Michigan vs. Wisconsin Awards

Tag: Jaylen Kelly-Powell


20Nov 2017
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Michigan vs. Wisconsin Awards

Karan Higdon (image via Saturday Tradition)

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Karan Higdon. Higdon had 7 carries for 20 yards on Saturday, and he played second fiddle to Chris Evans while nursing an ankle injury. If Michigan has any chance to beat Ohio State, it has to have a healthy Higdon. Higdon is the team’s leading rusher this season (136 carries, 874 yards, 6.43 yards/carry, 10 TDs).

Hit the jump for the rest of the awards.

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22Jun 2017
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2017 Season Countdown: #66 Jaylen Kelly-Powell

Jaylen Kelly-Powell (image via Rivals)

Name: Jaylen Kelly-Powell
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 175 lbs.
High school: Detroit (MI) Cass Tech
Position: Safety
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #16
Last year: Kelly-Powell was a senior in high school. He made 62 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions, and 26 pass breakups. And yes, his stats make a palindrome.
TTB Rating: 77

Kelly-Powell was long considered a Michigan lock, but tried to keep everyone in suspense. He bounced back and forth a little bit from safety to corner in high school, but mostly he played a strong safety position. He also played a little bit of running back. He went to The Opening in Oregon and was an Under Armour All-American, but he did not stand out at either event.

As an early enrollee this spring, the word coming out of Schembechler Hall was that Kelly-Powell is a solid player but still very light. He needs to get bigger and would probably be headed for a redshirt if not for a shallow pool of applicants at the safety positions. Michigan’s top three safeties are junior Tyree Kinnel, sophomore Josh Metellus, and redshirt sophomore Jordan Glasgow, and after that, it’s unclear. Kelly-Powell won’t break into that top three, but we’ll see if he’s at #4 or below. I would prefer to see him redshirt, especially since the three guys certain to be ahead of him will still be on the roster in 2018. But I won’t be surprised at all to see Kelly-Powell get some run on special teams or late in decided games.

Prediction: Backup safety, special teamer

15Feb 2017
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2017 Recruiting Grades: Defense

Aubrey Solomon (image via Scout)

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I posted the 2017 offensive recruiting grades last week (LINK), so here are my thoughts on the defensive side of the ball. Click on the player names below for their commitment posts.

DEFENSIVE END: B+
Commits (4): Deron Irving-Bey, Donovan JeterCorey Malone-Hatcher, Kwity Paye, Luiji Vilain
Decommits (0): N/A
Why? Michigan went after some elite rush ends (Jaelan Phillips, K’Lavon Chaisson, etc.) in this cycle, but none showed much interest. Instead, Michigan got home-stater Malone-Hatcher, Boston College decommit Paye, and Canada native Vilain as weakside end types. I thought Vilain improved significantly over the last couple years since moving from Ontario to Virginia. On the strong side, Michigan got Irving-Bey and Jeter, both of whom could end up as a 3-technique tackles. I don’t see dominant players here, but it is a solid group and they’ll get high-quality coaching.

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18Jan 2017
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Final ESPN 300 for 2017 released

Kai-Leon Herbert

ESPN released its final top 300 for the class of 2017 (LINK). Here’s what it looked like in July of 2015 (LINK). Movement for Michigan commits since that first list:

  • Donovan Peoples-Jones dropped from #12 to #22
  • Kai-Leon Herbert jumped from #265 to #99
  • Dylan McCaffrey jumped from #186 to #117
  • Drew Singleton jumped from #201 to #153
  • Ja’Raymond Hall jumped from #229 to #169
  • Ambry Thomas dropped from #146 to #186
  • Tarik Black dropped from #102 to #225
  • Joshua Ross dropped from #153 to #236
  • Jaylen Kelly-Powell dropped from #243 to #262
  • Corey Malone-Hatcher dropped from #94 to #270

Hit the jump for the full list of targets.

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18Jan 2017
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Final Top 247 for 2017 released




Donovan Peoples-Jones

247 Sports released its final Top 247 for 2017 (LINK). Here’s what it looked like initially back in April of 2015 (LINK).

Movement for Michigan commits since then:

  • Donovan Peoples-Jones fell from #13 to #26
  • Jaylen Kelly-Powell jumped from #180 to #156
  • Josh Ross fell from #111 to #202
  • Dylan McCaffrey fell from #46 to #204
  • Ja’Raymond Hall fell from #81 to off the list
  • Corey Malone-Hatcher fell from #183 to off the list

Hit the jump for the remainder of the Michigan targets.

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