Player Position Switches Under Rodriguez
Brady Hoke believes football is won in the trenches with bruising OL and DL play.
Under Rodriguez there were a couple of notable position switches, and I'm wondering whether they will stick under Hoke:
DT Will Campbell-73 from DT to OL (OT)
OG/OT Quinton Washington-76 from OL to DT.
CB Teric Jones to RB
The defensive line loses Banks, but looks to be in the best shape since 2008:
Jibreel Black, Mike Martin, Ryan Van Bergen and Craig Roh make a nice front four. Then there's DT Richard Ash and 5-start Will Campbell, if he were switched back to DT.
As for Quinton Washington's move to defense, I'm not opposed to this. The added depth doesn't hurt.
As for Teric Jones to RB last year, I did not understand this move. He had 3 carries for 7 yards. With James Rogers graduating, but J.T. Floyd and Woolfolk likely returning at CB, I would think a switch back to defense for Teric (RS So elig.) would make sense.
What do people think?
January 13th, 2011 at 1:03 PM ^
If I recall was awful in his few performances at CB. Not to write the kid off, but I thought the move to RB was his idea.
I could be wrong.
January 13th, 2011 at 2:38 PM ^
That may be true, but I think Teric was originally a RB and moved back and forth when depth was hurt at the halfback position. IIRC at one point during last season there was a game or two when 2 or 3 backs were either out or pretty banged up, Fitz, Shaw, etc. so I think that's why he returned to the backfield.
Teric's Rivals Profile
http://rivals.yahoo.com/michigan/football/recruiting/player-Teric-Jones…
January 13th, 2011 at 1:04 PM ^
I'm just praying Hoke DOESNT switch our QB. If he leaves that position alone he can play all he wants with his other toys.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:04 PM ^
sure might benefit from this coach, especially if they put him back on D. He's been kind of a disappointment so far. Do we blame him being over-rated, not working hard enough, or poor coaching?
January 13th, 2011 at 1:05 PM ^
I don't understand why a lot of people keep wanting to switch Campbell back to the D-line. He had a lot of technique issues that weren't going away. Plus some people, most notably ESPN, thought that he would be better as an O-lineman anyway.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:06 PM ^
Never looked like he had a clue in his spot duty the last 2 seasons. Seems like Washington, with an offseason worth of development, has more upside on the d-line than Campbell ever would have.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:06 PM ^
Campbell should fof sure be moved back to the D-line, He would be an instant threat after Hoke teaches him better technique.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:10 PM ^
You can't be serious.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:25 PM ^
I think it's something that will be looked into. Part of the technical problems he was having can be related to the style of coaching he was receiving. Hoke's coaching will be beneficial to him.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:50 PM ^
Where are these guys coming from is Mlive down?
January 13th, 2011 at 2:34 PM ^
yeah, Where these guys coming from? you said it wood.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:06 PM ^
RR moved CB James Rogers to WR in the Spring of 2008. 2 years later he switched him back. Whoops!
He also should have kept Ferrara at DL. Whoops!
January 13th, 2011 at 1:22 PM ^
Ferrara started for half the season at OG when the other choice was Ciulla. He got bumped out of the position when Schilling moved to guard, but I really don't think that Ferrara to the OL was a bad idea.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:51 PM ^
Isn't more obvious than how you let on. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ferrara saw some game time on the OL. I will assert, and I'll entertain corrections, that he wouldn't have played at all on the DL. So, it seems like a slam dunk.
January 15th, 2011 at 10:27 PM ^
John Ferrara was getting playing time on the d-line as a RS freshmen (that line included Terrence Taylor, and Will Johnson who were soild players) 3 yard later he is not in the 2 deep on the o line I wish he would have stayed on the d-line.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:58 PM ^
was originally a WR recruit. He wasn't a corner and if you couldn't tell that this year you know nothing about football.
January 13th, 2011 at 2:30 PM ^
James Rogers played cornerback - and cornerback only - as a true freshman in 2007.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:07 PM ^
In terms of playing time and position changes, Teric (who, btw, will be a true junior) is on the unfortunate James Rogers trajectory. I'm not sure where to play him myself, but I hope his speed can be put to good use somewhere. I honestly wonder if a redshirt would make sense.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:08 PM ^
The o-line seems in decent shape. But we sure don't have a lot of depth on the d-line. And now, since we effectively "lost" a recruit we had considered a lock -- Zettel -- I'm guessing the coaches will want Will and Q on defense. Plus, Hoke seems to prefer big bodies on the d-line.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:08 PM ^
This was discussed at the beginning of the season. Jones was a guy who didn't appear on the depth chart even after the Woolfolk injury and he's switched positions twice. He's just not a D-1 caliber player on defense. He's fast, but that's really about it. Good for special teams and scout team. We're not exactly hurting for corners anymore...Woolfolk and Floyd back, Avery, Talbott, and Christian back as sophomores, and Hollowell and Brown for sure are coming in.
Will Campbell to OL will probably stick. The guy couldn't find his way onto the field despite a Mike Martin injury and didn't look good in the packages he was part of. This is one of those instances where the star rating dies. QWash already looked better at the end of the year.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:49 PM ^
Oy. I hear you. And I don't pretend to be an expert on blocking schemes and technique. But what are the odds that a junior just learning the position will become a substantial contributor on the o-line?
That's the main reason why I refuse to give up hope re Will's potential on D. Pad-level? Form? Push? These things should be correctable, no? Maybe Hoke, being a D-line guy, will bring something to the table there. It's his thing. I just don't trust anything that was done under Team Gerg.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:55 PM ^
Certain things are only correctable if the athlete wants to correct them.
Quinton Washington is already a better defensive tackle than Campbell after like a month of learning the position.
Campbell is already more than sizeable enough for OL, which is the main reason OL recruits redshirt.
Like Magnus said, Bruce Tall was likely our best defensive coach. He turned an average RVB into an impact player and made the aforementioned Washington into a serviceable goal line DT in a month.
January 13th, 2011 at 2:07 PM ^
Then I'm deferring to your insight. Thank you. And I'm really hoping the Q work out well. We could really use a big, fast mauler in there, especially given that Martin is a senior.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:09 PM ^
I think Q stays on D because of our need for DTs (don't forget about Talbott there either). I don't know about BWC - his move was more because he couldn't hack it as a DT not because of depth or anything. If he can't play DT but he can play OL, keep him on O.
I think Teric Jones is a RB. We have a lot of depth there, that's why he didn't play much. Realistically, only Shaw, Smith, and a little bit of Hopkins got carries at RB last fall. But, when he played CB, he wasn't very good there either, and we have a lot of guys who have seen the field at CB who are Teric's eligibility or younger - JT Floyd, Avery, Talbott and Christian - not to mention all the CBs we have coming in this class.
So although he might not have a good shot to see the field at either spot, I say we keep him at RB, he's a better fit there. Also, I'm pretty sure he'll be a junior this fall, I don't think he ever redshirted.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:24 PM ^
Campbell wasn't a good defensive lineman. I don't know why some of you people want him back on defense. Our best defensive coach was probably Bruce Tall (the DL coach), and even he couldn't get Campbell to play lower and more aggressively on a consistent basis. Besides, we're not exactly brimming with depth on the OL, either.
Washington is already a better DT than Campbell was. Leave both of them where they are.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:32 PM ^
January 13th, 2011 at 2:33 PM ^
I disagree right back.
They actually showed significant improvement in 2009, in my opinion.
The DL wasn't stellar in 2010 because a) Martin was hurt for half the season and b) we turned into a three-man front, in which the DL is supposed to occupy blockers and linebackers/safeties are supposed to wreak havoc. Instead, Greg Robinson just rushed the front three, dropped everyone else back, and gave the QB all day to throw the ball.
January 13th, 2011 at 3:29 PM ^
we didn't have lots of sacks n stuff. That's gotta be the coach's fault, bra.
PS. If you take that seriously I will cut you with a shiv.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:24 PM ^
I think Will Campbell will stay on offense and Washington on defense. The sense I got was that Campbell doesn't get under people and explode like you want him too. There were a few recruiting sites that thought he was more suited to O-line. I am hoping he has a great spring and starts at left guard for us in place of Schilling this fall.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:29 PM ^
To be completely honest I just can't wait to see recruits/athletes play the positions they have played in high school. I'm done with this spur and bandit bullshit.
If we get a headhunting safety I don't have to worry about him being switched to "spur" but instead get to see him develop into a better safety as he was projected.
I think our defense was thinking too much thus not playing fluidly and reacting quicker. When athletes play their natural position, you are most likely to see bigger and better play because they know how to play where there at.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:39 PM ^
FYI, a great deal of high school football players do not have a "natural position."
January 13th, 2011 at 2:13 PM ^
We should totally have played Mouton and Stevie Brown at safety two years ago. That would have been sweet.
I bet Robert Gallery would have been a rad tight end at Iowa too.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:53 PM ^
2/3 recruiting sites thought Big Will projected better at OLine anyways?
January 13th, 2011 at 2:27 PM ^
I think Will would've done really well in a 4-3 other than being in 3-3-5 or 3-4 situation. He had to take on mostly double teams every play and just was to high and getting pushed off of the ball. You have to have someone like Martin that is more mobile and can stay low to the ground in a 3 man front.
Who is to say what they do with Q and Will? I think Hoke will have a way better understanding on what to do with both of them than Bruce Tall did. No disrespect to Tall either because I thought he was a decent D-Line coach, but Brady's D-Lines back in the day were pretty respectable.
January 13th, 2011 at 4:13 PM ^
I hope we see will on the D-line. We could have RVB, Will, MM, and Roh as our D-line!
January 15th, 2011 at 10:35 PM ^
I really think Michigan's Defense has played its best football when Troy is at FS (see the 2009 OSU, Western Michigan, MSU when cousin was not running for 3rd and 20 first downs) I am not saying they were world class performances but compared to the last couple of years they were ok performances and when he is playing FS the ball does not get thrown over our heads. I would think this is a move that should be considered.
January 15th, 2011 at 10:57 PM ^
Jibreel Black, Mike Martin, Ryan Van Bergen and Craig Roh make a nice front four.
That'd be a pretty undersized front four. I think we'll need more beef than that.
January 16th, 2011 at 10:10 AM ^
I don't think it's that undersized.
Jibreel Black is the same size as Brandon Graham.
Mike Martin is 300 lbs.
Ryan Van Bergen is 287 and could add some weight if needed.
And Craig Roh was 255-ish and could also add some weight.
January 16th, 2011 at 4:25 PM ^
I don't like Van Bergen as a DT. He's 6'6". How's he going to get leverage at that size? I see him as a DE all the way.
January 16th, 2011 at 6:10 PM ^
He did pretty well in 2009.
January 16th, 2011 at 10:55 AM ^
Maybe that'll motivate him to kick straight.
January 16th, 2011 at 11:26 PM ^
teric could be a great rb