Khaleke Hudson – Page 7 – Syndication Server

5 Players to Watch Against Indiana

Michigan Football is looking to avoid getting upset from Indiana this week. Here are the five impact players ahead of this week’s game.

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Michigan has a big challenge this week in the Indiana Hoosiers. As the Wolverines are coming off a big 44-10 win over rival Michigan State, and with Ohio State coming up after Indiana, the Hoosiers are stuck in the middle which means they could be overlooked on the schedule. Indiana isn’t a pushover either, as they only lost to Penn State 34-27 last week and have been impressive all season long.

Indiana is 7-3 and has a chance to go to a solid bowl game this year if they can win one or two more games. Beating Michigan would be a huge boost for the Hoosiers as they could be looked like a more serious threat in the world of college football.

Before kickoff happens on Saturday, check out the five players you should pay attention too once the game starts.

1. WR Ronnie Bell – MICHIGAN

The biggest surprise of the 2019 season for the Michigan football team has been the emergence of wide receiver Ronnie Bell as the number one wide receiver on the team. Last week he had a career-best game, getting nine catches for 150 yards against Michigan State. Bell leads the team in catches and yards with 36 for 610 yards this season.

With more eyes getting locked on him by opposing defenses, Bell could be facing stricter coverage beginning this week and that could change up his production. Indiana could have some troubles containing the wide receiver, but with many other weapons on the Wolverines offense, they might have to deal with him in just single coverage.

For Indiana’s offense, their quarterback who is an underrated threat…

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Michigan football quick film hits: Michigan State

Michigan football defeated Michigan State 44-10 in the battle for the Paul Bunyan trophy. When rewatching what was noticed in the win?

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Coming off their bye week, and the game before Michigan State last week, Michigan defeated Maryland 38-7. This week the extra week of preparation would be huge as the Wolverines dominated the Spartans 44-10 as they win their second-straight against MSU.

The offense woke up as quarterback Shea Patterson threw for over 300 yards for the first time at Michigan as he led the group down the field multiple times throughout the game. The defense gave the MSU offense a tough go at it and even the special teams had some big plays. Check out what I found during my re-watch of the game.

OFFENSE

In the first quarter with 7:17 to go, Michigan got away with three false start penalties as both left tackle Jon Runyan Jr. and right tackle Jalen Mayfield, and tight end Sean McKeon moved before the ball was snapped. Michigan wouldn’t score on the drive, but that could’ve been another early penalty for the Wolverines. Early mistakes gave MSU life and in rivalry games like this, you can’t let simple mistakes happen.
The jet sweep with wide receiver Giles Jackson was a great play call by offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, using Jackson’s speed along with great blocking can open up the field. That was an example of the kind of offense he wants to run at Michigan.
Still not a fan of the wildcat play calls and when they are made. In the second quarter, Michigan runs back to back wildcats inside the five and while they did score on the second attempt, I still don’t get why when you are down and so close to scoring to you risk anything crazy happening in a rivalry game. If they were up by 14+ then the call is safe but inside that five-yard line Patterson can be dangerous with his arm or leg, running a wildcat usually means you run. Maybe one of these times Haskins will pass as a trick, but until it happens it still isn’t a good call this early in the game and in the situation they were in.
Patterson using his legs to get out of the pocket and still get a throw off is huge for this offense. Earlier in the year, Patterson couldn’t do that much with his oblique injury and he rarely ran it on the option plays. Now having him as a threat in those plays, and to escape the pocket and gain yards with his legs instead is huge for this team.
Both catches by wide receiver Mike Sainristil were impressive, as he had to dig deep and catch both before they hit the ground. Great effort and plays by him.
Michigan ran another wildcat play with less than five minutes to go in the first half, again inside the five as it was a loss of three on the play. Tied 7-7 and close to taking the lead it still was a poor decision to call that there.
Something not talked about much in the win was the blocking by the wide receivers on the outside on the screen passes and sweeps. Wide receiver Ronnie Bell didn’t just catch the ball well, he blocked well also as he played lights out in this game.
I like the idea of the trick play with backup quarterback Dylan McCaffrey near the end of the third quarter. Both options were shut down but it was still a nice play call. Up by two scores near the end of the quarter, that is a lot better to call something like that then the wildcats called earlier.
The fumble by wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones on the punt return in the fourth quarter was one a few mistakes made by the Wolverines in this game. That could have set up the Wolverines to possibly score again, but it came at a time where the game was already out of reach so it isn’t as crucial as it would be if it was closer. Still, he needs to clean that up for the future.

Now onto the defense and their performance…

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Michigan football grades from Week 12 win over Michigan State

Michigan Football defeated Michigan State 44-10 on Saturday, how did each position grade out in the dominating rivalry win?

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Michigan had an extra week to prepare for Michigan State, as they had a bye week last week. The extra week of preparation seemed to be a big help for the Wolverines as they ended up dominating the Spartans, winning 44-10.

The offense exploded with points as quarterback Shea Patterson had his best game ever at Michigan, the defense kept the MSU offense in check, and special teams got involved in the game as well. Check out how each position graded out in the team’s big rivalry win.

OFFENSE

Quarterback: A

Patterson played lights out against his rival, in a game where he started out going 3/8 and already getting sacked once, it looked like it would be a long day for Patterson. Well, it was a long day, a long day of dominance as Patterson finished the game going 24/33 for 384 yards and four touchdowns as he had his best game as a Wolverine. He would throw for over 300 yards for the first time at Michigan, and he even broke a record that Tom Brady had against MSU.

Patterson used his legs when he needed too but he couldn’t make anything of it as he was sacked three times to knock his rushing yards into the negatives. The way he was throwing the football though was impressive as he made some quick, deep, and tough throws. Along with the throws, he made some good reads to set up those throws as he looked comfortable with multiple RPO plays.

The offense finally seems to be intact and what offensive coordinator Josh Gattis dreamt of and it started with Patterson. This offense was supposed to help him greatly and fit his style of play. It started out rough, but now it’s starting to come together at the right time.

Running Back: C+

While passing the ball worked really well against MSU, running wasn’t as effective but it still did some damage. Hassan Haskins was the only running back to find the endzone as he finished with six carries for 13 yards and a touchdown. Freshman Zach Charbonnet had the best day of any running back, finishing with seven carries for 30 yards. Tru Wilson had the most carries with 10, but for 26 yards.

Wide Receiver: A+

There hasn’t been a better game for the wide receivers than yesterday as six different wide receivers caught a pass, and if you include the other positions the number increases to nine. Ronnie Bell was the star receiver, finishing with nine catches for 150 yards, a career-best for him. While he wasn’t able to get into the endzone, three other wide receivers were able too.

Donovan Peoples-Jones finished with four catches for 48 yards and a touchdown. Nico Collins had three carries for 45 yards and a touchdown, while freshman Cornelius Johnson had one catch for 39 yards and a touchdown. Tarik Black had a nice 27-yard catch, while freshman Mike Sainristil had two good catches for 21 yards.

Tight End: B

Starting tight end Sean McKeon was a big help in the receiving game for Patterson has he had two big catches for 46 yards, while Nick Eubanks had one catch for five yards and a touchdown. The tight ends weren’t used often in the passing game but when they were they were effective. Their blocking was helpful as well.

Offensive Line: A-

Despite Patterson getting sacked three times and the rushing attack only putting up 83 total yards, the offensive line did a good job in giving Patterson time to throw the football. They also did a good job of blocking on some of the jet sweeps and wide runs/screen passes. They helped the offense do what they were able to do.

Now onto the defense and special teams…

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Michigan’s native-sons ball out against rival Spartans

On Saturday against the Spartans, Michigan got its best performances of the day from the players native to the state.

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The ‘Battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy’ may not have the historical significance of ‘The Game’ at the end of November, but Michigan’s in-state rivalry provides something the matchup with Ohio State does not.

On Saturday, the Wolverines fielded 44 players native to the state of Michigan, while the Spartans fielded an additional 48. Many of these players have competed with or against one another throughout their years playing football.

Saturday in Ann Arbor, the Michigan natives sporting maize and blue out-performed their brothers donning green and white, and many of the biggest plays of the game came from those Wolverines who grew up watching and living this rivalry.

It started with Michigan State’s first possession. After forcing a punt, the Spartans crossed midfield and faced a third-and-3 from the Wolverines’ 38-yard line. Michigan’s Michael Danna, from Detroit, sacked Spartan quarterback Brian Lewerke, ending the scoring threat.

Danna would finish the game with six tackles, including the sack and tackle for loss.

Michigan carried a 17-7 lead into halftime, but with the Spartans receiving the second-half kick, the outcome was still very much in doubt. That began to turn when Detroit-native Ambry Thomas picked off Lewerke to set the Wolverines up with great field position.

Michigan capitalized four plays later when Donovan Peoples-Jones – another Detroit native – scored from 18 yards out to extend the lead to 24-7.

“He’s got the ability to elude and also out-run people,” said head coach Jim Harbaugh. “Good to see him getting the ball and making those type of plays, and finishing in the endzone.”

Thomas would finish with six tackles and a tackle for loss to go along with his interception. Peoples-Jones had four catches for 48 yards.

Asked what it was like seeing players from Detroit making plays in this game, Peoples-Jones smiled.

“It means a lot. I can’t even describe it in words,” he said. “It’s a big game, big-time opportunities out there and we came out and…didn’t make the most out of our opportunities but made plays when they needed to be made.”

Later in the third quarter – after Michigan State closed to within 14 points – Wolverine kicker Quinn Nordin, from Rockford, connected on a 49-yard field goal attempt to extend Michigan’s lead back to three possessions, 27-10.

“I’ve got to give a lot of credit to Quinn,” Harbaugh said. “He comes in, hits a 49-yarder from the right hash. He told me when I was recruiting him that someday he was going to kick a 49-yarder from the right hash to beat Michigan State. So, that was kind of a cool moment. After he kicked that one, I walked out there and reminded him of that. It was a big kick at that point in the game.”

The Detroit natives weren’t done, and next it was Lavert Hill’s turn. He intercepted Lewerke early in the fourth quarter, setting up a drive that would end with Nordin connecting on his third field goal of the game to make it 37-10.

“That was a big moment for us,” said defensive captain Khaleke Hudson. “Just being able to get the ball back for our offense and give us a chance to put even more points on the board.”

In addition to the interception, Hill broke up another pass attempt and made a tackle.

“It was great,” Josh Metellus said. “Ambry got the pick first, and he’s from Detroit and the Michigan [State] rivalry is really big to him. It’s also big to Vert, and when Vert got his pick, you could just feel the intensity. You could feel it through him, and the vibe that he had just went throughout the whole stadium. From the field, to the fans, to the top row – whatever you want to call it. You could just that this team knew what we did today.”

Rivalry games are the lifeblood of college football. Wins in these games can breathe life into a program, while simultaneously sucking it out of the program on the other side.

On Saturday, in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines who grew up calling this state home led the way against their hated rivals from East Lansing.

“We just came out here and played a physical game,” Peoples-Jones said. “It was obviously a rivalry game, the tension was up a little bit, and everybody wants to make a play. Everybody wants to make a play for the team. I feel that’s what everybody, individually, wanted to do for our team.”

Patterson shatters Tom Brady’s passing yard record vs. MSU

It was a prolific performance against a rival, and there are some things about it that fans might not have known.

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On Saturday afternoon, Shea Patterson played the best game of his Michigan career in one of his most important games as a Wolverine – with hated rival Michigan State in Ann Arbor.

The senior completed 24-of-33 passes for 384 yards, shattering Tom Brady’s prior record for most passing yards against the Spartans. Of those 24 completions, 14 went for at least 15 yards.

“We can start with Shea,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said when asked about players who impressed him in the win. “Getting the ball to nine different receivers. Somebody told me he broke a record for the most passing yards by a Michigan quarterback in a Michigan State game – 384, and the old record was 285 by Tom Brady. [He broke the record] by 99 yards. I’d call that a whale of a game. That’s a heck of a game by the kid.”

Patterson played the whole game for the Wolverines, including the final snap where he took a knee to conclude a 44-10 beatdown of Michigan State.

“I told him before he went out there to take that snap, ‘This year, after you take the kneel down, keep the ball and don’t throw it up into the air,’” Harbaugh said with a smile. “Because he had a heck of a game, and I thought he should have the game ball.

“Then he said, “I have another plan.’ And I said, ‘What?’ and he said, ‘You’ll see.’ He came over and gave me the ball, and that was neat. But, I went back into the locker room and it’s now in his book bag. I shoved it back in his backpack. He had a great game. That’s just a great game by a quarterback. It was a real gem.”

In addition to the passing yard record versus MSU, the 384 yards was the first time Patterson reached 300 passing yards in a Michigan uniform. The senior’s four touchdown passes against the Spartans were also a new high as a Wolverine.

“The O-line did a heck of a job of giving me time and the receivers just found the open space,” Patterson said. “We had a good gameplan all week. We had an extra bye week to prepare and really diagnose what they do on defense. I just thought we had a good gameplan. The plan wasn’t to pass the ball all game, but our guys were getting into open space and making plays.”

The quarterback’s play drew praise from his teammates in addition to his head coach. Junior wide receiver said Patterson brought something extra to practice this week ahead of the rivalry contest.

“He just brought a different type of passion today,” Peoples-Jones said. “He’s always passionate, but today, the whole team, it means a little bit more. All throughout the week, I could see it in practice, he was confident with his reads, confident with his throws and he trusted us. He trusted the gameplan, and we all trusted each other. We came out victorious and it feels really good.”

Following the game, as Patterson was conducting an on-field interview with Fox Sports’ Jenny Taft, defensive captain Khaleke Hudson brought the coveted Paul Bunyan trophy over to Patterson to celebrate.

“I was going towards the M, and I saw Shea doing an interview with Fox I believe,” Hudson said. “I just wanted to give him a chance to take it all in, give him a chance to see the Paul Bunyan trophy, and give him a chance to celebrate with us.”

Patterson appreciated the moment.

“Usually it’s kind of the other way around,” he said. “Usually the defense is the one being thanked and everything.”

But on Saturday, it was a total combined effort of offense, defense and special teams, and Hudson enjoyed watching Michigan’s offense more than hold up their end.

“Shea was throwing the ball, putting it in the right place,” Hudson said. “The receivers were blocking, they were catching the balls, and the offensive line was playing their tails off also with the running backs. So, I’m very proud of them guys today. I’m very proud of how they played, how they executed and I just want them guys to keep up this energy.”

Saturday’s showdown in Ann Arbor was Patterson’s final opportunity to play against the Spartans, and the senior put on a performance that he’ll remember for a long time.

“Just wish I had two more shots at them,” Patterson said. “I wish I could’ve started here and gotten four shots at them, but…it was a lot of fun today.

“This one’s special. I’m proud to just be a part of this team and part of a win like that, a dominant win like that. We knew how important this game was, and we prepared our tails off.”

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5 Takeaways from Michigan’s 44-10 win against Michigan State

Michigan football destroyed Michigan State today 44-10. What are the main five takeaways from the Wolverine’s big rivalry win over MSU?

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Ann Arbor, MI — After a bye week Michigan came into this game against Michigan State refreshed and ready to go. They didn’t play like it though to start the game as within the first five minutes the Wolverines had three penalties called on them. Michigan soon figured out the MSU offense and calmed themselves down to dismantle MSU, winning 44-10.

The offense had themselves a good day against a top 25 defense in MSU as quarterback Shea Patterson seemed to be insulted that MSU took the lead at first 7-0. He looked really well today as the offense was executing on all cylinders and the defense was able to force MSU to air it out as the running game wasn’t working for them.

Check out my five takeaways from the big Michigan victory in the annual in-state rivalry game.

1. The offense has finally bought into Speed in Space

To begin the season we saw some different plays from the Wolverines offense, but nothing was notable as a big change. There was more RPO involved, but nothing that looked like this was a different style of offense. Then after some poor execution, it seemed like Michigan was reverting back to last year’s offense where it was run-heavy.

Ever since the second half against Penn State, Michigan has seemed to have adjusted their offense to the kind offensive coordinator Josh Gattis wanted to have when arriving in Ann Arbor. Today against MSU, we saw the offense look really different and knock out some solid plays against a top 25 defense in MSU, putting up 467 total offensive yards.

Patterson has been playing some good football lately and today was another solid performance by the senior, going 24/33 for 384 yards and four touchdowns. He has transformed as the season progressed as his fumbling issues are behind him, along with the nagging injuries. Patterson has finally been looking like his old self from last season. This was his first-ever 300+ yard passing game at Michigan, something people were expecting out of him this season.

2. The Kicker battle is over

The season-long battle at kicker between Quinn Nordin and Jake Moody seems to have finally finished. While the position started with a rotation between the two kickers, it would then move to Moody having the job for two games straight. After going 1-3 on field goals against Penn State, Notre Dame, and Maryland though, the job looked to be back open as Nordin finished the Maryland game as the kicker and was 2-2.

During the bye week, a big question would be if the rotation would return or if Nordin was able to pull ahead over Moody due to his recent struggles. That question was answered in the first half as Nordin was out for both extra-point attempts and he was the kicker for the 28-yard field goal attempt, which he made.

It seems like Nordin is now the Michigan kicker for the rest of the season unless he starts to struggle, then Moody could be put back in. Nordin finished the game going 3/3 on field goals, his longest from 49 yards out along with being 5/5 on extra-point attempts.

3. Ronnie Bell looks like the number one wide receiver

Despite receiving a lot of unneeded hate after dropping the game-tying touchdown against Penn State, wide receiver Ronnie Bell has exploded onto the scene as a clear number one receiver in this offense this season. All the talk before the season was about the trio of Donovan Peoples-Jones, Nico Collins, and Tarik Black at wide receiver. There was the chatter of Bell having an impact, but nobody expected this kind of result.

Today against MSU, Bell led the team in catches and receiving yards, finishing with nine for 150 yards. So far this season, Bell has 35 catches for 610 yards and while those numbers aren’t earth-shattering they are still impressive for a player who was looked at like the number four option heading into the season.

This offense uses the speed of the wide receivers effectively and Bell is possibly the fastest wide receiver on the team. Collins is a big man, and Black and Peoples-Jones are quick but don’t have the type of separation that Bell can have. 2020 with these four wide receivers could be really special as the team seems to have grasped the offense Gattis has tried to implement.

4. Jim Harbaugh finally gets back-to-back wins over Michigan State

For the first time since 2006-2007, Michigan has won back-to-back games against MSU. From 2008-2011 MSU went on a four-game winning streak. Michigan got a win in 2012, but then MSU went on a three-game win streak from 2013-2015. Since 2015 when Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh arrived in Ann Arbor, the away team has won each game and neither team won back-to-back games.

That changes this year and now Harbaugh has a winning record over the Spartans as he is 3-2 in this rivalry game. Fans were tired of being beaten by MSU and Harbaugh was brought in to regain control of the rivalry, along with the Ohio State one but that hasn’t been done yet.

MSU is in rough shape for their future, with multiple players transferring, multiple seniors graduating and with their head coach Mark Dantonio on the hot seat possibly, Michigan might be in the driver seat with this rivalry for the next few years. This two-game winning streak could be the beginning of another long one for the Wolverines.

5. While it wasn’t 94 yards, Michigan’s defense contained MSU’s offense

Last year, the big talk after the game besides the pre-game antics by both teams, was how the Michigan defense held MSU to just 94 yards of offense. MSU quarterback Brian Lewerke didn’t play well at all and seemed to be playing injured. This year Lewerke was healthy and despite him playing better, MSU wasn’t able to move the chains besides on two drives against the Wolverines.

Lewerke finished the game going 17/30 for 166 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, along with 13 carries for 12 yards. The rushing attack for MSU couldn’t get the ball moving either, as the team finished with 54 rushing yards on 30 carries. The defense also blocked a punt in the fourth quarter from linebacker Khaleke Hudson to help set up a touchdown from Patterson to Collins to put Michigan up 34-10.

Michigan overall held MSU to 220 yards of offense and while that isn’t overly impressive, the two interceptions and the blocked punt were huge as they gave Michigan more time with the football. The defense did allow two solid drives by the Spartans, but on the second one, the Wolverines didn’t break as they held MSU to a field goal. After Michigan figured out the MSU offense after the touchdown, they were able to contain it for a majority of the game.

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Chris Evans ‘stayed focused’ in working towards reinstatement

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – As his roommate, Michigan VIPER Khaleke Hudson had a front row seat to everything that happened surrounding running back Chris Evans. The would-be senior tailback was set to be the leading rusher now that Karan Higdon had …

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — As his roommate, Michigan VIPER Khaleke Hudson had a front row seat to everything that happened surrounding running back Chris Evans.

The would-be senior tailback was set to be the leading rusher now that Karan Higdon had graduated, but his plans were derailed due to an academic issue this past winter, which saw him leave the team while his future at the University of Michigan was in question.

While Evans remained confident over the summer, as he coached in his CE Stars 12 7-on-7 youth camps, that he would be able to rejoin the team, behind closed doors, there wasn’t as much rampant optimism. So, it was something of a surprise this week when Evans posted that he was able to rejoin the team, which was confirmed by head coach Jim Harbaugh on Monday.

Though his playing time with Evans is done, as Hudson graduates after this season, he was thrilled for his roommate once he got the news that he could suit up one last time for the maize and blue.

“I was super happy,” Hudson said. “Actually, knew before he even put it out there, because I stay with him. I was just telling him I’m proud of him, how he handled everything. How he stayed strong and how he kept his head. Because other players could really get frustrated with themselves, get out here and start doing anything, some crazy stuff. But he stayed focused, and he just did what he had to do.

“I’m just so proud of him and happy he’s back – working out and stuff. It’s just a good thing to see.”

Evans doesn’t get to rejoin the team just yet, as his suspension lasts until the end of the 2019 season. But, come January, once the 2020 Winter semester starts, he’ll be eligible to suit back up in a winged helmet.

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