2019 Season Countdown: #28 Mike Danna

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4Aug 2019
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2019 Season Countdown: #28 Mike Danna

Mike Danna (image via CM-Life)

Name: Mike Danna
Height: 6’2″
Weight:
257 lbs.
High school:
Warren (MI) De La Salle
Position:
Defensive end
Class:
Fifth year senior
Jersey number:
N/A
Last year:
I did not rank Danna, who was at Central Michigan. He made 66 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 1 pass breakup, and 7 quarterback hurries.
TTB Rating:
N/A

Danna had an outstanding 2018 season by many metrics. He was a Pro Football Focus All-American and all-conference player in the MAC, along with making 66 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and 9.5 sacks, which are Chase Winovich-like numbers.

The problem is that he was in the MAC.

Against three Power Five programs (Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State) in 2018, Danna made 12 tackles and 1 quarterback hurry. Against one FCS program (Maine), he made 7 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, and 2 quarterback hurries; against 4-8 Akron, he made 5 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks.

In three games against Power Five teams, he made 0% of his TFLs and 0% of his sacks.

In two games against bad teams, he made 60% of his TFLs and 63% of his sacks.

I believe Michigan fans should temper their expectations for Danna. While he will get superior coaching and a better supporting cast, he will also be facing better offensive tackles on a weekly basis, with no FCS opponents to pad his stats. Some have talked about his becoming the starter at weakside end, but I believe that job will go to junior Kwity Paye. I expect to see Danna come off the bench or enter the game on third downs, when Paye can move inside on obvious passing downs.

Prediction: Backup weakside end

3Aug 2019
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2019 Season Countdown: #29 Andrew Stueber

Andrew Stueber (image via MGoBlue)

Thanks to Michael for the generous Paypal donation this morning!

Name: Andrew Stueber
Height:
6’7″
Weight:
334 lbs.
High school:
Darien (CT) Darien
Position:
Offensive tackle
Class:
Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number:
#71
Last year:
I ranked Stueber #52 and said he would be a backup offensive tackle (LINK). He played in all thirteen games and started two at right tackle.
TTB Rating:
82

Stueber had a solid redshirt freshman season for a guy who didn’t get a ton of recruiting attention coming out of high school. He was mostly a special teams guy and backup. It’s easy to play special teams on the field goal unit when you weight 330 pounds or so. But he ascended to the starting right tackle job late in the year after Juwann Bushell-Beatty’s injury, and Michigan didn’t really seem to miss a beat. (Bushell-Beatty skipped the bowl game to prepare for the NFL, which didn’t help him much, but that’s a complaint for another time.)

Michigan is in a pretty good situation, in my opinion, if Stueber is the backup offensive tackle. Or even if he’s the starter. I liked what I saw out of him last year in the run game, and while his pass protection is a little shaky from a technique standpoint, he has the size and strength that will prevent him from getting bull rushed back into the quarterback. He might get beat by speed rushers, but those guys are usually on the offense’s left side. Right now I think Stueber will be the Wolverines’ starting right tackle, but overall, this is Michigan’s deepest and most talented offensive line since at least the early 2000s.

Prediction: Starting right tackle

3Aug 2019
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Morning Roundup: August 3, 2019

Sean McKeon

Stewart Mandel badmouths Michigan some more (LINK).

Dan Brugler named Sean McKeon his #19 senior tight end and Nick Eubanks his #9 underclassman tight end, FWIW (LINK).

Denard Robinson is now an offensive analyst and special teams assistant at Jacksonville University (LINK).

Nicole Auerbach takes a look at declining NCAA football game attendance (LINK).

2Aug 2019
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2019 Season Countdown: #30 Jalen Mayfield

Jalen Mayfield (image via Detroit Free Press)

Thank you to Ken and Eric for the Paypal donations yesterday!

Name: Jalen Mayfield
Height:
6’5″
Weight:
296 lbs.
High school:
Grand Rapids (MI) Catholic Central
Position:
Offensive tackle
Class:
Redshirt freshman
Jersey number:
#73
Last year:
I ranked Mayfield #78 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He played in three games.
TTB Rating:
87

Mayfield had an outside shot to win an offensive tackle position in 2018. Michigan made a somewhat surprising personnel decision when they moved offensive guard Jon Runyan, Jr. to left tackle, and that move stuck. Mayfield played in three games as a backup, but he was not needed in a major role and preserved his redshirt.

This off-season there has been additional hype about Mayfield. Jim Harbaugh himself has discussed how much he likes Mayfield’s athleticism. Will that translate to winning the tackle position vacated by Juwann Bushell-Beatty? That has yet to be seen. Andrew Stueber was the guy who stepped in for Bushell-Beatty at the end of 2018, so I give Stueber a slight edge. This might end up like the 2017 season when Nolan Ulizio started a few games before giving way to Bushell-Beatty, but on the plus side for Michigan’s future, I think both Stueber and Mayfield are better than both Ulizio (who is now at Pitt) and Bushell-Beatty (who is not in the NFL). I think Mayfield will be the guy who steps in at either tackle position if either Runyan or Stueber gets injured, but he could very well win the right tackle job.

Prediction: Backup offensive tackle

1Aug 2019
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Braylon Edwards: Doing It My Way

(image via Amazon)

Everyone’s favorite Michigan wide receiver to hate is releasing an autobiography. You can pre-order it on Amazon (LINK):