2016 season countdown Archives - Page 9 of 20

3Aug 2016

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2016 Season Countdown: #39 Noah Furbush

Noah Furbush (image via Limaohio.com)

Name: Noah Furbush
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 242 lbs.
High school: Kenton (OH) Kenton
Position: Linebacker
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #59
Last year: I ranked Furbush #81 and said he would be a backup linebacker and special teamer (LINK). He played special teams in nine games and made 4 tackles.

Furbush was recruited as a middle linebacker in the 2014 class. He had nagging shoulder injury problems that prevented him from lifting and adding weight for a while, so he spent last season around 220 lbs. and was limited to special teams. Michigan didn’t need any more bodies at middle linebacker with a bunch of upperclassmen available, but he still found a way to impress on special teams. Kickoff coverage was his specialty, where a guy with good length and decent speed can tear through some people at high velocity. Jim Harbaugh mentioned him multiple times in press conferences.

Fast forward to the spring, and Furbush was moved to SAM linebacker. That position makes more sense to me than middle linebacker for a guy with his size and skills. Oddly, though, he’ll be backing up quasi-safety Jabrill Peppers, who is about 6’1″, 210 lbs. They’re totally different players, but Furbush makes sense against teams that like to line up big bodies, while Peppers is more of a spread-beater. I expect Furbush to be deployed more against the Wisconsins and Michigan States of the world, while Peppers fits more against Ohio State and teams that send out three or four wide receivers. Peppers is too good to take off the field very often for Furbush, but the coaching staff seems to like the Ohio native, who has added over 20 lbs. since last season now that he’s healthy. In addition to more special teams duty, Furbush should get his first snaps on the defensive side of the ball in 2016.

Prediction: Backup SAM linebacker

2016 Season Countdown: #40 Ian Bunting

Ian Bunting (image via MLive)

Name: Ian Bunting
Height: 6’7″
Weight: 252 lbs.
High school: Hinsdale (IL) Central
Position:

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Tight end
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #89
Last year: I ranked Bunting #62 and said he would be a backup tight end (LINK). He played in nine games and made 5 catches for 72 yards (14.4 yards/catch).

Michigan used a variety of tight ends, including some position-switchers, in 2015. Bunting was the guy who seems to exist every year, a guy who’s a wide receiver with questionable blocking ability that needs to bulk up. At 6’7″ and 243 lbs., we all knew he was too light to be a major contributor. He was last year’s Zach Gentry. That didn’t stop Bunting from playing some and showing himself as a very possible replacement for Jake Butt down the road. He averaged a respectable 14.4 yards/catch, including some nice catch-and-runs against Oregon State and Florida.

Blocking tight end A.J. Williams graduated, but Bunting isn’t the guy to replace him. That will probably be Tyrone Wheatley, Jr. Instead, Bunting has one more year to play the apprentice role behind the possible All-American in Butt. I would normally put the backup to a star tight end a little bit higher, but Michigan has so much competition at the position that I can’t convince myself to put him higher than #40. I don’t see a big reason for his number of targets to increase significantly, but adding 9 lbs. since last season improves his viability. I see him catching around 10 balls with a slight uptick in snaps.

Prediction: Backup tight end; 10 catches, 120 yards, 1 TD

1Aug 2016

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2016 Season Countdown: #41 Henry Poggi

Henry Poggi

Name: Henry Poggi
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 266 lbs.
High school: Baltimore (MD) Gilman
Position: Fullback
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #19
Last year: I ranked Poggi #53 and said he would be a backup defensive end (LINK). He made four starts at fullback and tight end, catching 1 pass for 2 yards.

Poggi was one of several position-switchers last year who was getting a chance on both sides of the ball. The coaching staff toyed with the idea of putting a bunch of linemen and linebackers on either side (Tom Strobel, Brady Pallante, Chase Winovich, Poggi, etc.), and Poggi is the one guy who seems to have stuck on offense. He really struggled with blocking early in the year, and he offered little as a pass receiver. Those facts being known, it was frustrating to see him on the field so much. But he improved by leaps and bounds as a blocker, and that’s probably what prevented him from flipping back to defense.

Going into the 2016 season, he looks to be a frequent contributor once again on offense. Despite being a four-game starter last year, I don’t find his contributions to be so irreplaceable that they beg for a higher spot on the countdown. He is a plus blocker, but other guys can also do that (Devin Asiasi, Bobby Henderson, etc.). He’s not a threat as a pass catcher, and there are several tight end/H-back types who are more dangerous running into the flat on bootlegs (Khalid Hill, Zach Gentry, etc.). Poggi also doesn’t pose a threat as a runner on dives and traps in the same way that Sione Houma and Joe Kerridge did. I think he will play plenty of snaps, but there is a good number of guys who have more value to the team.

Prediction: Part-time starting fullback

2016 Season Countdown: #42 Drake Harris

Drake Harris

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Drake Harris
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 181 lbs.
High school: Grand Rapids (MI) Christian
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #14
Last year: I ranked Harris #37 and said he would be a backup wide receiver with 15 catches for 225 yards and 2 TDs (LINK). He made 6 catches for 39 yards.

Harris came in for a ton of spring and summer hype last off-season. According to some, he was the most impressive receiver on the roster. He wasn’t. Jehu Chesson had a breakout season, Amara Darboh did what he does, and Harris was mainly a decoy of one sort or another. He quietly made 6 catches, but he didn’t do anything outstanding on a team that was lacking much depth at the position. Truthfully, it wasn’t too disappointing since the guy had been sitting out for two seasons with a nagging hamstring problem, but it didn’t inspire me to predict greatness.

So here Harris is at #42. Chesson and Darboh return, so Harris probably won’t start unless Chesson’s injury lingers from last season. Even if he does, there are other young guys who could make a push for playing time, along with Maurice Ways, who is recovering from his own injury. Harris himself is still only 181 lbs. and looks like he could be snapped in two by a couple of kids mistaking him for a wishbone at Thanksgiving. I think Harris might get pushed out of the way by some younger guys during his career, but for now, Harris – who did an okay job of blocking – has the experience edge on most.

Prediction: Backup wide receiver; 9 catches, 90 yards, 1 TD

30Jul 2016

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2016 Season Countdown: #43 Devin Asiasi

Name: Devin Asiasi
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 265 lbs.
High school: Concord (CA) De La Salle
Position: Tight end
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Asiasi was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 17 catches for 311 yards and 5 touchdowns on offense; he also made 49 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, and 5 breakups.
Final TTB Rating:

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92

Asiasi was kind of a unicorn in the 2016 class. A Californian who didn’t want to go far from home, he was suddenly very interested in Michigan toward the end of the recruiting cycle. It makes sense that a good tight end wanted to play for Jim Harbaugh, but the Wolverines had to fend off Alabama, UCLA, and Washington, among others. It came down to the last minute with him choosing Michigan on February 3. Despite playing his senior yearat 265 lbs. with a little bit of bad weight, he danced around opponents at times and showed some light feet on his way to averaging almost 18 yards/catch. He ended up playing in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, where he caught a touchdown pass.

I like Asiasi a lot, and I think he’s the type of guy who can make an immediate impact. Like Kekoa Crawford in yesterday’s post (LINK), I think blocking ability might push him a little bit ahead of some other guys. Add in some quality receiving skills, and I think Asiasi gets some playing time this year behind Jake Butt at the Y position. Michigan has a lot of tight ends, but Asiasi probably has the highest upside and the best combination of size, blocking ability, and receiving ability. He can play on the line, or he can be split out into the slot to outmuscle safeties or outrun linebackers. Last year with Jake Butt being the receiving tight end and A.J. Williams mostly blocking, it was pretty easy to game plan to stop Butt, even though he still had pretty good production. However, the staff has some new doors opening now, because if you concentrate on stopping Butt on one end of the line, there goes Asiasi or Tyrone Wheatley, Jr. or Ian Bunting popping free in the middle of the field. Wheeeeeeee!

Prediction: Backup tight end