Projected 2009 depth chart

Aright i clearly forgot about injured zirbel. and i thought moosman was a sr. With both of them on the depth chart, im curious to see what they do with the line. Moosman and schilling have prob been our best two Olinemen this year so i doubt they get moved. Molk has been physically dominated by the majority of our oppenents, as he has been pushed into the backfield countless times, leaving McGuffie out to dry. 

No question the left side of our line is going to look way different than this year. Zirbel, no doubt, steps in to play LT. I expect Barnum to start at LG b/c he has some experience from this yr, although its definately possible that Wermers takes his spot. That leaves Dan Oneal, Mealer, Wermers, Koury, Dorrestein, Huyge on the bench. Id love to see one of the them get converted to center to replace Molk (maybe Wermers or Barnum).

Lalota i think def gonna end up ad DE. I expect Roh to redshirt b/c hes 230 lbs and way too small to play at this level. Id like to see him come a semester early to get in some time with child-eating, wolf-raising Barwis. Id also like to see forcier come a semester early b/c Rich Rod has had to simplify the playbook b/c it was too complicated for all the freshman to pick up. Hopefully if he gets some time in he could see some early action. As for Lalota, he might be forced into the starting role if Graham leaves. Banks isnt good enough to be a starter.

Who ever put Jenkins on there depth chart, im crossin my fingers with you.

As for Campbell, im banking on the fact that he will recommit. Even though hes been ranked by scout as a 5 star Dline, a lot of what i have read has projected him as an Olineman. And to be completely honest, even though we are clearly deeper on the Oline, i consider it a much greater area of need. Weve seen the tremendous downside of having a weak Oline. And weve seen how even a great Dline can be nuetralized by quick passes and spread offenses. I think Campbell could have a greater impact on the Oline. Maybe im just crazy, but i think think that any RB and QB can succeed with a dominant Oline blocking. And McGuffie needs good blocking upfront so that he can get into the secondary and utilize his open field speed. I think it really depends on how well Dan Oneal is developing. Schilling will be a junior next season and Zirbel will be a redshirt junior. we need to start planning ahead for there departures so we dont have a situation like this year where we suddenly wake up and have no decent Olinemen. If Dan Oneal and Mealer can hold down the Oline, Campbell might end up on the Dline, next to martin. But we really have no idea how the two redshirts are doing. If there not up to par, we might see Campbell redshirt next yr, and backup Schilling during his final yr in 2010.

i believe your right, dutch is listed as a sr. But my biggest concern on the defense, despite the very slim pickings at Dline is the linebacking core. If weve learned anything from the last two weeks its that a great Dline can be neutralized by a mobile QB and intelligent playcalling (quick short passes). I think our losses at Dline will be less of an issue than it is generally considered, even if graham leaves. Jamison, Johnson, and Taylor have all underperformed compared to expectation. In my opinion, Martin is a step up on the interior line. Jamison was far less effective than his potential suggested. He, taylor, and johnson have all been nonfactor over the past few games. Van Bergen will likely start at one side of the Dline. Sagesse will takeover for one of the lost DTs. It will be interesting to see wut happens with the other DE. Either one of the recruits (Lalota or Roh) or Banks. Roh likely will redshirt due to his size, so well see wut happens there.

Based on recent talk, were expected to land 1-3 additional Olinemen (Chris Freeman, Travis Bonds, Quinton Washington). These are all relatively good recruits, which leads me to believe that if Will Campbell recommits, as he is expected to, he will likely see early action at DT behind Sagesse, if he doesnt start right away.  

As I said, my defensive worries are at linebacker. All three have played extremely poorly both in run support, and in pass coverage. Even Mouton was a converted safety, initially recognized for his pass coverage abilities, has been exposed in the pass game. The OLB's have been unable to shut down the sideline and screen passes. Obi Ezeh, who showed great potential last yr, seems to have regressed.

 This being said, we dont have any terrific LB prospects or recruits. Fitzgerald was the lone four star linebacking recruit in the 2008 class, followed by none in the 2009 class (unless Jelani Jenkins answers the michigan prayers.) Meanwhile, Fitzgerald has only seen action this yr on special teams, which was a fantastic way to burn a potential redshirt yr (very Lloyd Carr-esk). Hopefully he will develope, but that still leaves us relatvely low expectation for the future.

This is rather painful to consider, when you compare to the current linebacking core to that of the 2006 team (Burgess, David Harris, Crable), who were all NFL draft picks.