2016 Season Countdown: #35 Tyree Kinnel
Name: Tyree Kinnel
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 206 lbs.
High school: Huber Heights (OH) Wayne
Position: Safety
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #23
Last year: I ranked Kinnel #71 and said he would redshirt if possible (LINK). He played in eight games on special teams.
Kinnel came to Michigan last year as one of those fairly highly ranked but boring safeties. The Wolverines didn’t have a ton of depth at safety, but they made the position work by only playing their top three guys with any regularity. Jarrod Wilson, Delano Hill, and Dymonte Thomas took the bulk of the snaps. Kinnel forced his way onto the field one-third of the way through the season, but only on special teams. When he burned his redshirt, Jim Harbaugh talked him up, saying that he earned his spot on the kickoff team. Other than running downfield a few times a game, though, nothing much happened.
Now with Wilson graduated and playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Hill and Thomas return as the front-runners for the safety positions. Thomas took some major strides forward during the second half of 2015, and Hill has been playing decently for a couple seasons. By default Kinnel would probably be the next man in, anyway, but he looked solid in the spring. The biggest flash I saw was when he jumped a route at the Ford Field open practice and returned it for a touchdown. Otherwise, he was boring and that’s okay for a safety. He’s solidly built at 5’11”, 206 lbs. and seems to have a good head on his shoulders, so I wouldn’t worry too much if he were to enter a game on defense. Beyond him, though, options become limited to moving Jeremy Clark back from cornerback, playing a walk-on like A.J. Pearson, or inserting a freshman like Khaleke Hudson or Josh Metellus. It’s tough to put someone this high on the list who hasn’t done much on the field yet, but it’s a very shallow position group.
Prediction: Backup safety