Michigan Football: Wolverines Are Slim Pickings in NFL Draft
The transition from Lloyd Carr to Rich Rodriguez was somewhat ugly at times. Athletic Director Bill Martin botched the coaching search, Carr was disappointed with his sendoff, and Rodriguez was ready to change the “world.”
All it took for the finger pointing to begin was the defection of Ryan Mallett and Justin Boren. Part of the Michigan family blamed Rodriguez for abruptly changing the offense, while others blamed Carr for leaving the cupboard bare.
Without playing the blame game, it’s obvious Michigan’s pedigree has eroded in recent years. After Carr’s final season, six players were drafted by NFL teams.
In Rodriguez’ three seasons at Michigan, only seven players have been drafted. Morgan Trent and Terrence Taylor in 2009; Brandon Graham, Zolton Mesko and Stevie Brown in 2010; and Jonas Mouton and Steve Schilling this past weekend.
Brandon Minor and Greg Matthews caught on as free agents in 2009, while Perry Dorrestein has the best shot from this year’s class to latch on somewhere.
Let’s look at the 10 Rodriguez players who could be sporting NFL jerseys this fall.
2011 Draft: Jonas Mouton
1 of 10
Despite a lackluster NFL combine (4.87 40-yard dash), Mouton was selected in the second round by San Diego.
A three-year starter at “Will” linebacker for the Wolverines, Mouton led the Big 10 in tackles with 117 last season, just ahead of teammate Jordan Kovacs.
Mouton, at 6’2", 240 pounds, made 244 tackles in his career, 18 of them for a loss.
2011 Draft: Stephen Schilling
2 of 10
A versatile four-year starter, Schilling played primarily at left guard and right tackle. Drafted in the sixth round by San Diego, Schilling is tied for second in Michigan career OL starts (49) with Jeff Backus.
Like teammate Jonas Mouton, Schilling appeared to go earlier than expected. At 6’5, 308 pounds, the Belleview, Washington native should be comfortable playing on the west coast.
2011 Potential Free Agent: Perry Dorrestein
3 of 10
Perry Dorrestein played both tackle positions in his Michigan career. Although he didn’t get significant playing time until his redshirt sophomore year, he accumulated 22 career starts.
Projected as an offensive guard, the 6’7”, 320-pounder was rated as the 60th of 158 guards by NFL Draft Scout.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
2010 Draft: Zoltan Mesko
4 of 10
Now the punter for the New England Patriots, Zoltan Mesko wasn’t introduced to the game of football until his family emigrated to northeast Ohio from Romania at age 12.
Mesko was Michigan’s punter for four years, earning All-Big Ten and second-team All-American honors. His 42.5-yard average was second all-time for the Wolverines.
Mesko was the first punter taken in the 2010 draft (5th round, 150th player overall). His 58 punts averaged 43.2 yards.
2010 Draft: Brandon Graham
5 of 10
Brandon Graham’s rookie season with the Philadelphia Eagles ended prematurely when he injured the ACL of his right knee on Dec. 12.
Graham had earned a starting defensive end position and had 13 tackles with three sacks. At this moment, it’s questionable whether he’ll be ready for the season opener this fall.
Graham was drafted by the Eagles as the 13th overall pick in the first round.
At Michigan, Graham was outstanding, winning All-America honors his senior year, while coming up with 26 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks. He was also named the MVP of the 2010 Senior Bowl.
2010 Draft: Stevie Brown
6 of 10
Stevie Brown had an excellent 2009 season at linebacker for Michigan after he moved from safety the previous year. Brown, who was drafted by Oakland in the seventh round (2010), had 80 tackles as a senior.
Brown recorded 29 tackles in a reserve role for the Oakland Raiders last season.
2010 Free Agent: Greg Mathews
7 of 10
Despite having a admirable career at Michigan, Greg Mathews has faced a tougher road in the NFL.
Undrafted, Mathews started out on the Chicago Bears practice squad then wound up on the St. Louis practice unit.
Mathews, you might recall, caught Tate Forcier’s pass for the winning touchdown over Notre Dame in 2009. Later that season, he was one of the few bright spots against Ohio State, catching six passes.
Over the course of his career, Mathews caught 110 passes in 27 starts for the Wolverines.
2010 Free Agent: Brandon Minor
8 of 10
After an illustrious career as a running back at Varina High in Richmond, Va., Minor spent as much time injured as he did carrying the ball at Michigan.
When he was healthy, or wasn't battling Michael Hart, Sam McGuffie or Carlos Brown for playing time, he was impressive.
During his Michigan career, Minor averaged five yards per carry while rushing for 1,658 yards.
He first joined the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent last fall, then bounced around with four other NFL teams.
2009 Draft: Terrence Taylor
9 of 10
Terrence Taylor was headed into the 2010 NFL season hoping he could put Michigan's 2009 defensive nightmare behind him.
Many thought he went too high, but the 6’0”. 307-pounder was drafted in the fourth round by Indianapolis (136th player overall).
Taylor's critics were right, at least temporarily. After his release from the Colts, he briefly spent time with the Carolina Panthers and Detroit Lions.
At Michigan, Taylor made 114 tackles mostly as a nose tackle and also made honorable mention All-Big 10 as a junior.
He was also great athlete in high school, winning the state power lifting championship three times, while also capturing the heavyweight wrestling championship.
2009 Draft: Morgan Trent
10 of 10
Morgan Trent started his career at Michigan as the scout team's quarterback, "playing" such elusive foes like Ted Ginn and Vince Young. He eventually moved over to defense and earned the starting job at cornerback.
Trent accumulated 149 tackles and eight interceptions during his collegiate career. He was taken by Cincinnati in the sixth round (179th player taken).
In two seasons, he’s played in 24 games and contributed 54 tackles. A knee injury sent him to the injured reserve list last November.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
