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Scouting the Nation: Week 1 - Pt I

Roh Leads the Way on Defense

After playing in a two-point stance on first and second down in Michigan’s first defensive series of the game, sophomore outside linebacker Craig Roh (click to read on location Q&A from the Big House) lined up with his hand on the ground on third down. He blew by UConn’s left tackle, going right around the blocker to get pressure on the quarterback. Throughout the contest Roh displayed the ability to play on the line of scrimmage or behind the front three. He also displayed the quickness to get into the backfield against the run or drop back into coverage, where he looked comfortable. When the Wolverines switched to a 4-3 defense on passing situations, Roh showed the ability to put his hand on the ground as a rush end. Whether it is in a two- or three-point stance, Roh is at his best as an edge rusher using his athletic ability. When standing up, even when he is lined up wide, he can get to the quarterback in a flash—he has that special closing burst.

In the trenches, he is able to scrape down the line scrimmage to make plays, but Roh does need to add more variety to his moves. In addition, the sophomore needs to get stronger in his upper body. On one play when it appeared he had a step on the blocker, the lineman was able to recover enough to knock Roh to the ground. That shouldn’t happen. In a post-game conversation with CFI, Roh admitted as much, noting that his lower body was more developed at this stage in his career. We did see some maturation in his game when he avoided a cut-block from a running back—his vision allowed him to see the block coming and his footwork allowed him to avoid it then close in for the hit on the quarterback. They moved him around a lot, more than expected, and at times he even stood up and lined up inside of the defensive end. Roh is the type of hybrid talent that will flourish in Greg Robinson’s defense. Roh finished the day with five tackles and two tackles for loss.

The Michigan Maulers

While Denard Robinson deserves all the attention he receives this week, one does not run for 197 yards alone. He can thank senior left guard Steve Schilling and junior center David Molk for opening up some gapping holes in the Connecticut defense.

Schilling did a great job of combination blocking, chipping a lineman with the center and then moving on to make a block on linebacker. He displayed nimble feet and good agility on Saturday, getting all the way to the right side of the field to block in pass protection when asked. He isn’t necessarily a dominant one-on-one blocker, but he understands how to direct his man away from where the play is going to open up the hole for the runner. He’s athletic and can get out and block on screen plays, but on more than one occasion he missed his man, didn’t block anyone and that defender was the one who ended up blowing up the play. Schilling also needs to do a better job of maintaining blocks in space.

A bit more physical is Molk, who is more than capable of mauling his man and dominating the opposition in one-on-one scenarios. He makes a big difference for this offense. Like Schilling, Molk also positions himself well and will lead the man he is blocking away from the play. He too displayed the agility to get out in space and reach the second line of defense. When he isn’t responsible for blocking a lineman, Molk does an especially nice job of getting to the next level and taking the linebacker completely out of the play. Molk had to come out for a play after he was dinged up and the Wolverines ended up losing 10 yards on that running effort. Part of that can be attributed to poor decision-making by the runner, but make no mistake—part of it was not having Molk manning the middle.

When you think of running quarterbacks, you think of big plays on the perimeter. However, many of Michigan’s rushing yards came on plays that began running right behind their two blocks of granite—Molk and Schilling. This week the Wolverines take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and their 3-4 defense, which will present a different challenge for each, particularly Molk, who will be dealing with nose man Ian Williams for much of the day. How much help he needs could go a long way in deciding if the Wolverines start out 2-0.

Big XII Backs Bust Loose!

Kansas State’s Daniel Thomas rushed for 234 of the Wildcats’ 313 rushing yards in the Big XII school’s 31-22 victory over the UCLA Bruins. Thomas got the scoring started with a one-yard run to give K-State a 7-0 lead, and capped the game with a 35-yard scamper in the final minute to seal the win. He also had a game-high 44-yard run in the contest. The Wildcat entered the season rated as the second best senior running back by BLESTO (28^th ranked senior overall) and third by National. Mark it down—Thomas will be the first senior running back off the board in the 2011 NFL Draft and could sneak into the first round. At 225 pounds, not many college backs are blessed with his pro body.

Over in the Big XII South, Oklahoma State’s Kendall Hunter jetted and juked his way to 208 yards and three touchdowns…in the first half. The last time a Cowboy running back went for over 200 yards in the first half? That would be Barry Sanders back in 1988. Hunter’s night ended when he scored from 39 yards out on the opening drive of the second half to extend the Pokes’ lead over Washington State to 45-10. In total, Hunter ran for 254 yards (12.2 yards per carry), including six runs of 17 yards or greater. Hunter was named co-Big XII Offensive Player of the Week along with Thomas.

Here’s what Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy had to say about Hunter:

“I think Kendall played more physical against Washington State this year than he did two years ago. Kendall really likes to play football. Some guys at our level play the game, but they don't really love to play the game. Kendall loves to play football. It's important to him. He didn't get the opportunity to do it last year, so he's been very excited about playing this year. That works in our favor and it works in his favor. I'm not afraid to say that if Kendall stays healthy he will play this game a long time because he can make you miss, he doesn't run his mouth, he plays football for the right reasons and he's a tough guy, so he'll play a long time.”

Oklahoma’s DeMarco Murray gave the conference three backs with better than 200 yards rushing when he exploded for 218 yards (two touchdowns) on 35 carries against Utah State. His season-high as a junior was 24 carries and 107 yards (versus Baylor). His previous career high in yards was 128 as a red-shirt freshman against Texas, and his 26 carries against Baylor as a sophomore were his career high heading into the season. No one is expecting the Las Vegas native to keep up this type of pace the entire season, but for the first time in his Sooner career Murray has the opportunity to prove he can be a feature back. How he fares—if he can stay healthy—will go a long way in determining his NFL draft stock. Murray is the top senior running back on both the BLESTO (16^th ranked senior overall) and the National.

Photos Courtesy of U-M Athletic Department, Kansas State Sports Information