Michigan held a football practice that was open only to students, and one student wrote up a piece for MLive (LINK).
Hit the jump for some pictures and a video of Lizzy Conway, who is known mostly for her backside.
Jarrod Wilson
Name: Jarrod Wilson
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 210 lbs.
High school: Akron (OH) Buchtel
Position: Safety
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #22
Last year: I ranked Wilson #7 and said he would be the starting free safety with 60 tackles and 3 interceptions. He started ten games with 50 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 forced fumble, and 2 pass breakups.
I looked upon Wilson as a difference-maker last year and suggested that he might be in line for some all-conference honors. I was a little confused about how the safeties were deployed last season, because Wilson seemed to be employed almost as a fourth linebacker rather than a deep safety. With the options at safety last year, I thought he would be the best option to roam center field. The defense wasn’t bad, but the Wolverines lacked an enforcer in the middle, and the corners opposite Jourdan Lewis had issues throughout the season. He had an 11-tackle game against Michigan State and a 9-tackle effort against Minnesota, but since he was deployed mostly in the underneath zones, he was not heavily involved in defending the pass.
I think Wilson has some versatility with his ball skills and tackling ability. The new staff has been playing him as a free safety, and he is pretty much a guarantee to start in the defensive backfield. The other safety is a bit of a question mark at this point (will it be Jabrill Peppers or Delano Hill?), but Wilson is solid back there and should be able to get the defense set up properly. With Peppers or Hill blitzing off the edge or playing on the slot receiver, Wilson should benefit from a solid blitz package and front seven on the way to making some plays up the middle of the field. Several of the Big Ten’s best safeties moved on to the NFL after last season, so I think Wilson could slide onto some all-conference teams. I have been waiting for him to break out with a good year, and this is his last hurrah in a winged helmet.
Prediction: Starting free safety; 60 tackles, 2 interceptions
Michigan is “in a submarine” during fall camp, but they are occasionally allowing outsiders in to watch the boring practices or parts of practice. Here are some players who are headed to Michigan this weekend to watch some practices:
2016
Michael Onwenu – OG – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech
2017
Ja’Raymond Hall – OT – Oak Park (MI) Oak Park
Joshua Ross – LB – Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s
Kyle Kalis (#67)
Name: Kyle Kalis
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 292 lbs.
High school: Lakewood (OH) St. Edward
Position: Offensive guard
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #67
Last year: I ranked Kalis #9 and said he would be the starting right guard. He started seven games at right guard.
For the past couple years, we have been waiting for Kalis to break out as a player. A 5-star in high school, he redshirted as a freshman and has spent the last couple seasons playing part-time as Michigan has struggled on the offensive line. Kalis has had lingering back issues during that stretch, the tail end of which caused him to miss out on some playing time last year. He eventually recovered enough to wrench the starting right guard job away from Erik Magnuson approximately halfway through the season. Overall, the offensive line improved, as the team gained 3.28 yards/carry in 2013 and 4.60 yards/carry in 2014. Advanced stats are unavailable for 2013, but an abysmal season turned into a mediocre #50 in Adjusted Line Yards for 2014, as well as being #72 in Adjusted Sack Rate. It was better, but not great. For a few years, I had been pointing to the 2014 season as the year when Michigan really got back to having a good offensive line, but it was a little hit-and-miss, resulting in those middle-of-the-pack numbers.
Kalis is back to right guard most of the time, although he has also reportedly been practicing left guard occasionally. One of the guard jobs is his to lose. He is the second-most experienced lineman on the team (16 starts), behind only fifth year senior Graham Glasgow (24 starts). A large impediment for Michigan’s line the past couple years was offensive line coach Darrell Funk, who I think struggled mightily to teach players the nuances of the game. Imported offensive coordinator/line coach Tim Drevno is a step (or two or three) up from Funk, and he had a pretty decent running game at USC last year with three true freshmen starting on the line. Drevno should be able to polish up Kalis, who has a nasty streak and could be a mauler despite dropping six pounds (298 lbs. to 292) since last year.
Prediction: Starting right guard; Big Ten honorable mention