Does KMM pass KDavis on depth chart?

[thejumper5]

I disagree with your assertion that our receivers seem to have to put up good numbers early in their career to put up big numbers as upperclassmen.

Keenan Davis' stats through two years:

15 receptions, 186 yards, 2 TDs

Now consider this underclassmen stats of the following:

Mo Brown: 3 receptions, 42 yards, 0 TDs (sophomore year only, his freshman stats weren't available)
Ed Hinkel: 32 receptions, 336 yards, 2 TDs
Clinton Solomon: 14 receptions, 159 yards, 1 TD

Those are three guys who went from obscurity to stars at WR. There are a few other guys like Razor, who put up solid numbers as upperclassmen, but not good/great. Davis will be fine, as he's more talented than all of them.

I forgot about Mo Brown's huge breakout. He works for comparison's sake (though he did miss seven games due to injury in '01). Unfortunately, the other two do not. Solomon was in JuCo as a soph, and Hinkel was hurt much of the year (the primary reason Razor had a big jump). Both of those two were solid receivers at Iowa as freshmen in 2002 as the #3 and #4 options.

 

[thejumper5]

Actually, the more I think about it, the more I like the comparison between Mo Brown and Keenan Davis. I can't recall much about Brown's first two seasons anecdotally, but looking just at the numbers, here are some similarities between the two:
-Very similar size (6' 2-3", 215)
-Both were largely buried on the depth chart. Brown behind Hill, Dodge, Kasper, Barton, and Oliver. Davis behind DJK, McNutt, Stross, Sandeman, and Chaney.
-Both spent their sophomore years on second string working with QBs that became starters their junior years.

If Davis can put up a line anywhere close to Brown's 48/966/11, I will be more that pleased.

 

[tm3308]

I forgot about Mo Brown's huge breakout. He works for comparison's sake (though he did miss seven games due to injury in '01). Unfortunately, the other two do not. Solomon was in JuCo as a soph, and Hinkel was hurt much of the year (the primary reason Razor had a big jump). Both of those two were solid receivers at Iowa as freshmen in 2002 as the #3 and #4 options.

They were actually the #4 and #5 options, behind Brown, Clark, and Jones. But they didn't put up anything resembling good numbers as freshmen. Just solid numbers for their role. And they weren't sitting behind guys like DJK or McNutt, either one of whom could have started in 2002.

In addition, this is only going to be Soup's fourth year on the staff. Several of his guys at Michigan "took the leap" in their junior years, with the exception of the supremely talented guys like Manningham and Edwards. Adrian Arrington had all of 12 yards to his name before exploding on the conference as an upperclassman.

Davis is the first real opportunity for a player to make that transformation under Soup, as Soup inherited DJK right away, and got McNutt in his second year, and that's what we've had ever since.

 

[tm3308]

Actually, the more I think about it, the more I like the comparison between Mo Brown and Keenan Davis. I can't recall much about Brown's first two seasons anecdotally, but looking just at the numbers, here are some similarities between the two:
-Very similar size (6' 2-3", 215)
-Both were largely buried on the depth chart. Brown behind Hill, Dodge, Kasper, Barton, and Oliver. Davis behind DJK, McNutt, Stross, Sandeman, and Chaney.
-Both spent their sophomore years on second string working with QBs that became starters their junior years.

If Davis can put up a line anywhere close to Brown's 48/966/11, I will be more that pleased.

I'm actually expecting something more along the lines of McNutt's first year, given that Marvin will be the go-to guy this year (and Brown was the #1 in 2002). Though it is interesting how many parallels there are between Davis and Brown.

 

[homerHAWKeye777]

They were actually the #4 and #5 options, behind Brown, Clark, and Jones. But they didn't put up anything resembling good numbers as freshmen. Just solid numbers for their role. And they weren't sitting behind guys like DJK or McNutt, either one of whom could have started in 2002.

In addition, this is only going to be Soup's fourth year on the staff. Several of his guys at Michigan "took the leap" in their junior years, with the exception of the supremely talented guys like Manningham and Edwards. Adrian Arrington had all of 12 yards to his name before exploding on the conference as an upperclassman.

Davis is the first real opportunity for a player to make that transformation under Soup, as Soup inherited DJK right away, and got McNutt in his second year, and that's what we've had ever since.

To follow up here ...

- Soup's MO is to give talented guys reps early ... however, the focus is on the guys becoming better BLOCKERS and route-runners. Only after they get down the fundamentals do they go to the next step ... where they are assigned the primary looks of the QB.

- In '09 Davis was behind DJK, McNutt, Moeaki, Sandeman, and Reisner. If you think about it ... that's a really exceptionally group of guys. Furthermore, Robinson was a terrific outlet option in the passing game too.

- In '10 Davis was still behind DJK, McNutt, and Reisner. He seemed to split the #3 WR reps a bit with Sandeman. My bet is that Sandeman was higher up because he was a better blocker. Besides, if you recall Sandeman's Orange Bowl performance ... he was easily one of the more underrated Hawkeye WRs.

I simply cannot comprehend why so many fans seem to already be assuming the worst concerning Davis. I think that we should expect that Keenan will have serious butterflies early in the season ... largely due to the pressure to produce in front of friends and family. However, I think that once he focusses more on just "doing his job," playing hard, and having fun ... then I think that he'll do great for us.