Tag: Michigan Football

Former Michigan safety selects transfer destination

After not playing beyond the fourth game of the season, the former Alabama native has chosen his next school.

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Michigan had a small amount of players who decided to transfer either during or after the regular season, and among them was former Alabama native, safety J’Marick Woods.

Woods was found to be in the NCAA transfer portal during the season, but his destination was not yet known. The former three-star did not cite a reason for leaving the program, but confirmed with WolverinesWire that it was not depth chart related shortly after.

Now it looks like Woods has found a new home at another Power 5 program.

As announced on Twitter, Woods has selected solid ACC scholastic school Duke as his new choice to finish out his career.

Woods played in four games in 2019, this preserving it as a redshirt year. A former early-enrollee, Woods departs Ann Arbor with his degree and is eligible to play immediately at for the Blue Devils. He’ll have two years of eligibility remaining.

Outgoing transfer Tarik Black no longer with Michigan, won’t play in bowl game

The former Wolverines star’s Michigan career is done for good.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. —  It was a career that had a lot of promise in Ann Arbor, but now it’s over.

Now former Michigan wide receiver Tarik Black had both his freshman and sophomore seasons derailed with fractured bones in either foot, and while he returned healthy in 2019, he never became the focal point of the offense as he was when he first arrived on campus.

With 25 receptions for 323 yards and a touchdown, many anticipated a bigger year for Black, but with the end of the regular season also comes the end of his Michigan career, as he announced earlier this month that he has submitted his name into the NCAA transfer portal.

Being in the portal doesn’t necessarily indicate that a career at said institution is completely done — not until they select the next school of choice and sign. But Michigan tight end Nick Eubanks confirmed that he’s no longer with the team and won’t play in the VRBO Citrus Bowl.

Something he confirmed with a heavy heart given his relationship with him.

“He’s gone,” Eubanks said. “Personally, between me and him, I kinda feel sad about it. That’s somebody I surrounded myself with in terms of talking to him every day. Especially with him going through injuries and stuff like that. Me and him shared a bond, too. I was kinda sad about it when he announced it.”

Black finishes his Michigan career with 40 receptions for 507 yards and two touchdowns, each of his scores being in the season openers of 2017 and 2019.

As of now, the full complement of the Wolverines team, aside from Black, is practicing with full intentions to play in the Jan. 1 VRBO Citrus Bowl.

Nick Eubanks currently undecided about return to Michigan in 2020

The fourth-year Wolverine still doesn’t know whether or not he’ll put on a winged helmet or go to the pros in 2020.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. —  Michigan doesn’t have a ton of upperclassmen that are for sure departing for the NFL, save for the seniors who have exhausted their eligibility. Thus far, the only player eligible to return for another season who has announced their intentions to leave after the VRBO Citrus Bowl against Alabama is SAM linebacker Josh Uche, but assuredly others will follow suit.

With most eyes on receivers Nico Collins and Donovan Peoples-Jones, players who have not yet announced their intentions for 2020, there’s another player who’s weighing his options, and isn’t sure yet if he’ll be a Wolverine next year, or if he’ll try his hands in the NFL.

“I haven’t decided yet, but you know – there’s a chance,” fourth-year tight end Nick Eubanks said. “Personally I wouldn’t have a problem coming back next year, in terms of just trying to get better as an athlete, being able to work on my craft next year, if I do decide to come back. It’s been a decision so far and I haven’t made it yet.”

So what options is Eubanks weighing?

He’s isn’t quick to divulge, but notes a few pros and cons to remaining in Ann Arbor. While he’s fine with the school aspect, balancing that with football is a challenge in and of itself, but he does feel like he could benefit from another year with the coaching staff.

“Just thinking about everything I went through this year,” Eubanks said. “That’s basically been it. Especially school. School hasn’t been a problem, but just being able to come back here and go through the practices – that’s basically been it. And with the coaches, too, as well. Probably (would like) to get another year with Sherrone (Moore, Michigan’s tight ends coach).”

As of current, Eubanks hasn’t submitted his name to the NFL Draft advisory board to get a grade, something he says he intends to do soon, which will help inform his decision.

One place that Eubanks wants to improve — whether it be just in short order for this upcoming game against the Crimson Tide, or if he’s to return in 2020 — is his blocking.

That’s been a point of emphasis for him this year, and while he feels like he’s improved, he also feels like he could be better at it.

“I took it to a better level,” Eubanks said. “It could be great, but it’s kinda mediocre. Other than that, it’s gotten way better than it was freshman year.”

For now, Eubanks has another game to suit up in the maize and blue: the VRBO Citrus Bowl against Alabama, which kicks off at 1PM EST on Jan. 1 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

Jon Runyan vehemently disagrees with notion Michigan triple-teamed Chase Young

Though many said the Wolverines stopped Chase Young by triple-teaming him, the Michigan senior left tackle vehemently disagrees.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. —  Michigan didn’t have a lot of bright spots when it came to the Ohio State game again this year, but if there was one, it completely neutralized star defensive end Chase Young.

Young was considered by many to be the best college football player in the country, regardless of position. He finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting this year, which has become seemingly more of a glorified quarterback award as of late — still a credit to just how disruptive Young has been up front.

Essentially no team had been able to slow or stop him all season — that is, until he played Michigan.

The only stats that Young registered all game was two quarterback hurries, and the Buckeyes only managed 2 sacks all game — tied for the second-lowest all year, as OSU only managed one sack in both the Northwestern and Rutgers games and only got two in the Big Ten Championship against Wisconsin.

Some analysts have described Michigan’s effort against Young as being an all-out affair, with notions that the Wolverines frequently triple-teamed or held him, but that’s not the way that senior left tackle Jon Runyan Jr. sees it.

“We had a game plan going into it about how we were gonna block him,” Runyan said. “We were gonna mix things up to him, slide to whatever side he was on. Some plays we’d slide away, kinda catch him offsides. People liked to say we were triple-teaming him, but I disagree that we were triple-teaming him. (We tried to set him up) to having him on the weakside, that’s the position that he plays. We were sliding that way. We were able to have the guards helping the center for a second or two. If the tackles get in trouble, then the guards would come out if the tackles were getting beat inside. I think me and Jalen did an excellent job handling him. It also helped having the running backs chip sometimes on their way out to the outside.

“The talk of us triple-teaming him is kind of blasphemous. Yeah, there was some plays where there were three guys touching him, but it’s not like that was our game plan going in there. Triple-teaming a single man. Yeah, it’s just a credit to the game plan that Coach Gattis put in, putting us in the correct situations and having the confidence in us to go one-on-one with him. We executed and that’s all you can ask for.”

Michigan now has fully moved its attention away from the Buckeyes as they look to face Alabama in the VRBO Citrus Bowl. That game is set to take place at Camping World Stadium in Orlando on Jan. 1 at 1PM EST.

Khaleke Hudson: ‘I feel like our talent is better’ at Michigan than Ohio State

The Wolverines senior captain doesn’t just feel like there’s no gap with OSU, he feels like Michigan has it better.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. —  Since Michigan lost its second consecutive blowout at the hands of archrival Ohio State, there’s been a lot of question about how far apart the two programs are as of current.

It’s difficult to precisely note just where the gap exists, if not everywhere, and that conversation has gathered more steam this past week, with former Michigan videographer Ty Rogers noting on Twitter that seemingly facilities-wise, the Buckeyes seem far ahead as he visited the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

But Wolverines VIPER and team captain Khaleke Hudson disagrees with the notion that the two programs are far apart in that area.

“I’m not sure what they got at their facility, but I know we got one of the best facilities in the world,” Hudson said. “And we’ve got one of the best coaches in the world. We got the best teammates in the world.

“I don’t know where they’re at, but I know we’re higher up.”

But what about talent? OSU boasts a lot of big-time playmakers and perennially has several high-round NFL Draft picks.

But Hudson not only feels like there’s no disparity, but that Michigan, as the cliche goes, has it better.

“I feel like our talent is better,” he said.

While the scores the past two years prove otherwise at the moment, the Wolverines will have a chance to make a statement, as they take on the formidable Alabama Crimson Tide at the VRBO Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1 in Orlando. Kickoff is slated for 1PM at Camping World Stadium.

Locked On Wolverines Podcast (Ep. 271): Breaking down Michigan’s signees (Pt. 2)

Breaking down the rest of the Wolverines signees and an interesting thing that Michigan is doing this weekend.

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We tackle the final 7 Michigan signees, breaking down expectations on all of them, and then get into something really interesting that the Wolverines are doing this weekend.

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You can subscribe on iTunes, Google Podcasts, TuneIn Radio or Stitcher.

Or you can listen right here on WolverinesWire!

LISTEN below:

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Dan Villari indulges on decision to pick Michigan

The 2020 Michigan signee shares what made him pick Michigan.

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He might not be the most heralded quarterback to come to Ann Arbor, but it says something when you get an offer to play QB at Michigan.

On Wednesday, Early Signing Day, the Wolverines extended an offer to Massapequa (NY) Plainedge pro-style quarterback Dan Villari, who visited Michigan last weekend for the Oregon basketball game. It didn’t take him long to get a coveted offer, and he made his pledge to wear a winged helmet shortly after.

Speaking to News 12 in Long Island, Villari shared his thoughts on why he picked Michigan as his school of choice, noting it has everything a school could offer.

“It’s a top notch university educationally and athletically,” Villari said. “So it was a no-brainer. I love it.”

Some might point to a lack of Power 5 offers and say Michigan was reaching. But when the head coach, Jim Harbaugh, as well as other staff members fly out to pay a QB like Villari a visit, it shows otherwise.

Villari was blown away when the staff arrived in Long Island, sharing what that experience was like.

“It was crazy. He came down to visit, see what I’m about, went out to dinner with me,” Villari said. “Went out to lunch, me and my dad and the coaches went out to lunch. We had a great time.”

Villari is rated a three-star by both 247Sports and Rivals, but does not have an evaluation from ESPN.

Watch the interview below:

The signee Matt Dudek sees as perhaps the most underrated in 2020 class

Why the Wolverines director of recruiting thinks that one of the newest signees is vastly underrated as a prospect.

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Michigan director of recruiting Matt Dudek is the first person who will tell you that staff evaluations matter — not recruiting rankings.

Yes, the two go hand-in-hand in some fashion, given that the recruiting services — 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN — all do their own national evaluations, doing their best to create a hierarchy of the best football players at the high school level across the country. But, they don’t see everyone, and it’s not an exact science.

There are certainly times where the services differ from what a football staff sees. There are times when a recruiting site does a quick evaluation and puts a player in their system as a three-star. But the football staff might see a guy personally at a camp, work him out, and feel like said player has a much higher upside than what the sites say.

For Michigan, such is the case of signee Jeffrey Persi.

The San Juan Capistrano (CA) J Serra Catholic offensive tackle is rated now as a four-star by all of the recruiting services, but he was widely seen as a three-star at the time of his commitment. So, when breaking down the offensive line haul for the 2020 class to Jon Jansen on the In the Trenches podcast, Dudek singled out Persi as being a player who, despite the ratings jump, could vastly outperform his ranking.

“What I can tell you in watching them is that they’re big-body types,” Dudek said. “They fit in with the six guys we brought in last year. They’re gonna look the same way. Persi’s probably the tallest of all nine of those guys over two classes. He’s a big, big guy. But what you’ll see is they’re road graders, but they have athleticism to them. They’ve very strong.

“Jeff Persi – there’s a lot of guys I’m excited about. Let’s talk about all these guys. But Jeff Persi, when he committed to us in the summer, I’m like, ‘Okay. This is the guy! He’s all the way in California. We’ve gotta hold onto this guy for dear life, make sure we’re communicating with him. Gotta make sure we’re doing everything right. We don’t want to lose him to the West Coast.’ Because you get away from Michigan, you kind of forget a little bit. And nobody more solid than him and his family. His dad is an awesome dude. Love talking to him. No bigger guy to mess around with. I call them ‘old Jeff’ and ‘young Jeff.’ But just really good people.

“The fact that he got bumped to a four-star later in the season, the fact that he’s – he’s a top 5 offensive tackle in the country. I’ll say it right now. Everybody: four years from now, feel free to blow me up on Twitter. You can do so anyway, I don’t care. I’m telling you right now: Jeff Persi is a top 5 offensive tackle in the country. And when he gets here and develops under Ed Warinner and under Ben Herbert, I cannot wait to see that guy play.”

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Persi is listed as 6-foot-7, 265-pounds. He has the frame to be a prototypical offensive tackle, but as Dudek noted, he’ll thrive once he adds more weight to his frame as well as technique.

Signed: Dan Villari

Everything you need to know about new Wolverines signee Dan Villari.

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Stars Overall Position State
247Sports 3 1243 #40 QB #14
Rivals 3 – – –
ESPN – – – –
247Sports Composite 3 1369 #49 QB #13

Vitals

Hometown Massapequa (NY) Plainedge
Projected Position Quarterback
Height 6-foot-4
Weight 215-pounds

Recruitment

After longtime commit JD Johnson announced that he couldn’t participate in football any longer due to a congenital heart defect, Michigan turned its attention to longtime Ohio State lean CJ Stroud. But, in case Stroud didn’t see things the same way, the Wolverines hosted Villari, a little known and under-evaluated prospect from Long Island, in Dec. 2019 for the Oregon basketball game.

When Stroud committed to OSU, as anticipated, Michigan offered Villari on Early Signing Day. Villari committed to the Wolverines a few hours later.

Readiness Level

Redshirt barring absolute disaster. Could contribute in garbage situations in year 2-3, contend for significant playing time in year 4. Potential starter in either year 4-5, barring injuries and transfers, considering current QB depth.

Early Enrollee?

No

Notes (via MGoBlue.com)

Prep
• Attended Plainedge High School (2020) coached by Rob Shaver
• Led the Red Devils to a 12-0 record and the Long Island Class III state championship, the school’s first
• Helped Plainedge win the Rutgers Award as the top team in its league
• Key reason Plainedge won consecutive Nassau III league titles in 2018-19
• Went 23-1 as a starter in his career, state championship game MVP

Key Statistics
• As a senior, passed for 1,306 yards and 13 scores with just one interception and rushed for 1,522 yards with 25 touchdowns
• Threw for two touchdowns and added 144 rushing yards with four touchdowns in Plainedge’s 56-20 win in the Class III championship game
• Passed for over 1,100 yards with 12 touchdowns and ran for 1,104 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2018

Honors and Rankings
• Three-star prospect according to 247Sports, ranked as the No. 40 pro-style quarterback and the No. 14 player in New York state
• 2019 Elite 11 Regional participant
• First-team All-State and All-Long Island selection
• Received the 78th Annual Thorpe Award from the Nassau County High School Football Coaches Association as the top player in Nassau County
• Also won the Don Snyder Award as the top quarterback and MVP for Conference III

Personal
• Daniel Hunter Villari was born June 29, 2002
• Son of Tim and Maria Villari

Film

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