Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Jalen Mayfield. Naturally, because it’s 2020 and everything sucks, Michigan had one returning starter on the offensive line and that lone returning starter was the first lineman to get hurt. Mayfield missed the Indiana game, and so did left tackle Ryan Hayes. I said in the lead-up to the game that I thought Michigan would lose the game if Mayfield didn’t play. The Wolverines had 18 rushing attempts for 13 yards (0.7 yards/carry) and the Hoosiers had 3 sacks.
Name: Cornelius Johnson Height: 6’3″ Weight: 205 lbs. High school: Greenwich (CT) Brunswick Position: Wide receiver Class: Sophomore Jersey number: #6 Last year: I did not rank Johnson. He caught 4 passes for 61 yards and 1 touchdown. TTB Rating: 87
Usually, it seems like astute readers point out when I miss someone on the countdown, but I guess we didn’t catch Johnson’s absence. I remember thinking he would play a bit role behind Nico Collins, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Tarik Black, and Ronnie Bell, and his production satisfied that belief. He played in every game despite not factoring heavily into Shea Patterson’s targets.
But there was a really nice play against Michigan State where Johnson pretended to block and then disappeared behind the MSU for a defense late in the blowout win:
Even with Nico Collins likely headed to the NFL without playing his senior season, Peoples-Jones playing for the Browns, and Black transferring to Texas, Johnson still appears to be in a fight for playing time. There’s no doubt he will get on the field regularly and increase his production from last year, but freshman Roman Wilson was reportedly looking good in practice, and there are several slot types that need to get on the field, including Ronnie Bell, Giles Jackson, and Mike Sainristil.
If Collins is indeed gone, Johnson is the biggest receiver on the team at 6’3″ and 205 pounds and will probably end up starting. If Collins remains through a possible spring season, I could see Johnson playing a backup role for one more season.
Prediction: Starting wide receiver*
*This presumes Collins being gone by the next time Michigan plays football
Every year the new season brings changes big and small. It seems that the 2020 season will bring some pretty significant changes to what we see on the field at Michigan, from players to coaches. Here’s a look at the expected changes and what we might see in 2020.
The impact is rated as being positive (+), negative (-), or neutral (=).
Out: QB Shea Patterson In: Dylan McCaffrey/Joe Milton Patterson was just the third quarterback to throw for 3,000 yards in a season, but many weren’t happy with his performance. Redshirt junior McCaffrey and redshirt sophomore Joe Milton will battle it out, and the belief (on my end) is that the loser of that battle will not finish out his career at Michigan. McCaffrey is the better overall player – both passing and running – but a concussion and a collarbone injury have ended his previous two seasons. Impact: =
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I know it’s a little bit late in the game, but back in the spring, I didn’t have time to review all the senior film for Michigan’s 2019 signees and give them updated TTB Ratings. I did that during the 2019 Season Countdown, so here are the final TTB Ratings for the class of 2019.
S Daxton Hill: 100 He’s the best safety in the class, though it’s an unimpressive safety class overall.
RB Zach Charbonnet:83 90 As long as he can get/stay healthy, Charbonnet has the potential to be a high draft pick in the future.
DT Chris Hinton, Jr.: 90 He should be an early contributor with high long-term upside.
