Posts under: Blog

2024 Season Countdown: #56 Tristan Bounds

Name: Tristan Bounds
Height: 6’8″
Weight: 305 lbs.
High school: Wallingford (CT) Choate Rosemary Hall
Position: Offensive tackle
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #72
Last year: I ranked Bounds #76 and said he would be a backup offensive tackle (LINK). He played in one game.
TTB Rating: 82

Bounds is a very tall offensive lineman who looked pretty quick and athletic coming out of high school, but going into year four, he has played in just five total games. He played on special teams against East Carolina in 2023 and then didn’t see any action for the rest of the year. Things didn’t look great in the spring game when he seemed to cross up his feet and get pushed around a little bit, and it probably doesn’t help much that he’s listed six pounds lighter than he was last year (311 down to 305).

Bounds does not appear to be in the running for a starting offensive tackle job as a fourth-year player, which is ominous for his chances of being a contributor at Michigan. Myles Hinton seems to be locked in as one starter while Jeffrey Persi, Andrew Gentry, and Evan Link have all been mentioned in the battle for the right tackle spot. Those four probably make up the two-deep at tackle. Bounds has solid size and a good chunk of time in a college program, so he may be able to contribute if there are injuries or perhaps if Michigan needs an extra lineman on the field, but he’s probably not going to make a big splash in 2024.

Prediction: Backup offensive tackle

2024 Season Countdown: #57 Micah Pollard

Name: Micah Pollard
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 234 lbs.
High school: Jacksonville (FL) Bartram Trail
Position: Linebacker
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #4
Last year: I ranked Pollard #57 and said he would be a backup linebacker and special teamer (LINK). He played in twelve games and made 8 tackles.
TTB Rating: 74

Pollard was ranked at #57 last year, too, and he ended up playing in all fifteen games, but just four on defense. He was mostly a special teams player, and he made 7 tackles throughout the season. While the coaching staff seems to like him okay – he has played in 27 games over two seasons – there doesn’t seem to be a big push to get him on the field much at linebacker. He was a third- or fourth-stringer in 2023, and that is likely to continue in 2024.

Pollard will probably continue to play on special teams, but Ernest Hausmann and Jaishawn Barham will start, and the primary backups appear to be Jaydon Hood and Jimmy Rolder. Hood played more snaps (85) than Pollard (33), and Rolder (23) played in just three games last year in order to maintain his redshirt. There is a little bit of hope for Pollard if the depth chart clears out ahead of him (Hausmann and Barham could potentially jump to the NFL), but Hood and Rolder could both return for 2025. Unless Pollard can pull a Rolder and take a redshirt year to gain an extra season of eligibility, we’re probably talking about a career backup.

Prediction: Backup linebacker and special teamer

2024 Season Countdown: #58 Kechaun Bennett

Name: Kechaun Bennett
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 257 lbs.
High school: Suffield (CT) Suffield Academy
Position: Defensive end
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #52
Last year: I ranked Bennett #71 and said he would be a backup defensive end (LINK). He made 3 tackles and 1 tackle for loss.
TTB Rating: 78

Bennett has been a somewhat forgotten name on Michigan’s roster for the past few years. He seemed to have a decent spring prior to 2023, but that didn’t result in a ton of playing time; he played in just five games on defense, while playing in six more on special teams. Michigan lost a couple players on the edge going into that season, and they’ve lost a couple more (Braiden McGregor, Jaylen Harrell) going into 2024.

But there’s still not much buzz about Bennett, unfortunately. Derrick Moore and Josaiah Stewart are the starting edge players, and the next Guy people are talking about is T.J. It’s not clear how the rest of the depth chart will play out, and Bennett will probably see an uptick in playing time. My guess is that Guy and Cameron Brandt will make up the second unit, with Bennett and a few others vying for the third team. Ultimately, it’s good to have a veteran presence for depth purposes, but there doesn’t seem to be a breakout coming for Bennett.

Prediction: Backup defensive end

2024 Season Countdown: #59 Christian Boivin

Name: Christian Boivin
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 225 lbs.
High school: Traverse City (MI) West
Position: Linebacker
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #40
Last year: I ranked Boivin #89 and said he would be a backup linebacker and special teamer (LINK). He blocked a punt and made 9 tackles.
TTB Rating: N/A

I thought I gave a walk-on linebacker a pretty solid ranking last year when I put Boivin at #89. It turns out I ranked him too low. The special teams expert blocked a punt in a tight game against Maryland, which resulted in a safety, and he also made 9 total tackles, including one where he crushed a Nebraska returner:

Maryland has to punt.

Junior LB Christian Boivin comes up the middle and gets a picture perfect block resulting in a safety. Thats 16 points scored in under 2 minutes. pic.twitter.com/n8LR1oKoRS

— Due# (@JDue51) November 19, 2023

The Christian Boivin tackle, the call, the J.J. McCarthy sideline reaction, just all of it 😲

📺: FOX/@CFBonFOX pic.twitter.com/NtnPJSxvhR

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 30, 2023

Back in the spring, new linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary said Boivin was getting more of a look at linebacker. He’s up to 225 pounds, which is still on the lighter side, but it’s closer to a playable weight.

I don’t really expect Boivin to play much defense. The Wolverines have too many scholarship guys with experience and size advantages, but Boivin might be able to step in just in case there’s an injury or two. At the very least, he should continue to be a special teams demon.

Prediction: Backup linebacker and special teams player

2024 Season Countdown: #60 Peyton O’Leary

Name: Peyton O’Leary
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 203 lbs.
High school: Byfield (MA) Governor’s Academy
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #81
Last year: I ranked O’Leary #49 and said he would be a backup wide receiver (LINK). He caught 2 passes for 13 yards and 1 touchdown.
TTB Rating: N/A

The off-season and practice buzz has been going for O’Leary for a couple seasons, but so far it has not turned into a ton of production. He played a total of 38 snaps in 2023 and notched 2 receptions for 13 yards and 1 score, the TD catch coming against Nebraska in a blowout. Michigan typically doesn’t get a ton of production from its receivers, so it’s understandable that there aren’t many scraps left for someone like O’Leary.

But one of the big criticisms of Michigan’s receiver room going into 2024 is a lack of size. Cornelius Johnson moved on to the NFL, and Darrius Clemons transferred to Oregon State. That left the Wolverines with a bunch of small-ish wideouts, though they were able to snag Amorion Walker back from Ole Miss through the transfer portal. Walker has height but not much in the way of bulk. In fact, O’Leary and Walker are the same height (6’3″) but O’Leary outweighs Walker by 21 pounds.

This is not to say that O’Leary will be a big, bulky, leaping red zone target, but he may be looked upon to help in certain circumstances where he was not needed in 2023. I don’t have a ton of faith that moderate practice buzz will suddenly turn into huge amounts of playing time, though, so I’m dropping him down in the countdown compared to last year.

Prediction: Backup wide receiver