With the college football season officially over last night, we can start fresh. I'm not sure there are many schools or fanbases, who are relishing the chance to start fresh as much as us. Facing one of the toughest schedules in the nation, the Wolverines disappointed time and time again. With a new year, there is new hope, a renewed sense of optimism, and new opportunities.
While Michigan loses one of the most dynamic players in school history in Denard Robinson, the team doesn't lose much in this senior class. Robinson is obviously the headliner, but the team seems to be in safe hands with Devin Gardner at the reins. On offense, Michigan loses Patrick Omameh, Elliot Mealer, and Ricky Barnum on the line, wide receiver Roy Roundtree, and running back Vincent Smith. With a talented redshirt freshman class on the line, Michigan should be able to absorb those departures. The O-Line was one of the greatest weaknesses of this team, and while the new guys will lack experience, they all come highly touted. Roundtree was a big play receiver at the end of the season, but Michigan has two guys in Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh who can fill that gap. I'm not sure Michigan will ever have a back like Smith again, unless Norfleet moves back to the offensive side of the field.
The big loss on offense, of course, could/should/will be Taylor Lewan. All signs point to Lewan leaving, but the big offensive tackle has yet to announce his decision. Quite frankly, as a top 10-15 pick, I don't blame him for not passing on such an incredible opportunity. He's going to make big money in the pros, and I'm not sure he has much to gain from staying in college.
On defense, Michigan loses Craig Roh, Will Campbell, JT Floyd, Kenny Demens, and Jordan Kovacs. Besides possibly Kovacs, I'm not sure any of these are really big. Roh has multiple guys in the redshirt class as well as in this freshman class (Strobel, Wormley, Godin, Poggi) who can step in. Campbell has Pipkins and Maurice Hurst Jr. Losing Floyd should be okay because we will get Countess back from injury. Raymon Taylor struggled this year, but I think that the experience will help him overall. Getting those two guys back, Courtney Avery at nickel, and Terry Richardson possibly stepping into some sort of role should make us okay for next year. Our defensive backfield is probably 1-2 years from being where it should be. We will miss Demens's coverage on pass plays, but I think Bolden can step into that role. We've already seen him and James Ross contribute, so I'm excited to see what they can do. Kovacs will be the toughest guy to replace because we have guys who have been injured or guys who have never played.
Michigan has a really exciting freshman class, but I'm not sure how much some of these guys will play. Offensively, I expect Shane Morris to redshirt. He'll be on the two or three-deep, but he is far away from being a college starter. At this time, none of the wide receivers should see the field. The only guys, at this moment, that I see getting time are TE Jake Butt and C Patrick Kugler. Both of these guys are early enrolling, so they'll have a shot to go through spring practice to develop physically and learn the playbook. I know Borges wants to move to more 2 TE sets and Butt has some impressive pass catching ability. Kugler is the son of a NFL offensive line coach (Sean Kugler who is now the HC at UTEP), so he is said to have advanced technique. I expect Jack Miller to be the starting center, but I expect Kugler to push him and be in the two-deep.
Defensively, Michigan might have something. Dymonte Thomas is probably the freshman I am personally most excited about. He was one of the best players at the Army All-American game and he is early enrolling. I don't expect him to start this season, but I expect him to get some quality playing time. The other guys I expect to contribute are DLs Henry Poggi and Maurice Hurst Jr. Poggi is also a son of a coach and while he's not really explosive, he does display good technique and pass rushing abilities. Hurst Jr is very explosive for a guy his size and I'd expect him to play the type of role that Pipkins did this season. I can see some of the guys in the defensive secondary getting some looks if things get thin, particularly Jourdan Lewis.
Overall, next year's team will trade experience for talent. The schedule is very favorable as well:
8/31: Central Michigan
9/7: Notre Dame
9/14: Akron
9/21: at Connecticut
10/5: Minnesota
10/12 at Penn State
10/19: Indiana
11/2: at Michigan State
11/9: Nebraska
11/16: at Northwestern
11/23: at Iowa
11/30: Ohio State
12/7: Big Ten Championship Game
By my count, we have 235 days until kickoff. Let's go Blue!
While Michigan loses one of the most dynamic players in school history in Denard Robinson, the team doesn't lose much in this senior class. Robinson is obviously the headliner, but the team seems to be in safe hands with Devin Gardner at the reins. On offense, Michigan loses Patrick Omameh, Elliot Mealer, and Ricky Barnum on the line, wide receiver Roy Roundtree, and running back Vincent Smith. With a talented redshirt freshman class on the line, Michigan should be able to absorb those departures. The O-Line was one of the greatest weaknesses of this team, and while the new guys will lack experience, they all come highly touted. Roundtree was a big play receiver at the end of the season, but Michigan has two guys in Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh who can fill that gap. I'm not sure Michigan will ever have a back like Smith again, unless Norfleet moves back to the offensive side of the field.
The big loss on offense, of course, could/should/will be Taylor Lewan. All signs point to Lewan leaving, but the big offensive tackle has yet to announce his decision. Quite frankly, as a top 10-15 pick, I don't blame him for not passing on such an incredible opportunity. He's going to make big money in the pros, and I'm not sure he has much to gain from staying in college.
On defense, Michigan loses Craig Roh, Will Campbell, JT Floyd, Kenny Demens, and Jordan Kovacs. Besides possibly Kovacs, I'm not sure any of these are really big. Roh has multiple guys in the redshirt class as well as in this freshman class (Strobel, Wormley, Godin, Poggi) who can step in. Campbell has Pipkins and Maurice Hurst Jr. Losing Floyd should be okay because we will get Countess back from injury. Raymon Taylor struggled this year, but I think that the experience will help him overall. Getting those two guys back, Courtney Avery at nickel, and Terry Richardson possibly stepping into some sort of role should make us okay for next year. Our defensive backfield is probably 1-2 years from being where it should be. We will miss Demens's coverage on pass plays, but I think Bolden can step into that role. We've already seen him and James Ross contribute, so I'm excited to see what they can do. Kovacs will be the toughest guy to replace because we have guys who have been injured or guys who have never played.
Michigan has a really exciting freshman class, but I'm not sure how much some of these guys will play. Offensively, I expect Shane Morris to redshirt. He'll be on the two or three-deep, but he is far away from being a college starter. At this time, none of the wide receivers should see the field. The only guys, at this moment, that I see getting time are TE Jake Butt and C Patrick Kugler. Both of these guys are early enrolling, so they'll have a shot to go through spring practice to develop physically and learn the playbook. I know Borges wants to move to more 2 TE sets and Butt has some impressive pass catching ability. Kugler is the son of a NFL offensive line coach (Sean Kugler who is now the HC at UTEP), so he is said to have advanced technique. I expect Jack Miller to be the starting center, but I expect Kugler to push him and be in the two-deep.
Defensively, Michigan might have something. Dymonte Thomas is probably the freshman I am personally most excited about. He was one of the best players at the Army All-American game and he is early enrolling. I don't expect him to start this season, but I expect him to get some quality playing time. The other guys I expect to contribute are DLs Henry Poggi and Maurice Hurst Jr. Poggi is also a son of a coach and while he's not really explosive, he does display good technique and pass rushing abilities. Hurst Jr is very explosive for a guy his size and I'd expect him to play the type of role that Pipkins did this season. I can see some of the guys in the defensive secondary getting some looks if things get thin, particularly Jourdan Lewis.
Overall, next year's team will trade experience for talent. The schedule is very favorable as well:
8/31: Central Michigan
9/7: Notre Dame
9/14: Akron
9/21: at Connecticut
10/5: Minnesota
10/12 at Penn State
10/19: Indiana
11/2: at Michigan State
11/9: Nebraska
11/16: at Northwestern
11/23: at Iowa
11/30: Ohio State
12/7: Big Ten Championship Game
By my count, we have 235 days until kickoff. Let's go Blue!