Why has our safety play been so poor for so long?
Outside of Kovacs I can't remember one that was an asset in recent vintage. Depth always seems to be a problem. If the starter gets hurt our backups are poor at best.
However, I do believe the current Wilson / Hiil tandem could develop into a strength.
Is it because we are recruiting for cornerbacks and those that don't have the sufficient cover skills get shifted to the safety position by default?
Is it because recruiting the safety position is more of a crapshoot for the next level like offensive linemen?
Is it because some safeties are converted HS linebackers that have to be taught a whole different position?
I'm sure there are HS coaching types out there that can enlighten us.
January 10th, 2015 at 12:05 PM ^
It seems like there was a lot of transfers a few years ago that hurt. Carvin Johnson, Ray Vinopal were two I can think of off the top of my head. Other guys didn't pan out too. We missed on recruiting too much, and it's been some time since there's been good depth at the position.
January 10th, 2015 at 12:17 PM ^
Yeah, there were a couple.
January 10th, 2015 at 12:35 PM ^
That graphic explains a lot. Jeez.
January 10th, 2015 at 1:15 PM ^
Honestly I think that graphic explains just about 90% of any problems at safety. Some of those guys ( Vinopal, Christian ) went on to start elsewhere.
January 10th, 2015 at 12:36 PM ^
Too bad he didn't use correct grammar-- we may never know what the post were about.
January 10th, 2015 at 12:44 PM ^
Poor*
/idiot
January 10th, 2015 at 1:16 PM ^
It were wrong?
January 10th, 2015 at 2:03 PM ^
Me thinks there is a dickhead mod.
January 10th, 2015 at 12:08 PM ^
I don't remember it being that big of a problem in 2013 until they decided to play Josh Furman. So at most you're looking at three solid to very good years (2011-2013) and then last year I don't really know because I was too disheartened to pay that much attention to safety play.
January 10th, 2015 at 12:11 PM ^
Josh Furman was pretty good for Okie State this year. . . Might not have been him.
January 10th, 2015 at 12:19 PM ^
He played linebacker in a completely different system.
January 10th, 2015 at 9:45 PM ^
So he plays safety at UM for 4 years and then switches to a new position at another school and is solid. Either our coaches sucked coaching, development and our knowing what positions they should plug guys in at. Or all three.
January 10th, 2015 at 10:32 PM ^
Playing players at the wrong position, last year when he left, but was immediately accosted by the "The coaching staff knows better than you " crowd, so I let it go, but sometimes we are vindicated by time and events.
January 11th, 2015 at 9:15 AM ^
Ok St plays a completely different system. One that fits a guy like Furman really well. Michigan wasn't going to change their system or scheme for one player.
January 10th, 2015 at 12:46 PM ^
But that is him.
January 10th, 2015 at 12:07 PM ^
Kovaks
January 10th, 2015 at 12:09 PM ^
Why has our safety play been so poor...
January 10th, 2015 at 12:11 PM ^
2 grammar police (so far) and no one to correct the spelling of Jordan Kovacs name?!
The misplaced priorities of Mgoblog!
January 10th, 2015 at 12:36 PM ^
how are other people going to know what you're trying to say? that and we don't want to end up like Mlive where people seem to be ESL. and Carlos pointed out the misspelling.
January 10th, 2015 at 12:39 PM ^
By pointing out do you mean repeated? His Spiciness is often too clever for me, so credit where credit's due if you saw that as a correction.
January 10th, 2015 at 1:01 PM ^
My aren't you the arrogantly smug one. Your point would be better made were you not exhibiting your own literacy errors.
January 10th, 2015 at 12:50 PM ^
You mean Jordan Kovacs' name?
January 10th, 2015 at 12:15 PM ^
Detroit aren't skating a'tall...
--Sid Abel
January 10th, 2015 at 12:31 PM ^
Upvote because I LOVED Sid ("Those Stastny boys can really put the puck in the net") but that's a Canadian/Brit thing ("Liverpool are putting the pressure on Chelsea").
January 10th, 2015 at 12:49 PM ^
Odd. You would think the individualist Yanks would think of a team as a group of individuals (plural) "Detroi-it are solid on the blue line", and the more socialist Brits would think of a team as a collective (singular) "Chelsea is all over Stoke City at the moment", but grammatically we are opposite.
January 10th, 2015 at 12:33 PM ^
I was going to say maybe he's Canadian or British.
January 10th, 2015 at 1:04 PM ^
Hey now I ain't walking around sounding like dis guy. That's not what were all aboot up ear eh.
January 10th, 2015 at 5:06 PM ^
That's also one of the weird aspects of World Cup broadcasts with all those British announcers. "France are ...." "Germany are ....." Brazil are ...."
January 10th, 2015 at 10:40 PM ^
And he worked with an outstanding hockey play-by-play man in Bruce Martyn. Even during some of the Wings' darkest days, those two were on top of their broadcast game.
January 10th, 2015 at 1:09 PM ^
Bru uses a lot of vernacular syntax. I wish he would use standard English instead so people here would take him seriously. He obviously pays attention to the game and loves Michigan; it would be nice to see him communicate it in a way that people here can relate to it.
January 10th, 2015 at 12:08 PM ^
We haven't had good coaching at the safetie position either.. Dymonte Thomas wasn't being developed very well by the previous staff either.. especially to have Clark or delano hill jump him for playing time is not good.
Can't believe you think delano hill could be good there.. He got torched constantly when he played last year
January 10th, 2015 at 12:10 PM ^
Are you really writing him off after one season?
January 10th, 2015 at 12:21 PM ^
This is a guy who doesn't understand youth and development.
Dymonte played linebacker in high school. Hill played safety. It's a more natural fit for Hill. That's besides the fact that it takes more time for certain players to develop.
January 10th, 2015 at 12:59 PM ^
Thomas: freshman S rarely play right away.
Wilson has been injured but when he plays he is greatly underrated.
January 10th, 2015 at 3:14 PM ^
plus he missed a lot of practice time. Early with a broken jaw and late with a knee I believe.
January 10th, 2015 at 12:09 PM ^
Angry Michigan Safety Hating God. (AMSHG)
January 10th, 2015 at 12:10 PM ^
Your hypotheses don't make sense. If it's because recruiting is a crapshoot, then that wouldn't explain your premise that Michigan has struggled at safety and other teams haven't. Same thing with converting linebackers (our safeties aren't LB converts). And, finally, same thing goes for claiming they were cornerback converts, because they weren't (Wilson and Hill were both considered safeties when they were recruited).
January 10th, 2015 at 12:19 PM ^
Our starting safeties are not LB converts but our highest ranked safety recruit (Dymonte) is.
January 10th, 2015 at 1:54 PM ^
Ironically, now our defense under Durkin looks to be a place where Safety/LB hybrids will thrive, running a fast back 5 more often than not and delayed blitzing with DBs.
January 10th, 2015 at 1:38 PM ^
I don't think the OP was stating a hypothesis. It seemed to me he was throwing out possible ideas for discussion.
January 10th, 2015 at 12:11 PM ^
like Marlin Jackson, Cato June, or even a Marcus Ray...
Hopefully, the new staff can develop the guys we have and get a couple more...
January 10th, 2015 at 12:16 PM ^
Exactly what we need, we need a guy who is willing to go out and get suspended for the current game or he can wait until the second half and sit out the next game too. Great idea!
/s
January 10th, 2015 at 12:37 PM ^
Marlin actually did fit the hypothesis of CB converted to S...he was a better CB.
It really has to be chalked up to coaching when it goes on year after year, staff after staff. Kovacs was a walk on and he's in the NFL. I attribute that to great instincts and desire more than anything our coaches did, or the players they recruited would have similarly excelled.
Stevie Brown took years and a position switch/tweak to amount to anything. Ryan Mundy had to transfer to become the player he was thought to be out of HS. Ernest Shazor could have been an All-America with better coaching.
The only player at that position since the NC team that has been a fairly highly ranked recruit that played to something like his ability and went on to the league is Jamar Adams. A very disappointing track record to be sure!
January 10th, 2015 at 12:45 PM ^
Josh Furman! Holy Crap the list goes on! He sucked here, transfers and becomes serviceable bordering on good elsewhere. Greg Jackson has put numerous safeties in the Pro Bowl - might turn out to be a VERY important addition to the staff, given the safety development track record this millennium.
January 10th, 2015 at 6:02 PM ^
JOSH FURMAN WAS A LINEBACKER. Now, sorry for yelling. Seriously though, Furman was always a hybrid guy who didn't understand coverage schemes in the back end. As soon as he got to Oklahoma State he was made a linebacker type of player in their system, and he thrived because he was a coverage/blitzing linebacker. He was perfect for the role they put him in. Michigan did not have that kind of system and they played him as a safety. He didn't play the same position.
January 10th, 2015 at 1:04 PM ^
Ernest Shazor could have been an All-America had he bothered to stay another year.
FYPFY
January 10th, 2015 at 1:27 PM ^
Wasn't Shazor an All-American his junior year? Maybe not first team but I thought I remembered seeing him go to an awards show for it.
January 10th, 2015 at 1:56 PM ^
Were also solid -
Thomas will break out this year and become the next great Safety for Michigan along with Wilson.
Could move Peppers to FS and let him roam the field, destroying anything that reaches the secondary as well.
I believe with so much cover 2, our safeties consistently had to play deep zone and were wasted a bit, especially against teams who don't air it out deep much.