Is Troy Woolfolk the answer at cornerback? And Carlos Brown sits
Still searching for the right combination in its struggling secondary, Michigan is at least toying with the idea of moving safety Troy Woolfolk back to cornerback.
Woolfolk practiced at corner Wednesday, with Jordan Kovacs and Mike Williams at safety.
Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez did not address the possible position switch in his pre-practice meeting with the media, and it’s unclear where Woolfolk will play Saturday against Iowa.
Boubacar Cissoko started the first four games at right cornerback, opposite Donovan Warren, and J.T. Floyd replaced Cissoko in last week’s loss to Michigan State.
Asked about that battle Wednesday, Rodriguez said it’s "ongoing."
"Eventually you'd like to maybe get things settled, but I don’t know if that will be settled for several weeks," he said.
At safety, Rodriguez said, the walk-on “Kovacs has played well enough that we feel really confident in him. I think Mike Williams is healthier now and so he’ll continue to play. I know we’ve said this a bunch of times, but we’re trying to get a bunch of guys in the game and get depth, but they’ve got to show us in practice or in limited opportunities that they can do it. And that’s the issue we’re in with all our guys.”
Woolfolk played 12 games as a backup cornerback last year, and moved to safety this spring. He started the first five games at strong safety.
More practice notes from Wednesday:
• Running back Carlos Brown did not practice Wednesday because of an undisclosed injury. He missed part of the Indiana game with what was originally termed “sore knees” and later described as an ankle injury.
Brandon Minor, battling a high-ankle sprain most of the fall, is as close as to 100 percent health as he’s been all season, Rodriguez said. Minor could make his first start of the year against Iowa.
“The past few weeks he’s been limited during the weeks,” Rodriguez said. “Tuesday practices are our most physical practice and (this week) he went through the whole practice on Tuesday. It’s probably, and again talking to him, it’s the best he’s felt in several weeks.”
• Rodriguez said he listened to the end of Tuesday’s Tigers-Twins game after he left his office in the bottom of the 12th inning.
“I didn’t want to get a speeding ticket, but I wanted to hurry up and get (home) because obviously I’m a big Tigers fan,” Rodriguez said. “I met with Jim Leyland last year, great guy, and of course we got a Tigers coach’s son on the team in Jared Van Slyke (the Tigers’ first-base coach). So I missed the thing, but they’ll be back. They’ll be back in it next year.”
So Rodriguez had a late night at the office Tuesday?
“It was actually a little early,” he said. “It was about 9:45, 10 o’clock. I better crank it up.”
• Quarterback Tate Forcier (shoulder) practiced full-go Wednesday after being limited in passing drills earlier in the week.
Dave Birkett covers University of Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at 734-623-2552 or by e-mail at davidbirkett@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
Comments
Onlyluv4UMnOhioOnWVborder00
Fri, Oct 9, 2009 : 10:34 a.m.
I agree Chris. Honestly I would rather see Boubacar Cissoko in the game over Woolfolk he`s a joke in my opinion.
Chris
Fri, Oct 9, 2009 : 12:14 a.m.
1) Woolfolk should have made the tackle, and it did ruin a riskier field goal attempt. 2) Woolfolk, for being so darn fast (in his mind) has been a bad safety, who has let too many WRs get past him as the deep man. When is Vlad Emelien or Turner going to get some playing time?
clearwaterkeith
Thu, Oct 8, 2009 : 5:40 p.m.
I agree with 4B10andUM. A tackle does no good since MSU is already in FG range. They are seriously in need of a takeaway.
4B10andUM
Thu, Oct 8, 2009 : 8:30 a.m.
I thought he was trying to strip the ball more than make a tackle
GOTTST3
Wed, Oct 7, 2009 : 11:52 p.m.
I SAID THE SAME THING TRUEBLUEFAN EARLY THAT IF ROBINSON WOULD CALL THE LB'S TO PUT SOME PRESSURE ON THE QB MORE IT WOULD HELP THE CB OUT AND THEM PLAYING 10 YARDS OFF THE WR IS NOT HELPING THE SITUATION ESPECIALLY IN THE RED ZONE
GOTTST3
Wed, Oct 7, 2009 : 11:51 p.m.
I SAID THE SAME THING TRUEBLUEFAN EARLY THAT IF ROBINSON WOULD CALL THE LB'S TO PUT SOME PRESSURE ON THE QB MORE IT WOULD HELP THE CB OUT AND THEM PLAYING 10 YARDS OFF THE WR IS NOT HELPING THE SITUATION ESPECIALLY IN THE RED ZONE
truebluefan
Wed, Oct 7, 2009 : 11:39 p.m.
The nagging ankle injuries for Brown and minor are frustrating. Minor didn't see much PT until halfway through the season last year due to injuries. Brown had a great start and now he's limited. Molk is out another two weeks. Hemingway has not been healthy since game 2. That said, the OL needs to do a much better job against Iowa or it could be a long game again. Woolfolk seems like a better fit at CB with his size and speed. We'll see how well he covers. Need to play the corners closer to the LOS and improve the man coverage. The LB position has been atrocious in zone coverage. I don't know if it's Hopson or poor instincts. Greg R. needs to figure that out quickly.
azwolverine
Wed, Oct 7, 2009 : 7:10 p.m.
Looking at that picture, it's unbelievable that he didn't make that tackle. He had him! It is too bad about Minor and Brown, though. Those guys have awesome talent and do a fantastic job when healthy. Now if we could just keep them healthy. It's a good thing we've got BOTH of them.
jeremy
Wed, Oct 7, 2009 : 5:36 p.m.
Thats been the disappointing part in watching brown and minor..they have both struggled staying healthy. I definitely think woolfolk should be given another look at cb, he just doesnt have the size or tenacity to be a ss.