Scrimmage Personnel Hubbub

Submitted by Heiko on

Just passing along some info, which might resolve some of the panic a couple threads below:

Shane Morris, Jibreel Black, Chris Bryant, and Jeremy Gallon were held out of the scrimmage. We'll hear from Hoke about it Tuesday. I was told it's nothing to make a big fuss about, although personally I think Morris would have benefited a lot from the scrimmage. C'est la vie. Nothing really changes the fact that if Gardner goes down we should pack up and go home.

As you saw, Bryant's absence moved Glasgow to left guard in the scrimmage. Wherefore art thou, Ben Braden, ye of my prediction for lock at left guard? Braden, notably, has not been practicing at guard for some time. He's a tackle these days (womp womp), so the depth chart at left guard (assuming Bryant is fine) goes Bryant, Glasgow, Bars.

The point of a closed scrimmage is for the team to work on areas of improvement in a real game setting but far from the prying eyes of the public. As such, yesterday was run heavy, especially when Gardner was in. Green and Smith got a lot of looks. I'm told that neither really stood out because the blocking still had some ways to go. I wouldn't worry too much about that because the two freshman backs worked heavily with the second team, and the starting line was minus Bryant anyway.

Logan88

August 18th, 2013 at 1:06 PM ^

It's unfortunate that Morris and Bryant were not able to participate as they really could have benefited from the scrimmage. Gallon and Black don't really need the reps or simulating a game experience but those two youngsters needed that big time.

MichiganMan_24_

August 18th, 2013 at 1:07 PM ^

I am not panic but i would be a liar if i said there is no reason to worry about our interior line..and anyone who isnt is naive..It was a spot we didnt recruit well under RR and it is a soft spot and also a very important spot in the running game and keeping Devin healthy..but i have faith in Michigan to find a way

gwkrlghl

August 18th, 2013 at 7:35 PM ^

Molk and Lewan were going to be All-Americans with or without Hoke. Lewan's practice hyper from his freshman/RS Fr season had him pegged as the next Jake Long already and Molk was already wrecking people under Richrod though most of us didn't realize it yet

The staff has yet to prove their worth on the O-line. However, they also haven't brought their own guys through yet, they were just given a ragtag bunch of Richrod's guys and that didn't go well. So the verdict is still out, but I'm leaning more towards pessimism than optimism at this point

Huma

August 18th, 2013 at 7:03 PM ^

Let me help you with reading comprehension. He said he hadn't seen "much yet" with respect to our coaches performance with the OL. You can argue about how much the coaches had to do with individual player performance, but having 2 All Americans is certainly something. It didn't happen out of thin air.

TESOE

August 18th, 2013 at 9:52 PM ^

Denard had a say in Molk and Lewan's accolades as well.  Nobody is rushing the QB when he's told to contain before rushing.  See Nebraska before and after injury.  The extra blocker is one less man for the line to block.  Denard right/left was great for agile linemen like Molk and Lewan.  

Molk had nothing but compliments for the current coaching staff.  Are you giving RR credit for Hoke's first years?  The coach is the coach.  The team is the team.  All American OL performance is not an exact science.  Funk deserves credit for both players' performance as much as anyone outside the player's parents and the team around them.  

If you want a great OL coach look to the academies - it doesn't necessarily add up to All Americans or wins for that matter but they get it done.  Huma's point is valid.  Who is complaining about Funk other than bloggers and crickets.  Mattison took Funk's NFL guard to staunch his DL - as RR did before with Q.  The coaches do what they do and deserve credit as well as blame.

alum96

August 18th, 2013 at 1:37 PM ^

Disappointed Braden seems to be losing to Glasgow - would have liked him to get a year under his belt and then move over to tackle next year.  Breaking in 2 tackles in 2014 who have not seen the field or only seen the field due to injury to our 2 this year is not going to be a positive development.   Bryant not playing also just makes me feel for this kid, I hope its not another injury bug.  The video showed nice passes by Devin and like Heiko said its a moot point for Morris IMO - if Devin goes down the season is shot.

Space Coyote

August 18th, 2013 at 1:47 PM ^

Braden is a big guy, strong, and long. But rooting out DTs takes another level of low pad level completely. It may have been difficult for him to pick up on some of those things, or frankly, he may not have been seperating himself from the others and it's better for Braden and the OL unit to get him more reps at OT now and fill in with another guy that has had similar success on the inside and will be staying there in the future.

maizedandconfused

August 18th, 2013 at 4:01 PM ^

The difference in duties between a guard and a tackle are enormous. Tackles take on your usual more athletic DE/DT in a scheme, the goal is to be able to take a DE 1 on 1. A guard is usually required to take a DT in a combo block with a C, and then the C or the G must be able to bounce to the second level to pick up a LB. Also, pulling.

Think the difference you see here is that Braden might not have been stocky or low enough to push a 6-3 310 DT out of a hole.. where as him giong against a 270lb DE is much more realistic.

Brown Bear

August 18th, 2013 at 1:15 PM ^

People read! He said he wouldn't worry too much about the freshmen backs struggling due to the line because they were running behind the second string o-line. We still know nothing really about the starting o-line except for the fact that the few plays of Fitz that were shown the blocking looked good.

ScruffyTheJanitor

August 18th, 2013 at 1:18 PM ^

Chris Bryant would have made a big difference in the passing game-- so I will.  He's a big dude, so me thinks that has to count for something.

I guess this means that the tentative OLine for next year would be Magnuson/Bryant/Miller (or Kugler)/ Kalis/ Braden?

redhousewolverine

August 18th, 2013 at 4:11 PM ^

Although you are absolutely right about Bosch being a G and Mags being a T, couldn't one make the argument that if Bosch is ready to play next year (presumably as a RS F) and Mags isn't ready, then they could bumo Kalis out to RT, insert Bosch as the RG, and move Braden over to LT. The coaches do seem to enjoy having OLine members that are interchangeable in order to play the best 5. Granted I also agree with you that Mags status next season will probably not at all be affected by Bosch and more about Mags' progression which I am optimistic about.

Wolverine Devotee

August 18th, 2013 at 1:20 PM ^

Did anyone really expect to learn ANYTHING from videos of a Brady Hoke-led Michigan practice? 

Why do you think the camera angles are so shitty and Hoke put up border around the Fort walls? 

He'll be the last coach in the country to show his hand. 

DonAZ

August 18th, 2013 at 1:23 PM ^

I have to remind myself of several things -- (a) this is a relatively young team, (b) we have a very good (to perhaps the best) coaching staff, and (c) there will be setbacks during the season but life goes on.

As much as I'd like Michigan to be a soul-grinding machine of football perfection, I just don't think 2013 is the year.  My hope and expectations are more set on constructing a trajectory of improvement that maps into next year and beyond.

Do I want a 14-0 season?  Of course.  Do I really expect it?  No.  I just hope that in any loss we do suffer that Michigan plays smart and competitive and we walk away understanding why the W didn't go the other way.  And that's a coaching thing ... see item "b" above.

reshp1

August 18th, 2013 at 1:31 PM ^

I'm kinda surprised Braden won't be a guard, he had several reps there in the scrimmage video. I guess that's because Bryant was held out though?

somewittyname

August 18th, 2013 at 1:33 PM ^

In the CTK scrimmage video, Braden appears to be running at LG on 2nd team with Magnuson at LT. This doesn't seem to fit your theory...

In reply to by somewittyname

Heiko

August 18th, 2013 at 1:39 PM ^

Yeah there was some reshuffling because of Bryant's absence. I'm just saying that Braden hasn't practiced at guard since Bryant took the spot about a week ago. With Bryant out I'm sure Braden is at least the 2nd best option at left guard. He did spend most of spring practice there, after all. 

alum96

August 18th, 2013 at 1:45 PM ^

Heiko, if Bryant is the presumed starter at LG and Braden is the 2nd best option why would they not elevate the 2nd best LG option to the 1st group during the scrimmage rather than moving a projected center over to LG?  Thx