8 - Friday, April 12, 2013 r. x:.r . _,. The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com S port The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom I 0 'I ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily PAULSHERMAN/Daily Redshirt junior Devin Gardner is currently the Fifth-year senior tailback Fitzgerald Toussaint Fifth-year senior offensive tackle Taylor Senior receiver Jeremy Gallon stands atjust Junior defensive end Frank Clark has earned only healthy scholarship quarterback on roster, isn't at full strength after a broken leg last year. Lewan bolsters Michigan's offensive line. 5-foot-8, shorter than the younger wideouts. more praise this spring than any other player. Five things to watch in Spring ame ByZACH HELFAND Daily Sports Editor This much is certain: the interior of the Michigan football team's offensive line will wear facial hair and eat break- fasts at Benny's Family Dining in Ann Arbor. That leaves, well,just about every- one as options. After a disappointing season on the ground in 2012, the Wolverines will unveil a new, and likely very young, inte- rior line at Saturday's Spring Game. Any of the three eventual starters, in all like- lihood, will see their first game action in the fall. This spring, the offensive linemen have grown facial hair as ateam-building exercise. Redshirt junior quarterback Devin Gardner often takes the group out. to breakfast. The hope is that the closer the group is, the better it willbe. Aside from former quarterback Denard Robinson, Michi- gan's backsstruggled to gain much on the ground last year. Then-redshirt sopho- more Fitzgerald Toussaint didn't do much to create his own space, but often, he had no holes to choose from. Redshirt freshman guard Kyle Kalis should be a near-lock to start at guard. At center, redshirt sophomore Jack Miller will likely get the start. The real competition is at the other guard position, between redshirt sopho- more Chris Bryant and redshirt fresh- man Ben Braden. Freshmen Kyle Bosch and Patrick Kugler could challenge for the starting spot, but the transition from high school to Division Ilineman is a very slow process. Bosch has the advantage of enrollingearlybuthe remains alongshot. Bryant had a promising future until tearing his anterior cruciate ligament prior to last season and could have an edge over the freshmen. The 6-foot-6, 314- pound Braden has the most impressive frame, and likely would've challenged for the starting tackle position had fifth-year senior tackle Taylor Lewan gone pro. But can he translate that to guard? Michigan coach Brady Hoke has recruited the line heavily, and that should start paying off in 2013. WANNA SEE IF YOU CAN RUN IT, RUN IT: The competition at running back could be the top story line of the Spring Game, if only the top two competitors were playing. After a regression at tail- back in 2012, the position this year is even more uncertain. Toussaint hasn't returned to full-con- tact drills after fracturing his leg on Nov. 17. Derrick Green, perhaps Hoke's most highly-touted recruit, remains in high school. Neither promises a return to the ground-game success of 2011 immediate- ly. Yet the rest of the field hasn't exactly seized the opportunity. Hoke has praised the remaining backs - junior Thom- as Rawls, redshirt sophomore Justice Hayes, sophomore Dennis Norfleet and redshirt freshman Drake Johnson - yet no one has separated. And the praise isn't exactly rousing. "Justice has really done a nice job," Hoke said after practice on April 4. "Thomas, too." Dennis Norfleet, on the other hand, has run well inside "in spots." Michigan ranked fifth in the Big Ten. in rushing with 2,389 yards in 2012, but more than half of those yards came from Robinson. If no one impresses in the Spring Game, Michigan fans better start hoping Green is as good as advertised and Toussaint's leg heals soon. BETTER WATCH YOUR (QUARTER) BACK: Speaking of less-than-high praise, here's Hoke on quarterback Brian Cleary. "Has a good arm," Hoke said. "I'm not going to say he's throwing bullets, but he's got a good arm, good accuracy." Yes, that's Brian Cleary, a non-scholar- ship redshirt freshman and the current backup to the most important position on the team. The former backup, redshirt sophomore Russell Bellomy, tore his ACL earlier this spring. And here is where the previous two story lines converge. The development of the interior line is so important because Gardner needs all the protection he can get. Finding a power back is crucial to take the heat off Gard- ner. Yet even if the linemen exceed expec- tations and a running game emerges, Gardner will likely get dinged up here and there. If Cleary becomes a service- able backup, Michigan can redshirt incoming freshman Shane Morris. Cleary's first chance to show the public his worth comes Saturday. LOOK OUT FOR CLARK: The Wolver- ines' last impact pass rusher left after 2009. His name was Brandon Graham, and Michigan hasn't had a player like him since. Enter Frank Clark. The junior defen- sive end has a long, long way to go to attain Graham status, but he has earned the highest praise of any single player this spring. Hoke said Clark is "unusual," noting that "Frank has an ability, a God-given ability." Defensive coordinator Greg Mattison said that Clark "thinks about football day and night." Lewan named Clark as the player he least likes to see in one-on-one drills. Clark said that he lines up against Lewan 20 times per day, calling ittheir "project" to go against each other as much as pos- sible. Even last year, the matchup would have been one-sided. Clark showed improvement throughout the 2012 sea- son after beingsuspended for the opener. He finished with 9.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble. When left unblocked, he hit people, and hard. Yet he had to fight for playing time. This year, Clark has beefed up to 274 pounds, up about 50 pounds from his freshman year. Clark still has a lot to prove, but he's the most likely to turn heads on the end. S LAST OF THE RECEIVERS: Gardner's favorite target, fifth-year senior Jeremy Gallon, exploded late last season.. The diminutive wideout blossomed into a via- ble threat. But take a good look Saturday, he's likely the last of a dying breed. Smaller receivers like Gallon fit in for- * mer Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez's spread offense. But the offense of Hoke and offensive coordinator Al Borges favors a more traditional look with bigger receivers. Meet the pass-catching future: 6-foot- 2, 213-pound sophomore Amara Darboh and 6-foot-3, 193-pound redshirt fresh- man Jehu Chesson. Chesson, Borges said, has speed. Dar- boh is more elusive. Both are big. The current offense features Gallon (5-foot-8) and Drew Dileo (5-foot-10). Roy Roundtree, last year's No. 1 receiver, stood at 6-feet tall. "We wanted to get some bigger kids in there, knowing that the little guys have done a great job for us, but we did want to give a little more range to the position," Borges said. "We've won a few jump balls," Borges continued, then paused. "Lost a few, but haven't lost them all." 0 MICHIGAN FOOTBALLCHARTH / WIDE SLOT WIDE LEFT LEFT RIGHT RIGHT TIGHT WIDE RECEIVER RECEIVER TACKLE GUARD CENTER GUARD TACKLE END RECEIVER Jeremy Drew Dileo, Taylor Lewan, Chris Bryant, Jack Miller, Kyle Kalis, Michael Schofield, Devin Amara Darboh Gallon, Senior Fifth-year senior Redshirt Redshirt Redshirt Senior Funchess, Sophomore Senior sophomore sophomore freshman Sophomore QUARTERBACK RUNNING BACK Devin Gardner, Fitzgerald Toussaint, Redshirt junior Fifth-year senior 0 By ZACH HELFA] Daily Sports Edito WEAK-SIDE CORNERBACK DEFENSIVE END Raymon Taylor, Frank Clark, Junior Junior & Mario Ojemudia, Sophomore WEAKSIDE LINEBACKER James Ross ll, Sophomore LEFT DEFENSIVE TACKLE Quinton Washington, Fifth-year senior MIDDLE LINEBACKER Desmond Morgan, Junior RIGHT DEFENSIVE STRONG-SIDE TACKLE DEFENSIVE END CORNERBACK Ondre Pipkins, Keith Heitzman, Blake Countess, Sophomore Redshirt sophomore & Redshirt sophomore Jibreel Black, Junior STRONG-SIDE LINEBACKER Cameron Gordon, Fifth-year senior OR Joe Bolden, Sophomore Gordon, Fifth-year senior KICKER Brendan Gibbons, Fifth-year senior after losing all three starters to Senior Will Hagerup is the likely Matt Wile will assume the punting 0 graduation and strong-side line- starter, but only if he is reinstated responsibilities. The return men backer, after the loss of starter from his third suspension. Michi- will likely be sophomore Dennis Jake Ryan, a redshirt junior, to gan coach Brady Hoke said he still Norfleet on kicks and senior Jer- injury. remains suspended indefinitely. emy Gallon on punts, though Gal- Not pictured is the punter. Should he remain in limbo, junior lon struggled with punts in 2012. STRONG SAFETY Jarrod Wilson, Sophomore FREE SAFETY Thomas ND rr returning starters on the offense opener against Alabama but sus- and defense (including junior tained a season-ending knee inju- defensive end Frank Clark, who ry in the first quarter. split time last year) plus the addi- The positions to watch include tion of redshirt sophomore Blake the interior offensive line, which Countess. Countess started the undergoes a complete overhaul The Daily football beat takes a highly speculative look at Michi- gan's depth chart. We project 12