2023 spring game

2 hours and 20 minutes

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1. Michigan Spring Game - Offense

starts at 1:00

The spring game happened and most of the starters sat for most of it. JJ had one bad interception but otherwise looked like JJ. Tuttle looked pretty good, him and Davis Warren look at least ok. Apparently Alex Orji has a downfield passing game?? Seth's takeaway of the backup QBs was - let's not get JJ hurt. Ben Hall shined at running back and looked like he might get some legitimate carries this season, and especially in future seasons. Semaj Morgan might be a good end-around weapon. Frederick Moore was a steal. Former walk-on Peyton O'Leay looked like a guy and he made some plays, he out-muscled Amorion Walker on the two-point conversion. Loveland is the guy at tight end but he only played for a quarter (Jake Butt thinks they're alike). None of the transfer offensive linemen are on campus yet so Greg Crippen and Raheem Anderson played center - they both looked good. The guards are young but it's fine because Keegan and Zinter have those spots locked down. Tackle was a little bit concerning, they were letting guys through all day. Sherrone Moore seemed to have a really decent feel for play calling - an improvement over last year's spring game.

[The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP]

Team Maize defeated Team Blue down at the Big House today in Michigan Football's 2022 Spring Game by a final score of 22-21, winning on a two-point conversion and an ultimate fourth down defensive stand. The weather was cold and chilly and Michigan was without the likes of stars Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, but a number of young players and new additions made themselves felt in the narrative of the game. What does it ultimately mean? Probably very little! Do I still have takes on it? Of course! Here's a short collection of instant takes, before Seth and Brian comb through the tape this week: 

[Bryan Fuller]

OFFENSE

Peyton O'Leary IS Cooper Kupp. By the time O'Leary snatched the game-winning two point pass, he was already becoming the player of the game, but his closing heroics for Team Maize cemented it. O'Leary was catching balls from both JJ McCarthy and Davis Warren, finding ways to get himself open all game long, including when (often) matched up on Amorion Walker, recipient of so much spring praise. O'Leary was the most notable receiver on the field and the most notable player in the game's narrative arc, so he gets our imaginary MVP award for today. 

Run, Jack, Run!! Maybe the most notable element of transfer QB Jack Tuttle's game that stood out today was the willingness and inclination to run the ball. The newcomer from Indiana by way of Utah got the start for Team Blue and from the very first play of the game, Tuttle was comfortable running with it. That play was designed to give him the chance to keep it, but he was also scrambling while on the run quite often too, and looked plausible at doing it. He had a couple nice throws (one to AJ Barner down the seam) and one ugly decision (a backfoot heave under pressure that was INT'd), but for me it was the mobility that I was intrigued by the most. 

Benjamin Hall's hello. Hall, a burly RB out of Georgia, was perhaps the most controversial recruit in the 2023 class, an early take by Mike Hart with low recruiting rankings who slipped down his HS depth chart during the course of his senior season. Was Hart stupid to take Hall, or had Michigan found a diamond in the rough? The answer varied depending on who you talked to and it will be years before we know the real answer, but at least for today, Mike Hart has to be pleased with what he saw. Hall looked like possibly the best back on the field today, a game that did include older RBs Tavierre Dunlap and Kalel Mullings, picking up what the OL was giving him and accelerating in the open field for a near-long TD (he punched it in from the goal line two snaps later). There probably won't be too many non-Corum/Edwards snaps this season and it's a crowded depth chart of players vying for what remains, but Hall made a loud opening statement today. 

Interior OL plowing. I thought the group of Raheem Anderson, Gio El-Hadi, and Karsen Barnhart were excellent opening up rushing room for Kalel Mullings and Hall for Team Blue. It's hard to tell live who they were going up against (that's where a rewatch will be most useful), but they were opening holes with decent frequency. I didn't notice the IOL on Team Maize as much but for the decently experienced maulers on Team Blue, it was a good showing. I liked Anderson in particular on first watch, but again, that's subject to change upon further review. 

Your regularly scheduled JJ update. I know everyone who didn't see the game mostly wants to hear about JJ McCarthy so I will indulge you, even if it's not terribly interesting. JJ was wearing a white jersey, which seemed to indicate he may play QB for both teams, like Cade McNamara did last year, but he ended up playing only for Team Maize. JJ looked fine, comfortable throwing on the move and mostly like the player we've seen before.. He overthrew a receiver, leading to an interception, but his day ended on a sweet TD pass to Jake Thaw at the end of the first half. Not much else to say. 

[Bryan Fuller]

DEFENSE

CB2 candidates flash traits but not completeness. The various candidates for the second outside corner spot all had moments that may indicate a good future player, but it appeared that no one is quite there yet. Ja'Den McBurrows may have been the most impressive, with a great open field tackle on a bubble screen, but we should note he was playing more nickel than outside corner. Walker was playing outside corner and got beaten often by O'Leary in the second half, but Walker found himself in position quite a bit, which is the big first step. Finishing PBUs/not being too handsy were more of the issue, and he did drop a tailor-made interception he had in the bread basket. Myles Pollard had an INT when Davis Warren missed the hole shot as well. Long story short: a lot of players had moments, but no one yet looks like a stud. Luckily, they have many months to continue improving. 

EDGE defenders have a nice day. As a whole for both teams, the EDGE defenders soundly won their battles against the offensive tackles today. Coastal Carolina transfer Josiah Stewart was probably the most dominant, getting around the corner and causing havoc in a way that was noticeable. Sophomore Derrick Moore also had a strong game, seeming to have made some amount of improvement in the offseason. I also scribbled down Kechaun Bennett for a stop and Kris Jenkins, when playing, had a couple plays that jumped off the screen coming around the edge too. 

Kenneth Grant, you have my attention. We've got some clips here: 

God’s Gift To Football pic.twitter.com/cm3ReQrv57

— Bryan Mac (@Bry_Mac) April 1, 2023

And again: 

For anyone wondering why Kenneth Grants name is all over their timelines #GoBlue #SpringGame pic.twitter.com/vx810Ndvm3

— Did JJ Break The Record? (@JJRecordCount) April 1, 2023

Yes one of those was against Dominik Guidice and yes I don't care. Men that size who can do things like that are fun. One more note about younger DTs: I thought Rayshaun Benny had a strong day too for Team Maize. 

Various linebackers did various linebacker things. I don't have anything too cohesive for this point but linebackers popped up in my notes here and there so I wanted to shout them out. Nikhai Hill-Green got toasted by Matt Hibner on a long catch and run mesh route that would've been a TD had Hibner not fallen over, but NHG also stuffed Davis Warren on a 4th & Goal keeper. Ernest Hausmann popped up for a great open field tackle, Jimmy Rolder delivered a hit on a scrambling Jack Tuttle that I'd prefer not to see in an exhibition game, and Micah Pollard brought heat up the gut on a blitz on one snap I noted. 

Keshaun Harris makes the big play. Defensive MVP in this game, or at least the guy who made the highest leverage play if we're pretending this was a game that meant anything, was Keshaun Harris. On 4th down with the game on the line, Harris read the Team Blue pass a mile away, jumped the route, and delivered the game-ending PBU. Congratulations to the walk-on grad student for sealing the (meaningless) glory. 
 

[Patrick Barron]

BONUS TAKES

Get better nameplates for future spring games. The letters on the nameplates of the jerseys today were flying off in the breeze. At one point Josiah Stewart's last name was down to "Stewa" and several other players had letters peeling off. I know it's an exhibition game but don't we have money for jerseys that don't look like they were purchased off a shady Chinese website for one quarter the price of official team apparel? 

A new meme is born. Donovan Edwards wasn't playing but he may have given us the most memorable moment from today: 

When you see a ball pic.twitter.com/Arz3120SSP

— Bryan Mac (@Bry_Mac) April 1, 2023

Move over Leonardo DiCaprio, we have a new pointing meme in town. 

Jake Thaw plays hide-and-seek. This year's version of Darrius Clemons pulling out the phone for the group selfie was Thaw catching the TD from McCarthy and trying to hide behind the goalpost. I have to assume Thaw is calling this celebration "the easter egg". 

Michigan Football takes the field in front of an audience for the first time in calendar 2023 tomorrow, with a pair of teams drawn up from the roster competing in the annual spring game. Last year was a humorous affair, perhaps best remembered for Jim Harbaugh playing the role of referee... I have not seen any indication if that will happen again (Darrius Clemons whipping out the phone was another highlight). Regardless of whether we get any more borderline meme-able moments, there is plenty to learn despite this being coined by some as the most boring spring in recent Michigan Football memory. Just like last season, we've got seven storylines to watch for tomorrow: 

1.) IS AMORION WALKER GOD REINCARNATE?

Perhaps the only "hole" on the roster is at the 2nd outside corner spot after Michigan was unable to keep either Gemon Green or DJ Turner II away from the NFL and then couldn't land their top target in the transfer portal. If you buy the spring chatter, then those results are A-OK because Amorion Walker is the answer we've been looking for. The lanky wide receiver turned corner had interest from Alabama in the recruiting process as a DB, so there is some background, and the program has labeled him an athletic freak (T-Minus five months until Bruce Feldman gets word). Still, we, the viewing public, haven't seen him play much corner in his time at Michigan, a snap here or there last fall but that was it. The spring game will be his big introduction. 

Walker isn't the only corner worth watching, but he's the guy we've heard the most about. Will Johnson and Mike Sainristil have starting spots locked up and then there's a group of players who we went into the offseason wondering about. Walker has emerged as the player getting the hype but I will have my eyes out for Ja'Den McBurrows as well, in addition to Myles Pollard or any other of the young DBs. Michigan's roster is not exactly loaded at WR (more on that later), but there are several strong starters who we have a good reading on; any reps that Walker/McBurrows/Pollard take against Cornelius Johnson or Roman Wilson will be worth paying attention to. 

[Bryan Fuller]

2.) The depth RB rotation

Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards are not likely to play much, if at all (Corum is not available) tomorrow, meaning that we'll get a healthy dose of the reserve RBs and a read out on who could be getting the third and fourth string carries. CJ Stokes enters as the "incumbent", but his usage was greatly limited as a true freshman in 2022. Now with a full offseason to polish his game and get stronger, we'll get a good look at sophomore Stokes and whether he's in line for a larger role in 2023. He's been getting some positive buzz in the spring chatter and while his role will obviously be limited in the regular season with the quality of the two players ahed of him, Stokes has a lot to prove about not just this upcoming season, but his long term future on the RB depth chart with talented players younger than him in the program or on the way. 

The same could be said about Tavierre Dunlap, a back who is a year older than Stokes. After arriving in the 2021 recruiting class as a burlier complement to Edwards, Dunlap has seldom seen the field as a running back at Michigan. He carried the ball seven times over two games in '21 and then got nine carries in '22, appearing on special teams quite a bit more. There hasn't been a lot of momentum for him in his Michigan career and it probably wasn't a great sign that Kalel Mullings was the preferred mooseback when he wasn't needed for LB depth. If Dunlap wants a role in those sorts of situations this season, spring is a good place to start (the same could be said for Stokes too). 

The spring game also represents an opportunity to get a glimpse of freshmen early enrollees Cole Cabana and Benjamin Hall, depending on how much they play (there are rumors that Cabana is injured). Hall is likely in the same bucket as Dunlap in terms of competing for whatever few short yardage opportunities exist this season, though in all likelihood, he will be relegated to garbage time. Cabana could have an AJ Henning style gadget role as a true freshman as a receiver out of the backfield and his usage in the spring game is thus of interest, if Cabana plays (again, don't know if he will). 

[AFTER THE JUMP: More storylines!]