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2017 Season Countdown: #30 Luiji Vilain

Luiji Vilain (image via 247 Sports)

Name: Luiji Vilain
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 247 lbs.
High school: Alexandria (VA) Episcopal
Position: Defensive end
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #18
Last year: Vilain was a senior in high school.
TTB Rating: 90

Vilain grew up in Canada, but a couple years before graduation, his name started to pop up on Michigan’s radar. He was attending camps in the midwest and eventually ended up in Alexandria, VA, to finish out the final two years of his high school career. That was probably a good choice, because offers started rolling in. Penn State, Rutgers, and North Carolina all took runs at him at various times, but perhaps that early familiarity with border state Michigan helped out in the end. He became an Under Armour All-American and powered his way up to #56 overall in the 247 Composite rankings, including #36 overall to 247 itself.

Vilain joins a team with no established backup at weakside end. Taco Charlton graduated, and his backup, Chase Winovich, will step into the starting role. Everyone else is almost totally inexperienced, and one bullet in the chamber was ejected when Corey Malone-Hatcher retired due to medical reasons. Donovan Jeter worked there in the spring, but he’s more of a strongside end or even a 3-tech in the long term. Other options include redshirt freshman Ron Johnson, redshirt sophomore Mike Jones, sophomore Carlo Kemp, and freshman Kwity Paye, along with redshirt junior linebacker Noah Furbush, who has been rumored to be getting a chance to put his hand down. There’s some talent in there, but no one looked ready to step up and be an impact player in the spring. Paye and Vilain just arrived this summer, so we haven’t seen them in college pads yet, but the coaching staff is reportedly pleased with how Vilain has looked since hitting campus. I think he will play a fair amount this season and eventually lock down the backup WDE spot.

Prediction: Backup weakside end; 20 tackles, 2 sacks

Chris Hinton, Jr., Wolverine

Chris Hinton, Jr. (image via Twitter)

Norcross (GA) Greater Atlanta Christian defensive end Chris Hinton, Jr., a 2019 prospect, committed to Michigan on Saturday. He chose the Wolverines over offers from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, LSU, and Stanford, among others.

Hinton is 6’4″, 265 lbs.

RATINGS
ESPN: N/A
Rivals: 5-star SDE, #3 overall
Scout: 5-star, #1 SDE, #3 overall
247 Sports: 4-star, 96 grade, #2 SDE, #14 overall

Hit the jump for more on Hinton.

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2017 Season Countdown: #31 Jon Runyan, Jr.

Name: Jon Runyan, Jr.
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 304 lbs.
High school: Philadelphia (PA) St. Joseph’s
Position: Offensive tackle
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #75
Last year: I ranked Runyan #52 and said he would be a backup offensive guard. He played in one game.
TTB Rating: 73

Runyan wasn’t expected to play much in 2016, and he didn’t. He was athletic but undersized, and the team had a fair number of veterans to play above him (Kyle Kalis, Ben Braden, Patrick Kugler, David Dawson, etc.). He did stand out to me in the spring of 2016 as a guy who could really move, and that skill allows him to have some positional flexibility.

This past spring he was taking reps at right tackle, in an effort to replace Erik Magnuson. Michigan isn’t sure whether Juwann Bushell-Beatty can handle the tackle position, and they have made contingency plans in order to shore up the spot. Bushell-Beatty struggled last year against Rutgers and Wisconsin, and he had injury issues this spring. Runyan was the nominal starting right tackle for the majority of spring, despite only being 6’4″. Bushell-Beatty may get a shot to claim the tackle position, but as a redshirt junior, we know that he’s limited. Runyan has the ability to start at right tackle – which I think will happen sooner or later this year – and also can fill in on the interior.

Prediction: Part-time starter at right tackle; backup offensive guard

2017 Season Countdown: #32 Andrew Robinson

Andrew Robinson (image via Twitter)

Name: Andrew Robinson
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 221 lbs.
High school: Troy (MI) Athens
Position: Long snapper
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #49
Last year: I did not rank Robinson. He played in two games.
TTB Rating: N/A

A funny thing happened over the past year with Michigan’s long snapper position. Maybe it starts with the 2015 Michigan State game, in which a bad punt snap and then a poor decision by the punter led to a loss against the Spartans. But long snapper Scott Sypniewski never seemed to recover the full trust of Michigan’s coaching staff. Robinson played against Hawaii and Rutgers, and some people suggested he was snapping better than Sypniewski in practice. That may be what led Michigan to part ways with Sypniewski, who transferred to Vanderbilt this off-season.

Robinson steps up into the void vacated by Sypniewski. As the backup last year, he’s expected to be the man this year. It shouldn’t be lost that he’s arguably the #2 guy who could be on Michigan’s roster right now, and the actual backup might be the #3 guy. The hope is that the casual fan won’t hear (or at least remember) Robinson’s name, but he’ll be an important piece of the 2017 football team. In limited experience so far, he’s done a good job.

Prediction: Starting long snapper

Attractive Michigan Girl of the Week

If you have pictures of any other good looking girls wearing Michigan gear (or with M flags hanging on the wall), drop me an e-mail. Go Blue!