Mario Ojemudia
Name: Mario Ojemudia
Height:
6’2″
Weight:
252 lbs.
High school: Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison
Position: Defensive end
Class:
Senior
Jersey number: #53
Last year: I ranked Ojemudia #33 and said he would be a backup weakside end with 30 tackles and 3 sacks. He started three games and made 32 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, and 1 pass breakup.
The main beneficiary of Frank Clark’s late-season dismissal from the team, Ojemudia put up decent stats for a backup defensive end. His season included 2 sacks against Northwestern, 5 tackles against Maryland, and 2.5 tackles for loss against Utah. He had some big moments. The problem has been that he seems to disappear for stretches of time. He can also get swallowed up a little bit in the run game, because his size is more like that of a stout middle linebacker.
This season Ojemudia is Michigan’s leading returning sack artist with 6 career quarterback takedowns. He would seem likely to start at the Buck position, which is an outside linebacker/defensive end hybrid. We did not see him play in the spring game due to injury, but he is reportedly healthy and ready to go. Reports out of summer camp have him receiving a challenge from Royce Jenkins-Stone – who has finally bulked up as a senior and seems to have a fire lit under him – and redshirt freshman Lawrence Marshall, who has packed on 15 lbs. in the off-season to get up to 255 lbs. I thought Jenkins-Stone looked okay in the spring game against the run, but Ojemudia is the more versatile guy who can get a pass rush going. Even if there’s a lot of rotation, I think Ojemudia is the most proven pass rusher on the field and needs to play on passing downs to give the Wolverines some semblance of an outside rush.
Prediction: Starting Buck linebacker; 45 tackles, 5 sacks
Norcross (GA) Greater Atlanta Christian quarterback Davis Mills
A note on offer board updates: A new website means new rules, so new offers, commitments, and decommitments will be listed in the comments section at the bottom of the offer boards. So if you scroll to the bottom of each offer page, you can see the most recent developments in those areas.
ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2016
Thousand Oaks (CA) Westlake wide receiver Theo Howard decommitted from Oregon. He’s a 6’0″, 170 lb. prospect who’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #16 wide receiver, and #111 overall. At one time he was considered to be one of the California crew who could end up at Michigan (along with quarterback K.J. Costello and others), but now it looks like USC has moved in on the former Duck commit. This could potentially help Michigan in some areas, because if USC fills up at wide receiver, the Wolverines could end up with some of the leftovers.
ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017
Norcross (GA) Greater Atlanta Christian quarterback Davis Mills was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’3″, 189 lb. prospect with offers from Arizona State, Miami, and Stanford, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #5 pro-style quarterback, and #86 overall. As a sophomore in 2014, he completed 67% of his passes for 2,267 yards and 26 touchdowns; he also has 313 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns. Mills is definitely a pro-style guy who can move in the pocket a little bit, but he won’t be a big run threat at the next level. He throws a nice deep ball and anticipates coverages well. Georgia and Stanford appear to be the favorites so far.
Hit the jump for a couple guys who committed elsewhere and some random tidbits.
Name: Joe Bolden
Height: 6’3″
Weight:
232 lbs.
High school: Cincinnati (OH) Colerain
Position: Linebacker
Class: Senior
Jersey number:
#35
Last year: I ranked Bolden #30 and said he would be a backup linebacker with 50 tackles and 3 sacks
. He started all twelve games and made 102 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and 1 pass breakup.
Bolden was part of an intriguing octet of inside linebackers last year that also included Jake Ryan, Desmond Morgan, and Ben Gedeon. I was under the impression that Bolden and Gedeon would be the odd men out when it came to playing time, but two things got in the way: Desmond Morgan’s shoulder injury and Bolden himself. Morgan got injured after one game, got a medical redshirt, and had his career extended by one year. Meanwhile, Bolden started week one and didn’t relinquish the job. He finished second on the team in tackles behind Jake Ryan, and he improved from a sophomore season that had him almost-but-not-quite making a lot of plays.
It’s hard to believe that Bolden is a senior already. It doesn’t seem like very long ago that he was earning rave reviews at the Under Armour All-American Bowl, but he was chosen to represent the Wolverines at Big Ten Media Days and could be in line for a captaincy this season. He has all but locked down a starting inside linebacker job, and the duo of Morgan and Bolden should be rock steady in the middle. In fact, Michigan once again has an imposing quartet of inside linebackers when you throw in junior Gedeon and senior James Ross III, the latter of whom is also playing outside linebacker. Bolden should have a very good year, and he is probably a good bet to be the team’s leading tackler now that Ryan has moved on to the Green Bay Packers.
Prediction: Starting middle linebacker; 100 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 2 sacks
Players are listed in order of remaining eligibility. With 3 open scholarships and 13 seniors scheduled to graduate, the 2016 class should start out aiming for 16 players.
TOTAL SCHOLARSHIPS ALLOTTED FOR 2015 = 82
– Logan Tuley-Tillman was dismissed from the team.
– Dan Samuelson announced that he will transfer.
– Dennis Norfleet will transfer to Tuskegee.
– Chris Fox retired due to injury.
– Ondre Pipkins will transfer from Michigan.
– Blake Countess transferred to Auburn.
– Blake O’Neill will transfer to Michigan from Weber State.
– Jake Rudock transferred to Michigan from Iowa.
– Wayne Lyons transferred to Michigan from Stanford
– Jack Miller will not return for a fifth year.
– QB John O’Korn transferred to Michigan from Houston.
– Russell Bellomy transferred to University of Texas at San Antonio.
– Keith Heitzman will not return for a fifth year.
– Justice Hayes transferred to Southern Miss.
– Kyle Bosch transferred to West Virginia.
– Michael Ferns transferred to West Virginia.
Hit the jump for the breakdown by class.
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