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26Apr 2023

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2023 NFL Draft Preview: Michigan

With the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft coming up on Thursday night, here’s a look at how things might play out for several former Wolverines:

CB D.J. Turner II: Turner wowed people at the Combine by running a 4.26 in the forty, which seems to have launched him from maybe a mid-round pick to the lower end of the 1st round. Personally, I do not view him as a 1st round talent and I do not think he’s physical enough at 5’11” and 178 lbs. to play up to those expectations. But it sure seems like a lot of people are convinced he’s going to go in the mid- to late 20s on Thursday night.
Prediction: 1st round

DT Mazi Smith: Smith was the #1 freak on Bruce Feldman’s “Freaks List” last year, but that athleticism wasn’t enough to turn him into a surefire 1st round selection in 2023. In fact, some early optimism about being a high 1st round pick has fizzled to the point where many think he’s a 2nd rounder. At 6’3″ and 323 lbs., he has good size but isn’t an outlier in that area. I think he could slip into the last few picks of the 1st round, but more likely he’ll have to wait until Friday.
Prediction: 2nd round

Hit the jump for more.

Jerod Smith, Wolverine

Cheshire (CT) Cheshire Academy defensive lineman Jerod Smith committed to Michigan on Tuesday evening. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Alabama, Georgia, Notre Dame, and Texas, among others.

Smith is listed at 6’3″ and 265 lbs. As a junior at Windsor (CT) Loomis Chaffee, he made 63 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, and 1 interception. He has a twin brother named Jacob, who is a defensive end prospect being pursued by an almost identical list of schools, including Michigan.

RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 82 grade, #9 DT, #169 overall
On3: 3-star, 88 grade, #50 DL
Rivals: 4-star, 5.8 grade, #23 SDE
247 Sports: 4-star, 90 grade, #30 DL, #270 overall

Hit the jump for more.

Brady Prieskorn, Wolverine

Rochester (MI) Adams tight end Brady Prieskorn committed to Michigan on Tuesday afternoon. He chose the Wolverines over offers from Alabama, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and many others.

Prieskorn is listed at 6’6″ and 225 lbs. As a junior in 2022, he caught 24 passes for 648 yards and 10 touchdowns.

RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 84 grade, #1 TE, #92 overall
On3: 4-star, 93 grade, #5 TE, #92 overall
Rivals: 4-star, 5.9 grade, #3 TE, #67 overall
247 Sports: 4-star, 93 grade, #7 TE, #95 overall

Hit the jump for more.

2023 Season Countdown: #124 Noah Howes

Name: Noah Howes
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 240 lbs.
High school: Rochester (MI) Rochester
Position: Tight end
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #45
Last year: I ranked Howes #122 and said he would be a backup tight end (LINK). He played in one game.
TTB Rating: N/A

Howes joins the growing list of walk-ons who got an inch shorter from 2022 to 2023, going from 6’5″ to 6’4″ on this year’s roster, but adding 6 pounds in the process. Surely this loss of height came from the impact Howes made on Hawaii defenders in his lone appearance last season, during the 56-10 Michigan victory.

Fun fact: Howes was rated as a 2-star offensive guard by 247 Sports in the 2021 recruiting class. Michigan may decide to use him as a blocking tight end sometime in the future, since they lost several tight ends to the NFL (Luke Schoonmaker), transfer (Erick All, Louis Hansen), and/or graduation (Joel Honigford, Carter Selzer).

Prediction: Backup tight end

24Apr 2023

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Nikhai Hill-Green, Ex-Wolverine

Former starting linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green will be playing his fourth season elsewhere after entering the transfer portal.

Hill-Green signed as part of the class of 2020 and is now the eleventh player from that class to have transferred, including the third today after A.J. Henning (LINK) and safety R.J. Moten (LINK). I gave him a TTB Rating of 74 when he committed (LINK). He was a 3-star, the #25 outside linebacker, and #393 overall in his class.

Hill-Green played in three games as a freshman in 2020 and then started six games in 2021, making 50 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 1 pass breakup in his second year. However, his 2022 season was a wash due to injury, and he was in a battle with several other players for playing time in 2023, including incumbent Michael Barrett, up-and-comer Jimmy Rolder, and Nebraska transfer Ernest Hausmann.

It would not be surprising to see Hill-Green follow his former high school head coach at Baltimore (MD) St. Frances to Charlotte, where Biff Poggi is the new head coach.