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2023 Season Countdown List

Now that the 2023 Season Countdown is in the rear view mirror, here’s the full list so you can see it all in one place.

1. J.J. McCarthy
2. Will Johnson
3. Mike Sainristil
4. Drake Nugent
5. Rod Moore
6. Blake Corum
7. Roman Wilson
8. Kris Jenkins
9. Mason Graham
10. Zak Zinter
11. Trevor Keegan
12. Cornelius Johnson
13. Donovan Edwards
14. Junior Colson
15. James Turner
16. a) Colston Loveland, b) Josh Wallace
17. Braiden McGregor
18. Kenneth Grant
19. Makari Paige
20. a) Tommy Doman, b) La’Darius Henderson
21. Jaylen Harrell
22. A.J. Barner
23. Josaiah Stewart
24. Michael Barrett
25. Rayshaun Benny
26. Karsen Barnhart
27. Derrick Moore
28. Darrius Clemons
29. Tyler Morris
30. Jack Tuttle
31. Ernest Hausmann
32. Amorion Walker
33. Giovanni El-Hadi
34. Trente Jones
35. William Wagner
36. Quinton Johnson
37. Matt Hibner
38. Kalel Mullings
39. Jimmy Rolder
40. Cam Goode
41. Ja’den McBurrows
42. Keon Sabb
43. Zeke Berry
44. Jeffrey Persi
45. Myles Hinton, Hudson Hollenbeck
46. Max Bredeson
47. C.J. Stokes
48. Raheem Anderson II
49. Peyton O’Leary
50. Alex Orji
51. Benjamin Hall
52. Caden Kolesar
53. Keshaun Harris
54. German Green
55. Jyaire Hill
56. Greg Crippen
57. Micah Pollard
58. Greg Tarr
59. Cole Cabana
60. T.J. Guy
61. Joey Velazquez
62. Adam Samaha
63. Reece Atteberry
64. Evan Boutorwick
65. Eamonn Dennis
66. Zach Peterson
67. Kody Jones
68. Semaj Morgan
69. Myles Pollard
70. Davis Warren
71. Kechaun Bennett
72. Andrew Gentry
73. Fredrick Moore
74. Jaydon Hood
75. Cameron Calhoun
76. Tristan Bounds
77. Marlin Klein
78. Tyler McLaurin
79. Ike Iwunnah
80. Tavierre Dunlap
81. Zack Marshall
82. Enow Etta
83. Dominick Giudice
84. Leon Franklin
85. Semaj Bridgeman
86. Connor Jones
87. Joe Taylor
88. Karmello English
89. Christian Boivin
90. Deakon Tonielli
91. Amir Herring
92. Cristian Dixon
93. Brandyn Hillman
94. Cameron Brandt
95. Jake Thaw
96. Jason Hewlett
97. Jerome Nichols
98. Roderick Pierce
99. Empty due to Isaiah Gash’s career-ending surgery
100. Hayden Moore
101. Charlie Mentzer
102. Joshua Nichols
103. Noah Stewart
104. Jayden Denegal
105. Will Rolapp
106. Hunter Neff
107. Danny Hughes
108. Breeon Ishmail
109. Nathan Efobi
110. Alessandro Lorenzetti
111. Sam Staruch
112. D.J. Waller
113. Jesse Madden
114. Joel Metzger
115. Josh Beetham
116. Evan Link
117. Henry Donohue
118. Christian Bartholomew
119. Joseph Klunder
120. Brooks Bahr
121. Chibi Anwunah
122. Brandon Mann
123. Joshua Luther
124. Noah Howes
125. Empty due to A.J. Henning’s transfer
126. Empty due to R.J. Moten’s transfer
127. Empty due to Nikhai Hill-Green’s transfer
128. Peter Simmons
129. Trevor Andrews
130. Aymeric Koumba
131. Bryce Wilcox
132. Damani Dent
133. Alexander Lidback
134. Kendrick Bell
135. Charlie Lovell
136. Nico Andrighetto
137. Logan Forbes
138. Daniel Taraboi
139. James Kavouklis
140. Shomari Stone
141. Declan Byle

Preview: Michigan vs. East Carolina

RUSH OFFENSE vs. ECU RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan’s running game has been talked about so much that it feels kind of insulting to bring up again. But I will, anyway. Michigan returns three-fifths of the Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line in left guard Trevor Keegan, right guard Zak Zinter, and offensive tackle . . . someone. One or both of Trente Jones and Karsen Barnhart should start. Running back Blake Corum surprised most people when he chose a return to Michigan over playing in the NFL, so he brings back his 1,463 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. Backup running back Donovan Edwards had 991 yards on the ground. Michigan was #5 in rushing with 238.9 yards/game and scored the second-most rushing touchdowns (41), behind only Georgia (44). Last year’s East Carolina unit finished #19 in the country in rushing defense (112.5 yards allowed/game), and they held Tulane star running back Tyjae Spears to 16 carries for 53 yards (Spears finished with 1,581 rushing yards on the season). The Pirates have a couple 300-ish pound nose tackles, but their 3-techniques are around 270, which has to have Zak Zinter champing at the bit. The leading tackler last year was 6’2″, 187 lb. safety Julius Wood (88 stops), and the top guy in the front seven was 6’2″, 237 lb. outside linebacker Jeremy Lewis (60 tackles). The two starting inside linebackers are totally unproven in junior Teylor Jackson (32 career tackles) and South Carolina State transfer B.J. Davis, who are 219 and 227 pounds, respectively. This should be a good day on the ground for the Wolverines.
Advantage: Michigan

Hit the jump for more.

2023 Season Predictions

I feel really good about my predictions for 2023 and I’m nearly certain they’ll all be correct.

LEADING RUSHER
Junior running back Blake Corum had 1,463 yards on the ground in 2022. Unless his surgically repaired knee doesn’t hold up, he’s a good bet to lead the team in rushing again, even with the presence of star running back Donovan Edwards. Edwards should get a lot of rushing attempts and might even top 1,000 yards himself (he had 991 last year), but Corum should still be the #1 guy.
Prediction: Blake Corum, 1400 yards

Hit the jump for the rest of the prognostications.

2023 Season Countdown: #1 J.J. McCarthy

Name: J.J. McCarthy
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 202 lbs.
High school: Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy
Position: Quarterback
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #9
Last year: I ranked McCarthy #20 and said he would be a backup quarterback (LINK). He started thirteen games and completed 208/322 passes (64.6%) for 2,719 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions; he also ran 70 times for 306 yards and 5 touchdowns.
TTB Rating: 89

I’m almost always usually positively right about everything, but last year I thought McCarthy would be the backup quarterback and that turned out to be the case. Coming off of a CFP appearance in 2021, I thought it would be too difficult to replace Cade McNamara with a somewhat unproven sophomore in McCarthy. But early on it was obvious that McNamara lost some of his mojo, and that mojo had found its way to McCarthy’s locker. McNamara started game one and didn’t look good. McCarthy started game two and looked really good. By the end of game three, McNamara had a knee injury that knocked him out for the rest of the season, so the positional battle didn’t really matter.

Statistically, McCarthy had a very good year. He had a higher completion percentage than any other QB in the Jim Harbaugh era, more yards than anyone except Shea Patterson (2019) and Jake Rudock (2015), and more touchdowns than everyone except Patterson (2019). He also had more rushing yards than any QB since Harbaugh was hired. For the first half of the season, McCarthy was leading the nation in completion percentage . . .

. . . and then things tailed off a little bit. In games nine through twelve, he didn’t top 60% completions in any game. Even against Ohio State, he completed just 50% of his passes on 12/24 throws, but 3 of those completions went for touchdowns. His season ended with 2 ugly pick-sixes against TCU, which really cost the team in a 51-45 loss.

But now he has had an entire off-season as the unquestioned starter, and it’s probably significant for his development that he has not had to split first team reps with another quarterback. No performance this season is going to have anyone but the dumbest Michigan fans calling for the backup. McCarthy is The Guy.

I have seen some people hyping him up to be a Heisman contender, and I do think that talk is a little premature. So far no Michigan quarterback under Harbaugh has topped 3,061 yards or 23 touchdowns. Last year’s Heisman winner, USC’s Caleb Williams, threw for 23 touchdowns in just his first eight games, and finished with 42 total passing scores (not to mention 383 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground). He’s not going to throw for 4,500 yards and 40+ touchdowns when Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards are running for a combined 2,000+ yards and scoring 25+ touchdowns on the ground. What would it take for McCarthy to win the Heisman, realistically? Michigan would probably have to be 13-0 with McCarthy completing 72% or more of his passes for 35+ touchdowns with just a couple interceptions.

Possible? Eh, maybe. Likely? Not really.

Michigan should have great protection up front to keep McCarthy safe, which is great because the backup options are questionable. Jack Tuttle is the primary backup, but he has struggled during his time at Indiana and looks like a better leader than an actual quarterback. After that there’s a walk-on in Davis Warren and a couple projects in Jayden Denegal and Alex Orji. If McCarthy goes down for any stretch of time, Michigan will have to grind it out in the running game, and their chances of winning when it comes to CFP time probably drop to zero.

This should be a great season for McCarthy, and he might even be First Team All-Big Ten, especially if Michigan goes 12-0. He’s the most talented starting quarterback in the conference, even if a couple guys on more pass-happy teams put up bigger numbers. (Side note: Wisconsin OC Phil Longo’s quarterbacks put up big numbers, Purdue is going to the Air Raid, and Ryan Day usually has Ohio State’s QBs humming, etc.) I expect McCarthy to end up with 3,000+ yards and about 30 touchdowns, which would have put him at #4 and #2, respectively, in those categories within the Big Ten last year.

Prediction: Starting quarterback; 3,200 yards, 31 touchdowns, 5 interceptions

2023 Season Countdown: #2 Will Johnson

Name: Will Johnson
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 202 lbs.
High school: Grosse Pointe (MI) South
Position: Cornerback
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #2
Last year: I ranked Johnson #34 and said he would be a backup cornerback (LINK). He started five games and made 27 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 3 interceptions, and 6 pass breakups.
TTB Rating: 91

Will Johnson was Michigan’s most anticipated freshman enrollee since way back in . . . oh, 2021, when J.J. McCarthy first arrived on campus.

Okay, that might not be the best angle.

But still, Michigan fans – and coaches – were really looking forward to getting the 5-star corner on campus. The son of a former Michigan defensive back, Johnson had the size, athleticism, and local upbringing that made him a legend before he ever ran out to touch the banner. It took him some time to get that on-field performance on par with the hype, but he made it happen in the Big Ten Championship game.

The build-up to that game really started with his first career start, which took place against Rutgers in early November, peaking with his first career interception, which he returned 29 yards. It culminated with him following around Purdue wide receiver Charlie Jones, who had a decent game, but Boilermakers quarterback Aidan O’Connell also threw 2 picks to Johnson. Johnson’s reactions and physicality really seemed to shine in that game and perhaps propelled expectations for him in 2023 to All-American levels.

I’m not so sure that Johnson will be an All-American in 2023, considering sometimes it takes ridiculous – and impossible to predict – interception numbers to earn that honor. Johnson could have an excellent season, but some kid from North Carolina State could make 10 interceptions and totally steal his thunder. Johnson will certainly be Michigan’s #1 corner and he should be one of the best in the Big Ten, if not the best.

It’s not only his talent that puts him at #2 in the countdown, though. There’s also the uncomfortable fact that Michigan does not have much proven depth at the position. The coaching staff brought in UMass transfer Josh Wallace, but there was also a time in the spring where Jim Harbaugh anointed Amorion Walker a starter . . . before Walker looked kinda bad in the spring game. While Michigan has quality backups at almost every single position, the one spot on defense that gets shaky immediately is cornerback, so the hope is that Johnson stays healthy throughout the year.

Prediction: Starting cornerback; 50 tackles, 4 interceptions