2019 Season Countdown: #40 Oliver Martin

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24Jul 2019
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2019 Season Countdown: #40 Oliver Martin

Oliver Martin

Name: Oliver Martin
Height:
6’1″
Weight:
200 lbs.
High school:
Des Moines (IA) West
Position:
Wide receiver
Class:
Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number:
#80
Last year:
I ranked Martin #44 and said he would be a backup wide receiver with 10 catches for 110 yards and 1 touchdown (LINK). He made 11 receptions for 125 yards and 1 touchdown.
TTB Rating:
83

Hello, you self-loathing bastards who clicked on this article!

Martin transferred to Iowa, in case you didn’t know. But he was here at #40 on the countdown before that rumor finally became true, so I present to you a reason for disappointment.

Martin was indeed a backup wide receiver, and I was only 1 catch and 15 yards off in my prediction for his 2018 stats. He started one game and his career-best performance so far came against Rutgers with 3 catches for 38 yards and 1 touchdown.

After an off-season full of rumors about whether he would stay or go, he finally decided to head home to greener pastures, where he wouldn’t be blocked for playing time by a gaggle of 4-star recruits who are all 6’2″+ and super fast. I had hopes that Martin would have a good career if he stuck around long enough, but he was always unlikely to pass up the likes of Donovan Peoples-Jones, Nico Collins, and Tarik Black.

Now his 2019 season looks like him redshirting for the second time in three years, this time due to NCAA transfer rules. He will probably be pretty good for Iowa in 2020 and 2021, but it seems like an odd choice to transfer right now. He could have pushed to graduate in three years, played this season, and then become immediately eligible in 2020 with two years left to play for the Hawkeyes. Instead, he sits out this year and will only be able to play 3 out of 5 potential seasons, not 4 out of 5.

Martin’s departure hurts Michigan from a depth perspective. Tarik Black has been constantly injured during his two years on campus, leaving Collins and Peoples-Jones as the dependable returners. Otherwise, Michigan is looking at Ronnie Bell, walk-ons (Jake McCurry, Nate Schoenle), and freshmen (Mike Sainristil and others) to hold down the slot/backup receiver spots.

Prediction: Redshirt

23Jul 2019
Blog, homepage 29 comments

2019 Season Countdown: #41 Ben Mason

Ben Mason (image via Game Time Connecticut)

Name: Ben Mason
Height:
6’3″
Weight:
270 lbs.
High school:
Newtown (CT) Newtown
Position:
Fullback/defensive tackle
Class:
Junior
Jersey number:
#42
Last year:
I ranked Mason #18 and said he would be the starting fullback (LINK). He ran 33 times for 80 yards and 7 touchdowns, caught 1 pass for 15 yards, and made 5 tackles.
TTB Rating:
74

Mason is a fan favorite for a lot of reasons. An old-fashioned tough football player who does a little bit of everything, he came to Michigan in 2017 with hopes to play linebacker and fullback like Owen Marecic did at Stanford. After a freshman year spent as a backup, Mason took over the starting fullback role with Khalid Hill-like season: 7 touchdowns on less than 3 yards per carry. Michigan even lined him up at tailback sometimes and gave him a 7-yard running start at the defense. He scored a career-high 3 touchdowns in the blowout of Nebraska.

This year Mason has plans to do something we’ve never really seen at Michigan over the time I’ve been around. Vince Helmuth was a ballyhooed fullback in the 2007 recruiting class who eventually ended up practicing at defensive tackle once Rich Rodriguez essentially got rid of the fullback position and Helmuth outgrew it, anyway. But Helmuth never actually played in a game on defense. In Mason’s case, he’s listed as both a fullback and defensive tackle on the official roster, and the coaching staff has talked about his ability to contribute at both positions this fall.

Michigan is de-emphasizing the fullback position in much the same way Rodriguez did, but I still expect Mason to get some playing time as an H-back type of fullback. He probably won’t be in a three-point stance four yards behind the center, but he might be in a two-point stance in the guard-tackle gap. The coaches have also talked about him playing 3-tech defensive tackle. It’s not often that someone his size (he was reportedly up to 270 in the spring) plays 3-tech, but Michigan doesn’t have a lot of depth on the interior line, so it’s a possibility that he could get some reps there.

I like Mason, but with the fullback spot losing importance and the fact that he’s learning a new position to be a 270-280 lb. defensive tackle, I just don’t see him having a huge, season-changing impact on the 2018 team.

Prediction: Starting fullback when there is one, backup defensive tackle

22Jul 2019
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2019 Season Countdown: #42 Daxton Hill

Daxton Hill (image via Twitter)

Name: Daxton Hill
Height:
6’0″
Weight:
190 lbs.
High school:
Tulsa (OK) Booker T. Washington
Position:
Safety
Class:
Freshman
Jersey number:
#30
Last year:
Hill was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 93 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 2 interceptions, and 9 pass breakups, along with 13 catches for 360 yards and 7 touchdowns.
TTB Rating:
100

I gave Hill a TTB Rating of 100, which means I think he’s the best safety prospect in the country from the class of 2019. And in all honesty, I don’t think it’s really all that close. I’m not impressed with the other top safeties in the class, and I think it’s a down year at the position overall.

Will he play like the best safety in the country at Michigan? There’s reason to have doubts. Michigan’s safeties are not always big-time playmakers and can sometimes be rather forgettable. Josh Metellus was not a standout initially, and Tyree Kinnel was a 4-star who was somewhat forgettable. Delano Hill made some big plays but not consistently.

Furthermore, safety is a tough position to play as a freshman, because so much depends on getting aligned correctly, recognizing formations, communication, and recognizing route combinations. And on top of that, Hill didn’t enroll until the summer, so he missed spring ball that some freshmen used to get acclimated to college ball and Don Brown’s system.

Much was expected of Dymonte Thomas coming out of high school, and Thomas had a rough freshman year. He’s probably the closest approximation to Hill that Michigan has had in the past twenty years, a lanky guy with speed to burn. (Although in fairness, Thomas was basically playing middle linebacker in high school so he could run sideline to sideline and stop the run.) Like Thomas, Hill is expected to start out repping at nickel corner, a spot that doesn’t have a clear front-runner going into the season.

So what should we expect to see from Hill in 2019? Flashes of excellence and some struggles. By mid-season, I expect him to be the starting nickel corner, barring injury at the safety position. The Wolverines have significant depth at safety (Metellus, J’Marick Woods, Brad Hawkins, etc.), but any injuries could cause a reshuffling in the secondary. There have even been rumors that Hill could end up playing cornerback if injuries/illness affect that position a great deal (like the issue Ambry Thomas is dealing with now). Expecting greatness from Hill immediately is probably wishful thinking, but his 2020 and 2021 seasons look very bright as one of the most explosive overall athletes in the entire nation.

Prediction: Starting nickel corner

22Jul 2019
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2019 Season Countdown: #43 Gemon Green

Gemon Green (image via Wolverines Wire)

Name: Gemon Green
Height:
6’2″
Weight:
174 lbs.
High school:
DeSoto (TX) DeSoto
Position:
Cornerback
Class:
Redshirt freshman
Jersey number:
#9
Last year:
I ranked Green #84 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He redshirted.
TTB Rating:
82

Green was selected for the International Bowl coming out of high school, and both ESPN and Rivals ranked him as a 4-star prospect (he was a 3-star to 247). He gets forgotten a little bit by some Michigan fans, but his recruiting profile was pretty solid. The likes of Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Wisconsin offered him, so he wasn’t a reach, but he also was buried on the depth chart in 2018.

But David Long left for the NFL, and Brandon Watson graduated…and this list was made before it came out that Ambry Thomas might miss camp and potentially a chunk of the season due to health issues. With the transfer of Benjamin St-Juste to Minnesota, Green is suddenly thrust into the #3 cornerback role going into August camp when he was probably #7 last year. Green might be baptized quickly with a heavy role unless the Wolverines mitigate the need at cornerback by moving a safety over, such as Jaylen Kelly-Powell. Regardless, it looks like Lavert Hill, Vincent Gray, and then Green are the top three corners going into 2019.

Prediction: Backup cornerback