Unofficial Spring Game Depth Chart
I put together a depth chart of what I think we'll see on the field Saturday. With the news of the Furman suspension, I put Freshman Jarrod Wilson in his position on the 2nd team defense.
Opinions? Feedback? Corrections? Let me know, I want to have one with me at the game saturday.
Blue (1st) Team
OFFENSE
QB- #16 Denard Robinson SR
RB- #28 Fitz Toussaint RS JR
FB- #33 Stephen Hopkins JR
WR- #12 Roy Roundtree 5th
WR- #10 Jeremy Gallon RS JR
TE- #89 Brandon Moore 5th
LT- #77 Taylor Lewan RS JR
LG- #57 Elliot Mealer 5th
C- #52 Ricky Barnum 5th
RG- #65 Patrick Omameh 5th
RT- #75 Michael Schofield RS JR
Blue (2nd) Team
DEFENSE
DE- #67 Nathan Brink RS JR
DT- #54 Richard Ash RS SO
DT- #76 Quinton Washington RS JR
DE- #97 Brennan Beyer SO
LB- #27 Mike Jones RS JR
LB- #7 Brandin Hawthorne SR
LB- #4 Cam Gordon RS JR
CB- #5 Courtney Avery JR
CB- #6 Raymon Taylor SO
FS- #22 Jarrod Wilson FR
SS- #3 Marvin Robinson JR
Maize (2nd) Team
OFFENSE
QB- #7 Devin Gardner JR
RB- #2 Vincent Smith SR
FB- #36 Joe Kerridge RS FR
WR- #26 Drew Dileo JR
WR- #83 Jerald Robinson RS SO
TE- #80 Ricardo Miller JR
LT- #69 Erik Gunderson RS JR
LG- #58 Chris Bryant RS FR
C- #60 Jack Miller RS FR
RG- #61 Graham Glasgow RS FR
RT- #56 Joey Burzynski RS SO
Maize (1st) Team
DEFENSE
DE- #88 Craig Roh SR
DT- #73 Will Campbell SR
DT- #55 Jibreel Black JR
DE- #57 Frank Clark SO
LB- #90 Jake Ryan RS SO
LB- #25 Kenny Demens 5th
LB- #44 Desmond Morgan SO
CB- #8 JT Floyd 5th
CB- #18 Blake Countess SO
SS- #32 Jordan Kovacs 5th
FS- #30 Thomas Gordon RS JR
I've always assumed the WR thing was a way to get him on the field with Denard so that they can do some mind-melting gadget plays. I never thought that he'd be used in a traditional WR role. Can't wait to see. The Alabama game, perhaps? Make their game planning that much harder if we do a few things that we don't normally do . . .
I'm invisioning a lateral pass from Denard to Devin who then throws a bomb to Denard right down the middle of the field for 6!
That is the exact kind of thing that has me looking forward to the season. I am thinking that now that we have a lot of the basics in place, we are going to work our way up to a little razzle-dazzle.
Boise State won't have a thing on us, from the gimmick play point of view!
You're right I was off there. I was thinking of Denard's blazing speed but I forgot Devin is no slow poke himself plus he's our best receiver.
Let's wait until he's played a down out wide to say he's our best, okay?
Other than Kalis and Pipkins, which incoming freshmen has the best chance of cracking the two-deep/seeing the field?
Do you mean aside from the frosh who are already here?
AJ Williams or Funchess have a shot at PT at TE. Either incoming WR has a shot too, our depth there isn't great and those guys both have the size/athleticism combo that few of our current receivers have.
Although RJS and James Ross are both very good, I don't know if they have a great shot. Our LB depth is pretty solid, and they'll have an uphill battle, especially with Bolden (I will now always write his name that way) and Ringer enrolling early.
A guy I'd like to see get PT (although I think he's a year or two away) is Norfleet. He's electric. I'm pretty excited about him.
Bolden and Wilson (Early enrollees) are probably already penciled into the two-deep;
At least one of the TEs (Funchess or AJ Williams) will probably have to contribute; and
I wouldn't be surprised if another D lineman (Stobel, Wormley, or Godin stick in my mind) might have a shot to crack the two-deep (though that might be a pipe dream)
Then I'm like, aw that's not so....OOOOH MYFGOD look at the 2nd string OL! AhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
All kidding aside, I think Michigan better avoid injuries this year.
Is anybody else kind of excited about the 1st string defense? I know replacing Martin and Van Bergen is tough, but I see a lot more playmakers than most of our defenses the last few years.
I think you have the starters perfect...
As for the 2nd team...Brink is out (like many have said), surprisingly Heitzman could be in his place.
I'm not sure if you have the LBs in any kind of order, but Mike Jones (who?) would be playing 2nd team MLB and Hawthorne is the WLB behind Morgan. However Jones has been passed by Bolden so it's Hawthorne and Bolden at LB.
Bryant is playing exclusively at RG behind Omameh. Burzynski is playing LG behind Mealer. I'm not sure where that puts Glaslow, but I assume that's RT. Or he might be at LT and Gunderson at RT.
Nitpicky...but you asked for corrections.
thought Talbott left the program so yeah this is a surprize!!! Bolden 2nd team MIKE! J2 number 2 WR because of his height!GO BLUE!!!
April 10th, 2012 at 12:18 AM ^
seen Gunderson,Glasgow, or Burzynski play, but to dismiss them as not even able to provide depth over the next 2 years is a little crazy to me. Kovacs, and Brink are now acceptable, but the O-lineman not so much? Am i missing something?
April 10th, 2012 at 12:39 AM ^
If Glasgow is worthy enough to ride the tandem bike, he can surely play Oline
As others have noted, I think Bolden and Talbott will start with the 2's on defense.
As for the 2's on offense, I have several changes:
1) I think Rawls is the RB. Yes, Vincent Smith is a senior and a good player, but he's a situational player and Rawls is a beast. Smith might see more time than Rawls in our games (due to situational subs), but if Fitz goes down, my guess is Rawls is the starter and workhorse.
2) I think Mike Kwiatkowski is the #2 TE. Ricardo Miller, I think, is still adjusting to life as a TE, and I don't think he fits the Hoke/Borges profile of a TE yet. They sort of play different versions of the position, so it's a bit murky, but I'd go with Kwiatkowski.
3) Jeremy Jackson over Drew Dileo at WR. This is a no-brainer. Similar to Smith/Rawls, it's possible (though less likely) that Dileo might see more time than Jackson at WR in situational snaps this year (bubble screen?), but Jackson is definitely a superior X or Z, even if Dileo is a better slot (Y) guy.
Also...HOLY $#*%! We could very well lose EIGHT starters on offense after this season. Six are gone for sure, and I think Lewan may be headed to the NFL early, and Fitz might go too (no one is talking about this, but if he has a 1,300 yard season, he could be gone). Denard, Moore, Mealer, Barnum, Omameh, and Roundtree are all out. We will have a VERY young O-line next year. I actually don't think the drop-off at QB or RB will be that bad, or even at WR. But man, the O-Line scares me a bit (although it will make for a great line in 2014).
On defense, we lose Roh, Campbell, Demens, Floyd and Kovacs. Meh. I think Roh is the biggest loss there, and we've got replacements ready. I expect the 2013 D is actually more talented than the 2012, and they will need to be with the rebuilt offense transitioning to the pro-style system.
Don't forget that 2013 will bring a steep learning curve to offense as we move from shotgun to under center.
I think this is a bit OT, but I feel like the table is set for an amazing season in 2014. This could be our line-up on Offense (with only two seniors):
- QB Morris
- RB Rawls*/Isaac
- FB Kerridge/Houma
- TE Funchess
- WR Robinson*
- WR Darboh
- OT Magnuson
- OG Kalis
- C Miller
- OG Bryant
- OT Bars/Bosch/LTT
Defense (this is REALLY exciting):
- SDE Mathis/Wormley
- NT Pipkins
- DT Poggi/Mathis/Henry
- WDE Clark*/Beyer* (Strobel too! We're loaded here)
- SLB Ryan*
- MLB Bolden
- WLB Morgan*/RJS
- CB Countess* (unless he's pro)/Taylor*
- CB Taylor*/Richardson
- S Wilson
- S Thomas
*seniors/5th. Without even finishing the 2013 class, 2014 looks promising, and we'd only have to replace 6 starters for 2015...
But don't get me wrong...2012 and 2013 could be great, but Hoke & Co. will have to do more with less.