2016 Offensive Preview

For the first time in a very long time there is a good chance that Michigan could be the favorite in every game that they play this year.  They are coming off a season in which they went 10-3 and won every game that they should have and went 0-3 in the games that they were supposed to lose or were a toss up.  The 2016 version of the Michigan Wolverines should have a lot of depth and competition in key areas.

Quarterback-

I don't think that Michigan had John O'Korn come in to be a backup quarterback.  He is more than likely going to be the starter but it will not be without a fight.  Shane Morris, Wilton Speight, Alex Malzone, and Brandon Peters will also be trying to win the job.  It is more likely a 3-man race between Speight, Morris, and O'Korn.  Peters will most likely be redshirted to preserve his eligibility.  Malzone just doesn't seem to be much in the conversation based on most of the reports from the last year.  Morris has started 2 games in his career and has been very mediocre in both starts and lost both starts.  There has also been many questions about his maturity over the last couple year as well as his
ability to lead a team.  Speight was the backup last year and only saw meaningful time in one game, the win at Minnesota.  He played basically the 4th quarter and struggled for much of the time except for the last drive that proved to be the game winning drive.  Speight went 9-25 for 73 yards with one touchdown and one interception.  That leaves O'Korn.  O'Korn of the three that are most likely to start has the most talent and the most experience.  Before he transferred to Michigan O'Korn started 19 games at Houston and 34 touchdowns.

Likely Depth Chart-

1. O'Korn
2. Speight
3. Morris

Runningback/ Fullback-

Deveon Smith Run

Runningback was a position that Michigan struggled with at times last year.  Everyone will be back except Derrick Green who has announced that he will transfer.  That leaves the primary ball carrier from last year Deveon Smith, and backups Ty Isaac, Drake Johnson, Wyatt Shallman, and Karan Higdon.  Smith was not completely healthy most of last year and it was pretty clear.  Isaac was in the dog house with the coaches for much of last year.  Johnson was trying to get healthy from his torn ACL the year before.  Shallman has had a lot of injuried over the course of the last couple years and Higdon was just a freshman.  There are two freshman coming in who are already on campus.  One is from Alabama who is a 240 pound 18 year and looks like he could eventually move to fullback.  The other is one of the top runningback prospects in the country in 5 star Kareem Walker.  There is a small chance that one of those two could contend for some carries but it is probably only one would and the other could get redshirted based on the other options.

At fullback there are not nearly as many options.  The 2 guys who played fullback last year, Sione Houma and Joe Kerridge.  The only other fullbacks on the roster were walkons.  They have apparently moved H-back Henry Poggi and tight end Khalid Hill to fullback.  They probably will not have a guy who was the weapon that Houma was but they seem to have options.

Likely Depth Chart-

      RB                                 FB
1.  Smith                         1. Poggi
2.  Isaac                          2. Hil
3.  Johnson/Walker

Wide Receiver-

Chesson making a block

Unlike many of the other positions on offense there is much more certainty at Wide Receiver.  Michigan might have the best starting Wide Receivers in the Big Ten in Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh.  Last year they combined for 108 catches, 1491 yards and 14 touchdowns.  Those numbers got continually better throughout the year as the offense turned into more of a passing offense.  The rest of the WRs on the roster combined to catch just 24 balls.  14 of those catches came from true freshman Grant Perry.  The rest of the guys who made catches were Da'Mario Jones, Mo Ways, and Drake Harris.  There are 6 incoming freshman who play the position: Dylan Crawford, Chris Evans, Brad Hawkins, Nate Johnson, Eddie McDoom, and Amhir Mitchell.  Most of these guys will not play a significant roll and more than likely a couple of them could be redshirted.

Likely Depth Chart-

         X                                Y                               Slot
1.  Darboh                    1. Chesson                  1. Perry
2. Harris                       2. Ways                      2. Crawford
3. Mitchell                   3. Jones                       3. McDoom

Tight End-

Jake Butt scores a touchdown

This is another position where there is not going to be much of a mystery as to who is starting.  All American Jake Butt is returning for his senior year.  Butt is coming off a season in which he had 52 catches, 641 yards and 3 touchdowns.  The competition behind him is going to be fierce.  As was expected when Jim Harbaugh was hired there are going to be a lot of tight ends on the roster and a lot of usage out of those tight ends.  Returning is just Sophomore Ian Bunting and Redshirt Frehsman Tyrone Wheatley Jr, though it is likely that TWJ is going to move to tackle.  Highly recruited Quarterback Zach Gentry, who is 6 foot 7 230 pounds, will be moving to tight end. There are three freshman coming in, one of which is already on campus.  Sean McKeon is already on campus, Nick Eubanks, and Devin Asiasi will be on campus soon.  Asiasi is the most highly regarded of the bunch and is very likely to see some playing time mainly because of his blocking.

Likely Depth Chart-

1. Butt
2. Asiasi
3. Gentry

Offensive Line-

The offensive line has been a big issue with Michigan fans over the last few seasons.  Many of the guys that have been on the offensive line the last 3 years are still here.  There are 3 guys who have made starts in each of their first 3 years that are still on the team.  Kyle Kalis, 29 starts, Erik Magnuson, 24 starts, and Ben Braden, 25 starts.  None of these guys are guaranteed to be a started next year.  Mason Cole who has also started 25 games but he will be starting next year.  The other guys that got some playing time this past year were Freshman Grant Newsome, Sophomore David Dawson, and Patrick Kugler.  There is also a chance that Redshirt Freshman Tyrone Wheatley Jr moves to the offensive line from tight end and Redshirt Freshamn Nathan Ulizio and John Runyan Jr will also be vying for a spot in the starting lineup.  On the offensive line, most true freshman get redshirted but incoming frehsman Ben Bradeson and Michael Onwenu will attempt to take a job once they get onto campus in June.  There could still be some issues at the beginning of the year on the offensive line but I think that they have more options than they have in the past and they will find a group that will gel together at some point and it will become a strength.

Likely Depth Chart-

LT- Grant Newsome, Mason Cole
LG- Ben Braden, David Dawson
C- Mason Cole, Patrick Kugler
RG- Kyle Kalis, David Dawson
RT- Erik Magnuson, Ben Bredeson

Next Post: Defensive Preview

Recap of National Signing Day

The first Wednesday of February is always the biggest day each year on the recruiting landscape, National Signing Day.  This is the day that High School Seniors are first allowed to sign their National Letter of Intent to play college football.  When Jim Harbaugh was hired Michigan was expected to recruit at an extremely high level and that was exactly what they did.



Recruiting Controversies


Harbaugh's first full recruiting cycle was not without controversy.  Michigan has always been a school that tries its best to follow the rules and not toe the line or work in gray areas with recruiting.  Harbaugh and the staff decided that it was best that they work in those areas.  This has made many Michigan fans uncomfortable because its not how it has always been.  The biggest news that was made was about Erik Swenson.



Swenson was Michigan's first commitment for the 2016 class back in November of 2013 under old coach Brady Hoke.  2 weeks before signing day Swenson announced that he was decommitting because the Michigan coaches had just told him that he was no longer welcome in their recruiting class.  The reasoning was as simple as he had not developed the way that he had wanted to so they did not want him to be apart of the class.  This received a lot of national attention because, while this is a common practice in the SEC, it was not something that Michigan has done before.  Depending on who you believed whether it was Swenson's family or people around Michigan it is two completely different stories.  The story from the Swenson side was that Michigan had not given Erik any notice before telling him that he was not a part of the class while the Michigan side said that they had told him to visit other schools in November because there was a chance that he would not be part of the class.



The Class



Depending on which of the 4 major recruiting websites you are looking at Michigan finished anywhere from 4th-6th.  The site that I follow most closely is Rivals.com and they had Michigan as the 4th best class in the country.  That is the best finish that Michigan has had in the 14 years of the website.  The crown jewel of the class is the consensus number 1 player in the nation, Rashan Gary.  This recruitment had a lot of twists and turns, like most recruitments of top players in the nation.  They were able sustain a late run from the national runner-up Clemson.







Also on National Signing Day they were able to get the Signature from Devin Asiasi.  This was a big get for Michigan in their staff not only because of what type of player he is but because of what part of the country he is from and the high school that he came from.  He went to Concorde De La Salle in California.  That is one of the biggest football factories in the countries.  In the late 90's and early 2000's the had a streak of 151 games, the longest winning streak in the history of high school football.



Michigan decided that they were going to make an effort in other parts of the country instead of just the Midwest likes staffs in the past ha done.  They were going to try to get players from Calfornia, Texas, Florida, Georgia, and New Jersey.  They were able to receive commitments from players from California, Georgia, Florida and New Jersey and were able to get multiple from New Jersey.  They were able to secure 6 commitments from Florida, 3 from California and 6 from New Jersey.



Signing of the Stars



Michigan decided to do one of the more unique things that I have ever seen when it came to signing day.  They decided that have what they called "The Signing of the Stars".  It basically looked like an award show and they got every celebrity that they could to come to announce who was coming in for this recruiting class.



They were able to get videos from celebrities like Vince Vaughn, Lil Wayne, Owen Wilson among other to make videos to show at the event.  They were able to get many athletes that have connections to the University of Michigan like Tom Brady, Charles Woodson and Derek Jeter to come to the event.  The event was not only for the signing day but they were also able to raise over $100,000 for the chad tough foundation for pediatric cancer research.

This Week in Hoops

This past week Michigan played a couple of games that when many people looked the schedule at the beginning of the year thought these were two for sure wins.  When I see Nebraska and Minnesota on the schedule I don’t think twice about them winning.  While they did win both games, they weren’t as easy as they probably should have been.

1/20/2016 vs. Minnesota Game Recap

Minnesota came into this game arguably the worst team in the Big Ten.  They were 6-12 and coming in on a 7 game losing streak.  They didn’t have a guy that struck any fear into the opponents.  The game started as it should have although Michigan didn’t have star senior guard Caris Levert for the 5^th straight game.  Minnesota scored the first two points of the game and then after that Michigan went on a 37-20 run.  It was many of the usual suspects doing it the usual way.  Duncan Robinson hit a couple of 3’s and Zak Irvin hit a couple of the 3’s.  Coming into the game Michigan led the nation in 3-pointers made per game with 10.9 per game.  In the first 6 minutes Michigan was already 4-6 from long range but in the rest of the half they only went 2-11.  After building the lead to 37-22 Minnesota ended the half on an 8-0 run to make the score 37-30 at the half.  In the first half Zak Irvin led the way for Michigan with 15 points.

The second half was much of the same as the first half.  Duncan Robinson knocked down a 3 pointer to start the second half and the lead got back into double digits.  For the majority of the second half Michigan had a comfortable 7-10 point lead but they were never really able to put Minnesota away.  After finishing 2-11 from 3 in the first half they went 2-12 in the second half.  Many of the looks that they got were good looks but they just were not hitting their jumpshots.  Minnesota got as close as 3 points late in the game but Michigan was able to put them away with free throws.  Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and Derrick Walton combined to go 16-20 from the free throw line and that put Minnesota late in the game.  Zak Irvin led the way with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

My Thoughts

I thought that Michigan was very fortunate to play a team as bad as Minnesota on this night.  They had so many open looks throughout the game but just did not knock them down.  A team like Michigan that is so reliant on the 3 point shot cannot afford to have many shooting nights like this.  Finishing a game 4-23 will not end in a lot of wins.  They allowed Minnesota to get back into the game when they were on the verge of letting it get out of hand when it was a 15 point game in the first half.  Irvin bailed them out time and time again.  He probably played his best game of the season and without him they would not have won the game.

Irvin and Walton sit at their lockers

1/22/2016 at Nebraska Game Recap

The first half of the game against Nebraska was very similar as the game against Minnesota.  They jumped out to an early double digit lead mostly because of a barrage of 3 pointers.  Just like it usually is it was Duncan Robinson knocking down a couple of them.   Also just like the Minnesota game, Michigan allowed that lead to dwindle to single digits and they got it down to 3 points going into the half, 33-30.  Unlike the game against Minnesota, Zak Irvin did not play well in the first half and only had 3 points.  Instead Duncan Robinson picked up much of the scoring and had 8.  They spread the scoring out a lot in the first half with 5 guys having at least 5 points.

Duncan Robinson knocks down a 3

The second half started much in the same way as the first half.  Michigan made their first 9 shots of the half and built an 18 point lead at 54-36.  This was a big point in the game.  Nebraska called a timeout and changed their defense from a man-to-man to a soft 2-2-1 3 quarter court press.  Usually this type of pressure does not affect Michigan very much because they are a good passing team and take care of the basketball.  Nebraska goes to this press and Michigan started making lazy passes and started turning the ball over a lot.  They ended the game with 14, which is way too many for a John Beilein coached team.  Coming into the game they had only averaged about 9 turnovers a game.  With 3 minutes to go Nebraska got all the way within 2 points.  They were not able to get any closer than that because much like the game before Derrick Walton was able to put them away.  Michigan ended up pulling away in the last few minutes and won the game 81-68.  Duncan Robinson led the

way with 21 points and Walton finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists.

My Thoughts

Much like the Minnesota game I think that Michigan got away with playing an inferior opponent.  They are lucky that they have a couple different guys who can take over a game if they need them to because they haven’t been able to get everyone going at the same time lately.  For most of the game they went with just a 6 man rotation which makes it even more important for them to get Caris Levert back soon.

Season Thus Far

Robinson might shoot as well as Stauskas but he doesn't have

the same swagger on the court as him.

So far in the season Michigan has basically done what they are supposed to.  They have lost just about every game that they were supposed to lose and they have won just about every game that they   They are sitting at 5-2 in conference so far, which is very fortunate because Levert has been out for the last 6 games and they have been able to go 4-2.  They have a couple more games that they should win until they hit the difficult part of the schedule.  Starting in February they have tough games against Michigan State and at Indiana.  If they can get past that point in the schedule with an 8-3 record in conference they should be in good shape in finish near the top of conference.are supposed to win.  Duncan Robinson, who transferred from a D-3 school, has been a very pleasant  surprise.  He has shot the ball as well as Nik Stauskas did in his 2 years at Michigan.

2015 in Review

From the day that Jim Harbaugh was hired expectations for everything involving Michigan Football went sky high from most fans, me included.  Whether it was on the field, on the road recruiting, or exposure for the program everyone thought Michigan was in a better spot than they were the year before.

Harbaugh at his Introductory Press Conference

RECRUITING-

When Harbaugh came in he said that he was going to attack this job "with enthusiasm unknown to mankind".  The typical recruiting class is between 20 and 25 recruits every year.  When Harbaugh took over they only had 6 recruits for the 2015 class with just a little a month left until signing day.  In that short amount of time the new staff was able to identify 8 recruits that were not being heavily recruited by Michigan or not being recruited at all and they were able to sign them.  For people who follow recruiting that is pretty impressive.

Once they locked in their 14 man 2015 class they turned their sights to the 2016 recruiting class.  One of the major recruiting tools that they used that was also pretty controversial was the satellite camps.  A satellite camp is where the coaching staff from one school goes to another part of the country and conducts a camp at another school as "guests".  Michigan did these all over the country in California, Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania and Ohio.  They were able to get access to players they would not have been able to if they had not been able to.  Many coaches from schools in the south were not a fan of this practice.  Since then certain conferences have been trying to get the NCAA to ban the use of satellite camps that Michigan is doing.

PRESEASON-

Before the season outside of the program and some of their fans expectations were not high at all.  There are two major polls: the coaches poll and the AP poll.  In the coaches poll they were ranked 56th and in the AP poll they were ranked 41st.  In the ESPN preseason big ten poll they were ranked 7th out of 14.  For a program like Michigan that is not acceptable.

There were more question marks than certainties coming into the season for Michigan.  On the offensive side of the ball the only thing that they were sure of was the Jake Butt, who was now

Rudock Scores against BYU

healthy after tearing his ACL, was going to be one of the best players on the team.  At quarterback they were going to have to go with a transfer from Iowa, Jake Rudock, who transferred because Iowa had already benched him.

At runningback there were many options, some of which were highly regarded coming out of high school in Derrick Green, Ty Isaac, Drake Johnson, and Deveon Smith.  Smith eventaully won the starting job.  The fullback position was also pretty set they were returning Joe Kerridge and Sione Houma.

Wide Receiver was a position that was a big question mark heading into the season.  The starters were pretty much set with Amara Darboh and Jehu Chessun but neither had really done much in their career to that point.  There were a lot of young receivers who they were hopeful could take a leap in Drake Harris, Grant Perry, D'mario Jones, Jaron Dukes, Brian Cole and Mo Ways.

The offensive line stayed pretty much exactly the same as the year before.  It was maybe the worst unit on the team in 2014 but they were returning Ben Braden, Graham Glasgow, Kyle Kalis, Eric Magnuson, and Mason Cole.

The defense there were much higher expectations.  They were returning many of their starters.  On the defensive line  pretty much every one that was on their 2 deep was returning.  Bryan Mone, who was expected to start at nose tackle, got injured in preseason camp and was out for the year.  Guys like Chris Wormley, Willie Henry, Mo Hurst, Mario Ojemudjia, Matt Godin and Ryan Glasgow were still there.

The Linebackers were almost all returning except for Jake Ryan.  They had a lot of experience with their linebackers.  Almost all of the players returning were seniors.  Desmond Morgan was a 5th year senior and James Ross, Joe Bolden, and Royce Jenkins-Stone were all going to be in the mix.

The secondary coming into the year was supposed to be one of the biggest strengths.  Returning players like Jarrod Wilson, Jabrill Peppers, Delano Hill, Dymonte Thomas and Channing Stribbling they were expected to be maybe the best unit on the team.

Peppers on a touchdown catch

THE SEASON-

At Utah- Michigan went to Utah and played a tough team and lost 24-17.  Their biggest problems were turnovers and Jake Rudock threw 3 interceptions in the game.  On the bright side Jake Butt had one of his best games of his career.

Oregon State, BYU, UNLV, Maryland, Northwestern.  Over the next 5 games Michigan showed was a Jim Harbaugh team could be.  They outscored these 5 teams a combined 160-14 including 3 consecutive shutouts which had not been done by a Michigan team in a very long time.

Michigan State.  This game might have been the worst game that I ever attended.  I felt heartbroken after many games before but this one was by far the worst.  Michigan was winning 23-20 with 10 seconds left and all they had to do to win the game was punt the ball.  On the play there was a bad snap and the punter did not catch it and Michigan State returned the fumble for a touchdown to win the game 27-23.  It was maybe the most improbably ending to a game I have ever seen.

Minnesota, Rutgers, Indiana, Penn State.  Michigan won each of the next four game but most of them were not easy.  Against Minnesota they needed a goal line stand on the last play of the game.  Against Indiana they need a touchdown on the last play of regulation to send it to overtime and they eventually won the game in double overtime.

The game.  Michigan felt this was their best chance to beat Ohio State since they were able to do so in 2011.   They stayed in it for a while but ended up losing 42-13.  Ohio State came into the game angry after they inexplicably lost a game at home against Michigan State who had their backup quarterback,

Butt scores touchdown against Ohio State

Florida.  Michigan played Florida in their first New Years Day bowl game in 4 years.  I thought this was a pretty good matchup for Michigan heading into the game and they proved me right.  They took Florida to the woodshed and pounded them 41-7

POSTSEASON-

Michigan received more post season accolades than they had in a season in a very long time.  They had 3 players who received All-American honors in Junior Tight End Jake Butt, Junior Cornerback Jourdan Lewis and Sophomore Safety Jabrill Peppers.

Lewis Scores a touchdown against Northwestern