***Defensive Players End of the Year Reports***

[blackvern]

Shayon Green- Dude is playing on knees made out of balsa wood. Has to get both knees severely wrapped before every game to play. He has mad heart and I respect him but he shouldnt be a starter. Marginal @ holding the edge, easy to block and maneuver, causes minimal to non existent pressure. Another year of UTough probably wont do him any good. His knees are too busted up too do much better. Not quick enough to be an inside pass rusher. Will be a senior next year Hopefully he can get a lil stronger to hold the edge in this defense but I have doubts. Grade D+

Olsen Pierre- Showed flashes of talent play im[roved greatly when CP returned to the line up. Played better in the first half of games than in the second half. Another year of Utough should make him a stronger player. Needs to learn how to shed blocks better to make plays in the backfield. One of the players who really need to make that jump in order to raise our defensive ranks. He must turn into a stud for us. Grade C+

Curtis Porter- Phucking beast..too bad hes made out of glass..when he returned constantly made plays in the backfield tip balls, TFL, Takes up double teams. Lets pray he stays and doesnt Olivier Vernon us because he will at least be a 2nd rounder with one whole year of being healthy(cross your fingers). If he leaves I dont how good of a defense we can be next year. He was easily our most talented Defensive lineman. Grade INC

Anthony Chickillo- Lets be honest with ourselves he was a total failure this year and a significant disappointment. He gained entirely too much weight and lost most if not all of his quickness without gaining much strength which was evidenced by his u tough numbers. He better lose weight or/and get much stronger. If there is a way to get stronger and lose weight he needs to get on it asap(Alex Cane?) Im not buying the he shouldve been redshirted theory because he played very as a true freshman. Its easy to see what the problem was. His play this year screamed of JAG status. And we cant afford that from our 5 star players. He is supposed to be a difference maker and he made none this year. Grade D

Luther Robinson- Talented D linemen who is playing in the wrong scheme. He is a penetrator that relys on quicknesss and agility. He is the opposite of Curtis Porter. Move him to DE already he would be better their than Chickillo and Shayon Green. He's quicker and Stronger then both according to UTough numbers. Corch D not doing him any justice. I think he can play, but if their not gonna play to his strength he better suck it up and take one for the team. Doubt its gonna happen with a dad like his. but oh well.Grade D

Tyriq Mccord- After Porter do you know another DL who made more plays in the limited action that he saw? Nope me either. 25 more pounds and a few more seasons of U tough and we have a star in the making. He will be ok Next year but his junior year is when he should shine.Grade C

Gabe Terry- Him and Fentress are a force on special teams. He can have a Javon Nanton type impact here coming off the edge. Not off enough tape too make an evaluations but I will give him a special teams grade.Special Teams Grade A

Denzel Perryman- Ankle injury hampered him from havin an all ACC year. Dont like the move to OLB but I understand why Donofrio did it. Perryman makes more plays for us inside but we our a better defensive with him being outside. I persoanlly would rather see him inside. He reads plays better than any linebacker we have and is our most dominant hitter Knocked out 2 QBS this year. Overall had a great year lived up to expectations.Grade B+

Gionin Paul- One poster got kicked off of this site for saying that he is our best linebacker. Not sure if true but he made a great argument as he is a tackling machine. He reads screens and plays very well. Does not get the zone scheme however and is a liability trying to guard big TE's due to his size. SHould be starting next year but i hope back at outsideGrade B-

Jimmy Gaines- Made some plays this year for us and was a pleasant surprise. Has nice speed but the guy still misses a lot of tackles and is constantly being run over and pushed back. Needs to definitely strengthen up(UTough). Not as instinctive as Perryman, Paul, and Johnson and misdiagnosis a lot of plays and takes bad angles to runners in teh hole. Therefore should not be starting. Played a lot this year due to injuries and suspensions. Great for depth but is not as talented as our other linebackers. Should only see spot duty unless we see an injury.Grade C

Eddie Johnson- Has the size and athleticsm Golden covets. Dude is a bigtime play maker but also a big time head case. Anybody believe he can go a whole winter spring and summer without any issues? The most physically gifted Linebacker we have. How do you de-goon someone? Don't know if its possible. Corch says he needs to grow up.. Maybe we need to grow down and let him goon. We need players like him to be a top 15 team next year. Biggest surprise of this year who knew he would be this good? Hopefully he is not a Willie WilliamsGrade A ..Conduct Grade F

Ladarius Gunterr- Decent corner. Not the quickest definitely not the fastest, but appears to have good technique. Solid tackler. Had an INT against VTech. Not overwhelmed by him but he doesnt give up big plays and dont remember him having a mental error. Solid guy, but not as talented as some of our other corners. Don't mind him starting but if we want a top 25 defense he isnt a starter. Only a sophmore maybe im being too harsh.Grade C

Tracy Howard- Much more comfortable in man then zone. Looked very tentative this year and scared to be aggressive due to different scheme from high school. Didnt get as much burn as he thought he would. Let's be honest we all thought he was gonna come in and lock down the corner job from Day 1. Didnt happen. He had a good game at Duke where we played a lot more man . Got beat on one TD by the savy of a 4 year starter and all time ACC yards and receptions leader who will be playing in the NFL next year. He should be a starter next year and maybe Donofrio goes to more man next year which he should with improved pass rush.Grade C

Deon Bush- Was very skeptical of him at safety. Thought he didnt have the prowess and awareness for the position. Boy was I wrong. Best freshman Safety performance than any safety in UM history. Much Better than Kenny Phillips freshman year who was a first round pick. Agressive hitter..fast as ****... great open field tackler... No interceptions so he needs to improve on that(which was the big time knock on him). Already strong as **** imagine him with 10 more pounds on him? He will be 3 and done son no question about it.Grade A

Kacy Rodgers- He is playing out of position. He is fast enough, physical enough and strong enough to play here..He should be a man corner like he was recruited to be. As evidenced by the only time he has made plays all year is when he was on press coverage guarding slot recievers the last few games. He cannot play safety he is a horrible safety. Yea he is smart he is a coaches son he is always where he is supposed to be. But he just cant play the position. I used to hate his tackling high scheme but at least he closelined a few dudes this year and thats the only reason I am not giving him an F. Move him to man corner!!Grade D-

Alonzo Highsmith- Unlike Kacy who has talent this guy is just not talented enough to play here. Randy doing his boy a favor wasting scholarships.Did not make one single play all year. Dammit mane. Grade F-

Rayshawn Jenkins- Season hampered by injury but you can see the talent. Made a few freshman mistakes. (see Duke 99 yarder) but you can see the talent. Has great range and great cover skills. Can improve his tackling but I think we have future star here. Grade B


Corch Dorito- Yea seems like all of our best players are young boys. But still thats not an excuse to be 117th in total defense this year. Losing OV, Fortson, Ray Ray, and Curtis Porter most of the year definitely hurt. With this offense if we finish in the top 50 we will definitely have a 9 win season next year. Made a lot of mistakes this year. Chick played way too many reps, too many rotations, too soft in the red zone, dropping CP in zone coverage did it for me. Has no feel when to blitz, well yall have heard the complaints enough.Grade F

 

[TheUnuffSAID]

agree on some but disagree on others but the EJ conduct grade was funny

 

[DCH]

I don't know what you see in Rodgers that makes you think he can play corner...dude is stiff and has below average coverage skills and athleticism for a safety. Otherwise I agree with most of the rest of what you wrote.

 

[VinnDogg]

Since this is a team game, I'd have to rate them all together. F. and that is because I'm in a generous holiday mood. Disgusting, pathetic, unacceptable for the WAC, and should see a total defensive staff axing are also words associated with that side of the ball.

 

[blackvern]

I don't know what you see in Rodgers that makes you think he can play corner...dude is stiff and has below average coverage skills and athleticism for a safety. Otherwise I agree with most of the rest of what you wrote.

I hear you he cant start here at corner..but he can guard tight ends occasionally and some nickel corner. I dont want him lining up outside against Connor Vernon. But I feel there is a place for him.. He has made plays when playing man.

 

[Odin]

I doubt we see much if any of Highsmith and Rodgers next year.Dortch and Hope will be taking major minutes away from them and Finney at nickel and Carter and Burns are coming in on the same level as Bush and higher than Jenkins and even faster than both,they will slowly take over the backup safety spots.

 

[BigCaneAl]

I disagree on Chikillo....while he's not a great pass rusher he is great on 1st and 2nd down. Sets the edge well, and is always in the right assignment. I'd give him a C. He is fundamentall solid in this scheme, and that's why he's out there a lot more than McCord whom you gave an A.

 

[blackvern]

I disagree on Chikillo....while he's not a great pass rusher he is great on 1st and 2nd down. Sets the edge well, and is always in the right assignment. I'd give him a C. He is fundamentall solid in this scheme, and that's why he's out there a lot more than McCord whom you gave an A.

I grade on a curve somewhat..grade on expectations. Mccord in limited snaps graded out better then chickillo. Chickillo had high expecations this year, and besides the G Tech game he was invisible . And i disagree with you CHickillo cannot set the edge hes not strong enough. See Notre Dame, Kansas State, NC State & North Carolina he was man handled all those games

 

[canecountry3]

I expect Gunter, Howard, Jenkins, Bush, Kirby, McCord, Pierre, Paul, Johnson, Chickillo to make significant improvement on this year. Top 50 overall defense next year in route to 10-2 regular season.

 

[Mangum]

No grade on Antonio Crawford or Thomas Finnie?

 

[BigCaneAl]

No grade on Antonio Crawford or Thomas Finnie?

Thomas Finnie gets an F on covering slants....I know that much

 

[3FW]

Rodgers at the end of the season was actually playing at a much higher level than Highsmith and that is saying something. I actually think he adds solid depth next year.

 

[CaneInTheHouse]

I figure you are just grading returning players who received a lot of burn but, please give me your thoughts on McGee. I felt he had a good enough year to get drafted. He was solid all year. Jmo

Btw, as far as missing on grading Finnie, I see him playing less as the better talent continues to arrive.

 

[dycane]

Thanks for the effort. IMHO, no way Gunter and Howard have the same grade. I think OP's grade is way too low; the guy has exceeded expectations and continues to improve weekly. I agree on Paul.

 

[gcane44]

I really think our personnel would be best utilized with even more frequent 3-4 looks. Chickillo is not an edge rusher. He is strong at the point of attack and aware, but he is limited in what he can do. As such, I think he is best served gaining 10-15 more pounds and predominantly working as a 3-4 end. Porter at nose. Pierre at the other end. That allows McCord (who still needs to gain weight) to be on the field more often in a more versatile role as a JACK backer.

I think that will allow more speed and natural pass rushing on the field without giving up much in the overall size department

 

[blackvern]

I figure you are just grading returning players who received a lot of burn but, please give me your thoughts on McGee. I felt he had a good enough year to get drafted. He was solid all year. Jmo

Btw, as far as missing on grading Finnie, I see him playing less as the better talent continues to arrive.

I was just grading returning players.... Crawford maybe played 10 snaps all year hard to grade him..and yea i forgot about finnie but he barely played as well

 

[Marcelo2988]

I think fans had unrealistic expectations for Chick from the beginning. I don't think he's a 10 sack a season guy. I think the lack of a pass rush on the D-line is the main reason it seems like he had a sophmore slump. Every time I would focus on Chich he would be getting double teamed. Last season he had OV, Regis, and Ojomo to take a lot of pressure off of him. I think Chick looked just fine this season speed wise and with another threat on the line he will naturally get more sacks next season.

 

[UMFarArcher]

Tell me where I'm wrong.

We do NOT have the maturity/experience to play a "stand 'em up" two-gap defense, backed up by a zone defense.

I see the talent WE HAVE, doing much better, being more aggressive, and getting to the quarterback faster with a one-gap defense, and playing more man. With the 'stand 'em up' defensive line, we're giving opposing quarterbacks half a quarter to find an open receiver.

I don't give a flying rat's fuzzy *** if the 'two-gap' is the best thing since sliced bread - WE can't EXECUTE it!

Someone tell me that in all of college football, there are only four other teams with less talent on defense than us? I say BS! We're better than that, and the frikkin' scheme sucks.

Gentlemen?

 

[GhostofVenice01]

So now ex Pop Warner players breakdown our defensive players and give them yearly grades?

 

[blackvern]

So now ex Pop Warner players breakdown our defensive players and give them yearly grades?

Lol CMon dog I played high school too...