Tag: 2024 season countdown

2024 Season Countdown: #9 Ernest Hausmann

Name: Ernest Hausmann
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 235 lbs.
High school: Columbus (NE) Columbus
Position: Linebacker
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #15
Last year: I ranked Hausmann #31 and said he would be a backup linebacker (LINK). He made 46 tackles and 2 tackles for loss.
TTB Rating: N/A

Hausmann is a Nebraska transfer who Michigan was lucky to stumble into after he played his freshman year at Nebraska. With a couple solid linebackers on the roster and then some big question marks, the Wolverines needed an heir apparent to Michael Barrett and Junior Colson. In stepped Hausmann, a good-sized player who had good athleticism and got to play quite a bit under the bright lights already. He could step in as a backup in 2023 without too much pressure, and that’s exactly what he did. Backing up both Barrett and Colson, he finished third on the team in tackles behind those two starting linebackers.

So this year it just makes sense that Hausmann steps in to fill their shoes. I was impressed last year with how well Hausmann moved, and he looked even bigger than his listed 237 pounds (down to 235 this year). Hausmann will be the starter at weakside linebacker (Barrett’s position) while Maryland transfer Jaishawn Barham comes in to play the MIKE spot. It should be one of the better linebacker units in the conference. Wink Martindale recently said it would be either Hausmann or safety Makari Paige with the “green dot” (in-helmet communications), so that shows how much the defense is going to depend on Hausmann.

Prediction: Starting weakside linebacker; 60 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 interception

2024 Season Countdown: #10 Dominic Zvada

Name: Dominic Zvada
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 180 lbs.
High school: Chandler (AZ) Valley Christian
Position: Kicker
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #96
Last year: Zvada played at Arkansas State. He was 17/22 on field goals and 41/41 on extra points.
TTB Rating: N/A

Michigan has had some solid kickers in recent years that made it to the NFL, including Quinn Nordin and Jake Moody. Last year they took a transfer in James Turner from Louisville, who made some key kicks down the stretch and might end up on an NFL roster this season. So despite having homegrown Adam Samaha and Mississippi State transfer Hudson Hollenbeck on the roster, Michigan took a swing for the fences again and landed Arkansas State’s starting kicker. Zvada was a Lou Groza Award semifinalist in 2022 as a freshman, and he was still pretty solid as a sophomore, converting all of his extra points and 17 out of 22 of his field goal attempts.

I don’t have a ton of confidence in Samaha, who has seemed a little shaky since arriving on campus. Michigan has a tough schedule in 2024 and might need some clutch kicks this season to either ensure victories or tie up some games late. Michigan was blowing out teams in 2023 on a weekly basis – except for Maryland, Ohio State, and Alabama – but that’s not always going to be the case this fall. Zvada has a chance to swing a couple games in Michigan’s favor this fall, so I think he will be a key player if Michigan is going to make a run for the College Football Playoff.

Prediction: Starting kicker

2024 Season Countdown: #11 Myles Hinton

Name: Myles Hinton
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 342 lbs.
High school: Norcross (GA) Greater Atlanta Christian
Position: Offensive tackle
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #78
Last year: I ranked Hinton #45a and said he would be a backup offensive tackle (LINK). He played in thirteen games and started five.
TTB Rating: N/A

Hinton is a former elite high school recruit who struggled to realize his potential in three years at Stanford. Michigan rescued him from Palo Alto after David Shaw resigned following the 2022 season, and Hinton came in with a chance to win an offensive tackle job in 2023. It wasn’t quite meant to be as Arizona State transfer La’Darius Henderson won the left tackle job and Karsen Barnhart won the right tackle job, but Hinton managed to start four games on the right side and one on the left. He was generally good as a pass blocker and improved throughout the year as a run blocker, and he even won Co-Offensive Player of the Week when he started against Maryland after Henderson got injured. Overall, Hinton was significantly ahead of Barnhart when it comes to Pro Football Focus grades, but . . . well, Michigan won the natty, so I guess they made the right choice.

I feel a little queasy about not putting any linemen in the top ten for most important players in 2024, and Hinton was a tough choice to put here at #11. I wanted to rank him higher, but lots of other spots are missing quality backups, too. I think Hinton has the potential to be a very good tackle this year, and I have high hopes for him if Sherrone Moore and Grant Newsome can help him get rid of some of the mental/technique mistakes he made at Stanford. But Michigan does have some veteran tackles vying for playing time – as well as redshirt freshman Evan Link – so I think they might be able to weather an injury to Hinton without a terribly devastating impact to the offense as a whole.

Prediction: Starting offensive tackle; Third Team All-Big Ten

2024 Season Countdown: #12 Tommy Doman

Name: Tommy Doman
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 215 lbs.
High school: Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s
Position: Kicker/Punter
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #19
Last year: I ranked Doman #20a and said he would be the starting punter (LINK). He punted 53 times for 2,345 yards (44.5 yards/punt), forced 26 fair catches, and pinned other teams inside their 20 a total of 18 times; he also kicked off 99 times with 68 touchbacks.
TTB Rating: N/A

Doman was a Third Team All-Big Ten selection in 2023 after playing multiple roles for the Wolverines. It’s not often that someone punts and kicks off and holds for extra points/field goals, but those were Doman’s roles last year. Holding is often done by a backup quarterback, and kickoffs can be handled by placekickers or dedicated kickoff guys. So it’s impressive that Doman was able to master all those things at once. What else can he do?

Pass the ball?

Kick 55-yard field goals?

Decipher opponents’ signals?

Michigan has an array of special teams guys to handle the various kicking and holding duties, so it’s not clear what roles Doman will handle this year outside of punting. Hudson Hollenbeck dabbled in holding last year, so he could be the answer there. Dominic Zvada was brought in from Arkansas State to handle place kicking. Hollenbeck and Adam Samaha were both in the running to handle kickoffs. But this is bound to be a tougher season for Michigan than 2023 was, and Michigan’s defense and special teams are going to have to make up for taking some steps back on offense. So Doman will be a key piece of those field position battles.

Prediction: Starting punter; Second Team All-Big Ten

2024 Season Countdown: #13 Derrick Moore

Name: Derrick Moore
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 256 lbs.
High school: Baltimore (MD) St. Frances
Position: Defensive end
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #8
Last year: I ranked Moore #27 and said he would be a backup defensive end (LINK). He made 34 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery for a touchdown, and 4 quarterback hurries.
TTB Rating: 83

Moore has been a solid player for Michigan since he arrived on campus in 2022. With his stout frame and perhaps underappreciated athleticism, he never looked out of place. From his freshman to sophomore year, he shed some weight, from the 270s to the 250s. While he notched 5 sacks last year and even scored a touchdown on a blocked punt against Maryland, he has yet to have a real signature performance. Part of that was because he was playing behind Braiden McGregor, Jaylen Harrell, and Mike Morris over the past couple seasons.

This year I expect Moore to play a little bit . . . more. He was at 410 snaps last season, which was just 5 behind McGregor (who recently made the 53-man cut with the New York Jets despite being undrafted). But Michigan has a tougher schedule and a weaker offense in 2024; they also have less depth. So I think the starters will have to play more snaps rather than taking a break in the fourth quarter of half the games. I also expect Moore’s performance to improve. He and Josaiah Stewart were a nice second wave of edge players in 2023, and they also happened to be the highest graded edges on the team, but there’s still room for Moore to grow as a player. Some people have talked about him being a first-rounder in the NFL draft; I don’t think we’ve seen the consistency from him to expect that, but he should be even better in 2024.

Prediction: Starting defensive end; 50 tackles, 7 sacks