Tag: Chris Evans

Chris Evans was stunned at size of Buccaneers defenders during NFL debut

A big Bengals breakout was shocked at the size of pro players during his first NFL game.

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Cincinnati Bengals running back Chris Evans was the breakout performer for the offense during his team’s preseason victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday night.

In his postgame interview tour, Evans didn’t talk about typical rookie things like the speed of the game itself.

He took more of a Space Jam approach in the way he was wowed by the size of Tampa Bay’s first-team players, as captured by Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic:

“It was crazy just seeing how big people are. After the first couple hits I got acquainted, like, OK, I’m supposed to be here. First couple, I was like, ‘Whoa.’ When Tampa Bay had their ones in and I was looking on the sideline, I was like, these dudes are huge. (Jason) Pierre-Paul was standing there just looked like a creation. When I got in the twos came in and I said, ‘OK, OK,’ this look a little more familiar to me.”

Keep in mind Evans isn’t that small at 5’11” and 211 pounds. But yes, Jason Pierre-Paul is something of an anomaly at 6’5″ and 275 pounds with his 6’9″ wingspan.

Evans hasn’t played a heavy dose of football since the 2018 season, so his welcome-to-the-NFL moment simply being his observation of just how big defenders are isn’t a shock.

And Evans looked like he belonged, too. One or two more performances like that and he isn’t just making the roster — he might shove aside the guys in front of him to take backup snaps behind Joe Mixon.

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3 former Wolverines make USA TODAY Sports NFL training camp standouts list

No surprise, as they’re #Michigan Men! #GoBlue

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Just like when they arrive in Ann Arbor, once in the NFL, former Michigan players have to assert themselves. Whether they were high or low draft picks, preparing in NFL training camps means a time to prove your mettle and show that you deserve a shot to be a part of the 53-man roster.

We’ve seen lower-round draft picks from the Wolverines thrive before — ahem, Tom Brady — same as higher-round picks. According to the latest from USA TODAY Sports, three former Michigan football players have really shown out in NFL training camp, including two sixth-round picks and a second-round pick — one of which is a rookie player. With the article featuring just 32 players as camp standouts, having 10% of the take is a pretty good ratio.

Here’s who USA TODAY Sports featured.

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What scouting reports said about Bengals draft pick Chris Evans

Here’s what experts said about Cincinnati Bengals draft pick Chris Evans.

One of the more interesting draft picks by the Cincinnati Bengals this year was taking Michigan running back Chris Evans in the sixth round.

Running back was a strength on the roster even before Giovani Bernard’s departure, so it was a noteworthy development — and by all accounts from the experts, a great value.

Evans, who had an embattled collegiate career near the end before going pro, looks to have the skills necessary to live up to donning that No. 25 just like his predecessor.

Did Bengals get late-round steals with Trey Hill and Chris Evans?

The Cincinnati Bengals might have two gems on their hands from the 2021 NFL draft.

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The Cincinnati Bengals made a couple of noteworthy picks late in the 2021 NFL draft that deserve more attention.

We graded both extremely well as the draft proceeded for good reason — Georgia offensive lineman Trey Hill has a chance to stick around for a long time, if not break out as a starter eventually. And Michigan running back Chris Evans could work his way into the rotation quickly.

This is a topic that just came up with Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com too:

“As for Hill, “yeah”, I think both guys in the sixth round, Georgia center Trey Hill and Michigan running back Chris Evans, are here for a while. Hill had third-roundish tape, but appeared to overpay for a sub-par pro day. Still, good tape and good 320-pound size is attractive. The added extra is he has good football intelligence and can play all three inside spots.”

Indeed, Hill looked great on film over eight games last season before it was revealed he was playing through injuries in both knees. If he can get back to 100 percent and keep on his upward developmental trend, he might just be able to fight for a guard spot down the road.

And then there’s Evans, who had part of his collegiate career dashed with academic issues before the Wolverines staff decided to not use him as much as they probably should. He flashed anyway, and if those flashes are any sign, he could be a big asset in the passing game on third downs.

It’s up to the talent to put in the effort and the coaches to do a great job to make late-round selections succeed as always. But the value of both Hill and Evans picks was superb and the Bengals could be much better for it in the long run.

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Report: Chris Evans to move on from Michigan, eyes NFL

Despite the NCAA free year given the 2020 season, the fifth-year running back will look to pursue his pro career.

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While Michigan football’s 2021 running backs room will still be crowded, it may be a little less so than anticipated.

With 2020 being a free year from the NCAA — meaning: every player who participated will not ding their eligibility and could return without penalty — there’s been some question about some of those senior players and whether or not they would try their hands at the college game for one more season. For those who might have questionable NFL draft stock, it would make sense for them to give it another go.

One such player looks like he’ll see what he can do in the professional ranks.

According to the Detroit Free Press’ Rainer Sabin, fifth-year running back Chris Evans will not seek another season at the college level and will declare for the NFL draft.

The Michigan football running back is expected to turn pro instead of using the extra year of eligibility the NCAA granted to all players before this season, the Free Press has learned.

“I think for Chris it was a no-brainer,” a source close to Evans said. “Obviously at that position you have a short shelf life and I think the has the skills to succeed.”

A fifth-year senior, Evans returned to the Wolverines after he was removed from the program for an undisclosed reason in February 2019 and was barred from playing that year. Evans hinted that academic issues caused his suspension.

In spite of that, Evans received a preliminary Day 2 draft grade from National Football Scouting Service, which is used by 21 clubs around the league. The favorable evaluation, which was made this past offseason, was linked to Evans’ potential.

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While that makes things somewhat clearer with Evans leaving, the other three backs — Hassan Haskins, Zach Charbonnet and Blake Corum — will be joined by elite 2021 recruit Donovan Edwards, who has the potential to make an early impact upon arrival.

In 2020, Evans rushed 16 times for 73 yards and a touchdown while adding 9 catches for 87 yards.

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Fixing Michigan’s offensive line is the key for a 2020 turnaround

No unit on the offense has struggled more for Michigan football than the offensive line. If they can turn it around, the season can change.

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It’s year two under the speed in space offense run by Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis. Last year it showed flashes of what it could be, but it wasn’t up to par. With another year of learning, this offense has a chance to put up points week in and week out. There’s just one problem with that so far this season, and it’s the offensive line.

The offensive line was known to be taking a backseat in 2020. Despite having a great offensive line coach in Ed Warinner, it wasn’t looking well for the group. With four new starters among the line, it was well documented that this unit wouldn’t be as good as they were the year before.

Against Minnesota, that seemed to be gibberish. The offensive line kept Milton up almost all night with just allowing one sack, and it was on the first series of the game. The ground game was able to churn out yards and get into the endzone, finishing with 256 yards and five touchdowns on 31 carries.

The unit seemed like it wouldn’t be a problem, like many expected. Then came the next game against Michigan State. Michigan was getting no push from its lineman and the ground game that worked well the week before was stagnant and not itself. The team was only able to get 152 yards and three touchdowns on 34 carries. So with more carries, Michigan got over 100 fewer yards and two fewer scores. What hurt the team the most that game was losing starting right tackle, Jalen Mayfield.

This week against Indiana, Warinner needed to show that the depth he had at his positions were stout. The team wouldn’t see Mayfield play against Indiana, but they also wouldn’t see starting left tackle Ryan Hayes either, so now both starting tackles are injured for the Wolverines.

The offensive line would see a dramatic shift as Karsen Barnhart would start at left tackle. Zak Zinter would start at left guard. Andrew Vastardis would remain at center, while Chuck Filiaga would flip from left to right guard, and Andrew Stueber would move from right guard to right tackle. Stuber played right tackle before the 2020 season, so luckily, he’s had experience before at that position.

Heading into the matchup today, despite being weakened at the position, Michigan had a chance to run all around the Hoosiers defense. Against Penn State, Indiana allowed 250 yards and two touchdowns on 52 carries. The week after against Rutgers, they allowed 121 yards and a touchdown on 33 carries. If you average those two up, Indiana allowed an average of 185.5 yards per game and an average of 4.4 yards per carry.

Today against Michigan, Indiana eradicated the Wolverines running game. Michigan was only able to get a measly 13 yards on 18 carries. That’s .72 yards per carry. Those numbers are unheard of when talking about Michigan football. Michigan is known for being a smashmouth running team that will make you pay for everything in the trenches. The trenches today for the Wolverines ran dry.

The theme of a poor offensive line continues to define the offense this season. When Michigan isn’t able to run the football well, the offense takes a hit. Despite the speed in space type of offense Gattis runs, it still needs the running game to be relevant because if it dies, so does the offense. In both losses, Michigan was not able to get the ball moving on the ground. They struggled with that against Michigan State and really showed its struggles against Indiana.

These teams aren’t the best rushing defenses in the country, either. Indiana allowed 250 yards on opening week, while the Spartans allowed 226 against Iowa today. It’s plain and simple. If Michigan can’t run the football well, they lose the game. What dictates whether the running game can work? The offensive line.

Michigan has plenty of weapons in the backfield with Hassan Haskins, Zach Charbonnet, the returning Chris Evans, and the freshman, Blake Corum. These players are good at what they do, and when they are asked to try and run through a wall of defenders because the offensive line doesn’t have any holes for them to run through, that is a lot to ask out of them.

Warinner needs to figure out what he can do with his guys. Injuries have certainly changed up the game for him, but if he can figure out what issues they are dealing with, the offense can do what it did against Minnesota two weeks ago. With the defense having issues, Michigan’s offense needs to put up points. The offense is the biggest issue overall for the team in 2020.

Sure, you can point at the defense and give them the blame, but if Michigan can put up points, drive after drive, and its defense can make one more stop, they win, easy as that. College football is moving away from its low scoring, defensive shutouts, and more towards the high-scoring action-packed games. Defenses don’t win you championships anymore in college; offenses do. If Michigan can figure out what to do with the offensive line and help the running game become relevant again, then this team has a chance to turn this around possibly.

Contact/Follow @WolverinesWire/ @BKnappBlogs

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Jay Harbaugh explains current Michigan RB rotation

How Michigan football plans to proceed with the rotation now that it’s 1-1 and struggled on the ground in Week 2.

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While the biggest question facing Michigan football at the moment is how it will rebound this week against No. 13 Indiana, one of the frequent subsets is how the Wolverines will continue to attack via the run.

Everything worked out well in Big Ten Week 1, with seven players rushing for 277 yards, but in Week 2, it got to be more convoluted. Against MSU, there were six players who ran the ball, but for just 152 yards. No one had more than 60 yards on the day and only two had more than 50.

So how will it work going forward? Will Michigan try to find the hot hand and ride him throughout games? Or will it continue to just cycle through the four tailbacks while adding QB runs and WR jet sweeps?

There are different methods to it, running backs coach Jay Harbaugh said, noting to Jon Jansen on the Inside Michigan Football program that all four tailbacks will get carries, but they’re trying to find ways to get them each to be successful in their own right.

“Each guy’s a little bit different, each guy brings a little something different to the table,” Harbaugh said. “A little bit of everything – putting guys in a situation to do what they’re really good at. Obviously, if a guy starts to catch fire, so to speak, and feel like he’s running it really well, that guy’s gonna get a little bit more of an opportunity. You saw that a little bit with Blake last week and Hassan a little bit, as well. So there are situations that come into play. I have a hard time imagining a scenario where all the guys don’t play, just because they all do bring a little something different to the table. If they were all more similar, I don’t think there’d be a reason to, but the fact that they provide a little bit of difference to the offense gives merit to all of the guys play, as long as they’re performing the way that they need to.

“Don’t anticipate anything changing in that regard, and obviously would love to see in the course of a game, being able to find a groove as an offense where guys are running and getting more productive. But it’s not a ‘hey, we don’t like how a guy’s playing, let’s pull them out.’ We’re trying to get them involved and get our talented players on the field and give them opportunities – and good things will happen if we do that.”

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So how does Michigan plan to get each involved? Obviously, you want to see more of what happened in Week 1 and less of Week 2, in that, you want multiple guys having success.

Harbaugh says the goal is to make everyone as close to a complete back as possible, so that any tailback, despite what they might be best at, can be in on any play. Then, you try to get them to do what they’re best at.

“In the flow of the game, there can be some challenge to it,” Harbaugh said. “I think Coach Gat does a great job going into the game of giving us a heads up what calls are gonna be coming, possible sequence of calls that could come up. The ability of coaches to try to get a call in for a certain player or whatever. But as a running back position, you can’t be a specialist, so to speak, where you can only do these types of runs or run these types of routes. You can’t limit yourself. Because if you do that, you get into a real problem in terms of substitutions as well as in terms of (attacking the defense) with the backs, we try to become complete players where you don’t have anything that you can’t do. If you set that as a baseline, where you can have a freshman in Blake Corum in there on protection downs, that’s really helpful. Then the defense can’t tee off every time he’s in there, thinking, ‘Hey, this is gonna be for sure a run for him or a perimeter run.’ So having that balance is key and the way the guys prepare rounding their games out makes that real possible to be well-rounded like that.”

We’ll see if the rushing attack improves in Big Ten Week 3, when No. 23 Michigan takes on No. 13 Indiana in Bloomington. Kickoff is slated for noon EST.

3 things we learned after Michigan defeated Minnesota

After a 49-24 win over the Gophers, here are three things we can expect to continue to improve for Michigan football.

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After 7 weeks of college football being played without Michigan, we all finally got our wish in CFB Week Eight.

Big Ten football is back.  More importantly, Michigan football is back.

There were multiple unknowns about Michigan as game time swiftly approached, and all eyes were on the Wolverines for a primetime matchup against Minnesota. Not many people knew what to expect from the Wolverines with a new starting QB and four new starting offensive linemen.

After a dominating performance and a 49-24 win, here are the three things that we learned from the first game of the year:

Michigan is loaded at running back

Most people believed that Michigan was going to be fairly strong at running back this season with returnees Zach Charbonnet and Hassan Haskins.

With Chris Evans returning to the team this season, and the speedster, true freshman Blake Corum coming into the fold, it makes this group arguably the strongest position on the team.

Michigan ran for 253 rushing yards as a team Saturday night, and the running back group had 192 of it. As a group they averaged a stunning 9.6 yards per play on the ground. That’s nearly a first down every time they touch the ball. Got to give the offensive line a ton of praise last night, as the unit had created giant holes for the backs most of the evening.

The eye vision from Haskins and Charbonnet was spot on. Haskins found a gap on the right side of the line for a 66 yard run, and Charbonnet hit a hole up the middle for a 70 yard TD run on the secnd drive of the game for the Wolverines.

We also saw some explosive plays from Evans and Corum throughout the night. Corum’s first play was a 24 yard catch-and-run from Milton where he showed off his speed. And Evans found the end zone for the first time since 2018.

With Michigan being able to rotate four backs during any game, it will give them a major advantage all year. Keeping these guys fresh and energized will go a long way.

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NEXT: Improved QB play and a new star on defense

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5 Takeaways from Michigan’s 49-24 win against No. 21 Minnesota

In the return of Michigan football, the Wolverines dominated No. 21 Minnesota 49-24. Here are my five takeaways from the win for Michigan.

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Michigan football started the 2020 season with a bang as they dominated No. 21 Minnesota, in a 49-24 win. Head coach Jim Harbaugh got his second road win against a top 25 team, the first since he beat Michigan State in 2018. Michigan needed to make a statement in their Big Ten Week One game, and they certainly did.

The offense was explosive, but while they had 481 yards of offense, there were few explosive plays for the group. Running back Zach Charbonnet had a huge 70-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, but most of the plays by the Wolverines were good chunk plays, and with Minnesota missing their starting kicker and punter, they had short field position for a majority of the game.

The defense played lights out after a slow start, and they were able to shut down the high-powered offense that Minnesota had from last season. Minnesota’s star wide receiver, Rashod Bateman, was held in check with nine catches for 101 yards. While 101 yards is a lot to allow for a wide receiver, most of them were in just two plays. Keeping Bateman in check was a big objective, and the Wolverines did just that. Check out my five takeaways from the Wolverine’s huge win over the Golden Gophers.

1. The running game is as advertised

Michigan has a loaded running back room with every type of running back you can imagine. From a pass-catcher to a speed demon to a power back, Michigan has everything you need. We knew all four running backs would get involved, and all four each had a moment for themselves.

Freshman running back Blake Corum had five carries for 24 yards, along with two catches or 36 yards as he was the first person to catch the ball from Milton. The other speedy running back, returning Chris Evans, made his presence known as he had five carries for 19 yards and a touchdown, along with a catch for 10 yards.

Most of the ground game yardage came from the dynamic duo of last season in running backs, Zach Charbonnet and Hassan Haskins. Charbonnet helped the Wolverines get back in the game after an early hiccup, running 70 yards for a touchdown. He would finish the game with four carries for 70 yards and one touchdown. Haskins had six carries for 82 yards and two touchdowns. The running game was advertised to have multiple weapons, and it was shown tonight.

2. The offensive line looks solid

With four starters leaving for the NFL, Michigan was left with just one returning starter on the offensive line. Right tackle Jalen Mayfield was expected to lead this inexperienced group when the game began, but luckily for him, some of his new buddies along the line have started in games before.

Right guard Andrew Stueber started three games at right tackle in 2018 before he tore his ACL and missed the 2019 season. Ryan Hayes started the first two games of the 2019 season at left tackle while Jon Runyan Jr. was injured. Those two players would start, Hayes at left tackle and Stueber at right guard.

The other two new starters never had starting experience before in left guard Chuck Filiaga and center Andrew Vastardis were the new faces on the line, and overall the unit played well. Milton was sacked on the first drive of the game but could stay upright for the rest of the game and had time to throw a majority of his passes. They also helped open up holes for the running game. Overall this group didn’t appear to have multiple starters; they exceeded the expectations, and if they can continue this stellar play, it can be the difference-maker for the offense to put up 40+ points a week.

3. Joe Milton wasn’t flashy but got the job done

Michigan starting quarterback Joe Milton had a lot of hype coming into the 2020 season. With the cannon of an arm he has and how much he was putting in work during the off-season, Milton was seemed to have a chance of a big game opening week. While it wasn’t a monster game for Milton with few deep passes, he did a good job in his first start.

Milton finished the game going 15/22 for 225 yards and a touchdown, along with eight carries for 52 yards and a touchdown. His accuracy didn’t seem to be much of an issue as he overthrew two passes. The rest were just dropped balls or close catches. Milton used his legs more than was expected, and it helped confuse the Minnesota defense.

Every week you shouldn’t expect Milton to be throwing for over 300 or 400 yards along with three or more touchdowns. Milton doesn’t need to blow up the opposing defenses; he needs to make some plays and move the ball down the field as the running game seems to be how the Wolverines will score most of the points this year.

4. The defense could have gotten better

Last year was the worst year for the defense for the Wolverines under defensive coordinator Don Brown. Before 2019, Michigan repeatedly had a top-five defense. In 2019, they finished 10th. 10th was the worst they’ve had, and that’s still pretty good.

Michigan looked like they could be a top-five defense once again with the performance they had against Minnesota tonight. The Wolverines were able to get five sacks, force a fumble, and an interception. Minnesota was held to 326 yards of offense, and multiple times Michigan was bending but didn’t break.

The defense had multiple players step up and make plays for them tonight. Viper Michael Barrett played fantastically with seven total tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. Defensive end Kwity Paye finished with four total tackles, three tackles for loss, and two sacks. Defensive tackle Carlo Kemp made some big plays and finished with four total tackles, a tackle for loss, and a sack.

5. The delima at kicker needs to be handled fast

Something that wasn’t discussed much before the season began was the kicker battle between Jake Moody and Quinn Nordin. Both kickers were in a rotation last season before Nordin seemed to have taken over at the position to close out the season. Harbaugh never named either one the starter, so we weren’t sure who would start this season until the first field goal attempt would happen.

Moody was the first kicker on the field, and while he was 7/7 on extra-point attempts when it came to kicking field goals, he struggled heavily. His first attempt was 38 yards out, and it was not close as it was wide right. His next kick was further away at 48 yards, and while this one was more accurate, it still was off to the left. The final kick was 33 yards out, and while it was a bad snap, Moody still couldn’t make it. Every point matters in these games, and missing those aren’t what you want to see from your starting kicker in the first game.

Nordin never saw the field, and maybe he should be given a chance to kick field goals next week. Missing one kick doesn’t mean you should lose the starting job, but missing three in the first week, against a top 25 opponent on the road, should make it a question if you are the right guy. Whoever Michigan has out there next week needs to be the starting kicker for the rest of the season, as a rotation doesn’t cut it, and pulling a kicker every other week doesn’t help their confidence. Let the battle this week be for the rest of the season, without making it a week-by-week case.

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3 keys to a Michigan win at Minnesota

The Wolverines are set to open the season in Minneapolis on Saturday. This is how they can return to Ann Arbor 1-0.

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Michigan football is now just days away from kicking off the new season.

Some thought this day may not happen due to the pandemic the world is facing, but the Wolverines kick off on Saturday after a long wait. As we all know, Michigan will be getting a tough test to start the year as it goes to Minnesota to face the Golden Gophers.

Not only is Minnesota a tough foe to get the opening week, but the game will be played on primetime national TV and the whole of the United States will be watching Jim Harbaugh lead his troops out onto the field. Some will be wondering if Harbaugh can defeat a ranked team on the road during a night game, given the narrative there. The Wolverines will try to show the world that they can.

Here are three keys to get it done.

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1. Slow down Tanner Morgan

Tanner Morgan blew up the college scene last year in his first full season as a starter.

Morgan threw for 3,253 yards (which was 24th overall in the nation) along with 30 TD and only 7 INT. He also had the No. 4 overall passer rating last year with a 178.7 (behind only Burrow, Hurts, and Fields). Morgan was, and still is, the focal point of this team.

However, the Gophers are down a couple big members of their offense from last year. They lost starting running back Rodney Smith, and starting WR Tyler Johnson to the NFL draft. It also looked as if WR Rashod Bateman wouldn’t be on the team as well due to an opt out, but once the Big Ten decided to have the season after all, Bateman also decided that he would opt back in to play. It’s huge news for Minnesota, as he put up big numbers last year: 60 receptions for 1,219 yards and 11 TD.

Statistically, Morgan is one of the better passers in the Big Ten, and he will be up against an inexperienced secondary at Michigan. After an opt out from once starting CB Ambry Thomas, Michigan has no starting experience at corner outside of Vincent Gray. Michigan has plenty of bodies to throw in there though: Sammy Faustin, DJ Turner, Jalen Perry, Gemon Green, and Andre Seldon. As of now, there hasn’t been a confirmed starter next to Gray, so we will have to wait to see who Michigan throws in there. Assuming Michigan double teams Bateman most of the game with Gray and Daxton Hill/Brad Hawkins, the other starting back will be left in man coverage. That will be a very intriguing matchup to see.

How do you really slow down Tanner Morgan? Michigan’s front four.

Defensive ends Kwity Paye, and Aidan Hutchinson both decided to come back for this abbreviated season to help the Wolverines. ‘Salt and pepper’ are going to need big games if Michigan is to win as the line will need to create some havoc and make Morgan feel the pressure.

If Michigan’s front four can get to Morgan a couple times early in the game, it will bode well for the Wolverines the rest of the matchup.

2. Get the run game going early

When a team is breaking in a new starting quarterback, you want to make his life as easy as possible. One of the best ways to do that, establish the run early.

Michigan returns its top two backs from last season in Zach Charbonnet and Hassan Haskins, but also returns Chris Evans after he missed all of last season. Christian Turner and speedy true freshman Blake Corum could also see some carries.

Minnesota was a stout rushing defense last year only allowing 127 rushing yards-per-game. The Wolverines will be breaking in four new full-time starters to go along with tackle Jalen Mayfield. Ryan Hayes and Andrew Stueber do have playing experience, so that is going to be helpful in a big game atmosphere. Since there weren’t any non-conference games this year, the O-line will need to jell together fast.

Michigan averaged 150 yards on the ground last year as a team. It will need to gain every bit of that on the ground for Michigan to win. If it can get the run game going early with Charbonnet and Haskins (while sprinkling in some Evans and Corum) then that will help Milton out tremendously, and keep the defense honest all game long.

3. Keep Milton calm and watch speed and space work

Let’s welcome in Joe Milton, the presumed starter, who has attempted 11 career passes. Most of which have been in the fourth quarter of garbage time football.

He won’t get an easy test his first game as a starter. The Golden Gophers were the 12th-ranked passing defense last season, giving up only 185 yards through the air, on average, as a team. Granted, Minnesota lost two big secondary pieces from last years team in Antoine Winfield Jr, and Chris Williamson, both of whom got drafted. But, it should still be a solid unit as a whole.

Michigan also lost arguably three out of its four best WRs — all for different reasons.

Donovan Peoples-Jones declared for the draft early, Tarik Black transferred to Texas, and Nico Collins decided to opt out to prepare for the upcoming draft.

Luckily, the cupboard isn’t bare at Michigan.

Star wideout Ronnie Bell returns along with Giles Jackson, Mike Sainristil, and Cornelius Johnson. Freshmen Roman Wilson and A.J. Henning both should play a role in the passing game this year (maybe this game) as well.

Milton will have plenty of weapons at his disposal this Saturday night, most of which are the fast type, which is where the speed-in-space mantra comes into play. Offensive coordinator Josh Gattis likes to get his weapons the ball away from defenders and allow their speed to take over. As long as Milton can stay poised throughout the game and get the ball to his playmakers, Michigan should be in a good spot when its all said and done.

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