Michigan vs. Penn State Awards

Tag: Kwity Paye


1Dec 2020
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Michigan vs. Penn State Awards

Hassan Haskins

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Hassan Haskins. Haskins averaged 5.9 yards per carry on 17 attempts (stat line: 17 rushes, 106 yards, 2 TD). The quarterbacks combined to average 4.0 yards per passing attempt. Of course, you’re probably not going to be able to break off big runs if you’re handing off the ball 60 times and throwing it 20 times, but Haskins was not used enough. He’s the most consistent runner behind a mediocre (or bad) offensive line.

Hit the jump for more.

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25Oct 2020
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Michigan 49, Minnesota 24

Joe Milton (image via Sporting News)

The elephant in the room. Joe Milton looked good. He completed 15/22 passes for 225 yards and 1 touchdown, while running 8 times for 52 yards and 1 touchdown. I thought he would look shaky, and he didn’t. Yes, there were some mistakes, but he also made some very nice plays. Obviously, the arm strength is impressive, but he didn’t really complete any deep shots. The throws he hit were in the short and intermediate areas. It was a good debut for a starting QB.

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24Oct 2020
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2020 Season Predictions

Daxton Hill (image via Maize ‘n’ Brew)

It’s 2020 and nobody knows anything, so here are my wild guesses for what we’ll see this year.

LEADING RUSHER
Zach Charbonnet led the team in rushing as a true freshman last year with 729 yards. I do think Chris Evans will steal some of his carry share from last year, with Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum lurking, but Charbonnet should get the plurality of the opportunities.
Prediction: Zach Charbonnet, 498 yards

Hit the jump for the rest of the prognostications.

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17Oct 2020
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2020 Season Countdown: #6 Kwity Paye

Kwity Paye (image via Freep)

Name: Kwity Paye
Height: 
6’4″
Weight: 
277 lbs.
High school: 
Providence (RI) Bishop Hendricken
Position: 
Defensive end
Class: 
Junior
Jersey number: #19
Last year: 
I ranked Paye #17 and said he would be the starting weakside end with 45 tackles and 5 sacks (LINK). He made 54 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, and 1 fumble recovery.
TTB Rating:
 81

Michigan had a few breakout players on defense in 2019, and Paye might have been the biggest. He went from being a rotational player in 2018 to getting enough hype following last season to be bandied about as a potential 1st round draft pick. He also was named the #1 “freak” on Bruce Feldman’s annual “Freaks List.” This all came on the heels of a relatively modest 12.5-TFL, 6.5-sack season. His real coming out part seemed to take place against Iowa, when he made 4 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 2 quarterback hurries against a respected Hawkeyes offensive line.

This feels like a weird thing to say after all that hype, but here it is, anyway:

Kwity Paye makes me wonder about the effectiveness of Shaun Nua’s coaching.

Paye was a project coming out of high school in 2017, when he was a part-time running back in Rhode Island. So the fact that he has reached these heights is impressive in itself. But when you watched Paye in 2019, he didn’t really do anything special. He’s fairly quick. And he’s fairly strong. And he’s got a good motor. But when it comes to technique or defeating blocks? Nah. He doesn’t have any pass rush moves. He just kind of keeps going and going until he’s in the lap of the quarterback.

If Paye is going to capitalize on the first round hype, I think he has to add some noticeable technique to his arsenal. If he doesn’t, I think that will be an indictment of Nua, who will have had two seasons with a pretty talented guy with nothing much to show for it. For some reason I don’t see Paye taking a giant step forward, but he should still be pretty good. And the fact is that behind starting ends Paye and Aidan Hutchinson, there isn’t much. The most proven guy is Luiji Vilain, who has suffered through injury but hasn’t shown much upside when he actually got on the field. Paye has the versatility to play inside and outside, and he would be a big loss if injured.

Will he be a first round pick in 2021? My gut says no, but he should have a solid season for the Wolverines.

Prediction: Starting weakside end

Hit the jump for some 2019 highlights.

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19Sep 2020
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Welcome back, Jalen Mayfield!

Jalen Mayfield (#73) and Kwity Paye (image via Freep)

I guess I prematurely posted a goodbye post for Jalen Mayfield after he opted out of the 2020 season (LINK), because now he’s reportedly coming back to play. It’s understandable that he opted out since the season was canceled/postponed at the time.

Meanwhile, defensive end Kwity Paye also came out and said he was returning, even though he had not necessarily made an official announcement that he was leaving.

That leaves Nico Collins and Ambry Thomas, both of whom have signed with agents, as the other two guys who are in some limbo right now. Thomas is reportedly interested in coming back, while there’s not much coming out of Collins’s camp.