ESPN Grades Michigan's 2018 class at a B+
Grade: B+ | National rank: 20
Even without the notoriety of previous years, Michigan continues to stockpile talent and fill key needs. The signing of ESPN 300 signal-caller Joe Milton following the news that former Ole Miss starter Shea Patterson would transfer to Ann Arbor is huge. Michigan went into Texas and signed the best tight end in the state in ESPN 300 Mustapha Muhammad. In-state ESPN 300 defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and four-star offensive tackle Ryan Hayes have high ceilings. The Peach State continues to be great for Michigan, with safety Myles Sims and ESPN 300 running back Christian Turner. Signing ESPN 300 linebacker Cameron McGrone was also big. Lone Star State twins Gemon Green and German Green will bring 6-foot-2 frames to the cornerback position. Versatile athlete Michael Barrett out of the Peach State could end up on either side of the ball.
February 8th, 2018 at 10:15 AM ^
Its good for Nebraska or Tennessee but not Michigan under Harbaugh -- hard to be the least bit excited when it is most certainly under everyone's expectations.
February 8th, 2018 at 10:28 AM ^
I'd like to point out that 2014, 2015 and 2016 PSU classes weren't world-destroyers by any means (24th, 15th and 20th nationally), and that's the core of two top-10 teams and a conference champion. It's not the best class in the world, but people are shitting on 2018 like it's impossible for a good team to come out of it.
February 8th, 2018 at 11:04 AM ^
It's not arugable that the best player to come out of this recent PSU team is Saquon Barkely. He was a high 4-star recruit. The Nittany Lions had to win a B1G Championship for their recruiting to really take off. It's really not that far out of reach for Harbaugh to produce similar results.... that 2018 schedule, though.
February 8th, 2018 at 11:15 AM ^
as 2 years ago their O-line was pretty much considered a trainwreck with underclassmen playing along with lower rated upperclassmen due to NCAA scholarship limitations.
February 8th, 2018 at 11:19 AM ^
The biggest change at PSU was that they brought in Joe Moorhead. If we had made a similar move this offseason, we would be looking at a much brighter future. While we might not have OSU/Alabama talent, we do at least have top 10/15 talent. And coupling very good talent with an innovative, modern college offense and excellent coaching can lead to pretty amazing results.
February 8th, 2018 at 1:37 PM ^
Hopefully there's a performance improving catalyst yet to be seen. I doubt it'll be staff related, but you never know.
February 8th, 2018 at 3:13 PM ^
It's why I'm interested in what role Warriner actually fills. He's always been touted as a good offensive line coach, and if that unit plays even at a B+ level then the whole offense will look a lot better.
I am not sold that Drevno is a great OC, but I do think he called better games than the results showed last year, and it's not crazy to think that another year with some development up front would be a positive for him.
February 8th, 2018 at 11:58 AM ^
I honestly don't think the 2018 schedule is that much different than 2016, and Michigan was a couple of bounces away from making the playoffs. ND might be a top-15 team, or they may be another 8-5 Brian Kelly outfit. I honestly don't know. But beyond that, it's a directional school and a mediocre G5 team followed by road games at MSU and OSU with home games against PSU and Wisconsin. About the only difference is the road game instead of a home game against Colorado.
February 8th, 2018 at 12:11 PM ^
I agree, the schedule (as will always happen for the foreseeable future) comes down to 5 games. The other 7 are Ws. If you think M can go 3-2 in those 5, that's 10-2 with the toughest sched. in the country. If the ND game is one of those 2 losses, then M is likely in the B10 title game.
everyone focuses on @ MSU,@ ND, @OSU. But fuck that, M needs to beat OSU and MSU if they play in A2, EL/CBus or on the fucking moon. Don't care where they play them. Gotta win one of them at least.
ND is a throwaway; doesn't count toward B10 of course and if the season goes really well, they can recover from that early loss in the polls/committee rankings given the M SOS (I think ND will win 9-10 as well).
February 8th, 2018 at 3:15 PM ^
At this point, worrying about schedules is like worrying about RPI around here. It's a lot of concerns about situations that won't change for reasons both in and out of Michigan's control, and functionally don't matter anymore. They are baked into the team. Every other year they play tough teams on the road, and they'll have to win those games regardless.
February 8th, 2018 at 1:35 PM ^
Retrospectively, Michigan had a realistic shot at losing maybe four games in 2016 (Colorado, Wisconsin, Iowa, OSU). I see a much smaller margin for error in 2018. Without the benefit of hindsight, I see six games that could be on the level of the previous four I'd mentioned. ND, NW, Wis, MSU, PSU, OSU. I think it's a measurably tougher schedule and would be incredibly impressed with double-digit wins next year.
February 8th, 2018 at 3:28 PM ^
Maybe. But before the 2016 season I think you'd bunch in MSU as a realistic loss. And I'm not as high on NW or MSU as some are; NW beat one ranked team all year in MSU and won 3 straight games in OT in that stretch. The fact they finished with 10 wins is as much an indictment of the Big 10 West as proof they are any good. And MSU still won a ton of close games (much like they did in 2015 when they also went 6-1 in one-score games), and maybe that carries over or maybe they struggle a bit and some of those turn into losses. I certainly didn't see a team that was demonstrably better than Michigan last year despite the record difference, especially given how many injuries Michigan had to deal with.
It's a season of decent variance. Show some consistency at the QB spot and some improvement at WR and the line and 10+ wins is on the table. Struggle again at those spots and it's 8-5/9-4-ville again.
February 8th, 2018 at 10:11 AM ^
February 8th, 2018 at 10:21 AM ^
February 8th, 2018 at 10:32 AM ^
My concern is pass blocking. Run blocking showed improvements last year, and I'm optimistic that will continue.
February 8th, 2018 at 10:15 AM ^
They clearly didn't ask this board. Otherwise they'd know...
February 8th, 2018 at 10:15 AM ^
February 8th, 2018 at 10:18 AM ^
February 8th, 2018 at 10:22 AM ^
But I'm sure everyone didn't get a passing grade.
February 8th, 2018 at 10:17 AM ^
February 8th, 2018 at 10:18 AM ^
February 8th, 2018 at 10:19 AM ^
February 8th, 2018 at 10:23 AM ^
Should I or should I not set myself on fire because of this class? I was going to do it yesterday but then became busy with other things.
February 8th, 2018 at 10:29 AM ^
Just to feel, if only for a minute.
February 8th, 2018 at 11:25 AM ^
Just the tip, amirite?
February 8th, 2018 at 11:55 AM ^
February 8th, 2018 at 10:23 AM ^
my six year old has never experienced a Michigan victory over OSU.
Even more depressing, my daughter is 18. And we've only beaten them 4 times since she was born. Two of those victories were before her second birthday.
FIX IT JIM.
February 8th, 2018 at 11:37 AM ^
My kid is one year old. I am torn between being worried that I would have to say the same as you when he is six and hopeful that I might get to say the same as you when he turns 18.
February 8th, 2018 at 11:49 AM ^
son is 10 and does not care about sports at all. He pays attention to them to the extent necessary to know if my fandom is going to effect our plans, what we do on a day, etc., but he could not care less about the outcome and doesn't even really conceptually understand the appeal.
Anyway, last year, in the middle of the OSU game I said to him in passing that Michigan might actually win this year. He thought I was joking, because "Michigan doesn't beat Ohio State, right." He was serious about this. He thought it was like a Globetrotters-Generals situation. He was actually surprised to learn that the outcome was not pre-determined, and that Michigan actually was allowed to win the game.
That is where things stand right now.
February 8th, 2018 at 8:37 PM ^
February 8th, 2018 at 2:12 PM ^
Good thing you do not follow the Lions
February 8th, 2018 at 5:06 PM ^
February 8th, 2018 at 10:23 AM ^
the past week. Thanks for sharing.
February 8th, 2018 at 10:24 AM ^
Otis Reese jumping ship is the one that hits me. That sucked, but the tea leaves were there, just waiting to be read. Cie la vie...
The lack of high end talent on the OL gets everyone, but personally, I think the OL will be in good hands next year with Hudson, Filiage, Ruiz, Onwenu, Spanellis, and Runyan. Plus the others not listed will fight, also, and they all have another year of experience and S&C through the summer. If the OL coaching gets sorted out (ie: someone that can spend 100% of his time actually coaching them), I think they'll be just fine.
I really don't get the crys of 'Harbaugh is in over his head', or 'this class sucks', and whatever else is being whined about. This class isn't as good as we'd hoped for, nor does it hold up to JMFH's last two classes. But it's still better than the vast majority of Rich Rod and Hoke's classes.
I choose to celebrate the players that chose Michigan, rather than whining about them or wishing for someone else.
February 8th, 2018 at 10:29 AM ^
February 8th, 2018 at 10:33 AM ^
I don't care so much about recruiting battles as there have been plenty of instances where lower ranked guys came to Michigan and panned out.
Just beat OSU. Or win some kind of big game that you're not supposed to win. Michigan is perceived as a very, very meh program right now with zero momentum.
February 8th, 2018 at 10:41 AM ^
February 8th, 2018 at 11:10 AM ^
What did Harbaugh promise us? And what fanfare and public glorification did he do? I mean, did he call the press and tell them to publicize him, or call glory to himself in any way? If he did, please tell me where - because I missed it.
I want him to win something, also. But I'm not going to hold against him what the press have said. He doesn't tell the press when to be where, what to say, or how to cover something.
February 8th, 2018 at 11:24 AM ^
fanfare and public glorification did he do?" Are you serious?
How much time do you have?
February 8th, 2018 at 10:33 AM ^
February 8th, 2018 at 10:38 AM ^
We don't know that. The players haven't finished careers yet. Some haven't even got to campus.
February 8th, 2018 at 10:49 AM ^
Some may have been ranked higher at the time but there were position gaps and some players didn't stick
February 8th, 2018 at 10:46 AM ^
Please tell me what you've seen to indicate the line "will be in good hands next year." I won't dispute that it's a talented group, and yes some of last year's guys have graduated so its a chance for some fresh blood.
But I haven't seen anything that gave me any kind of indication that next year's OL will be any better than what we saw last year. Ruiz, Onwenu, Spanellis and Runyan are still guys who struggled mightily against anyone not named Rutgers, Minnesota or Maryland. Hudson and Filagia have never played a single collegiate snap and their first game is against a very good ND team.
I really hope I'm wrong. I want nothing more than to be wrong. But I can very easily see the OL getting abused right out of the gate. We've been waiting for the OL to turn the corner for almost a decade and it's never happened. I'll believe it when I see it.
February 8th, 2018 at 10:59 AM ^
Should be to not have OL see the field until they are RS JR. That isn't realistic, but that's how long it takes most OL to get to where they need to be physically, mentally, and technically in the trenches in the college game.
You just listed a true FR, a true SO, a RS FR, and a RS SO last year. The guys that fit the criteria last year were quite literally: Mason Cole, Pat Kugler, and JBB. Having three OL within the program that fit the criteria is a major problem that is hard to overcome. It's not just talent, it's seeing how an OL should go to work every day, it's mentoring, it's challenging the young guys, it's building the foundation to raise up the others.
The OL might not immediately be great next year, they are still very young. But I expect growth. I expect a lot of work on pass pro, something that really isn't easy to fix in-season. There may be areas where they still struggle, some areas they struggle a bit more, and some areas where they are much better. They need to grow as a unit and get coached up a lot, but at least give them a chance.
I find it demonstrative of the fan bases, but MSU fans are quite optimistic about their OL performance, with how young it was. In fact, it was quite similar in youth compared to Michigan. And despite having a much more mobile QB, that was much more of a pass threat than Michigan had, and had much better awareness than the QB that played most of Michigan's snaps, their OL was just as bad if not worse than Michigan's. I've seen numerous people talk about MSU's OL a a point that young guys can be good. Those people didn't really watch MSU, or if they did don't know how to evaluate OLs. Now the two were different (UM better run, MSU better in pass, aided by their QB), but young OLs typically struggle for the reasons I said above.
February 8th, 2018 at 11:12 AM ^
I really think the main problems this year were QB, almost no experience at WR and the dumb decision to try and mix in zone blocking for no logical reason other than, "we just hired a coach who knows it." what a disaster that move was.
The line blocked quite well for the RBs in a gap scheme much of the year and will get better going forward with FR coming off redshirts and thus being a part of the depth chart. it won't be great, but it can be average.
February 8th, 2018 at 11:24 AM ^
Harbaugh has run zone at every place he has coached. It has always been part of his system. They may have used it more this past year, but it was never even "just a small part" of the offense. It has literally always been a common scheme for him to use (both IZ and OZ).
I wrote this before he ever coached a down at Michigan. Most of this was from watching Stanford tape. LINK
February 8th, 2018 at 11:52 AM ^
The first half of your post is completely delusional. This isn't 1970 where kids come in and sit o the bench for 4 years. They are ready to play now and most impact players are breaking into the lineup in their first or second year. To suggest that OL shouldn't play until they have been in the program for 4 years is downright laughable. Michigan had four OL starting whoere were HS All Americans last year. Yet they still couldn't field a competent OL. But yeah, we should definitely keep making excuses until we have seniors at every position on offense who have been starting for 3 years until we have som god damn expectations.
February 8th, 2018 at 12:23 PM ^
I hate to break it to you, but most OL aren't impact players right away. That's just reality. The majority of the best teams starters on the OL fit the criteria I mentioned. Those that don't, typically beat out players that do fit that criteria. They learn from players that fit that criteria. They compete against players that fit that criteria. Michigan literally had 3 OL on scholarship in the whole program that fit that criteria.
Players that meet that criteria are generally better. That is more accurate on the OL. Players that don't meet that criteria typically continue to improve drastically while they are young. Those are the facts.
I know you put your life savings into recruiting rankings being 100% predictive, and think they are the end-all, be-all, and think looking at anything outside of recruiting rankings is an "excuse", but you are flat out wrong. I don't care if a guy was a HS All American and is a true SO, because the fact that he was a HS All-American has very little bearing. Those All-Americans are typically either way under weight, or over weight, and extremely technically flawed because they go against little people their entire HS careers and get away with it. Yeah, players are more ready now than they have ever been, they still aren't close to being ready the majority of the time. That Michigan's roster had three upperclassmen in the whole program on the OL is crazy and completely unusual.
So the first half of my post was spot on. The players that were listed were mostly 2nd year players with no alternatives besides younger. The rationale for why you don't typically play younger players is true. Your perspective on reality, is, in fact delusional.