Phenomenal Freshman
Got to be excited by the productivity of the Freshman.
Blake Countess - Not his best game, but he has been a huge part all season and he was picked on often by the bigger, more physical Va Tech receivers and did well enough on the BCS stage.
Desmond Morgan - 10 Total tackles (2nd) and 1.5 for a loss.
Frank Clark - Game changing interception.
Jake Ryan - Player of the game IMO, 7 TOT, 4 TFL (for -36 yards HA!) and 1 sack.
Already looking forward to their futures.
EDIT: Delonte Hollowell - Fumble Recovery. How did I forget to mention? Have the feel good for him making a play on a night like tonight.
January 4th, 2012 at 1:16 AM ^
1 fumble recovery...almost took it back to the house.
January 4th, 2012 at 1:16 AM ^
On the rankings sites these guys were not even considered a great class but yet we had sooooo many freshmen and RS freshmen playing a lot tonight. These coaches can and will develope the hell out of these kids. Love it!
January 4th, 2012 at 1:57 AM ^
That means look out for Jeremy Clark, Allen Gant, & Caleb Stacy.
January 4th, 2012 at 1:07 PM ^
Don't forget Wilson and Richardson.
January 4th, 2012 at 1:19 AM ^
Lets not forget Delonte Hollowell's fumble recovery. Hes been great on special teams all year!
January 4th, 2012 at 1:20 AM ^
FRANK CLARK IS A GOLDEN GOD. Why is he not getting more love!?!
January 4th, 2012 at 1:20 AM ^
order for season tickets early. There will be a rush again. Its great to be a Michigan Wolverine.
January 4th, 2012 at 1:21 AM ^
The play by Clark was unreal. I was excited about him after seeing his garbage time performance against Nebraska but never would have expected a play like that.
Ash, BWC, and Washington all made nice contributions tonight on the interior.
Black, Roh, Clark, Ryan, and Beyer can all rush the QB off the edge.
Demens, Morgan, Hawthorne, Jones, and Cam Gordon all have loads of eligibility left as a group.
The entire two-deep in the secondary returns next year aside from Woolfolk.
And we are bringing in a highly rated recruiting class loaded with defensive talent.
January 4th, 2012 at 1:22 AM ^
Having said that, i'm glad Jr got it. His speech had me in tears. Go blue!
January 4th, 2012 at 1:23 AM ^
Its nice to see Frank Clark rebound and come up huge. Early in the season he was the cause of a few, "ARGH read option!" moments, but he surely came up big on the biggest stage tonight.
January 4th, 2012 at 1:23 AM ^
IMO Blake was getting a little too much criticism on the liveblog, he had some extremely challenging assignments which, frankly, were dependent upon a defensive line/blitz that just flat out didn't get there in time.
If you're on an island, it kinda sucks if you blanket a guy for 4 seconds and on the 5th second the WR gets a bit of space and therefore you're "not that good" as a corner.
January 4th, 2012 at 1:26 AM ^
Expecting a corner to win in some of the jump ball situations he found himself in (good receiver, back turned, etc.) is just crazy. You force the QB to make a good throw and you force the WR to make a great catch and you've done your job as a corner IMO.
Would have liked to seen fewer 3rd and a mile conversions but on the whole the defense played superbly.
January 4th, 2012 at 7:08 AM ^
Marcus Davis is 6'4", 228 lbs. It's understandable if a freshman Countess loses some battles to a guy like that. Countess played well for the first 11 games of the season and has had a rough last couple games. I think the future is promising.
January 4th, 2012 at 1:27 AM ^
Hemingway is the only player in this game who was even close to as valuable as Ryan was. He was an absolute monster today.
January 4th, 2012 at 9:16 AM ^
Every freshman that played a down last night is a straight up baller. With this coaching staff I am actually finally excited for the future as is every other player, incoming recruit and fan.
Go Blue bitches!
January 4th, 2012 at 1:27 AM ^
jake ryan is gona be one helluva linebacker over the next 3 years
January 4th, 2012 at 1:27 AM ^
Blake was torched repeatedly and had his hands full. But I'm thinking his positioning, with added strength, makes him an excellent corner by jr year.
Very excited by the potential flashed by Clark, Morgan if moved a bit inside where his lack of speed doesn't kill us, and of course Ryan a game-changer and going to be a terror in years to come.
We lose a lot, but there are real outstanding pieces already here and coming.
January 4th, 2012 at 1:30 AM ^
Can't wait to see how Countess looks next year though.
January 4th, 2012 at 1:33 AM ^
Loved Clark and think Countess did pretty well given that a team like that was really going after him. But what I love is Morgan hitting people. You see a hit and you know it was Morgan. Between him and Jake Ryan we have some pretty exciting freshmen linebackers.
January 4th, 2012 at 1:36 AM ^
Junior year? He was one of our best cornerbacks this year as a true freshmen. He should be one of the better cornerbacks in the B10 next year
January 4th, 2012 at 2:48 AM ^
You're a homer... there's no way he's one of the better cbs in the B10 next year. He has A LOT of work ahead of him to be in consideration.
January 4th, 2012 at 4:38 AM ^
He started on the 7th best defense in the nation this year as a true freshman. But you're right, he isn't that good.
January 4th, 2012 at 7:13 AM ^
Alfonzo Dennard, Aaron Henry, and Shaun Prater are a few of the All-Big Ten players who will be gone to the NFL next year. Somebody has to take those spots on the All-Big Ten teams, and Countess has a chance. I'm not saying it's guaranteed, but there's an opportunity. Players often improve significantly from their freshman to sophomore years.
January 4th, 2012 at 8:04 AM ^
I agree 100%. Blake Countess will be lumped in with the top five cornerbacks in the Big 10 next year, and obviously the potential is there to come out First-Team All Big 10.
He is the best defensive back on our team right now, and we should be extremely happy to have him playing for Michigan.
January 4th, 2012 at 1:34 AM ^
Been saying it for months, Clark might have more upside than any other player in this freshman class. He's an athletic freak who has learned how to play with his hand down in no time. He's just scraping the surface and could be a monster down the road.
Hate to be a downer, but I thought Countess was REALLY bad tonight. Was a liability against OSU as well. I'm sure he'll make a leap next year and he needs to.
January 4th, 2012 at 1:36 AM ^
Anybody remember him getting torched against MSU in the snow as a freshmen on the winning td catch? Give Countess a frigging break.....
January 4th, 2012 at 5:30 AM ^
Yes, I remember. I also remember games (OSU in particular) where he looked like an All-American that season. Countess is not exactly of that class.
January 4th, 2012 at 7:16 AM ^
Countess isn't as good as Woodson. Nobody's making that argument. Woodson is the type of athlete we may not see again at Michigan, at least not for many years.
But Countess has looked VERY good at various times this year. He had a bad game against OSU and against Virginia Tech, but he looked pretty damn good prior to the Ohio State game.
January 4th, 2012 at 1:33 AM ^
Is he wasn't a converted TE would he have had the hands to hold onto that ball? That play also made Beamer scared to throw the ball even though they were torching the secondary.
January 4th, 2012 at 1:38 AM ^
that I saw any of our DL players get hands up on a pass. That seemed odd to me; I had thought that getting hands up was basic technique.
January 4th, 2012 at 1:49 AM ^
Many times I thought our guys had GREAT rushing lanes but had their hands down and let their qb make uncontested throws.
Btw not hating on Countess at all, he is an excellent player and will be even better, he was just in tough tonight. Still think one year of conditioning and 1 more year experience will make him a fantastic jr-sr corner.
January 4th, 2012 at 9:02 AM ^
I don't know I saw high hands quite frequently. It is a whole different football game when you are going against a 6'6" QB. Can't expect to see many balls blocked at the line.
January 4th, 2012 at 7:55 PM ^
He was a converted LB not a TE
January 4th, 2012 at 2:05 AM ^
And don't forget Wile replacing Hagerup as punter, three punts for an average of 44 yds/kick
January 4th, 2012 at 2:21 AM ^
Can't criticize Countess too much- he used the sidelines when he could, but he was on an island and our pass rush wasn't forcing too many iffy throws (at least when Countess was targeted). Thomas had plenty of time (when targeting Countess) and the WRs he was on usually had to make some pretty handy catches. He had a helluva season and I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do with another spring/summer under his belt.
IMO despite his numbers, I saw Morgan whiffing on some tackles, but it may have been that he was just very well blocked. Overall, can't criticize him. VT's OL was extremely impressive.
Ryan was a beast (with the exception of not getting his arms up when he didn't make it to the QB on his blitzes). Great pursuit. Kovacs-ian, if you will.
Enjoyed explaining to my little brother why Clark was able to make the catch (converted TE=hands).
By contrast, my little brother hated that I made him sit in an old desk chair with his legs propped up for the entirety of the 2nd half (our comeback started when he was in this position, and he was thus forbidden from sitting elsewhere until Gibbons knocked through the game winner).
January 4th, 2012 at 2:30 AM ^
I love that you MADE your little brother take one for the team
January 4th, 2012 at 2:45 AM ^
He will be a great shutdown corner next season. Looking foward to having three experienced cornerbacks next year!!!!
January 4th, 2012 at 9:14 AM ^
The future is extremely bright for these freshmen. Countess is going to be a pretty good corner for us and Clark is a beast rushing off the end. Hollowell may not get many chances to play in the secondary, but the kid is a player that has a knack for the ball (just look at several other kickoffs this year). With Morgan, he will be a decent player over the next few years as well. He just has the ability to make plays, even though his tackling was a little suspect again last night.
January 4th, 2012 at 9:22 AM ^
Jake Ryan is my favorite player on the team, but boy did Frank Clark look great.... wow.
January 4th, 2012 at 9:40 AM ^
We're talking plurals here. Get that 'e' in there.
Countess had a good season and will have a good career. Today, he was poor. There is no denying it.
Morgan made a lot of tackles, but his pursuit angles were bad all day and he doesn't offer much in coverage. Still, like Countess, he'll have a good career.
One off game is no reason to discount a season's worth of good games.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:17 PM ^
Overall, I'd have to agree. It's exciting what we were able to do with so many underclassmen this year. Jake Ryan excites me the most. He just seemed to be everywhere! I thought Desmond Morgan looked lost on a lot of plays, I'm surprised he got so many tackles. I have to think that most of that is due to his youth/inexperience. I imagine Jake Ryan probably would have looked similar to that if he had played last year.