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A few weeks ago, I asked the poll question: Which redshirting playing are you most excited about for the future?
Hit the jump for the results:
TE Tyrone Wheatley, Jr.: 36%
At one point last summer, Wheatley was 6’7″ and nearly 290 lbs. His dad has said recently that he’s working on losing weight to play tight end, but Michael Spath at Rivals recently posted a spring depth chart suggesting Wheatley would be the first string right tackle.
S Brian Cole: 27%
Cole was in the doghouse for most of the season, and he was unable to get out of it. Recently it was announced that he would be transferring to Kentucky. I guess 27% of you are pretty disappointed right now.
QB/TE Zach Gentry: 13%
Gentry came in as a quarterback, and he got some reps at tight end during bowl practices. However, he is likely to stick at quarterback for now, perhaps challenge John O’Korn at some point, and perhaps take the starting QB job someday.
DE/LB Reuben Jones: 7%
Jones was playing Buck linebacker in practices last season, but the dearth of inside linebackers has seen him move backward in the defensive to an inside linebacker position. I am generally not a fan of moving players backward, so I imagine he will be back to playing a defensive end position as soon as Michigan’s linebacker numbers allow him to move.
DE Shelton Johnson: 7%
Johnson had a lot of body maturation to come when he came in as a 6’5″, 212 lb. defensive end.
CB Keith Washington: 7%
Washington is in a pretty precarious position of being blocked for playing time by Michigan’s three returning corners and potentially being passed by a couple younger guys who are very talented. He will have to stave off some fierce competition if he wants to earn a starting gig after Jourdan Lewis, Jeremy Clark, and Channing Stribling graduate.
OL Jon Runyan, Jr.: 1%
Much like Johnson, Runyan also had a lot of weight to add coming out of high school. He likely will not challenge for playing time this coming season.
K Andrew David: 1%
It does not bode well for David that Michigan let walk-on punter Kenny Allen have the kicking duties last season and then recruited the nation’s #1 kicker in the next class.
OL Nolan Ulizio: 1%
Ulizio was an under-the-radar pickup in the 2015 class who was stolen from the hands of UConn. Perhaps lacking the feet for tackle, he could very well end up as an offensive guard.
QB Alex Malzone: 1%
Malzone was likely at the bottom of the quarterback depth chart in 2015, and he may get passed pretty quickly by incoming freshman Brandon Peters. Perhaps the best news for him is that Michigan did not also snag Victor Viramontes in the 2016 class.
Why did you pick the player you did?
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I voted for Brian Cole ….. oh well.
My tenuous but so far frequently mostly correct connection says that Wheatley is a tackle and Gentry is a tight end. I’m pulling for Gentry at QB. I think he’s a potential nightmare to defend.
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How about you Magnus? Do you see Jones or Johnson being ready to contribute at WDE or elsewhere?
I had forgotten about Washington. Could he be someone that can play safety? That is where the most need is on the depth chart.
Sadly, I voted for Cole as well. Partially because of his talent and partially because my brother is named Brian Cole and we have had a lot of fun with that since he was recruited.
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I like Johnson more, and he was my pick in the poll. I do think he and/or Jones will be ready to contribute this year, but neither one will be a starter, in my opinion.
I don’t think Washington is a safety, at least not unless he makes some big strides physically. He was very thin coming out of high school.
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“I guess 27% of you are pretty disappointed right now.”
I think 100% of us should be disappointed that a home-grown athlete with Cole’s potential is gone after 1 year
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You’re probably right that 100% of us should be disappointed, although I think his problems have less to do with the program and more to do with the individual. Even if he were still at Michigan, he probably wouldn’t be able to get on the field because of his decision-making.
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If Wheatley Sr. and Jr. are wise, they will keep that weight on and try to get young Tyrone slotted in as an OT or SDE (his height would lean me towards the former). I don’t see him losing enough weight to be viable at TE, and we don’t need more guys in the depth chart there anyway. If he goes that way, I can see him ending up at 265-270, too big and slow to be a TE, and too light to play at OT. Don’t be a tweener, Ty!
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I would be more in favor of defensive end than offensive tackle from a talent standpoint. However, Michigan’s failure to sign any sure-fire offensive tackles means that the coaches need to think outside the box a little bit.
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He’d likely need more development at OT, but with any luck, he wouldn’t be called upon to start until 2017, so there’s time for that, but the coaching staff really needs to find the right track for him by this fall. It won’t be good to be switching his position again next spring if we want him to contribute significantly in 2017.
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