Ex-Wolverine Updates: 2018 Pre-Season

Tag: Kareem Walker


22Jun 2018
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Ex-Wolverine Updates: 2018 Pre-Season

Vic Viramontes is going to row the boat…at Riverside City College (image via Twin Cities)

TRANSFERS

Devin Asiasi, TE (UCLA): Asiasi sat out the season due to NCAA transfer rules. From what I can gather, he’s pegged to be the #2 tight end this season.

Ian Bunting, TE (California): Bunting will be a fifth year senior at Cal this fall.

Brian Cole, S (Mississippi State): Cole is listed as a 6’2″, 210 lb. redshirt junior safety at Mississippi State and is projected to be the Bulldogs’ starting nickel player. He spent last season at East Mississippi Community College.

Kekoa Crawford, WR: Crawford will transfer, though his destination is unknown.

Kingston Davis, RB (UAB): Davis is a 6’0″, 245 lb. running back at UAB after spending last season at Independence Community College in Kansas. He looks to be one of the featured players on the upcoming season of Last Chance U on Netflix.

Ja’Raymond Hall, OG (Central Michigan): Hall announced that he would transfer to Central Michigan in the off-season, which means he will have to sit out 2018 due to NCAA transfer rules.

Elysee Mbem-Bosse, LB: It’s unknown at this point whether Mbem-Bosse will continue his football career.

Kareem Walker, RB: Walker will transfer, though his destination is unknown.

Keith Washington, CB (West Virginia): Washington, who played this past season at Co-Lin, has transferred to West Virginia, where he’s listed as a 6’0″, 173 lb. redshirt junior cornerback.

Maurice Ways, WR (California): Ways will be a fifth year senior at Cal this fall.

Hit the jump for news on former commitments and coaches.

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8Jun 2018
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Kareem Walker, Ex-Wolverine

Kareem Walker

Redshirt sophomore running back Kareem Walker has exited the program. Walker was a 2016 signee out of Wayne (NJ) De Paul Catholic, and I gave him a TTB Rating of 88 (LINK).

A one-time Ohio State commit, Michigan thought they pulled off quite a coup by getting a highly ranked running back from New Jersey and out of the clutches of the Buckeyes. Unfortunately, academic issues caused Walker to redshirt as a true freshman. Some thought he might not last at Michigan, but he hung around for the 2017 season, in which he ran 20 times for 68 yards (3.4 YPC) and 1 touchdown. His best game came against Rutgers when he ran 6 times for 34 yards and 1 score.

Ultimately, a combination of academics and injuries seem to have caused his departure. No destination has been named, but some school out there will get a chance to land a 6’1″, 211 lb. running back with a pretty solid recruiting pedigree. If he can get his body and habits right, he could still be a good back for someone out there.

Michigan is now down to the 85-man scholarship limit (LINK). Walker is one of eight players from the 2016 class to have departed already, joining TE Devin Asiasi, WR Kekoa Crawford, RB Kingston Davis, LB Dytarious Johnson, WR Nate Johnson, LB Elysee Mbem-Bosse, WR Ahmir Mitchell,

14Nov 2017
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Michigan vs. Maryland Awards

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Michael Onwenu. Freshman Cesar Ruiz has been playing in place of an injured Onwenu, and while Ruiz has done okay, I think Onwenu has reached a point where he’s a solid right guard. Early in the year, he was struggling with his technique and conditioning, but now that he’s worked his way into game shape, he should be capable of playing an entire contest.

Hit the jump for the rest of the awards.

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12Nov 2017
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Michigan 35, Maryland 10

Zach Gentry (image via WTOP)

That is what we expected. I’ve seen a fair amount of consternation about Michigan “only” winning by 25 points, which I find to be somewhat humorous. I picked a 31-10 win in Friday’s preview, and I saw some other predictions that were in the general vicinity. A 25-point win for the Wolverines isn’t anything to shake a stick at, and yet people were complaining. Michigan went up 28-0 before being outscored 10-7, but that’s a blip. This is a young team at most spots, and expecting them to completely obliterate Maryland seemed like a stretch. This isn’t a team that should be expected to squeeze out a 56-0 win against the Terrapins, who have some talent. One reason is . . .

The injuries are mounting. Michigan is in somewhat of a precarious position going into games against Wisconsin and Ohio State over the next two weeks. Aside from missing a starting LT (Grant Newsome), the starting QB (Wilton Speight), and the #1 WR (Tarik Black) with long-term injuries, the Wolverines were without the starting RG (Mike Onwenu) and a part-time starting RB (Ty Isaac), and in this game, they lost starting RB Karan Higdon, DE Rashan Gary, LB Mike McCray, and CB Lavert Hill for stretches. In the latter stages of this game, Michigan was down 8 players that should be starting (plus Ty Isaac, who was the leading rusher until recently). Every team goes through injuries, but not many teams find a 25-point win disappointing when that many players are injured.

Hit the jump for more.

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29Oct 2017
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Michigan 35, Rutgers 14

Brandon Peters (image via USA Today)

Is it Peters time? The biggest story is obviously the appearance of redshirt freshman Brandon Peters. I said before the game that I didn’t think Peters would play unless John O’Korn got hurt or unless Michigan went up big, and I was wrong. I wasn’t really expecting two fumbled snaps, either. O’Korn was 3/6 for 13 yards and 1 interception before getting yanked for redshirt freshman Brandon Peters in the second quarter. Peters entered the game when it was 7-7, and the offense rattled off 21 unanswered points. He went 10/14 for 124 yards and 1 touchdown in that time. Following the game, Jim Harbaugh said this has been brewing for a couple weeks, and he also told the team on Monday that Peters would get a chance to play in this one. Peters looked outstanding in this game except for a) one slant that might have been a pick-six if safety Kiy Hester didn’t have stone hands and b) a deep crossing route to Sean McKeon that fell short, not because of arm strength but due to misjudging the distance. He’s still finding his way as a player a little bit. His play was encouraging, but O’Korn looked great when he played against Purdue, too. Now that teams have film on Peters, sledding might get a little tougher in the coming weeks.

Hit the jump for some more thoughts on Saturday’s win.

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