PSU Injury Report, Position Switchapalooza Comment Count

Brian

marvin-robinson-abs Right: Marvin Robinson moves from safety to washboard linebacker.

No surprises, and no Denard:

University of Michigan Football Injury Report

Thursday, Oct. 28, vs. Penn State

OUT (0% PLAY)

Jones, Mike                        Leg
Odoms, Martavious          Foot
Toussaint, Fitzgerald       Shoulder
Van Slyke, Jared               Clavicle
Williams, Mike                   Head
Woolfolk, Troy                  Ankle

/press release

More interestingly, Rodriguez dropped some science about position switches on his coaches show that is either earth-shaking or wildly misinterpreted by the internet. These are the supposed moves via the somewhat confused twitter feed of Angelique Chengelis:

  • Marvin Robinson to linebacker. I have a source who tipped me off about this a few days ago, so that's for real. Robinson's likely to compete at WLB for the job Mouton vacates after the year.
  • Will Campbell(OG) and Quinton Washington(DT) are sticking at their new positions. Since these moves had already been confirmed, that's legit, too. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but there's some insider hype about Washington being a "beast" on Rivals. So we've got that going for us. Not likely to impact anything until next year unless Washington is a miraculously fast learner.
  • Cam Gordon to "both safety spots" and Ray Vinopal to "deep safety". Since Vinopal is already a free safety this position switch is more a depth chart thing. There have been rumors floating around about Vinopal playing with the ones and either starting (fanciful) or getting real playing time (apparently likely) on Saturday. These are confirmed now; the source also dropped that Vinopal was getting a serious look at deep safety. The Cam Gordon bit there presages a move closer to the LOS, whether it's spur or bandit, eventually. (ATTENTION BYRON MOORE: duuuude. Seriously.)
  • They "moved defensive linemen." Vague but the only thing that makes sense here is putting Sagesse back inside at NT and moving Patterson to a backup DE position.

Also, Rodriguez promised more carries for ham fiend Stephen Hopkins and said Teric Jones(!) would see the field. I looked for podcasts on WTKA's site but couldn't find them; maybe MVictors will  be able to dig out exactly what was said so we can parse that into molecules. He's clutch like that.

Comments

WilliSC48

October 28th, 2010 at 10:06 PM ^

Here's some great info from an insider over at Go Blue M Wolverine:

http://goo.gl/w84k

 

2) Cameron Gordon played both safety positions.  Not sure where he will start on sat—but it looks like coaches have somewhat decided that SS is his future.  The problem is—-there really is not a great alternative at this point–so it is not a done deal that gordon will NOT play FS on Sat.

Vinapol played some snaps with the first team—and did not look bad.  He could get some snaps on Sat.  Question will be—does coaches feel they can take some chances.  What will probably happen is coaches hope team gets off to great start—and has some room to play other kids.

3) there were some adjustments on the DL.  Roh played more with hand down—RVB played inside at times—M>martin was held out to get completely healthy—but did do some snaps at DE. 

4) The big talk of off-week was Q. Wash.  As I stated previously—Q.Wash in coaches eyes has become one of those kids who they feel has to be on the field somwhere.  the move to DL was a trial and error type of thing—but his initial practices show he is a tough kid who plays with a "Lewan" type of attitude.  It is not out of the question that Q.Wash gets snaps as early as this week—-in fact—i predict he could even be first DL in.

5) M-rob is now healthy—and as most predicted or wanted—playing LB.  M-rob is just one of those kids who just passes the "look" test.  M-rob is going to rise quickly on the depth chart—he also plays with a little chip on his shoulder.  M-rob is probably the best LB already on the team in terms of defending the pass—

6) Molk looks to be fine and will probably start on Sat.  But—those who continue to use Molk as an excuse as to why UM is not executing on offense needs to listen closely to coaches.  Khoury graded out very well last week—in fact–coaches mentioned he was on of top OL's.

maizenbluenc

October 29th, 2010 at 10:55 AM ^

I was sort of worried that the coaching staff was making panic moves - like the Purdue game two years ago. It seems more like they are moving guys to where they may play next year, so they can get experience this year.

As we have seen the past two years (or even three), making mid season corrections and improvements are hard if not impossible. The bye week seems to have given us time to try a few out. I'd really, really like to make the post season, so we can see how the adjust and improve with those few extra weeks of practice before a bowl game.

STW P. Brabbs

October 28th, 2010 at 10:19 PM ^

I was kinda joking when I suggested that Washington would just switch places with Will. 

But now I'm kind of excited about it.  Washington had some serious guru-approval re: his size-athleticism, and if he's also got a nasty streak ...

Maybe he'll be a big surprise next year.  One can hope. 

briangoblue

October 28th, 2010 at 10:40 PM ^

This has been one of the most action packed weeks of the season in terms of the roster. If bye week was this cool every year it would be like a mini-signing day that we could look forward to. Some of these changes could have awesome ramifications, on the field and in recruiting safeties.

myantoniobass …

October 29th, 2010 at 12:27 PM ^

Only it's week 8.  Week 8 questions include-FS play part deux, is Vinopal a possibility? Highly rated lineman-can they perform as expected, though at different positions? Has Hopkins earned RR's trust to be #1 option at RB?  How the hell might Teric see field this late in season, is this partially due to Smith's (lack of) performance as of late?  Were the last 2 games an aberration for Denard's passing attack?  

This is an entertaining team.  I like moving the chess pieces, we are hungry to win now and set up a huge year next year.

Crime Reporter

October 28th, 2010 at 10:49 PM ^

I did not expect that much activity during a bye week. I'm excited for Q, as I think he is going to be a good one regardless of position. Still not sure what to make of Big Will at this point.

UMaD

October 28th, 2010 at 11:15 PM ^

Doesn't SS seem like the best spot for his skill set?  I don't know what (if anything) that means for Kovacs (or maybe Thomas Gordon and Carvin Johnson, if a corresponding move of Kovacs closer to the LOS happens) ...but in the spirit of Campbell/Washington its good to put people where they're most likely to succeed.  Depth would be a nice thing.

I'd love to have been a fly on a wall whenever the position-switch frenzy was being discussed between the coaches.

Keeeeurt

October 28th, 2010 at 11:20 PM ^

Forgive my ignorance but with all of the safety positions and safety/hybrids but who would Cam be replacing if he were to start at SS (kovacs?) and I am assuming that free safety is the deep safety currently occupied by Cordon/Vinopal. 

Also, is Roh the one currently playing Stevie Brown's old position or is that the Gordon/Johnson position?

Magnus

October 29th, 2010 at 8:54 AM ^

You are correct that Roh is playing the same position as last year, but it was called "Quick".  There's no such thing as "Spinner."

Also, I would be very, very surprised if Marvin Robinson gets playing time at Mouton's spot.  First of all, Mouton is pretty good.  Secondly, Robinson is a true freshman who just changed positions.  And third...Robinson is a true freshman, period.

JeepinBen

October 29th, 2010 at 9:50 AM ^

My thought is maybe he'll see the field as the OLB in the "Nickel" package. We've seen passing downs where Mouton and Roh play DE and pass rush, maybe MRob will play "OLB" there? I know the nickel package has looked bad, but I don't remember all the personnel for that package (Roh + Mouton with their hands down)

I agree that MRob probably won't push Mouton off the field 

Mountaineers Fanatic

October 28th, 2010 at 11:35 PM ^

What happened with Fitz. I read earlier in the week that he was good to go and would see the field this weekend but how much depending on what the other RBs did. Now it says he is OUT. Did something happen over the past 2 days?

TheMadGrasser

October 29th, 2010 at 12:42 AM ^

My best guess is that on that long run he had when he fell on the shoulder, he seperated it. Those can be of varying degrees (my guess for him is Type III), sometimes requiring surgery, I believe. My guess is that they're trying conservative treatment with it first to see if it responds. It's really a bummer and I've almost given up on the fact that we'll see him this season.

But hopefully I'm wrong and we see him against Illinois!