Flip 5 Big Ten Players to Michigan
Slow day at work; low content until fall camp begins. Let's see how this speculative thread plays out....
If you could have a magic wand and instantly remove 5 Big Ten football players from their respective rosters & put them on the Michigan squad, what 5 players would you choose and why?
Variables to consider:
- Overall talent of the player & ability to make an instant impact on our squad after just attending fall camp.
- Our own needs/weakness on the Michigan roster.
- How the removal of that player would negatively impact a potential opponent.
For example, if a players would undeniably upgrade our own team and that player was on a team we don't play this season, maybe you take him regardless. But on the other hand, maybe there is a player you'd like to flip over to us, not so much becasue we are terrible at that position, but because it'd be a crippling blow to the other team to lose him.
Assume this is for one season only, so a talented freshman or sophomore isn't intrinsically more valuable than a talented RS Senior.
My 5 would be:
- Saquan Barkley, RB, PSU
- Trace McSorley, QB PSU
- Jamarco Jones, LT, OSU
- Billy Price, OL, OSU
- Nick Bosa, DE, OSU
Rationales--I don't see a reason to pick any member from a team we don't play, and in terms of winning the Big Ten East, we can afford to lose to Wisconsin & Florida. So for me, the most benefit would be to materially damage the prospects of our two Big Ten East rivals--PSU & OSU. Maybe other posters will think differently & decide to take some lock-down CB or LT somehwere in the Big Ten West or something (if one exists).
The PSU picks aren't really shoring up significant weakness on our own roster, but taking them would be a crippling blow to the PSU offense. Stack the box against them without Barkley & McSorley, and force the 2nd stringer to throw up desperation throws as he struggles through progressions, and choke out the ability of (now fist string) Sanders to help his QB out with the running game.
The OSU picks are simply about tilting the balance in the trenches more in Michigan's direction. You shore up the interior with an All American caliber lineman that is an insurance policy in case Kugler or Ruiz isn't ready or if Onwenu doesn't have the stamina, and take their best tackle off the board. Michigan would still have to plug the hole at one tackle position, but with Mason Cole suddenly freed up from the LT slot, you've got a bunch more options. Bosa is their best pass rusher, and removing him helps make the job of our offensive tackles much easier and also gives us even more depth/rotation possiblities on our DL.
My picks don't address our weakness/raw WR corps or the defensive backfield. Nor does it address out lack of depth at DT. But I think the picks materially increase our chances of winning both the PSU & OSU games, which was my main focus.
So, have at it. What's your top 5 you'd love to flip? Do you try to hurt key opponents? Or simply select for our own weaknesses? Do you target a team broadly to take their best players? Or just annihilate their depth chart at one key spot, like taking the top 3 or 4 QBs off of OSU's depth chart, regardless if it directly helps our own roster deficiencies?
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