Stephen Schilling
I want to give some props out to Stephen Schilling. Here's to a great final year.
This young man came to Ann Arbor as a 5* recruit all the way from Seattle. He is a road grader that is perfect for power football. He has never complained or moaned about the coaching change, the spread system, or anything else. Let's root for the o-line under senior leadership to lead the team to a successful season. I also wish this young man to be drafted and an NFL career. That is all.
what grade did he give the road?
An unheralded reason why he didn't whine, complain, and leave.
His mom would regularly show up to the Alumni bar in Seattle on gamedays. We were always quite revered with her presence.
if you see her there again, buy her a cold one for us for a job well done.
That....and seven generations of large family breeding.
...he says thanks.
I don't see the point of this thread, but he should have a solid year.
less a point in your response, but i agree that he should have a solid year.
Schilling will have an awesome final season and find himself playing on Sundays in the coming years.
With David "one of our best football players" Molk back in the lineup and all 6 feet, 8 inches of Taylor Lewan eventually starting at LT, we should have a very good O-line this year.
Mr. T Predicts...PAIN!
I had a class with Steve, really nice guy. Great football player, even greater person.
He'd also hang out with me after we left Dennison, and chat for a bit.
fuck.shit..up
First things first: "He has never complained or moaned about the coaching change, the spread system, or anything else."
I'll second that. He seems like a great character.
To my main point, could a football coach / expert please tell me why the spread offense is, to hear its detractors tell it, *horrible* for a wannabe NFL offensive lineman? This is not a shot at the OP, by the way. I just wonder why it's always assumed that the RichRod regime has been horrible for the 'graders. To take an extreme example, I don't think Jake Long would have suffered for the experience. It's not like mobility and agility wouldn't serve someone well in the pros.
I don't have technical expertise to answer your question, so I apologize in advance, but I do think it's an intellectually weak argument to make that spread linemen can't cut it in the NFL. That sounds to me like something that scouts or NFL bobos with agendas (meaning, they need a reason to not draft a guy) would state. And I'm not cutting you down, because I've heard it myself.
Especially considering that the top two linemen taken in 2010 played in a spread offense, as well as Maurkice Pouncey.
The #2 pick in the 2009 draft, Jason Smith of Baylor, absolutely played in a spread offense.
So did Phil Loadholt, who was the starting RTG for the Vikings from day 1.
I think it's an easy cop-out for not liking a prospect, personally.
Back when lineman were still asked to put their hand in the dirt on a regular basis. The fact of the matter is though, that anymore, many NFL teams run a sort of passing spread/west coast offense. New England, Patriots, Saints. There just aren't as many Dolphins out there than there used to be, but there are still some, so how does it play out for those teams? Well, some lineman positions may be hurt more than others. I think tackles are pretty safe in the spread system. They zone block, they have to reach block, they pass block, all the things they have to do in a zone running scheme they do out of the spread. Guard and Center are a little different. Yes, they still pull in both systems, yes they still try to reach the next level in both systems. One of the biggest fears for centers is snapping. It doesn't seem like a big thing, but if snapping when someone is under center isn't second nature by the time you reach the NFL your draft stock may get hurt. Good thing for us, our centers all practice some of that because we have plays run out of the I-form. For spread guards, some of them may be seen as a little small in spread offenses. This is because of their stressed responsibilities for pulling, reaching the next level, etc. But you can see that in Minn. teams during the Mason years. Add some weight to them before the combine and you'll still have a guard that can fit some systems in the NFL.
In conclusion, some draft positions may get slightly hindered, not as much as tackle, but at guard and center. However, there are things that can be done so that this doesn't happen, or if it does, it happens to a smaller degree. While there is some merit to the argument about spread offensive linemen, much of it is false.
He's going to be 1st team big ten this year. Great call on never hearing a bitchy or moany peep from him during the past few seasons, not that we have from any remaining players, but I can't recall ever seeing or hearing him seem down at all.
I think he will benifit from another year of coaching continuity in the same way we'll see with ezeh/mouton, having Molk back next to him and i don't think we can underestimate now having strength and conditioning continuity. I recall hearing the Barwis method as a "break you down and build you up" sort of thing, which i'm sure takes a lot of time.
I've always like Schilling. Always reliable and a solid player. Hopefully this year is his best yet!
and beer for my horses!
Yah Schilling!
I thought I'd add to this thread that when discussing Schilling, I don't care about anything he has or will accomplish in football. I met him once in kind of a friend of a friend setting, and figured he was on the football team (b/c hes a huge dude) but never really knew who he was until a couple days later. I will say that he is a down to earth, personable, nice guy. Its almost sad that I was surprised that he acted that way after I found out who he was. And that should be taken as a compliment to him. Best of luck this year and beyond.
... (36) of the 101 football players on our roster right now are walk-ons.
38 percent (16) of the 42 defensive players on our roster right now are walk-ons.
47.3 percent (9) of the 19 defensive backs on our roster right now are walk-ons.
53.8 percent (7) of the 13 safeties on our roster right now are walk-ons.
That happens to be the same percentage of defensive players not lost to attrition from the 2005 to 2009 classes before the end of the 2009 football season.
The average number of years in the program for all defensive players is 3.17 years since the July before their senior year of high school football (True Junior or Redshirt sophomore). Among scholarship athletes on defense right now, the average is 3 years. That's not including true freshman yet to arrive on campus.
The senior 5-star on the offensive line who doesn't complain is the least of my concerns.