Spring Game Standouts: QBs, Isaac, Kinnel, Shallman's Hair
I guess I need to include a SPOILER ALERT for those who weren't able to watch the live stream. If for some reason you want the ending of the Spring Game to be a mystery, and yet you still are on this blog, stop reading now. The full game re-airs at 9:30 on BTN.
Ty Isaac had the best night among the RBs. [Eric Upchurch]
The Maize team prevailed, 14-13, after a stunningly exciting finish for a Spring Game. After John O'Korn juked Mike McCray to cap off an impressive last-gasp drive for the Blue team, but the Maize defense stuffed a fullback dive by Henry Poggi on the ensuing two-point attempt to preserve victory. Your player of the game is Wyatt Shallman. I require no further justification than this:
I won't bother with a full recap, because SPRING GAME, but here are a few players on each side of the ball that stood out to me on first viewing—it was tough to follow line play from the box, so this is mostly going to focus on the skill positions and the back seven.
John O'Korn was at his best when on the move. [Upchurch]
OFFENSE
Ty Isaac tallied 78 yards on ten carries, breaking off a few big runs on a night when none of the other tailbacks found much room to operate behind split-squad offensive lines. He ran patiently and chose the right moments to bounce runs outside. He's a major big-play threat with his speed/size combo.
The quarterbacks were steady, which is about all you can ask in a Spring Game, especially since the O-lines—which split starters between the two squads—were inconsistent in protection. Wilton Speight hit 5/6 passes for 46 yards and a touchdown; he added a six-yard rushing touchdown on a waggle and gained a first down with a 13-yard scramble.
John O'Korn didn't put up as pretty of a passing line, completing 6/14 passes for 93 yards, but he rushed for 28 yards and the late touchdown on seven carries. O'Korn did a nice job of buying time by breaking the pocket and picking his spots to scramble downfield. He also avoided any major mistakes. Shane Morris had an up-and-down showing at quarterback, hitting some nice throws but also hucking a pick to Dymonte Thomas in the end zone (more on that later) when he had a receiver open underneath for a first down. Morris moonlighted at receiver and picked up a 25-yard gain on the final drive when he got wide open on a mesh concept.
With Jehu Chesson out and Amara Darboh taking it easy, Grant Perry played the role of #1 receiver for the Maize squad and aquitted himself well. He beat a defender with a nice deep route that left Speight plenty of room on the sideline, then made an impressive catch—unfortunately, Speight's throw took him out of bounds. He had three actual catches for 30 yards; the reserve corners had a tough time sticking with him on intermediate routes.
TJ Wheatley had a drop over the middle, but he later hauled in a nine-yard catch and had impressive blocks against both Mike McCray and Jabrill Peppers(!) to spring Isaac for big gains. The hype train continues unabated. Ian Bunting looked pretty athletic on a 49-yard jaunt down the sideline after his defender got picked on another mesh route. Zach Gentry had a late 19-yard catch, though he's still far from ready to see the field.
Tyree Kinnel played well against both the run and the pass. [Upchurch]
DEFENSE
Matt Godin stood out among the defensive linemen who played most of the game, taking advantage of getting lined up across from Juwann Bushell-Beatty—who had a rough go at left guard—to work his way into the backfield consistently. Taco Charlton also deserves a mention for blowing Grant Newsome back a few yards to stuff Isaac's first run; Charlton and Wormley both looked good before exiting early along with several other established starters, including Jabrill Peppers and Jourdan Lewis.
I liked what I saw from Mike McCray, who teamed up with Tyree Kinnel for a TFL that forced a Maize punt on a third-and-short run to the outside. Kinnel, meanwhile, looked great; he stuck with his mark in coverage and made a couple stops coming downhill against the run. If Michigan needs to put him out there at safety, he looks ready.
Speaking of safeties, Dymonte Thomas was not boring in the best of ways. On the interception against Morris, he covered a ton of ground to get to a throw intended for Jack Wanger at the back pylon—a perfect throw if Thomas weren't there—then held on after leaping for the pick. I didn't notice any coverage busts from him.
Jeremy Clark doesn't look ready to cede a starting spot to Channing Stribling. He broke up a couple passes, including one after blanketing Wangler on a streak route and forcing him into the sideline; Wangler was so well-covered that he couldn't gain separation even with an obvious push-off.
That's the best I could muster from first viewing in the press box. We'll have a lot more coverage in the week to come.
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I actually thought Brandon Peters had the tightest spiral of anyone, though Speight looked the man to beat and O'Korn looked the oldest. Smith didn't get as many carries as I thought, maybe because he is the clear leader and they don't want him injured? I also don't think Peppers at linebacker makes much sense, he is clearly smaller than everyone else, he may be fast but they need to settle down with him, seriously. He is the best athlete out there. But moving a player around everywhere hurts him in the long run. Put him at safety and leave him there and let him learn that position.
Putting Peppers at safety would just be moving him around even more.
This is pretty accurate. Brown is going to put him a little closer to the line of scrimmage at times than he was last year, but it's basically the same thing.
succeeding in the D1 level and NFL has started to look for S who can play LB and play them at WILL.
I think we should have faith that the guy who coordinated the #1 defense in the country at Boston College knows what he's doing.
+1 Insightful.
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disagrees. By the time B1G conference games commence, you'll see why Peppers at LB makes sense. I think this defense is seriously going to kick ass this coming fall.
I propose a new drinking game for 2016, whenever announcer refers to Wheatley as "Not Just a Blocker", drink.
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Much better.
Isaac is the best runner on the team. But he needs to hold onto the ball, and he needs to block better than he did last season.
Thought Davis was quick too. Issac was most improved, running with bison and toughness. Loves that he was gimpy and came back in with a hard run right after getting a stinger.
O Korn makes me a little nervous while Speight seemed surprisingly steady. Had great joy seeing Morris play wr. As a former wr, he wasn't half bad!
Male one seemed to have his hand mutilated and left game. Had a couple of nice throws but other moments that suggest to me he is going to be pinned to the sideline for the career.
Peters was most intriguing. Hoping we can afford to redshirt him. One year under harbaugh and in the weight room is going to make this guy into a first rounder. Avoided a safety, effortless throws, smart and accurate. Game seemed easy to him and he literally just got on campus.
On d, I love how much wood D Bush brought. Could hear him hitting folks. Violent young man.
Coach Brown's boy winovich showed up too. Brought tons of pressure.
They seemed to be calling MCCrays name a ton too.
For a spring game...hate to say it, but we looked decent.
"running with bison and toughness"
Running with bison would seem to hint at toughness to me.
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Stop it you guys are killing me here!
Wow, what knee slapping humor
A great RB does not need vision when you "run with bison".
I mean, that's what RB stands for, right? Originally, when men were men, back in the day, they would allow teams two herds per half, and if the defense was still standing, then they'd keep playing. Those were the days.
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+1 just for "running with bison." I am guessing you got autocorrected, but from what I cannot guess.
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From what i saw, perry seems like the #3 with harris challenging, but ahmir mitchell didn't look half bad either for only being on campus a couple months. Harris is from my area, so i hope he can beat out perry and get some good snaps in at #3.
Anyone else have thoughts on the group?
Perry looks like he has the most complete game of any who played and should get a lot more snaps, but I was encouraged by what we saw from Harris. He looked a bit thicker and significantly stronger yesterday than he did last fall. It seems that he is really starting to put those injuries behind him. I still expect him to be a role-player this fall, but if he continues to develop he could be a very strong replacement for Chesson in 2017.
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I can see drake Harris contributing a bit more this year.. But man I'd like to see him catch a pass in stride and see what he can do in the open field. Most times he's catching it he's either diving or falling down.
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but harbaugh himself used to scramble a lot and buy time while looking downfield; probably the best part of his game.
When the hell has he ever said that? Who the hell wants a guy like that?
No, no. He doesn't want playmakers at QB.
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