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2020 Season Countdown: #87 George Johnson III

Name: George Johnson III
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 193 lbs.
High school: Stuart (FL) Martin
Position: Cornerback
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #22
Last year: I ranked Johnson #94 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He redshirted.
TTB Rating: 58

Johnson had a pretty quiet first year in Ann Arbor, which was fully expected. A high school quarterback, he spent the 2019 season transitioning to wide receiver. He earned Offensive Scout Team Player of the Week for the Illinois game, but otherwise, things were pretty quiet.

Now Johnson has reportedly moved to cornerback, his third position in three years. Michigan does not have a lot of depth at cornerback, but I would expect Johnson to be at or near the bottom of the depth chart. He didn’t even have spring ball to help get acclimated to the position, so players he might have surged past are probably still watching him in the rearview mirror. I expect this season to be another year of mostly standing on the sideline.

Prediction: Backup cornerback

2020 Season Countdown: #88 R.J. Moten

Name: R.J. Moten
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 200 lbs.
High school: Delran (NJ) Delran
Position: Safety
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Moten was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 61 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 2 interceptions, plus 432 total yards and 8 touchdowns on offense.
TTB Rating: 68

Moten is a very interesting prospect and perhaps one of those boom-or-bust guys like Jeffrey Persi. He was a great all-around athlete at Delran, and he was named Athlete of the Decade by the school. He’s a high-level baseball prospect (like Joey Velazquez) and plans to play baseball at Michigan in addition to football (like Joey Velazquez). Whereas Velazquez is almost certain to be a linebacker, though, Moten has the potential to play safety.

Moten seems to me to be a virtual lock to redshirt. He played a lot of offense in high school and didn’t concentrate on defense, but Michigan recruited him strictly for defense. I also happen to think he’s more of a raw prospect on defense. For a defensive coordinator that says “Solve your problems with aggression,” I don’t see Moten display much aggression on defense. He is fairly physical on offense when running the ball, so if he can flip that switch when he’s concentrating on the other side of the ball, then he could be good. If he can’t, other guys are going to move ahead of him. For this year, though, he’s just not ready.

Prediction: Redshirt

Hit the jump for some senior highlights.

All-Time Single-Game Interception Leaders

Naturally, it would be a long list of players to include everyone with 1 interception in a game, but I was surprised to see how many Wolverines made multiple picks in one game. According to the record books, the feat has been accomplished 59 times by 46 different players.

Hit the jump for the list.

2020 Season Countdown: #89 Peter Bush

Name: Peter Bush
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 220 lbs.
High school: Newport Beach (CA) Corona del Mar
Position: Running back
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #45
Last year: I ranked Bush #75 and said he would be a backup tight end (LINK). He played special teams in all thirteen games and made 1 tackle.
TTB Rating: N/A

Bush has had quite the journey through the football world. A high school quarterback, he played linebacker initially before moving to fullback to tight end to running back. The switch to running back in 2019 was mostly because the team got rid of the fullback position, but Bush has never really been in the discussion at running back, even when there was a slew of injuries in the spring.

Nothing much should change this year. Bush will probably play special teams, and the addition of Chris Evans – who missed the 2019 season due to suspension – will keep Bush tethered to the bench when the offense is on the field. Special teams should remain Bush’s best opportunity to make his mark.

Prediction: Backup running back, special teamer

Snapshots: Dylan McCaffrey vs. Notre Dame/Maryland

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This is another post evaluating Dylan McCaffrey and whether or not he should win the starting job in 2020. You can find the first post here (LINK).

As a reminder, I awarded grades on the following scale:

• +1: Good play that not everyone can make
• 0: Average play that an average player can make
• -1: Poor play

PLAY 1 (LINK): This is a slant (or snag) RPO where McCaffrey is reading the backside inside linebacker. When the linebacker comes up to support the run, McCaffrey pulls the ball from the running back’s belly, resets his feet, and throws to the slot receiver (Giles Jackson). It’s the right read, albeit for a moderate gain, and the play is made more difficult because right guard Stephen Spanellis whiffs on his block. McCaffrey throws the ball accurately despite being hit by a defensive tackle.
McCaffrey grade: +1

Hit the jump for the rest of his performance against Notre Dame and then Maryland.