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2024 Season Countdown: #105 Ted Hammond

Name: Ted Hammond
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 265 lbs.
High school: Cincinnati (OH) St. Xavier
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Hammond was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 38 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 0.5 sacks.
TTB Rating: 65

Hammond is a good-sized defensive tackle prospect at somewhere around 6’5″ and 265 pounds. He finished the recruiting cycle ranked as a 247 Composite 4-star, the #48 defensive lineman, and #431 overall. To me that ranking seems a little high because he doesn’t show a ton of athleticism and didn’t have much production. Unless you’re playing nose tackle, an FBS recruit on the defensive line should be getting more than 2 tackles for loss and half a sack in his senior season.

Michigan has three defensive tackles returning this fall with significant playing time and production, but they’re going to have to find depth from elsewhere. It’s unclear who the #4 through #6 interior guys will be, but Michigan does have some older guys – Roderick Pierce, Brooks Bahr, Ike Iwunnah, etc. – who could step in and see the field. Hammond is still a little light to play inside, and he needs to work on some technique things and playing lower before he gets on the field. He’s most likely a scout team guy for 2024.

Prediction: Redshirt

2024 Season Countdown: #106 Brandon Mann

Name: Brandon Mann
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 231 lbs.
High school: Detroit (MI) Country Day
Position: Tight end
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #46
Last year: I ranked Mann #122 and said he would be a backup quarterback (LINK). He did not play.
TTB Rating: N/A

If you look up “jack of all trades” in the dictionary, you’ll see a picture of Leonardo da Vinci.

Or perhaps Shane Halter.

But by the end of his career, you might see a picture of Brandon Mann. A high school quarterback at Detroit Country Day, he entered Michigan’s program, naturally, as a quarterback. He even attempted a pass against UConn as a true freshman, which is no small feat. (NOTE: Projected starting quarterback Alex Orji’s lone career pass attempt came in the same game, but Mann’s pass went for 7 yards while Orji’s went for 5.)

Then came the 2023 season, and Mann switched to safety. And with such a position switch, it shouldn’t have been surprising that Mann didn’t see the field.

But now we’re on to the 2024 calendar year, and Mann has made another switch, this time to tight end. He went from an average sized quarterback to a big safety to a small tight end now at 6’3″ and 231 pounds. And once again, he’s unlikely to see the field much this fall, if at all. It’s another significant position switch.

And oh, by the way . . . did I mention he’s also a right-handed pitcher for the baseball team? This spring he pitched 19 innings with 10 strikeouts and a 3.79 ERA while going 2-0.

Shane Halter’s seat is getting warm, and by golly, if Mann moves to linebacker in 2025, Leonardo da Vinci better start looking over his shoulder.

Prediction: Backup tight end

2024 Season Countdown: #107 Jeremiah Lowe

Name: Jeremiah Lowe
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 170 lbs.
High school: Lexington (VA) Frederick Douglass
Position: Cornerback
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Lowe was a senior in high school. He made 25 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 interception, and 1 forced fumble.
TTB Rating: 49

Lowe committed to Michigan in August 2023, and I was so busy at the time that I didn’t have the bandwidth to create a commitment post. It didn’t help that Lowe was a totally under-the-radar recruit, what with the Wolverines having to battle the likes of Boston College, Marshall, and Ohio University for him. He ended up ranked as a 3-star, the #107 cornerback, and #1172 overall in the 247 Composite.

Michigan actually has a pretty good hit rate on recruits ranked in that area; players lower than him in their respective classes include Nolan Ulizio, Brandent Englemon, Patrick Omameh, and Ronnie Bell, among others. So it’s not a gimme that such lowly ranked players are going to flop. But there are also plenty of players in that range who disappeared into the mist, such as Greg Brown, Marques Walton, and Dytarious Johnson.

I probably would have ranked him Lowe . . . -er than #107 if Michigan had landed four transfer portal defensive backs earlier rather than just in the past two weeks, so that’s the way the cookie crumbles. With a weak recruiting profile and at just 170 pounds, I would be very surprised to see him get on the field this fall. Long-term, he seems to have perhaps the upside of a Darnell Hood, someone who came to Michigan as a running back, switched to defensive back, and was mostly just a solid special teams player throughout his career.

Prediction: Redshirt

2024 Season Countdown: #108 Peter Simmons

Name: Peter Simmons
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 283 lbs.
High school: Bonita Springs (FL) Bishop Verot
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #70
Last year: I ranked Simmons #128 and said he would be a backup defensive tackle (LINK). He did not play.
TTB Rating: N/A

Simmons has spent three years at Michigan as a walk-on and a backup offensive and defensive lineman. So far he has yet to see the field.

Maybe this is the year!

Maybe not, though. It’s tough when you’re 6’1″ and 283 pounds to see the field at a place like Michigan, unless you’re super quick like David Molk. But he does play a defensive tackle position that is a little light in numbers. Michigan was flirting with defensive end types like Enow Etta and walk-on Joey Klunder at defensive tackle this spring, and they were going after some transfer portal types as rotation guys. No one should be expecting Simmons to enter the rotation, but in case of a blowout, he could be a guy who gets some late game snaps just to give other guys a rest. And if he sticks around for 2025, he could be on the same team as another Bishop Verot product in 2025 quarterback commit Carter Smith.

Prediction: Backup defensive tackle

Visitors: May 31-June 2, 2024

2025

Marco Jones – DE – Danville (CA) San Ramon Valley: Jones is a 6’5″, 230-pounder with offers from Alabama, Michigan, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, and USC, among others. He’s a 4-star, the #15 edge, and #153 overall. In addition to this being his official visit to Michigan, he also has officials set to Texas and Texas A&M.

Nathaniel Marshall – DE – Oak Park (IL) Fenwick: Marshall is committed to Michigan (LINK). This is his official visit.

Derek Meadows – WR – Las Vegas (NV) Bishop Gorman: Meadows is a 6’5″, 200 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Georgia, LSU, and Notre Dame, among others. He’s a 4-star, the #9 wide receiver, and #61 overall. He has official visits to those other schools for the four subsequent weekends following this official visit to Michigan. His one crystal ball so far is for Notre Dame.

D.J. Sanders – DT – Bellville (TX) Bellville: Sanders is a 6’4″, 290-pounder from Texas with offers from Texas and Texas A&M, plus others. He’s a 4-star, the #11 defensive lineman, and #106 overall. He also has officials set for the Longhorns and the Aggies.

Douglas Utu – OG – Las Vegas (NV) Bishop Gorman: A 6’5″, 300 lb. teammate of Meadows, Utu is a 4-star, the #2 interior offensive lineman, and #65 overall in the class of 2025. Listed in some places as a tackle – but more likely to be a guard – he has offers from Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, and Washington, among others. He also has an official visit set to visit the Huskies out in Seattle.

Kainoa Winston – S – Washington (DC) Gonzaga: Winston is a 5’10”, 185-pounder with offers from Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon, and Penn State, plus others. He’s a 4-star, the #10 safety, and #91 overall. This will be his second visit to Ann Arbor after taking a trip in the spring.

2026