Tag: 2018 season countdown

2018 Season Countdown: #70 Phillip Paea

Name: Phillip Paea
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 275 lbs.
High school: Berrien Springs (MI) Berrien Springs
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #31
Last year: I ranked Paea #88 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He redshirted.

Paea looked to me like an offensive guard coming out of high school, and instead he’s hanging out at defensive tackle. On the one hand, Michigan doesn’t have a ton of depth at nose tackle, which is where Paea might be able to make an impact. The Wolverines have a pretty good combo of Bryan Mone, Aubrey Solomon, and Michael Dwumfour they can roll out at nose tackle and 3-tech. Otherwise, it’s a crap shoot to see who will play on the interior of the line, whether it’s Paea, Deron Irving-Bey, Donovan Jeter, or others. I have heard the least hype about Paea and believe he has the furthest to go of the interior linemen. He’s probably at least a year away from playing a significant role.

Prediction: Backup defensive tackle

UPDATE: Commenters are saying Paea has already moved to offensive guard, which I had heard from one random message board poster on another site but hadn’t seen confirmed. As you can tell from my post above, hooray! I still wouldn’t expect him to play much this season.

2018 Season Countdown: #71 Christian Turner

Christian Turner (image via Detroit News)

Name: Christian Turner
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 185 lbs.
High school: Buford (GA) Buford
Position: Running back
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Turner was a senior in high school (LINK). He ran the ball 115 times for 801 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Turner confuzzled some Michigan recruiting fanatics when he committed in April of 2017. He was a generic 3-star running back with decent offers (Miami, Notre Dame, Wisconsin) but not a whole lot of recruiting hype. Michigan snatched him when a lot of people thought he would be committing to the Fighting Irish, so that was the silver lining to an otherwise uninspiring recruiting victory. Even his high school production is solid, but nothing spectacular.

But going into the 2018 season, I keep hearing that Michigan thinks they found a bit of a hidden gem in Turner. I have heard that they expect him to play this year, likely as a third-down back. Turner did a nice job catching a screen pass in the International Bowl and has decent speed, and if he can be a decent pass blocker, that would be great. I think finding high schoolers who are ready to handle college pass protections can be an iffy proposition, but if the coaching staff thinks he has the mental and physical capabilities to be a solid blocker, then hooray – because Karan Higdon and Chris Evans haven’t been great in that area. Either way, I don’t imagine Turner as a huge step up over the non-Higdon and non-Evans options, so I’m still placing him fairly low in the countdown.

Prediction: Backup running back

2018 Season Countdown: #72 Benjamin St-Juste

Benjamin St-Juste (image via Radio Canada)

Name: Benjamin St-Juste
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 193 lbs.
High school: Montreal (Quebec) Cegep du Vieux
Position: Cornerback
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #25
Last year: I ranked St-Juste #65 and said he would be a backup cornerback (LINK). He made 1 tackle.

St-Juste was an early enrollee in January of 2017, and he got torched in the spring game by fellow freshman Tarik Black. Based on that performance, it looked like St-Juste would not be a significant contributor in 2017, and that proved to be true. He was used on special teams, but Michigan went with the quartet of Lavert Hill, David Long, Ambry Thomas, and Brandon Watson at the cornerback positions.

All four of those guys are slated to return in 2018, so I see no upward mobility for St-Juste. He appears to be in a holding pattern, and there are several 2018 freshmen lurking, too. St-Juste should play on special teams once again, but defensively, there just won’t be many extra snaps to go around. Watson is a senior and Hill/Long could leave early for the draft, so maybe 2019 will be more sunny of an outlook for St-Juste.

Prediction: Backup cornerback, special teamer

2018 Season Countdown: #73 Reuben Jones

Reuben Jones (image via Twitter)

Name: Reuben Jones
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 245 lbs.
High school: Lakeland (FL) Lake Gibson
Position: Defensive end
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #4
Last year: I ranked Jones #57 and said he would be a backup defensive end (LINK). He played in five games.

Jones earned the chance to play in five games last season, and he put up no statistics. That came a year after playing in five games and making two tackles. He has bounced back and forth a little bit between defensive end and inside linebacker, though he appears to be purely a defensive end at this point. So far he has been on campus for three years, and he has two tackles to show for it. A spike in playing time and effectiveness should not be expected at this juncture. He’s a good team guy, and I’ve heard talk that he might make a good coach some day, but I would be surprised to see him become a major player on the field this year.

Prediction: Backup defensive end

2018 Season Countdown: #75 Ron Johnson, Jr.

Ron Johnson, Jr.

Name: Ron Johnson, Jr.
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 245 lbs.
High school: Camden (NJ) Camden
Position: Defensive end
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #17
Last year: I ranked Johnson #71 and said he would be a backup defensive end (LINK). Johnson did not see game action.

Johnson had an opening for playing time in 2017 when Taco Charlton and Chris Wormley had graduated, elevating Chase Winovich and Rashan Gary to bigger roles. Johnson was never going to pass either of those guys, but at least there were some backup snaps available. But Johnson continued to be invisible, which was expected after he spent part of the spring playing defensive tackle due to a lack of bodies.

I’m expecting more of the same in 2018. Johnson has not generated any buzz in the off-season, and everybody returns in his position group. Winovich has one more year, and Gary could jump to the NFL after 2018, too. Maybe things will open up a little bit in 2019, but for now, Johnson will probably be a little used backup, at best. On the plus side, he has earned Scout Team Defensive Player of the Week honors three times during his two years on campus, so he obviously holds some value as a practice player.

Prediction: Backup defensive end