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2024 Season Countdown: #51 Greg Tarr

Name: Greg Tarr
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 215 lbs.
High school: Washington (MI) Romeo
Position: Long snapper
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #45
Last year: I ranked Tarr #58 and said he would be a backup long snapper (LINK). He played in two games.
TTB Rating: N/A

Two seasons ago, Tarr was a very valuable backup as he started nine games following William Wagner’s ACL tear. Last season Tarr reverted to a more traditional role of backup: he played only in blowout wins, against Indiana and Michigan State. It’s not too often that you have two proven starters at long snapper on one team, but that’s the case for Michigan over the past couple years.

NOTE: In fact, Michigan has three starting long snappers, because Holy Cross starter Dan Rosenberg transferred in and joined the fall roster. But that news came out after I had already set the countdown, so Rosenberg won’t get ranked this year.

Tarr should be in a backup role again in 2024. With this being Wagner’s final year of eligibility, Tarr could be biding his time to start in 2025. He started his career in 2020 (which didn’t count due to COVID) and then took a redshirt in 2021, so he has 2024 and 2025 left before he runs out of time.

Prediction: Backup long snapper

2024 Season Countdown: #52a Cole Cabana

Name: Cole Cabana
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 204 lbs.
High school: Dexter (MI) Dexter
Position: Running back
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #24
Last year: I ranked Cabana #59 and said he would be a backup running back and part-time kickoff returner (LINK). He played in one game and ran 2 times for 6 yards.
TTB Rating: 73

Cabana entered 2023 without much of a chance to play a significant role in the offensive backfield. Benjamin Hall was the freshman with the big performance in the spring game, and Michigan had two star running backs in the forms of Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards. On top of that, Cabana’s possible role as a pass catcher and gadget running back was blocked by Edwards, who also has the speed and receiving ability to move around.

But Cabana, a track star in high school, did have the speed Michigan often looks for in kickoff returners. And since he wasn’t going to factor in on offense, I thought he might get a shot to return kicks. But it was a different freshman – wide receiver Semaj Morgan – who led the team in kickoff returns (12 attempts for 186 yards) and nobody else had more than one.

With receivers Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson off to the NFL, I’m not sure that Michigan will want to use Morgan so much on returns. He will step into a bigger receiving role, perhaps as the #2 guy behind Tyler Morris. Over the past several years, Michigan has turned to non-starters like Morgan, A.J. Henning, Blake Corum, and Giles Jackson to field kickoffs. If that trend continues, Cabana could be someone whose speed and energy reserves could be used wisely. He won’t play much on offense (Edwards, Kalel Mullings, and at least one or two other guys will probably be ahead of him), so the Wolverines could put him to good use without risking a key offensive cog to injury.

Prediction: Backup running back, part-time kickoff returner

2024 Season Countdown: #52b Benjamin Hall

Name: Benjamin Hall
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 235 lbs.
High school: Kennesaw (GA) North Cobb
Position: Running back
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #28
Last year: I ranked Hall #51 and said he would be a backup running back (LINK). He played in three games and had 15 carries for 69 yards.
TTB Rating: 71

Hall was the star of the 2023 spring game after enrolling early. He made some nice cuts, showed a little more quickness than expected, and powered through some tackles. But Michigan already had a couple good, proven backs in Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, so a starring role wasn’t in the cards. Furthermore, Michigan had Kalel Mullings – who converted from linebacker late in 2022 – as a powerful back in the rotation, so they didn’t necessarily need Hall’s skill set. Some people thought Hall would be RB3 ahead of Mullings, but Hall instead managed to carry the ball just 15 times and retain his redshirt. His best game was a 9-carry, 58-yard performance against Indiana.

The outlook is a little better for Hall now that Corum is playing for the Los Angeles Rams, but Edwards and Mullings still stand in the way. Furthermore, new running backs coach Tony Alford seems to like Tavierre Dunlap a little more than Mike Hart did, and true freshman Jordan Marshall is a potential star. So the picture is clearer ahead of Hall, but it’s murky once you get to #3 on the depth chart. It’s anyone’s guess whether Dunlap, Hall, or Marshall ends up as the third guy, with Cole Cabana and Micah Ka’apana seemingly playing from behind for now.

Prediction: Backup running back

2024 Season Countdown: #53 Jack Tuttle

Name: Jack Tuttle
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 211 lbs.
High school: San Marcos (CA) Mission Hills
Position: Quarterback
Class: Seventh year senior
Jersey number: #13
Last year: I ranked Tuttle #30 and said he would be the backup quarterback (LINK). He completed 15/17 passes for 130 yards and 1 touchdown; he also ran 4 times for 35 yards.
TTB Rating: N/A

Tuttle transferred from Indiana to Michigan prior to the 2023 season. He was brought in to be a backup to J.J. McCarthy, and there has been some talk that he plans to embark on a coaching career and wanted to be around a winning program to give him a better chance at succeeding in the coaching profession. But that shouldn’t diminish his talent: he’s a former 4-star quarterback who’s pretty accurate and runs well.

The problem is and has always been his injury status. Much like former Indiana quarterback Michael Penix, every season seems to involve a pretty serious injury. It’s almost like the Hoosiers can’t protect their quarterbacks . . . but then again, Tuttle got hurt behind Michigan’s offensive line, too. He seems to just be one of those injury-prone guys. But that didn’t stop him from completing 15 out of 17 passes on the season. When he was called upon in blowouts, he delivered the ball accurately.

Can he do that in crunch time at Michigan? Will he even have the chance? As you can see, I’m ranking him #53, so I’m thinking he won’t be much of a factor in the starting quarterback race. He had off-season surgery and did not participate in spring practice. Recent rumors suggest that he’s back to feeling some soreness after looking solid earlier this summer. While I do think he could be a game manager type if he was healthy, it’s tough to think he’ll suddenly survive a season intact in year seven of his football career. Talent-wise, I think he’s the #2 or maybe even #1 quarterback on the roster, but in reality, I’m putting him at QB3 for 2024.

Prediction: Backup quarterback

2024 Season Countdown: #54 Ricky Johnson

Name: Ricky Johnson
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 180 lbs.
High school: Houston (TX) Cy Falls
Position: Cornerback
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #22
Last year: Bell was a redshirt junior at UNLV. He made 36 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and 7 pass breakups.
TTB Rating: N/A

Michigan went hard after defensive backs in the transfer portal because there was so much turnover in the off-season. Cam Calhoun (Utah), D.J. Waller (Kentucky), Amorion Walker (Ole Miss), and Keon Sabb (Alabama) all transferred, starters Josh Wallace and Mike Sainristil both moved on to the NFL, and starter Rod Moore tore his ACL in spring practice. And while Walker did return to Ann Arbor after the spring, he moved over to wide receiver, anyway. So Michigan lost six defensive backs and replaced them with four experienced transfers and then the incoming freshmen. (NOTE: This doesn’t even include Quinten Johnson, who declared for the NFL Draft and then returned to Michigan for a sixth year.)

As for Johnson himself, he came from UNLV, where he started two games at cornerback and three at strong safety; his PFF grades were not very good. It’s hard to expect a part-time starter at UNLV to step in at Michigan and start immediately, but he does have two years of eligibility left, so he could be a developmental guy with an eye toward 2025. Nobody’s expecting Johnson to start, but he’s one of the more experienced defensive backs on the roster and could be a valuable backup if things get rocky for some of the young guys.

Prediction: Backup cornerback