Posts by: touchbann_adminuser

2015 Scholarship Count

Players are listed in order of remaining eligibility. With 3 open scholarships and 13 seniors scheduled to graduate, the 2016 class should start out aiming for 16 players.

TOTAL SCHOLARSHIPS ALLOTTED FOR 2015 = 82

– Logan Tuley-Tillman was dismissed from the team.

– Dan Samuelson announced that he will transfer.

– Dennis Norfleet will transfer to Tuskegee.

– Chris Fox retired due to injury.

– Ondre Pipkins will transfer from Michigan.

– Blake Countess transferred to Auburn.

– Blake O’Neill will transfer to Michigan from Weber State.

– Jake Rudock transferred to Michigan from Iowa.

– Wayne Lyons transferred to Michigan from Stanford

– Jack Miller will not return for a fifth year.

– QB John O’Korn transferred to Michigan from Houston.

– Russell Bellomy transferred to University of Texas at San Antonio.

– Keith Heitzman will not return for a fifth year.

– Justice Hayes transferred to Southern Miss.

– Kyle Bosch transferred to West Virginia.

– Michael Ferns transferred to West Virginia.

Hit the jump for the breakdown by class.
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2015 Season Countdown: #62 Ian Bunting

I just want to apologize for the somewhat inconsistent posting for the past few days. Normally I like to put up at least two posts per day (6:30 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.), but my schedule has been thrown off a bit and I sometimes don’t have a chance to write until later in the morning. Also, this week’s recruiting updates will be posted on Wednesday and/or Thursday. Thanks for reading! read more

2015 Season Countdown: #63 Wyatt Shallman

Name: Wyatt Shallman
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 244 lbs.
High school: Novi (MI) Catholic Central
Position: Running back
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #33
Last year: I ranked Shallman #66 and said he would be a backup H-back. He had 1 carry for 5 yards while playing in nine games.

Shallman has bounced around a little bit so far in his career, playing some running back, fullback, and H-back. He came out of high school as somewhat of an athlete, and that’s still the category he inhabits. Even the coaches seem a little bit confused, as both Hoke’s staff and Harbaugh’s staff have bounced him around. The majority of his playing time in 2014 came on special teams.

In this year’s spring game, Shallman was used quite a bit as a tailback. Despite pretty good overall numbers at the position, injuries and such left Michigan short-handed, so Shallman and cornerback Ross Taylor-Douglas each got several snaps. Harbaugh has experience using jumbo-sized running backs in college, such as Toby Gerhart at Stanford. The Wolverines seem to have a stable of big running backs: De’veon Smith, Derrick Green, Ty Isaac, and Shallman are all between 228 and 244 lbs. Since Shallman is the least athletic of the bunch, I do not expect him to get a lot of carries. But if he can prove to be difficult to bring down, then he could be the staff’s go-to guy in short yardage situations and near the goal line.

Prediction: Backup running back

2015 Season Countdown: #64 Ross Taylor-Douglas

Ross Taylor-Douglas (#29)

Name: Ross Taylor-Douglas
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 186 lbs.
High school: Avon (OH) Avon
Position: Cornerback
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #29
Last year: I ranked Douglas #69 and said he would be a backup running back. He played in ten games but did not record any statistics.

Taylor-Douglas – who changed his name from just Ross Douglas this past year – has bounced around during his first couple years on campus. Recruited as a cornerback, he moved to running back in the spring of 2014 to provide a little competition at a position he had played very well in high school. But with the running back rotation pretty set by the season, he moved to slot receiver. He played in ten games but was not utilized at all.

This spring he returned to cornerback officially, but that hasn’t stopped the coaches from using him elsewhere. When injuries slowed down a couple running backs, the staff threw him out there at tailback in the spring game for a couple carries. If nothing else, he’s a good option for the scout team to have in the offensive backfield. The path to playing on defense is blocked by a few guys, but the numbers at the cornerback position are limited. There’s nothing to suggest that anyone beyond Jourdan Lewis, Wayne Lyons, and Channing Stribling is ready to play. Taylor-Douglas should get a shot to play on special teams and probably a little on defense this season, but he will not be relied on heavily unless injuries become a serious issue.

Prediction: Backup cornerback, special teamer

Video: Denard Robinson, Devin Gardner at Aerial Assault camp