OT: '17-'18 Depth Chart: Version 3 ("Kum-Ba-Yah Edition")
Posting this for one reason. Because too much of the talk on the board today is trying to place blame.
I already know this thread likely isn't going to go over well - but, it's time to look forward. If you have snowflakes, put them in the Snowflake threads below. You can place your feelings there for everyone to read if he/she chooses.
Bad loss, and I too feel like shit, but crying about it and blaming players on the team or fighting over legacy isn't going to help or change anything (in a positive manner).
There isn't one guy on that team or associated with that program that didn't do everything he could to win that game last night. Not one.
Notes:
- He's coming back, dammit.
- I don't know the EE freshman, so I can't really predict who's going to play and who isn't. It's Decemeber of the year before...I really don't care at this point. The EE's will obviously have a leg up on the rest.
- I realize this is Michigan-related and technically not "OT" - but it's still way too far away to be ON topic, IMO...just some fantasy to take your mind off of yesterday's game.
- I realize we're likely going to have 1 more QB transfer.
- I will try and go back and update this throughout the year to keep it as current as possible.
QB
1. Wilton Speight (RS Jr.)
2. John O'Korn (RS Sr.) / Brandon Peters (RS Fr.)
4. Alex Malzone (RS So.)
rs: Dylan McCaffrey (Fr.)
RB
1. Karan Higdon (Jr.) / Chris Evans (So.)
3. Kareem Walker (RS Fr.) / Ty Isaac (RS Sr.)
5. Kingston Davis (RS Fr.)
rs: Kurt Taylor (Fr.)
Hybrid RB/Slot
1. Chris Evans (So.)
2. Jabrill Peppers (RS Jr.)
3. O'Maury Samuels (Fr.)
FB
1. Khalid Hill (RS Sr.)
2. Henry Poggi (RS Sr.)
rs: Ben Mason (Fr.)
WR1
1. Kekoa Crawford (So.)
2. Drake Harris (RS Jr.)
3. Tarik Black (Fr.)
WR2
1. Donovan Peoples-Jones (Fr.)
2. Maurice Ways (RS Jr.)
3. Brad Hawkins (Fr.)
SLOT
1. susp: Grant Perry (Jr.)
2. Eddie McDoom (So.)
3. Nate Johnson (So.)
TE1
1. Ian Bunting (RS Jr.)
2. Sean McKeon (RS Fr.)
3. Zach Gentry (RS So.) / Nick Eubanks (RS Fr.)
TE2
1. Devin Asiasi (So.)
2. Tyrone Wheatley Jr. (RS So.)
LT
1. Juwan Bushell-Beatty (RS Jr.)
2. Nolan Ulizio (RS So.)
inj rs: Grant Newsome (Jr.)
LG
1. Patrick Kugler (RS Sr.)
2. David Dawson (RS Sr.)
3. Stephen Spanellis (RS Fr.) / Jon Runyan Jr. (RS So.)
rs: Joel Honigford (Fr.)
C
1. Mason Cole (Sr.)
2. Patrick Kugler (RS Sr.)
3. Jon Runyan Jr. (RS So.)
rs: Cesar Ruiz (Fr.)
RG
1. Michael Onwenu (So.)
2. David Dawson (RS Sr.)
3. Stephen Spanellis (RS Fr.) / Jon Runyan Jr. (RS So.)
rs: Andrew Stueber (Fr.)
RT
1. Ben Bredeson (So)
2. Nolan Ulizio (RS So.)
rs: Kai-Leon Herbert (Fr.)
rs: JaRaymond Hall (Fr.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
WDE
1. Chase Winovich (RS Jr.)
2. Carlo Kemp (So.) / Luiji Vilain (Fr.)
4. Shelton Johnson (RS So.)
NG
1. Bryan Mone (RS Jr.)
2. Michael Dwumfour (RS Fr.)
rs: Phillip Paea (Fr.)
DT
1. Maurice Hurst (RS Sr.)
2. Rashan Gary (So.)
3. Donovan Jeter (Fr.) / James Hudson (Fr.)
SDE
1. Rashan Gary (So.)
2. Lawrence Marshall (RS Jr.) / Ron Johnson (RS Fr.)
4. Corey Malone-Hatcher (Fr.) / Deron Irving-Bey (Fr.)
rs: Corey Malone-Hatcher (Fr.) / Deron Irving-Bey (Fr.)
OLB
1. Mike McCray (RS Sr.)
2. Noah Furbush (RS Jr.)
3. Reuben Jones (RS So.) / Devin Gil (RS Fr.)
5. Elysee Mbem-Bosse (RS Fr.)
rs: Kwity Paye (Fr.)
ILB
1. Devin Bush Jr. (So.)
2. Josh Uche (RS Fr.) / Josh Ross (Fr.)
4. Jordan Anthony (Fr.)
5. Jared Wangler (RS Jr.)
rs: Drew Singleton (Fr.)
VIPER
1. Jabrill Peppers (RS Jr.)
2. Josh Metellus (So.)
3. Jordan Glasgow (RS So.) / Khaleke Hudson (So.)
CB
1. Lavert Hill (So.)
2. Ambry Thomas (Fr.) / Benjamin St.-Juste (Fr.)
CB
1. David Long (RS Fr.) / Brandon Watson (RS Jr.)
3. Keith Washington (RS So.)
S
1. Tyree Kinnel (Jr.)
2. Jaylen Kelly-Powell (Fr.)
S
1. Jeremy Clark (6th Sr.)
2. Jabrill Peppers (RS Jr.)
3. Josh Mettelus (So.) / J'Marick Woods (Fr.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
K
1. Quinn Nordin (RS Fr.)
P
1. Will Hart (RS Fr.)
KO
1. Quinn Nordin (RS Fr.)
December 31st, 2016 at 1:43 PM ^
December 31st, 2016 at 1:48 PM ^
It's got to happen for that secondary to have much of a chance next year. They'll be great down the road...but right now? We need Clark BAAAAAD. Either at CB or at S.
December 31st, 2016 at 1:52 PM ^
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December 31st, 2016 at 4:31 PM ^
not sure how effective he'll be on the field. Chesson didn't seem to be nearly as effective this year after recovering from his knee injury.
December 31st, 2016 at 1:45 PM ^
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December 31st, 2016 at 1:58 PM ^
Those few with some years on them ,though not necessarily playing time years, need to show they are at least B1G-level players.
But honestly, looking at this depth chart, we will need to run to the right...a lot
December 31st, 2016 at 2:02 PM ^
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December 31st, 2016 at 2:08 PM ^
December 31st, 2016 at 2:17 PM ^
Here's hoping. Its unlikely that the OL will be elite next year, so either a RB or QB needs to step up. At RB, maybe Evans or (hopefully) Harris?
At QB....Speight just doesn't seem like he's that guy. He's fine, if we had a great offensive line, he probably would have been more than enough this year, but he just misses so many easy throws. And really, his great performances this year all came against garbage teams. His best performance against a quality team was probably Penn State, where he was 21-34 for 189 yards and a TD.
I think we've seen enough as to how having a player who can create something out of nothing matters in close games (Wadley at Iowa, Samuel/Barrett at OSU and Cook at FSU).
December 31st, 2016 at 4:00 PM ^
Speight seems like a completely different QB to me during away games so I did a comparison of his home vs. away stats:
(Comp-Att-%Comp-Yards-TD-Int)
Home: 127 Comp / 193 Att (65.8%) / 1,709 Yards (244 Per Game) / 14 TD / 2 Int
Away: 77 Comp / 138 Att (55.8%) / 829 Yards (166 Per Game) / 4 TD / 5 Int
I included the Orange Bowl as an away game.
I guess one theory is that we played our toughest opponents on the road this year but even against Rutgers, Speight was only 6 for 13 for 100 yards with 1 TD and 0 Ints. Granted, he didn't need to do much in that game.
Here are his stats against our quality opponents (Colorado, PSU, Wisconsin, Iowa, OSU and FSU):
112 Comp / 196 Att (57.1%) / 1,122 Yards (187 Per Game) / 6 TD / 5 Int
I'm not sure if this is a result of not playing a real road game until the 8th game of the year (MSU) and the team never felt comfortable playing away from Michigan Stadium but it is something that stood out to me.
December 31st, 2016 at 2:19 PM ^
December 31st, 2016 at 2:42 PM ^
December 31st, 2016 at 2:49 PM ^
December 31st, 2016 at 4:33 PM ^
Michigan's going to have a boatload of new starters next year. I'm guessing Michigan will be working out a lot of kinks the first few weeks.
December 31st, 2016 at 3:30 PM ^
December 31st, 2016 at 3:51 PM ^
SO basically you're talking about OSU and FSU. Both playing hurt (no excuse for yesterday, he was fucking awful for most of the game).
But if you're including Iowa, you better include PSU and Wisconsin.
December 31st, 2016 at 3:58 PM ^
December 31st, 2016 at 7:43 PM ^
December 31st, 2016 at 7:54 PM ^
finished the game 9 for 27. Not sure when he got hit by Taco but Francois was 3 for 5 for 180 yds after the 92 yd TD. After that he went 6 for 22 for 42 yds. Once the UM defense settled down and started getting pressure on him, Francois was completely ineffective in the passing game.
December 31st, 2016 at 4:32 PM ^
December 31st, 2016 at 4:52 PM ^
Yeah it's the opposite if you forget about the rest of the game.
December 31st, 2016 at 5:03 PM ^
December 31st, 2016 at 4:17 PM ^
Speight has bad mechanics that cannot be fixed at this point -- bring on Peters.
December 31st, 2016 at 4:18 PM ^
Speight has bad mechanics that cannot be fixed at this point -- bring on Peters.
December 31st, 2016 at 4:25 PM ^
Speight has started for one year as a soph and he can't get any better?People seem to forget Jake Rudock was a 5th yr Sr! Speight can and will get better!
December 31st, 2016 at 7:44 PM ^
January 1st, 2017 at 1:24 AM ^
No need to speculate there, Jim knowns how to pick, groom, teach, and improve QB's. Bet he picked Speight because he saw a lot more potential than you seem to think he has.
January 1st, 2017 at 1:00 AM ^
Speight will be your starting QB next fall, Peters likely to be his back-up. A full year of starting games and 2 years in the program's offense will be plenty enough for Speight to hold off Peters. I've been hearing about wunderkind freshmen and redshirt freshmen QB's for a very long time.
January 1st, 2017 at 10:51 AM ^
I'm with ya. All that extra time in the system and a full season of game action is tough to beat. Unless Peters is literally the 2nd coming of Andrew Luck I just don't see how Speight isn't the starter. Luck's RS Fr year he wasn't the Luck we think of today;
It's just hard to imagine Speight not getting better. Regardless, QB is not really an area of concern for me under Harbaugh. It's the OL that worries me.
December 31st, 2016 at 3:40 PM ^
December 31st, 2016 at 3:43 PM ^
is a better LT prospect than Wheatley
given we aren't taking a TE this year I prefer he stay at TE
December 31st, 2016 at 4:19 PM ^
so not only would he have to put on a lot of weight he'd have to learn a new position at age 20.
December 31st, 2016 at 4:31 PM ^
December 31st, 2016 at 7:29 PM ^
and as someone else said, it's only been talked about by some fans. I doubt any of our most knowledgable posters has suggested it.
Wheatley is going to be a productive player at TE. That's also where he wants to play. Ask him to gain 30 pounds to try out a new position and you had better be sure he'll be better than our other options at tackle. Would he really be ready to step in and start right away? Putting someone who has never played a snap on OL at LT scares me more than the options we already have.
December 31st, 2016 at 1:45 PM ^
Here are my guesses for "moves" to add/move/delete on this depth chart (above).
Final recruits...
27: Najee Harris
28: Chuck Filiaga
29: Mekhi Becton
30: Jay Tufele
31: Nico Collins
32: Jabrill Peppers
- Harris instantly goes into the mix as starting RB
- Filiaga goes to LT for depth - no redshirt
- Becton goes to LT as well - redshirts
- Ulizio and Bredeson battle for RT..if Bredeson loses he goes back to LG, Kuglar and Onwenu battle it out for RG.
- Tufele goes to NG with a / next to Dwumfour
- Collins goes to WR with a / next to Tarik Black - loser of this battle redshirts
Notes:
- IMO we lose another QB, RB, maybe 1 OL although I hope not...also maybe 1 OLB.
- Asiasi and Wheatley both get significant PT along with Bunting - the 2. next to Wheatley doesn't mean much.
- Either Jeter or Irving-Bey (or both) move inside to DT by the end of fall camp.
- VIPER seems here to stay so I just tried to bunch everyone else.
- I like Clark at CB, but from day 1 it's been said that Don Brown's safties are more like CBs because he plays so much man - Clark fits there. Otherwise, put Clark at CB and move Watson to S.
- We could use a grad transfer or two for depth and experience.
December 31st, 2016 at 1:57 PM ^
Dont count out JBB, must be a reason he was the first guy they turned to when Newsome when down. Sure it didn't work out like we would hope but he is presumably better than the other options.
December 31st, 2016 at 2:08 PM ^
I didn't...I have him starting at LT.
December 31st, 2016 at 2:47 PM ^
Reasonable, but also quite scary.
December 31st, 2016 at 4:14 PM ^
December 31st, 2016 at 2:25 PM ^
2 QB's. I would think Alex Malzone (who is a talented guy) could easily look to somewhere else where he could get playing time. Here, his prospects of seeing the field are slim to none. Then possibly one of the other guys. I hope we don't though. Injuries can come in groups even at one position.
BTW, thank you for starting this thread. Losing last night was hard enough. But reading some of the negative takes on various players, coaches, etc. gets kind of depressing. This topic naturally helps raise optimism levels.
December 31st, 2016 at 2:52 PM ^
I think you just hope that they go through spring practice and give it a go first. You lose Morris, and then maybe another guy, and then I dont think McCaffery is an early enrollee so you have some combination of O'Korn, Malzone and Peters as your backups. If you lose two out of that group then you really only have 2 QBs at spring practice and that's not ideal. Also, usually you have to play a 2nd QB during garbage time so you really don't want McCaffrey as your 3rd where a major injury puts him at risk of burning his redshirt. Unless Gentry moves back but doesn't seem likely that happens or even necessarily that....
Anyway, hopefully, if one does leave, that plus the Morris departure starts to make the depth chart more appealing to the guys who are left and the rest stick. Regardless of quality, we need a certain level of depth at QB.
December 31st, 2016 at 4:23 PM ^
He could be nudged along (my guess is either he or JOK don't return).
December 31st, 2016 at 4:27 PM ^
Malzone should be seizing the opportunity to learn from the best QB coach in all football. He should also be looking to graduate in three years to open the possibility of a grad transfer if the opportunity at Michigan isn't what he'd like after next year.
December 31st, 2016 at 5:37 PM ^
December 31st, 2016 at 3:03 PM ^
January 1st, 2017 at 1:11 AM ^
We have the talent, it needs experience. No reason for 2017 to be an 8 or 9 win season, Looks at the depth chart above. Lot of highly rated recruits, some got experience this year, all will be getting experience next year. Freshmen often make the biggest impact at pure athletic positions like WR's(speed and hands) and DB's, especially since we play man to man.
A redshirt freshmen QB is a recipe for disaster, it will not happen. All I heard was how great O'Korn was going to be, and we saw how he played against Indiana.
December 31st, 2016 at 3:19 PM ^
*Kugler
December 31st, 2016 at 4:04 PM ^
Wolverines are 3 years away talent-wise. They will compete for the playoffs in two years and BE in the playoffs in 3. They need a slight upgrade in athletic talent and team speed.....that appears to be on the way. GO BLUE
January 1st, 2017 at 1:21 AM ^
His plan is to win now and in the future, and if our coaches are as good as we keep getting told, they should be able to pick out the superior talent and coach it up to win now. You never know when a star might pull a hamstring or tear an ACL in any given year, so you have to continue to build depth and starters.