Tag: 2016 season countdown

2016 Season Countdown: #34 Ty Isaac

Ty Isaac

Name: Ty Isaac
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 230 lbs.
High school: Joliet (IL) Catholic
Position: Running back
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #32
Last year: I ranked Isaac #33 and said he would be a backup running back with 600 yards and 7 touchdowns (LINK). He ran the ball 30 times for 205 yards (6.8 yards/carry) and 1 touchdown.

Isaac had the beginnings of a very solid year last season, and then it all came crashing down. In a battle for the #2 running back position – with a chance to take some snaps from De’Veon Smith, too – Isaac had 6 carries for 35 yards against Oregon State and then followed that up with what seemed like a breakout game. UNLV is UNLV, but Isaac ran 8 times for 114 yards (14.2 yards/carry) against the Runnin’ Rebels, including a 76-yard touchdown. Then he only got 2 carries against BYU. However, Smith hurt his ankle in that game, so Jim Harbaugh gave Isaac the start in the following game against Maryland. Isaac responded by fumbling twice in just 6 carries before being benched for the rest of the game. He would only get 4 more carries for the rest of the year, despite reports that he was taking first-team reps during the week of the Ohio State game and in preparation for the bowl game against Florida.

read more

2016 Season Countdown: #35 Tyree Kinnel

Tyree Kinnel (image via Rivals)

Name: Tyree Kinnel
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 206 lbs.
High school: Huber Heights (OH) Wayne
Position: Safety
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #23
Last year: I ranked Kinnel #71 and said he would redshirt if possible (LINK). He played in eight games on special teams.

Kinnel came to Michigan last year as one of those fairly highly ranked but boring safeties. The Wolverines didn’t have a ton of depth at safety, but they made the position work by only playing their top three guys with any regularity. Jarrod Wilson, Delano Hill, and Dymonte Thomas took the bulk of the snaps. Kinnel forced his way onto the field one-third of the way through the season, but only on special teams. When he burned his redshirt, Jim Harbaugh talked him up, saying that he earned his spot on the kickoff team. Other than running downfield a few times a game, though, nothing much happened.

Now with Wilson graduated and playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Hill and Thomas return as the front-runners for the safety positions. Thomas took some major strides forward during the second half of 2015, and Hill has been playing decently for a couple seasons. By default Kinnel would probably be the next man in, anyway, but he looked solid in the spring. The biggest flash I saw was when he jumped a route at the Ford Field open practice and returned it for a touchdown. Otherwise, he was boring and that’s okay for a safety. He’s solidly built at 5’11”, 206 lbs. and seems to have a good head on his shoulders, so I wouldn’t worry too much if he were to enter a game on defense. Beyond him, though, options become limited to moving Jeremy Clark back from cornerback, playing a walk-on like A.J. Pearson, or inserting a freshman like Khaleke Hudson or Josh Metellus. It’s tough to put someone this high on the list who hasn’t done much on the field yet, but it’s a very shallow position group.

Prediction: Backup safety

read more

2016 Season Countdown: #36 Scott Sypniewski

Scott Sypniewski (image via Michigan Daily)

Name: Scott Sypniewski
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 231 lbs.
High school: Ottawa (IL) Marquette
Position: Long snapper
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #31
Last year: I ranked Sypniewski #26 and said he would be the starting long snapper (LINK). He started twelves games at long snapper.

A lot of people probably don’t know the name of their favorite team’s long snapper, and it’s usually best that way. A lot of Michigan fans probably still don’t know Sypniewski’s name . . . but they know his most famous play. Most of his 2016 season went off without a hitch, but late in the game against Michigan State, an errant punt snap turned Michigan’s world upside down. The Wolverines had led for the entire game, and with 10 seconds remaining and a one-score lead, Sypniewski’s snap to punter Blake O’Neill sailed low and to the right. O’Neill dropped the snap, still tried to punt it despite twirling in a circle, and watched the Spartans score the game-winning touchdown with no time left on the clock. Sypniewski may have been the victim of a personal foul when an MSU rusher rammed into him, and he ended up hurting his thumb on the play. (If you want to watch the play, here’s the LINK but I won’t torture everyone.)

Related or not, Rivals reported this off-season that Sypniewski might be looking to transfer and could play elsewhere this season. It appears he will continue his career at Michigan, and that story seemed a little far-fetched since I can’t remember a single case where a long snapper transferred schools. Michigan does have a decent backup snapper in Andrew Robinson (whom I did not bother profiling in this year’s countdown), but Sypniewski will presumably continue in his starting role this season. Let’s hope he got his mulligan out of the way and has a forgettable future career at the University of Michigan.

Prediction: Starting long snapper

read more

2016 Season Countdown: #37 Chase Winovich

Chase Winovich (image via MWolverine)

Name: Chase Winovich
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 245 lbs.
High school: Jefferson Hills (PA) Thomas Jefferson
Position: Defensive end
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #15
Last year: I ranked Winovich #49 and said he would be a backup F-back (LINK). He played in six games and made 2 tackles.

For only being a redshirt sophomore, Winovich has had somewhat of a meandering career so far. He started off as a linebacker, but then he made a questionable move to tight end by spring 2015. I heard a lot of positive things about him in the spring and leading up to August, but then he barely played. He saw some special teams snaps and made a couple tackles, but never broke out in any way. Lost in the shuffle of tight ends, he moved back to defensive end in the spring.

Now in his third year on campus, Winovich is also on his third position. In the open practice at Ford Field this spring, he played a lot at weakside end. He’s not very big and he’s not very fast, but he’s very tenacious and caused a couple kerfuffles that I saw. At the very least, he can play some and piss off opponents. Taco Charlton is supposed to be the weakside end, and Michigan has a couple other unproven options, too. I think Winovich might end up as a Brennen Beyer type who never really lights the world on fire, but does his job with enough effectiveness to be a potent backup or spot starter. I think Don Brown could also move him around to a few different spots and use his quickness in certain blitz packages.

Prediction: Backup weakside end

2016 Season Countdown: #38 Bobby Henderson

Bobby Henderson (middle, with Sione Houma and Joe Kerridge; image via MGoBlog)

Name: Bobby Henderson
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 245 lbs.
High school: Hopewell Junction (NY) John Jay
Position: Fullback
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #37
Last year: I didn’t rank Henderson. He played in three games as a backup fullback.

Henderson has been on the team for four years after walking on as a freshman. He has played in a few games here or there, but last year I didn’t think he warranted being put on the countdown as something like the fifth or sixth fullback. Not only was he pretty low on the depth chart, but he had two talented, traditional fullbacks ahead of him in the shirtless guys you see above – Sione Houma and Joe Kerridge. He did play in three games, but only after the games had been decided.

This year Houma and Kerridge are gone. The remaining fullbacks are totally inexperienced walk-ons; a 6’4″, 266 lb. former defensive lineman; or 6’2″, 263 lb. converted tight end Khalid Hill. Poggi and Hill are guaranteed to play because of their blocking and receiving abilities, respectively, but neither one has ever carried a football, and Poggi’s unlikely to do so. They will be used in some packages, but I think Henderson might get some of those traps and fullback dives that turned into big plays in 2015. I like what I’ve seen out of Henderson from a blocking and toughness perspective, so I think he’ll get a fair number of snaps.

Prediction: Backup fullback

read more