Depth Chart
Some seem a little confused, here's a look at the current 2 deep-
Offense-
QB-
1. Patterson
2. Peters
3. McCaffrey
RB-
1. Higdon
1. Evans
3. Turner
FB-
1. Mason
2. Wangler
TE-
1. Gentry
1. McKeon
3. Eubanks
4. Muhammad
WR-
1. Black / Collins
2. DPJ / Perry
Slot-
1. Perry
2. Martin
3. Schoenle
LT-
Runyan / Mayfield OR Stueber
LG-
Bredeson / Spanellis / Filiaga
C-
Ruiz / Spanellis
RG-
Onwenu OR Spanellis
RT-
Hudson / JBB
Strengths-
1. Interior OL
2. RB
3. TE
4. QB
Weakness-
LT
Defense-
WDE-
Winovich / Paye / Hutchinson OR Vilain
DT-
Dwumfor / Kemp / Marshall
NT-
Solomon / Mone
SDE-
Gary / Paye
WLB-
Gill / Ross
MLB-
Bush / Ross
Viper-
Hudson / Glasgow
SLB-
Furbush / Uche
CB1-
Hill / Thomas
CB2-
Long / Watson
FS-
Metellus / Hawkins
SS-
Kinnel / JKP
Strengths-
1. DE
2. CB
3. LB
4. Versatility ( Uche, Thomas, Furbush, Mone)
Questions-
Safety
P-
Robbins
K-
Nordin
KR-
Thomas
PR-
DPJ
August 21st, 2018 at 12:27 PM ^
Way too much white on the screen............
August 21st, 2018 at 12:41 PM ^
No way is the interior our biggest strength, I’d give them 4th at best with an argument that the WRs could be better. The top 3 defensive strengths are interchangeable, so many day 1 draft picks...
1 TE - proven depth, uncoverable target (Gentry)
2 QB -5 star... I “think” his ability to extend plays is being under valued on this here site thus far
3 RB - 1a/1b, who’s number 3?
4 interior line- 3 quasi starters, 1 pretty good, 1 with conditioning issues, 1 in his first year at center
5 WR- unproven but tons of talent
It’s nice to have your 5th best position (IMHO) be a bunch of 5 and high 4 stars...
oh and one last thing...
To Fucking Hell With Notre Dame!
August 21st, 2018 at 12:41 PM ^
Thanks. I honestly thought that Runyan was a lock at LT and that Mayfield/JBB were competing at RT. Either I read something incorrect or simply fabricated this thought myself.
August 21st, 2018 at 1:05 PM ^
1) Weakness will be RT not LT . Warinner inferred Runyan has been the best OL since spring I think . Maybe was most improved . Am not concerned with LT anymore . It'll be Hudson's greenness only. And itll get better as season goes.
2) i heard McCaffrey will play of shea gets hurt .can someone explain that to me if true? If so then that's a surefire transfer coming from Peters.
August 21st, 2018 at 1:31 PM ^
1 - JBB was pretty decent at RT last season. If Hudson beats him out, I am assuming he is already a better pass protector. Not exactly worried. It is good to hear Runyan has made some strides. I'm scared to see him at LT, but if he is the best man for the job, so be it.
2 - Peters is QB2 according to many of the knowledgeable sources I've seen. I don't think it's Dylan.
August 21st, 2018 at 1:55 PM ^
2. That's what I thought but I read (a few times) that if Patterson got hurt, then McCaffrey would go in first, and was curious as to why .
August 21st, 2018 at 3:05 PM ^
Yes. Read the comments by coaches when talking QB. They want - they NEED - a LEADER!
The CW is if Shea needed to leave a gm, 1st in would be Peters.
If Shea needed to miss a gm, the QB would be McCaffrey.
Again, this is board talk, not coming from JH himself.
Peters may indeed be elsewhere in '19. That's just me not liking his body language talking.
August 21st, 2018 at 10:18 PM ^
That makes zero sense, I have not heard that anywhere, Peters is #2, has been ahead DM for last few weeks
August 21st, 2018 at 10:13 PM ^
Where are you hearing this? Peters is QB2. Not sure if you have been following closely, but that is not the case right now.
August 21st, 2018 at 2:47 PM ^
Who's On The Travel Roster for Notre Dame?
From the players who’ve been mentioned on the depth charts that have been posted here by umbig11 and above by GoBlue C4 and a comment below from umbig11 indicating that Luigi Vilain is hurt and from information gleaned from TheWolverine's summary of Jim Harbaugh's podcast these are the 56 players who appear to be expected to travel to South Bend for the Notre Dame game:
OFFENSE: 28
QB (3): Patterson, Peters. McCaffrey
RB (3): Higdon, Evans, Turner
FB (2): Mason, Wangler
TE (4): Gentry, McKeon, Eubanks, Muhammad
WR (6): Black, Peoples-Jones, Perry, Collins, Martin, Schoenle
T (5): Runyan, Hudson, Bushell-Beatty, Mayfield, Stueber
G/C (5): Bredeson, Ruiz, Onwenu, Spanellis, Filiaga
DEFENSE: 24
DE (4): Gary, Winovich, Paye, Hutchinson
DT/NT (5): Dwumfour, Solomon, Mone, Kemp, Marshall
LB (5): Bush, Gil, Ross, Furbush, Uche
VIPER (2): Hudson, Glasgow
DB (8): Hill, Long, Kinnel, Metellus, Watson, Thomas, Hawkins, Kelly-Powell
SPECIALISTS: 4
KR: Thomas (listed as DB)
PR: Peoples-Jones (listed as WR)
P (2): Hart, Robbins
K (1): Nordin
LS (1): Cheeseman
H: Will Hart (listed as P)
KO: ?
If the travel roster still is limited to 70 players*, then there are 14 spots open for the travel roster, subject to injury clearance for any of the 56 listed players.
I would expect another running back or two (Tru Wilson and O’Maury Samuels - ?), a kickoff specialist (Jake Moody - ?) and another kick returner (Berkley Edwards - ?) to be on the travel roster. That would account for as many as four of the 14 open spots.
If DL Donovan Jeter, DB Casey Hughes, LB Drew Singleton, LB Jordan Anthony, DB J’Marick Woods, RB Joe Hewlett and WR Jake McCurry are healthy, then I’d guess that they would be among the final players to make the travel roster, even if they'd be expected to play only on special teams. That would leave three open spots for the travel roster.
RB Christian Turner, OL Jalen Mayfield and DL Aidan Hutchinson are the only true freshmen listed above. Unless one of the QBs is injured, I don't think that Joe Milton would be headed to Notre Dame. Would any of their fellow true freshmen, FB Ben VanSumeren, ATH Michael Barrett and LB Cameron McGrone, be added as special teams players?
Would a second long snapper (Andrew Robinson) be needed in case of injury? Would another lineman be needed for special teams (Andrew Vastardis, Nolan Ulizio**, Greg Robinson - ?).
* Is the travel roster still set at 70 players? Are any exceptions made for an opening game on the road in the first game of the season?
** Going from a starter in last season's opening game and for most of the first half of last season to not making the travel roster for this season's opening game would have to be a major downer for Nolan Ulizio.
August 21st, 2018 at 9:55 PM ^
Do you just want to talk about Ulizio?
Seems strange you keep calling him out.
August 22nd, 2018 at 9:01 AM ^
If a couple of comments in two posts (one of which was in a footnote to an extensive post about the projected travel roster for Notre Dame) makes you believe that I "keep calling (Nolan Ulizio) out", then I apologize.
After reading many posts here and listening to podcasts and interviews posted online about the Michigan offensive line this season, what "seems strange" to me is that I couldn't recall having seen or heard anything about the player who started at right tackle for the Wolverines in most of the games during the first half of last season.
My observations are based out of concern that there's a player on the Michigan roster who had very significant playing time during the first half of last season, but who now might be consigned to a relatively insignificant role. Unless Nolan Ulizio has been dealing with a physical injury that has limited his practice or workout time, I've been thinking about how hurt or depressed I might've felt if I'd been in his circumstances. That's why I thought of Nolan Ulizio when I read about (a) Grant Newsome's situation and (b) the projected depth chart for the offensive line. (FULL DISCLOSURE: I've been treated for depression many years ago, so I understood what its like to suffer through it.)
Thinking of the disappointment that Grant Newsome must feel made me also think of the possible disappointment that Nolan Ulizio might feel. For all I know, Nolan Ulizio is handling his situation very well, and I hope he is, but I also couldn't help thinking of former Michigan football player Will Heininger and his battle with depression during his playing career (LINK) and felt concern for Nolan Ulizio.
In hindsight, I suppose that I could've found a better way to express my concerns.
August 22nd, 2018 at 10:43 AM ^
Cool, my bad, you are actually concerned.
I just figured that after last season and the way the fan base "appreciated" his effort, he's probably happy to be in stealth mode.
I could only imagine what "somewittyname" Mazien would come up with if Ulizio was in the two deep.
Ulizio has put on the weight like the rest of the Oline and he's another year removed from his illness so we know he'll be improved this year if ever his number is called. He seems to have a great attitude and I know he has helped with the Ohio recruiting which is really paying off this year.
Here's hoping the Oline turns into a great unit with interchangeable parts.
August 22nd, 2018 at 12:26 PM ^
Understood. Maybe because of my age (born before the 1950s), my brief career in sports journalism, my professional career in which I’ve dealt with people experiencing very difficult and stressful circumstances, and my having met some Michigan Wolverines athletes (men and women) who were classmates of one of my children, that I tend to think as much about who these young men are when they’re away from athletics than what they’ve accomplished in their athletic careers.
For me, the battle between Grant Newsome and Stephen Spanellis to have the highest GPA on the team, Noah Furbush’s aerospace engineering work and Vincent Smith’s work in promoting community gardens are every bit as interesting as how they might’ve graded for the UFRs that get reported here. We don’t get to read or hear much about those other topics. In fact, during all these post-practice interviews that get posted here, I’d be as interested in hearing one of Michigan’s football players talk about his academic and community-service experiences than about how all the quarterbacks have been looking great during fall camp.
I’m guessing from your comments that you may know Nolan Ulizio better than most of us who post here. I hadn’t recalled learning that he suffered from some illness or that he was helping with Ohio recruiting this year. Thanks to YouTube, I’ve been reminded of the illness that caused him to lose some weight in 2016. I hope he’ll be okay.
August 22nd, 2018 at 9:05 AM ^
Ronnie Bell, Haskins, Barrett, McGrone seem like good freshman candidates to travel. Schoonmaker? Four TEs not enough for the way we play, and more options for 4-wide on both side of ball. I would venture VanSumeren, too. Just guess based on roster needs.
August 21st, 2018 at 3:25 PM ^
A lot of buzz about Mayfield being pretty much a lock for the starting Right Tackle Spot. I also read a couple places that Runyan has switched to LT and is competing with Hudson for the starting LT spot.
A lot of Hawkins buzz as well (Loved Hawkins' film coming out). He may be taking Kinnel's starting spot.
August 21st, 2018 at 7:36 PM ^
No, Mayfield is NOT starting at RT.
August 21st, 2018 at 7:46 PM ^
I love your stuff UMBIG11! BTW, are you BLUESAM? ??
August 21st, 2018 at 7:52 PM ^
No, he is better.
August 21st, 2018 at 8:05 PM ^
He’s my 1A, you are 1B.
You are a trusted agent my friend. Please keep posting nuggets. Your posts are the only reason I read this board.
August 22nd, 2018 at 5:55 PM ^
I was just regurgitating what I had read, the buzz continues though.
August 21st, 2018 at 7:33 PM ^
Jesus, let's at least get it right. P- Hart, Robbins, End - Winovich, Hutch...Vilain is hurt. LG - Bredeson, Filiaga.
August 21st, 2018 at 8:07 PM ^
Anything else? How different will our offense look this season? I wish September 1st was tomorrow.
August 21st, 2018 at 10:06 PM ^
Any thoughts on my comments above about the possible travel roster for the Notre Dame game?
I’m thinking that there now are 56 players guaranteed to make the roster, based on your projections and what I've heard from JIm Harbaugh's podcast. I'm guessing that Tru Wilson, O’Maury Samuels, Jake Moody (if he's going to be the backup kicker or kickoff specialist), Berkley Edwards, Donovan Jeter, Casey Hughes, Drew Singleton, Jordan Anthony, J’Marick Woods, Joe Hewlett and Jake McCurry also would be added to bring the total on the travel roster to 67, thus leaving three open spots.
RB Christian Turner, OL Jalen Mayfield and DL Aidan Hutchinson are the only true freshmen listed among the two-deep. Would their fellow true freshmen, FB Ben VanSumeren, ATH Michael Barrett and LB Cameron McGrone, be added as special team players? Would there be any reason for QB Joe Milton to be added?
Would a second long snapper (Andrew Robinson) be needed in case of injury? Would another lineman be needed for special teams (Andrew Vastardis, Nolan Ulizio, Ron Johnson - ?)
Am I overlooking someone who should be a lock to travel to South Bend?
August 21st, 2018 at 10:18 PM ^
Wow, sorry! Haha, I'm not an insider, I've just been reading and listening to a few different sites and podcasts. I was close!
August 22nd, 2018 at 7:24 AM ^
You did very well.
August 21st, 2018 at 8:33 PM ^
I thought Josh Ross would beat out Kendall Gill.
August 21st, 2018 at 10:50 PM ^
Kendall Gill is 50 years old and he probably hasn't played any kind of organized football in a very long time.
August 22nd, 2018 at 10:26 AM ^
I was being facetious because our LBs name is spelled Gil, not Gill.
August 21st, 2018 at 10:09 PM ^
Any truth that Wangler is injured also?
August 22nd, 2018 at 9:12 AM ^
I didn't see Donovan Jeter listed in the OP's depth chart or mentioned in the comments. I know he's been moved to NT but I don't believe we've heard how he stacks up. I would guess that he's either third string behind Mone or in some kind of situational rotation with Mone handling short-yardage and Jeter backing up Solomon on standard downs. But again, that's just a guess.