Tag: 2019 season countdown

2019 Season Countdown: #4 Lavert Hill

Name: Lavert Hill
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 182 lbs.
High school: Detroit (MI) King
Position: Cornerback
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #24
Last year: I ranked Hill #11 and said he would be the starting cornerback with 30 tackles and 2 interceptions (LINK). He made 14 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 interception (returned 21 yards for a TD), and 5 pass breakups.
TTB Rating: 84

Hill has somehow managed to become a shutdown corner at the University of Michigan with very little fanfare. He was Second Team All-Big Ten in 2017, First Team All-Big in 2018, and still not many in the media seem to be making a big deal of him. Perhaps it’s because other teams don’t target him much, so his numbers are modest: 41 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, and 3 interceptions over the course of three seasons.

Those modest numbers might also be because other teams haven’t had time to target him very much. Michigan has had a very good pass rush in recent years, whether it’s been organic with excellent defensive ends or established through the blitz. Either way, this should be an interesting year, because Michigan lost a lot on the defensive line and an excellent middle linebacker blitzer in Devin Bush, Jr. The defensive backfield might have to cover a little bit longer, so will that affect their targets? Will their counting stats go up? Only time will tell. I do not have a great deal of faith in Michigan’s defensive line as a whole for 2019, so I think Hill will get a few more targets, make a few more targets, and get his hands on the ball a little more.

Aside from his excellent play, his importance cannot be overstated. He might even deserve to be #1 in the countdown with how the roster is currently constructed. Michigan needs him to play and play well in 2019 while Ambry Thomas comes back from colitis. Thomas is back practicing, but it’s hard to say how rusty or out of shape he will be after some missed time. The Wolverines were already questionable with Vincent Gray stepping in at corner for Thomas, but if Hill and Thomas were both to miss time . . . yikes. Hill has struggled with nagging injuries in the past, so hopefully he stays as close to 100% as possible this season.

Prediction: Starting cornerback; 25 tackles, 2 interceptions

2019 Season Countdown: #5 Cesar Ruiz

Name: Cesar Ruiz
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 319 lbs.
High school: Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy
Position: Center
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #51
Last year: I ranked Ruiz #5 and said he would be the starting center (LINK). He started all thirteen games.
TTB Rating: 99

Ruiz has had a solid career so far. Sometimes expectations for highly regarded recruits can get out of hand, especially for linemen. For whatever reason, I don’t think that has been the case with Ruiz – for good reason. Many centers start off their careers as redshirts, backups, or contributors at offensive guard – check. (Ruiz started five games at guard as a freshman.) Then in their next year, they play but don’t necessarily stand out – check. (Ruiz had a decent year in 2018, but he was Third Team All-Big Ten). He was Offensive Line Player of the Week against Nebraska, a pretty bad squad.

This year is when Ruiz should hit his stride. He’s no longer adjusting to play center in college – he’s already done it. Despite a new offense, the schemes up front won’t be any more difficult; if anything, they should be a little simpler. Ruiz is quick and powerful, and he has great size. There has been a little discussion about his potential to leave for the NFL after this season, and we’ll see whether that comes to fruition or not. He might not be First Team all-conference in 2019 (Tyler Biadasz from Wisconsin already won that honor, so I expect him to win it again), but I think Ruiz will be just as good. As the commander of the offensive line, he’s a very important piece, but he does have a solid backup in redshirt junior Stephen Spanellis and a freshman who has turned some heads in Zach Carpenter.

Prediction: Starting center

2019 Season Countdown: #6 Jon Runyan, Jr.

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Name: Jon Runyan, Jr.
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 321 lbs.
High school: Philadelphia (PA) St. Joseph’s
Position: Offensive tackle
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #75
Last year: I ranked Runyan #19 and said he would be the starting right tackle (LINK). He started thirteen games at left tackle.
TTB Rating: 73

Runyan had one of the more impressive debut seasons as a starter in recent memory. A career backup from 2015-2017 (except a start in the Outback Bowl), Runyan struggled in the 2018 season opener at left tackle and then cruised to being named the best offensive lineman on the team and a First Team All-Big Ten selection by the conference’s coaches. He was named the Offensive Line Player of the Week against both Wisconsin and Penn State, which were also the two games where Pro Football Focus named him to their All-Big Ten team for the week. Runyan has always been very athletic, but he finally seemed to gain the necessary weight and strength to hold up in 2018.

Runyan will get a chance to continue his ascent in 2019 under second-year offensive line coach Ed Warinner. Runyan isn’t a prototypical left tackle (listed at 6’5″, some have suggested he’s only 6’3″ or maybe 6’4″), but Warinner has done a good job throughout his career of taking some mismatched pieces and molding them into solid offensive lines. Runyan himself just has great feet, anchors well, and gets up to the second level; the guys who were going to give him trouble are the really long dudes who can get their hands on him first, and there aren’t a ton of those. Runyan should have another solid year.

Prediction: Starting left tackle

2019 Season Countdown: #7 Nico Collins

Name: Nico Collins
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 222 lbs.
High school: Birmingham (AL) Clay-Chalkville
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #4
Last year: I ranked Collins #34 and said he would be a backup wide receiver with 15 catches for 180 yards and 2 touchdowns (LINK). He started eleven games and made 38 catches for 632 yards and 6 touchdowns.
TTB Rating: 85

Collins had a huge breakout season in 2018. Coming out of a spring where Tarik Black was reported to be the most outstanding receiver on the team, I expected Collins to take a back seat to Black and Donovan Peoples-Jones. Instead, Collins turned out to be a huge factor in the passing game. He was #1 on the team in receiving yards (632), #2 in receptions (38), #2 in receiving touchdowns (6), and #1 in yards per catch (16.6) out of players who caught 10+ passes.

Collins isn’t a big catch-and-run guy, but he’s a downfield threat because he has decent straight-line speed and great size to box out defensive backs. He’s Devin Funchess without the drops and with a better work ethic. Buzz about Black has fizzled since his latest broken foot, but some have been suggesting that Collins has been the best player on the team during spring and fall camp. I expect him to continue to ascend and get more of a chance to show what he can do in Michigan’s new offense.

Prediction: Starting wide receiver; 60 catches for 990 yards and 10 touchdowns

2019 Season Countdown: #8 Josh Ross

Name: Josh Ross
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 232 lbs.
High school: Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s
Position: Linebacker
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #12
Last year: I ranked Ross #41 and said he would be a backup WILL linebacker (LINK). He made 61 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 2 pass breakups.
TTB Rating: 79

Ross had one of the more baffling situations in 2018, which seems to have become the norm at inside linebacker. He started exactly one game, but he ended up #4 on the team in tackles with 61. Meanwhile, the guy who started the other twelve games at WILL (Devin Gil) finished #9 in tackles with 33. Ross also outpaced him in tackles for loss (5.0 to 3.5) and pass breakups (2 to 0). This was reminiscent of Joe Bolden starting over Ben Gedeon.

During the upcoming 2019 season, we should see no such imbalance between Gil and Ross, because both will probably start. Gil will stay at WILL, while Ross moves over to MIKE to fill the shoes of Devin Bush, Jr. There appears to be no question that Ross is the starter, even with former highly touted recruits Jordan Anthony and Cameron McGrone waiting in the wings. Ross isn’t as fast as Bush, but both can bring the lumber and Ross is one of the more technically sound linebackers you’ll find. I would not be surprised to see him in the running for First Team All-Big Ten by season’s end.

Prediction: Starting middle linebacker; 80 tackles, 3.5 sacks