Scrimmage Personnel Hubbub
Just passing along some info, which might resolve some of the panic a couple threads below:
Shane Morris, Jibreel Black, Chris Bryant, and Jeremy Gallon were held out of the scrimmage. We'll hear from Hoke about it Tuesday. I was told it's nothing to make a big fuss about, although personally I think Morris would have benefited a lot from the scrimmage. C'est la vie. Nothing really changes the fact that if Gardner goes down we should pack up and go home.
As you saw, Bryant's absence moved Glasgow to left guard in the scrimmage. Wherefore art thou, Ben Braden, ye of my prediction for lock at left guard? Braden, notably, has not been practicing at guard for some time. He's a tackle these days (womp womp), so the depth chart at left guard (assuming Bryant is fine) goes Bryant, Glasgow, Bars.
The point of a closed scrimmage is for the team to work on areas of improvement in a real game setting but far from the prying eyes of the public. As such, yesterday was run heavy, especially when Gardner was in. Green and Smith got a lot of looks. I'm told that neither really stood out because the blocking still had some ways to go. I wouldn't worry too much about that because the two freshman backs worked heavily with the second team, and the starting line was minus Bryant anyway.
August 18th, 2013 at 1:06 PM ^
The defense may end up carrying the team for a few games until the OL rounds into form.
August 18th, 2013 at 1:06 PM ^
It's unfortunate that Morris and Bryant were not able to participate as they really could have benefited from the scrimmage. Gallon and Black don't really need the reps or simulating a game experience but those two youngsters needed that big time.
August 18th, 2013 at 1:07 PM ^
I am not panic but i would be a liar if i said there is no reason to worry about our interior line..and anyone who isnt is naive..It was a spot we didnt recruit well under RR and it is a soft spot and also a very important spot in the running game and keeping Devin healthy..but i have faith in Michigan to find a way
August 18th, 2013 at 1:12 PM ^
I watched this staff turn the defense around in one year from worst to best since 2006.
I have a lot of faith in the staff.
August 18th, 2013 at 2:34 PM ^
I haven't seen much yet to suggest the staff is particularly amazing on the O-line.
August 18th, 2013 at 2:44 PM ^
August 18th, 2013 at 3:11 PM ^
That's hardly an argument for how good the coaches are, especially considering the overall OL performance last year...
August 18th, 2013 at 5:15 PM ^
August 18th, 2013 at 3:13 PM ^
August 18th, 2013 at 3:21 PM ^
No, he only pulled together the best single-class OL haul in America.
August 18th, 2013 at 3:26 PM ^
Look, it was a great class, but not the best by any objectvie ranking.
August 18th, 2013 at 3:41 PM ^
Stanford's crazy OL class was 2012. Ours was 2013.
August 18th, 2013 at 4:03 PM ^
Yay, non sequiturs.
August 18th, 2013 at 7:05 PM ^
August 18th, 2013 at 7:35 PM ^
Molk and Lewan were going to be All-Americans with or without Hoke. Lewan's practice hyper from his freshman/RS Fr season had him pegged as the next Jake Long already and Molk was already wrecking people under Richrod though most of us didn't realize it yet
The staff has yet to prove their worth on the O-line. However, they also haven't brought their own guys through yet, they were just given a ragtag bunch of Richrod's guys and that didn't go well. So the verdict is still out, but I'm leaning more towards pessimism than optimism at this point
August 18th, 2013 at 6:40 PM ^
August 18th, 2013 at 7:03 PM ^
August 18th, 2013 at 7:38 PM ^
but it was already happening before the current staff arrived. They had little to do with either
August 18th, 2013 at 9:17 PM ^
August 18th, 2013 at 9:52 PM ^
Denard had a say in Molk and Lewan's accolades as well. Nobody is rushing the QB when he's told to contain before rushing. See Nebraska before and after injury. The extra blocker is one less man for the line to block. Denard right/left was great for agile linemen like Molk and Lewan.
Molk had nothing but compliments for the current coaching staff. Are you giving RR credit for Hoke's first years? The coach is the coach. The team is the team. All American OL performance is not an exact science. Funk deserves credit for both players' performance as much as anyone outside the player's parents and the team around them.
If you want a great OL coach look to the academies - it doesn't necessarily add up to All Americans or wins for that matter but they get it done. Huma's point is valid. Who is complaining about Funk other than bloggers and crickets. Mattison took Funk's NFL guard to staunch his DL - as RR did before with Q. The coaches do what they do and deserve credit as well as blame.
November 17th, 2013 at 12:42 PM ^
This man was wise.
August 18th, 2013 at 1:09 PM ^
To the rescue! Thanks for the update. I was more than curious to see a few Shane Morris clips under live scrimmage conditions.
August 18th, 2013 at 1:13 PM ^
I was really excited about Braden and Kalis being the guards...
August 18th, 2013 at 1:37 PM ^
Disappointed Braden seems to be losing to Glasgow - would have liked him to get a year under his belt and then move over to tackle next year. Breaking in 2 tackles in 2014 who have not seen the field or only seen the field due to injury to our 2 this year is not going to be a positive development. Bryant not playing also just makes me feel for this kid, I hope its not another injury bug. The video showed nice passes by Devin and like Heiko said its a moot point for Morris IMO - if Devin goes down the season is shot.
August 18th, 2013 at 1:47 PM ^
Braden is a big guy, strong, and long. But rooting out DTs takes another level of low pad level completely. It may have been difficult for him to pick up on some of those things, or frankly, he may not have been seperating himself from the others and it's better for Braden and the OL unit to get him more reps at OT now and fill in with another guy that has had similar success on the inside and will be staying there in the future.
August 18th, 2013 at 4:01 PM ^
The difference in duties between a guard and a tackle are enormous. Tackles take on your usual more athletic DE/DT in a scheme, the goal is to be able to take a DE 1 on 1. A guard is usually required to take a DT in a combo block with a C, and then the C or the G must be able to bounce to the second level to pick up a LB. Also, pulling.
Think the difference you see here is that Braden might not have been stocky or low enough to push a 6-3 310 DT out of a hole.. where as him giong against a 270lb DE is much more realistic.
August 18th, 2013 at 1:15 PM ^
August 18th, 2013 at 1:16 PM ^
August 18th, 2013 at 1:25 PM ^
Unfortunately I don't have any real insight as to why they didn't play. I do know that Black has been out for about a week, though, which is why we heard about Tom Strobel getting more snaps at 3-tech when the BTN guys went to Michigan's practice.
August 18th, 2013 at 1:29 PM ^
By Black being "out", does that mean just being played or does he have a booboo?
August 18th, 2013 at 1:36 PM ^
Didn't he just do a Countdown to Kickoff? He definitely didn't let on anything was amiss during that at all.
August 18th, 2013 at 1:56 PM ^
August 18th, 2013 at 2:23 PM ^
August 18th, 2013 at 1:18 PM ^
Chris Bryant would have made a big difference in the passing game-- so I will. He's a big dude, so me thinks that has to count for something.
I guess this means that the tentative OLine for next year would be Magnuson/Bryant/Miller (or Kugler)/ Kalis/ Braden?
August 18th, 2013 at 1:58 PM ^
August 18th, 2013 at 2:15 PM ^
At this point, I'd be willing to bet Bosch is ahead of Mags
August 18th, 2013 at 3:16 PM ^
Bosch is more of a guard, and I certainly don't think he can play left tackle. Magnuson and Bosch don't really have much to do with each other, in my opinion.
August 18th, 2013 at 4:11 PM ^
Although you are absolutely right about Bosch being a G and Mags being a T, couldn't one make the argument that if Bosch is ready to play next year (presumably as a RS F) and Mags isn't ready, then they could bumo Kalis out to RT, insert Bosch as the RG, and move Braden over to LT. The coaches do seem to enjoy having OLine members that are interchangeable in order to play the best 5. Granted I also agree with you that Mags status next season will probably not at all be affected by Bosch and more about Mags' progression which I am optimistic about.
August 18th, 2013 at 8:32 PM ^
August 19th, 2013 at 6:56 AM ^
Kalis could play tackle in college. The NFL might be another issue, but he could certainly play the frontside tackle at Michigan.
I hate when problems get exasperated, though. That's really frustrating.
August 18th, 2013 at 4:03 PM ^
August 18th, 2013 at 1:20 PM ^
Did anyone really expect to learn ANYTHING from videos of a Brady Hoke-led Michigan practice?
Why do you think the camera angles are so shitty and Hoke put up border around the Fort walls?
He'll be the last coach in the country to show his hand.
August 18th, 2013 at 1:24 PM ^
The next scrimmage is going to be filmed on Go pro cameras with a fisheye lens.
August 18th, 2013 at 1:23 PM ^
I have to remind myself of several things -- (a) this is a relatively young team, (b) we have a very good (to perhaps the best) coaching staff, and (c) there will be setbacks during the season but life goes on.
As much as I'd like Michigan to be a soul-grinding machine of football perfection, I just don't think 2013 is the year. My hope and expectations are more set on constructing a trajectory of improvement that maps into next year and beyond.
Do I want a 14-0 season? Of course. Do I really expect it? No. I just hope that in any loss we do suffer that Michigan plays smart and competitive and we walk away understanding why the W didn't go the other way. And that's a coaching thing ... see item "b" above.
August 18th, 2013 at 5:15 PM ^
or, how i learned to love the bomb.
August 18th, 2013 at 1:31 PM ^
I'm kinda surprised Braden won't be a guard, he had several reps there in the scrimmage video. I guess that's because Bryant was held out though?
August 18th, 2013 at 1:33 PM ^
In the CTK scrimmage video, Braden appears to be running at LG on 2nd team with Magnuson at LT. This doesn't seem to fit your theory...
August 18th, 2013 at 1:39 PM ^
Yeah there was some reshuffling because of Bryant's absence. I'm just saying that Braden hasn't practiced at guard since Bryant took the spot about a week ago. With Bryant out I'm sure Braden is at least the 2nd best option at left guard. He did spend most of spring practice there, after all.
August 18th, 2013 at 1:41 PM ^
Thanks
August 18th, 2013 at 1:45 PM ^
Heiko, if Bryant is the presumed starter at LG and Braden is the 2nd best option why would they not elevate the 2nd best LG option to the 1st group during the scrimmage rather than moving a projected center over to LG? Thx