Speight and Peppers Named Captains For Tomorrows UA All-Star Game
Wilton Speight and Jabrill Peppers have been named team captains for team Nitro for tomorrows game. The game is at 4 pm tomorrow. I figure I'll throw some other good info from the last few pratices in this thread as well.
5-stars Da'Shawn Hand & Jabrill Peppers tied for the most votes among standout performers for Day 3 at #UAAllAmerica. More later from Scout.
— John Garcia Jr. (@JohnGarcia_Jr) December 31, 2013
On @JabrillPeppers, "It’s not even close. He’s the best one I’ve coached," said Herm Edwards, who has coached @AllAmericaGame three years.
— Taylor (@azaniacs) December 31, 2013
From @HermEdwardsESPN to @JabrillPeppers after another PBU: "Pep, tell these boys you got a blanket for em over here! Got em ALL covered!"
— Sam Webb (@SamWebb77) December 31, 2013
There's so much to like about Jabril Peppers. While others taking a break, he's working on footwork all by himself. #GoBlue #UAAllAmerica
— RecruitingNation (@RecruitingESPN) December 30, 2013
Jabrill Peppers now taking snaps out of the wildcat for Team Nitro. Look for that Thursday #UAAllAmerica #Michigan
— Kyle Bogenschutz (@KyleBogie) December 30, 2013
cont'd @HermEdwardsESPN: "I'm going to call (Hoke) next week and tell him 'you've got a good one now. @JabrillPeppers can go!' #UAALLAMERICA
— Sam Webb (@SamWebb77) December 31, 2013
Up front @bmone5252 had his best day. Overpowering in 1-on-1s. Still learning pass rush moves, but power game is already there #UAALLAMERICA
— Sam Webb (@SamWebb77) December 31, 2013
https://vine.co/v/hVnj79ampX7 - This is a vine from TomVH of Bryan Mone going one on one.
Bryan Mone has been impressive today on the interior line, maybe Team Nitro's best interior lineman today #goblue #uaallamerica
— Scott Kennedy (@ScoutKennedy) December 31, 2013
#Michigan commit Juwan Bushell-Beatty held his own in several 1-on-1 reps vs. #Alabama commit Da'Shawn Hand today at practice #UAAllAmerica
— Kyle Bogenschutz (@KyleBogie) December 30, 2013
Out at the #OffenseDefenseBowl practice, #Michigan LB commit Chase Winovich with an acrobatic interception in the end zone during 1-on-1's
— Kyle Bogenschutz (@KyleBogie) January 1, 2014
Just thought I would share some of the good news from twitter with you guys. There was another one I couldn't find but essentially Herm Edwards called Deion Sanders over and asked if Sanders thought Peppers was the best they've seen in 3 years. Sanders agreed that Peppers is the best they've seen.
There is also some news that Bushell-Beatty had a rough few reps with Hand but then held his own the next few. Thus people saying he split reps with him. I know some people last time I made a post thought I was just sharing all good news. So, I am trying to share everything I have heard. I'm excited about the whole class. I think it will be a very good class.
January 1st, 2014 at 11:58 PM ^
Any news on Mason Cole?
January 2nd, 2014 at 12:26 AM ^
Here is what I've seen on Mason.
Mason Cole and Isaiah Wynn have been the best two OL on the East for me so far. Both really good. #ArmyBowl
— Rusty Mansell (@Mansell247) December 31, 2013
Two kids that stock has risen for me this week is Nick Ruffin and Mason Cole. Both have been good for the East. #ArmyBowl #247sports
— Rusty Mansell (@Mansell247) January 1, 2014
#Michigan commit Mason Cole has been extremely impressive today at the #ArmyBowl: http://t.co/zMMwSUyIFj
— Barton Simmons (@bartonsimmons) December 31, 2013
#Auburn commit Nick Ruffin and #Michigan pledge Mason Cole showing well early at Army Bowl practice: http://t.co/AhvhGNFWuI via @247Sports
— Steve Wiltfong (@SWiltfong247) December 30, 2013
January 2nd, 2014 at 12:00 AM ^
Good stuff, thanks for posting. I don't know why, but I won't feel confident in Peppers to Michigan until after signing day.
January 2nd, 2014 at 12:37 AM ^
I wouldn't worry too much as he just re-confirmed twice after the bowl game that he isn't going anywhere. Him and Speight are great friends now and have been talking smack all week about when they'll be in Michigan.
January 2nd, 2014 at 6:53 AM ^
January 2nd, 2014 at 6:59 AM ^
January 2nd, 2014 at 12:02 AM ^
That's awesome. Gotta think Speight can finally get his 4th star now. I think it was Scout that said before he even played his senior season that he probably wouldn't move up in the rankings, which I thought was BS. This is by far the most excited I've been to watch one of these games. Our boys will actually be featured and getting coverage.
January 2nd, 2014 at 12:21 AM ^
Make him 2 stars for all I care. The kid is a good football player and seems to have toughness. What else matters?
January 2nd, 2014 at 12:10 AM ^
playing in the other all star games? Army All American game?
January 2nd, 2014 at 12:23 AM ^
Mason Cole is playing in the Army game.
January 2nd, 2014 at 12:28 AM ^
Winovich and Lawrence Marshall are in the offense-defense bowl. Mason Cole in the Army bowl. Drake Harris, Wangler, Ferns, Speight, Peppers, and Mone are in he UA All-Star game. That is all that I know of off the top of my head.
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:07 AM ^
Bushell-Beatty is in the UA game, too.
January 2nd, 2014 at 9:32 AM ^
Thanks, I kept feeling like I left someone out. Sure enough I left out one of the most obvious guys.
January 2nd, 2014 at 7:38 AM ^
I appreciate it. . .
January 2nd, 2014 at 12:17 AM ^
At least a couple of dudes are a few inches taller/shorter than their listed heights.
I thought something looked funny, anyway. Here's what I've seen online:
BB: 6'7"
Speight: 6'6"
Mone: 6'4"
Wangler: 6'2"
Peppers: 6'1"
Ferns: 6'3"
It's also possible that they're not all on the same surface.
January 2nd, 2014 at 12:31 AM ^
They are on different surfaces somewhat, but this is probably more realistic:
BB: 6'7"
Speight: 6'6"
Mone: 6'2"
Wangler: 6'2"
Peppers: 6'
Ferns: 6'2"
January 2nd, 2014 at 1:00 AM ^
Why would that be more realistic? I don't think Mone is that short.
January 2nd, 2014 at 1:14 AM ^
If you look at the pic, I don't think there is any way that Mone is only 2" shorter than Speight. But he could very well be closer to 6'4" than he is 6'2".
January 2nd, 2014 at 1:13 PM ^
no way is Mone within 2" of Speight. Also: pad level man, pad level.
January 2nd, 2014 at 2:58 AM ^
between the two sets of number may very well be do to growth. Were these measurements on the same day, or were they perhaps a year apart?
January 2nd, 2014 at 12:21 AM ^
to start up the New Year of 2014 (not to be confused with 2013...)
January 2nd, 2014 at 12:23 AM ^
January 2nd, 2014 at 12:25 AM ^
Did Harris travel to the game, I know he wasn't participating due to injury?
January 2nd, 2014 at 12:33 AM ^
I just noticed that he wasn't in the picture. I looked and he didn't make it to the practices.
January 2nd, 2014 at 12:26 AM ^
January 2nd, 2014 at 12:27 AM ^
January 2nd, 2014 at 12:33 AM ^
I think the defense will be much improved next year with Peppers and Mone being big contributors, along with Pipkins coming back.
January 2nd, 2014 at 1:13 AM ^
So based on 2 freshman who have never played a college game (1 being a lineman, who will be playing against a lot of guys 3 years older tha him) and a returning DT who is coming off an ACL you have great hope ?
Not picking on you but I wouldnt list these as criteria for hope. I thought Henry was our best "young" lineman and he was a RS fresh, not a true one. It is asking a lot for any true freshman to make an impact on either line... a lot. I am not counting on anything out of Mone or any linemen next year.
As for Peppers I hope he is the next Charles but the Dymonte Thomas experiment should show us not to expect the world from a freshman... yes he was "only" top 100 but he was extremely touted and barely saw the field. I expect Peppers to play and he is a beast of a different stripe I assume but still... he will be a true freshman nickel or corner.
Based on those last 2 games we are going to need to seee a lot of improvement just to be decent all around. I know the defense played better earlier in the year but it mostly broke in November late in games when it needed to stop teams.
If you want to have reasons for optimisim it should be mostly focused on players already on the team rather than great hope for the "rivals 4 stars" saving us. Players in the system who will take a 2nd year leap for example. To that end I am hoping these 5 players take large steps next year
- Ben Gedeon - he who flashed vs OSU. If he begins to take time away from steady but not spectacular Morgan or even Ross, that would be a good sign. Kid looks bigger than every LB we have other than JMFR.
- Stribling - he seemed to often be in position in the first half of the year but did not make the play. That is ok, being in position is half the fight .... he seemed to disappear late in the year though.
- Henry - the one guy who flashed in the interior - I noticed him more late in the year than the much hyped Pipkins early in the year.
- Thomas - we have a scary hole at safety. It is basically Wilson and a huge question mark. Maybe it will be Clark, maybe Thomas, maybe they move Taylor there - but right now it's just a hole with Josh Furman written all over it. Dymonte grabbing that position and running with it would be huge.
- Taco - we need an end rusher who has impact. Clark will be Clark - incremental growth I guess. He was stymied when he played good lines. Heitzman is a plugger. Mario O didnt take the step I had hoped he would this year. Maybe Taco will - we need someone to.
Obviously Pipkins doing something and Peppers contributing will be nice. But talking about much improve defense due to freshman and a guy who has a major injury is creating a low probability world IMO. I also hope Ferns will have an impact later in the year like Gedeon did this year but again I am not putting hope in freshman - in my perfect world we redshirt all but 4-5 freshman a year go forward so we have a bad ass group of 5th year seniors year in and year out.
January 2nd, 2014 at 1:20 AM ^
January 2nd, 2014 at 1:42 AM ^
Name 5 freshman you've seen and I might be able to give you examples of why. Some guys just have big playmaking ability when they come in to college and they can't be kept on the bench. To be honest, Michigan hasn't recruited one of those guys for a while. Magnus even said before Green and Smith got here that they are the kind of running backs that need good lineman up front to do well. Some running backs can make something out of nothing, other guys are pounding running backs who need some help up front.
Peppers is one of those guys that can come right in and make a difference. Harris is a guy who is lauded with big playmaking ability, though he's been injured. If he can get healthy, you may see him have a pretty decent impact. Canteen with his routes, hands, and crazy legs can probably be an immediate impact guy. Butt came in and was arguably a top 3 freshman tight end in the entire country. That is making an impact in my book.
Denard was one of those guys who just had "it." They have the big playmaking ability. DeSean Jackson was one of those guys, Sammy Watkins was one of those guys. The thing is there's a difference between a very good player and a playmaker with the ability of one of those guys. Damien Harris is a guy who looks like he could have big playmaking ability and he'll have a much more veteran line to run behind.
The problem is you see a few guys have big impacts and then that's all the media talks about because they're freshman. Then everyone expects every freshman who is decently highly rated to come in and be the same way. The thing is most of these big impact guys were top 10 in their class. Clowney, Winston, Dorial-Green Beckham, Steffon Diggs, Nelson Agholor, Braxton Miller, James Wilder Jr, Isaiah Crowell, etc.
All of these guys have the same thing in common, being top 3 in their positions and all being 5 star elite guys. Michigan has had some great classes recently but they've only had two 5 stars I can think of other than lineman. Derrick Green and Dymonte Thomas. As you notice, none of those positions are safety that I listed.
And like I said, Magnus warned that Green was one of those running backs that need good blocking to get going. What I also noted was dual-threat QBs are much more likely to make an impact early for whatever reason. Michigan hasn't had one of those recruited since Gardner, and he had to wait for Denard. But honestly, throw out some names and I'll see if I can try and explain it.
I'll say this, I don't know of any 5* freshman offensive lineman to make an impact, so Kalis gets a pass. Lineman don't come in their first year and make an impact. On the defensive side of the ball Michigan got a 5 star DL in Pipkins. He came in and already had a good starter in front of him. But he was contributing before he got injured.
January 2nd, 2014 at 2:46 AM ^
Mario Edwards Jr, Noah Spence, Jaylon Smith, Joey Bosa, Ronald Darby, Shaq Thompson. Should I go on?
January 2nd, 2014 at 9:45 AM ^
Joey Bosa was a 5* top of his class recruit. Again, Michigan has only had two guys ranked as high as most of the guys you are all listing. One is Peppers right now. The other was Green. I've discussed Green. Thomas is the next highest rated and he played linebacker in high school. So he needed work on coverage skills.
Noah Spence was top 3 at his position and a 5*. He played pass rusher in high school and was considered one of the best pass rushers in the state in a long time. Mario Edwards Jr. 5* who was top 3 overall in his class. Number one in a great state for football and number one at his position.
Jaylon Smith top 3 overall in his class. Number one in his state. 5*. Number one at his position. Ronald Darby 4*, 2nd in his position, 2nd in his state. Freak athlete. Shaq Thompson 5*, best in state, best in position, number 4 overall nationally.
Do you guys read what I write? Not to be a jerk, but I clearly pointed out that most everyone who makes a huge impact was a 5* top 5 nationally in their class. And then you make a list of 5* top 5 nationally guys? Again, I will repeat it, Michigan has only gotten 2 of those guys in 5+ years. Peppers and Green. Thomas was a 5 star to one site, he played a different position in high school than he does in college, and he was barely a 5*. Everyone you listed wasn't barely a 5*. They were top 5 nationally and everyone knew coming in that they would have an impact.
January 2nd, 2014 at 10:09 AM ^
As I pointed out below, to make matters worse, half the guys he listed didn't even have impactful freshman seasons anyway.
January 2nd, 2014 at 10:07 AM ^
Spence was a sophmore this year. As a freshman he had 12 tackles and 1 sack. Edwards was a sophmore this year. As a freshman he had 17 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Darby was a sophmore this year. He had all of 12 tackles, 2 INT's and 3 PBU's. As a freshman he had 22 tackles, 8 PBU's and 0 INT's. Jaylon Smith had a decent freshman year with 67 tackles, 6.5 TFL's, and an INT, but I wouldn't say it was spectacular by any means. Shaq Thompson was a sophmore this year. He actually did have a good freshman year at safety.
Out of that entire group you named, Only Bosa and Thompson had truly impressive freshman seasons. Smith was decent. Edwards, Spence and Darby didn't do much of anything.
January 2nd, 2014 at 10:49 AM ^
Don't bring facts into this! Every Michigan freshman should be an All-American and half should be on Heisman ballots.
January 2nd, 2014 at 5:49 AM ^
Vernon hargreaves III
If Peppers comes in and has the same impact as Hargreaves had at Florida i'd be more than happy. 3 int's 11 PBU for a true freshman is pretty good.
January 2nd, 2014 at 9:46 AM ^
VIII was the 2nd overall rated player in his class. Again, I clearly pointed out that most of these guys are top 10 guys in their classes. Only Green was a top 10 overall guy in his class. VIII was a 5 star in one of the best states for football recruits. He had way more hype than anyone Michigan has had in 10 years, besides now Peppers. So there's my point, again the guys who make these huge impacts are usually very high up there.
January 2nd, 2014 at 6:45 AM ^
I believe Ethan Pocic, whose offer Hoke pulled when we filled up and who was high on Michigan, started some games this year at center for LSU as a true freshman. I also believe he had never played the center spot before reporting to LSU.
January 2nd, 2014 at 9:45 AM ^
He started one game. Against Furman. And yes, he never played center before getting to LSU.
January 2nd, 2014 at 9:49 AM ^
As Magnus pointed out, he started one game against a terrible team. Just because he started doesn't mean he played very well. Also starting one game out of neccessity when the guy in front of you couldn't play is a whole lot different than making an impact. Shane started a game this year too as a true freshman, so I guess we can chalk him up as an impact player right?
January 2nd, 2014 at 1:41 AM ^
You mean like Jake Butt?
January 2nd, 2014 at 1:36 AM ^
If Lewis and Stribling can see the field as Frosh, I think that a bigger, better built, and more athletic Peppers should see even more time than they did. If the hole is big enough at Safety maybe you roll the dice with him there. That kid we lost to USC last year was their starting S by at least mid-season and what little I watched of USC I don't recall noticing him - which probably is pretty good for a True Frosh safety. Peppers' future is at CB but we need to find any way to get him on the field ASAP if he earns it.
January 2nd, 2014 at 2:37 AM ^
Well alum96, I only named two true freshmen and one junior (Pipkins), who by the way saw a fair amount of playing time as a true freshman even with Will Campbell still here.
Two other names I didnt mention that Im looking forward to seeing are Hurst Jr. and Poggi. I should have because I believe the DL will be much better next year, and combining that with Countess and Peppers at the corners, I think this defense will be much improved. Word was, the coaches were very happy with Poggi and Hurst in bowl practices, so that gives me hope. Call me naive.
January 2nd, 2014 at 7:25 AM ^
Considering how inept our OL is, by what standard are they judging the DLs?
January 2nd, 2014 at 12:49 AM ^
These posts are inspiring... I just wish I was really confident that the talent will be developed in order to win.
Speight has been a favorite of mine for a while now, and I really think he has a great head on his shoulders. I'm happy as hell that he has emerged as one of the leaders of this class.
January 2nd, 2014 at 1:16 AM ^
Agreed. I appreciate the reports but until our guys are out there making plays to slow down Spartans or Buckeyes it is just stuff to talk about. Stribling got almost no hype from these games (doubt he ever got invited to one!) and until they seemed to go away from him late in the year looked like the most promising secondary guy of the young dudes. Willie Henry didnt get much hype at these games (did he even get invited? doubt it) and was the best young guy I saw this year on the DL. Pipkins got all types of hype and frankly I have not seen that much from him yet. Etc.
Once I see results on the field of play in an actual college game versus a non MAC team on a consistent basis I will be a buyer. A guy like Butt for example I can see already has the goods. You could see something in Ross in 2012. Blake in 2011. Other guys who I wont name have had a lot of hype but its either too early or they just havent done it yet.
January 2nd, 2014 at 1:25 AM ^
The emo gets tiring after a while.
I appreciate the reports but until our guys are out there making plays to slow down Spartans or Buckeyes it is just stuff to talk about.
What else is there now but to talk? We have nothing but to talk. Signing day is the new Michigan Bowl Game at least for another few months until I have the Dave Brandon sponsored opportunity to pay for the seasons, the cushions and the related fees for my section and think about going to the Spring game.
OP, I appreciate the reports because as a fanbase we need the reports. Those of us who buy the tickets, who watch the team on tv, who follow the blog, who complain about the offense, defense or special teams in posts...we need the assurance that more talent is coming, that great players (potentially) are showing up and that character players (like Speight and particularly Mone) are arriving.
Again, thanks, OP.
January 2nd, 2014 at 6:37 AM ^
You are my least favorite type of Michigan fan.
January 2nd, 2014 at 12:55 AM ^
I know everyone was down on the staff and the team this year, but looking back on the year we have a lot of talented young guys.. in the next few years i think we are gonna really have a lot of great players on both sides of the ball
January 2nd, 2014 at 1:29 AM ^