german green

Bang, bang. Donovan Edwards put up two 40 yard touchdowns on Michigan's first two drives, and they were more or less the same thing: duo that sucks in Washington defenders followed by Edwards being insanely explosive. Number one:

There was an undercurrent of sardonic amusement amongst the twitterati after this one because it felt like Edwards missed the hole and only got to it by luck after making a mistake, but this is only a touchdown because Edwards initially presses the A gap. That action sucks in three different defenders and when Edwards changes direction, it's over. This is all I want from Donovan Edwards: change direction. If he does that he wins because no one is as explosive as he is.

Number two is all of the gaps (all of the gaps):

That's two TEs, a bonus OL, and Cornelius Johnson. If Zak Zinter was healthy I guarantee you Cornelius Johnson would not be on the field.

Washington does not know what the hell to do with this. They've clearly prepped for the Big Big Boys; all 11 defenders are within six yards of the LOS. But they do not see this and scout team only gets you so far. Edwards again presses a gap he is not going in. The LB level bites on the initial action, and when Edwards cuts back there's nothing but daylight.

There's a fair chance that Edwards scores even if the backside linebacker doesn't fling himself into the line, because that is a truck lane.

These two runs combine with the Penn State explosive to indicate a path forward for Edwards at Michigan if he does decide to return. Yeah, run at a friendly butt. Then do something else. Touchdown. Hooray.

[After THE JUMP: more stuff]

Previously: Podcast 14.0A, 14.0B, 14.0C. The Story. Quarterback. Running Back. Wide Receiver. Tight End. Offensive Tackle. Interior OL. Defensive Interior. Edge. Linebacker.

Depth Chart

This isn't quite the halcyon days of five or so years ago when David Long and Jourdan Lewis were hanging out with Lavert Hill waiting his turn. It's not that far off, though, thanks to a belated but massive recruiting hit named DJ Turner and the addition of a can't-miss kind of five star recruit. Michigan has a couple of veteran guys to go with them, and so far they've kept their nose in front of the five star. It would be nice to have another top-100 guy floating around here but for this year that'll do.

CORNERBACK: SPIN THAT ISH

RATING: 4.

if you were a DJ calling yourself DJ Turner would be too on the nose [Marc-Gregor Campredon]

The emergence of DJ TURNER last season was unexpected. Sometimes guys burst through and are clearly the best option at cornerback after having scant roles early in the season, but almost always those are young players. Turner was in year three and didn't have world-beaters in front of him. Vincent Gray was a UDFA after entering the draft; Gemon Green had an up-and-down season we're about to address.

Since corner is the most ruthlessly physical position in football, if you're a dude you're immediately a dude. Sometimes you can go from a disaster to a guy (JT Floyd, Gray), but you usually cannot go from off the radar to dude. Unless you're Turner, who apparently decided to be one halfway through year three. Going over the UFRs was entertaining, because the summary section contained bits headlined "Maybe Turner can play?" and "Turner might be real?" for a solid month. Yes, Virginia, there is a cornerback.

Team Blue defeated Team Maize down at the Big House today in Michigan Football's 2022 Spring Game by a final score of 20-12. It was a day filled with refereeing quirks (including flags thrown by Jim Harbaugh), extravagant celebrations, and plenty of little-known walk ons. An exhibition game doesn't merit a detailed recap like we'd do for a regular season game, since the flow and narrative of the game is not important, but I felt it would still be good to put a post up on the site so all of you can rant in the comments. I presume Seth or Brian will have more detailed takes after a proper re-watch during the week, but this piece will give you a few quick kneejerk takes and observations about what we just witnessed: 

[Patrick Barron]

OFFENSE

Davis Warren has a cannon for an arm. Today we got a sizable glimpse at walk-on backup QB Davis Warren, who has been battling Alan Bowman for the QB3 designation in spring practice. What stood out the most about Warren was his huge arm, zipping the ball down the field and attempting several deep balls, two of which connected (one to Donovan Edwards and one to Amorion Walker). Warren has more raw talent than your typical walk-on due to his unique story, and that seemed apparent today. 

Alex Orji is Joe Milton 2.0. You could say the same about Orji in terms of arm strength, but his accuracy was rough. Orji went 1/7 for 9 yards, and most of his throws were way overthrown, rifled over a receiver's head or 10 yards too deep. However, his muscular build was apparent, rushing seven times for 35 yards, including one 23 yard keeper. Team Maize dialed up a couple designed Orji keepers in short yardage situations, so if you're looking for who will fill the VillariCat role this season, it looks like Orji. 

Michigan's skill position players are all good at throwing. With the memory of Donovan Edwards' bomb in the B1G Championship Game still fresh in the mind, Team Blue dialed up two different double pass plays and both worked. Darrius Clemons and Erick All both delivered accurate balls that were completed for 21 and 31 yards, respectively. At this point you have to wonder how many of Michigan's skill position guys can throw the football accurately. 

Darrius Clemons hype is real! Michigan's true freshman receiver answered some of the hype he's been getting in spring ball by emerging as Team Blue's favorite receiver. He made three catches for 52 yards, and the most memorable (by far) was a diving 35-yard TD catch. Clemons toasted Joshua Luther down the seam and Alan Bowman overthrew the pass. Clemons laid out and hauled it in, leading to a selfie celebration in the end zone. Kid looks good. 

A nice game for Tavierre Dunlap. The Wolverines have an open competition for the burly back role behind Corum and Edwards, and Dunlap is currently the favorite. Today's performance was a nice showing from the RS freshman in his pursuit of that job. Dunlap rushed 18 times for 73 yards and a TD, looking confident running the ball. He did drop a screen pass, but he likely won't be asked to do that much when the season gets started. 

[Patrick Barron]

DEFENSE

Lots of blitzes. You weren't supposed to hit the QB as part of the rules, but that didn't stop the defenses from getting pressure. Both teams dialed up plenty of blitzes and a lot of them got home. You never show anything schematic in an exhibition game, so there's not much to read into it, but I found it a rather interesting development. 

So far, so good for Mike Sainrstil, The Corner. Sainristil didn't pop up much at his new defensive position, but he did memorably get a PBU on Andrel Anthony and looked comfortable doing it. We also saw Sainristil on offense on one occasion too, suggesting that he may feature on both sides of the ball this fall.

Flashes from Mason Graham. The true freshman DT has been getting some spring buzz and he featured in a few moments, including when he drew a holding call on new center Victor Oluwatimi. Graham showed good burst off the line of scrimmage and it seems like the hype that he could see playing time this fall might have some legs. 

A solid showing from German Green. The brother of Gemon has seldom seen time away from special teams in his Michigan tenure, and that figures to stay the same this fall, but he did show up in the secondary today. Green broke up a couple passes and I felt it was still worth it to shout him out. 

The first look at Will Johnson. I didn't notice the 5* true freshman CB all that much today, but he held his own in the end zone against a route run by Cornelius Johnson. That's not the easiest assignment for a young player, but Johnson did fine. That's about all I can say after first watch.