2012 Positional Breakdown: Tight End

The Wolverines didn't need a fall injury or suspension to thin the line at Tight End. As soon as Kevin Koger departed for the NFL, it became one of the biggest question marks for the Michigan offense. Head coach Brady Hoke and offensive coordinator Al Borges made it a point in 2011 to put the tight end back into action as it was under the wing of coaches like Bo Schembechler and Lloyd Carr, and that they did.

There is no definite starter for September 1st against Alabama, and incoming 2012 recruits are holding their own in fall practices as they battle for playing time. However, the vibe surrounding the program right now is that RS Senior Brandon Moore will be the starter to open up this season. Backing him up as a returner will probably be Mike Kwiatkowski.

Recapping 2012 Commit Devin Funchess

The second of the 2012 tight end commits is Devin Funchess from Farmington Hills, Michigan.  Devin is a great tight end and has good size at around 6'4", but not as big as his counterpart, A.J. Williams, weighing only around 200 lbs.  He comes from a great high school here in Michigan, Farmington Hills Harrison, which is often in the state championship conversation.  Important for Michigan because it shows they are competing for the top in-state talent once again under coach Brady Hoke.

When I was looking at Devin, it was pretty interesting.  He is basically the polar opposite of A.J. Williams.  Devin is definitely more of your pass catching tight end.  He definitely has great ball skills and ability to catch the football, while A.J. is more of your blocking Tight End.  One of the reasons I like the pick up of Devin is because you need that pass catching Tight End.  These guys are nightmares for defenders to cover.  In watching his film, he lines up at both Tight End and Wide Receiver so that shows his versatility. He has great quickness and football and is also a solid route runner and is able to go across the middle.  When I say the opposite of Williams, I meant it.  His area of improvement is definitely in his blocking.  I could see him putting on a bit of weight to fit the more true Tight End role.  An impressive thing about Devin is he played Linebacker in high school also.  He was a pretty good one as well and you don't find many two way players that are that good at both positions.  Michigan is definitely set at the Linebacker position and he won't play there, but it is something that should be noted.  It's impressive and says a lot about his talent and should help him at the Tight End position because of his understanding of the defensive side of the ball.  Look for 15-20 pounds to get put on so he's able to do a bit more blocking as well to match his great catching ability.

Recapping 2012 Commit A.J. Williams

Moving on to the tight end position for the 2012 class.  First on the list of the two commits is tight end A.J. Williams out of Cincinnati, Ohio.  Brady Hoke snatches another good prospect out of the state below.  Everybody knows that Ohio is a serious talent pool of high school players and Brady Hoke continues to snag some good ones.  A.J. is a monster kid especially for a tight end at around 6'6" and 275 pounds.  That gives him more an offensive lineman size, which should be well suited for the physical Big Ten play.

My breakdown of A.J. is really quite simple.  He is huge.  When I was watching tape, I literally thought there was a 6th offensive lineman on the field.  You've heard of the term blocking tight end.  Well, if you looked it up in the dictionary, you would probably see a picture of A.J.  The kid is quite the load to handle and can definitely do his share of blocking in run and pass protection.  As a Senior, A.J. did happen to play Offensive Tackle and he was purely dominant.  Given the solid depth on the offensive line for at least the 2012 season, he probably won't be playing there.  I don't see A.J. switching positions anytime soon, but he will be doing a lot of blocking without a doubt.  He's a big bodied kid, so when he does go out for a pass he's an absolute nightmare to cover.  He's got decent quickness, having clocked a 4.9 40 Time, but is still big and is way big for a Safety to try and cover.  Look for him to be used in a variety of ways in Ann Arbor.