Tag: 2017 season countdown

2017 Season Countdown: #46 Kareem Walker

Kareem Walker (image via MLive)

Name: Kareem Walker
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 207 lbs.
High school: Wayne (NJ) De Paul Catholic
Position: Running back
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #6
Last year: I ranked Walker #66 and said he would be a backup tailback. He redshirted.
TTB Rating: 86

Walker had an inauspicious beginning to his college career. After enrolling early in January of 2016, he had some off-the-field and academic issues that ensured his redshirt. In fact, there were even some rumors popping up that he might be on his way out of the program.

On the plus side, he supposedly got on track this year and took some steps forward. He played in the spring game, and while he looked a bit quicker and slimmer than he did in 2016, he didn’t do much in the game. Some people were impressed. I shrugged my shoulders. I have heard various reports since the spring that he was either #2 or #4 on the depth chart, and that was before freshmen O’Maury Samuels and Kurt Taylor arrived on campus. My take is that he will be the #4 guy on the roster, but he might look like #3 at times. With Chris Evans looking like the starter and Karan Higdon as #2 or #3, it’s a matter of whether Michigan wants a more proven back (Ty Isaac) or a guy they can groom for the future (Walker). Isaac is in his final season, and without an opportunity to start in 2018, Walker might be the better guy to play at times. I think Isaac is a superior back right now, but that doesn’t always strictly play out on the field.

Prediction: Backup running back

2017 Season Countdown: #47 John O’Korn

John O’Korn (image via Zimbio)

Name: John O’Korn
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 215 lbs.
High school: Ft. Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas
Position: Quarterback
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #8
Last year: I ranked O’Korn #22 and said he would be the backup quarterback. He started one game and finished the season 20/34 (59%) for 173 yards, 2 TDs, and o INTs; he also ran 12 times for 31 yards.
TTB Rating: N/A

Allow myself to quote myself:

O’Korn still has some considerable value here at #22. First, he may still earn the starting job, whether it’s for the opener against Hawaii or if Speight doesn’t play up to Harbaugh’s standards. Second, a backup QB is often needed in key situations, just like Speight was needed against Minnesota last season after Rudock got injured. And third, as Harbaugh likes to say, steel sharpens steel. Even if O’Korn doesn’t take a single snap this year, his presence will keep Speight working hard to hold on to the pole position.

That’s from last year’s countdown, and it sums up O’Korn’s role pretty well. Of course, he never won the starting job outright, but he came in handy when Speight injured his shoulder and had to miss the Indiana game. Based on what else we saw from Shane Morris throughout his career, Morris would have lost that game. O’Korn didn’t play well (7/16 for 59 yards), but a 30-yard run late in the game sparked the Wolverines to a victory. Otherwise, he played well in mop-up duty, but that one start – in the snow and swirling wind – was very shaky.

This year it looks like O’Korn will drop to third string. Redshirt freshman Brandon Peters appeared to pass up O’Korn by the spring, and Peters is even pushing Speight. O’Korn still has some decent physical skills when it comes to running ability and arm strength, but his struggles seem to have been mental. Speight struggled in the spring, and some think he’s still suffering from his collarbone injury; Peters is young and prone to some up-and-down play. I don’t think the combination of Speight and Peters will play poorly enough to give O’Korn a shot at starting unless a significant injury occurs, but the Wolverines did throw Morris out there in certain packages and gave him some snaps late in decisive victories. This might not be the end to a career that many of us imagined when we found out O’Korn was transferring from Houston a couple years ago, but it looks like he’ll finish out college as a backup. But from Michigan’s perspective, they’re in pretty dang good shape if their third-stringer has 1.5 seasons of starting experience.

Prediction: Third-string quarterback

2017 Season Countdown: #48 Nate Schoenle

Nate Schoenle (image via 247 Sports)

Name: Nate Schoenle
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 185 lbs.
High school: Ann Arbor (MI) Gabriel Richard
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #35
Last year: I did not rank Schoenle. He played in one game.
TTB Rating: N/A

Schoenle was a bit of a revelation this spring. Not only did he play a skill position as a true freshman walk-on in 2016, but he was a reliable receiving threat in the spring game. That capped a behind-the-scenes batch of positive rumors regarding his practice performances. Schoenle is a steady route runner with decent speed, and he seems to have the trust of Michigan’s quarterbacks. Michigan is looking for someone in the slot to potentially take the spot of Grant Perry, who has had some off-the-field troubles, and Schoenle is vying for that spot. He’s not a jet sweep threat like Eddie McDoom, and he’s not a threat to take it to the house on a bubble screen, but he’s a good enough route runner to get separation in the slot, and he’s a big enough target to be a matchup issue for tiny nickel corners. In reality, he might outplay this ranking, or this might be too high for him, but his star seems to be rising a bit.

Prediction: Backup slot receiver

2017 Season Countdown: #49 Drake Harris

Drake Harris (image via MLive)

Name: Drake Harris
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 188 lbs.
High school: Grand Rapids (MI) Christian
Position: Cornerback
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #14
Last year: I ranked Harris #42 and said he would be a backup wide receiver with 9 catches for 90 yards and 1 TD. He had 2 catches for 11 yards.
TTB Rating: 93

There was a lot of hype for Harris in the 2015-2016 off-season. A long, tall, speedy wide receiver who used to be an elite basketball recruit? It was about time that he hit his stride. But instead of capitalizing on all those skills when he finally seemed to be healthy, he made 2 receptions for 11 yards. Meanwhile, the two wideouts ahead of him got drafted to the NFL, and the guys expected to replace them are . . . not Drake Harris.

No, Drake Harris won’t replace Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh, because Harris is now a cornerback. He and Jim Harbaugh decided to make the position switch this summer after spring practice had concluded. One reason is that cornerback needs depth and competition, and another reason is likely that Harris just wasn’t getting it done at receiver. On 8 career catches, Harris has a paltry 6.2 yards per reception. Of course, he has never played defense before, so that could be an adventure itself.

Michigan’s staff has had success with tall corners and position-switchers in the past (Jeremy Clark from S to CB, Richard Sherman from WR to CB), but Harris’s injury history and the suddenness of this switch seems not to bode very well for this fall. I do think he could make some contributions simply because of his size, and this is a year where Michigan might need to throw a bunch of corners out there and give them all a chance to move to the front of the pack. The Wolverines lost their top three corners from last season; Harris, David Long, and Lavert Hill have all had injury issues; and the door to a starting job seems to be wide open. I don’t think Harris will start, but anything could happen with this group.

Prediction: Backup cornerback

2017 Season Countdown: #50 Zach Gentry

Zach Gentry (image via 247 Sports)

Name: Zach Gentry
Height: 6’7″
Weight: 244 lbs.
High school: Albuquerque (NM) Eldorado
Position: Tight end
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #83
Last year: I ranked Gentry #61 and said he would be a backup tight end. He played in seven games.
TTB Rating: 84

Gentry has had an interesting career in just two years on campus. Brought in as a blue-chip quarterback, he struggled with the offense and began taking snaps as a tight end during the bowl preparation at the end of the 2015 season. He then struggled with blocking at the tight end position, so he spent the second half of the 2016 season taking reps at wide receiver. This spring Michigan was down a couple tight ends from last year, and Gentry was back at tight end.

Gentry still struggles with blocking, despite the fact that he’s listed at 244 lbs. Honestly, he’s terrible at blocking as an in-line tight end. He’s not aggressive, and he’s slow to get off the ball. I would be surprised if Michigan uses him in that role at all this season. However, he is a unique specimen as a receiving prospect, and he has shown that ability on multiple occasions. His most exciting play was a long catch-and-run touchdown in the spring game; it was a busted coverage, but he made a (walk-on) defender miss in space and then sprinted to the endzone. The ability is obvious. Whether Michigan uses that athletic ability or not remains to be seen, but it’s there. I think the idea of a matchup problem is overused, but a guy who’s 6’7″ and can run like Gentry is a rarity.

Prediction: Backup tight end