the enemy 2023

Previously: Quarterback, Running Back, Receivers, Offensive Line, Defensive Line, Linebacker 

We have made it to the end of The Enemy, Ranked 2023. Just like last year, I'm counting DB-shaped HSPs as DBs, but in reality that really only affects one team on this ranking, which is Indiana's "HUSKY". Most teams here have five positions listed with the nickel being included because this is 2023 and most CFB teams play with 5 DBs most all of the time. At the end of the piece I will briefly drop in special teams rankings and then will wrap this whole series up by reviewing what we learned about the opponents on Michigan's 2023 schedule. 

12. East Carolina

This is pretty grim. On the plus side of things, Teagan Wilk and Julius Wood are a pair of returning safeties, two-thirds of last year's safety rotation. On the down side, they weren't particularly special. More concerning: the top four corners from last season and nickel Gerard Stringer all are out the door. Yikes!! The wreckage that remains are the following names: Shavon Revel (ex-JUCO who played sparingly last year), Isaiah Brown-Murray (3*, RS last year), Jonathon Jones (good at FCS Campbell), and TyMir Brown (ex-3* UNC down-transfer who never played for North Carolina). Take your pick of those names, it's likely not going to be pretty! This is bad even for a Group of 5 program and in the context of this list, ECU is easily last. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: more DB rooms]

Previously: Quarterback, Running Back, Receivers, Offensive Line, Defensive Line

Five down, two to go on this year's The Enemy, Ranked. We've covered both lines and all the skill position players on offense, which means it's time to hit linebacker before concluding later this week with secondary. For linebackers in this piece, we will mostly be looking at two starters for each team, MIKE and WILL, only including SAM in the table for teams that actually use a SAM consistently, while others may have a player occupying that job quickly shouted out in the write-up. 

12. East Carolina 

Funny enough, the first team we cover in today's piece is one of the few where I'm listing a SLB in the chart, due to ECU's 3-3-5 defense. Sometimes one of those LBs is an EDGE (which were covered last time), sometimes it's a standard LB, hence the inclusion of a third column above. Like so many other spots on ECU's team, the depth chart is decimated after a wave of attrition following the 2022 season. The plan to plug the gaping holes on the LB depth chart is a mix of internal promotion of seldom used pieces, up-transfers from the FCS, and one down-transfer from the P5, and that reality is why the Pirates are taking up the rear of this piece. 

At the starting level, I tentatively have two internal promotions holding off the two FCS transfers, but I don't think it's conclusive. Treylor Jackson is the one returner who has played more than 100 snaps and that was still only 146 last season as the #4 LB on the depth chart. Mike Edwards III has mostly been used on special teams through his first two seasons in Greenville, so this will be his first substantial go of things if he is to win a starting job. The players pushing them from behind were two excellent FCS LBs, BJ Davis from South Carolina State and TyQuan King from North Carolina A&T. They were very good players at a lower level of football... how do they translate upwards? That SAM spot is held down by the down-transferring and excellently named RaRa Dillworth, who was a disaster at UNC but hopefully can find his footing at ECU. He was a blue chip prospect in 2021, so there is some hope at least, but he is yet another shaky piece on a depth chart entirely composed of unknown commodities. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: an actually solid positional group!]

Previously: Quarterback, Running Back, Receivers, Offensive Line

The Enemy, Ranked now shifts to the defensive side of the ball as we break down Michigan's opponents for the 2023 season. Today we start in the trenches, looking at the opposing defensive lines. While perhaps not quite as grim as offensive line, I can't say I came away from this exercise terribly enthused by the opposing defensive lines. Yet again you can partly chalk that up to the schedule, avoiding Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa, but I also am not sure how great of a year for the B1G on the DL this is in general. Regardless, let's get going: 

12. Bowling Green 

Today we start off with a tight battle for the bottom of the list between BGSU and the team just ahead of them, but I ultimately opted to go with the Falcons in 12th place. Bowling Green's DL last season was a solid group, emerging as one of the strengths of the defense, but now they lose three of four starters and are in for a bit of a rebuild. To make matters worse, Anthony Hawkins, the one returning starter, graded out pretty poorly in PFF's data. We should note that it's not all bad though. DT Dontez Brown and JACK Demetrius Hardamon, who are now leveling up to the starter role, were rotational pieces last season, each logging >250 snaps. They aren't completely inexperienced and both charted pretty well in their appearances.

The other EDGE spot is pretty murky though. I listed Jordan Porter as the starter since he has played the most at Bowling Green, but it could easily be one-time Minnesota transfer Ali Saad or UTSA transfer Chace Davis. Those three are all pretty inexperienced and haven't done much when they've played. As a whole, this defensive line is not in a terrible position for a Gof5 unit, but it's not in a good spot either, with three new starters, multiple players taking on elevated roles, and no proven impact starters. They're not far off from being #11 but I narrowly opted to put them here. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: more defensive lines]