2 hours and 53 minutes

The Sponsors

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

Our associate sponsors are: Peak Wealth Management, Matt Demorest - Realtor and Lender, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, Venue by 4M where we recorded this, and The Nose Bleeds, which is the Sklars Bros’ reboot of Cheap Seats on UFC Fight Pass.

EVENT NOTE: We're hosting a tailgate with the Sklars at Venue before the UNLV game for anyone who has a ticket to see them perform live at the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase that night. Venue will have the noon games on, and provide an a la carte tailgate spread, food truck with four beers on tap, and bar. Tickets will be on sale soon at the Comedy Showcase--stay tuned.

1. Quarterback and Running Back

Starts at 1:00

Savor your back-to-back Big Ten Championship winning Michigan Wolverines. Seth guaranteed a win against Ohio State last year and he was right. It's JJ, what level is JJ at? The TCU game obscures it but he's very good at not throwing the ball into bad places. How would you attack JJ McCarthy if you're a defense? The only thing that really de-rails this season is if he gets hurt. Is there any reason to think that JJ won't make a leap, similarly to Shea Patterson (consensus is no, he should make the leap)? Brian thinks Jack Tuttle is the likely backup and would be a viable caretaker, everyone else thinks it'll be Davis Warren. There is a very mature and very professional conversation about Alex Orji. Apparently he's the kick returner, but could he also be an actually useful asset in short yardage? Is this the best running back duo in school history? Is Blake Corum the best running back in Michigan football history? He's fast, hard to tackle, and just rarely makes mistakes. Donovan Edwards played last year with a broken hand and a knee injury (and also destroyed Ohio State in the process). His decision making improved greatly so while healthy, he should be fun to watch. CJ Stokes and Kalel Mullings are up next, CJ Stokes had some unfortunate plays but hopefully improved and gets play time. Does Tavierre Dunlap last the year? 

[The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP]

 

2. Receiver and Tight Tend

Starts at 1:08:30

Wide receiver has been a "problem" position with some fans but Cornelius Johnson and Roman Wilson are both probably draftable. If this is the biggest problem, it is a good problem. Seemed like there were a lot of balls that Cornelius Johnson could almost catch from JJ, just need to lock down that connection more. Maybe not a 900 yard guy but still a good option. Roman Wilson will continue to play in the slot as a speedster. He'll be the most open the most often (he was more open than Cornelius on one of the touchdowns against Ohio State). You should check out Roman Wilson's YouTube channel. The other outside receiver is Tyler Morris, who seems to have a telepathic connection with JJ. He might not get a lot of targets but we're comfortable with him as a starter. Peyton O'Leary is definitely going to play and get some receptions this year. Semaj Morgan is a lot like AJ Henning as a recruit. Have Michigan fans ever been so sure about a tight end being an All-American as Colston Loveland? Did you know he was a wide receiver in Idaho two years ago? In Idaho. Does he get the most targets this season? You can line him up as a receiver if you really want to, he can be a matchup nightmare. AJ Barner had to endure Indiana's offense last year, but he should be serviceable at Michigan. Matthew Hibner has shown flashes in the past, but after that the depth gets a little light. There are photos of Marlin Klein playing with the 1s. Max Bredeson is technically a fullback but is also basically a tight end. 

3. Hot Takes and Offensive Line

Starts at 1:56:18

Takes hotter than Mel Tucker's seat after he loses to DeVry University. This is the deepest offensive line any of us can remember - we would be comfortable with some of the 3rd stringers. Zak Zinter is the top guard on some draft lists and is probably at his ceiling, Trevor Keegan should be recovered from an injury and have some room for improvement this year. Center is a battle between Drake Nugent and Greg Crippen. NFL folks love LaDarius Henderson for his athletic traits. Giovanni El-Hadi looked good last year up until the Illinois game and will probably be a starter next year. Coaches are going to rotate starters in the non-conference. Karsen Barnhart has been getting a lot of camp buzz - plays really well against bad opponents but really struggles against anyone better than him. We would expect Trente Jones to win the right tackle job, but we're hearing other things from camp. Nice to see Myles Hinton since he was heavily coveted as a recruit. He struggled at Stanford, but that may have been a product of Stanford's offense. Hinton moves really smoothly for how big he is. LaDarius Hunderson is probably the starting left tackle. 

4. Offense in Summary

Starts at 2:38:51

This offense looks to be the best of the Harbaugh era. What offense in Michigan football history would you take over this one? JJ is just Zen Harbaugh. What is the biggest concern of the offense (other than someone getting hurt)? Who is your breakout player? Who's your Dude? Final SP+ rank?

MUSIC:

• “Don't Fade Out”— Cut Worms
• “Gilded Lily”— Cults
• “Handsome”— Drug Cabin
• “Across 110th Street”

THE USUAL LINKS:

• Helpful iTunes subscribe link
• General podcast feed link
• Direct Download Link
• What's with the theme music?

Cooks and Tooks