Defensive thoughts

It's a slow day in the house, so I figured I'd discuss some things I've been reading up on and thinking about. The defense next year is going to be paramount to Michigan's success. If things can get turned around and Michigan plays solid or even decent defense, they could win 7 or 8 games. But if the defense continues to spiral downwards.. well, I won't go there.

There are two particular recruits that I'll have my eye on in the spring and in fall practice. And that's Marvin Robinson and Adrian Witty. Both of them are Florida natives, and both know how to ball. Robinson was highly rated and wanted by everyone; Witty was a two-star who, because of an injury, missed much of his senior season. Still, I think both have a chance to be major contributors next fall.
Per the latest rivals article (today), Robinson said he's now at 203 lbs, and has his 40 down in the 4"4's. He's currently slated to come in and try and shore up the free safety position (plays close to LOS), but at that size he's got to be destined for the SAM linebacker position in the future. Unless he can stay at that size and maintain good speed, then I'm all for him staying at safety. Robinson will be enrolling early next month, so I wouldn't be surprised if he is starting at safety in the fall.
Adrian Witty's road to Ann Arbor has taken him longer than expected. He signed with the 2009 class, only to find out he was academically ineligible. But give props to the kid, he didn't just sit around or head to a junior college. Witty took an online math class, got a B, and is now set to enroll in January. So essentially he's become a 2010 recruit. He'll still have all his eligibility, so there's no worries there either.

Like I mentioned before Witty missed a lot of time due to injury, but he showed a lot of promise early in his high school career. FlaVarsity.com analyst Mike Langston had this to say -

"A lot of people said he was a risk, but I, too, saw what Michigan saw when he was a junior, how explosive he was. They weren't just taking this guy to get Denard. He was a sensational player as a junior, one of the quickest I've seen as far as closing on the ball."

Rumor has it that Witty was the only player on Deerfield Beach (his high school) who could beat Denard Robinson in a race. And we all saw how fast Denard was this year. So basically, when healthy, Witty is a quick bugger. And we need speed in the secondary, see- Boo Boo against Notre Dame this year. Luckily, he's also really motivated;

Witty's proving it with his training regimen, which includes lifting, speed training and other exercises. He was busy running sprints and working on his explosion when we reached him and rarely takes a day off, working with friends, teammates and others in preparation for his collegiate career.

With Donovan Warren gone Witty has an excellent chance if he can get acclimated with the defensive schemes and the speed of the game. If he can stay healthy, I think he'll contribute on the field in the fall, on special teams at the least.