The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/698673
THE WOLVERINE 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 127 SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER BIOS POSITION COACHES Chris Partridge begins his first year as Michigan's line- backers and special teams coach. He served as director of player personnel in recruiting since joining the staff in January 2015 until head coach Jim Harbaugh moved him to linebackers coach during the bowl season. Partridge received the 2016 Na - tional Recruiter of the Year award from Scout.com. He arrived at U-M after being the head football coach at New Jersey's Paramus Catholic High School from 2010-14. Partridge led Paramus from being listed 4,250th nationally and 112th in the state of New Jersey to the No. 1 team in the state and No. 4 nationally by USA Today. Before his coaching career at Paramus, Partridge was the defensive line coach and assistant for the special teams at The Citadel in Charleston, S.C. Partridge earned his bachelor's degree in government and law from Lafayette College in 2003, where he later went on to become the secondary coach and assistant to the special teams coordinator. Jay Harbaugh, in his second season with the Wolver - ines as U-M's tight ends and assistant special teams coach, has been around football his entire life. His dad, Jim, is Michigan's head coach, and his uncle, John, is in the NFL leading the Balti - more Ravens. Last season, while working with for- mer special teams coordinator John Baxter, he helped the Wolverines lead the Big Ten and rank third nationally with an average of 28.4 yards per kick return. Kenny Allen also enjoyed an impressive debut as the starting kicker, converting 18 of his 22 field goal attempts and all 46 PATs. Allen's 18 made field goals tied for third in the school's single-season annals, while punter Blake O'Neill earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors. Harbaugh spent the three seasons prior to coming to Michigan under his uncle's tutelage and was part of the coaching staff that won Super Bowl XLVII in 2013, beating his father's San Francisco 49ers team. Harbaugh also spent four seasons as an undergraduate assistant at Oregon State under head coach Mike Riley and interned for the San Francisco 49ers in the scouting depart - ment during the summer of 2011. A native of San Diego, Harbaugh holds a bachelor's degree in sociology from Oregon State. RETURNING PLAYERS KENNY ALLEN • P/K 5th-Sr. • Fenton, Mich. Ht.: 6-3 • Wt.: 210 Career Highlights: Two-year letter - man … Played in 13 games in 2015 … Totaled 78 kickoffs for 4,791 yards, made 18 of 22 field goals and punted once for a career high of 57 yards … Earned 2015 third-team All-Big Ten honors from the media and honorable mention by coaches … Appeared in 11 games in 2014 … Contributed one game at punter in 2013, recording his first career punt for 51 yards. Prep: Attended Fenton High School ... Two-year varsity letterman in football … First-team all-district punter in his senior year. Personal: Born July 8, 1994 ... Enrolled in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, majoring in general studies. ANDREW DAVID • K R-Fr. • Massillon, Ohio Ht.: 5-9 • Wt.: 178 Career Highlights: Redshirted in 2015. Prep: Attended Washington High School … Served as kicker, kickoff spe - cialist and punter … Kicked a school- record 58-yard field goal and also hit 49- and 48-yarders during his senior season … Averaged nearly 40 yards per punt … Rivals.com rated him as a two-star prospect … Listed as a three-star recruit, the No. 45 player in Ohio and the No. 10 kicker in the land by ESPN.com … Was an all- state shortstop on the Washington baseball team. Personal: Born May 9, 1996 … Enrolled in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, major undeclared. ANDREW ROBINSON • LS R-So. • Troy, Mich. Ht.: 5-11 • Wt.: 220 Career Highlights: Made his debut in his only appearance (at Penn State) in 2015 … Did not see game action in 2014 … Redshirted in 2013. Prep: Two-letterman at Troy Athens High School … Was a two-year varsity starter at long snap - per, and also contributed at center … Lettered in lacrosse. Personal: Born March 12, 1996 … Enrolled in the College of Kinesiology, majoring in movement science. SCOTT SYPNIEWSKI • LS R-Jr. • Ottawa, Ill. Ht.: 6-1 • Wt.: 225 Career Highlights: Two-year let - terman … Appeared in 12 games at long snapper in 2015 … Played in 12 games in 2014 … Redshirted in 2013. Prep: Three-year starting long snap - per at Marquette High School … Two-year starter at offen- sive guard and outside linebacker … Ranked as the No. 3 long snapper in the 2013 class by RubioLongSnapping.com … Rated as a two-star prospect by Rivals.com … Listed as the No. 7 long snapper in the nation by ESPN.com. Personal: Born Jan. 26, 1995 … Enrolled in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, majoring in English. RYAN TICE • K/P So. • Saline, Mich. Ht.: 6-1 • Wt.: 181 Career Highlights: Did not see any game action after walking on in 2015. Prep: Contributed at kicker and punter for Saline High School. NEWCOMERS BRADLEY DEEG • LS So. • Plymouth, Mich. Ht.: 6-1 • Wt.: 178 Prep: Played long snapper, wide receiver and defensive back for Plymouth High School … Ranked as the No. 114 player in Michigan by MaxPreps.com. JAMES FOUG • K/P So. • Palo Alto, Calif. Ht.: 5-10 • Wt.: 169 Prep: Played kicker at Palo Alto High School … During his senior campaign, he made 50 of 52 extra points and 2 of 3 field goals … Earned first-team All-Santa Clara Valley Athletic League honors … Also participated in baseball, basketball and cross country. Personal: Born Aug. 18, 1995. QUINN NORDIN • K Fr. • Rockford, Mich. Ht.: 6-0 • Wt.: 200 Prep: Made 19 of 29 field goals (65.5 percent) during his career at Rockford High School, with 14 of those makes occurring in his sophomore season … Had a career-long kick of 51 yards his senior year … Helped lead his team to the state playoffs three consecutive years … Ranked as a three-star recruit, the No. 22 player in Michigan and the No. 1 kicker nationally by Rivals.com. Personal: Born Aug. 16, 1998. ROSTER No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Year Elig. Hometown (High School) 91 Kenny Allen K/P 6-3 210 5th Sr. Fenton, Mich. (Fenton) 16 Andrew David K 5-9 178 So. Fr. Massillon, Ohio (Washington) 38 Bradley Deeg LS 6-1 178 So. So. Plymouth, Mich. (Plymouth) 31 James Foug K/P 5-10 169 So. So. Palo Alto, Calif. (Palo Alto) — Quinn Nordin K 6-0 200 Fr. Fr. Rockford, Mich. (Rockford) 50 Andrew Robinson LS 5-11 220 Jr. So. Troy, Mich. (Troy Athens) 31 Scott Sypniewski LS 6-1 225 Sr. Jr. Ottawa, Ill. (Marquette) 41 Ryan Tice K/P 6-1 181 So. So. Saline, Mich. (Saline) Rookie Quinn Nordin was ranked as the na- tion's No. 1 prep kicker in 2016 by former U-M kicker Brandon Kornblue, who has be- come the authority on specialist recruiting. PHOTO BY BRANDON BROWN