Posts under: Blog

2020 Season Countdown: #101 Kris Jenkins, Jr.

Name: Kris Jenkins, Jr.
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 239 lbs.
High school: Olney (MD) Good Counsel
Position: Defensive end
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Jenkins was a senior in high school (LINK).
TTB Rating: 65 77

Jenkins is the son of former Maryland and NFL defensive tackle Kris Jenkins – who played at Belleville – and the nephew of former Central Michigan and NFL defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins. The pedigree is there for Jenkins to be successful, and it’s hard to imagine a Jenkins being bad at defensive tackle. If you know of a big dude with the last name of Jenkins, sign him up for DT.

Kris Jenkins, Jr. is a 3-star, the #21 strongside end, and #511 overall in the 2020 class. Notice he’s ranked as an end. I think his future is at 3-tech defensive tackle, and I’m not the only one. His future should include adding about 50 pounds from his listed 239 and moving inside. This is a tough one to peg for his career, because it requires his acceptance of a position change and the long process it might take to add a bunch of good weight. But for this particular 2020 season, I don’t see him having the athleticism to stay at end and he definitely doesn’t have the size to play inside right now.

Prediction: Redshirt

Hit the jump for Jenkins’s senior highlights.

2020 Season Countdown: #102 Isaiah Gash

Please feel free to use the Amazon links here if you go shopping for, say, a Tom Brady shirt (LINK):

Name: Isaiah Gash
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 185 lbs.
High school: Green Bay (WI) Bay Port
Position: Running back
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Gash was a senior in high school.
TTB Rating: N/A

Gash is the son of Sam Gash, who is considered one of the best fullbacks in modern football history. Michigan came in with a preferred walk-on offer, and Isaiah bought in. He ran the ball 213 times for 1,916 yards and 30 touchdowns as a senior and probably could have played at a lower level, but Michigan has shown that walk-ons can get on the field, from the Glasgow brothers getting drafted to Tru Wilson getting a lot of run at tailback.

Gash looks like a guy who could slip onto the field as a freshman special teamer. There might be more opportunity as his career goes along, and we’ve seen people like Wilson (Northern Colorado) and Jordan Castleberry (Maryland) move on to greener pastures. While Michigan has plenty of depth at running back, that does open up the door a little bit for some opportunities to show off his skill in drills and on the scout team. He also has the pedigree to potentially be a good student of the game who might be willing to do dirty work and pick up blitzes. He will be an interesting guy to watch as his career goes along.

Prediction: Redshirt

Hit the jump for his senior highlights.

2020 Season Countdown: #103 Reece Atteberry

Name: Reece Atteberry
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 280 lbs.
High school: Aurora (CO) Eaglecrest
Position: Center
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Atteberry was a senior in high school (LINK). He was ranked as a 3-star, the #9 center, and #437 overall.
TTB Rating: 85 74

And here we have the first scholarship player on the 2020 Season Countdown. On the plus side for Atteberry, he enters a good situation at Michigan with an offensive line coach who is well respected and just got four players drafted to the NFL. Atteberry is also a player who could use some physical and technical development, and with players ahead of him, he won’t be forced into action too soon. He spent his senior year playing left tackle, so playing center or even guard will require some adjustments.

What might prove unfortunate for Atteberry is that he has players ahead of him. Rising redshirt freshman Zach Carpenter is earning some hype at the center position, and Nolan Rumler was expected to be a center, too. Add in fifth year senior Andrew Vastardis, and there are plenty of guys ahead of Atteberry. With Carpenter and Rumler having four years of eligibility remaining, it could prove to be a long wait for Atteberry to get on the field.

Prediction: Redshirt

Hit the jump for Atteberry’s senior highlights.

What I’ve Been Reading: The Passenger by Lisa Lutz

Quarantine is prime reading time, and while I’ve been reading a smattering of books, I haven’t thought to post much about them here. Most recently, I finished The Passenger by Lisa Lutz. The marketing of the book – and I’m just going to roll with it – has pegged it as a Gone Girl-type novel. There are some similarities, among them a female protagonist on the run with a dark past.

I think the storytelling was a little spotty at times, and it kind of glossed over some items that should have been explained. But there are enough twists and turns throughout to keep things interesting. It’s kind of an easy-peasy summer beach read type of thing, but you need those once in a while.

I’ve also been juggling The Late Shift, which tells the story of the transition from Johnny Carson to Jay Leno, including the rivalry with David Letterman.

As always, tell us what you’ve been reading in the comments.

2020 Season Countdown: #104 Peyton Smith

Name: Peyton Smith
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 190 lbs.
High school: Traverse City (MI) Central
Position: Quarterback
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Smith was a senior in high school.
TTB Rating: N/A

Smith is a very nice pickup for Michigan as a preferred walk-on in the 2020 class. He looks to me like an FCS-level quarterback who will pay his own way to Michigan. You can see some athleticism, a decent arm, and some good accuracy. He does look a little skittish in the pocket sometimes, but he looks like a true quarterback, unlike some other preferred walk-ons who are just good athletes but end up playing receiver or tight end or fullback or defensive back.

Michigan’s quarterback situation isn’t great with three scholarship returners (Dylan McCaffrey, Joe Milton, Cade McNamara) and an incoming freshman who’s more of an athlete (Dan Villari). In fact, in some ways I like Smith more than Villari when it comes to quarterback skills, though Villari is a more enticing athlete. Smith is unlikely to rise up the ranks to the point where he’s a key player, but for a preferred walk-on, he has potential.

Prediction: Redshirt

Hit the jump for his senior highlights.