Name: Bryce Wilcox Height: 5’11” Weight: 188 lbs. High school: Sharpsburg (GA) Trinity Christian Position: Safety Class: Redshirt sophomore Jersey number: #38 Last year: I ranked Wilcox #131 and said he would be a backup safety (LINK). He did not play. TTB Rating: N/A
This is the year.
I’m going to stand on the table for my guy Bryce Wilcox. He turned down an offer from Navy to walk on at Michigan, and he has spent the past two seasons biding his time on the sideline. He came in scrawny at just over 170 pounds, but has since added about 17 pounds to his frame. Now he’s at a respectable 188 pounds for a guy who’s probably just a special teams player, at least for right now.
So going into 2024, I think Wilcox might finally be ready for some special teams action.
Name: Bryce Wilcox Height: 5’11” Weight: 185 lbs. High school: Sharpsburg (GA) Trinity Christian Position: Safety Class: Redshirt freshman Jersey number: #38 Last year: I ranked Wilcox #116 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He redshirted. TTB Rating: N/A
Wilcox is a talented athlete who was listed at 171 pounds coming out of high school, so his chances of getting on the field last season were very slim. I believe he also had some injury issues last season that kept him sidelined, so he redshirted as expected.
So here we are in 2023, and I don’t expect much to change, even though Wilcox is up to 185 lbs. He could potentially be a special teams player, but Michigan has pretty solid depth at the safety position.
Name: Bryce Wilcox Height: 5’11” Weight: 171 lbs. High school: Sharpsburg (GA) Trinity Christian Position: Safety Class: Freshman Jersey number: N/A Last year: Wilcox was a senior in high school. TTB Rating: N/A
Wilcox is another high-level preferred walk-on who turned down an offer from Navy to pay his own way to Michigan. A pretty dynamic wide receiver and defensive back for his high school team, Wilcox could play safety or wide receiver at the next level. He’s as good as or better than the walk-on receivers who have played at Michigan in recent years. If you watch his highlights below, you’ll see some big hits, some nice blocks, and some tremendous balance and change of direction with the ball in his hands.
As a freshman preferred walk-on, he’s very unlikely to play in 2022, but he is a guy with the talent to get on the field in the coming years, particularly on special teams.
Detroit (MI) Loyola safety Josh Nichols (image via Hudl)
At any top-tier football program, walk-ons can seem meaningless. When teams recruit 5-star and 4-star players, what are the chances that some walk-on is going to do anything significant on the field? Except in almost any year, a walk-on plays a significant role, even if it’s “only” on special teams. This past season, safety Caden Kolesar (9 tackles), defensive tackle Jess Speight (7 tackles), tight end Carter Selzer, and long snapper William Wagner all played significant snaps for the Wolverines. There’s a good chance that at least one or two of these players will end up playing a lot of minutes in a Michigan uniform.
Nico Andrighetto – S – Mountain View (CA) St. Francis Andrighetto is the 5’9″, 180 lb. brother of walk-on running back Lucas Andrighetto. He turned down offers from FCS Colgate and Columbia to walk on at Michigan. Nico had 75 tackles, 4 forced fumbles, 3 interceptions, and 1 touchdown as a senior in 2021. You can find his highlights HERE.
Chibi Anwunah – DE – Westland (MI) Lutheran Anwuna is a 6’7″, 225 lb. Nigerian immigrant who played out of position – at least for college – as a linebacker in high school. He will almost certainly move down to the defensive line, probably defensive end, for Michigan. Anwunah has good size and decent athleticism, but he plays tentatively and needs to get a lot stronger. If he does he could be a diamond in the rough in a few years. You can find his highlights HERE.
Evan Boutorwick – LS – Sterling Heights (MI) Henry Ford II Boutorwick has nice size at 6’4″ and 225 lbs. He was an Under Armour All-American and Korblue Kicking has him ranked as the #10 long snapper in the class of 2022.
Declan Byle – QB – Novi (MI) Catholic Central Byle is a 6’2″, 175 lb. prospect who looks like a walk-on quarterback. He does not have a particularly good arm or noteworthy athleticism. I do not see him factoring into Michigan’s depth chart in the future. You can find some of his highlights HERE.
