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2016 Season Countdown: #63 Shelton Johnson

Reuben Jones (#4) and Shelton Johnson (image via Maize and Blue News)

Name: Shelton Johnson
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 212 lbs.
High school: Delray Beach (FL) Atlantic
Position: Defensive end
Class: Redshirt freshman
jersey number: #7
Last year: I ranked Johnson #65 and said he would be a backup defensive end (LINK). He redshirted.

Johnson is and has been a bit of a strange case so far. Last year he was listed at 225 lbs. coming out of high school, which is thin but not unheard of for a true freshman defensive end who’s in the process of filling out his body. This spring Johnson was listed at . . . 212 lbs. He either lost 13 lbs. of fat from his skinny body, or his weight was exaggerated as a recruit. (The latter is the most likely and why I rarely put much faith in listed weights in high school.)

I admit this ranking is based on high school film, not on anything I’ve seen or heard in the last several months. Johnson offers some speed and athleticism off the edge that most other guys on the roster don’t. He’s not in any danger of becoming a full-time player this year or even a primary backup, but he could be a situational guy since Don Brown likes to put in exotic blitzes with speed coming after the quarterback.

Prediction: Backup defensive end

Brad Hawkins, Ex-Wolverine

Brad Hawkins, Jr. (image via Scout)

Camden (NJ) Camden wide receiver Brad Hawkins, Jr. signed with Michigan in February of 2016, but he won’t be playing at Michigan this season. Rumors had been going around for months, but they became official today. Instead of playing at Michigan this year, he will enroll at Suffield Academy in Connecticut for a year of prep school. In case you’re wondering how prep school works, it’s basically an extra year of high school. That means Hawkins will have five years to play four starting in 2017, assuming he fulfills all the necessary requirements for NCAA eligibility.

Hawkins committed to Michigan in June of 2015 over offers from Auburn, Florida, Miami, Notre Dame, and Ohio State, among others. He was a 247 Composite 4-star, the #55 wide receiver, and #294 overall. He and teammate/fellow signee Ron Johnson, Jr. were chosen to participate in the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl. At 6’1″ and 202 lbs. with a slow-ish forty time around a 4.7, many compared him to former Michigan receiver Jason Avant, while others thought he would play safety. I gave him a TTB Rating of 65 by the time the cycle was over (LINK).

Michigan recruited a lot of receivers in 2016, so this departure should not affect the team much on offense. However, the Wolverines are fairly thin at safety, and his presence could have provided depth on that side of the ball.

Michigan is down to 85 scholarships for the 2016 season (LINK), and that includes former walk-ons Kenny Allen and Ryan Glasgow. If no other departures occur, those two guys can get scholarships. Or there would be potential for Michigan to accept a transfer, though I have not heard of any possibilities on that front.

Going forward, it sounds like Hawkins wants to be a Wolverine, and Michigan recruited him pretty hard. It seems like there would still be interest remaining. But in the past, Michigan commits who have taken prep years have generally not ended up playing or contributing much at Michigan. Based on that, I do not expect Hawkins to enroll at Michigan in the future, but obviously that’s just guesswork at this point since nobody really knows.

Attractive Michigan Girl of the Week

If you have any other pictures of good looking women wearing Michigan gear, drop me an e-mail. Go Blue!

2016 Season Countdown: #64 Juwann Bushell-Beatty

Juwann Bushell-Beatty (image via Maize and Blue News)

Name: Juwann Bushell-Beatty
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 325 lbs.
High school: Paramus (NJ) Catholic
Position: Offensive tackle
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #76
Last year: I ranked Bushell-Beatty #82 and said he would be a backup offensive tackle (LINK). He played in four games.

Bushell-Beatty, who has had some weight issues early in his career, bulked up from 319 lbs. last season to 325 lbs. when the official roster was updated this spring. Last year he played in four games as a reserve. This spring he did not appear to be pushing for significant playing time, and in fact, the next best offensive tackle behind the starters appeared to be Nolan Ulizio. With Ulizio and a potentially college-ready Ben Bredeson on the roster this fall, I do not think Bushell-Beatty will be of great importance this fall.

Prediction: Backup offensive tackle

2016 Season Countdown: #65 Carlo Kemp

Carlo Kemp (image via MGoBlog)

Name: Carlo Kemp
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 250 lbs.
High school: Boulder (CO) Fairview
Position: Defensive end
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #2
Last year: Kemp was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 81 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, and 4 sacks.
Final TTB Rating: 84

Kemp committed to Michigan in November and then enrolled early in January. During spring practice he was bouncing around between SAM linebacker, MIKE linebacker, and defensive end. It’s not clear whether Michigan was just working on different personnel packages or if they were legitimately trying him at several different spots, but by the end of spring, he seemed to have settled down at defensive end. Kemp may grow into a strongside end at some point, but with limited size as an underclassman, he should be on the weak side. Taco Charlton is presumed to be the starter there, and Chase Winovich looks to have worked his way to #2 on the depth chart. I expect Kemp to get some time this season to be groomed for a more prominent role in 2017, when Charlton and Chris Wormley will have graduated. There’s a chance that Rashan Gary will slide in to defensive tackle at that point, and at least one defensive end position will be up for grabs next season.

Prediction: Backup weakside end