August 25th, 2017 at 4:40 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 5:06 PM ^
DE is his 3rd position since arriving, at least. I think we can safely assume it was his last switch.
August 26th, 2017 at 7:32 PM ^
With Winovich, it didn't work out, and he lost a year of practice at the position he wound up back at.
As has been pointed out elsewhere in this sub-thread, true position switches have not been very successful for us lately. They are almost overwhelmingly "This guy is never going to play at the position he's listed at, where else can we put him where he'll have a slightly better chance of starting?" rather than "Damn, why is this guy listed at position X when he's a natural at position Y?"
August 25th, 2017 at 4:40 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 4:45 PM ^
Great example actually!
While I don't have a ton of faith in lightening striking twice, if Johnson turns out to be 1/2 the CB Sherman is then that's a pretty damn good win.
August 25th, 2017 at 4:48 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 4:53 PM ^
I already mentioned him. He never got into the lineup at CB. That was a failed attempt. Not necessarily a coaching issue. He was old when Harbaugh got in and behind established WRs so he basically had to move.
August 25th, 2017 at 5:42 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 6:30 PM ^
Some are less likely to work out than others. One point in Johnson's favor is that he expected to win the battle at PR. He's a good enough athlete to force his way onto the field one way or another.
If you want to go back futher, we've had a lot of successful position switches. Mo Williams went from DL to an NFL OL. Ian Gold switched to LB from RB. Morgan Trent started at WR and became a pretty good CB. Jay Riemersma went from QB to an NFL TE. James Rogers started his senior year after his 3rd position switch. He wasn't a star, but that was a switch few expected to work at all.
August 25th, 2017 at 4:36 PM ^
August 26th, 2017 at 11:22 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 4:13 PM ^
Upperclassmen? Somewhat.
We already have quite a few players that switched positions on the roster. We'll have more. Some will be productive like Winovich and Khalid and some won't. That's college footbsll.
August 25th, 2017 at 6:55 PM ^
Whatever....Steve Hutchinson was recruited as a D tackle. The starting CB's are Lavert Hill and David Long. There was no chance johnson was ever going to even get any reps at WR with guys like Perry and Martin and Schoenle ahead of him. Hudson always projected better at O tackle. Now if they move Nordin to Left Guard I might sweat that idea. LOL. I will admit I am confused by moving Washington to safety except that they think Thomas and St. Juste are ahead of him.
August 25th, 2017 at 3:56 PM ^
I think we all knew something like this was going to happen. I think we might also see Nate Johnson returning some kicks? There's quite a logjam of athletes that qualify as a "+" returner on our roster. Also, I think Harris is better equipped to playing CB this year than Johnson, but it never hurts to have another body for depth.
August 25th, 2017 at 3:59 PM ^
Our corner play is going to be so fucked this year.
August 25th, 2017 at 4:02 PM ^
????
LaVert Hill has locked down his spot. Just waiting on the second one now.
Fortunately the first opponent's best offensive player is out and they have no QB to throw the ball anyways.
August 25th, 2017 at 4:05 PM ^
By all accounts it sounds like Hill will be very good. After that its pure death. Also, we need more than two guys, and you can't expect Hill to play every defensive snap of the season.
August 25th, 2017 at 4:08 PM ^
Watson looked pretty good in the spring game. Hopefully, he or Long can fill the second spot admirably. Or maybe Harris/Thomas step up? Who knows. There will be growing pains, but it shouldn't affect us too much until the Indiana game.
August 25th, 2017 at 4:16 PM ^
I hope Watson or Long comes through but all the whispers out of camp so far are that we have a serious weakness at this position. Reading between the lines it sounds like more than simply nobody having stepped up and taken it yet. It sounds like there's a serious lack of agility and cover talent in this group. Given what a beat the D-Line should be opposing offenses will likely be picking on the non-Hill corner all season long.
August 25th, 2017 at 4:45 PM ^
Eh. It's not pure death. We had people matriculate from the program and now we'll have new guys rotate into the depth chart. We don't know how they'll perform but I'm confortable with the notion that they'll receive competent coaching and be better than most WR's each each week. We'll live.
August 25th, 2017 at 4:56 PM ^
How are those young corners coming along?
“Not fast enough.” [/laughs] “Not fast enough. They show flashes. I’ll say this: Lavert has, since his injury, he’s been pretty consistent and you can see him increasing every day and getting better. The other guys, they’ve shown flashes. They just need to grab it. Somebody’s got to grab it and run with it and take it. It’s just not happening. Hopefully somebody will in the next five to seven days because we’ve got to get ready for a game in less than two weeks.”
He literally says someone needs to step up and grab the position. The secondary coach is saying the exact opposite of what you're saying.
http://mgoblog.com/content/fall-camp-presser-8-21-17-mike-zordich-0
August 25th, 2017 at 5:25 PM ^
I don't think it's unreasonable to be worried about our secondary. We're replacing the entire starting lineup back there. Even if most of the new guys step up and play great, the chances of one spot being a problem are high, because things happen. These are all young players, where the "experienced" one is a true junior.
Not sure where problems with "agility" are being floated, I haven't heard of any such issues in any of the rumor posts. We're talking about guys that are still early in their development here, so there's lots of time for them to grow and develop. Might mean there's some discomfort this year, but that's going to happen.
There is as much evidence that the secondary is going to be peachy fine as there is that it is going to be a smoldering crater of awful: None. All we know is that some guys hadn't stepped up as of the beginning of the week. Is that a concern? Sure. End of the world? No.
August 25th, 2017 at 6:20 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 7:13 PM ^
Your name..........
August 25th, 2017 at 6:22 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 7:12 PM ^
You aren't scoring many points with your somewhat less than astute analysis.
The non-Hill? Shouldn't you at least capitalize the "N" in his name?
August 25th, 2017 at 4:09 PM ^
Name checks out
August 25th, 2017 at 5:01 PM ^
i think i would like to see these players out there gettin meaningfull playing time together before calling it "pure death".
August 25th, 2017 at 5:15 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 4:14 PM ^
Having only one CB spot locked down a week before the season is pretty damn terrifying, actually. Most of the other names thrown around are either super raw, athletically limited, or in David Long's case just not <insert coachspeak>.
I mean between Zordich's presser, Washington transferring, and now this, I don't think it's too out of line to think the position is at least in a bit of trouble.
August 25th, 2017 at 7:08 PM ^
I find it really funny that Washington was being moved to safety before he wanted to transfer. It tells me we are set at CB or we really need help at safety. Otherwise what sense would it make to move Washington to safety.
August 25th, 2017 at 9:58 PM ^
Washington transferring is likelier a good sign than a bad one. If the corners were so awful, he'd be in contention, rather than concluding he is too far back to ever see the field in a meaningful play.
August 25th, 2017 at 4:04 PM ^
Wow, that is one way to put it I guess. I would say our cornerback play will scary to start the season and round into form by the time we play a team with a QB and WRs/TEs that have a pulse. Like maybe say... the Indiana game.
August 25th, 2017 at 5:28 PM ^
PANIC!!!!!!1!!!!!
/s
August 25th, 2017 at 4:00 PM ^
Hopefully Nate sticks around and becomes the next Richard Sherman.
August 25th, 2017 at 4:02 PM ^
WTF is Keith Washington transferring if we're moving guys over to CB because of lack of depth? There's got to be more to that transfer than just playing time.
August 25th, 2017 at 4:02 PM ^
Because he was being moved from CB to S apparently, which must not have made him very happy?
August 25th, 2017 at 4:09 PM ^
From what I've heard is he wasn't moved as much as asked to take some reps there to see if it's a good fit, as many many players on Michigan have done since Harbaugh arrived. Maybe only the sugar coated version got out and he really got moved permanently, but it seems like looking at the depth and lack of a clear leader at CB, it would have made sense for him to stick around and see what shakes out at least until the end of camp.
August 25th, 2017 at 4:26 PM ^
I'd bet Washington would be too. He had to adjust to a lot of changes already. That's tougher with both of the other Prattville guys leaving recently.
August 25th, 2017 at 5:29 PM ^
If Washington was already behind the guys competing for the job, I can see why a transfer makes sense. If he were seriously competing for playing time, I don't think he transfers, and I don't think they try him out at safety.
And if he is behind a bunch of younger guys, the writing is on the wall.
That's not to say that secondary isn't a concern, but it's pretty reasonable to think that it could be a potential sore spot with an all-new crew of sophomore-and-younger CBs coming in to replace guys that are on NFL rosters right now. One guy stepping up and locking it down? Sure. Another guy not developing as fast as we might like? Totally plausible. None of this is shocking to me.
August 25th, 2017 at 4:11 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 6:14 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 4:12 PM ^
The day before he announced his transfer, the coaches asked him to move to safety. For me to connect those events as an outsider is circumstancial; I can't be certain. Still, the cause-effect probability seems high.
August 25th, 2017 at 5:33 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 4:05 PM ^
That's my guess.
August 25th, 2017 at 4:05 PM ^
If these coaches thing someone has the skills to move and maximize and help the team somewhere else, I think it's a good thing. We have athletes all over the field now and I trust that Harbaugh and staff know exactly what they're doing.
GO BLUE!!
August 25th, 2017 at 4:07 PM ^
Not a good sign
August 25th, 2017 at 4:20 PM ^
With Washington out, we have 6 CBs. Six! On the otherside of the ball, not counting Johnson, we have 5 wide receivers, 4 slots, and then we have Eubanks and Gentry, who look like they can play, just perhaps not at tight end.
To be honest, if we're going to have a committee of inquiry, I'd ask why this wasn't done earlier.
August 25th, 2017 at 4:39 PM ^
In Harbaugh we trust.
August 25th, 2017 at 5:32 PM ^
not J K Powell, which by the way, holy shit only 5 safeties!
http://mgoblog.com/content/michigan-depth-chart-class-0
My point is that we already knew there was a much bigger need here than on offesne, meaning some transfer is logical, regardless of what you think of the second starting cornerback.