MichiganMan14

February 23rd, 2017 at 7:13 PM ^

Rashan looks good. I don't see him being blocked this year. Likely DPOY in the B1G and definite All-American candidate.

Joined: 02/21/2012

MGoPoints: 19111

Ahriman

February 23rd, 2017 at 7:13 PM ^

who is that large and powerful can also be that nimble and athletic as well. The DL is really going to need him, the depth chart is pretty thin right now (hopefully the young guys will do well but it's going to be really hard to replace almost the entire starting DL).

Joined: 11/30/2015

MGoPoints: 938

Mich1993

February 23rd, 2017 at 9:05 PM ^

I shared your concern until we signed Solomon.  I think Dwumfour (solid but not playmaking), Solomon and Hudson is just fine as back-up DTs.  Plus, Gary can slide inside here and there, particularly on passing downs.  We should be able to find some decent SDE snaps among Ron Johnson, Marshall, Kemp, Jeter, Irving-Bey and Hudson to give Gary an occasional rest.  I do see Gary getting a lot of snaps.

If our young but talented secondary can get the job done, we could have a very good defense.

 

Joined: 12/08/2010

MGoPoints: 3386

Ahriman

February 23rd, 2017 at 10:01 PM ^

but depending on true freshmen is a little dicey on OL or DL. Look at Rashan Gary, he's the first ever consensus no. 1 player, and he had a respectable but not breakout year as a freshman (to be fair he was playing behind 4 future NFL players incl. Hurst). Luckily Coach Brown is an evil genius so hopefully everything it will work out.

Joined: 11/30/2015

MGoPoints: 938

Wolfman

February 23rd, 2017 at 11:03 PM ^

the others that had come out recently of his very rare ilk were basically decided as the best DL for their respective teams from the moment they stepped on campus. I think it did wonders for Taco as well who stepped his game up to a level where no one was going to take his spot. Rashaun was afforded the luxury of learning every assisgnment required of his position is a relaxed comfortable way and he did flash moments of what we all hope is his normal standard of play, although that would be asking a hell of a lot. 

Thankful as well for the return of Hurst. Along with Mone and putting pieces together we should have a pretty stout DL and deep. Hurst came back for a reason, so that will be fun in itself to watch play out as too will Soloman. I think Rashaun will emerge as the leader of this unit, with all due respect to the upper classmen. Think the talent package is just too great, although in what might sound rather strange in regard to Brown, his multiple assignments for Rqshaun might require far mor eof him than most. Although it appeared Taco played with one mission last season, get to the qb. Should be fun. 

Joined: 07/23/2008

MGoPoints: 8259

dragonchild

February 24th, 2017 at 7:13 AM ^

Can.  And he'd be a damn good one, as-is.  He's got the size and strength of a serviceable 3-tech. . . and the speed of an NFL linebacker.  But I think he really wreaks his havoc at SDE, where he's up against RTs (he's faster than) and TEs (he's stronger AND faster than).  That basically shuts down a large portion of an offense's run plays to half the field.  That's an OC's nightmare.  He's got all the strength and quickness you need to play in a phone booth, but at that point he's kind of a Ryan Glasgow Lite instead of a broken final boss character.

I mean, we can do it, but to me, it's much more of a patch than a feature.

Joined: 10/13/2011

MGoPoints: 60630

Mr. Yost

February 24th, 2017 at 5:24 AM ^

When coaches are calling Solomon the most important recruit they've landed...I'll say screw experience, give me 5 star talent. I'll take Solomon over say, Heininger or Godin. Love having experience, but give me young Peppers, Gary and Solomon and I'll make it work.

Joined: 07/25/2011

MGoPoints: -9898220

dragonchild

February 24th, 2017 at 7:03 AM ^

From what I've seen, for DL, experience matters vs. the run, and talent matters vs. the pass.  To defend the run you need to be disciplined because offenses try to create a gap by getting you to bite on something.  A talented D-lineman can run himself right out of a play by overpursuing the bait.  On passing downs, the OL are on their heels trying to mirror you, so learning technique only gets you so far -- you need to bring something to the table besides experience.

We have pass rush (Winovich, Gary) at the DE spots so I'm not worried about passing downs, but 5-star or no, an inexperienced DT is going to make mistakes -- especially in Brown's complicated scheme.  Solomon is extremely important to our defense, but he's as likely as not to rip past his blocker, and in the process, blow right past the play as well.  That's just being a freshman in the modern college game.  Gary had a few derps like that last season.

You want the talent, of course, because you can get them experience.  Junior Solomon is going to be a walking cheat code.  But next season at least, against the run, I think you'll be saying a few times, "Godin wouldn't have busted on that."

Joined: 10/13/2011

MGoPoints: 60630

MIGHTYMOJO91

February 23rd, 2017 at 7:14 PM ^

Look forward to watching Mr. Gary push opposing OL into opposing quaterbacks. The dude is a beast! Wish the season started tomorrow!

Go BLUE!!!!!!!

Joined: 11/28/2015

MGoPoints: 4532

FauxMo

February 23rd, 2017 at 7:20 PM ^

Is it just me, or does that entire activity look like a choreographed dance number from an 80s/90s teen movie? You know, ending in a dance off between the mean cool kids and the nerd with a heart of gold??? 

Joined: 06/17/2010

MGoPoints: 137521

olm_go_blue

February 23rd, 2017 at 7:45 PM ^

love the work ethic. and I love that Gary didn't come in overweight and dogging it like some high profile guys do. not calling anyone out by name, but y'all know.

Joined: 08/09/2013

MGoPoints: 5015

The Fan in Fargo

February 23rd, 2017 at 11:42 PM ^

He'll be faster than Charlton and maybe stronger than Wormly. I don't know. He'll be unstoppable though and only playing 2 more years at Michigan. Who was doubting me that he couldn't play fullback? He'd be the best damn fullback in the history of the damn game. He'd be a hell of a playaction decoy too. A 300 lb. kid with that speed? GTFO here boys. Special package for when the bucks come to town.

Joined: 09/04/2016

MGoPoints: 1877

Wolfman

February 24th, 2017 at 4:52 AM ^

now, and I'm certain I am not the only ex high school coach on this site that has long suspected Partridge could not have pulled this off without a trip down to the crossroads. Hell, I had hung up the whistle long before they even allowed men like Gary to play with and against fellow players of the same age. And we're not going to forget Peppers this quickly are we? If Fournette was the no. 1 h.s. player when he and Peppers came out and Leonard was an offensive player and Peppers was no. 2 and considered as a defensive player, did Chris coach the no. 1 defensive player of the year twice in a three year span? I think he did. Toss in Singleton, one year removed from Gary - and no, he wasn't close to consideration for a fifth star, let alone accolades of the nature earned by both J.P. and R. G., but let's admit it, Don Brown was drooling over this man. And even though he produced more highly sought after players, I'm going to toss in the name of Dwumfour. Not because he belongs in the same conversation as the first three, but simply for the reason had any of us coached him, he would have been the best player we ever coached. 

 

Now it would appear Partridge received a better deal than most of us can imagine. But consider when Beezlebug thought the deal had been consumated, Patridge, in his best Lee Corso, adds, "Not so fast my friend." He then, of course, hits him with the big one. "In order to continue forward with this deal, I'm going to need a certain number ofy ears working with Harbaugh." We know how that turned out. 

Now that we all accept this for the fact it is, as proven above, Pete will have to admit that together with his record as a recruiter in such a short period of time, Harbaugh does, indeed, hire based on resume to date, i.e., merit, together with what all employers use, a prediction of future performance. 

Joined: 07/23/2008

MGoPoints: 8259