Michigan plays Alabama in 10 days in Dallas. After exchanging emails today with a practice observer, below is my projected starting lineup that Michigan will line up with against Alabama.
Note, this is who I believe will start next Saturday, not who would start if the game was played today:
Offense:
QB: Denard Robinson
RB: Thomas Rawls
FB: Stephen Hopkins
WR: Roy Roundtree
WR: Jeremy Gallon
TE: Brandon Moore
T: Taylor Lewan
G: Elliott Mealer
C: Ricky Barnum
G: Patrick Omameh
T: Michael Schofield
True freshman I expect to play: OL Kyle Kalis, WR Amara Darboh, TE Devin Funchess
Defense:
DE: Brennan Beyer
DT: Will Campbell
DT: Jibreel Black
DE: Craig Roh
LB: Jake Ryan
LB: Kenny Demens
LB: Desmond Morgan
CB: Blake Countess
CB: J.T. Floyd
S: Jordan Kovacs
S: Thomas Gordon
True freshman I expect to play: DT Ondre Pipkins, DE Matt Godin, LB Joe Bolden, LB
Special Teams:
K: Brendan Gibbons
P: Will Hagerup
KR: Vincent Smith, Jeremy Gallon
PR: Jeremy Gallon
True freshman I expect to play: RB Dennis Norfleet
Other notes:
The defensive line has played very well this fall camp, particularly Will Campbell and Brennan Beyer. Beyer has stepped up, knowing Frank Clark will likely not play, and has seized command of the starting DE spot. Look for Beyer and Roh to make one of the more solid DE tandoms in the Big Ten this season.
Denard Robinson has played excellent. I was told that there were situations where the coaches put the Michigan offense at a disadvantage (how I can't say) to force Denard to throw precision passes under pressure, while making great decisions, and he seemingly couldn't miss. I was told on one drive down the field last weekend (scrimmage), Denard went 9-9 passing, with two impressive strikes to Devin Gardner over the middle of the field. There is a brewing confidence that Michigan, with Denard leading the way, could field a top 5 offense nationally this season, with or without Toussaint.
Freshman Joe Bolden and Matt Godin are ones to watch. They are cut from the Jake Ryan and Desmond Morgan cloth: guys that were a tad undervalued coming out of high school but are just straight up bad-ass football players. I do think their is a chance both of these guys could start by mid-season, with Bolden stepping in starting over Demens and Godin giving Beyer and Roh a reason to look over their shoulders.
If the two named freshman end up securing a starting role, we could be looking at a Michigan defense that has 6+ underclassman starting. If those players perform, the future is BRIGHT.
Expect DC Greg Mattison to trust his talented secondary in the opener vs. Alabama and key in on the run with run blitzes in frequent bunches. The linebackers are going to be called on to crash the vaunted Alabama O-line in order to stop the run, because frankly, Michigan's D-line has little chance to stop the road graders of the Bama line. Their Tide line has been called "the best I have ever seen on film" by one long time Michigan observer. If the Tide are breaking off 7-10 yards every run into the second quarter, it is obviously going to be a LONG day as a Michigan fan.
August 22 prediction:
Alabama comes out like gangbusters, throwing the ball down field with relative ease to take
a 14-3 lead. Hoke rallies the troops and is helped by an emphatic senior class in the locker room halftime and Michigan score 14 straight points to start the 2nd half behind the laser passing of Denard Robinson to his #1 receiver Devin Gardner.
With under two minutes left in the game, Nick Saban elects to go for it on 4th and 1 from the 33, rather than try a 50 yard FG for the tie. LB Jake Ryan, aka the 4th down killa, bursts through a block and levels the Tide ball carrier to secure a 17-14 Michigan victory.
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