2023 Season Predictions

Tag: Cornelius Johnson


31Aug 2023
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2023 Season Predictions

Blake Corum

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.

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24Aug 2023
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2023 Season Countdown: #12 Cornelius Johnson

Cornelius Johnson (image via Wolverines Wire)

Name: Cornelius Johnson
Height: 
6’3″
Weight: 
208 lbs.
High school
Greenwich (CT) Brunswick
Position: 
Wide receiver
Class: 
Fifth year senior
Jersey number: 
#6
Last year: 
I ranked Johnson #13 and said he would be a starting wide receiver with 36 catches for 560 yards and 5 touchdowns (LINK). He started all fourteen games and made 32 catches for 499 yards and 6 touchdowns.
TTB Rating:
 87

Johnson had his most exciting season in 2022, and that season came down to one game: Ohio State. In just that one game, he caught 4 passes for 160 yards and 2 touchdowns. (In other words, he had just 28 catches for 339 yards and 4 touchdowns the rest of the year.) But the Buckeyes couldn’t tackle him and couldn’t cover him in space with a backup safety, so some of my favorite memories from last year have Johnson running free in Ohio Stadium on the way to two huge scores, both in distance and meaning.

As mentioned above, the rest of Johnson’s 2022 year was largely forgettable. He followed up that performance against OSU with 1 catch for 9 yards against Purdue and 2 catches for 30 yards against TCU. In fact, on seven different occasions last year, he was held to just 1 or 2 catches.

But all of that took place in the Ronnie Bell era, and the Ronnie Bell era is over. Bell wasn’t the fastest or tallest guy, but he always managed to get open and gain yards after the catch. Someone else needs to step up as the go-to guy. I’m not so sure it will be Johnson, but he has an opportunity. Johnson is a good route-runner with decent speed, but he has yet to really show he can catch the ball consistently in traffic. I think Johnson might lead the team in receiving without actually being the most important receiver, because the guy who should benefit most from Michigan’s dominant running game is speedster Roman Wilson. But Bell caught 62 balls last season, and those chain-moving catches need to go somewhere. I expect Johnson to have a better statistical year and for some of those slot targets to be diverted more toward Johnson and Wilson, along with likely slot starter Tyler Morris.

Prediction: Starting wide receiver; 48 catches for 700 yards and 7 touchdowns

7Jan 2023
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U.S. Army/Adidas All-American Bowl Participants: Michigan

Donovan Peoples-Jones

For your viewing pleasure, here’s a comprehensive list of Michigan’s commitments who were selected for the All-American Bowl (formerly the U.S. Army All-American Bowl). The next All-American Bowl will be on January 7, 2023 in San Antonio, TX.

2023
Semaj Bridgeman, LB – Philadelphia, PA

2022
Zeke Berry, S – Concord, CA#
Darrius Clemons, WR – Portland, OR#
Jayden Denegal, QB – Apple Valley, CA
Tyler Morris, WR – La Grange Park, IL#

2021
Junior Colson, LB – Brentwood, TN**
Tommy Doman, Jr., P – Orchard Lake, MI**
J.J. McCarthy, QB – La Grange Park, IL**

2020
Darion Green-Warren – Harbor City, CA
A.J. Henning – Frankfort, IL
Jordan Morant, S – Oradell, NJ
R.J. Moten, S – Delran, NJ
Kalel Mullings, LB – Milton, MA

2019
Daxton Hill, S – Tulsa, OK
Chris Hinton, DT – Norcross, GA
Cornelius Johnson, WR – Greenwich, CT

Hit the jump for the rest of the U.S. Army Bowl participants to play for Michigan since 2001.

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27Nov 2022
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Michigan 45, Ohio State 23

Donovan Edwards (image via DraftKings)

I was wrong. I predicted a 35-24 Ohio State victory, and it went almost exactly the opposite way. I didn’t expect Michigan’s offense to be able to keep up with Ohio State’s, especially if Blake Corum was unable to play. Oops.

Pound the rock. Ohio State held up very well against the run for much of the game. In the first half, Michigan rushed for just 20 total yards, including just 6 yards on 2 carries for Blake Corum. They also used C.J. Stokes on 2 carries for just 5 yards. The second half turned into a completely different story. An injured Donovan Edwards, wearing a cast on his right hand, took over the game, carrying the ball in his non-dominant hand. He finished with 22 carries for 216 yards and 2 touchdowns. One was a 75-yarder where he outraced safety Lathan Ransom, and the other was a patient attempt where he waited for a crease and then gashed the Buckeyes for 85 yards. Even though Michigan wasn’t successful in the first half, they seemed to wear down Ohio State’s front.

Hit the jump for more.

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5Sep 2022
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Michigan 51, Colorado State 7

Blake Corum (image via Yahoo)

Who’s your QB? Cade McNamara started the game and completed 9/18 passes for 136 yards and 1 touchdown. It was not a great start. He threw an easy completion into the dirt, had guys drop a couple passes, and had to throw a couple balls away. One play looked like a bad interception initially, until you realized that tight end Erick All fell down coming out of his break; luckily, the pass was ruled incomplete after replayed deemed it hit the ground. Meanwhile, J.J. McCarthy played sporadically, completing 4/4 passes for 30 yards and running 3 times for 50 yards and 1 touchdown. I don’t put too much stock in either performance. McNamara started off slowly last year and had a good season. McCarthy’s package against an inferior team is not a large enough sample size to make an overall decision.

Hit the jump for more.

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