Marion (MA) Tabor Academy quarterback Peter Bourque, a 2027 prospect, committed to Michigan on Monday morning. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Florida, Georgia, Oregon, Penn State, Texas A&M, and numerous others.
Bourque is listed at 6’4″, 190 lbs. He threw for 1,737 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions as a sophomore and also ran for 317 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Name: Nathan Efobi Height: 6’3″ Weight: 312 lbs. High school: Cumming (GA) South Forsyth Position: Offensive guard Class: Redshirt sophomore Jersey number: #55 Last year: I ranked Efobi #74 and said he would be a backup offensive guard (LINK). He played in six games. TTB Rating: 68
Last year I mentioned that Efobi would have to battle with Connor Jones, Dominick Giudice, and Raheem Anderson II for a backup role on Michigan’s offensive line. He battled, and . . . well, I can’t say he won the battle.
But he may have won the war.
Giudice and Anderson have since transferred, and Connor Jones appears to be an afterthought in the pecking order. Meanwhile, Efobi is battling for a starting right guard spot in fall camp, and the general takeaway seems to be that he’s the favorite to start.
Efobi is up to a listed 312 lbs. after being listed at 285 in last season’s countdown, so he’s put on a good amount of weight. I don’t know what to expect from him other than the murmurs coming out of Schembechler Hall, but his starting role does seem to be the most tenuous. While there’s also a battle at left tackle between Evan Link, Blake Frazier, and Andrew Babalola, there seems to be the belief that Link could start at right guard if he loses the left tackle battle, and there’s also the presence of Ferris State transfer Lawrence Hattar, a Division II All-American. So I have Efobi as the lowest ranked starter in the countdown, but there’s some positive buzz for him.
Name: Damon Payne Height: 6’4” Weight: 311 lbs. High school: Belleville (MI) Belleville Position: Nose tackle Class: Fifth year senior Jersey number: #44 Last year: Payne was a starting defensive tackle at Alabama. He made 14 tackles for loss and 1 sack. TTB Rating: N/A
Payne was a 5-star, the #7 defensive lineman, and #24 overall in the class of 2021. Instead of signing with Michigan – during a team when Belleville-Michigan relations were strained – he ended up signing with Nick Saban’s Alabama. He went down to Tuscaloosa and, you know, didn’t do a whole lot. Altogether, he made 30 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and 0.5 sacks during four years. Known as a good run stopper, he didn’t offer much when it comes to penetrating the backfield or chasing plays down.
Michigan snagged Payne in the transfer portal, and he returns close to home to play in front of friends and family. The Wolverines have a ton of depth at defensive tackle this season, depth that includes at least six players who are “playable” in: Payne, Rayshaun Benny, Tre Williams, Trey Pierce, Ike Iwunnah, and Enow Etta. I see Payne as a third starter on the inside, along with Benny and Williams. Williams has more explosiveness, while Payne seems like more of a space eater who is going to be very difficult to run against. Add in the fact that Michigan can roll six-deep on the interior, and these guys should be very good as they stay fresh throughout the game and throughout the season. I don’t expect Payne to break out when it comes to putting up big numbers, but he should be a part of a very good defensive line.
Name: Mikey Keene Height: 5’11” Weight: 200 lbs. High school: Chandler (AZ) Chandler Position: Quarterback Class: Fifth year senior Jersey number: #7 Last year: Keene was the starting quarterback at Fresno State. He completed 277/393 passes (70.5%) for 2,892 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. TTB Rating: N/A
Sherrone Moore is like Galactus, and floating through space and time, he decided to send out the Silver Surfer – in this case, Chip Lindsey – to scout resources to consume to make himself better. The Silver Surfer zeroed in on Mikey Keene from Fresno State, and here we are:
With one of the most highly touted recruits in history, Galactus – I mean, Sherrone Moore – was never going to be able to bring in a high-profile player who wanted to play right now because Bryce Underwood is waiting in the wings to play, probably sooner rather than later. So Moore and Lindsey had to look a rung down for a guy who might want a step up in competition but had already sort of maxed himself out in a lower conference.
Keene has been a starter at two different schools, UCF and Fresno State. Overall, he has amassed 8245 passing yards, 65 passing touchdowns, and 28 interceptions, while completing 67.8% of his passes. He’s an accurate thrower who’s obviously limited when it comes to size, strength, and athleticism. But he’s a veteran who has played 39 games and could be a perfect mentor for Underwood, pushing him and offering advice while also understanding he stepped into a situation where he’s not going to be expected to be the savior of a program.
I expect Underwood to be the starting quarterback by the end of the season, if not the beginning. However, backup quarterbacks play an important role. It’s rare to see a quarterback go through a season completely unscathed, if only for a half of a game or a game here or there. Keene transferred to Michigan over the winter but was unable to participate in spring practices because of an injury. However, he was available for meetings and re-learning some of the things that Lindsey taught him back when they were together at UCF. As long as Keene stays healthy for the year, he should provide a nice safety net for the team.
Name: Semaj Morgan Height: 5’10” Weight: 174 lbs. High school: West Bloomfield (MI) West Bloomfield Position: Wide receiver Class: Junior Jersey number: #0 Last year: I ranked Morgan #16 and said he would be a starting wide receiver (LINK). He started four games and made 27 catches for 139 yards and 1 touchdown, ran 6 times for 32 yards, and returned 9 punts for 100 yards. TTB Rating: 76
After a breakout freshman season in 2023, I thought Semaj Morgan would have a fun 2024. He was a bit of a jack-of-all trades who could catch, run, and return punts.
And then he did absolutely nothing in 2024.
You want a fun statistic? Out of 177 players in Michigan history with 19 catches or more in a season, Semaj Morgan’s 5.1 yards per catch is tied for the lowest . . . and the person tied with him was running back Anthony Thomas (33 catches, 168 yards in 1999).
Want to know what’s arguably worse? The only player with 17 catches or more in a season who had a lower yards per catch than Morgan and Thomas’s 5.1 was the 2024 version of Donovan Edwards (18 catches, 83 yards).
In other words, the passing game in 2024 was historically bad. Not that you didn’t already know that.
On the plus side, I think Morgan is better than that. He was better in high school and he was better as a freshman. I’m going to chalk up the pitiful 2024 campaign to poor quarterbacking and poor offensive coordinator-ing, and both of those positions have been upgraded going into 2025. I think offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey will have a better idea of how to use Morgan, and I think Bryce Underwood/Mikey Keene will be able to get him the ball in more advantageous ways.
Prediction: Part-time starting wide receiver; 30 catches for 300 yards and 3 touchdowns
