February 8th, 2011 at 5:39 PM ^
Van Bergen is not a 3 tech, Martin would be ideal at this position but for this to happen someone will have to emerge to be the 1 tech. I also think Black is better off at WDE as pass rushing seems to be more his strong suit, at least at this point in his young career.
February 8th, 2011 at 5:46 PM ^
I agree with every one of your points. I was just disappointed this year in Van Bergen's ability to generate pass pressure from the DE spot. Maybe we can blame a good portion of that on the decision to send just 3 guys 99% of the time, but I'm still skeptical.
February 8th, 2011 at 6:07 PM ^
Ash/Washington/Campbell are the key to the season on defense, I think, and it will be very interesting to see how that group progresses (there is a pretty wide range of possibilities). Hopefully one can emerge as a legit starter and the other two can provide enough depth that we can see guys like Roh/Black getting favorable matchups on the outside while Martin is able to do his thing on the inside. If this unit can find a legit space/block eating anchor in the middle the ceiling for this defense gets a lot higher.
February 8th, 2011 at 6:59 PM ^
I was under the impression that Herron was Roh's backup at the WDE position.
February 8th, 2011 at 4:53 PM ^
Countess odds are will be in the mix to start, especially for Nickel and Dime packages.
Wait, did I say Nickel and Dime? I didn't think Michigan ran those anymore.
February 8th, 2011 at 8:58 PM ^
I'd expect both tailbacks to see the field. Tailbacks almost never redshirt.
Barnett may play as well, given that we have only two returning scholarship TEs.February 8th, 2011 at 5:22 PM ^
Wile and Barnett are near sure-things to play.
They won't want to keep all the LBs or DBs in the same class most likely so if any are ready to contribute, even on special teams, I'd expect them to. I'd guess 3 or 4 of the LBs and DBs end up playing.
Beyond special teams, it wouldn't be a shock to see a surprise starter emerge (at FS, for example) or someone like Countess could contribute immediately as the nickel DB.
Could also see one of the OL forced into duty if a couple of injuries happen along the OL. There isn't much depth there.
Likewise, Bellomy may play if either one of our QBs is injured.
Depth at DE (assuming RVB moves to DT) is also unclear, so someone like Beyer could rotate in behind Roh.
February 8th, 2011 at 6:05 PM ^
I wouldn't say Barnett is a sure thing to play next year. He has a stonger chance than some of the incoming freshmen, but it wouldn't surprise me if they bring in one of the experienced walk-ons at TE if anything happens to Koger or Moore.
February 8th, 2011 at 7:01 PM ^
Also he had an ACL injuey in the season. He should be good to go, but who knows if he is in good enough shape.
February 8th, 2011 at 7:17 PM ^
Do you discount the rumors of him moving to TE?
February 8th, 2011 at 8:57 PM ^
This is just speaking for myself, but I never really thought Miller to TE was realistic. In the new system, I'd imagine they want TE's to be around 260-265 lbs, and Miller is currently nowhere near that weight.
I always though Miller would be a pretty good WR anyways. When he committed to us as a HS Jr, he was ranked as the top WR in Florida. I'm not really sure what happened to change his rank when he moved to Ann Arbor.
February 8th, 2011 at 9:18 PM ^
I too thought that it was strange for him to be playing TE. He might be big, but I think he could be very productive at WR. Hopefully he will be the next Avant.
February 8th, 2011 at 4:46 PM ^
Yeah that's definitely not really updated to reflect positions. We have 14 safeties listed. I highly doubt some of those guys play safety including Cam Gordon.
February 8th, 2011 at 5:10 PM ^
- Big Will, at 6'5" and 333 lbs., remains listed as an OL when it has been highly publicized that he will be on the defensive side of the ball; and
- Richard Ash is 6'3", 320 lbs. Yeah, that's big!
I am not really putting a lot of faith in this roster, as I would guess they spent about 10 minutes editing it for us degenerates.
February 8th, 2011 at 5:21 PM ^
-14 players listed at Safety (and we supposedly still have strong need at Safety)
-7 players listed at Returner.
I am only partially kidding when I say it kinda feels like Millen's penchant for WRs.
February 8th, 2011 at 5:25 PM ^
Only real update here in regard to positions is that Brown is listed at CB and not Safety. There was some question about where he'd start.
February 8th, 2011 at 7:42 PM ^
Here's what I learned poking around the roster: Vinopal's full name is Ray Charles Vinopal (!)
Dude has soul.