Today is the last day of Amazon Prime Day (LINK):
Name: Julius Welschof
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 275 lbs.
High schoool: Miesbach (Germany) FOS Altoetting
Position: Defensive end
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #96
Last year: I ranked Welscholf #82 and said he would be a backup defensive end (LINK). He redshirted.
TTB Rating: 78
Welschof is one of the more intriguing prospects in recent years. It’s not often you land a football prospect from another country – and when you do, it’s normally Canada. But in the 2018 class, Welschof came out of nowhere to end up signing with the Wolverines. I thought he would get a few snaps against the likes of Rutgers just to show that Michigan can pull guys from non-football-playing countries and still be better than them, but he ended up redshirting.
He was listed at 253 lbs. last year, and this year he’s reportedly up to 275 lbs. Bruce Feldman detailed his athletic abilities in the 2019 “freaks” list for 2019 (LINK). Michigan lost a bunch of defensive line pieces in the past year, particularly at defensive end (Rashan Gary, Chase Winovich, Reuben Jones, Ron Johnson), so that catapults some guys up the list, including Welschof. I don’t think Welschof will go from redshirting to actually being a good Big Ten player, but I think he will almost be forced into action due to the inexperience on the depth chart. Aidan Hutchinson, Kwity Paye, and Mike Danna should be the big pieces of the rotation, but Michigan needs one or two other defensive ends to step up, whether it’s Welschof, Luiji Vilain, or someone else. Vilain’s injury history says to me that Welschof needs to be ranked here in the top 50 when he should ideally be somewhere in the 60s.
Prediction: Backup defensive end
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Seems like a boom or bust prospect, who is more or less on track to be a “hit”. Hopefully he doesn’t see the field too much out of necessity since this should ideally be another redshirt year.
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I thought you could only redshirt once.
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Correct – meant a quasi-redshirt year (i.e., another year where he doesn’t see the field out of necessity).
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Julius was the only Wolverine on Bruce Feldman’s Freak list on the Athletic this year, clocking in at #31.
https://theathletic.com/1065937/2019/07/12/bruce-feldmans-freaks-list-2019-college-football-top-athletic-performances/
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I’d like to see him get garbage time minutes when the 3s & 4s, real nose bleed time. Next year time to complete for real PT
If he doesn’t make it? It was worth a shot, right?
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Uche should factor in the DE rotation too though he’s a hybrid player.
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True. He’s more of a factor on obvious passing downs, though, and I don’t expect Welschof to get much time in those types of situations.
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Uche is another post but I see a lot of parallels between he and Winovich. Would not be shocked to see him getting his first start this year, probably beside 3 DL.
I am also intrigued with Welschof, though I don’t see a meaningful role this year. Hoping to see him get his feet wet at the end of blowouts. How the DE rotation shakes out in the next 2 years will be very interesting to watch, including if their is an heir to the hybrid roles that Uche and Furbush have occupied.
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