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2025 Season Countdown: #110 Kaleb Schlecht

Name: Kaleb Schlecht
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 195 lbs.
High school: Ann Arbor (MI) Skyline
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #89
Last year: I did not rank Schlecht. He did not play in any games.
TTB Rating: N/A

Remember before the internet really existed and some guys just popped up on Michigan’s roster and you had no idea who they were and there was really no way to figure it out?

Well, Kaleb Schlecht is here to remind you.

Kaleb Schlect doesn’t have any Hudl highlights posted, except for a few basketball plays, mostly showing him being a lanky defender.

When I looked up Kaleb Schlecht on Twitter/X, he thankfully had a football highlight video linked, so I clicked on it. I thought maybe Google had just failed me.

The video showed a 6’0″ running back, which is not the same as a 6’4″ wide receiver.

So I double-checked the link, and Kaleb Schlect had simply re-posted his younger brother Ayden’s Hudl highlights.

That’s Kaleb Schlecht’s singular Twitter/X post since he signed up in January 2024.

So to sum up what I know about Kaleb Schlecht, here are Ayden’s Schlecht’s junior football highlights:

2025 Season Countdown: #111 Joshua Nichols

Name: Joshua Nichols
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 205 lbs.
High school: Detroit (MI) Loyola
Position: Safety
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #36
Last year: I ranked Nichols #96 and said he would be a backup safety and special teamer (LINK). He did not play.
TTB Rating: N/A

Nichols has spent the past few seasons as a scout team player, never seeing the field on a fall Saturday. He has made some appearances during spring games and does not appear to be ready for Big Ten competition, so his role is likely going to stay the same as a practice player.

While Michigan lost Makari Paige to graduation after the 2024 season, they brought in reinforcements and have guys waiting in the wings. Former starter Rod Moore will hopefully be ready for the 2025 season, and former Michigan State starter Jaden Mangham is also on hand. Meanwhile, Brandyn Hillman has made some strides, Mason Curtis has been a pleasant surprise, and Arkansas transfer T.J. Metcalf has a good amount of experience, too. The group hasn’t played together much, but there are a lot of solid pieces for defensive backs coach LaMar Morgan to piece together a back end.

Prediction: Backup safety

2025 Season Countdown: #112 Zach Ludwig

Name: Zach Ludwig
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 217lbs.
High school: South Park (PA) South Park
Position: Linebacker
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #43
Last year: I ranked Ludwig #128 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He redshirted.
TTB Rating: 55

Ludwig was recruited to Michigan at a time when Ben Herbert, Ludwig’s uncle, was Michigan’s strength and conditioning coach. Ludwig was listed at 202 pounds last season, a good indication that he would not be ready to play in year one. That held true as the season came and went without his seeing the field.

Now we come out of spring with Ludwig still on the roster, listed at a slightly more reasonable 217 pounds. By weight alone, that’s still probably going to keep him off the field at linebacker. Special teams could be an option, but we’re likely looking at another season of him watching from the sidelines.

Prediction: Backup linebacker

2025 Season Countdown: #113 James Kavouklis

Name: James Kavouklis
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 284 lbs.
High school: Tampa (FL) Berkley Prep
Position: Center/Long snapper
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #64
Last year: I ranked Kavouklis #123 and said he would be a backup center (LINK). He did not see game action.
TTB Rating: N/A

Kavouklis joined Michigan’s team in 2022 and promptly played in the blowout against UConn. That’s a pretty swift start for a true freshman preferred walk-on.

He has since gone on to play zero games in 2023 and 2024.

Kavouklis doubles as a long snapper, but he has been hovering around 280 pounds, and it’s tough to be a long snapper at such a weight. The punt snapper usually has to get downfield and help with punt coverage, and a 280-pounder is unlikely to have the speed or open-field athleticism to make that optimal for a coverage unit.

Michigan lost long snapper Will Wagner, but former starter Greg Tarr is still on the team. Michigan brought in Dan Rosenberg, a transfer from Holy Cross, but Rosenberg is also exploring other options. Whether Rosenberg is still here in the fall is difficult to say, so perhaps Kavouklis should be ranked higher, but this is the new age of college football.

Prediction: Backup long snapper

2025 Season Countdown: #114 Shomari Stone II

Name: Shomari Stone II
Height: 5’8″
Weight: 190 lbs.
High school: Washington (DC) St. John’s
Position: Safety
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #41
Last year: I ranked Stone #122 and said he would be a backup defensive back (LINK). He did not play in any games.
TTB Rating: N/A

Stone is entering his fourth year of college and his third year on the team, as he was not a part of the program in the fall of 2023. Stone was a preferred walk-on in 2022 and happens to be the son of Washington, D.C.-area television news anchor Shomari Stone.

Unfortunately, Stone does not seem to have a clear path to playing time. He’s undersized and is playing a position where Michigan has loaded up with depth pieces over the past couple off-seasons. It’s going to be a struggle for him to get on the field yet again in 2025.

Prediction: Backup defensive back