so you drafted a wolverine

Hello, fan of an NFL team. MGoBlog excruciatingly scouts every Michigan play, and scores them to inform our coverage. Since mi atleta es su atleta now, here we share what we're sharing.

Previously: NT Mazi Smith (1st round, Dallas), TE Luke Schoonmaker (2nd round, Dallas), CB DJ Turner II (2nd round, Cincinnati), K Jake Moody (3rd, San Francisco), DE Mike Morris (5th, Seattle), C Olu Oluwatimi (5th Seattle), OT Ryan Hayes (7th, Miami)

QUICKLY: Outside cornerback with ideal height, good speed and athleticism, terrible ball skills

DRAFT RESULT: Signed as an undrafted free agent by NY Giants. Projected to the 7th round or undrafted free agent.

NFL COMP: Jeff Okudah. They're hardly the same prospect coming out of college, so this is a comp to the Okudah who just got dispensed with for a late pick, and a projection that the version of Green that sticks in the NFL will resemble (there's no point in making comps to guys who don't play in the NFL). Like Okudah, Green's potential is in his great athleticism for his size, and in how you can go a string of games where you think he's putting it all together just for it to unravel again. Despite plenty of experience, the technique and ball skills to translate just haven't sunk in.

WHAT'S HIS STORY? Struggling to compete for the elite cornerbacks, Michigan in 2017-'18 changed their strategy, targeting raw, skinny, tall prospects, and trusting their superior nutrition, s&c, coaching and development, plus a deep focus on man coverage, could recreate a five-star's production. It worked well enough with Channing Stribling, and 2017's Benjamin St-Juste was showing promise. The 4-star version of this guy was St-Juste, or Green's 6'3"/173 classmate in 2018, Myles Sims. The low 3-star version of that guy was 6'2"/180 Vincent Gray, who signed a reserve deal last year with the Saints. The guy who most embodied the 2018 tall-and-skinny turn however was borderline 3*/4* Gemon Green. Texas had shown interest, but Michigan came in hard, and included Green's 2-star twin brother German, whose athleticism had been sapped by a high school injury.

As of the second game of 2020, the Green strategy looked like a total bust. While Gray got on the field first (Sims was quickly gone) as Michigan's third corner in 2019, Green was forced into the starting lineup when star CB Ambry Thomas, at risk because of previous health issues, opted out of the COVID season. Gray was victimized more, but Green was also present for Ricky White Day, when MSU's half-sacked QB could just loft no-look fades downfield and Ricky White would either come down with it or draw a penalty. Except when we totaled it up, Gemon was actually in the positive. There were times when he would run a guy's route for him. There were also times when he'd commit a boggling PI. And times when he'd run a guy's route for him, look back for an interception, then mistime his jump and give up most of a touchdown. A move to Cover 3 midseason, necessitated by injuries and depth issues at safety, undid a lot of the good. He was still, by far, Michigan's best cornerback, and we predicted good things for 2021.

It wasn't hard to root for the twins either, especially for fans who interacted with the lady with the "GREENS MOM" jersey, a self-appointed ambassador for all things Michigan, and the recipient of a pair of giant, sweaty hugs just outside the players' tunnel immediately after every home game.

Green also presented a problem for our scoring, because he was actually in position to break these up, then just didn't make the play. Grading by likelihood of a PBU instead of actual results had served us well in the past—it predicted Gray's problems when PFF had him one of the top-performing corners in 2019, for example. That should have presaged a Green breakout, but into 2021 the disparity between should be/was continued. He also struggled with the move to Cover 3/Pattern-matching—remember his attributes were all supposed to make him a superior man coverage guy for a defense that ran 80% Cover 1. The infuriatingly constant trickle of first yards down the field on 8-yard hitches was mostly on Green playing off coverage with a constant fear of getting Ricky White'd again. When DJ Turner II emerged, Green was relegated to 3rd corner, then was rumored to be injured.

Returning for a 5th season, now with Gray moved on, Green again drew into the starting lineup. He wiped out Hawa'ii and UConn, and was so thoroughly prepared for Maryland's (very good) receiver I suggested Gemon might have a career as a WR coach after this. He was mostly avoided until MSU managed to Moss him twice, opening the door for freshman Will Johnson. After the game Green was assaulted by Michigan State's players while trying to get through the tunnel to administer the weekly hug, thrown up against a wall and attacked with a helmet. The resulting concussion kept Green out of the next game, and Johnson used the opportunity to once again relegate Gemon to second string. He still played plenty, and performed well down the stretch. Michigan tried to convince him to come back for a 6th year (as German plans to), but when you're an athlete peddling upside, sticking around in college into your mid-20s isn't going to help your case.

POSITIVES: Height and length are ideal. Solid tackler, physical at the line of scrimmage. Fluid hips and good speed for his size. Experienced in every type of coverage. Great attitude—"football guy"—and family who try to make themselves assets to their organization. When comfortable can absolutely dominate routes.

NEGATIVES: Ball skills. Overly conservative. Often loses his feel for the game. Doesn't get off receiver blocks.

Hello, fan of an NFL team. MGoBlog excruciatingly scouts every Michigan play, and scores them to inform our coverage. Since mi atleta es su atleta now, here we share what we're sharing. Previously: TE Luke Schoonmaker, C Olu Oluwatimi, OT Ryan Hayes, NT Mazi Smith, CB DJ Turner II, K Jake Moody

QUICKLY: Powerful and versatile OLB/DE/Rush DT.

DRAFT PROJECTION: 4th-5th Round.

NFL COMP: Chris Wormley. Even if Wormley hadn't played at Michigan this would be the comparison, since Wormley was drafted by the Ravens, and picked up by the Steelers, to play the same position in the same system as Morris.

WHAT'S HIS STORY? The position was called "Anchor" and we trusted Don Brown knew what he was doing whenever he offered a prospect there. Kaleb Ramsey, Harold Landry, and Zach Allen did it for him at Boston College. Chris Wormley, Rashan Gary, Kwity Paye, and Aidan Hutchinson all starred in turn at the role, a kind of strongside DE-plus whose job it was to soak up attention from the tight end and tackle so the system's safety-sized SAM (a Matt Milano, Jabrill Peppers, or Khaleke Hudson) could spend an extra beat in coverage then fly down to collect what spilled.

With Brown's hit rate at the position already well established, nobody batted an eye when Brown raided FSU for the high-3-star son of former Seminoles star (and recruiting coordinator) Mike Morris. Junior had been committed to the Noles since his freshman year of high school, but Texas A&M had purchased Jimbo Fisher, FSU's interest was partly a courtesy to his father, and Morris had expanded to a reported 6'6"/250, stalling his projections as schools wondered if he was maybe more of a tackle. An offer to play an outside tweener position was too good a fit to pass up. On our end the recruiting comp was slam dunk Chris Wormley because,

Wormley was a jumbo strongside end with the ability to play three-tech. He was a premiere tight-end mauler and superior run defender as an anchor; as a rusher he was useful but not explosive.

Since the tight ends had Paye and Hutchinson to deal with, Morris was put into development. Another son of a pro, Taylor (son of Reagan) Upshaw, drew into the lineup over Morris when the stars were both hurt in 2020. Since Upshaw was a B run stopper with absolutely zero pass-rushing ability, that reflected poorly on the rest of the depth chart. The few backup snaps that Hutch allowed to slip by him in 2021 were split among several candidates, Morris among them, but grading suggested the job should be Morris's only. He was also carving out a niche as Michigan's quasi-DT in Mike Macdonald's 5-2 sets, averaging 25 snaps a game and altogether starting to look like another Don Brown hit.

Mike's name shot to the tip of Michigan tongues in spring 2022. For one, Hutchinson had been joined in going pro by breakout rush edge David Ojabo, and "Who's going to rush the passer?" became the program's #1 panic point. For two, Mike was the younger brother of Mimi Bolden-Morris, the first female GA at any Power 5 program. The consensus was Mike Morris was going to replace Aidan Hutchinson, and while he wasn't going to be a gamebreaker, he was clearly a team leader, an effectual pass-rusher, and one of Michigan's best players. Had he not been the only good option at edge, Morris probably would have also been able to keep that 3rd DT job, which went to Upshaw. It played out pretty much how it was scouted: Morris was excellent against the run, effectual, though mostly a bull-rusher, on passing downs, and several notches above anyone else. He also began demonstrating an uncanny knack for timing bat-downs.

This was a Problem until mid-November, when Morris, still inexplicably on the field in garbage time Nebraska, got his ankle rolled trapped under Upshaw. Fortunately for the Wolverines, While Morris tried to go in the Fiesta Bowl, he was clearly playing hurt, and had to come off the field. That shouldn't be held against him, but when you're only the starter one year and you miss Illinois, Ohio State, the B10 Championship, and the Playoff game, it's going to be.

Like last year's son-of-a-pro/classmate Chris Hinton, there was a strong consensus outside of the program that Morris should put another year on film, and as with Hinton that conflicted with vibes from a program treating him like they were already on borrowed time. Morris clearly made a mistake in trying to compete in the Combine while clearly still injured. A smart enough GM shouldn't have trouble identifying what Morris is, though. He's the Anchor.

POSITIVES: Powerful and very quick-witted 3-4 DE who can dominate at the point of attack and make life easy on his linebackers. High motor, team leader, scion of a football family who carries himself like a pro. Versatility to play DT, could be a plus NFL pass-rushing 3-tech as well as a 4i or 5-tech. Great feet and length destroy stretch zone blocking. Can drop into coverage. Height and vertical contribute to a lot of batted passes.

NEGATIVES: Was miscast as Michigan's best pass-rusher (out of necessity). Can play outside but needs to be a bull-rusher and back-protector. Tweener who's more valuable to 3-4 schemes. End of the year injury robbed NFL of the tape they most wanted to evaluate, and was clearly still hampered at the combine.

Hello, fan of an NFL team. MGoBlog excruciatingly scouts every Michigan play, and scores them to inform our coverage. Since mi atleta es su atleta now, here we share what we're sharing.

Quickly: Tall former HS TE who moved to OL and became Michigan's starting LT for each of the past two seasons, a capable performer in both the run and passing game but who was never the feature of the line. 

Draft Projection: Hayes appears to be in the later round territory (5th-7th), with a decent chance of slipping into the UDFA zone. Hayes was a solid starter for Michigan who earned All-B1G honors, but he never seriously threatened for first team honors nor was ever considered the best OL on his own offensive line. He has multiple years of starting experience on an elite NCAA line with ideal size for the tackle position, but his results against elite pass-rushers leave reason for concern. Hayes lacks the sort of high-end traits scouts are looking for but his experience and success at the collegiate level may be enough to get him a later round draft slot and if not, a free agent deal to get his shot in a training camp setting. 

NFL Comp: I am not an NFL OL or NFL Draft expert, but I will note that Teven Jenkins and Brady Christensen are two comparables I saw pop up in scouting reports of Hayes when I was collecting material for the "what others say" section. 

What's his story: Ryan Hayes arrived at Michigan in the fall of 2018 as a 4* in-state recruit out of Traverse City, part of a two-man tackle class with Jalen Mayfield (2021 3rd round pick), during the brief (second) tenure of Greg Frey. Frey was known for taking massively tall HS tight ends who brought athleticism but lacked muscle and trying to turn them into future starting tackles. He didn't stay at Michigan long enough to see the project out but both tackles he recruited in that class eventually became starters. Of the two, Hayes was even more raw than Mayfield, the ultimate Frey style tackle recruit at 6'7" and somewhere between 255 and 265 in his HS days. 

The expectation was that Hayes would spend many years in the Crock Pot marinating, needing to add immense amounts of weight and muscle to be in playing shape. Which is why it was moderately surprising to see it be Hayes who got a shot to start at LT at the outset of the 2019 season when Jon Runyan Jr. was injured, only one year into his collegiate career. His first appearance against Middle Tennessee State was shockingly good for a player who was still inexperienced at tackle and skinny, but that was followed up by a sharp come-down against Army. Michigan then had a bye week, Runyan returned for Wisconsin, and Hayes went back on the shelf. 

Hayes was next seen in 2020, his RS So. more year, starting at LT opposite his classmate Mayfield at RT. He played two games and didn't look particularly great but then got injured and his season was finished, as Michigan only played six games in the COVID year. It wasn't until 2021 that Hayes finally became a week-in, week-out starter, which was roughly around the time we'd always expected Hayes to emerge anyway. That season he rounded into a solid LT, putting together a statement game against Washington to begin the year. Hayes proved himself easily able to defeat linebackers and bad DEs, but was ripped apart in brutal fashion by PSU's Arnold Ebiketie (2nd round pick, 2022), the first elite, NFL-caliber passrusher he faced that year. We all were on edge for Hayes in The Game, but he had few problems, taking care of the Buckeyes and helping Michigan snap their rivalry drought. For his efforts, Hayes was named 2nd Team All-B1G by the coaches and got an honorable mention from the media. 

Hayes opted to return to Michigan for his fifth year in 2022, one of three returning starters on the defensive front and an anchor of the line at LT, with Michigan plugging multiple faces into the RT spot after the departure of Andrew Steuber. Hayes missed week one against Colorado State, but then returned to being himself, a solid tackle in every phase of the game. The Michigan running game was right-handed this season, built around the interior presence of RG Zak Zinter and C Olu Oluwatimi, so Hayes didn't get as many moments to shine as a mauler, but he held the blindside well and posted consistently strong grades in our UFRs. His performance against Michigan State was a highlight, followed by injury against Rutgers, before returning to close the year well, including a second-straight excellent showing against Ohio State. He was named 2nd Team All-B1G by the coaches and 3rd Team All-B1G by the media. 

Positives: Experienced, veteran tackle with who is smart and possesses decent athleticism, strong in the run game and a decent pass protector too. 

Negatives: Shorter arms and limits on his athleticism and playing strength have left him vulnerable to elite pass rushers and limit his upside at tackle. 

[After THE JUMP: What others say, grading, video, and final thoughts]