Ex-Wolverine Updates: 2018 Pre-Season

Ex-Wolverine Updates: 2018 Pre-Season


June 22, 2018

Vic Viramontes is going to row the boat…at Riverside City College (image via Twin Cities)

TRANSFERS

Devin Asiasi, TE (UCLA): Asiasi sat out the season due to NCAA transfer rules. From what I can gather, he’s pegged to be the #2 tight end this season.

Ian Bunting, TE (California): Bunting will be a fifth year senior at Cal this fall.

Brian Cole, S (Mississippi State): Cole is listed as a 6’2″, 210 lb. redshirt junior safety at Mississippi State and is projected to be the Bulldogs’ starting nickel player. He spent last season at East Mississippi Community College.

Kekoa Crawford, WR: Crawford will transfer, though his destination is unknown.

Kingston Davis, RB (UAB): Davis is a 6’0″, 245 lb. running back at UAB after spending last season at Independence Community College in Kansas. He looks to be one of the featured players on the upcoming season of Last Chance U on Netflix.

Ja’Raymond Hall, OG (Central Michigan): Hall announced that he would transfer to Central Michigan in the off-season, which means he will have to sit out 2018 due to NCAA transfer rules.

Elysee Mbem-Bosse, LB: It’s unknown at this point whether Mbem-Bosse will continue his football career.

Kareem Walker, RB: Walker will transfer, though his destination is unknown.

Keith Washington, CB (West Virginia): Washington, who played this past season at Co-Lin, has transferred to West Virginia, where he’s listed as a 6’0″, 173 lb. redshirt junior cornerback.

Maurice Ways, WR (California): Ways will be a fifth year senior at Cal this fall.

Hit the jump for news on former commitments and coaches.

FORMER COMMITMENTS

George Campbell, WR (Florida State): Campbell made 6 catches for 122 yards in four games before suffering a recurring injury to his abdominal region. He’s expected to be a backup wide receiver this year.

Chris Clark, TE (Pittsburgh): Clark had 16 catches for 122 yards and 1 touchdown last season as a backup and part-time starter. Now he’s expected to be the starting tight end this fall.

Te’Cory Couch, CB (Miami): Couch has committed to play at Miami in the class of 2019.

Shaun Crawford, CB (Notre Dame): Crawford finished last year with 32 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 2 interceptions, 5 pass breakups, and 1 forced fumble. He’s expected to be a nickel corner this season.

Messiah DeWeaver, QB (East Mississippi Community College): DeWeaver ran 4 times for -1 yard last season at Michigan State. He’s headed to East Mississippi Community College to play quarterback this season, which is the school that was the setting for the first two seasons of the Netflix series Last Chance U.

A.J. Dillon, RB (Boston College): Dillon will be the starter at BC after he finished last season with 300 carries for 1,589 yards (5.3 YPC) and 14 touchdowns; somehow he managed to avoid catching a pass the entire season. He was named ACC Freshman of the Year.

Kevin Doyle, QB (Arizona): Doyle will be a freshman at Arizona this fall.

Emil Ekiyor, OG (Alabama): Ekiyor is listed as a 6’3″, 339 lb. freshman offensive guard at Alabama.

Jordan Elliott, DT (Missouri): Elliott is listed as a 6’4″, 325 lb. defensive tackle at Missouri after sitting out the 2017 season due to NCAA transfer rules. As a redshirt sophomore, he’s projected to be a backup defensive tackle.

Matt Falcon, RB (Western Michigan): Falcon played in just one game last season and ran 10 times for 37 yards. Unfortunately, he has been medically disqualified to continue playing at WMU due to the same knee injuries that caused Michigan to disqualify him, as well.

Devery Hamilton, OT (Stanford): Hamilton is expected to be the starting left tackle for the Cardinal this season.

Dele’ Harding, LB (Illinois): Harding made 32 tackles last season and is now listed as a 6’1″, 235 lb. linebacker. He’s expected to be the starting middle linebacker.

Damien Harris, RB (Alabama): Harris finished last year with exactly 1,000 yards on 135 carries (7.4 YPC) and 11 touchdowns; he also caught 12 passes for 91 yards (7.6 yards/catch). He’s expected to once again be the starter in 2018.

Kai-Leon Herbert, OT (Miami): Herbert is expected to be competing for the starting right tackle position for Miami as a redshirt freshman in 2018.

Jeremiah Holloman, WR (Georgia): Holloman made 1 catch for 7 yards while playing in five games for the Bulldogs last year, and he’s expected to be the #2 split end this fall.

Jalil Irvin, OG (Auburn): Irvin is listed as a 6’2″, 296 lb. freshman offensive guard for Auburn.

Antwuan Johnson, LB (Bowling Green): Johnson signed with Bowling Green in the 2018 class.

Darrin Kirkland Jr., LB (Tennessee): Kirkland missed the entire 2017 season due to injury and made some noise this off-season about transferring. However, that relationship seems to have been repaired, and he is expected to return for the upcoming year.

Chase Lasater, TE (Florida Atlantic): Lasater is listed as a 6’2″, 235 lb. tight end after being recruited as a fullback/linebacker by Michigan. He’s a redshirt freshman.

Ahmir Mitchell, WR (Arizona Western): Mitchell transferred from Michigan to Rutgers, tore his ACL, and then was dismissed from Rutgers. He announced recently that he would be heading to Arizona Western, a fairly common destination for big-time recruits trying to resurrect their careers.

David Reese II, LB (Florida): Reese finished Florida’s 4-8 season with 102 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 1 interception (for 4 yards), and 1 quarterback hurry. He’s expected to start at middle linebacker again this season.

Otis Reese, LB (Georgia): Reese will be a true freshman linebacker at Georgia this fall.

Antwaine Richardson, CB (Maryland): Richardson finished Maryland’s 4-8 season with 24 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 pass breakup, and now he’s projected as Maryland’s starting strong safety going into 2018.

Darian Roseboro, DE (North Carolina State): Roseboro made 33 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 1 fumble forced, 2 pass breakups, and 4 quarterback hurries for 9-4 North Carolina State last season. He is once again expected to be a starter for the Wolfpack this fall.

Erik Swenson, OT (Oklahoma): Swenson played in three games during the 2017 season for Oklahoma. He is expected to be a backup at one of the two tackle spots going into 2018.

Garrett Taylor, S (Penn State): Taylor is slated to be a backup strong safety this year. He’s listed as a 6’0″, 200 lb. redshirt junior.

Leonard Taylor, TE (Cincinnati): Taylor is listed as a 6’5″, 235 lb. freshman tight end for Cincinnati.

Vic Viramontes, QB/LB (Riverside City College): Overall last season, Viramontes was 92/151 (60.9%) passing for 1,243 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. He also ran 146 times for 1,210 yards (8.3 yards/carry) and 16 touchdowns. In one of the more interesting developments in this whole piece is that he transferred to Minnesota to compete for the starting QB position, but coming out of the spring semester, he decided to transfer back to Riverside City College to transition to linebacker. He will presumably try to transfer to an FBS school again next season.

Rashad Weaver, DE (Pittsburgh): Weaver made 28 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 3 pass breakups, and 6 quarterback hurries last season. He is expected to be a backup defensive end once again this season.

Mike Weber, RB (Ohio State): Weber finished last season as OSU’s third-leading rusher with 101 carries for 626 yards (6.2 YPC) and 10 touchdowns, plus 10 catches for 94 yards (9.4 yards/catch). The senior is expected to be the backup to sophomore J.K. Dobbins this fall.

FORMER COACHES (AND PLAYERS WHO BECAME COACHES)

D.J. Durkin, Head Coach (Maryland): Durkin enters his third season as Maryland’s head coach. He’s now 10-15 over two seasons with the Terrapins.

Ron English, Safeties Coach (Florida): English spent last season as Mississippi State’s safeties coach, and now he has followed head coach Dan Mullen to Florida to hold the same position.

Jedd Fisch, Senior Offensive Assistant (Los Angeles Rams): Fisch was passed over as the head coach at UCLA, so he took a job in the NFL.

Darrell Funk, Offensive Line Coach (Indiana State): Funk is no longer at Indiana State as the offensive line coach, though I can’t find whether he continues to coach. His son Tyler is the tight ends coach for the Sycamores.

Tony Gibson, Defensive Coordinator (West Virginia): Gibson is entering his sixth season as West Virginia’s defensive coordinator.

Mike Hart, Running Backs Coach (Indiana): Hart enters his second season as Indiana’s running backs coach.

Jeff Hecklinski, Offensive Coordinator (Indiana State): Hecklinski enters his second season as Indiana State’s offensive coordinator.

Brady Hoke, Defensive Line Coach (Carolina Panthers): Hoke was passed over for the head coaching job at Tennessee after going 0-2 as the interim head coach. He is now the defensive line coach for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers.

Jay Hopson, Head Coach (Southern Mississippi): Hopson enters his third season as the head coach at Southern Mississippi. He’s 16-10 in two seasons there after going 32-17 in four years at Alcorn State.

Calvin Magee, Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Coach (New Mexico): When Rich Rodriguez left Arizona after the season, Magee was also shuffled off. He’s now the offensive coordinator/running backs coach at New Mexico, where embattled head coach Bob Davie currently resides. Out of the frying pan, into the fire…

Curt Mallory, Head Coach (Indiana State): The Sycamores went 0-11 in 2017, and now Mallory heads into his second season as the head man.

Roy Manning, Special Teams Coordinator (UCLA): Manning was hired as the special teams coach at UCLA after the season, where he will be working with new head coach Chip Kelly.

Jerry Montgomery, Defensive Line Coach (Green Bay Packers): Montgomery finished his third season as an assistant for the Packers and was then hired by Texas A&M to be their defensive line coach and assistant head coach, but then he left to head back to the Packers after two weeks.

Rich Rodriguez, Head Coach (Arizona): Rodriguez was fired from Arizona after a 7-6 season that included three straight losses to close the year. He went 43-35 there over six seasons, including a 24-30 record within the Pac-12 conference. Oh, and he also was hit with allegations of sexual misconduct (LINK). After he was fired and everything became public, he gave a speech to the American Football Coaches Association, since he’s the outgoing president of the AFCA. Awkward… He is still unemployed at this point.

Roy Roundtree, Graduate Assistant (Michigan): Roundtree followed some of his former coaches to Indiana State, where he was the wide receivers coach in 2017. Now he’s a G.A. working with the wide receivers at Michigan.

Scott Shafer, Defensive Coordinator (Middle Tennessee State): Shafer enters his second season as the defensive coordinator at Middle Tennessee State.

Nick Sheridan, Quarterbacks Coach (Indiana): Sheridan enters his second season as Indiana’s quarterbacks coach.

Mark Smith, Defensive Coordinator (Indiana State): The former Michigan linebackers coach is now the defensive coordinator at Indiana State under Curt Mallory.

Rod Smith, Offensive Coordinator (Illinois): Smith is now the offensive coordinator at Illinois.

Bruce Tall, Defensive Line Coach (West Virginia): Tall enters his second season as WVU’s defensive line coach.

7 comments

  1. Comments: 522
    Joined: 8/12/2015
    DonAZ
    Jun 22, 2018 at 8:33 AM

    Scanning that list my eye was caught by the name Damien Harris. Nice stats for Alabama last year. Imaging he’d stuck with his commitment to Michigan … given his running style, how do you think he would have done at Michigan with the less-than-Alabama offensive line? Better than our actual RBs, about the same, or worse than?

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Jun 22, 2018 at 8:48 AM

      I think Harris would have done better, because he’s better. I don’t know how Harris will do in the NFL, but for a college back, he’s got good vision, speed, power, and balance. He’s a more powerful version of Higdon in some ways.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzwyhk2rGi8

  2. Comments: 134
    Joined: 9/13/2015
    AC1997
    Jun 22, 2018 at 9:02 AM

    There are a lot of interesting (frustrating?) names that make you ponder what could have been…..

    But what jumps out to me is that Michigan enters the fall without knowing who will play either OT position and this list contains the possible OT starter at Stanford, Miami, and Oklahoma……

    • Comments: 71
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      umfarnn
      Jun 22, 2018 at 12:25 PM

      List is definitely frustrating to read and sadly longer than Michigan fans would like. But the OL player on that list that hurts is definitely Hamilton. Not only the fact that he’s starting at LT at Stanford, but he beat out 2 top10 2017 OT recruits and didn’t give Michigan time to find a good replacement.

      I’m not sure Swenson would have worked out at Michigan considering the refusal to retry out for his spot (the split from Michigan may have given him a wake up call) and Herbert doesn’t seem like an upgrade over the other options Michigan has at RT.

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Jun 23, 2018 at 7:58 AM

      For what it’s worth, I don’t think Swenson has a chance of starting at Oklahoma unless a couple injuries happen. He’s supposedly their #4 overall tackle, and just like at Michigan, Oklahoma might reshuffle their line to move a guard out there rather than starting him.

  3. Comments: 1863
    Joined: 1/19/2016
    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Jun 23, 2018 at 7:56 AM

      Thanks! I hadn’t seen that.

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