Tag: 2024 season countdown

2024 Season Countdown: #19 Makari Paige

Name: Makari Paige
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 208 lbs.
High school: West Bloomfield (MI) West Bloomfield
Position: Safety
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #7
Last year: I ranked Paige #19 and said he would be a starting safety (LINK). He made 41 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 2 pass breakups, and 1 quarterback hurry.
TTB Rating: 79

Paige was an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection in 2023 after being a thirteen-game starter. He was not a flashy player, but he’s an extremely steady player. His long arms help him cover some ground as a tackler where others might whiff, and he was probably better in coverage than I thought he would be, even though that’s not his strength. PFF gave him a 71.4 pass coverage grade and an 86.0 tackling grade, so you can see the discrepancy. Altogether he was part of a nice combination with Rod Moore and/or Keon Sabb.

The picture at safety has completely changed in 2024. And Paige was recently named a captain. But just by coincidence, I once again ranked Paige at #19, just like last year. Rod Moore is out with a torn ACL and Keon Sabb is at Alabama, but Quinten Johnson returned for a sixth year and Michigan brought in two transfer portal starters in the form of Wesley Walker and Jaden Mangham. That gives Michigan four starting-caliber safeties on the roster this year, so if Paige were going to miss any time, the depth should help mitigate issues. Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale recently said that Paige might get the “green dot” on defense (a.k.a. the in-helmet communication) or it might go to linebacker Ernest Hausmann, so I don’t want to discount Paige’s leadership. But the depth (or lack thereof) at some other spots has me ranking Paige as one of the lower-end starters in the countdown.

Prediction: Starting safety; 40 tackles, 2 interceptions

2024 Season Countdown: #20 Jyaire Hill

Name: Jyaire Hill
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 185 lbs.
High school: Kankakee (IL) Kankakee
Position: Cornerback
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #20
Last year: I ranked Hill #55 and said he would be a backup cornerback (LINK). He made 8 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in four games.
TTB Rating: 88

Hill was a very talented freshman in 2023, but the Wolverines had a few cornerbacks who could get the job done, including Will Johnson, Josh Wallace, and Mike Sainristil. Fellow freshman D.J. Waller also came in ready to play and passed up Hill on the depth chart. According to Sam Webb, Hill’s maturity was a bit of an issue in his first year and he wasn’t ready to play from a mental standpoint. Michigan does some complicated things with its coverages and Hill wasn’t in his playbook enough.

For what it’s worth, the good news is that Hill preserved his redshirt, so now he can be a starting cornerback at Michigan through 2028! Word out of camp is that Hill is ahead of Albany transfer Aamir Hall on the depth chart and will start the season opener opposite Will Johnson. While I like Hill’s upside – thus the TTB Rating of 88 – it’s nice to have a seasoned veteran in Hall to come off the bench or rotate in when possible. Once Michigan gets past those three, it will be interesting to see who steps in as the #4 cornerback. The next most experienced guys would be UNLV transfer Ricky Johnson and veteran Michigan player Ja’Den McBurrows. There might be some rough moments for Hill, but he’s physical, confident, and athletic.

Prediction: Starting cornerback; 25 tackles, 2 interceptions

2024 Season Countdown: #21 Kalel Mullings

Name: Kalel Mullings
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 233 lbs.
High school: West Roxbury (MA) Milton Academy
Position: Running back
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #20
Last year: I ranked Mullings #38 and said he would be a backup running back (LINK). He had
TTB Rating: 78

Mullings was a linebacker at Michigan for his first two-plus years on campus. But in year three, Blake Corum suffered an injury against Illinois, and Michigan needed someone to help take the load in the backfield. So Mullings – a standout high school running back – threw a jump pass against Ohio State in 2022 and gained 31 yards on 14 carries, including scoring 3 touchdowns. Unfortunately, he fumbled on a goal line attempt against TCU in the College Football Playoff, and Michigan ended up losing by six points.

Instead of reverting to linebacker for 2023, Mullings stayed on offense to compete with Donovan Edwards for the backup position. At one point during the season, Mullings had earned the #2 spot and did some good things with it. He had a ho-hum non-conference performance (4 carries, 17 yards) to start the year, but he picked it up during the Big Ten slate and never averaged fewer than 5.0 yards per carry. Altogether, he ran 36 times for 222 yards (6.2 yards/carry) and 1 touchdown, a 20-yard scamper against Nebraska. Despite playing the season at 239 pounds, he showed nimble feet, good patience, and a decent burst.

The 2024 season should be another big step in his career now that Corum is off to the Los Angeles Rams. Edwards and Mullings are the #1 and #2 backs, and while Edwards is the favorite to win the job (after all, he was on the cover of NCAA ’25), Mullings can make a case to be the Thunder to Edwards’s Lightning. Edwards has struggled at times and has also been injured a little bit. Over the past three years of post-COVID Michigan football, the #2 back for Michigan has averaged 813 yards per season, including 950+ yards from both Corum (2021) and Edwards (2022). I don’t know that Mullings will approach 1,000 yards like those two, but he should have a pretty hefty rushing total by the end of the year while also serving as a short yardage and goal line back at times.

Prediction: Backup running back; 750 yards and 9 touchdowns

2024 Season Countdown: #22 Zeke Berry

Name: Zeke Berry
Height: 5’11″
Weight: 196 lbs.
High school: Concord (CA) De La Salle
Position: Safety
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #10
Last year: I ranked Berry #43 and said he would be a backup safety (LINK). He played in eleven games and made 3 tackles.
TTB Rating: 82

There’s not much to say about Zeke Berry from last year, because he barely played. Michigan had a stacked safety room, so the coaches used him on just 42 total defensive snaps – 30 against East Carolina and 12 against Michigan State. The former 4-star safety recruit has earned a lot of buzz behind the scenes for his athleticism, but he has yet to turn that into any meaningful playing time or production.

He seems poised to change that narrative in 2024. After nickel corner Mike Sainristil graduated and moved on to the NFL following last season, all eyes have been on the void left behind by his absence. Berry has popped up in almost every practice report as a standout with his speed and aggression. There has been caution not to expect him to get everyone organized like Sainristil did, and unlike last year, the backup nickel is a redshirt junior in Ja’Den McBurrows and not a redshirt sophomore Ja’Den McBurrows. I’m ranking Berry down near the bottom end of the starters because of the presence of McBurrows, but hopes are high that Berry is a star in the making.

Prediction: Starting nickel; 35 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 interceptions

2024 Season Countdown: #23 Quinten Johnson

Name: Quinten Johnson
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 203 lbs.
High school: Washington (DC) St. John’s
Position: Safety
Class: Sixth year senior
Jersey number: #28
Last year: I ranked Johnson #36 and said he would be a backup safety and special teamer (LINK). He made 22 tackles, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, and 5 pass breakups.
TTB Rating: 79

As a fifth year senior in 2023, Johnson seemed to be . . . superfluous. It’s rare that players at Michigan stick around for a fifth year during the transfer portal/grad transfer era rather than going elsewhere for more playing time. Even though it was clear Johnson was headed for a backup role, he chose to come back. I actually felt a little bad for him since Makari Paige and Rod Moore were entrenched ahead of him, and then he was passed by the younger Keon Sabb, just a sophomore in 2023.

And then . . . the light seemed to come on for Johnson. In the last third of the season, he seemed to have figured things out. The numbers don’t necessarily support that anecdotal conclusion (his PFF grades were fairly consistent), but he was making some big plays in big games, particularly a pass breakup against Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka:

Thank you Quinten Johnson pic.twitter.com/w2rBe8idAD

— JJ McCarthy Fan (@JJOneOfOne) February 2, 2024

Johnson originally chose to leave Michigan after 2023 and attempt to make it to the NFL, but Rod Moore’s ACL injury and Sabb’s transfer to Alabama opened the door for him to return. Instead of being almost a surefire backup, he had a real chance to earn a starting gig. Even though the Wolverines brought in Wesley Walker from Tennessee and Jaden Mangham from Michigan State, it seems like Johnson will be the starter opposite Paige, partly due to his familiarity with the defensive system.

Prediction: Starting safety