 tackle in the B1G is dubious at best. He really struggled against team with a pass rush last year in ND, OSU, and UF. If Devry Hamilton doesn't flip right before NSD and Isaiah Wilson committed as he was expected to, that's your tackle tandem for next year. But alas, recruiting misses. Mayfield and Hayes will be great in time thankfully.
I was surprised when he made 1st team all BIG... but it is merited... for you know darn well that a coach like dantnio won't vote for single M player for the team... so right there Runyan had a disadvantage..and he still got the award... and he should be a guard, and he'd be a great one...
I'd have him behind Alaric Jackson and David Edwards at the very least, but he did improve a ton throughout the year after the ND debacle. The problem for me is that he got abused again in the Florida game, and the OSU game wasn't much better. I think Warinner got the most out of him he could but in an ideal world he's a 2nd stringer here.
Devery Hamilton has started 1 game at tackle. Last years bowl game. He has bounced around both guard positions for 2 years, so I'm not so sure he's the answer you are looking for.
They slid him inside to guard because they have two 5 star OT's in Walker Little and Foster Sarell. Context is key. He would be an upgrade from Runyan.
I went back to look at Jackson's recruit profile... A few things stood out...his offer list was very undewhelming....sparty offered him... jackson was 6-7 285lbs. I guess he wasn't a take because at Michigan the tackle standard is 6'5
/s
That's kind of funny that he's considered to be #1 OT in the conference. NFL scouts consider his teammate, Tristian Wirfs, to be a superior player and a potential 1st round pick. Wirfs is the best OT in the conference and possibly in the country.
Rich Rod's lines sucked, but Schofield, David Molk, Steven Schilling, Patrick Omameh, and Taylor Lewan were all pro players. They just weren't good at the same time. I think 2011 (Hoke) had the best of that group even though they were (mostly?) RR's recruits. Other than that one year and maybe 2016 and 2018 we've been in turmoil every year.
My freshman year (Bo's last) we had the biggest line in college football and the thought of Michigan not having the best line was an absurdity.
Used to be UM's calling card for sure. The 2000 OL with Hutchinson, Backus, Williams, and Goodwin was probably the best OL at Michigan in the last 20 years that I can remember. Some of the OL in the early to late 90's were incredible as well.
Rich Rod's lines sucked because the OL when he arrived was bad(Hart always ran left in 2007 because Michigan only have 1/2 an OL who left after that season) and by the time his recruits had a couple years of college coaching and strength he had already been fired. The 2011 line was RR's and the last decade of Michigan football should be a good lesson on the importance of OL recruiting/development as well as the 2-3 year lag in results.
2/5ths of the offensive line in 2011 were Carr recruits. Molk and Huyge.
RichRod's O-lines would have been awful if he hadn't been fired because he landed one guy in the 2010 class and wasn't doing much better in the 2011 class -- review Tony Posada's career if you doubt that. The 2011 OL class and beyond would have been a struggle for RR, but that's what happens when you're on the hot seat because you go 2-6, 1-7 and 3-5 the BIG in your first three seasons.
Don't do that, don't give me hope
The BPONE is strong with this one.
Rankings should be taken with a giant rock of salt when this publication also said Adrian Martinez is the best QB in the B1G...
I mean, I'd probably have him 2nd behind Shea. He's gonna put up huge numbers this year.
Well that's good timing because we will face 4 DEs this fall that are projected 1st round picks in 2020:
#2. Miami Dolphins: Chase Young, DE , Ohio State
Charles Harris has yet to break out for Miami, and even if he does in 2019, the team could grab an end to go across from him with Christian Wilkins rushing from the inside.
With Nick Bosa injured for most of 2018, Young took advantage of the opportunity to have a breakout season. Young (6-5, 265) has some size to him to go along with speed and athleticism off the edge. In 2018, he recorded 34 tackles with 15.5 tackles for a loss, 10.5 sacks, five passes broken up and two forced fumbles. As a freshman, he totaled 19 tackles with 3.5 sacks and one forced fumble.
#5. New York Giants: A.J. Epenesa, DE , Iowa
The Giants need more pass rush and an edge defender to go next to Dexter Lawrence.
Epenesa was excellent for Iowa in 2018, recording 10.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, four passes batted, 16.5 tackles for a loss and 37 tackles. The 6-foot-5, 277-pounder is a thick, physical and athletic defensive end who flashed pass-rush ability during an impressive freshman season for the Hawkeyes. That year, Epenesa totaled 4.5 sacks, 5.5 tackles for a loss, 15 tackles and one forced fumble. He looked like he was just scratching the surface of his potential.
#6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Yetur Gross-Matos, DE , Penn State
The Bucs could use some young edge-rushing talent. Jason Pierre-Paul is aging and nearing the ed of his contract.
Gross-Matos enjoyed a breakout sophomore season in 2018, recording 54 tackles for a loss, 20 for a loss, eight sacks and two forced fumbles. The 6-foot-5, 265-pounder has a lot of upside to improve as he gains more experience.
#20. Atlanta Falcons: Khalid Kareem, DE , Notre Dame
The Falcons could move on from Vic Beasley after this season. Here's an edge rusher to go with Takk McKinley.
Kareem was one of the tough defensive linemen who led the Fighting Irish in 2018. He totaled 42 tackles with 10.5 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks, five passes broken up and a forced fumble on the year. Kareem (6-4, 265) possesses upside to get better.
Wow, sure sucks seeing Khalid Kareem there
Not to mention that Kenny Willikes is returning for MSU. He's not the prospect that Young, Espenesa and Yatur-Matos are right now, but he did win B1G DL of the year last year. B1G DEs are ridiculously deep with talent.