2022 Season Countdown: #72 Derrick Moore

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10Jul 2022
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2022 Season Countdown: #72 Derrick Moore

Derrick Moore (image via Twitter)

Name: Derrick Moore
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 250 lbs.
High school: Baltimore (MD) St. Frances
Position: Defensive end
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #8
Last year: Moore was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 55 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, and 12 sacks.
TTB Rating: 78 83

Moore was a long-time target of Michigan’s last cycle, but he made Michigan fans sweat it out until the end. The program has a connection to St. Frances since former head coach Biff Poggi is on staff in Ann Arbor. Moore eventually signed with the Wolverines on National Signing Day and then enrolled in January after being named the Under Armour All-American Game’s Player of the Game.

Moore should be able to contribute fairly early in his career at Michigan, but it’s usually a struggle for true freshmen on the defensive line since strength and physical maturity are such big factors. I think he is a good enough prospect to start getting some snaps in 2022, while Michigan prepares for the potential departures of Mike Morris, Julius Welschof, and Taylor Upshaw, all of whom could leave after this upcoming season.

Prediction: Backup defensive end

8Jul 2022
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2022 Season Countdown: #73 Alan Bowman

Alan Bowman (image via USA Today)

Name: Alan Bowman
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 205 lbs.
High school: Grapevine (TX) Grapevine
Position: Quarterback
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #15
Last year: I ranked Bowman #41a and said he would be a backup quarterback (LINK). He completed 2/4 passes for 9 yards and 1 touchdown.
TTB Rating: N/A

Bowman graduated after three years at Texas Tech and transferred to Michigan for the 2021 season, I guess in the hopes of finding a starting role. Unfortunately for him, Cade McNamara proved to be a superior quarterback, and so did freshman J.J. McCarthy. Perhaps it’s just the poor quality of the Big 12 – or just a lack of reps – but I couldn’t help watching Bowman in his limited reps and thinking, “I can’t believe this guy used to be a starting quarterback.” He doesn’t have much arm strength and looks to be slow to process things at times.

Perhaps it’s just a lack of reps as the #3 or #4 quarterback, but Bowman looked worse in the spring game than walk-on Davis Warren. I think Bowman has moved down to the #4 spot, and it’s rare that the #4 guy spends much time on the field. Even the #3 guy in 2021 only played in blowout situations toward the end of games. Add in the possibility that Michigan uses freshman Alex Orji as a Wildcat/running quarterback, and Bowman’s snaps may dwindle even more.

Prediction: Backup quarterback

6Jul 2022
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2022 Season Countdown: #74 Carter Selzer

Carter Selzer (image via MLive)

Name: Carter Selzer
Height: 6’8″
Weight: 242 lbs.
High school: Kansas City (MO) Rockhurst
Position: Tight end
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #89
Last year: I ranked Selzer #70 and said he would be a backup tight end (LINK). He caught 1 pass for 6 yards.
TTB Rating: N/A

Selzer has become a bit of a fan favorite. A walk-on tight end who has been targeted multiple times in his career but has just 1 catch in college, Selzer is hard to miss at 6’8″. Oh, and because he’s played in 21 total football games throughout his career.

Selzer played in four games at tight end last year, but Michigan has such depth at tight end that it’s hard to put him much higher on the list. Along with returning three tight ends with senior eligibility, Michigan has recruited well at the position. Third-year player Matt Hibner and second-year Louis Hansen both need reps to get ready for 2023, and I haven’t even mentioned two talented freshmen in Colston Loveland and Marlin Klein. Selzer was play this fall, but it’s time to get the next wave ready.

Prediction: Backup tight end

5Jul 2022
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2022 Season Countdown: #75 Tristan Bounds

Tristan Bounds (#72, image via Twitter)

Name: Tristan Bounds
Height: 6’8″
Weight: 282 lbs.
High school: Wallingford (CT) Choate Rosemary Hall
Position: Offensive tackle
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #72
Last year: I ranked Bounds #88 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He played in one game.
TTB Rating: 82

Bounds was a 3-star prospect coming out of high school who was 6’8″ and needed to add a significant amount of weight before contributing. He played in one game in 2021 against Northern Illinois, a game in which Mary Sue Coleman caught 1 pass for a 52-yard touchdown. So not much can be gleaned from that.

For better or worse, there has not been much buzz about backup offensive tackles this off-season. But aside from starter Ryan Hayes, presumed starter Trente Jones, and utility guy Karsen Barnhart, it seems to be a crap shoot. Bounds and redshirt sophomore Jeffrey Persi would presumably be the next two guys in the mix, and I would guess that one of them – Persi, in this case – will start getting some noteworthy snaps this season to prepare for a potential role in 2023 when Ryan Hayes has moved on to the NFL. Hopefully Bounds has made some good strides this off-season so he can compete for a role.

Prediction: Backup offensive tackle

1Jul 2022
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2022 Season Countdown: #77 Colston Loveland

Colston Loveland (image via On3)

Name: Colston Loveland
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 230 lbs.
High school: Gooding (ID) Gooding
Position: Tight end
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #18
Last year: Loveland was a senior in high school (LINK). He caught 62 passes for 968 yards and 14 touchdowns; rushed 33 times for 352 yards and 4 touchdowns; and made 66 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, and 2 touchdowns.
TTB Rating: 65 85

Loveland came a little bit out of nowhere during the 2022 recruiting cycle to suddenly be at the forefront of Michigan’s tight end recruiting situation. He was thin as a junior and did not have great film, but reports out of Idaho were that he had hit a growth spurt and improved as an athlete. And he did. He got bigger and better. Now listed at 6’5″ and 230 pounds, he had good senior film for a tight end and was a real focal point of Gooding’s team, playing wide receiver, tight end, quarterback, outside linebacker, some safety, etc. A tight end who can score 18 touchdowns in a season is tough to come by.

While I upped Loveland’s TTB Rating from a 65 to an 85, I don’t think the early enrollee is going to play much of a factor on the field this season. Michigan returns three senior tight ends who all played a big role last year, and that doesn’t even include walk-on Carter Selzer, who has received increased reps the past two years. Michigan got 57 catches from tight ends next year, and all that production returns in 2022. It would probably be best if Loveland can redshirt this season since there’s not much room for him to contribute.

Prediction: Redshirt