Potential move of Will Campbell to OG
October 18th, 2010 at 5:28 PM ^
Yeah, he looked great for the position on the blocked FG, you know, when he got blown back.
October 18th, 2010 at 6:26 PM ^
+100 - Took the words right out of mouth (before I even knew they were there or this thread was here)
October 18th, 2010 at 5:28 PM ^
Great point.
October 18th, 2010 at 5:35 PM ^
For a system that requires athleticism (moreso than girth) in its guards, that'd be a really odd move and probably wouldn't bode well for his future, IMO.
On the flip side, if he ever gets his conditioning and technique down, it seems like he could be an excellent nose tackle. I see way more potential there, and given the lack of non-freshman depth on the defensive line right now, I don't see the benefits from this hypothetical move. Hopefully it's just a rumor.
October 18th, 2010 at 5:41 PM ^
I agree that if this is a "true rumor" it is a very bad sign for any playing time.
Big Will is a Sophomore. Omameh is an obvious starter for the next 2.5 years. Either Barnum (a Soph.) or Washington (a Fr.) are waiting in the wings to take over for Schilling. Unless he is so good on the OL that he changes positions and outplays Barnum AND Washington.... he sits at second string and blocks for PATs and FGs.
October 18th, 2010 at 5:59 PM ^
khoury and mealer will also be in competition at guard once schilling departs.
campbell doesnt at all fit the mold of what RR looks for in an Olineman. i really dont buy this rumor as being legit, but if it is, i dont see campbell being a serious contributor any time soon.
October 18th, 2010 at 8:26 PM ^
Khoury at guard? Offhand, I would think he should be sticking to center . . . I guess Molk is only a year older.
October 18th, 2010 at 5:59 PM ^
Does it really take more two years to get your technique down to play DL? If he had that much potential he would have shown something by now.
October 18th, 2010 at 7:48 PM ^
Have we tried him out at CB yet?
October 18th, 2010 at 9:43 PM ^
If he can fair catch and not fumble it would be an upgrade.
October 19th, 2010 at 5:20 AM ^
Can he kick the ball between the sidelines?
October 18th, 2010 at 7:23 PM ^
Honestly, that has been thrown around all fall. Last year, yeah he maybe shouldn't have seen the field so it is unfair to use that as a comparison for his current ability. However, I couldn't tell you he is not deserving of some plays since we have not seen him play an entire game yet. I feel we end up dogging the guy about not reaching a certain level, but he has not really had another chance this year to prove it one way or the other. Hell, as of last week Demens was a mystery that couldn't play MLB else he would surely have been in front of Ezeh on the field. Obviously that was put to a test and dispelled. After the Iowa game, we should at least question a few of our assumptions. I would really like to hear an insider who watches practice regularly weigh in on the subject.
October 18th, 2010 at 5:31 PM ^
Is that ESPN may have been correct in their evaluation of his talent when he was in high school. Of the major sites they were the only ones that weren't ga-ga over him, and they were explicit in their evaluation that he belonged on the O-line.
I'm hoping nothing comes of this. I hope these rumors are jibberish, that he stays on defense and develops into an impact DT - we need him there. But if this does come to fruition ... ESPN (i.e. Scouts Inc.) was right all along.
October 18th, 2010 at 5:40 PM ^
Because I don't want to see our DL get even thinner in depth next year.
October 18th, 2010 at 5:32 PM ^
I'm not a football guru by any means but it seems that since the two sites that rated him highest(Scouts and Rivals) did so with him at DT and the fact that he was blown back on the blocked FG shows that he probably shouldn't be at OG. Also I think our depth there is a bit better than on the interior DL. Although if the coaches want to move him there, I'm sure they know better than I do.
October 18th, 2010 at 5:32 PM ^
Because our offense is the platoon that needs the help.
October 18th, 2010 at 5:49 PM ^
After the inexplicable lack of Demens playing time, decision making needs to be called into question here. I know no one likes undermining the program but after one series it was clear that Demens was a better fit than Ezeh. How on earth is Campbell not a better fit then Patterson at backup nose? Our O-line is stacked and will be for years. It's not like Campbell is on roller skates when he is in their especially when he plays next to Martin. Do they think unproven and equally overweight Richard Ash is the solution at nose in the future?
October 18th, 2010 at 8:43 PM ^
he has a tendency to stand up when coming out of a three point stance and gets blown back. When he's in for goal line he's coming out of a four point and stays low. That is why we are not seeing him more on D
October 18th, 2010 at 9:17 PM ^
October 18th, 2010 at 10:05 PM ^
...i doubt leverage is whats keeping him off the field at this point. Thats something that you should be able to fix wih a month or two of coaching...
If a kid has been playing high for 12 years, it's hard to train that out of him, especially if he's been successful doing it that way for all of those years.
October 18th, 2010 at 5:32 PM ^
It's behind a paywall, but I figured I'd try to make it easier for those who have a subscription.
http://michigan.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=338&mid=137810939&sid=883&ti…
Also, I guess it's good that we're getting his talent on the field (especially if he ends up taking Schilling's vacated position next year) but I really wanted to see him, Martin, and RVB on the D line next year. That would have been some good size for a 3 DL team.
October 18th, 2010 at 5:37 PM ^
I was posting from the iPhone, thus making it tough for a simpleton like me to get it in there.
October 18th, 2010 at 5:57 PM ^
next year, I am hoping I only see the 3 DL formation when the opposing team has 3rd and infinity to go for a 1st down......
October 18th, 2010 at 5:33 PM ^
NOOOOOOOOOO
Just tell him to buckle down and realize his damn potential
October 18th, 2010 at 5:33 PM ^
Can we cut him in half and move him to both cornerback spots? I'm looking at you, science!
October 18th, 2010 at 5:34 PM ^
but I watched him get a train run on him on the blcoked FG and I'm just not seeing it. I don't know what it is with him and I won't pretend to but it seems like when he is in the game he just get's crushed. I suppose a lot of it is that he's a RS Fr. and we certainly should expect more from someone on the Dline with that type of experience (sarcam).
October 18th, 2010 at 5:39 PM ^
Sadly, he burned his RS last year, if I'm not mistaken...
October 18th, 2010 at 5:40 PM ^
October 18th, 2010 at 6:27 PM ^
I knew that. Sorry for being an idiot momentarily. My point still stands. He has been here two years.
October 18th, 2010 at 5:41 PM ^
On both the O and D line leverage is the name of the game, from what I have seen he stands up initially instead of firing out low. Until he does this with regularity I do not see him making an impact on either side of the ball.
October 18th, 2010 at 7:16 PM ^
thought the same until I watched it over again and the culprit is actually John Ferrara #74 is on his ass . Clayborn blocked it and Binns was right next to him. If kick had been higher as coach stated probably does not make a difference
October 18th, 2010 at 5:35 PM ^
Did he play both ways in High School? Meaning..does he have prior experience at OL aside from a few formations this year?
October 18th, 2010 at 5:36 PM ^
it means the coaches might be losing faith in him as a DL option. We already have a good number of offensive linemen, and after the FG block Saturday, Will won't be one of them.
October 18th, 2010 at 6:23 PM ^
October 18th, 2010 at 5:38 PM ^
I would expect Mjolnir to be able to hit people from either side of the line...but I would prefer to see the destruction that could be wrought from the defensive side of the ball...
October 18th, 2010 at 5:39 PM ^
Didn't all of the Rival's worshipers slam ESPN for saying he would end up on offense and that he wasn't going to be a stud DT? ESPN also thought Turner was overrated. Maybe the ESPN recruiting evaluations aren't as worthless as most seem to think.
October 18th, 2010 at 5:44 PM ^
Any position switches should operate on a one-way street (offense to defense) until our defense can climb its way back to average. Our O-Line has enough depth.
October 18th, 2010 at 5:47 PM ^
Two busts does not make a trend. The problem with ESPN is that they tend to vastly overrate or underrate a handful of prospects relative to the other sites. Sometimes they're right, sometimes they're wrong.
I actually did a study on this a couple years ago for some project or another, and while I don't have the results in front of me, I determined that Rivals and Scout were about equal in terms of accuracy and ESPN was a little behind. Not that it means anything really, but I still prefer Rivals just because (a) they're generally as accurate as Scout and more accurate than ESPN, and (b) their site is, IMO, far more visually appealing and easy to use than Scout.
October 18th, 2010 at 5:48 PM ^
... They haven't been able to get the big man to just spring forward instead of straight up. I'm worried about any move to another position.
October 18th, 2010 at 6:01 PM ^
RR must really hate defense*
*Obvious sarcasm (or is it?)
October 18th, 2010 at 6:14 PM ^
October 18th, 2010 at 7:41 PM ^
Lewan should be playing D and O, seems to have plenty of energy to use up. Let Taylor do some bull rushes on both sides of the ball, he could win the Heisman.
October 18th, 2010 at 10:01 PM ^
- Someone's sarcasm detector is faulty, or
- Someone isn't in the mood for this type of humor.
Either way, a neg is a little harsh, ime.
October 18th, 2010 at 6:19 PM ^
I seem to remember a recruiting roundup from long ago (before WC's signing day) that Sam Webb was of the opinion that while WC had the talent to be an all-conference defensive tackle, that he had the potential to be an all-american on the offensive line (I think he was talking about him playing tackle).
Everyone talks about how much depth we have on the O-Line, but much of that is on the interior. At tackle we have Dorrestein (eligibility expired at end of season), Huyge, a RS. Jr., then two RS. Freshmen in Lewan and Schofield. So after this year that leaves us with 3 scholarship tackles (plus next year's recruits, who will get the obligatory OL redshirt).
If WC to moves to OT, I'd actually be somewhat okay with it. But given our depth on the interior line, I don't think that a move to guard would make much sense.
October 18th, 2010 at 6:35 PM ^
How about Big Q Washington at NT?
6'-4" 315 pound rock in the middle?
Eh, eh???
October 18th, 2010 at 7:18 PM ^
not Big Will but actually John Ferrara #74 gets knocked on his ass by Clayborn. Binns looks like he's in there but Clayborn had already blocked it. i think Big Will will be alright pardon the pun.
October 18th, 2010 at 7:40 PM ^
Weren't the announcers talking about Big Will fielding punts during Army AA Game practices? If so, let's put him back there with Gallon and let him Fuck.Shit.Up.
October 18th, 2010 at 7:58 PM ^
He doesn't need a position change he needs a motor change. I hate to be that guy, but I called him a bust the afternoon of the All-Star game. The board melted down and the post was taken away, good thing points were not alive as I would have been negged into oblivion. I could have never imagined he would be this bad though. He has no chance of playing on the OL. he would be John Ferrara. Barnum and Washington have the recruit hype and practice hype. They have looked good when called upon. Omameh is going to be in the NFL.
Big Will needs to give himself to Mike Barwis and post pictures of Craig Rohs stance in his room and practice those.
I still don't understand how he let himself go over the summer after all the good work he did to get down to a decent weight and pitch in last year. It was all there for him to start at nose and move Martin over, but he blew it. Hopefully whatever has got him down will pass and he will realize his potential.
October 18th, 2010 at 8:05 PM ^
Getting 5 wrs last year and not Jonathon Hankins was a great idea.