Games watched

Wisconsin vs Ohio State

Wisconsin Vs Michigan St

Run Blocking

Wisconsin uses primarily an inside zone/gap scheme that requires more power than finesse. Comparing Tippman and Schmitz is an interesting study. Wisconsin and Minnesota have entirely different skills required from their centers. Tippman is more of a power blocker than Schmitz. He definitely gets better vertical movement at the point of attack, but isn’t nearly as smooth laterally as Schmitz. I did see a few plays where Tippman got out over his toes and wound up on the ground. It would be interesting to see how these 2 would operate in the other’s offensive scheme. I’d give Tippman an A for power and a B for lateral skills. I also saw a few plays where he took a poor angle to cutoff a LB.

Pass Blocking

Tippman is a very good pass blocker, but I did catch him leaning over his toes a few times. He’s not as bad as Evan Neal was at Alabama, so this shouldn’t be much of a concern. Tippman has a good anchor and punch, probably better than Schmitz, but not as nimble laterally. This isn’t a big deal for Centers - they pass block in a phone booth.

Giants Fit

Tippman might be a slightly better fit for the Giants than Schmitz. Inside zone, Duo and Power are the bread and butter of the Giants run game where vertical push is critical. Tippman probably won’t be as effective as a puller on sweeps, but as I said in the Schmitz evaluation, it’s rare that a center can do both. As a pass blocker, Tippman will be just fine. Tippman projects as a day 1 starter for the Giants.

As much as scheme fit is important, I like Schmitz a little better. I think he’s a slightly better pass blocker, and Schmitz shows more athleticism on the field pulling and tracking down DBs and LBs. I think power can be developed.

I’d be more than happy to see the Giants draft Tippman and have him anchor the Giants line for the next 5 years.