19 November 2009

2011 Season Preview

2010 was a breakthrough year for the wolverines as they went 12-1 with a Rose Bowl victory over the California Bears. 2011 looks to be another great year for Michigan fans everywhere. While they did lose some key players from last years team, the Wolverines have reloaded and will be ready to take the college football world by storm.

A moment of silence for our dearly departed...
Michigan lost some good players from last year. FB Mark Moundros was a great blocker to have in the backfield and Steve Schilling will be sorely missed at guard, but they are the only offensive starters to leave. On defense, we were hit harder. We lost leading sacker Ryan Van Bergen who opted to leave a year early for the NFL. We also lost both starting OLBs who accounted for 105 tackles and 11 sacks. The secondary was hardest hit as we lost superstar corner Donovan Warren, and both starting safeties. These 3 players accounted for 10 of Michigan's 21 interceptions last year.

Welcoming back some old friends...

Michigan returns some real studs for 2011. Offensively we have 9 starters returning, including the leading passer, rusher and receiver. They will be lead by JR QB Tate Forcier who had a very solid 2010 campaign. Mike Shaw, the starting HB returns after sitting out most of last season with an injury and he will be backed up by Vincent Smith who lead Michigan in rushing yards last season and led the Big Ten in rushing TDs. Forcier will have some very good targets to throw to as Michigan returns every WR from last season and the starting TE. This receiving core will be anchored by a trio of seniors in Martavious Odoms (the team's leading reciever), Darryl Stonum, and Junior Hemingway. The offensive line is very stout and is lead by superstar David Molk and stud bookends Pat Omameh and Mark Hyuge.

Despite losing some key defensive players, Michigan's defense should be very good this year. The defensive line is ridiculous with Anthony LaLota, Mike Martin, 1st team All American Big Will Campbell, and Craig Roh starting. #1 recruit A.J. Keller will provide some very good depth at DT. The LBs will be tackling everything in site as they are led by 2 SRs and a JR. The secondary will be led by shut down corner Boubacar Cissoko, but with the departure of both starting safeties, this is the weakest part of Michigan's defense.

Looking to the future...
When coach Jello took the reigns of this team Michigan was very young. Now those young players have matured and have blossomed into some very good football players. Everyone is expecting very big things from Michigan and it is up to coach Jello to get his kids to fulfill their promise. We will see very early if Michigan can play up to their potential as they take on the #3 Drunken Irish in their first game of the year. Michigan faces a very tough schedule as they play 5 teams ranked in the preseason top 25. If Michigan can avoid injuries, costly turnovers, and boneheaded mistakes, you can expect them to have a very good year. Coming off of a 12-1 season, there isn't a lot of room to rise, however.

Honoring the outstanding...
Here are the Wolverines that were named to the preseason All Big 10 and All America teams:

1st Team All-American

1st Team All-Conference

2nd Team All-Conference

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