Posts under: Blog

2015 Season Countdown: #18 Jehu Chesson

Jehu Chesson

Name: Jehu Chesson
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 207 lbs.
High school: St. Louis (MO) Ladue Horton Watkins
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #86
Last year: I ranked Chesson #39 and said he would be a backup receiver with 18 catches, 220 yards, and 2 touchdowns. He started four games and had 14 catches for 154 yards.

I have found Chesson to be intriguing since he started demolishing people in 2013, whether it was as a gunner on punts or as a blocker in the running game. Unfortunately, that prowess has not carried over to the receiving department, where has been just so-so. With a largely ineffective passing game last year, Chesson was the fourth-leading receiver. He started four games, but he never seemed to develop a chemistry with Devin Gardner and struggled in the catching department. His best performance from last season was 2 catches for 34 yards against Rutgers, and he has just one touchdown in his career (a  58-yarder against Michigan State in 2013).

Chesson was one of Michigan’s representatives at Big Ten Media Days, so he is looked at as a leader and responsible member of the team. He has packed on 12 lbs. since last season, and he can be counted on as a blocker and hard worker. But I have doubts about whether he can be a standout receiver because he hasn’t really even shown glimpses of that during the past two years on the field. Jim Harbaugh is going to run the ball a lot, especially with question marks at quarterback, but someone needs to step up soon at receiver. The smart [Monopoly] money is on classmate Amara Darboh, but Chesson will probably start on the other side and be given plenty of opportunities. There are some young guys with more natural receiving talent, but that won’t necessarily translate to on-field team success.

Prediction: Starting wide receiver; 25 catches, 320 yards, 2 touchdowns

2015 Season Countdown: #19 Joe Kerridge

Joe Kerridge

Name: Joe Kerridge
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 249 lbs.
High school: Traverse City (MI) St. Francis
Position: Fullback
Class: Redshirt senior
Jersey number: #36
Last year: I ranked Kerridge #47 and said he would be the backup fullback. He started at fullback and had 3 carries for 56 yards, plus 6 catches for 53 yards.

Kerridge had an exciting season in 2014. He had just one carry going into last year, but he busted a 52-yarder against Maryland. Granted, it was a fake punt that saw him burst through the line unmolested, but that’s a rare opportunity for a fullback. As the season wore on, he seemed to get more involved in the offense and average 8.8 yards/catch, which isn’t bad for a lead blocker. Going into the year, I had him pegged as a backup to Sione Houma, but that was not to be.

This year I have no such illusions about Houma beating out Kerridge. I do think Houma is a quicker and more elusive runner, but Kerridge is a bruiser who can lead up through the hole, catch the ball well, and run pretty decently (for a fullback, anyway). Houma’s case isn’t made any stronger by the fact that he had surgery in the spring that would keep him out until fall camp. There is certainly a role for a fullback in Michigan’s offense with Jim Harbaugh at the helm. It’s worth noting that Stanford fullback Owen Marecic had 31 carries for 61 yards and 9 touchdowns on the ground in 2009-2010. Michigan has a few good-sized tailbacks to slam the ball up inside near the goal line and on short yardage, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kerridge get a couple of those short touchdown runs.

Prediction: Starting fullback; 7 carries, 15 yards, 3 touchdowns

2015 Season Countdown: #20 James Ross III

James Ross (#15)

Name: James Ross III
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 232 lbs.
High school: Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s
Position: Linebacker
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #15
Last year: I ranked Ross #13 and said he would be the starting SAM with 90 tackles. He started seven games and made 32 tackles with 3 tackles for loss.

The deployment of Ross last year was one that left me scratching my head a little bit. Basically a full- or part-time starter since his freshman year in 2012, he still made seven starts last year but didn’t play much. Playing SAM linebacker in a 4-3 Over, he was pulled off the field pretty frequently in nickel situations. Because of that, he had the fewest tackles of his career and did not have even half a sack for the first time.

This year Ross has been practicing at two positions: SAM and WILL linebacker. The two inside linebacker positions seem to be pretty solidified with Joe Bolden and Desmond Morgan, but SAM is a position that has just one proven contributor in the form of Ross. On the one hand, that versatility should give him different chances to get on the field. On the other hand, the SAM linebacker will probably be pulled off the field when Michigan goes with three safeties for their nickel look. That will happen quite a bit again this season. I would like to rank Ross higher because of few options at SAM, but ultimately, there seem to be contingency plans that could include playing a safety down in the box.

Prediction: Starting SAM linebacker; 50 tackles, 2 sacks

Visitor: August 14-16, 2015

Euless (TX) Trinity DT Chris Daniels

Chris Daniels – DT – Euless (TX) Trinity: Daniels is a 6’3″, 299 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Baylor, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and USC, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #15 defensive tackle, and #149 overall. Daniels grew up in Muskegon, MI, and his childhood favorite school was Michigan. He visited Michigan earlier in the week. Michigan seems to be recruiting only a couple defensive tackles, including Rashan Gary, but Daniels is a guy they have kept in touch with throughout.

Welcome to the new website!

After years of procrastination and then a couple months of waiting impatiently, this is the new website. Thanks in large part to some generous donations and some people who know a thing or two about website programming, Touch the Banner is now on WordPress and moving in the right direction. I’m glad to be here, and I’m glad you’ve found me. Please bear with me a little bit as I get my feet under me, but most features are ready to go. A few things have changed:

• Offer Boards: The format of the current and future offer boards has changed. They are all included in the drop-down menu at the top of the page. While they are no longer arranged by position, the format is improved, neater, and more informative. Furthermore, you can see highlights, links, and important notes about each player by clicking on the player’s name. (The 2016 Offer Board is still under construction as I create profiles for all 233 offers so far.)
• Message Board: I have added a message board feature to the site, which can be found under the title of “Forum” at the top of the page. I hope that we can all use this to discuss Michigan- and non-Michigan-related topics. This is a feature that was not available on Blogger, but I think it has been sorely missing as the site has grown over the past few years.
• Sign-in: Blogger was a bit of a free-for-all for random commenters and anonymous posters. Now everyone has a chance to sign in, remain signed in, and discuss topics with at least a tiny bit of accountability. This should also help us keep track of conversations.

I thank those of you who have been reading over the years and those who might just be discovering the site. If you have tweaks or suggestions for me, please let me know. I’m proud that I have built a site from nothing in 2008 to one that gets about half a million hits per month, but there are always ways to get better.