nolan ulizio

Nolan Ulizio
[Eric Upchurch]

Somebody last night noticed amidst the long list of Nittany Lions in the transfer portal the name of Michigan redshirt junior OL Nolan Ulizio. A onetime starter for Michigan, Ulizio lost his job as quickly as he won it in 2017, and virtually disappeared last year behind the two-deep freshmen.

Lorenz's article points out that the transfer portal does not mean a player is certainly leaving. As per the new rule, athletes who ask to be placed in the portal can be contacted by other coaches to discuss a transfer, but that's no guarantee of any bites, or that the player will prefer his transfer options to sticking around. In this case I'm guessing he's gone.

Ulizio was a flier recruit taken in late January 2015 when Harbaugh arrived to find just Grant Newsome and legacy Jon Runyan in the class, and the guys on campus already nearing the end of their eligibility. Until that point Ulizio had been committed to Connecticut with not a lot of other choices. While offensive linemen are the toughest to predict, that's often an effect of having to gain or lose a lot of weight. Ulizio was more of a late riser and big drive blocker who projected to guard down the line. In the context of the 2015 class and the need for OL down the road it was a worthy swing. The bar was set at Reuben Riley. Intelligence was the reason to hope he'd be more.

That hope grew when Ulizio was mentioned after 2016 spring practice as a potential contributor, and momentarily exploded when he was announced as the starting right tackle shortly before the 2017 opener against Florida. Unfortunately that was the peak of his Michigan career. Ulizio's performances over five starts put him in that category of guys who grade out so badly in UFR that talking about it feels harsh, with blame doled out to coaches and universes more so than the player. It turned out that both Juwann Bushell-Beatty and Runyan were superior options, and when Ulizio appeared again it was as a guard in mop-up hour. Just a redshirt sophomore at that point, the early playing time suggested there might be a player in practice who'd translate that to the field eventually. Or maybe Drevno and Frey weren't happy with the other tackles and flung Ulizio out there in late desperation or something. Following that dysfunctional season Drevno was forced out, Frey jumped to his alma mater, and Ulizio had to prove himself to a third OL coach.

By Spring 2018 that seemed increasingly unlikely, as the tackle battle dominated offseason chatter without so much of a breath spent on Nolan. Ulizio was not just behind Runyan and JBB but two redshirt freshmen and true freshman Jaylen Mayfield. A late move inside, though probably a better fit, would also come with more competition. Ulizio's chances of earning a fifth year offer in spring, let alone playing again, were iffy at best with all the youngsters passing him. His chances of finding a good school that would take a tackle who started five games for Michigan and can play right away seem much higher.

Ulizio's exit would mean the Wolverines are down to just Runyan and Reuben Jones (if he's extended a fifth year in spring) from the Hoke-Harbaugh transition class. Michigan is now, by my reckoning, down to 88 scholarships for 2019, with a lot of offseason to go before they're expected to be at 85. With normal attrition still expected that's well ahead of the curve, meaning they have some room to offer a few more guys. The new assistants might have some players in mind, and it wouldn't be surprising if Michigan is currently searching the portal for defensive tackles.

Previously: Podcast 10.0A. Podcast 10.0B. Podcast 10.0C. The Story. Quarterback. Running Back. Wide Receiver. Tight End And Friends.

Depth Chart

LT Yr. LG Yr. C Yr. RG Yr. RT Yr.
Jon Runyan Jr Jr.* Ben Bredeson Jr. Cesar Ruiz So. Mike Onwenu Jr. James Hudson Fr.*
Jalen Mayfield Fr. Chuck Filiaga Fr.* Stephen Spanellis So.* Stephen Spanellis So.* Juwann Bushell-Beatty Sr.*
Andrew Stueber Fr* Andrew Vastardis So.* Phil Paea Fr.* Joel Honigford Fr.* Nolan Ulizio Jr.*

PICKING UP THE PIECES from the very worst Michigan offensive line in living memory—you're off the hook, 2008—is going to be a difficult and unfortunately extended process. The mercifully fired Tim Drevno shot airballs at tackle in his first two recruiting classes, coming up with only flier Nolan Ulizio in Michigan's transition class; this is doubly painful since the only tackle who can block a Rutger recruited by Brady Hoke was Grant Newsome. Newsome will be your senator someday. He will not be on the field this fall, or ever again.

So even if the coaching transition from Drevno to Ed Warinner goes as blindingly well as DJ Durkin to Don Brown, this is going to be a survive-and-advance-down-the-field-a-bit situation. Warinner inherits some potential Dudes on the interior and has an excellent backup plan if something should go awry there. Tackle? Don't talk to me about tackle.

There is some good news. Michigan's late season surge on the ground was preceded by a couple of weeks where they were almost there...

The run game is close to putting it together. Unless they don't in which case I said none of this. But seriously folks: PSU was an average-ish P5 run defense and Michigan's blocking was pretty good, with gains held down by the nonexistent passing game and one guy blowing way too many plays.

... all in all it was probably the best run-blocking OL in Ann Arbor since 2011 or possibly even before. PFF graded out Ben Bredeson and Mike Onwenu at 72/100 or better despite what could not have been acceptable pass pro grades; those guys are legit good on the ground. Add in midseason revelation and locked-in starter Cesar Ruiz promising an organization upgrade at C plus an established elite college OL coach and the words "night" and "day" should be in your lexicon.

Just don't talk to me about tackle.

TACKLE: I TOLD YOU NOT TO TALK TO ME ABOUT THIS

RATING: 1.

Fine! Fine. It's fine. We'll talk about it. Last year's preview featured this totally awesome GIF...

giphy (1)[3]

...and asserted that GIANT COMPUTER-ANIMATED QUESTION MARK [recruiting profile] would bookend Mason Cole. This year the question is who's bookending the Giant Computer-Animated Question Mark.

From the perspective of a program outsider just trying to read tea leaves, the worst case scenario was this: Michigan moves Juwann Bushell-Beatty to left tackle because they have no one else, and they insert Jon Runyan Jr at right tackle because they have no one else. No underclassmen even poke their head in the direction of the job. Michigan gets whatever marginal improvement JBB manages in his fifth year and plays a 6'3", maybe 6'4" guy on the other side.

This was exactly the situation as reported out of spring.

So it's with some relief that I can report this situation has changed slightly. They've slid Runyan over to left tackle, you see, and slid Bushell-Beatty back to the right. The deck chairs are repositioned.

[After THE JUMP: look nobody's paying you to read this, it's ok]

2017 logoo_thumbSPONSOR NOTE. You know what doesn't make me want to drink bleach? HomeSure Lending, obviously. HomeSure Lending has never missed the World Cup or turned the ball over five times in one game. HomeSure Lending just got me a good quote on a mortgage super fast, and that's no reason to imbibe a deadly household chemical. Unlike everything else in my sports life.

Don't drink bleach, kids! It's super bad for you. Also then I won't have as much. This is an ad for a mortgage company that is good at doing its job. UNLIKE SUNIL GULA-

FORMATION NOTES. It's Michigan State.

image

With limited exceptions Michigan was not inclined to (or able to) force MSU out of their 4-3 over with two safeties at 8-10 yards, and so this happened the whole game. This could have been okay, but it was not okay, but that's what all the stuff below is about.

SUBSTITUTION NOTES. O'Korn the whole way at QB. OL was Cole/Bredeson/Kugler/Onwenu/Ulizio until just before the half when JBB came in, and remained. No Runyan or Ruiz this time out. TE rotation was fairly even between Bunting, Wheatley, Gentry, and McKeon, but the latter two got the bulk of the at-bats. Wheatley is still mostly a blocking option since he's got a cast on.

WR was DPJ, Crawford, and Perry with a number of McDoom and Ways snaps. Schoenle did not play. Injury, I assume. FB alternated between Hill and Poggi, as per usual, but Mason got maybe a half-dozen snaps.

RB was about half Higdon, half Evans, with Isaac filling out the remaining snaps. Isaac's fumble obviously limited his playing time.

[After THE JUMP: medium numbers multiplied.]