Much has been made of the 2020 quarterback battle between Dylan McCaffrey and Joe Milton. I did a post analyzing McCaffrey (LINK) and plan to do more, but in an effort to handicap the race, I wondered how many Michigan quarterbacks have taken over the starting job after being the #3 (or lower) in the previous season, or ever.
Hit the jump for the rest of the post.
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Name: Dan Villari
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 215 lbs.
High school: Massapequa (NY) Plainedge
Position: Quarterback
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Villari was a senior in high school (LINK). He passed for 1,306 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 1 interception, while running for 1,522 yards and 25 touchdowns.
TTB Rating: 69
Villari was a late add to Michigan’s class due to an unfortunate development with J.D. Johnson. Johnson, as you might remember, discovered that he would not be able to continue his football career because of a heart condition. That left the Wolverines scrambling, and in stepped Villari, who took a whirlwind trip to Michigan and ended up signing in December.
Villari is an athletic quarterback whose passing acumen might not wow many, but he does offer some versatility. First of all, Michigan and offensive coordinator Josh Gattis do value athletic quarterbacks more than some other past coaching staffs. But second, Jim Harbaugh has converted a quarterback (Zach Gentry) into a draft pick as a tight end. Villari looks to me like a player who will eventually end up contributing at a position other than quarterback. He shouldn’t be any higher than #4 on the depth chart in 2020, and 2021 will see 5-star J.J. McCarthy arrive.
Prediction: Redshirt
Hit the jump for Villari’s senior highlights.
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Suffield (CT) Suffield Academy defensive end Kechaun Bennett committed to Michigan on Wednesday night. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Miami, Notre Dame, Penn State, Tennessee, and Virginia Tech, among others.
Bennett is listed at 6’4″ and 220 lbs.
RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 80 grade, #39 DE
Rivals: 4-star, 5.8 grade, #12 WDE
247 Sports: 3-star, 89 grade, #26 SDE
Hit the jump for more on Bennett’s commitment.
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The title of this article implies that Michigan recruiting needs to be fixed. How terrible is it? Let’s take a look at class rankings during the Jim Harbaugh era using the 247 Composite rankings:
2015 (Harbaugh/Hoke combined class): #37 overall, #5 in Big Ten
2016: #8 overall, #2 in Big Ten
2017: #5 overall, #2 in Big Ten
2018: #22 overall, #3 in Big Ten
2019: #8 overall, #1 in Big Ten
2020: #14 overall, #2 in Big Ten
*2021: #6 overall, #2 in Big Ten (as of May 25, 2020)
AVERAGE: #11.4 overall, #2 in Big Ten
*Not included in averages
Not counting the 2015 combined class when Harbaugh had just one month to try to make up ground, he has averaged the #11 class in the country and finished as either #1, #2, or #3 class in the conference. It’s noteworthy that they have not finished behind any team from the Big Ten West during that time – only Ohio State and/or Penn State.
Hit the jump to see how I would go about improving Michigan’s recruiting.
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Fort Lauderdale (FL) Saint Thomas Aquinas linebacker Jaydon Hood committed to Michigan on Monday. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Alabama, Florida State, LSU, Miami, and Penn State, among others.
Hood is listed at 6’1″ and 212 lbs. As a junior in 2019, he made 115 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, 7 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, and 2 interceptions, plus 2 defensive touchdowns.
RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 83 grade, #5 ILB, #191 overall
Rivals: 3-star, 5.7 grade, #35 ATH
247 Sports: 3-star, 88 grade, #16 ILB
Hit the jump for more on Hood’s commitment.
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