Michigan Football: Tidbits from Doc4Blu — Spring “Game” Practice Report
Posted at 12:00pm — 4/16/2013
Michigan Football: Tidbits from Doc4Blu — Spring “Game” Practice Report
Well (as Coach Hoke likes to start a conversation) it was cold, but those present were most appreciative of the opportunity to see a little of team 134. The Roth Center was nice and warm and thanks go out to the university for the kindness given; what a beautiful set-up. But like a true less-ron I stayed outside while the rest of the Doc party remained warm.
Spring games can be tough to read, especially one with the weather yielding wind, cold, and snow. Coaches have certain outcomes more important than putting on a big offensive show. In the end, only general thoughts that cannot be automatically generalized to the entire 2013 season can be offered.
So, let us start with the general thoughts.
January 1,2013; Tampa, FL, USA; Michigan Wolverines defensive tackle Jibreel Black (55) against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the first quarter of the 2013 Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY SportsFirst, the defensive line is clearly deeper than last year. The bet here is the defensive line will be better than last year. it will be tough to run against this unit, and probably the national top tier teams will be the only teams than can move the front four units Michigan will present. The space eating of Black, Pipkins, Q Washington, and Henry should be sufficient to insure 2013 redshirting. The perimeter is nowhere near elite, but just think back to five years ago at the edge: enough said. Taco and Mario have plenty of work to do when the 310 elephants start heading their way. But if those two get good lb and safety support, the edge will not be a liability.
Now, specific players- Black stood out to me, he will be important to the overall success of this unit. Q did not play a major role yesterday (did not need to the coaches know what his role is) but he can clog and push the line back, something that disrupts defenses.
Apr 13, 2013; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines quarterback Alex Swieca (13) is forced out of the pocket by defensive end Taco Charlton (33) and defensive end Tom Strobel (50) during the Spring Game at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY SportsTaco Charlton was given the greatest opportunity to shine. He received plenty of playing time and held his own. When the offense took too long to execute the play, Taco was there. Taco looked like the type of guy who would have preferred to scrimmage another six hours or so. Some teams are going to run at him this fall, and some teams may change their mind. Strength and increased technique will take him to high levels. There may not be 10 better true freshman defensive ends that played in spring games this fall around the nation.
Cam Gordon had one whiff when Norfleet dipped in and dipped out, other than than Cam played very well and looks to be aggressive. He may do more than just man the fort this season.
Frank Clark – clearly better with strength, but will need to see if the pass rush can blow up. He disrupted some outside flow yesterday and has the potential to play at an all Big level. He may take a little weight off this off season to gain a little speed.
Heitzman – better than people think. Just a solid player. The locals in Columbus always told me he was the strongest player on Hilliard Davidson’s team as a senior. Smart and coachable.
Apr 13, 2013; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines running back Drake Johnson (29) is wrapped up by linebacker Cameron Gordon (4) as offensive linesman Kye Bosch (65) blocks linebacker Joe Bolden (35) during the Spring Game at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY SportsMorgan – was not dominating, but solid. There is probably no argument that Mike is his best shot. Like Beyer, he is good enough to get a look, but needs to get better for Michigan’s defense to be among the nation’s best.
Ross – to me (and I think everyone here) he is the best linebacker on the team. Michigan may flow to the ball but Biggs gets there early.
General comment:
Evaluating the entire secondary yesterday would be a near impossibility. But again, there clearly is more depth. Avery will be at the worst a mainline Big Ten quality d-back. Hopefully the same can be said about Raymon Taylor. The tight ends got some easy yardage as did Jeremy Jackson, but this was due to vanilla zone defense where little holes were available. Ross Douglas is a very smart corner who has a high level of motivation.
Clark – many observers among the warm faithful pointed to Jeremy Clark and stated: “He’s pretty good.” He might be, time will tell, but his coverage skills will eventually tell the tale. His run coverage showed flashes of promise.
Dymonte Thomas – is one of the better five or six athletes on the team- his journey will evolve and the ending should be happy.
Apr 13, 2013; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines offensive line gets set during the Spring Game at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY SportsOffense-general comments:
The offense struggled some running the ball, but there are plenty of reasons (not excuses) why this might be so. The interior of the line had trouble but did not get totally overwhelmed by the very good Michigan defensive front seven. Clearly, this unit has much work to do. And right now, the situation with the interior line is similar to last year. The difference is there are not three seniors and the upside for improvement is obvious.
The centers about broke even yesterday, although Miller saw better talent across from him. The pass pro did not look bad overall in the interior. A few break downs on late blitzes- The guard play was difficult to judge. Kalis was gaining momentum as the scrimmage progressed. Like Taco he was clearly being given a chance to shine. For a redshirt freshman, a fair grade would be a B.
The distance in performance between the guards and centers is not huge. Joey B, Glalscow, and Gunderson are not that far removed. I suppose that is good news and bad news. But it shows coach Funk has been hard at work and more than five linemen have responded.
The offensive line unit pulled outside several times yesterday in an attempt to better the edge attack. There is work to be done on getting out, squaring up, and driving downfield. However, many of the efforts yielded over five yard gains.
The backs are indeed a committee. Hayes will probably take Vinnie Smith’s role. Norfleet will be given opportunities to attack the edge. Rawls will be used between the tackles. Fitz, we will see, but there was nothing yesterday to indicate he will not jump up if healthy. Until the interior drives folks off the ball, Michigan may become a passing team, more than advertised.
Apr 13, 2013; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines quarterback Devin Gardner (12) passes the ball during the Spring Game at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY SportsQuarterbacks – Devin Gardner is grabbing his opportunity and is using the vehicle of leadership as the mechanism to success. He is a true talent. On a tough day to throw, Devin did very well and perhaps no player had more fun than Devin. He threw in a very basic vanilla offense: quick slants, sit-downs in the hook zones, outs, and one shot down the middle to Funchess. Everyone was interested in seeing Brian Cleary. Cleary has nice size, decent arm slot, and average arm speed and velocity. The most obvious trait that Cleary exhibited was being late, on his reads and on his throws, even in practice. A good part of that is confidence- he is in a position where mistakes must be minimized. Alex Swieka has a little bit of a low elbow for me, but has decent bulk and is enough of an athlete to hold the fort for a series until the cavalry arrives.
Many receivers got a shot yesterday, and many of the subs showed the ability to catch the ball on simple patterns, not a bad thing. The opportunities were spread out, so it would be hard to make any judgment about the frontliners. Jeremy Jackson can catch the five yard patterns, always has and always will. Reynolds obviously wants playing time and should have his wish granted. Gallon could easily catch over 50 balls this season, perhaps this number is conservative with no injuries.
Coach Hoke made the comment he was pleased with the overall team progress this spring. Coach Mattison seemed non-committal about how the four man pass rush was progressing. I noticed that early on in the individual drills that Heitzman, Mario, Clark, and Black were working on a drill as a unit where the flag was dropped and the idea was to get into the backfield. Clearly the pads were low and the objective was rush.
The Big Ten network had several player interviews after the “scrimmage” and Dileo, Clark, Lewan, and Gardner were frankly very impressive.
Is leadership that important to be getting the attention attached so far? Yes – indeed.
Come to the message board and give us your thoughts, agree or disagree.
Just a reminder you must be a member to participate on the Message Board. Here is the link for the registration page for those people interested in becoming a GBMWolverine member of our message board. GBMWolverine Register.
Please comment on our GBMWolverine Message Board about this article and read what others comment.
You can contact us at our e-mail address: GBMWolverine
Follow us on Twitter:
@ErocWolverine
@GBMWolverine
@Mike Fitzpatrick
@YostMeister
Written by GBMWolverine Staff — Doc4Blu
Go Blue — Wear Maize!