Posts under: Blog

2019 Season Countdown: #23 Devin Gil

Name: Devin Gil
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 236 lbs.
High school: Pembroke Pines (FL) Flanagan
Position: Linebacker
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #36
Last year: I ranked Gil #27 and said he would be the starting weakside linebacker (LINK). He started all thirteen games and made 33 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and 1 fumble recovery.
TTB Rating: 63

The Devin Gil situation in 2018 was perhaps the most intriguing (head-scratching?) personnel situation of the whole season. Gil registered as the starter in all thirteen games. The other guy fighting for the job was Josh Ross, who started only one – and that was the bowl game that Devin Bush, Jr. missed.

Ross was Honorable Mention All-Big Ten with 61 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 2 pass breakups.

Gil made 33 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks.

I don’t understand the playing time decisions made by Michigan at the weakside linebacker spot last year. It doesn’t make any sense.

Moving on to 2019, though, Ross appears to have the MIKE linebacker position locked up, and Gil is the clear front-runner at WILL. There are other capable players behind the two inside linebacker starters, such as Jordan Anthony and Cameron McGrone. Considering Gil held on to the “starting” job in 2018 when his play was less than stellar, I feel like the dropoff from starter to backup wouldn’t be that significant. That’s why Gil is ranked here. I thought Michigan had three good options for the two inside linebacker spots in 2018 (Bush, Ross, Gil), but this season, I see four (Ross, Gil, McGrone, Anthony).

Prediction: Starting weakside linebacker

2019 Season Countdown: #24 Will Hart

Name: Will Hart
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 206 lbs.
High school: Hunting Valley (OH) University School
Position: Punter
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #17
Last year: I ranked Hart #45 and said he would be the backup punter (LINK). He was the First Team All-Big Ten punter after averaging 47 yards per punt.
TTB Rating: N/A

Hart had one of the biggest one-season turnarounds in memory. As a redshirt freshman in 2017, he was below average when forced into duty as the starting punter. He averaged just 37.7 yards per punt, which was literally the worst average in the Big Ten, if he had had enough attempts to qualify.

The 1991 Minnesota Twins ain’t got nothin’ on Will Hart.

Hart went worst to first, averaging 47.0 yards per punt in 2018. He had a long of 65, 19 kicks that went 50+ yards, and landed 15 kicks (out of 43) inside the 20-yard line. The #2 punter in the conference was Penn State’s Blake Gillikin at 44.0 yards per punt. That 47.0 average is the highest in Michigan history, and his single-game average of 59.3 against Nebraska is also a program record.

In one year Hart went from the worst punter in the conference to the best punter in Wolverines history.

This year Hart figures to be a stalwart once again. Former presumed starter Brad Robbins entered the transfer portal in the off-season, but he’s still listed on Michigan’s roster as a 6’1″, 199 lb. junior. I don’t imagine he will win the job back. This is Hart’s gig to lose, obviously. It’s hard to expect another record-breaking season, but expectations are still high. Obviously, going from 37.7 yards per punt to 47 is almost a 10-yard difference in field position, as long as the punt coverage can still get downfield and hold returners to modest or no gains. Luckily, Hart gets a lot of air time instead of counting on rugby-style bounces and rolls, so big returns haven’t been an issue.

Prediction: Starting punter

2019 Season Countdown: #25 Vincent Gray

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Name: Vincent Gray
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 185 lbs.
High school: Rochester (MI) Adams
Position: Cornerback
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #31
Last year: I ranked Gray #98 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He played in three games.
TTB Rating: 71

For better or worse, Gray has had a rapid ascent in Michigan’s secondary. He was late flyer in the 2018 class, and he was not a highly touted player. The Wolverines seemed to have good depth at cornerback last season, and Gray wasn’t needed to play. With David Long, Lavert Hill, Brandon Watson, Ambry Thomas, Benjamin St-Juste, and Myles Sims (among others) lined up to play the position, Gray was buried. Then Long left for the NFL, Watson graduated, St-Juste didn’t play due to injury (and transferred to Minnesota), Sims was buried so deep that he crawled out of the earth on Georgia Tech’s campus, and…

…maybe Vincent Gray will be a starter in 2019. Now when this list was originally concocted, I expected Gray to be the #3 corner. But since that time, it came out that Ambry Thomas has been dealing with some health issues and might miss camp and/or the beginning of the season. That places Gray in prime position to start in Thomas’s place, opposite Hill. Will Gray be any good? On the plus side, Michigan’s coaching staff has spoken highly of him and they have never had a bad starting corner under Jim Harbaugh. On the concerning side, Gray is fairly slight at 6’2″ and 185 pounds, and his athletic profile suggests he needs to be physical to make up for a shortage of speed. I trust Michigan’s coaching staff to put good defensive backs out there, but if Thomas is out, you have to imagine opposing coaches will be testing Gray early to see if he’s up to the task.

Prediction: Backup cornerback

2019 Season Countdown: #26 Dylan McCaffrey

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Name: Dylan McCaffrey
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 220 lbs.
High school: Castle Rock (CO) Valor Christian
Position: Quarterback
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #10
Last year: I ranked McCaffrey #61 and said he would be a backup quarterback (LINK). He was 8/15 for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns, along with running 10 times for 99 yards and 1 touchdown.
TTB Rating: 91

McCaffrey had a bit of a battle on his hands going into the 2018 season, with an older Brandon Peters and a decent freshman in Joe Milton trying to grab the #2 quarterback spot. Only a select few know exactly how close that battle was, but McCaffrey came out the victor and forced Peters to transfer to Illinois this off-season. Michigan fans didn’t have to wait long for the redshirt freshman to debut; he made 6 pass attempts and 3 rush attempts in the season opener against Notre Dame. McCaffrey showed flashes of good play, none more scintillating than a late 44-yard touchdown run against Wisconsin.

That’s a 6’5″, 220 lb. quarterback outrunning a 6’0″, 190 lb. safety and linebacker T.J. Edwards for a long touchdown.

Hit the jump for more.

Nightly Roundup: August 5, 2019

Michigan freshman wide receiver Quintel Kent is sitting out this season due to some undisclosed medical issues. He was a 3-star, the #116 wide receiver, and #958 overall. I had him at #65 in the countdown (LINK). All of that, of course, is less important than his health.

pic.twitter.com/z7UNiZBMcc

— Q? (@Quintelkent1) August 5, 2019

The Detroit News profiles former Michigan wide receiver Ron Bellamy, who is now the head coach at West Bloomfield (LINK).