Tag: 2021 season countdown

2021 Season Countdown: #66 Cristian Dixon

Name: Cristian Dixon
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 187 lbs.
High school: Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Dixon was a senior in high school (LINK).
TTB Rating: 75

Dixon had a nice list of offers coming out of high school, picking Michigan over the likes of LSU, Notre Dame, and Oregon. He had been a teammate of now sophomore cornerback Darion Green-Warren, and like all Californians, his season was postponed to the spring. So instead of playing a senior year, he enrolled early at Michigan and went through spring ball.

Buzz about him coming out of practice was pretty much non-existent. And that’s not too surprising, considering that instead of playing a season and going through spring ball to develop even further, his playing experience over the past year was halved. If you then add in that Michigan landed transfer receiver Daylen Baldwin, I think Dixon’s chances of making an impact in 2021 are pretty slim. I expect him to play some, because Michigan should see some departures going into 2022 that might open some doors for playing time, but Dixon will probably not be used much.

Prediction: Backup wide receiver

2021 Season Countdown: #67 Caden Kolesar

Name: Caden Kolesar
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 196 lbs.
High school: Lakewood (OH) St. Edward
Position: Safety
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #35
Last year: I ranked Kolesar #90 and said he would be a backup safety and special teamer (LINK). He made 1 tackle.
TTB Rating: N/A

Kolesar, the son of former Michigan wide receiver John Kolesar, enters his third year of playing for the Wolverines. Playing, as in actually getting on the field. He played in three games on special teams in 2019 and then all six games in 2020, making 1 tackle against Minnesota in the season opener.

Michigan returns both its starting safeties, and there are some young scholarship guys who have been getting positive reviews in practice. While Kolesar appears to be pretty far down the depth chart at safety, he should see the field quite a bit once again on special teams.

Prediction: Backup safety, special teamer

2021 Season Countdown: #68 Jaydon Hood

Name: Jaydon Hood
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 215 lbs.
High school: Fort Lauderdale (FL) Saint Thomas Aquinas
Position: Linebacker
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Hood was a senior in high school (LINK).
TTB Rating: 72

Hood has had a bit of a strange path to Michigan. After transferring to Florida powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas prior to his senior year, he struggled a little bit with the transition to a new defense. That led some analysts to downgrade him, and it also is a bit of a concern. If he struggles to transition to yet another new defensive scheme, might he get frustrated? Hood’s signing was also a little bit of a circus, because he was going to skip the early signing period in favor of signing in February . . . but then he signed on December 16 at the last minute, anyway.

Normally, I would project Hood to be a clear redshirt due to a lack of size and the above mentioned questions about how quickly he can adapt to a new scheme, but the mass exodus of linebackers in recent months might speed up his timeline. Aside from Josh Ross and Michael Barrett, Michigan’s linebackers are completely unproven. Linebackers are also often heavy contributors on special teams, and that’s a place where I think Hood could excel early in his career.

Prediction: Backup linebacker, special teamer

2021 Season Countdown: #69 Tavierre Dunlap

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Name: Tavierre Dunlap
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 196 lbs.
High school: Del Valle (TX) Del Valle
Position: Running back
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Dunlap was a senior in high school (LINK).
TTB Rating: 59

Dunlap was a welcome addition to Michigan’s class in 2021. The Wolverines were pursuing Donovan Edwards hard, but Edwards waited until late in the cycle to put his name on the dotted line. But the program also needed to ensure they were going to land a back or two in the class. The writing was on the wall for Christian Turner to depart the program, Chris Evans was running out of eligibility, and the transfer of Zach Charbonnet probably took many by surprise.

Despite a healthy respect for Dunlap’s skill, I have bumped him down from a 78 to a 59 in my TTB Ratings. Dunlap ran for 100+ yards in every game but one as a senior, and his season included two 90+ yard runs. I think Dunlap is a little Chris Perry-like, and I think Mike Hart was not like Chris Perry, nor has he seemed to favor Perry-like runners in his previous stops. Edwards and Blake Corum, along with the established Hassan Haskins, are likely to keep Dunlap mired in fourth place.

Fourth place is still relevant in the running back world, though. Over Harbaugh’s five full seasons in Ann Arbor, here’s how much the fourth running back has been involved:

• 2019: Christian Turner, 44 carries
• 2018: Christian Turner, 20 carries
• 2017: Kareem Walker, 20 carries
• 2016: Karan Higdon, 72 carries
• 2015: Ty Isaac, 30 carries

That’s an average of 37.2 carries per season, and Dunlap is the fourth and last scholarship running back on the roster. I think Dunlap will get closer to 20 carries than the 72 Higdon did in 2016, but that’s still a fairly significant role for the second-best freshman running back.

Prediction: Backup running back

2021 Season Countdown: #70 Carter Selzer

Name: Carter Selzer
Height: 6’8″
Weight: 240 lbs.
High school: Kansas City (MO) Rockhurst
Position: Tight end
Class: Redshirt senior
Jersey number: #89
Last year: I did not rank Selzer. He played in six games.
TTB Rating: N/A

Selzer has played in ten career games so far, mostly on special teams.

You problem never noticed him until one fateful day on Halloween 2020.

On that particular day, Michigan was coming off a blowout win over Minnesota and went into the game against Michigan State full of unfounded confidence. So, too, did offensive coordinator Josh Gattis. So much confidence that he thought he could do anything and beat the Spartans.

So he put in a Wildcat pass for Hassan Haskins to throw the ball to the 6’8″ Selzer on the goal line. It went poorly, MSU linebacker Antjuan Simmons batted the ball away, Michigan wasted a scoring opportunity, and they lost by 3 points.

Part of the reason they threw the ball to Selzer was because nobody expected them to throw the ball to Selzer, and going into 2021, I once again do not expect them to throw the ball to Selzer. But he is worth noting because of his role on special teams, and obviously, the coaches feel he’s talented enough to be involved in a tight rivalry game.

Prediction: Backup tight end, special teamer