alum96

October 5th, 2015 at 12:25 PM ^

Yep.  To me a larger injury than Mone due to variance between starter and backup.

With Mone we had Hurst and Mone was not a starter himself and a solid Glasgow ahead of him (preseason view of Glasgow, he has even been better).

Variance between Mario and RJS is much larger - a lightly used LB who is learning a new position.   Or a RS FR who has been in the doghouse all year.  

Hurts the flexibility of the defense for sure.  Damn recruiting misses - we should have a friggin RS JR or RS SO somewhere in the 2 deep at that position.

Lanknows

October 5th, 2015 at 1:14 PM ^

Wilson, Peppers, and Lewis are all integral to the defense, but they have viable replacements in a deep secondary.  Wayne Lyons, a proven 5th year starter on a top 25 defense last year can't even get in the rotation, not to mention Dymonte Thomas.

No such depth at the buck spot where it's down to converted LBs or freshman.

It's probably not going to matter against a lot of teams, but it very well could against edge-attacking teams like Northwestern, Indiana, and Ohio State.

Lanknows

October 5th, 2015 at 2:11 PM ^

Our secondary is loaded. Probably the best we've had since 97.

I don't think people are fully appreciating what Lyons sitting on the bench says about the rest of the DBs.  Lyons might not be an all-american he is certainly a quality starting-caliber player on a top 25 defense...a guy who isn't even in our dime package.

Your preseason assumptions may have caused you to worry about CB, but in hindsight...what kind of snaps was Clark going to get behind Wilson, Hill, and Peppers?  We have two guys above 6'2 with great speed at CB, and they're probably our 5th and 6th DBs.  Bumping them to 4th and 5th is a downgrade, but far from a 'problem'.

The hardest part might be replacing Peppers, because no one can match his playmaking. But Thomas and Hill would be far from liabilities.  There would be a dropoff obvioulsy but going from Peppers to more snaps for Hill, Clark, Stribling and Lyons entering in the dime isn't as much of a dropoff as Ojemudia (a very underrated senior) to freshman and/or converted LBs.

Lanknows

October 5th, 2015 at 2:16 PM ^

He'll be back next week and when he is Lyons and Thomas go back to pure depth roles.

The 5 top DBs are Lewis, Wilson, Peppers, Hill, Stribling.  The 6th guy is Clark.  Peppers and Clark can both play multiple spots.

That makes Lyons the 7th guy at best.  He has experience at both corner and safety too.

Our secondary is flat out overflowing with experience and talent.

In reply to by Wolverine Devotee

HipsterCat

October 5th, 2015 at 12:43 PM ^

RJS will start, but Marshall will be the primary backup now and probably get some meaningful snaps unless they move some other people around

Yinka Double Dare

October 5th, 2015 at 12:29 PM ^

Blows, if it had to happen a shame it didn't happen a game or two earlier to give him a shot at a med redshirt if he wanted it. Dude was playing great this year too.

Injuries: you get the death stare.

M-Dog

October 5th, 2015 at 12:34 PM ^

He seemed to be on the field during every defensive highlight during the Maryland game.  

We will miss him.

Here is where you hope Harbaugh's NFL connections can pay off . . . that he can get him a decent look from the NFL after rehab even if he has fallen off the radar.

uferfan

October 5th, 2015 at 12:31 PM ^

Pretty much what we all thought. Great teammate who will definitely be missed. Best wishes for a quick recovery to my favorite Irish-Italian football player.

Michigasling

October 5th, 2015 at 2:00 PM ^

Took me a minute to figure it out.  Plus 1, besides agreeing with everything you said about one of our favorites.  

Will definitely miss seeing him play, and he'll obviously miss playing.  But also on board with those who trust that this coaching staff will get his name and reputation in the minds of their NFL buddies so that this is only the end of his college career. 

 

maizenbluenc

October 5th, 2015 at 12:35 PM ^

Like I said here:

We were 33 rows up from the bench. The first 10-15 rows were mostly Michigan fans and we gave Mario a standing ovation as he came to the bench, for which he returned a smile.

As the trainers evaluated him, you could see his head drop. I knew the look. My son had the same look when I told him he'd torn his ACL - the just-when-things-were-going-great-now-this look.

Greg Mattison came over, talked to Mario, and patted him on the shoulder. So did several players.

He got another ovation from the Michigan fans as he walked to the locker room on crutches.

Mario was having such a great game too.

I hope he rehab goes well for him.

 

turtleboy

October 5th, 2015 at 12:35 PM ^

Technically hes out forever. This was his fourth year playing, so his Michigan playing career is done. Really really sucks. Hate to see a tough competitors career end on a note like that. Like to see him trying out for pro teams soon.

Avon Barksdale

October 5th, 2015 at 12:39 PM ^

So are we content with RJS and Marshall, or do we expect someone to shift over? Maybe more Taco, Glasgow, Wormley, Henry lineups with RJS, Godin, Hurst cycling through and Marshall in on occasion?

LSAClassOf2000

October 5th, 2015 at 12:54 PM ^

Sadly, if it is an Achilles tear, I would seriously doubt that - from what I understand, that's a 4-6 month rehab generally, although I am only going on what I know from people who have experienced that. His season is sadly done, as is his career at Michigan as others have said. 

Contact Courage

October 5th, 2015 at 1:14 PM ^

It took me nearly 6 months just to be able to run an 8 minute mile... Of course, with their doctors and physical therapy program, he may be able to play football again in 8-10 months. it is a tough injury to recover from. I think Terrell Suggs played after 6 months, but that is very uncommon. Also it depends if it is a partial or complete tear.

UM Fan from Sydney

October 5th, 2015 at 12:49 PM ^

Well, at least he will still have a neat piece of paper that says, "Bachelor of *whatever*" when he leaves.

Wolverine 73

October 5th, 2015 at 12:50 PM ^

For three years, the guy didn't do much.  New coaches, new scheme, he seemed to have really hit stride and was playing the best he ever has and had a chance to impress the NFL this year and maybe get a draft nibble.  Then this.  Best of luck to him, hope he has a full recovery and gets a pro shot if that is what he wants.

alum96

October 5th, 2015 at 1:03 PM ^

He was actually pretty decent in limited time last year - he was just blocked from playing time by Clark.  So I wouldnt say he didnt do much in 3 years. 

  • 2014 - recorded 32 tackles, 17 solos, 7.5 TFLs and 3.5 sacks

elhead

October 5th, 2015 at 1:06 PM ^

Ojemudia was a beast on Saturday up until the time he was hurt. The way the defensive line is playing, buck included here, makes one wonder just how much the NFL draft stock is rising for at least some of these guys. If Ojemudia was considering the possibility on his horizon, I hope that he can fully recover and give it a go. In the meantime, expect him to still be an asset to the team as a motivator and supporter moving forward this year.