Tag: 2019 season countdown

2019 Season Countdown: #49 Julius Welschof

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Name: Julius Welschof
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 275 lbs.
High schoool: Miesbach (Germany) FOS Altoetting
Position: Defensive end
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #96
Last year: I ranked Welscholf #82 and said he would be a backup defensive end (LINK). He redshirted.
TTB Rating: 78

Welschof is one of the more intriguing prospects in recent years. It’s not often you land a football prospect from another country – and when you do, it’s normally Canada. But in the 2018 class, Welschof came out of nowhere to end up signing with the Wolverines. I thought he would get a few snaps against the likes of Rutgers just to show that Michigan can pull guys from non-football-playing countries and still be better than them, but he ended up redshirting.

He was listed at 253 lbs. last year, and this year he’s reportedly up to 275 lbs. Bruce Feldman detailed his athletic abilities in the 2019 “freaks” list for 2019 (LINK). Michigan lost a bunch of defensive line pieces in the past year, particularly at defensive end (Rashan Gary, Chase Winovich, Reuben Jones, Ron Johnson), so that catapults some guys up the list, including Welschof. I don’t think Welschof will go from redshirting to actually being a good Big Ten player, but I think he will almost be forced into action due to the inexperience on the depth chart. Aidan Hutchinson, Kwity Paye, and Mike Danna should be the big pieces of the rotation, but Michigan needs one or two other defensive ends to step up, whether it’s Welschof, Luiji Vilain, or someone else. Vilain’s injury history says to me that Welschof needs to be ranked here in the top 50 when he should ideally be somewhere in the 60s.

Prediction: Backup defensive end

2019 Season Countdown: #50 Joel Honigford

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Name: Joel Honigford
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 295 lbs.
High school: Sugarcreek (OH) Garaway
Position: Offensive guard
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #59
Last year: I ranked Honigford #86 and said he would be a backup offensive guard (LINK). He played in two games.
TTB Rating: 84

There’s a reason you recruit a lot of linemen (take notes, Rich Rodriguez), and that’s because you want veterans to be available in case an opportunity opens up for playing time. Over the past couple years, players like Ja’Raymond Hall, James Hudson, Juwann Bushell-Beatty, and Nolan Ulizio have all departed. Jim Harbaugh has done a good job of increasing numbers on the offensive line, meaning people like Honigford, Stephen Spanellis, and Chuck Filiaga are still around if they’re needed.

Four-fifths of Michigan’s offensive line is basically decided going into 2019, with Jon Runyan, Jr., Ben Bredeson, Cesar Ruiz, and Michael Onwenu seeming to have locked up their spots. The competition is still open at one tackle position, though, with Andrew Stueber and Jalen Mayfield both vying to start. Honigford has been repping at offensive guard, and word out of the spring is that he has taken some big strides over the past year. Barring injury, there’s no chance for him to start in 2019, but he will be jostling with the aforementioned Spanellis and Filiaga to be the first offensive lineman off the bench. Spanellis appears to be the top backup interior guy and has the ability to play center, too, but we should start to see Honigford emerge in 2019. Both Bredeson and Onwenu will graduate after 2019, so the top backup guards will probably be your starters in 2020.

Prediction: Backup offensive guard

2019 Season Countdown: #51 Quinn Nordin

Name: Quinn Nordin
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 206 lbs.
High school: Rockford (MI) Rockford
Position: Kicker
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #3
Last year: I ranked Nordin #12 and said he would be the start placekicker (LINK). He was 45/46 on extra points and 11/16 on field goals with a long of 50.
TTB Rating: 89

I will be the first to admit that I have no idea how this kicking situation will play out in 2019. Nordin was the starting kicker in 2017 and had a very good season. Things started off pretty well in 2018, too, but then Nordin seemed to lose his mojo. By the end of the year, he had ceded duties to Jake Moody; Nordin played against Ohio State only for an onside kick attempt, and he didn’t play in the bowl game against Florida.

Only the coaching staff knows how this will shake out, and even they might discover some extra turbulence. Nordin could do anything from handle every kickoff, extra point, and field goal attempt . . . to literally never stepping on the field in 2019. Either way, the Wolverines have two scholarships devoted to place kickers for 2019 and they probably don’t want to repeat that again in 2020, so this could be a make-or-break season for Nordin. If he permanently loses the job to Moody, he might end up in the Ex-Wolverine Updates.

Prediction: Backup kicker

2019 Season Countdown: #52 Jaylen Kelly-Powell

Name: Jaylen Kelly-Powell
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 184 lbs.
High school: Detroit (MI) Cass Tech
Position: Defensive back
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #16
Last year: I ranked Kelly-Powell #47 and said he would be a backup nickel corner (LINK). He made 5 tackles.
TTB Rating: 77

So far in his career, Kelly-Powell is a man without a position. He has played cornerback, safety, and nickel during his first two years on campus, and reports haven’t been particularly glowing at any one spot. His 2018 season was disrupted by injury, and he was available for just seven games, during which he made 5 total tackles on special teams and as a backup safety.

This season Kelly-Powell is healthy once again, but the defensive back room is filling up with talent and time is running a little short for Kelly-Powell. Buzz this off-season has been about other guys, especially at safety. The one saving grace may be that Michigan’s depth at cornerback is not in a great place. Since Kelly-Powell has repped at corner in the past, he may be a “break glass in case of emergency” guy there, although he’s more likely to play the nickel corner position. This is a make-or-break year for Kelly-Powell, who might have just this one season to prove himself before the talented 2019 safety class gets acclimated to the college game.

Prediction: Backup defensive back

2019 Season Countdown: #53 Michael Barrett

Name: Michael Barrett
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 224 lbs.
High school: Valdosta (GA) Lowndes
Position: Viper
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #6
Last year: I ranked Barrett #67 and said he would be a backup slot receiver (LINK). He played in two games on special teams and redshirted.
TTB Rating: 82

Coming into the 2018 season, it was anyone’s guess where Barrett would play in college. There was talk that he could be a Wildcat quarterback. There was talk that he would be a running back or a slot receiver or a linebacker. Personally, I pegged him as a slot receiver with the caveat that…I had no idea.

Well, it seems he has settled in at linebacker. The coaching staff has been grooming to take over – or at least be an option – at the Viper position once Khaleke Hudson and Jordan Glasgow graduate. Hudson is the starter and Glasgow can play all three linebacker positions, but Michigan will need to start over in 2020. Whether it’s Barrett, a position-switcher (J’Marick Woods, Brad Hawkins), or a 2019 freshman (Daxton Hill, Joey Velazquez, Quinten Johnson), there will be an opening. Barrett had an interception and a decent return in April’s spring game, and I expect him to get some snaps in 2019 while the coaching staff feels out whether he can take over full-time or not.

Prediction: Backup Viper