Posts under: Blog

2018 Season Countdown: #67 Michael Barrett

Michael Barrett (image via Valdosta Daily Times)

Name: Michael Barrett
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 215 lbs.
High school: Valdosta (GA) Lowndes
Position: Running back/Slot receiver/Offensive weapon
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Barrett was a senior in high school (LINK). He completed 111/174 passes (63.8%) for 1,705 yards, 16 TDs, and 2 INTs; he also ran for 1,195 yards and 13 TDs.
TTB Rating: 82

Barrett was the subject of much consternation for Michigan fans, for one reason or another. One reason was that he was not highly rated (3-star, #61 ATH, #753 overall). Another was that some teams were recruiting him as an option quarterback. You can see from his stats above that he wasn’t a bad QB in high school. Barrett didn’t end up committing to Michigan until late in January, and he was a nice consolation prize from the state of Georgia once the dust settled from Otis Reese’s flipping to Georgia.

I don’t know what to think of Barrett, exactly. He’s a wild card. Michigan reportedly plans to start him out at slot receiver, but you don’t often see 6’0″, 215 lb. slot receivers. I wouldn’t mind if the staff got creative (for them) and used him on bubble screens to get him going downhill against smaller defensive backs, but this coaching staff hasn’t used a ton of bubble screens during its tenure. Maybe the presence of Patterson with his running capability will open up some more zone read/bubble opportunities. There’s also the chance that Barrett could be used as a “wildcat” quarterback, but that’s not as much of a change-up with Patterson under center than it would be if, say, Brandon Peters or Dylan McCaffrey is the starting QB. I like Barrett as a player, but it’s unclear right now where he’ll play.

Prediction: Backup slot receiver

2018 Season Countdown: #68 Jared Wangler

Jared Wangler (image via MWolverine)

Name: Jared Wangler
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 229 lbs.
High school: Warren (MI) De La Salle
Position: Fullback
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #38
Last year: I ranked Wangler #75A and said he would be a backup linebacker and special teamer (LINK). He made 3 tackles on special teams.
TTB Rating: 59

Wangler switched positions from linebacker to fullback, but he was going to be buried either way. At linebacker he was behind Mike McCray II, Devin Gil, and others. At fullback he was behind Khalid Hill, Henry Poggi, and Ben Mason. He did contribute on special teams in every game, but he did not see any time on offense or defense.

This year Wangler remains at fullback with Hill and Poggi having graduated. Mason returns and is the obvious starter, unless freshman Ben Van Sumeren arrives and blows everyone out of the water. I believe Van Sumeren will pass up Wangler sometime this season, if not immediately. I also believe we’ll see a little less of the fullback position this season now that Shea Patterson is the quarterback. I expect Michigan to go with a few more spread sets and shotgun/pistol looks. I don’t know that Wangler has the bulk or the attitude to be a Jim Harbaugh fullback, so I think Wangler will continue to be a backup and special teams guy.

Prediction: Backup fullback, special teamer

2018 Season Countdown: #69 Deron Irving-Bey

Deron Irving-Bey (image via MGoBlog)

Name: Deron Irving-Bey
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 274 lbs.
High school: Flint (MI) Southwestern
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #44
Last year: I ranked Irving-Bey #90 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He redshirted.

Irving-Bey was an Army All-American in 2017, but his services weren’t needed on the field once he got to campus. Michigan was stacked on the defensive line, and a lot of those guys return. Irving-Bey can play Anchor (Rashan Gary) or 3-tech (Aubrey Solomon), but both positions have guys blocking him, and the only player to leave was nose tackle Maurice Hurst, Jr. I don’t see Irving-Bey stepping into a big role this season, though I do expect to see him get some snaps.

Prediction: Backup defensive tackle

2018 Season Countdown: #70 Phillip Paea

Name: Phillip Paea
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 275 lbs.
High school: Berrien Springs (MI) Berrien Springs
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #31
Last year: I ranked Paea #88 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He redshirted.

Paea looked to me like an offensive guard coming out of high school, and instead he’s hanging out at defensive tackle. On the one hand, Michigan doesn’t have a ton of depth at nose tackle, which is where Paea might be able to make an impact. The Wolverines have a pretty good combo of Bryan Mone, Aubrey Solomon, and Michael Dwumfour they can roll out at nose tackle and 3-tech. Otherwise, it’s a crap shoot to see who will play on the interior of the line, whether it’s Paea, Deron Irving-Bey, Donovan Jeter, or others. I have heard the least hype about Paea and believe he has the furthest to go of the interior linemen. He’s probably at least a year away from playing a significant role.

Prediction: Backup defensive tackle

UPDATE: Commenters are saying Paea has already moved to offensive guard, which I had heard from one random message board poster on another site but hadn’t seen confirmed. As you can tell from my post above, hooray! I still wouldn’t expect him to play much this season.

2018 Season Countdown: #71 Christian Turner

Christian Turner (image via Detroit News)

Name: Christian Turner
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 185 lbs.
High school: Buford (GA) Buford
Position: Running back
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Turner was a senior in high school (LINK). He ran the ball 115 times for 801 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Turner confuzzled some Michigan recruiting fanatics when he committed in April of 2017. He was a generic 3-star running back with decent offers (Miami, Notre Dame, Wisconsin) but not a whole lot of recruiting hype. Michigan snatched him when a lot of people thought he would be committing to the Fighting Irish, so that was the silver lining to an otherwise uninspiring recruiting victory. Even his high school production is solid, but nothing spectacular.

But going into the 2018 season, I keep hearing that Michigan thinks they found a bit of a hidden gem in Turner. I have heard that they expect him to play this year, likely as a third-down back. Turner did a nice job catching a screen pass in the International Bowl and has decent speed, and if he can be a decent pass blocker, that would be great. I think finding high schoolers who are ready to handle college pass protections can be an iffy proposition, but if the coaching staff thinks he has the mental and physical capabilities to be a solid blocker, then hooray – because Karan Higdon and Chris Evans haven’t been great in that area. Either way, I don’t imagine Turner as a huge step up over the non-Higdon and non-Evans options, so I’m still placing him fairly low in the countdown.

Prediction: Backup running back