A few observations from the Spring Game

Submitted by lukepanici on

The guy that I've heard little about that really has flown under the radar to me is Jerald Robinson. I know he only caught a couple passes during the game, but just watching him in warmups reminds me of a combination of a couple guys that had great careers at Michigan. The first guy that I see glimpses of in him is Super Mario. I watched all the receivers throughout the pregame warmups and the most fluid guy in both getting upfield and cutting on a dime was Jerald. These are two things that made Mario special. The second comparison I have for him is Jason Avant. The reason he comes to mind is his solid stature for the receiver position and the fact that at this point he looks like he's developing into a guy that could be a stud as a possession guy. Hopefully he can put it all together on Saturdays this fall and the next three seasons after.

 

On the defensive line, I was disappointed in what I saw from Ken Wilkins. He's a guy that I've really had high hopes for from the day he committed. My bias towards the Wolverines gave me the thought of him becoming a dominant big man coming off the edge, sort of in the mold of a LaMarr Woodley. That hope will not be happening. At this point, he is being pushed back because he is a Rich Rod type of player. He's a "tweener". Some parts to his game point to being on the end and others point to him being in the middle. Personally, I simply don't see the burst or athleticism for him to ever become a starting defensive end for us. He looks to almost, for lack of a better word, lumber forward in his initial strides from that position. As far as him being a D tackle, there is potential for growth there. We can basically count on not seeing much of him at all this season because the position he is better suited for is tackle and he just is not big enough yet. Eventually he could become solid though, so I'm still holding out hope that he can be a factor for this defense down the line.

 

On a positive note for the defensive line, we could have something special in the next few years. If Big Will, Richard Ash, and Q Wash can really understand and adjust their games to the great defensive coaching we now have on the staff then the line will put fear into every single opponent that walks onto the field knowing they are playing Michigan. In my opinion, we could easily see Will and Ash as the starting tackles. Those two could absolutely blow up a teams' running game. Add Washington to the mix coming off the bench and there will be many long days for teams trying to run on the Maize and Blue. We should all be very excited for the future of these guys.

 

Last position that I played close attention to are the safeties. The first thing that stuck out was the play of the safeties. Man o Man!! they looked light years ahead of what we've seen the last few years. We have ourselves two absolute sledge hammers developing in Carvin and Marvin. They can LAY YOUR SHIT OUT when they get a full head of steam. Right now, Carvin is further ahead because of his down field ability to read the quarterback and make a play on the ball (I think we saw that with his two picks). However, M Rob is a better run defender, and although it wasn't a smart decision, I can see why the previous staff moved him to linebacker. He's a beast when he's brought down in the box. Robinson is also more physically gifted and could possibly have a higher ceiling. If he can develop his skills in the passing game, this duo could be great. I didn't see too much of Kovacs yesterday and although he may begin the season as a starter, I think it's just a matter of time before the younger guys flip the switch and display their potential. (one more thing, Furman could be Shazor part II. That is all)

 

Few more quick opinions from the game:

- Jake Ryan is fast. Real fast. He coupled that with some great moves off the edge from his linebacker spot. He sets up the tackles real well before getting by them.

- I know Demens wasn't playing, but it really opens your eyes to the lack of development the previous staff had with the linebackers. Marell Evans comes back and immediately is the top dog. That is not supposed to be happening but I'm happy for him and excited to see him this fall.

- Both Denard and Devin have a lot of work to do this off season but they'll be alright.

- Toussaint is very quick but at this point I don't think he will see the field much this year. Cox is the most physically gifted but has issues with his vision that he still struggles with. I still think Shaw has the best ability to be THE GUY at RB this season.  Hopkins is good but gets stuffed at the point of attack too often. I'm still very excited to watch him bulldoze over defenders a la Anthony Thomas.

- Right now, it's obvious that the O lineman were recruited for a spread attack. They will get bigger though, and develop the punch you in your mouth mentality over time.

 

Those are just a few observations I developed from the spring game. Can't wait for the season to begin. Start the march to Indy. Go Blue!! 

 

 

 

 

JimLahey

April 17th, 2011 at 12:27 PM ^

Yes, Fred, I agree. Hopefully Jerald Robinson will end up as a combination of Jason Avant and Mario Manningham with Ken Wilkins becoming Lamarr Woodley.

bronxblue

April 17th, 2011 at 12:37 PM ^

Thanks for the breakdown, but can we stop with the thinly-veiled shots at RR. Yeah, the guy didn't pick a good DC, but announcing the defense as much improved after a spring game isn't worth it. The defense looked good, but the offense they faced wasn't close to the one from last year, and the same problems we saw under Carr and RR's last few years (lb depth, safeties who can tackle and run) remain to varying extents.

ShruteBeetFarms

April 17th, 2011 at 12:53 PM ^

The poster forgot to give praise to the awesome special teams coaching the kickers are getting. We all know RR is to blame for that too right???

There may be a few positives that came from yesterday's game, but overall I thought it was sloppy. For what it's worth, I've watched a lot of spring games (ND, PSU, OSU and FSU) and they have all seemed sloppy. I really don't think it means a lot at this point.

coldnjl

April 17th, 2011 at 1:25 PM ^

give it up...your just as bad. Saying that there are players who haven't developing the last few years is more a statement of fact. Alot of players, especially on the D, simply failed to develop.  

 

now in the same breath, lets not give up on players who haven't been here a full year or so yet.

bronxblue

April 17th, 2011 at 5:18 PM ^

Saying that there are players who haven't developing the last few years is more a statement of fact.

 

But that is true for every team, every year.  That is boilerplate on boilerplate, and I doubt that was the point the OP was trying to make.  People complain that players on defense did not develop and I totally agree RR and his D staff has something to do with that, but it is also selective memory in part.  Brandon Graham definitely improved under RR, even if he was on his way under Carr.  Denard went from a potential DB to the B1G offensive POY.  Kenny Demens has shown himself to be a good LB, and guys like Kouvacs, Avery, etc. definitely look like B1G players despite low guru expectations.  So I just feel like the OP made this comment as a shot at RR, and it just wasn't necessary IME.

GoBlueInNYC

April 17th, 2011 at 2:32 PM ^

Agreed. Everyone needs to calm down and stop being so paranoid about their pet favorite coach.

Personally, I don't see the problem with comparing Hoke & staff to Rodriguez & staff. There's a new coaching staff, it's inevitable that they get compared to the old one. Which I think is totally legit, as long as it's not done just as a means to take cheap pot shots at the former staff or the new one.

Of course that may be impossible, seeing as any mention of either coaching staff tends to elicit totally irrational ire from at least a portion of the board.

bronxblue

April 17th, 2011 at 5:11 PM ^

I agree with this.  I have come around to Hoke as much as possible given what we know of him, and while I will forever believe RR didn't get a fair shake here, that ire is mostly directed at Brandon and the loud alums, and not toward Hoke.  He wanted to coach here, UM decided he was the best choice available, and so he is here and doing his best.  I can't hate the man for it.  That said, the wound is still there from the RR era, and I guess I'm still a little sensitive when I feel people are picking at it unnecessarily. 

bronxblue

April 17th, 2011 at 5:08 PM ^

As I've said before, I have no qualms about questioning RR's coaching decisions while at UM, but I also had quite a few questions about Carr's coaching decisions esp. at the end.  That doesn't mean I thought either were horrible at their jobs, but being critical is not the same as being irrational.  Sometimes that is lost on these boards (and I'll admit to sometimes being that way as well).

bronxblue

April 17th, 2011 at 5:06 PM ^

Listen, I totally admit to taking non-veiled shots at Carr toward the end - he clearly was ready to retire and just didn't have the energy to devote to the team like he did years before.  No harm in that, and I will always respect what he did here (even though I have always thought his NC was due to Moeller's recruits coming of age).  He was a heck of a recruiter and a decent gameday coach in terms of big-picture play, and he's forgotten more football than I can ever hope to learn.

All that said, I agree that the sniping on all fronts needs to end, and I'll let it go.  It just drives me crazy when people make blanket statements like "lack of player development is all because of RR" even though he less than a full recruiting cycle to implement his plan and improve from 3 to 5 to 7 wins each year as more and more of his players were brought in.  And BTW, Denard went from being a guy people figured would be a DB to the B1G offensive POY. 

Ziff72

April 17th, 2011 at 12:46 PM ^

I think people see what they want to see in Campbell.  They still see 5 star.  He is never going to be what you want.  He hustles and appears to be in good shape the problem is he has no explosion.  He should play and hopefully clog the line up, but he makes no impact.  I watched him on nearly every snap in slo mo and he couldn't get off single blocking.  He generated zero pass rush.

SysMark

April 17th, 2011 at 1:47 PM ^

I agree completely, unfortunately.  He was obviously big enough in high school to blow anyone away but has no push whatsoever at this level.  It doesn't look like they are even trying to use him to pass rush.  Hopefully he becomes a reliable space eater.

maizedandconfused

April 17th, 2011 at 3:23 PM ^

people forget that Big Will has be bounced around. Alot. Not to mention the fact that he shoudl be a 3rd year sophmore, with 1 year to learn DT and 1 year to learn how to play B10 DT.

If BW had a quikc first step and explosion, he'd literally be the best DT in the country. That being said, the D we are running needs a space eater who can stalemate double teams. I think will improvement and summer conditioning a group of Big Will, Ash and QW can do just that. Of course, that leaves a T each for Van bergen and Roh, and a guard on Martin. 

I get chills of thinking about MM getting significant 1 on 1 time against a Guard. Or a Fullback. 

mGrowOld

April 17th, 2011 at 12:48 PM ^

My observations from the Spring game were slightly different than yous (although I do agree with most of your thoughts).  Here's what i saw yesterday:

1. A very confused offense.  We had a borderline juggernaut O last year and this year's version looks anemic at best right now.  The O wasn't broke.......

2. Defense looked WAY better.  But was that because they were better or the O was just worse?  At this point I can't tell and I doubt anybody else can to.

3. Our kicking game looks just as pathetic as last year's.  We blamed the lack of a full-time coordinator for the 4-14 2010 version of our special teams.  What's the issue this year?

 

I know there were only 15 practices before this game.  I know things will improve drastically between now and then.  But I cant help but wonder what this team would look like if Borges believed in or coached the spread instead of Manball.

FreddieMercuryHayes

April 17th, 2011 at 12:53 PM ^

I agree the O struggled, but they ran a very vanilla attack. Really didn't show their hand much. Also, I think the D actually did have something to so with it. They actually looked like they knew what they were doing, and running more than the simple "rush 3 and drop everyone else into a soft zone with no disguising". As for the kicking, anyone who put the blame on the coaches was foolish. There's only so much a coach can do for a kicker. Wile is our only hope.

Hurricane

April 17th, 2011 at 12:56 PM ^

Our kicking isnt going to get any better until Wile walks on campus. The current guys on the roster just cannot kick whatsoever.  The offense was weak but still light years ahead of the dreadful spring game of 08.  The offense still has loads of talent and will be able to score points if not at the pace of last year but our D might actually be able to stop someone this year.  Gotta love Jake Ryan and his banged up helmet.

coldnjl

April 17th, 2011 at 1:30 PM ^

I think the statement about our O being a juggernaut is sligthly exagerated. They were more like the bully who picked on the weak. They blew away bad teams, but against tough Defenses, simply showed little ability to apply consistent pressure and move the ball.

Tater

April 17th, 2011 at 2:07 PM ^

Michigan was ninth in the country in total offense.  Everybody else played weak teams, too.  Last year, Michigan got the most out of their personnel on offense and the least on defense.  This year, the reverse will probably happen.  I would have preferred to see the best of both worlds, but it won't happen anytime soon.  Going back to the old, conservative plan will produce a lot of 8-5/9-4 records in this era.  That will keep the pressure off and the optimism for "next year" high on a yearly basis.  

I wish, just once, we could get the best of both worlds in Ann Arbor.  Mattison won a National Championship working with a spread HC/OC in Florida, and it would be great to see it happen again in Ann Arbor.  My guess, though, is that Brady Hoke won't hire a spread guy unless TSIO hires one and wins a National Championship with it.  

GoBlueInNYC

April 17th, 2011 at 2:14 PM ^

Regarding the offense, the coaches have said that they're going to keep some of the things that worked last year. I'm expecting a hybrid between what they want the offense to eventually be in a few years mixed with things that worked last year. If that's their plan, why would they spend the spring drilling things they know the team can already do well? Why not spend your practices working on the things that the offense is struggling with?

Also, I have to agree that calling last year's offense a "borderline juggernaut" that "wasn't broke" is an overly rosy assessment. Unless by "borderline" you mean they could get into the red zone before turning it over on downs or missing a FG.*

As far as the kicking game goes, they probably still suck because they're the same kickers. That doesn't mean that the team doesn't need a special teams coach. Do you even remember the return game the past few seasons? Didn't Michigan lead the league in something like TD drives over 80 yards or some other weirdly specific field-position metric?

*EDIT: Shortened my rant about last year's O.

SaginawDan

April 17th, 2011 at 4:53 PM ^

Borderline Juggernaut O ? Seriously? I would love to know what osu, wisky, Iowa, miss st. and msu think about that statement. If you do actually believe that let me ask you this, would you accept an offense that takes a step or two back this year to have a defense that is actually able to function?

My answer is I would take that all day every day.

Jasper

April 17th, 2011 at 12:51 PM ^

OP, thanks for the post.  Seems generally thoughtful ...

But ...

"Right now, it's obvious that the O lineman were recruited for a spread attack. They will get bigger though, and develop the punch you in your mouth mentality over time."

I've done this often, but I have to do it again.  Please, please go tell Molk that he needs to develop a punch-you-in-the-mouth mentality.  Dial up Lewan while you're at it.

- - -

Why do so many M fans get a chubby for that mythical style of football?  If it worked so well, Wisconsin would NEVER lose.

maizenblue92

April 17th, 2011 at 1:16 PM ^

They last won the a BCS game (the Rose Bowl twice) in 1998 and 1999. And have only been there once (this year) since then. So bascially you are basing your whole argument on one game.

FWIW in the BCS-era Wisconsin is 7-5 in bowl games which is pretty good. 

coldnjl

April 17th, 2011 at 1:32 PM ^

this statement is stupid...Its WISCONSIN....not quite the recruiting heartland that some of you expect. They get more out of their players than any Florida school, but don't quite have the elite athletes and players that are ubiquitously found on top BCS teams 

lukepanici

April 17th, 2011 at 1:00 PM ^

wisconsin does what they can with what they have, but it's no secret that michigan gets higher caliber offensive lineman coming out of high school. and our line is definitely solid but i think it will be a better product when we have a guy like reuben riley (chris bryant)

brice5

April 17th, 2011 at 1:05 PM ^

Jake Ryan will be a stud and he has improved the most out of anyone this spring in my opinion. He will make a impact once he gets a starting postion.