Our LB's Are Awul

Submitted by skegemogpoint on November 2nd, 2008 at 10:21 AM

The JUCO experiment was a bust. Panter is lost. Ezeh is overrated. Moutons is raw. This is the weakest link by a wide margin.

MGoBoard

turbo cool

November 2nd, 2008 at 10:30 AM ^

i have a lot of respect for ezeh. he wasn't even recruited to come here as a LB but has stepped up since the switch. and he has 2 more years of eligibility. but yeah, i agree with you. LB's are so vital to a D's success and this unit is not good, at all.

Joined: 07/10/2008

MGoPoints: 977

chitownblue (not verified)

November 2nd, 2008 at 11:17 AM ^

I believe that Ezeh has been a LB since the day he showed up on campus. I know that Rivals calls him a FB, but I think he's always been a LB to Michigan.

Joined: 12/12/2017

MGoPoints: 0

turbo cool

November 2nd, 2008 at 11:36 AM ^

either way, he came in as our lowest rated recruit (perhaps 2nd lowest?) and has performed admirably. with that said i really hope he improves and can become a leader for our D.

Joined: 07/10/2008

MGoPoints: 977

mth822

November 2nd, 2008 at 1:02 PM ^

Obi was a Grand Rapids Catholic Central recruit. I think Mike Martin also went there. That high school can send us recruits anyday because we've gotten our bang for the buck from both of em this year. I like both of them for next year. Martin reminds alot of another west michigan recruit, Rob Renes. Different position but same motor and aggression. These two, play pretty smart football considering the rest of the bunch.

Joined: 07/03/2008

MGoPoints: 25

Chrisgocomment

November 2nd, 2008 at 1:06 PM ^

Too bad Martin went to the Catholic Central in the detroit area. I believe it's still called "Detroit Catholic Central" even though it is in Novi.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 1287

mth822

November 2nd, 2008 at 1:50 PM ^

You know, you look on MGOBLUE for a reference and all you get is,"Catholic Central."

Joined: 07/03/2008

MGoPoints: 25

Magnus

November 2nd, 2008 at 2:39 PM ^

...and yet you look at their hometowns and find that they're across the state from each other. Weird. Who would have thought that there are multiple Catholic Centrals?

Joined: 07/17/2008

MGoPoints: 166007

Blue Durham

November 2nd, 2008 at 11:03 AM ^

poor DB play, particularly at S.

If it wasn't for a damn strong DL, this defense would really be something to behold.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 6082

MinorforPresident

November 2nd, 2008 at 11:04 AM ^

That Jelani Jenkins and Hawatha Bell end up in Ann Arbor. We need them.

Joined: 11/01/2008

MGoPoints: 52

thee1jersey

November 2nd, 2008 at 2:31 PM ^

and 3rd that.

Joined: 10/02/2008

MGoPoints: 79

Jay

November 2nd, 2008 at 11:47 AM ^

I'm still hopeful that Mouton and Ezeh will improve next year. They're both still pretty young.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 578

littlebrownjug

November 2nd, 2008 at 11:56 AM ^

Obi Ezeh is a good player, but I agree that Thompson and Mouton are not very good. Personally, I do not know why Rich Rod does not have Fitzgerald playing a little, since he cannot be redshirted. His special teams play has been good.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 694

chitownblue (not verified)

November 2nd, 2008 at 12:06 PM ^

Mouton has actually probably been our best defender that doesn't play D-line.

Joined: 12/12/2017

MGoPoints: 0

Jay

November 2nd, 2008 at 12:08 PM ^

While Mouton has made his fair share of mistakes, he has played well at times, too. That's why I'm hopeful that he'll continue to improve.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 578

joeyb

November 2nd, 2008 at 2:35 PM ^

My guess is that Fitzgerald cannot read plays very well. On special teams, he pretty much knows where to go. At LB he has to make reads and he is probably not doing that it practice very well.

Joined: 10/12/2008

MGoPoints: 16845

shorts

November 2nd, 2008 at 3:51 PM ^

Ezeh has the physical tools, but if you watch him - particularly on running plays and short passes over the middle - he overruns the play badly on a regularly basis. He just doesn't seem to have the instincts or the understanding of what an offense is trying to do, and he so often gets himself out of position that he's practically useless.

I'm also not sure I've seen him drop into a zone correctly even once this season, which has killed us on several key long third-down conversions by opponents.

He's still got time to turn it around, and like I said, the ability is there, but I'm not very hopeful. I do like Mouton, though, and I think that if Fitzgerald or one of the incoming freshmen pans out, this is an area that could see significant improvement (not that it would take much to improve - this has to be the worst tackling Michigan team I've ever seen).

Joined: 08/28/2008

MGoPoints: 2407