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SCOUT’S NOTEBOOK: SAN DIEGO STATE@MICHIGAN

San Diego State’s best efforts weren’t enough to be beat Michigan despite the presence of Ryan Lindley and Ronnie Hillman on offense. The Wolverines quick strike offense proved to be too much to handle and keep up with for the Aztecs in their 28-7 loss to their Big Ten opponent.

Have gun, will travel

Senior quarterback Ryan Lindley is one of the very best at his position thanks to his cannon-like arm and compact delivery, which allows him to effortlessly toss dart-like throws into the heart of the defense.

Unfortunately for the Aztec signal caller, he’s playing out his final year in college with a short deck, as his top two receivers, Vincent Brown and DeMarco Sampson, have both moved on the NFL.

In the first quarter, Lindley quickly showed the ability to roll one way and throw a quick pass on a rope the other way on a 21-yard completion to Dylan Denso, who proved to be his most reliable target. He followed that up with a wide-side throw to Danso by placing it away from the defender, who was unable to get a hand on the ball.

The ball was coming out quick and easy for the 6’4” signal caller, but his targets couldn’t always get separation, forcing Lindley to throw it high in order to avoid the interception.

For all his natural talent, however, Lindley did go through a stretch where he completed only one out of seven pass attempts. Michigan’s pass rush clearly made him uncomfortable in the pocket and caused him to miss some open receivers.

The Aztec field general was on his way to righting the ship at the end of the third quarter, particularly on a 7-yard offering to Colin Lockette in which he threw a laser-like slant in front of the receiver and away from the defender. This wasn’t a long pass, but it demonstrated that Lindley can stick it into tight windows and throw his targets open.

On San Diego State’s only score of the game, Lindley deftly placed the ball in front of his receiver (Lockett), but out of the reach of a defensive back in zone coverage. Overall, it was a well-designed play with two wideouts criss-crossing each other and creating confusion in the secondary.

Down by two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, Lindley went long on third down to Lockette, as he threw it over the right shoulder of his teammate and away from the defender with amazing touch and accuracy. But the receiver flat-out dropped it.

Lindley ended up completing 23 of 48 pass attempts for 253 yards along with one touchdown pass and no interceptions. He proved that he’s worthy of being a first round pick in the upcoming draft, as evidenced by the facility with which he made a number of sideline throws.

His passes have lots of zip to get past quick defensive backs and he his quick release helps him avoid sacks. He does need to be more consistent with his accuracy, especially when he’s under pressure. During Saturday’s contest, he repeatedly showed a tendency to overshoot his intended targets.

On a final note, he also must get out of the habit of throwing off his back foot in the face of pressure. He seems to be doing a better job of that as a senior.

Explode, explode

This game would have probably been a close contest if not for the legs of Denard Robinson, who got the party started early on a five-yard touchdown scamper to put the Wolverines up 7-0 at the 10:52 mark of the first quarter.

The play was a quarterback keeper that saw the junior follow his center, David Molk, and find an open crease, showing tremendous running instincts.

Michigan’s offensive line was no match for San Diego State, as Molk and guard Ricky Barnum manhandled the opposition, while creating opportunities for Robinson to get outside on run/pass option plays.

Although “Shoelace” was electrifying as a runner, his passing leaves a lot to be desired. A poorly executed first down play in the first quarter was evidence of that with Robinson badly overthrowing receiver Martavious Odoms on a bootleg with no one in the vicinity of his teammate.

Robinson was back at it again four minutes later with a deceptive option fake to running back Vinson Smith, which lured cornerback Nat Berhe to set up outside, anticipating Smith. Instead, the quarterback exploded up the middle behind a terrific double block by his tackle Taylor Lewan and took it to the house for the 53-yard score, putting Michigan on top 14-0.

The elusive Robinson is still learning how to function in a pro style system. He is far from being a polished passer. In fact, he is more of a running back at this stage. Can he run to the edges and get guys open by baiting the defense? Yes, but he’s not a pocket passer. More times than not, he’ll have to use his legs to move his team.

The Heisman Trophy candidate capped off the first half by faking a handoff, sprinting to the left behind Lewan and cashing in from one yard out. It should be noted that Lewan is excellent in getting out in space and driving people off the ball. He’s always very aggressive…sometimes too much so.

Martin lowers the boom

Defensive tackle Mike Martin isn’t your typical 300-pound lineman; he’s a heavily muscled block of granite who uses his wrestling technique to outmaneuver his adversaries.

Aztec guard Nic Embernate was no match for the senior. Things started getting ugly in the second quarter, when Martin pushed his man back with a vicious bull rush and then applied an arm-over move to get passed him, forcing the quarterback to throw it away.

Martin was right there in Lindley’s face again on the next play, as he put his hands up and obstructed his opponent‘s field of vision.

On the same drive, the burly lineman danced around Embernate, but couldn’t wrap up running back Ronnie Hilleman, who went on to gain nine yards. In all fairness, Martin is a guy who’s expected to play in close quarters and push the pocket; he’s not someone who’ll make a living out in space.

Martin’s violent hands were once again on display in the third quarter, as he shoved Embernate to the left and penetrated the pocket leading with his left shoulder. On the play, he demonstrated how his ability to gain leverage and momentum by turning his body sideways. The interior defender was also effective on a couple of stunts, which had him attacking from the outside

There’s no doubt that Martin increased his draft stock with his performance versus San Diego State. What makes the avid weight lifter really attractive to NFL teams is his versatility to play in multiple schemes, including the zero technique (nose tackle) in a 3-4 alignment.

At 6’2” 299 pounds, he may not be wide enough to clog up space in the 3-4 technique, but in a game of leverage, he has the power/skills to keep his balance and put offensive linemen in compromising positions.

Random player observations

San Diego State running back Ronnie Hillman’s ball security flaws came to light in this one, as he fumbled twice. The second came while he was in the process of breaking off a long gain.

Hillman was hindered by his offensive line, which couldn’t get a consistent push. However, the 190-pound back ran hard both inside and outside. He has the ability to make people miss and the speed to do major damage on the flanks. The sophomore is NFL material, but probably isn’t big enough to withstand pounding the ball up the middle at the next level.

Center David Molk is a heady, athletic lineman who can get out and pull. He often picks up two players on the same play (not at the same time, mind you) and has the skills to seal off defensive tackles. The senior can get out in space and serve as a lead blocker.

Craig Roh was very quiet in his first two games, but he’s shown signs of turning things around over the past two weeks, as he adapts to defensive coordinator Greg Mattison’s 4-3 defensive scheme.

He authored a splash play on the second play of the game by standing up tight end Gavin Escobar and tossing him aside before stopping the elusive Hillman for no gain.

He reemerged late in the contest with a strip sack turnover recovered by the Maize and Blue. Roh exploded out of his 9-technique and drove right tackle Kurtis Gunther back and proceeded to side-step him with a nifty move before getting to the quarterback. The 6’5” end is talented, but he needs to show more down-to-down consistency.

Freshman Jake Ryan also looks like a player. In his first start, the outside linebacker showed great energy, range and was always around the ball (see two fumble recoveries).

Cornerbacks J.T. Floyd and Blake Countess were among the standout defenders as well. Countess came in as an injury substitution in the second half and impressed with his coverage technique as far as how he ran, turned his head/body around in man-to-man coverage. He came in hard on a 2-yard dump-off to Hillman by staying low and driving through the running back with the textbook tackle on the two-yard advance.

Floyd, on the other hand, was masterful in how he jumped in front of a Lindley pass on 2^nd-and-10 in the fourth quarter, exhibiting superb transition out of his backpedal to break on the ball.

One of the Aztec defender who shined was two-down inside linebacker Miles Burris, who isn’t the quickest to react to what’s in front of him, but has the strength to get low, down and dirty, fight off blocks and take down ball carriers.