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2023 Season Countdown: #89 Christian Boivin

Name: Christian Boivin
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 217 lbs.
High school: Traverse City (MI) West
Position: Linebacker
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #40
Last year: I ranked Boivin #113 and said he would be a backup running back (LINK). He transitioned to linebacker and played in eleven games on special teams, making 1 tackle.
TTB Rating: N/A

Here’s what I had to say about Boivin in last year’s preview:

“When Boivin came into college, I thought for sure he would be headed for the safety position. He runs a bit like a linebacker but doesn’t really have linebacker size.”

Well, he played running back in year one, but last year he moved to linebacker despite being listed at 6’0″ and 204 lbs., which is very light for a linebacker. He was named Scout Team Defensive Player of the Week for the week leading up to UConn, and he was a regular special teams contributor all year long.

This year Boivin is listed at 217 lbs., which is a bit more reasonable for a linebacker. His chances of actually playing linebacker are still quite slim, but it’s fair to expect him to maintain a sizable role on special teams.

Prediction: Backup linebacker and special teamer

All-Time Single-Game Receiving Touchdown Leaders

I thought I would put together the list of top scoring performances for receivers in Michigan history. Again, if you want to set some passing/receiving records at Michigan, make sure you’re healthy for the Indiana game.

1. 4 – Derrick Alexander (1992 vs. Minnesota)
2. 4 – Jehu Chesson (2015 vs. Indiana)
3. 3 – Ron Kramer (1955 vs. Missouri)
4. 3 – Greg McMurty (1989 vs. Minnesota)
5. 3 – Desmond Howard (1991 vs. Boston College)
6. 3 – Desmond Howard (1991 vs. Indiana)
7. 3 – Derrick Alexander (1992 vs. Northwestern)
8. 3 – David Terrell (1999 vs. Alabama)
9. 3 – David Terrell (2000 vs. Northwestern)
10. 3 – Braylon Edwards (2004 vs. Michigan State)
11. 3 – Braylon Edwards (2004 vs. Texas)
12. 3 – Mario Manningham (2006 vs. Notre Dame)
13. 3 – Jeremy Gallon (2013 vs. Notre Dame)
14. 3 – Devin Funchess (2014 vs. Appalachian State)
15. 3 – Donovan Peoples-Jones (2018 vs. SMU)
16. 3 – Nico Collins (2019 vs. Indiana)

Over one hundred players have caught 2 touchdowns in a game, so I won’t list them all.

Originally posted on November 26, 2019.

Depth Chart for 2024 Class

Now that Michigan has 25 commitments in the class of 2024, I thought it might be interesting to see how the class fits together. Naturally, not all of these players will stay at Michigan for four or five years, some will change positions, and some will be passed up by transfers or kids in the class of 2025 and beyond. But if you were putting together a team from this class alone, here’s how your depth chart might look:

QB: Jadyn Davis
RB: Jordan Marshall, Micah Ka’apana
WR: I’Marion Stewart
WR: Channing Goodwin
TE: Brady Prieskorn
TE: Hogan Hansen
LT: Andrew Sprague
LG: Luke Hamilton
C: Jake Guarnera
RG: Ben Roebuck
RT: Blake Frazier

DE: Dominic Nichols, Ted Hammond
DT: Owen Wafle, Manuel Beigel
NT:
DE: Jerod Smith
OLB: Elias Rudolph, Devon Baxter
ILB: Jeremiah Beasley, Mason Curtis
ILB: Jaden Smith, Cole Sullivan
CB:
CB:
S: Jacob Oden
S:

K:
P:
LS: Zach Ludwig

Michigan still needs to find a nose tackle and some defensive backs. Pennsylvania nose tackle Deyvid Palepale committed to USC last week after a lot of people expected him to end up at Michigan. Meanwhile, cornerback Terhyon Nichols recently pledged to Kentucky, and top-100 corner Aaron Scott’s announcement on July 30 appears to point toward a commitment to Ohio State.

Elias Rudolph, Wolverine

Deerfield Beach (FL) Deerfield Beach defensive end Elias Rudolph committed to Michigan on Monday. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Ohio State, Penn State, and others.

Rudolph is listed at 6’4″ and 205 lbs.

RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 81 grade, #29 DE, #239 overall
On3: 3-star, 89 grade, #38 edge
Rivals: 4-star, 5.8 grade, #13 WDE, #219 overall
247 Sports: 4-star, 90 grade, #19 edge

Hit the jump for more.

2023 Season Countdown: #90 Deakon Tonielli

Name: Deakon Tonielli
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 230 lbs.
High school: Oswego (IL) Oswego
Position: Tight end
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Tonielli was a senior in high school (LINK). He caught 42 passes for 550 yards and 5 touchdowns.
TTB Rating: 76

One of the more forgotten members of the 2023 class, Tonielli ended up as a 247 Composite 4-star, the #20 tight end, and #413 overall. With a decent offer list that included Illinois, Purdue, Minnesota, Tennessee, and West Virginia, he took official visits to Champaign and West Lafayette before visiting Ann Arbor and committing shortly thereafter. Tonielli played some in-line tight end in high school, but he also spent a lot of time split out wide, where he was a mismatch for high school corners. Quicker than most 6’5″, 230-pounders and towering over most of the guys covering him, he seemed to be able to get open pretty consistently for a team that ran the ball a lot.

Strength and blocking will be a couple of the hurdles for Tonielli to overcome in year one. He needs to put on a good chunk of weight before he can get on the field much, and his blocking will need to improve. Usually, that points to a redshirt year as a tight end, and that’s a strong possibility for Tonielli. However, Michigan lost several tight ends to the NFL (Luke Schoonmaker, Joel Honigford), graduation (Carter Selzer) and transfer (Erick All, Louis Hansen) last season and only brought in Indiana’s A.J. Barner from the transfer portal. Zack Marshall enrolled early as a freshman and may have a better shot to play than Tonielli. But Michigan uses a lot of tight ends, so Tonielli may be able to slip on the field a few times while still preserving his redshirt, like Marlin Klein did in 2022 when he played in two games.

Prediction: Redshirt