Purdue Offense

QBs

Curtis Painter has graduated (and how was being Mel Kiper’s top QB in the draft class of ’09, Curtis?) and Justin Siller was kicked out of school for academic improprieties (cheating). That leaves Joey Elliott as the lone experienced QB on the Boilermaker roster. Walkon Chris Bennett was forced into action following a rash of injuries last year as well.

Purdue QBs Passing 2008
Name	Comp	Att	%	Yds	TD	Int	Yds/Att
Curtis Painter	227	379	59.89	2400	13	11	6.33
Justin Siller	59	106	55.66	496	3	2	4.68
Joey Elliott	8	15	53.33	81	0	0	5.40

Purdue QBs Rushing 2008
Name	Rush	Yds	TD	Yds/Rush
Justin Siller	60	167	2	2.78
Joey Elliott	7	13	1	1.86
Curtis Painter	44	10	0	0.23
Chris Bennett	1	6	0	6.00

Analysis

Elliott was “meh” in his appearances last year, before he was knocked out for the season in the Northwestern game. He’ll have to improve if the Boilermakers want any chance of a good year in 2009.

RBs

Purdue’s leading rusher, Kory Sheets departs. However, that’s not as damaging as it looks, since he was supposed to split time with Jaycen Taylor last year, before Taylor missed the entire season with an injury. Redshirt senior Frank Halliburton will get some carries as well, along with sophomore Ralph Bolden. Incoming freshman Al-Terek McBurse enrolled in the winter semester, but did not participate in spring practice due to an academic issue.

Purdue RBs Rushing 2008
Name	Rush	Yds	TD	Yds/Rush
Kory Sheets	234	1131	16	4.83
Frank Halliburton	13	37	0	2.85
Dan Dierking	9	34	0	3.78
Ralph Bolden	16	28	0	1.75

Purdue RBs Receiving 2008
Name	Rec	Yds	TD	Yds/Rec
Kory Sheets	37	253	1	6.84
Ralph Bolden	3	18	0	6.00
Frank Halliburton	2	8	0	4.00
Dan Dierking	1	2	0	2.00

Analysis

The dropoff at this position won’t be quite as precipitous as it seems just looking at last year’s yardage, but there still might be a step back. Taylor, despite 5 years in a college system, is still a pretty little guy, so the ball will have to be spread around a bit more. If McBurse’s academic issue is cleared up, he’s expected to contribute to the Boilermakers this year. The remaining players are mostly going to be for depth purposes, however.

Receivers

Dear lord, did the Boilermakers lose a ton of players here. Desmond Tardy and Greg Orton were the team’s most talented players last year, and both are gone. Brandon Whittington, Jerry Wasikowski, and Joe Whitest all got some legitimate playing time last year, as well. Stepping up to replace all those guys will be Keith Smith and Aaron Valentin, a junior and redshirt senior, respectively. Behind them, it’s anybody’s guess, with the players who have gotten a little action in the past likely to see increased roles this year.

Purdue Receivers Receiving 2008
Name	Rec	Yds	TD	Yds/Rec
Desmond Tardy	67	876	5	13.07
Greg Orton	69	720	5	10.43
Keith Smith	49	486	2	9.92
Aaron Valentin	11	224	2	20.36
Brandon Whittington	25	182	1	7.28
Jerry Wasikowski (TE)	13	89	0	6.85
Joe Whitest	7	59	0	8.43
Arsenio Curry	2	18	0	9.00
Roberto McBean	2	16	0	8.00
Waynelle Gravesande	2	13	0	6.50
Colton McKey (TE)	2	9	0	4.50
Jeff Lindsay (TE)	1	8	0	8.00

Purdue Receivers Rushing 2008
Name	Rec	Yds	TD	Yds/Rush
Desmond Tardy	5	9	0	1.80

Analysis

Tardy and Orton were by far the most talented Boilermakers last year, so losing them is tough.Losing so many other players may not seem like quite as big a deal to Purdue, since new coach Danny Hope is not expected to spread the field as much as Joe Tiller did in Purdue’s heyday. Smith and Valentin are both decent enough players, though I question Valentin’s yards/catch avergae with such a small sample size (he had a 57-yarder against Central Michigan, and a 79-yarder against Indiana – great plays or poor competition?).

Offensive Line

Tackle Sean Sester was supposed to be one of the stars of Purdue’s offense, but he was hurt for much of the year, and only played in 9 games. He’s now moved on, as has center Corey Benton. Garret Miller, a part-time player, has also graduated. Ken Plue, who started much of last year as a true freshman, returns at guard. Redshirt senior Zach Jones played at three different positions on the line last year, but will likely play right tackle this year. Redshirt senior Eric Hedstrom will play one of the guard positions. That leaves the tackle spot and center position vacated by Sester and Benton. True sophomore Dennis Kelly played in the last five games in 2008, and will probably start the season at offensive tackle. Junior Justin Pierce will be the other guard.

Analysis

This is a young line for the Boilermakers. They look to be starting two true sophomores, a true junior, and two redshirt seniors, one of whom is a former walkon. Unless some players can really come through as surprises, this should be a vulnerable unit for the Boilermakers. That doesn’t bode well for a team that was 85th in rushing offense and ceded 2 sacks per game last season, despite two additional senior starters.

Offensive Analysis

It’s hard to know exactly what the offensive scheme will look like under new headman Danny Hope. The conventional wisdom says he won’t spread it out quite as much. With weaknesses at QB, WR and offensive line, it could be a pretty bad year for the Purdue offense. If they still had a dual-threat QB like Siller, they might be able improvise a bit to create offense. As it is, they should be far less able to move the ball. I would say they’ll try to pound it out with a pretty good stable of backs, but a fairly weak offensive line might prevent them from doing that.

Purdue Defense

Defensive Line

The top two players along the defensive line return in junior end Ryan Kerrigan and redshirt senior tackle Mike Neal. However, end Ryan Baker and tackles Alex Magee (a third round pick in the NFL)nfl and Jermaine Guynn all have graduated from Purdue. Redshirt senior Keyon Brown will likely step up into a pass-rush role for the Boilers, with sophomores Gerald Gooden and Nickaro Golding providing some depth. Nick Mondek and Chris Cooke will likely both get time in the DT rotation.

Purdue Defensive Line 2008
Name	Tack	TFL	Sack	Int
Ryan Kerrigan	56	11.5	7	1
Mike Neal	33	10	5.5	0
Ryan Baker	30	10.5	2	0
Alex Magee	28	6	3.5	0
Jermaine Guynn	16	2.5	1	0
Keyon Brown	14	1	1	0
Gerald Gooden	13	3	1	0
Nickaro Golding	13	0	0	0
Nick Mondek	7	0	0	0
Chris Cooke	7	0	0	0
Corey Chapman	1	0	0	0

Analysis

Since Purdue recruited so poorly towards the end of the Joe Tiller era, it’s going to be tough to replace a third-round pick on the defensive line. However, Kerrigan and Neal were the top two tacklers and sack masters on the Boilers’ defense. The question will be whether losing Magee in the middle makes the edge rush less easy to come by, especially after losing Ryan Baker as well.

Linebackers

When I originally looked at the NCAA’s stats page, Joe Holland was listed as a defensive back, which would have meant very, very few tackles for the Purdue LB corps. Even still, they didn’t have a ton of them, and nearly half are out the window with the departure of Anthony Heygood. Holland will have to step up as a leader in his sophomore year, and his classmate Chris Carlino will play an expanded role as well.

Purdue Linebackers 2008
Name	Tack	TFL	Sack	Int
Anthony Heygood	114	6	0	1
Joe Holland	76	2	1	0
Chris Carlino	36	0	0	0
Tyler Haston	5	0	0	0
DeVarro Greaves	4	1	1	0

Analysis

Yikes, there are practically no bodies here for the first defense under head coach Danny Hope. Perhaps some of the freshmen who redshirted last year will step up, or perhaps a true freshman or two will earn his stripes. Either way, the pickings are super-slim in the LB corps. An injury to Holland or Carlino could be devastating.

Defensive Backs

Track athlete/football walkon Frank Duong is gone, but he’s the only departure from the Boilers’ secondary. 5th-year Torri Williams will return as a starting safety, fellow redshirt senior Brandon King will be s starting corner once more. David Pender will be the other starter at corner in his senior season. Dwight McClean will likely be the other starter at safety. Royce Adams has switched from corner to offense (I guess the coaches are confident in their corner depth), and Adam Wolf has made a similar move from safety. The depth isn’t hurting despite those position switches, especially at the safety position.

Purdue Defensive Backs 2008
Name	Tack	TFL	Sack	Int
Torri Williams	83	0.5	0	2
Brandon King	48	2	0	1
Frank Duong	41	2	0	1
Dwight McLean	36	0.5	0	2
David Pender	32	1	0	1
Royce Adams	18	1	0	0
Josh McKinley	17	1	0	0
Kevin Green	6	0	0	0
Adam Wolf	6	0	0	0
Mike Conway	6	0	0	0
Albert Evans	2	0	0	0

Analysis

The secondary will be the unquestioned strength of Purdue’s team, especially considering it was one of the few above-average units on last year’s team (33rd in opponents’ passing efficiency). With only one player departing, and the coaches confident enough to switch two defensive backs to wideout, expect good things from the secondary.

Defensive Analysis

The secondary should be strong. The front seven – eh, not so much. The gameplan is going to be pounding the ball, as the Boilers’ 93rd-ranked rush defense loses some pretty important pieces at the first two levels. Of course, that will not only allow teams to rack up yardage on the ground, but also open up the passing game. With less pressure on the quarterback and a starting safety gone, maybe opposing signal-callers will still be able to pass a bit.

Special Teams

Senior Chris Summers and Sophomore Carson Wiggs, who split time at both punter and kicker last year, before Summers settled into the punter role and Wiggs as the kicker, both return this fall for Purdue.

Purdue Kicking 2008
Name	XPM	XPA	%	FGM	FGA	%	Long
Carson Wiggs	19	21	90.48	8	11	72.73	53
Chris Summers	14	15	93.33	5	10	50.00	45

Purdue Punting 2008
Name	Punt	Yds	Avg
Chris Summers	50	1919	38.38
Carson Wiggs	6	187	31.17

Analysis

Summers started off the year as the placekicker, and single-handedly lost the Oregon game by missing a makeable field goal at the end of regulation (he also missed on in overtime, but the Ducks scored a touchdown to render it moot). Wiggs took over and did a pretty good job, and Summers became the full-time punter. He wasn’t great at that spot either, but much better than he was as a field goal kicker.

Overall Analysis

Barring a miracle, the Danny Hope era at Purdue does not look like it will be getting off to a sterling start. The offense loses some of its biggest playmakers and a couple important linemen, and the defense’s front lines are decimated. If there’s one strong point of this team, it’s the defensive secondary. However, even they might struggle a bit with opponents able to pick their spots to pass very carefully. If teams can get an early lead on Purdue (and based on the Purdue offense, that shouldn’t be a tough task most times), they should be able to grind out wins.

Posted under Analysis, Football

Darryl Stonum is one of the most explosive receivers on Michigan’s roster, though he’s only caught one touchdown in his career, against Purdue (to be fair, the entire team only had 11 TD receptions last year). He’s been cited as someone who has a lot of physical talent, but maybe has a bit of maturing to do before he can live up to his potential. Regardless, Stonum is definitely considered among Michigan’s best deep threats from the split end position in 2009.

Roy Roundtree was one of three Trotwood-Madison commits in Rich Rodriguez’s first recruiting class, and is the player who set of the now-infamous Joe Tiller rant. Roundtree has practiced at both wide receiver and slot in his Michigan career, though he redshirted last year to add some weight for the college game. Thus far, the highlight of Roundtree’s Wolverine career is the 50-yard touchdown bomb he caught from Tate Forcier in the 2009 Sring Game.

The poll will remain open for 7 days, closing at 5PM next Thursday. Have your heart set on a particular candidate? Try to sway others in the comments. The full bracket is visible here.

Other Open Polls:
Gibbons v. Van Bergen.
Warren v. Stokes.
Schilling v. Emilien.
Mesko v. Ortmann.
Cissoko v. Toussaint.
Forcier v. Patterson.

Completed 1st Round Poll:
Minor defeats Sheridan, appx. 947-53 (numbers not final).

Posted under Coaching, Football, Misc., Personnel

Removed SC QB Dylan Thompson. The signal caller (who actually hadn’t seen much interest from the Wolverines) committed to South Carolina.

MI WR Marcus Beaurem out of Sterling Heights Stevenson was impressive at Michigan’s camp, and was able to earn an offer from Central Michigan last week. Then, he committed to… Bowling Green? yesterday. Kind of a weird whirlwind recruitment.

Removed FL WR DeJoshua Johnson. The Pahokee product and prototypical slot receiver committed to Florida State.

Fluff on PA DT Sharrif Floyd. It’s the type of article that really reminds you that, these aren’t just football players, they’re kids whose lives hang in the balance:

“I was always frustrated at a young age, but growing up in a bad situation, there are only two ways you can go, run the streets and sell drugs, or go another way and do something with your life,” Floyd said. “I grew up in a drug environment. I grew up around all of that stuff. I’ve had people I grew up who were locked up, some of them were shot and killed. After one of my friends died, I stayed away from a lot of things after that.”

Regardless of where this kid ends up, it’s hard to wish him anything but the best of luck in coming out of a bad situation and making something of himself. Floyd will announce his decision at the Army All-American Bowl.

Sam Webb Freep fluff on OH DT Jibreel Black. His final 5 list consists of Michigan, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Kentucky, and Indiana (where his older brother is a defensive lineman). He grew up a Michigan fan, and though that’s the only campus he’s not visited on his list, the Wolverines have a chance because of that distinction.

DC LB Javarie Johnson has reached a decision on his college destination, and will announce that information this week (info in header). The week is almost over, so I assume that announcement is forthcoming soon. Remember, Johnson is the one who was so enthused about his Michigan visit that his coach thought he had committed to the Wolverines. Still, it’s been a while since he has been to Michigan, and though the Wolverines are featured on his recent top 4 list, I would be mildly surprised if he picked Michigan.

Added GA S Detrick Bonner. The safety from Leulla, GA has been offered by Michigan, and currently says he’s favoring the Wolverines. He also likes Clemson.

Removed FL CB Merrill Noel. The Pahokee Blue Devil committed to Florida State.

Removed GA CB Jonathan Mincy, who committed to Auburn.

Removed FL CB Cody Riggs, whose final list of 5 includes Notre Dame, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, and Tennessee.

FL CB Lorenza Wood, who was once a strong Michigan lead, is expected to pick Notre Dame tomorrow. If that does indeed happen, he’ll be removed on Monday.

Two more prospects that can probably be crossed off the list: GA LB Tyrone Cornileus, who is likely headed to Miami of Florida, and DT Mike Thornton, who will pick between Georgia and Georgia Tech soon.

In your occasional 2011 mention, quarterback Christian LeMay from North Carolina has been offered by Michigan (info obvious from header). He joins OH QB Braxton Miller, a likely OSU lock, as the offered quarterbacks in next year’s class.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Despite never having played a down for Michigan yet, Tate Forcier is one of the most popular Wolverines on the roster. With the dicey quarterback situation last year, and a rousing performance from Tate in the Spring Game, it’s easy to see why. The true dual-threat QB was a record-setter in high school, and with an early enrollment in Ann Arbor, he’s poised to be Michigan’s starter on opening day.

Adam Patterson has had limited playing time so far during his career in Ann Arbor (1 tackle and a forced fumble in 2008), but is expected to be a key member of the defensive line rotation in 2009. He has the ability to play strongside defensive end or even defensive tackle. With three of Michigan’s 2008 starters departing, a big season from Patterson could go a long way to solidifying the Michigan defense.

The poll will remain open for 7 days, closing at 5PM next Tuesday. Have your heart set on a particular candidate? Try to sway others in the comments. The full bracket is visible here.

Other Open Polls:
Minor v. Sheridan.
Gibbons v. Van Bergen.
Warren v. Stokes.
Schilling v. Emilien.
Mesko v. Ortmann.
Cissoko v. Toussaint.

Posted under Football, Personnel

The Big Ten has announced times for the first three weeks of its teams’ seasons, and an additional one. Michigan’s games are as follows:

September 5 v. Western Michigan. 3:30, ABC.
September 12 v. Notre Dame. 3:30, ABC.
September 19 v. Eastern Michigan. 12, BTN.
October 31 @ Illinois 3:30 (2:30 local) ABC.

On top of that, we already know that the Iowa game will be played under the lights in Kinnick on ABC or ESPN.

Somewhat surprising that the Western game made it onto ABC, but I guess the network executives are expecting a pretty good game. The Notre Dame and Eastern times/channels are no-brainers.

I believe BTN rule is that each team must appear on the network 3 time during the season, with at least one of the appearances being a conference game. That leaves two games remaining in Michigan’s schedule that will be headed for BTN. I wouldn’t be shocked if the Indiana game, already announced to be played at noon, ends up there, especially if the Hoosiers are as bad as everyone (including me) predicts, and Michigan struggles to start the year.

That leaves (at least) one more game to be sent to the Big Ten Network, and Delaware State is a no-brainer for that one. If Purdue is as terrible as it appears they will be, the contest against the Boilermakers is likely to be sent there as well. Still, in a year that Michigan is expected to go through some growing pains, having 3 games already announced to be on ABC, another one (Iowa) likely, and Ohio State a mortal lock to be on netowrk is a pretty good accomplishment.

Posted under Football, Media

It seems that much news discussing the Michigan Lacrosse team eventually works its way to future D-1 status. Coach Paul and I talked about it on the Michigan Daily podcast last week, and now Operations Director Joe Hennessy is answering similar questions in the Free Press. He talks about the (previously-mentioned here) future facility:

We’re in the process of looking at doing a full reconstruction of Elbel Field. … We’re currently looking at converting that to our full-time field with FieldTurf and lacrosse lines. It would be open to other folks but with a new brick facade and limited access… Right by there, near the train tracks, on the opposite side of that we’re looking at building our own facility. It’ll house offices, with a weight room, a training room, locker rooms and laundry facilities. It’s a multimillion-dollar project.

It doesn’t sound like it’s as far along as I’d previously thought, in terms of regent approval, but the blueprints are certainly really cool.

And I didn’t intend for most of the post to be about this, but I guess that’s sometimes how life happens. Rebuttal to the rebuttal from Black Shoe Diaries. I was originally going to spend a bunch of time doing some actual research and perhaps journalism-like activities, but I decided I don’t care enough, and I’d just like to clear up a few things instead.

Most of the stupid arguing is over the Brother Rice dominance, which is pretty far from important to me. The only take-home point was that a theoretical Michigan varsity team would recruit from that school. That said, did Brother Rice win the Mythical Lacrosse National Championship in 2008? Per Black Shoe Diaries:

Other than this self promoting, unreferenced photo from the Brother Rice website, there isn’t any evidence any of this is even close to true.

Except, like, there is. Funny what typing “Brother Rice lacrosse championship” into Google will find you:

The Warriors went 23-0 last year and finished No. 1 in the STX/Inside Lacrosse national rankings.

Yes, Brother Rice definitely decreed from on high that they earned a national championship, and not some third-party organization. As far as the two previous years that Rice claimed National Titles, their veracity is certainly in question (ESPN:

The Warriors have won 11 of the last 13 state championships and five of the last eight Midwest titles. They’ve also gone undefeated three times since 2004, and there doesn’t appear to be an end in sight.

certainly doesn’t back up the claim, though it does speak to the fact that Rice is, almost without question, the dominant midwest team. The only indications I’ve seen of the previous two national titles do indeed come from Rice), and the details may not be quite right, but the point is the same: Rice is no slouch in the lacrosse world. Consistent top-25 finishes (even in down years) means that the school can compete. Are they always the best? Almost certainly not not, but that’s absolutely tangential to the point, that they produce D-1 prospects, and hopefully enough for Michigan to use a number of them to be competitive at the next level.

As far as the 13 D-1 players (and yes, saying “more than a D-1 team” was a joke: D-1 lacrosse teams are only permitted to grant 12.6 scholarships, which they give out in partials. The 13 Rice players moving on to D-1 will only get partial scholarships as well, of course). The 2008 team featured 11 D-1 players, and like I said, I can’t find the original article (from the Oakland Press circa late April if there are enterprising VB fans out there) about the 13 number from this year. In a rudimentary search of the internets (“brother rice lacrosse roster”), encompassing approximately 5 minutes, I found at least these players, with likely many more:

Class of ’08
Joey Fontanesi – Maryland
Michael Hamilton – Hofstra
Andrew Cote – Johns Hopkins

Class of ’09
Nick Dollik – Penn State
Danny Henneghan – Penn State
TJ Yost – Quinnipiac
Brian Walker – Yale

Lacrosse recruiting information is epically hard to find, and rather than scour the roster of every D-1 team to find Rice alumni, I think the point is made. Of course no lacrosse team is going to be fielded entirely of players from Michigan (just like even Maryland and Virginia’s teams are not composed entirely of native sons), but there is definitely some talent in the state. Don’t miss the forest for the trees here.

“There are probably some Michigan natives out east, I don’t feel like looking through any more rosters, but the point is a UM team would be competing with ND, OSU and perhaps PSU for midwest recruits and there simply aren’t enough to go around (and keep in mind they don’t stand a chance of picking up guys who Cuse, Hopkins or Maryland think are worth a phone call). “

That’s stupid. Of course no Michigan team would field a roster composed entirely of midwest players. I said as much in my original post. Thank you for making an asisnine statment, implicitly attributing it to me, and then rebutting it. Michigan would absolutely have to recruit the east coast, the same way they have been, with 16 current players on the roster who come from states that touch the Atlantic Ocean. Sure, as a new program, Michigan would probably have a ton of trouble recruiting, but as Brian mentioned last week, since when has Michigan struggled getting kids from New York to come here? With (potentially) some of the best facilities in the country, it wouldn’t take long for Michigan to build a respectable, though not Syracuse/Maryland/Hopkins-level recruiting ability.

Posted under Other Sports

Boubacar Cissoko is a sophomore cornerback who hails from Detroit’s Cass Tech High School. He gained some playing time in nickel packages last year as a true freshman, and will be expected to move into a starting role opposite Donovan Warren this season. He tallied 15 total tackles on the year, and should see that number increase dramatically with expanded playing time.

Fitzgerald Toussaint is an incoming freshman, one of 2 hailing from Youngstown, Ohio. In his senior season at Libery High School, he destroyed all comers through the first 8 games, before faltering slightly in his final few. Still, he rushed for over 200 yards, and is expected to be a good inside runner with breakaway speed for the Wolverines.

The poll will remain open for 7 days, closing at 5PM next Tuesday. Have your heart set on a particular candidate? Try to sway others in the comments. The full bracket is visible here.

Other Open Polls:
Minor v. Sheridan.
Gibbons v. Van Bergen.
Warren v. Stokes.
Schilling v. Emilien.
Mesko v. Ortmann.

Posted under Football, Personnel

As always, highlighted players are returning for 2009. If something’s not right, let me know in the comments.

Illinois Offense

QBs

Juice Williams returns for his senior year, after an up-and-down career so far. His backup, Eddie McGee, is a junior, and got extensive playing time in 2006.

Illinois QBs Passing 2008
Name	Comp	Att	%	Yds	TD	Int	Yds/Att
Juice Williams	219	381	57.48	3173	22	16	8.33
Eddie McGee	4	9	44.44	59	0	0	6.56

Illinois QBs rushing 2008
Name	Rush	Yds	TD	Yds/Rush
Juice Williams	175	719	5	4.11
Eddie McGee	14	83	0	5.93

Analysis

Williams has progressively gotten better over the course of his career. He was awful as a freshman, and good (when healthy) as a sophomore. As a junior, however, his inconsistency probably cost the Illini a game or two – and ultimately a trip to a bowl game. McGee has a different skill set than Williams, and is often considered the slightly better runner.

RBs

Daniel Dufrene returns as the starter for his senior campaign, and he’ll again be splitting time with sophomore Jason Ford. Fellow sophomore Mikel LeShoure will also get a number of carries. Sophomore Zach Becker will start at fullback once again.

Illinois RBs Rushing 2008
Name	Rush	Yds	TD	Yds/Rush
Daniel Dufrene	117	663	0	5.67
Jason Ford	81	294	8	3.63
Mikel LeShoure	35	126	1	3.60
Troy Pollard	6	37	1	6.17

Illinois RBs Receiving 2008
Name	Rec	Yds	TD	Yds/Rec
Daniel Dufrene	30	271	2	9.03
Jason Ford	9	79	0	8.78
Mikel LeShoure	6	66	0	11.00
Troy Pollard	2	10	0	5.00
Zach Becker (FB)	1	2	1	2.00

Analysis

A year after losing Rashard Mendenhall, the Illini had a few players step up and platoon to fill the void. They didn’t match his production (6.4 ypc!), but they did move the ball on the ground. The mobile quarterback certainly helps open up running lanes for RBs, and the group should continue to progress. Aside from Dufrene, this was a very young unit, so the other players may have improved dramatically.

Receivers

Junior Arrelious Benn. Enough said. Oh, also enormous senior Jeff Cumberland, and talented senior TE Michael Hoomanawanui. Replacing Will Judson will be something of a task, but the Illini have a number of younger players ready to step up.

Illinois Receivers Receiving 2008
Name	Rec	Yds	TD	Yds/Rec
Arrelious Benn	67	1055	3	15.75
Will Judson	21	401	2	19.10
Jeff Cumberland	20	352	4	17.60
Michael Hoomanawanui (TE)	25	312	2	12.48
AJ Jenkins	11	287	3	26.09
Fred Sykes	12	156	1	13.00
Chris Duvalt	10	156	4	15.60
Hubie Graham (TE)	2	25	0	12.50
Alex Reavy	1	10	0	10.00
Chris James	1	1	0	1.00

Illinois Receivers Rushing 2008
Name	Rec	Yds	TD	Yds/Rush
Arrelious Benn	23	101	2	4.39
Jeff Cumberland	1	23	0	23.00
Chris Duvalt	1	-5	0	-5.00

Analysis

The Illinois receiving corps could really start and end will Arrelious Benn. He’s so physically talented that it’s unfair. However, he only ended up catching 3 touchdown passes last year, which is at least partially due to Juice’s inconsistency. Hoomanawanui came in for some praise by television crews last year, and Cumberland is an enormous target who insists on remaining at wideout, despite his 6-5, 255-lb stature.

Offensive Line

Xavier Fulton and Ryan McDonald depart from the front lines at Illinois, and left tackle Fulton was drafted by the NFL. The aptly-named Eric Block will return for his fifth year, and he’ll man the center position. True sophomore Jeff Allen started at right tackle for most of last year, which is rather impressive if you ask me. Fellow sophomore Corey Allen also played last year as a true freshman, and he’s expected to be the starting left tackle. True senior Jon Asamoah and redshirt junior Randall Hunt will man the guard positions.

Analysis

Fulton was good enough to get drafted, so losing him will hurt, especially replacing him with a relatively-inexperienced Corey Allen. The Illini have a really young OL, as their bookends will both be true sophomores. The line should take a slight step back from last year, but the results might not show on the field if Juice’s consistency can improve.

Offensive Analysis

The key to this offense is Juice Williams. If he can perform like the guy who ripped Michigan’s defense to shreds last year, the Illini should be able to put astronomical totals on many teams. If he plays like the guy who led his team to an embarrassing defeat to Western Michigan in Ford Field, the offense might be hurting. Arrelious Benn’s health could be important as well. He was outstanding as a freshman despite a chronic shoulder injury, and was perhaps even better last year, except for the ball actually getting to him most of the time. The run game is option-based, so the young offensive line won’t be as much of a liability as it would be for some teams, but it could still hold the offense back a bit. Still with all the playmakers on this team, if they can perform to expectations, it should be a pretty good year.

Illinois Defense

Defensive Line

Will Davis and Derek Walker depart from the defensive end positions, and Davis was god enough to earn a spot in the 6th round of the NFL draft. Those two will likely be replaced by redshirt junior Clay Nurse and redshirt senior Doug Pilcher. At tackle, David Lindquist has graduated, but true junior Josh Brent will still be manning the middle. He’ll likely be joined by true sophomore Corey Liuget in the starting lineup.

Illinois Defensive Line 2008
Name	Tack	TFL	Sack	Fum	Int
David Lindquist	44	7.5	4	0	0
Will Davis	36	7	3.5	0	0
Josh Brent	34	8.5	1.5	0	0
Derek Walker	33	7	6	1	1
Corey Liuget	26	5	1.5	1	0
Doug Pilcher	21	6	2.5	0	0
Clay Nurse	9	1	1	0	0
Antonio James	5	1	1	0	0
Jerry Brown	4	0.5	0	0	0

Analysis

This is a position group that lost 3 of its 4 starters, one of whom was good enough to be selected in the NFL draft, and another of whom was just outside that range. A step back can be expected. The new defensive ends are not likely to be nearly as explosive as at least Davis. At tackle, David Lindquist had a bunch of tackles (rare for an interior lineman), so replacing his production might be something of a task. However, Liuget had good guru approval, and performed well in his playing time last year, so he might be able to perform comparably.

Linebackers

Brit Miller, best known for playing alongside the American Flag Tie Guy (J Leman) two years ago, has departed, and takes with him by far the most tackles on Illinois’s team. Rodney Pittman and Sam Carson also leave the corps, giving the Illini only one experienced player: Martez Wilson. Sophomore Russell Ellington and redshirt junior Dustin Jefferson were next on the team in tackles, but they were so far behind the top 4 players that their experience doesn’t give them a huge advantage over any of the other players on the roster.

Illinois Linebackers 2008
Name	Tack	TFL	Sack	Fum	Int
Brit Miller	132	15.5	6	1	1
Martez Wilson	73	5.5	3	0	0
Rodney Pittman	53	3.5	1	0	0
Sam Carson III	36	3	0	0	0
Russell Ellington	8	0	0	0	0
Dustin Jefferson	5	0	0	0	0
Ian Thomas	4	0	0	0	0
Conor Gillen	3	0	0	0	0
Tad Keely	2	0	0	0	0

Analysis

Wilson was stabbed in a bar over the winter, so his conditioning probably didn’t advance as much as he wanted over the off-season. That said, he already started out as a very physically-gifted player, so it shouldn’t be a huge hindrance. The knock on him has been undisciplined play, so as the new leader of the linebacking corps, he’s going to have to be able to bring some consistency to the second level. The rest of the players are rather inexperienced, so Wilson might need to have an All-Big Ten type of year for the Illini to succeed, unless someone is able to step up and surprise.

Defensive Backs

Corner Vontae Davis departed early for the NFL, and replacing a first-rounder at corner is going to be a tough task for the Illinois defense. Redshirt junior safety Travon Bellamy will probably be the new leader of the Illinois defense, along with true senior Donsay Hardeman, who finished with the third most tackles in the secondary, despite missing 4 full games. Junior Bo Flowers will provide depth there. At corner, Dere Hicks will become the #1 guy as a true senior. The other corner spot us up for grabs, as there are almost no experienced players on the roster. I would assume sophomore Tavon Wilson is the guy there.

Illinois Defensive Backs 2008
Name	Tack	TFL	Sack	Int	Fum
Vontae Davis	78	7	0	2	0
Travon Bellamy	53	0	0	0	0
Donsay Hardeman	44	0.5	0	1	0
Dere Hicks	43	4	1	1	1
Bo Flowers	23	1	0	0	1
Nate Bussey	21	0	0	0	0
Garrett Edwards	20	0	0	0	0
Tavon Wilson	11	0.5	0	0	0
Supo Sanni	9	0	0	0	0
Antonio Gully	3	0	0	0	0
Cody Stunkard	3	0	0	0	0
Miami Thomas	3	0	0	0	0

Analysis

If the Illini can stay healthy, they should have a pretty good and experienced secondary, outside of the #2 corner. However, that could be an important position, as even with Vontae Davis last year the secondary was still subpar. Another year of experience should help, but the corner situation might be bordering on dire, unless one of the experienced safeties has the agility to play on the line of scrimmage.

Defensive Analysis

The Illini lost a lot on defense, and their two best players were both enough to make the NFL draft. The front seven was fairly decimated, and the secondary lost the player who was holding the whole thing together. Without a good pass rush, and without Vontae, the passing game could be a really serious achilles heel for this team. The linebacker situation also means it might not be particularly difficult to run on them, either, considering with seniors at linebacker and defensive line they were still well below average.

Special Teams

Placekicker Matt Eller was a redshirt freshman last year, and returns for another year booting field goals. Punter Anthony Santella will be a redshirt junior.

Illinois Kicking 2008
Name	XPM	XPA	%	FGM	FGA	%	Long
Matt Eller	39	41	95.12	15	20	75.00	51

Illinois Punting 2008
Name	Punt	Yds	Avg
Anthony Santella	53	2088	39.40
Matt Eller	1	35	35.00

Analysis

Eller and Santella were both average last year, though Santella was probably a little less good, considering he was 8th in the Big Ten in punting. Eller actually seemed to be better on long attempts, and rounded into form over the course of the year. With another year of experience (and likely a better offense), both specialists could be in line to have better years.

Overall Analysis

Consistency is the name of the game with this Illinois team. If Juice can stay consistent, the offense will be capable of putting up some big numbers. On defense, they are likely to really struggle. The offense will have to carry this team, and give the defense some help. Regardless of any improvement in yardage totals or efficiency, the Illini could see an improvement in record, considering they had an unlucky string of games that they probably had no business losing (WMU, Minnesota, Northwestern).

Posted under Analysis, Football

Zoltan Mesko enters his fourth year as Michigan’s starting punter (though he also split time with Ross Ryan in 2006), and is expected to be one of the top punters in the nation. The towering Romanian from Twinsburg, Ohio is among the more popular players on the Michigan team, primarily on account of his awesome name.

Mark Ortmann will enter his second year as Michigan’s starting left tackle, having replace #1 NFL draft pick Jake Long. Ortmann missed a game with injury last year, but played both tackle and guard along Michigan’s improving offensive line in 2008. If the Michigan rushing attack improves in 2009 as expected, Ortmann will turn in a strong year.

The poll will remain open for 7 days, closing at 5PM next Monday. Have your heart set on a particular candidate? Try to sway others in the comments. The full bracket is visible here.

Other Open Polls:
Minor v. Sheridan.
Gibbons v. Van Bergen.
Warren v. Stokes.
Schilling v. Emilien.

Posted under Football, Personnel

MGoBlue confirms the report on John DiLaura as well as introduces us to new commit Zach Johnson today.  This brings the recruiting class to 9 freshman.  For DiLaura, see our previous post.  As for Johnson, he’s listed as an infielder/right handed pitcher.  Google searching tells me he played  catcher in high school, so maybe we’re looking at third or first base in Ann Arbor.  To quote MGoBlue:

Johnson comes to the Wolverines after six varsity letters with one in football, two in baseball and three in basketball at Grandville. As a senior, he was named a first team all-conference and first team all-district baseball selection after leading the OK-Red League with a 2.21 earned run average and .550 batting average.

Sounds solid.  The article also mentions both players had fathers who played collegiate ball, DiLaura’s at Toledo, Johnson’s at State.

Still no word on the commitment status of Fields (6th round to Tigers), Dennis (10th to Rays), or Biondi (35th to Tigers).  I’m sure we’ll find out by September.

Posted under Baseball