Former Alabama, Houston, and UT-Martin defensive end/outside linebacker Eyabi Anoma has enrolled at Michigan.
Anoma was listed at 6’6″ and 270 lbs. as a Jack linebacker on UT-Martin’s roster. He made 36 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 3 quarterback hurries in 2021.
Name: Roman Wilson Height: 6’0″ Weight: 185 lbs. High school: Honolulu (HI) St. Louis Position: Wide receiver Class: Junior Jersey number: #14 Last year: I ranked Wilson #31 and said he would be a backup wide receiver (LINK). He caught 25 passes for 420 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 3 carries for 59 yards, in five starts. TTB Rating: 78
Wilson had a bit of a breakout season in 2021. He was one of four receivers to tie for the team lead with 3 touchdown catches, and he had some huge plays. He caught 2 touchdowns in a tight win over Penn State, he led the team in receiving against Ohio State, and he caught a 75-yard touchdown pass from Donovan Edwards in the Big Ten Championship game. His reported 4.37 speed as a recruit started to show itself as a threat to other teams, and he established himself as a dangerous downfield threat.
I have heard some fans and analysts peg Wilson as their guess for Michigan’s leading receiver in 2022, but I can’t get there. Maybe he can do it in 2023, but Ronnie Bell returns from injury this year and Cornelius Johnson is the 6’3″ prototype who led the squad in 2021. Wilson is a key component of the passing attack, as he can take the top off the defense. But there’s only one ball and there are only so many receiving positions, so some tough decisions are going to need to be made by the coaches and the quarterback(s) on where the ball ends up going. I would expect Wilson to be Michigan’s #3 wideout, but he’ll have some big plays along the way.
Prediction: Part-time starting wide receiver; 30 catches for 450 yards and 4 touchdowns
Name: Mike Sainristil Height: 5’10” Weight: 182 lbs. High school: Everett (MA) Everett Position: Wide receiver Class: Senior Jersey number: #0 Last year: I ranked Sainristil #26 and said he would be a starting slot receiver with 25 catches for 330 yards and 3 touchdowns (LINK). He caught 22 passes for 312 yards and 2 touchdowns. TTB Rating: 84
Sainristil has been right on this starter/backup edge for three years running, ranked at #25 or #26. Last season I thought he would start at slot receiver, and I was only a few catches/yards off his totals, along with expecting 1 more touchdown than he actually scored. He developed into a reliable target for Cade McNamara, if only partly because Ronnie Bell tore his ACL in the season opener, creating playing time for other guy. The highlight of his season may have been the diving reception he made on a deep ball against Nebraska.
Sainristil has worn both #5 and #19 in his career, and he nabbed #0 this off-season. He’s also on to playing another position: Sainristil played some nickel corner in the spring and continues to play on both sides of the ball in camp. It remains to be seen whether he will be the nickel going into the season. The receiver room is stacked and the defensive backs are talented, so I’m having a hard time gauging how integral Sainristil will be on either side of the ball. It’s entirely conceivable that he fades away on one side, but I can’t imagine him disappearing from both sides of the ball. He should be a pretty big factor to the team overall, but I don’t expect him to be a standout either way.
Prediction: Backup wide receiver and defensive back; 18 catches for 220 yards and 2 touchdowns, 18 tackles
Name: Karsen Barnhart Height: 6’5″ Weight: 308 lbs. High school: Paw Paw (MI) Paw Paw Position: Offensive tackle Class: Redshirt junior Jersey number: #52 Last year: I ranked Barnhart #24a and said he would be the starting right tackle (LINK). He started two games at left guard. TTB Rating: 86
For the second year in a row, Barnhart served as Michigan’s extra lineman. He’s a utility man who can start at either tackle or either guard spot. When he was a redshirt freshman in 2020, he got a bunch of playing time on a bad offensive line. Last year he played left guard when Trevor Keegan couldn’t go, but he also was a backup tackle in blowouts. Barnhart has not really left an indelible mark as a beast of a player just waiting to break out of his cage, but he has been solid and has a good athletic profile to be “next.”
Last year’s pure blocking tight end, sixth lineman Trente Jones, is likely to start at right tackle now that Andrew Stueber has moved on to the NFL. I will be curious to see if Barnhart takes on Jones’s role as a blocking tight end, or if the staff will simply let the tight ends handle the tight end role, since the tight end room is so stacked with talent. Regardless of whether Barnhart is a blocking tight end or just the backup at guard/tackle, he’s going to play a lot. And when 2023 rolls around, he will probably have a starting role somewhere along the line.
Name: Brad Robbins Height: 6’1″ Weight: 205 lbs. High school: Westerville (OH) South Position: Punter Class: Sixth year senior Jersey number: #91 Last year: I ranked Robbins #15 and said he would be the starting punter (LINK). He punted 45 times for 2,085 yards (46.3 yards/punt) and put 17 of them inside the 20-yard line. TTB Rating: 70
Robbins was a standout punter in 2021, averaging 46.3 yards per punt, which is second only to Will Hart’s average of 47.0 yards per punt in 2018. He’s come a long way from the point where he was struggling, had a back injury, and entered the transfer portal earlier in his career. He had a 65-yard punt against Penn State and a 64-yarder against Iowa in the Big Ten Championship game. Altogether, his performance in 2021 earned him Honorable Mention All-Big Ten honors.
So it might seem to make sense to rank him higher on the list, except the backup punter is Tommy Doman. Doman averaged 44.8 yards per punt as a senior in high school in 2020 and was an Under Armour All-American. I’m guessing Robbins is still a better punter at this point, but how large is the gap between the two? I expect Robbins to be the starting punter again in 2022 and have a solid season.
