Who's Going to Be the Biggest Sophomore Contributor...?
This topic was over on the Rivals forum, but I wanted to hear what some of the readers here had to say. A number of us have been caught up on the new guys coming in that I feel some have forgotten the class we had last year.
Who do you think will make an impact on both of offensive and defensive sides of the ball?
For me:
Offense -
Shaw
Roundtree
Terrance Robinson
Odems
Defense -
Martin
Booboo
Brandon Smith
Fitzgerald
These guys all have a year in the system. A year of college behind them, and with all the struggles last year, I feel we will get a chance to see these players make some type of impact on the field this coming season.
GO BLUE!!
February 10th, 2009 at 10:42 PM ^
Do they still have to be enrolled?
February 10th, 2009 at 10:59 PM ^
It hurt losing him.
February 10th, 2009 at 10:47 PM ^
Offense:
1) Shaw
2) Stonum
3) Odoms
Defense:
1) Martin
2) Cissoko
3) Smith
February 10th, 2009 at 10:50 PM ^
Odoms and Martin pretty much.
Past those two I could see T-Rob and Stonum getting into the act. Shaw I really think will only see spot duty if Minor and Brown are healthy and can practice the whole spring. Both did very well when given opportunities.
February 10th, 2009 at 10:50 PM ^
O:
1) Stonum
2) Odoms
3) Koger
D:
1) Martin
2) Cissoko
3) Fitz
February 10th, 2009 at 10:53 PM ^
Either Brandon Smith or JB Fitzgerald. I heard a lot of good things about both of these guys last year, and that defense is going to need young guys to step up if it's going to be any good.
On offense, I think that either Odoms or Robinson in the slot will have a big impact, and I hope that Shaw improves on his promising Freshman effort.
February 10th, 2009 at 11:01 PM ^
...I think it'll be Robinson, since Tate, Denard or Threet will utilize more than one slot receiver. Odoms and Robinson will be the likely candidates (maybe Feagin too?), but since Odoms already has done it, Robinson will have a greater impact.
On defense, I agree that Smith and Fitzgerald will have the biggest impact. Smith can hit, and Fitzgerald is a big dude. They should be pretty good.
February 11th, 2009 at 7:22 AM ^
I remember many comments during the pre-season last year saying that Terance was ahead of Odoms. Many players were highly complimentary of him, so if that holds true this year...
February 10th, 2009 at 11:02 PM ^
...the redshirted linemen in that group? if you are, then I'd add Ricky Barnum. If not, then scratch this post.
February 10th, 2009 at 11:13 PM ^
There's an excellent chance that Ricky Barnum won't even play significant snaps this year.
February 10th, 2009 at 11:31 PM ^
Why is that, Magnus? I get all of the news about the O-lineman confused, I thought that Barnum was doing well in practice.
February 10th, 2009 at 11:38 PM ^
The offensive line started to gel at the end of the season. All five starting linemen return - Ortmann, Ferrara, Molk, Moosman, and Schilling (plus McAvoy and Dorrestein, who started on occasion).
Barnum has been doing well in practices, but in order to start, he'd have to pass up guys who are a couple years his senior and have significantly more game experience. It's not impossible, but I think it's a stretch to say he'll have the most impact when he might be our third or fourth guard.
February 11th, 2009 at 12:11 PM ^
and that the starters continue to improve so we can "preserve" Barnum for three years of no wear and tear.
If there are injuries, though, we'll probably have to trot out the redshirt froshes.
February 10th, 2009 at 11:17 PM ^
Offensively, I'd say Odoms will have the biggest impact. Shaw might end up being the best player out of the 2008 class, but he's got Minor and Brown (and Grady, sort of) ahead of him...as long as they stay healthy. And I won't believe the Terrence Robinson hype until I see it on the field, so I think Odoms's season will be similar to his 2008 year.
Defensively, I'd say Fitzgerald will have the biggest impact. Hopefully he can improve our tackling. I think Martin will have a mediocre year, and I'm not a huge fan of Cissoko. But if Fitzgerald plays well, the linebackers (presumably Mouton, Ezeh, and Fitzgerald) could be the backbone of the defense.
February 10th, 2009 at 11:43 PM ^
"I'm not a huge fan of Cissoko."
Sorry to ask, but why the icon?
February 11th, 2009 at 8:47 AM ^
I guess I should clarify.
I think Cissoko will be an adequate corner - not great, like a lot of people expect. I don't have anything against him, but I don't think he's going to be a star or an All-American or anything.
However, the reason I chose the icon is because it seemed like Cissoko was about an inch away from breaking every kick return for a TD. He's an exciting returner. But as a shutdown corner? Eh.
February 11th, 2009 at 9:05 AM ^
on Cissoko. Although it what his "true freshman" year... he was not a shutdown corner in the making. I hope I am wrong about him though.
February 10th, 2009 at 11:36 PM ^
Offense: Shaw and Odoms, definitely not Threet
Defense: Martin
February 10th, 2009 at 11:41 PM ^
Odoms has the most experience, but Robinson is a 4.33 forty yard dash athlete. He's a real game-breaker. I remember the coaches were talking about him starting last fall before his injury. I think he'll be under the radar early and break out. He and Odoms will likely be on the field at the same time quite often.
Shaw is also exciting for his speed, but he has to beat out several guys. I think Toussaint is going to be the biggest surprise in this class. He ran a 10.56 100m, the same as Andre Debose. Dude's got wheels.
Mike Martin is a shoe-in to start at DT, so he gets my vote there. Cissoko will have to compete with Turner, who might be the next Ty Law or Charles Woodson. At least a Marlin Jackson.
February 10th, 2009 at 11:48 PM ^
the last Michigan TE!
February 11th, 2009 at 12:24 AM ^
i agree that robinson and toussaint will be good, but when did track stats ever determine a good football player. Toney Clemons and Troy Woolfolk might be the fastest players on the team and in fact run for the track team at UM, but why do you think you haven't seen them in the starting rotation. Mike Hart ran a 4.7 coming out of high school. Look how he turned out.
February 11th, 2009 at 2:22 AM ^
In terms of wishful thinking, I've got to say T-Rob and Fitzgerald. I've got high hopes for T-Rob in that he'll be able to do more in open space that Odoms did this past year. For Fitzgerald, I'm just hoping he can come in a play a big role at LB this season considering the apparent lack of depth at the position. Other than that, I think Martin should have a big impact as a true soph.
February 11th, 2009 at 8:04 AM ^
Those players are track runner who play football. Toussaint is a football player who is also good at track.
February 11th, 2009 at 8:44 AM ^
I'm not quite sure who this post is referring to, because "No they don't" doesn't really apply to the above post.
However, if you're saying Woolfolk and Clemons are track runners who play football, then you're mistaken. Clemons was a 4-star WR coming out of high school who wanted to follow in the footsteps of all the recent great Michigan WR's. Woolfolk is the son of a Michigan football hero and excelled in both sports in high school.
This isn't Justin Gatlin suddenly trying to catch on in the NFL after not playing football since high school. They happen to be good at both sports. If you're going to lump those two things together, then I guess Tyrone Wheatley was a track runner playing football, too.
February 11th, 2009 at 9:46 AM ^
CJ Spiller runs track. So does Brandon James and Jeffrey Demps. The point with the 100m time is it indicates the ability to go the distance. Some people (Odoms and T-Rob) have great initial quickness, but in the case of Odoms, he/they get chased down on long plays. Toussaint can break it from anywhere.
February 11th, 2009 at 6:58 AM ^
Defense:
Mike Williams
B Smith
Martin
Offense:
Odoms/T. Rob
February 11th, 2009 at 7:35 AM ^
I personally hope that RR has the biggest impact in his 2nd year. Does he count, or is that a little too obvious.
February 11th, 2009 at 9:02 AM ^
I look for Stonum and Shaw to have nice soph. seasons on offense.
On defense I am going with Cissoko to have the biggest impact.
February 11th, 2009 at 9:09 AM ^
I'm surprised at the number of people choosing Shaw, considering he has three senior backs to contend with, as well as a couple freshmen who might see some playing time, too.
I think Shaw will play and I think he'll be the featured back next year, but it kind of boggles my mind that anyone could think he'd have more of an impact than Odoms or Terrence Robinson, one of which will be on the field on practically every single down.
February 11th, 2009 at 10:50 AM ^
Magnus--
I agree regarding Shaw: although he demonstrated the skill to be a featured running back, he is squarely behind Brandon Minor and likely behind Carlos Brown on the depth chart. Grady, on the other hand, will not have any impact on Shaw's playing time. I look for Shaw to have a breakout impact NEXT year.
I disagree regarding Cissoko. We should refrain from assessing his performance given (1) the overall quality of the defense; (2) the fact that the corners had to play off the line of scrimmage to account for the terrible safety play and Shafer's schemes; and (3) that it was Cissoko's true freshman season. I think he definitely has the potential to be a lock-down corner, but concluding otherwise based on his limited playing time last year is a little shaky to me.
February 11th, 2009 at 11:19 AM ^
Grady won't have much of an impact on Shaw's playing time, because most of Grady's carries came out of the I-formation. But still, there are only so many carries to go around. Even if Grady only gets 10 carries, a few of those might have been Shaw's otherwise.
Regarding Cissoko, my judgment of him is based on high school film and what I saw out of him last year. It's perfectly reasonable to make a projection based on what we saw. Otherwise, when someone asks you what you think of Cissoko, you should just respond with, "Uhhhh...errr...ummmm...well...uhhh...." Whether you say something that's positive or negative, you're judging based on what you've seen so far. Like I said, I'm not down on him, but I don't think he'll be an All-American. I don't foresee him making a lot of interceptions, and I think he'll struggle with bigger receivers.
February 11th, 2009 at 12:25 PM ^
Obviously, one could draw conclusions based on Cissoko's performance last year, but they should be preliminary at best. I have a hard time saying that Cissoko will not be an All-American because of his performance as a true freshman in limited playing time. Now, you indicated that you base your assessment on his high school video also, which may be more helpful.
And, for the record, I am not contending that Cissoko will be All-America or whatever. However, I do think that we should withhold projections either way given the small sample size.
February 11th, 2009 at 11:31 AM ^
Cissoko's size does present possible difficulties against taller recievers. I know he is really fast and appears to be able to jump well enough to compensate more often than not, but the thought of C covering a reciever 6-4 or taller on a fade route to the end zone is frightening.
February 11th, 2009 at 11:34 AM ^
Cissoko struggled against tall, physical receivers at the AAA Bowl last year. The thing about his vertical is, it really only matters if it's timed perfectly. If it's even a little bit off, he can't count on his height to make up for the ill-timed leap. So while I think it's a good thing that he has a 75" vertical leap, it's not a cure-all.