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2022 Season Countdown: #36 Taylor Upshaw

Name: Taylor Upshaw
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 255 lbs.
High school: Bradenton (FL) Braden River
Position: Edge*
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #91
Last year: I ranked Upshaw #22 and said he would be the starting outside linebacker with 35 tackles and 5 sacks (LINK). He made 8 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 3 quarterback hurries.
TTB Rating: 73

I pegged Upshaw as a starter last year, but that was before one of the biggest breakout seasons in Michigan history, when David Ojabo went from having 1 total tackle in his career to making 35 tackles, 11 sacks, and 5 forced fumbles. Upshaw played a limited backup role as one of several edge rushers to get a bunch of playing time, including Mike Morris, Jaylen Harrell, Braiden McGregor, and others. He put up good numbers, too, for how much he had to rotate with other players. In fact, he finished third on the team in sacks (2.5) after Aidan Hutchinson’s program 14 and Ojabo’s 11.

The odd part this off-season is that a bunch of other players have earned more practice hype, so I’m not sure how to feel about Upshaw. Going into what could be his final season, the son of former NFL defensive end Regan Upshaw has just two starts under his belt but has better TFL and sack numbers than Morris, Harrell, and Julius Welschof, all of whom have more people talking about them. I can’t sort out whether an increased role for Upshaw is implied or if he’s somehow getting outperformed. So while he’s here at #36, he could very easily outplay this ranking.

Prediction: Backup edge

*The updated roster calls defensive ends/outside linebackers “edge” now, so that’s the term I’ll use for those positions since they’re pretty interchangeable

2022 Season Countdown: #37 Joel Honigford

Name: Joel Honigford
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 260 lbs.
High school: Sugarcreek (OH) Garaway
Position: Tight end
Class: Sixth year senior
Jersey number: #84
Last year: I ranked Honigford #37 and said he would be a backup tight end (LINK). He started five games and made 1 catch for 10 yards.
TTB Rating: 84

I didn’t realize this until I started typing this post, but Honigford was #37 in the countdown last year and remains at #37 this season. Honigford played as an extra offensive tackle in 2020 and then lost 40+ pounds to play full-time tight end in 2021. Truthfully, it’s perhaps the most impressive physical transformations in the past few decades, going from a 300+ pound offensive lineman to a svelte tight end. Sometimes a big ol’ lineman lines up in the backfield and looks clearly out of place as an oversized lead blocker, but Honigford looked the part of a tight end. He mostly lined up as an H-back or even a fullback in a pistol offset “I” formation while Michigan ran the ball down opponents’ throats.

Surprisingly, Honigford decided to return for a sixth year. That must mean that Michigan has a plan for him to continue to play a good number of snaps, but I don’t foresee him catching many passes behind Erick All and Luke Schoonmaker. I expect much of the same from 2021, when Honigford started five games but rarely was targeted in the passing game. Michigan should be trying to groom Louis Hansen and/or Matt Hibner for more playing time in 2023 since Honigford, All, and Schoonmaker could all be gone, so it will be interesting to see how much time the various tight ends get to be on the field.

Prediction: Backup tight end

2022 Season Countdown: #38 Makari Paige

Name: Makari Paige
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 200 lbs.
High school: West Bloomfield (MI) West Bloomfield
Position: Safety
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #7
Last year: I ranked Paige #30 and said he would be a backup safety and special teamer (LINK). He made 2 tackles.
TTB Rating: 79

Paige went from a quasi-starter in 2020 to only playing in nine games in 2021 without having an impact role. It was an odd detour for Paige’s career, especially playing for a position coach who used to be Paige’s high school head coach in Ron Bellamy. I figured the connection and relationship would build into a good amount of playing time, but the young guy who played a lot turned out to be true freshman Rod Moore instead.

Now that Brad Hawkins and Daxton Hill are gone to the NFL, that opens up a door for Paige. It seems as if Rod Moore and R.J. Moten will both start in some capacity, leaving room for Paige to be the #3 guy instead of #4 or lower. It remains to be seen who will play Hill’s nickel position, whether it will be Moore, Mike Sainristil, or someone else. If Moore plays nickel, Paige could start at safety. If Sainristil plays nickel, Paige would probably be a backup. At this point I haven’t seen anything to make me think Paige is a true difference maker, but he is experienced and has good size (he’s 1″ taller and 8 pounds heavier than last year’s listed measurements).

Prediction: Backup safety, special teamer

2022 Season Countdown: #39 Kalel Mullings

Name: Kalel Mullings
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 232 lbs.
High school: West Roxbury (MA) Milton Academy
Position: Running back/Linebacker
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #20
Last year: I ranked Mullings #40 and said he would be a backup linebacker (LINK). He made 11 tackles.
TTB Rating: 78

Mullings had a lot of potential coming out of high school as a multi-faceted player who could be a linebacker or running back. He was an All-American Game participant and immediately earned playing time in 2020, getting snaps in four out of six games at linebacker. That seemed promising, but then in 2021, a hand injury seemed to slow down his progression. He seemed to be a possible #3 inside linebacker who could rotate in, but he got passed up by Junior Colson and ended up as the #4 inside linebacker.

With Josh Ross out of the way in 2022, that gives Mullings a chance to move up to the #3 guy again. But he also could potentially be the #3 running back. Mullings pulled double duty in the spring as Michigan’s staff looked for an answer to replace Hassan Haskins as a short yardage/power running back, and he looked decent in that role. Can he handle playing both sides of the ball? And is Tavierre Dunlap going to answer the bell to beat out Mullings for the #3 running back role? It will be interesting to see how much Mullings plays on both sides of the ball, and he could be Michigan’s version of Owen Marecic, the Stanford fullback/linebacker who ran for 5 touchdowns and made 51 tackles with 2 sacks playing for Jim Harbaugh in 2010. Michigan has tried somewhat similar things with Ben Mason and Ben Van Sumeren during the Harbaugh era, but Mullings is the most talented dual-threat player of the three.

Prediction: Special teamer and backup running back/linebacker

2022 Season Countdown: #40 Rayshaun Benny

Name: Rayshaun Benny
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 292 lbs.
High school: Oak Park (MI) Oak Park
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #26
Last year: I ranked Benny #64 and said he would be a backup defensive tackle (LINK). He played in three games and made 3 tackles.
TTB Rating: 81

Benny spent the 2021 season changing his body a little bit and learning to be a full-time defensive lineman. He played in three games, which allowed him to keep his redshirt. Luckily, Michigan stayed pretty healthy on the defensive line, so the Wolverines didn’t need to burn any unnecessary redshirts. There were some positive comments coming out from behind the scenes, and Benny was tough to handle for the offensive line in the spring game.

Michigan lost Chris Hinton, Jr. to the NFL in the off-season, and Benny should see some increased playing time because of it. The team also received a transfer in the form of UCF defensive tackle Cam Goode, but Goode is a little undersized and I don’t think he will get all of Hinton’s snaps. I think new defensive line coach Mike Elston will get Benny up to speed and he should be a pretty solid rotator at defensive tackle behind Kris Jenkins, Jr.

Prediction: Backup defensive tackle