3-3-5 and Recruiting

Whether or not Michigan is permanently moving a 3-3-5 stack defense, a 4-2-5, or a 4-3, the recruiting efforts of the staff definitely have changed. Mark, an anonymous emailer, sent me this question the other day.

Hey JC,
With Michigan moving to a 3-3-5, do you think it will have a major effect on recruiting? And if so, how does the staff fight teams that try to negative recruit against it?

From what we've seen, Michigan's coaches like to take a lot of tweener types in their recruiting classes. There are safeties like Marvin Robinson and Carvin Johnson who could eventually play linebacker, and numerous OLB/DE-type players like Craig Roh, Jordan Paskorz, and Davion Rogers who could potentially play at linebacker or put their hand down on the defensive line in the future as well.

If the 4-3 under defense we saw last year and the incoming 3-3-5 defense is any indicator, Michigan's coaches will continue to look for the same types of players. As far as the negative recruiting, I don't think a whole lot of coaches negative recruit against certain defenses. Offenses are an entirely different story, but most coaches are focusing on the "Rich Rod won't last" argument to try and negatively recruit against Michigan.

From what I've heard, many recruits actually like Michigan's style of defense. Like I said before, they take a lot of tweeners, who have a tendency not to be highly-rated because they don't have a set position, but it will allow for Michigan to be very flexible with formations, which can be a great asset on the defensive side of the ball.

Michigan will still target top-level players, as most players can fit in any system. It will be interesting to see if the staff continues to use the 3-3-5/4-2-5 in the future as well, or if they are just implementing it now to try and get the best personnel on the field.

Spring Questions

With most of the other Michigan media outlets posting their own "Spring Questions", I thought I'd take the opportunity and make some of my own. Spring ball is an important development phase for both younger and older players on the Michigan roster, and it's going to be a pivotal period if Rich Rodriguez and his staff want to put a winning team on the field in the fall. So here are a few questions and things to consider as we get underway..

Who becomes "the guy" at running back?
Michigan is fortunate to possess a lot of talented, diverse backs in the running back corps. You've got pure speed in Michael Shaw, a nice blend of power and speed in Michael Cox, an unproven but highly spoken of speedster who likes to hit hard in Fitz Toussaint, as well as freshmen Stephen Hopkins and Austin White, who also are very unique as well.

The only problem is, no player has really proven themselves yet. Michael Shaw has all the talent to be good, but like his predecessors Carlos Brown and Brandon Minor, he's been hurt most of, if not all of his career. Michael Cox is another big question. He's big, but has nice speed and great hands out of the backfield. Toussaint received rave reviews but was injured and redshirted last year.(Photo Courtesy of Tim @Mgoblog)

Will Michigan find a true deep threat?
At times we saw flashes of the offenses true potential. Daryll Stonum has all the tools (size and speed) to be a great deep threat, but the youngster from Texas has yet to put it all together. Junior Hemingway has shown the spark a number of times, but once again injuries have limited him. In the slot, Martavious Odoms is great in space, but not a true deep threat. Jeremy Gallon may have the potential as well, but he has yet to see the field.

With Ricardo Miller, Jeremy Jackson and Jerald Robinson on campus already, Michigan needs to find a deep threat. Without it, opposing defenses will be able to move their safeties closer to the line of scrimmage and eliminate the run as well. Then of course, there is the X-factor. Denard Robinson may be a quarterback now, but don't be surprised to see him line up in the slot and outside. Defenses will be forced to respect his speed, and Denard could be a big advantage if used properly, whether it's on reverses, passes, or flea-flickers.

And most importantly..

Just who steps up on defense?
Michigan is extremely thin in the secondary right now. With the recent move to more of a 4-2-5 look, Michigan will feature three safeties on the field in the fall. Troy Woofolk can play the deep safety position, but he'll be at cornerback until the staff can get more bodies in there in the fall.

Up front, the defensive line should add some much-needed bulk. Greg Banks and Ryan Van Bergen will man both the defensive end and tackle positions, while Mike Martin sits out due to shoulder surgery. The position to watch here is nose tackle. Big sophomore William Campbell and senior Renaldo Sagesse will battle for playing time there. If one of them can secure that spot, it will allow Mike Martin to slide over to Defensive Tackle, where he won't be double teamed every play.

Then, there is the linebackers. Oh the linebackers. There is some talent there, but time is almost running out for 5th-year seniors Obi Ezeh and Jonas Mouton. If they aren't capable of starting, the staff will bench them in favor of J.B. Fitzgerald, Kevin Leach, or Kenny Demens. But with Greg Robinson coaching them, I expect better production out of the linebackers this fall.

Changes...

Most Michigan fans were confused when the new defensive coaching staff implemented the strange 4-4, 4-3 under, "elephant" defense last season. Then, earlier this off-season, people began to worry that Michigan was returning to the 3-3-5 system Rich Rodriguez's West Virginia teams operated under.

Well, things are changing, but not quite to that extent. Michigan will feature a new look this fall, except instead of a 3-3-5, it will be a 4-2-5.

Why a 4-2-5, you ask? Well, Michigan currently lacks a lot of talented, proven linebackers. It would make no sense to move to a 3-3-5 and sacrifice a member from the strongest unit on the team (the defensive line), so Michigan's coaches created a new position known as the "spur", manned by Michael Williams. Here's a quick picture of what I'm talking about -

(HT: Touch the Banner)

The defensive alignment is very similar to last year in it's fluidity and flexibility, only Michigan will have one true deep safety, with two boundary safety/linebacker hybrids. Stevie Brown's SAM position is essentially gone as well with this outlook.

This defense allows Michigan to counter a number of spread sets, as well as keep some more athletic safety types (Mike Jones, Brandin Hawthorne) on the field instead of pure linebackers who struggle in coverage. The only downside is, power teams will be able to abuse the lack of size in the back seven. But if Bruce Tall can keep the defensive line improving as the year goes on, and Greg Robinson can work a little magic with the linebackers, Michigan has the potential to be a better defense this coming season.

They just need to find some safeties and cornerbacks.

Just another day

For the past two years, the off-season has been one of the most difficult times of the year for the Michigan faithful. In between the crushing losses to Ohio State and Spring Practice, the anticipation for football starts to build, the rivals come calling, and the pressure and desire for a new season to begin is renewed.

This year is really no different than last year. Of course, there were no NCAA Violations just yet, and though the team had struggled everyone knew it would be a matter of time until West Virginia 2.0 was in place. Right? Well here we are on the verge of spring practice #3 under Coach Rodriguez, and everyone is clamoring once more. The trash talking from Spartans and Buckeyes has heated up, and rampant message board discussions on "Player X starting" and "Player Y's stats" this year are already spanning dozens of forums and boards. And recruiting? Well don't even get me started there. That's another animal entirely.

What is the best advice you can offer a Michigan fan at this point? Chill out. Just because a favorite recruit has Michigan out of his top 3 or 5 doesn't mean you won't get him. I mean, if you look at Michigan's 2010 class and look back a year ago, how many of those names did we even hear? Half? A third? Things change in the college football world. But you can bet that Michigan's coaches, their players, and everyone around the program is doing everything (legally) they can to get better. Some insiders are saying they're developing a real chip on their shoulder. So all I'm saying is, don't worry. This team is in good hands, and you never know what's going to happen in the fall. Spring practice starts in a week, and the spring game is coming up soon as well. So let's all relax.

Spring Ball Lineups: Offense

Last week I detailed the defensive spring lineup. Today is offense! The reason I did defense first is because it's the team's biggest concern. The offense improved greatly last season (albeit with help from Delaware State and two MAC schools), and with a sophomore in Tate Forcier guiding it from under center, it should further improve this coming season. Without further ado..

QB: Tate Forcier, Denard Robinson, Devin Gardner
RB: Vincent Smith (Out for spring), Michael Shaw, Michael Cox, Fitzgerald Toussaint, Austin White, Stephen Hopkins
X: Darryl Stonum, Je'Ron Stokes, Ricardo Miller, Jeremy Jackson
Y: Martavious Odoms, Roy Roundtree, Terrance Robinson, Jeremy Gallon, Teric Jones, Drew Dileo
Z: Junior Hemingway,Jerald Robinson, DJ Williamson
TE: Kevin Koger, Martell Webb, Brandon Moore

LT: Perry Dorrestein, Taylor Lewan
LG: Stephen Schilling, Elliot Mealer, Ricky Barnum
C: David Molk (Out for Spring), Rocko Khoury, Christian Pace
RG: Patrick Omameh, John Ferrara, Quinton Washington.
RT: Mark Huyge, Mike Schofield

A couple of things-
The slot position (Y) is obviously loaded. Odoms and Roundtree are both proven talents, meaning we should see plenty of double-slot formations on the field in the fall to get them both out there. Terrance Robinson has all the tools, he just has problems catching the ball. And Jeremy Gallon is one a lot of people are going to watch. He's more explosive and much more shifty than Odoms or Roundtree, he just came in out of shape and didn't contribute (didn't need to necessarily) last year. I don't think we'll see a lot of Gallon on offense, but with Greg Mathews graduating there is always room for a solid punt return man.

I've listed Denard Robinson as Tate's backup because that's what he is right now. He may experiment with other positions or be moved later in his career, but Denard is a quarterback. Devin is listed third but I have a feeling he will push Denard and take his second spot and perhaps even push Tate (which would be great). Hopefully Devin will still have a chance to redshirt though, unless his is absolutely the best option for the team.

Running back, like slot, has plenty of bodies and talent, just no real proven "go-to guy" just yet. I think Michael Shaw could have a very good year if he is able to stay healthy, and he'll have a chance to prove it in the spring. Michael Cox impressed some, and Fitzgerald Toussaint received rave reviews from coaches and players before injuring himself in fall practice. I think that spring ball will start out with a lot of guys platooning for reps, but I'd love to see one guy establish himself as the starter. Whether it's Shaw, Cox, Toussaint, or even one of the freshmen (which I doubt), I'm satisfied.

In regards to the offense line, it's kind of a hit-or-miss at this point. Dorrestein is the logical pick at Left Tackle because he's a fifth-year senior and all, but he's definitely not the most athletic (which you need in a Left Tackle) or player with the highest upside. I don't know if we'll see Taylor Lewan or Quinton Washington start, but they definitely should push for time within the two-deep. Michael Schofield as well. Right now there is a lot of talent and athletic players on the offensive line, the coaches just need to sort out their best 5 and get them on the field.