Tag: 2022 season countdown

2022 Season Countdown: #11 Gemon Green

Name: Gemon Green
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 181 lbs.
High school: DeSoto (TX) DeSoto
Position: Cornerback
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #22
Last year: I ranked Green #9 and said he would be a starting cornerback with 32 tackles and 1 interception (LINK). He started six games and made 24 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, 1 interception, and 2 pass breakups.
TTB Rating: 82

Green was expected by some, including me, to build on the end of his 2020 season and blossom into a quality starter for the Wolverines. However, as the season went along, he ceded playing time to the two starters, Vincent Gray and D.J. Turner II. As it turned out, Green was basically a third starter at the cornerback position. He didn’t take the next step like some expected, but he was at least a functional player for the Wolverines.

Now that Vincent Gray is gone, Green is expected to start the season opposite Turner. With a good chunk of experience over the past two seasons, he should be a quality starter. The main guy lurking in the background is true freshman Will Johnson, who may start at some point but has also been playing some nickel and could factor in there. Green is a feisty, long corner who is frequently in position to challenge for the football, and I’d like to see him come up with a few more PBUs or INTs. But he should be a solid corner in 2022.

Prediction: Starting cornerback; 40 tackles, 1 interception

2022 Season Countdown: #12 Erick All

Name: Erick All
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 255 lbs.
High school: Fairfield (OH) Fairfield
Position: Tight end
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #83
Last year: I ranked All #19 and said he would be the starting tight end with 25 catches for 250 yards and 3 touchdowns (LINK). He started eight games and made 38 catches for 437 yards and 2 touchdowns.
TTB Rating: 75

All had a breakout season in 2021. After struggling with drops and confidence in 2020, he became a very reliable target for Cade McNamara. Whether it was McNamara or the coaching staff, somebody decided to focus on him more as the season went along. After not topping 28 yards in the first half of the year, he had games with 98, 64, 63, and 43 yards down the stretch, including a 10-catch performance against Michigan State. But the biggest highlight of his year was the 47-yard game winning catch and run against Penn State. Michigan got man coverage and ran a pick route for All, who dragged across the field and outraced the entire defense to pull out kind of an ugly win.

In many years, someone like All could be ranked even higher, but the depth at tight end is pretty ridiculous. Michigan has four seniors at the position (All, Joel Honigford, Luke Schoonmaker, and walk-on Carter Selzer), and perhaps the most talented guys have barely played yet, like Louis Hansen, Matt Hibner, and Colston Loveland. All has been named a captain and is a good blocker, so he’s an important piece of an offense that will frequently use multiple tight ends.

Prediction: Starting tight end; 40 catches for 430 yards and 3 touchdowns

2022 Season Countdown: #13 Cornelius Johnson

Name: Cornelius Johnson
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 208 lbs.
High school: Greenwich (CT) Brunswick
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #6
Last year: I ranked Johnson #14 and said he would be a starting wide receiver with 35 catches for 540 yards and 5 touchdowns (LINK). He started all fourteen games and made 39 catches for 620 yards and 3 touchdowns.
TTB Rating: 87

Johnson signed with Michigan in 2019 looking the part of a pro-ready player. He was known for being mature and focused, and nothing that has happened since has detracted from that. He was also a good route runner with some sneaky speed, and that continues to be the case. Against Northern Illinois in week three last season, he caught the third longest pass in Michigan history, going 87 yards for a touchdown. After three seasons on campus, he now has three 100+ yard games against NIU (2021), Indiana (2021), and Rutgers (2020).

Johnson looks the part of a future pro at 6’3″ and over 200 pounds. He looks like the prototype that used to roll through Michigan regularly from the 1990s through the early 2000s. So despite the depth of Michigan’s receiver room, I have him pushed up here at #13 because he’s the only proven guy on the roster who looks and plays like a guy with speed who has a good catch radius. Darrius Clemson has been earning rave reviews as a freshman, and redshirt freshman Cristian Dixon has the size but not the athleticism. But Johnson can go deep, run intermediate routes, and even catch some screens or grab some end arounds or reverses to keep defenses honest. He seems to be a favorite of quarterback Cade McNamara and should have another good season in 2022. The only thing holding me back from predicting an uptick in usage is the fact that Ronnie Bell returns from injury and should soak up some targets.

Prediction: Starting wide receiver; 36 catches for 560 yards and 5 touchdowns

2022 Season Countdown: #14 Mike Morris

Name: Mike Morris
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 292 lbs.
High school: Belle Glade (FL) American Heritage
Position: Defensive end
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #90
Last year: I ranked Morris #48 and said he would be a backup defensive end (LINK). He started four games and made 17 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 0.5 sacks, 1 interception, and 2 pass breakups.
TTB Rating: 81

Morris broke into playing time in 2021 after being almost a complete unknown. He had only played one game in 2020 and redshirted in 2019. As a 6’6″, 276-pound defensive end – who probably would have morphed into a tackle under Don Brown – he lined up in a variety of spots and showed his versatility. At times he would come off the edge like the 2021 version of Aidan Hutchinson (though not as effective). At other times he would line up as a blitzing linebacker, a la an old-school Shawn Crable. He never made any wow plays, but by the end of the season, I got comfortable seeing him out there and trusting that he wasn’t going to be taken advantage of.

Now with Hutchinson gone, Michigan needs a new edge rusher. Morris has put on 16 pounds since last year, which makes me think he definitely won’t be the guy to take Hutchinson’s role as the primary pass rusher. That rush will probably have to come from somewhere else. But the scuttlebutt out of practice is that the 292-pound Morris will line up everywhere, from nose tackle to 3-tech to 5-tech to 9-tech. His athleticism at that size may be in question, but practice hype suggests he will play a ton and be used all over the defensive line. He may not be the most exciting player, but his deployment will be interesting to watch this season.

Prediction: Starting defensive end; 40 tackles, 3 sacks

2022 Season Countdown: #15 Donovan Edwards

Name: Donovan Edwards
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 204 lbs.
High school: West Bloomfield (MI) West Bloomfield
Position: Running back
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #7
Last year: I ranked Edwards #36b and said he would be a backup running back (LINK). He ran 35 times for 174 yards and 3 touchdowns; caught 20 passes for 265 yards and 1 touchdown; and completed 1 pass for a 75-yard touchdown.
TTB Rating: 90

Edwards didn’t do much at the beginning of his 2021 season, aside from running away from Northern Illinois. In fact, for the entire season, he only averaged over 4.0 yards per carry three times – against Western Michigan, Northern Illinois, and Ohio State (the last of which included just 1 carry for 8 yards). He showed some talent, but he just never quite had that breakdown came.

And then came Maryland. Through ten games, Edwards had 2 catches for 14 yards. And in game eleven against the Terps, Edwards broke out for 10 catches for 170 yards and 1 touchdown. Michigan used him as a fifth receiver, and nobody from Maryland was prepared or able to cover him. It was the best receiving performance from a Michigan running back in school history, and it came for a guy with 2 career catches up to that point. Then a couple weeks later, Michigan used the threat of him to get a touchdown against Ohio State and a double pass to have him throw a 75-yard touchdown to Roman Wilson.

Edwards wasn’t exactly flying under the radar coming out of high school, considering he was an elite national recruit. But he’s definitely on people’s radar now. With Hassan Haskins having gone to the Tennessee Titans, Edwards seems to be in line for a lot more snaps, including more opportunities to run the ball. He was listed at 190 pounds last season and is up to 204, so hopefully he’s going to be as durable as possible. His array of skills – running, catching, passing – were on display in high school, and perhaps some were unfamiliar with the fact that he was a Wildcat type quarterback at times in high school, too. It remains to be seen whether he can really run between the tackles with regularity, but he can do a lot of different things. He and Blake Corum should make a nice duo out of Michigan’s backfield.

Prediction: Part-time starting running back