Posts under: Blog

2020 Season Countdown: #3 Daxton Hill

Name: Daxton Hill
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 192 lbs.
High school: Tulsa (OK) Booker T. Washington
Position: Safety
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #30
Last year: I ranked Hill #42 and said he would be the starting nickel corner (LINK). He started three games and made 36 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 interception, 2 fumble recoveries, and 4 pass breakups.
TTB Rating: 100

Hill was the best safety in the 2019 class, and expectations were sky-high for him as a freshman. Safety is a tough spot to play for any first-year player, so Michigan worked him in slowly. They had that luxury because the team had senior Josh Metellus and junior Brad Hawkins at safety, plus senior Lavert Hill and junior Ambry Thomas at cornerback.

Hill showed flashes of stardom as a freshman. In week two he caught a 25-yard pass from Michael Barrett on a fake punt against Army. He made a diving interception at Indiana. He made 8 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in the bowl game against Alabama. (Also noteworthy: he got burned for a touchdown on the first play by Jerry Jeudy.)

Now Jim Harbaugh is saying things like “Hill is the most talented athlete on the team.” Don Brown is saying that safety Hill “is the best cover guy on the team.” Word on the street is that the coaching staff has asked Hill to play corner, but he has balked at the idea since he plans to play safety in the NFL.

There was a time that Michigan talked to Hill about playing him both ways in college. I wonder if 2020 may be a year when Hill gets some opportunities on offense. Ambry Thomas got a look on offense as a sophomore in 2018, and Michigan lost three receivers from last season (Donovan Peoples-Jones, Tarik Black, and Nico Collins). Though there is still talent at receiver, I wonder if Hill might get a chance to make some plays.

Even if Hill sticks to defense only, we should see a big year from him. Though production might be down overall since the Big Ten is only slated to play nine games, I think Hill will have the best season of any Michigan safety since Harbaugh was hired in 2015. He’s fast and tackles well, and a year of experience under his belt should help with fleshing out opposing offenses. I’m excited about what he will bring to the table in 2020.

Prediction: Starting free safety

Hit the jump for some of Hill’s 2019 highlights.

Charles Thomas, Ex-Wolverine

Redshirt freshman linebacker Charles Thomas has entered the transfer portal. Thomas committed to Michigan in June of 2017 as a part of the class of 2019 (LINK). Despite some early optimism, I gave him a TTB Rating of 69 largely because he just can’t run very well (LINK).

Hit the jump for more on Thomas’s departure.

2020 Season Countdown: #4 Aidan Hutchinson

Name: Aidan Hutchinson
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 269 lbs.
High school: Dearborn (MI) Divine Child
Position: Defensive end
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #97
Last year: I ranked Hutchinson #3 and said he would be a starting defensive end with 50 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and 5 sacks (LINK). He made 68 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 6 pass breakups, and 4 quarterback hurries.
TTB Rating: 88

There’s been talk on the blog over the years about comparing Aidan Hutchinson to Rashan Gary, so here are the sophomore numbers for each:

Player A: 65 tackles, 11.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks, 1 FF, 7 QB hurries
Player B: 68 tackles, 10.5 TFL, 4.5 sacks, 2 FF, 6 PBU, 4 QB hurries

If you were paying attention up above, you know that Player B is Hutchinson in 2019, playing with Kwity Paye at the opposite end and nobody noteworthy at defensive tackle. Player A is, of course, Rashan Gary in 2017 with Chase Winovich on the other side, plus Maurice Hurst, Jr. at nose tackle and future first round pick Devin Bush, Jr. at middle linebacker.

This is not to say that Hutchinson is better than Gary or will even be a first round pick, but it does show that Hutchinson is producing just as well as Gary, despite lesser surrounding talent.

This season Hutchinson and Paye will be of utmost importance with Michigan’s cornerback situation. Lavert Hill’s graduation and Ambry Thomas’s opting out of the 2020 season have left the Wolverines scrambling to find consistency, which has necessitated moving rotational safety Sammy Faustin to corner for depth. Hutchinson is both a run-stopper and a solid pass rusher, and his knack for knocking down passes at 6’6″ (6 in 2019) is sometimes forgotten. Michigan needs to be great up front to make up for their inexperience on the back end.

Prediction: Starting strongside end

Ex-Wolverine Updates: Week 6

FORMER PLAYERS

WR Tarik Black (Texas): Texas (2-2) had a bye.

OT James Hudson III (Cincinnati): Cincinnati (3-0) had a bye.

TE Mustapha Muhammad (Kilgore Junior College): Muhammad transferred from Michigan to Houston and is now at Kilgore Junior College, which has canceled its season due to COVID.

CB Myles Sims (Georgia Tech): Sims did not play, which probably made all the difference in the 73-7 loss to Clemson.

Hit the jump for more.

2020 Season Countdown: #5 Nico Collins

Name: Nico Collins
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 215 lbs.
High school: Birmingham (AL) Clay-Chalkville
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #4 #1
Last year: I ranked Collins #7 and said he would be a starting wide receiver with 60 catches for 990 yards and 10 touchdowns (LINK). He caught 37 passes for 729 yards and 7 touchdowns.
TTB Rating: 85

Going into the 2019 season, I thought Collins would become the alpha of the wide receivers and lead the team in all categories, including receptions, yards, and touchdowns. While he did lead in touchdowns, he was second in receptions and yards behind slot receiver Ronnie Bell. He was a big-play guy with a Big Ten-leading 19.7 yards per reception.

I have long been questioning Michigan’s wide receiver production, and Collins’s was no exception. In three years where he averaged 17.8 yards per catch for his career, he topped 100 yards in a game just once (6 catches for 165 yards and 3 touchdowns against Indiana in 2019).

Collins was given the #1 jersey going into the season, but it doesn’t matter because he opted out of playing in 2020. Instead, he will enter the NFL Draft, despite the fact that it’s a deep wide receiver class and, in my opinion, he has little hope of going in the first round.

Collins will be missed. I think a good argument could be made for moving him higher in the countdown. He’s 6’4″ and reportedly ran a 4.46 this off-season (even though I never trust the times that come out of Michigan). He’s legitimately one of the best receivers in the Big Ten, and the Wolverines will be without his services. They have no other size mismatches and will instead have to rely on the speed of some young guys, along with the basketball instincts of Ronnie Bell.

Prediction: Will enter 2021 NFL Draft