Hello, J.J. McCarthy. Well, McCarthy didn’t wait too long to stake his claim for the starting quarterback job. He completed 11/12 passes for 229 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions while rushing 1 time for 16 yards. His first pass was a 42-yard bomb to Roman Wilson for a touchdown, and he didn’t really slow down after that. Every pass was accurate, even a crisp RPO slant to Ronnie Bell that accounted for McCarthy’s lone incompletion. It was an excellent starting debut against an atrocious team.
RUSH OFFENSE vs. HAWAII RUSH DEFENSE Michigan is #32 in rushing after one game of rushing for 234 yards. The wild card this week is quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who is starting in place of Cade McNamara. McCarthy ran 3 times for 50 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown, and he expands the playbook. Blake Corum (13 carries, 76 yards, 1 TD) and Donovan Edwards (12 carries, 64 yards, 1 TD) also ran the ball frequently, but the offensive line was not as dominant as I expected. Part of that may have been the absence of left tackle Ryan Hayes (who is expected to play this week) and backup Karsen Barnhart, which caused some reshuffling up front. Hawaii is #127 in rushing defense, giving up 272.5 yards per game and 7.5 yards per carry. They gave up 404 yards on 9.2 yards/carry to Vanderbilt two weeks ago. Hawaii is experienced up front – all four defensive linemen are in their fourth or fifth year – but they lack size. Both defensive tackles are around 300 lbs., but the ends are hovering around 230. The leading tacklers are 6’0″, 190 lb. safety Leonard Lee and 6’3″, 245 lb. middle linebacker Penei Pevihi with 11 and 10, respectively. Advantage: Michigan
Name: Mazi Smith Height: 6’3″ Weight: 337 lbs. High school: Grand Rapids (MI) East Kentwood Position: Nose tackle Class: Redshirt junior Jersey number: #58 Last year: I ranked Smith #5 and said he would be a start nose tackle with 15 tackles and 3 tackles for loss (LINK). He made 37 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 4 pass breakups, and 4 quarterback hurries. TTB Rating: 86
Name: Junior Colson Height: 6’2″ Weight: 235 lbs. High school: Brentwood (TN) Ravenwood Position: Linebacker Class: Sophomore Jersey number: #25 Last year: I ranked Colson #42 and said he would be a backup linebacker (LINK). He made 61 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, and 3 pass breakups. TTB Rating: 89
2022 season prediction: Starting middle linebacker; 110 tackles, 4 sacks