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1Aug 2024

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2024 Season Countdown: #70 Myles Pollard

Name: Myles Pollard
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 194 lbs.
High school: Brentwood (TN) Ravenwood
Position: Cornerback
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #24
Last year: I ranked Pollard #69 and said he would be a backup cornerback (LINK). He played in two games and made 1 tackle.
TTB Rating: 83

When we talking getting late early for Michigan players, Myles Pollard comes to mind. Back in 2023 when Michigan was looking for a cornerback or two to help out early in the season when Will Johnson was injured and Josh Wallace was getting up to speed, the coaching staff turned to walk-on Keshaun Harris and nickel Mike Sainristil before trying Pollard. In fact, Pollard has played in four career games over two seasons: Bowling Green, UNLV, Colorado State, and UConn. Despite having two years of experience, he’s only played against teams who were getting blown out.

So now we’re headed into 2024 with similar questions at cornerback, but instead of planning to promote a guy like Pollard to full-time duty, the coaching staff went out and got transfers from Albany’s Aamir Hall and UNLV’s Ricky Johnson. Pollard has not been in the discussion at all despite the numerous moving parts. He had already been passed by D.J. Waller, who was one year younger, and now it seems that Jyaire Hill will also move past Pollard; the second cornerback seems to be coming down to Hall or Hill. So Michigan might get this year and perhaps next from Pollard, but the writing seems to be on the wall for him at Michigan.

Prediction: Backup cornerback

1Aug 2024

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2024 Season Countdown: #71 Dominic Nichols

Name: Dominic Nichols
Height: 6’5”
Weight: 251 lbs.
High school: Frederick (MD) Oakdale
Position: Defensive end
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #33
Last year: Nichols was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 84 tackles, 15.5 sacks, 1 interception, and 77 quarterback pressures.
TTB Rating: 79

Nichols had an outstanding senior season with 15.5 sacks and, according to MGoBlue, a school record of 77 pressures. I have no idea about the history of Oakdale, but it’s hard to imagine getting more than 77 pressures in a high school season. His senior season showed some athletic and technical development, and he was blowing up high schoolers trying to block him.

Nichols enrolled early over the winter and participated in spring practices. He looked bigger than I expected (I figured he would be around 260 instead of listed at 251) and seemed like he could be a guy who gets an early role in mop-up situations. He’s probably not a guy who will rotate in during key moments, but Michigan is looking for people to step up at the edge positions; outside of Josaiah Stewart, Derrick Moore, and T.J. Guy, nobody really seems to know what to expect from the other edges. But this is a position that played at least four guys regularly in 2023, including Stewart, Moore, Braiden McGregor, and Jaylen Harrell. Can Nichols maybe be that fifth edge, kind of like T.J. Guy, who played 81 defensive snaps in 2023?

Prediction: Backup defensive end

31Jul 2024

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2024 Season Countdown: #72 Jalen Hoffman

Name: Jalen Hoffman
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 225 lbs.
High school: Lake Braddock (VA) Lake Braddock
Position: Tight end
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #42
Last year: I didn’t rank Hoffman. He played in one game.
TTB Rating: N/A

Hoffman was a little known preferred walk-on after decommitting form Bucknell in the class of 2023. Used as a wide receiver and H-back at Lake Braddock, he caught 20 passes for 400 yards and 5 touchdowns as a senior in 2022. He runs pretty well, but he’s a little bit stiff and doesn’t really have the size and length you want in an ideal FBS tight end.

That sounds like a fullback. Though Hoffman is listed as a tight end, the coaching staff has him backing up Max Bredeson – also listed as a tight end, but at 6’2″, 240 pounds. They are effectively fullbacks, but tight end sounds sexier. And they function a lot like the H-backs in modern spread offenses. You probably won’t see Bredeson or Hoffman lined up on the line of scrimmage or running a lot of downfield routes, but they will be lead blockers and run arrow routes out of the backfield to stretch the defense laterally. I don’t expect Hoffman to play a key role in 2024, but he could see some backup snaps and potentially be a guy to watch down the road once Bredeson departs.

Prediction: Backup tight end

31Jul 2024

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2024 Season Countdown: #73 Jordan Marshall

Name: Jordan Marshall
Height: 5’11″
Weight: 200 lbs.
High school: Cincinnati (OH) Moeller
Position: Running back
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #23
Last year: Marshall was a senior in high school (LINK). He ran for 1,550 yards, had 294 receiving yards, and scored 21 total touchdowns.
TTB Rating: 88

Marshall was perhaps the most prized recruit in the 2024 class, a 247 Composite top-100 player (#78 overall) who was very productive in high school. His offer list was solid (Ohio State, Oregon were included) but not amazing (no Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Texas, etc.). But what Michigan fans latched onto most was a perceived similarity to Blake Corum; both players have compact builds and a tough, tackle-breaking running style.

With two seniors at running back (Donovan Edwards and Kalel Mullings) and no clear-cut heir apparent, Marshall has a chance to stake his claim to the running back spot in 2025. That role could go to Benjamin Hall, who had an impressive spring game in 2023 but didn’t play a ton during the season. It could also go to Tavierre Dunlap, a little-used player who seems to fit new running backs coach Tony Alford’s personality than he did Mike Hart’s. And then there’s Cole Cabana, who barely played last year but has some upside with his speed and pass-catching ability. Regardless, my belief is that Marshall will have an expanded role in 2025 as either the #1 or #2 back, so I think it would be good to get him some carries in 2024. He’s unlikely to pass up Edwards or Mullings, but he could be the #3 back, a slot which has averaged 42 carries over the past three seasons.

Prediction: Backup running back

30Jul 2024

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2024 Season Countdown: #74 Nathan Efobi

Name: Nathan Efobi
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 285 lbs.
High school: Cumming (GA) South Forsyth
Position: Offensive guard
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #55
Last year: I ranked Efobi #109 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He redshirted.
TTB Rating: 68

Efobi joined the program as a part of the class of 2023, a raw offensive lineman who needed some time to refine his technique and work on his body. He went from being listed at 6’4″ and 295 pounds last year to losing an inch (now 6’3″) and 10 pounds (now 285) for the 2024 season. Even though Michigan lost six offensive linemen from the national championship-winning team last season, Efobi does not appear to be in line to be much of a factor for 2024. With Josh Priebe and Giovanni El-Hadi slated to start at offensive guard, Efobi will have to battle with players like Connor Jones, Dominick Giudice, and Raheem Anderson II for a backup role.

On a side note, in the transfer portal era, it seems like position switches might not be such a big emphasis: why switch a guy from offensive guard to defensive tackle and hope he can play when you can just recruit a proven defensive tackle as a transfer? But Efobi seems like a player who, in some universes, might benefit from a switch to defensive tackle.

Prediction: Backup offensive guard