Recapping 2012 Commit Ondre Pipkins

We've been breaking down 2012 recruits all month and as we continue along with the defensive line, we reach Ondre Pipkins.  Pipkins is an immense player that brings in large expectations and potential for both the 2012 season and for the future.  There have been concerns about his ability to contribute in his freshman campaign, especially with his recent injury, but most believe he could be one of the most important pieces of the 2012 recruiting class, especially for this season.

There are all kinds of things to be excited about for Pipkins.  To start, he's a great kid who has been known to joke about all things related to the program.  Along with that, he's a pretty good football player too.  His major asset is his impressive size, coming in at 6'3 and 340 lbs according to the athletic site.  For a true freshman, that's pretty big.  So big that he has actually had to undergo a weight loss program during the summer.  He should be trimmed down a bit before kickoff, but getting rid of his "bad" weight will be important for his career as we saw with the whole Will Campbell situation.  Pipkins also has the ability to shed blocks at will with the great use of his hands and ability to shed double teams.  What is even more impressive is his ability to run down plays.  If you watched the All-American game, you can watch Pipkins seemingly chase down plays similar to Mike Martin did last year at Michigan.  With these skills he has the ability to be a factor in multiple parts of the game.

2012 Positional Breakdown: Defensive Line

Out of all the question marks for Michigan's 2012 squad, perhaps the biggest are for the defensive line.  After losing three starters, Michigan is looking for players to fill the roles formerly played by Mike Martin, Ryan Van Bergen, and Will Heininger.  They have returning players at every position on the defensive line with game experience, but only one of the four spots has gotten a serious amount of confidence from fans.  As a result, Michigan's defensive line progress could very likely determine the direction of the defense overall and the team's performance down the stretch.

This is largely because Michigan has All-Big Ten prospects at just about every positional group on the offensive side and is returning just about everybody that started at linebacker or in the secondary last year as well.  Add in the fact that both of the specialists return and Michigan looks like a pretty good squad for 2012, assuming the defensive line can progress.  In my opinion, this is the position group that will determine the type of season Michigan will have in 2012.  Not only because it has the most question marks, but also because of the way it produced in 2011 in route to the Sugar Bowl victory.  Key red zone stops, key stops on 3rd and short, and a plethora of turnovers during the course of the season.  Making up for that is going to be a challenge, so let's start breaking down who has a chance at doing it in 2012.