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Headed into the 2019 season for Michigan there was a lot of hype around the team, more than it ever it seemed like. They were favorites to win the Big Ten Championship with Ohio State losing their head coach Urban Meyer and replaced with Ryan Day. They hired Josh Gattis from Alabama to be their offensive coordinator and preached “Speed in Space” all off-season long.
Michigan got quarterback Shea Patterson back for his senior year. After deciding to return to Michigan for another year, Patterson brought back leadership and experience. The biggest return besides Patterson was the healthy trio of wide receivers in Donovan Peoples-Jones, Nico Collins, and Tarik Black. They would look to dominate for the first time together as a group and with this new offense, they could excel their abilities.
While those two positions looked strong, the running back room looked questionable. With Chris Evans getting suspended for the entire season due to academics, Michigan lost their best receiving running back, and one that was fast and shifty, making defenders left and right miss. They would have to rely on the youth that had never really played for the Wolverines yet. The offensive line would be filled with veteran starters except for right tackle as that battle was between Jalen Mayfield and Andrew Steuber, and it looked to be head coach Jim Harbaugh’s best group of guys he’s ever had.
Overall it was looked at a great chance for the Wolverines to finally claim the top spot in the Big Ten, yet, they finished the season 9-4. They beat Michigan State in back-to-back years for the first time since 2006-2007 and got revenge on Notre Dame from the loss in 2018. But when it came to taking on Wisconsin, Penn State, Ohio State, and even Alabama, Michigan couldn’t figure out how to get the job done.
With that said, it’s time to review how each position, including head coach and coordinators, did in the 2019 season, starting with the offense. While it wasn’t the result that everyone wanted, there are still some positives to take away from the 2019 season as the 2020 season is the next focus.
Quarterback: B+
Patterson had his final season in Ann Arbor be the best one he’s ever had. While he wasn’t in the Heisman conversation or blowing up the stat sheet, Patterson overall had a good year. His struggles with fumbling were the main issue in the first half of the season and it was a serious issue for him that was hurting the team. He did have some accuracy issues as well, overthrowing open wide receivers, or making some questionable throws into coverage.
The second half of the season though, his fumbling issues were almost gone, and he started clicking with his receivers on some big plays. Patterson finished the year going 214/381 with a 56.2 completion percentage for 3,061 yards with 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions, along with 87 carries for 50 yards and five touchdowns. The completion percentage was his worst since his freshman year at Ole Miss, and while he is to blame for some of the issues, there were games where the ball would be right where it needed to be and the wide receivers couldn’t hold onto the football.
Patterson was inconsistent at times and that’s not what you can be when it’s time to play in the big games. Either way, Patterson did all he could and in the end, it wasn’t enough to push Michigan to the next level.
The backups got some action this year. Backup Dylan McCaffrey went 10/20 with a 50 percent completion percentage for 116 yards and a touchdown, along with 13 carries for 67 yards and a touchdown. Third-string Joe Milton went 3/7 with a 42.9 completion percentage for 59 yards with a touchdown and an interception, along with five carries for 16 yards and a touchdown. These two will duke it out over the offseason this year and battle for the starting rights in 2020.
Running Back: B
With Evans suspended, that left freshman Zach Charbonnet as the projected starter, but he would have to earn it. Harbaugh named Tru Wilson the starter at the Big Ten Media Days, but Wilson would never start. Charbonnet would eventually start, but as the season progressed, that job went to Hassan Haskins. Those three running backs, along with Christian Turner, would see some playing time, but it was Charbonnet and Haskins who ended up being the best of the group.
Charbonnet finished the season as the leading rusher with 149 carries for 726 yards and 14 touchdowns, along with eight catches for 30 yards. Charbonnet would have some wear and tear heading into the season coming off a minor surgery on his knee in March and he would be limited after a few games into the season, but he’d play in every game. He had the best season as a freshman running back in school history since Mike Hart back in 2004. Charbonnet has a bright future with a full off-season to prepare for the 2020 season and without going to surgery.
Haskins finished the season with 121 carries for 622 yards and four touchdowns, along with six catches for 40 yards. Haskins took advantage of the time Charbonnet was limited and forced himself to be involved with the offense more. His involvement will be interesting next season with Evans returning.
Wilson would get involved with the running game still, finishing with 44 carries for 221 yards and a touchdown, along with two catches for 14 yards. Turner, a player projected to compete for the starting running back job, only played in eight games and was pushed down the depth chart with others out-performing him. He finished the year with 44 carries for 171 yards and a touchdown, along with four catches for 13 yards.
Wide Receiver: B-
The wide receivers at Michigan were projected to have a big year in the new offense, along with the others as it fits their style and it could help them open up some lanes for the running backs as well. In the end, they weren’t as explosive as they’d like to be, but it took six games to get things to click and when things are clicking, this offense is putting up points easily.
Peoples-Jones would somewhat regress in the offense, getting only 34 catches for 438 yards and six touchdowns, along with 24 punt returns for 173 yards. 2018 saw more catches, yards, touchdowns, return yards and even a punt return touchdown for Peoples-Jones. While Peoples-Jones took a small step back, Collins improved off his sophomore campaign. Collins finished the season with 37 catches for 729 yards and seven touchdowns.
Collins and Peoples-Jones were the big two wide receivers, but Black was the third piece that has been limited since arriving in Ann Arbor in 2017 as he’s dealt with two separate foot injuries that held him to just six games the past two seasons. Black would play in 11 games this year, but his play seemed to have taken a hit, along with others around him emerging, his playtime would be limited, finishing with just 25 catches for 323 yards and a touchdown.
One of the biggest wide receivers to play big this season was Ronnie Bell, who finished as the leading receiver in yards and catches, with 47 catches for 747 yards and a touchdown. Three freshman wide receivers got involved with the offense as well, showing the future is bright at the position. Giles Jackson had nine catches for 142 yards with one touchdown, along with 10 carries for 69 yards and a touchdown. Mike Sainristil had eight catches for 145 yards and a touchdown, while Cornelius Johnson had four catches for 61 yards and a touchdown.
The biggest flaw for the group this year was dropping catches. Some of the drops were due to good hits by the defense, others were wide open and the ball would drop out of their hands. They couldn’t hold onto the football when they needed it most sometimes and that is not what you want to see when down and trying to move the ball down the field.
Tight End: C+
With the change of the offense, the tight ends wouldn’t be used as much in the passing game as their blocking was more of the focus to help the running game get extra help. Senior Sean McKeon’s final season was this year and he finished with 13 catches for 235 yards and two touchdowns. Nick Eubanks was used more as the receiver with 26 catches for 254 yards and four touchdowns.
Some of the blocking by both men was inconsistent, as one week they’d do well, the other they’d miss and struggle. With the offense not using the tight ends as much, they became less of an offensive weapon and more of a blocker, which opened up doors for more wide receivers to get in on the receiving action.
Offensive Line: A-
The lone position to get an A this season, the offensive line was the strongest it’s been at Michigan in a very long time. While Michigan would be without starting left tackle Jon Runyan Jr. for the first two games, backup Ryan Hayes did well in his place and will certainly be a starter or close to it next season. Left guard Ben Bredeson had another solid season, starting center Cesar Ruiz was great once again, and he declared for the draft after another great year, and starting right guard Michael Onwenu was huge once again.
The big battle at right tackle between Andrew Stueber and Jalen Mayfield ended before the season started as Stueber tore his ACL. Mayfield would play well as the starting right tackle and will look to defend his job in 2020 as Stueber returns and will be looking to start at that position or left tackle, possibly even at guard too.