BUMP! 2020 Michigan Football Depth Chart (including new commits)
I did this awhile ago, remember when people used to "bump" things back to the top of a message board? Well...BUMP.
(Note: I already know DPJ and Ruiz may be unlikely. I still don't know what to do with the OL...it's nice that we have options going into next year, a nice mix of upperclassman who could start, young guys who've been in the program for a couple of years and true/redshirt freshman who could surprise. Lastly, outside of OL, the Anchor position behind Hutchinson has an unreal amount of uncertainty - that's an easy position for some "camp hype" this summer and fall - 1 or 2 of those guys will grow into small DTs).
QB:
1. Dylan McCaffrey
2. Joe Milton
3. Cade McNamara
*Dan Villari
RB:
1. Zach Charbonnet / Hassan Haskins
3. Chris Evans
4. Christian Turner / Blake Corum
6. Ben VanSumeren
7. Gaige Garcia
FB:
1. Ben Mason
2. Ben VanSumeren
WR/SLOT/RB:
1. Mike Sainristil
2. Giles Jackson
3. Eamonn Dennis
WR:
1. Donovan Peoples-Jones
2. George Johnson
WR:
1. Cornelius Johnson
2. Roman Wilson
WR:
1. Ronnie Bell
2. AJ Henning
3. Jake McCurry
TE:
1. Nick Eubanks
2. Erick All
3. Luke Schoonmaker
4. Matthew Hibner
5. Nick Patterson
LT:
1. Jalen Mayfield
2. Ryan Hayes
3. Karsen Barnhart
4. Trevor Keegan
5. Jeffrey Persi
LG:
1. Chuck Filiaga
2. Stephan Spanellis
3. Jack Stewart
4. Micah Mazzccua
C:
1. Cesar Ruiz
2. Andrew Vastardis
3. Zach Carpenter
4. Nolan Rumler / Reece Atteberry
RG:
1. Stephan Spanellis / Joel Honigford
3. Nolan Rumler
4. Zak Zinter
RT:
1. Andrew Stueber
2. Ryan Hayes
3. Trente Jones
EDGE:
1. Kwity Paye
2. Luiji Vilian
3. Taylor Upshaw
4. David Ojabo
DT:
1. Carlo Kemp
2. Mazi Smith / Donovan Jeter
4. Phillip Paea
DT:
1. Michael Dwumfour
2. Chris Hinton
3. Jess Speight
4. Kris Jenkins
ANCHOR:
1. Aidan Hutchinson
2. Braiden McGregor
3. Julius Welschof / Gabe Newburg / Mike Morris
6. Aaron Lewis
WLB:
1. Josh Ross
2. Devin Gil
3. Jordan Morant / Nikhil Hill-Green
MLB:
1. Cameron McGrone
2. Josh Ross
3. Charles Thomas
5. Kalel Mullings / Cornell Wheeler
VIPER:
1. Michael Barrett
2. Anthony Solomon
3. Joey Velazquez
4. Osman Savage / William Mohan
CB:
1. Ambry Thomas
2. DJ Turner
3. Andre Seldon
CB:
1. Vincent Gray
2. Gemon Green / Jalen Perry
*Darion Green-Warren
NB:
1. Jaylen Kelly-Powell
2. German Green
S:
1. Daxton Hill
2. Sammy Faustin / Makari Paige
S:
1. Brad Hawkins
2. Quinten Johnson / RJ Moten
K:
1. Jake Moody
P:
1. Will Hart
2. Brad Robbins
December 18th, 2019 at 9:40 AM ^
We're gonna be good (again) next year.
December 18th, 2019 at 9:57 AM ^
Especially with Nico back. In my opinion.
December 18th, 2019 at 10:46 AM ^
Keep talking him into staying please, Shea
December 18th, 2019 at 2:01 PM ^
9-3 good, right Douche King?
December 18th, 2019 at 9:43 AM ^
This looks good, I don't think Christian Turner will be on the team next year, I also think one of the Vipers won't be back either.
December 18th, 2019 at 9:52 AM ^
Barrett should start and Solomon got a lot of playing time this year on special teams. The only who could leave is Velazquez, but it's possible he may want to play baseball full time
December 18th, 2019 at 10:36 AM ^
It will be interesting to see how this looks after portal season.
December 18th, 2019 at 10:43 AM ^
I also think one of the Vipers won't be back either.
PHEW GOOD I HATE SNAKES
December 18th, 2019 at 10:47 AM ^
That disappoints me. I had a lot of hope for CT. The kid can run the ball. Is he better than HH or ZC? So far the answer is no, but it's a bummer that a couple of fumbles really pushed him back in the depth chart. Now with Evans coming back, it might be best to transfer and sit next year and still have 2 years of eligibility at another school.
December 18th, 2019 at 9:44 AM ^
Camp hype is a killer. Like the old SI or Madden jinx.
December 18th, 2019 at 9:48 AM ^
Excluding a few walk on’s on that list that’s 94 guys on scholarship. That’s just a few too many.
December 18th, 2019 at 10:04 AM ^
I count 88 which is only 3 over the limit, and there will likely be at least a bit of attrition.
December 18th, 2019 at 10:54 AM ^
It’s 94 if you include DGW and exclude walk one like Speight, Vastardis, etc.
December 18th, 2019 at 11:13 AM ^
2 things you never have to worry about:
The federal govt. running out of money.
UM being over the scholarship limit.
December 18th, 2019 at 2:04 PM ^
I didn't count and don't plan on it...but you didn't double count some or the guys who I have at multiple positions though, right?
Anyway...I don't see Milton and/or Turner, 1-2 OL, 1 DE, and maybe 1 DB back that are listed.
December 18th, 2019 at 9:58 AM ^
Offense looks right.
I would move Mike Morris to DT and Welschof above McGregor in the depth chart. Welschof has been in the system for 2 years and has gotten some buzz last offseason. McGregor, who is going to be good, is coming off an injury and still needs time to focus only on one sport and one position.
Jordan Morant is coming in as a safety. I think it's more likely he may bounce to CB than it is that he will be moved up to WLB.
Seldon is likely a NB
December 18th, 2019 at 10:34 AM ^
I think it's more likely he may bounce to CB than it is that he will be moved up to WLB.
Wasn't the knock on Morant that he wasn't a quick change of direction guy? More of a straight line runner who likes to hit? He's listed at 212lbs on 247 and seems more like Hudson than a CB.
December 18th, 2019 at 10:04 AM ^
If anyone gets excited by camp hype next year then they are obviously either insane or very young.
December 18th, 2019 at 10:04 AM ^
I can’t believe Black transferred. He’d be the #1 guy next season.
Anyway, Evans will start at RB and Corum/Haskins will back him up. Move ZC to FB.
The secondary is going to get throttled. Gray is going to get picked on and Hawkins is Hawkins.
December 18th, 2019 at 10:12 AM ^
You’re so bad at your game.
December 18th, 2019 at 10:13 AM ^
ZC to FB? You serous, Clark???
December 18th, 2019 at 10:38 AM ^
Black was mediocre at best. Did not live up to the hype.
December 18th, 2019 at 10:45 AM ^
Post two injuries, what is one thing that Black excelled at? I would say that all he had going for him was the eye test. Yes there was a ton of promise when he came in and looked great right off the bat. However, he just isn't that good right now. Doesn't run as good of routes as DPJ or Bell. Doesn't have better hands than the 3 receivers ahead of him, and doesn't use his size a whole lot.
I think people remember the Black they saw as a freshman, but that guy is gone. I honestly wouldn't have been too confident if he was our #1 next year. Reminds me of when Kekoa came out of camp as the de-facto #1 and it just didn't work out.
December 18th, 2019 at 11:01 AM ^
There's no way you actually believe anything you post
December 18th, 2019 at 12:37 PM ^
It's from the mercury vapors.
December 18th, 2019 at 10:14 AM ^
Welschof could probably pack on another 12 pounds and slide down to DT.
December 18th, 2019 at 11:21 AM ^
I believe he already did.
December 18th, 2019 at 10:14 AM ^
You likely have many correct guesses...likely several misses too. Nice roster-on paper.
Both the coaching and the on-field playing needs to ascend closer to the ceiling of potential...otherwise Michigan is going to remain a perennial 2-4 loss team.
December 18th, 2019 at 11:16 AM ^
9-10 win team sounds better :)
December 18th, 2019 at 12:04 PM ^
Not to be the “next year” guy..., The team should really be on a better track to compete for the Big Ten East... Ohio State and Penn State will be as good, if not slightly better. 2020 Michigan should be significantly better than 2019 Michigan all around on potential. The question mark is, does Michigan’s growth outweigh the other two’s.
If that comes through though is yet to be seen. Finally having strong depth at the OL position, deep QB depth— which is a huge potential question mark on whether McCaff/Milton >>> Patterson. Now having 3 solid years at the same school learning an offense (McCaff) even though it’s 2 “different” offenses, I’d like to think the RPO concept as been similar, if not the same along that timespan.
December 18th, 2019 at 10:16 AM ^
You know something about Nico Collins I don't? He doesn't seem any more or less likely to be on this team next year than DPJ
December 18th, 2019 at 10:17 AM ^
Looks at DT starters. Begins to cry.
Not sure if this roster can get us to the next level.
December 18th, 2019 at 10:22 AM ^
It can.
The offense may have to "carry" the defense-better/more than it did this year. I think the offense holds great potential...but so did last year's.
December 18th, 2019 at 10:32 AM ^
DTs are no worse than this year because its the same 2 guys a year older plus a sophomore 5-star and RS freshman 4-star. That's good enough to win every game sans OSU which is its own conversation.
December 19th, 2019 at 11:43 AM ^
We could use some help with some bigger DTs against OSU and maybe not running that 3-3-5 against them which got gashed. Would really like to see us try the 4 man front.
December 18th, 2019 at 11:16 AM ^
DT was fine this year. Only exposed by two elite OL teams. Now you return the exact same two starters, with an additional off-season of conditioning, weight gain, and strength gain. Add in the fact that Mazi Smith and Chris Hinton gain another year of the same, and theres no reason to not expect DT to be an improvement over this season.
DT being fine again seems to be worst case scenario. With the positions around them also being upgrades, with safety and Viper being the only real question marks.
December 18th, 2019 at 11:56 AM ^
That’s the problem. What kept us in the OSU games in ‘16 and ‘17 was elite interior DL. Without it we get exposed. The elite teams are separated from the rest in the trenches. Many things can be covered up with a missing skill position or two. You can’t cover up sub standard dL or OL, at least not against teams that have elite counter parts. Wisc and OSU have elite OLs, so we got killed because we couldn’t match up on the DL, specifically on the interior.
December 18th, 2019 at 7:53 PM ^
But again, we return our top 5 contributors at DT from this season. At least two of which are expected to make significant steps forward, two of which are at worst going to be stagnant.
It’s not a stretch at all to say that DT will be much improved next season as compared to this season. Maybe it’s not elite, but we should have 3 (if not 4) tackles we’re comfortable playing in any situation. Ultimately you’ll never “stop,” elite offenses. You have to get enough stops and outscore them.
December 18th, 2019 at 10:21 AM ^
Honestly that's a damn good team. That's a team that talent wise, I see as 2nd in the BIG. Can they be great and win 11+ games is really going to depend how qb goes. If you get elite qb play the sky is the limit. If you get good, not great, qb play I think you are looking at a solid 10-2 team with a chance to be in the hunt late in the year.
That team is better than UW, UW, PSU, MIN, and MSU. So...what it likely means is they are more talented than most teams but have holes. They don't have the luxury of rolling their helmets out and making a bunch of mistakes against the UW' and PSU's of the world but if they play sound football have the talent to win. What eveyone wants to know is, is the roster "next level" good. To me that entirely lies on if you get elite qb play.
December 18th, 2019 at 10:49 AM ^
Could be very good. I think this is very optimistic in terms of who will be back, but I'll take it.
The question I have is, is it more talented than the 2019 team? And I think the resounding answer is a clear no. O Line being rebuilt, new QB, and key losses on defense and WR. Solid team, maybe Harbaugh's 5th most talented though IMO.
December 18th, 2019 at 10:54 AM ^
That's fair, I was actually looking at it in relation to their schedule and other BIG opponents as well. Washington on the road I believe UM is better but cross country is always tough. UW and PSU at home (and both those teams will be good but have serious personnel holes as well). MSU on the road but they should be down.
UM's talent in relation to how their schedule shakes out look fairly good on paper to me. But I don't disagree with you.
December 18th, 2019 at 10:58 AM ^
Still less talented than the 2016 team he inherited to
December 18th, 2019 at 10:25 AM ^
And thank you OP for putting this together. I actually like taking a peak at the next year depth chart.
December 18th, 2019 at 10:31 AM ^
Man there’s so much talent and depth. Still very young as well.
December 18th, 2019 at 10:51 AM ^
Why are we assuming Collins is gone?
December 18th, 2019 at 10:53 AM ^
No way is Ryan Hayes on the bench next year.
He should have started this year and has more upside than any other OL.
Maybe Stueber will slide over to guard.
Hayes/Filiaga/Ruiz/Stueber/Mayfield
December 18th, 2019 at 11:07 AM ^
I agree with this take.
December 18th, 2019 at 11:29 AM ^
Ojabo will back up the anchor, Welschof and Morris are already at DT. I think Morant will eventually end up at Viper.
December 18th, 2019 at 11:30 AM ^
Zach Carpenter won scout team player of the year at his position, so I'd put him ahead of Stewart and Rumler right now at guard. There have also been positive rumblings about him in bowl practices.
Has anyone actually watched Kris Jenkins' film? He's not a NT or DT in any way. He plays DE in high school, with his hand down or standing, and he has a long thin body type. He's an SDE all the way.
December 18th, 2019 at 11:41 AM ^
I've seen his film. The coaches are projecting Jenkins will be 300ish like his dad was when he played NT in the NFL. Michigan has done well with legacy prospects so there is hope. It's definitely a gamble though.