The 2018 Season Countdown is Coming

The 2018 Season Countdown is Coming


April 26, 2018

Kekoa Crawford (image via GBMWolverine)

It has been a yearly tradition ’round these parts to count down to the season with a full accounting of every scholarship player and several walk-ons. This year will be no different. In the coming weeks, you will see a countdown of roughly 100 Michigan football players, from least important to most important for 2018 team success. Here’s a link to last year’s countdown, if you’re interested (LINK).

This is my annual caveat: The countdown looks at players from a perspective of value, so a good player at a deep position may not be ranked as highly as high as an equally good player in a shallow position. Luckily, Michigan has pretty good roster balance at this point without being dangerously thin at any one position, though it’s unclear which offensive tackles – if any – will step up to play well.

Feel free to make your case for your guy(s) here.

The countdown begins on May 1, 2018.

28 comments

  1. Comments: 134
    Joined: 9/13/2015
    AC1997
    Apr 26, 2018 at 7:37 AM

    This might be your most difficult version yet. On defense you have some amazing players…but there is also a lot of good depth. I guess the DEs have unproven backups….but otherwise I don’t think the D would wilt with an injury anywhere.

    Then on offense the talent is not as obvious….yet they have no backups. So just the opposite. Is Ruiz good? Maybe….but we don’t know. Yet if he got hurt that’s a huge blow to the OL.

  2. Comments: 359
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    GKblue
    Apr 26, 2018 at 8:37 AM

    Not sure how you will handle the QB situation Thunder. Until the NCAA clears Patterson how does he factor into the equation? Fortunately starting the annual list at 100 will buy you some time. Each of the offensive position groups except maybe RB will not be crystal clear as to hierarchy until the fall.

    I enjoy these breakdowns every year, and the subsequent discussions that follow.

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Apr 26, 2018 at 12:00 PM

      At the very least, he should be the best scout team QB in the country.

    • Comments: 6285
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      Lanknows
      Apr 26, 2018 at 2:56 PM

      Thunder ranked an ineligible scout team RB #19 a few years ago FWIW.

      • Comments: 3844
        Joined: 7/13/2015
        Apr 26, 2018 at 3:48 PM

        …before we knew he was going to be ineligible.

      • Comments: 6285
        Joined: 8/11/2015
        Lanknows
        Apr 27, 2018 at 2:04 PM

        I guess in some sense we never really know about eligibility until the game kicks off… but in every practical sense we knew.

  3. Comments: 1863
    Joined: 1/19/2016
    je93
    Apr 26, 2018 at 9:49 AM

    This is probably my favorite series on the site, and there are quite a few I look forward to (tracking former Wolverines is good too, as are game day previews & recaps, season predictions, etc)
    I remember last year I was on vacation in Belize, and my GF got frustrated because I needed some time to “catch up” the day Ty Isaac was listed on the countdown, because I knew Lank would come out full force

    GO BLUE

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Apr 26, 2018 at 12:00 PM

      Well, you just wait until you see where I have Ty Isaac ranked for THIS year…

    • Comments: 6285
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      Lanknows
      Apr 26, 2018 at 12:06 PM

      Ty Isaac is bad.

      • Comments: 3844
        Joined: 7/13/2015
        Apr 26, 2018 at 12:25 PM

        6.2 career yards per carry behind a poor/mediocre offensive line. This is a FACT.

        Ty Isaac is bad. That is an OPINION.

        But sure, go ahead and tell us all how we’re mired in opinions while you occasionally endow us with your hard facts.

        • Comments: 6285
          Joined: 8/11/2015
          Lanknows
          Apr 26, 2018 at 1:38 PM

          OL being “poor/mediocre” is an OPINION.

          Ty Isaac didn’t ever finish a season above 3rd (4th?) on the depth chart is a FACT.

          • Comments: 3844
            Joined: 7/13/2015
            Apr 26, 2018 at 2:04 PM

            Poor/mediocre OL is backed up by advanced stats that you have used numerous times. So unless you want to contradict yourself and argue that the OL has been good, I don’t know if you want to head down that avenue.

            But you can take out the part about the OL, and it’s still a fact that doesn’t support your opinion.

            The depth chart thing is a small sample size and doesn’t really sway anything one way or the other. Being #3 on the depth chart doesn’t mean anyone is bad, because it’s relative to the other people on the team. In some cases, the #1 guy is bad, so #3 is even worse. In other cases, the #1 and #2 and #3 guys are all good (as in, say, OSU’s QBs a few years ago, or the depth chart at Oklahoma State RB in the 1980s with Thurman Thomas, Barry Sanders, etc.).

            But yes, it is a fact.

            • Comments: 6285
              Joined: 8/11/2015
              Lanknows
              Apr 26, 2018 at 2:54 PM

              Fact: your “FACT” was an opinion.

              6.2 ypc is a fact. A fact that doesn’t tell you NEARLY as much as you think it does.

              Isaac being bad is backed up by his position on the depth chart. That’s as factual as advanced stats or ypc.

              Isaac was a 5th year senior. The depth chart sample size is big as can be.

              The NFL is aware of Ty Isaac. He’s not going to get drafted. He’s not going to make an NFL team, because he’s not a very good RB. Arguing otherwise is no more delusional than John O’Korn thinking he’s good — at least he was there to put up a fight against OSU.

              • Comments: 3844
                Joined: 7/13/2015
                Apr 26, 2018 at 3:52 PM

                Rabble rabble rabble Ty Isaac rabble rabble rabble.

                He’s gone. Moving on.

                • Comments: 6285
                  Joined: 8/11/2015
                  Lanknows
                  Apr 27, 2018 at 1:54 PM

                  You wrote a post about him on Tuesday arguing he was an NFL-quality player.

      • Comments: 6285
        Joined: 8/11/2015
        Lanknows
        Apr 26, 2018 at 1:28 PM

        I guess my attempt at light-heated humor wasn’t well received. Can’t win em all.

  4. Comments: 313
    Joined: 8/17/2015
    JC
    Apr 26, 2018 at 2:50 PM

    With doing very little analysis, and not necessarily in order, I think a few tops could look like:

    R. Gary
    S. Patterson (If eligible)
    C. Winovich
    L. Hill
    B. Bredeson
    C. Ruiz
    D. Bush
    K. Hudson
    D. Long

  5. Comments: 92
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    Klctlc
    Apr 26, 2018 at 8:19 PM

    Playing Carnac here,

    #1 is Shea Patterson, #2 is whoever plays LT and gary is #3.

    Love the Countdown.

  6. Comments: 6285
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    Lanknows
    Apr 27, 2018 at 2:04 PM

    It’s pretty dang awesome that Shea Patterson is eligible.

    GO BLUE!

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Apr 28, 2018 at 5:48 AM

      Yes, it is. Especially after you insisted for the past few months that he wouldn’t be eligible, there’s no precedent, I was wrong for putting him #1 on the depth chart because he wouldn’t be eligible, etc.

      • Comments: 6285
        Joined: 8/11/2015
        Lanknows
        Apr 30, 2018 at 11:13 AM

        I’m glad my comments made you happy.

        What that says about you…

    • Comments: 6285
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      Lanknows
      Apr 30, 2018 at 11:12 AM

      I never insisted he wouldn’t be eligible.

      I insisted he wasn’t eligible — which was true!

      • Comments: 3844
        Joined: 7/13/2015
        Apr 30, 2018 at 8:01 PM

        Then incoming freshmen also shouldn’t be listed, because they haven’t even graduated high school yet, and they haven’t enrolled in college.

        • Comments: 6285
          Joined: 8/11/2015
          Lanknows
          May 01, 2018 at 10:42 AM

          Freshman don’t need a waiver to be eligible.

          • Comments: 3844
            Joined: 7/13/2015
            May 01, 2018 at 10:49 AM

            Nah, they just need to graduate high school and get through the NCAA Clearinghouse. Brad Hawkins says hello.

          • Comments: 6285
            Joined: 8/11/2015
            Lanknows
            May 01, 2018 at 12:05 PM

            ex·cep·tion
            ikˈsepSH(ə)n/
            noun
            noun: exception; plural noun: exceptions

            a person or thing that is excluded from a general statement or does not follow a rule.

            • Comments: 3844
              Joined: 7/13/2015
              May 01, 2018 at 1:51 PM

              Yes, and some people apply for exceptions – such as Isaac (mother’s sickness) and Patterson (misled by former school). Some people don’t – such as O’Korn.

              Holding me accountable for guessing what the NCAA is going to decide seems odd, but whatever floats your boat, man.

  7. Comments: 528
    Joined: 9/13/2015
    michymich
    Apr 27, 2018 at 6:22 PM

    I’ll take a shot at 3 people.

    1. I wish I had the O’Korn should be given a shot. Harbaugh knew best. He saw what I didn’t see in practice. Yes I said if he played poorly you could reinsert Speight but wish WS hadn’t been hurt and I never got the opportunity to see O’korn for 1 snap. Be careful what you wish for.

    2. I can almost assure you that this countdown will have Higdon in the top 10 regardless of Evans. Where was Higdon ranked last year? Yikes.

    3. I will guarantee that Speight will be listed on the UCLA countdown. Hope he does well. I will definitely check him out if he plays because he won’t be playing in the NFL unless on a practice squad. Maybe the XFL? Arena ball?

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