Sponsor note. Are you thinking of starting a business? Maybe handing out water to FSU football players who are unprepared to play in the sweltering temperatures at [checks notes]… their home stadium? Or maybe you'd rather create an army of people to collect giant tips after dissuading Tennessee fans from going inside Neyland?

Well, those are fantastic ideas. You'll need some paperwork to get off the ground; you'll need someone to write up contracts for you. You'll need… a lawyer. Richard Hoeg is that lawyer. Call him. No ideas are bad ideas. Except going to Tennessee.

Well, then. My preseason projections that Tru Wilson would hold on to a plurality of Michigan snaps did not account for this possibility:

Key quote on Charbonnet: "I’ve been around pro backs that don’t understand protections the way the freshman back did. "

— Zach Shaw (@_ZachShaw) September 2, 2019

Harbaugh also said that Charbonnet had won the starting job with or without Wilson's injury. Also:

Zach Charbonnet had nine pickups in protection, which, I don’t think we’ve had a back get nine pickups in a protection since we’ve been here, one single back,” Harbaugh said. “And to be 100 percent, nine out of nine, that’s like, wow. That’s really good.”

If Charbonnet is instantly Also Tru Wilson as a pass protector nothing is keeping him from a monster freshman year. Here's rooting for a big fat zero on one of my stupid predictions.

A shift. Here's a bit from PFF's preseason top 25:

In 2018, Patterson flashed with almost 60% of his yards coming through the air. He co-led the Big 10 in adjusted completion percentage on second or third and long with Dwayne Haskins. The Wolverines ran on almost 60% of first- and second-down plays.

As Dave mention on the podcast, Michigan's first down run rate was 45% against MTSU. That may be even a bit more of a sea change since Michigan was very run heavy once McCaffrey came in.

[After THE JUMP: Avenatti has the goods?]

Bit of a shuffle. Runyan and Spanellis were out Saturday, so this two deep changed a bit:

Ed Warinner gave us the current two-deep at OL yesterday

1s: Runyan Jr., Bredeson, Ruiz, Onwenu, Mayfield
2s: Hayes, Filiaga, Spanellis, Vastardis, Honigford

Did allow for the possibility of a true freshman pushing their way up https://t.co/IKRKg5sH5l

— Orion Sang (@orion_sang) August 20, 2019

Hayes moved up. When Michigan went to the second-team OL Karsen Barnhart spent one of his four games as the LT. That may point to a pecking order amongst the freshmen tackles. Vastardis moved over to C and a redshirt freshman walk-on named Griffin Korican was the second team RG. One of our users gave us the information on Korican when he committed; sounds like he might be a walk-on to keep an eye on.

This has been Brian Analyzes The OL Three Deep, thank you for listening to my TED talk.

Same old. An irritated MSU person posted a big thread of Brian Lewerke under pressure. It contains multiple screens and waggle rollouts, so the policework here is Ingham County standard. But there are also a number of instances of Jordan Reid, MSU's right tackle, getting straight up whooped by Golden Hurricanes:

pic.twitter.com/ObIRZwH4jY

— Spartan Digital (@SpartyDigital) September 1, 2019

Reid's been there for years and looks like he'll be about the same in 2019. There are probably 5 points worth of UFR pass pro minuses from Reid in that thread, and I'm sure there are others sprinkled throughout that game. If you have Runyan-vs-ND game against Tulsa, welp.

Dantonio: "Football is a game of effort, toughness and knowing what to do. Half of our team figured that out."

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) September 3, 2019

The other half of the team has the same coaches as last year, but they're wearing funny hats this time.

Not quite related: MSU's long snapper is done for the year. That probably won't be relevant, but if it is it will be very funny.

Wisterts. Footage of the last three guys to wear 11 at Michigan, excepting that one time Jordan Kovacs did:

We are also 11 brothers, Francis, Albert & Alvin Wistert days from the start of the 2019 〽️ Season.
Enjoy this rare footage of all three brothers against OSU in 1932, Harvard in 1942 & MAC in 1947.
GO BLUE!!! pic.twitter.com/Ehjp2W17tt

— Dr. Sap (@DrSap4UM) August 20, 2019

Uh, could be a thing? Michael Avenatti is notoriously unreliable and his lawsuit/extortion caper against Nike seemed like it would be a big nothing, but he's apparently filed some bonafide evidence:

The Crossover has obtained litigation exhibits that Avenatti filed in support of his claims. Here is a relevant image of the discussion on paying Williamson and Langford:

Here is an image of alleged discussion concerning a supposed bribe to Langford to join Adidas (Langford would attend Indiana; the Hoosiers are sponsored by Adidas):

Avenatti contains still other specific accusations. … To be clear, available evidence does not prove that the Nike offers were ever transmitted to Williamson or Langford, or that either player accepted any bribes.

If Avenatti goes to trial, which he might have to if he wants to avoid jail time, then all manner of folks would be called into court to testify. And the combination of the SDNY prosecutors an Avenatti makes this unusually likely to happen:

Bottom line: if Avenatti won’t cut a deal and if Avenatti is unable to get the case dismissed, prosecutors will be more than prepared to go to trial. So too will Avenatti. Although cameras aren’t allowed in federal trials, the media attention in an Avenatti trial and its witness list would be off the charts.

I will get the popcorn. Here's hoping the end result here is the NCAA throws up its hands and lets players get sponsored over the table.

You do need a three. Threes: you need them. This analysis doesn't adjust for free throws, which are much more common on shots inside the line, so take the numbers with a grain of salt. The overall trend still stands:

big but still kinda small here

If you don't want to squint, when you get down to the end of the game and trail increasingly worse threes are the equivalent of 50% two-point shots. So when the announcer says "now, they don't need a three here" they probably do.

Camp Sanderson continues apace. We've mention Colin Castleton joining the 12-foot club over the offseason, but wait, there's more:

Sophomore guard Adrien Nuñez improved his vertical jump by 3.5 inches from his baseline, which was measured shortly after his campus arrival. His agility times have improved as well. Classmate Brandon Johns Jr.'s weight room numbers "have gone up like crazy," Sanderson said. …

For senior center Jon Teske, conditioning was the focus. Playing 30 minutes per game is demanding for any player, but particularly a 7-footer. His first year, he was able to cover the length of the court 23.5 times in a three-minute period. This summer he covered 26.5 lengths. "That's a whole different athlete," Sanderson said.

Cole Bajema is up to 190, and hopefully tracking towards being able to contribute as a freshman.

A nice pickup. Hockey suffered another defection from the 2020 class when Andrei Bakanov signed with the OHL, but they quickly filled that slot with another forward:

Hearing US NTDP U-18 forward Thomas Bordeleau has committed to Michigan for 2020-21. Was one of the NTDP’s top ‘02 forwards in 18-19. Really nice get for the Wolverines.

— Jeff Cox (@JeffCoxSports) August 27, 2019

Bordeleau was the U17's leading scorer last year and is projected as a second-round pick. He's 5'9"—5'9" guys who are relatively high draft picks are invariably fun as hell on the college level.

The U17's strike again! @USAHockeyNTDP win in a shootout! pic.twitter.com/aEdUWeQfXj

— USHL (@USHL) January 13, 2019

Bordeleau should arrive next year. Per Bob Miller, Michigan is a possibility for Denver decommit Ty Smilanic, the last guy in the 2020 NTDP class who's uncommitted.

Etc.: Carl Grapentine's pump-up playlist features the Kegelstatt Trio, naturally. Illinois loses RB Mike Epstein for the year. They still have Corbin. Hockey preview from a journalist who covers Minnesota. EDSBS remembered by Illinois and A&M outposts. Want to get in the weeds about specialists? MGoBlog is significantly more resilient than the Jeremy Renner app.  Sap's Decals.