If You Could Add One Rodriguez/Hoke Player to This Team

Submitted by SF Wolverine on

Who would it be?  Who would most improve this team?  Brandon Graham was great, but we are loaded at that position.  I don't think Denard, b/c not clear how he fits.  I'd go for either Jake Ryan (big upgrade over big question marks) or Taylor Lewan, who is perhaps not as big an upgrade over who will play there, but certainly better and gives O-line better depth.  

Discuss.

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Seth

August 23rd, 2016 at 8:21 PM ^

Weirdly for Michigan, none of those teams had a linebacker who'd really make a huge difference.

Are we supposing the player was on the team last year, or are we plopping a guy into this offense as a special Michigan State eligibility 9th year grad transfer scenario? Gardner with a year under Harbaugh would be special--Space Coyote's ass had a point or two but I think the overall argument sucks as much as Devin Gardner didn't.

Gardner's legs are better than Kaepernick's, and that changes the dynamics. Plus, we saw the Ohio State and Notre Dame games in 2013, when Gardner was making pre-snap calls and running simple plays and most post-snap reads were all "did Gallon stop there?" Harbaugh's offense isn't nearly as complex as Borges's, and most of the reads and calls are made pre-snap, something Gardner was much better at than the Borgesian post-snap progressions.

Gardner after 2014 was a mess though, and it was going to take at least a year to clean that game up. So if we're taking the grad transfer definition, it's Lewan. I trust Harbaugh will get a QB ready by the time we need one, and while Molk was a better college player, keeping Cole at center makes up the difference.

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Perkis-Size Me

August 23rd, 2016 at 10:08 PM ^

Felt so bad for the guy. He had so much raw talent and Hoke just completely wasted it. That ND and OSU game showed us what he could've become if he had more consistent coaching. If Harbaugh had a year with him I think he would've gotten a real shot as a QB in the league.

More than one year, and I think he could've been first round material. When he was on his game, Gardner could literally do it all.



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micheal honcho

August 23rd, 2016 at 8:44 PM ^

Watching Gardner turn into an athletic kid playing smear the queer (turning his back on the D, attempting double spin moves etc.) I just can't put it all on coaching like so many here want to. Devin was a GREAT kid, high character leader all the way. I just don't see where coaching would have saved him. When a play even started to break down his first and only reaction was panic & run around.



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micheal honcho

August 23rd, 2016 at 10:52 PM ^

Agreed. To a point. You can have all of those and lack the aptitude. A coach can do some things to help a player slow the game down but at the high levels only the best at that element succeed. Gardner would have been better under RR than JH imho. I think he would have been hiesman bound in RR's system where all those traits you listed can make up for the aptitude JH requires in his QB. You can drop his QB's rating by 1/2 in all those categories and if he's got high aptitude JH will win with him(Rudock).



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micheal honcho

August 24th, 2016 at 10:25 AM ^

Harbaugh would have a tough time taking a guy from undraftable(Gardner) to first round pick.

Ruddock went from undraftable to basically late draft under JH. Because he maximized the abilities Jake had(timing, read & recognize, leadership, natural aptitude for the position) and JH's(& the NFL's) offense has very little use for the abilities Jake did not have.

No doubt in my mind that JH would have improved DG to draftable but not 1st round.

IMHO DG would have been struggling to operate at the level JH's offense requires. He would have DOMINATED in the offense he was recruited for (RR).

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rjc

August 23rd, 2016 at 8:55 PM ^

Are the Hoke decommits fair game?  Darren Kirkland Jr, Damien Harris, Shaun Crawford or Darian Roseboro would all look pretty good on our roster.

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Sione's Flow

August 23rd, 2016 at 8:58 PM ^

Jake Ryan working behind that D-line with a strong secondary behind him. Woo-hoo! I liked Morgan and Bolden but they weren't as athletic and didn't have the speed Ryan has.

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Lanknows

August 23rd, 2016 at 8:58 PM ^

Right:

QB: Denard or Devin - take your pick. If you don't think Harbaugh can make an offense fly with the cost/benefits their skillsets offer I don't think you know how good Harbaugh is.

OT:  Lewan over Molk or Schofield.

LB:  Ryan would be great at SAM, but we have SAM covered. Mouton would have been much better with Mattison/Brown/Durkin.  The right answer might just be to have Morgan back again.

P: Blake O'Neill (MSU flub aside, the guy made an impact)

Wrong:

WR: Funchess.  Not as good as Gallon for starters, but also not as good as Chesson or Darboh.  Harbaugh would have booted his ass for not blocking before he ever saw the field.

RB:  Rawls, Minor, or anyone else.*  None of them are as good as Smith for this offense. Smith is Toby Gerhart but better in pass protection. He's stronger MIke Hart. He's a beast who can play ever down. *Denard excepted.

DL:  Martin or Graham.  Great players but they are not making a big impact on this DL.

S:  Kovacs wasn't as good as Jarrod Wilson.  Wilson would sure be nice to have back for one more year but our secondary will be excellent without him.

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Real Tackles Wear 77

August 23rd, 2016 at 9:01 PM ^

If Devin Gardner had played four years for coach Harbaugh, he would've been a first round draft pick. Getting him mentally prepared to play consistently like he showed in flashes (2013 vs ND, Indiana, OSU) would've made him a legend. So much raw talent there.

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Eskimoan

August 23rd, 2016 at 9:26 PM ^

Sorry man but you're drunk if you dont think Mike Martin could make an impact on this D-line.

His senior season dude was amazing,

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StrictlyShorts

August 23rd, 2016 at 9:33 PM ^

As great as Mike Martin was, is he that much more of a step up from our interior d-line that you would use your ONE player on him? I'd have to say no. Lewan at left tackle improves that position much much more than mike Martin on our d-line for this season.

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Lanknows

August 23rd, 2016 at 9:59 PM ^

and you're bumping Wormley, who might be even better.  Bump Wormley outside and you're bumping Gary, who - let's not get ahead of ourselves but... - might be even better.

Martin was a beast at a time when Michigan's D badly needed him. But on this team he is stealing snaps from Hurst or Gary and pushing an NFL-caliber player to a bench role (if not taking one himself).

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Pit2047

August 23rd, 2016 at 9:07 PM ^

Lewan and it's not close to me. Adding him would eliminate the only major question mark on this offense (Kalis, FB, and QB are relatively minor for me). I think LB play might be noticeably better than LT play this year which eliminates Ryan or Demens. Lewan make this without question the best team in the country in my mind.

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Perkis-Size Me

August 23rd, 2016 at 9:11 PM ^

Denard and Devin. Harbaugh would've found a lotttt of different ways to get the ball in Denard's hands. Combining that with Chesson, Darboh and Butt. Ohhh man that would've been a lethal combination.

And it's just a damn shame that RichRod / Hoke decided not to get Devin a redshirt year when he could've really used it. I think Harbaugh could've worked wonders for re-building Devin as a top flight QB. He always flashed signs of true greatness, particularly against OSU and ND. His lows were low, but when he was on his game, oh man was he on. I think Harbaugh could've gotten performances like that damn near every week. He just got here one year too late.



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steve sharik

August 23rd, 2016 at 9:13 PM ^

The only correct answer is Taylor Lewan. Dude stoned Clowney.

But for the sake of having some fun (and b/c I'm surprised no one mentioned him yet--unless my scan missed it), I think it would've been a treat to see Tate Forcier play for Coach Harbaugh. Athletic, good football IQ, a gamer...sounds just like his coach. 

Only problem is that Tate was such an imbecile off the field that it wouldn't work.

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