Tag: 2019 season countdown

2019 Season Countdown: #66 Jalen Perry

I just finished reading Foreign Influence by Brad Thor, which you can find on Amazon if you’re interested:

Name: Jalen Perry
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 185 lbs.
High school: Dacula (GA) Dacula
Position: Cornerback
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Perry was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 28 tackles, 3 interceptions (1 TD), and 12 pass breakups; he ran 42 times for 332 yards and caught 26 passes for 297 yards, totaling 5 touchdowns.
TTB Rating: 88

Perry, a one-time Georgia commit, picked the Wolverines in November of 2018. I never had the time to do a commitment post on him, since it was near the end of football season, and then the holidays happened, etc. So this might be the first you’ve read any kind of assessment of him from me.

Anyway, I like Perry a good amount. He has size, speed, athleticism, physicality, ball skills, and all the things you want from a cornerback prospect. Considering Michigan’s track record of developing cornerbacks over the past several years, good things are likely to happen. This season it will be tough to get on the field much, because Lavert Hill and Ambry Thomas are the starters. But a year from now, Perry should be pushing for playing time, and I think the coaching staff will start to get his feet wet this fall.

Prediction: Backup cornerback

2019 Season Countdown: #67 Chuck Filiaga

Name: Chuck Filiaga
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 341 lbs.
High school: Aledo (TX) Aledo
Position: Offensive guard
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #66
Last year: I ranked Filiaga #83 and said he would be a backup offensive guard (LINK). He played in nine games, four at offensive tackle and six on special teams.
TTB Rating: 86

With Committapalooza temporarily paused until more commitments become public, let’s take a look at Chuck Filiaga. When he was recruited, I alerted Michigan fans that he did not represent a quick fix on the offensive line. Technique and body issues both threatened to delay his development, and that seems to be the case. Upperclassmen have a stranglehold on the starting gigs, and Filiaga is battling to be the primary backup guard.

Filiaga has not been mentioned as being in the mix at offensive tackle, and he’s typically the third backup interior guy mentioned, behind Stephen Spanellis and Joel Honigford. Filiaga is probably going to see playing time on the field goal/extra point unit as a huge body who will be tough to move, but on offense, he’s a huge body that finds itself tough to move. This will be an important year to glance at Filiaga’s future. If he’s the first or second guy off the bench on the interior, he might end up with a starting gig in 2020 after Ben Bredeson and Michael Onwenu graduate. If other guys move ahead of him, the writing might be on the wall.

Prediction: Backup offensive guard

2019 Season Countdown: #68 Quinten Johnson

Name: Quinten Johnson
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 193 lbs.
High school: Washington (DC) St. John’s
Position: Safety
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Johnson was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 35 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery returned for a TD, and 3 forced fumbles.
TTB Rating: 79

Johnson committed to Michigan last July and stuck with the Wolverines throughout, despite not publicly signing his National Letter of Intent until January. There has been some scuttlebutt about his playing Viper at the next level, but he’s a safety prospect as well. With the way Michigan has deployed defensive backs over the past few seasons, I imagine he will start off at safety with some long-term potential to play Viper, depending on how his body develops.

This season the Viper spot is in good hands with Khaleke Hudson, Jordan Glasgow, Michael Barrett, and potentially freshman 5-star recruit Daxton Hill. With Hudson and Glasgow departing after 2019, there’s also some buzz that safeties Brad Hawkins and/or J’Marick Woods could move to Viper for 2020. I think Johnson would be best served by redshirting, but safeties are a weird deal; they can play special teams and potentially play a lot of roles in sub packages. If Michigan stays healthy in the secondary, I think Johnson will redshirt, but he has enough athleticism to get some time against the right team or if somebody gets nicked.

Prediction: Redshirt

2019 Season Countdown: #69 Carl Myers

Name: Carl Myers
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 282 lbs.
High school: Grand Rapids (MI) West Catholic
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #54
Last year: I ranked Myers #90 and said he would be a backup defensive tackle (LINK). He made 1 tackle in four games.
TTB Rating: N/A

The curious case of Carl Myers returns here at #69, up 21 spots from last year’s ranking. He went from playing as a true freshman walk-on in 2016 to not playing at all in 2017 to playing in four games in 2018, a pretty odd swing for a walk-on. The games he played in 2018 were blowout victories, but it’s noteworthy that Myers was on the travel roster, which is limited to 70 players.

This year the defensive line depth is a huge question mark. The Wolverines lost Aubrey Solomon, Bryan Mone, and Lawrence Marshall on the interior of the defensive line, and a lot of the freshmen coming in are projects. That means there could be an opportunity for Myers to get in some work. As a redshirt junior with limited upside, maybe the coaching staff will see it fit just to develop the younger guys instead of the old head . . . but the coaches may also want to limit the rookies’ snaps in order to maintain their redshirts. Either way, I expect Myers to get some limited time on the field this fall.

Prediction: Backup defensive tackle

2019 Season Countdown: #70 D.J. Turner II

Name: D.J. Turner II
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 173 lbs.
High school: Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy
Position: Cornerback
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Turner was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 17 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 4 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery.
TTB Rating: 82

Turner committed to Michigan in the summer before his senior year. He spent his junior year at North Gwinnett in Suwanee, GA, before transferring to IMG Academy as a senior. North Gwinnett was playing him at safety, while IMG moved him to his more likely college position, cornerback.

I considered putting Turner higher on the list, but the Wolverines just don’t seem to love throwing freshman corners out on the field. I do imagine Turner will play some, because the depth at corner is not great. Aside from presumed starters Lavert Hill and Ambry Thomas, Michigan’s options are untested redshirt freshmen (Vincent Gray, Gemon Green), freshmen (Turner, Jalen Perry), and perhaps a dose of Jaylen Kelly-Powell if necessary. Gray looks like corner #3, and beyond that, I don’t think any of these players will see a ton of snaps.

Prediction: Redshirt