2017 Season Countdown: #90 Deron Irving-Bey

Tag: 2017 season countdown


8May 2017
Blog, homepage 1 comment

2017 Season Countdown: #90 Deron Irving-Bey

Deron Irving-Bey

Name: Deron Irving-Bey
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 271 lbs.
High school: Flint (MI) Southwestern
Position: Defensive end
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Irving-Bey was a senior in high school. He made 79 tackles, 17 TFLs, 15 sacks, 4 FFs, and 3 FRs.
TTB Rating: 59

Irving-Bey looked like a Michigan State lean at one point, but a visit with Greg Mattison seemed to change the dynamic of his recruitment. Then he seemed all but a lock to Michigan, and his public announcement took longer than expected. He committed to Michigan in mid-December and then played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in early January. He did not earn rave reviews during the Army Bowl practice week, and he also wasn’t a standout in the game.

I gave Irving-Bey a final TTB Rating of 59, and I see him topping out as a backup. He has some raw skills, but they have to be developed, and I think there are other guys who will surge past him. Jim Harbaugh is not shy about burning redshirts, and that includes guys who do not seem like instant stars. Especially on the defensive line where having a lot of bodies is a good thing to keep people fresh, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Irving-Bey play this year, but I don’t think he will be an impact contributor. My guess is he’ll redshirt, but it could go either way. At the very least, he has Rashan Gary and Carlo Kemp ahead of him, and there are a couple freshmen who could move ahead of him long-term, too.

Prediction: Redshirt

5May 2017
Blog, homepage 1 comment

2017 Season Countdown: #91 Simeon Smith

Simeon Smith (image via 247 Sports)

Name: Simeon Smith
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 210 lbs.
High school: Kalamazoo (MI) Loy Norrix
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #81
Last year: I did not rank Smith. He did not see game action.

Smith entered college as a wide receiver/tight end tweener and a preferred walk-on. He did not play in 2016 and still has four years of eligibility remaining. He played a little bit in the spring game, and he looks huge at the wide receiver position. He could develop into being a good blocker and a guy with a large catching radius, but right now he looks unlikely to contribute much. I think he might sneak onto the field late in a blowout game, though there don’t appear to be many potential blowouts on the 2017 schedule. I do not expect him to play much, but as a physical specimen, I think he’s ahead of Jack Wangler.

Prediction: Backup wide receiver

4May 2017
Blog, homepage 3 comments

2017 Season Countdown: #92 Joel Honigford

Joel Honigford (image via Rivals)

Name: Joel Honigford
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 278 lbs.
High school: Sugarcreek (OH) Garaway
Position: Offensive tackle
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Honigford was a senior in high school.
TTB Rating: 84

When Honigford committed to Michigan in late June of 2016, three of the four major recruiting sites had him ranked as a 3-star, with ESPN making him a 4-star. I initially gave him a TTB Rating of 82, which I eventually bumped up to 84 (LINK). I even went as far as making Honigford my modern poster boy for the “Scouting Guide: Offensive Tackle” post (LINK).

All this is to say: I like Honigford.

And now I have to explain why I’m ranking him in the 90’s of the countdown. I have heard that Honigford has bulked up already, but listed at 6’6″ and 278 lbs., I think there’s a lot of mass to add before he sees the field. And that’s not just weight, of course, but also muscle. Mason Cole played as an underweight offensive tackle a few seasons ago, but that’s not ideal, and Cole was more college-ready from a technique standpoint. So while I think Honigford has a great deal of potential, I believe he will redshirt this year unless a plague wipes out a few tackles. The other freshman linemen seem a tad more likely to play based on being slightly more developed at this point.

Prediction: Redshirt

3May 2017
Blog, homepage 8 comments

2017 Season Countdown: #93 Jack Wangler

Which one is Jack Wangler, and does it really matter? (image via Detroit Free Press)

Name: Jack Wangler
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 200 lbs.
High school: Warren (MI) De La Salle
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #16
Last year: I ranked Wangler #89 and said he would be a backup receiver. He played in one game.

Wangler is the son of former Michigan quarterback John Wangler, and he was a high school teammate of Shane Morris’s. Any hopes of a Morris-to-Wangler combination in college have long since disappeared, and Wangler enters his final year of eligibility with only a slim chance to see the field. Last year he saw some snaps in the season-opening blowout of Hawaii, and he didn’t get on the field after that. I expect more of the same this year, and the chances for a blowout are even slimmer. Add to that a few more receivers in the mix, and things are looking bleak. I imagine he’ll play in a game or two to reward him for five years of hard work.

Prediction: Backup wide receiver

Speaking of the photo above, I offer you this:

2May 2017
Blog, homepage 3 comments

2017 Season Countdown: #94 Michael Sessa

Michael Sessa (image via Chicago Tribune)

Name: Michael Sessa
Height: 6’8″
Weight: 205 lbs.
High school: Hinsdale (IL) Central
Position: Quarterback
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #6
Last year: I did not rank Sessa. He redshirted.

Michael Sessa is a name not many have heard, but he saw some extended playing time during the spring. Michigan’s top three quarterbacks are on campus, but with Alex Malzone reportedly heading out the door and Dylan McCaffrey still finishing up high school, there aren’t a ton of quarterbacks on Michigan’s roster. Sessa went to the same high school as tight end Ian Bunting and walked on to the program last fall.

Michigan only used three quarterbacks in 2016 (Wilton Speight, John O’Korn, and Shane Morris), and they only really needed to play Speight and O’Korn. Sessa probably won’t get much of a chance – if any – to play this fall, but he’ll help out with the scout team and might get some garbage time minutes.

Prediction: Backup quarterback