2024 Season Countdown: #17 Max Bredeson

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28Aug 2024
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2024 Season Countdown: #17 Max Bredeson

Name: Max Bredeson
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 240 lbs.
High school: Hartland (WI) Arrowhead
Position: Tight end/Fullback
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #44
Last year: I ranked Bredeson #46 and said he would be a backup tight end (LINK). He caught 2 passes for 19 yards.
TTB Rating: N/A

Bredeson was a backup fullback to converted lineman Joel Honigford in 2022, but he still managed to get 233 snaps that year. Last year he started three games but had 238 snaps in fifteen contests, which is a surprisingly small uptick in playing time considering Honigford was out of the picture in 2023. Bredeson ranked as the second-best run blocker on the team with a 78.0 grade, according to Pro Football Focus; the only person ahead of him was tight end A.J. Barner at 81.4. Bredeson’s improvement from 2022 to 2023 is symbolized by going from a 63.4 as a run blocker (#17 on the team) to that 78.0 grade.

Bredeson might end up being Michigan’s highest graded run blocker in 2024 now that Barner is gone, but I have a hard time ranking a fullback higher than #17. Even though Bredeson is now a captain, he’s still not going to be on the field for a majority of snaps. Backup Jalen Hoffman is an unproven commodity, but Michigan can massage its personnel if Bredeson gets hurt to include other tight ends. In other words, the absence of a starting fullback shouldn’t tank Michigan’s offense altogether; they’ll just need to make some adjustments. But when he’s in there, Bredeson can be expected to destroy some defensive ends, linebackers, and an occasional safety, like he did to former Alabama (and current Ohio State) star Caleb Downs.

Prediction: Part-time starting fullback/tight end

28Aug 2024
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2024 Season Countdown: #18 Tyler Morris

Tyler Morris (image via The Athletic)

Name: Tyler Morris
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 185 lbs.
High school: La Grange Park (IL) Nazareth Academy
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #8
Last year: I ranked Morris #29 and said he would be a part-time starting wide receiver with 20 catches for 240 yards and 2 touchdowns (LINK). He caught 13 passes for 197 yards and 1 touchdown, and he returned 9 punts for 88 yards.
TTB Rating: 83

Morris was often on the field in 2023 but a lot of Michigan fans probably didn’t notice him much. Would you believe he only played 26 fewer snaps (344) than Donovan Edwards (370)? Morris was #14 on the team in offensive snaps, ahead of Myles Hinton, Max Bredeson, and Semaj Morgan. But with Roman Wilson, Cornelius Johnson, and Colston Loveland eating up passing targets, Morris just kind of blended into the background.

And then in the Rose Bowl against Alabama, it all changed. With the game tied 7-7 in the second quarter, Morris got matched up on a linebacker in man coverage, ran a crossing route, caught a J.J. McCarthy pass, and housed it from 38 yards out to take a 13-7 lead. In a game that was tied 20-20 at the end of regulation, that was a huge play. A couple steps slower or a drop there, and maybe Michigan’s storybook season ends differently.

Morris could very well be Michigan’s #1 receiver in 2024, and reports out of practice have been positive. But this is still a player who caught just 13 balls and didn’t score a touchdown until the post-season. We have yet to see how he handles more targets or whether he can shake loose from opposing teams’ #1 corners, if they choose to defend him in that way. A lot of comparisons have been made to Ronnie Bell, and it would be a good thing if he can approximate Bell.

Prediction: Starting wide receiver; 40 catches for 560 yards and 5 touchdowns

28Aug 2024
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2024 Season Countdown: #19 Makari Paige

Makari Paige (image via Twitter)

Name: Makari Paige
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 208 lbs.
High school: West Bloomfield (MI) West Bloomfield
Position: Safety
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #7
Last year: I ranked Paige #19 and said he would be a starting safety (LINK). He made 41 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 2 pass breakups, and 1 quarterback hurry.
TTB Rating: 79

Paige was an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection in 2023 after being a thirteen-game starter. He was not a flashy player, but he’s an extremely steady player. His long arms help him cover some ground as a tackler where others might whiff, and he was probably better in coverage than I thought he would be, even though that’s not his strength. PFF gave him a 71.4 pass coverage grade and an 86.0 tackling grade, so you can see the discrepancy. Altogether he was part of a nice combination with Rod Moore and/or Keon Sabb.

The picture at safety has completely changed in 2024. And Paige was recently named a captain. But just by coincidence, I once again ranked Paige at #19, just like last year. Rod Moore is out with a torn ACL and Keon Sabb is at Alabama, but Quinten Johnson returned for a sixth year and Michigan brought in two transfer portal starters in the form of Wesley Walker and Jaden Mangham. That gives Michigan four starting-caliber safeties on the roster this year, so if Paige were going to miss any time, the depth should help mitigate issues. Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale recently said that Paige might get the “green dot” on defense (a.k.a. the in-helmet communication) or it might go to linebacker Ernest Hausmann, so I don’t want to discount Paige’s leadership. But the depth (or lack thereof) at some other spots has me ranking Paige as one of the lower-end starters in the countdown.

Prediction: Starting safety; 40 tackles, 2 interceptions