Friday, February 11, 2011

Michigan's 2011 spring roster


In the first bit of spring practice news, Michigan unveiled its spring roster. Here are a few highlights:
  • This week in disturbing position news, Craig Roh is listed as a linebacker. CRAIG ROH IS NOT A LINEBACKER. The hope is that once they get into spring practice, Hoke and Mattison realize this and move him back to his natural position on the defensive line. If they don't, Michigan is wasting one of its more dominant defensive players.
  • Will Campbell is still listed as an offensive lineman, which is in direct contradiction to what Hoke said a month ago. I still have high hopes for Campbell on the defensive side of the ball and given the depth chart at DT, he would be far more useful there.
  • I can haz safeties? This roster lists 14 safeties, more than any other position group on the team. Among those safeties are Cam Gordon and Marvin Robinson, two players who most speculated would end up at linebacker.
  • With Roh listed as a linebacker and the smaller hybrid types all playing safety, it's pretty clear that Hoke is looking for a bit more heft on his linebackers. I'm already having flashbacks to Troy Smith going ham on Michigan's bumbling linebackers.
  • Troy Woolfolk and Cullen Christian are both listed as CBs. Given the amount of players at safety, this is probably for the best, but I'm not sure this is either's natural position. Woolfolk has proven he's a Big Ten corner, but Christian struggled mightily in his limited playing time last year.
  • Defensive linein': Van Bergen is a defensive end. Terry Talbott is tiny (6'3" 248 lbs) and will need another year in the weight room before he sees any playing time. Richard Ash is enormous (6'3" 320 lbs) and will probably end up as the 1-tech DT next to Mike Martin.
Total numbers
Offense Defense Special Teams
QB: 4 DT: 7 PK: 4
RB: 8 DE: 5 P: 1
FB: 1 LB: 9 LS: 4
TE: 6 S: 14
WR: 9 CB: 8
SR: 7
OL: 13
Total: 100

Obviously, many of these guys are walk ons as the roster is 15 players too big (before the recruiting class arrives on campus). As such, these numbers aren't quite accurate, but they do give us a decent breakdown of where the team will be for spring practice. I expect at least a few position switches when the next roster is released.

4 comments:

Lankownia said...

Isn't this just the unchanged roster from fall plus or minus additions (Brown) and subtractions (Forcier)? I don't think positions or weights have been updated. We should know something come spring practice.

Anonymous said...

aren't you going to post something dumb about basketball soon?

Jon McLaren said...

Lankownia, I think you're correct.

I wouldn't put ANY stock into what you see on this roster as the coaches know less about the personnel right now than most hardcore fans.

Hecklinski went out of his way to say he won't be watching film on the receivers so that everyone is starting off from square one. Personally, that sounds insane to me but I'll take him at his word.

Anonymous said...

Any reason to think the roster wasn't just put out by some bureaucrat in the department copying stuff from last year?


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