Posts by: Thunder

Chase Lasater, Ex-Wolverine

Chase Lasater (#27)

Jacksonville (FL) Trinity fullback/linebacker Chase Lasater decommitted from Michigan on Monday night. He originally committed to the Wolverines in March (LINK).

Lasater, who is 6’2″ and 238 lbs., was brought into the fold as someone who could play fullback but wanted to play linebacker, similar to Sandy Hook (CT) Newtown commitment Ben Mason. He was lightly recruited but is a very physical player. Michigan has been recruiting Leesburg (GA) Lee fullback and LSU commit Tory Carter pretty hard, and Carter will be on campus in November for an official visit. There have been rumors floating around for a while that Lasater might not end up in the class: injuries have slowed him this fall, attending several different high schools may have hurt his chances of admission, and maybe Michigan just didn’t have room for him.

Regardless, Michigan goes forward with the possibility of flipping Carter, a 6’2″, 255-pounder. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #4 fullback, and #1806 in the class. Here’s a look at the top-ranked fullbacks in the class:

Michigan now has 16 commitments in a class that could reach approximately 30.

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2016 Michigan at Rutgers Awards

Jabrill Peppers (image via SB Nation)

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Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Jabrill Peppers. This is a bit disingenuous, because more of Peppers against Rutgers is a bit superfluous. He’s just such a dynamic player that busted plays turn into 63-yard runs, naked bootlegs turn into 7-yard touchdown runs, and penalty-doomed punt returns still look like highlights of the year. Again, Michigan might not need him against Illinois and their ilk, but 3 carries for 74 yards and 2 touchdowns is pretty impressive production for a defensive player. The one read option play where he gave to Ty Isaac probably should have been a keep by the QB, but otherwise, he was electric as a Wildcat signal caller. This is why I’ve said in the past that Peppers needs to play more offense. He can take ignite a team immediately.

Hit the jump for the rest of the awards.

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Michigan 78, Rutgers 0

Jabrill Peppers (image via Michigan Daily)

The score. OMG the score. Michigan hasn’t scored that many points since they beat the University of Chicago 85-0 in 1939. It’s the largest margin of victory in the history of the Big Ten, a record that was previously held by Wisconsin’s 63-point victory over Indiana in 2010, an 83-20 contest. I predicted a 45-0 victory in the game preview, but then I amended that shortly into the game:

Rain is the great equalizer. I don’t think #Michigan is going to score 45 tonight

— TouchTheBanner (@TouchTheBanner) October 8, 2016

In fairness to myself . . . it stopped raining. While the rain was coming down early, Wilton Speight was inaccurate, the normally sure-handed De’Veon Smith fumbled, and two balls squirted through the hands of Amara Darboh.

Hit the jump for more.

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Preview: Michigan at Rutgers

RUSH OFFENSE vs. RUTGERS RUSH DEFENSE

Michigan is #36 with 210 yards/game and #40 with 4.9 yards/carry. De’Veon Smith (325 yards, 2 TDs) continues to be the bell cow, but Ty Isaac (198 yards, 2 TDs) stepped up with a more decisive effort last week. Karan Higdon (145 yards, 3 TDs) didn’t play last week after a breakout game two weeks ago, and Jim Harbaugh said the reason did not have to do with injury. The team will be affected by the significant knee injury to left tackle Grant Newsome, who will be replaced by redshirt sophomore Juwann Bushell-Beatty. Rutgers is #116 in rushing defense as they give up 227 yards/game, though their 5.26 yards allowed/carry is good enough for . . . #115. While not quite as devastated by injury as Penn State, the Scarlet Knights are missing defensive end Quanzell Lambert and their best linebacker, Greg Jones. The top tackler is safety Kiy Hester (36), followed by sophomore linebackers Deonte Roberts (33) and Trevor Morris (30). Defensive end Julian Pinnix-Odrick and Hester each have 5 tackles for loss.
Advantage: Michigan

Hit the jump for more.

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Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Alan Branch

Alan Branch (image via CBS Local)

Alan Branch, who plays for the New England Patriots, had 5 tackles and 1 sack in a 16-0 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Those are pretty solid numbers for a nose tackle. The 6’6″, 350-pounder is best known to Michigan fans as the guy who flattened Penn State quarterback Anthony Morelli.

HONORABLE MENTION

• Patriots QB Tom Brady’s lame suspension ended this week, so he rejoined his team and will start next week
• Seattle Seahawks DE Frank Clark had 1 tackle and 1 pass breakup in 27-17 victory over the New York Jets
• Carolina Panthers WR Devin Funchess caught 2 passes for 56 yards in a 48-33 loss to the Atlanta Falcons
• New York Giants CB Leon Hall made 7 tackles in a 24-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings
• Jacksonville Jaguars OT Patrick Omameh made his first start of the year in a 30-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts

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