Spring Football Preview: Safeties

Tag: Tyree Kinnel


3Mar 2016
Blog, homepage 3 comments

Spring Football Preview: Safeties

Dymonte Thomas 751x

Dymonte Thomas

Projected starters: Senior Delano Hill started eight games this past season, making 46 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, and 2 pass breakups. He is a decent tackler when stepping up to support the run, but he has yet to make much of an impact in the passing game and does not flash great speed. He is the odds-on favorite to be Michigan’s strong safety. At free safety, fellow senior Dymonte Thomas has the inside track after starting four games, making 24 tackles, and breaking up 7 passes. He has better speed and makes more plays against the pass, but he is not quite so stout against the run.

Hit the jump for more on the safety position.

read more

20Jun 2015
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2015 Season Countdown: #71 Tyree Kinnel


Tyree Kinnel

Name: Tyree Kinnel
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 200 lbs.
High school: Huber Heights (OH) Wayne
Position: Safety
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #17
Last year: Kinnel was a senior in high school. He was a 247 Composite 4-star, the #11 safety, and #195 overall.
TTB Rating: 74

Kinnel was an early commit to the 2015 class, pledging in August of 2013 going into his junior year. Despite efforts by other schools to flip him, he stayed true to his word and signed with the Wolverines this past February. His dad said that he was given a University of Michigan football on the day he was born, and he came to a bunch of spring games in Ann Arbor when he was growing up. Kinnel was a part-time running back in high school, but his main position was safety.

Michigan is not in dire need of safeties to be on the field this fall. Between senior Jarrod Wilson, junior Delano Hill, and sophomore Jabrill Peppers, the coaching staff seems to think they have three starting-caliber players on the back end. Meanwhile, redshirt junior Jeremy Clark and junior Dymonte Thomas both have a significant amount of playing time. I rank Kinnel here based largely on the fact that he could potentially play cornerback, and the depth chart at cornerback gets questionable after the top three. Ideally, Kinnel would redshirt and give a little more space between himself and the guys ahead of him, but injuries or underperformance could put him on the field at some point.

Prediction: Redshirt if possible

9Jun 2015
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2015 Freshman Jersey Numbers

Grant Newsome is going to have to settle for . . . a better number. He’ll wear #77 in college. Redshirt
sophomore Logan Tuley-Tillman wears #72 currently.

The incoming freshmen have jersey numbers. And, boy oh boy, this is an exciting time and we’re all nerds.

Reuben Jones: #4
Last worn on defense by: Linebacker Cameron Gordon from 2010-2013.
Currently worn by: Running back De’Veon Smith.

Keith Washington: #6
Last worn on defense by: Cornerback Raymon Taylor from 2011-2014.
Currently worn by: Quarterback Brian Cleary.

Tyrone Wheatley, Jr.: #8
Last worn on offense by: Quarterback Russell Bellomy from 2012-2014.
Currently worn by: Quarterback Joey Hewlett and cornerback Channing Stribling.

Grant Perry: #9
Last worn on offense by: Wide receiver Martavious Odoms from 2008-2011.
Currently worn by: Linebacker Mike McCray II.

Zach Gentry: #10
Last worn on offense by: Wide receiver Da’Mario Jones. Jones wore #11 in high school, which is the Wistert brothers’ retired number.
Currently worn by: Da’Mario Jones?

Alex Malzone: #12
Last worn on offense by: Wide receiver Roy Roundtree from 2009-2011.
Currently worn by: Linebacker Allen Gant.

Andrew David: #16
Last worn on special teams by: Kicker Peter Elezovic in 1992.
Currently worn by: Wide receiver Jack Wangler.

Tyree Kinnel: #17
Last worn on defense by: Cornerback Tony Anderson from 2008-2011.
Currently worn by: Wide receiver Freddy Canteen.

Karan Higdon: #22
Last worn on offense by: Wide receiver Darryl Stonum from 2008-2011.
Currently worn by: Safety Jarrod Wilson.

Jon Runyan, Jr.: #75
Last worn on offense by: Offensive tackle Michael Schofield from 2009-2013. Runyan’s father, who played for Michigan in the 1990’s, wore #69.
Currently worn by: Runyan only.

Grant Newsome: #77
Last worn on offense by: Offensive tackle Taylor Lewan from 2009-2013.
Currently worn by: Newsome only.

Brian Cole: #81
Last worn on offense by: Wide receiver Csont’e York in 2013.
Currently worn by: Only Cole.

The following players’ jersey numbers have not been released yet (previous number in parentheses):

Shelton Johnson (#7)
Wayne Lyons (#2)
John O’Korn (#5)
Blake O’Neill (#39)
Jake Rudock (#15)
Nolan Ulizio (#70)

11Feb 2015
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2015 Recruiting Grades: Defense, Special Teams

Tyree Kinnel

I posted the recruiting grades for the offensive side of the ball (LINK), so here are the grades for the defense. Rankings used are from the 247 Composite.

DEFENSIVE END
Lost from 2014: Brennen Beyer (graduation), Frank Clark (suspension/graduation)
Commits: Shelton Johnson, Reuben Jones
Grade: B+
Comments: Michigan didn’t land the highest value targets, and the two guys they brought in were last-minute fixes who don’t provide a huge speed rush that Michigan has been lacking in recent years. But Michigan does need numbers at the position, where the graduations of Beyer and Clark left the team with few viable replacements and a couple guys who perhaps should be playing defensive tackle instead of on the edge. Johnson (3-star, #20 SDE) has some high upside and Jones (3-star, #44 DE) has potential, too, so at least one of these guys should pay dividends sooner or later.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Lost from 2014:
 None
Commits: None
Grade: C
Comments: Neither coaching staff deemed defensive tackle as a priority. Hoke only offered a handful of guys and actually backed off several targets last summer, and Harbaugh hardly made an attempt aside from offering defensive tackle Kendrick Norton, who never visited. Michigan is in a situation where they have a lot of guys in their middle years of football, but they will need to renew their efforts in 2016 to avoid a huge age gap.

LINEBACKER
Lost from 2014:
 Michael Ferns III (transfer), Jake Ryan (graduation)
Commits: None
Grade: D
Comments: Jake Ryan was a Butkus Award finalist and a stud at middle linebacker for Michigan last season, but the Wolverines should not miss him too awfully much with four senior linebackers scheduled to be on the roster in 2015 (Joe Bolden, Royce Jenkins-Stone, Desmond Morgan, James Ross). However, the only non-senior to have played much so far is junior Ben Gedeon, which means Michigan will be searching for answers in 2016. It would have been a good idea to land at least one guy to redshirt and adjust to the college game, because that guy could have been deployed in 2016. Assuming the five aforementioned guys suck up most of the playing time in 2015, the Wolverines will be very green in 2016.

CORNERBACK
Lost from 2014:
 Delonte Hollowell (graduation), Raymon Taylor (graduation)
Commits: Keith Washington
Grade: C-
Comments: Much like the running back position, Michigan had two highly touted guys committed at different junctures – Shaun Crawford (Notre Dame) and Garrett Taylor (Penn State) – and both of them slipped out of their grasp. Cornerback is a spot where guys can contribute early, but with Jabrill Peppers moving to safety, the Wolverines are very thin at the position. Washington (3-star, #77 ATH) was a high school quarterback who did not play a ton of defense, so he’s a project. If anyone higher in the pecking order gets hurt, the Wolverines could be in serious trouble, although Peppers has the ability to move back to corner if necessary.

SAFETY
Lost from 2014:
 None
Commits: Tyree Kinnel
Grade: A-
Comments: I don’t see Kinnel (4-star, #11 S)as a huge playmaker in college, but he’s a good field general with some respectable athletic skills. The only safety scheduled to depart after 2015 is starter Jarrod Wilson, and most of the other safeties on the roster are good athletes without a great understanding for the game. So if new safeties coach Greg Jackson can coach those guys up, Michigan should be in very good shape here.

KICKER/PUNTER
Lost from 2014:
 Will Hagerup (graduation), Matt Wile (graduation)
Commits: Andrew David
Grade: A
Comments: Punter is a position that can often be filled by walk-ons, which is likely what will happen in 2015 with Kenny Allen expected to take over the punting job. With no walk-on kickers daring to take the job, Michigan offered one guy and one guy only to be their placekicker, and they got him. David (3-star, #9 K) will be in a situation where he has a special teams coach in John Baxter, which should speed his development at least a little bit. Michigan got exactly whom they wanted.

20Jan 2015
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Rivals 250 for 2015 finalized

Saginaw (MI) Heritage wide receiver Brian Cole (image via 247Sports.com)

Rivals released their top 250 prospects at noon on Tuesday (LINK). The top 100 was revealed yesterday (LINK). Here’s what the top 250 looked like back in December (LINK). Movement for Michigan commits:

– Brian Cole fell from #91 to #101
– Grant Newsome jumped from #220 to #191
– Tyree Kinnel fell from #211 to #225

Here are the rest of the guys Michigan has offered:

101. Brian Cole – ATH – Michigan (Michigan)
108. Garrett Taylor – CB – Virginia (Penn State)
120. Dexter Williams – RB – Florida
123. Jashon Cornell – DE – Minnesota (Ohio State)
135. Clelin Ferrell – DE – Virginia (Clemson)
152. Juwan Johnson – WR – New Jersey (Penn State)
155. Matt Burrell, Jr. – OG – Virginia (Ohio State)
156. Miles Boykin – WR – Illinois (Notre Dame)
158. Preston Williams – WR – Georgia (Tennessee)
162. John Reid – CB – Pennsylvania (Penn State)
167. Jaason Lewis – RB – Virginia (Arizona State)
168. Darrin Kirkland, Jr. – LB – Indiana (Tennessee)
170. Dre’Mont Jones – DE – Ohio (Ohio State)
174. Tim Settle – DT – Virginia (Virginia Tech)
180. Josh Barajas – LB – Indiana (Notre Dame)
191. Grant Newsome – OT – New Jersey (Michigan)
193. Pat Allen – OT – Maryland
194. Auden Tate – WR – Florida (Florida State)
198. Ryan Bates – OT – Pennsylvania (Penn State)
202. Keaton Sutherland – OT – Texas (Texas A&M)
206. Zach Robertson – OG – California (Arizona State)
215. Johnny Frasier – RB – North Carolina (Florida State)
221. Hjalte Froholdt – DT – Florida (Arkansas)
223. Connor Williams – C – Texas (Texas)
225. Tyree Kinnel – S – Ohio (Michigan)
243. Darrell Taylor – DE – Virginia (Tennessee)
246. Asmar Bilal – LB – Indiana (Notre Dame)
247. Arden Key – DE – Georgia
249. Joshua McMillon – LB – Tennessee (Alabama)