The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN FOOTBALL be selected Big Ten Coach of the Year by his colleagues (while Gary Moeller was most recently named the league's best, in 1992, by writers and broadcasters). Astonishingly, Pur- due's Joe Tiller was Coach of the Year in 1997 (the year Lloyd Carr guided the Wolverines to the national cham- pionship). Hoke is also only the second Michi- Every Monday during the season, TheWolverine.com ranks the top Michigan performers from that weekend's game in a feature we call the "Hot 11." In our first two issues this fall, we gave you the top 11 vote-getters through four weeks of play, and then through eight games. We wrap up the 2011 regular season with the 11 players that drew the most votes over the course of 12 contests. 1. QB Denard Robinson (90 points): The junior completed better than 60.0 percent of his passes in three of Michigan's final four games while throwing seven touchdowns with only three interceptions. He also rushed for 338 yards and six scores in leading U-M to a 3-1 mark in November. Last Rank: No. 1. 2. TB Fitzgerald Toussaint (63): After averaging 64.3 yards rushing in three September games (he missed one due to injury), and 77.5 yards in four October games, Toussaint fin- ished with a flourish, averaging 127.0 yards and 5.5 yards per carry in four November contests while scoring three rushing touchdowns. Last Rank: No. 5. 3. DT Mike Martin (59): Sparked by Martin, who had two tackles for loss among 21 stops in November, the Michigan defense became stronger as the season unfolded, holding its four final-month competitors to 287.0 yards of total offense per game. Last Rank: No. 4. 4. SS Jordan Kovacs (52): Kovacs became less of a difference- maker in October as more teammates emerged in similar roles, but he was critical late in the year, notching four tackles for loss and a sack, with a forced fumble, among 22 tackles in U-M's 3-1 finish. Last Rank: No. T2. 5. WR Jeremy Gallon (45): The redshirt sophomore saw his numbers dwindle some in November with the prominent return of senior Martavious Odoms at receiver, but he still fin- ished with seven receptions for 66 yards and a score. Last Rank: T2. 6. WR Junior Hemingway (39): The fifth-year senior had only five catches in September (though a 165-yard game against Notre Dame) but grew in importance, catching 15 balls for 239 yards in October and 12 for 186 yards and a touchdown in November. Last Rank: No. 8. 7. DE Ryan Van Bergen (35): Perhaps no defender played a bigger role in Michigan's strong finish than Van Bergen, who contributed 18 tackles, eight tackles for loss, four sacks, two pass breakups and a fumble recovery in the final four weeks. Last Rank: NR. 8. TB Vincent Smith (35): Toussaint's play late created fewer and fewer opportunities for Smith, who had season lows in of- fensive touches per game (2.7) and all-purpose yards per game (9.7) during November, but the junior continued to excel as a third-down back. Last Rank: No. 6. 9. C David Molk (32): Michigan's offense accounted for more Senior defensive tackle Mike Martin finished the regular season fourth on the Wolverines in tackles with 54, including 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL than 200 yards on the ground in wins over Illinois (223 yards), Nebraska (238) and Ohio State (277) while permitting just three sacks. Molk, the fifth-year senior center, was the leader of the offensive line. Last Rank: NR. 10. LB Kenny Demens (31): Defensive coordinator Greg Mattison revealed after the Iowa game Nov. 5 that Demens was playing with a sore hamstring. But that didn't slow down the redshirt junior, who would finish with 31 tackles, includ- ing two sacks, in U-M's final four games — his best four-game stretch all year. Last Rank: NR. 11. CB Blake Countess (30): Making his first career start at Iowa, after seeing extensive action at cornerback in Michigan's five previous games, Countess solidified U-M's secondary, and would turn in, arguably, the finest rookie effort at the position since Marlin Jackson in 2001. Last Rank: No. 11. Fell Out: No. 7 WR Roy Roundtree; No. 9 DE Craig Roh; No. 10 FS Thomas Gordon. — Michael Spath DECEMBER 2011 THE WOLVERINE 47 gan coach in school history to win 10 games in his first season in Ann Arbor, joining Fielding H. Yost (11-0 in 1901). Hoke's .833 winning per- centage is also the best mark by a Hot 11: Top Michigan Players Through 12 Games