Podcast 15.0A, 15.0B, 15.0C. The Story. Quarterback. Running Back. Wide Receiver. Tight End. Interior OL. Offensive Tackle. Edge.

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR: MOES HURST?

RATING: 5

To review: this is sort of a 3-4 and sort of a 4-3 under and sort of your bog standard 4-2-5. The interior has three "starters" in that there are three distinct roles, but because it is 2023 there will be two DTs on the field on the large majority of standard downs. Realistically the two starters are Graham and Jenkins, with Grant and Benny backing them up. Grant will get bonus snaps on short yardage when Michigan runs a 5-2 out there.

That out of the way: hell yes. Michigan returns Kris Jenkins, who could have been a day two pick in last year's NFL draft if he left. Jenkins has beefed up again, after beefing up last year. Mason Graham, who lived up to every bit of hype this site could throw at him and then some, will enjoy a freshman to sophomore transition after already checking in as one of the league's best DTs as a true freshman.

Behind these two guaranteed stars are a 340 pound man-planet who made Bruce Feldman's Freaks list last year and a highly touted redshirt sophomore who graded out like Graham in UFR a year ago. This spot is incredibly deep all of a sudden thanks to Michigan's ability to scout up-and-comers.

END: POWERED BY TENDIES

[Barron]

When KRIS JENKINS arrived on campus he just needed to eat. He was listed at 239 by 247 and showed up at Michigan at 265. He then added no weight in his first year, alarmingly, before adding 20 pounds last year. He tweeted about it and all the Michigan fans did the little hands emoji at him. This year:

Ngl i got beefed pic.twitter.com/4wUwVYNZNv

— Kris Jenkins (@KrisJenkinsJr1) May 26, 2023

Maybe that's the wrong meat to reference though:

Nah cause they are soo good https://t.co/EF6PNzIXd7

— Kris Jenkins (@KrisJenkinsJr1) August 24, 2023

Someone get this man an NIL deal STAT.

[After THE JUMP: ye gods]

The new phonebook's here, but since they don't list weight changes in spring there's even less than usual to glean from the updated rosters. The big notes:

• Jalen Perry is gone.
• Alessandro Lorenzetti moved to DL.
• Kalel Mullings is an LB/RB. Order of the positions seems significant?

The new guys have numbers, and some of them have interesting weights. Also there were some position changes among younger players. So let's be thorough anyways.

DEPARTURES

One guy in Michigan remembers Perry. [Patrick Barron]

The only one that wasn't announced already was cornerback Jalen Perry. Can't say that's much of a surprise since he barely played in four years, and when he'd get mention it was behind all the freshmen. Aside from his special teams work (see photo above), he did get in as Michigan's backup nickel last year, in non-competitive situations.

Here's the the full list of guys not back from last year's roster, with destinations and years of eligibility remaining where applicable.

• Quarterback: Cade McNamara (Iowa, 2), Alan Bowman (Oklahoma State, 1), and walk-ons Peyton Smith and Andy Maddox
• Running Back: Everybody's back.
• Wide Receiver: Ronnie Bell (NFL, 1), Andrel Anthony (Oklahoma, 2), Matthew Harrison
• Tight End: Luke Schoonmaker (NFL, 1), Erick All (Iowa, 2), Joel Honigford, Louis Hansen (UConn, 3), and Carter Selzer.
• Offensive Line: Olu Oluwatimi, Ryan Hayes (NFL, 1), Mica Gelb, and Kraig Correll
• Defensive Tackle: Mazi Smith (NFL, 2), George Rooks (Boston College, 3)
• Edge: Mike Morris (NFL, 2), Eyabi Okie (Charlotte, 1), Taylor Upshaw (Colorado, 1), Julius Welschof (Charlotte, 1)
• Linebacker: Deuce Spurlock (Florida, 4), Ryan Zimmerman
• Safety: Everybody's back.
• Cornerback/Nickel: DJ Turner (NFL, 2), Gemon Green (NFL, 1), Jalen Perry (Unknown, 2), Jahre Fish.
• Specialists: Jake Moody, Brad Robbins, and Rhett Anderson

POSITION CHANGES

Everybody give a demi-yay for for Mullings being an "LB/RB" now. [Bryan Fuller]

The big one everyone's talking about is Amorion Walker to cornerback. He's listed as a WR/DB on the roster.

The big one that we didn't know about is Alessandro Lorenzetti has been moved to defensive line in place of Dominick Giudice, whose move to offensive line was known about last year. I don't know what to make of Lorenzetti. This program does try its deep depth at other positions sometimes, if only to get them some snaps, and Lorenzetti came in more of a raw frame than a football player. It probably means they feel Lorenzetti is years away from helping on the offensive line, and that they want to shore up depth at defensive tackle after moving Giudice and coming up one guy short at the position in recruiting. It probably downgrades Lorenzetti's ceiling a few notches, since deep depth positions switches are often the first step to irrelevance (see: Jack Stewart, Phil Paea).

Of particular interest to me is Chibi Anwunah moving to tight end. Chibi was a super under-the-radar guy they found who's rumored to have Ojabo-level athleticism. Both positions require lots of it, but the fact that Elston was willing to let him try something else suggests he maybe preferred to focus on the almost-as-raw recruits he brought in.

Kalel Mullings is officially an "LB/RB." Half-Yay! issued:

Ya

It's interesting that they list LB first; that position is suddenly stacked, while he's probably the #3 guy at running back if that's his focus, with a clear path to starting next year if/when Corum/Edwards leave.

Micah Pollard moved from Edge to LB. This was something that happened during the season, since they needed linebackers, and he was always kind of a Jaylen Harrell-esque tweener.

Noah Stewart moved from OL to TE. Stewart was a 6'7"/283 offensive tackle last year, his fourth in the program. With a redshirt and a COVID year he's got a couple years left. Probably nothing, but he also could be their Honigford this season.

And for completion's sake, James Kavouklis is just a long-snapper now (lost his OL/ designation) and walk-on center Peter Simmons was moved to defensive tackle. He was a 6'2"/291 redshirt sophomore last year.

[After THE JUMP: The new numbers, weight changes, twelves.]

Previously: Podcast 14.0A, 14.0B, 14.0C. The Story. Quarterback. Running Back. Wide Receiver. Tight End. Offensive Tackle.

The Joe Moore Award was started in 2015 by some Notre Dame OL with money who wanted to honor their old line coach. Mike DeBord's career spanned roughly the same time period as Joe Moore's, and by any metric was as successful. Had Jeff Backus thought to endow an award before former ND tackle Aaron Taylor, it might have been the Mike DeBord Award.

This would have been a superior development. It rhymes, for one. Two, I wouldn't have to keep specifying first names when differentiating between the line coach the award is named for, and the line coach whose guys won the award in his first-ever season as line coach.

Since nobody has the time to chart every OL, the award for most outstanding offensive line is as much about vibe as anything else. Eleven games into 2021, I would bet Michigan wasn't in the Might Have Been DeBord Award committee's top three. Eleven point seven-five games into 2021, this was the vibe:

Michigan should not pass the ball anymore.

— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) November 27, 2021

(But in a good way)

The two Michigan guards putting tears in the eyes of gruff former trenchmen who say "football" like "FOOT-ball" were just 2nd and 3rd year players with freshman eligibility. They lost an organized, underratedly agile walk-on but are joined by a transfer the Rimington voters thought was no worse than the 3rd best in college football. Our heuristics would be projecting a healthy charge up the rankings and hot-taking Moore's corps to win the Moore if they hadn't just done so.

The comparisons to 2000 and 2019 have already begun. The next generation has made the two-deep. The biggest questions people have about the interior OL are "How long can it last?" and "Can we buy them all Italian sports cars so they'll never leave?"

Michigan OL Trevor Keegan and Zak Zinter sign a Lamborghini NIL deal with Xtremexperience. @bighitslive @DenoteHunter @DzikNoah pic.twitter.com/vGzgtwxHRq

— Bighitsnil (@Bighitsnil) May 23, 2022

Okay then, so how long can it last?