Tag: 2020 season countdown

2020 Season Countdown: #34 Camaron Cheeseman

Name: Camaron Cheeseman
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 230 lbs.
High school: New Albany (OH) Gahanna-Lincoln
Position: Long snapper
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #33
Last year: I ranked Cheeseman #48 and said he would be the starting long snapper (LINK). He played in all thirteen games as the long snapper.
TTB Rating: N/A

Cheeseman enters his fourth season of being the starting long-snapper. He must have been pretty good, because he forced former starter Scott Sypniewski to transfer to Vanderbilt and then took over the gig for the rest of his career. Now he’s on the watch list to be the top long snapper in the country. I don’t know exactly who tracks long snappers in order to hand out that award, but . . . hey, it’s something.

Cheeseman is one of three long snappers on the roster, including redshirt freshman William Wagner and true freshman Greg Tarr. Tarr was #6 in the country, according to Rubio, and he was a Polynesian Bowl participant. This is Cheeseman’s job, but we should see Wagner or Tarr in 2021.

Prediction: Starting long snapper

2020 Season Countdown: #35 Quinn Nordin

Name: Quinn Nordin
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 196 lbs.
High school: Rockford (MI) Rockford
Position: Kicker
Class: Redshirt senior
Jersey number: #3
Last year: I ranked Nordin #51 and said he would be a backup placekicker (LINK). He was 10/13 on field goals and 28/29 on extra points.
TTB Rating: 89

Nordin has had an up-and-down career at Michigan. He was a highly touted recruit and somewhat unexpectedly redshirted as a freshman. He has a big leg, but he never handles kickoff or punting duties. During his redshirt freshman season in 2017, he missed three extra points. Michigan brought in a player (Jake Moody) in 2018 who was supposed to grayshirt, and that guy ended up taking a bunch of Nordin’s opportunities.

So I really can’t predict how Nordin will fit in during the 2020 (a.k.a. spring 2021) season. He might be the starting place kicker, and Moody might finally take over the job for good. The somewhat odd thing is that the coaching staff brought Nordin back for a fifth year, when a lot of people in a somewhat tenuous position would not be given a roster spot or would just decide to grad transfer. So the staff must have a plan for him, but I don’t know what it is.

Prediction: Backup place kicker

2020 Season Countdown: #36 Karsen Barnhart

Note: Yes, I’m continuing with the countdown even though it looks like the season will be canceled/postponed. I don’t like to leave things unfinished. Also, I already went to the trouble of making the dang list.

Name: Karsen Barnhart
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 301 lbs.
High school: Paw Paw (MI) Paw Paw
Position: Offensive tackle
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #52
Last year: I ranked Barnhart #91 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He played in two games and redshirted
TTB Rating: 86

Barnhart was a high school tight end transitioning to the offensive line in college. With three seniors and another guy who was good enough to leave for the NFL after his junior year, a redshirt was inevitable. And that’s exactly what happened, though he did play against Middle Tennessee and Rutgers in mop-up duty.

Practice did result in quite a bit of practice buzz for Barnhart, though. He was one of two true freshmen to get people excited, along with Zach Carpenter.

This year Barnhart is probably looking at a backup role, but he should be the #6 or #7 lineman. Last year it was Ryan Hayes, who filled in when Jon Runyan, Jr. was hurt. In the 2020 season, it will probably be Barnhart or Joel Honigford. Barnhart has the athleticism to play tackle even though he might be a little short at 6’4″. Either way, it appears that Barnhart is putting himself in line for a starting role when an upperclassman moves on to the next level.

Prediction: Backup offensive guard

2020 Season Countdown: #37 Anthony Solomon

Name: Anthony Solomon
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 212 lbs.
High school: Fort Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas
Position: Linebacker
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #10
Last year: I ranked Solomon #78 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He played in eleven games and made 1 tackle.
TTB Rating: 84

When Solomon came into college, it was unclear which linebacker position he would eventually play, Viper or WILL. Playing WILL requires a little more size, and playing Viper requires a little more versatility and coverage. Solomon played mostly on special teams as a freshman, but that means the coaches liked him well enough to get his feet wet and burn his redshirt. That is probably a good sign for his future.

The 2020 season will probably see him playing a backup role once again. The odds-on favorite for Viper is Michael Barrett, and the WILL position will be locked down by Joshua Ross. And anyway, Solomon is too light to play inside linebacker right now. The backup Viper has never turned into a high-volume position, except when Jabrill Peppers got injured a few years ago and Josh Metellus stepped in short-term. While Barrett is unproven as a player, I think he’s unlikely to be unseated by Solomon. The coaches do seem to like Solomon, but Michigan has recruited the Viper position heavily over the past couple recruiting classes.

Prediction: Backup Viper, special teamer

2020 Season Countdown: #38 Luiji Vilain

Name: Luiji Vilain
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 253 lbs.
High school: Alexandria (VA) Episcopal
Position: Defensive end
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #18
Last year: I ranked Vilain #39 and said he would be a backup weakside end (LINK). He played in seven games and made 7 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack, and 1 forced fumble.
TTB Rating: 90

Vilain is going into his fourth year at Michigan without a lot to show for it. Injuries were a big issue for his first two years, and he was finally relatively healthy in 2019 for the first time. It shouldn’t take until year three to even see the field for a top-100 prospect, but that was the situation with Vilain. When he got on the field, he flew under the radar except against Notre Dame, which was a big night for everyone wearing a winged helmet.

As you can see that “sack” and “forced fumble” were basically due to the fact that he was the closest guy to an inept Notre Dame quarterback.

Vilain is ranked in approximately the same spot once again in 2020. Michigan has two solid starting ends in Aidan Hutchinson and Kwity Paye, but there is a little clearer path to playing time with no Michael Danna standing in the way for backup snaps. Vilain’s role for 2020 may depend on how much David Ojabo and Gabe Newburg developed in their redshirt seasons and in the off-season. This is almost a now-or-never situation for Vilain, who would be unlikely to return for a fifth year in 2021 if he doesn’t show the ability to be the heir to senior Kwity Paye’s starting end spot.

Prediction: Backup defensive end