Official Depth Chart Released Tomorrow - Rivals Opines Today

Submitted by Mr. Rager on

LINK: http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1540402  (free article)

Two 'shockers' in my opinion:

- No Derrick Green (he has to get carries at some point, though, right?)

- Channing '2 star' Stribling backing up Taylor at Corner

More opinion:

- Chesson overtakes Jackson by B1G play.

- LG and FS are our weakest positions, by far.

- RB has 'depth' but lacks anyone outside of Fitz (and Green when he is healthy / up to speed) who is a playmaker.

- Out of the 12 listed on the DLine, many play.  Taco gets the most snaps for anyone who is third at their position.

If Stribling really is that high, I think that's great for him (speaks more to his abilities than a lack of ability w/ Douglas or Lewis).  He has been shown several times in the CTK videos making plays.

Caveat, of course, that this is per The Wolverine's sources and does not in fact represent what will be posted tomorrow, officially.  I'd bank on a lot of "OR"'s as well.  

Blazefire

August 25th, 2013 at 10:39 PM ^

I just recall that shortly after his offer and commitment, it seemed like he blew up. The sort of guy Beilein would get for the BBall team.I figured I was probably putting more stock into my expectations than I should, but after seeing the video and hearing the practice reports, I'm thinking they got in on a 4 star kid when he was a 2 star.

maizenblue87

August 25th, 2013 at 1:38 PM ^

The different trajectories (at this point) of Stribling and Green illustrates the point that kids has "no stars" once they step on campus. I guess one benefit of the Green hype was to push others harder in competition, which helps the team.

BlueinOK

August 25th, 2013 at 1:38 PM ^

I can't wait to see the depth chart tomorrow so I can laugh at how off Rivals is right now. I mean Rivals is just guessing at this point. I'd believe a depth chart put together here over any other place. 

bronxblue

August 25th, 2013 at 1:38 PM ^

At this point, I only care about who actually plays on the 31st.  Getting worked up over depth charts, most of which can change even after being posted, seems unnecessarily stressful.

Magnus

August 25th, 2013 at 5:42 PM ^

Some people like to be contrarian, and their comments are published just like the rest. I also think fans sometimes take it a little personally when kids come in a bit out of shape. They're offended that Derrick Green came in at 240 lbs. instead of around 230, because they think he's not taking football as serious as he should.

That's my own personal opinion on why so many people are disgruntled with Green. As for my opinion, I'm not that concerned. It really doesn't take very much time in August to shed 5-10 lbs. if necessary.

wolverine1987

August 26th, 2013 at 10:15 AM ^

it has to do with the total absence of positive chatter about his abilities from camp, with the most prominent (Hoke) comment being that Green "is learning about college football." Why does the absence (so far) of positve buzz concern me? Because RB is the one position where a freshmen can make an immediate impact, and have his abilities be immediately obvious. Recall the Denard freshman buzz for example (I know, QB but it was all running buzz). For a 5 star #1, a guy that rates as a future first round pick, to not stand out right away makes me wonder.  

Bo Lytle

August 25th, 2013 at 2:12 PM ^

Look, anyone playing next to Taylor Lewan will be fine.  When i was in high school i was a left or right guard.  Whenever i lined up next to "Big Cat", who was our premier star tackle, i was able to absolutely dominate.  It allowed me to cheat knowing that he was fine and that he never missed assingment.  This allowed me to concentrate on my role and also throw some cheap shots and double team the nose.  You put anyone next to a premier tackle and that guard is just going to eat up those DT's.  Hell, i could play next to Taylor.  Left guard is the least of my worries.  He won't be asked to pull much compared to the right guard so all he has to do is fire out and not fuck up.  I'd like to see Bryant win the right guard so he can pull towards Lewan and light them skinny linebackers up.  Left guard...how nice would it be to hunker down next to The Big Guy?  Either option will work.  

jabberwock

August 25th, 2013 at 2:21 PM ^

Mainly because of how they chose Mealer last year.

Look at the worst case scenarios.

If you had the choice between a player:

A. Not holding a block quite as long or getting as much push.

or

B. Fumbling a snap, or completely missing a call/blocking assignment.

I'd take A any day and try my best to scheme around this weakness.

B means a possible game changing disaster.

Although I'm sure Miller & Glasgow aren't THAT far apart.

TakeTheField

August 25th, 2013 at 2:32 PM ^

the only depth chart that matters is the one the coaches put out tomorrow. And that one only matters for a week.

We'll do a lot of rotating in the front 7, and that will pay off as the season wears on. Stribling making some waves at CB helps to shore things up back there, but safety still worries me. No matter how you shuffle it, we still seem pretty mediocre there. Hill doesn't seem to be in the mix there yet, and Thomas may be locked in at nickel corner this year (though he may very well shift to being a pure SS next year, as our other CBs develop). A little disappointed that Pipkins is not getting more practice buzz...for a 5 star guy going into his second year, he seems very much under the radar. Ditto for RJS...he's looking like a perennial backup.

TakeTheField

August 25th, 2013 at 4:12 PM ^

In fact there was a fairly detailed piece right on this web site in the lead-up to last season documenting how highly rated DTs were among the MOST likely position players to make an impact as true freshmen. Pipkins came in as a 5 star last year and had a whole season of on-field experience, but doesn't seem to have improved noticeably over 2012. He's looking like another Will Campbell...a guy who comes in with great credentials and gets every opportunity to shine, but never gets beyond the level of a mediocre 2nd stringer.

Championship teams are based on strong line play. You need dominant players at DT to have a killer defense, and Pipkins ain't gonna be that.

blueblueblue

August 25th, 2013 at 4:28 PM ^

Is this a joke? You have not seen Pipkins play a single down of football in 2013, and you are already saying he will be another Will Campbell? Come back after the season and post something like this, when perhaps it will not be just garbage, but actually have some merit. I really wish people who post garbage like this would get time-outs on here. 

SalvatoreQuattro

August 25th, 2013 at 4:53 PM ^

is the case. Young linemen on both sides are normally redshirted at developed programs. You'll have to do better than referencing an article posted last year that purports to show 18 year old DTs starting and making a positive impact against players who have been in college weight rooms for several years. Most teams who start freshmen on the DL are in trouble.

 

List for us all the freshmen DTs who have been studs right off the bat. 

TIMMMAAY

August 25th, 2013 at 5:28 PM ^

More like TakeaBreak, AMIRITE? 

Seriously, WTF man? Pipkins has looked good in all available practice clips, and it seems pretty apparent that Hoke is counting on him being a major disruption rotating in there. Are you drunk?

TakeTheField

August 25th, 2013 at 4:22 PM ^

A high motor is generally something you either have as a Dlineman, or you don't. It's not something you can just switch on because someone kicks you in the ass or passes you on the depth chart. If he can't motivate himself to come hard on every play at this level of competition, then he's likely to stay at 2nd or 3rd on the depth chart his whole time here.

Hannibal.

August 26th, 2013 at 8:20 AM ^

I agree that this change has to come from withing, but some coaches are better at bringing it out than others.  It's the art of being a drill sergeant, so-to-speak.  I hope that if Pipkins is having effort/motivation issues, he'll have that come to Jesus moment where he realizes that he is pissing away a potential NFL career by not playing hard enough. 

reshp1

August 25th, 2013 at 3:18 PM ^

Nose tackle is not a position of concern so you're not going to be hearing as much because people aren't asking the coaches about it like they are about interior OL, DE, WR etc which were concerns after last year. Pipkins also has a returning senior starter in Q Wash ahead of him, who had an excellent season last year. The only really thing we know about Pipkins is he's not pushing Q for the starting position, which is neither a surprise nor a bid deal. He played plenty of snaps last year in a similar depth scenario because it's a position that rotates and did ok for a FR. We'll have to wait until gameday to find out if he's taken the next step or not, but as far as I'm concerned, no news is good news when it comes to the DT position.

And BTW, Pipkins *DID* get some buzz by the BTN bus tour observers

MGoStrength

August 25th, 2013 at 3:45 PM ^

I've heard some talk before that we don't have confidence in the FS position.  My question is what gives with Wilson?  He has the recruiting profile to be a good player, he seems to have the size and the speed.  He is a smart guy (he was an academic all american).  He played a bunch of snaps last year as both a reserve safety and special teamer.  I sorta got the impression that the coaches tried to groom him last year by getting him into a lot of games. So, what gives?  Shouldn't he be ready to be a solid contributer?

In reply to by MGoStrength

FreddieMercuryHayes

August 25th, 2013 at 3:57 PM ^

He's a true sophomore? Safety is just usually a position that require experience and demands excellence. A safety busting coverages or angles makes plays into TDs. Youth is not a good thing back there. But yeah, he came in with a reputation for being quite smart, so I (and several others) maybe erroneously assumed he would pick things up a bit quicker. But he is still young.

MGoStrength

August 25th, 2013 at 4:10 PM ^

Last year LSU had a true sophomore, Sunseri for Bama was one too (and a good one), Texas A&M played one too, Georgia is planning on playing a true freshman and true sophomore this year at safety, etc.  Other teams seem to do it just fine, so it seems being a true sophomore should not really be an issue, especially for a guy that got a lot of snaps last year, got to see a really smart player in front of him every day (Kovacs), and is playing next to a long time starter (Gordan) this year.  What are we gonna do next year when Wilson (junior) and Thomas (sophomore) are our projected safeties?

TakeTheField

August 25th, 2013 at 4:18 PM ^

The "guys take lots of time to develop" excuse still seems to get floated around here too much. But elite teams do not take 3-4 years to develop their top-notch talent. They just don't. If a guy isn't looking like a star by the end of his second year on the field, then odds are, he will never be one.

As far as safety goes, it's hard to figure what our problem is. We've had no shortage of high-quality recruits at safety for the last decade, but our production and playmaking at the safety position has been mediocre at best. That needs to improve if we're going to have the kind of defense that can challenge for a NC.