Fall Roster Overanalysis 2021
This almost feels normal. Michigan waited until all my Kickstarter backers had their copies of HTTV 2021 (link is only for the backers) and then released the fall rosters.
The only piece of actual news-like substance on it was Sammy Faustin was not listed:
One significant change includes Sammy Faustin not being on the roster.
— Isaiah Hole (@isaiahhole) August 6, 2021
Per a team spokesman: "Due to medical reasons, Sammy decided to step away from the team and will reevaluate after this year. He will remain on athletic aid."
MORE: https://t.co/id60ehQub3
Wishing him the best, and on to the board, with a reminder that all weight gained is twitch-tastic musculature and all weight lost was just getting in the way.
QUARTERBACK | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | GS/GP | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 17 to 18 | 18 to 19 | 19 to 20 | 20 to 21 |
Alan Bowman | 16/19 | 208 | 210 | 210 | 215 | 205 | +2 | +0 | +5 | -10 |
Cade McNamara | 1/5 | - | 206 | 205 | 205 | 212 | - | -1 | +0 | +7 |
Dan Villari | 0/0 | - | - | 215 | 227 | 235 | - | - | +12 | +8 |
J.J. McCarthy | 0/0 | - | - | - | 190 | 197 | - | - | - | +7 |
RUNNING BACK | ||||||||||
Player | GS/GP | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 17 to 18 | 18 to 19 | 19 to 20 | 20 to 21 |
Hassan Haskins | 8/22 | 202 | 212 | 220 | 220 | 220 | +10 | +8 | +0 | +0 |
Blake Corum | 1/6 | - | - | 180 | 200 | 200 | - | - | +20 | +0 |
Donovan Edwards | 0/0 | - | - | - | 190 | 202 | - | - | - | +12 |
Tavierre Dunlap | 0/0 | - | - | - | 196 | 222 | - | - | - | +26 |
WIDE RECEIVER | ||||||||||
Player | GS/GP | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 17 to 18 | 18 to 19 | 19 to 20 | 20 to 21 |
Daylen Baldwin | 19/28 | 200 | 208 | 210 | 210 | 219 | +8 | +2 | +0 | +9 |
Ronnie Bell | 16/32 | 170 | 182 | 184 | 190 | 192 | +12 | +2 | +6 | +2 |
Mike Sainristil | 4/19 | - | 175 | 183 | 183 | 185 | - | +8 | +0 | +2 |
Cornelius Johnson | 3/18 | - | 195 | 209 | 205 | 211 | - | +14 | -4 | +6 |
Roman Wilson | 0/6 | - | - | 175 | 180 | 180 | - | - | +5 | +0 |
AJ Henning | 1/6 | - | - | 183 | 185 | 185 | - | - | +2 | +0 |
Andrel Anthony | 0/0 | - | - | - | 175 | 185 | - | - | - | +10 |
Cristian Dixon | 0/0 | - | - | - | 187 | 197 | - | - | - | +10 |
TIGHT END | ||||||||||
Player | GS/GP | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 17 to 18 | 18 to 19 | 19 to 20 | 20 to 21 |
Joel Honigford | 0/18 | 275 | 295 | 284 | 305 | 257 | +20 | -11 | +21 | -48 |
Luke Schoonmaker | 0/17 | 225 | 231 | 242 | 252 | 250 | +6 | +11 | +10 | -2 |
Erick All | 2/17 | - | 225 | 229 | 242 | 245 | - | +4 | +13 | +3 |
Matthew Hibner | 0/0 | - | - | 230 | 233 | 244 | - | - | +3 | +11 |
Louis Hansen | 0/0 | - | - | - | 232 | 252 | - | - | - | +20 |
OFFENSIVE LINE | ||||||||||
Player | GS/GP | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 17 to 18 | 18 to 19 | 19 to 20 | 20 to 21 |
Andrew Vastardis | 4/17 | 311 | 317 | 319 | 296 | 294 | +6 | +2 | -23 | -2 |
Andrew Stueber | 8/20 | 314 | 323 | 334 | 339 | 338 | +9 | +11 | +5 | -1 |
Chuck Filiaga | 6/27 | 345 | 341 | 341 | 345 | 337 | -4 | +0 | +4 | -8 |
Griffin Korican | 0/6 | 305 | 305 | 305 | 320 | 316 | +0 | +0 | +15 | -4 |
Ryan Hayes | 4/14 | 252 | 271 | 299 | 302 | 307 | +19 | +28 | +3 | +5 |
Trevor Keegan | 0/5 | - | 310 | 316 | 327 | 324 | - | +6 | +11 | -3 |
Nolan Rumler | 0/1 | - | 290 | 321 | 328 | 332 | - | +31 | +7 | +4 |
Trente Jones | 0/0 | - | 282 | 294 | 305 | 307 | - | +12 | +11 | +2 |
Karsen Barnhart | 4/8 | - | 282 | 301 | 301 | 307 | - | +19 | +0 | +6 |
Reece Atteberry | 0/1 | - | - | 280 | 304 | 307 | - | - | +24 | +3 |
Jeffrey Persi | 0/0 | - | - | 265 | 302 | 305 | - | - | +37 | +3 |
Zak Zinter | 4/6 | - | - | 300 | 334 | 320 | - | - | +34 | -14 |
Greg Crippen | 0/0 | - | - | - | 285 | 290 | - | - | - | +5 |
Raheem Anderson | 0/0 | - | - | - | 298 | 302 | - | - | - | +4 |
Giovanni El-Hadi | 0/0 | - | - | - | 285 | 318 | - | - | - | +33 |
Tristan Bounds | 0/0 | - | - | - | 285 | 282 | - | - | - | -3 |
DEFENSIVE TACKLE | ||||||||||
Player | GS/GP | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 17 to 18 | 18 to 19 | 19 to 20 | 20 to 21 |
Jordan Whittley | 1/14 | 325 | 320 | 333 | 358 | 348 | -5 | +13 | +25 | -10 |
Donovan Jeter | 4/23 | 288 | 308 | 290 | 318 | 325 | +20 | -18 | +28 | +7 |
Jess Speight | 1/14 | 289 | 302 | 288 | 290 | 310 | +13 | -14 | +2 | +20 |
Julius Welschof | 0/7 | 248 | 253 | 278 | 286 | 288 | +5 | +25 | +8 | +2 |
Joey George | 0/1 | 275 | 275 | 283 | 287 | 262 | +0 | +8 | +4 | -25 |
Mazi Smith | 0/7 | - | 290 | 305 | 305 | 326 | - | +15 | +0 | +21 |
Jack Stewart | 0/0 | - | 280 | 291 | 318 | 314 | - | +11 | +27 | -4 |
Chris Hinton | 5/18 | - | 280 | 303 | 305 | 310 | - | +23 | +2 | +5 |
Jaylen Harrell | 0/4 | - | - | 235 | 235 | 242 | - | - | +0 | +7 |
Kris Jenkins | 0/1 | - | - | 239 | 265 | 265 | - | - | +26 | +0 |
Ikechukwu Iwunnah | 0/0 | - | - | - | 275 | 306 | - | - | - | +31 |
Rayshaun Benny | 0/0 | - | - | - | 275 | 292 | - | - | - | +17 |
George Rooks | 0/0 | - | - | - | 260 | 270 | - | - | - | +10 |
Dominick Giudice | 0/0 | - | - | - | 250 | 275 | - | - | - | +25 |
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER | ||||||||||
Player | GS/GP | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 17 to 18 | 18 to 19 | 19 to 20 | 20 to 21 |
Aidan Hutchinson | 16/29 | 260 | 268 | 278 | 269 | 265 | +8 | +10 | -9 | -4 |
Taylor Upshaw | 2/12 | 240 | 246 | 240 | 256 | 262 | +6 | -6 | +16 | +6 |
David Ojabo | 0/6 | - | 233 | 245 | 250 | 250 | - | +12 | +5 | +0 |
Gabe Newburg | 0/4 | - | 230 | 250 | 265 | 251 | - | +20 | +15 | -14 |
Michael Morris | 0/1 | - | 255 | 262 | 276 | 278 | - | +7 | +14 | +2 |
Braiden McGregor | 0/0 | - | - | 248 | 260 | 265 | - | - | +12 | +5 |
Kechaun Bennett | 0/0 | - | - | - | 220 | 241 | - | - | - | +21 |
TJ Guy | 0/0 | - | - | - | 240 | 251 | - | - | - | +11 |
INSIDE LINEBACKER | ||||||||||
Player | GS/GP | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 17 to 18 | 18 to 19 | 19 to 20 | 20 to 21 |
Josh Ross | 10/35 | 229 | 225 | 232 | 230 | 224 | -4 | +7 | -2 | -6 |
Michael Barrett | 6/19 | 215 | 224 | 227 | 227 | 227 | +9 | +3 | +0 | +0 |
Anthony Solomon | 0/16 | - | 190 | 205 | 212 | 215 | - | +15 | +7 | +3 |
Joey Velazquez | 0/0 | - | 205 | 213 | 224 | 228 | - | +8 | +11 | +4 |
Kalel Mullings | 0/6 | - | - | 220 | 233 | 236 | - | - | +13 | +3 |
Nikhai Hill-Green | 0/3 | - | - | 230 | 225 | 220 | - | - | -5 | -5 |
Junior Colson | 0/0 | - | - | - | 228 | 225 | - | - | - | -3 |
Jaydon Hood | 0/0 | - | - | - | 212 | 212 | - | - | - | +0 |
Tyler McLaurin | 0/0 | - | - | - | 210 | 237 | - | - | - | +27 |
DEFENSIVE BACK | ||||||||||
Player | GS/GP | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 17 to 18 | 18 to 19 | 19 to 20 | 20 to 21 |
Brad Hawkins | 17/42 | 204 | 213 | 218 | 218 | 221 | +9 | +5 | +0 | +3 |
German Green | 0/7 | 168 | 175 | 180 | 181 | 190 | +7 | +5 | +1 | +9 |
Vincent Gray | 7/21 | 180 | 184 | 185 | 190 | 192 | +4 | +1 | +5 | +2 |
Gemon Green | 6/17 | 165 | 174 | 180 | 181 | 181 | +9 | +6 | +1 | +0 |
DJ Turner | 0/8 | - | 165 | 180 | 182 | 181 | - | +15 | +2 | -1 |
Jalen Perry | 0/3 | - | 188 | 190 | 185 | 187 | - | +2 | -5 | +2 |
Quinten Johnson | 0/2 | - | 190 | 198 | 200 | 200 | - | +8 | +2 | +0 |
George Johnson | 0/1 | - | 180 | 193 | 193 | 186 | - | +13 | +0 | -7 |
Daxton Hill | 9/19 | - | 186 | 190 | 192 | 192 | - | +4 | +2 | +0 |
Makari Paige | 0/6 | - | - | 182 | 192 | 192 | - | - | +10 | +0 |
RJ Moten | 0/1 | - | - | 200 | 213 | 221 | - | - | +13 | +8 |
Andre Seldon | 0/1 | - | - | 154 | 172 | 173 | - | - | +18 | +1 |
Jordan Morant | 0/0 | - | - | 212 | 207 | 210 | - | - | -5 | +3 |
Darion Green-Warren | 0/0 | - | - | 187 | 180 | 173 | - | - | -7 | -7 |
Eamonn Dennis | 0/0 | - | - | 173 | 180 | 175 | - | - | +7 | -5 |
Rod Moore | 0/0 | - | - | - | 180 | 173 | - | - | - | -7 |
Ja'Den McBurrows | 0/0 | - | - | - | 165 | 197 | - | - | - | +32 |
SPECIALISTS | ||||||||||
Player | GS/GP | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 17 to 18 | 18 to 19 | 19 to 20 | 20 to 21 |
Jake Moody | 0/32 | 180 | 177 | 198 | 200 | 211 | -3 | +21 | +2 | +11 |
Tommy Doman | 0/0 | - | - | - | 170 | 190 | - | - | - | +20 |
Brad Robbins | 0/17 | 181 | 206 | 199 | 195 | 203 | +25 | -7 | -4 | +8 |
Let’s have a jump (and maybe a cigarette), then discuss.
[After THE JUMP: All of this is good.]
Line beef, or lack thereof. The transition to nose allowed Mazi Smith to get back up to 326 after a couple of years of the roster listing him at “305” when the reality was he was trying to slim down to that and get his stamina up. We haven’t heard much from Donovan Jeter but he’s up to 325 and Chris Hinton is now 310. The guy getting mentioned ahead of Jeter after spring was Jess Speight, and he’s a big gainer, now up to 310. He sorta survived against Alabama after a switch from OL but didn’t grade out very well last year.
The other walk-on mentioned a bunch in spring was Joey George, who suddenly appeared on the roster down at Aidan Hutchinson’s weight after approaching 290 in spring. And it was a bit disappointing that Kris Jenkins wasn’t any larger than the 265 he was listed at last year. He’s a quick-twitch guy who was in the 230s in high school but Brown hoped to grown into a Mo Hurst. That was always more of an “unwrap in 2022” thing but I had some hopes we’d see him making steady progress—maybe 275?—towards that end.
Who goes where on the line? Fellow Don Brown build-a-bear Gabe Newburg dropping 15 pounds is more explainable since they’re just going to let him play OLB this year. He was getting some mention in spring as one of the heavier DE types who could fill in for Hutchinson if needed, though Mike Morris, who was more of an anchor prospect for Brown, is now 278 and might be able to play inside. I don’t know if it means anything that the roster gave out designations of DL, DE, and LB that don’t quite match our understanding of their roles.
- “DL”: NTs Mazi Smith, Jordan Whittley, Jack Stewart, Elijah Pierre, and Ike Iwunnah; DTs Chris Hinton, Donovan Jeter, Jess Speight, Julius Welshof, Kris Jenkins, Joey George, Rayshaun Benny, George Rooks, and Dominick Giudice; OLB Jaylen Harrell (who’s 242)
- “DE”: OLBs Aidan Hutchinson, Taylor Upshaw, Michael Morris, Gabe Newburg, Braiden McGregor, Kechaun Bennett, and TJ Guy
- “LB”: OLB David Ojabo, and all the ILBs and former Vipers.
Probably nothing?
Freshmen ready to contribute? Those of you worried about the “5-10/165” on Ja’Den McBurrows’ 247 profile (whence Michigan got its numbers for the recruiting roster), or the more sane of you who were just generally worrying about cornerback this year, will be delighted to see he measured (uh, “measured”) 5-11/197, which seems like a much more plausible guy to see the field immediately. I expected him to come in around 175-180. For reference they called Jourdan Lewis 5-10/170 as a freshman, Lavert Hill got 5-11/168, and David Long was listed 5-11/187. Ambry Thomas was 6-0/179. Blake Countess was 5-10/176. None of those are close to 200.
I also noticed Ike Iwunnah was over 300. Freshman DTs usually suck but it would be nice to have more plausible bodies at the position given nose right now is:
- Mazi Smith hype.
- Jordan Whittley if he can get his seasons available/year average up over 20%.
- OL convert Jack Stewart
- Walk-on grad transfer Elijah Pierre
Rayshaun Benny also looks plausible to play this year at over 290. He’s a guy I was hoping we might see in goal line situations and in the odd low-pressure backup situation behind the starting DTs.
A few of these freshman weight gains look so big because their teams either didn’t play last year or they played so late they didn’t release new rosters. That explains Tyler McLaurin, who was not the 210 pounds he was listed at during his team’s spring season, and Kechaun Bennett, an edge prospect they expected to bulk up.
It doesn’t explain Tavierre Dunlap, who gets left out of the talk of the other three RBs but was 196 on the spring roster and over 220 on this one. Nor Gio El-Hadi, who at 323 might be coming in with some weight he needs to trim. He’s big, but when he played last year he still looked pretty much how you expect a good high school tackle to look.
The other freshman who came in biglargehuge was Louis Hansen, listed at 6-5/232 in his recruiting profile, and came in at 6-6/252. That’s pretty playable. In fact it’s not far off from…
Joel Honigford is a tight end now. They listed him at 257. He has been an effective 6th OL but limited to obvious run downs because when he’s on the field in normal situations it just creates an AJ Williams effect, where emphatically winning his block only makes up for the tip-off that he’s going to be making one. I don’t know what his hands are like, but if they’re not going to have him be a tackle this makes some sense—you can always bring one of the tackles off the bench for obvious run situations, and a more mobile Honigford can give you that blocking TE who’s a possible receiver kind of threat Michigan hasn’t had on the roster since freshman Devin Asiasi.
Zak Zinter is even more agile. They want him to be the center now but either way he wasn’t getting much out of being in the 330s, and this is one case where I’m willing to take a silly weight loss 2000 bit of data and extrapolate that this is good. Mostly because I trust the coaches really are as excited about him as they say, and he was a little bit in his own way in space last year as a true freshman.
RJ Moten may grow out of safety? He’s the YMRMFSPA Dymonte Thomas who played baseball—Morant is the Peppers who was injured all last year—if you like me get them confused all the time. Moten put on 13 pounds last year and another 8 this year. His 221 is 11 pounds heavier than the quasi-LB Morant, equal to Brad Hawkins, and 3 pounds under one of the starting ILBs.
The ILBs are pretty small. This is a Macdonald thing I believe. Josh Ross is down to 224 and former Viper Michael Barrett is at 227. Nikhai Hill-Green is down 5 pounds from last year and 10 pounds from his original 230. Don Brown liked light MIKEs because they blitzed like rabid ferrets, but they also had designated gaps they were supposed to fill by flinging their bodies at blockers, replacing mass with acceleration in the force equation. The going theory of the offseason is Macdonald is shifting the weight of its front seven to the line, trusting those guys to keep the LBs clean. This is also good news for the rest of the Vipers and varmints who might have been wondering if they were expected to become 6-4/245 Wisconsin LBs and pick an alliterative thunkers name like Huck Hardcheese, Brock Brickman, or Clint Copenhaver.
It’s interesting that Jaydon Hood is still 212, which he’s been since his sophomore year of high school, especially since his Aquinas teammate showed up one of the heaviest cornerbacks.
You get an inch! You get an inch! Most of the freshmen and some vets were credited with an extra inch of height, except Tommy Doman (6-5) got two extra inches. These are about as real as their forty times, but we are duty bound to report that Ja’Den McBurrows (5-11), Donovan Edwards (6-0), Rod Moore (6-0), J.J. McCarthy (6-3), Tyler McLaurin (6-3), Alan Bowman (6-4), TJ Guy (6-5), Kechaun Bennett (6-5), George Rooks (6-5), Dominick Giudice (6-5), and Louis Hansen (6-6) each magically grew exactly one inch the moment they were added to Michigan’s roster, and Matthew Hibner (6-4) got an extra one this year versus last year’s roster as well.
The only two who went down from a previous roster were Daylen Baldwin, who was 6-3 at Morgan State and Jackson State, but came out 6-2 on Michigan’s roster; and Ikechukwu Iwunnah (6-3), who was 6-4 on the recruiting sites. These are believable.
Surprise Additions. Two walk-ons of note joined the roster this year. The most likely to play is K/P Rhett Anderson. This is a grad transfer from Div III Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia. He was a career 15/20 of FGs with a career long of 49, and 51/51 on PKs. He also punted but I’m pretty sure he’s here in case Moody slides and Doman can’t handle kicks and punts. The other is S Andrew Russell, who’s been buried on the lacrosse team thus far. I don’t think he’s got a lacrosse scholarship, since if he did have one and he saw the field for football his scholarship would count for that.
======THINGS PAST THIS LINE ONLY MATTER TO ROSTER NERDS========
Number changes. We were able to glean a lot of these from M-Den putting their rosters for sale but here’s the list of number changes for guys who were on the roster last year:
- S Brad Hawkins: 20->2: The Cato June number.
- WR Mike Sainristil: 19->5: I guess this fits for a feature slot receiver, and was Sweetness’s number in high school. Still, man, maybe I’m reading too much into this*, but think about the fact that your role on this team is to come across the middle, then think of a guy who wore #19 as a wide receiver at Michigan, then think who controls the safeties every practice. Is this really a good idea Mike?
- CB Andre Seldon: 0->36: I never even got to make my “this is actually ⅛ but the equipment manager rounded up” joke.
- CB Darion Green-Warren: 6->28: RJ Moten won the number competition (Harbaugh’s rule is take any number and if two guys on the same side want one whoever earns his way on the field first wins it).
- TE Joel Honigford: 59/85->84: He apparently gave up his TE number last year for Daylen Baldwin.
- LB Kalel Mullings: 26->20: If Brad Hawkins doesn’t want it Kalel will take it.
- OL Nolan Rumler: 55->70: Classmate Jack Stewart had this the last few years but Rumler wore 70 in high school.
*maybe?
Freshman and transfer numbers. A lot of these arrived in spring but here they are, with some historical perspective.
- #1 WR Andrel Anthony. I am in favor of giving this to freshmen, for the record. Braylon’s made his peace.
- #1 CB Ja’Den McBurrows. I am on the fence about non-WRs wearing the AC number at Michigan but if it helped recruit Ambry Thomas I can’t argue it matters that much.
- #7 RB Donovan Edwards. High school number. Also played QB in high school, so this makes him harder to find for the Angry Michigan Five-Star Running Back-Hating God to find.
- #9 QB J.J. McCarthy. About damn time we give a star freshman QB the Dennis Franklin/Michael Taylor number. I’m a little miffed it went to a non-Black quarterback because Franklin was an important figure in the history of that position, and Taylor wore it to honor that, so it’s got some tradition. Again, I’m not going to put Michigan traditions ahead of making recruits happy.
- #10 WR Cristian Dixon. Hasn’t been a big WR number—Gallon switched to #21 and the only other guy was Da’Mario Jones. Nobody’s going to confuse Dixon for Gallon, so he can make this number his own. Or he could walk away with a bunch of free Tom Brady gear I gess.
- #19 S Rod Moore. You probably only remember Willis Barringer wearing #19 at safety (at Michigan it’s mostly a kicker’s number) but I remember one other DB before Barringer…when the CB depth chart got really thin in 1999 they had Ron Bellamy playing there. “Bellamy for Heisman.” Good move Rod.
- #19 K/P Tommy Doman. I wonder what happens if Rod’s on special teams. This is Gillette’s number, so the best a man can get if he’s to handle both kicks and punts.
- #22 RB Tavierre Dunlap. BJ Askew meets Karan Higdon. I like it.
- #25 LB Junior Colson. I’m not making you “Kenny Demens but fast” next week Junior but I considered it.
- #26 DT Rayshaun Benny. There was a scrub tackle who wore #26 in the 1920s but that’s it.
- #27 LB Tyler McLaurin. Remember (who?) Mike Jones, the skinny WLB? Unless you want to count Wolves of the 1970s that’s all I’ve got.
- #34 LB Jaydon Hood. Ungh. Gibbons went to his (pre-Aquinas) school and we don’t need that reminder. I’d already forgotten Anthony Jordan too. 1960s LB/FB Dennis Morgan…now that’s more like it.
- #42 OLB TJ Guy. Mike Mallory’s number which is a good pull since there’s a Mallory on staff.
- #51 C Greg Crippen. Yes, Cesar was a C from IMG too but Crippen can impress by saying he chose it for Everitt. Good center # already.
- #52 OLB Kechaun Bennett. I could only think of Royce Jenkins-Stone, which that’s accidentally a strong comp.
- #54 DT George Rooks. Dude if you turn into Donnie Warner then announce you chose 54 for him you will be Dr Sap’s greatest hero.
- #56 DT Dominick Giudice. Since Carl Kreager just passed away I’m glad someone’s honoring 56. This was a tiny nose number under Bo—Billy Harris, Tim Davis—and a DE/OLB number—James Hall, LaMarr Woodley—under Lloyd.
- #58 OL Giovanni El-Hadi. I know John Ghindia will be impressed when he comes in.
- #62 OL Raheem Anderson. The one guy in the class I trust has done a Bentley roster lookup to find Courtney Morgan’s digit.
- #72 OL Tristan Bounds. Hell yeah give the the 6-8 guy Jumbo’s number. Also Dierdorf’s and Big Ed’s and Skene’s. It’s surprisingly close between this and 77 what’s the best tackle number.
- #81 TE Louis Hansen. This the Kattus number but Trey Walker, Bob Topp and Bill Seymour give it depth.
- #92 NT Ike Iwunnah. Forgettable DEs number that could have been assigned by a sim.
Walk-on things. The rules are the PWOs can’t join the roster the first year so we get debuts of QBs Davis Warren and Jesse Madden, WRs Peyton O’Leary and Jake Friedman, TEs Noah Howes and Max (yes THAT) Bredeson, OL Pete Simmons, LB Alexander Lidback, and S Joe Taylor. There were also two 2019 PWOs, RB Leon Franklin and TE (former Chicago area QB) Josh Beetham, re-added to the roster. And C Mo Hazime is back but he was left off due to an error last year.
QB Peyton Smith (7->17), RB Danny Hughes (22->24), OL Micah Gelb (62->55) and CB Keshaun Harris (49->18) are the walk-ons to change numbers. I bolded Harris because he’s a speedster who’s reportedly got the chops to play at this level if they can get him up to speed. Giving him a non-random back’s number might mean he’s headed in that direction. Or it might mean we are desperate for cornerbacks.
At 6'3" 219 lbs I didn't realize Baldwin was that big. He's in Nico Collins range...an inch shorter, but 4 lbs heavier. I think he's gonna do some things this year...assuming we can get him the ball that is.
Best Q from that ep:
So, tell us how you feel about being the last black President?
Fixed. ??
Either I wasn't paying attention, or else the submarine was in "run silent, run deep" mode, but I hadn't heard anything about Honigford moving to TE. Down 48 pounds?? Let's hope his blocking doesn't suffer after dropping the equivalent of a 1st grader.
Have to think he was already dropping. He was basically only a TE last year...so it makes sense.
If he's nimble enough, I'd like to see him in that Ben Mason role a little bit.
Sorry, #2 is NOT the Cato June number at Michigan, no matter what position we're talking about.
I thought for sure I missed some inside joke or the "/s" tag.
#2 is the Cato June number at Michigan. If another #2 wants to claim it he is welcome to befriend the author as much as Cato June has.
How much have you purchased from this prospective #2's winery though?
Nothing. Let's not talk about the distillery in earshot of people who may share a marriage and bank account with me however.
I've tried a couple bottles - it's good wine! I'm no connoisseur, but both the cab & red blend were nice.
I still have 1 bottle left of the 2010 Twenty Four cab near the end of its drinking window that I've been saving for an end-of-season celebratory drink. Here's to hoping...
August 6th, 2021 at 11:46 PM ^
Blasphemy!
August 7th, 2021 at 11:17 AM ^
Shawn Crable on line 2
I'm not sure who you'd want as the guy for the #2 jersey if NOT Cato June? Dude was a good player at M and had a hell of a career wth mostly the Colts in the NFL.
HOF snub, IMO
I thought we were talking about Sam McGuffie.
#2 is Walter Smith. “Pound for pound the toughest kid on the field!” Gritty and determined team captain.
also Vincent Smith. Pound for pound provided the most food of any Michigan player.
Wow. That D roster looks scary weak.
Based on what -- weight? projected performance? bench press numbers?
Based on their past/recent performance and the lack of obvious high-level players. Hutchinson is high-level. Dax may be high-level. The small handful of remaining 4/5 stars (Hinton, Mazi) have literally shown nothing so far. And the rest are mostly just a bunch of guys who are either very green or just guys. The CBs look weak. The DL looks weak (save for one guy). I don't know of anyone who predicts big things from this group.
August 7th, 2021 at 11:21 AM ^
Based on
a) crootin rankings as compared to osu offensive players
b) past success stopping osu's offense
Take your pick really ?♂️
If one wanted you could field an entire defense of 4 and 5 star players. Granted, we won't. And, doing so doesn't guarantee performance. But guys like Hutch, Hinton, Mazi, McGregor, Ross, Colson, Mullings, Seldon, DGW, Hill, Perry, Morant etc were all highly recruited guys.
I mean, the only group there I'm worried about is tackle, mostly because that feels like the area with the least amount of known depth. Like, the secondary absolutely got better as the year progressed last year and I think will be a strength this year. Linebackers have obviously shifted around but there's talent there, and provided they don't suffer a massive rash of injuries like last season it should be fine.
This isn't the most talented defensive roster UM has had but its definitely one that should be able to exceed last year's unit with a bit more injury luck and maturation.
Any group could exceed last year's group. The question is whether this projects as a quality defense; it does not. I'm obviously no expert and could be wrong. But every preseason assessment of this defense of read from credible sources says this roster looks problematic.
August 7th, 2021 at 12:24 AM ^
Not exactly. What the credible sources have been saying is that picking up the new defensive scheme will likely be bumpy. But as others have stated, there are plenty of highly recruited guys, plus more size at DL than last year.
I'm obviously no expert and could be wrong. But every preseason assessment of this defense of read from credible sources says this roster looks problematic.
You can look at it negatively or positively. The negative...the CBs sucked particularly Gray. The positive...both improved as the season wore on particularly Green and we've got Seldon who had Covid last year available now. The negative...the LBs regressed. The positive...McGrone got injured, Ross & Mullings are a year older, we've got a highly rated kid in Colson now, and we've got a new coaching staff. The negative...the DTs sucked. The positive...Mazi & Hinton are both highly rated recruits and it's hard to play on interior as a young guy and both guys are now going into their Jr years. The negative...there was no pass rush. The positive...Hutch and Paye were injured much of the year and now Hutch is 100% healthy and McGregor should be too with Ojabo & Upshaw another year older. There is reason to be excited for Green, Seldon, Ross, Hinton, Mazi, Hutch, Colson, Mullings, & McGregor and that's not even mentioning guys like Dax & Hawkins who already established themselves as quality players. It could be shit again (for UM standards). Or it could be significantly better. Chose how you wish to look at it. Or just wait and see.
It was a lot bigger than I expected, but maybe that's not what you mean by "weak."
Hey Seth, Kris Jenkins appears to have been updated to 275 sometime since the roster was published yesterday
fuckers. I just edited HTTV again.
The kickers and punters gained 39 pounds. Good job fellas.
All calves.
Ohh Seth...do we need an anatomy & biomechanics lesson? ;)
Cheers mate & thanks for all you're putting into this stuff for us schlubs recently.
Thanks, Seth.
Nerd-adjacent (and nerd-immersed in other things), I'm excited.
Terry Mclaurin?
I always assume that the numbers from freshmen, especially those in HS, are 5 FAKES when it comes to heights and weights, sort of like vanity numbers. Maybe they get measured at a camp or two and they settle on it, but I've seen enough Hudl tapes where every guy has the Madden-optimized settings and then they suddenly don't once they're put in the weight room.
That said, I do wonder if Jenkins sees the field this year. He's the most build-a-tackle they've got on the team and at 265 he's got some growing to do. But I do think the pedigree there screams making it onto the field sooner rather than later.
Bellamy for Heisman
remember the time when you could finish #5 in the country, and almost win the Big Ten, with a secondary literally made up of wide receivers?
Feels positive to me that Whittley's weight is down, seems more plausible that he'll be able to play at the more manageable weight.
Rumblings that if he plays, it ain't good. Sounds like he may not be all the way healthy but is someone who could come on late.
Let's hope the couple pounds Erick All gained were due to the addition of some new fingers.
Cmon Seth ... we're talking Michigan football players (or #'s). Dennis Franklin was a great Michigan QB ... I remember him as a leader and and how the B1G screwed Michigan going to the Rose Bowl when he was injured. However, I never think of him as a "black" player ... just a great player. Maybe you need to do the same !
Go Blue!
Obama was just a President, Grant Fuhr just a goalie ….
Sometimes a persons race is an important part of his/her story
You may well know the answer to this, but to quote Bomani Jones on the Right Time last week, do you know how many NFL teams have never started a Black QB on purpose? This discussion was surrounding Jordan Love, because the Packers have had Seneca Wallace start a game, due to injury, in 2013. And I think that's their list. The Cowboys first on purpose-black QB was Dak. And at first he wasn't on purpose, he came in from an injury (granted, they drafted him, so it was somewhat on purpose).
Three NFL teams have had their first Black QB start a game since 2015 (!!). The last franchise to never start a Black QB did it in 2017. This isn't ancient history.
Not to undermine your point because it is very important, but what do you mean Dak was the first on-purpose black QB for the Cowboys? Quincy Carter started 31 games for them in the early 2000's after being a 2nd round pick, and he actually outplayed Tony Banks (who the Cowboys brought in to replace Aikman) to earn the starting job as a rookie.
Mea culpa - I listened to the Right Time in the background while working and may have misheard the details on Dallas. I think as you and others have mentioned, even if I got a detail wrong I think the overarching point holds up.
Good point, but you forgot about the eminently forgettable #17 for the Cowboys, Quincy Carter. He was one of Jerrah's regrettable decisions. One of many that sadly continue for my beloved Cowboys
August 7th, 2021 at 11:28 AM ^
Ben, I think you're quoting people who are providing bad info.
Question is - is it on purpose?!
I talk to a lot of old Michigan players so let me tell you something. It meant a LOT to a lot of our guys that Dennis Franklin was Black.
It's all well and normal not to think about that sort of thing when it doesn't affect you. But if you were born Black in America in the middle of the 20th century, you didn't get to escape the reality of systemic racism. You *knew* they wouldn't let you do some things, and even if they did, they didn't want you to.
And when it does affect you, man, to see someone like you doing something you thought they would never let you do--it's incredibly meaningful. Back when our late-1970s and early 1980s players were kids it was a HUGE moment. It was a thing that made them look at Michigan. It was a big deal to Michael Taylor and Demetrious Brown, who were the quarterbacks when I was a kid and first starting to get the deep Michigan bug. I don't think either comes here if not for Taylor. And then how good is Michigan if Chris Zurburgg is the guy after Harbaugh?
There it is. So very true.
Nice try, XM.
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