Thursday, March 5, 2009

Michigan Football's Walk-On Class in Review

We all know that Rich Rodriguez was a walk on at West Virgina and has a special place in his heart for guys that have to earn a scholarship. Since there has been a lot of news since signing day about Michigan's preferred walk on policy. I thought I would list all the walk on's to date and give you my opinion on who might contribute down the line.

With 3 scholarships left for this year, would any of these guys get/earn a scholarship? They might.............

  1. Top Walk on Prospect: goes to New York Offensive Lineman Tom Lindley. Tom was one of the best offensive lineman in New York this past year and is 6"3 300 pounds. Tom earned first team all Long Island and The 2008 Zellner Award winner as Suffolk’s top lineman. He is also a member of the National Honor Society and plans to redshirt during the 2009 season.
  2. Adam Barker, OL from Adrian, Michigan. Adam plays the center position and is rated 2 stars by Rivals. He is 6"3 270 pounds.
  3. Eddie Murray, a kicker from Royal Oak, Michigan. You might wonder why I have a kicker so high on the walk-on board? Well, you could make a case that Eddie should be ranked #1 in this Walk On class with both of Michigan's kickers graduating last year. Eddie might have the best shot at seeing the field early as a kick off specialist this year!
  4. Calvin Smith, FB from Joliet , Illinois. As you might have heard, full back is going to be a position that Michigan will mostly look for walk-on's to fill. Calvin is a big back at 6"2 235 and averaged 5.5 yards per carry in high school.
  5. Johnny Childers, FB/LB from Muskegon, Michigan. He most likely will end up at full back and will compete against Calvin for time at the position in future years. Johnny is 6"1 233 pounds and most likely will end up as a back up FB and special teams player. More info on JC here.
  6. Nader Furrha, QB from Ann Arbor Pioneer. Nader is a dual threat QB that gives Michigan some depth at a position that seems to be getting lighter by the day. With Threet's recent transfer news Nader becomes even a more important pick up for the Wolverines. With that said, the Michigan coaches hope Tate Forcier is a star and that Denard Robinson is a star in waiting. Most likely Nader will be competing against Nick Sheridan and Robinson for the #2-#4 spots on the roster.
  7. Jason Nyhof, DT from Holland Michigan. Jason is 6"3 277 and has a nice frame for a DT. I expect him to spend a lot of time at Club Barwis to see if he can become a factor as an upper-class men. Jason does have the luxury of being at a position of great need for the Wolverines.
  8. Nate Brink, team-mate of Jason's from Holland, Michigan is 6"5 218 Nate is way too skinny for a DT and will need to eat a lot of hamburgers before he is even in the conversation.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wait, Michigan is getting a kicker named Eddie Murray? That is great news: http://www.detroitlions.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=3855

Anonymous said...

I know of another kicker, Seth Broekhuizen, who is goingo be a preferred walk on next year as well.

Anonymous said...

Only the top 8 walk-ons are ranked, there are plenty more