Stupid idea? Move J. Hudson to DT for a game

Submitted by Prince_of_Nachos on October 11th, 2018 at 11:43 AM

Okay, maybe this is really dumb. But we have a short term lack of depth (next 1-2 games) at a position of need (DT) against Wisconsin’s crushing run offense. 

James Hudson was a borderline top-100 player at DT out of high school. I don’t think there’s any doubts that he’s physically capable, so maybe he could download a portion of the playbook and be used in limited spots. Thoughts?

SF Wolverine

October 11th, 2018 at 11:45 AM ^

Not stupid, but I don't think you run a guy out against this Wiscy O-Line as his debut performance.  If we can get one or more of Dwumfour/Kemp/Solomon to at least get into the rotation Saturday, that seems a strongly preferable outcome

FL_Steve

October 11th, 2018 at 12:59 PM ^

He'll be back for PSU given his injury; not the type you can play on injured, but one that can heal in a few weeks, especially with UM training and medical facilities. Hell Butt was able to run on a treadmill in a lower body water suit.

rainingmaize

October 11th, 2018 at 1:48 PM ^

My theory is that he has an ankle sprain, similar to the injury Mo Wagner had last year. Its an injury that will keep you out two weeks, but feels significant when it happens. I got a sprain while trail running a few months ago, and when it happened I thought I for sure destroyed some ligaments or broke my ankle. Could explain why they brought out the cart for him.

Perkis-Size Me

October 11th, 2018 at 11:59 AM ^

Someone mentioned in a different thread yesterday that umbig11 seems to think Kemp will be back on Saturday. 

I'm not banking on Dwumfour being back (I think Harbaugh is just playing coy to make Wisconsin have to prepare for him), and Solomon.....ehhh maybe he sees a few snaps, but just because he's practicing doesn't mean he's game ready. Especially not game ready to take on a line full of All-America candidates. Hope I'm wrong, he'd be a huge help. But not getting my hopes up. 

We may not see him until Penn State. 

DMack

October 11th, 2018 at 1:16 PM ^

I think that under talked about Mone will hold us down in the middle against the run just fine. But for his constant injuries, he would be a legit prospect to play on Sunday's. If Gary returns to form and Chase keeps playing out of his mind, I expect us to significantly curtail the Wisconsin run game. Especially with Bush, Hudson, Ross and Kinnell plugging holes. Against the pass Kinnell gets torched and gives up the first down too often, despite being a solid tackler after the fact. We need someone else to play on passing situations if he can't get it together.

Prince_of_Nachos

October 11th, 2018 at 11:59 AM ^

Agreed, but it just doesn’t seem realistic to expect Mone to hold up for four quarters if Wisconsin puts some long, grinding drives together.  

If Michigan has a big lead it’s nbd. But in a tight game, Wisconsin could drive on our exhausted DTs late. Seems like the coaches would have a contingency plan, and making J. Hudson available should be an option.  

DairyQueen

October 11th, 2018 at 12:56 PM ^

Joey George and Carl Meyers come on down!

Besides the freshman from Germany, Julius Welschof, we don't have any other DLs listed above 250lbs.

Truthfully, among Kemp, Gary, Rueben Jones, Solomon, Winovich, Paye, Mone, Ron Johnson, Lawrence Marshall, Jeter and Hutchinson, I think Brown can get a decent rotation going (although less "big" and more "fast" for what it's worth).

Vilain and Dwumfour are our only "out indefinitley DL, right?

rob f

October 11th, 2018 at 5:09 PM ^

Carl Myers (Jr., PWO) has looked capable of spot minutes in his limited action this season, but I wouldn't want to depend on him and/or freshman Joey George any more than absolutely necessary against Wiscy's (like it or not, Wisky!) OL.  Same with Hudson.

Best case scenario is that we score, eat clock, shut Wiscy's offense down early, and continue to possess the ball and score.  If we can keep our defense fresh all game and not get worn down and in a 4th quarter slugfest, I love our chances.  But a healthy Gary and Kemp and some spot duty by Solomon and Marshall will go a long way towards keeping them from grinding out yardage and points.

Ezeh-E

October 11th, 2018 at 11:48 AM ^

I think it makes sense, not necessarily for Wisconsin (except in garbage time), but getting him ready for the tail end of the season in case we have additional injuries.

UP to LA

October 11th, 2018 at 1:15 PM ^

Looking ahead to the tail end of the season, though, I'd be more worried about injuries and depth at offensive tackle than defensive tackle. Assuming that Kemp, Dwumfour, and Solomon are all on the road to recovery, our d-tackle depth should be at its nadir right now, and we should be fine going forward. But if JBB were to get hurt, and we were to shift Hudson back to defense, right tackle depth would be pretty scary. 

ldevon1

October 11th, 2018 at 11:51 AM ^

Yep, very stupid. Remember though, there are no stupid questions, just stupid people asking them. Prince, don't panic, our Dline depth will be fine this weekend. Mone, Marshall (played last week) Jeter, Gary, Paye, Winovich, and I believe Kemp is ready. 

ldevon1

October 11th, 2018 at 12:56 PM ^

The response wasn't meant to be clever.  If needed in a pinch Solomon will play. If he is practicing, he can play. He probably won't start, but if he can practice he can play some reps. Kemp will play. Not sure if he will get 20 snaps, but he will play. Outside of that, all we are missing is Dwumfour. Jeter might have to absorb some snaps, Rashan might haveto move inside. Paye might have to move inside. All those guys will play inside before a kid who hasn't played defense since the beginning of fall camp last year, will switch positions to play in a game against the best Oline they will play in the B1G this year. What do you perceive to be clever? 

rockediny

October 11th, 2018 at 1:09 PM ^

So you would take a DT who had surgery, just started practicing,and is almost definitely out of shape over a former (and I use this loosely as he’s barely played any OL) DT who has been conditioning this whole time? Does the sentence about stupid questions also apply to stupid statements because if you this his is stupid, then yours is too.

Watching From Afar

October 11th, 2018 at 1:26 PM ^

 If needed in a pinch Solomon will play. If he is practicing, he can play.

Hasn't played since the ND game and had knee surgery. That's not a great depth piece to have to possibly rely upon at the moment.

 Kemp will play.

Right, and I as I mentioned, he was hurt last week and had to come out so assuming he's 100% good to go is based on nothing.

 Jeter might have to absorb some snaps

Again, not a great situation to be in to depend on a RS freshman who has gotten almost 0 meaningful snaps to "absorb" snaps against one of the best OLs in the country.

 Paye might have to move inside.

He has moved inside to be a pass rushing 3T against teams that don't run downhill, not to play the run against one of the best OLs in the country. Plus, he's 260lbs. Good luck standing up 330lb Wisconsin OGs.

 Rashan might haveto move inside.

Nagging shoulder injury, playing 3T even though he really never has at Michigan. Better than the other options, still not a situation you want to be in.

 All those guys will play inside before a kid who hasn't played defense since the beginning of fall camp last year,

Yeah, no shit. I wasn't arguing that. I specifically said that I wasn't arguing moving Hudson was a good idea. The point is you don't want to go up against one of the best OLs in the country with plan Ds and Es, using guys who are just bodies to throw out there because that's how you give up yards. Expecting the DL to be "fine" based on Jeter, Solomon, and Paye (all of which have very big problems attached) isn't smart. They could come out and survive, but that doesn't make that approach good.

 What do you perceive to be clever? 

--> "Yep, very stupid. Remember though, there are no stupid questions, just stupid people asking them."

"Clever" might not be the right word. Maybe douchey is better.

ldevon1

October 11th, 2018 at 3:03 PM ^

Let's revisit this after the game douche bag. No one is 100%. If you don't practice you don't play, if you practice, there is a chance you can play. Do you know how long Solomon has been practicing? No you don't, but Harbaugh said last week, he was week to week, which means he's always a possibility. Rashan has been hurting since the 1st game. It was rumored he was hurt in practice before the 1st game, and he has still played downs on the inside. So has Chase. If a player is practicing he can play, that has always been the rule. Kemp has practiced this week. So he can play. Jeter has played, and the only way you get experience, is to play. Having said all this, I guarantee Hudson, who is #2 on the depth chart at RT Tackle will not play defense. So again if you think that is me being "clever" you don't know football. 

Watching From Afar

October 11th, 2018 at 4:06 PM ^

Let's revisit this after the game douche bag. 

Yes, I'm the douche bag who came out and called the guy asking the question stupid. What you seem to not understand is the DTs holding up against Wisconsin Saturday night does not make you right. My argument is the current situation at DT is not a comfortable one because of the questions with Solomon, Kemp, and Dwumfor. If 2/3 of them turn out to be healthy enough to play and do well, fucking great! That doesn't mean going into a game like this with these question marks is something that we can all just wash aside.

I guarantee Hudson, who is #2 on the depth chart at RT Tackle will not play defense. 

Holy shit you can't read, can you? I literally said "I'm not saying moving Hudson to DT is a good idea." 

Do you know how long Solomon has been practicing? No you don't, but Harbaugh said last week, he was week to week, which means he's always a possibility.

I know he practiced twice last week so that's not every day. I expect him to get more practice time this week and probably get a few snaps in. I also don't expect the guy who just missed a month because of knee surgery to come out and be 5 star all of a sudden because that would be an almost impossible ask of the kid.

So again if you think that is me being "clever" you don't know football. 

Calling you "clever" had nothing to do with football jackass. It had to do with you responding like a little ass hole for no reason.

ldevon1

October 11th, 2018 at 4:52 PM ^

Don't get it twisted bud. The original question was a stupid idea, because you felt the need to defend it, you made stupid statements. I just love the board police like you. If you didn't like what I said, just keep moving. If you make a stupid post, and ask others opinions, what do you think is gonna happen. You don't know how much Solomon has practiced, so don't pretend to. I also said, he would at the most just take a few snaps along with Jeter, and maybe Kemp. So get your facts right and quit fighting other people's battles. It wasn't personal with Prince, and my only message to him was don't panic, the Dline depth will be fine this weekend. You made it personal. 

Watching From Afar

October 11th, 2018 at 1:27 PM ^

Mostly on passing downs and against the likes of Northwestern (who does not run and when they do it's not inside power) and Maryland (who runs side to side).

Paye is there because there is no Hurst to pass rush from a 3T spot (Dwumfor coming on late not withstanding). Relying on a 260lb DE at 3T against Wisconsin's OL is not a position you want to be in.

PurpleBeaverEater

October 11th, 2018 at 12:02 PM ^

I was thinking this, but I agree not a good idea to do it just this week of he hasn't been getting run. Also, they could rotate Gary down to the inside and give Kwity Paye more time

freelion

October 11th, 2018 at 12:06 PM ^

Mone, Kemp, and Marshall should be able to get by for this game. Hopefully we get up early in this game and force the Badgers to pass a lot which will take pressure off the DTs to bottle up the running game. It would be good to get some snaps from Solomon though to give those guys a little rest. Dwumfour needs to heal up for PSU or OSU. We don't need him right now.

Bambi

October 11th, 2018 at 12:09 PM ^

I wouldn't. Hudson has been practicing at OL for how long now? Even if he's physically capable, how much of the playbook/technique does he have down? Putting a guy who hasn't played DL all year at DL against Wisconsin's OL sounds like a recipe for disaster. That's not even considering the fact that you risk an injury and hurting OL depth for a guy who was considered a potential key contributor coming into the year.

Mone and Marshall are good to go for sure. UMBig said Kemp should be too. Gary will be back and can potentially slide inside. You also have Jeter who's listed at 308 and was a 4 star DL prospect, and has been practicing there his entire time at Michigan. And Solomon's been practicing, even if he's not 100% any limited snaps you want to give to Hudson can probably go to Solomon.

I think the depth for Saturday will be fine. Mone is the most important DT out there, and even without Solomon/Dwumfour we have 4 DTs who can play, plus sliding Gary in if necessary or giving Solomon snaps.