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It's still the off-season and college sports news is, at best, sparse. So to pass the time we're making up our own news. In that vein we're previewing portions of the University of Michigan Football Team's upcoming 2010 Schedule.
Specifically, we're previewing the most dangerous players on each team Michigan will face this year. Some will be on offense, some on defense, and all of them will be players worthy of your scorn. We've got a full 2010 football schedule, so we'll break down the key cog to each opponent one at a time. We've even got a convenient schedule and hatin' guide for you to go off of.
We're getting into the heart of the conference season and with today's installment we're officially over the halfway mark of our little preview series. So today we've got a monster for you. Literally. He's 6 foot 27, 700 pounds. He runs the forty in 3 seconds and the movie Cloverfield was based on his Pop Warner team. Once he took a dump that plugged up the ocean. He's Iowa's starting Pre-Season All-American Defensive End/Tackle Adrian Clayborn and he's the next player to step up on rage rundown.
Who Is He, Exactly?
Clayborn is Iowa's planet sized Defensive End/Tackle who, when not stuffing running games or breaking quarterbacks in half, floats around the galaxy consuming planets as his only means of sustenance. Out of high school Clayborn was a consensus four star DE/DT with offers from all over the Big Ten and, impressively knowing Pelini's Callahan's eye for talent, a Nebraska offer. Clayborn redshirted his freshman year and then went the Brandon Graham route to dominating the Big Ten. In his RS freshman year Adrian played a little and a few plays here and there to let people see some of his talent. As a RS Sophomore, he started to gain notoriety recording 50 tackles and gaining a reputation for being able to find the backfield with consistency.
Then there was last year. Aside from Brandon Graham, Clayborn was the single most dominant force in the Big Ten. In 13 games Clayborn recorded 70 tackles, 20 TFL, and 11.5 sacks. Like all the great ones, Clayborn's game rises with the competition. Against Ohio State, in the Hawkeye's biggest game of the season, Clayborn recorded a career-high 12 tackles at OSU, including then career-best eight solo stops, along with 3 TFLs and a sack. In the Hawkeye's Orange Bowl win over Georgia Tech, Clayborn raised his game another level and posted a new career high for solo tackles with nine, and a pair of sacks. Oh, and against Penn State, he did this:
At the end of the season Clayborn was showered with awards. Unanimous All Big Ten. Orange Bowl defensive MVP. Honorable mention All-American. And now he's a senior, a year older, a year bigger.
Great....
More after the Jump.............
So, Explain Why We Should Hate Him
Because he's the guy that is most likely to actually kill one of our players simply by tackling them. He's basically a cement truck designed by Ferrari. Last season he absolutely lowered the boomstick on Tate Forcier during Michigan's narrow loss to the Hawkeyes, and it's pretty evident why Forcier wasn't in that game at the end. I'm not sure I'd even be able to say my name, much less spell it, after the hits Clayborn dished out. Witness:
You'll notice that the blocker being disposed of like an old Kleenex is Steve Schilling, one of our best offensive linemen. That's not good.
If he isn't blocked, we're screwed. It's as simple as that. If he gets loose in the backfield they'll be taking Tate or Denard off in a box. So there, there are your reasons to hate. Hate our of a need for self preservation.
Give Me His Weaknesses, So That I Might Exploit Them
Yeah... about that.... I really don't know of any. Maybe he gets tired at the end of the game from time to time, but I'm reaching here.
You have to hate him folks. It's just how we roll.