Name: Tyler McLaurin
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 252 lbs.
High school: Bolingbrook (IL) Bolingbrook
Position: Edge
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #27
Last year: I ranked McLaurin #78 and said he would be a backup outside linebacker and special teamer (LINK). He did not play in any games.
TTB Rating: 75
I’ll be the first one to admit that as a fan, we have no idea what’s happening behind closed doors or in players’ personal lives. I’m sure players have medical issues all the time (illnesses, syndromes, allergies, etc.) that prevent them from training or eating the way we expect them to. They have deaths in the family and girl problems and monetary issues we don’t know about. Sometimes their genes or metabolisms are limiting factors.
But I was thoroughly confused last year when Michigan moved Tyler McLaurin to the “edge” position and listed him at 6’3″, 231 pounds. No Big Ten player is going to set an edge at that size. If Michigan faces a military program with a 230 pound outside linebacker – or 240 or 250 or maybe even 260 – they Wolverines are champing at the bit to roll over that dude with a 310 pound offensive tackle or an extra “tight end” or a kickout block from a 250 pound H-back.
I said I didn’t think McLaurin would play much defense (he didn’t play any) but that he might play some special teams (he didn’t play any). Maybe he didn’t know the playbook. Maybe he didn’t try hard in practice. Maybe he wasn’t doing well in school. Maybe he’s great in all those areas but just wasn’t good enough to get on the field.
But 231 isn’t going to cut it in the Big Ten.
But you know what? Tyler McLaurin is listed at 252 pounds now. And that is a playable weight. Jaylen Harrell was 246 pounds. Josaiah Stewart is 245. Michigan can work with 252.
Outside linebacker is a spot that needs some help after Harrell left. While Stewart is stepping in as the starter, there’s no clear answer about who will be the primary rotation guys at edge outside of Derrick Moore and T.J. Guy. I’ll once again say that I don’t expect McLaurin to play much defense, but I can see a scenario where the fourth-year player gets a few mop-up or injury-related snaps. Michigan has lots of inexperienced options (Lugard Edokpayi, Devon Baxter, Aymeric Koumba, etc.), and maybe McLaurin’s time in the program will set him apart. He was named Scout Team Player of the Week four times last year (three times for special teams, one time for defense), so perhaps that will translate into some playing time this season.
Prediction: Backup outside linebacker, special teamer
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