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After a breakout season in 2023, can Sooners wide receiver Nic Anderson follow it up with another sensational season in 2024?
Evaluating the current roster, Sooners Wire profiles the current players, with wide receiver Nic Anderson up next.
Continue reading “Oklahoma Sooners Player Profile: Wide Receiver Nic Anderson”
This team is gonna surprise a whole lot of people. #GoBlue
On Monday, Michigan football kicked off spring ball, about a month later than usual. And after winning the national championship in January, the team has a whole new look.
Gone is legendary coach Jim Harbaugh, quarterback J.J. McCarthy, running back Blake Corum, cornerback Mike Sainristil and several other notable players from the past few years of success. So the baton has been passed to new head coach Sherrone Moore and a cadre of players who remain, all with the mindset of achieving the same goal as last year.
Speaking to Ed Kengerski, Michigan running back Donovan Edwards noted there was little difference from what he saw last season and what transpired in Al Glick Fieldhouse on Monday. From his vantage point, the team still looks like the Wolverines and they still look sharp.
“It was great, man. Everyone was flying around — it doesn’t look like we missed a beat out here,” Edwards said. “Defense was flying around, offense was flying around, special teams looks great. It’s just great to — your nerves get really high, you’re anxious for spring ball and we’re here. Our challenge is to continue to be confident and to execute, excel, and win the day. And to continue to win each and every single day while we’re here.”
Given the attrition year over year, it’s not realistic that Michigan can rest on its laurels. Unlike some previous national champions, the maize and blue, while still highly thought of, are being somewhat undervalued and underrated.
It makes sense given how much turnover there was this offseason, but this group is hungry as if it weren’t a part of winning the whole shebang in 2023.
“It was a surreal feeling winning the championship,” Edwards said. “But then you wake up the next day — this is amazing, this is what we worked for, but it’s also over. Once it’s over, it’s like, OK — what are my next goals, what are my next ambitions? Because it just feels like you completed life but life isn’t completed for us. So the thing for us is we have to continue to find who we are, find our identity this year. Last year’s team is in the past but this year’s team we have to continue to build and rally around.”
Of course, fans are going to be curious as to the similarities and differences between Harbaugh’s Michigan and that coached by Sherrone Moore.
Moore received his live audition last year, coaching on an interim basis for four games. He succeeded with flying colors. When it comes to his new regime, without having Harbaugh behind the curtain, Edwards feels like Moore’s coaching style lends itself to team success.
He’s something of a player’s coach, and because of that, this team is rallying behind him.
“He’s very open and his openness allows people to respect him,” Edwards said. “It’s not like he’s a tyrant or he’s like this is what we’re gonna do. Nah, he’s a very open coach and he asks his players, ‘What do you think about this?’ And the same way with the coaches. Just the open-mindedness of him just ups his respect.
“He told me today, the way that I’ve been practicing today, if I keep that up, I’m gonna be phenomenal, I’m gonna be great. The confidence he gives his players allows them to thrive and fight for him. I told him this year, ‘Coach, we’re gonna do this; we’re gonna have your back.’ And I know that he has my back.”
Watch the entire interview below:
Haven't missed a beat on the field!#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/oO5KJjT1ak
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) March 20, 2024
Oklahoma Sooners get Justin Harrington back for the 2024 season.
The Oklahoma Sooners are getting set to kick off spring ball, and they’ve already received some great news for the 2024 season.
[autotag]Justin Harrington[/autotag] was granted a medical redshirt for 2023 and will return for another season with the Sooners in 2024.
Harrington played just two games for the Oklahoma Sooners, primarily at Cheetah. And in that short stint, he was off to a strong start to the 2023 season with six total tackles and an interception.
Though he’ll sit out spring ball, as will wide receiver Andrel Anthony, who also suffered a knee injury, Harrington will be a factor for the Oklahoma Sooners defense.
“They’re coming along well,” Venables said of not only Harrington and Anthony. “It’s big. Justin is a highly invested guy. He’s talented and can do a lot of impressive things. … He understands what commitment is and how we do what we do.”
Harrington joins [autotag]Dasan McCullough[/autotag], [autotag]Kendel Dolby[/autotag], and [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag], who all played significant snaps for the Sooners at Cheetah in 2023. Another veteran presence, the Sooners take an experienced defense into the SEC in 2024.
Get back 😶🌫️ pic.twitter.com/QJ338MoOFv
— JUSTIN “SHOWW” HARRINGTON (@showw_3) March 6, 2024
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Could this be who we see on the field defensively this year? #GoBlue
It’s been a week since Michigan football held its annual spring game, so now we’re moving into speculation mode (as well as recruiting) until fall camp begins in August.
The Wolverines return the fifth-most production in the country, which means there aren’t a lot of questions about who will start where, though cornerback has some uncertainty. It is the only position that lost its main starters wholesale (the good news is that when Gemon Green was injured, Will Johnson was beyond serviceable, if not incredible). There are a couple of interesting transfers who came in: Ernest Hausmann and Josaiah Stewart both looked very good in the spring game. The defensive line is absolutely loaded, to boot.
That said, here is our best guess at the current defensive depth chart for the Michigan Wolverines now that spring ball has come to a close.
Wouldn’t be surprised if by the season’s end, these guys are mainstays. #GoBlue
The dust has settled now that the Michigan football annual spring game is a week behind us. There’s nothing on-field until the team officially readies itself for the 2023 season in fall camp in August.
But there are some players who could find themselves seeing more action on the field sooner than later.
There were a handful of players who made some strong impressions in the spring game who will either play big roles and be big factors or at least could find themselves contributing in ways they hadn’t before.
Here are five Wolverines we feel have a shot to make an impact in 2023 based off what we saw in the spring game.
Savion Red is taking to the running back spot well.
Second-year Longhorn Savion Red has made the position switch from wide receiver to running back this offseason.
Red played sparingly in his true freshman season, flashing some high upside at times with the ball in his hands. With Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson NFL bound along with some talented freshman wideouts joining the squad, Red has found a new home in the Texas backfield.
Red can profile as that Roschon Johnson type, short yardage back for the Longhorns. He holds a stocky frame with plus pass-catching with speed, working as a nice change of pace to Jonathan Brooks and Keilan Robinson.
Steve Sarkisian has praised Red for his willingness to change positions. It appears Red is taking to his new position well.
Watch Red slice through the Texas defense and score a touchdown in this clip from spring practice. He had the entire team excited including Bijan Robinson who was in attendance.
Had the whole offense hyped (even Bijan)@RedSavion pic.twitter.com/qzaalwYHj5
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) April 7, 2023
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This offense will be formidable. #GoBlue
It’s been nearly a week since Michigan football held its annual spring game, so now we’re moving into speculation mode (as well as recruiting) until fall camp begins in August.
The Wolverines return the fifth-most production in the country, which means that there aren’t a lot of questions about who will be starting where, though the offensive line has some uncertainty given how many contributors and former starters there have been, intertwined with the three newcomers who transferred in. Wide receiver also has some question marks given Ronnie Bell’s departure and how the two freshmen will be utilized (not counting incoming freshman Karmello English).
That said, here is our best guess at the current offensive depth chart for the Michigan Wolverines now that spring ball has come to a close.
Some really good stuff from both Jesse Minter and Sherrone Moore! #GoBlue
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan football had a rare afternoon where the media got the opportunity to meet with both coordinators on Tuesday.
Offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter had their first availabilities in 2023, as the last time they were made available was on media day for the College Football Playoff semifinal in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, one day before the Wolverines took the field against TCU. On Tuesday, they touched on a variety of issues that impact their side of the ball, from Moore discussing being the sole OC, to what Minter learned from the loss against the Horned Frogs, and much more.
Here are our 10 favorite quotes from the duo from the 35 minutes they were made available.
The defense is certainly reloading. #GoBlue
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Many didn’t give Michigan football a chance to do much on the defensive side of the ball in 2022. With a new defensive coordinator, Jesse Minter, and without Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo, the narrative was the Wolverines would take a big step back.
Yeah, about that.
The Wolverines excelled in every game but the final one, and now it’s Year 2 of Minter at the helm of the defense. So, what does that look like? Who’s standing out, and how has Minter approached it?
He met with the media on Tuesday to discuss how his unit has looked during spring ball. Here is everything he had to say.
It’ll be interesting to see what the offense looks like this year. #GoBlue
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — You can’t exactly call him a new sheriff in town because Sherrone Moore was the co-offensive coordinator the past two years. But last year, he wasn’t playing second fiddle to Josh Gattis as he was in 2021. Now, with Matt Weiss gone, he has the sole responsibility of the offense.
Michigan football is fully entrenched in spring ball, with the spring game coming up on April 1. Moore met with the media on Tuesday for the first time since before the Wolverines’ loss to TCU in the College Football Playoff semifinal, to discuss the state of the offense, the mindset as the maize and blue work to return to the playoff, and more.
Here is everything he had to say.
