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The 2019 Season Countdown is Coming!

If you’re a regular here at Touch the Banner, you probably know what begins in the month of May. Every year since 2009, I have counted down from the least important player on that year’s roster to the most important player, including starters, scholarship players, preferred walk-ons, special teams players, student body walk-ons, and everyone in between. That’s right, this is the eleventh (11th!) annual season countdown.

In case you want a look back at last year’s countdown, here it is (LINK).

YEARLY DISCLAIMER: The countdown is by the player’s importance to the team, not his overall talent. A talented player at a deep position won’t necessarily be missed a lot if he gets injured, but an injury to a moderately talented player at a thin position could be devastating. For example, former Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight wasn’t supremely talented, but backups John O’Korn and Brandon Peters mostly struggled in his absence, resulting in a dropoff from 10-3 to 8-5 from 2016 to 2017.

Be ready for the countdown to begin on May 1.

Nightly Roundup: April 20, 2019

Stewart Mandel talks about the revamped Michigan offense (LINK).

Tommy Stevens, whom many projected to be Penn State’s starting QB in 2019, is in the transfer portal (LINK).

Hit the jump for a couple video interviews with Don Brown and Josh Gattis.

2020 Recruiting Capsule: Walled Lake Western CB Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen

Name: Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 180 lbs.
High school: Walled Lake (MI) Western
Position: Wide receiver
Class: 2020
Offers: Ball State, Boston College, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Eastern Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Kent State, Kentucky, Liberty, Louisville, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Purdue, Rutgers, Toledo, Washington State, Western Michigan
Commitment: Northwestern on 12/28/18

Hit the jump for more.

Nightly Roundup: April 19, 2019

Mike Renner from Pro Football Focus compares Devin Bush, Jr. to Devin White, head-to-head (LINK).

Matt Miller from Bleach Report discusses some NFL draft rumors (LINK), including some talk about Rashan Gary that has been much discussed on this site: “Teams are afraid of betting on a player with potential who didn’t produce stats. At 6’4″ and 277 pounds, Gary is an elite athlete, but he notched only 3.5 sacks in 2018 and just 9.5 in his three years as a Wolverine.”

Most NFL Draft picks since 2000:

122 – Ohio State
111 – Miami
108 – Alabama
108 – LSU
106 – FSU
106 – USC
105 – Florida
101 – UGA
88 – OU
79 – ND
79 – Tennessee
78 – Michigan
77 – Wisconsin
76 – Virginia Tech
71 – Clemson
71 – PSU
69 – Nebraska
66 – Iowa
66 – Stanford
66 – Texas

— Pick Six Previews (@PickSixPreviews) April 18, 2019

Myles Sims, Ex-Wolverine

Rising redshirt freshman cornerback Myles Sims has entered the transfer portal, which likely means he will not be returning to the Wolverines.

Sims committed to Michigan in April of 2017 (LINK) and was an Under Armour All-American in the 2018 class (LINK). He ended up as a 4-star, the #17 cornerback, and #170 overall.

Hit the jump for more.