PFF has two Michigan safeties in their Top 10 safeties, making 3 of 4 starting DBs highly rated.
Will Johnson has high rating from them too:
Now just awaiting who will be named the 4th starting DB.
Some bonus factoids:
Remember this in the BIG10 Championship?
It will be McBurrows.
I'm guessing we see a lot of Mcburrows and Walker early on and see who comes out on top.
I should have also mentioned Harris. There is a tendency to assume the high rated guy will start before the walk on, but word is that Harris is right there.
Good thing he didn't die in one of our tunnels
A real shame Turner decided to leave only to get drafted 60th. Michigan would have arguably the best secondary in the country if he had come back.
I don’t fault him for pursuing his dream, but it seems like he got bad advice.
It would be nice to have a 2nd round draft pick who led the combine in 40 yd. dash time opposite Will Johnson. Hard to be too upset at a guy going in the 2nd round. Not that you are saying that.
It’s not like some projected starters who left and then didn’t even get picked.
This reminds me of the 90s when I would pine for players leaving early to stay only to realize more talent was coming anyway and those guys need to go get paid.
And it's important for recruits to see those guys going to get paid. Win-win.
"... only to get drafted 60th."
He got drafted in the 2nd round of the NFL draft. It's not like he's praying to make someone's practice squad.
If he spends another year at Michigan, he risks injury and possibly exposure of some relative weaknesses.
I think he did very well for himself. It helped that he blew up at the combine. I can't see him moving his ceiling much higher with another year in college.
Right. Unless coming back would have helped him grow two inches and put on 20 pounds, he made an excellent decision.
I... Is this sarcasm?
Turner's combine performance was what vaulted him into the 2nd round. He wasn't a guaranteed 2nd rounder going into the combine. He was a 2 year starter with plenty of tape and before he showed off his surprising speed, scouts knocked his size (can't fix that with another year of a college ball) issues with bigger WRs (again, size limited him) and tackling (arm tackling and not being big enough to really take guys down consistently). Also he was grabby at times, but that could be coached out.
Unless next year's draft was predicted to be a weak CB class, 2nd rounder was probably going to be Turner's peak draft position no matter the year.
No he’s just a shitty poster
Maybe he thought Turner went 60th in the NBA draft.
Being a 2nd-round NFL draft pick was a mistake? Are you insane? The kid wasn't even on draft boards eight months earlier. He did the right thing.
A second round grade, and you have to leave. I don't think there's any room for doubt here. Look what happened to Jake Butt, he never recovered and missed his payday. A third round grade and it then depends if the player has the potential to stay and then get drafted first day.
To play devils advocate, Turner played a critical role in defeating the OSU murderers' row of wide receivers to beat them by 3+ touchdowns in Columbus, he's gotta take advantage of that for the draft
This dude is trolling.
I realize the media and some of our Spartan neighbors want to make a big deal about Moten starting 11 games then transferring. However, this is in no way like Brantley testing the portal for MSU. Michigan has a loaded room where a guy could be B10 starter quality and still be unhappy with expected playing time.
While the younger guys may* not be at Moten’s level (yet) they too would be coveted by most programs as at least backups.
feels good. Then remember years of “Never Forget” and it really feels good.
That should be the definition of sour grapes by Sparty. Paige rose up and took the job, and everyone saw it, Moten played worse and worse as Paige played better and better.. A shame Moten didn't stay, but this isn't Coleman the starter leaving. This is akin to Rocky Lombardi leaving because he got beat out and knew it.
I don't see OSU's secondary anywhere here, but then again after last November I'm used to not seeing them in frame
WIIIIIDE OPEN
STILL ON HIS FEET
Thank you for posting. This highlight puts a smile on my face no matter how many times I see it.
you can find jut about anything on twitter
Also worth noting no other Big Ten teams represented.
They must be there somewhere. After all, Moore wasn’t good enough to be recruited by OSU.
The season will likely come down to a few plays and how the injury gods treat the team. You can't help but be really excited about where this team will start at.
I have confidence one of the new guys will emerge by the time we get to the late season games. Hopefully, it will be two.
DB is really the only spot that can't afford injuries. Well that and QB, but that's the case for practically every program.
They have 2 stud RBs.
At least 2 good TEs and we haven't seen the other highly rated guys much yet.
WR is a little thin so throw them in there I guess.
OL is 2 deep practically everywhere. Maybe some question at the back up OT spots
DT has 4 guys easy.
DE has 3 or 4 guys.
LB has what, 4 guys now?
Safety has 2 known commodities and then RS freshmen with almost no playing time.
CBs have Johnson and then question marks.
Heck, they even have a 2 deep at K/P now with the transfers.
The drop off in QB might not be as far as you're thinking.
Yes, it is. Tuttle has game tape and he has transferred multiple times for a reason. He might not light the offense on fire like John O'Korn, but he's a significant drop off from the 5-star starting QB who might play his way into the top 2 rounds of the NFL draft.
Warren is a complete unknown. No matter what he's done in the spring games, we've never seen him take a meaningful live snap in a game.
Yep, if #2 has to step in, he’ll just need to know enough of the playbook and be careful with the football. He will have a ton of talent around him and other teams will be built around JJ’s skills, at least for a while.
I thought Tuttle looked serviceable in the spring game, but I loved how Orji and Warren looked, too. Talent at all positions helps a lot.
There are few programs in the country that could replace their starting QB and not see a significant drop off.
The second JJ goes out, teams are sending 9 guys at the LoS to take on the running game. Warren is still a complete unknown and Tuttle has game tape that isn't inspiring. It's perfectly ok to say they're in trouble if their 5-star QB goes out without another 5-star waiting to step in (or a proven back up like Cade circa 2021).
CBs have Johnson and then question marks.
Mikey would like a word, sir!
Ah, should have clarified that I meant outside CBs. Sainristil is one of my favorite guys, but opposite Johnson is a huge question mark.
Michigan's defense in 2022:
-had no pass rush
-no DT depth
-no linebacker depth
And managed to be one of the best defenses in the Big Ten, holding OSU to 3 points in the 2nd half.
That’s only because the conditions for that game were so miserable. It was far too sunny and warm for a late November rivalry game with one of the best receiving corps in the country.
Flu season, too. Stuffy noses, sore throats. Tough, tough conditions that day.
Hmm, only big ten team to have anyone on this list as well. I like it!
Weirdly no SEC either. Unless I’m missing something.
Maybe they were all drafted
Ah. Yep. That is probably it.
Nice to think that the 4th, unmentioned DB is apparently one of the biggest physical freaks we've seen in years in the form of Walker.
Will was rated 3rd for overall CB play and Mike Sainrstil was rated 5th for overall CB play.
Impressive group. This has to be one of the best DB groups in college football.
The sum of its parts is a good one.
What was the story about Will Johnson, that if he were eligible for the NFL draft he probably would've been the first CB off the board? Or did I dream that?
PFF may like 3 of 4 DBs, but to quote Craig Ross from last week’s Roundtable, “I like ‘em all!”
Lol. That last pic of W Johnson is the image I was responding to when saying something like “he needs to be careful and not get a taunting penalty!”. Man did I get raked over the coals… Looking at it today, at first glance, it STILL looks like he’s waving those fingers in the PU players face!! Glad he wasn’t!
I was on the field down there. He was looking and communicating with the Michigan bench. But definitely some poorly angled footage can make it look different.
Once we figure out the 4th, they’ll likely be on this list next year. It’s nice to have nice things.