2019 Season Countdown: #1B Donovan Jeter

2019 Season Countdown: #1B Donovan Jeter


August 30, 2019
Donovan Jeter (image via MGoBlue)

Name: Donovan Jeter
Height:
6’3″
Weight:
290 lbs.
High school:
Beaver Falls (PA) Beaver Falls
Position:
Defensive tackle
Class:
Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number:
#95
Last year:
I ranked Jeter #50 and said he would be a backup defensive tackle (LINK). He made 3 tackles.
TTB Rating:
78

I know I will take a fair amount of criticism for this one, so let me jump right into my defense:

Michigan ain’t got no big guys.

That’s a bit of a lie, because there are some large human beings on the team. Michael Onwenu, Ben Bredeson, and others are large homo sapiens, but they play offense. And the Wolverines have a couple big freshmen interior defensive linemen (Mazi Smith, Chris Hinton), but they’ve never played college football before. Jeter is listed at 290 lbs. but he’s reportedly well above 300 now.

Michigan had an excellent run defense in 2015. They allowed fewer than 4.0 yards per carry in each of the first six games, fewer than 3.0 in five of those, and few than 2.0 in four of those. The rushing averages in the final four games of the season after Glasgow disappeared?

  • 5.58 vs. Indiana
  • 3.18 vs. Penn State
  • 6.83 vs. Ohio State
  • 4.37 vs. Florida

That big, fat “6.83” is one of the primary reasons redshirt sophomore Donovan Jeter, who has yet to do much in his college career, is all the way up here at 1B. When I look at the hype for Michigan – with discussions of winning the Big Ten, going to the College Football Playoff – I don’t see them being able to overcome big hurdles like Wisconsin and Ohio State without Jeter.

Can Michigan win some games without Jeter? Sure. They have some young, touted defensive linemen, and they have some defensive ends who are capable of stopping the run. But 6’2″, 282 lb. Michael Dwumfour isn’t going to become a run-stopper overnight, and the freshman combo of Mazi Smith and Chris Hinton aren’t going to turn into stars overnight. Otherwise, Michigan has blue-collar Carlo Kemp and a converted fullback in Ben Mason. If Michigan wants to avoid getting exposed up the middle by Paul Chryst and Ryan Day, Jeter needs to play and play well. He could be the difference between a 9- or 10-win season . . . and an 11- or 12-win season.

Prediction: Part-time starting defensive tackle; 20 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack

18 comments

  1. Comments: 522
    Joined: 8/12/2015
    DonAZ
    Aug 30, 2019 at 6:49 AM

    On defense, it all starts with the interior line play. If Jeter is our hope there, then this ranking makes sense. Crossing fingers …

  2. Comments: 82
    Joined: 1/10/2017
    Julio
    Aug 30, 2019 at 7:27 AM

    Very interesting.

    There’s a universe (not this one, unfortunately) where Paea stayed on the DL the whole time and developed into a serviceable player. Any thoughts as to why he hasn’t prospered at Michigan? I realize position switches haven’t helped.

    • Comments: 1364
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      WindyCityBlue
      Aug 30, 2019 at 8:57 AM

      There’s a limit to how much you can move guys around and beef them up, and still have them perform at a high level. The message remains, sign two true DTs every year.

      That being said, you work with what you have, and yeah, Jeter is going to be one of the two most important guys on defense, along with Hill. It sounds like he may be capable of a high quality year, but even then, how much wear and tear is there going to be on him by November? I think we’re going to have to hope that Smith, Hinton and Danna come on in the second half of the season.

    • Comments: 182
      Joined: 9/15/2015
      ragingbull
      Aug 30, 2019 at 11:29 AM

      hes a big kid, just not a very talented DT. did you watch paeas high school tape? he did not have the on field demeanor, instincts or style of a big ten DT prospect. not to trash the kid but he was a guard at michigan if anything (and even thats dubious). put simply, they reached and missed.

      i agree that jeters play can determine a lot. you need interior guys capable of defeating blocks and making plays (not simply holding up and allowing backers to flow) in order to beat the best opponents on schedule…jeter has the best chance to be that type player (and hopefully they can squeeze a little out of hinton too)

  3. Comments: 95
    Joined: 8/22/2019
    GrandLake
    Aug 30, 2019 at 8:48 AM

    Interesting thought with Jeter. I think the interior DL most important position for success considering that every team can run the ball – only a few opponents can throw the ball well enough to beat UM. A weak DL can result in long drives that keep the offense off the field, wear down D overall after a while and result in games being closer than necessary. As much as I am looking forward to seeing more RPO and an offense better fit for Patterson and the WRs, I am most interested in seeing how the coaches defend the interior D esp vs Wisc ND and OSU. Hopefully Jeter hype is accurate and Hinton Mazi can contribute.

  4. Comments: 6285
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    Lanknows
    Aug 30, 2019 at 10:49 AM

    Bold. Most, including myself, would flip Jeter and Dwumfour rankings. Why? Because nobody has beaten Don Brown by running over his undersized players. They have obliterated his defense when it can’t generate sufficient pressure. Pass rush is more important.

    Moreover, Dwumfour is a more proven player. Jeter backed him up and his potential ascension this offseason comes while Dwumfour has battled injury. Dwumfour may not be Hurst. Jeter definitely isn’t Glasgow.

    Jeter could well start all year. Dwumfour could remain a situational player only. But if it goes that way the ceiling for this defense is significantly lower.

    • Comments: 6285
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      Lanknows
      Aug 30, 2019 at 11:58 AM

      I like the boldness of the prediction. I don’t agree with the logic of it but I think it’s fun.

      A couple other thoughts on recent history.

      2015: Not a Don Brown defense. Glasgow, sure, but it wasn’t just him that was hurt but also Mone, Ojemudia, Godin. You lose 4 guys at any position group you’re going to struggle badly. Pipkins had been sent away so Michigan was down to 4 linemen who were legitimate Big 10 players. They were playing busts like Strobel and Pallante. Hurst wasn’t much of a run defender yet. So yeah, they wore down up front. BUT — that injury decimated DL still had two guys (Wormley and Henry) who were north of 300 pounds and Hurst. Size didn’t matter, the lack of depth (due to injury) did.

      2017: A Don Brown defense. This was a strong run defense that ended up starting Aubrey Solomon and Mo Hurst — both DTs well under 300 lbs. Yeah, they had Mone to rotate in but also used Kwity Paye at DT to generate pass rush. Dwumfour and Kemp (both on the small side) were used as backups but Gary and Winovich at DE was a big factor in the defense’s success.

      All of this is to say that a 300+ pound dude in the middle isn’t necessary to stuff the run. Especially if we’re going to have 280+ guys at DE.

  5. Comments: 25
    Joined: 11/13/2015
    leftrare
    Aug 30, 2019 at 11:40 AM

    Jeter makes more sense at 30A.

    Like Hutchinson, I’m very encouraged to see you rating him high, but seriously?

  6. Comments: 6285
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    Lanknows
    Aug 30, 2019 at 11:59 AM

    I like the boldness of the prediction. I don’t agree with the logic of it but I think it’s fun.

    A couple other thoughts on recent history.

    2015. Not a Don Brown defense. Glasgow, sure, but it wasn’t just him that was hurt but also Mone, Ojemudia, Godin. You lose 4 guys at any position group you’re going to struggle badly. Pipkins had been sent away so Michigan was down to 4 linemen who were legitimate Big 10 players. They were playing busts like Strobel and Pallante. Hurst wasn’t much of a run defender yet. So yeah, they wore down up front. BUT — that injury decimated DL still had two guys (Wormley and Henry) who were north of 300 pounds and Hurst. Size didn’t matter, the lack of depth (due to injury) did.

    2017. A Don Brown defense. This was a strong run defense that ended up starting Aubrey Solomon and Mo Hurst — both DTs well under 300 lbs. Yeah, they had Mone to rotate in but also used Kwity Paye at DT to generate pass rush. Dwumfour and Kemp (both on the small side) were used as backups but Gary and Winovich at DE was a big factor in the defense’s success.

    All of this is to say that a 300 pound dude in the middle isn’t necessary to stuff the run. Especially if we’re going to have 280 pound guys at DE.

  7. Comments: 295
    Joined: 12/19/2015
    Extrajuice
    Aug 30, 2019 at 6:18 PM

    So… you forgot about him and realized it after you got to #6 or something?

    • Comments: 6285
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      Lanknows
      Aug 31, 2019 at 2:41 PM

      Jeter was discussed at #21 Dwumfour. So more likely Thunder is being intentionally provocative here, with a predicted part-time starter at 2.

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Aug 31, 2019 at 3:04 PM

      Nope. When I originally made the list, he was #1 all by himself. But as I edited my list, I put him at 1B.

  8. Comments: 1863
    Joined: 1/19/2016
    je93
    Aug 30, 2019 at 11:39 PM

    I agree, bold. The fact that Jeter is so high says a lot about how desperate we are as a fanbase: we’ll either win 11+, or the interior DL will cost us 3 games

  9. Comments: 10
    jjll81
    Aug 31, 2019 at 11:42 AM

    So a guy who will may rarely play this year gets your number 2? Your analysis is usually very good but whatever way you try to spin this it doesn’t make much sense.

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Aug 31, 2019 at 3:02 PM

      Who said he would rarely play?

  10. Comments: 6285
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    Lanknows
    Aug 31, 2019 at 2:37 PM

    But who is 1A?!

    Thunder – thanks for doing the countdown. Well done as always.

    Everyone – I hope you have a good time watching the team this year. Don’t let your homertastic expectations rob you of any enjoyment.

    GO BLUE!

  11. Comments: 1863
    Joined: 1/19/2016
    je93
    Aug 31, 2019 at 5:54 PM

    Still have 1a, and the game prediction… 95min remaining

  12. Comments: 1863
    Joined: 1/19/2016
    je93
    Aug 31, 2019 at 7:45 PM

    Well, he’s out for game 1…

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