FanHouse MichiganFootball

So sayeth this guy.

An analysis of the NFL performance of three particular groups of college players suggests these groups are vastly overrated in the NFL draft and unlikely to succeed in the NFL. Those groups are Michigan skill position players, Virginia Tech defenders and Jeff Tedford coached quarterbacks.

The draft is light in such players this year, but just the same the evidence bodes poorly for guys like Michigan receiver Steve Breaston, Virginia Tech safety Aaron Rouse and combustible Cal quarterback Joe Ayoob.

Why is this so?

Call it the scheme/system factor. Sometimes there's a tradeoff for college success as a player who otherwise dominates on the college level in a particular system may not develop certain skills necessary for the NFL. This most affects the Virginia Tech defenders.

Beamer's secret isn't getting top talent and building the defense around the talent, Beamer and his coordinator have a scheme and go after the talent to fit that scheme. What is interesting is the constant of what kinds of players Beamer gets, and its usually undersized or oversized players for the NFL eyes, undersized DLmen (Engleberger and Adibi seems to be the only one close to the standard NFL size for a DE, but guys like Chamblee, Tapp and Jonathan Lewis seem to be the norm), over-sized Safeties (Rouse, Jimmy Williams and Willie Pile, but the CBs tend to be normal sized-but slow) and undersized Lbs (Moore, C. brown, Ken Brown).

As for the Michigan guys, their solid offensive line play over the years has apparently cursed everyone else involved in the Wolverine offense.

if a QB knows that he has that extra couple seconds to make his progressions, he gets used to it and when he hits the NFL, the speed of the pass rush caused him the most problems. The same problem in the passing game also applies to the WRs and TEs. If a receiver (either TE or WR) doesn't have to improvise as much (for example: knows that he can run his assigned route most of the time) and doesn't have to run hot routes as much, then the receiver doesn't develop the skills that they need in the NFL.

The Michigan line has also been the (NFL) bane of many a memorable Wolverine tailback.

with such a dependable Oline, the RBs did not develop needed skill sets because they had a great oline in front of them year after year. It might be as subtle as not having to learn to wait for the blocks to develop, or learning how to make use of the crease that is there

I wonder if Mike Hart can break the trend next year?

Arkansas Athletic Director Frank Broyles is expected to step down this week. His departure is yet another symbol of the passing of one of college football's greatest generations, the great coaches who presided over the game from 1960 or so until the mid to late 1970's. Broyles coached the Razorbacks from 1958 to 1976 helping them win a championship and competing nationally in a great era against powers like Alabama, USC, Notre Dame and Michigan.

Another giant of his time has left us in the mortal sense: Bo Schembechler. Schembechler coached Michigan from 1969 to 1989 becoming the face of the program until his death just before the Michigan/Ohio State game last year.

The only giants of that era still with us are Broyles, former Texas coach Darrell Royal (1957-1976) and former Notre Dame coach Ara Paraseghian (1964-1974).

Among the magnificent but dead is Alabama's Bear Bryant (1958-1982) who retired at the end of the 1982 season and promptly checked out of mortal existence. Ohio State's Woody Hayes (1951-1978) hung around until his death in 1987. Nebraska's Bob Devaney (1962-1972) checked out in 1997 and USC's comedic John McKay (1960-1975) lasted a little longer, passing away in 2001.

All those giants left the coaching ranks long ago, but each stewarded elite programs for a decade or more. To this day most of them remain the standard for which current coaches aspire to at each of their programs. Schembechler's death and Broyles' departure signal the end of their collective direct involvement in the college game.

As that great generation fades further into memory we must now also begin to take stock of the succeeding generation of coaches. I'm talking about guys like Bobby Bowden, Joe Paterno, Tom Osborne, John Robinson, Vince Dooley, Don James, Hayden Fry, Pat Dye, Lou Holtz, Lavell Edwards and Barry Switzer here.

They are the ones who were the game's caretakes from the mid to late 1970's until the late 1980's, an era of great transition and upheaval due to parity measures such as scholarship limits, the completion of racial integration and the rapid and dramatic death of plodding, run-heavy conventional offenses such as USC's "Student Body Right/Student Body Left" approach.

We'll save that analysis for another day, another time. Until then it's one final embrace of perhaps college football's "greatest generation" of coaches. Thanks for the memories, fellas.