The new phonebooks are here, and they are heavy. Unlike most years, when fall rosters are when we learn a guy or two has graduated and moved on, everybody expected to be on the roster was on it. I wouldn't say there's no news, however, because some of the reported masses are eye-opening indeed.

======THE ALL WEIGHT GAIN OR LOSS IS GOOD SECTION========

Where all weight gained is musculature, and all weight lost was esters of fatty acids. Weights when they were recruits are from 24/7 and noted in gray italics. Projected starters in bold. If I thought it was interesting I highlighted it.

[After THE JUMP: You know the rules]

------------------------------

======THE SECTION WHERE I EXPLAIN WHY ALL THE WEIGHT LOSS OR GAIN WAS GOOD, ACTUALLY========

Quarterback. Nothing to report except Jayden Denegal lost a few pounds. If you recall from his scouting report out of high school, keeping the extra weight off is key for him.

Running Back. Two things caught my eye. One is that Cole Cabana weighed in well heavier than his spring listing of 180. I'm in the middle of his writeup and the primary concern is he's a stick.

[via Instagram]

Or was, if he's close to 200 already. The other thing I noticed was Tavierre Dunlap gained back his high school weight and then some. Things haven't gotten easier in the Thunder competition, what with Corum rocking up, Mullings moving over from linebacker, and newcomer Benjamin Hall looking mighty plausible. But I had high hopes for Dunlap as a Hassan Haskins type, and last year he looked like just a guy. It would be nice if he pans out, if only to prove Hart has The Eye.

Wide Receiver. Skill positions don't tend to fluctuate weight-wise by much, but Karmello English coming in at 190 is a nice feather in his cap considering he was supposed to be the play-immediately one of the trio, while Morgan and Moore used spring to change minds about their own immediate playability.

Tight End. Everybody came in around where they were expected to—which means Colston Loveland indeed took the next step to 245—except Holy Cow Deakon Tonielli! As with English, Tonielli was the more touted prospect whose classmate enrolled early and stole the spotlight. I'm not asking for Loveland 2.0, but I would love to see one of the freshmen able to contribute this year given all the attrition at the position this offseason. This was the guy someone in the football office was Rick Rolling his highlights around the building and Harbaugh described in Old Country Buffet terms, who just needed to get in the weight room. If Tonielli's already blocking weight, LFG.

Hey Trevor, is something different about you? [Barron]

Offensive Line. The most interesting note among the starters is Trevor Keegan returning to full Mauler status. Last year he dropped 19 pounds, and there more moments in the charting when we wished he had them back than times when the added agility made a difference. Keegan is still 7 pounds under his sophomore weight, but getting back to 320 for his draft year is good for the blueprint.

The backup tackles had the most significant gains. Jeff Persi is also up to 320, which is good news for a tight end convert type. And then there's Myles Hinton, who's up to 340, a full 20 pounds more than his listed weight at Stanford last year. I figured he needed a year to get healthy, and maybe the 20 was part of that story, but it could also mean Michigan's reclamation job is well ahead of schedule. Tristan Bounds, by contrast, went down a few, which suggests he's another year out. In distant future things, Evan Link came in at 307, well on his way.

In the interior, Connor Jones is now up to Mauler size after gaining 22 pounds in the offseason, and freshman Nathan Efobi, a raw prospect who needed a breakdown and rebuild, came in 10 pounds under his high school listing.

Defensive Tackle. Collectively they gained 58 pounds, but that was with optimistic losses from Cam Goode (-9), Ike Iwunnah (-8), and Kenneth Grant (-17), who's now a svelte 339 though still the largest man on the team. The highlight here would be Kris Jenkins checking in at 305, which is 66 pounds more than his recruiting weight, except he tweeted this information weeks ago. I also noticed the freshmen are coming in much closer to DT size than Jenkins, and well beyond advertised. Trey Pierce, the Wisconsin flip I thought might be playable this year, is listed at a playable 300. Cameron Brandt, the one I wanted to grow into a Jenkins, is started his journey at 277. And Brooks Bahr probably isn't sticking at edge since arriving at 298.

Meet you at 250? [Barron]

Edge. I don't think I've ever seen a unit do this. As a group the Heavies, Ends and OLBs gained 207 pounds and lost 25 of them. We'll talk about the thinners first since they both factor—Jaylen Harrell came in at a linebackerish 242, four pounds under his listed weight last year, when he was getting bonked out of the edge by physics. In fact Harrell now weighs less than rising junior transfer Josaiah Stewart, who dropped to 230 in 2022 in order to play the Jack in Coastal Carolina's Stunt 43 system, and is now back to the 245 from his breakout freshman campaign.

The other dropper was Derrick Moore, who was 279 last year and is down to 258. I didn't think he was carrying extra weight last year, but if this turns Moore into a Hutch instead of a Morris I'm here for it.

In the development division, the last of the Don Brown anchor prospects, Kechaun Bennett (257) and TJ Guy (250) crested the arbitrary 250 line of playability on schedule, and super ceiling walk-on Chibi Anwunah is close to 270. But far more interesting was the first weigh-ins for the three-man freshman class. Frenchman Aymeric Koumba arrived at 254, +24 from his recruiting profile. Wormley-type Enow Etta came in +35 at 295. And Breeon Ishmail, the 220-pound Ohioan people thought might be more of a hybrid safety and I thought would be more of a Jaylen Harrel, is already at 262. How much athleticism survived putting on 42 pounds is anybody's guess for the moment.

Linebacker. We're past the climax now but Junior Colson hitting 247 is an alarm for somebody. Can he still move like a safety? In the right direction? Hausmann hit the upper end of our hopes for his sophomore gain at 237. Micah Pollard got himself to where Hausmann was last year after playing at 202. Freshman Semaj Bridgeman checked in at 246; even David Harris didn't get that big until his second year on campus.

Secondary. Two major things stick out: Rod Moore is almost 200 pounds now after playing as a 173-pound true freshman; and Amorion Walker is still 180. The latter fact is a concern, not because cornerbacks need to weigh more than that, but because Walker's a stick. I would have liked to see him put on a little meat, if not what he was expected to had he remained at receiver. Walker actually weighs a pound less than true freshman Jyaire Hill, the youngest member of the 2023 class who played last year at 170. In other new CB news DJ Waller came in at 205, which only means he still could be anything from a Jeremy Clark corner to a Josh Uche defensive lineman.

Specialists. Tommy Doman is up 45 pounds since his high school weigh-in, probably because he's been systematically replacing the bones in his kicking toe with osmium.

======THE LAST SECTION BEFORE THINGS GET REALLY NERD========

Only a handful of positions changed, none of which were surprises. Position notes in descending order of interest:

• Kalel Mullings is now just a RB
• Amorion Walker is a full-time DB
• We knew Giudice was moved to OL and Lorenzetti to DL but it's news that it stuck?
• Sainristil is now just a DB
• Walk-on QB Brandon Mann moved to safety.
• Walk-on RB Nico Andrighetto moved to corner.

The last two are only of interest for relative depth purposes.

======DUPLICATE NUMBERS: FIGHT!========

Harbaugh does a weird thing that drives rosterizing people nuts where he allows multiple guys to lay claim to a number. I am not certain of the rules but I believe the first guy to earn his way onto the field gets to keep it. This sometimes leads to silly incidents like Michigan getting penalized for having two #1s on special teams late in a game. They have not learned their lesson. Here are the players on the same side of the ball with the same numbers, again in descending order of interest.

• #1 on defense: Ja'Den McBurrows vs Amorion Walker. Both are candidates to start at cornerback. This battle was already going on in spring, when the two were on opposite teams. The program talks up Walker, McBurrows has a lot more experience despite his injury history, and is good buds with Sainristil. Pick 'em.
• #56 on offense: Amir Herring vs Dominick Giudice. It's weird that they still haven't assigned one. Neither is expected to factor heavily, Herring because he's a true freshman OL, Giudice because he only switched from DT last year. But Giudice gets talked up by Harbaugh for no reason, and Herring looked functional in spring. Call it 2-to-1 for Giudice.
• #5 on offense: Kendrick Bell vs Karmello English. Here's our only freshman-v-freshman fight of the year, thank merciful Tehlu. Since Bell is a QB-ATH with a major emphasis on the ATH, and English is a play-immediately receiver, this one's English 20-to-1. In fact English could conceivably complete his career and get drafted before a RS Junior Bell makes his way to the top of the depth chart.
• #29 on defense: Joey Velazquez vs Joshua Nichols. This one is only interesting because Velazquez lost weight again while playing baseball, while Detroit Renaissance product Josh Nichols is rumored to be one of those walk-ons with upside who could grow into a player down the road.
• #5 on defense: Josiah Stewart vs Brandon Mann. The kids who grew up on Peppers (feeling old yet?) all like five, but this one has less drama than Victor Hobson v Alijah Bradley. Stewart is coming to give Michigan an edge presence, Mann is a walk-on who switched from QB to the secondary for deep depth reasons.
• #14 on offense: Roman Wilson vs Jack Grusser. Same thing, more or less. Wilson could be Michigan's leading receiver; Grusser is a freshman walk-on QB.
• #44 on defense: Hayden Moore vs Joshua Luther. Freshman v walk-on.
• #38 on defense: Bryce Wilcox vs Grayson Dee. Walk-on v freshman walk-on.

======THE ALL HEIGHT GAIN OR LOSS IS GOOD SECTION========

The exaggerated high school heights of the freshmen are only really interesting if they're off by 2 or more. This year only Jason Hewlett (6'2") came in two inches below his advertising. Aymeric Koumba actually came in an inch taller. As for the rest:

• +1: Jayden Denegal (6'5") and Junior Colson (6'3")
• -1: LaDarius Henderson (6'4") and Cam Goode (6'1")

Of those the projected left tackle who was a guard for Arizona State coming in an inch shorter than his previous listed height is notable.

======CHANGED NUMBERS AND THEIR COSMIC SIGNIFICANCE========

They're still trying, B!

Rod Moore: #19 to #9. This sucks. I get wanting to wear a single digit in your draft year, but Moore isn't shaped that differently from Sainristil, who plays in the opposite slot, and wears #0. There are only so many pixels for UFR'ing—do we really need to make it harder guys?

Jayden Denegal: #16 to #4. Denegal fit the #16 like a Navarre but I get wanting to be the QB wearing #4 when Jim Harbaugh is coaching. Smart. The man's always been smart.

Kody Jones: #12 to #6. Dammit Jones, I had hopes for you. With this betrayal, and Cade McNamara's departure, once again a #12 has failed to make it from his freshman season to the end of his eligibility wearing this one number. Let's do the #12 thing again. Here are all the players to wear it since my friend Brandon Williams donned it for an entire career when we were in school:

• QB Mike Kaselitz (1999-'01) switched to #20 in 2002.
• QB Matt Gutierrez (2002-'05) transferred to Idaho State in 2006.
• WR Landon Smith (2004-'05) switched to #2 in 2006.
• QB Matt Hornaday (2006) switched to #14 in 2007.
• QB David Cone (2006-'08) switched to #17 in 2009.
• Interloper Karl Tech (2008) wore it between #17 in 2007 and #35 in 2009-'10.
• CB JT Floyd (2008-'10) was well on his way before switching to #8 (and getting way better) in 2011.
• WR Roy Roundtree (2009-'11) was technically disqualified since he came in wearing #16 his redshirt year before giving that to Denard in 2009, but he disqualified himself anyways by donning the Legends #21 as a senior in 2012.
• Interloper Devin Gardner (2012-one game in 2013) switched from #7, played some WR and QB in #12, then took the Legends #98 the night of UTL II.
• Legacy LB Allen Gant (2012-'14) switched to his uncle's #14 in 2015 then left with a year of eligibility.
• Transfer P Blake O'Neill (2015) wore it his one year here.
• QB Alex Malzone (2015-'16) too #15 in 2017 before taking off for Miami (no not THAT Miami).
• RB Chris Evans (2016-'18) was almost there, even surviving a one-year suspension, but for no reason whatsoever he switched to #9 on his return.
• LB Josh Ross (2017-'21) came the closest, and had he not been given COVID eligibility this would totally count. The Council of #12 ruled when they made the COVID shirts that COVID years count, however, and if there was any question it was answered by the degree to which Michigan could have used an experienced LB in 2022.
• QB Cade McNamara (2019-'22) transferred to Iowa with 2 years remaining.
• CB Kody Jones (2022) switched to #6.

Moreover, he gave it to a grad transfer, so we don't even get to restart the clock yet on defense. True freshman Semaj Morgan picked it up in spring ball and is local enough to know this might be a thing.

======NEW NUMBERS AND THEIR COSMIC SIGNIFICANCE========

The spring enrollees won't be discussed here if they kept their spring digits. I don't think all of the fall enrollees and transfers intend to keep these, or will have the option to, but those of you with NCAA dynasty rosters to update may now do so:

• #5 QB Kendrick Bell. The last QB to wear this was Joe Milton, and Tate Forcier was more memorable, but this was Johnny Wangler's. Maybe Bell knows whose family controls the NIL game in this town.
• #5 WR Karmello English. Other than Sainristil for the one year the only #5 at receiver I can think of was Erik "Soup" Campbell. Presumably English can run a better end-around than Coach.
• #3 WR Fredrick Moore. He was in #82 this spring but that was before AJ Henning left his one-digit digit available. I can't think of another WR to make a mark with it.
• #15 TE Deakon Tonielli. Either you love or you hate the idea of a giant TE running around in a Steve Breaston jersey. It's never been a TE number.
• #73 OT LaDarius Henderson. Henderson is going to get descended upon by Dufeks and Dohrings when he passes the old guy tailgate and won't understand why.
• #55 OG Nathan Efobi. Typically at Michigan the centers take 50s; other recent 55s didn't work out so Efobi can make his own legacy. Seems to be a theme?
• #71 OT Evan Link. There's some solid mauler history here, from Andrew Stueber to Ben Braden, Mark Ortmann, Mike Lewis, and the late-60s' Jark Harping.
• #95 DT Trey Pierce. I'm more excited about him coming in 6'2"/300 than I am about Curtis Greer finally getting a nose to follow him after a generation of mediocre DE/DTs (Donovan Jeter, Patrick Kratus, Renaldo Sagesse, Marques Walton, etc.)
• #91 DT Cameron Brandt. Another generic DL number I associate with '97 star Josh Williams, but let's not forget the Game-sealing interception nestled against the #91 of Taylor Upshaw last year.
• #51 DT Brooks Bahr. This has been more of an OL or LB number here.
• #96 DE Enow Etta. I like the divisibility of this number, and that an end is trying it again because Scott Maentz is a dude worth remembering, and the last two to try ended up at Charlotte (Juice) or on offense (Dave Petruziello).
• #18 DE Breeon Ishmail. Now the news that he's almost 270 is even funnier. I do like the idea of a WR/bad QB/3rd line center number screaming off the edge.
• #16 LB Semaj Bridgeman. Sorry man but a thunkin LB in Denard's number is too Penn State for even a Pennsylvanian. Reverse those digits and I'm sold.
• #19 LB Jason Hewlett. Okay, some history: the first hybrid linebacker at Michigan was early '50s back Stanley Knickerbocker, who wore #19, who was supposed to follow in the shoes of scatback wartime pickup Henry Fonde then outgrew it. So I'll allow this, even though I'm kind of mad Rod Moore gave it up.
• #44 LB Hayden Moore. Thank you Hayden. This is a linebacker's number. May you squirrel like McGrone and hit like Swett.
• #46 S Brandyn Hillman. This too is a linebacker number. I imagine Hillman plans for a low digit to open up, but it's possible someone told him Harry Newman won the proto-Heisman playing QB/DB with this number in the early '30s and the multi-skilled Hillman got ideas.
• #12 Josh Wallace. He wore this at UMass but he's a transfer, so Wallace doesn't count and Brandon Williams remains the last Michigan player to don #12 as a freshman and complete his eligibility with it. 
• #13 DJ Waller Jr. DBs who wear #13 always seem to switch out of it but maybe that's just because nobody can measure up to Garland Rivers. Get it? Measure up? He was a humongous corner, not that it's hard to hit on a number with a humongous corner at a school where Lloyd Carr coached for any length of time.
• #32 James Turner. Grew up in Saline so he's gotta know this is a big number here. It's not a kicker number but he's gotta be wearing it for…A-Train? Nah too young. Dudley? Too young for that too. Could it be for Kovacs?
• #99 Adam Samaha. Samaha is enough of a Michigan nerd to know kicker history lives at other digits, but he's not alone—Todd Schlopy wore #99 in the early '80s, and Stanley Knickerbocker's son Steven Knickerbocker had it in the '70s.

======WALK-ON NUMBERS AND THEIR COSMIC SIGNIFICANCE========

• Peter Simmons 75 to 70: Had to get out of Gentry's way.
• CB Joshua Nichols 28 to 29: Might play and Quinten Johnson wears 28.
• WR Zach Peterson 25 to 86: Receiver took a more WR number.
• RB Danny Hughes 24 to 37: Had to get out of Cabana's way.
• DB Jesse Madden 18 to 43: Had to get out of Ishmail's way.
• Joel Metzger 39 to 54: Dunno but I hope it wasn't because he used to be a fullback.

======NEW WALK-ONS========

I don't know enough about any of these guys to speak of them, but maybe people in the comments do. Is Weidenbach related to the AD?

• QB Jack Grusser (6'0/175), from Franklin Lake, N.J. / Ramapo
• RB Jack Konisberg (5'11/238), from Greenwich, Conn. / Greenwich
• RB Bryson Kuzdzal (5'11/193), from Ada, Mich. / Forest Hills Eastern
• WR Dale Chesson (6'0/190), from St. Louis, Mo. / Ladue Horton Watkins
• TE Jalen Hoffman (6'3/225), from Lake Braddock, Va. / Lake Braddock
• OL Cole Morgan (6'4/270), from Princeton, N.J. / The Hun School
• LB Grayson Dee (6'1/228), from Pittsburgh, Pa. / Mt. Lebanon
• LB Jack MacKinnon (6'4/244), from Sarasota, Fla. / Cardinal Mooney
• LB Liam Groulx (6'0/227), from Charlotte, N.C. / Providence Day
• LB John Weidenbach (6'0/215), from Lisle, Ill. / Benet Academy
• DB Micah Davis (6'1/199), from Dexter, Mich. / Dexter
• K Hudson Hollenbeck (6'2/208), from Collierville, Tenn. / Collierville
• K/P Stone Anderson (6'2/190), from Deerfield, Mass. / Deerfield Academy
• K/P Cordell Jones-McNally (5'8/175), from Marcellus, Mich. / Marcellus