2019 Season Countdown: #100 Caden Kolesar

Posts by: Thunder


16May 2019
Blog, homepage 1 comment

2019 Season Countdown: #100 Caden Kolesar

Caden Kolesar (image via Twitter)

Name: Caden Kolesar
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 195 lbs.
High school: Lakewood (OH) St. Edward’s
Position: Safety
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Kolesar was a senior in high school (LINK). He made
150 tackles, 5 sacks, 1 interception, 13 pass breakups, 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 rushing touchdown, 1 punt return touchdown, 1 kickoff return touchdown, and 1 blocked kick
TTB Rating: 60

I wrote up a full commitment post for Kolesar, because at the time, it looked like he was committing to the Wolverines as a full-fledged scholarship member of the 2019 class. That turned out not to be true after I already gave him a TTB Rating and such. Oh well.

Anyway, Kolesar is the son of former Michigan wide receiver John Kolesar, who played with Jim Harbaugh back in the 1980s. Caden is the type of hyperproductive, undersized high school player that you root for to be successful, but there are a lot of them dotting the landscape of college football, and not all of them turn into stars. If he were going to, say, Wisconsin, he might be a future star. Since he’s coming to Michigan, where there are 5-stars and 4-stars . . . maybe not.

This year Michigan has some good safeties either already in place or joining the roster this year, including 5-star Daxton Hill and 4-star Quentin Johnson. Kolesar could be a special teams player this year, and if he sticks around for a few years, maybe he will end up like Jordan Glasgow or Jordan Kovacs with some decent playing time. For the moment, though, I don’t expect much from him.

Prediction: Redshirt

16May 2019
Blog, homepage no comments

2019 Season Countdown: #101 Dane Drobocky

Dane Drobocky (image via Twitter)

Name: Dane Drobocky
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 240 lbs.
High school: Bowling Green (KY) Bowling Green
Position: Defensive end
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #37
Last year: I ranked Drobocky #101 and said he would be a backup defensive end (LINK). He played in two games and made 2 tackles.
TTB Rating: N/A

When Drobocky came into Michigan as a walk-on tight end, I thought he had some potential to contribute down the road. I expected that contribution to come on offense, but he switched to defense and has made a little bit of an impact, at least. In the blowout win against Rutgers last season, he came in late and made a couple of tackles.

Even though Michigan lost a couple defensive ends, I don’t think there will be much more opportunity for Drobocky to play this year. He’s a guy who can come in and get some garbage time snaps, but probably not someone who should be in the rotation. Michigan also brought in a large defensive line class, and with the relatively new four-game redshirt rule, some of those guys can get snaps and still preserve that potential fifth year down the road.

Prediction: Backup defensive end

14May 2019
Blog, homepage 5 comments

2019 Season Countdown: #102 Max Wittwer

Max Wittwer

Name: Max Wittwer
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 185 lbs.
High school: Utica (CA) Eisenhower
Position: Quarterback
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #16
Last year: I did not rank Wittwer. He redshirted.
TTB Rating: N/A

Wittwer was headed to Air Force to play quarterback before a preferred walk-on opportunity convinced him to become a Wolverine. He was a 2-star prospect, which isn’t bad for a walk-on quarterback. Unfortunately for him, the Wolverines have a pretty full depth chart at the quarterback position, even with the departure of Brandon Peters. Wittwer is unlikely to play at all this season, but he should be a solid scout team option at times.

Prediction: Backup quarterback

13May 2019
Blog, homepage 2 comments

2019 Season Countdown: #103 Jameson Offerdahl

Jameson Offerdahl (#56)

Name: Jameson Offerdahl
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 225 lbs.
High school: Fort Lauderdale (FL) Cardinal Gibbons
Position: Linebacker
Class: Redshirt senior
Jersey number: #56
Last year: I ranked Offerdahl #100 and said he would be a backup linebacker and special teamer (LINK). He did not see game action.
TTB Rating: N/A

Offerdahl has a few Scout Team Player of the Week awards under his belt over his first four years in Ann Arbor, but none of them came last year. I heard he was dealing with an injury in 2018, which may have been the reason for his lack of awards and playing time, but either way, he likely won’t be a big contributor this season. This is around the time that many walk-ons end up on scholarship when they’re in their fifth year, but Michigan has several walk-on contributors who might scoop up a scholarship first (Jordan Glasgow, Will Hart, Nate Schoenle, Jake McCurry, etc.). Offerdahl has played in just one game during his career, and I’m going to go out on a limb and say he’ll double that number this year.

Prediction: Backup linebacker, special teamer

13May 2019
Blog, homepage 18 comments

John Beilein, Ex-Wolverine

So . . . Michigan’s basketball coach got yoinked by Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, a former Michigan State Spartan.

Obviously, I’m more of a football guy, but I never liked watching Michigan basketball more than I have during John Beilein’s tenure.

I’ll miss that guy.