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2016 Mid-Season Grades: Offense

Chris Evans has had a breakout freshman year

QUARTERBACK: B

Starting quarterback Wilton Speight has done a solid job for being a first-year starter. The redshirt sophomore is #57 in passing yards (1,194), #45 in completion percentage (61.6%), #59 in yards/attempt (7.5), #31 in touchdowns thrown (11), #23 in fewest interceptions (2), and #48 in passer rating (145.03). He has avoided the huge mistakes that plague a lot of young quarterbacks, and his three turnovers included his first pass of the year, a huge hit by Colorado to cause a fumble, and then an excellent play by Wisconsin linebacker Jack Cichy to tip the ball. If we’re talking about three turnovers halfway into the season, then that’s pretty excellent. On the flip side, he has missed a lot of open receivers and sometimes holds onto the ball too long in the pocket waiting for the perfect throw. His deep ball has improved and he hit some nice downfield passes in game six against Rutgers, so we’ll see if he can continue to improve during the second half of the year. I intended to give him a B-, but I’m bumping it up based on the lack of turnovers.

Hit the jump for the rest of the grades.

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Recruiting Update: October 13, 2016

Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy OG Curtis Dunlap, Jr.

COMMITMENT

Indianapolis (IN) Cathedral offensive guard Emil Ekiyor, Jr. committed to Michigan (LINK).

DECOMMITMENT

Jacksonville (FL) Trinity fullback/linebacker Chase Lasater decommitted from Michigan (LINK).

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017

Nashville (TN) Lipscomb defensive tackle Rutger Reitmaier, an Oregon commit, was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’3″, 270 lb. prospect with offers from Nebraska, Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Tennessee, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #24 defensive tackle, and #360 overall. The U.S. Army All-American has been committed to the Ducks since June, but at 2-4 and with questions about head coach Mark Helfrich’s job, other teams are going to be poking around Oregon’s commits.

Hit the jump for a couple new 2018 offers, a couple 2019 offers, a few guys who committed elsewhere, and some random bits.

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Ex-Wolverine Updates: Week 6

Alabama running back Damien Harris (image via Zimbio)

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Former DE commit Pharaoh Brown: Brown made 3 catches for 18 yards in Oregon’s 70-21 loss to Washington.

Former WR/S Brian Cole II: Cole made 6 tackles in East Mississippi Community College’s 63-49 win over Holmes Community College.

Brian Cole @EMCCathletics smh ?? @TheD_Zone @AllenTrieu pic.twitter.com/ESiaalSMsM

— Camp pride (@Camp__Pride) October 9, 2016

Former CB commit Gareon Conley: Conley made 2 pass breakups in Ohio State’s 38-17 win over Indiana.

Hit the jump for several more updates.

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Chase Lasater, Ex-Wolverine

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Chase Lasater (#27)

Jacksonville (FL) Trinity fullback/linebacker Chase Lasater decommitted from Michigan on Monday night. He originally committed to the Wolverines in March (LINK).

Lasater, who is 6’2″ and 238 lbs., was brought into the fold as someone who could play fullback but wanted to play linebacker, similar to Sandy Hook (CT) Newtown commitment Ben Mason. He was lightly recruited but is a very physical player. Michigan has been recruiting Leesburg (GA) Lee fullback and LSU commit Tory Carter pretty hard, and Carter will be on campus in November for an official visit. There have been rumors floating around for a while that Lasater might not end up in the class: injuries have slowed him this fall, attending several different high schools may have hurt his chances of admission, and maybe Michigan just didn’t have room for him.

Regardless, Michigan goes forward with the possibility of flipping Carter, a 6’2″, 255-pounder. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #4 fullback, and #1806 in the class. Here’s a look at the top-ranked fullbacks in the class:

Michigan now has 16 commitments in a class that could reach approximately 30.

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2016 Michigan at Rutgers Awards

Jabrill Peppers (image via SB Nation)

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Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Jabrill Peppers. This is a bit disingenuous, because more of Peppers against Rutgers is a bit superfluous. He’s just such a dynamic player that busted plays turn into 63-yard runs, naked bootlegs turn into 7-yard touchdown runs, and penalty-doomed punt returns still look like highlights of the year. Again, Michigan might not need him against Illinois and their ilk, but 3 carries for 74 yards and 2 touchdowns is pretty impressive production for a defensive player. The one read option play where he gave to Ty Isaac probably should have been a keep by the QB, but otherwise, he was electric as a Wildcat signal caller. This is why I’ve said in the past that Peppers needs to play more offense. He can take ignite a team immediately.

Hit the jump for the rest of the awards.

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