John O’Korn
Based on last season’s performances and off-season rumblings, here’s a look at how the depth chart could look this spring.
QB: John O’Korn (RS Jr.), Wilton Speight (RS So.), Shane Morris (RS Jr.), Alex Malzone (RS Fr.), Brandon Peters (Fr.)
Scoop: According to some, O’Korn would have been starting over Jake Rudock if he had been eligible last season. Regardless, O’Korn is the most experienced player coming back and has performed better than anyone else when on the field. He’s the odds-on bet to be the starter this fall. Word was that Speight passed up Morris in the middle of last season. Malzone starts out ahead of Peters just because he has an extra year in the system, although Peters has higher long-term upside.
Hit the jump for the rest of the offense.
RB: De’Veon Smith (Sr.), Drake Johnson (RS Sr.), Ty Isaac (RS Jr.), Karan Higdon (So.), Kareem Walker (Fr.), Wyatt Shallman (RS Jr.), Kingston Davis (Fr.)
Scoop: Smith is the returning starter. Johnson’s production is occasionally tantalizing. Isaac has been saying the right things this off-season, and he’s still possibly the most talented runner on the roster. This spring might be his last chance to push for major playing time before some of the younger guys overtake him, though that has more to do with work ethic/attitude than talent. Higdon earned some carries last season, while Walker and Davis have some things to work on. Shallman is in the middle of the freshmen since I don’t see him as a viable option at tailback, except potentially in short-yardage situations.
FB: Khalid Hill (RS Jr.), Henry Poggi (RS Jr.), Bobby Henderson (RS Sr.), Nick Volk (RS So.), Deyanco Hardwick (RS So.)
Scoop: Hill is a better option as a true fullback than Poggi, even though Poggi has more “experience” at the position. The Wolverines are still looking for a true fullback option, though, and it’s kind of a Land of Misfit Toys right now. Jim Harbaugh also said there are a few walk-ons competing at fullback, but those players are off the radar, so I tossed in the roster players from last season.
WR: Jehu Chesson (RS Sr.), Drake Harris (RS So.), Ahmir Mitchell (Fr.)
Scoop: Chesson is going to be limited in spring practice, so I would expect Harris to get plenty of reps if he remains healthy. Mitchell enrolled early and could get a look at some reps, although he might end up playing defense if he can’t catch the ball consistently.
WR: Amara Darboh (RS Sr.), Maurice Ways (RS So.), Jaron Dukes (RS Jr.)
Scoop: Darboh is a returning starter, but Ways played a good chunk of time last year. Dukes had a solid game last spring, but then he barely saw the field during the season; he’s a potential transfer candidate.
SR: Grant Perry (So.), Da’Mario Jones (Sr.)
Scoop: Perry was the “starting” slot receiver last season and should hold onto that spot, at least for the spring. Jones should be around for the spring, but there are rumors that he might transfer before the fall.
TE: Jake Butt (Sr.), Tyrone Wheatley Jr. (RS Fr.), Zach Gentry (RS Fr.), Ian Bunting (RS So.), Sean McKeon (Fr.)
Scoop: Butt is an established starter. With A.J. Williams graduating, Michigan needs to work in a blocking tight end, and Wheatley might be that guy; he was reportedly 6’7″ and close to 290 lbs. at one time last season, although he has been working on losing some weight. Gentry played some tight end in bowl practices and is making the full-time switch to the position this spring. Bunting got some run and caught a couple passes early last season. McKeon is an early enrollee who is still pretty skinny, and he was not heavily involved as a pass receiver in a run-oriented high school offense.
LT: Grant Newsome (So.), Nolan Ulizio (RS Fr.)
Scoop: Mason Cole is expected to move inside, so that opens up room for Newsome, who played a fair amount as Michigan’s sixth lineman late last season. Ulizio practiced at tackle and has the size, although his athleticism is not ideal for left tackle. Reshuffling will probably be necessary if Newsome gets hurt.
LG: Ben Braden (RS Sr.), Jon Runyan Jr. (RS Fr.)
Scoop: Braden is the incumbent. Runyan reportedly practice some tackle last season, but his height and recruiting profile suggests he’ll be an interior guy.
C: Mason Cole (Jr.), Patrick Kugler (RS Jr.)
Scoop: Cole practiced at center last spring but spent the whole 2015 season starting at left tackle. The coaches don’t have a lot of trust in their other options at center. Kugler still looks like a backup despite being in his fourth year in the program.
RG: Kyle Kalis (RS Sr.), David Dawson (RS Jr.)
Scoop: Kalis might not be around in the fall, but he is an incumbent who has a chance to prove himself this spring. Dawson was the first guard in last season, but he struggled.
RT: Erik Magnuson (RS Sr.), Juwann Bushell-Beatty (RS So.)
Scoop: Magnuson is the incumbent at right tackle. Bushell-Beatty has practiced inside and outside, including both tackle positions. It would not be surprising to see him and Ulizio flipped, but Bushell-Beatty struggled at left tackle the last time we saw him in the 2014 Under Armour All-American Game. Regardless, the tackle position is pretty thin.
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Kalis might not be around in the fall?
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Hope he sticks around…
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Biggest questions, QB, OL, LBs.
QB – Hearing that about O’Korn makes me cautiously optimistic. We’ve had a lot of scout team heros (Jerald Robinson, Nathan Brink, etc.). With that said, I’m confident Harbaugh can get the best out of everyone here.
LBs – I’m hopeful with our monster DL, LBs will be less of an issue. But we still need capable bodies. Gedeon seems like the heir apparent, and then it’s a bit of a mystery.
OL – I still wasn’t overly impressed with our OL last year, and with this paper thin depth this year if we lose a starter it is not going to be smooth sailing. Next year, I have no idea what the line is going to look like. Need an all-star OL recruiting class this year.
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After Rudock played like one of the best QBs in the country over the last few games of 2015 I’m not too concerned about QB even though O’Korn hasn’t taken a snap at Michigan. That OL depth though is very worrying if there are any injuries and it could spell disaster against the talented OSU DL that will have a full season under their belt with very talented young players.
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OL is very thin. We could’ve used a grad transfer or two. After missing out on 2016 we gotta load up in 2017.
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Yeah, the line is very thin. I mean, the spring depth chart is always thin because you lose seniors without adding many freshmen. But aside from the numbers, there’s not much quality depth.
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What has become of that Texas transfer at center? Any word about where he is headed. With the uncertainty at center, it would be great to have an experienced guy we can plug in there.
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headed to UCLA
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the idiot wanted to MBA at Michigan Business school with no work experience. So he went to UCLA. Argh. Kids these days. I don’t have a problem with athletes going for professional degrees but MBA is a bit odd.
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He announced that he’s transferring to UCLA, unfortunately.
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Did I miss something at RB? Drake Johnson is no longer on the team?
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He’s there but he’s probably not good enough to beat out the new guys + Smith
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and Karan Higdon who’s done virtually nothing? I think Thunder just forgot about Johnson.
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You are correct.
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Nope. That was an oversight on my part.
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I think it’s curious that people (not just Thunder) keep talking about Isaac’s talent. Just haven’t seen it on the field. Physically impressive guy with good strength/speed FOR HIS SIZE…but his size is not really an asset at RB anymore than being 6’8 is an asset at LB.
Isaac has average RB skills in a H-back or TE’s frame. He’s not that fast, not that strong, not elusive, not great at breaking tackles. So other than just having good size and overall athleticism, I’m not seeing anything special talent-wise. But it keeps coming up.
If he dedicated himself to blocking and pass-catching and bulked up a bit he might have NFL caliber career, but he hasn’t. At RB – there are younger players who can do the job about as well but have more long-term upside. Given all the above, I’d be a little surprised if he was still on the roster this fall.
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You HAVE seen it on the field. You’re just choosing to ignore it based on preconceived notions. Your argument is based largely on the idea that Isaac has had his success against lower-level teams (Cal, UNLV, etc.), but some other players have not had that same kind of success against those types of teams, or at all. And when they’ve played the same types of teams, Isaac has done as well or better than the other guys on the roster.
Also, keep in mind that we’re talking about Michigan. There’s not a truly dynamic back on the roster, so saying “Isaac might be the most talented back on the roster” doesn’t mean he’s more talented than Derrick Henry, Leonard Fournette, Nick Chubb, Ezekiel Elliott, etc. It means he’s possibly as good as or better than guys like Karan Higdon and Wyatt Shallman and Drake Johnson and De’Veon Smith.
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Production isn’t the same thing as talent. I’m not going to be impressed by one long carry from the 20 yard line against UNLV. That’s not a sign of talent to me, that’s a function of circumstance. Isaac had 30 carries last year. On 29 of them he totaled 129 yards. On the 76 yard run he had excellent blocking, made one very good cut, and then dodged a weak tackle attempt by UNLV before running straight to the end zone. Good team play and a TD resulted from it, but not a wow-ya play by any means.
I already brought up the USC fullback’s “impressive” YPC numbers and how context skews these. I don’t think the USC fullback is a ‘talent’ either. Vincent Smith had long carries too, but we had ample evidence that he wasn’t a great ball-carrier too.
To contrast this — we HAVE seen ‘talent’ from Drake Johnson. On multiple carries he’s shown impressive burst and cutting ability and speed. That’s talent, to me. Johnson hasn’t put it all together and hasn’t been healthy or consistent, but unlike Isaac he has flashed talent.
Isaac is going on recruiting hype and stats accrued in easy situations. Johnson passes the eye test with the ball in his hands and has been an impact player against OSU and others. If we are talking ‘talent’ I’ll take the 2-star kid over the 5-star kid, based on what we’ve seen during NCAA play.
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Other players have had similar circumstances and haven’t produced. Isaac isn’t the only guy who carried the ball against UNLV. You act as if that 76-yarder was the only thing he did, but he had 114 yards on 8 carries in that game. Take away the 76-yarder, and he still had 7 carries for 38 yards. Take away anyone else’s longest run, and they fared worse in the same circumstances (for example, Drake Johnson’s 5.6 yards/carry drops to 4.8 if you remove his longest run). I’ve mentioned elsewhere that he put up numbers that were as good as or better than other guys in the same circumstances.
If you say he’s not talented, then okay. Then I say we have zero talented backs on the roster.
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Probably for the best that Chesson is out for Spring. An opportunity for others to show what they have to offer.
Chesson 4 Heisman!
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Fun post. Nice work thunder.
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Thanks!
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