Teric Jones -----> CB, Reading Tea Leaves on Witty
From the Freep:
http://www.freep.com/article/20090812/SPORTS06/90812096/1054/U-M-freshm…
Buried in the miscellaneous notes here is that Teric Jones has moved to CB. This seems to be a little more definitive than taking a few snaps on Monday.
Is this a move simply for additional depth? Or, is this a move out of necessity, as the staff has little confidence that Witty will make it here this fall?
August 12th, 2009 at 7:53 PM ^
or maybe Kelvin Grady is surpassing expectations at slot.
August 12th, 2009 at 7:54 PM ^
I was pretty excited about Teric's future in the slot. I hope he plays well wherever, and doesn't get bounced around..
August 12th, 2009 at 7:55 PM ^
I think they're doing it in case Witty doesn't make it. As to how much confidence the staff has, who knows? But it's probably less than 50% if this is not for depth. I don't think we can difinitevely say whether this is for depth or they don't think Witty will make it.
August 12th, 2009 at 7:56 PM ^
Did he play CB in high school?
August 12th, 2009 at 8:15 PM ^
I think so. IIRC, I thought I read in an article that he's a guy that loves to hit and is very physical despite his size.
August 12th, 2009 at 8:01 PM ^
Teric played LB defensively in high school. He was a Hawthorne-type player, though (as in radically undersized for the position).
August 12th, 2009 at 8:05 PM ^
I really thought Teric would be the steal of the class at RB/Slot. It's kind of shame he won't even have a chance to prove himself, but hopefully he does well at corner.
August 12th, 2009 at 8:15 PM ^
we had to know that at least one of the slot smurfs was going to end up on defense. The same goes for the incoming class too. I am sure that Teric has had an opportunity to showcase his skills at the slot position but maybe he is better in the Defensive backfield. Maybe Teric asked to be put in as a D-back?
August 12th, 2009 at 8:33 PM ^
Nope
August 12th, 2009 at 9:10 PM ^
i know this isnt true
August 12th, 2009 at 10:27 PM ^
Why the fuck did anyone neg either of the above posts? I appreciate the info Vlad.
August 12th, 2009 at 8:21 PM ^
...but I wouldn't mind seeing Teric Jones as Brandon Harrison v2.0. First the similarities... MGoBlue lists them as having identical height and weight -- 5-8/193. And they both ran sub-4.4 40s at high school combines.
Yes, Harrison made a name for himself by taking some horrendous tackling angles. But he had 4 different DC/CB coaching combinations in his 4 years at Michigan. And no one taught him about shin angles, which will undoubtedly cure cancer in our defense. Harrison started 32(!) games at Michigan, earned a degree, and kept his nose clean as far as I know. While I wouldn't want someone of Harrison's skill level starting that many games over the next 4 years at Michigan, I most certainly would want someone that athletic pushing himself and others to improve their game.
August 12th, 2009 at 8:30 PM ^
was more or less the smallest defensive end in the country. He was excellent at rushing the passer, and subpar at everything else corners and safeties are supposed to do.
I'd settle for any of these guys turning out like that at this point.
August 12th, 2009 at 8:52 PM ^
Harrison was always one of my faves.
Nice avatar too
August 13th, 2009 at 12:17 AM ^
... hitting and blitzing machine. Tim Tebow still wakes up crying at night thinking of him
August 13th, 2009 at 10:15 AM ^
was one of my good friends in college. He and Mister Simpson were my next door neighbors in West Quad their freshman year while I was a sophomore. We continued to be friends up until I graduated. He was always a straight shooter and when Rodriguez took over he barely came out and partied with me so that he could focus entirely on football. Unfortunately it seems that he did not make the Indianapolis Colts' practice team. So we should all wish him the best of luck and thank him for his service at Michigan.
August 12th, 2009 at 8:27 PM ^
It's pretty obvious. We can convert 3 more guys to CB and the position still wouldn't be solidified.
August 12th, 2009 at 8:28 PM ^
overflowing with RB's & slot ninjas by start of next season. We need athletes on the defensive side of the ball. I didn't know Jones played CB or was interested in playing CB. Appears so, and in that case I am not surprised by this move.
August 12th, 2009 at 8:36 PM ^
Just a guess, but, I would bet the coaching staff told Teric that his best chance to earn playing time would be for him to make the switch CB.
August 12th, 2009 at 9:35 PM ^
I would have loved to have seen Jones at the slot because I thought him and Vincent Smith coming in were the sleepers of the class. Hopefully he transitions well into the CB spot and is productive.
August 12th, 2009 at 10:04 PM ^
Coach McGee: I've got like five or six dozen slots and backs, you want one?
Coach Robinson: That would be great, I have about negative three cornerbacks. One of the smaller, quicker guys with good hips will do just fine, thank-you.
August 13th, 2009 at 12:41 AM ^
I didn't want to be the one to tell him, but with those narrow hips, that cornerback couldn't get more than 6-7 interceptions
August 13th, 2009 at 1:18 AM ^
I'm just glad Turner was cleared or we really could have been Munsoned up a river.
August 12th, 2009 at 11:33 PM ^
Witty and Turner weren't cleared by the NCAA (Witty still isn't). The coaches said, "You can play cornerback and possibly contribute immediately, or you can play slot receiver and redshirt this year. If you switch to corner, you can always switch back to slot receiver if we get enough DBs."
Jones said, "I'll play corner, but I'd prefer to play offense whenever cornerback depth improves again."
The coaches said, "Hooray!"
August 13th, 2009 at 9:28 PM ^
That would make me feel good.