wlvrnstlr4life
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Keith Washington lit it up in the Spring game. Glad to hear he carried it over to Summer. He was by far the best db in that game. Very quick to where the ball was.
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Practice Notes
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thewolverines24
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Partial class. He was hired at the end of December in 2014. He had very, very little time to recruit the 2015 class. By the time Hoke was fired, we only had six commitments left and Harbaugh had to scramble to put together anything even halfway decent.
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TheVictors
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Re: Speight
It's easy as fans to forget how much progress kids make year to year. While he was under-impressive at times last year (Iowa), he's got a great combination of smarts and experience and I'd expect him to assert himself moreso this year than last.
On another note, this stupid "TeamPaxton" vs "TeamTrevor" debate in Denver where both QBs are arguably worse than Speight ...all everyone keeps saying regarding Paxton Lynch is that the "college game" is not preparing QBs well for the NFL anymore (read option, etc.). If nothing else, I am glad we have a coach like Harbaugh (and Pep) for the future and development of Peters, McCaffrey and so on.
Speight may not be great, but he won't make mistakes, keeps his cool and is in year three under Harbaugh.
These are all good things and the future only looks better.
It's easy as fans to forget how much progress kids make year to year. While he was under-impressive at times last year (Iowa), he's got a great combination of smarts and experience and I'd expect him to assert himself moreso this year than last.
On another note, this stupid "TeamPaxton" vs "TeamTrevor" debate in Denver where both QBs are arguably worse than Speight ...all everyone keeps saying regarding Paxton Lynch is that the "college game" is not preparing QBs well for the NFL anymore (read option, etc.). If nothing else, I am glad we have a coach like Harbaugh (and Pep) for the future and development of Peters, McCaffrey and so on.
Speight may not be great, but he won't make mistakes, keeps his cool and is in year three under Harbaugh.
These are all good things and the future only looks better.
From last night...
Much has been made of Oliver Martin's rapid rise up the depth chart, and rightfully so. Like he did on national stages at The Opening and Army All American game, the talented youngster is once again showing that he was criminally under-ranked (by everyone but Allen Trieu) and under recruited early in his process. But just because he is ascending in camp doesn’t mean others are declining. Nate Johnson is one of the returning slot options that really showed up big in a recent practice. His standout performance reportedly consisted of two touchdowns including a beautifully run post by and over the two tallest defensive backs on the roster. When the dust settled he had gone 70-plus yards to pay-dirt.
Based on our conversation with J.T. Rogan in week one of our Inside Schembechler Hall podcast, that’s just another example of the work the Wolverines are putting in on their deep ball proficiency. We’ve heard of similar examples with Donovan Peoples-Jones and Oliver Martin’s name a lot in that regard too. Surely others from the contingent of returning receivers have a few notches on their belts. What I can say unequivocally though is I haven’t heard any name uttered more than Tarik Black.
The young man from Connecticut continues to draw raves. “He just seems to always be making plays and catching touchdowns,” one observer said. He is an obvious jump ball threat and can be a big physical target on short and intermediate routes, but his ability to get on top of defensive backs is going surprise those that thought he was ONLT a jump ball/short/intermediate threat. One recent example of his deep ball ability had him beating LaVert Hill (arguably to teams fastest DB) on a fade route. Getting a step on Hill is no small feat. Black knew that and reportedly let his former Detroit King counterpart know about it. That was part of what looks be turning into a friendly camp rivalry. Hill is getting his wins in also. One of his more impressive plays came when he was beat cleanly on a slant. Hill flashed the elite quickness that has his coaches (past and current) excited about his potential. In a blink of an eye he recovered with a burst of quickness that got him back in phase and in position to almost pick the ball off. It wound up being a pass break up.
That leads me back to a post on our message board about a recent conversation I had with one of Hill’s high school coaches. He echoed the sentiment has been uttered by a few other Motor City aficionados. He insisted that physically, LaVert Hill is the most talented corner in recent memory to come out of the city. That's saying something when you consider names like Jourdan Lewis and Desmond King are in the NFL now, and Ambry Thomas (whose star potential I personally am the most bullish about) is a big timer in his own right. I had a conversation today with a coach from a rival high school who saw all those guys up close and personally. He didn’t mince words. "If Vert had Ambry's intensity he'd be the #1 corner in the country. Hands down." That’s a blunter version of what Michigan defensive backs coach Mike Zordich told us during spring ball.
“Lavert is a natural at it,” Zordich told TMI. “LaVert has got to get better at finishing, straining, more effort, but talent – he has it. He just has to make up his mind on how he wants this to roll.”
Much has been made of Oliver Martin's rapid rise up the depth chart, and rightfully so. Like he did on national stages at The Opening and Army All American game, the talented youngster is once again showing that he was criminally under-ranked (by everyone but Allen Trieu) and under recruited early in his process. But just because he is ascending in camp doesn’t mean others are declining. Nate Johnson is one of the returning slot options that really showed up big in a recent practice. His standout performance reportedly consisted of two touchdowns including a beautifully run post by and over the two tallest defensive backs on the roster. When the dust settled he had gone 70-plus yards to pay-dirt.
Based on our conversation with J.T. Rogan in week one of our Inside Schembechler Hall podcast, that’s just another example of the work the Wolverines are putting in on their deep ball proficiency. We’ve heard of similar examples with Donovan Peoples-Jones and Oliver Martin’s name a lot in that regard too. Surely others from the contingent of returning receivers have a few notches on their belts. What I can say unequivocally though is I haven’t heard any name uttered more than Tarik Black.
The young man from Connecticut continues to draw raves. “He just seems to always be making plays and catching touchdowns,” one observer said. He is an obvious jump ball threat and can be a big physical target on short and intermediate routes, but his ability to get on top of defensive backs is going surprise those that thought he was ONLT a jump ball/short/intermediate threat. One recent example of his deep ball ability had him beating LaVert Hill (arguably to teams fastest DB) on a fade route. Getting a step on Hill is no small feat. Black knew that and reportedly let his former Detroit King counterpart know about it. That was part of what looks be turning into a friendly camp rivalry. Hill is getting his wins in also. One of his more impressive plays came when he was beat cleanly on a slant. Hill flashed the elite quickness that has his coaches (past and current) excited about his potential. In a blink of an eye he recovered with a burst of quickness that got him back in phase and in position to almost pick the ball off. It wound up being a pass break up.
That leads me back to a post on our message board about a recent conversation I had with one of Hill’s high school coaches. He echoed the sentiment has been uttered by a few other Motor City aficionados. He insisted that physically, LaVert Hill is the most talented corner in recent memory to come out of the city. That's saying something when you consider names like Jourdan Lewis and Desmond King are in the NFL now, and Ambry Thomas (whose star potential I personally am the most bullish about) is a big timer in his own right. I had a conversation today with a coach from a rival high school who saw all those guys up close and personally. He didn’t mince words. "If Vert had Ambry's intensity he'd be the #1 corner in the country. Hands down." That’s a blunter version of what Michigan defensive backs coach Mike Zordich told us during spring ball.
“Lavert is a natural at it,” Zordich told TMI. “LaVert has got to get better at finishing, straining, more effort, but talent – he has it. He just has to make up his mind on how he wants this to roll.”
It was also noted that James Hudson is getting some work in at OT. They love his size and athleticism and since he's probably on the outside looking in at the 2-Deep on defense, they want to get him some reps on the other side of the ball.
Not a ton of new info except for the first encouraging words I've heard about Lawrence Marshall in quite a while. He's up to 290 and supposedly looking like a legitimate option to back up Hurst at 3-tech. Mattison think's he's really bought in this Fall.
He also had more praise for Dwumfour and especially Carlo Kemp. He's confident that Kemp will be able to back up Gary well.
Not a ton of new info except for the first encouraging words I've heard about Lawrence Marshall in quite a while. He's up to 290 and supposedly looking like a legitimate option to back up Hurst at 3-tech. Mattison think's he's really bought in this Fall.
He also had more praise for Dwumfour and especially Carlo Kemp. He's confident that Kemp will be able to back up Gary well.
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thewolverines24
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So excited for this WR group and I'm really happy to hear they are stressing work on the deep ball. The offense can be very dangerous if we have a solid deep pass game.
The Hill news is both exciting and a bit disappointing at the same time. He's still young so maybe the mental/effort part will click soon.
The Hill news is both exciting and a bit disappointing at the same time. He's still young so maybe the mental/effort part will click soon.
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Lawrence Marshall is at 290???
Wasn't he redshirted as a freshman because he was 210 and too skinny to play DE and LB?
Wasn't he redshirted as a freshman because he was 210 and too skinny to play DE and LB?
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thewolverines24
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Yep. He was around 220. That's a lot of weight to pack on. I wonder who he ate?
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is he a RS Junior or RS Senior? i thought he must be a senior by now, but every site i go to has him listed differently.
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thewolverines24
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Should be a RS Junior. He enrolled on 6/25/14 according to 247 Sports.
......
For all intents and purposes Michigan?s starting defensive front has already been determined. The primary backups for the front four, on the other hand, are still being sorted out. That said, a number of candidates have established themselves as extremely likely members of the reserve crew.
Aubrey Solomon is among those that have done just that.
"Aubrey... you're going to see some great things from him. Greg Mattison told The Michigan Insider. ?Everything so far that I've seen that people talk about in the recruiting part of it... not a thing (has been different. He's going to be an outstanding player. He's going to be another key now, where you have a guy that can back up Bryan Mone. That's the tag team right there. Then you have (Michael) Dwumfour in there with Lawrence (Marshall) and with Mo Hurst. You've got 5 guys right now that have kind of got themselves up to the point where they're in the mix. That's what we look at, who is in the rotation? We've got 17 I think? 16 more practices? Wait and see, when those 16 are over with where he is, he is going to be right there.
Carlo Kemp is the overwhelming favorite to back up Rashan Gary. The other side, however, is a little more in question. Luiji Vilain is an obvious candidate, but his freshman cohort Kwity Paye is turning heads also.
"Really, really impressed with both of them,? Mattison said of Vilain and Paye. ?I never thought that Kwity would be as strong as he is. I've always known he could run, I knew he would play really, really hard. Seeing him and Luiji, they are almost identical. They are both the same height, they are the same weight, they both play with the same speed. I think we have two really, really good football players there."
That Paye is exhibiting readiness comparable to that of Vilain is a bit surprising considering the assessments of where their respective games were coming in.
?I thought the same thing you did,? admitted Mattison. ?You hear about the Under Armour (All American game performances) and you hear about all that? and that was a great job of recruiting by Don Brown. Kwity Paye, when he came in here, he didn't look like he hadn't played great football before. He understands it and he's right with Luiji.?
The remaining freshman have more work to do to get in the rotation discussion, but they?re flashed exciting skills in their own right.
Another young man that's showing some early signs and I'm really, really excited about is Philip Paea and Deron Irving-Bey, both are good. Tell you what now, they've shown signs. You're sitting there saying, boy, these are going to be good players someday. That freshman class that came in is living up to what I thought it would be, I'm really happy with them."
For all intents and purposes Michigan?s starting defensive front has already been determined. The primary backups for the front four, on the other hand, are still being sorted out. That said, a number of candidates have established themselves as extremely likely members of the reserve crew.
Aubrey Solomon is among those that have done just that.
"Aubrey... you're going to see some great things from him. Greg Mattison told The Michigan Insider. ?Everything so far that I've seen that people talk about in the recruiting part of it... not a thing (has been different. He's going to be an outstanding player. He's going to be another key now, where you have a guy that can back up Bryan Mone. That's the tag team right there. Then you have (Michael) Dwumfour in there with Lawrence (Marshall) and with Mo Hurst. You've got 5 guys right now that have kind of got themselves up to the point where they're in the mix. That's what we look at, who is in the rotation? We've got 17 I think? 16 more practices? Wait and see, when those 16 are over with where he is, he is going to be right there.
Carlo Kemp is the overwhelming favorite to back up Rashan Gary. The other side, however, is a little more in question. Luiji Vilain is an obvious candidate, but his freshman cohort Kwity Paye is turning heads also.
"Really, really impressed with both of them,? Mattison said of Vilain and Paye. ?I never thought that Kwity would be as strong as he is. I've always known he could run, I knew he would play really, really hard. Seeing him and Luiji, they are almost identical. They are both the same height, they are the same weight, they both play with the same speed. I think we have two really, really good football players there."
That Paye is exhibiting readiness comparable to that of Vilain is a bit surprising considering the assessments of where their respective games were coming in.
?I thought the same thing you did,? admitted Mattison. ?You hear about the Under Armour (All American game performances) and you hear about all that? and that was a great job of recruiting by Don Brown. Kwity Paye, when he came in here, he didn't look like he hadn't played great football before. He understands it and he's right with Luiji.?
The remaining freshman have more work to do to get in the rotation discussion, but they?re flashed exciting skills in their own right.
Another young man that's showing some early signs and I'm really, really excited about is Philip Paea and Deron Irving-Bey, both are good. Tell you what now, they've shown signs. You're sitting there saying, boy, these are going to be good players someday. That freshman class that came in is living up to what I thought it would be, I'm really happy with them."
wlvrnstlr4life
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Awesome stuff
What a great class. I knew that this class was every bit as comparable to OSU and Bama. They both have their 5*, but we have guys that were scouted(by the coaches) and overlooked(by the gurus) that will be special players one day. The coaches also recruited smart players. Guys that will end up outplaying the 5* that lack the smarts. Im a happy guy. This team is in the thick of it now and in the years to come.
What a great class. I knew that this class was every bit as comparable to OSU and Bama. They both have their 5*, but we have guys that were scouted(by the coaches) and overlooked(by the gurus) that will be special players one day. The coaches also recruited smart players. Guys that will end up outplaying the 5* that lack the smarts. Im a happy guy. This team is in the thick of it now and in the years to come.
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God, if even half of these rumblings are true, this team is going to be a juggernaut in the next 2-3 years.
wheels002
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I am almost going to feel sorry for some of the OL in the B10.....almost!
Although if we could tag Sparty for negative rushing yards that would not hurt my feelings what so ever.
Although if we could tag Sparty for negative rushing yards that would not hurt my feelings what so ever.
"Offensive Notes from the last few days"
- At WR, hearing Crawford and McDoom along with Peoples-Jones and Black had good scrimmages.
- At tight end, it's "pick a day." Different guys impress on different days, but it is a good rotation. Depth is not an issue there it seems.
- On the offensive line, I was told Bushell-Beatty is making a push for that right tackle spot. He was with the first group out in the scrimmage I've heard. Behind Mason Cole at left tackle, Nolan Ulizio is working there. Jon Runyan is also getting some left side work. Stephen Spanellis is working in at guard with the 2nd and 3rd units. No change at center and no change at guard. Mike Onwenu "still holding up and moving better than before."
- At WR, hearing Crawford and McDoom along with Peoples-Jones and Black had good scrimmages.
- At tight end, it's "pick a day." Different guys impress on different days, but it is a good rotation. Depth is not an issue there it seems.
- On the offensive line, I was told Bushell-Beatty is making a push for that right tackle spot. He was with the first group out in the scrimmage I've heard. Behind Mason Cole at left tackle, Nolan Ulizio is working there. Jon Runyan is also getting some left side work. Stephen Spanellis is working in at guard with the 2nd and 3rd units. No change at center and no change at guard. Mike Onwenu "still holding up and moving better than before."
PFF sure can come up with some stats that challenge the eye test (or maybe memory test). A while back I saw that Chase Winovich performed better than nearly all of the other lineman against the run. Well now they're saying Wilton Speight has the best deep ball passer rating among all returning big ten starting QB's. I can't find a complete list, but I did come across the leading returning ACC QB, and Speight's rating was higher.
offense...
Another day another ?Fade to Black? reference.
?He just makes plays.? That was the assessment of Tarik Black from another practice observer. The kid is a flat-out problem for defenders because as I said in the last report, he has jump ball skills and the speed to get deep. What about his strength you ask? Well turns out he has that too. Want proof? In a recent practice he was matched up with Brandon Watson, the most physical corner on the roster. Watson was playing press man and has displayed a penchant for disrupting routes when he does so. Black got off the line and got up the field into his route, which was a back-shoulder fade. To Watson?s credit he maintained really position, but Black fought contact and went up and snatched the well-placed ball. It wasn?t quite the over the back play that Oliver Martin made the other day, but it was still impressive. I conceded back in January during Army All American week that I underrated his ability. He dominated the practices in San Antonio. Now he is shining in practices here. I know he hasn?t played a college game yet, but I am convinced his ceiling is much higher than his ranking indicated. He has a chance to become a big time player in Ann Arbor. BIG TIME!
Donovan Peoples-Jones is asserting himself also. The Former Detroit Cass Tech standout showed the peril opposing teams will be in if they try to cover him in the slot with a safety. The defense tried to do in a recent practice and DPJ responded with two touchdowns? one on a corner route and one on a post. Can you say ?weapons??
Kekoa Crawford has been a reliable chain mover. Really physical, but also plays well in space. Word from some in-state practice observers is Crawford is like a bigger, stronger K.J. Hamler. If any of you saw the Penn State freshman in high school, you know that is lofty praise.
That?s it for offense for now. Stay tuned for notes on the defense. I?ll be posting those in another Inside the Sub report shortly.
Another day another ?Fade to Black? reference.
?He just makes plays.? That was the assessment of Tarik Black from another practice observer. The kid is a flat-out problem for defenders because as I said in the last report, he has jump ball skills and the speed to get deep. What about his strength you ask? Well turns out he has that too. Want proof? In a recent practice he was matched up with Brandon Watson, the most physical corner on the roster. Watson was playing press man and has displayed a penchant for disrupting routes when he does so. Black got off the line and got up the field into his route, which was a back-shoulder fade. To Watson?s credit he maintained really position, but Black fought contact and went up and snatched the well-placed ball. It wasn?t quite the over the back play that Oliver Martin made the other day, but it was still impressive. I conceded back in January during Army All American week that I underrated his ability. He dominated the practices in San Antonio. Now he is shining in practices here. I know he hasn?t played a college game yet, but I am convinced his ceiling is much higher than his ranking indicated. He has a chance to become a big time player in Ann Arbor. BIG TIME!
Donovan Peoples-Jones is asserting himself also. The Former Detroit Cass Tech standout showed the peril opposing teams will be in if they try to cover him in the slot with a safety. The defense tried to do in a recent practice and DPJ responded with two touchdowns? one on a corner route and one on a post. Can you say ?weapons??
Kekoa Crawford has been a reliable chain mover. Really physical, but also plays well in space. Word from some in-state practice observers is Crawford is like a bigger, stronger K.J. Hamler. If any of you saw the Penn State freshman in high school, you know that is lofty praise.
That?s it for offense for now. Stay tuned for notes on the defense. I?ll be posting those in another Inside the Sub report shortly.
Defense....
Most people around the program believe that Devin Bush Jr. is going to excel as a blitzer. He just has a feel for it. He beats blockers with power, speed, finesse, or a combination of the three. He?s also bigger, so he is stouter in the run game. But do not be mistaken? teams WILL try to test him there. I think they are going to find a young man that is a contact seeker? one that when pressed ?solves his problems with aggression? (to steal a phrase from Don Brown). That?s why I wonder if the bigger test teams will administer will be the one that measures his skills in coverage. Michigan?s offense certainly did that in a recent practice when they isolated him in man to man coverage versus Chris Evans. They ran a fade to Evans, but Bush Jr. was with him stride for stride and picked it off. Conclusion, Bush Jr. should be able to hold his own in pass coverage too.
We?ve been hearing that the tight ends are making a lot of plays. That?s not surprising considering the impressive assortment of size and speed Michigan has at the position. Today I received an amended version of the tight end assessment for another practice observer. ?The tight ends are making a lot of plays when Khaleke Hudson isn?t on the football field. Khaleke seems to shut down the tight end passing game when he is in there.? The former Keystone State star did the very same thing back in the spring. No one is expecting him to be Jabrill, but no one should expect the drop to be precipitous either.
That?s for now. Be sure to check in for another sub report detailing movement on the cornerback front.
Most people around the program believe that Devin Bush Jr. is going to excel as a blitzer. He just has a feel for it. He beats blockers with power, speed, finesse, or a combination of the three. He?s also bigger, so he is stouter in the run game. But do not be mistaken? teams WILL try to test him there. I think they are going to find a young man that is a contact seeker? one that when pressed ?solves his problems with aggression? (to steal a phrase from Don Brown). That?s why I wonder if the bigger test teams will administer will be the one that measures his skills in coverage. Michigan?s offense certainly did that in a recent practice when they isolated him in man to man coverage versus Chris Evans. They ran a fade to Evans, but Bush Jr. was with him stride for stride and picked it off. Conclusion, Bush Jr. should be able to hold his own in pass coverage too.
We?ve been hearing that the tight ends are making a lot of plays. That?s not surprising considering the impressive assortment of size and speed Michigan has at the position. Today I received an amended version of the tight end assessment for another practice observer. ?The tight ends are making a lot of plays when Khaleke Hudson isn?t on the football field. Khaleke seems to shut down the tight end passing game when he is in there.? The former Keystone State star did the very same thing back in the spring. No one is expecting him to be Jabrill, but no one should expect the drop to be precipitous either.
That?s for now. Be sure to check in for another sub report detailing movement on the cornerback front.
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