Michigan Depth Chart 2015
NOTE: This is used from the 2014 Depth Chart, and therefore as 2014 eligibility. Therefore, SRs below are mostly gone (unless redshirt), JRs will become SRs in 2015, SO will be JRs, etc.
Offense
QB: Gardner SR, Morris SO, (Speight FR)
RB: Green SO, Isaac SO, (Smith SO, Johnson SO)
FB: Kerridge SO, Houma SO
X: Funchess JR, Darboh SO (Ways FR)
Z: Chesson SO, Canteen FR (Harris FR, Jones SO)
F: Norfleet JR, Dever SO
TE: Butt SO, Williams JR (Heitzman JR)
H: Hill FR, Bunting FR
LT: Cole FR, Magnuson SO
LG: Glasgow JR, Magnuson SO
C: Miller JR, Kugler FR
RG: Kalis SO, Bosch SO
RT: Braden SO, LTT FR
Defense
DE: Clark SR, Ojemudia JR
DE: Beyer SR, Charlton SO
DT: Henry SO, Godin SO, (Wormley SO, Hurst FR)
NT: Glasgow SO, Mone FR, (Pipkins JR)
SAM: Ross JR, RJS JR
MIKE: Ryan SR, Morgan SR
WILL: Bolden JR, Gedeon SO
BCB: Taylor SR, Peppers FR
FCB: Lewis SO, Countess JR
NB: Peppers FR, Hollowell SR
SS: Hill SO, Clark SO
FS: Wilson JR, Thomas SO
P: Hagerup SR, Wile SR (Allen SO)
K: Wile SR, Allen SO
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So lots of returning pieces next year.
At QB, DG is obviously a pretty big loss. Morris has some experience, but is still raw in his reads (from my POV, he's typically late, which forces him to have to force balls into tighter windows; I think Harbaughs WCO will be better for his timing though and likely help him). Speight is a big body QB that fits the WCO mold as well, but obviously is a complete unknown. Scary position, hope should be to get average play from it (which, given the B1G, should be reachable).
At RB, the depth is solid. Green made some progress last year, and he should be full go by fall. Hopefully a new RB coach will be able to reach him a bit better. Flashes still, but you can see what made him a highly sought after RB at times, though probably not the 5-star he was. Isaac likely has the most upside with his combo of strength and speed, it'll be interesting to see if he can be a go-to RB. Smith may be relegated to a short yardage back, though I think he could make a hell of a FB in the BJ Askew mold.
Kerridge may be the best FB Michigan has had since Dudley. Underappreicated hands, while he fights the ball in the air a bit, he seems to make catches. Houma is more of a move guy that can be used at H or FB. Shallman provides an unknown with pretty good ceiling for the position.
TE is a solid group. Butt is one of the better all-around TEs in the B1G, and should be utilized more in Harbaughs system than Nuss's. Hill showed promising flashes before being hurt, and while his in line blocking was inconsistent, he showed he wasn't afraid to pop people, and should have a bright future. Bunting provides a real receiving threat as well, and Williams has (too) slowly started making improvements as a blocker.
It's my belief that these WRs fit better for a system they were recruited for: the WCO that Harbaugh runs. Losing Funchess hurts, as he would have been a really good fit in this system as well. As is, I expect Darboh to take a bit of a leap as he fits a bit better. Chesson will work to strength the field a bit more as he gets healthier. Depth isn't an issue, but experience is. The young guys have talent, but will be very raw. Who will step up?
I fully expect the OL to take a jump, and expect them to be a top half OL next year. OSU and MSU are probably still in better places, but we're entering a third year of experience for most of these guys. They'll have one of the best OL coaches in the country. They improved quite a bit last year. Expect them to now get better at run blocking, and be a top 3 or 4 OL in the B1G.
DL: Losing Clark and Beyer hurts. I like Mario, think he's a good player, but not quite Clark (think he's holding a bit too much weight). Charlton flashes an ability to be great, but doesn't have the consistency Beyer did. Depth here is scary. Not knowing what the defense will be yet, in an Over front they'll be forced to play Poggi (more of a run stopper), Strobel (more of a run stopper), or Marshall (raw, but high upside). Can't afford to face long drives with lack of depth at DE.
The DT position is as stacked as there is in the B1G. Absolutely no concerns there, and you may see Michigan do what I said MSU may do and flex a DT out to DE to stop the run (especially if they go to an Under front or a 3-4).
LB is still solid. Morgan and Bolden should be one of the better LB pair in the B1G, and Ross is solid as a flex LB or an ILB. I like Gedeon as a hell-wrecker on passing downs and a good backup at any time. Concerned a bit about '16 with this group though, need another ILB in the '15 recruiting class pretty bad IMO.
Lewis should start getting recognition from outside the Michigan fanbase next year. It's hard to say what's going on with Countess, but I have a feeling confidence hurt him a lot last year after the ND game. Another year of seasoning for man coverage and perhaps more mix of zone coverage should make him at worst a solid CB. Peppers will be back as a FR, and I still like him at NB in 5 DB situations because of all the threats he brings. Solid top 3, more worry below that, though there are bodies.
Safety is an interesting position. I still think Wilson is a solid player, but needs to get better in run/pass conflict situations. Still likely better served as a FS. Clark, Thomas, and Hill all showed some flashes, I think with Hill as the best of the bunch. But they were all very inconsistent as well, particularly Thomas. Man coverage is not a strength for this group. Think there is talent there, but needs to be improved.
January 2nd, 2015 at 2:39 PM ^
He was injured so that is why he wasn't out there blocking at the end of the season. Not sure if you were insuinuating he had dropped off, but he was still great at that.
Lack of big plays this year is a lot on the recievers though. If they aren't blocking well or creating separation, then big plays have no chance of happening. We saw that this year.
January 2nd, 2015 at 10:13 AM ^
That guy that needs to step from the WR group would be Drake Harris. Hopefully that hammy is healed, because he has the potential to be that deep threat that Michigan is lacking.
January 2nd, 2015 at 10:49 AM ^
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January 2nd, 2015 at 10:14 AM ^
Harbaugh.
I cannot wait to see the names that barely registered this year that we will be worried about keeping all four years at this time next year.
January 2nd, 2015 at 10:21 AM ^
Is that Mo? If so, I never realized the resemblance to Beau Bridges before.
(I just came to the realization that I'm not getting any work done today)
January 2nd, 2015 at 10:46 AM ^
It is Mo, gall dangit.
January 2nd, 2015 at 10:18 AM ^
is going to be fine next year. I trust JH to bring in a transfer QB or to develop one of our own.
I may be the odd man out on this one, but I think I'm concerned about the defense. How many times did we force 3 and outs this year? How many QB sacks? I saw OSU sack Bama twice in a row last night. When was the last time we did that?
If Mattison/Durkin can get the D humming along we're going to do very well next year.
January 2nd, 2015 at 10:40 AM ^
Some of that is due to poor coverage downfield; the corners this year had lots of trouble keeping WRs close to them and forcing QBs to check through their progressions, which is a major factor in teams generating sacks. Even going to a 2nd or 3rd option is sometimes all you need.
January 2nd, 2015 at 11:07 AM ^
they're kind of a high bar to aim for. Biggest rival and all, yeah, but we just need to work on getting better across the board before worrying about matching what one of the best teams in the country can do.
January 2nd, 2015 at 11:44 AM ^
OSU was 6-6 the year before Urban took over. How many games have they lost since then?
Granted, OSU was stacked with talent, but I think the Michigan roster is pretty damn good too. There is really no reason why we shouldn't expect similar results.
Go look at the 2016 schedule. Aside from having to play OSU and MSU away, the rest of the season should be a piece of cake.
January 2nd, 2015 at 10:25 AM ^
January 2nd, 2015 at 10:31 AM ^
No where did I say Gardner was great last year, but you bash Gardner and then say his two back-ups were worse. So, obviously, that makes him a "pretty big loss".
Gardner really struggled last year, but he was also obviously the best player at the position. He likely was a leader as well. He also provided a run threat (Morris does a little as well), though that was less because of injury.
So yeah, I think that qualifies as "pretty big loss". I really wish you'd take your trolling somewhere else, I've rarely found any of your posts among the non "worst. posts. ever."
January 2nd, 2015 at 3:43 PM ^
Gardner was the best QB on the team last year, by far. He also won't be a big loss.
The team was so awful last year that by and large you could replace anyone with a "replacement level" player and see no drop-off (and likely some improvement). Gardner was better than anyone we had, but is imminently replaceable with good coaching. There were about a dozen true freshman QB's last year in the NCAA who had significantly better years than Gardner.
Gardner was 9th in the B1G in QB rating
10th in TDs (TWO Illinois QBs had as many or more).
WORST in the B1G for interceptions.
#94 out of 124 qualifying QBs nationwide in rating.
January 2nd, 2015 at 10:35 AM ^
The fact that you called this the "worst post ever" means nothing else you say here matters.
January 2nd, 2015 at 10:41 AM ^
Congrats!
January 2nd, 2015 at 10:46 AM ^
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January 2nd, 2015 at 10:47 AM ^
Gardner passed Brady in TDs at Michigan, none of our returning QBs have a TD pass IIRC so....
January 2nd, 2015 at 10:51 AM ^
"We need Speight to kill it"
Uninformed posts are uninformed.
January 2nd, 2015 at 12:02 PM ^
This is a very strange comment on a number of levels. "Worst post ever" seems LSD induced. Shane has the worst arm since the 70's? He certainly needs to be trained to use his arm, but his arm is really, really strong. Might want to just start over with this one.
January 2nd, 2015 at 12:25 PM ^
OL and RB are strengths. JH makes things pretty simple on his QBs and given the luxuries in the backfield, Morris should be able to do well (enough). Butt is going be important, move Peppers to WR??
Shane's arm strength isn't the problem, it was accuracy and confusion.
January 2nd, 2015 at 3:35 PM ^
Principal M QBs during the 70s:
Don Moorehead
Tom Slade
Denny Franklin
Rick Leach (4-year starter)
John Wangler
Some pretty good names there. Remember Bo's offense was primarily run-oriented. Still, these guys could throw the ball reasonably well. I also think during this decade the most regular-season losses M suffered were two or three.
January 2nd, 2015 at 10:31 AM ^
January 2nd, 2015 at 10:59 AM ^
Peppers will line up at least once in 8 different spots this year.
QB
RB
WR
KR
PR
CB
NB
Safety
January 2nd, 2015 at 10:40 AM ^
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January 2nd, 2015 at 10:42 AM ^
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January 2nd, 2015 at 10:52 AM ^
Which looked at the depth chart from this year and looked at who was leaving and who was staying, and therefore used 2014's eligibility. So, in that case, Green and Smith were both SO.
January 2nd, 2015 at 10:50 AM ^
They played in 2013 behind Toussaint and in 2014 so they are true juniors now.
January 2nd, 2015 at 10:47 AM ^
We have essentially NO proven talent coming back. We had only two players make 1st or 2nd team all Big Ten last year, and they are both gone (Ryan and Funchess). Three guys made homorable mention (Beyer, Taylor and Hagerup)-all gone.
That's it. The depth chart for 2015 has only mediocre guys who fumbled and struggled and showed absolutely no playmaking ability whatsoever, and not even any promise. If you try to make a list of our 5 (or 10) best rerturning players, it's pretty depressing. There is nothing but hoping and finger-crossing to convince you that they're going to be any good at all.
January 2nd, 2015 at 10:53 AM ^
Come on man, go hate somewere else, we have 4 very good Sr linebackers, a very good interior Dline, decent DEs in Charlton and Ojemudia, pretty good corners in Countess, Lewis and Peppers, Return all our safeties in Wilson, Clark, Hill and Thomas, 5 starters at the Oline returning, a stable of RBs, all but one wide recievers, all the Tight Ends.....
January 2nd, 2015 at 11:49 AM ^
"decent" and "pretty good" here, dude. Which is my point. But of those four senior LBs, not one has ever been better than average. Dline...where are the studs? Again, a stable of very average players. Countess was terrible last year, Peppers did not impress at all. And safeties? Come on. Can you really get excited about a group of safeties that didn't have ONE interception last year among the lot of them? In 12 games? How many other teams in the whole NCAA can you name where the Dline had as many INTs as the whole defensive backfield?
RBs? None of them has ever done squat. Same with the WRs and TEs. No proven production among the whole lot.
January 2nd, 2015 at 11:59 AM ^
Who on OSU, that was going to play (so no Miller, no Spence), impressed you?
Bosa, Bennett, Decker maybe...
Zeke, Barrett, Jones, their WR group, their OL, Washington, Lee, McMillon, Reeves, Bell, all didn't look like great guys by your criteria coming into the year.
What about MSU?
Cook, Langford, Conklin, Calhaun, Rush, Waynes, Drummond (can't say Lippett, can't say Allen)
By your criteria they had some players, but were screwed after this year. Who will be back next year? Cook, Conklin, maybe Calhaun.
It's a bit the nature of college football, turnover every four years, guys that come in without a lot of great coaching before reaching college, etc. These guys learn a lot, grow at different rates, perform at different rates, etc. I don't expect Michigan to be OSU next year, but your criteria is very hard on them and I think a bit unrealistic.
January 2nd, 2015 at 4:08 PM ^
Who on OSU, that was going to play (so no Miller, no Spence), impressed you?
What about MSU?
Coming into the year Ohio St. was returning 7 ALL B1G performers from 2013:
Michael Bennett
Drew Basil
Joey Bosa
Doran Grant
Jeff Heuerman
Cameron Johnston
Devin Smith
Coming into the year MSU was returning 11 ALL B1G performers from 2013:
Connor Cook
Blake Treadwell
Shilique Calhoun
Kurtis Drummond
Isaiah Lewis
Mike Sadler
Jack Allen
Dan France
Jeremy Langford
Marcus Rush
Trae Waynes
Going into next year Michigan is returning ZERO ALL B1G performers from 2014.
Both are bringing back more than ZERO ALL B1G performers next year,
January 2nd, 2015 at 4:17 PM ^
3 of the guys you listed for MSU were playing in the NFL this year, so I don't think they "returned" as you say (Treadwell, Lewis and France). And one is a punter, which, come on.
I'm not saying we have that either, but if you're going to make an argument, at least make it accurate.
January 2nd, 2015 at 12:20 PM ^
Pretty good is better than mediocre or just plain bad, Morgan is a run stopper and a very good LB, had a very good first game last season before injuring his arm, Bolden and Ross both have had very good plays and there's no reason to think they're below average, they're not stars but they are a good group of linebackers with a chance to be the best in the B1G. Peppers did not play for most of the second half of the season, Lewis showed that he can stick with the best recievers in the league and Countess had a great 2013 campaign, the all have shown promise and they will be a year older and stronger, more confident. I feel excited that we do not have to sport freshman safeties, the important part of this position IMO isn't intercepting passes but being desciplined and not letting big plays pass by them. Henry, Hurst, Wormey, Godin all of them are going to be more experienced and all of them played good.
Wide receivers I agree have not done much but they all come back so it isn't a stretch to think that a couple of them can step up, Darboh had a couple decent games, Butt is a beast, he was injured to start the season and he is the prototypical TE, he has 2 TDs in 2 years vs OSU. Running backs started to play better than in 2013, as the OL started to play better as well, they all come back too, Jhonson showed some talent running.
This team loses just 6/7 (if you count Hollowell) players in the two deep.
Only few teams in the whole BCS lose so little... how can you be so negative?
January 2nd, 2015 at 2:41 PM ^
None of our RBs have done squat? None of them had a ton of yards individually because of injuries and parity among them, but Drake Johnson averaged 6.0 ypc for the season, Green averaged 5.7 and DeVeon Smith, who I believe is the worst of those three, still averaged 4.8 ypc. As a trio, they ran for 1,351 yards on 5.4 ypc and scored 13 TDs. On a team with an average OL who was often playing from behind, that's very good. Despite not being "speed" guys, Smith and Green both had runs of over 60 yards.
Those guys are all back and we're adding Ty Isaac. RB is not a concern of mine for 2015.
January 2nd, 2015 at 11:09 AM ^
January 2nd, 2015 at 11:21 AM ^
But, as I said, I think Butt is one of the best TEs in the B1G.
I'd fully expect a RB to emerge as the OL does.
I think Bolden and Morgan will be one of the best LB groups in the B1G. Bolden had some struggles, but overall was very solid.
Lewis should be one of the best CBs in the B1G. DT is a position that is stacked for Michigan as a position that doesn't tend to get hype.
I get what your saying - skill guys are extremely exciting right now. I think Harbaugh has his work cut out for him in some areas, and don't expect Michigan to be great next year. I also think they have enough talent to be quite good and compete in every game, and have a chance to win any game on their schedule.
January 2nd, 2015 at 10:52 AM ^
We have some guys with very strong pedigrees that haven't shown enough yet. I expect Harbaugh to start to squeeze these guys. Look at the top-12 talent we have at almost every position (247 Composite rankings):
LB
Joe Bolden and James Ross were the #2 and #3 ILBs in the country in their class. Mike McCray the #4 ILB, Gedeon #11.
DL
Pipkins was the #6 DT in the country; Mone was #8; Poggi was #11. Taco was the #5 WDE in his class, Marshall #9, and Strobel #10. Wormley was the #6 SDE.
DB
Peppers was the #1 DB in the country; Countess was #10; Terry Richardson was #11; Lewis was #12. Dymonte Thomas was the #11 safety. Kinnel is the #11 safety.
OL
Kugler was the #1 center in the country his class. Dawson the #2 guard, Cole the #8 guard, and Fox the #9 guard. Kalis (#3), Bosch (#8), and Magnuson (#9) were top ten tackles.
WR/TE
Drake Harris was the #7 WR in the country. Butt was the #11 TE in his class, and Bunting was the #11 TE in his class. Brian Cole is the #5 athlete in the country.
RB/FB/APB
Derrick Green was the #5 RB. Hayes was the #6 all-purpose back; Norfleet was the #7 all-purpose back. Shallman was the #2 fullback, Houma the #6 fullback.
QB
Shane Morris was the #3 QB. Malzone is #11.
ST
Andrew David is the #7 place kicker.
Scott Sypiewski was the #6 long snapper.
We have 37 players on our team who were top-12 at their position out of high school. Let me repeat that: WE HAVE 37 PLAYERS ON OUR TEAM WHO WERE TOP-12 AT THEIR POSITION OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL. THIRTY-SEVEN.
We have at least one top-12 recruit at every single position except for punter.
January 2nd, 2015 at 11:10 AM ^
January 2nd, 2015 at 12:19 PM ^
I remember when most on this site, including myself, were predicting this was the season Hoke was going to win the B1G 10 and possibly the NC because all the young talent he recruited in his first full recruiting season would be Juniors this season
However, player development was lacking under Hoke. I know JH will improve things but I wonder if players are not coached up in their first couple years at school, will this limit their potential. Or is it still possible for JH and his coaches to get out all the potential from these high recruiting ranked players? I guess we will find out this season. I don't think we will be a really good team until JH first full class in 2016 are Juniors, so you may be looking at 2018 or 2019 before we become a real kick ass team under Harbaugh.
The key to this season will be for JH to develop one of our QB or get a good QB to transfer here.
January 2nd, 2015 at 11:16 AM ^
Certainly encouraging, especially given that a majority of these guys are coming into the most important time in their development, those SO-JR/JR-SR years.
January 2nd, 2015 at 11:45 AM ^
Holy shit, when you list it out like that it's stunning the talent we legitimitely have already on the roster.
I don't know whether to kiss Hoke or punch him.
January 2nd, 2015 at 11:11 AM ^
January 2nd, 2015 at 11:14 AM ^
January 2nd, 2015 at 11:19 AM ^
Michigan needs more DEs in a 4-3 Over scheme, or more ILBs in a 4-3 Under or 3-4 scheme. Not huge concerns for '15, but beyond there are cocerns with either scheme IMO.
January 2nd, 2015 at 11:27 AM ^
Wouldn't a 3-4 help mitigate our weakness at DE and take advantage of our huge strengths at DT and LB?
Any three of Henry, Wormley, Pipkins, Glasgow, Taco, Strobel on the DL
Any four of Ross, Morgan, Bolden, Gedeon, Mario, RJS, McCray at LB
January 2nd, 2015 at 11:44 AM ^
And I think some of the DE issues would be mitigated by the recruiting of the SAM position in the Under front.
My concerns for a 3-4 would be ILBs after '15. I think Ross, Morgan, and Bolden would all be ILBs in '14, as would Gedeon. McCray is probably more of a ROLB. Furbush is probably a ROLB. Winovich could probably play ILB. But that's about it. 2016 would really have two legit ILBs for two ILB positions. DL and OLB would be fine (Gant and Wangler may struggle to find a fit), but you're doubling down a bit at a different position.
I personally think Michigan can better mitigate potential issues by sticking with mostly a 4-3, which I think they will.
January 2nd, 2015 at 2:03 PM ^
January 2nd, 2015 at 2:36 PM ^
I don't think he has the burst at his weight to be an every down DE in an Over front. Could be a good SDE or a 3-4 DE, but I don't see him as an edge rusher. As a two-down run stopper he could be alright at DE, but I'm guessing there are better options.
January 2nd, 2015 at 11:28 AM ^
This is all my opinion (which may be worth onions), but Urban Meyer went undefeated in the B1G his first year with some luck and pure coaching. He went undefeated his 2nd year with coaching and the B1G being down. He will be in the NCG this year because of developing the talent he recruited and getting production from his young recruits. It is amazing how far his team has come. The same development can be said about MSU as well.
I believe we are about to see a grind in the B1G East division solely based on coaching.