Seth: Hi guys the pads are on and there's football news hype available how are we feeling are we fine I'm fine I'm doing fine love!!!

Brian: Nice meme /high five

Ace: MILTON HYPE ON 11 BABY

THEM THERE MOUNTAINS HAVE NO CHANCE

Seth: I've been taking the position that all quarterback hype this fall is now irrelevant.

Brian: Do we have something specific we are reacting to?

THEY MOVED DAXTON HILL TO CORNERBACK DO WE PANIC?

Ace: WelI… A bit.

BiSB: I mean, we always panic. It is the default position.

Seth: Sammy Faustin is getting Dudes of the Day honors. The latest is Gemon Green leads for the spot opposite Vincent Gray. My sense on the 2018 class is if they didn't play in 2018 or 2019 there had better be a good reason.

Brian: It's not great but honestly Dax Hill/Vincent Gray/Andre Seldon at CB and Hawkins/Faustin or Paige at S sounds much better than anything with Hill at S. If he can do it, it's clearly the thing to do.

Ace: I agree, though I’m worried it’s not the best use of his talent. It’s clearly a move made because they’re worried about corner/nickel. I’d prefer to see Hill roaming the field than being in predictable places.

BiSB: True, but in terms of panic moves, it isn't like moving a Kovacs type to corner. Hill seems to have the physical chops to be a pretty good corner, and Michigan needs corners.

Brian: Me too but needs must since they had a couple of DB classes that are looking pretty rickety I don't see an alternative.  I guess my panic level about the secondary is an 8 and my panic level about this specific move is a 0 because it moves secondary panic level to 6.

Ace: That’s fair. It more confirms the previous panic than adds to it.

Seth: FWIW Brown's explanation was 50% "versatility" and 50% "if COVID hits." The thing it says to me—and the Green news backs this up—is that DJ Turner II isn't popping yet, and that was the first best option.

Brian: Yeah I was hoping that one of the second year corners would blow up.

Ace: It’s a position where that’s a reasonable expectation if you brought in a good class.

BiSB: There is something to be said for "you need one or two more cross-trained guys at every spot this season than most."

[After THE JUMP: our kingdom for Fullbacks]

THEY AREN'T SAYING BEN MASON EXCEPT HE'S A TIGHT END #SAVETHEFULLBACKS

Ace: He can still smash as an H-back.

Sorry: HE CAN STILL SMASH AS AN H-BACK.

Brian: I wouldn't call this a real worry but I am preparing to be peeved that there's no Owen Schmitt role for him. I think a Mason package would be a worthwhile endeavor. Going to be some teams on the schedule who can't handle insert iso.

Ace: HE WON’T FORGET HOW TO FULLBACK, MY CONCERN HERE IS VERY LOW.

Seth: Mason was on the Jansen podcast 2 months ago but there's been next to nothing about him since they got together. I think people are taking this as "Is there a fullback in this offense or not?" and I have a Neck Sharpies coming that makes the case that MASON SMASH is still part of the offense.

Brian: I mean it may or may not be. There's like four open slots on the OL that might be more critical for the season's outcome. HINT HINT

Seth: Here I point out again that there are extra good reasons this year on top of regular good reasons that players might not be practicing.

THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT A WALK-ON ON THE OFFENSIVE L--- I'm sorry even bolded panic guy can't summon it for a Warinner line.

Vastardis is Onwenu-sized but human-densed. [Bryan Fuller]

BiSB: My kingdom for some quality chatter about the Center spot, tho...

Brian: I just wrote Andrew Vastardis up for the preview, pending further chatter. I'm relatively sanguine about it since we've been talking him up as a potential contributor for a few years now and he beat out reasonable competition if you include Spanellis with Carpenter.

Seth: I'm more comfortable with this than with Zach Carpenter. If it was Spanellis there'd be no question.

Brian: Also the Gattis quotes about him are "this guy is our starter" so he's got a lock on the job.

Ace: There’s so much talented depth, albeit unproven, along the offensive line that I’m feeling tranquil about just about any development in the two-deep.

Seth: There's a lot of precedent for this kind of thing from the 2000s lines. A senior center in the midst of new starters/old starters at new positions is more valuable than the talent disparity with a redshirt freshman.

BiSB: Also, Ed Warinner continues to exist.

Ace: We’ve been around long enough to see last-second moves to center basically on game day of opening week. That’s not happening here.

Seth: I took the momentary talk about Reece Atteberry passing Carpenter too as a sign Carpenter was probably dinged or something.

Brian: Where did that come from? Gattis was pretty explicit that there was a a center depth chart with a clear 1 (Vastardis), 2 (Carpenter), and 3(Atteberry).

Ace: I feel like occasionally “insiders” catch a rep or two where they changed a line combination, which is common, and think that’s the pecking order.

Brian: This absolutely happens.

BiSB: And momentary unexplained changes in the depth chart may occur this year for other reasons.

Seth: Warinner said Atteberry's on the second unit on Jansen's podcast a week and a half ago. Again, I don't put much stock in it.

Ace: It’s why practice information often seems so fluid and frenetic. Or a big reason, at least. They’re throwing a bunch of stuff at the wall, so to speak.

BiSB: Bottom line: we are reasonably okay with a situation with 4 new starters on the OL. Weirdness abounds.

Seth: Do you guys have a preference at left guard between Filiaga and Barnhart? That seems to be the only question now.

Ace: I’ll be okay with either, to be honest. Filiaga has a lot of potential if he’s in shape; dude’s massive. Meanwhile, Barnhart seems super talented.

Brian: I'd be surprised if it wasn't Barnhart. He's garnered Mayfield hype since he stepped on campus and was going to start at RT when Mayfield opted out. I'm honestly rooting for Filiaga since he's stuck it out in a way that's not common.

OFFSEASON OF DONOVAN JETER HYPE 2.0

DT Options after Kemp and the sophomores include Jeter, a 3-3-5 SAM, Hutchinson pretending, and a grad transfer. [Barron]

Brian: Not impossible that it's true but overall real real not great that we're hearing exactly zero about Mazi Smith and the Chris Hinton train has not left the station.

Seth: Hey there was a Mazi mention today!

"At tackle, Christopher Hinton, Donovan Jeter and this Julius Welschof and Mazi Smith, those guys have all put themselves in a position where you would be comfortable putting them in a game and knowing you’re going to get a quality effort," Brown said. "Meaning they’re gonna know what to do, gonna know how to function and is going to go out and play hard and play fast. Also, Carlo Kemp, Jess Speight. A guy that has made significant improvement is Phil Paea."

Ace: Naming everyone!

Brian: Yeah full depth chart responses don't count.

Seth: Look man, he wasn't even named on the last full depth chart.

Ace: Really hoping it’s motivational but we’re reaching the point of worrisome lack of mentions. There’s significantly more buzz about Welschof, which… I’ll take, I think? If he’s going to be a hit this is the year where that probably starts to show up.

Brian: Yeah Welschof is definitely the variety of guy who could go from way off the radar--under an overpass, maybe--to a big deal. Beefing him and getting him to three-tech was always his destiny.

Ace: There’s also some word that Carlo Kemp is back to three-tech, which would ease my worries about the line a bit.

Brian: This is a hot take but when Brown refers to "this Julius Welschof" that seems like a good sign.

THIS

Seth: Unlike the secondary, defensive linemen are supposed to be unearthed after a few years. For example, "Taylor Upshaw has a butt."

Has a butt >>>> THIS

Ace: Speaking of which, if Jeter can just be large and absorb a couple blockers, that’d be real nice. Sometimes you get that upperclassman who’s finally grown man strong and that bit comes together.

Brian: If he can be Bryan Mone I would weep in joy. I never appreciated Bryan Mone enough because he came immediately after Glasgow and Hurst.

Seth: They started the offseason talking about his largeness but I was just re-watching the Alabama game, when Jeter played extensively for the first time since Wisconsin, and largeness was not the issue.

Brian: On the one hand Jeter has looked terrible so far, on the other most of his playing time came against Wisconsin and Alabama. Have fun storming the castle.

Seth: I guess that could be a good thing because technique can be taught.

Ace: Hard to think of a more brutal introduction to playing time. It’s understandable if he was overwhelmed to the point his technique broke down.

Seth: If he's a serviceable third DT I'm fine. If he's the starting nose I'm worried about Hinton. Optimally Michigan has a four- or five-man rotation and all of these guys are even except Hinton can also Hurst out.

Brian: DTs should be recruited like QBs, two every year no exceptions. Maybe three.

Ace: It’s also disappointing, given recent recruiting, that we’re still hoping for serviceable.

BiSB: There are still a couple of guys with higher ceilings. Its just nice to mitigate the risk of a significant/cataclysmic dropoff.

Seth: DTs are like CBs: every power program is going into every cycle looking to take as many as they can get their hands on. My concern for both is that Michigan's banking on being able to moneyball it. They should be backfilling with these ideas but getting into a position where you need your DEs to be DTs and your stick people to be Striblings is bad.

BiSB: The Kris Jenkins type moneyball shots seem like a reasonable approach. Fully formed battle tanks are a rare commodity. Just... maybe take more.

Brian: Yeah I like Jenkins but there needed to be three of him if that's your approach. Aaron Lewis was maybe another attempt at it but he felt more like an SDE to me.

Ace: He also became instant evidence of why you need to take several.

BiSB: They also take longer before they are even remotely viable, so if you have a hole in the CURRENT roster... maybe find a lower-rated gigantic human.

Brian: Taking eight ILBs for two ILB spots and 3 (with Lewis) DTs for two spots don't make no sense

Ace: Poach a Wisconsin recruit, even their DEs can play NT.

Brian: But anyway.

THERE ARE MANY LINEBACKERS BUT IN THIS CAMP WE ONLY TALK ABOUT HILL-GREEN

VanSumeren and Michael Barrett are your platooners? [Barron]

Seth: That was not a question. Also I don't think this unit has many.

Brian: I mean we know who the starters are and I'm fine with them. Glad to hear that Hill-Green is making waves since he was the guy who I was a little skeptical of when I did his recruiting profile. I'm including Barrett in the "obvious starter I'm fine with" category

Seth: Brown's last two pressers mentioned Anthony Solomon as tied with Michael Barrett for the Viper job. But this is a situation like the OL right?

Brian: They're different players who might have different roles. Barrett is a thumper who could reasonably play WLB. Solomon shades more towards safety. Could see some platooning.

Seth: I would expect more two-viper sets. We did just hire Brian "eleven safeties" Jean-Mary.

Brian: Possible. I'd bet on Seldon becoming the nickel guy at some point this season.

Seth: The only guy getting hype at the SAM spot is late fullback Ben VanSumeren. His competitors are not-quite-cooked-enough-for-weakside-ends Ojabo and Jaylen Harrell. You can do the same thing with more versatility with Solomon on the field.

Brian: SAM is very much optional. If you have an Uche, great. If not your defense does not depend on it.

Seth: Yes and no. If you only have three defensive linemen...

Ace: If Brown goes to a 3-3-5 this season, I’m walking into Lake Michigan.

Brian: Even with 1) Uche and 2) last year's DL he only got ~60% of Michigan snaps!

Ace: I don’t want to see a reprisal of the Noah Furbush role, either.

Seth: BVS is way more Furbush than Uche. Uche was an elite pass-rusher but not much use as a surprise interior blitzer because his momentum would just die on a Bama or OSU OL. The point of BVS is to be a literal defensive fullback.

Brian: I could see it as a change-up package in a game or two but I don't think SAM is going to play a major role either.

Seth: This is leading into my next question,

WHERE ARE THEY GOING TO GET PASS RUSH?

GETAROUND [Barron]

Ace: It hasn’t happened yet but Kwity Paye has that coveted bend you want from an edge-rusher, so we’re seeing NFL Draft hype that way outpaces his current numbers. I’m not sure he gets to the level of the Freaks List hype but I bet he’s more productive.

Seth: Getting Kwity 11 sacks I think is more about getting Kwity out of the B-gap, which comes back to the tackles question, really.

Brian: Last year Michigan did a ton of work with stunts because they had three DEs who were powerful enough to move OL who take them on directly and quick enough to attack half a man successfully. I think they can continue that even without Danna. And this year you've got a fully actualized McGrone to hammer through the lanes those DEs carve.

Barrett projects as a plus blitzer too.

Ace: I could see all three linebackers picking up solid sack totals. A stronger Hutchinson finishes more speed-to-power rushes, too. I am afraid a lot of it goes back to the DTs getting push.

Brian: I don't think Kwity's strength is going to be getting around the corner. Hutchinson maybe, but I linked that Clowney thing in UV because it reminded me of Michigan's DEs. Productive without huge sack totals.

Ace: I don’t think Paye is gonna be an Uche-level edge terror but his agility drill stats indicate he can get around the corner. Strongly.

Seth: They've been getting predictable with their linebacker blitzes the last two years. I'm sure part of hiring Shoop (a zone blitz lifer) and Jean-Mary (a 3-3-5 guy) is to get back to creative fronts. Part of that too however is having coverage that stands up, and then we're back to this thing that if you're moving Dax Hill your safeties don't have the slot erasure without a leverage advantage anymore, and your blitz options are limited.

Brian: Ace is right that getting anything from the DTs would be a major help. Michigan had an incredible passing down package with Uche and the three DEs but standard downs were sometimes a chore.

Seth: You can do it two ways: DT pressure, which is what the 2016-'17 Brown defenses had, or a secondary that can last so long the pocket collapses, which is the 2006/1997 route. Chris Hinton: go.

The Mathlete: Future NFL CBs start almost 3x the rate of future NFL DTs as true freshman, but by year 2 future NFL DTs are starting at a much similar rate.

Brian: I was going to mention that almost all of Michigan's NFL DTs were making an impact in year two. Mone is the only exception I'm pretty sure and he had a major injury.

Seth: Mone was making an impact in Year 1 in the Penn State Lazers game.

The Mathlete: NFL drafted DTs are starting 11% of the time as true freshmen, 60% of the time in year 2. For CBs the numbers are 28% and 72%.

Seth: I can pull up start data on Michigan's DTs back to 1990...

Brian: Could be a post

Seth: Indeed.

The Mathlete: I have all of CFB back to 2009

Seth: pshhhh current events. Very quick glance and so far only Mo Hurst and Jason Horn (who arrived at 240) took more than a year to get on the field of any A-level DTs. Quite a few B-level guys though. And we have reached that moment once a year when I am reminded Richard Ash a) exists, and b) made the NFL.

Ace: While I’ve been hyping Paye, these ends are best at constricting a pocket, and that means you need the DTs to do work. Or blitz like mad.

Brian: I think that's the answer and it'll catch up to Michigan at a couple points.

THE RECEIVERS ARE TINY

Not exactly Nico Collins but All is a jumbo downfield threat. [Barron]

Brian: Cornelius Johnson exists. CornJohn, I like to call him.

Seth: CornJo?

Ace: This is the one time we want to remember that South Carolina bowl game. Height doesn’t matter if you’re open!

Brian: I think Michigan's good on the outside with Bell and Johnson. There's enough leapy downfield stuff there. And then you can speed in space underneath that.

Ace: And Erick All!

BiSB: Erick All is basically a jumbo receiver, too.

Brian: I keep forgetting about All and am then incredibly pleased when reminded he exists

Seth: He's also up near 260 and reportedly blocking as well as Eubanks was last year.

BiSB: Alas, will he take all of BENCH's H-back snaps?

Brian: I have visions of endless Notre Dame TEs terrifyingly flexed wide against dubious Michigan corners

Seth: The fix for that Brian is to watch more NFL. That's all teams do these days.

Brian: I'm not sure how that helps except as exposure therapy

Seth: Except the Chiefs who have a fullback.

Ace: and Travis Kelce?

Seth: ...and Travis Kelce. Have I mentioned I adore Eric Bieniemy's offense?

Brian: So I think we've concluded that some of the receivers are tiny and others are not.

BiSB: We're basically 20% done with a children's board book.