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Poll results: Who will start at quarterback in 2015?

Shane Morris wasn’t smiling very often during the 2014 season.

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Last week I posed the question: Who will start at quarterback in 2015?

I’ll start off by saying that I don’t really care who the starter is. What matters most to me is that the starter is good, or at least the best man for the job.

Shane Morris (Jr.): 31%
The junior Morris is the most experienced guy currently on Michigan’s roster, although a transfer in from Jake Rudock (below) would change that immediately. Unfortunately, Morris has a 0-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio and completed just 35% of his passes last year. The highly touted recruited has a cannon for an arm and some decent wheels, but his decision-making has left a lot to be desired.

Wilton Speight (RS Fr.): 30%
Speight has earned some momentum in spring practices, according to some observers. He’s a big guy who can move a little bit. Despite being a redshirt freshman, he will turn 21 in December of this year after taking an extra year of high school due to a broken collarbone.

Alex Malzone (Fr.): 21%
Malzone has earned some praise this spring from some observers, and the occasional report says he’s the leading candidate for the job right now. However, I have not heard as many positive reports on him as the former two. Malzone is reportedly struggling with mechanics, arm strength, and the speed of the game right now.

Jake Rudock (5th): 16%
Rudock, who is visiting Michigan this weekend, has not been offered by the Wolverines yet. And in order to come to Michigan, he would need to jump through some hoops with the Big Ten, since he’s a fifth year transfer candidate from the University of Iowa. I imagine that 16% number here has more to do with whether he’ll actually choose/be allowed to play for Michigan, since his starting experience, 61.7% completions, and 16-to-5 interception ratio last year would almost certainly vault him to the top of this list.

Zach Gentry (Fr.): 0% (2 votes)
Gentry is a true freshman who will not arrive on campus until this summer. While he might have the highest ceiling of everyone on this list (he’s 6’7″, has a strong arm, and a good runner), he will also be the newest to the college game.

Spring Practice Rumblings

Mason Cole might not be blocking many edge rushers this season

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Based on recent developments and leaks, I’ll toss out some of the recent rumblings from practice, which you can feel free to dissect/discuss.

Quarterback: Different sources will say different things. I don’t really have much to add to that, except it seems like Shane Morris is mentioned most often as looking the best.

Running back: Ty Isaac had questions about his toughness coming out of high school, but he has played through some things this spring; however, he has been suffering from hand and hamstring injuries, so he is limited. Derrick Green has also been injured, and Drake Johnson is coming off that ACL tear. The one constant has been De’Veon Smith, who has been earning praise for his vision and attitude. It’s not really a secret that Smith can have a sullen disposition at times.

Fullback: With Sione Houma out due to injury, it’s still Joe Kerridge, Brady Pallante, and Chase Winovich getting reps at this spot.

Hit the jump for the rest of the positions.

Wide receiver: The hype about Drake Harris persists. He’s listed at 6’4″, 174 lbs. but there are reports that say he’s actually 185 now. That’s still not very big, but either way, I think the only thing that will keep him off the field this fall is the nagging injuries. He might not start, but I think he will play. Otherwise, there has not been much buzz about the receivers.

Tight end: Jake Butt has been looking pretty darn good, and Ian Bunting has shown promise as a pass receiving tight end. Henry Poggi has flipped from defensive end to tight end in an attempt to boost the numbers. I have not heard many positive things about A.J. Williams, who is a senior and still struggles to block people. Khalid Hill is still out recovering from his own ACL injury.

Offensive line: The lineup at a recent practice was (left to right) Logan Tuley-Tillman, Erik Magnuson, Mason Cole, Kyle Kalis, and Ben Braden. Cole – who was the starting left tackle last year – projected to the interior offensive line coming out of high school, so while I expected him to be a guard in college, center still fits him, in my opinion. That is if he can handle snapping, the calls, etc. It hurt that fifth year senior Jack Miller called it quits, and it hurt even more when Graham Glasgow prolonged his idiocy streak and disobeyed his probation. I have not heard good things about Patrick Kugler or Blake Bars, who were #3 and #4 at center, respectively, coming into the spring.

Defensive line: It sounds as if Michigan is going to be running more of a 3-4 look this year. I have heard positive things about Chris Wormley at strongside end, and Greg Mattison says the nose tackles have stood out. With Poggi playing offense for now, that makes Michigan pretty thin on the defensive line. They have a lot of tackle types and not much in the way of ends, at least until a couple freshmen arrive this summer.

Linebacker: The four starting linebackers in the 3-4 look have reportedly been Mario Ojemudia (who has an undisclosed injury), Desmond Morgan, Joe Bolden, and James Ross. Royce Jenkins-Stone has been filling in for Ojemudia, and Lawrence Marshall has also made a positive impression. The backups on the inside are Ben Gedeon and Mike McCray. McCray and Allen Gant were both shown in video from yesterday wearing yellow non-contact jerseys, so their status is questionable.

Cornerback: The cornerback jobs are Jourdan Lewis’s and Blake Countess’s to lose. Nobody’s challenging them, and the depth is thin, anyway. Channing Stribling is the next option, but I haven’t heard any buzz about him really pushing for playing time.

Safety: Michigan is running a bunch of guys out there at safety. The buzz about Jabrill Peppers is non-stop; he’s playing free safety and moving down into the slot in nickel situations. Jarrod Wilson is bound to start at strong safety. Dymonte Thomas has also been dealing with an injury, but he seemed to have been doing better and rotating in for nickel packages. Delano Hill also may have turned a corner, and he looks pretty good athletically in the limited film I’ve seen; that has always been the book on him, that he’s a very good athlete who struggled to put it all together.

Visitors: March 20-22, 2015

Detroit (MI) King wide receiver Donnie Corley

Johnathan Berghorst – DE – Zeeland (MI) East: Berghorst, a 2017 prospect, is a 6’3″, 245 lb. end with no offers at this time. He has visited Michigan numerous times, and while it’s rare that guys hang around Michigan a ton and don’t eventually get some kind of chance, nothing really stands out about Berghorst on film. He does still have two years of high school ball left to play, though.

Jalen Cochran – DE – Canton (MI) Canton: Cochran is a 6’4″, 225 lb. prospect with offers from Iowa and a few MAC schools. He’s a 247 Sports 3-star. Cochran is largely under the radar so far, but I believe he’s perhaps a pretty big sleeper and could earn some big-time offers by the time everything wraps up.

Donnie Corley – WR – Detroit (MI) King: Corley is a 6’2″, 180 lb. prospect with offers from LSU, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Ole miss, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #20 wide receiver, and #109 overall. Michigan was outside of his released top five because he had not built much of a relationship with the new coaching staff, but Harbaugh’s crew is working their way back up the ladder. Corley is visiting Tuesday, March 17.

Brad Hawkins – WR – Camden (MI) Camden: Hawkins is a 6’2″, 205 lb. prospect with offers from Florida, Michigan, Notre Dame, Pitt, Rutgers, and South Carolina, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #33 wide receiver, and #161 overall. Currently he appears to be favoring the Gamecocks, but he does not look to be in a hurry to make a decision, so Michigan still has a chance to work their way to the top.

Hit the jump for several more visitors.

Joshua Jackson – QB – Saline (MI) Saline: Jackson is a 6’2″, 200 lb. prospect with offers from Northwestern, Utah, and some assorted lower-level schools. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #20 dual-threat quarterback, and #684 overall. Jackson is the son of former Michigan running backs coach Fred Jackson and the brother of former Wolverines wide receiver Jeremy Jackson, but the younger Jackson does not hold a Michigan offer at this time.

Ron Johnson, Jr. – DE – Camden (NJ) Camden: Johnson is a 6’4″, 240 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, and Rutgers, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #17 weakside end, and #270 overall. As a junior in 2014, he had 84 tackles and 10 sacks. Johnson, who is teammates with Hawkins, is probably in line for an offer once he gets to campus (EDIT: Johnson was offered by Michigan on Thursday); he appears to have a strong motor and some good football intuition, along with some pretty good athleticism.

Michael Jordan – OT – Plymouth (MI) Plymouth: Jordan is a 6’6″, 275 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Penn State, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #18 offensive tackle, and #178 overall. He’s joining Corley on a visit to practice Tuesday, March 17.

Ahmir Mitchell – WR – Egg Harbor City (NJ) Timber Creek: Mitchell is a 6’3″, 205 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Rutgers, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #6 athlete, and #88 overall. Mitchell, who was being recruited as a safety by Michigan’s previous staff, is now being looked at as a receiver. He recently placed Michigan in his top six schools. Despite attending a different school, he will be headed to Ann Arbor with Hawkins and Johnson.

Michael Onwenu – OG – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Onwenu is a 6’2″, 330 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Michigan, and Ohio State, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #7 offensive guard, and #212 overall. Michigan had dropped off Onwenu’s radar for a while, but recently the Wolverines have been climbing back up. Onwenu was favoring Ohio State at one time, but their treatment of former teammate Michael Weber may have turned him off the Buckeyes a little bit. Onwenu plays defensive tackle, too, but Michigan wants him as an interior offensive lineman.

Jake Rudock – QB – Iowa: Rudock is a 6’3″, 208 lb. quarterback who has been the starter at Iowa the past two years. He will be a fifth year senior in 2015 and plans to transfer. His first choice appears to be Michigan. As a redshirt junior in 2014, he completed 61.7% of his passes for 2,436 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions. Michigan was reportedly not very interested when Rudock first reached out, but their interest seems to have been piqued after watching a handful of spring practices.

Jack Wohlabaugh – C – Stow (OH) Walsh Jesuit: Wohlabaugh is a 6’3″, 280 lb. prospect with offers from Cincinnati, Kentucky, Minnesota, and Purdue, among others (UPDATE: He picked up a Michigan offer on his visit). He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #15 offensive guard, and #334 overall. He is also the son of Dave Wohlabaugh, who played center for Syracuse before moving on to the NFL to play for the Patriots, Browns, and Rams.

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Video: Spring Practice – March 19, 2015

Delonte Hollowell, #24

Delonte Hollowell (foreground, #24)

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HIGH SCHOOL
Coming out of Detroit (MI) Cass Tech, Hollowell followed the likes of Boubacar Cissoko and Teric Jones, both of whom were diminutive Technician cornerbacks who would eventually play at Michigan, albeit with shortened careers. Hollowell was a Rivals 3-star and the #25 cornerback in his class, choosing Michigan over Central Michigan in January 2010, approximately a year before National Signing Day.

COLLEGE
Hollowell mostly played as a special teamer in 2011, making 6 tackles and 1 fumble recovery, the latter of which came in the Sugar Bowl against Virginia Tech. He played a little more in both phases of the game as a sophomore in 2012, totaling 4 tackles and 1 more fumble recovery against Purdue. Then as a junior in 2013, he made 2 tackles and 1 fumble recovery. I hypothesized that he would have a 2014 season that included 0 tackles and 1 fumble recovery, but he broke the trend by making 15 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 2 pass breakups. Those numbers came in significantly increased snaps on the defensive side of the ball, as injuries and ineffectiveness opened the door for him to play more.

CAREER STATISTICS
27 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 3 fumble recoveries, 2 pass breakups

AWARDS
None

SUMMARY
Hollowell was a small corner coming out of high school, and I questioned his abilities at the time. When he started his career at Michigan, I was surprised that he played as a true freshman. I thought he would be the type of kid who would certainly redshirt, but that turned out not to be the case. Brady Hoke burned his redshirt and got a fumble recovery out of him. Hollowell would eventually turn into a pretty solid gunner and special teams coverage guy, but he never panned out on defense. Aside from the three career fumble recoveries, his play on defense this past season was very frustrating. When Raymon Taylor and Jabrill Peppers were injured, and when Blake Countess was benched for stretches because of poor play, Hollowell got more time on the field than anyone probably wanted. The results were not positive, as several teams picked on him as soon as they saw him enter the game.

I WILL REMEMBER HIM FOR . . . 
. . . being the first recruit to earn me some hate mail. If you look back at my commitment post from January 2010 (LINK), you’ll see that I gave him a TTB Rating of 58 and questioned whether he would make an impact at Michigan. You’ll also see if you scroll down to the comments that various family members, Cass Tech people, etc. were not happy with my characterization. I received a couple e-mails objecting to my statements, too. That was really the first time that a bunch of people came out of the woodwork to descend on my site with anger. Five years later, I still remember that as a landmark in my blogging “career,” although not necessarily a positive one.

PROJECTION
Hollowell was the star of Michigan’s pro day last week (LINK), running a hand-timed 4.34, showing off a 37″ vertical, and doing other things that pro scouts generally like. Unfortunately, his play on the field probably won’t warrant a look at the next level. He was never a starter (well, he started one game as a senior), mostly played special teams, and never made an interception. Michigan has had better corners who never did anything in the NFL (Donovan Warren, J.T. Floyd, Todd Howard, etc.), so I think Hollowell will probably follow in their footsteps.