2023 Season Countdown: #12 Cornelius Johnson

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24Aug 2023
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2023 Season Countdown: #12 Cornelius Johnson

Cornelius Johnson (image via Wolverines Wire)

Name: Cornelius Johnson
Height: 
6’3″
Weight: 
208 lbs.
High school
Greenwich (CT) Brunswick
Position: 
Wide receiver
Class: 
Fifth year senior
Jersey number: 
#6
Last year: 
I ranked Johnson #13 and said he would be a starting wide receiver with 36 catches for 560 yards and 5 touchdowns (LINK). He started all fourteen games and made 32 catches for 499 yards and 6 touchdowns.
TTB Rating:
 87

Johnson had his most exciting season in 2022, and that season came down to one game: Ohio State. In just that one game, he caught 4 passes for 160 yards and 2 touchdowns. (In other words, he had just 28 catches for 339 yards and 4 touchdowns the rest of the year.) But the Buckeyes couldn’t tackle him and couldn’t cover him in space with a backup safety, so some of my favorite memories from last year have Johnson running free in Ohio Stadium on the way to two huge scores, both in distance and meaning.

As mentioned above, the rest of Johnson’s 2022 year was largely forgettable. He followed up that performance against OSU with 1 catch for 9 yards against Purdue and 2 catches for 30 yards against TCU. In fact, on seven different occasions last year, he was held to just 1 or 2 catches.

But all of that took place in the Ronnie Bell era, and the Ronnie Bell era is over. Bell wasn’t the fastest or tallest guy, but he always managed to get open and gain yards after the catch. Someone else needs to step up as the go-to guy. I’m not so sure it will be Johnson, but he has an opportunity. Johnson is a good route-runner with decent speed, but he has yet to really show he can catch the ball consistently in traffic. I think Johnson might lead the team in receiving without actually being the most important receiver, because the guy who should benefit most from Michigan’s dominant running game is speedster Roman Wilson. But Bell caught 62 balls last season, and those chain-moving catches need to go somewhere. I expect Johnson to have a better statistical year and for some of those slot targets to be diverted more toward Johnson and Wilson, along with likely slot starter Tyler Morris.

Prediction: Starting wide receiver; 48 catches for 700 yards and 7 touchdowns

23Aug 2023
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2023 Season Countdown: #13 Donovan Edwards

Donovan Edwards (image via The Athletic)

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Name: Donovan Edwards
Height: 
6’1”
Weight: 
210 lbs.
High school: 
West Bloomfield (MI) West Bloomfield
Position: 
Running back
Class: 
Junior
Jersey number: 
#7
Last year: 
I ranked Edwards #15 and said he would be a part-time starting running back (LINK). He ran 140 times for 991 yards and 7 touchdowns; and caught 18 passes for 200 yards and 2 touchdowns.
TTB Rating:
 90

Edwards was a borderline 5-star prospect in the class of 2021, and he has not disappointed. As exciting as his 11-reception day was against Maryland his rookie year, nothing compared to his two huge rushing touchdowns against Ohio State last year, breaking the back of the reeling Buckeyes. He had a 75-yard rushing touchdown, and that wasn’t even his biggest play of the game; instead, it was the 85-yarder, which ranks as the #8 longest rushing play in Michigan history.

Edwards got his chance to really stand out after Blake Corum was injured against Illinois. Despite having a broken right hand that forced him to carry the ball exclusively in his left (non-dominant) hand, he had a huge game (216 yards) against Ohio State, ran for 185 yards against Purdue, and ran for 123 yards against TCU in the Fiesta Bowl. He was 9 yards away from giving Michigan two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season.

The 2023 season should be another standout year for Edwards, who has now proven himself on some of the biggest stages of college football. While Corum does return and Edwards may be a nominal “backup,” he should get plenty of opportunities in both the running and receiving phases of the game. There has been talk that he has been lining up in the slot, which makes sense because of the departure of Ronnie Bell. Michigan fans also hope that Corum can stay healthy for the entire season, because the outcome against TCU may have been a little different if Michigan’s Heisman-caliber running back had been available for the playoff game. But Edwards is an excellent back in his own right, with game-breaking receiving abilities and big-play speed. There’s a good chance that this will be his final season in Ann Arbor, so let’s enjoy his wearing a winged helmet as much as we can.

Prediction: Part-time starting running back; 1,050 rushing yards, 8 touchdowns; 30 catches for 350 yards, 4 touchdowns

22Aug 2023
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2023 Season Countdown: #14 Junior Colson

Junior Colson

Name: Junior Colson
Height: 
6’3″
Weight: 
247 lbs.
High school: 
Brentwood (TN) Ravenwood
Position: 
Linebacker
Class: 
Junior
Jersey number: 
#25
Last year: 
I ranked Colson #2 and said he would be the starting middle linebacker with 110 tackles and 4 sacks (LINK). He made 101 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 pass breakup, and 1 quarterback hurry.
TTB Rating: 
89

Colson had a solid freshman campaign in 2021 followed up by a very good sophomore year. A player with sideline-to-sideline speed, he led the team in tackles with 101. He didn’t necessarily have the one huge “wow” play that might really cement him in Michigan fan’s memories – yet – but he was all over the field on a consistent basis, especially when he seemed to make every stop against Purdue. He ended up with 15 tackles against the Boilermakers alone.

Some people may quibble with my moving Colson down from #2 to #14 in this year’s countdown, but that points toward my having a little more confidence in this year’s linebacker group. Even though Nikhai Hill-Green transferred to Charlotte after sitting out 2022 due to injury, every other linebacker returns with an additional year of experience, plus Nebraska transfer Ernest Hausmann. Michigan really has three starting linebackers (Colson, Barrett, Hausmann) for two spots, not to mention Jimmy Rolder, who got quite a bit of experience last year. Throw in Micah Pollard and Jaydon Hood, who are both getting some practice buzz, and the Wolverines have a solid group.

Colson should once again be in the running for all-conference and will probably lead the team in tackles, but Michigan finally seems to have some quality depth rather than immediately having to dip into the true freshman – or even redshirt freshman – ranks if there’s an injury.

Prediction: Starting middle linebacker; 90 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception

21Aug 2023
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2023 Season Countdown: #15 James Turner

James Turner

Name: James Turner
Height: 
6’0″
Weight: 
196 lbs.
High school: 
Saline (MI) Saline
Position: 
Kicker
Class: 
Fifth year senior
Jersey number: 
#32
Last year: 
Turner played at Louisville. He made 20/22 field goals and 38/39 extra point attempts.
TTB Rating
: N/A

Michigan was spoiled by having Jake Moody kick the ball the past couple years, so last year was thoroughly enjoyable with that guy around. Now he’s making important kicks in NFL (pre-season) games.

James Turner is a hometown boy who gets a chance to kick in front of 110,000+ fans after playing his high school ball in Saline. He spent the last four years at Louisville, where he was the starting kicker. He did make a long field goal of 48 yards last season, but generally, the strength of his kicking leg is the question mark. He’s accurate, but mostly from short range.

The transfer should be Michigan’s starting kicker this fall, and word seeping out of camp suggests that’s the case. He’s battling with freshman Adam Samaha, while punter/kicker Tommy Doman is probably going to stick with punting and walk-on Hudson Hollenbeck is likely to handle kickoffs. The hope is that Turner can handle some chip-shot field goals if Michigan’s offense gets bogged down in the redzone, and . . . well . . . hopefully that’s about it. Last-second field goals to win or tie games are about the most gut-wrenching plays in sports, so I don’t want any of those. It would be nice if Michigan could just cruise to 15 comfortable victories this season . . .

Prediction: Starting kicker

21Aug 2023
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2023 Season Countdown: #16a Colston Loveland

Colston Loveland (image via MGoBlue)

Name: Colston Loveland
Height: 
6’5″
Weight: 
245 lbs.
High school: 
Gooding (ID) Gooding
Position: 
Tight end
Class: 
Sophomore
Jersey number: 
#18
Last year: 
I ranked Loveland #77 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He caught 16 passes for 245 yards and 2 touchdowns while starting five games.
TTB Rating
: 85

Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong about Loveland when I put him in the 2022 countdown. I put him at #77 and said he would redshirt, considering the presence of Erick All, Luke Schoonmaker, and others. Of course, it helped him that All got hurt early in the season, but Loveland ended up being the most exciting of all of them, catching a touchdown pass against Ohio State and making a highlight reel, leaping catch against Purdue in the Big Ten championship game.

Loveland’s athleticism shined through so much that I’ve heard some Michigan podcasts and such talking about him as an All-American, which I think is a stretch since Georgia’s Brock Bowers is still around. But Loveland is definitely an exciting player, and he has packed on 15 pounds since last season. He can run and he can go up and high-point the ball like a receiver. I would venture to say that he’s probably Michigan’s most athletic tight end since Devin Funchess, and Funchess went on to play wide receiver in the NFL.

Some might argue that Loveland could be ranked higher, but this is a very talented group – both ahead of him and in the tight end room. Michigan stole Indiana captain and starter A.J. Barner, and they have a couple excellent athletes in Matt Hibner and Marlin Klein waiting in the wings, and there are some walk-ons pushing for time even among all that talent. Still, I expect Loveland to have a very good fall and perhaps be a second- or third-team All-Big Ten player.

Prediction: Starting tight end; 35 catches for 435 yards and 5 touchdowns