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*Alan Branch
College: Michigan Number: 80
Height: 6-6 Weight: 330
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Overview
A mountain of a man, Branch is big, strong and aggressive, and opposing offensive linemen know they are always in for a long day against the outstanding run stuffer. Branch's importance to the team can't be measured by his statistics. The true gauge is the success of others around him, as Branch is known for his ability to consistently tie up multiple blockers and shut down the inside running game.
Branch's dominance in the middle was the major reason for the team's success on defense in 2006. The front wall held opponents to under 50 yards rushing in 11 of 13 games, including two (Penn State and Northwestern) in which there were negative rushing yard totals. The Wolverines led the nation in rush defense, allowing opponents only 43.38 yards per game, and finished 10th nationally by giving up only 268.31 total yards, a marked improvement over the 2005 season in which Michigan finished 41st in the nation in run defense (137.33 ypg) and 36th in total defense (345.17 ypg).
With Branch filling up the middle, Wolverines pass rushers led the Big Ten Conference and placed fourth in the nation with an average of 3.23 quarterback sacks in 2006. The defense also led the conference by averaging 7.15 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
Branch was a standout two-way lineman and fullback at Cibola High School. He earned a five-star rating and ranked sixth in the nation among defensive linemen, according to Max Emfinger's recruiting service. Rivals.com awarded Branch a four-star rating and ranked him the 20th-best offensive tackle in the country. He was named Gatorade Player of the Year in New Mexico, earning All-State and All-District accolades as a junior and senior, picking up team MVP honors both of those seasons. He was also named Best Defensive Lineman at Michigan's summer football camp in 2003.
Branch recorded more than 200 tackles with 15 stops behind the line of scrimmage, including six sacks, forced four fumbles with two recoveries and one interception in his career. He also returned five punts for touchdowns. Branch totaled 72 tackles and had 2.5 sacks and one fumble recovery as a senior. He also rushed for 342 yards on 45 carries, scoring three touchdowns and caught 15 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns that season.
Branch posted 65 tackles and had four fumble recoveries on defense to go along with 13 receptions for 242 yards and four touchdowns on offense as a junior. In addition to football, he lettered three times in basketball, picking up All-District first-team and All-State second-team honors as a junior. He averaged 13 points and six assists as a senior, averaging 17.5 points per game his junior year. As a sophomore, Branch garnered first-team All-District and second-team All-Metro accolades for the hoops team.
Michigan won an intense recruiting battle for Branch's services in 2004. The true freshman appeared in 12 games, seeing action at both defensive tackle and guard. He managed only five tackles (4 solos), but two were good for sacks totaling 9 yards in losses.
Branch was awarded the Richard Katcher Award as Michigan's top defensive lineman in 2005. He started the team's final 10 games, lining up at nose guard vs. Eastern Michigan, Wisconsin and Michigan State before shifting to left defensive end for the rest of the schedule. He posted a career-high 31 tackles (13 solos) with five sacks, seven stops for losses and three quarterback pressures. He also caused and recovered a fumble.
In 2006, The NFL Draft Report recognized Branch's dominance in the middle, awarding the left defensive tackle All-American Dream Team honors. He added first-team All-Big Ten Conference recognition. The front wall allowed only 43.38 yards per game rushing, as opponents would score only five times on the ground. He collected 25 tackles (17 solos) with a pair of sacks, two pressures and six stops behind the line of scrimmage. He caused two fumbles, batted away two passes, intercepted another and recovered three fumbles.
In 37 games at Michigan, Branch started 16 times at nose guard (left tackle) and seven at left defensive end. He recorded 61 tackles (34 solos) with nine sacks for minus-38 yards and five quarterback pressures. He registered 15 stops for losses totaling 59 yards, as he recovered four fumbles and caused three others. Branch also had two pass deflections and one interception.
Analysis
Positives: Has a thick chest, big back, broad shoulders and very big arms and hands. He has a good bubble, wide hips, thick thighs and calves...Tall, physical and powerful athlete with very good flexibility for a player of his size...Has good change of direction agility and moves well in the open...Can be explosive coming off the snap when he remains focused, and is a good pursuit player with nimble feet working down the line...Has an instinctive feel for the ball, but needs to keep his head in the game in order to have success...Can simply dominate the line of scrimmage and force teams to abandon their interior ground game because of his ability to occupy space and handle multiple blockers...Shows very good determination working down the line and likes the physical aspect of playing in the trenches...Can be sudden and create advantage that he will retain...Shows good change of direction agility and recovers quickly coming off the ground...Uses his hands well to get a good push off the defender and shocks blockers back with his strength and forceful hand jolt...Can split double teams consistently with leverage. He is quick to recover and create a pile...Is almost always double teamed, but once he sets his anchor, he is impossible to move out...Knows his job is to occupy multiple blockers, yet with his defensive end experience he could be quite effective playing end in a 3-4 alignment, bringing to mind New England's Ty Warren ...Has the quick lateral initial step and strength to string plays wide and shows good body control when changing direction...Plays with good leverage and flexibility, knowing how to use his size and long arms to engulf the ball carrier...Will collide and wrap with good force and can be a decent striker in tight quarters if he chooses to use his hands more often...The team held opponents to 43.38 yards per game rushing in 2006, thanks largely to Branch's ability to not only tie up multiple blockers, but to also engulf the ball carrier...Plays with very good leverage and when he keeps his pad level down, Branch can hold the point... Gets such a strong push off the snap, offensive linemen are quickly neutralized and the inside rush lanes get clogged...Has a good concept for taking angles and gets a good push when he sees the lane...Seemed more acceptable to sitting back in run containment in 2006, but this player can really get to a quarterback when he cuts it loose...Has a good feel for the offensive scheme and can react and get back in the play if he over-pursues...Shows good vision to locate the ball moving laterally,
Negatives: Would be even quicker if he dropped some bulk, but he uses his frame well to get leverage and defeat blocks...Learns plays with minimal reps, but is more comfortable with practice reps rather than learning plays in the classroom (better when plays are explained rather than when having to digest the playbook)...When he gets lazy or runs out of gas, he will push and lean and is prone to disappearing from the action for long stretches...When he gets too high in his stance, he might have a strong hand punch, but fails to use them effectively to defeat the low blocks and will then get taken off his feet...Has those naturally strong hands that simply obliterate his opponent, but he needs to shoot them more often and be quicker to reset vs. counter moves and also must use them more to protect his legs from cut blocks...Might get a little out of control at times, but has a quick burst to recover and level the passer...Will lose sight of the ball at times when he has to handle double teams (sometimes gets too caught up in destroying the blockers and forgets about the ball).
Compares To: SHAUN ROGERS-Detroit...While Branch is much quicker than Rogers, both have the natural ability to tie up multiple blockers and still shut down the interior running game. Some liken Branch to John Henderson due to their quickness and tall frame, but Branch is much more physical with his tackles and simply engulfs opponents when he makes a hit. While he might be better suited for a two-gap alignment, Branch has shown good success moving out and rushing the quarterback as a defensive end in a 3-4 formation.
