Which players will primarily play secondary next season?
Who on our roster will remain in the secondary next season. Here is a list of our secondary from the roster at http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/mich-m-footbl-mtt.html. I have omitted the walk-on types.
I know some of these guys are already linebackers, but other than Kovacs and Vinopal, who are going to be the players contending for spots at the more traditional free/deep safety positions.
I think there is a chance that either JT Floyd or Woolfolk displaces Vinopal from the starting rotation, and the one who doesn't replace Vinopal ends up as the other starting corner.
| Mike Williams | S | RS JR |
| Jordan Kovacs | S | RS SO |
| Jared Van Slyke | S | RS JR |
| Floyd Simmons | S | RS SO |
| Ray Vinopal | S | FR |
| Thomas Gordon | S | RS FR |
| Carvin Johnson | S | FR |
| Brandin Hawthorne | S | SO |
| Josh Furman | S | FR |
| Cameron Gordon | S | RS FR |
| Marvin Robinson | S | FR |
| Troy Woolfolk | CB | SR |
| Cullen Christian | CB | FR |
| Terrence Talbott | CB | FR |
| Tony Anderson | CB | RS JR |
| J.T. Floyd | CB | RS SO |
| Courtney Avery | CB | FR |
December 2nd, 2010 at 6:30 PM ^
My thoughts:
CB1 - Troy
CB2 - JT
Nickel - Avery/Cullen
SS - Carvin
FS - Marvin
I think Cam is converted into a LB. Kovacs & Vinopal replaced by the Marvin and Carvin Show.
December 2nd, 2010 at 6:36 PM ^
Kovacs isn't going anywhere. Everyone always wants to replace him with the next best thing. Yet come next year he will be in the starting line up.
December 2nd, 2010 at 6:51 PM ^
Kovacs struggled early on, and he may not be the most talented. But, he is smart for the most part (in my opinion), and that's why he plays.
December 2nd, 2010 at 6:59 PM ^
He is a backup. I'm sorry. He'll have a good play every now and then, but there's a reason we were putrid on defense last year - and that is talent. If we're going to put undersized and non-athletic players out there, the expected bad results happen. And they did.
The only reason Kovacs got some burn as a starter was because we had nobody else with an ounce of experience. You put a bigger and faster athlete out there to start, and have Kovacs come in off the bench to give the starters a spell.
Our defense can only get better. Don't put the same guys out there who simply are overmatched and undersized. It's a tough pill to swallow, but it's the truth.
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:06 PM ^
I think you underestimate experience and I think you underestimate Kovacs athletic ability.
Remember Bobby Bowden's axiom: "a fast player's speed can often cause him to get out of position faster, if he doesn't know what he is doing." I'm paraphrasing but I think you get the point.
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:13 PM ^
I would wager money that kovacs start next year. I don't remember which coach said it but they said something like "He's the type of player you expect to get beat out every year, but when you play your first game, he's the starter." I think that will be true next year.
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:54 PM ^
Matt Millen said that during the UConn. As much as I do not like the guy, I agree with him. Do not see anyone starting over Kovacs.
December 2nd, 2010 at 8:53 PM ^
To Millen it's not Kovacs its Kovox.
December 2nd, 2010 at 10:12 PM ^
the CS is pronounced like TZ as in Pretzel,
so Kovatz
I don't really listen to Millen, or anyone else on TV (except for Greise, he actually was interesting to listen to, but still I'm in Seattle off DVR because until we start winning enough to get into primetime I need to create my own broadcast delay to avoid drinking whiskey before noon my time) but maybe he was trying to pronounce it that way.
Hmm, now I should go to MGoBlue.com and look up the player name chart.
December 2nd, 2010 at 8:01 PM ^
Could he bulk up and play MLB? Decent speed for the position and a heady player..calling the plays on defense as a Junior next year...feasible (Eric Mayes?) ?
December 2nd, 2010 at 8:54 PM ^
You bring up a good point, but who's that bigger stronger athelet we have? He's the only one in our secondary that hasn't been god awful this year.
December 2nd, 2010 at 8:04 PM ^
is great. Carvin and Marvin are the best natural athletes at safety right now, and both have good size. Marvin is a FS IMO. I think folks are underestimating his speed a little. I was at the OSU game and he looked natural back at "center field". He didn't play a lot but really came up to the LOS FAAAAST!!! on run plays. Carvin just brings the wood! He laid Pryor out on one play and it was fantastic. Kovacs will still probably play a lot early and Vinopal will play a couple drives a game. Troy and J.T. will do fine at CB but honestly either could lose their spot if our young corners make strides. All of our freshmen CBs have more potential than Floyd and Woolfolk.
December 2nd, 2010 at 6:30 PM ^
tabled for discussion on a later date.
December 2nd, 2010 at 6:33 PM ^
I know one thing, and it's that we shouldn't start a thread about who is most valuable to the team. Sorry, T-Wolf.
December 2nd, 2010 at 6:33 PM ^
D Crawford baby. All the way.
December 2nd, 2010 at 6:42 PM ^
Either Marvin or Cameron will likely move to WLB.
December 2nd, 2010 at 6:47 PM ^
To me it is a given that Marvin Robinson, Cameron Gordon, Brandin Hawthorne and Josh Furman end up at Linebacker or at the very least are not going to play a more traditional Safety position.
December 2nd, 2010 at 6:46 PM ^
Im thinking we move Martin to strong safety and just have him hit people really hard at full speed.
December 2nd, 2010 at 6:50 PM ^
i think BK has the right idea with the secondary. my only difference being i would think Kovacs remains a starter.
December 2nd, 2010 at 6:54 PM ^
Based on what I saw with my untrained and visually impaired eyes, I am not sure Floyd will beat out Avery for a starting corner spot.
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:02 PM ^
He could very well explode once he fully adjusts to the speed of D1 football and starts to understand schemes and assignments better. He has better tools according to all the scouts and he could develop into a beast after spring and august practices and emerge as our staring CB opposite Troy too. All good problems to have
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:39 PM ^
Has he recovered from the 3rd degree burns he got against Sparty et al?
December 2nd, 2010 at 10:48 PM ^
December 2nd, 2010 at 6:52 PM ^
i thought courtney avery improved tremendously no question over the last few weeks. with another spring and summer between his buttcheeks he might supplant floyd as the #2 corner
December 2nd, 2010 at 9:32 PM ^
sounds exactly like lloyd carr
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:04 PM ^
a in my opinion down the stretch. I think he and Christian both could push for the second corner spot.
December 2nd, 2010 at 8:57 PM ^
it's too clever... i can't handle it...
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:12 PM ^
I think its possible Kovacs move to a LB position. I feel if he bulks up enough he could play the position, 1 because he is smart like you some of you think and i believe he is, 2 he has the speed to be a LB, and 3 he is not a FS SS at all. I'm better suit for that position!... I think!
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:18 PM ^
Excellent title. Primarily/secondary. Love it.
But, I like Carvin and Cam as the safeties.
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:18 PM ^
I actually like Talbott as much as Avery right now. I think Christian could end up a safety later on. It is just so tough to say right now. There are so many young guys out there that we are trying to guess who has the biggest development curve. Besides that, there's a bunch of guys who we have no clue how they progrssed from last season to this one such as Mike Williams, Hawthorne, even Woolfolk. There is no accurate predictor for development so really it's just flinging a bunch of shit at the wall and hoping something sticks.
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:47 PM ^
I haven’t seen enough from Talbott for me to hold him equal to Avery. I think Avery has shown in the limited opportunities he has had especially down the strech that he can develop into a solid corner. If Talbott was given the same opportunities I might be giving praise to him. The fact is Avery was picked to be the starter when Floyd went down and he has stepped up, despite being a true freshman.
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:22 PM ^
I'm happy JT and Troy will be back. They will help our defense big time.
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:23 PM ^
Grit vs Speed...Rocky beat Apollo Ceed (well in rocky 2)
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:39 PM ^
CB: T-Wolf
CB: JT vs Cullen vs Avery vs Talbott
SS: Kovacs vs Cam Gordon
FS: Vinopal vs Carvin vs Frosh
Money bet is that experience trumps # of stars on rivals. But I could see guys like Carvin Johnson blowing up.
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:41 PM ^
It may depend on the scheme. I suspect that we will have a new DC with control of the defense, and will go back to a 4-3. In that case I suspect the lineup will be something like:
CB: Woolfolk, Christian (dime?), Talbott
CB: Avery, Floyd (nickel?)
SS: Kovacs/C Johnson, M Robinson
FS: Vinopal/C Johnson, Van Slyke
C Gordon, Furman, and Hawthorne all move to OLB. Kovacs may not have the speed to play safety in a cover 2 and in that case it would not surprise me to see Johnson at FS. I think Kovacs will probably be our best option at SS as long as he does not have to cover a deep half. I think Vinopal will bulk up enough to be a passable FS.
If we stick with a 3-3-5 or 4-2-5, the CBs stay the same.
SS (bandit): Kovacs, M Robinson
FS: C Johnson, Vinopal
OLB (spur): C Gordon, T Gordon, Furman
The freshman CBs should redshirt unless they can crack the 2-deep.
December 2nd, 2010 at 8:52 PM ^
Wow, I always knew our secondary was young but seeing it like that in "chart" form really astonishes me. I find it encouraging, to be honest.
December 2nd, 2010 at 11:12 PM ^
primarily secondary? pun intended?