Tag: Michigan Football

Michigan just outside top ten in USA TODAY too early Top 25 for 2020

Early projections have a reloading Wolverines team just outside of the top ten playing against four ranked teams in 2020/

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With some other early Top 25 predictions coming out before LSU won the College Football Playoff national championship on Monday, now we have a further idea of the landscape and pecking order, given the Tigers defeat of the — well — Tigers.

Some teams will return a lot, like Clemson with quarterback Trevor Lawrence. While others, like Alabama or even Ohio State — which will have Justin Fields back, but not its running back, star defensive end or cornerback, among others — will have to reload quite a bit.

Michigan is in similar territory to the latter, having to replace quarterback Shea Patterson, wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones, four offensive linemen and Sean McKeon on offense; Josh Metellus, Khaleke Hudson and Lavert Hill on defense. But there’s a lot of faith in Josh Gattis’ system, especially with either Dylan McCaffrey or Joe Milton under center, along with Nico Collins’ return, and another solid group of running backs in the stable.

Thus, when USA TODAY Sports put together its too early Top 25, Michigan found itself just outside the top ten.

12. Michigan (9-4)

It’s not quite make-or-break time for Jim Harbaugh, but we’re getting close. Let’s ignore the matchup against Ohio State, which again seems destined to go in the Buckeyes’ favor. Overall, Michigan matches up well with the second tier of elite teams in the FBS and should be considered a strong contender for the Rose Bowl. Here’s the question: When, if ever, will the offense find the balance it needs to take the next step?

According to said projection, Michigan will have a tough road in 2020, but not quite as tough as 2019 seemed to be.

The season would start off on the road against No. 24 Washington, with No. 7 Penn State and No. 18 Wisconsin at home, before finishing off the season against No. 3 Ohio State in Columbus.

One Wolverine makes The Athletic’s two-round NFL mock draft

One player made The Athletic’s two-round mock draft.

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Remember 2017, when Michigan not only led the NFL Draft with 11 picks, but also brought in the fifth-best class according to 247Sports?

Things have changed on that front, and while the Wolverines can still recruit, it seems like a rung below where it was back then. At the same time, that 2017 class has been decimated — through transfers, various departures, and now it’s the first year that those players can go to the NFL via the draft.

Looking at the 2020 NFL Draft, the expectation would have likely been that one of Michigan’s skill guys would be the one to go highest. Well, according to The Athletic‘s Dane Brugler, in his latest two-round mock draft ($), it’s an offensive lineman that will be first off the board — and at a position that many in the NFL tend not to prioritize.

Outgoing Michigan junior Cesar Ruiz surprised many when he announced he was leaving the program after just his third season. But, it looks like it could pay off, as Brugler has the former IMG Academy man in the middle going in the second-round of his mock draft — which according to Brugler, would make him the highest Wolverine takcn. He has Ruiz being picked late, at No. 60 overall to the Baltimore Ravens.

Looking at the rest of the mock, there’s plenty of names that will assuredly make Michigan fans’ skin crawl. With three Ohio State players in the first-round (five overall), and players like OT Isaiah Wilson, who was long a heavy Michigan lean before a late change of heart towards Georgia, at No. 25 or Louisville OT Mekhi Becton — who the Wolverines wanted, but didn’t pursue quite as heavily as they could have, likely because of the aforementioned Wilson — at No. 11.

While OSU’s five players seem like a ton to go in the first two rounds, Michigan’s most recent opponent even surpasses that. The Alabama Crimson Tide — which took a solid defensive second-half to ultimately put away the Wolverines — have an astounding eight players being selected in the first two-rounds according to Brugler.

Read The Athletic’s entire mock draft here ($ – subscription required)

Michigan nabs second 2022 commit from in-state

The Wolverines have their second commitment of the 2022 cycle.

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And just like that, there were two — in both the 2021 and now the 2022 class for Michigan football.

And similar to the first commit of the 2022 cycle, it’s something of a legacy.

When Essexville (MI) Garber defensive athlete Alex VanSumeren committed in recent months, it wasn’t much of a surprise, given that his older brother Ben is already on the football team. Well, there will be another sibling duo in Ann Arbor, though the elder brother of Michigan’s newest commit just arrived on campus in official capacity earlier this month.

Both early-enrollee cornerback Andre Seldon and his younger brother, Belleville (MI) safety Myles Rowser, have been frequent visitors to campus. While Seldon is now officially a Wolverine, Rowser decided he should follow suit, pledging to the Wolverines on Monday evening via Twitter.

There are not yet rankings for the 2022 commits, but if Rowser’s offer list indicates anything, the safety should be a good one. He currently has offers from the likes of Florida, Penn State, Florida State, Nebraska and Tennessee.

Michigan lands LB transfer, son of Ed Warinner, from MSU

The son of Michigan offensive line coach Ed Warinner has committed to the Wolverines, transferring from rival MSU.

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According to The Michigan Insider’s Brice Marich, the Wolverines program got a little bit bigger this offseason.

With the NCAA transfer portal being a hot commodity since its invocation last year, one of the most prevalent questions was: who would Michigan target?

One obvious choice, once he hit the transfer portal, was Michigan State linebacker Edward Warinner, the son of Michigan offensive line coach Ed Warinner. The younger Warinner committed to the Spartans 2018 class before the elder initially signed on to be an offensive analyst in Ann Arbor back in December 2017.

And now, Edward is joining father Ed at Michigan as a grad transfer.

In 2019, as a redshirt freshman, Warinner played in 7 games and had 3 tackles.

Barring a waiver, Warinner will have to sit a year. He already has a redshirt year, but will have two years of eligibility once he is able to hit the field.

As a recruit, according to the 247Sports Composite, he was a three-star, rated 1252 overall, and the 51st inside linebacker.

Watch what Urban Meyer says is his greatest college football memory

Watch as former Ohio State and Florida head coach Urban Meyer describes his favorite college football memory of all-time.

There are college football memories from us common-folk, then there are college football memories from those that are icons of the sport. Recently, three members of the FOX College Football crew were asked to recount their favorite college football moments. The panel consisted of FOX analyst and former Colorado quarterback Joel Klatt, Former USC quarterback Matt Leinart, and of course former Ohio State and Florida head coach Urban Meyer.

So what do you think Meyer picked as his favorite college football memory? There’s a slew of them for him to be sure, but it might be one a moment plenty of Ohio State fans think of fondly as well.

Of all the national title games, bowls, rivalry games, and other fantastic moments Meyer has been a part of, his favorite memory of all-time is the 2016 contest between Ohio State and Michigan.

“The best moment that I can remember that was a flashback as I was going — I have to go with 2016,” said Meyer. “You know the respect I have, I grew up in the ten-year war — Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler. You cannot lose that game, hardest game I’ve ever been a part of. Every yard, every second, every inch mattered, and it was double-overtime against That Team Up North. We scored in the second overtime after J.T. DID get that first down, and then he launches himself in the endzone for the big win, and that has to be the best moment that I can remember.”

Click on the below and listen to what Meyer says for yourself.

It’s interesting here that Meyer’s favorite memory comes from his time at Ohio State in a The Game instead of any of the national title games, or contests at the University of Florida.

Once a Buckeye …

Ambry Thomas announces 2020 decision

The senior Wolverine has made a decision on what he’ll do in 2020.

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He said it wasn’t much of a decision, really.

After practice for the VRBO Citrus Bowl in December, Michigan cornerback Ambry Thomas, the junior from Detroit (MI) King, noted that he hadn’t put anything on social media declaring whether he was staying in Ann Arbor or if he would go pro with a year left on the table. But he said that was because he fully intended on coming back.

However, that came with the caveat: what if he showed out against the Alabama wideouts in the bowl game?

Thomas had a solid performance, but not one that would have indicated a sure fire first-round NFL Draft grade. Thus, as expected, it looks as if he’ll return to the Wolverines in 2020, as he indicated on Instagram on Saturday night.

Given his standout season, it’s excellent news for the maize and blue, who already have to replace Lavert Hill, who has exhausted his eligibility after four years with the program.

Opposite Thomas, Vincent Gray is the likely candidate to step in, but DJ Turner, the Green twins and Jalen Perry also could play big roles — and that’s not including incoming freshmen Andre Seldon and Darion Green-Warren.

WATCH: Devin Bush joins Rich Eisen for ‘Blue Know It’

The two Michigan alums celebrate all things Wolverines on network TV.

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NFL Network host Rich Eisen is an unabashed Michigan alum. You know it — or as he’d say: ‘Blue Know It!’

He’s had former Wolverines on NFL Network to tape the segment ‘Blue Know It’ before, such as Charles Woodson. On Saturday, he had a much more recent Michigan football alum on to celebrate all things maize and blue on the national broadcast: former Wolverines linebacker Devin Bush Jr.

If you’re a dyed in the wool maize and blue fan, you’re going to want to see the two-minute segment celebrating all things University of Michigan.

Thankfully, Eisen posted the entirety of it on his Twitter, so you can check it out below.

Where Michigan football ranks in Sporting News’ way too early 2020 top 25

The college football season isn’t even fully over in 2019, but the Wolverines make Sporting News’ far too early top 25 poll.

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So, the 2019 college football season isn’t completely over as of yet — with the National Championship game between LSU and Clemson still pending — but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to start looking ahead to 2020.

Michigan finished a disappointing 9-4 in 2019, and despite a lot of the turnover going into next year, there’s certainly some reasons for optimism heading into 2020. While Donovan Peoples-Jones, Shea Patterson, Sean McKeon and the bulk of the offensive line will be gone next season, Nico Collins, Nick Eubanks and the majority of the running backs return, and it will be the second year of the new offense under Josh Gattis. Likewise, the defense loses some key pieces — Lavert Hill, Khaleke Hudson and Josh Metellus are graduating and Josh Uche is leaving early — but the starting defensive ends return, Cam McGrone and Ambry Thomas continue to ascend, and there are high expectations for second-year players such as Daxton Hill and Chris Hinton.

But, despite there being evidence of a reload, and if anything, Michigan should be better, not worse, in 2020, the Wolverines still have a big problem: Ohio State.

The team hasn’t beaten the Buckeyes since 2011, and hasn’t won the conference since 2004. Thus, the maize and blue come in the middle of the pack when it comes to the way-too-early Sporting News Top 25, ringing in the new year at an expectant No. 15.

15. Michigan

It’s the same old story in Ann Arbor for sixth-year coach Jim Harbaugh. The Wolverines return a talented roster, and the quarterback battle between Dylan McCaffrey and Joe Milton will be the focus of the spring. Nico Collins’ return was huge, and the offensive line has improved. Daxton Hill is a breakout player in the secondary, but the question remains: When will this team break through against Ohio State and win a Big Ten championship? September tests at Washington and at home against Wisconsin won’t be easy.

If Sporting News is right, however, the 2020 season will continue to be punishing.

According to the too early Top 25, Michigan would have road games at No. 2 Ohio State and No. 12 Minnesota while facing No. 9 Penn State and No. 14 Wisconsin at home.

So if the Wolverines can get over the hump, it’ll do so by taking down some top teams as well as winning on the road at Washington and at MSU.

Tru Wilson enters NCAA Transfer Portal

Michigan football running back Tru Wilson announced he is transferring from Michigan and has entered the NCAA transfer portal.

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The running back room in 2020 just got a little smaller. With Zach Charbonnet and Hassan Haskins returning next year, and Chris Evans returning after getting suspended for the 2019 season due to academics, Michigan was looked at getting stronger at the position in 2020. Now they are taking a blow in the room.

After being in Ann Arbor for four years, running back Tru Wilson announced on Twitter he will graduate and transfer for a final year of eligibility. He is the second player today to announce that they are transferring from Michigan as defensive back Jaylen Kelly-Powell announced he was transferring too.

The former walk-on running back received a scholarship back in 2018, after impressing coaches in the spring camp as he competed with Evans, and former starting running back Karan Higdon. He would play in just one game in 2016 and didn’t play at all in 2017, but 2018 is when he saw his time on the field increase, playing in all 13 games.

2019 Wilson was named the starting running back by head coach Jim Harbaugh at the Big Ten Media Days in July but never ended up starting this season. He saw a reduction in his playing time this year, appearing in just eight games as Charbonnet and Haskins started outperforming him and proving their worth on the field.

In his time at Michigan, Wilson ran 107 times for 586 yards and two touchdowns, along with eight catches for 48 yards.

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Highland Springs (Va.) 2021 4-star DE Kelvin Gilliam sets visit to Michigan

Highland Springs (Va.) 2021 4-star DE Kelvin Gilliam sets visit to Michigan football for Feb. 1. He also has a trip to Penn State scheduled.

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When Michigan began recruiting Highland Springs (Va.) 2021 four-star defensive end Kelvin Gilliam, safeties coach Chris Partridge was his primary recruiter.

“Coach Partridge was my guy,” Gilliam said.

Partridge is no longer with the Wolverines, as he accepted a co-defensive coordinator job at Ole Miss just after New Years Day.

But that hasn’t changed Gilliam’s interest level in Michigan, led by coach Jim Harbaugh.

“I’m still very interested,” Gilliam said. “I talked to coach Jay and Jim Harbaugh, and I’ve been frequently talking to the director of recruiting (Matt Dudek).”

The 6-foot-3, 250-pound defensive lineman has offers from 20 schools, including Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, NC State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Temple and three schools in his home state – Virginia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.

Despite being “very interested” in Michigan, Gilliam isn’t ready to create a top list of programs.

“I’m still expanding my horizons,” he said.

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Gilliam said he will travel to Ann Arbor on Feb. 1 for an unofficial visit.

Michigan’s basketball team plays a home game at 4:30 p.m. that day against Rutgers, and the four-star football recruit will be in attendance.

“I’m looking forward to connecting with the coaches and getting a feeling of the environment and place there,” Gilliam said.

He also has a visit scheduled for Jan. 18 to Penn State.

Gilliam is ranked No. 184 in the country, No. 12 at weak-side defensive end and No. 5 in Virginia, according to the 247Sports Composite.

Contact/Follow @WolverinesWire/ @EvanPetzold