Who will be 2011's Defensive Denard Robinson?

Submitted by bluefrombirth on

Looking forward to the 2011 season, we know that the offense will be Ghengis Khan scorched earth level good. What the defense will be is another matter. The Offense took a huge leap forward because of the weaponization of the QB position. The 2010 defense is eerily similar to the 2009 offense. So who will make the jump that Drob made? I can think of 4 possibilities;

T- Wolf :Going into the season he was considered the most talented guy on the Defense before AMSHG smote him with fiery vengeance. He has the respect of the team, and shows the leadership that Denard possesses. With the added bonus of being a proven playmaker.

Kenny Demens: A guy that did not get onto the field until late in the season, and then showed instant impact. He is a solid playmaker that seems to be in the mold of wolverine LB's of yore.

Cam Gordon : Position switch extraordinaire, with boatloads of talent, yet is as raw as the day is long. Flashes of Brilliance ( Drob first snap against WMU) yet, lets a tightend get behind him ( Drob int against Iowa 2009).The guy is a playmaker that shows that he will be a beast....eventually. Added bonus, he made the all conference academic squad.

Courtnet Avery: Talented freshmen, pressed into duty to early ( wow eery resemblance). He has the requisite speed for the secondary. He made bad decisions at times, but that is to be expected from a freshman. He has gotten better with the more games he has played.

 

Who do you think it will be?

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aaamichfan

December 4th, 2010 at 11:25 AM ^

I'd have to think a DE or OLB. Furman or MRob or Kenny Wilkins or Jibreel Black?

Of course, if we had a freak athlete FS, that would be the most apt comparison.

Joined: 10/23/2009

MGoPoints: 14362

diclemeg2

December 4th, 2010 at 11:24 AM ^

JAMES VAUGHTERS.    he'll come to Michigan and follow Rodriguez.  This is an old school Michigan player, and they'll build the defense around him. Bank on it.

Joined: 05/11/2010

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TrppWlbrnID

December 4th, 2010 at 11:25 AM ^

If I understand asian history correctly, genghis khan conquered Asia on horseback while scorched earth is a defensive philosophy of successively retreating and not leaving any resources for your following enemies.

Joined: 10/29/2009

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bluefrombirth

December 4th, 2010 at 11:37 AM ^

 policy of an amazing offensive attack with your army storming through the opponents territory, always moving forward. Then burning everything in the occuppied cities to the ground, and salting the farmland to ensure that nothing will grow for several seasons. Depleting the enemy, and their future prospects of succesful revolt against your rule. For reference on the best tactician of scorched earth see Ghengis Khan, Timur the Lame, Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman. In fact we should call our offense " March to the Sea" and everyone should wear Stonum style Bowties in reference to " Sherman's Bowtie" railroads that were torn up rehaeted and placed around tree trunks. That is an offense i could get behind.

Joined: 08/23/2010

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RDubs

December 4th, 2010 at 5:04 PM ^

this isn't 'Nam (or the SEC).  there are rules.

 

Edit:  'Nam was a Lebowski reference.  Not a reference to any actual atrocities that happened in Vietnam.

Joined: 09/09/2008

MGoPoints: 1123

UMICH1606

December 4th, 2010 at 11:32 AM ^

I hope it is Richard Ash or Quinton Washington. We need to get bigger up front in the worst way. Mike Martin would be way more effective as a tradtional DT or RVB's spot.

Joined: 02/21/2010

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Bb011

December 4th, 2010 at 11:31 AM ^

T-wolf. With that said, he wouldn't be the "denard" to me considering I would have always expected T-wolf to be the best on the defensive side of the ball.

 

So my denard award goes to.....courtney avery. 

Joined: 09/02/2010

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Harballer

December 4th, 2010 at 11:32 AM ^

I know he'll just be a freshman, and won't have a lot of experience, but if we are talking about jumps to be made, I think it's a huge jump from being a very good high school player to a solid college freshman starter (which, from watching his videos posted on this site and seeing his stats, would say is very plausible).

Joined: 09/29/2010

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Crime Reporter

December 4th, 2010 at 11:32 AM ^

As most of you know, I am a big fan of Carvin Johnson. The guy makes great open field tackles and has a nose for the ball.

We will need one of these current redshirt freshmen (Wilkins, Ash, Talbott) to step up in a big way next season with the loss of the seniors.

Joined: 12/19/2008

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NYCJHGoblue

December 4th, 2010 at 11:38 AM ^

Demens, MRob, Jibreel Black, Cullen Christian, and Carvin Johnson will make vast improvements next year....our defense will be much improved especially if we change from the 3-3-5 and get a new Defensive Coordinator.

Joined: 01/09/2009

MGoPoints: 192

kmanning

December 4th, 2010 at 11:51 AM ^

When I first read it, I thought of Quentin Washington. The practice hype around him is good(although, so was the practice hype of our kickers...) and he looked capable in the goalline packages. I was impressed with how low he'd get and he's usually get some good push there. There's tons of talk about him being an absolute monster in the weight room. All of this together with bowl practices, spring practices, summer workouts, and fall practice makes me think he could "break out" as a NT. Now as a NT he probably wouldn't have the big stats of Denard, but the impact could be the same if he could demand double teams and not get moved off the ball.

If you want someone a bit flashier, I could see Cullen Christian making a big jump. Dude has a ton of talent but was limited by lack of knowledge of the system and how to play college football. Which is similar to Denard in '09. He's a bigger corner, which if he can make a huge leap, it'd be a giant boon for this D to be able to match up with bigger WRs. I really like the future of Avery and even Talbott, but they're shorter guys. Having a guy like CC that can at least somewhat matchup with a 6-3/6-4 WR would be very nice.

Joined: 11/05/2009

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Super J

December 4th, 2010 at 11:56 AM ^

I think Campbell.  He will realize that he only has two years left to prove his hype.  He will lobby to go back to defense and work hard this off season and come back a beast.

Joined: 12/16/2008

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MeijerWolverine

December 4th, 2010 at 12:08 PM ^

#55 Jibreel Black saw situational playing time, similar to D-rob in his freshmen year. He was effective at times as a pass rusher, so we know the kid has talent. Given a year in the weight room & in the system, I see him logging some important sacks next year. 

Joined: 10/06/2010

MGoPoints: 423

bamf_16

December 4th, 2010 at 2:47 PM ^

If Black gets a little stronger and can be better in run support, he might have as high a ceiling as any other defensive player on the roster.

 

By the way, new to this board, been following the blog for awhile and reading the posts and enjoy doing so.  Seems to be a whole lot more support for the coaching staff here than in most other places!

Joined: 11/20/2010

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