Friday, July 29, 2011

2011 Countdown: #33 Mike Jones

Mike Jones (#27) tries to tackle Mark Moundros
Name: Mike Jones
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 208 lbs.
High school: Edgewater High School in Orlando, FL
Position: Weakside linebacker
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #27
Last year: I ranked Jones #55 and said he would be a special teams regular.  He made 1 tackle before breaking his lower leg in the second game of the season.

Jones has been mostly a special teamer thus far in his career, playing linebacker in only one game.  He seemed to be Jonas Mouton's primary backup at weakside linebacker going into 2010, but the broken leg put a stop to that in Week 2.  He's been stuck at less than 210 lbs. for a couple years now, and while that's not a huge issue at weakside linebacker, you can't be much lighter and still be effective at tackling and taking on blockers.

Lots of people think Jones will be the starting WILL when Michigan takes the field in September.  I am not one of those people.  He was running with the first team in the spring game, but that was partly because Marell Evans bumped over to MIKE in the absence of Kenny Demens.  If Demens is healthy by the fall (which he should be after shoulder surgery), then that opens the door for Evans to fight for a starting spot on the weak side.  I don't foresee Jones beating out Evans.  Even though we haven't seen much of Jones, he was tentative in the spring game and didn't make reads very quickly.  He bit hard on play action fakes and generally tried to run around blocks rather than taking them on.  Whoever starts at WILL, I would attack that position as an opposing coach until those guys prove they can play.

Prediction: Special teams contributor and backup WILL

6 comments:

  1. That 208 lbs is from 12 months ago (as with all of the other roster weights) so MJ could be much stronger and bigger by now - 225? Hopefully we will get real weights when practice starts.

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  2. Nitpick, but what's your "prediction"? (I gathered backup WILL.)

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  3. Boy did RichRod ever leave the cupboard bare at WILL and SAM. Barring the explosive overachievement of some guy like Jake Ryan or Mike Jones, that's going to be a weakness for a while.

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  4. @ Jerry 9:06 a.m.

    He might be bigger now, but he didn't look much bigger in the spring game than he did last fall.

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  5. @ Anonymous 9:55 a.m.

    Backup WILL is correct.

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