Delaware State Offense

QBs

Vashon Winton was a 4-year starter for Delaware State, and among the school’s all-time leaders in total offense. Replacing him will be Anthony Glaud, a Bowling Green transfer who saw some playing time last year. BC transfer Chris Johnson will also compete with Glaud.

Delaware State QBs Passing 2008
Name	Comp	Att	%	Yds	TD	Int	Yds/Att
Vashon Winton	135	240	56.25	1321	8	14	5.50
Anthony Glaud	47	75	62.67	523	2	3	6.97

Delaware State QBs Rushing 2008
Name	Rush	Yds	TD	Yds/Rush
Vashon Winton	127	486	10	3.83
Anthony Glaud	14	-42	0	-3.00

Analysis

Typically, you’d see “4-year starter departs” and think that the QB situation for Delaware State would be terrible coming into 2009. The situation is helped a little by the fact that Glaud was deemed worthy of 1-A scholarships coming out of high school, and also by the fact that he got some PT last year. He’ll likely be a better passer than Winton (as he was in his duty in 2008), but a far inferior runner. Johnson brings a BCS-level pedigree, but is new to the program.

RBs

The cupboard is nothing if not bare.The top 3(!) rushers for Delaware State are gone (don’t laugh too hard – it’s not impossible for this to happen to Michigan after 2009), leaving only little-used redshirt sophomore Jaashawn Jones. Fullback Jason Randall also worked at running back this spring.

Delaware State RBs Rushing 2008
Name	Rush	Yds	TD	Yds/Rush
Chris Strother	123	577	1	4.69
Kareem Jones	82	407	2	4.96
Phil Morgan	9	33	0	3.67
Jaashawn Jones	18	31	3	1.72

Delaware State RBs Receiving 2008
Name	Rec	Yds	TD	Yds/Rec
Chris Strother	17	99	0	5.82
Kareem Jones	9	66	1	7.33

Analysis

Jones is the only running back on the DSU spring roster, so Jones’s legs will get mighty tired unless there is some help from recruiting. Considering Glaud is not a running threat, Jones will have to do nearly all the lifting. At least, at 6-1 and 225 lbs, he’s a big enough boy to take the pounding.

Receivers

The hits keep coming in terms of offensive losses for Delaware State. Their top receiver, Eddie Brown, is gone, but the two players right behind him are returning, at least. Senior Larrone Moore and sophomore Darius Jackson will carry the majority of the receiving load, with Jackson coming out of the slot. Redshirt senior Erick Jones will be a big outside threat at 6-3.

Delaware State Receivers Receiving 2008
Name	Rec	Yds	TD	Yds/Rec
Eddie Brown	36	369	2	10.25
Larrone Moore	32	319	1	9.97
Darius Jackson	18	300	1	16.67
Derrick McNeil	24	206	0	8.58
Erick Jones	13	167	4	12.85
Zacharri Charles	13	122	0	9.38
John Newman	9	94	0	10.44
Jahmel Bashir (TE)	7	49	1	7.00
William Griggs	3	33	0	11.00

Delaware State Receivers Rushing 2008
Name	Rec	Yds	TD	Yds/Rush
Eddie Brown	3	15	0	5.00
Brandon Hudson (DB)	1	11	0	11.00
Larrone Moore	1	7	0	7.00
Darius Jackson	1	3	0	3.00
Derrick McNeil	1	1	0	1.00
Erick Jones	1	0	0	0.00

Analysis

The losses to this personnel group are not as severe as under center, but they’ll certainly hurt. DSU will count on Jones and Moore to keep defenses spread wide, and Jackson will get his fair share of underneath stuff out of the slot, along with Zacharri Charles. The corps has some depth, but the quality in the starters is questionable.

Offensive Line

Lineup

The Hornets had a fairly young offensive line last year. The only seniors were starting left tackle Adrian Brown who played in 10 games, Darin Giesler who played in 3 games, and Djamal Kirby who played in 2. Senior Kellen Kemp will be the left guard, redshirt senior Nick Richmond will start at center for the fourth straight year, and senior Jermaine Morrison will play right guard. Senior Mike Maloney, who missed portions of last with injury, will start at right tackle. Redshirt junior Chris Sears is likely to fill in at left tackle.

Analysis

The DSU offensive line is pretty experienced, returning four starters. Of course, they were also subpar in rushing offense and sacks allowed last year. With a less-mobile QB and a new RB, that won’t get any easier. Expect the offensive line to struggle a bit, if only because the talent helping them isn’t that good, and they aren’t far off from their peak already.

Offensive Analysis

The offensive line should be something of a strength, though DSU won’t be able to pound the ball with their limited RB options, especially against a bigger, stronger, faster defense like they’ll face in Michigan. The QB situation could be better for the Hornets, as they at least have a number of viable options competing. Don’t be surprised if they try to move the ball through the air, with the strong line protecting the QB.

Delaware State Defense

Defensive Line

Oh. My. God. I don’t even know where to go with this. There is practically nobody left who played a single down for the Hornets along the defensive front last year. I assume redshirt senior tackle Fabian Dunn and true senior tackle Tyron Hurst will be the starters on the inside in 2009. Andre Carroll is a redshirt junior with suspicious little action last year, but for lack of better options, who should I guess will play? Brian Whitmore is a Maryland transfer and redshirt junior.

Delaware State Defensive Line 2008
Name	Tack	TFL	Sack
Ronn Spinner, Jr.	44	4.5	.5
Andre Carroll	43	2	0
Akiel Russell	40	4.5	1.5
Alimayo Wilder	35	7	1.5
Fabian Dunn	23	1.5	0
Tyron Hurst	10	4	0
James Parker	4	0	0
Eric Jackson	3	0	0

Analysis

There is nobody here. I don’t even know what to say. The best they can fill these spots with are either exceptional true freshmen, or a motley host of upperclassmen who weren’t good enough to play at all last year. Michigan’s improved offensive line should be able to shove the hornet DL around all day.

Linebackers

The hits keep coming for the DSU defense. They lost their top 2 linebackers, though the rest return. It appears as though their base set features only 2 linebackers, who will probably be seniors Josh Pope and Joe Mendes. Backing them up are Ahmad Harris and Eric Sewell.

Delaware state Linebackers 2008
Name	Tack	TFL	Sack	Fum
Kevin Conner	95	4.5	1	1
Jackie Watkins	60	8.5	2	0
Josh Pope	32	3.5	2	0
Joe Mendes	21	4.5	3.5	0
Ahmad Harris	6	0	0	0
Eric Sewell	2	0	0	0

Analysis

Only playing 2 linebackers means that DSU only has to have 2 linebackers to fill in spots. It also means that they have to replace all of their tarts at the position from last year. Fortunately, Pope and Mendes are experienced upperclassmen, but they still will have their feet to the fire for the first time in 2009.

Defensive Backs

Finally, a position at which Delaware State returns its leading tackler. Of course, then they have to go and lose 4 of the next 6. It’s hard to tell what positions these guys play, so I’ll just list them. I would guess based on his size that junior Avery Grant is a corner, but he had the most tackles on the team last year, so I assume he’s a safety or rover-type. 5th-year Jerome Strums seems to be a nice big safety, as does his classmate Mike Gable. I assume redshirt sophomore Stephon Hampton is a corner.

Delaware State Defensive Backs 2008
Name	Tack	TFL	Sack	Int
Avery Grant	68	8.5	2	0
James Romain	44	2	0	4
Francis Adjei	40	1	0	3
Jerome Strums	40	.5	0	3
Michael Gable	40	6.5	1	1
Donta Herrod	15	1	0	1
Quinton Brown	11	0	0	0
Stephon Hampton	7	0	0	0
Brandon Hudson	6	0	0	3
Bernard Conley	5	1	0	0
Stan Banks	4	0	0	0
Quentin Ferguson	3	0	0	0
Gerald Bouknight	3	0	0	0

Analysis

Without being able to figure out which positions the Hornets are losing players from, it’s hard to pass serious judgment on how their secondary will perform in 2009. Still, they lose a ton of experience (and most of the team’s total interceptions), so I can’t predict they’ll tear the world apart, especially against guys with D-1 size (Greg Mathews), speed (Darryl Stonum) or moves (Martavious Odoms).

Defensive Analysis

Yikes. This looks like a very poor defensive team. It appears as though Grant will be the main bright spot, and a lot of young players will have to step up if the Hornets want to stop anyone, much less a team with the talent of Michigan. Running the ball and passing should both come fairly easy to the Wolverines.

Special Teams

The Hornets return senior kicker Riley Flickinger and punter Nick Lochner.

Delaware State Kicking 2008
Name	FGM	FGA	%	Long	XPM	XPA	%
Riley Flickinger	10	20	50.00	35	24	25	96.00

Delaware State Punting 2008
Name	Punt	Yds	Avg
Nick Lochner	54	2118	39.22
Riley Flickinger	2	18	9.00

Analysis

Though both Flickinger and Lochner return, neither was particularly good last year. It looks to be tougher sledding for both this year, as Delaware State’s offense looks to have more trouble moving the ball in general, and in the redzone in particular.

Overall Analysis

Bill Martin figured it out this time. If you’re going to play a 1-AA team, you will be expected to win. It doesn’t matter if you play the best team, or the worst team. You do not get any more credit for playing a good 1-AA team and beting them than if you had played a worse team, and it doesn’t matter if you lose to the best 1-AA team, they’re still lower-division. Because of that, just find the shittiest team you can. Michigan has done that for next year. A poor 1-AA team that loses most of its key pieces should be easy victory for the boys in blue.

Posted under Football

With the 2009 football season looming a mere 4+ months away, it’s as good a time as any to take a first look at Michigan’s upcoming schedule, and determine whether the teams the Wolverines will face this year should get better or worse (or remain the same) from last year to this. I also reserve the right to be completely wrong.

Western Michigan
2008 Record: 9-4 (6-2 MAC)
Key losses: S Louis Delmas, LB Austin Pritchard, WR Jamarko Simmons
Key returning players: QB Tim Hiller, RB Brandon West
Projection: Same. Sure, teams lose players to the NFL every year, but it’s not fair to the Broncos (nor would it be to basically any MAC team) to assume they’ll be able to replace a second-round pick in the secondary. However, the offense should really continue trucking behind the QB play of Tim Hiller. The Broncos should be about the same as they were last year, though they’ll rely even more heavily on a high-flying offense to make up for a much weaker defense.

Notre Dame
2008 Record: 7-6 (0-1 Syracuse)
Key losses: WR David Grimes, S David Bruton
Key returning players: QB Jimmy Clausen, RB Armando Allen, WR Golden Tate
Projection: Up. Based on roster composition alone, the Irish should be pretty rockin’ this year. One impoortant caveat: you could say that about the last two years as well, and they were somewhere between terrible and mediocre over each of the previous two seasons. Is Charlie Weis just one big, fat FAIL, or will he start to get the talent he has assembled to perform? There’s no excuse (lol book title/disingenuous motto) for the Irish to not beat up on most of their schedule this year.

Eastern Michigan
2008 Record: 3-9 (2-6 MAC)
Key losses: RB Terrence Blevins, WR Tyler Jones, LB Daniel Holtzclaw, S Jacob Wyatt
Key returning players: QB Andy Schmitt, WR Jacory Stone, LB Andre Hatchett
Projection: Up. The Eagles return some key pieces, though they also lose some important ones, the upgrade at the head coaching position appears to be a substantial one. Eastern was terrible last year, save the upset of Central Michigan in their final game of the year, and even anything approaching competency would be a leap in the right direction.

Indiana
2008 Record: 3-9 (1-7 Big Ten)
Key losses: RB Marcus Thigpen
Key returning players: QB Ben Chappell, QB/WR/? Kellen Lewis, WR/CB Ray Fisher
Projection: Same. You can tell the Indiana coaching staff is really grasping at straws in an effort to not get fired at the end of this year. They’re moving key players around (2nd-leading receiver Ray Fisher to corner, best offensive weapon Kellen Lewis all over the field, etc.), and completely revamping their schemes (reports say they’ve almost exclusively worked out of the pistol this spring). If it doesn’t work, Bill Lynch and co. are probably going to get the axe.

Michigan State
2008 Record: 9-4 (6-2 Big Ten)
Key losses: QB Brian Hoyer, RB Javon Ringer, S Otis Wiley
Key returning players: LB Greg Jones, WR Mark Dell
Projection: Down. The Spartans were beneficiaries of a bad Big Ten and some good luck last year. They were more like a 7-6 team than the 9-4 that they actually went. Take away 3 of their 4 most important players (the fourth is Jones), and they should be worse. Take away that luck, and they’re just a team. Adam Rittenberg will still predict that they win the National Championship.

Iowa
2008 Record: 9-4 (5-3 Big Ten)
Key losses: RB Shonn Greene, DTs Mitch King and Matt Kroul,
Key returning players: WR Andy Brodell, LBs Pat Angerer and Jeremiha Hunter, QB Ricky Stanzi
Projection: Same. The Hawkeyes lose arguably their three most important players in Greene (no, Rittenberg, you can’t just baselessly say “I think Jewel Hampton will be at least as good as they guy who won the Doak Walker Award”) and the defensive tackles. However, they upgrade slightly at almost every other position, and assuming they can stay healthier than they have in the past couple years, they should be about as good as they were in ’08. Of course last year, they were something of an anti-MSU, and lost a couple games they shouldn’t have. The Hawkeyes will be about the same quality of team, but the record may improve.

Delaware State
2008 Record: 5-6 (5-3 MEAC)
Key losses: QB Vashon Winton, RBs Chris Strother and Kareem Jones, LB Kevin Conner
Key returning players: DB Avery Grant, WR Laronne Moore
Projection: Down, down down. For a team that wasn’t even good to begin with, losing 3 of your top 5 tacklers, your 4-year starter at QB, and your top 3 running backs can be little other than a recipe for disaster. Delaware State is a true 1-AA cupcake, and will be even worse this year than they were in 2008.

Penn State
2008 Record: 11-2 (7-1 Big Ten)
Key losses: WRs Derrick Williams, Deon Butler, and Jordan Norwood, 3 offensive linemen
Key returning players: QB Daryll Clark, RBs Evan Royster and Stephfon Green, LB Sean Lee
Projection: Down. The Spread HD worked in 2008 because Clark was on-point all year, and the Lions had the skill position talent on the outside to force defenses to spread the whole field. With Clark tailing off in the last few games (albeit due to injury, perhaps), and the OL and wideouts gone, PSU won’t be the offensive force that they were last year. Defensively, the return of Sean Lee should help in the middle. However, the top 3 defensive ends left, and #4 is out for the season with a torn ACL.

Illinois
2008 Record: 5-7 (3-5 Big Ten)
Key losses: LB Brit Miller, CB Vontae Davis, WR Will Judson
Key returning players: QB Juice Williams, WR Arrelious Benn, LB Martez Wilson
Projection: Same. Like Iowa, the record might improve, but the team will be about as good in 2009. The offense should really click with a senior Juice Williams and junior Arrelious Benn, though you could have said the same last year (and the Illini were awesome at times, just horrifically inconsistent). The defense should take major steps back with its best two players, LB Brit Miller and Vontae Davis, gone and the third best player, LB Martez Wilson, doing things like getting stabbed in a bar during the offseason.

Purdue
2008 Record: 4-8 (2-6 Big Ten)
Key losses: QBs Curtis Painter and Justin Siller, RB Kory Sheets, WRs Greg Orton and Desmond Tardy, LB Anthony Heygood, S Torri Williams
Key returning players: S Joe Holland, QB Joey Elliott
Projection: Down. Purdue sucked last year, and nearly all of their best players are leaving town because their eligibility has expired (everyone but Siller) or because they cheat on exams (Siller). Couple all that with a transition to a new offensive scheme and a plan to rely on several true freshmen despite their lack of guru approval, and Danny Hope’s first year in West Lafayette may be a difficult one. There could be a coaching upgrade as Wilford Brimley had been mailing it in the past couple years, but there is basically no talent for the Boilers to work with.

Wisconsin
2008 Record: 7-6 (3-5 Big Ten)
Key losses: RB PJ Hill, TEs Garrett Graham and Travis Beckum, LB DeAndre Levy, LB Jonathan Casillas
Key returning players: QB Dustin Sherer, WRs David Gilreath and Nick Toon, LB Jaevery McFadden
Projection: Up. The Badgers were a team that lost plenty of games they shouldn’t have, and the important question for tham is whether that was bad luck or the horrifically bad coaching ability of Bret Bielema. The early appearances are a bit of both, so the Badgers should be a bit better, but not by leaps and bounds. Hill wasn’t even Wisconsin’s best RB for much of the year, and Sherer was the better QB, despite Allan Evridge starting the year under center. Simply getting the right pieces the ball more often should help. I think Bielema has a definite ceiling, especially with players he has recruited and coached for four year.

Ohio State
2008 Record: 10-3 (7-1 Big Ten)
Key losses: RB Beanie Wells, LBs James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman, CB Malcolm Jenkins, WRs Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline
Key returning players: QB Terrelle Pryor, RB Dan Herron, CB Chimdi Chekwa
Projection: Down. The Buckeyes really should have been awesome last year, and might have been if Terrelle Pryor had started the whole year, and not been a true freshman. Alas, this was the case, and OSU’s last best chance at a national title for the next couple years leaves town with Beanie Wells and James Laurinaitis. Regardless, the Buckeyes are never going to fall completely off the map as long as Jim Tressel is the coach, so there’s a definite floor for their team. either way, they’ll take a significant step back in 2009.

Posted under Analysis, Football