Orchard Lake St. Mary’s took on Detroit Cass Tech today in Orchard Lake, and a number of Michigan prospects/commits were in action. I previously took in an OLSM scrimmage, and reported on two of their prospects here. Today, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s prevailed in a fairly lopsided game (the 28-6 score did not tell the whole story) where both teams tried (without much success) to run the ball much of the time. Cass Tech seemed to be the more athletic team, but not as well coached as the Eaglets.

Boubacar Cissoko Cass Tech WR/CB #2 Michigan commit ’08
Cissoko was Cass Tech’s do-it-all man, returning punts and kicks, playing corner on defense, and wide receiver on offense. Oh yeah, and the soccer player also handled kickoffs and punts for the technicians. In my previous experiences with Cissoko, I had been under the impression that his listed height was greater than the 5-7 he is typically reported to be. However, seeing Cissoko in action, it was obvious he was a tiny guy. As just a high school senior, it is possible that he is still growing.

On defense, Cissoko was not afraid to get physical with much bigger players, and he was frequently matched up against Dion Sims. Despite giving Sims almost a foot in height and close to 100 pounds, Cissoko showed no fear in jamming Sims off the line and downfield. Cissoko did get burned once deep, as he got his head around too late on a long pass, and due to his height, was unable to compensate. He did, however, make the tackle a couple yards shy of the endzone. As a tackler, Cissoko tends to focus on the hit, rather than wrapping up the ballcarrier. However, on the occasion that Cissoko wasn’t able to get a clean shot on the carrier, he wisely used his arms to take out the legs. Cissoko chased down two sweep plays in the backfield, one of them on a shoestring tackle.

Offensively, Cissoko impressed more than I thought he would. He ran crisp routes, and when he was open, he threw his hand in the air to demand the ball. Cass Tech’s QB, Thomas Gordon, only found him a couple of times as he was under pressure much of the contest. When Cissoko did get his hands on the ball, he was a breaston-like playmaker, using his quickness to get YAC. I actually liked him on offense almost as much as I did on the defensive side of the ball. Cissoko did get by a defender deep once, but Gordon overthrew him in the endzone.

On special teams, Cissoko returned a few punts and kicks, but was unable to make anything truly special happen.

William Campbell Cass Tech DT/OT #73 Michigan commit ’09
William Campbell was a man amongst boys on the lines for Cass Tech. He was a healthy 6-6, 310, and had at least 4-5 inches and 30 pounds over just about everyone else he played with and against.

On Defense, Campbell played both inside and outside. He was not quick off the edge, but could easily take on blockers to make plays. He helped Cass’s D-Line control the line of scrimmage (as both D-lines did on this day), holding St. Mary’s to negative yardage on most plays, except when they could scrounge out 1-2 yards, though OLSM did manage to break into the secondary on a coupld occasions. Campbell showed a willingness to chase down plays from the backside, though with his speed he was unlikely to catch anyone.

I liked Campbell on offense more than I did on defense. He manned the right tackle position for Cass Tech, and showed decent technique. He finished all of his blocks, and was a whistle-to-whistle player in the trenches. At his size, he projects as a tackle at the next level, with his long(ish) arms. I wouldn’t be surprised if Campbell played offense in college.

Dion Sims OLSM TE/WR/LB #8 Michigan prospect ’09
I still see Sims as a TE on the next level if he stays on offense, and if he goes to defense, he would be a defensive end, as he doesn’t play well with his hands, or make great reads, as a linebacker (view the previous OLSM report).

It was a wet day today, so the ball wasn’t thrown around too much, even though neither team could get consistent production on the ground. I don’t believe Sims was thrown to once all day, and certainly not was he was being defended by the lilliputian Cissoko.

Christian Brandt OLSM OT #77 Michigan prospect ’09
Nothing new on Brandt from the last OLSM report. He looked a little more in shape, thuogh that’s more likely my memory playing tricks on me, since the last time I scouted Saint Mary’s was a little over a week ago. He didn’t play on every down on offense. Neither offensive line had a good day, though OLSM was able to break a couple long runs.

Posted under Photo Album, Recruiting

At Defensive end, Brandon Graham will hope to follow a less circuitous version of the Lamarr Woodley career path. The high school linebacker will likely never play that position in college, instead staying at defensive end his whole career. Graham has lost weight in the offseason, helping him maintain his speed, though he has battled minor injuries in training camp. The other side will be manned by Tim Jamison, a speedy penetrator who has been injured much of his career, which has kept him out of the starting lineup until now. He was widely considered the starter opposite Woodley last year until a freak ankle injury forced him to sit out and then take a backup role. The redshirt junior looks to finally put together a healthy season.

Backing up those two are a slew of unknowns in redshirt freshmen Greg Banks and Adam Patterson, after the dismissal of James McKinney. They will both be counted on to provide rest for the starters, as there will likely be more rotation this year to give experience to a wider range of players. True freshman Ryan Van Bergen is talented, but may sit out a year to get ready for the college game. LB Shawn Crable will step in on some passing downs.

Defensive tackle Terrance Taylor is the only returner along the defensive line, but he is a good one. Playing the nose position, he is a space-eater rather than a penetrator. He is a likely all-conference candidate. Next to him will be Will Johnson, who steps into a starting role after being a key reserve the past two years. In action last year, he impressed, and was only kept off the field by the exceptional players ahead of him.

Johnny Ferrara will back up the DTs, though he needs to work on his game fitness to be a true factor. The story is similar with Jason Kates. Freshman Marques Slocum will also factor in, as he is ineligible to redshirt after his bizarre academic sojourn to become a Wolverine (Slocum has been dinged up in fall camp with a shoulder injury, but he shouldn’t be sidelined too long). There is also a chance that he could be moved to offense down the road, as he was a VHT offensive tackle as a recruit. Slocum is in good shape, and is a strong player, in the style of a shorter Alan Branch. True freshman Renaldo Sagesse will almost definitely redshirt, as Canadian recruits typically do as he will need to assimilate into the culture a bit, and learn the game as it is played here. Brett Gallimore has been shuffled around during his career, and won’t likely be a factor anywhere.

With depth lacking on the edges, but strong in the middle, this unit earns a 7.5/10

Posted under Personnel

Thanks to Brian’s link to College Football Resource, we have been afforded the ability to figure out some of the good non-conference games that we could have seen if not for the scourge of I-AA opponents. In the sake of bowl eligibility, money, and various other reasons, I-AA teams have been added to the schedules of many teams. To fix this, the NCAA must eliminate (or reduce) the ability of teams to schedule tomato cans.

Here are some of the non-conference matchups you won’t see. When picking them, I paired teams with similar prestige levels, geographic interest, or other reasons (i.e. The Michigan-Hawaii game on Sept. 1 was going to happen, but was nixed by Hawaii’s athletic department, as they are trying to sneak into the BCS this year, and didn’t want to risk a loss). When all the most interesting possibilities were used, I just paired up the remaining teams, which still allows for some paycheck games (Florida-Louisiana Tech comes to mind). Obviously, matchups between two teams in the same conference were not allowed.

Aug. 30
Boise State-Louisville
Cincinnati-New Mexico State

Sept. 1
Air Force-Kentucky
Fresno St-Rice
Michigan-Hawai`i
Indiana-Vanderbilt
Florida-Louisiana Tech
Maryland-Texas A&M
North Carolina-South Florida
Northwestern-Ohio U
Alabama-Ohio State

Left out:
Southern Miss

Sept. 8
Arizona-Kansas
Connecticut-Georgia Tech
Idaho-Northern Illinois
Illinois-Iowa St
Pittsburgh-Purdue

Left out:
Army

Sept. 15
Alabama Birmingham-Baylor
Clemson-North Carolina St
Georgia-Wisconsin
Kansas St-South Carolina
Kent St-Marshall
Louisiana-Lafayette
Memphis-Nevada
Oregon St-Rutgers

Sept. 22
Central Michigan-UTEP
Eastern Michigan-Tulane
Hawai`i-Western Michigan
Mississippi St-San Diego St
Missouri-Virginia Tech

Left out:
New Mexico

Sept. 29
Boston College-Oklahoma St
Bowling Green-New Mexico St
San José St-Texas Tech

Oct. 6
Arkansas-Toledo

Oct. 20
Brigham Young-Minnesota

Nov. 24
Houston-North Texas

There are still a few weeks where there is only 1 I-AA matchup, or the two I-A teams are in the same conference, but still, this is a far more compelling schedule than the way it shakes out in the real world.

Posted under Analysis

Mario Manningham would have been a first-team All-American last year had he not missed three games with a knee injury, and played at less than 100% in the final four games (he had nine touchdowns in the first 6 games, and not a single one after that). He is among the top wideouts in the country. Adrian Arrington was a very good #2 man last year, to both Manningham and the departed Steve Breaston. Arrington should be in great shape this year, after running the steps of Michigan Stadium for 60 straight days to earn his way back onto the team after legal trouble off it. Greg Mathews is described as a taller Jason Avant, which means very good things for the Wolverines if he is able to get more involved in the offense this year (he had only seven receptions last season).

Behind those players are a bunch of unprovens, starting with LaTerryal Savoy, a redshirt sophomore whose status on the team is unclear after he got into legal trouble in the offseason. Freshmen Toney Clemons (a speed demon with height), J.R. Hemingway (a fast leaper who can go over the middle), and Zion Babb (an athlete who must polish his skills at the WR position) will battle for playing time. Do not be surprised if one or more of them redshirts.

Carson Butler will be allowed to return to the team after clearing up his legal troubles, though he will be punished with reduced playing time, and Mike Massey will get the majority of the starts. Chris McLaurin is a blocking tight end, and won’t likely see much action in the passing game. Freshmen Steve Watson and Martell Webb will also be factors. Watson is a well-coached route runner (son of Denver Broncos WR coach), but does not look physically ready for the position. He will have to shed baby fat and put on muscle to be a player. Martell Webb will learn both the WR and TE positions, and he is physically skilled, but polished at neither spot. He is a Carson Butler-like physical specimen.

With the re-addition of Carson Butler, this unit becomes much stronger, earning a rating of 8/10

Posted under Personnel

At the quarterback position, Chad Henne will start. He has All-American, first-round NFL potential. He is widely considered in the top couple quarterbacks in the nation (along with Brian Brohm, John David Booty, and Andre Woodson). His backup, Ryan Mallett, would start at a lot of schools in America, despite being a true freshman. David Cone is still considered a career backup type. Steve Threet will likely lead the scout team in practice, as he will redshirt during his transfer year. The quarterback position has gone from razor-thin to fairly robust in no time at all.

At running back, All-American Michael Hart will carry the load for this offense. The fifth-place Heisman vote-getter is reportedly faster then he has ever been, after working his legs during the offseason while rehabbing after minor shoulder surgery. The stable will hope to spell him more often than last year, when he carried the ball a whopping 318 times (everyone else on the team combined carried 217 times, including 47 by Chad Henne, mostly sacks). Brandon Minor will be the key backup, and the 6-0, 213 pounder definitely looks the part. He is faster and stronger than Hart, but not as elusive or tough. He will likely take over primary duties upon Hart’s graduation, and must get his reps this year.

Carlos Brown has shuffled all over the place this offseason (including spending some time seeking a possible transfer), and broke his hand in fall camp. He won’t contribute until the second or third week of the season, but provides a burst of speed for Michigan out of the backfield. Incoming freshman Avery Horn has impressed in fall camp as well, prompting Fred Jackson to call him the fastest RB in his 16 years at Michigan. Junior Kevin Grady tore his ACL in the spring, and will probably have to take a redshirt this fall. He was a contributor in the backfield, but had been passed by Minor during last season. mainly due to his fumbling ways. If Grady redshirts, this would give Michigan 3 junior running backs in 2008.

Fullback is the key question for Michigan in the offensive backfield. Walkon Mark Moundros and early-enrolling freshman Vince Helmuth competed in the spring, with Moundros the slight leader, though no true winner was named. Moundros is a redshirt freshman, and earned a scholarship (one year, as he is a preferred walkon, though it can be renewed on a yearly basis). Helmuth played tailback in high shcool, and though he is a workout warrior, may benefit from a redshirt year building strength if he does not win the job outright.

Andre Criswell provides depth at the fullback position, as does Quentin Patilla. However, Patilla’s status is unclear, as he is involved in a legal situation off the field. If he returns to the team, he will not be likely to see much playing time.

With a lack of quality at the the FB position, and injuries creating depth issues at RB, it is hard to rate this group higher than 7/10

Posted under Personnel

PA H-Back Christian Wilson, long rumored to be a Michigan lock, has committed to become a Wolverine. Wilson is the class’s 14th commitment.

Posted under Recruiting

Changes since spring: Schifano removed from team for unspecified medical issue.

The left 3/5 of the line is as close to set in stone as it can be. Jake Long was a first-team All-American last year, and has a pretty good chance of being the first lineman taken in the 20 NFL Draft. Adam Kraus is a likely first-team All-Big Ten performer this year as well. Justin Boren seems like a future All-American, but for now he probably won’t be. However, he will be in the All-Conference discussion this year.

The right side of the line is a little less firm. Alex Mitchell has struggled with his weight throughout his career, and this year is no different. He got burned a bunch of time in the Rose Bowl, though that doesn’t appear to have motivated him enough. He needs to get down to a more suitable playing weight if he wants to start this year. He is a good run blocker (though with his build not perfectly suited for the zone game), but lacks in pass protection. If he cannot, redshirt freshman Steve Schilling (who would have probably started at right tackle last year if not for mono and a separated shoulder) will step in to provide a far more athletic option at the guard position. At tackle, Schilling is in the mix if Mitchell is able to earn the RG position. It is a Schilling v. Ortmann battle over there, with Schilling being the more athletic of the two. UPDATE – Mitchell has injured himself in fall camp, and will miss the first couple games. Ciulla has taken over the RG spot, and I don’t see it likely that Mitchell will be able to get back into shape to reclaim his role.

The depth along the lone is good but not spectacular. Ortmann is probably the left tackle next year, so if Jake Long goes down (or is taken out in junk-time situations) Ortmann will get play over there (les likely if he starts at RT, in order to avoid injury to a starter). Tim McAvoy and provides solid-but-unspectacular depth at both guard positions. At center, Dave Moosman was close to Justin Boren in the race for the starting job, so he will be a good backup there. At right tackle, there is a host of players waiting to get their shot, including highly-recruited Corey Zirbel and Perry Dorrestein.

It’s hard to rate the position entirely accurately without knowing how the right side will shake out. However, the coaches will choose the best unit they can, and it’s hard to pick against 3 future NFLers on the left.

Rating: 8.5/10

Posted under Personnel

Fred Smith has been removed (announced for MSU, though this one may reopen during the season). Cal DE Jamaar Jarrett has been added as a lean. He’s a four-star, whose only flag is that he’s a SoCal kid NOT offered by USC. A couple other housekeeping-type things are not worth noting.

Posted under Recruiting

Appalachian State has won the past two Division I-AA (take that, NCAA!) National Championships, and is ranked #1 in the preseason poll for the division again this year. Last year, they played a I-A opponent in NC State, and lost 23-10.

Offense
Quarterback – Armanti Edwards didn’t start until game 3 last year, but still managed to lead his team to a national championship. He is a run-pass threat, throwing for 2,251 yards (left-handed) and running for 1,153 more. He was the national freshman of the year, so it’s surprising that he’s not on more all-american watch lists. His backup, Trey Elder, is a senior who has performed admirably when called upon (national championship game 2005), Like Edwards, he ran for about half the number of yards as he threw. He ranked 21st in I-AA in passing efficiency, at 140.7.
Running back – Senior Kevin Richardson will enter the year as a candidate for the Walter Payton Award (1-AA Heisman). He holds most of ASU’s scoring records, and has 3,455 career rushing yards (for comparison, Mike Hart has 3,770). He was a third-team all American last year. QB Armanti Edwards also carries a big part of the load running the rock. Backup Devon Moore, a sophomore, was the third leading rusher last year.
Receivers – Fast Fast Fast Wideout Dexter Jackson will step in as the team’s leading receiver (for the departed William Mayfield), and he is a deep threat, despite only being 5-10. 14 yards per reception last year, with a long of 79. RB Kevin Richardson was the team’s third-leading receiver last year, and Junior TJ Courman will also haul in his share of balls. The team lost their best tight end in Daniel Betts. App State lists about 100 Wideouts in their two-deep, and no fullnack, so a lot of players will get their time to catch a couple, including 6-3 Josh Johnson, the tallest wideout on the team.
Line – First team All-american Kerry Brown returns at the guard position, though he did miss some fall camp with a neck injury. It’s not serious enough that he won’t play, but missing practice, especially in the offensive line, can hurt cohesion. The middle three linemen are all seniors, with Brown joined by C Scott Suttle and G John Holt. The tackles are Mario Acitelli, a true sophomore who had to start most of last year because of injuries, and Jonathan Bieschke, a junior who was mostly a special teams player last year.

Defense
Corner – Jerome Touchstone “One of the fastest players in the nation,” is a true cover corner, though he won’t match up well against the Wolverines, what with being tiny and all. The 5-7 Senior was second-team all-conference last year, though he’ll be matched up againt 6-0 Mario Manningham, or one of the 6-3 options in Arrington and Mathews. His counterpart, Justin Waozeah, is not a particularly huge guy himself, measuring in at 5-10. He started every game last year, and 40 in his career.
Safety – Corey Lynch is a likely all-american candidate. The 5th-year senior has accumulated all-american honors in two previous seasons, and is the school’s all time interception leader, with 18. Titus Howard is the starter at Nickel in App State’s 4-2-5 alignment, with awesomely-named Chase Laws manning the Bandit position. All the safeties are seniors, bringing experience to the defensive backfield. Howard played in almost every game last year, though it was primarily as a special teams contributor. He had his best game against N.C. State, tallying 8 tackles and a fumble recovery. Laws was a 2006 special-teamer as well.
Linebackers – The linebackers for the Mountaineers are a French-name affair, as Pierre Banks plays on the weakside, with Jacque Roman in the middle. Both players are sophomores in their first year as starters. Banks is pretty small, measuring in at only 210 pounds. He probably won’t be a force against the run. Roman, actually engaged in a battle with incumbent Cam Speer, on the other hand, is a stout 6-1 240. Despite being a little guy at only 6-0 215, Speer will be more likely to play on passing downs. He was injured through much of 2006, but still started at the beginning of the year, before Roman beat him out.
Line – Defensive Tackle Tim Washington is the key player along the line for App. State. The junior (a high school teammate of Wolverines Brandon Herron and Troy Woolfolk) used to attend LSU, but left the team after a knee injury during his redshirt freshman year kept him off the field his first two seasons playing. He isn’t listed on the ASU two-deep yet, but there’s a reason this guy was recruited by LSU. The projected starters are all sophomores. Tackles Daniel Finnerty and Anthony Williams will be first year starters, though Williams played in short-yardage situations last year as a true freshman. End Tony Robertson played last year as a true freshman, and racked up 3.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks. The other end is Gary Tharrington, who was a high-level performer last year as a redshirt freshman starter. He recorded seven tackles against N.C. State.

Special Teams
Kicker – Julian Rauch punted part-time in ’06, while serving as App. State’s kicker. He was a steady 70-71 on extra points, and a less great 10-14 on field goals, with a long of 46. The senior was first-team all-conference, and will become the Mountaineers’ all-time leading kicker this year, barring injury (he is only four points short). He went to East Carolina before transferring to App. State after a freshman year in which he did not play.
Punter – Neil Young was the starter last year, until he became too busy releasing classic rock albums (or getting injured: YOU DECIDE!), and averaged 37.6 yards on 29 punts (Rauch punted 22 times). Young will rock, roll, and serve as starting Appalachian State punter this year. Backup Adam Kassouf punted 5 times in 2006, for a crappy average of 32.4.
Returns – Senior Wide Receiver Dexter Jackson will handle returns, and ASU’s website touts him as “One of the fastest players in all of college football.” He was all-conference at the position last year.

App. State is a very good I-AA team, but a I-AA team nonetheless. They gave N.C. State a hard time last year, but N.C. State is not Michigan (they went 3-9 last year). An experience-heavy team won’t be as intimidated as you might expect, so this one should be a little closer than you’d think.

Posted under Analysis

I took in the Orchard Lake St. Mary’s scrimmage yesterday against Clarkston High School. The St. Mary’s Eaglets feature two ’09 prospects in Dion Sims and Christian Brandt.

Dion Sims – The St. Mary’s roster listed him at 6’6″, 235. Most reports I’ve seen on him list him a little shorter a 6’5″, and I tend to think that those are correct. Sims’s legs and ass are huge, and he definitely has the look of a college TE, rather than the WR/TE hybrid he is listed at. He lines up with his hand down on about half the offensive plays he’s in the game. He had one spectacular catch, where he really had to climb the ladder to get the ball. On defense, he played SLB, but didn’t show good instincts on that side of the ball in reading and reacting to plays. He looked lilke he really belongs on offense.

Christian Brandt – Though listed as the state’s #18 class of ’09 prospect by Allen Trieu of GoBlueWolverine, Brandt really did not look like a Division I player. Thuogh he has decent measurables for the tackle position at 6’6″, 285, he did not carry his weight well at all, looking fat, rather than athletic (even offensive linemen should look athletic – look at Dann O’Neill). The only way he’d get looked at by D-I schools is if he really busted his ass to get into shape over the course of the next year. On the field, he was decent, but not dominating, like you’d expect a D-I prospect to look against much smaller opposition.

I will take in anither St. Mary’s game the 25th, as they face against Boubacar Cissoko and William Campbell, along with the rest of the Detroit Cass Tech Technicians. It will be interesting to see how a short corner like Cissoko matches up against a tall wideout in Sims.

Posted under Recruiting