Posts under: homepage

2019 Season Countdown: #42 Daxton Hill

Name: Daxton Hill
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 190 lbs.
High school: Tulsa (OK) Booker T. Washington
Position: Safety
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #30
Last year: Hill was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 93 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 2 interceptions, and 9 pass breakups, along with 13 catches for 360 yards and 7 touchdowns.
TTB Rating: 100

I gave Hill a TTB Rating of 100, which means I think he’s the best safety prospect in the country from the class of 2019. And in all honesty, I don’t think it’s really all that close. I’m not impressed with the other top safeties in the class, and I think it’s a down year at the position overall.

Will he play like the best safety in the country at Michigan? There’s reason to have doubts. Michigan’s safeties are not always big-time playmakers and can sometimes be rather forgettable. Josh Metellus was not a standout initially, and Tyree Kinnel was a 4-star who was somewhat forgettable. Delano Hill made some big plays but not consistently.

Furthermore, safety is a tough position to play as a freshman, because so much depends on getting aligned correctly, recognizing formations, communication, and recognizing route combinations. And on top of that, Hill didn’t enroll until the summer, so he missed spring ball that some freshmen used to get acclimated to college ball and Don Brown’s system.

Much was expected of Dymonte Thomas coming out of high school, and Thomas had a rough freshman year. He’s probably the closest approximation to Hill that Michigan has had in the past twenty years, a lanky guy with speed to burn. (Although in fairness, Thomas was basically playing middle linebacker in high school so he could run sideline to sideline and stop the run.) Like Thomas, Hill is expected to start out repping at nickel corner, a spot that doesn’t have a clear front-runner going into the season.

So what should we expect to see from Hill in 2019? Flashes of excellence and some struggles. By mid-season, I expect him to be the starting nickel corner, barring injury at the safety position. The Wolverines have significant depth at safety (Metellus, J’Marick Woods, Brad Hawkins, etc.), but any injuries could cause a reshuffling in the secondary. There have even been rumors that Hill could end up playing cornerback if injuries/illness affect that position a great deal (like the issue Ambry Thomas is dealing with now). Expecting greatness from Hill immediately is probably wishful thinking, but his 2020 and 2021 seasons look very bright as one of the most explosive overall athletes in the entire nation.

Prediction: Starting nickel corner

2019 Season Countdown: #43 Gemon Green

Name: Gemon Green
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 174 lbs.
High school: DeSoto (TX) DeSoto
Position: Cornerback
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #9
Last year: I ranked Green #84 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He redshirted.
TTB Rating: 82

Green was selected for the International Bowl coming out of high school, and both ESPN and Rivals ranked him as a 4-star prospect (he was a 3-star to 247). He gets forgotten a little bit by some Michigan fans, but his recruiting profile was pretty solid. The likes of Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Wisconsin offered him, so he wasn’t a reach, but he also was buried on the depth chart in 2018.

But David Long left for the NFL, and Brandon Watson graduated…and this list was made before it came out that Ambry Thomas might miss camp and potentially a chunk of the season due to health issues. With the transfer of Benjamin St-Juste to Minnesota, Green is suddenly thrust into the #3 cornerback role going into August camp when he was probably #7 last year. Green might be baptized quickly with a heavy role unless the Wolverines mitigate the need at cornerback by moving a safety over, such as Jaylen Kelly-Powell. Regardless, it looks like Lavert Hill, Vincent Gray, and then Green are the top three corners going into 2019.

Prediction: Backup cornerback

Ex-Wolverine Updates: Coaches, Summer 2019

If you want to help out TTB, please use the Amazon links here to do your shopping (LINK):

I do Ex-Wolverine Updates throughout the season, but I generally don’t include former coaches. In this case I have listed every Michigan coach over the past twenty years that is still in the game (for example, I think Steve Szabo, Stan Parrish, Bobby Morrison, Greg Robinson, etc. are retired permanently). There’s no way to keep track of every former Michigan player toiling away as a high school assistant coach or D-III strength and conditioning guy, but if you have any additions to the list, please let me know. I’m sure I’ve missed a few guys who are coaching or graduate assistant-ing.

For more Ex-Wolverine news, check out these posts on transfers (LINK) and former commits (LINK).

2019 Season Countdown: #44 Camaron Cheeseman

Name: Camaron Cheeseman
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 235 lbs.
High school: New Albany (OH) Gahanna-Lincoln
Position: Long snapper
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #33
Last year: I ranked Cheeseman #48 and said he would be the starting long snapper (LINK). He played in all thirteen games as the long snapper.
TTB Rating: N/A

How much can you say about long snappers when they don’t screw up? Michigan had a scholarship long snapper in Scott Sypniewski, and they let him go to Vanderbilt because of the presence of Cheeseman, who has started for the past two seasons. The snaps have been pretty good for the past two seasons, particularly on punts. Cheeseman is in his fourth year and could potentially return for a fourth consecutive year of starting in 2020.

Prediction: Starting long snapper

2019 Season Countdown: #45 Jake Moody

Name: Jake Moody
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 177 lbs.
High school: Northville (MI) Northville
Position: Kicker
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #2
Last year: I did not rank Moody. He was 10/11 on field goals with a long of 48 yards, and 43 of his 89 kickoffs went for touchbacks.
TTB Rating: N/A

I usually punt when it comes to ranking kickers, and Moody is a great example why. When he committed to Michigan, there was confusion about whether he would be a grayshirt or a preferred walk-on or a scholarship player.

By the time game one rolled around, he was on scholarship and handling kickoff duties.

By the eleventh game, against Indiana, he went in to placekick and was 6/6 on field goals. He went 4/5 over the next two games (and was 5/5 overall on extra points).

This year I have Moody ranked at #45 and Quinn Nordin at #51 (LINK). It could be the reverse. Nordin has a strong enough leg to handle kickoffs, too.

I believe Michigan will have a solid kicker this season, because there are two good options. I just don’t know which one it will be.

Prediction: Starting kicker