Posted on Wed, Jul 6, 2011 : 12:43 p.m.
Michigan football team's Kevin Koger on Mackey Award watch list
By AnnArbor.com Staff
Michigan senior Kevin Koger is on the Mackey Award watch list for the second consecutive season, which is awarded annually to the nation's top tight end.
Koger started eight games in 2010 and caught 14 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns. He is one of 34 players on the Mackey Award list, which was released Wednesday.
Koger is one of seven Big Ten Conference players on the watch list. The others: Ted Bolser of Indiana; Drake Dunsmore of Northwestern; Eric Lair of Minnesota; Brian Linthicum of Michigan State, Kyler Reed of Nebraska and Jake Stoneburner of Ohio State
Comments
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Thu, Jul 7, 2011 : 10:44 p.m.
Lorraine wrote: "Theo212. Seems like you may have a few critics out there. Oh my! Lets' put it this way. Koger, ( and I like this kid a lot!), may well have a better year, personally, than in 2010. BUT... it is highly likely, that the UM offense will, NOT, be as good as in 2011. I guess it all is what agenda is important to you." The MCC strikes again. Yes, because it's not about winning football games, something the WCiMFH had a difficult time doing against teams not in the State of Indiana. It's about having an exciting offense. Good Night and Good Luck
DonAZ
Thu, Jul 7, 2011 : 11:19 p.m.
And I'll say it again ... it was only an "exciting offense" against inferior teams. That much-vaunted offense of Michigan's in 2010 just wasn't that good ... certainly not when it counted against tougher teams. What kind of "explosive offense" scores only 7 against Ohio State and only 14 against Mississippi State? Had Michigan lost the bowl to MSU 52-48 then we could blame the defense. But they lost 52-14. The defense wasn't there, of course. BUT NEITHER WAS THE OFFENSE.
Theo212
Thu, Jul 7, 2011 : 12:57 p.m.
Auburn made essentially zero use of tight ends last year and won The Crystal. Tight ends are fine in (boring) pro football but they unnecessarily take up a spot that a scatback or slot receiver should have in a winning college program.
DonAZ
Thu, Jul 7, 2011 : 8:31 p.m.
"Either your agenda is WIN CRYSTAL, or, you have no agenda." Well, then Rodriguez had no agenda because there was no way he was going to win the BCS with that offense ... at Michigan or elsewhere. He had his one chance at WVU and blew it by losing to a much weaker Pitt team. I was just reading up on the 2008 WVU - Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl. Two notable things about that WVU team -- 1, it had a D-E-F-E-N-S-E, and 2, it had a FULLBACK who scored a touchdown. So it appears that in 2007 at least RR had the good sense to have some balance. He must have lost whatever sense he had when he moved to the Michigan job because he showed no flair for balance and no flair for defense. And the 2010 Michigan offense wasn't that good ... if it was, it would have made more of a game out of it against Wisconsin, Ohio State or Mississippi State.
Theo212
Thu, Jul 7, 2011 : 5:37 p.m.
Right again, Lorain! Either your agenda is WIN CRYSTAL, or, you have no agenda.
Lorain Steelmen
Thu, Jul 7, 2011 : 3:47 p.m.
Theo212. Seems like you may have a few critics out there. Oh my! Lets' put it this way. Koger, ( and I like this kid a lot!), may well have a better year, personally, than in 2010. BUT... it is highly likely, that the UM offense will, NOT, be as good as in 2011. I guess it all is what agenda is important to you.
DonAZ
Thu, Jul 7, 2011 : 2:15 p.m.
Oh, and as for the uselessness of tight ends ... tell that to Bill Belichick and the Patriots. It seems to me they make terrific use of TEs.
DonAZ
Thu, Jul 7, 2011 : 2:14 p.m.
Auburn tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen played in all thirteen games, had 15 receptions for 185 yards and 5 touchdowns. Sounds to me like they utilized him quite well in short yardage situations, particularly near the goal line. In other words, they made good use of him when the situation called for it. Auburn also had a nice 1000 yard season out of Michael Dyer at running back. Dyer is short (5'9") but has some size (215). Unlike Vincent Smith who had only 600 yards in support of Robinson and weighs in at 180. The message, dear Theo, is that while you persist in trying to compare Michigan's spread in 2010 to other teams that had success, the comparison just isn't there. Those teams had sufficient size to compete in a 13 game season, defense (Auburn was weaker than most, but not as bad as Michigan's), and a coaching staff that had a clue how to make use of their team in different ways when the situation called for it.
Dude
Thu, Jul 7, 2011 : 1:34 p.m.
Is this a joke?
Winkiemoose
Wed, Jul 6, 2011 : 8:54 p.m.
If Koger has illusions of being a mediocre tight end, let alone an elite tight end worthy of the Mackey award like Dallas Clark, Kellen Winslow or Heath Miller, he actually has to catch a pass and block even when he doesn't feel like it. It's hard to tell if he just has stone hands, can't run routes, forgets his blocking assignments or he's disinterested in playing. This looks like the coaches put him up for the award for motivation, it certainly isn't for his production or leadership abilities.
Dude
Thu, Jul 7, 2011 : 1:33 p.m.
Curt, are you maybe thinking of some other Tight End, because Koger had no such issues last season. In fact, it seemed like every time he was targeted he was doing damage to the opposing defense.
DonAZ
Wed, Jul 6, 2011 : 9:35 p.m.
I dug around for any documented stats on the number of passes Kevin Koger has been in a position to catch but dropped. I can't seem to find such a statistic. For example, in 2010 he caught 14 passes for 199 yards and 2 TDs. What I can't see from those numbers is the attempts vs. completions. Do you have a source for such information? I ask because I don't recall Koger being a problem when it came to dropped passes. My recollection of him is that when he's been given the chance he comes up with good solid catches (and at least one outstanding catch that sticks in my memory). It just seems he wasn't really given much of an opportunity in the last few years.
tulsatom
Wed, Jul 6, 2011 : 5:40 p.m.
I think Kevin Koger is positioned to have a great year in the new offense where he should have many opportunites to make key catches. U-M tight ends have historically been a big part of the offense under the pro-style offense and this should continue to be the case this year. Koger has persevered throughout his career at U-M (recruited by Carr, adjusted to RR's offense) and I hope he is rewarded for his efforts by having his best year yet.
Dude
Thu, Jul 7, 2011 : 1:32 p.m.
Koger often lined up as a wing last year (next to the tackle, but in the backfield. Sort of a FB/TE hybrid) and was a very effective blocker. And considering Rodriguez isn't known for utilizing a TE much, Koger's stats suggest even he recognized Kevin's talent.
DonAZ
Wed, Jul 6, 2011 : 9:54 p.m.
I agree ... if you look at SDSU in 2010 and what their TE (Gavin Escobar) did, you see 29 receptions for 323 yards, 4 TDs and an average of 11.14 per catch. By contrast, Koger in RR's offense had 14 receptions, 199 yards, 2 TDs and an average of 14.21 yards/catch. Now, what these numbers don't show is how effectively Koger performed downfield blocking for Robinson that allowed him to break out and get yards. I want a magic statistics machine that lets me have any stat I want!! :-) By the way, check out Oregon's use of their top TE (David Paulson) -- 24 receptions, 418 yards, 4 TDs and an average of 17.42 yards per catch. So a "spread" offense *can* make good use of a TE.